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Name the 1979 movie from its’ IMDB plot summary: “A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an over-anxious angel before he was supposed to die, comes back to life in the body of a recently-murdered millionaire.”?

Best football movies of all time | NFL.com Published: May 24, 2012 at 05:40 p.m. Updated: June 9, 2014 at 08:19 a.m. Best football movies of all time Adam Rank +Follow on Twitter Share The summer is officially “movie season” and since we have a few weeks before training camps get started, let’s take a look at the best football movies ever. 35 Photos Total Sony Pictures Gridiron Gang Plot: A counselor at a juvenile detention center teaches a group of teens the meaning of self-esteem and teamwork through football. Based on: Every redemption movie, ever, but this was based on a true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs, a team of juvenile detainees in Los Angeles. Stars: The Rock (two for him) and Xzibit. What went right: The documentary footage at the end, which shows most of the players on this team who went on to do good things. Spoiler alert: If you can't see the two rival gang members becoming best friends (with one saving the other), then you've never seen a movie before. 34 Walt Disney Pictures The Game Plan Plot: A playboy quarterback is in for a shock when he's left with an 8-year-old daughter he never knew he had. Stars: The Rock. What went right: It's a Disney movie and you can crush The Rock for making such a film, but this probably killed in DVD sales. This might only interest me: The Rock plays Joe Kingman, quarterback of the New England Rebels. In the climactic game of 2007, the Rebels play the New York Dukes for the championship. In the same football season, the Patriots and Giants played in the Super Bowl. Also, Kingman is a huge Elvis fan, which The Rock had written in the movie so he could sing "Are you Lonesome tonight?" because somebody once told The Rock he had a great singing voice. Spoiler alert: The Rock ends up beating John Cena in Wrestlemania. Oh, and in the movie, Kingman discovers there is more to life than just ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 33 Radio Plot: A high school football coach takes a special needs student under his wing. Based on: A true story of T.L. Hanna High School football coach Harold Jones and "Radio" Kennedy that you might have read in Sports Illustrated in 1996. Stars: Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding Jr. What went right: Gooding's acting wasn't as bad as the critics made it out to be. What might only interest me: Radio still goes to games at T.L. Hanna High School. Spoiler alert: Somebody in the movie dies. I'll give you a hint, the name starts with M, ends with R and is not Marge Helgenberger. Overall though, the movie should have been so much better given the starpower. 32 Warner Bros. Pictures Little Giants Plot: Misfits cut from the local powerhouse peewee football team form their own squad led by the coach's nerdy brother. Based on: Every sports movie, ever. But in reality, it was based on McDonald's ad on pee wee football that ran during the Super Bowl in 1990. Stars: Ed O'Neill and Rick Moranis. Notable Cameos: John Madden, Emmitt Smith, Bruce Smith Tim Brown and Steve Emtman. What went right: Well, the villainous team is the pee wee Cowboys, so that works. This might only interest me: The Little Giants in this movie wear red uniforms, which the Giants started wearing as an alternate jersey. I'm not saying the Giants were inspired by the movie; I'm just putting it out there. Spoiler alert: Do you really have to guess who wins? 31 Knute Rockne All-American Plot: Kind of self-explanatory, no? But it’s based on the life of Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne. Based on: Did you not read the line above? It’s based on the life of Knute Rockne. Stars: Ronald Regan as George Gipp. This might only interest me: The spoof the “win one for the Gipper” line in the movie “Airplane!” You’ve truly made an impact if you can be lampooned in such a great movie. Spoiler Alert: The Gipper becomes president of the United States. 30 Universal Pictures Leatherheads Plot: A gruff, but likeable football player tries to save his fledgling sport by recruiting the hot-shot college football star. Based on: This was loosely based on George Halas' courtship of Red Grange. (Google Grange, he was awesome.) Stars: George Clooney, Jim Halpert (I know it's not his real name but would you have known who I was talking about if I said John Krasinski?) and Renee Zellweger. Biggest beef: Instead of a story loosely based on Halas and Grange, how about a story on them? This might only interest me: This movie was written by famed Internet punching bag Rick Reilly, so the fact this started out like a good idea but ultimately missed the mark should not be surprising. Spoiler alert: Football eventually catches on. 29 Flash Gordon Plot: The quarterback of the New York Jets is tasked with saving the world. Wait, is this really a football movie? Much consideration was given to this question. But since Flash Gordon is currently a football player in the movie, I think it has to count. Plus he uses his football moves early in the movie. Stars: Sam J. Jones, Timothy Dalton How do I know this movie again? It’s talked about in great length and is a huge plot point in “Ted”. This might only interest me: Probably one of the best whip fights in cinema history. Seriously, a floating disk with spikes coming out of it. Seems excessive, no? Spoiler alert: Flash foreshadows the butt fumble early in the flick when Dale Arden accidentally hits him in the head. 28 Walt Disney Pictures Invincible Plot: A local bartender gets a tryout with the Eagles, makes the team and scores a touchdown. Based on: Vince Papale, who really did play for the Eagles. Stars: Mark Walberg, Gerg Kinnear (Dick Vermeil) and Elizabeth Banks. What went wrong: Well, it's based on a true story but really stretches it. Papale was not some curtain-jerker. He played semi-pro ball, and in the WFL so he had some serious playing credentials. And he never scored a touchdown in an NFL game. Scene stealer: The white belt on Kinnear's pants. What a look. Spoiler alert: Vermeil wins the 1980 NFC Championship Game, eventually retires but returns to lead the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl title in 1999. 27 Plot: A love triangle between two professional football players and the owner's daughter leads to hilarity. Stars: Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Bert Convy and Jill Clayburgh. Notable cameos: Joe Kapp, Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Paul Hornung. Perfect casting: Kristofferson plays "Shake," and given the resemblance, you can't help but think of Kenny "The Snake" Stabler. What might interest only me: Reynolds and Kristofferson were actually pretty good football players. Kristofferson, in fact, appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" section while he was in college for his exploits on the field. Spoiler alert: There is no doubt Reynolds was going to walk away with the girl, right? 26 Plot: The life of Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Stars: Rob Brown and Dennis Quaid. The big hang up: This was a good movie, but the factual inaccuracy of the West Virginia vs. Syracuse game hangs over this (the game was actually played in Syracuse). Other players have spoken out against this movie, which moves it way down the list. What might only interest me: Quaid's third football movie on this list. Spoiler alert: Davis never played in the NFL after being diagnosed with Leukemia. 25 The Longest Yard (remake) Plot: A former NFL quarterback is sent to jail. And once inside, he earns the trust of his fellow inmates when he organizes a game against the guards. Based on: Not going there. Stars: Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds, Chris Rock, Michael Irvin, Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, William Fitchner This might only interest me: But the sheer volume of WWE stars in this movie is staggering. And Kevin Nash nearly steals the show. Spoiler alert: No, Paul Crewe is not shot in this one, either. 24 Against All Odds Plot: One of the oldest stories in the book. A goon hires a former football player to track down his wife. Said player finds the wife and falls for her. Hilarity ensues. Wait, this is also a football movie? Did you not read the description? He hires a former football player. I mean, it’s right there. Stars: Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward This might only interest me: I can see a little bit of “The Dude” in Bridges’ Terry Brogan. And I once convinced somebody this was a prequel to “The Big Lebowski.” That said, the person I convinced wasn’t very smart. Spoiler alert: I don’t think I see Brogan drink a single White Russian. 23 Warner Bros. Pictures Any Given Sunday Plot: A coach must juggle a meddling owner and ego of his new star QB after his trusted veteran signal caller goes down with an injury. Based on: This is based on a book by former Raiders trainer Rob Huizenga. The book was better. Stars: Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz and LL Cool J. Notable cameos: Lawrence Taylor, Jim Brown and Barry Switzer among others. What went wrong: The uniforms of the teams were laughably bad. The fake Texas Stadium was the worst. The on-field action was way over the top. But you're forgiven for: One of my biggest beefs with the movie was Willie Beamen eating chips on the sidelines. And then Mark Sanchez ate a hot dog on the sidelines. What might only interest me: John C. McGinley played Jack Rose, based on Jim Rome and totally trashes him. Also former NFL player Darnell Autry was turned down for a role because he didn't look like a football player. 22 Plot: A downtrodden college football team discovers a defensive superstar in its water boy. Stars: Adam Sandler, Henry Winkler and Kathy Bates. Notable cameos: The Big Show and Lawrence Taylor ("don't smoke crack"). What went right: I probably liked this movie more than most. And I still liked to drop the term "foosball" when talking about football, so it does have some quotable lines. What might only interest me: This is the first of many appearances of Rob Schneider in this list. Spoiler alert: Of course, Bobby Boucher's team wins. But Dan Fouts actually makes me laugh during his cameo. 21 Lucas Plot: A young man wants to impress a girl so he did what the rest of us did an joined the football team. Wait, so this now is a football movie? Do you not see the movie poster? He’s in a football uniform and everything. Stars: Corey Haim, Charlie Sheen, Winona Rider This might only interest me: This is Jeremy Piven’s first feature movie! Spoiler alert: Things end up rough for Sheen and Rider. This is just the start of Piven’s world. 20 Geffen Pictures The Last Boy Scout Plot: A down-and-out former secret service agent turned detective partners with an ex-quarterback to investigate a murder around a pro football team. Based on: Every buddy cop picture, ever. Seriously. Stars: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans and Halle Berry. What went right/wrong: The opening scene depicts a running back ingesting PCP, and then pulling a gun out of his pants as he goes on a rampage down the field. Highly unbelievable, yet you can't take your eyes off it. What might only interest me: The running back who kills himself is Tae Bo master Billy Blanks. Spoiler alert: Don't give Bruce Willis a light. 19 Cinema Group Ventures Best of Times Plot: A small-town loser still is obsessed with a dropped pass against his rival in high school football and some years later, he organizes a game for one last chance at redemption. Not based on: Wes Welker. But it should be noted two high schools did get together 10 years after the fact to settle a tie, in a life imitating art moment. Stars: Robin Williams and Kurt Russell. What went right: Russell as quarterback Reno Hightower. What might only interest me: Herman Edwards is an extra in the movie. Spoiler alert: Williams has another chance to catch the ball but blows it! Just kidding. You don't get out to movies much, do you? 18 Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment Draft Day Plot: Kevin Costner plays a gruff, but likeable loner who wants to build a football team his own way. Can he take the Cleveland Browns to the promised land? Not based on: Yeah, this isn't a true story, like "Moneyball" for instance. But a huge thing here is the NFL gave its blessing to use marks and actually film at the 2013 NFL Draft. Stars: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and Denis Leary. What went right: Don't go quarterback first overall. What might only interest me: Well, my scene was left on the cutting room floor. I asked a few of the "actors" questions during the red carpet. Seriously, can I do a DVD extra or something? Spoiler alert: The Browns win! Explaining the ranking: BTW, I really enjoyed this movie. However, I don't want to let the "newness' of the film influence the ranking here. 17 Warner Bros. Pictures Wildcats Plot: A female track coach decides she wants to take over as coach of the school's football team and must jump some obstacles along the way. Stars: Goldie Hawn, Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Nipsey Russell. What went right: This was the beginning of the Harrelson and Snipes connection, which would go on to film "White Men Can't Jump" and "Money Train." What might only interest me: LL Cool J records a "Football Rap" which appears in the opening credits, but wasn't included in the soundtrack. Spoiler alert: Harrelson does not dunk in this film. 16 Orion Pictures Corporation Johnny Be Good Plot: Johnny Walker is the highest-rated high school football recruit in America who must choose between playing big-time college football and giving it all up for his girlfriend. Based on: This was supposed to be a look at high school recruiting, but seems so antiquated now considering how intense it has become. Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey Jr., Uma Thurman and Paul Gleason (I beseech you, look up his tribute video on YouTube). What went right: It's easy to say Robert Downey Jr. because he's awesome in everything. But the prayer given by Paul Gleason is the best in the movie. What might only interest me: This film features Pete Koch, who also played the Swede in "Heartbreak Ridge." Spoiler alert: It's not as crappy as everybody thinks and worth a look thanks in large part to Downey and Gleason. 15 TriStar Pictures Jerry McGuire Plot: An agent is fired for showing a soul, and he has one last client to prove a conscious can exist with sports agents. Based on: Sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who also served as technical director. Stars: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Renee Zellwegger (two for her) and Jay Mohr. What went right: Women loved it. What went wrong: "Show me the money" became a part of our vernacular. What might only interest me: I was with my dad at the Cowboys vs. Cardinals game this climactic game was filmed at. And in the hotel bar prior to the game, I made a bet with the bartender that Shaquille O'Neal was going to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1996 offseason. I won free drinks for life at the Tempe Marriott. Spoiler alert: Uh, did the Cardinals win the fictional game? I guess it doesn't matter because he got his big-money contract, showing what's really important, I guess. 14 Paramount Pictures School Ties Plot: A public school quarterback accepts a scholarship to a New England prep school to play quarterback but things become unraveled when his teammates find out he's keeping a secret. Based on: The personal experiences of writer and TV producer Dick Wolf. Stars: Brendan Fraser and Matt Damon. What went right: The movie is somewhat predictable, but you'll certainly join in whenever it comes on cable. And the move of quarterback David Green (Fraser) throwing his tailback (Damon) in front of a blocker seems like something Cam Newton will try this season. What might only interest me: If you look close enough, Ben Affleck is in the movie as Chesty Smith. Spoiler alert: Matt Damon actually did attend Harvard, just like his character said he would. 13 The Longest Yard (Original) Plot: A former football player serving time is ordered by the warden to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get beaten by) the guards. Based on: Still not going there. Stars: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter This might only interest me: Reynolds actually played football for Florida State. And this one has Ray Nitschke. Spoiler alert: You don’t watch many movies if you need a spoiler alert for this one. But no, Paul Crewe does not get shot. 12 Warner Bros. Pictures We Are Marshall Plot: The true story of the Marshall football program after a plane crash takes the lives of virtually the entire team. Stars: Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox. What went right: The movie doesn't end with the victory, but tells the story of how there was still a lot of work to be done. I have to respect them for that. What might only interest me: The name of the winning play that Marshall used against Xavier was "213 Bootleg Screen." Spoiler alert: Chad Pennington and Randy Moss become stars and Marshall eventually moves on to Division I. 11 Paramount Pictures Heaven Can Wait Plot: A Los Angeles Rams backup QB is taken from his body by an over-anxious angel before he was supposed to die but comes back to life in the body of recently murdered millionaire. Not based on: The Rams' 1979 season, which mirrored the movie with a Rams vs. Steelers Super Bowl. Stars: Warren Beatty. Notable cameos: Most of the Los Angeles Rams of the time, and even some old timers like Deacon Jones appear in the movie. What might only interest me: Iron Maiden's tune of the same name is said to be loosely inspired by the movie. Good enough for me. Spoiler alert: Unlike Super Bowl XIII, the fictional Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl. Sadly, that remains the only Super Bowl title in L.A. Rams history. 10 Lucille Ball Productions All the right moves Plot: A high school football player and his coach both have dreams of leaving their depressed Pennsylvania steel town, which causes a conflict between them. Stars: Tom Cruise, Lea Thompson and Craig T. Nelson. What went right: Cruise is actually believable as a football player, though the movie tries to be -- as critics pointed out at the time -- the "Flashdance" of football. And yeah, you'll likely need to Google "Flashdance" (the original). What might only interest me: Nelson and Cruise end up at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo -- the place where John Madden played. Spoiler alert: Oh wait, I just spoiled the movie with the last point. 9 Paramount Pictures Necessary Roughness Plot: A big-time Texas football program is given the death penalty, and must regroup with non-scholarship players including a quarterback in his 30s. Based on: Some might say the movie was inspired by SMU. Stars: Scott Bakula, Jason Bateman, Hector Elizondo, Sinbad and Kathy Ireland. Notable cameos: Dick Butkus, Jerry Rice and Jim Kelly on the convict team. What went right: Criticized for trying too hard, this was actually a pretty fun movie. And Larry Miller nearly steals the show. What might only interest me: Most of the filming takes place at North Texas, home to "Mean" Joe Greene and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Rob Schneider alert: Second appearance on this list. Spoiler alert: Yes, the quarterback quits, returns and they knock off the team that is supposed to be the University of Texas. 8 The Samuel Goldwyn Company The Program Plot: A Heisman Trophy candidate suffers the highs and lows as he tries to overcome his demons to lead his team to a bowl game. Stars: James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps, Craig Sheffer and Kristy Swanson. Notable cameos: Lynn Swann. What went right: When a movie makes sports people uncomfortable it's always good, in particular the movie's illustration of how easy it was to beat the NCAA's drug-testing policy. What might only interest me: There is a scene were player bonding includes lying on the yellow line on the highway to show how brave they are. The scene was not only taken out of the movie, you can't find it anywhere. Failed sequel: Joe Kane's motorcycle becomes the basis of an NCAA investigation. 7 Plot: A player's strike forces owners to field teams filled with replacement players. Based on: The NFL's labor dispute in 1987. Stars: Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman and Brooke Langton. Notable cameos: John Madden and Pat Summerall. Could have been better: If the NFL would have allowed the movie makers to use real team marks. It's so distracting sometimes. What might only interest me: The games were filmed in Baltimore, not Washington. Nagging question: How does Shane Falco get to the stadium in time after coach McGinty says he's looking for somebody with heart at the half? Wasn't he at home on his boat? Spoiler alert: Mirroring true-to-life events, the Washington Federals beat Dallas, which has a team filled with players who crossed picket lines -- just like the replacement Redskins did to the Cowboys (with Tony Dorsett and Randy White) in 1987. 6 Paramount Pictures Varsity Blues Plot: A backup quarterback becomes the reluctant hero for his small Texas town when the team's starter is lost for the year. Not to be confused with: "Friday Night Lights." Stars: James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker and Scott Caan. What went right: Captured the small subtleties of football in Texas, without being too serious. And there's a whipped cream bikini. "Lights" could have learned something from this. Spoiler alert: Voight quits and injured quarterback Lance Harbor (Walker) takes over as coach in the second half. So I have this question: Where are the assistant coaches? In this Texas town, they only have one coach? And the referees just allow this to happen, too? 5 Screen Gems Television Brian’s Song (Original) Plot: The true story of Chicago Bears teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers' friendship that develops after Piccolo discovers he's dying of a terminal illness. Stars: Billy Dee Williams and James Caan. Notable cameos: Dick Butkus and many members of the Chicago Bears. But you're only talking around the original right? Right. It's a complete embarrassment they even tried to remake this movie as they could never recapture the magic of Billy Dee and Jimmy Caan. What might only interest me: Billy Casey stars in this. Casey, you might remember from "Revenge of the Nerds," played professional football for the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. Spoiler alert: You're not getting through this without crying. 4 Walt Disney Pictures Remember the Titans Plot: The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit. Not based on: The final season of the Cal State Fullerton Titans. Stars: Denzel Washington and William Patton. What went right: Two powerhouse performances by Denzel and Patton. The movie can be somewhat predictable, but the acting makes it enjoyable. What might only interest me: The film was "blue" when originally written, but the dialogue was cleaned up to make it a Disney picture. Spoiler alert: The Titans actually won the title game rather handedly, but I guess that doesn't make for good drama. 3 TriStar Pictures Rudy Plot: The true story of Rudy Ruettiger, who overcame the odds the play football at Notre Dame. Stars: Sean Astin, John Favreau and Ned Beatty. Notable cameos: Al Snow plays a Notre Dame player. Was it true? The sack (true), carried off the field (true) and the player's turning in their jerseys before the Georgia Tech game (not true). What went right: Even the most ardent anti-Notre Dame person (like me) can still tear up at the end of this movie. What might only interest me: Joe Montana was a teammate of Rudy. Spoiler alert: Vince Vaughn's character is fictitious. Although I love the scene where the coach says, "You just summed up your entire sorry career here in one sentence! If you had a tenth of the heart of Ruettiger, you'd have made All-American by now! As it is, you just went from third team to the prep team! Get out of here!" 2 Universal Pictures Friday Night Lights Plot: The Permian High Panthers of Odessa, Texas must overcome the loss of their star running back. Based on: A true story based on H.G. Bissinger's book about high school football life in Texas. Stars: Billy Bob Thornton. Notable cameos: Roy Williams. What went wrong: The football scenes are a little too over the top, especially for high school. What might only interest me: Williams' cameo is as an opposing coach, but he went to Permian High School. Spoiler alert: I really liked this the first time I saw this when it was called, "All the Right Moves." Addendum: Mark Kriegel implored me to give this more consideration, and he’s right. I’m not quite ready to give this a No. 1 overall ranking just yet, but it’s moving up the charts for me. 1

Heaven Can Wait

What lifted the capsule that Felix Baumgartner rode some 24 miles into the stratosphere before his historic jump this week?

Homeless Veteran Of Microsoft: September 2008 Homeless Veteran Of Microsoft I am Kerry Burgess. This is what I think. Tuesday, September 30, 2008 080919-A-8772R-039 http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/080919-A-8772R-039.jpg 080919-A-8772R-039 GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (Sept. 19, 2008) Army Staff Sgt. Difred Pascual, left, and Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Thompson, both chaplain assistants for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, load a box of goods to be transported to the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHA 3) and for Haitian survivors of Hurricane Ike. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Emily J. Russell/Released) http://www.navy.mil/view_photos_top.asp 080919-A-8772R-039 From 5/12/1965 ( I am active duty U.S. Navy aviator ) To 10/11/1976 ( U.S. Public Law 94-479 General of the Armies of the United States approved by U.S. President Gerald Ford and applies to me personally and professionally ) is 4170 days http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/devo/secret+agent+man_20039801.html You know I live a life of danger For the fbi Keeping tabs on our nation On the land, on the sea, in the sky But every single night Before I go to bed I get down on my knees And thank god Im a secret agent man * secret agent man Theyve given me a number But theyve taken way my name I got one hell of a job to perform For the u. s. of a. Got the responsibility Of our nations top security But every night and day I salute the flag and say Thank you jesus Cause im, Im a secret agent man ( * repeat) You know they got me doin this Doin that And a little bit of something else Fighting cavities of evil But not an afternoon pass I dont get up off my ass Thank you god Cause im, Im a secret agent man ( * repeat 2 times) Cause Im a secret agent man http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_Now_for_the_Future Duty Now for the Future Studio album by Devo Released July 1979 Duty Now for the Future was the second album by United States New Wave band Devo Track listing Heaven Can Wait (1978) From 7/15/1959 ( postal code 59715 Bozeman Montana ) To 7/4/1976 ( I successfully diverted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) is 6199 days From 3/4/1959 ( my birth date UK ) to 2/22/1976 ( my Orion space ship and I survived a catastrophic collision with a meteor and I decide to continue my mission as planned to divert Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) is: 6199 days From 7/15/1959 ( postal code 59715 Bozeman Montana ) To 5/21/1969 ( I am Princeton University Medical Doctor degree graduate ) is 3598 days 3598 = 1799 + 1799 From 3/4/1959 ( my birth date UK ) To 2/5/1964 ( I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist again on this day ) is 1799 days http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp Find a ZIP + 4® Code By City Results You Gave Us BOZEMAN, MT ZIP Code™ Matches in BOZEMAN, MT 59715 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bozeman Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. With a population of 27,509 at the 2000 census, Bozeman is the fifth largest city in the state. The city is named after John M. Bozeman, founder of the Bozeman Trail. Located in the fastest-growing county in the state, Bozeman is an All-America City (awarded in 2001). Bozeman residents are known as Bozemanites. Bozeman is home to Montana State University - Bozeman. The local newspaper is the Bozeman Chronicle. Gallatin Field Airport serves the city. http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Bozeman Bozeman Bozeman, Montana is a small town located in the western part of the North American continent on Earth. The town was the location of a missile complex from which Zefram Cochrane launched his prototype warp ship, the Phoenix. When a passing Vulcan scoutship, the T'Plana-Hath, detected the Phoenix's warp signature, it altered course and landed in Bozeman, making first contact with Humanity on April 5, 2063. http://www.cswap.com/1996/Star_Trek:_First_Contact/cap/en/25fps/a/00_16 The day before First Contact. :16:12 The missile complex must be where Cochrane is building his ship. :16:17 They came to stop First Contact. http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/First_contact First Contact The term first contact describes the first official encounter between representatives of two races or governments. Occasionally, the official first contact takes place years or even decades after members of the species involved have first met. Typically, first contact is only initiated by the Federation if a civilization is sufficiently advanced and has developed interstellar travel (via warp drive, for example). Contact with more primitive civilizations is prohibited by the Prime Directive. It has been stated that approaching scientists and intellectual leaders first, in private, is a preferred method of first contact, on the assumption that they would have minds open enough to easily grasp the concept of alien life. (TNG: "First Contact") The term First Contact is also used to specifically refer to the first official contact between Humans and extraterrestrials. First Contact took place on the evening of April 5, 2063, when a Vulcan survey ship, the T'Plana-Hath, having detected the warp signature of the Phoenix, touched down in Bozeman, central Montana, where they met with the Phoenix's designer and pilot, Zefram Cochrane. This event is generally referred to as the defining moment in Human history, eventually paving the way for a unified world government and, later, the United Federation of Planets. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/releaseinfo The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) UK 12 December 2008 USA 12 December 2008 From 11/28/1976 ( I launched from the Jupiter moon Callisto for Earth and home ) To 12/8/2008 ( Monday ) is 11698 days 11698 = 5849 + 5849 From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) To 7/21/1979 ( my wife Phoebe and I are married ) is 5849 days From 6/7/1976 ( my first landing Saturn moon Phoebe and the Saturn moon Phoebe territory belongs to me ) To 12/4/2008 ( Thursday ) is 11868 days 11868 = 5934 + 5934 '59-34' ( my birth date UK ) From 6/12/1981 ( Proclamation 4848—National P.O.W.-M.I.A. Recognition Day, 1981 ) To 12/9/2008 ( Tuesday ) is 10042 days 10042 = 5021 + 5021 From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) To 4/14/1977 ( I returned to Earth after successfully diverting the comet in the outer solar system ) is 5021 days http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/ The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) Release Date: 12 December 2008 (USA) From 4/30/1982 ( my graduation and commissioning U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982 ) To 3/24/1994 ( filming begins 1994 movie "Star Trek: Generations" ) is 4346 days From 5/21/1969 ( I am Princeton University Medical Doctor degree graduate ) To 4/14/1981 ( I was the commander aboard the STS-1 Columbia spacecraft ) is 4346 days http://www.inbaseline.com/project.aspx?project_id=31037 Completed shooting June 9, 1994. Began shooting March 24, 1994. As the maiden voyage of the third Enterprise is occuring, it is called to save two ships from an energy ribbon, in which Kirk dies. However years later he is needed by Picard to stop an evil villian. http://www.cswap.com/1994/Star_Trek:_Generations/cap/en/25fps/a/00_12 Have Chekov meet me on deck 15. :16:42 My God! Was anyone in here? :16:48 Aye. From 12/24/1968 ( I was Apollo 8 astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) to 4/12/1981 ( I was the commander aboard the STS-1 Columbia spacecraft ) is: 4492 days From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 11/2/1975 ( I launched from Earth by myself to intercept Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) is: 4492 days From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 4/12/1981 ( I was the commander aboard the STS-1 Columbia spacecraft ) is: 6480 days From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) to 11/28/1976 ( I launched from Jupiter moon Callisto for Earth and home ) is: 6480 days From 2/12/1973 ( Operation Homecoming begins and I was one of the C-141A pilots transporting home the American POW's ) to 4/12/1981 ( I was the commander aboard the STS-1 Columbia spacecraft ) is: 2981 days From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) to 5/1/1967 ( my first flight by myself as jet pilot ) is: 2981 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1 STS-1 The first Space Shuttle mission, STS (Space Transportation System)-1, was launched April 12, 1981, and returned April 14. Space Shuttle Columbia orbited the earth 36 times in this 54.5-hour mission. Not only was this the first launch of the Space Shuttle, but it marked the first time that solid fuel rockets were used for a U.S. manned launch. It was also the first U.S. manned space vehicle launched without an unmanned powered test flight. During reentry, a protruding tile gap filler ducted hot gas into the right main landing gear well, which caused significant damage including buckling of the landing gear door. http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/00_32 Star Trek: The Motion Picture :32:45 from the album Duran Duran B-side "Late Bar" Released February 2, 1981 From 2/6/1964 ( I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist again on this day ) To 6/28/1978 ( premiere US film "Heaven Can Wait" ) is 5256 days From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) To 7/23/1973 ( I passed the Multistate Bar Examination ) is 5256 days From 6/28/1978 ( premiere US film "Heaven Can Wait" ) To 7/16/1981 ( my wife ) is 1114 days From 7/2/1976 ( I intercepted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system and set to work at diverting it ) To 7/21/1979 ( my wife Phoebe and I are married ) is 1114 days http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077663/ Heaven Can Wait (1978) Release Date: 28 June 1978 (USA) Plot: A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an over-anxious angel before he was supposed to die, comes back to life in the body of a recently-murdered millionaire. Warren Beatty ... Joe Pendleton From 12/14/1972 ( I was Apollo 17 Challenger astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) To 1/13/1979 ( premiere Japan film "Heaven Can Wait" ) is 2221 days From 11/15/1966 ( Gemini 12 spacecraft splashdown and I was Gemini 12 spacecraft astronaut ) To 12/14/1972 ( I was Apollo 17 Challenger astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) is 2221 days From 7/20/1969 ( I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut landing on Earth's moon ) to 1/13/1979 ( premiere Japan film "Heaven Can Wait" ) is 3 days, 3 weeks, 5 months, 9 years '33-59' ( my birth date US ) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077663/releaseinfo Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 3:12:41 AM Subject: Treason To: United States Department of Defense, Inspector General From: Kerry W. Burgess (official United States federal undercover identity, an identity completely compromised by forces hostile to the United States of America) I have reason to believe that domestic terrorists are actively planning to destroy with stolen nuclear weapons at least 1 American city. I have further reason to believe that subversive elements of the U.S. federal government are working to provide cover for those pending acts of domestic terrorism that I believe are being actively planned. I believe that George Bush, Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen, DOD General Counsel William J. Haynes II and others such as RNC chairman Robert M. Duncan, Nancy Pelosi, Rudolph W. Giuliani, Barack Obama and John Edwards of North Carolina, among others not named here, are actively providing cover for those past and pending acts of domestic terrorism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_mcveigh Timothy McVeigh McVeigh composed two letters to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the first titled "Constitutional Defenders" and the second "ATF Read." He denounced government agents as "fascist tyrants" and "storm troopers" and warned, "ATF, all you tyrannical mother fuckers will swing in the wind one day for your treasonous actions against the Constitution of the United States. Remember the Nuremberg War Trials. But...but...but...I only followed orders...Die, you spineless cowardice bastards." McVeigh also wrote a letter of recruitment to a customer named Steve Colbern, noting: “ A man with nothing left to lose is a very dangerous man and his energy/anger can be focused toward a common/righteous goal. What I'm asking you to do, then, is sit back and be honest with yourself. Do you have kids/wife? Would you back out at the last minute to care for the family? Are you interested in keeping your firearms for their current/future monetary value, or would you drag that '06 through rock, swamp and cactus...to get off the needed shot? In short, I'm not looking for talkers, I'm looking for fighters...And if you are a fed, think twice. Think twice about the Constitution you are supposedly enforcing (isn't "enforcing freedom" an oxymoron?) and think twice about catching us with our guard down – you will lose just like Degan did – and your family will lose. From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) To 11/25/1986 ( funeral service for me and my Missing In Action status in Africa changed to Killed In Action ) is 13232 days 13232 = 6616 + 6616 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 4/14/1977 ( date hijacked from me:I returned to Earth after successfully diverting the comet in the outer solar system ) is 6616 days From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) to 6/8/1984 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Gremlins" starring my wife as "Kate Beringer" ) is 5 days, 9 months, 33 years '59-33' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) To 6/8/1984 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Gremlins" starring my wife as "Kate Beringer" ) is 12332 days 12332 = 6166 + 6166 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) To 1/19/1976 ( date hijacked from me:U.S. congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 General of the Armies of the United States applies to me personally and professionally ) is 6166 days From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) To 6/18/1976 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Midway" ) is 9420 days 9420 = 4710 + 4710 From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 6/7/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Saturn moon Phoebe and the Saturn moon Phoebe territory belongs to me ) is 4710 days http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000569 REYNOLDS, Thomas M., (1950 - ) REYNOLDS, Thomas M., a Representative from New York; born in Belfonte, Centre County, Pa., September 3, 1950 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_M._Reynolds Thomas M. Reynolds Thomas M. Reynolds (born September 3, 1950), commonly known as Tom Reynolds, is a politician from the U.S. state of New York, currently representing the state's 26th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. The district includes suburban Buffalo and Rochester as well as many rural communities. Reynolds was chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the official Republican House campaign organization, for the 2006 election cycle. Reynolds served as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2003 to 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Republican_Congressional_Committee National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC is always chaired by a Republican member of the House, who may serve up to two consecutive terms. The current chair is Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma. Recent former chairmen include Rep. Bill Paxon (1994-98), Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia (1998-2002) and Tom Reynolds (2002-2006) From 12/25/1968 ( I was Apollo 8 spacecraft astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) to 6/8/1984 ( premiere US film "Gremlins" starring my wife as "Kate Beringer" ) is: 5644 days From 2/6/1964 ( I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist again on this day ) to 7/21/1979 ( my wife Phoebe and I are married ) is: 5644 days From 12/25/1968 ( I was Apollo 8 spacecraft astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) to 6/8/1984 ( premiere US film "Gremlins" starring my wife as "Kate Beringer" )(Friday) is: 5644 days 5644 = 2822 + 2822 From 7/23/1973 ( I passed the Multistate Bar Examination ) to 4/14/1981 ( I was the commander aboard the STS-1 Columbia spacecraft ) is: 2822 days From 5/21/1969 ( I am Princeton University Medical Doctor degree graduate ) to 6/8/1984 ( premiere US film "Gremlins" starring my wife as "Kate Beringer" )(Friday) is: 5497 days 5497 = 1 + 2748 + 2748 From 5/21/1969 ( I am Princeton University Medical Doctor degree graduate ) to 11/28/1976 ( I launched from the Jupiter moon Callisto for Earth and home ) is: 2748 days http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087363/ Release Date: 8 June 1984 (USA) Phoebe Cates ... Kate Beringer From 11/2/1975 ( I launched from Earth by myself to intercept Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) to 6/3/1983 ( premiere US film "WarGames" ) is: 2770 days 2770 = 1385 + 1385 From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 5/1/1967 ( my first flight by myself as a jet pilot ) is: 1385 days From 5/1/1982 ( my graduation and commissioning U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982 ) to 6/3/1983 ( premiere US film "WarGames" ) is: 398 days 398 = 199 + 199 From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 1/31/1964 ( I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist on this day ) is: 199 days http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/ Release Date: 3 June 1983 (USA) Tagline: Is it a game, or is it real? Plot Outline: A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III. Barry Corbin ... General Jack Beringer From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) To 11/25/1986 ( funeral service for me and my Missing In Action status in Africa changed to Killed In Action ) is 13232 days 13232 = 6616 + 6616 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 4/14/1977 ( date hijacked from me:I returned to Earth after successfully diverting the comet in the outer solar system ) is 6616 days From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) to 6/8/1984 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Gremlins" starring my wife as "Kate Beringer" ) is 5 days, 9 months, 33 years '59-33' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) To 6/8/1984 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Gremlins" starring my wife as "Kate Beringer" ) is 12332 days 12332 = 6166 + 6166 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) To 1/19/1976 ( date hijacked from me:U.S. congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 General of the Armies of the United States applies to me personally and professionally ) is 6166 days From 9/3/1950 ( Thomas M. Reynolds is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) To 6/18/1976 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Midway" ) is 9420 days 9420 = 4710 + 4710 From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 6/7/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Saturn moon Phoebe and the Saturn moon Phoebe territory belongs to me ) is 4710 days http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000569 REYNOLDS, Thomas M., (1950 - ) REYNOLDS, Thomas M., a Representative from New York; born in Belfonte, Centre County, Pa., September 3, 1950 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_M._Reynolds Thomas M. Reynolds Thomas M. Reynolds (born September 3, 1950), commonly known as Tom Reynolds, is a politician from the U.S. state of New York, currently representing the state's 26th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. The district includes suburban Buffalo and Rochester as well as many rural communities. Reynolds was chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the official Republican House campaign organization, for the 2006 election cycle. Reynolds served as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2003 to 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_racket Protection racket A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a powerful entity or individual coerces other less powerful entities or individuals to pay protection money which allegedly serves to purchase "protection" services against various external threats. Those who do not buy into the protection plan are often targeted by criminals existing inside or outside of the organization. These crimes are typically thought to originate from the organization itself. When a business refuses to pay for protection, word is put out that they are outside of the local organization's protection (these organizations often exist in the absence of a trusted police force) and that the business in question is therefore free game for freelance criminals or the organization itself. The protection money is typically collected by a "bag man". Although the organization might be particularly coercive in obtaining protection money, it is usually careful to shelter its "mark" from attacks by competitor organizations that similarly attempt to solicit or threaten the targeted individuals or businesses. Disputes between organizations concerning territory consequently arise from two competing predators attempting to extort from the same "clients." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_mcveigh Timothy McVeigh McVeigh composed two letters to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the first titled "Constitutional Defenders" and the second "ATF Read." He denounced government agents as "fascist tyrants" and "storm troopers" and warned, "ATF, all you tyrannical mother fuckers will swing in the wind one day for your treasonous actions against the Constitution of the United States. Remember the Nuremberg War Trials. But...but...but...I only followed orders...Die, you spineless cowardice bastards." McVeigh also wrote a letter of recruitment to a customer named Steve Colbern, noting: “ A man with nothing left to lose is a very dangerous man and his energy/anger can be focused toward a common/righteous goal. What I'm asking you to do, then, is sit back and be honest with yourself. Do you have kids/wife? Would you back out at the last minute to care for the family? Are you interested in keeping your firearms for their current/future monetary value, or would you drag that '06 through rock, swamp and cactus...to get off the needed shot? In short, I'm not looking for talkers, I'm looking for fighters...And if you are a fed, think twice. Think twice about the Constitution you are supposedly enforcing (isn't "enforcing freedom" an oxymoron?) and think twice about catching us with our guard down – you will lose just like Degan did – and your family will lose. From 2/17/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy SEAL ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is enemy combatant and violent criminal against the U.S. federal government ) is 15933 days '1-59-33' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 3/30/1981 ( U.S. President Ronald Wilson Reagan shot and wounded in near-fatal assassination attempt ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is enemy combatant and violent criminal against the U.S. federal government ) is 10048 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 1/18/1991 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Flight of the Intruder" ) is 10048 days http://www.georgebushfoundation.org/articles/calendar_of_events&m=10&y=2008&pageid=6 Thu, October 02 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum presents this classic film which begins at 7:00 pm in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. From 5/12/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy aviator ) to 8/15/2003 ( George Bush is enemy combatant and violent criminal against the U.S. federal government ) is 3 days, 459 months '34-59' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) From 1/21/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing on planet Mars and my documented and lawful exclusive claim to the territory of planet Mars ) To 8/15/2003 ( George Bush is enemy combatant and violent criminal against the U.S. federal government ) is 10068 days 10068 = 5034 + 5034 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 12/14/1972 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 17 Challenger astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) is 5034 days http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/museum/exhibits.php?year=2003 Keith Ferris August 15, 2003 to January 4, 2004 Flight has changed our perception of the world. Keith Ferris has changed our perception of the world of aviation in his paintings. The Art of Keith Ferris pulls the viewer into, over, under and in airplanes dating back to the 1930's. An early fascination with the airframe and engine that make flight possible allowed Ferris to create an adventure for all to enjoy. [ Racketeering Mob Organization Bush Library actively instigates coup d'etat and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Bush Library employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ] http://www.cswap.com/1991/Flight_of_the_Intruder/cap/en/2_Parts/a/00_40 :02:27 Shitter posted a strike. From 2/8/1976 ( premiere US film "Taxi Driver" ) To 4/16/1999 ( George Bush is enemy combatant and violent criminal against the U.S. federal government ) is 8468 days From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 5/10/1982 ( date hijacked from me:Duran Duran "Rio" including "The Chauffeur" ) is 8468 days http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/museum/exhibits.php?year=1999 April 16, 1999 to April 22, 1999 This exhibit is a 240-foot replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. [ Racketeering Mob Organization Bush Library actively instigates coup d'etat and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Bush Library employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxi_Driver Taxi Driver Release date(s) 8 February 1976 (US) Taxi Driver is a 1976 film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The movie is set in early post–Vietnam Era New York City and stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster Travis Bickle (De Niro), who claims to be an honorably discharged Marine and Vietnam War veteran, is a lonely and depressed young man of 26. His origins are unknown, although it is likely that he is from the Midwest. He sends his parents cards, lying about his life and saying he works with the Secret Service. He settles in Manhattan where he becomes a night time taxi driver due to chronic insomnia. Bickle spends his restless days in seedy porn theaters and works 12 or 14 hour shifts during the evening and night time hours carrying passengers among all five boroughs of New York City. From 5/21/1969 ( I am Princeton University Medical Doctor degree graduate ) to 5/10/1982 ( Duran Duran "Rio" ) is: 4737 days From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 7/4/1976 ( I successfully diverted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) is: 4737 days From 12/25/1968 ( I was Apollo 8 spacecraft astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) to 5/10/1982 ( Duran Duran "Rio" ) is: 4884 days From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 11/28/1976 ( I launched from the Jupiter moon Callisto for Earth and home ) is: 4884 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_%28album%29 Studio album by Duran Duran Released May 10, 1982 "Hold Back The Rain" Released November 1, 1982 (UK) "Rio" is a hit single from the album Rio by Duran Duran, and one of their most recognizable songs and music videos. "Ever since, people think we spend all our time riding around in silk suits, on yachts, getting wet." -- Nick Rhodes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauffeur Chauffeur A chauffeur is one who drives an automobile as a job. While the term may refer to anybody who drives for a living, it usually implies a driver of a luxury sedan http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pilot One who operates or is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight. http://vnasa.net/jargon.htm JAG Jargon Have you ever thought at times that Harm is speaking a "foreign language"? The definitions below may help you understand some of the terminology used in the armed services. Driver: pilot, as in "eagle driver" or "tomcat driver". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-14_Tomcat F-14 Tomcat Unit cost US$38 million in 1998 The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable geometry wing aircraft. The F-14 was the United States Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor and tactical reconnaissance platform from 1974 to 2006. Crew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauffeur Chauffeur A chauffeur is one who drives an automobile as a job. While the term may refer to anybody who drives for a living, it usually implies a driver of a luxury sedan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-14_Tomcat Unit cost US$38 million in 1998 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pilot One who operates or is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Homecoming Operation Homecoming Operation Homecoming was a series of diplomatic negotiations that in January 1973 made possible the return of 591 American prisoners of war held by North Vietnam. On Feb. 12, 1973, three C-141A transports flew to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one C-9A aircraft was sent to Saigon, South Vietnam to pick up released prisoners of war. The first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war left Hanoi in a C-141A, later known as the "Hanoi Taxi" and now in a museum. From February 12 to April 4, there were 54 C-141 missions flying out of Hanoi, bringing the former POWs home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoi_Taxi Hanoi Taxi Hanoi Taxi is a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter strategic airlift aircraft (serial number 66-0177) that was in service with the United States Air Force and became famous for bringing back the first returned prisoners of war in Operation Homecoming. From 2/8/1976 ( premiere US film "Taxi Driver" ) To 4/16/1999 ( George Bush is enemy combatant and violent criminal against the U.S. federal government ) is 8468 days From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 5/10/1982 ( date hijacked from me:Duran Duran "Rio" including "The Chauffeur" ) is 8468 days http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/museum/exhibits.php?year=1999 April 16, 1999 to April 22, 1999 This exhibit is a 240-foot replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. [ Racketeering Mob Organization Bush Library actively instigates coup d'etat and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Bush Library employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ] http://www.cswap.com/1991/Flight_of_the_Intruder/cap/en/2_Parts/b/00_03 and using your own car for the getaway. Museum Facts The George Bush [ Fraudulent ] Presidential Library and Museum The George Bush [ Fraudulent ] Presidential Library and Museum is located on a ninety-acre site on the West Campus of Texas A&M University. The Library and Museum is situated on a plaza adjoining the Presidential Conference Center and the [ Fraudulent ] Texas A&M Academic Center. It operates under the [ Fraudulent ] administration of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955. Admission is $7.00 for adults; senior citizens and active/retired military is $6.00; groups of 20 or more with advanced reservations are $5.00, children 6-17 years old are $3.00, children under 6 are and Texas A&M and Blinn students with a valid ID are free, all other college students are $3.00. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/profit%20motive profit motive the desire for profit that motivates one to engage in business ventures. From 5/12/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy aviator ) to 11/6/1997 ( George Bush Presidential Library dedication is product of coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S federal government by foreign power as witnessed ) is: 11866 days 11866 = 5933 + 5933 '59-33' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 7/30/1971 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 15 Falcon astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) to 11/6/1997 ( George Bush Presidential Library dedication is product of coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S federal government by foreign power as witnessed ) is: 9596 days 9596 = 4798 + 4798 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 4/21/1972 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 16 Orion astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) is: 4798 days From 6/12/1924 ( George Bush is enemy combatant against the U.S. federal goverment and U.S.A. allies ) to 11/6/1997 ( George Bush Presidential Library dedication is product of coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S federal government by foreign power as witnessed ) is: 26810 days 26810 = 13405 + 13405 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) to 11/15/1995 ( Monica Lewinsky allegedly begins sexual relationship with the President of the United States ) is: 13405 days http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=2570672&date=19971106&query=bush+library Business: Thursday, November 06, 1997 Bush Leads Opening Tour Of His New Library Michael Graczyk AP COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Thousands gathered today to dedicate the new George Bush Presidential Library, as President Clinton applauded Bush for generous, valuable advice. "Whenever I called on President Bush, he was always there," Clinton said in his speech. "It's hard to express . . . what it means in a moment of difficulty to be able to call someone who first of all knows exactly what you're up against and, secondly, will tell you the truth. "He has done that time and time again." Bush, in turn, thanked Clinton, "who fair and square saw to it that I have a wonderful private life." From 2/17/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy SEAL ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 15933 days '1-59-33' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 3/30/1981 ( U.S. President Ronald Wilson Reagan shot and wounded in near-fatal assassination attempt ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 10048 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 1/18/1991 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Flight of the Intruder" ) is 10048 days http://www.georgebushfoundation.org/articles/calendar_of_events&m=10&y=2008&pageid=6 Thu, October 02 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum presents this classic film which begins at 7:00 pm in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. [ Racketeering Mob Organization Bush Library actively instigates coup d'etat and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Bush Library employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ] http://www.cswap.com/1991/Flight_of_the_Intruder/cap/en/2_Parts/a/00_12 By now you've been notified that Morgan is gone. He was killed over Vietnam flying a night strike and... I wish I could say that his death was necessary, :14:30 but... it wasn't. From 2/17/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy SEAL ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 15933 days '1-59-33' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 3/30/1981 ( U.S. President Ronald Wilson Reagan shot and wounded in near-fatal assassination attempt ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 10048 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 1/18/1991 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Flight of the Intruder" ) is 10048 days http://www.georgebushfoundation.org/articles/calendar_of_events&m=10&y=2008&pageid=6 Thu, October 02 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum presents this classic film which begins at 7:00 pm in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. From 2/17/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy SEAL ) To 8/29/2007 ( U.S. Air Force nuclear weapons incident ) is 15533 days From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) To 9/11/2001 ( New York City and Pentagon attacked with massive fatalities and destruction ) is 15533 days From 11/25/1986 ( funeral service for me and my Missing In Action status in Africa changed to Killed In Action ) To 8/29/2007 ( U.S. Air Force nuclear weapons incident ) is 7582 days 7582 = 3791 + 3791 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 7/20/1969 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut landing on Earth's moon ) is 3791 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_30th_2007_nuclear_weapons_incident 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident Date August 29–30, 2007 Location Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota and Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana Result Six nuclear warheads mishandled and unaccounted for or improperly secured for approximately 36 hours From 2/4/1947 ( James Danforth "Dan" Quayle actively supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 1/21/1953 ( EMP owner Paul Gardner Allen is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government and U.S.A. allies ) is: 2178 days From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me: my birth date US ) to 2/17/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy SEAL ) is: 2178 days From 2/4/1947 ( James Danforth "Dan" Quayle actively supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 3/24/1956 ( Steve Ballmer is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is: 3336 days From 3/24/1956 ( Steve Ballmer is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) to 5/12/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy aviator ) is: 3336 days From 2/4/1947 ( James Danforth "Dan" Quayle actively supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 12/24/1968 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 8 astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) is: 7994 days From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 1/20/1981 ( date hijacked from me:Ronald Wilson Reagan in office as President of United States of America ) is: 7994 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Quayle Dan Quayle James Danforth "Dan" Quayle (born February 4, 1947) was the forty-fourth Vice President of the United States under George H. W. Bush (1989–1993). Quayle is the only vice president (without having become president) to have a museum, The Dan Quayle Center and Museum in Huntington, Indiana. From 2/17/1965 ( date hijacked from me:I am active duty U.S. Navy SEAL ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 15933 days '1-59-33' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 3/30/1981 ( U.S. President Ronald Wilson Reagan shot and wounded in near-fatal assassination attempt ) To 10/2/2008 ( George Bush is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 10048 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 1/18/1991 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Flight of the Intruder" ) is 10048 days http://www.georgebushfoundation.org/articles/calendar_of_events&m=10&y=2008&pageid=6 Thu, October 02 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum presents this classic film which begins at 7:00 pm in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. [ Racketeering Mob Organization Bush Library actively instigates coup d'etat and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Bush Library employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ] http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/01_50 Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1:51:10 When that much matter and antimatter are brought together... oh, yes, we will indeed. http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=77189413555+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE PART I--CRIMES CHAPTER 115--TREASON, SEDITION, AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES Sec. 2381. Treason Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option Nuclear option The nuclear option, also called the constitutional option, is an attempt by the presiding officer of the United States Senate to end a filibuster by majority vote. Although it is not provided for in the formal rules of the Senate, the procedure is the subject of a 1957 parliamentary opinion and has been used on several occasions since. The term was coined by Senator Trent Lott (Republican of Mississippi) in 2005. The maneuver was brought to prominence in 2005 when then-Majority Leader Bill Frist (Republican of Tennessee) threatened its use to end Democratic-led filibusters of judicial nominees submitted by President George W. Bush. From 10/9/1941 ( Trent Lott actively supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) To 6/7/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Saturn moon Phoebe and the Saturn moon Phoebe territory belongs to me ) is 12660 days 12660 = 6330 + 6330 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 7/2/1976 ( date hijacked from me:I intercepted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system and set to work at diverting it ) is 6330 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Lott In office January 3, 1989 – December 18, 2007 Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. He has served in numerous leadership positions in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, including House Minority Whip, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, and Senate Minority Whip. Lott is the first person to have served as whip in both houses of Congress. On December 18, 2007, Lott resigned from the Senate to spend more time with family and pursue other job opportunities in the private sector, and ultimately became a Washington-based lobbyist. Lott's resignation from the Senate came just two days before the federal indictment of his brother-in-law trial lawyer Richard Scruggs.[2] Scruggs plead guilty to conspiring to bribe a Mississippi Judge by promising him a federal judgeship appointment using his influence over Lott. From 2/22/1952 ( William H. Frist actively supports coup d’état and subversive activities against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 2/6/1964 ( date hijacked from me:I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist again on this day ) is: 4367 days From 2/6/1964 ( date hijacked from me:I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist again on this day ) to 1/21/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing on planet Mars and my documented and lawful exclusive claim to the territory of planet Mars ) is: 4367 days From 2/22/1952 ( William H. Frist actively supports coup d’état and subversive activities against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 5/13/1987 ( my M.I.A. status in Africa ends and I am being transported to a U.S. military base for intensive care hospitalization ) is: 12864 days 12864 = 6432 + 6432 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 10/11/1976 ( date hijacked from me:U.S. Public Law 94-479 General of the Armies of the United States approved by U.S. President Gerald Ford and applies to me personally and professionally ) is: 6432 days From 2/22/1952 ( William H. Frist actively supports coup d’état and subversive activities against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 6/19/1968 ( date hijacked from me:my 1st Medal of Honor and I am U.S. military fighter jet ace during the Vietnam War ) is: 5962 days 5962 = 2981 + 2981 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 5/1/1967 ( date hijacked from me:my first flight by myself as jet pilot ) is: 2981 days From 2/22/1952 ( William H. Frist actively supports coup d’état and subversive activities against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 10/9/1971 ( date hijacked from me:I am board-certified surgeon as Dr. Thomas Henry Allyn Reagan, M.D. ) is: 7169 days 7169 = 1 + 3584 + 3584 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 12/24/1968 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 8 spacecraft astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) is: 3584 days http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000439 FRIST, William H., a Senator from Tennessee; born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn., on February 22, 1952 Senate Years of [ fraudulent ] Service: 1995-2007 From 10/5/1951 ( date hijacked from me:actress Karen Allen starring role 1981 film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and 1984 film "Starman" ) To 7/4/1976 ( date hijacked from me:I successfully diverted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) is 9039 days From 7/4/1976 ( date hijacked from me:I successfully diverted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) To 4/3/2001 ( "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing" as published is product of racketeering and violent activity to pirate my secret identity which has tremendous commercial value ) is 9039 days From 1/19/1976 ( date hijacked from me:U.S. congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 General of the Armies of the United States applies to me personally and professionally ) To 4/3/2001 ( "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing" as published is product of racketeering and violent activity to pirate my secret identity which has tremendous commercial value ) is 9206 days 9206 = 4603 + 4603 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) To 10/9/1971 ( date hijacked from me:I am board-certified surgeon as Dr. Thomas Henry Allyn Reagan, M.D. ) is 4603 days From 1/21/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing on planet Mars and my documented and lawful exclusive claim to the territory of planet Mars ) To 4/3/2001 ( "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing" as published is product of racketeering and violent activity to pirate my secret identity which has tremendous commercial value ) is 9204 days 9204 = 4602 + 4602 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 10/9/1971 ( date hijacked from me:I am board-certified surgeon as Dr. Thomas Henry Allyn Reagan, M.D. ) is 4602 days From 6/19/1968 ( date hijacked from me:my 1st Medal of Honor and I am U.S. military fighter jet ace during the Vietnam War ) To 4/3/2001 ( "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing" as published is product of racketeering and violent activity to pirate my secret identity which has tremendous commercial value ) is 11976 days 11976 = 5988 + 5988 From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 12/7/1979 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" ) is 5988 days http://www.amazon.com/American-Terrorist-Timothy-McVeigh-Oklahoma/dp/0060394072 American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing (Hardcover) by Lou Michel (Author), Dan Herbeck (Author) Publisher: Harper (April 3, 2001) ISBN-10: 0060394072 ISBN-13: 978-0060394073 From 4/23/1968 ( Timothy James McVeigh ) To 1/17/1986 ( date hijacked from me:premiere US film "Iron Eagle" ) is 6478 days From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) To 11/26/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Jupiter moon Callisto ) is 6478 days From 4/23/1968 ( Timothy James McVeigh ) to 11/25/1986 ( funeral service for me and my Missing In Action status in Africa changed to Killed In Action ) is: 6790 days 6790 = 3395 + 3395 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) to 6/19/1968 ( date hijacked from me:my 1st Medal of Honor and I am U.S. military fighter jet ace during Vietnam War ) is: 3395 days From 4/23/1968 ( Timothy James McVeigh ) to 4/12/1981 ( date hijacked from me:I was the commander aboard the STS-1 spacecraft Columbia ) is: 4737 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) to 7/4/1976 ( date hijacked from me:I successfully diverted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) is: 4737 days From 1/20/1930 ( date hijacked from me: Buzz Aldrin, NASA ) to 4/23/1968 ( Timothy James McVeigh ) is 3 days, 459 months '34-59' ( date hijacked from me: my birth date UK ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_mcveigh Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (aka Oklahoma City bomber April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001), was a former American soldier who was convicted of eleven United States federal offenses and ultimately executed as a result of his role in the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing. The bombing, which claimed 168 lives, was the deadliest act of terrorism within United States borders until the September 11, 2001 attacks and remains the deadliest incident of domestic terrorism in the United States. From 7/4/1976 ( date hijacked from me:I successfully diverted Comet Lucifer in the outer solar system ) to 4/19/1995 ( Oklahoma City bombing with many fatalities and massive destruction ) is: 6863 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) to 4/30/1982 ( date hijacked from me:my graduation and commissioning U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982 ) is: 6863 days From 11/26/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Jupiter moon Callisto ) to 4/19/1995 ( Oklahoma City bombing with many fatalities and massive destruction ) is: 6718 days 6718 = 3359 + 3359 '33-59' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist attack on April 19, 1995 aimed at the U.S. government in which the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in an office complex in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The attack claimed 168 lives and left over 800 injured. Shortly after the explosion, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer stopped 26-year-old Timothy McVeigh for driving without a license plate From 7/16/1932 ( Dick Thornburgh actively supports racketeering and violent activity to pirate my secret identity which has tremendous commercial value ) To 10/5/1951 ( date hijacked from me:actress Karen Allen starring role 1981 film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and 1984 film "Starman" ) is 7020 days 7020 = 3510 + 3510 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) To 10/11/1968 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 7 spacecraft astronaut ) is 3510 days From 7/16/1932 ( Dick Thornburgh actively supports racketeering and violent activity to pirate my secret identity which has tremendous commercial value ) To 5/22/1969 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 10 "Snoopy" spacecraft astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) is 13459 days '1-34-59' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) http://www.library.pitt.edu/thornburgh/biography.html dick thornburgh Dick Thornburgh served as Governor of Pennsylvania, Attorney General of the United States under two presidents and the highest-ranking American at the United Nations during a public career which spanned over twenty five years. He is currently counsel to the international law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP, resident in its Washington, D.C. office. Thornburgh, born July 16, 1932 Dick Thornburgh’s autobiography, Where the Evidence Leads, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in September 2003. [ Racketeering Mob Organization Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP actively instigates insurrection and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ] From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 8/21/1968 ( John Timothy Griffin ) is: 3459 days '34-59' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Timothy_Griffin Timothy Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968), the current interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. He received attention in the 2006 Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy when he was chosen to replace US Attorney Bud Cummins. http://www.cswap.com/1976/The_Enforcer/cap/en/25fps/a/01_01 He was busted out on a Section Eight. From 7/29/1958 ( date hijacked from me:NASA formed ) to 5/27/1968 ( George Bush, sex offender, providing material support to coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S federal government by foreign power ) is: 3590 days 3590 = 1795 + 1795 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 1/31/1964 ( date hijacked from me:I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist on this day ) is: 1795 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush_military_service_controversy George W. Bush military service controversy The military service of George W. Bush was an issue in the 2000 presidential campaign and again in the 2004 presidential campaign. The controversy centers on the questions of how George W. Bush, now the President of the United States, came to be a member of the Texas Air National Guard, why he lost his flight status, and whether he fulfilled the requirements of his military service contract during the Vietnam War. Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968 By regulation, National Guard pilots were required to take and pass an annual physical in order to remain in flight status, in the three months prior to a pilot's birthday (in Bush's case, July 6). For reasons that are unclear, Bush apparently chose not to take this mandatory physical examination in mid-1972, thus ending his pilot's career. http://www.cswap.com/1976/The_Enforcer/cap/en/25fps/a/01_28 There's one other reason why he might pick the same rooftop. [ George Bush & CNN actively instigate illegal & violent activity in support of the piracy of my secret identity which has tremendous commercial ] http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/11/bush.skydive.ap/index.html updated 4:22 p.m. EST, Sun November 11, 2007 Bush celebrated the grand reopening of his presidential museum yesterday with a surprise jump. From 7/20/1969 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut landing on Earth's moon ) to 11/10/2007 ( George Bush is enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government & George Bush Presidential Library is product of coup d’état and subversive activities against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) is 3 weeks, 459 months '34-59' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) From 6/27/1994 ( I am the pilot and the only survivor of a plane crash that experienced many fatalities on that aircraft after the external mounted rocket-launched space satellite exploded under that aircraft ) To 11/10/2007 ( George Bush is enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government & George Bush Presidential Library is product of coup d’état and subversive activities against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) is 4884 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 11/28/1976 ( date hijacked from me:I launched from the Jupiter moon Callisto for Earth ) is 4884 days http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/information/press.php?id=127 Media Advisory-Grand Reopening Tickets College Station, TX - Tickets for the grand reopening of the George Bush [ Fraudulent ] Presidential Library and Museum are now available to the public. Schedule 10:00 a.m. Parking at Reed Arena opens and continuous shuttle service to the museum begins. 11:00 a.m. Ribbon cutting ceremony begins 11:45 a.m. Public lunch on the Museum grounds 11:45 a.m. [ Fraudulent ] Museum opens to the public [ Racketeering Mob Organization Bush Library actively instigates coup d'etat and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Bush Library employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ] From 2/6/1964 ( date hijacked from me:I was Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist again on this day ) To 6/1/1980 ( Ted Turner actively instigates insurrection and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with criminal accomplices of all CNN employees, lawyers, and managers of any capacity ) is 5960 days 5960 = 2980 + 2980 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 5/1/1967 ( date hijacked from me:my first flight by myself as jet pilot ) is 2980 days From 7/16/1963 ( another threat sent to me against my wife ) To 6/1/1980 ( Ted Turner actively instigates insurrection and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with criminal accomplices of all CNN employees, lawyers, and managers of any capacity ) is 6165 days From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 1/19/1976 ( date hijacked from me:U.S. congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 General of the Armies of the United States applies to me personally and professionally ) is 6165 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN Launched June 1, 1980 Owned by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Cable News Network, usually referred to by its initialism CNN, is a major English language Television Network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certiorari Certiorari Certiorari ( is a legal term in Roman, English, Philippine and American law referring to a type of writ seeking judicial review. Certiorari ("to be searched") is the present passive infinitive of Latin certiorare, ("to search"). A Writ of Certiorari currently refers to an order by a higher court directing a lower court to send the record in a given case for review. United States law Federal courts In the United States, certiorari is the writ that an appellate court issues to a lower court in order to review its judgment for legal error and review, where no appeal is available as a matter of right. Since the Judiciary Act of 1925, most cases cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court as a matter of right; therefore, a party who wants that court to review a decision of a federal or state court files a "petition for writ of certiorari" in the Supreme Court. If the Court grants the petition (see Procedures of the Supreme Court of the United States), the case is scheduled for the filing of briefs and for oral argument. Four of the nine Justices are required to grant a writ of certiorari, referred to as the "rule of four." The great majority of cases brought to the Supreme Court are denied certiorari (approximately 7,500 petitions are presented each year, but just 80 to 150 are typically granted), because the Supreme Court is generally careful to choose only cases in which it has jurisdiction and which it considers sufficiently important (especially cases involving deep constitutional questions) to merit the use of its limited resources. See also Cert pool. From 4/14/1988 ( minefield damage to U.S. Navy warship USS Samuel B. Roberts FFG-58 and crew and I was onboard that warship as a U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. ) to 7/19/2005 ( United States Supreme Court nomination to further support coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. government by foreign power ) is: 6305 days From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) to 6/7/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Saturn moon Phoebe and the Saturn moon Phoebe territory belongs to me ) is: 6305 days From 9/25/1951 ( date hijacked from me:actor Mark Hamill starring character "Star Wars" movies ) to 7/19/2005 ( United States Supreme Court nomination to further support coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. government by foreign power ) is: 19656 days 19656 = 9828 + 9828 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 1/28/1986 ( space shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff killing all astronauts onboard Challenger spacecraft ) is: 9828 days http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=webroberts19&date=20050719&query=supreme+court+roberts Nation & World: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 Bush chooses appeal judge John Roberts Jr. for Supreme Court By Deb Riechmann The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Bush named federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. to a seat on the Supreme Court today http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Samuel_B._Roberts_(FFG-58) USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) is one of the final ships in the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates (FFG). The ship was severely damaged by an Iranian mine in 1988 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Roberts John G. Roberts John Glover Roberts, Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is the seventeenth and current Chief Justice of the United States. Appointed by Republican President George W. Bush From 4/14/1988 ( U.S. Navy warship USS Samuel B. Roberts FFG-58 attacked and I was onboard that ship as a U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. ) to 7/19/2005 ( United States Supreme Court nomination to further support coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. government by foreign power ) is: 6305 days From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me: my birth date UK ) to 6/7/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Saturn moon Phoebe and the Saturn moon Phoebe territory belongs to me ) is: 6305 days From 9/25/1951 ( date hijacked from me:actor Mark Hamill starring character "Star Wars" movies ) to 7/19/2005 ( United States Supreme Court nomination to further support coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. government by foreign power ) is: 19656 days 19656 = 9828 + 9828 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 1/28/1986 ( space shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff killing all astronauts onboard Challenger spacecraft ) is: 9828 days http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=webroberts19&date=20050719&query=supreme+court+roberts Nation & World: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 Bush chooses appeal judge John Roberts Jr. for Supreme Court By Deb Riechmann The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Bush named federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. to a seat on the Supreme Court today http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/premeditation the act of planning or plotting something in advance, especially an intentional crime http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alibi alibi Law. the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an alleged offense was committed. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/propaganda propaganda information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. Material disseminated by the advocates or opponents of a doctrine or cause: wartime propaganda. information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_stacking Card stacking Card stacking is a propaganda technique that seeks to manipulate audience perception of an issue by emphasizing one side and repressing another, for example by creating media events that emphasize a certain view, by using one-sided testimonial, or by making sure critics are not heard. Often used in persuasive speeches. The term originated from the magician's gimmick of "stacking the deck", which involves presenting a deck of cards that appears to have been randomly shuffled but which is, in fact, arranged in a preconceived order. The magician knows the order and so is able to control the outcome of the trick; the audience is unaware of the gimmick. In poker a deck can be 'stacked' so certain hands are dealt to certain players. The phenomenon is subject-matter neutral and has wide application. Whenever a broad spectrum of facts exist, appearances can be rigged by highlighting some information and ignoring other information. Card stacking can be a tool of advocacy groups or those with a specific agenda. For example, a crime story focusing on a particular ethnic group, without providing proper comparative data, could be considered card stacking. Card stacking especially becomes a problem in more objective writing such as news stories and scholarly works. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_cards House of cards Building a house of cards (also known as a card tower) is a pastime involving the stacking of playing cards on top of each other in order to form a structure. House of cards is also an expression for a structure or argument built on a shaky foundation or one that will collapse if a necessary (but possibly overlooked or unappreciated) element is removed. From 9/11/2001 ( New York City and Pentagon attacked with massive fatalities and destruction ) to 9/5/2005 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr. is enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 3 years, 359 days '33-59' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 7/21/1969 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) To 9/5/2005 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr. is enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 13195 days From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 4/19/1995 ( Oklahoma City bombing with many fatalities and massive destruction ) is 13195 days From 9/15/1975 ( date hijacked from me:Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" including "Have A Cigar" ) to 9/5/2005 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr. is enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 3 weeks, 359 months '33-59' ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) From 11/26/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing Jupiter moon Callisto ) To 9/5/2005 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr. is enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ) is 10510 days 10510 = 5255 + 5255 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) To 7/23/1973 ( date hijacked from me:I passed the Multistate Bar Examination ) is 5255 days http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=65036&st=&st1= Remarks Announcing the Nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., To Be Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court September 5, 2005 From 8/5/1930 ( date hijacked from me:NASA Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong ) to 1/27/1955 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr., actively and cowardly supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. government by foreign power and is a pending U.S. federal convict ) is: 8941 days From 1/27/1955 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr. actively and cowardly supports coup d’état against the U.S. government by foreign power and is a pending U.S. federal convict ) to 7/21/1979 ( date hijacked from me:my wife Phoebe and I are married ) is: 8941 days From 1/27/1955 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr., actively and cowardly supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. government by foreign power and is a pending U.S. federal convict ) to 4/20/1999 ( Columbine massacre ) is: 16154 days 16154 = 8077 + 8077 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) to 4/14/1981 ( date hijacked from me: I was the commander aboard the STS-1 spacecraft Columbia ) is: 8077 days From 1/27/1955 ( John Glover Roberts, Jr. actively and cowardly supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. government by foreign power and is a pending U.S. federal convict ) to 11/2/1975 ( date hijacked from me:I launched from Earth by myself to intercept the comet in the outer solar system ) is: 7584 days 7584 = 3792 + 3792 From 3/4/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date UK ) to 7/21/1969 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) is: 3792 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glover_Roberts%2C_Jr. Hon. John Glover Roberts, Jr., AB, JD, (born January 27, 1955) is the seventeenth and current Chief Justice of the United States. Before joining the Supreme Court on September 29, 2005, Roberts was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for two years. http://www.nndb.com/people/746/000099449/ AKA John Glover Roberts, Jr. Born: 27-Jan-1955 Executive summary: US Supreme Court Chief Justice George W. Bush nominated Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor in a televised broadcast on 19 July 2005. Roberts was sworn in on 29 September 2005. [ John Glover Roberts, Jr. is a violent criminal and enemy combatant against the U.S. federal government ] http://my.excite.com/tv/prog.jsp?id=MV000041940000&sid=31556&sn=AMCP&st=200809272000&cn=50 The Enforcer (1976) 50 AMCP: Saturday, September 27 8:00 PM 1976, R, **1/2, 01:36, Color, English, United States, ``Dirty Harry'' Callahan (Clint Eastwood) and his female partner (Tyne Daly) hunt rocket-armed radicals holding the mayor on Alcatraz. Cast: Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, John Mitchum, DeVeren Bookwalter, John Crawford, Albert Popwell Director(s): James Fargo Producer(s): Robert Daley http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074483/ Release Date: 22 December 1976 (USA) Clint Eastwood ... Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan http://www.cswap.com/1976/The_Enforcer/cap/en/25fps/a/00_27 This is the final stage in the examination. From 2/21/1946 ( Tyne Daly ) to 5/12/1965 ( I am active duty U.S. Navy aviator ) is: 7020 days 7020 = 3510 + 3510 From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) to 10/11/1968 ( I was Apollo 7 spacecraft astronaut ) is: 3510 days http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002033/ Date of Birth: 21 February 1946 The Enforcer (1976) .... Insp. Kate Moore "Magnum, P.I." .... Kate Sullivan (1 episode, 1982) - The Jororo Kill (1982) TV episode .... Kate Sullivan From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 8/8/1975 ( U.S. Congress authorized women to attend service academies ) is: 4406 days 4406 = 2203 + 2203 From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) to 3/14/1965 ( I am active duty Central Intelligence Agency officer ) is: 2203 days From 11/11/1966 ( I was Gemini 12 spacecraft astronaut ) to 8/8/1975 ( U.S. Congress authorized women to attend service academies ) is: 3192 days 3192 = 1596 + 1596 From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date ) to 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) is: 1596 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Academy United States Naval Academy On August 8, 1975 Congress authorized women to attend service academies. The class of 1980 is inducted with 81 women midshipmen. In 1980 the USNA included Hispanic/Latino as a racial category for demographic purposes. There were four women who identified themselves as Hispanics in the Class of 1981. These women become the first Hispanic females to graduate from the academy. They were Carmel Gilliland who had the highest class rank, Lilia Ramirez, who retired with the rank of Commander, Ina Marie Gomez and Trinora Pinto. In 1979 "June Week" was renamed "Commissioning Week" because graduation had moved to May http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/00_50 Star Trek: The Motion Picture :50:04 I'm actually pleased to see you. :51:48 It's how we all feel, Mr. Spock. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_amnesia Source amnesia Source amnesia is an explicit memory disorder in which someone can recall certain information, but do not know where or how it was obtained. The disorder is particularly episodic, where source or contextual information surrounding facts are severely distorted or unable to be recalled. Daniel Schacter and Endel Tulving have each proposed that memory for facts is differentiated from memory for context. Source amnesia has the ability to alter one's confidence in their memory encoded in differing conditions (i.e. conscious state or in dreaming), as in memory distrust syndrome, an inclusive disorder. As source amnesia prohibits recollection of the context specific information surrounding facts in experienced events, there is also the inclusive case of confusion concerning the content or context of events, a highly attributable factor to confabulation in brain disease. Such confusion was termed memory distrust syndrome by Gudjonsson and MacKeith. A condition similar to source amnesia sometimes occurs in dreams, when the dreamer has some knowledge about details of the imaginary environment but has no idea where they learned this information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion Emotion An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. It is a prime determinant of the sense of subjective well-being and appears to play a central role in many human activities. As a result of this generality, the subject has been explored in many, if not all of the human sciences and art forms. There is much controversy concerning how emotions are defined and classified. http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/00_54 Star Trek: The Motion Picture :54:09 The Kolinahr is also a discipline you broke to join us. :54:40 Will you, please, sit down? [ Bill Gates & Microsoft actively instigates insurrection and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government ] http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/speeches/1999/02-18Cohen.aspx Remarks by Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Bill Gates Thursday, February 18, 1999 Redmond, Washington DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN: Thank you, Bill. (Applause.) Bill, thank you very much. And Bob Herbold, thank you for inviting me to come here today. (The next comment refers to the former Army officer who is now in MS training) I had mixed emotions about you leaving the military and coming to work here. (Laughter.) And I'll tell you, I gave you mild applause. (Laughter.) I might also point out that we have some seats that say, "Reserved for the Cohen staff," that anyone who does not want to stand up can use. Though I like the notion of having standing room only -- (laughter) But if you'd like to have a seat, we have plenty of room up front. Coming to the Microsoft campus was something of a unique experience, as we landed in a big helicopter and I was commenting that they probably think this is "Red Dawn" -- (laughter) -- or an invasion by aliens, coming in this large helicopter. From 6/25/1986 ( Proclamation 5506—National Homelessness Awareness Week, 1986 ) to 4/2/2007 ( Racketeering Mob Organization Leader Paul Allen actively instigates insurrection and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government with all Paul Allen employees and managers of any capacity as criminal accomplices ) is: 7586 days 7586 = 3793 + 3793 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me:my birth date US ) to 7/21/1969 ( date hijacked from me:I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) is: 3793 days http://blog.oregonlive.com/playbooksandprofits/2007/04/rose_garden_deal_done.html Rose Garden deal done Posted by Helen Jung April 02, 2007 14:03PM Vulcan and Portland Arena Management have completed the deal for Vulcan to acquire the Rose Garden arena. Terms weren't disclosed. Read the full release here. UPDATE: Tod Leiweke, president of Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, says that overall Vulcan approves of the job that Global Spectrum has done in managing the Rose Garden. They're in preliminary talks to see if they can work out a longterm deal with them. http://blog.oregonlive.com/playbooksandprofits/FINAL%20-%20Rose%20Garden%20Acquisition%20%2800155471%29.PDF FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE VULCAN INC. COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF ROSE GARDEN ARENA PORTLAND, April 2, 2007 – Vulcan Inc. today announced the completion of the acquisition of the Rose Garden Arena pursuant to a purchase agreement entered into with Portland Arena Management LLC (PAM), under which an affiliate of Vulcan will acquire ownership of PAM, which owns, among other things, the Rose Garden Arena. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Vulcan Inc. is owned by Paul G. Allen, who also owns Trail Blazers Inc. "This is a major milestone and a positive step for the franchise,” said Paul Allen. From 6/25/1986 ( Proclamation 5506—National Homelessness Awareness Week, 1986 ) to 4/2/2007 ( Rebecca Griego murdered ) is: 7586 days 7586 = 3793 + 3793 From 3/3/1959 ( date hijacked from me: my birth date US ) to 7/21/1969 ( date hijacked from me: I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut walking on Earth's moon ) is: 3793 days http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003648679_uwshooting03m.html Tuesday, April 3, 2007 Months of stalking end with 2 dead at UW Rebecca Griego called her ex-boyfriend Jonathan Rowan "a psycho from the past." He wouldn't stop calling her office at the University of Washington. When she no longer would answer the phone, he harassed her sister and threatened to kidnap her dogs. On Monday morning, Rowan found Griego alone in her fourth-floor office in Gould Hall and fatally shot her before killing himself. From 11/14/1954 ( Condoleezza Rice actively supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 1/21/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing on planet Mars and my documented and lawful exclusive claim to the territory of planet Mars ) is: 7738 days From 1/21/1976 ( date hijacked from me:my first landing on planet Mars and my documented and lawful exclusive claim to the territory of planet Mars ) to 3/29/1997 ( Monica Lewinsky providing material support to insurrection and subversive activites against the U.S. federal government ) is: 7738 days From 11/14/1954 ( Condoleezza Rice actively supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ) to 5/13/1987 ( date hijacked from me:my M.I.A. status in Africa ends and I am being transported to a U.S. military base for intensive care hospitalization ) is: 11868 days 11868 = 5934 + 5934 '59-34' ( date hijacked from me: my birth date UK ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleeza_Rice Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) is the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush to hold the office. Condoleezza Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first [ fraudulent ] term (2001–2005). During George W. Bush's [ fraudulent ] 2000 U.S. Presidential election campaign, Rice took a one-year leave of absence from Stanford University to help work as his foreign policy advisor. The group of advisors she led called itself The Vulcans [ Condoleezza Rice actively supports coup d’état and subversive activity against the U.S. federal government by foreign power ] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_(Star_Trek) Vulcan (Star Trek) Vulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who hail from the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species encountered by Humans, and later became one of the founding members of the United Federation of Planets. Vulcans are featured in all six Star Trek series, four of which featured a Vulcan as a main character. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/quotes Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) [in Vulcan] Vulcan master: Our ancestors cast out their animal passions here on these hands, saving our race through the attainment of Kolinahr. Vulcan master: Kolinahr - through which all emotion is renounced and shed. Vulcan master: You have labored long, Spock, and proved yourself worthy to receive from us this symbol of total logic. [Spock rejects the Kolinahr pendant] Vulcan master: Your thoughts... give them to me. [she mind-melds with Spock] Vulcan master: I sense this consciousness calling to you from space... your human blood is touched by it. [pulls away] Vulcan master: You have not yet achieved Kolinahr. He must search elsewhere for his answer. He will not find it with us. Live long and prosper, Spock. From 3/16/1909 ( Norman Stuart ) to 6/19/1968 ( my 1st Medal of Honor and I am U.S. military fighter jet ace during the Vietnam War ) is 3 days, 3 months, 59 years '33-59' ( my birth date US ) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0835821/ Date of Birth: 16 March 1909 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) .... Vulcan master http://www.cswap.com/1994/Star_Trek:_Generations/cap/en/25fps/a/00_38 is very important to you, isn't it? :40:23 What? ( according to voice dialog and subtitles from DVD movie ) Oh. ( according to voice dialog from DVD movie ) From being a boy, I can remember hearing about the family line. :40:29 The Picard who fought at Trafalgar. The Picard who won the Nobel Prize. :40:35 the first Martian colonies. JOURNAL ARCHIVE: 10/15/07 6:45 PM I just had a very detailed dream that I won't be able to fully articulate. I was in a darkened warehouse but that wasn't the first place I had visited. The warehouse represented certain ownership of mine and in that case, I associate that visit with my ownership of "Star Trek: Voyager." I think that because it is as though someone had said I am the owner as I was in that warehouse. I also found myself thinking that it was a spooky warehouse so I turned on all the lights even though at first I did not find it spooky. There were people outside talking about I knew they were approaching and there is something about that I do not understand now that I am awake. But the relevant detail is that I showed someone that came into the warehouse an EE-PROM device that was on one of the workbench's. At some point, someone was saying something about that is how I did it. From 12/25/1968 ( I was Apollo 8 spacecraft astronaut in orbit of Earth's moon ) to 5/1/1973 ( my graduation from University of Oxford includes law degree ) is: 1588 days From 5/1/1973 ( my graduation from University of Oxford includes law degree ) to 9/5/1977 ( Voyager 1 spacecraft launches from Earth for the outer solar system and instellar space ) is: 1588 days From 9/5/1977 ( Voyager 1 spacecraft launches from Earth for the outer solar system and instellar space ) to 7/21/1987 ( formal wedding ceremony for my wife Phoebe and me ) is: 3606 days 3606 = 1803 + 1803 From 3/4/1959 ( my birth date UK ) to 2/9/1964 ( I was multiple Olympic gold medalist during Innsbruck Olympics ) is 1803 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1 Voyager 1 The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram robotic space probe of the outer solar system and beyond, launched September 5, 1977, and currently operational. It visited Jupiter and Saturn and was the first probe to provide detailed images of the moons of these planets. Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object from Earth, traveling away from both the Earth and the Sun at a relatively faster speed than any other probe.[1] Though its sister-craft, Voyager 2, was launched one month earlier, Voyager 2 will never pass Voyager 1. Neither will the New Horizons mission to Pluto, despite being launched from Earth at a faster speed than both Voyager craft, since during its flight Voyager 1 benefited from a number of gravity assisted speed boosts. As of May 18, 2008, Voyager 1 is over 15.91 terameters (15.80×1012 meters, or 15.80×109 km, 106.3 AU, 14.64 light-hours, or 9.84 billion miles) from the Sun, and has thus entered the heliosheath, the termination shock region between the solar system and interstellar space, a vast area where the Sun's influence gives way to the other bodies in the galaxy. If Voyager 1 is still functioning when it finally passes the heliopause, scientists will get their first direct measurements of the conditions in the interstellar medium. At this distance, signals from Voyager 1 take more than fourteen hours to reach its control center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a joint project of NASA and Caltech near Pasadena, California. Voyager 1 is on a hyperbolic trajectory and has achieved escape velocity, meaning that its orbit will not return to the inner solar system. Along with Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 2, and New Horizons, Voyager 1 is an interstellar probe. http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/01_43 Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1:43:01 I don't know the question. 1:43:28 The creator has not responded. From 5/1/1967 ( my first flight by myself as jet pilot ) to 12/7/1979 ( premiere US film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" ) is: 4603 days From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) to 10/9/1971 ( I am board-certified surgeon as Dr. Thomas Henry Allyn Reagan, M.D. ) is: 4603 days From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) to 7/20/1969 ( I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut landing on Earth's moon ) is: 3792 days From 7/20/1969 ( I was Apollo 11 Eagle astronaut landing on Earth's moon ) to 12/7/1979 ( premiere US film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" ) is: 3792 days http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/ Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Release Date: 7 December 1979 (USA) Plot Outline: When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk resumes command of the Starship Enterprise in order to intercept, examine, and hopefully stop it. http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/01_48 Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1:48:00 If V'Ger destroys the Enterprise... 1:48:02 the information that V'Ger requires will also be destroyed. It is illogical to withhold required information. if the carbon units will disclose the information. It learns fast, doesn't it? http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/01_48 Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1:48:25 They have repressed the creator. From 2/12/1973 ( Operation Homecoming begins and I was one of the C-141A pilots ) to 5/8/2009 ( scheduled US film "Star Trek" ) is: 13234 days 13234 = 6617 + 6617 From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) to 4/14/1977 ( I returned to Earth after successfully diverting the comet in the outer solar system ) is: 6617 days From 10/9/1971 ( I am board-certified surgeon as Dr. Thomas Henry Allyn Reagan, M.D. ) to 5/8/2009 ( scheduled US film "Star Trek" ) is: 13726 days 13726 = 6863 + 6863 From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 4/30/1982 ( my graduation and commissioning U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982 ) is: 6863 days From 2/17/1965 ( I am active duty U.S. Navy SEAL ) to 5/8/2009 ( scheduled US film "Star Trek" )(Friday) is: 16151 days 16151 = 1 + 8075 + 8075 From 3/4/1959 ( my birth date UK ) to 4/12/1981 ( I was the commander aboard the STS-1 Columbia spacecraft ) is: 8075 days http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/ Star Trek (2009) Release Date: 8 May 2009 (USA) Plot Outline: A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/releaseinfo and transmit it back to Earth. http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/01_48 Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1:48:25 They have repressed the creator. From 11/1/1949 ( Michael Douglas Griffin ) To 7/29/1958 ( NASA formed ) is 3192 days 3192 = 1596 + 1596 From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) To 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) is 1596 days From 11/1/1949 ( Michael Douglas Griffin ) To 4/30/1982 ( my graduation and commissioning U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982 ) is 11868 days 11868 = 5934 + 5934 '59-34' ( my birth date UK ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Griffin Michael D. Griffin Michael Douglas Griffin (born November 1, 1949 in Aberdeen, Maryland) is an American physicist, aerospace engineer and the current Administrator of NASA, since April 13, 2005. As the chief of America's space agency, Dr. Griffin oversees such areas as the future of human spaceflight, the fate of the Hubble telescope and NASA's role in understanding climate change. http://www.cswap.com/1979/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture/cap/en/25fps/a/02_01 Star Trek: The Motion Picture 2:01:00

i don't know

What brand of gum, packaged in a red, white, and blue wrapper, includes a small comic featuring a black eye patch, blue hat wearing character with each individually wrapped piece?

Sweet News Newsletter 89 Bazooka bubble gum was first marketed shortly after World War II in the U.S. by the Topps Company of Brooklyn , New York . The gum was packaged in a red, white, and blue colour scheme. Beginning in 1953, Topps changed the packaging to include small comic strips with the gum, featuring the character "Bazooka Joe". There are 75 different "Bazooka Joe" comic-strip wrappers to collect. Also on the comic strip is an offer for a premium and a fortune.[2] Older Bazooka comic strips were larger in size and are no longer available.   In addition to "Original", Topps eventually included the flavors "Strawberry Shake," "Cherry Berry," "Watermelon Whirl," and "Grape Rage." Bazooka gum also makes sugar-free flavors such as "Original" and a "Flavor Blasts" variety, claimed to have a longer lasting, more intense taste. Bazooka gum comes in two different sizes.   Bazooka bubblegum is sold in many countries, often with Bazooka Joe comic strips translated to the local language. Bazooka gum is sold in Canada with cartoons in both English and French, depending upon the city. In Israel , it is manufactured under license by Elite; the cartoons are written in Hebrew.   In November 2011, Bazooka Brands announced they would no longer include comics, instead using brain-teasing puzzle wrappers in an attempt to modernize the brand.   In popular culture[]   In May 2009 it was announced that the Bazooka Joe comic was to be adapted into a Hollywood Bazooka Joe was referenced in the Seinfeld episode "The Cafe."   Bazooka Joe gum was lampooned on 30 Rock, with Alec Baldwin's character telling a fictional story of the founder inheriting a "useless pink rock quarry" and turning it into gum by baking it. Later, a "softer version of their gum was used to make armor-piercing bullets."[4] A fictional advertisement for the gum, starring Stacy Keach, encouraged viewers to chew Bazooka Joe gum "because life is hard," and "it's like chewing a mountain that someone shot a freeze ray into."[5] It was also referenced in a November 2013 episode of How I Met Your Mother when Marshall made a joke that was not submitted to be part of the Bazooka jokes.   Bazooka Joe   For the British punk rock band, see Bazooka Joe (band). For the alcoholic drink, see Shooter (mixed drink)#Cocktails with less common spirits.   A Bazooka Joe comic   Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included inside individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka bubblegum. He wears a black eyepatch, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recognizable American advertising characters of the 20th century, due to worldwide distribution, and one of the few identifiable ones associated.   With sales of Bazooka bubble gum down, Bazooka Brands announced in November 2012 that they will no longer include the comic strip in their packaging. The new wrapper will include brain teasers, instructions, and codes that can be used to unlock videos and video games. The company stated that Bazooka Joe and other characters will occasionally appear on the new packaging.[1]   Characters and story[]   Bazooka Joe is joined in his various misadventures by a motley crew of characters, who came from the tradition of syndicated kid gang comic strips such as Gene Byrnes' Reg'lar Fellers and Ad Carter's Just Kids. The group includes: Pesty (formerly Orville), who may be Joe's younger brother, with a 1950s cowboy sombrero Mort, a gangly boy who always wears his red turtleneck sweater pulled up over his mouth Hungry Herman, Joe's tubby pal Jane, Joe's girlfriend Toughie, a sailor hat-wearing, streetwise type Metaldude, a blond mulleted fan of heavy metal music Walkie Talkie, a neighborhood mutt   The comics generally consist of soft, child-friendly jokes, as well as small advertisements for kitschy merchandise one could purchase with enough comics and a few dollars. From the very beginning in 1954, the bottom of the comics included "fortunes" similar to those one would find in a fortune cookie but with a comedic bent.   Development[]   Sometime between 1952 and 1954, Woody Gelman, the head of Product Development at Topps,[2] approached cartoonist Wesley Morse to create Bazooka Joe and his Gang. The character was named after a contest was held asking for suggestions.[3] Morse was the original artist on Bazooka Joe, and was also the artist for many of the pornographic drawings collected into so-called "Tijuana bibles" or "eight-pagers", popular in the pre-war period, which are considered a precursor to the underground comix of the 1960s and 1970s.   The style of the Bazooka Joe comics changed with the times, as with almost all advertising characters of the 20th century who had any sort of longevity. Joe eventually adopted a more contemporary look by the 1990s, complete with low-slung, baggy jeans.   From 1967 to 1990, the main writer was cartoonist Jay Lynch.[4]   Bazooka Joe comics were localized or translated for sale in other countries. For example, the Canadian version featured bilingual (simultaneous English and French) text balloons.   In popular culture[]   Bazooka Joe was a British pub rock band in the 1970s. It featured Stuart Goddard, who would later change his name to Adam Ant.   At one point in the Seinfeld episode "The Cafe," Jerry pulls his turtleneck over his mouth, to Elaine's annoyance, and says, "Bazooka Joe."   "Bazooka Joe" is the name of a song on the first Big Black album Atomizer (album).   In the 22nd episode "The Otto Show" of the third season of The Simpsons sitcom, Milhouse says he bought a leather jacket with 50 000 Bazooka Joe Comics.   References[]   1. Newman, Andrew Adam (November 29, 2012). "Change Comes to Playground Funny Papers". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2012-11-30. 2. Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, p.117, Dave Jamieson, 2010, Atlantic Monthly Press, imprint of Grove/Atlantic Inc., New York Madison Dearborn Partners and Tornante Number of employees Website topps.com The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, and collectibles. Based in New York, New York,[1] Topps is best known as a leading producer of basketball cards, football cards, baseball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.   1 Company history 1.1 Incorporation 1.2 Shareholder dispute and buyout 2 Topps Europe Ltd 2.1 Topps Europe Ltd Products 3 Topps baseball cards: A history 3.1 Entry into the baseball card market 3.2 Competition for player contracts 3.3 Consolidation of a monopoly 3.4 The monopoly and its end 3.5 Topps in the modern baseball card industry 4 Card design 4.1 Use of statistics 4.2 Artwork and photography 4.3 Coping with updated developments 5 Football cards 6 Trading cards for other sports 7 Non-sports products 7.1 and confectionery items 7.2 Non-sports trading cards   Company history[] This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)   Topps itself was founded in 1938,[2] but the company can trace its roots back to an earlier firm, American Leaf Tobacco. Founded in 1890 by Morris Shorin, the American Leaf Tobacco Co. imported tobacco to the United States and sold it to other tobacco companies. (American Leaf Tobacco should not be confused with the American Tobacco Company, which monopolized U.S.-grown tobacco during this period.)[citation needed]   American Leaf Tobacco encountered difficulties during World War I, as it was cut off from Turkish supplies of tobacco, and later as a result of the Great Depression. Shorin's sons, Abram, Ira, Philip, and Joseph, decided to focus on a new product but take advantage of the company's existing distribution channels. To do this, they relaunched the company as Topps, with the name meant to indicate that it would be "tops" in its field. The chosen field was the manufacture of chewing gum, selected after going into the produce business was considered and rejected.   At the time, chewing gum was still a relative novelty sold in individual pieces. Topps’ most successful early product was Bazooka bubblegum, which was packaged with a small comic on the wrapper. Starting in 1950, the company decided to try increasing gum sales by packaging them together with trading cards featuring Western character Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd); at the time Boyd, as one of the biggest stars of early television, was featured in newspaper articles and on magazine covers, along with a significant amount of "Hoppy" merchandising. When Topps next introduced baseball cards as a product, the cards immediately became its primary emphasis.   The "father of the modern baseball card" was Sy Berger.[3] In the autumn of 1951, Berger, then a 28-year-old veteran of World War II, designed the 1952 Topps baseball card set with Woody Gelman on the kitchen table of his apartment on Alabama Avenue in Brooklyn.[4] The card design included a player's name, photo, facsimile autograph, team name and logo on the front; and the player's height, weight, bats, throws, birthplace, birthday, stats and a short biography on the back. The basic design is still in use today. Berger would work for Topps for 50 years (1947–97) and serve as a consultant for another five, becoming a well-known figure on the baseball scene, and the face of Topps to major league baseball players, whom he signed up annually and paid in merchandise, like refrigerators and carpeting.   The Shorins, in recognition of his negotiation abilities, sent Sy to London in 1964 to negotiate the rights for Topps to produce Beatles trading cards. Arriving without an appointment, Sy succeeded by speaking in Yiddish to Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager.   Berger hired a garbage boat to remove leftover boxes of 1952 baseball cards stored in their warehouse, and rode with them as a tugboat pulled them off the New Jersey shore. The cards were then dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.[5] The cards included Mickey Mantle's first Topps card, the most valuable card of the modern era. No one at the time, of course, knew the collector's value the cards would one day attain. Currently, a pack of 1952 Topps baseball cards is worth at least $5,000.   Since 2012, Topps began creating digital sports cards, starting with the Topps Bunt baseball card downloadable app.[6] Today, they have expanded that market into other apps that include Topps Huddle football app, Topps Kick soccer app, and the extremely popular Star Wars Card Trader app that was released this year.   Incorporation[]   The company began its existence as Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., a partnership between the four Shorin brothers. It later incorporated under New York law in 1947. The entire company originally operated at the Bush Terminal in Brooklyn, but production facilities were moved to a plant in Duryea .   After being privately held for several decades, Topps offered stock to the public for the first time in 1972 with the assistance of investment banking firm White, Weld & Co. The company returned to private ownership when it was acquired in a leveraged buyout led by Forstmann Little & Company in 1984. The new ownership group again made Topps into a publicly traded company in 1987, now renamed to The Topps Company, Inc. In this incarnation, the company was incorporated in Delaware for legal reasons, but company headquarters remained in New York . Management was left in the hands of the Shorin family throughout all of these maneuverings.   Shareholder dispute and buyout[]   Criticism of the company's financial performance and flat stock price led two hedge funds holding 7.4% of the stock to launch a proxy fight in July 2006. Calling for better management of the company as the Topps Full Value Committee, they tried to place three members on the company's board of directors at the annual shareholder meeting. In a compromise with Topps, the three dissident shareholders were elected to the Topps board to replace two directors running for re-election, while CEO Arthur Shorin (son of Joseph) stayed on as a tenth member of the board.   The battle extended into 2007 with a $385 million buyout offer led by the firms Madison Dearborn and Tornante (an investment company started by former longtime Disney CEO Michael Eisner). The price of $9.75 per share was endorsed by Topps executives, but the dissident board members felt it undervalued the company and pushed to shop for other bidders. This led to discussions of a potential merger with the rival Upper Deck Company, which was prepared to buy Topps for $10.75 per share (a total of about $425 million). Topps management decided to reject this offer, citing concerns about the financing and potential antitrust regulation; Upper Deck pursued it for several more months but as a hostile takeover bid.   Upper Deck eventually withdrew its offer, complaining that Topps had impeded any reasonable efforts toward a merger. Meanwhile, a vote on the lower bid was delayed in the aftermath of Upper Deck's withdrawal, allowing management more time to lobby for shareholder support. The buyout was eventually approved in a special shareholders meeting by nearly two-thirds of the shares voting. The result was close, however, as the bloc voting for the deal was only a narrow majority of total shares outstanding, including those not voted (a requirement to complete the deal).   On October 12, 2007, Topps was acquired by Michael Eisner's Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners.[7] Under Eisner's direction, Topps began to expand into the entertainment and media business with plans for a Bazooka Joe movie. Former television executive Staci Weiss began working with Tornante to develop projects based on Topps properties, including Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages, Dinosaurs Attack!, Mech Warrior and Attax.[8]   .   In 1994 Merlin acquired the Premier League license allowing the company to exclusively publish the only official Premier League sticker and album collection in the UK . The initial success of the Premier League stickers and album collection was so great that it took even Merlin by surprise, with reprint after reprint being produced.   In 1995, The Topps Company Inc. completed its takeover of Merlin Publishing. Merlin’s official company name changed to Topps Europe Limited, its products still carried the Merlin brand until 2008 as it was easily recognized by consumers.   Topps Europe Limited continues to produce a wide and varied range of sports and entertainment collectables across Europe . Its range of products now includes stickers, albums, cards and binders, magazines, stationery, and temporary tattoos.   Topps Europe Ltd has continued to launch hugely successful products across Europe . Some of the most successful licenses have included WWE, Pokémon, Doctor Who, High School Musical and SpongeBob. Premier League stickers and albums are now in their 18th year.   Match Attax, the official Premier League trading card game, is the biggest selling boys collectable in the UK two years running. Being sold across the globe in a number of countries, the collection also holds the title of the biggest selling sports collectable in the world. It is estimated that around 1.5 million children collect it in the UK , and 2.5 million children in the world.   In the spring of 2008, Topps acquired the exclusive rights to the DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga GmbH for trading cards and stickers until the Bundesliga Season 2010/11. Bundesliga Match Attax was launched in January 2009 and is now available in over 40,000 stockists. The collection is the first of its kind in Germany and has become one of the biggest selling collections in the country.   As of February 2016 Topps Match Attax dominated the secondary UK card trading market occupying two out of the top three spots on the www.stickerpoints.com 'most popular soccer collection' list. [9]   Topps baseball cards: A history[]   Entry into the baseball card market[]   In 1951, Topps produced its first baseball cards in two different sets known today as Red Backs and Blue Backs. Each set contained 52 cards, like a deck of playing cards, and in fact the cards could be used to play a game that would simulate the events of a baseball game. Also like playing cards, the cards had rounded corners and were blank on one side, which was colored either red or blue (hence the names given to these sets). The other side featured the portrait of a player within a baseball diamond in the center, and in opposite corners a picture of a baseball together with the event for that card, such as "fly out" or "single".   Topps changed its approach in 1952, this time creating a much larger (407 total) set of baseball cards and packaging them with its signature product, bubblegum. The company also decided that its playing card model was too small (2 inches by 2-5/8 inches) and changed the dimensions to 2-5/8 inches by 3-3/4 inches with square corners. The cards now had a color portrait on one side, with statistical and biographical information on the other. This set became a landmark in the baseball card industry, and today the company considers this its first true baseball card set. Many of the oil paintings for the sets were rendered by artist Gerry Dvorak, who also worked as an animator for Famous Studios. In 1957, Topps shrank the dimensions of its cards slightly, to 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches, setting a standard that remains the basic format for most sports cards produced in the United States.[5] It was at this time Topps began to use color photographs in their set.   The cards were released in several series over the course of the baseball season, a practice Topps would continue with its baseball cards until 1974. However, the last series of each year did not sell as well, as the baseball season wore on and popular attention began to turn towards football. Thus cards from the last series are much scarcer and are typically more valuable (even commons) than earlier series of the same year. Topps was left with a substantial amount of surplus stock in 1952, which it largely disposed of by dumping many cards into the Atlantic . In later years, Topps either printed series in smaller quantities late in the season or destroyed excess cards. As a result, cards with higher numbers from this period are rarer than low numbers in the same set, and collectors will pay significantly higher prices for them. The last series in 1952 started with card No. 311, which is Topps' first card of Mickey Mantle, and remains the most valuable Topps card ever (and the most valuable post-1948 card). The 1952 Topps Mantle is often mistakenly referred to as Mickey's rookie card, but that honor belongs to his 1951 Bowman card (which is worth about a third of the 1952 Topps card).   The combination of baseball cards and bubblegum was popular among young boys, and given the mediocre quality of the gum, the cards quickly became the primary attraction. In fact, the gum eventually became a hindrance because it tended to stain the cards, thus impairing their value to collectors who wanted to keep them in pristine condition. It (along with the traditional gray cardboard) was finally dropped from baseball card packs in 1992, although Topps began its Heritage line, which included gum, in the year 2001.   Competition for player contracts[]   During this period, baseball card manufacturers generally obtained the rights to depict players on merchandise by signing individual players to contracts for the purpose. Topps first became active in this process through an agent called Players Enterprises in July 1950, in preparation for its first 1951 set. The later acquisition of rights to additional players allowed Topps to release its second series.   This promptly brought Topps into furious competition with Bowman Gum, another company producing baseball cards. Bowman had become the primary maker of baseball cards and driven out several competitors by signing its players to exclusive contracts. The language of these contracts focused particularly on the rights to sell cards with chewing gum, which had already been established in the 1930s as a popular product to pair with baseball cards.   To avoid the language of Bowman's existing contracts, Topps sold its 1951 cards with caramel instead of gum. However, because Bowman had signed many players in 1950 to contracts for that year, plus a renewal option for one year, Topps included in its own contracts the rights to sell cards with gum starting in 1952 (as it ultimately did). Topps also tried to establish exclusive rights through its contracts by having players agree not to grant similar rights to others, or renew existing contracts except where specifically noted in the contract.   Bowman responded by adding chewing gum "or confections" to the exclusivity language of its 1951 contracts, and also sued Topps in U.S. federal court. The lawsuit alleged infringement on Bowman's trademarks, unfair competition, and contractual interference. The court rejected Bowman's attempt to claim a trademark on the word "baseball" in connection with the sale of gum, and disposed of the unfair competition claim because Topps had made no attempt to pass its cards off as being made by Bowman. The contract issue proved more difficult because it turned on the dates when a given player signed contracts with each company, and whether the player's contract with one company had an exception for his contract with the other.   As the contract situation was sorted out, several Topps sets during these years had a few "missing" cards, where the numbering of the set skips several numbers because they had been assigned to players whose cards could not legally be distributed. The competition, both for consumer attention and player contracts, continued until 1956, when Topps bought out Bowman. This left Topps as the dominant producer of baseball cards for a number of years.   Consolidation of a monopoly[]   The next company to challenge Topps was Fleer, another gum manufacturer. Fleer signed star Ted Williams to an exclusive contract in 1959 and sold a set of cards oriented around him. Williams retired the next year, so Fleer began adding around him other mostly retired players in a Baseball Greats series, which was sold with gum. Two of these sets were produced before Fleer finally tried a 67-card set of currently active players in 1963. However, Topps held onto the rights of most players and the set was not particularly successful.   Stymied, Fleer turned its efforts to supporting an administrative complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, alleging that Topps was engaging in unfair competition through its aggregation of exclusive contracts. A hearing examiner ruled against Topps in 1965, but the Commission reversed this decision on appeal. The Commission concluded that because the contracts only covered the sale of cards with gum, competition was still possible by selling cards with other small, low-cost products. However, Fleer chose not to pursue such options and instead sold its remaining player contracts to Topps for $395,000 in 1966. The decision gave Topps an effective monopoly of the baseball card market.   That same year, however, Topps faced an attempt to undermine its position from the nascent players' union, the Major League Baseball Players Association. Struggling to raise funds, the MLBPA discovered that it could generate significant income by pooling the publicity rights of its members and offering companies a group license to use their images on various products. After initially putting players on Coca-Cola bottlecaps, the union concluded that the Topps contracts did not pay players adequately for their rights.   MLBPA executive director Marvin Miller then approached Joel Shorin, the president of Topps, about renegotiating these contracts. At this time, Topps had every major league player under contract, generally for five years plus renewal options, so Shorin declined. After continued discussions went nowhere, the union before the 1968 season asked its members to stop signing renewals on these contracts, and offered Fleer the exclusive rights to market cards of most players (with gum) starting in 1973. Although Fleer declined the proposal, by the end of the year Topps had agreed to double its payments to each player from $125 to $250, and also to begin paying players a percentage of Topps's overall sales. The figure for individual player contracts has since increased to $500.   As a byproduct of this history, Topps continues to use individual player contracts as the basis for its baseball card sets today. This contrasts with other manufacturers, who all obtain group licenses from the MLBPA. The difference has occasionally affected whether specific players are included in particular sets. Players who decline to sign individual contracts will not have Topps cards even when the group licensing system allows other manufacturers to produce cards of the player, as happened with Alex Rodriguez early in his career. On the other hand, if a player opts out of group licensing, as Barry Bonds did in 2004, then manufacturers who depend on the MLBPA system will have no way of including him. Topps, however, can negotiate individually and was belatedly able to create a 2004 card of Bonds. In addition, Topps is the only manufacturer able to produce cards of players who worked as replacement players during the 1994 baseball strike, since they are barred from union membership and participation in the group licensing program.   The monopoly and its end[]   A semblance of competition returned to the baseball card market in the 1970s when Kellogg's began producing "3-D" cards and inserting them in boxes of breakfast cereal (originally Corn Flakes, later Raisin Bran and other Kellogg's brands). The Kellogg's sets contained fewer cards than Topps sets, and the cards served as an incentive to buy the cereal, rather than being the intended focus of the purchase, as tended to be the case for cards distributed with smaller items like gum. Topps appears not to have considered the Kellogg's cards a threat and took no action to stop them.   The Topps monopoly on baseball cards was finally broken by a lawsuit that let Fleer and another company, Donruss, enter the market in 1981. Fleer and Donruss began making large, widely distributed sets to compete directly with Topps, packaged with gum. When the ruling was overturned on appeal in August 1981, Topps appeared to have regained its monopoly, but both of its competitors instead began packaging their cards with other baseball items — logo stickers from Fleer, and cardboard puzzle pieces from Donruss. The puzzles, created by baseball artists Dick Perez for Perez Steele, included Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle and a dozen others.[10] Other manufacturers later followed, but Topps remains one of the leading brands in the baseball card hobby. In response to the competition, Topps began regularly issuing additional "Traded" sets featuring players who had changed teams since the main set was issued, following up on an idea it had experimented with a few years earlier.   Topps in the modern baseball card industry[]   While "Traded" or "Update" sets were originally conceived to deal with players who changed teams, they became increasingly important for another reason. In order to fill out a 132-card set (the number of cards that fit on a single sheet of the uncut cardboard used in the production process), it would contain a number of rookie players who had just reached the major leagues and not previously appeared on a card. They also included a few single cards of players who previously appeared in the regular set on a multi-player "prospects" card; one notable example is the 1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken, Jr.. Since a "rookie card" is typically the most valuable for any given player, the companies now competed to be the first to produce a card of players who might be future stars. Increasingly, they also included highly touted minor league players who had yet to play in the major leagues. For example, Topps obtained a license to produce cards featuring the U.S. Olympic baseball team and thus produced the first card of Mark McGwire prior to his promotion to the major league level, and one that would become quite valuable to collectors for a time. This card from the 1984 squad appeared in Topps's regular 1985 set, but by the next Olympic cycle the team's cards had been migrated to the "Traded" set. As a further step in this race, Topps resurrected its former competitor Bowman as a subsidiary brand in 1989, with Bowman sets similarly chosen to include a lot of young players with bright prospects.   Also beginning in 1989 with the entry of Upper Deck into the market, card companies began to develop higher-end cards using improved technology. Following Topps' example, other manufacturers now began to diversify their product lines into different sets, each catering to a different niche of the market. The initial Topps effort at producing a premium line of cards, in 1991, was called Stadium Club. Topps continued adding more sets and trying to distinguish them from each other, as did its competitors. The resulting glut of different baseball sets caused the MLBPA to take drastic measures as the market for them deteriorated. The union announced that for 2006, licenses would only be granted to Topps and Upper Deck, the number of different products would be limited, and players would not appear on cards before reaching the major leagues.   Although most of its products were distributed through retail stores and hobby shops, Topps also attempted to establish itself online, where a significant secondary market for sports cards was developing. Working in partnership with eBay, Topps launched a new brand of sports cards called etopps in December 2000. These cards are sold exclusively online through individual "IPOs" (or, "Initial Player Offering") in which the card is offered for usually a week at the IPO price. The quantity sold depends on how many people offer to buy, but is limited to a certain maximum. After a sale, the cards are held in a climate-controlled warehouse unless the buyer requests delivery, and the cards can be traded online without changing hands except in the virtual sense.   Topps also acquired ThePit.com, a startup company that earlier in 2000 had launched a site for online stock-market style card trading. The purchase was for $5.7 million cash in August 2001 after Topps had earlier committed to invest in a round of venture capital financing for the company. This undertaking was not very successful, however, and Topps unloaded the site on Naxcom in January 2006. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed, but Topps charged a $3.7 million after-tax loss on its books in connection with the sale.   Topps grabbed collectors' attention early in 2007 when the new card of Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter was found to have been altered to include an image of Mickey Mantle standing in the dugout and President George W. Bush walking through the stands.   In 2009, Topps become the first official baseball card of MLB in over thirty years. The first product to fall under the deal was the 2010 Topps Baseball Series 1. The deal gives Topps exclusivity for the use of MLB and club trademarks and logos on cards, stickers and some other products featuring major league players.     A 2010 Topps card depicting Carlos Delgado playing for the New York Mets. Although Topps did not invent the concept of baseball cards, its dominance in the field basically allowed the company to define people's expectations of what a baseball card would look like. In addition to establishing a standard size, Topps developed various design elements that are considered typical of baseball cards. Some of these were the company's own innovations, while some were ideas borrowed from others that Topps helped popularize.   Use of statistics[]   One of the features that contributed significantly to Topps' success beginning with the 1952 set was providing player statistics. At the time, complete and reliable baseball statistics for all players were not widely available, so Topps actually compiled the information itself from published box scores. While baseball cards themselves had been around for years, including statistics was a relative novelty that fascinated many collectors. Those who played with baseball cards could study the numbers and use them as the basis for comparing players, trading cards with friends, or playing imaginary baseball games. It also had some pedagogical benefit by encouraging youngsters to take an interest in the underlying mathematics.   The cards originally had one line for statistics from the most recent year (i.e. the 1951 season for cards in the 1952 set) and another with the player's lifetime totals. Bowman promptly imitated this by putting statistics on its own cards where it had previously only had biographical information. For the first time in 1957, Topps put full year-by-year statistics for the player's entire career on the back of the card. Over the next few years, Topps alternated between this format and merely showing the past season plus career totals. The practice of showing complete career statistics became permanent in 1963, except for one year, 1971, when Topps sacrificed the full statistics in order to put a player photo on the back of the card as well.   Artwork and photography[]   Although the 1971 set was an aborted experiment in terms of putting photos on card backs (they would not return until 1992), that year was also a landmark in terms of baseball card photography, as Topps for the first time included cards showing color photographs from actual games. The cards themselves had been in color from the beginning, though for the first few years this was done by using artist's portraits of players rather than actual photographs and until 1971, Topps used mostly portrait or posed shots. The 1971 set is also known for its jet black borders, which because they chip so easily, makes it much more difficult to find top grade cards for 1971. The black borders would return for Topps' 1985 football set and 2007 baseball set.   After starting out with simple portraits, in 1954 Topps put two pictures on the front of the card – a hand-tinted 'color' close-up photo of the player's head, and the other a black-and-white full-length pose. The same basic format was used in 1955, this time with the full-length photo also hand-tinted. For 1956, the close-up tinted photo was placed against a tinted full-background 'game-action' photo of the player. The close-up head shots of some individual players were reused each year.   From 1957 on, virtually all cards were posed photographs, either as a head shot or together with a typical piece of equipment like a bat or glove. If using such a prop, the player might pose in a position as if he were in the act of batting, pitching, or fielding. Photographs did not appear in sharp focus and natural color until 1962. However, that year also saw problems with the print quality in the second series, which lacked the right proportion of ink and thus gave the photographs a distinctly greenish tint. The affected series of cards was then reprinted, and several players were actually shown in different poses in the reprinting. Although Topps had produced error cards and variations before, this was its largest single production glitch.   In the absence of full-color action photography, Topps still occasionally used artwork to depict action on a handful of cards. Starting in 1960 a few cards showed true game action, but the photographs were either in black-and-white or hand-tinted color. These cards were primarily highlights from the World Series; in addition to basic cards of individual players, Topps sets commonly include cards for special themes — the 1974 tribute to Hank Aaron as he was about to break Babe Ruth's career home run record is one example. The 1972 set finally included color photographs, which were used for special "In Action" cards of selected star players. Thereafter, Topps began simply mixing game photography with posed shots in its sets.   Baseball artist Dick Perez was commissioned to paint art cards for Topps beginning in 2006. His art card series include Turkey Reds, Allen & Ginter One on One cards and a series of Special Cards." [11]   When used for the cards of individual players, some of the early action photography had awkward results. The photos were sometimes out of focus or included several players, making it difficult to pick out the player who was supposed to be featured on the card. In a few cases, a misidentification meant that the player didn't even appear in the picture. These problems diminished as Topps' selection of photographs gradually improved.   Before statistics, biographical information, and commentary became the dominant element on the backs of cards, Topps also featured artwork there. This primarily involved using various types of cartoons drawn by its stable of artists. These appeared on card backs as late as 1982, but gradually declined in the prominence of their placement and the proportion of cards on which they appeared. In 1993, Topps finally managed again to incorporate a player photo on the back as well as the front of the card, after some competitors had been doing so for a number of years.   Coping with updated developments[]   The pictures and information on baseball cards sold during one season came primarily from earlier seasons, so Topps used various tactics to give its cards a greater sense of staying current with the times. Before coming up with the idea of a "Traded" set, the company still tried to produce cards of players with their new team if they changed teams in the offseason. This was sometimes accomplished by showing the player without any team cap, or by airbrushing out elements of the former team's logo on his uniform. Cards for rookies could also be prepared by airbrushing over their minor-league uniforms in photos.   In one case, Topps even got too far in front of events, as in 1974 it showed a number of players as being with the "Washington Nat'l Lea." franchise, due to expectations that the San Diego Padres would relocate to the vacant Washington , D.C. market. The team designation was the only change, as no new nickname for the franchise had been selected. When the move failed to materialize, Topps had to replace these with cards showing the players still as Padres.   On rare occasions, Topps has issued special cards for players who had either died or had been injured. The 1959 set had card 550 as "Symbol Of Courage – Roy Campanella", with a color photo of the paralyzed former Dodger in his wheelchair and a black-and-white photo of him in uniform inserted to the upper left. The 1964 set issued cards for two recently deceased players: Ken Hubbs of the Cubs with a different "In Memoriam" front design compared to standard cards, and Colts pitcher Jim Umbricht's regular card with a special note on the back about his April 1964 death from cancer. In October 2006, Topps was prepping for its annual updated/traded card release, which featured Cory Lidle in a Yankees uniform. After Lidle's tragic death, the cards were pulled and subsequently released with "In Memoriam" on its front.   Football cards[]   In addition to baseball, Topps also produced cards for American football in 1951, which are known as the Magic set. For football cards Bowman dominated the field, and Topps did not try again until 1955, when it released an All-American set with a mix of active players and retired stars. After buying out Bowman, Topps took over the market the following year.   Since then, Topps has sold football cards every season. However, the emergence of the American Football League in 1960 to compete with the established National Football League also allowed Topps' competitors, beginning with Fleer, to make inroads. Fleer produced a set for the AFL in 1960, then featured both leagues for one year before focusing on the AFL again. Philadelphia Gum then secured the NFL rights for 1964, forcing Topps to go for the AFL and leaving Fleer with no product in either baseball or football.   Although more competitive for a time, the football card market was never as lucrative, so the other companies did not fight as hard over it. After the AFL-NFL Merger was agreed to, Topps became the only major football card manufacturer beginning in 1968. In spite of the lack of competition, or perhaps to preempt it, Topps also created two sets of cards for the short-lived United States Football League in the 1980s. Many NFL legends had their first ever cards produced in the USFL sets. These players include Steve Young, Jim Kelly, and Reggie White. This resulted in a controversy when these players debuted in the NFL. Many wondered if the USFL cards should be considered rookie cards because the league did not exist anymore. The situation continued until growth in the sports card market generally prompted two new companies, Pro Set and Score, to start making football cards in 1989.   Throughout the 1970s until 1982, Topps did not have the rights to reproduce the actual team logos on the helmets and uniforms of the players; curiously, these could be found on the Fleer sets of the same era, but Fleer could not name specific player names. As a result, helmet logos for these teams were airbrushed out on a routine basis.   Trading cards for other sports[]   Topps also makes cards for other major North American professional sports. After football, its next venture was into ice hockey, with a 1954 set featuring players from the four National Hockey League franchises located in the U.S. at the time: the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.   In 1958, the O-Pee-Chee Company of London .   In 1967, with the major expansion of six new NHL teams to the United States, the Topps Company produced a new hockey card set that paralleled the 1966–67 O-Pee-Chee hockey design (the basic television design was in fact first used for 1966 Topps American football series). Starting in 1968–69, the Topps Company started printing an annual Topps hockey set that was similar to the annual O-Pee-Chee hockey set. The Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey sets shared a similar design from 1968–69 to 1981–82 and from 1984–85 to 1991–92.   Topps first sold cards for basketball in 1957,[5] but stopped after one season. The company started producing basketball cards again in 1969 and continued until 1982, but then abandoned the market for another decade, missing out on printing the prized rookie cards of Michael Jordan and other mid- and late-1980s National Basketball Association stars. Topps finally returned to basketball cards in 1992, several years after its competitors. This would be perfect timing, because 1992 was the rookie year of Shaquille O'Neal.   In the United Kingdom, where football stickers have been popular over roughly the same period of time as trading cards, Topps acquired the old Amalgamated and British Confectionery firm in 1974, bringing its production methods and card style to Britain. Under its Merlin brand, it has the licence to produce stickers for the Premier League and the national team. Its main competition is the Italian firm Panini. Topps make 'Topps Premier League' stickers and Match Attax Trading card game.   In 2008, Topps gained the rights to production of WWE trading cards. They were aptly titled Slam Attax, a play on words of the previously popular football trading card game Match Attax (also made by Topps). The first set was released in late 2008 in the U.K. , and it was then later released in the United States in mid-2009, this later proved to be a pattern for subsequent Slam Attax sets and variations, with the U.K. getting an earlier release than the U.S.   In 2008, [12] Topps and Zuffa, LLC signed an exclusive agreement to produce Mixed Martial Arts trading cards. Among the included cards were current and former athletes from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.      Topps Comics The X-Files No. 5 (May 1995), cover art by Miriam Kim. Originally, Topps was purely a gum company, and its first product was simply called "Topps gum". Other gum and products followed. In imitation of Bowman and other competitors, Topps eventually began producing humor products unrelated to sports. This included stickers, posters (Wanted Posters, Travel Posters), media tie-ins (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), book covers (Batty Bookcovers) and toys (Flying Things), plus offbeat packaging (Garbage). More recently, the company published comic books and games.   confectionery items[]   The longest-lived Topps product line remains Bazooka bubblegum, small pieces of gum in patriotic red, white, and blue packaging. Bazooka was introduced in 1947 as a bar of gum that sold for five cents. Unlike the gum sold with baseball cards, it was of better quality and capable of selling on its own merit. In 1953, Topps began selling smaller penny pieces with the Bazooka Joe comic strip on the wrapper as an added attraction.   Even though baseball cards became the company's primary focus during this period, Topps still developed a variety of items. For quite a few years, the company stuck within familiar confines, and virtually all of these products involved gum in some way. Sales declined significantly in the 1970s, however, when this relatively hard gum was challenged by Bubble Yum, a new, softer form of bubblegum from Life Savers.   In recent years, Topps has added more items without gum. One particular focus has been lollipops, such as Ring Pops. However, Topps has complained that increasing public attention to childhood nutrition undercuts its sales. Under pressure by shareholders, the company considered selling off its confectionery business in 2005, but was unable to find a buyer to meet its price and decided to cut management expenses instead.   Other brands include Push Pop, Baby Bottle Pop, and Juicy Drop Pop.   Non-sports trading cards[]   As its sports products relied more on photography, Topps redirected its artistic efforts toward non-sports trading cards, on themes inspired by popular culture. For example, the Space Race prompted a set of "Space Cards" in 1958. Topps has continued to create collectible cards and stickers on a variety of subjects, often targeting the same adolescent male audience as its baseball cards. In particular, these have covered movies, television series, and other cultural phenomena ranging from The Beatles to the life story of John F. Kennedy. The many Star Wars card series have done well, with a few exceptions.   Many Topps artists came from the world of comics and continued to work in that field as well. The shift from sports to other topics better suited the creative instincts of the artists and coincided with turmoil in the comic book industry over regulation by the Comics Code Authority. Beginning at Topps when he was a teenager, Art Spiegelman was the company's main staff cartoonist for more than 20 years. Other staffers in Topps' Product Development Department at various times included Larry Riley, Mark Newgarden, Bhob Stewart and Rick Varesi. Topps' creative directors of Product Development, Woody Gelman and Len Brown, gave freelance assignments to leading comic book illustrators, such as Jack Davis, Wally Wood and Bob Powell. Spiegelman, Gelman and Brown also hired freelance artists from the underground comix movement, including Bill Griffith and Kim Deitch and Robert Crumb. Jay Lynch did extensive cartooning for Topps over several decades.   Drawing on their previous work, these artists were adept at things like mixing humor and horror, as with the Funny Monsters cards in 1959. The 1962 Mars Attacks cards, sketched by Wood and Powell and painted by Norman Saunders, later inspired a Tim Burton movie. A tie-in with the Mars Attacks film led to a 1994 card series, a new 100-card "archives" set reprinting the 55 original cards, plus 45 new cards from several different artists, including Norm Saunders' daughter, Zina Saunders.   Among Topps' most notable achievements in the area of satire and parody have been Wacky Packages, a takeoff on various household consumer products, and Garbage Pail Kids, a parody of the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. Another popular series was the Civil War News set, also with Norman Saunders' artwork.   Earlier, particularly in the early and mid-60s, Topps thrived with several successful series of parody and satire cards for a variety of occasions, usually featuring artists who also worked at Mad Magazine. There were several insult-valentine card series, plus a series of insult epigram cards called Wacky Plaques, several series of well-known-product advertising parody cards, a set of cards featuring the 'mad car-driver cartoons' of artist Big Daddy Roth, and a card-sticker series of fanciful bizarre 'rejected aliens' from other planets, among other semi-subversive outrageous over-the-top concepts designed for the semi-rebellious adolescent boomer market.   Although baseball cards have been Topps' most consistently profitable item, certain fads have occasionally produced spikes in popularity for non-sports items. For a period beginning in 1973, the Wacky Packages stickers managed to outsell Topps baseball cards, becoming the first product to do so since the company's early days as purely a gum maker. Pokémon cards would accomplish the same feat for a few years starting in 1999. In the absence of new fads to capitalize on, Topps has come under pressure from stock analysts, since its sports card business is more stable and has less growth potential.   In 2015 Topps started to expand its non-sports category by adding more TV shows, as well as sci-fi with its brand new Star Wars line (expanding into its own Topps virtual card app, similar to Topps BUNT, as well as Doctor Who, with regular autographs as well as vintage cut autographs, screen-worn relics, and more.   Disney Channel[]   Topps worked together with the Disney Channel to create trading cards of High School Musical,[13] High School Musical 2,[14] High School Musical 3,[15] and Hannah Montana.[16]   Main article: Topps Comics   Drawing on its established connections with artists, in 1993 Topps created a division of the company to publish comic books. Known as Topps Comics, its early efforts included several concepts from retired industry legend Jack Kirby, known collectively as the "Kirbyverse". Topps Comics particularly specialized in licensed titles with tie-ins to movies or television series, though it also published a few original series. Its longest-running and best-selling title was The X-Files, based on the Fox TV show.   These comic books featured former Marvel Comics or Jim Salicrup as its or-in-chief. Some of the more famous titles included The X-Files, Lone Ranger and Tonto by Timothy Truman, Xena, Mars Attacks, and Zorro, which introduced the famous comics character Lady Rawhide. With sales stagnating, the company decided to pull out of the comics business in 1998.   Games[]   The Topps Pokémon cards were purely for entertainment, pleasure and collecting, but a new niche of collectible card games was also developing during this period (a Pokémon trading card game was produced simultaneously by Wizards of the Coast). Topps made its first foray into the world of games in July 2003 by acquiring the game company WizKids[17] for $29.4 million in cash, thus acquiring ownership of the rights to the well-known gaming universes of BattleTech and Shadowrun.[18] By inventing yet another niche, the constructible strategy game Pirates of the Spanish Main, this unit managed to reach profitability. Topps shut down Wizkids operation in November 2008 due to the economic downturn, terminating the brand while keeping their intellectual properties as the Topps company.[19]   U.S. minor leagues J.G. Taylor Spink Award – In conjunction with Minor League Baseball, Topps presents the J.G. Taylor Spink Award to the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year.[20] This award should not be confused with the identically named J. G. Taylor Spink Award that is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to its members. George M. Trautman Awards – Also in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, Topps presents the George M. Trautman Awards to the Topps Player of the Year in each of sixteen domestic minor leagues.[21][22] Topps Short Season-A/Rookie All-Star Team[23]   Notes[] Bowman Gum, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., 103 F.Supp. 944 (E.D.N.Y. 1952). Boyd, Brendan C. & Fred C. Harris (1973). The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book. Boston : Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-10429-9. Caple, Jim. "A card fan's dream come true". ESPN.com Page 2, July 25, 2006. Fleer Corp. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., 501 F.Supp. 485 (E.D. Pa. 1980). Fleer Corp. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., 658 F.2d 139 (3d Cir. 1981). Haelan Laboratories, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., 202 F.2d 866 (2d Cir. 1953). Haelan Laboratories, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum Co., 112 F.Supp. 904 (E.D.N.Y. 1953). Schwartz, Ben. "Culture Jamming for the Swingset Set". Chicago Schwarz, Alan (2004). The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics. New York St. Martin 's Press. ISBN 0-312-32222-4. Slocum, Frank & Red Foley (1990). Topps Baseball Cards: The complete picture collection, a 40 year history. New York Smith, Aaron. "Mickey Mantle or Martha?" CNN/Money, March 24, 2005. Thompson, Wright. "Investors gear up for takeover". ESPN.com Page 2, July 27, 2006.   5.: a b c Brioso, Cesar; Dodd, Mike (March 27, 2001). "Topps facts". USA Today. Retrieved April 23, 2010. 6. "Topps Bunt History". CardDugout.com. 7. News Releases, Topps, 2007, retrieved April 23, 2010 8. "Szalai, Georg. '' Hollywood Reporter'', September 26, 2010". Hollywoodreporter.com. September 26, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2012. 9. ^ www.stickerpoints.com. "Swap Football - Soccer Sticker Albums and Trading Cards - FREE. Checklists and Images". www.stickerpoints.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09. 10. ^ "Collection of Perez Steele Donruss Cards and Puzzles". AmericanMemorabilia.com. 11. ^ "Review: 2007 Topps Turkey Red Baseball". About.com Sports Cards. 2007. 12. ^ [1][dead link] 13. ^ [2] Archived January 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. 14. ^ [3] Archived October 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. 15. ^ [4] Archived September 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. 16. ^ [5] Archived February 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. 17. ^ "Topps Acquires WizKids". icv2.com. ICV2. June 23, 2003. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 18. ^ "Topps Reveals WizKids' Price". icv2.com. ICV2. June 23, 2003. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 19. ^ "Topps Shuts Down WizKids". icv2.com. ICV2. November 10, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 20. ^ In October 2009, Buster Posey received the 50th annual J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year. Wild, Danny (October 28, 2009). "Giants' Posey wins '09 Spink Award: Catcher skipped Double-A, dominated at San Jose ". Minor League Baseball (MiLB.com). Retrieved June 9, 2010. See also Baseball awards# U.S. minor leagues. 21. ^ "Topps, MiLB name Class A All-Stars: List includes Troutman Award winners Brown and Liriano". Florida State League official website. Minor League Baseball. November 22, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2012. 22. ^ "Topps, MiLB name Players of the Year: Trautman Award winners announced for each league". Minor League Baseball (MiLB.com). November 5, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2010. See also Baseball awards# U.S. minor leagues. 23. ^ "Panik, Bichette honored by MiLB, Topps: Top short-season, rookie stars recognized for 2011 season". Minor League Baseball. November 30, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.  

Bazooka (chewing gum)

“Sometimes you feel like a nut / Sometimes you don’t /Almond Joy’s got nuts,” who don’t?

BoomerBaby.com / Our Childhood Memories of Food Lunchtime is such a happy thing, cause we're having Partridge Wieners and it makes me sing!!! Happiness is a Partridge Wiener a really (something ) to eat. The Meyer Company who made this product is no longer in business. --- T. Snow III. Middletown, Ohio, 1958 St. John’s Bread Does anybody remember St. John's bread? I used to eat it every day after high school in the 60's, straight out of the package! No sandwich. Just the bread. It was sooooo good it didn't need anything else. St. John's was available in the Baltimore area. This yummy, yummy bread came in a round loaf and was sliced. I don't remember the grain content, but it was light brown colored. It definitely wasn't rye. I'm thinking it was probably a cracked wheat or something similar. Anybody remember it? And does anyone know if it's still sold anywhere? It's great fun reading all these "food memories". Thanks to everybody! --- Brenda, Delta, PA, 1946 Big Wad Gum Anybody remember "Big Wad" bubble gum from the late 60's. It looked like a half-inch thick pack of baseball cards but was all gum. I've got good memories of contests with my friends to see who could chew the whole "wad" at one time. It had a great flavor all it's own. --- Jim Walden, 1957 Orange Gum and Fun House Pizza in Kansas City Anyone remember Adams' sour flavored gum? I would love to get ahold of a pack of it. When I was four and five, it was a real treat, and my favorite flavor was orange. I've never seen it and wonder if it's still being made somewhere. I remember a candy bar called Zero, which was covered in white "chocolate." The thing I remember the most was that the flavor made me feel sick! I too loved Carnation Breakfast Bars--the chocolate flavor was my favorite, but I also was fond of the peanut butter variety. Wish they still made those. Was FunHouse Pizza Parlor a national chain? Before the days of ShowBiz Pizza and now Chuckee Cheese's, there was FunHouse, at least in Kansas City. While you ate, you could ride for free the galloping horses and other such fun-house rides usually stationed in front of Walmarts and K-Marts. The atmosphere was great: dark wood, music, wooden picnic style tables, etc. Also, we used to beg our grandparents to take us to Smacks for a Smacky Burger. These were (according to my grandparents) horrible, but as kids we loved Smacky the Seal--the mascot who sold us all on the place. Does anyone remember Smacks? To my knowledge, none of these items are around anymore. --- Andrea, Kansas City, Missouri, 1965 Newark, New Jersy Memories I grew up in Newark, New Jersey in the '50's right acrosss from West Side Park. I remember on Saturday evenings going to the Park Sugar Bowl on 16th Avenue and 17th Street with my dad to get the Sunday papers. We also used to get double-dipped ice cream cones with "jimmies" on top. I remember little square, banana flavored candies; the Good Humor guy on his bicycle - always would get a "toasted almond" bar. A delicious chocolate syrup called "Coco Marsh", snow cones, Taste-Cake pies that came in little cardboard boxes that looked like little boats with portholes on the sides! I remember Jimmy Buff's hot dog/sausage sandwiches; my aun't had a next door neighbor who worked in the Horn and Hardart's "automat" in NYC. It was a restaurant with a lot of tables and chairs. When you walked in, all around the walls were little windows where the food was: pies, sandwiches, hot meals. You got change from a woman at the entrance and paid for your meals by dropping your coins into a slot next to the food you wanted. I loved "Buttons", little dots of a flavored candy were stuck on a roll of paper that looked like adding machine paper. I used to buy "No-Cal" soda for my mom at the A&P on Springfield Avenue and 9th Street, before it was banned because of cyclamates, BO-NO-MO's Turkish Taffy in the foil wrapper, could pull the fillings right out of your teeth! In the summer, I used to go to Boyland Street Pool to cool off. Outside was a guy who sold large pretzels: 3 for 25 cents. From there, we'd walk down South Orange Avenue, right near Vailsburg Park was a Dairy Queen where we'd get a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. I remember "Slo-Poke and Black Cow" suckers, Bucky Beaver touting Ipana Toothpaste. --- I remember watching Joe Franklin's "Memory Lane" t.v. show on WOR-TV Channel 9, from NYC. It was fun being a kid in that epoch! --- (name, city, state, birth year???) Breakfast Squares Both my wife and I remember as children enjoying Breakfast Squares (we believe they were made by Carnation). We know that there were chocolate flavored ones (our favorite), but does anyone remember this product, and whether there were any other flavors? --- Dave, Belleville, IL 1957 Breakfast Squares were made by General Mills. I remember them well. They were like a very dry cake., completely covered with frosting (also dry). They weren't messy, which is why my mom bought lots of them. They came out in the late 1960s when a lot of space flight influenced food was popular. Pillsbury made Space Sticks, which looked a lot like Slim Jims, but with flavors like chocolate and vanilla. Carnation made Breakfast Bars, which are very similar to the chocolate covered granola bars made by Quaker Oats, which are still sold today. --- Bill--Riverside, CA, 1957 Milkshake Bars I had a sweet tooth for Holloway's "Milkskake" candy bars and "Mallo Cups" made by Boyer. Milkshakes candy bars tasted something like a malted Mars Milkyway would and Mallo Cups were similar to the shape and size of Reese's Peanutbutter cups except with marshmello centers. I know where some of the old types of candy are still sold that some of you mentioned like the wax coke shaped bottles with different flavors of drink inside. I've seen them at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant. Along with other old familiar candies. Too many to list. I really enjoyed reading everyone candy memories. --- Billy, Nashville, TN - 1957 Quest for Candy Here's another good place to get the old time candies (but not Turkish Taffey). Try Dorks if you like TT! http://www.sweetys.com (I don't know these people; I just buy their candy) I DO remember Bonomo Turkish Taffey (in Illinois) and Burger Chef (in Scottsdale, AZ) and miss them dearly. I wrote to the president of Tootsie Roll a couple of years ago and asked that they produce Turkish Taffey again (they bought the rights). They put out some small ones about ten years ago and then stopped again. I really miss the large ones and I'd bet if a million or so of us kept writing them, they might bring it back. --- Michael, San Diego, 1946 Cho Cho When I was a child growing up in Brooklyn, New York, I loved to eat Cho Chos so much that I got the nickname of "Cho-Cho". My family moved west when I was 10 years old and I never saw or heard of them again. Many years later, while working in the city of Oceanside, Cal., I met and married a wonderful woman. Lo and behold, while talking of our pasts, Doris mentioned how much she used to love eating cho chos as a child while visiting her grandparents in St. Louis, Mo. This was the first person I had ever met who even had heard of this treat. We often have wondered whatever happened to those delicious Cho Chos. --- George Ahrens, Brooklyn, NY 1931 (currently residing: Oceanside, CA) married to 1947 Baby Boomer: Doris Ahrens, St. Louis, MO Maypo! Maypo maple-flavored oatmeal - "I want my Maypo!" --- Sherry, Chesapeake, VA, 1955 Cherry Mash and Flavor Memories In addition to Cherry Mash still existing, I have a recipe to make Cherry Mash. A&W rootbeer places are alive and well except now they have a drive-up window and not curb-service. You still get the frosted mug if you go inside to eat. Dreamsicles were raspberry sherbet and vanilla ice cream; Creamsicles were orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream. Necco wafers are still around. In addition to vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, Bonomo's taffy also came in banana! Snyders Potato Chips - in the foil bag. I ordered some from their factory in Berlin, PA -- they were awful!!!! Remember cocoanut (possibly pina colada) popsicles - white; raspberry-turquoise; banana - yellow; cherry - red; orange - orange; lime - green; rootbeer - brown; grape - purple. Any I missed? --- Dave, Superior, CO, 1948 Fruit Float Does anyone else remember Fruit Float? I don't remember ever drinking it but that's what we as kids got our mom for Mother's day, her birthday, Christmas, you name the holiday, we bought it for her. We were living in Midland Texas at the time and I was only 4 so I don't remember a whole lot but I believe it came in a tin can. --- Dani, Calgary, Alberta 1969 Kool-Aid Stands "Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid for sale!" That is what you heard in my neighborhood most days of the summer months. The bus passed by my house several times per day. The driver would stop and let all the riders off and buy each one a glass of Kool-Aid from my stand. Man, if that wasn't good for a kid's ego - and piggy bank! When we weren't furthering our entrepreneurial knowledge we were sitting on the gutter yelling at each other across the street. --- Randy, Pueblo, CO 1959 Porth Pies Does anyone remember Porth Pies? They were in plastic containers in the grocery store & you opened the lid & took them out. How about Alaska pops? The blueberry/banana/licorice were delicious. --- Joanne, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 1943 Parkmoor Restaurants/Dayton, OH Does anyone remember or better yet have a recipe/restaurant with chicken like that of Parkmoor restaurants from Dayton Ohio in the 50's and 60's?? --- Molly P., Cincinnati, OH 1952 Winkey’s Hamburgers Ahh ! ! ! they were great. Then McDonalds moved in next door. So much for Winkey's Hamburgers. --- Jennifer, DuBois, Penna, 1966 Boyer Foods/Candies Here are a few things that I remember. "Mallo Cups" by the boyer foods company of Altoona Pennsylvania. "Smoothies" (same company) "Peanut Butter Cups (same company) and Zagnut Bars ! ! ! weren't these all GREAT Candy bars and cups? (Zagnut Bars I believe were manufactured in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.) The Boyer Foods Company still exists in Altoona. They mosty do the overseas shipments. But, if you are near there, I'm sure you can still get the great candies that they have. They even have "mini's" as well... Enjoyed this site. --- Jennifer, DuBois, Pennsylvania, 1966 Sweet Nostalgia Online Check out this web site for availability of some of your old favorite candies: sweetnostalgia.com Thanks to Tony, Chicago, IL, 1956 Good news for Alyson from Memphis and lots of other Boomers. California Candy Company is now selling lots of our favorites that many of us thought were just a memory. Their website is at www.californiacandy.com . Just click on "Old Fashioned" And yes Alyson, they do have ABBA ZABBA! --- Elliot San Diego, California 1951 Another great site for all this old-fashioned, hard-to-find candy is www.NostalgicCandy.com . Fizzies, flying saucers, Necco wafers, wax candy and more can be found at this site. --- Mark, Milwaukee, WI 1957 Flying Saucer Candies??? I remember a candy shaped like flying saucers with little tiny round candy inside of them. They were made of a wafer similar to the bread we received at communion. They were basically tasteless but the texture was what intrigued us the most. I also remember candy whistles. We all loved to drive our parents crazy with those. --- Donna from Independence, KY 1951 Abba Zabba & Mystery Danish Does anyone remember the Abba Zabba Candy bar? I used to live in San Diego, California in mid to late sixties and they were the best. White taffy filled with peanut butter - yum!!! I have lived in several different states and have never seen the Abba Zabba!! Another childhood favorite was a boxed breakfast danish similar to a Pop-Tart, but it was an oval swirl with fruit filling and frosting/sprinkles on top. I can't remember the name. If anyone remembers.....Do they still make these? This memory is also from mid-late sixties California. --- Alyson, Memphis, Tennessee '65 To Alyson, Memphis TN. I too remember the pop tart like pastry and I think the name of it was Danish Go-Rounds. They were pretty awesome. I also remember pop rocks, BB Bats, Kits and Goetz caramel crèmes. YUM. Where are the good 'ole days? --- Sunny G., Thomasville, GA, 1963 Danish-Go-Rounds, Pizza Spins, Space Food Sticks, etc. To answer Ayson from Memphis: I thought I was the only one who remembered these - DANISH-GO-ROUNDS! They were made by the same folks who made Pop-tarts but I always thought that the danish-go-rounds were tastier. I also enjoyed the following as i was growing up - Space food sticks, Pizza Spins (anyone remember these?), King Vitaman cereal, TACO-flavored Doritos (I really miss these!), Marathon bars. There was also a crisp-rice crunch candy made by Lanzi's and I believe was sold at Marshall Field's in Chicago. My mom would always buy these especially during X'mas holidays and they were terrific! I recently found out that the company went out of business so the Lanzi's are history. Oh well, at least we still have good memories of those days. --- Oliver, Chicago. 1961 Editor’s note: Taco flavored Doritos are back! Check your grocier. Danish Go Rounds! They were like PopTarts on steroids, lots more filling and much tastier icing with sprinkles. Milk Shake bars that we bought frozen from the bakery (do not ask me why the bakery sold them). Red Hot Dollars, which were not hot at all, but tasted great. There was a gum that was supposed to look like gold nuggets that came in a little cloth drawstring bag (name???) I am still a big fan of licorice whips (red only please!), those taffy lollipops that came in chocolate, strawberry or banana (can't remember the name for the life of me). These were better than the Bonomo Turkish Taffy that you had to crack. Am I crazy or did there used to be a light brown M&M, too? There was also a toaster pizza (revolting) from Buitoni or Jeno's. It was revolting, but better than the Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee pizza in a box (the dough never came out right). Do you remember the Quisp vs Quake commercials? They had a contest where kids were supposed to vote for which one they liked. Quisp won, of course. King Vitaman, have breakfast with the king... How about Freakies cereal? I don't remember it at all, just the commercial: We are the Freakies, we are the Freakies, this is the Freakies tree, we never miss a meal, 'cause we love our cere-eeel! --- And I really, really loved the corn flakes cereal with the freeze-dried strawberries. --- Joan M, Cortlandt Manor, NY, 1963". Nutty Buddies and Neko Wafers I don't think I saw Nutty-Buddies in the list. Or Neko wafers (5¢ at the movie theater for a HUGE roll of thin flavored hard-candy wafers). And, I remember scrounging for pop bottles on Saturday with my best friend. We would take them to the corner grocery and exchange them for penny candy and wind up with enough to make us sick Saturday night while we watched horror movies all night. --- Ed, Everman, Texas, 1948 Hot Dog Gum and Little Dots Hi! I have some great memories, many of which were mentioned by others, but don't forget hot-dog gum and the little dots on paper! We used to walk to the 7-Eleven and get a whole bag of candy for 25 cents!! --- Donna, Elgin, IL 1962 LifeSavers I remember leaving high school at lunch time and going to a little corner store across the street and stocking up on Chocomint Lifesavers (Circa 1964). Yum! And, [nonfood item] does anyone remember selling Rosebud Salve to all your neighbors? (Circa pre-1960) --- Elaine, born in Richland Center, WI, 1949 Tropical Fruit LifeSavers where my favorite. Especially the banana. Weren't there clove LifeSavers, too? --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Elaine: Rosebud Salve is still going strong! The same family still makes it. The company address is 6 North Main Street, Woodsboro, MD 21798. You can order by phone at 301-845-8788. You can also buy Rosebud Salve online from several retail vendors (just do a search on the name). There is nothing like Rosebud Salve, especially as a lip gloss or for chapped lips! Several Hollywood celebrities have discovered it, and, as a result, there have been a slew of magazine and newspaper articles about Rosebud lately -- for one, see this site . --- Cyndi, Born 1952 in Washington, DC Wax “Pop” Bottles Oh, my brother also loved those wax bottle-shaped candies filled with a super sweet colored liquid. I never liked them, but I do remember chewing the empty wax until it fell apart and got crumbly in my mouth. --- Maggie, Atascadero, CA, 1969 Philadelphia Phood Memories Wow...reading this page has brought the memories flooding back to days growing up as a kid in Philadelphia! Turkish taffy, Sugar Daddy pops (like a hard caramel taffy on a stick), Charms pops (always got one when we stopped at the drug store), Sugar Babies, Mary Janes. Anyone remember a chocolate bar called Lunch Bar? Cost 3 cents. How about Sport cola from Canada Dry? Wally Cox did the commercials...How would you like a good swift kick? You wanna go Sport all the way...Sport Cola's alive, Sport cola's a drive, c'mon and be a Sport today! Honeycomb Cereal? King Vitamin Cereal? Philly's White Tower hamburgers? Best damn burger ever! Usually had White Tower shops at major transportation stops in the city. Hansom's Bakeries...my mom ALWAYS ordered my birthday cake from Hansom's. Also had great rice pudding and bread pudding. Bon Ton potato chips. Charles Chips...delivered to your door in a tin. Harbison's milk...with the big milk bottle on top of the dairy at Erie and Torresdale Avenues. Bond bread...delivered fresh to your door. Hot Shoppes drive-ins? I remember going to the one on Hunting Park Avenue next to Tastykake. Dairy Maid stores with their soda fountains. Always go two Ritz crackers with your dish of ice cream. Mallo Cups...they were great! Made at the Boyer factory in Altoona, Pa. Good Humor ice cream sold by the Good Humor man on a hot summer evening. The jingling bells of the Good Humor ice cream truck! Whew! I could go on and on...but I'll just stop here and say thanks for the memories! --- Preston, Philadelphia, 1959 Frozen Mellon Balls I remember the frozen mellon balls. A frozen box of honeydew & cantalope mellon balls. As a kid I liked those better than the fresh stuff (Oh! how I've grown). Also we ALWAYS had dessert after our dinner. Even if it was just jello, pudding, frozen mellon balls or junket! Anyone remember junket, a sort of light custard dish. --- Rosemary, Brooklawn, NJ 1947 CocoMarsh When I was a kid, I can remember a chocolate syrup called Coco Marsh. I liked it more than Bosco. --- Phil, Perth Amboy, N.J., 1954 French fries, penny candies, Quisp and Ayds (diet candies) After my mom found a job at GE, my parents could affored to take my three brothers and me to Carroll's, a fast food place, every once in awhile. I almost always couldn't eat all my french fries and started putting them in my coat pocket. The next day at school I remembered the fries and I took them out to throw away but my friend ate them, and liked them! I also remember taking the city bus to school and sometimes my friends and I would go to a McDonald's near the bus stop and ask them to make us french fries at 7 AM. I guess back then they didn't have strict rules, because they always made them for us. And yes, you could buy a burger, fries and a drink for less than a dollar. Back then their pies were fried. A quarter bought a bag full of penny candy. I liked tootsie rolls, wax lips, lipstick, wax coke bottles, caramels, squirrels, Swedish fish, now and laters, Mary Janes. Candy necklaces, candy rings, Chico sticks - those cost more. The candy store also had this strange paper toy that when you whipped through the air, would make a loud popping sound. Oh, and I loved the Brownie chocolate drink! I also remember the Mr. Softee ice cream truck. My brothers and I would hear that twinkling and run to dad and beg for money. He'd usually give in. We only got the cones. We never tried the banana splits or milkshakes. Probably because they cost a quarter and the cones were only a dime. The popsicle man would come by too and on great days, my dad would buy a whole box of popsicles. His favorite was banana but he'd buy an assortment for us kids. I also remember Quisp cereal (liked to scoop vanilla ice cream with it), Ovaltine, and Tang. And strangely, I used to like the diet candy my mom used to buy - Ayds. It supposedly curbed your appetite. She never knew I used to sneak them. She kept them on top of the fridge. My mom also bought Ice Cube chocolate candies by the box. They were the best. Back then they were wrapped in gold. Today they are wrapped in silver and blue. I found her hiding spot - at the very top kitchen cabinet. She had to do that or else my three brothers and I would eat it all in one day. And I miss People's Drug store. They had a busy lunch counter. After my weekly piano lesson, I'd ask my dad if we could go for a snack. Sometimes he said OK. I'd order a hot dog with chips. He ordered coffee. I remember it as very special times - just me and dad. I was in the 5th grade I think. People's is gone now - CVS took its place. And my mom used to make sure my brothers and I got a Fred Flinstone vitamin every morning before we went to school. --- Rie (grew up in Norfolk, VA) 1963 Here's a response to Rie, who grew up in Norfolk, VA, YOB 1963, who remembered Peoples Drug lunch counters, penny candy, and Quisp cereal. I worked for Peoples Drug in Md.! I'm a pharmacist, and no, I don't work for CVS. If you remember Quisp, you can't forget his pal, Quake---the muscle-bound character in the construction hard hat who punched his way through solid earth. And along with the penny candy, how about "Big Buddy" bubblegum sticks---a whole foot-long stick of bubble gum in various flavors, and Trixies---long paper tubes filled with a sweet/tart fruity powder, like eating pre-sweetened Kool-Aid powder right out of the pouch. And, does anyone remember Tru-Ade, the non-carbonated orange drink? I grew up in Mt. Airy, MD, and the town pharmacy (before Peoples, Rite-Aid, etc.) made cherry, chocolate, vanilla, and root beer cokes. In the old fashioned Coca-Cola glasses, they'd squirt coke syrup, then whatever other flavor syrup, then carbonated water; stirred it, then poured it over ice. This, too, was a pharmacy where if you had indigestion, the druggist would mix a Bromo-Seltzer right there at the pharmacy and you'd drink it right there from a paper cup---for a quarter. --- Bob, Orlando, Florida (Maryland native), 1961 Slurpies (and Uncle Funny Face) Slurpees…back around 1968-69 remember they used to change the flavors every week, and how we couldn’t wait for the new flavors? I recall one called "Fulla Bulla", but can’t recall the actual flavor. The bubblegum Slurpee was one of my favorites – loved the bright aqua color! What a thrill it was watching the guy behind the counter putting the large cup up to the Slurpee machine, and watching it ooze out. 7-11 used to have these really off the wall radio commercials for Slurpees…they used this one announcer in particular with a strange, quirky voice – we used to listen intently when the new Slurpee commercials came on, announcing a new flavor, and then rushing down to our local neighborhood store to be one of the first to get one. Ahh, those were the days! Regarding Funny Face drinks: My uncle Hal created all of the original characters back in 1964 at the ad agency he worked at. This was his big claim to fame and everyone in the family always thought it was a big deal and bragged to their friends that we had someone in the family who was kind of famous. Goofy Grape was modeled after my unc! --- Jeff Hollinger, Oakland, CA 1956 Cup’O Gold Candy is Reborn! Good news for Tami from Maryland and others in search of Cup O' Gold candy. Adams & Brooks of Los Angeles, which has been in business for almost 70 years is making them again! They also make other favorites such as P-Nuttles and Coffee Rio candy. Their phone# is 213-749-3226 and their website is at: http://www.adams-brooks.com/products.htm --- Elliot, San Diego, California , 1951 The Ice Cream Man I'm originally from Bay Ridge Brooklyn, NY. Who remembers Uncle Dan, The Ice Cream Man? When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to hear his bells hit 71st street and Colonial Road. When we knew he was coming, we'd run to the court yard, yelling up to our parents for ice cream money. The smart ones always had the money already and were the first ones on line. And we all had our favorites too. Mine was the Ice Cream Cone with the nuts and chocolate on top. And, whatever happened to 2 slices and a coke for a buck at the local pizza place. It was a great way to spend that hot lunch money, instead of eating that sad food in the cafeteria. Did anybody go out with the family regularly and eat at the Chinese restaurant? I always ate Egg Foo Young. And we always had fun with the fortunes in the fortune cookies. And, I'll never forget the Sunday afternoon meals, when the family would make an event out of the day.....and the meal was the most important part, when we would sit around the table for hours, just talking and laughing. Where have those days gone? --- Ralph Mauriello (originally from Bay Ridge Brooklyn, NY) Hagerstown, Maryland - 1957 The Automat If you're from the Northeast-do you remember Horn & Hardart's in Phila? They had the automat where you put coins in to get your food. They had the greatest chicken salad, creamed chip beef, rice pudding, and tapioca pudding. My dad worked there as a manager and he always came home with something good every night. --- Joyce, Willingboro NJ, 1950 Happyniks, anyone? I'm having the hardest time finding somebody else (outside of my family) who remembers Happyniks. These were round chocolate and vanilla cookies, about the diameter of an Oreo, embossed with a smiley face. They came in a thin cardboard box that was covered in glossy, red paper. I think they were made by Nabisco, but I'm not sure. Does anyone remember them??? These were almost always in our cupboard, next to the Tang, Funny Face, and Space Food Sticks. --- Lisa, Newburyport, MA, 1969 Big Dip Ice Milk This was a popular item back in the 60s. Made by Foremost dairy. My mother hated it because it was faux ice cream, and would never buy it. I bugged and pestered her to buy some, and she finally broke down. It was pretty awful. --- Jeff, Oakland, CA 1956 Name that cake: Not sure as to the year....probably around the mid 60's......and I can't remember the name of the product......but boy.....it cost a dime and I would run up to the local store and spend that dime on this tasty treat......it was a double stacked chocolate cake with really creamy whipped icing between and covered with semi-sweet chocolate with an extra thick coat of chocolate on the top o the cake...not a moon pie or a whoopie pie.....this was something else.....a true treat....a YUMMY delight for a $.10. Ah the good old days! --- M. Ritchie, Altoona, PA, 1953 Cho-Chos, banana flips, Lick’M Aid, etc. Who remembers Cho-Chos? They were chocolate-malt flavored ice cream in a paper cup. They cost 6 cents and the clerk gave you a little flat wooden spoon. This was in western PA in the early 50's. And banana flips, cake with banana cream filling, folded over like an omelet. And Lick'm Aid powder in packets (late 50's). They turned your tongue purple and green. Regarding egg creams and phosphates: as I recall, a phosphate is syrup and soda water, while an egg cream is syrup, soda water, and a small amount of milk - essentially an ice cream soda without the ice cream. My first job was waiting tables in a steak house in NJ where I learned to make them. Also, bubble gum cigars. They came in pink, yellow and green (NJ?). And, last but not least, another vote for Turkish Taffy! I've been craving it for years. Let's start a campaign to bring it back! --- Ellen, 1946, Washington, PA Flavor Straws I remember Flavor Straws also- they were great! They were available in 3 flavors-I think they were chocolate, coffee and strawberry. A very small "flavor wafer" was inserted in the middle of the straw during the manufacturing process so when milk passed through it, it became flavored. --- Elliot San Diego, California 1951 Flavored Straws which came in a box of twelve with several flavors, including Strawberry, blueberry, chocolate and cherry. I would die for for another taste of those in my glass of cold milk! The Good Humour man had nickel "Wahoo!" bars in rootbeer and one other flavor. And in Chicago we had Fasano cakes, which were mini-poundcakes of different flavors in a package. shaped just like a real pound cake, not a slice, they were special treats in my Roy Rogers lunchbox. --- Steve, Chicago, Il, 1955. A Cavalcade of Candy Memories Anyone that loves the candy that we grew up eating ,from wax lips & mustaches to lik-m-aid, jujubes, pixy stix, even fizzies and many others needs to be-bop right over to Scott Diamond's Groovy Candies site . --- CeCe, San Bernardino,California. 1949 JuJube's and Milk Duds and Carmel Creams Every Sunday, my parents would send my brother, sister and I to the movies. We got 10 cents to spend and could two 5 cent treats - I always gog JuJuBe's (those small chewy, fruity candies) and Milk Dud. Talk about dental filling removers! On Saturday morning, it was off to the neighborhood soda fountain for "Suicides" - cokes where they put every flavor in it - and carmel creams - little rolls of carmels with a cream center. I ate a whole bag once, got sick, and haven't touched them since. --- Mary, Wadsworth, Ohio 1947 A Voluminous Mass of Memories from Ohio During lunch breaks in Junior high, soda pop cost a nickle. My favorite was Nehi Orange or Grape or Pepsi Cola (commercial: Pepsi Cola hits the spot!). We would get on our bikes and ride out of town on old route 22 and stop at a little store there and as late as 1970 could still buy a bottle of soda pop for a nickle! In the late 50's the soda fountains were inside the drug store. I remember Ghallager's (I think that's how it was spelled) Drug Store. The smells as soon as you walked in the door were incredible. Hot Campbell's soup, fries, shakes, and the scents of soaps like Lifebouy, Camey, and Ivory. Perfums too. The soda fountain was to the back of the store. After you cruised the aisles looking at the wonders of nylon hose (with the seam down the back that was so hard to keep straight when you wore them)to dippity do for your hair, and sewing notions ....it was time to sit and have a soda. You could buy something called a phosphate in a little drug store downtown. The soda jerk at the soda fountain would put a flavor (cherry coke, vanilla, cherry)in the cup then put in the stuff that made it fizz and bubble. It tickled your nose when you tried to drink it. You can't get phospates anymore. The last one I can remember having was after high school graduation in 1966. We had ice cream carts that came through the neighborhood in the summer. A man sat on a bicycle that had a freezer unit attached to the back of the bike and he had to pedal everywhere he went with to sell his ice cream. Bordens was the best ice cream you could buy then. He sold rockets (popsickles with several colors and flavors in one), cream sickles, push ups and ice cream sandwiches. The bread man brought your bread products right to your bread. The Wonder bread truck had a picture of the colorful Wonder bread wrapper with the red, yellow and white polka dots and said "Wonder bread". The bread was as good as home made. If you couldn't pay but once a week or month you could keep a tab and pay the man later. They sold Bond bread only at the store. The milk man brough your dairy products to your door early in the morning, but in our area it was in the afternoon. He had good milk from the local dairy. Milk used to come in glass bottles when I was in grade school. The bottles were sealed with cardboard caps instead of plastic like today, and I guess some kids collect the caps but we never heard about that. The Watkins man brough unusual gadgets, the latest gidgets and of course the great Watkins products for your health and your kitchen to your door. The Watkins man would bring in a case and it was fitted out with brushes and things to clean the home (I think they stole this idea from the Fuller brush man, don't you?) He had cake mixes, bread mixes, food coloring, flavors to put in pies and cakes, etc. Like vanilla extract. By the time I was in high school the Watkins man sold many things beside his famous salves and ointments. You could get clothes from him and small kitchen appliances, I think....my memory is kind of dim on that one. We all loved to walk down to the hot dog stand and get foot long hot dogs. You could top them with chili or mustard, ketchup and onion or relish. Colonel Sanders didn't come to town until I was in high school, along with Borden burgers and Burger king. Our idea of a meal out was the diner or the cafeteria where you took a tray, stood in line and chose from such delicious meals (much much tastier and fresh than you can get in a cafeteria today!)as turkey, dressing and mashed potatoes, roast beef and mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans. The meals were under $2.00 and you could hardly eat the whole meal. Saturdays when you lounged around with your friends you'd go to the A&W rootbeer stand and have a rootbeer, a tin roof sunday or a brown cow. All your friends would be hanging out there or cruising the streets. Every now and then you'd stop at a red light and flirt with the boys. Sometimes you'd jump out of your car, cross the intersection and hop in the other car…and drive down to the drive-in where you met up with your car again. It was cool! Everyone stared, shook their heads and wondered what the world was coming to. (Gee…if they only knew how tame that is to drive by shootings and gang wars!) Lancaster had Kenny's Drive Inn where people came from all over to sample their famous strawberry pie and their big man's platters. You could go inside the restaurant or the waiteress would come out on roller skates and take your order. She brought out the food on skates, too. She was called a car hop and it was like today's Sonic pretty much. Sometimes we hung out at Kenny's downtown restaurant. I loved to sit in a booth by the window and watch all the traffic going by. (You hardly ever saw a car on our street, just a few in the neighborhood.) I'd drop in a quarter and play five songs on the juke box. My favorite meal was usually a hamburger with the works and an order of french fries. For pizza the best place was the Isle of Capri in Columbus, Ohio. In Lancaster it was the West Side Inn. Pizza Hut built a place in our town around the early 70's. Before that pizza there was Chef Boy 'R Dee. For breakfast you might stir up a glass of Tang (orange juice mix) or have Bosco in your milk, or you might have some Nestles's Quick. We didn't have pop tarts or breakfast bars. Instant oatmeal was a wonder that Quaker didn't have yet, oatmeal took five minutes to fix. --- Judith (born in Lancaster, OH), 1947 Name this product: I can't remember what they were called (help) but it was a 2 piece plastic ball with a tube molded into each end of it. The ball broke apart in the middle and you put a scoop of your favorite icecream inside, then put it back togeather. The tube on one end was inserted into a bottle of your favorite soda pop and you drank from the tube on the other end of the ball. The icecream always outlasted the soda pop but then you just opened the ball and finished the job. --- Randy- Reedley, CA, 1955 That plastic ball which you separated and added ice cream to and then put one end into a soda bottle was a "Fizz-Nik" and was often associated with 7-UP. Wish they'd bring them back. --- Elliot, San Diego, California 1951 Aeresol Flavored Drinks and Cherry Mash I remember in the mid 1960s there was an aerosol product that you could squirt into a glass of water and would get a flavored drink. I can't remember the name of the product, but the can was about the size of a large shaving cream can and the nozzle looked the same. My favorite flavor was lime. I remember going on an airplane to visit relatives and packing the can in my suitcase; I worried that the can would explode due to the pressure while on the airplane! I came across this site while searching for an old candy bar favorite, the Cherry Mash. I have been looking for this candy for decades and wish I could find a place that sold them. --- Steve, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1959 Hey Steve, Cherry Mash is still around! The company is located in St. Joseph, Missouri. I remember when I was a kid my dad would go to the store and buy my sister and I each a Cherry Mash and a bottle of Coke (pure heaven!) right before The Wizard of OZ came on TV each year. ( I still have to have my Cherry Mash and Coke whenever that movie's on TV:o) --- Tammy Walker, Kearney MO 1965 Hershey’s My dad's brother and his family lived out near Hershey, PA and I remember touring the actual chocolate factory. At some point in time they built a Disney-esque virtual tour and shut the public out of the factory, but I can still see the vats of chocolate with the huge rollers going from one end to the other "conching" (sp?) the chocolate. I don't remember what this process was for but I am sure it is done today. After the tour you received a small bag of "stuff", most likely a sample of the chocolate candy and I think a packet of powder to mix with milk. I have never been to the amusement park...may have been built after we were there. --- Ginger - 1961, Fridley, MN (grew up near Johnstown, PA) Sweet Tooth Memories I enjoyed reading everyones rememberances, and want to tell them that many of hte old time candies are available by mail or online at the California Candy Company. They sell just about anything. Remember those wax lips? Walnettos? They have them. Mary janes, HUGE jawbreakers. I grew up in Alliance, Ohio, and we had a local restaurant(still in business) that all the teenagers hung out at called Heggy's. They put butter on thier french fries.(try it, you'll like it) They also still make the hand dipped candy they had then. the centers were various flavors, maple, vanilla, cherry, peanuts. o this day, when I want to send my brothers out of state a present, they get Heggy's candy and Snyder's potato chips. My aunt used to make me something called Py-O-My pudding cake. You mixed the stuff right in the pan, and when it baked, the cake would raise to the top, and there'd be warm chocolate pudding underneath. Do you remember Isley's skyscraper ice cream cones? They had a special scoop that made a tall thin scoop, and you had to lick them fast to keep them from falling over. We also had a Coca-Cola bottleing Co. in our neighborhood, and it was locally owned by a family named Fullmer. They also made their own flavors of soda, and the "blood orange" was the best orange pop I have ever drunk. We had both Red Barn and A&W Rootbeer, on date night the boys would drive up to the burger king, drive around the building, then drive down the dtreet to the Red Barn, do the same, then back up the street. Guess they didn't know what else to do, and we didn't get spending money like they do today. There was also a drive-up restaurant with waitresses on skates, called the Polka-Dot Drive In , It was a white building with big black Polka-dots on it, and our favorite treat there besides hamburgs, were the "Boston Coolers" which were rootbeer floats. Isn't it funny how many of our memories are built around food and music? --- Judith C., Canton, OH, 1943 Whip-n-Chill I remember Whip-n-Chill as a form of instant pudding that had a bit more body or texture to it. This stuff actually set up almost like Jello gelatin. I also loved the Space Food Sticks. My mom was into Weight Watchers when I was growing up and I remember making low calorie "pizzas" on toast with WW's recipe ketchup, dried oregano and colby cheese. I also loved Pepsi Lite when it was just Pepsi with lemon...before they took the sugar out and ruined the taste. --- Ginger -1961, Fridley, MN (grew up near Johnstown, PA) Whip-n-Chill was wonderful -- mousse-like and rather mild tasting (came in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and other flavors) with a bubbled texture resembling ultrafine Styrofoam. General Foods used to advertise it on "Gomer Pyle" and other network fare. Here's some of the jingle, to the best of my recollection. (The backups repeated "Whip-n-Chill can be..." in a syncopated, bouncing-octave melody emphasizing the word "can.") [Whip-n-Chill can be...] Whip-n-Chill can be a cherry pie. [Whip-n-Chill can be...] [Whip-n-Chill can be... Whip-n-Chill can be...] --- Peter, Greenville, MI, 1954 I remember the Chiquita Banana Song: I'm Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say That you can eat bananas any time of day Bananas taste delicious when you peel and eat And bananas with milk are such a nourishing treat! Wholesome and then some! --- Sylvia, Austin, TX 1947 Dilly Bars, Fizzies… I remember Dairy Queen Dilly Bars, Crispy Critters cereal, Shake-a-pudding, Space sticks (ugh) , Strawberry Crush, Campfire Mints , Kellogs Concentrate, The Milkman and the Breadman who ran over my tricycle....Swansons Fried Chicken TV Dinners, Fizzies (yummy!), Nalleys Potato Chips (they came in a box), Adams Sour Cherry drops, Hires rootbeer floats..I could go on and on. --- Cam Keeley, Seattle Washington, 1959 Burries Cookies What ever happened to Burries cookies? In the 60's these were the best, You had Fudge town, loaded with chocolate fudge, Gouchos,with peanut butter filling and Mr. Chips, great chocolate chip cookies, Always the good things go first. --- Michael, Bklyn, New York 1958 Coconut Watermellons anyone? Does anyone remember the candy made from coconut red green black (seeds) watermellon slices. --- Denise, Pennsylvania, 1955 I remember jelly candy fruit slices from Fanny Farmer. They came were half-circle slices in orange, lemon, lime and cherry. The "rine" was a white candy of a tart nature. They were sugar coated. The precursor to today's "Sour Patch Kids?" --- Jill, Milwaukee, WI, 1948 Jill: For a blast from the past stop by your local Fanny Farmer/Fanny Mae... They still sell these. King Stir and Funny Face Does anyone remember King Stir "the mix on a stick"? It looked like a swizzle stick with a blob of orange "Fizzies" type stuff on the end that you'd swirl in your water to make a Tang-like drink. Or, how about Funny Face mixes? Choo-Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, Jolly-Olly Orange, Rootin-Tootin Raspberry, Lefty Lemon... --- Terry, Chicago, 1956 Funny Face Drink Stand (a mail-in premium) Thanks for the memory trigger, Terry... I remember sending in a bunch of Funny Face Drink (Pillsbury) packages to get a Funny Face Drink stand - it was a brightly printed cardboard "sales booth" with posts that held up a sign. The best freebee I ever had. I'm sure I immediately had mom buy a bunch more Funny Face drink packets so I could open up the booth by the road. --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 More east coast food memories Reading someone else's memories of foods they had while growing up in Brooklyn brought back my own memories. I definitely remember eggcremes, milk deliveries and even soda deliveries. The soda man also sold U-Bet chocolate syrup. Anyone remember that? Someone else mentioned Fresca soda and how it has gone by the wayside, but it is still available here in the Northeast. I remember Wetson's hamburger joints and Jahn's ice cream parlors (I know there were at least 2 in Brooklyn and 2 in NJ -- not sure where else). You could get the giant Kitchen Sink sundae that served 11 people! I also remember Chocolate Babies candies. I believe they were made by Heide. They were sort of like Tootsie Rolls in flavor and consistency, and they were in the shape of what was supposed to look like babies, but they looked more like mutants. Other people here have mentioned Quisp cereal. I recently discovered that it is still available in several cities and is now available from General Mills at www.quisp.com. Apparently they have been doing very good business lately! --- Loretta, Union, NJ, 1962 Shake-A-puddin’ Shake a puddin', a paper cup with chocolate, vanilla and banana flavored powder, add water, shake and set aside, and voila, a few minutes later you have puddin'! (well, sort of!) Jello 1-2-3, where the third kayer was always thick and gritty. Fizzles, Cool pops. --- Mallorie Mamber Cove, Hollywood, FL 1961 Jello Parfaits and other wiggly delights Remember Jello parfaits? It was this really cool mix that when you whipped it up and poure it into a parfait glass, it separated into layers all by itself and looked really fancy even though you'd done nothing special. I remember my Mom would make it for me whenever I was home sick from school and it always made me feel a little better.I miss that stuff. Sigh! --- Valerie, Toronto, Canada, 1954 Jello 1-2-3! I think Valerie described this product earlier as a Jello parfait. I always begged my mom to buy it for me because the TV ad looked so cool, the way the layers formed, with the clear Jello on the bottom and a fluffy type of Jello on top. This was around the time Space Sticks (originally made for the astronauts!) were big, too. --- Dolores, San Diego, CA, 1963 I remember making "Knox Blocks" with Jello and Knox geletain. They were basically hard and chewy Jello that didn't melt easily - great for chomping on in school. --- Ted V., St. Paul, MN 1954 The Frito Bandito Frito Bandito from Frito's Corn Chips Aye-Yaye-yaye-yaye, I am the Frito Bandito I love frito's corn chip I love them I do... I want Frito's Corn Chips I get them from you! I still to this day enjoy a small bag of fritos with my sandwich at lunch time.... and besides... they keep you regular....and at our age, this is important. --- Jeff Gross, Philly, PA, 1960 Boyer’s Mallo Cups As a kid we couldn't wait to scarf up some nickels and hit the corner store for Boyer's Mallo Cups. It was a chocolate/marshmallow candy shaped like todays Reese Cup. It tasted great but almost as important was the cardboard backing that revealed how many Mallo Cup points you got. Usually 1 point was all you got but I remember 5, 10 & 25 pointers. You saved the points and when you reached say 100 you mailed them in for free Mallo Cups. --- Dave, Scranton PA 1956 Boyer's Mallo Cups were one of my favorites though. We would save those points (1,2,5,10,25, & 50) 'til we got 500 and send them in. Nothing tasted better than those FREE Cups, even if they did melt on the way and had to be peeled out of the wrapper. --- Ed, Everman, Texas, 1948 My memory of Mallo Cups - They still make them today, but there was nothing like the OLD point system. After collecting 500 points, you were in for a treat of 10 double bars, via U.S. Mail. When they finally came it was an all-time great day. And I remember 100 point cards, what a rush! Rumors abounded about 500 pointers, but I wonder... There was a short-lived sweet that consisted of a little molded plastic bottle, with sweet syrup in it, I remember cherry flavor. It was so sweet that a drop was great - but at first we tried just sort of drinking them down. That wasn't so great, but if you nursed it for a while, a drop at a time, it was really fun. What were those called? --- Dale, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1959 Another Bonomo Memory I remember walking home from school and stopping at the local soda shop and getting a chocolate coke or a cherry coke and a big piece of turkish taffy. It was made by Bonomo and it came in vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. My favorite was to get a vanilla turkish taffy and dip it in my choc coke. You could sit there for an hour till it was gone. They have taffy today, but no one could make it like BONOMO..... I also miss the one dollar a carload drive-in movies.. We used to pile anywhere from 9 to 11 people in my sisters 53 Chevy . Those were the days... --- Carol Smathers, Indiana, PA. 1948 I also recall that there was a Banana flavored Bonomo. And come to think of it, a banana flavored Popsicle, too. --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Lendy's Drive-Ins All about Lendy’s, a 50's- 60's drive-in in Virginia. Lots of cool photos. Go to: http://members.home.net/lendyz/ Cup O’ Gold Candy Who remembers those wonderful candy bars, "Cup O' Gold?" They were a round candy a little bit larger than a peanut butter cup, made with the sweetest chocolate with crunchies on the top and filled with this incredibly delicious marshmallow creme filling. Does anyone know if they still exist? I used to get them at the movies once in a while for a nickle. I'd buy one for a whole lot more today if I could find one. --- Tammi, Cheverly, MD, 1957 Bright Red Candy Lipstick & Henry's Burgers Does anyone remember the little lipstick candy it was a one inch tube of red mystery with a gold foil around it. It really made your lips ,mouth anything it touched bright red. Also Henry's hamburgers were the big thing around here 15 cents 10 cents for fries and a whole quarter if you wanted pop too. My Mom was hooked on "walnut crush" candy bars. they looked yummy in a shiny orange wrapper but were dark chocolate with a pure white nougat filling. ---Nancy, Cedar Rapids, IA, 1949 Burger Chef & Parkmoor Anyone remember Burger Chef and Parkmoor restaurants? Snacks were cheap--15 cent hamburgers, Coke for a dime, and candy bars for a nickel. Some flavors of soft drinks that have gone by the wayside were Fresca and Squirt. For breakfast you might have Maypo hot cereal. Jelly came in jars that were reusable as drinking glasses. --- Gloria, 1954, Dayton, OH Tang and O-o-o - it’s Bonomo! I can still remember the Tang Drink song: If you want to do what the Astronauts do, Join the Space gang And Drink your energy Tang. Tang is for breakfast, lunch and after school- TANG! Tang is energizing like rocket fuel...sooooo If you want to do what the Astronauts do- Join the Space gang and Drink your energy Tang. It's very scary that I rembember it so well after all these years.. Anyone remember Bonomo Turkish Taffey?- Give it a whack- Whatdoyouknow Bonomo? --- (name missing) Toronto, ON, 1959 It went, "BO-NO-MO... Bonomo's, O-O-O, It's Bonomo's... CAAANDEEE." I live in California now and haven't seen Bonomo's Turkish Taffy in years. I guess they don't make it any more. Too bad. It was the best. I remember spending the day at the pool in Levittown, PA - one Bonomo's lasted all day long. --- Carol, Northridge, CA, 1947 Vanilla Turkish Taffey!!! Can't stop thinking about that stuff and wishing I could find it! --- Wanda, Bethesda, Maryland, 1949 I have great memories of Bonomo's Turkish Taffy, Vanilla Egg Creams, Twinkies, Milk Duds and Sugar Babies. I know they are still around but remember the little wax bottles with the syrup in them? How about Maypo. I want my MAAYPOOO! --- Sonia from Queens New York, 1951. Yipes! Stripes! I still own and cherish a "lime fruit stripped tiger" stuffed animal that I got by sending in gum wrappers and $4.99 to Beech Nut. I carried it around everywhere and put Brut on it's nose. I think you could also get a horse and an elephant and something else. I still have the ragged portions of this animal who I named Toenail (who knows why?) and believe it or not can still faintly detect Brut when I smell it. --- Phyl, born in Detroit in 1951 Scranton Cuisine I grew up in Scranton, Pa. and remember the milk deliveries from the Burschel Dairy a few times a week. Also potato chip deliveries from Charle's Chips. We used to go downtown to Woolworth's and have "chocolate" and 'cherry" cokes at the snack counter. We couldn't wait for hot summer evenings for the ice cream trucks to come through the Tripp Park neighborhood........ Dairy Dan and Mr. Softy, great ice cream!!! And those trips to the neighborhood candy store...... Sen Sens, Mary Janes, Green Mint Leaves, Ju Ju's, Bazooka and Double Bubble Gum. Does any one remember Sasparilla soda? That was my mom's favorite. I remember mom canning everything...... tomatoes, fruit from our trees in our backyard, mushrooms that dad picked, chili sauce. Stop & Go drive-in downtown and Carol's drive-in before McDonald's came to town. Ovaltine on cold, snowy days. Nutty Buddy ice cream cones. The Good 'Ole Days! --- Mary Ann, Gibsonville, N.C.1947 Cracker Jacks and Chicken Shacks I have very found memories of many previously [below] mentioned foods, Farfel's and his famous Nestles pitch, Tang, Space Food Sticks, etc. One of my favorites were Cracker Jacks (wish I could remember all the words to the jingle - "Lip smacking... peanuts and a prize") and the commercial of the kid pulling strings, pennies, a yo-yo and numerous other items out of his pockets to purchase a box of Cracker Jacks. Locally, there was an small chain of fried chicken joints around Austin, Texas called the Chicken Shack. For about $1.50/person, a family could get all you could eat fried chicken and fixin's and the kids would get to pick out a toy at the end of the meal! Afterwards, we'd pile in the Impala and go to the Chief or Burnet Drive-In for a double feature with a gallon jug of ice-cold, frothy rootbeer from the local A&W stand. --- Allen Bettis, Austin, Texas, 1959 Ice Cream Push Ups Ice Cream Pushups. Ice cream with fruit flavored ice was wrapped in a cylindrical tube... as you ate you pushed the stick up to get more ice cream. We were lucky to have a small family-owned candy....ice cream...pop...grocery store at the end of our block. --- Beth, St.Paul, MN, 1954 Dreamsicles and Fudgesicles I always gravitated toward these Popsicle treats as opposed to the fruit flavored ices... And always found it hard to choose between the two. I think that Dreamsicles usually won out. But I still can see and feel the ice form on the surface of the Fudgesicle after the first lick. --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Birch Beer and Misc. Sweets I remember Royal Castle restaurants having birch beer instead of root beer, Dogs & Suds for drive up car hops serving hotdogs relishes, hamburgers and fries, Chuckles candy, Bonamo Taffy, Milk Duds, Slo Pokes, Fresca soda, malteds, Blue Moon ice cream, the waffle man, watermellon shaped candy made from coconut, candy dots on sheets of white paper, wax lips, bull's eye candy, black jack candy and bazooka joe bubble gum. We were kids raised as kids not miniature adults as children are raised today. I taught the children in my neighborhood how to play hide and go seek. The weirest question I was asked was " when do we play this game?" Duh! Kids don't play outside, they don't build forts or treehouses. Being a 4th grade teacher, children are losing their creative imaginations by our computerized world. --- Jim, Cleveland, Ohio 1951 (Born in a Paddy wagon due to the blizzard.) Junket We ate alot of it in Long island. --- Phyllis, Long Island, NY 1950 Cherry Mash I remember my Dad announcing a trip to the store. We usually resounded with "Can we go? Can we get out?" If not, we would ask for a candy called Cherry Mash. I recently found them at a store and bought one for my sister and myself. What a sugar rush! --- Pam, League City, Texas - 1961 Jiffy Pop Popcorn Popcorn was a favorite snack around my house in the 50's and 60's but was somewhat of a pain to make until Jiffy Pop came along. I'll never forget the first time my mom brought some home from the grocery store, we couldn't wait to tear into this new space aged wonder. My sister, brother and I watched in amazement as the silver dome of popcorn grew and grew over the heat of the stove. And the first taste was wonderful! No muss no fuss, you ate it right out of the container it came in and then when empty you just tossed it in the trash. What a marvelous invention it was! ---Wally, St Louis, Mo 1953 Yeah, I remember Jiffy Pop - the coolest thing was watching the silver dome unspiral and puff up. Then, you poked a fork in the top to open it and were blasted with hot steam. Most of the time, we burnt it. Then those electric popcorn cookers came out (probably in the early 70's)- with the plastic domes that doubled as the serving bowl. Some of the fancier ones had a little lid in the top that you put butter in - the steam melted it and it drizzled over the popping corn. Most of the time, we burnt it. --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Queeno I remember these supersweet flavored syrup drinks called Queeno. Especially the lemom lime green syrup-it looked like anti-freeze! --- Peter, Clarence, NY, 1958 NeHi Drinks I remember NeHi grape or orange drinks in tall bottles (probably 12 or 16 oz.) They were great ice cold with a Baby Ruth bar while watching "The Gale Storm Show" on summer mornings when I was home from school. My idea of Heaven as a 12-yr. old! --- Joan, Orlando, FL1946 A&W Remember when A&W root beer operated their drive ins, in addition to the frosty (glass) mug which came in different sizes, you could get great foot-long hotdogs and torpedo sandwiches. --- Bill, Sacramento, CA 1957 I remember A&W’s Burger Family: Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger, and Baby Burger. Always had to have a side of onion rings with them. --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Pretzel Man I can remember (and now confess) that I used to wait for the pretzel-man to deliver my neighbor's favorite pretzels. Not until the clean white truck turned the corner did I then sneak up to the front door and snatch the big tin that held those salted goodies and somedays he even had a great big bag of potato chips. --- Steve, Baldwin, NY (1951) Diet Right Bread When I was a little girl growing up in Brooklyn,NY,I remember my mother making me sandwiches for my school lunch on toasted Diet Right Bread. This was in the mid-fifties and the first diet product I can recall. It was a paper thin white bread with sesame seeds on the crust. She would spread cream cheese and jelly on it and hours later when I ate it the toast was soggy but strangely delicious! --- Elena, Bellmore,NY 1950 Flavored Straws As a kid in Sourthern California I remember flavored straws. They were paper straws that chocolate or strawberry flavored cardboard sticks going down the inside. You put them in a glass of milk and they flavored it. I don't remember other flavors 'cause maybe those were the ones I liked. They were pretty good in a cardboardy way. --- Nell, St. Joseph, MO 1949 Pretzel Delivery I remember how jealous I was of my friends who had their pretzels delivered. It could have been potato chips but I doubt it. It’s been such a long time, and I was in a coma since I last thought of this. --- Phyllis, Baldwin, NY,1950 Hot Suckers I remember the square "hot" suckers that cost 2 cents, and the ice cream truck that came around at the same time every day when an ice cream sandwich was 6 cents. --- Gayle Rhodes, Corinth, MS ’59 Safety Pops Remember those little suckers with the soft twisted handle that formed a loop - they were called “Safety Pops.” I think the premise was, if you fell while sucking on one, they wouldn’t pierce a hole in your throat (or something). Also—Root Beer Barrells and Lemon Drops (hard candies) were cheap (1¢) and available at the corner drug store. --- Sandy, Mt. Vernon, NY, 1950 Someone mentioned "Safety Pops" - I remember them well! I think they were called "Paloops" They tasted better than any other lollipop before or since, or at least so it seemed at the time. --- Linda, Palmyra, PA 1947 Brooklyn, NY Food Memories I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. My food memories include Bungalow Bar Ice Cream from the truck with the shingled roof that cruised the streets looking for kids with fifteen cents to spend on an ice cream. Then there were those fantastic Jelly Bars, a raspberry jelly coated in milk chcolate. Although jelly bars still exist, the most prevalent brand, and in my opinion the best, were the Knickerbocker Jelly Bars that were individually wrapped in purple foil wrappers (they went out of business years ago). You could also get a little six-pack of wax bottles with flavored sugar water inside. Down at the candy store, you could get a small soda or lime rickey for 5 cents while an ice cream soda cost a whole 25 cents ( a rod pretzel to go with it was an extra 1 cent). And of course, there were those fantastic egg creams that don't contain eggs. Maybe a once every so often included a frozen TV dinner in those metal trays that you just popped in the oven. Seemed like Mom always made me one (fried chicken) on the day I visited the dentist for drilling and filling. Milk and bread were delivered to the home----2-3 times a week as stipulated by Mom. The milk tasted so much better in those glass bottles. The bottle tops were covered by a foil cap under which was a little cardboard circle. You had to pry up the little tab in the cardboard circle and then remove it from the bottle neck. The orange juice was also great in the glass bottles, also delivered by the milkman. In Brooklyn, we had our bread delivered by the breadman. The company was Dugan's. The breadman woukd tie a string around the packaged loaf and leave it dangling from the doorknob on the front door. It was great bread but it was yellow. In a time where other kids lived on Wonder Bread(which was white), I took my lunch to school on Dugan's bread which was yellow. The other kids were fascinated by the fact that I always had yellow bread. Another memory was the Italian green grocer who sold his produce from his cart pulled by his horse. He would travel the strets and ring a bell. My Mom would run out to purchase some fresh fruits and vegetables. She also began feeding his horse sugar lumps. The horse loved these. The horse got to know at what house the lady would feed him the sugar lumps. If there was a space where the hosre could fit through the cars on the street, he would try to get onto the sidewalk to our gate. One day, when the horse and owner came selling their goods, there were no cars parked in front of our house. The horse came up on the sidewalk, pulling his cart with him, and nudged our gate with his nose, looking for my mother and her sugar lumps. Vegetables and fruits began rolling off the cart. Luckily she was home and heard the shouts of the greengrocer scolding his horse. From then on, the greengrocer carried sugar lumps for his horse. --- Mary, Little Neck, NY, 1950 Lunch Bar, Double Cola, and Kickapoo Joy Juice Reading the various lists of foods that I also ate "way back when" reminds me of a candy bar found only in vending machines, by me at least. It was called a "Lunch Bar" and they were 2, that's right, 2 for 5 cents. Also, Double Cola was the competitor for Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola and a lot cheaper. (In their 2 cent returnable bottles.) And how many people remember when Mountain Dew was first marketed? Further, "Kickapoo Joy Juice" was also brought out at the same time, by a different manufacturer, and both were, as the names suggested, parodies to the moonshine whiskey-soft-drink style! --- Mike, Indianapolis, 1951 Jello 3-in-One, Biteamins, and Neco Wafers The Jello™ 3-in-one; you ran the electric mixer for a couple of minutes - quick! Pour it in the clear glasses and pop them into the 'fridge. In a couple of hours you had a "fancy" dessert with jello on the bottom, jello more opaque and like puddin' in the middle, and jello froth on top! Orange was my favorite! And "Biteamins" children vitamins that looked like M&M's --- we'd suck the candy coating off to see the yucky looking vitamin part, but they tasted ok --- sorta like sweet tarts gone slightly bad. And, those wonderful Neco candy wafers ---- a variety of flavors stacked up into a roll like nickels --- we fought over the chocolate ones. And what a treat when Mom would splurge and buy us each our own 5¢ roll!! Travelling across country in a VW "bus" with 6 kids and no A/C! Pull into McD's for a sack of 15¢ burgers. And on one particular hot day, my dad promised the cranky kids a scoop of ice cream at the next ice cream place we came to if we would quiet down ---- and the next place?? Baskin-Robbins with 33 flavors!!!!!!! Try and get us to be satisfied with vanilla --- no way!! Sometimes, Mom would hand out slices of white (not 100% whole wheat! another treat!!) bread; we'd carefully eat away the crust, then mush the rest into edible play dough!! --- Lorraine, Farmers Branch, TX 1953 Vintage McDonald’s and the Milkman I remember McDonald's before there was an arch! A little steel building with a little enclosure to order from and a little kitchen behind the counter. We had to eat in our car back then and a hamburger, fries and coke was less than a dollar. Remember Wetson's? Another hamburger place like McDonald's. What memories!! This is not food, but I remember my mom putting 3 cents in the mailbox for a stamp and the mailman would put it on the envelope she left! And the milkman would come into the kitchen and rotate the new and old milk bottles in the fridge on delivery day! And the rag man would drive his car laden with fabric scraps slowly down the street selling them. And the ice man would come put ice in our ice box and we'd climb on his truck and chip pieces of ice off to eat!! --- Bev., New Canaan, Ct 1947 Wampums Chips I remember Wampums corn chips, an alternative to Fritos? I think they might have been made by the same company as Fritos, but somehow they tasted better. --- Rob Lowrey, Hesperia, CA 1953 Wampum corn chips were a Laura Scudder's product; Fritos were, of course, from Frito-Lay. Competitors, Rob, not the same company. But I agree with you: the flavor of Wampums was far better! As for the Frito-Lay company, I believe the flavor of Lay's potato chips (you can't eat just one) used to be much better than it is now. Same for Shasta sodas. Just ain't the same as it used to be! --- Curtis Paltza, Santa Clarita CA, 1956 Restaurant Memories The Taylor Ham restaurant in Atlantic City before casinos and I think there was another one in Asbury Park for a while. (I still love that Taylor Ham) Howard Johnson butter fried hot dogs on that top split bun. Did you DQ today? --- John, Dunellen, NJ 1959 Howard Johnson's to me will always be the plate of deep fried clam strips. In Minnesota, we had Uncle John's Pancake Houses - all the pancakes you could eat on Tuesday nights (favorite hang for college kids). And, I remember when A&Ws introduced the Family Burgers: Papa Burger, Mama Burger, and the Baby Burger. --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Kenny Burgers I also wanted to mention the first fast food joint I remember, no not drive in, but a real go in sit down, carry-it-from-the-counter joint, "kenny burgers"...I remember getting the "doozie burger" which had a sweet kinda red colored pickle relish on, boy were they good. And you ususally got your order right, and it wasn't served by some derelict punk looking like a reject from "freddie crugers nightmares"...sorry, the times they are a changin! --- Tony, Harrisonburg, VA '64 Radioactive Milk I don't know if this belongs in Food or World Events ... Remember the radioactive milk. Everyone (U.S. Russia, Britain, and France) was testing bombs above ground. Strontium 90 was in our milk! A new flavor! --- philip morris lenox, Ia. 1951 Misc. Food Memories Remember shake-a-pudding? just add milk and shake the cup? Remember burger chef and jeff? burger chef was bought out by hardee's. remember when McDonalds had only one arch? remember A & W and Dog and Suds drive in restaurants? remember when 25 cents would buy you a candy bar and a bottle of ne-hi strawberry pop? remember Libby the Kid TV dinners for kids? how about Pink Panther frosted flakes cereal? how about drinking the juice out of the little wax bottles and then chewing on the wax? did you ever enjoy Quisp and Quake cereal? excuse me while I go get a snack! --- Pete, Norway, Mi 1960 Bike Shop Candy Store Talk about fast food! I remember the neighborhood family-owned candy store/bike shop. The owner repaired/sold used bicycles and sold penny candy. Items that we kids always bought were tasty waxed lips, fangs and mustaches. Also, most area drug stores had soda fountains. --- Jeff L. Ranck, Hamilton, OH 1948 Misc. Gummy Memories Reading Rhonda's memory of Teaberry Gum (below) reminded me of my grandpa's favorite: BlackJack (licorice), and my personal preference: Clove. They tried reissuing these in the late 80s or early 90s, but they apparently didn't catch on. And, "Yipes! Stripes!" Beachnut Fruitstripe Gum - white and colored stripes matching the flavors lemon, lime, orange, cherry, and ? There was also some brand of orange and green apple gum that we used to fold over our front teeth and suck it into the teeth grooves so our smiles were green and orange. Haven’t had as much fun with gum since! Oh, and one more: I remember yards of rope gum in grape, cherry, green apple, bubblegum and other flavors. Of course, we had to get the whole yard into our mouths at once! I think it might have been called "Bub’s Daddy" (?). --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Do you remember Chum Gum? The price was right. Three sticks for a penny. It tasted like that nasty gum that came with baseball cards. How about Jaw Teasers one cent bubble gum balls. These were sold from plastic domed gumball machines. The turquoise blue ones were the most sought after. --- Dave D. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1946 The best part of the Bazooka gum was the comic. And, there was always something neat that you could send in for. --- Andy, Green Bay, WI 1955 Sweet Memories I remember lots of candy: Sugar Babies, Sugar Daddy, Black Cow suckers, Firesticks and Green Apple sticks, Clark's Teaberry Gum, Reed's Rootbeer and Cinnamon Lifesavers. Also root beer and banana popsicles from the Good Humor man. ---Rhonda, Northridge, CA 1957 Vanilla Custard Gerber's vanilla custard. ---Matt, Morton Grove, IL 1951 Soda Jerks Do you remember putting peanuts in your bottle of Pepsi? Around here we called that an Amish highball. More soda fountain fun; Green Rivers, Lemon Phosphates, Cherry Cokes, Chocolate Cokes, Vanilla Cokes and Suicide Cokes. That was a mixture of all of the above Cokes. How about Black Cows? This was another term for a Root Beer Float. Ice Cream Sodas of different flavors. --- Dave, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1946 Egg Creams Those people from the east coast may remember Chocolate phosphates with the unusual and unexplainable name, “Egg Creams” I believe. --- Tim (ex-soda jerk at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurants), Roseville, MN 1953 History and recipe of the Chocolate Egg Cream Growing up in 1950's Brooklyn, I had an uncle with a candy store. All candy stores in Brooklyn had soda fountains. Having a relative with a candy store yeilded me LOTS of best friends! Originally, The Egg Cream did indeed contain an egg white...along with real cream, seltzer, and a touch of "chocolate sauce". Equal parts seltzer and cream, the egg white, and sauce to taste. During the depression, cream was replaced by milk, and the egg white was left out. The recipe still stands.... Half fill a large glass with grade A milk....mix in enough chocolate syrup as if it were a full glass.....slowly pour seltzer (not club soda which contains salt and ruins the flavor) while stirring, and watch out for the foamy overflow. A perfect egg cream will have a good "head" on it....and don't think you're going to "sip" this concoction! I rarly see anyone who can't help but just gulp this down! --- Mike, Monroe, MI, 1952 Sandy’s How many remember in the midwest when Hardees was Sandy's? --- Diana Smith, Roanoke, VA , 1953 (formerly from IL) Tang I remember Tang. We had to have it all the time. Especially when we went camping... fond memories. --- Julia, St. Joseph MI, 1958 Tang: It was the stuff that the astronauts drank - it had to be good for us... so ran our commercially influenced logic. --- Sara, Menomoni, WI 1954 Hires Rootbeer “High Time for Hires!” Hires Rootbeer was about the closest taste to A&W that you could get in a bottle. Also, remember the original Mountain Dew commercials with the animated bottle and the hillbilly popping a hole through his hat after the cork blows out of his “Mountain Dew“ jug? --- Bob, Fort Douglas, WI 1956 TV Dinners and Calorie-laden Junk I remember when TV dinners first hit the frozen foods case at Delchamps! I can't believe now that us kids used to beg for them! The chicken tasted freezer burned and the peas were as big as Bomber marbles! But we loved them anyway! The Krispy Kreme doughnut place right around the corner made everyday wonderful. The smell of fresh cooked doughnuts would hook you by the nose and before you knew it you and your bicycle would be pulling up in front of the big glass windows as you tried to decide whether you wanted lemon or raspberry filled. Yuuummmmm, Heaven! Of course, it didn't hurt to have an A & W Rootbeer Drive-In hamburger place right across the street and a McDonald's hamburger joint on the other side of it! It's a wonder I didn't weigh 200 pounds as a kid!! Remember the food at the Drive-In movie concession stand?? Nowadays we wouldn't dream of eating all of that grease and cholesterol laden junk, but man o man, it sure tasted great then! My husband's mother used to always fry up some chicken EVERY Sunday, so he called it "Gospel Bird"! He also loved "Pop" Cola (it came in a great big bottle, so you got more for your money) and RC Cola was another favorite of his. We both liked the gingerbread cookies with the pink icing (they came two to a pack and were about 4 inches by 8 inches long, just can't remember the name of them). Aw, sweet memories! --- Susan-1955/Greg-1947, Panama City, Florida Space Food Sticks A fudge stick about 4 inches long in a foil wraper which came in several flavors. Became popular during the early space program. --- Gary, Savannah, Georgia, 1956 My brother and I LOVED Space Food Sticks! I'd love to find some (even if they are inedible) to give him for Christmas along with the Land of the Lost VHS tapes I just bought him from Amazon.com. We also loved Pop Rocks - you can still find them. I buy them for every 80s party I throw. Also, for a while in the late 70s, it was very big for elementary school girls in our town to eat Jello powder straight from the box. It turned your tongue whatever color the concentrated powder was. --- Maggie, Atascadero, CA, 1969 I'm not really a boomer but I searched your list to see if anyone else remembered these chocolate sticks. They weren't as sweet as Tootsie Rolls and were kind of a cross between fudge and cake. Oh, my sister and I would beg my mother for those. I remember they were expensive compared to the other items on her grocery list so we could only eat one. They weren't very filling. When they finally discontinued them my mother would stop at a little gas station because they still had a stock of them. My mom was great! --- Teresa F., Salem, OR, 1968 (boomer at heart) Wanna Walnetto? Remember these good little caramel/walnut candies? Artie Johnson (as an old man sitting on a bus bench) used to becon the old lady with them on Laugh-In. To which she replied by hitting him over the head with her purse. --- Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 Drive-ins I remember in Jr High going to the drive-in (A&W RootBeer had one) where they put that funky tray in your car window. I also remember a MacDonald's on the corner where the "golden arches" boasted "Over 40,000 sold!!!".--- Kris, St. Louis, MO '48 Sugar Crisp I remember Sugar Bear on the Sugar Crisp comericals. " Can't get enough of those Sugar Crisp, Sugar Crisp " - Dennis, Baltimore, 1948 Oscar Mayer Weiners "Oh I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener, that is what I truly want to be-e-e. Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener, everyone would be in love with me." And what about, "My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R. My bologna has a second name it's M-A-Y-E-R. Oh I love to eat it every day, and if you ask me why I'll say, cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!" - Lore, Chicago, 1958 Other Processed Meat Products I entered a contest on TV in the early 60's where you had to draw Wilfred the Weiner Wolf (I won a bike). I have no idea of the brand of Weiner associated with the contest. Anyone have any ideas! - Tim, Shoreview, MN 1953 SPAM By some marketing miracle, this STUFF still around - want to get nostalgic? Slice some up and fry it to eat with pancakes. - Toni, Grenwich, CT 1955 Bosco, Ovaltine, and other things Chocolate Bosco the Clown (or was it a bear?) brown plastic squeeze container that held chocolate syrup that you used to make chocolate milk. Also Ovaltine (which tasted too healthy) in the big glass jar with the orange lid. And then there was Farfel, Jimmy Nelson's puppet dog, who sang the Nestles song on television commercials: “N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestles makes the very best, Choc...late.” - Tim, Shoreview, MN, 1953 Jumbo Sweet Tarts I remember in junior high when Sweet Tarts were new, they came out with these huge (Salvo-sized) individually wrapped Sweet Tarts that lasted pretty much all day - they were about three inches in diameter. It’s no wonder our teeth were bad! - Tim, Shoreview, MN, 1953 Flavor Straws You put one of these straws in your white milk and you had strawberry flavored milk. I quess the flavoring was in the stripes inside the straw. - Sandy, Milan, MI, birth year? Lick’em Aid A straw filled with Kool-Aid type powder. - Jeff, St. Paul, MN 1952 Box O’ Pizza Before there was frozen pizza and a franchised pizza place on every corner - pizza at home was a new thing. I remember the fun our family had creating our own pizzas at home using the new-fangled boxed pizza (Chef Boy-R-Dee or Jenos). The kit consisted of a box with a can of sauce, a packet with the dough mix (just add water and knead) and a packet of dried parmesan cheese. The toughest part was getting the dough to fill the pan - you had to keep pushing it around with your fingers. --- John, Cleveland, Ohio, 1950 Fizzies Two Fizzies tablets in water and you had your own home-made soda pop! We used to dare each other to hold the tablets in our mouths. --- Tim, Shoreview, Minnesota, 1953 You can still get Fizzies at Toys "R" Us, I picked up a pack of Cherry and Grape the other day so my grandaughters could taste them. Still just like they were when we were kids, although I remember them tasting better then. They're kinda like flavored Alka Seltzer now.----Wally, St Louis, Mo 1953 The Country Store Remember the smell of the country store with the wood floors, the assorted canned goods, the feel of the Ice cream freezer on a hot august day when a Scooter crunch (dismay, chocolate or strawberry) or maybe an ice cream sandwich would make the walk home fun. Or how about those little wax six-pack bottles of "pop" which wasn't really carbonated at all, but was like a "cool-aid" syrup, but the neat thing was, you could eat the wax flavored bottles as well. Oh, the days. --- Tony, Harrison, Virginia, 1964 Quisp and Quake I remember two cereals by Quaker - Quisp and Quake. Quisp was a little space guy and Quake was this big hee-man hero guy. --- Becky, Port Huron, Michigan, 1961 Sugar Pops Pete Remember Sugar Pops Pete commercials? The bad guys were so bad that they made noises with their straws when they drank! That’s bad! --- Julie, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 1953

i don't know

Consisting of a metal bob, or ring, and a strike plate, what ornamental door furniture is used in place of a door bell?

metalwork | Britannica.com Metalwork Written By: silverwork Metalwork, useful and decorative objects fashioned of various metals, including copper , iron , silver , bronze , lead , gold , and brass. The earliest man-made objects were of stone, wood , bone , and earth. It was only later that humans learned to extract metals from the earth and to hammer them into objects. Metalwork includes vessels, utensils, ceremonial and ritualistic objects, decorative objects, architectural ornamentation, personal ornament, sculpture, and weapons. General processes and techniques Many of the technical processes in use today are essentially the same as those employed in ancient times. The early metalworker was familiar, for example, with hammering , embossing, chasing, inlaying, gilding , wiredrawing, and the application of niello, enamel, and gems. Hammering and casting All decorative metalwork was originally executed with the hammer. The several parts of each article were hammered out separately and then were put together by means of rivets, or they were pinned on a solid core (for soldering had not yet been invented). In addition, plates of hammered copper could be shaped into statues, the separate pieces being joined together with copper rivets. A life-size Egyptian statue of the pharaoh Pepi I in the Egyptian museum, Cairo, is an outstanding example of such work. After about 2500 bce, the two standard methods of fabricating metal—hammering and casting—were developed side by side. The lost-wax , or cire perdue (casting with a wax mold), process was being employed in Egypt by about 2500 bce, the Egyptians probably having learned the technique from Sumerian craftsmen (see sculpture ). Long after the method of casting statues in molds with cores had superseded the primitive and tedious rivetting process, the hammer continued as the main instrument for producing art works in precious metals. Everything attributable to Assyrian , Etruscan , and Greek goldsmiths was wrought by the hammer and the punch. Embossing, or repoussé metalwork: Non-Western metalwork Embossing (or repoussé) is the art of raising ornament in relief from the reverse side. The design is first drawn on the surface of the metal and the motifs outlined with a tracer, which transfers the essential parts of the drawing to the back of the plate. The plate is then embedded face down in an asphalt block and the portions to be raised are hammered down into the yielding asphalt. Next the plate is removed and re-embedded with the face uppermost. The hammering is continued, this time forcing the background of the design into the asphalt. By a series of these processes of hammering and re-embedding, followed finally by chasing, the metal attains its finished appearance. There are three essential types of tools —for tracing, for bossing, and for chasing—as well as a specialized tool, a snarling iron or spring bar, which is used to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Ornament in relief is also produced by mechanical means. A thin, pliable sheet of metal may be pressed into molds, between dies, or over stamps. All of these methods have been known from antiquity. Chasing doorstop Chasing is accomplished with hammer and punches on the face of the metal. These punches are so shaped that they are capable of producing any effect—either in intaglio (incising beneath the surface of the metal) or in relief—that the metalworker may require. The design is traced on the surface, and the relief may be obtained by beating down the adjacent areas to form the background. Such chased relief work sometimes simulates embossed work, but in the latter process the design is bossed up from the back. The detailed finish of embossed work is accomplished by chasing; the term is applied also to the touching up and finishing of cast work with hand-held punches. Engraving To engrave is to cut or incise a line. Engraving is always done with a cutting tool, generally by pressure from the hand. It detaches material in cutting. When pressure is applied with a hammer, the process is called carving. Inlaying Art & Architecture: Fact or Fiction? The system of ornamentation known as damascening is Oriental in origin and was much practiced by the early goldsmiths of Damascus; hence the name. It is the art of encrusting gold wire (sometimes silver or copper) on the surface of iron, steel, or bronze. The surface upon which the pattern is to be traced is finely undercut with a sharp instrument. The gold thread is forced into the minute furrows of the cut surface by hammering and is securely held. Britannica Stories Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales Niello is the process of inlaying engraved ornamental designs with niello, a silver sulfide or mixture of sulfides. The first authors to write on the preparation of niello and its application to silver were Eraclius and Theophilus , in or about the 12th century, and Benvenuto Cellini , during the 16th. According to each of these authors, niello is made by fusing together silver, copper, and lead and then mixing the molten alloy with sulfur. The black product (a mixture of the sulfides of silver, copper, and lead) is powdered; and after the engraved metal, usually silver, has been moistened with a flux (a substance used to promote fusion), some of the powder is spread on it and the metal strongly heated; the niello melts and runs into the engraved channels. The excess niello is removed by scraping until the filled channels are visible, and finally the surface is polished. Enamelling There are two methods of applying enamel to metal: champlevé , in which hollows made in the metal are filled with enamel; and cloisonné , in which strips of metal are applied to the metal surface, forming cells, which are then filled with enamel. (For a detailed discussion, see enamelwork .) Stephen Vincent Grancsay Gilding Gilding is the art of decorating wood, metal, plaster, glass, or other objects with a covering or design of gold in leaf or powder form. The term also embraces the similar application of silver, palladium, aluminum, and copper alloys. Standing figure of Vishnu, gilt bronze sculpture from Nepal, 10th century; in the Brooklyn Museum, … Photograph by Katie Chao. Brooklyn Museum, New York, gift of Frederic B. Pratt, 29.18 The earliest of historical peoples had masterly gilders, as evidenced by overlays of thin gold leaf on royal mummy cases and furniture of ancient Egypt . From early times, the Chinese ornamented wood, pottery , and textiles with beautiful designs in gold. The Greeks not only gilded wood, masonry, and marble sculpture but also fire-gilded metal by applying a gold amalgam to it and driving off the mercury with heat , leaving a coating of gold on the metal surface. From the Greeks, the Romans acquired the art that made their temples and palaces resplendent with brilliant gilding. Extant examples of ancient gilding reveal that the gold was applied to a ground prepared with chalk or marble dust and an animal size or glue. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Beating mint gold into leaves as thin as 1⁄280,000 inch (0.00001 centimetre) is done largely by hand, though machines are utilized to some extent. After being cut to a standard 37/8inches (9.84 centimetres) square, the leaves are packed between the tissue-paper leaves of small books, ready for the gilder’s use. The many substances to which the gilder can apply his art and the novel and beautiful effects he can produce may require special modifications and applications of his methods and materials. Certain basic procedures, however, are pertinent to all types of gilding. For example, the ground to be gilded must be carefully prepared by priming. Flat paints, lacquers, or sealing glues are used, according to the nature of the ground material. Metals subject to corrosion may be primed (and protected) by red lead or iron oxide paints. With pencil or chalk the gilder lays out his design on the ground after the ground has been prepared and is thoroughly dry. Patterns may also be laid down by forcing, or pouncing, powdered chalk or dry pigment through paper containing perforations made with pricking wheels mounted on swivels; the swivel arrangement permits the attainment of the most intricate of designs. To create an adhesive surface to which the gold will be securely held, the area to be gilded is sized . The type of size used depends on the kind of surface to be gilded and on whether it is desirable for the size to dry quickly or slowly. When the size has dried enough so that it just adheres to the fingertips, it is ready to receive and retain the gold leaf or powder. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Gold leaf may be rolled onto the sized surface from the tissue book. Generally, however, the gilder holds the book firmly in his left hand with the tissue folded back to expose as much leaf as is needed and detaches that amount with a pointed tool, such as a sharpened skewer. He then picks up the leaf segment with his gilder’s tip, a brush of camel’s hair set in a thin cardboard holder, and carefully transfers it to its place in his design. The leaf is held to the tip by static electricity, which the gilder generates by brushing the tip gently over his hair. For some gilding operations the gilder uses a cushion to hold his pieces of leaf. This is a rectangular piece of wood, about 9 by 6 inches (23 by 15 centimetres) in size, which is padded with flannel and covered with dressed calfskin; a parchment shield around one end protects the delicate leaf from disturbance by drafts of air. When the gilding is completed, the leaf-covered area should be pounced with a wad of soft cotton of surgical grade. Rubbing with cotton burnishes the gold to a high lustre. Application of a gilder’s burnisher—that is, a highly polished agate stone set in a handle—also imparts a fine, high finish to the metal. Loose bits of gold, or skewings, may be removed from the finished work with a camel’s hair brush. Leaf gold may be powdered by being rubbed through a fine-mesh sieve. Powdered gold is so costly, however, that bronze powders have been substituted almost universally for the precious metal. When gold leaf is employed in the gilding of domes and the roofs of buildings, it is used in ribbon form. For finishing processes, such as burnishing and polishing, see sculpture . Western metalwork Copper The first nonprecious metal to be used by man was copper. But in the 4th millennium bc, Eastern craftsmen discovered that copper alloys using tin or zinc were both more durable and easier to work with, with the result that from then on the use of unalloyed copper declined sharply. Artists and craftsmen working in the West also discovered this, which is why pure copper work was relatively rare. Trending Topics Open Door policy Pure copper is a reddish colour and has a metallic glow. When it is exposed to damp, it becomes coated with green basic copper carbonate (incorrectly known as verdigris). This patina is a drawback if copper is to be used for functional objects, for the oxide is poisonous to man. This means that utensils that come into contact with food must be lined with tin. As copper is a relatively soft metal, it is sensitive to such influences as stress and impact. But unlike bronze it is malleable and can be hammered and chased in much the same way as silver. The surface of copper can be successfully gilded, and its reddish colouring makes the gilding seem even brighter. Because of these properties, copper was sometimes able to compete somewhat with silver. Pure copper is not particularly good for casting, as it can easily become blistered when the gases escape. The surface of sheet copper can be engraved, however, and this technique was often used for decorating purely ornamental objects. In copperplate etching, engraving became the basis of printing. Enamel is often applied to copper, using both the champlevé and cloisonné techniques. Sheet copper was also used as a base for painted enamel. Antiquity Mesopotamia In the museum at Baghdad, in the British Museum , and in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia are finely executed objects in beaten copper from the royal graves at Ur (modern Tall al-Muqayyar) in ancient Sumer. Outstanding is a copper relief that decorated the front of the temple at al-ʿUbaid . This remarkable decoration represents an eagle with a lion’s head, holding two stags by their tails. The stags’ antlers—also made of wrought copper—were developed in high relief and were soldered into their sockets with lead. This relief illustrates the high level of art and technical skill attained by the Sumerians in the days of the 1st dynasty of Ur (c. 2650–2500 bc). In the Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York City , is a Sumerian bull’s head of copper, probably an ornamental feature on a lyre, which is contemporary with the Ur finds. The malleability of unalloyed copper, which renders it too soft for weapons, is peculiarly valuable in the formation of vessels of every variety of form; and it has been put to this use in almost every age. Copper domestic vessels were regularly made in Sumer during the 4th millennium bc and in Egypt a little later. Egypt From whatever source Egypt may have obtained its metalworking processes, Egyptian work at a remote period possesses an excellence that, in some respects, has never been surpassed. Throughout Egyptian history, the same smiths who worked in the precious metals worked also in copper and bronze. Nearly every fashionable Egyptian, man or woman, possessed a hand mirror of polished copper, bronze, or silver. Copper pitchers and basins for hand washing at meals were placed in the tombs. An unusual example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is plated with antimony to imitate silver, which was very rare in the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–c. 2160 bc). The basins and the bodies of the ewers were hammered from single sheets of copper. The spouts of the ewers were cast in molds and attached to the bodies by means of copper rivets or were simply inserted in place and crimped to the bodies by cold hammering. Middle Ages Europe The first well-designed copper objects to survive in the West date from about the middle of the Carolingian period, the 8th century ad. Who made them is not known, but one can assume that in the early Middle Ages they were mainly the work of monks. Indeed, the earliest copper and copper-gilt pieces are exclusively liturgical implements . Decrees issued by the church synods held in the 8th and 9th centuries invariably expressly prohibited the use of copper and bronze for consecrated chalices , but in fact a few copper-gilt chalices like the “ Tassilo Chalice” (Kremsmünster Abbey, Austria) have survived. The care and artistry with which they were worked and their rich engraved and niello decoration show that they were valued as highly as altar vessels made of precious metals. From the 12th century onward, but particularly in the 13th and 14th centuries, copper-gilt chalices were relatively common, especially in Italy , where they were virtually mass-produced. Reliquaries , portable altars, shrines, and processional crosses dating from the Ottonian and Romanesque periods are also very frequently made of gilded copper and are generally decorated with enamel, niello work, or engraving or set with precious stones. One group of copper-gilt reliquaries, dating from the 12th century and after, takes the form of the head, or head and shoulders, of a saint. Others are in the shape of various parts of the body, such as an arm or a foot. These were also made in silver and in cast bronze. Ciboria (covered vessels for holding the wafers of the Eucharist), monstrances (receptacles for the Host), incense vessels, and other liturgical implements were also made in copper gilt, as well as in bronze and silver. Some of these copper-gilt implements were made as late as the Baroque period. Virgin and Child, copper, embossed and gilded plaque (probably for an altar) from the rood loft of … Photograph by Valerie McGlinchey. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 818-1891 Hanns-Ulrich Haedeke Islām The most magnificent example of Muslim enamel work in existence is a copper plate in the Tiroler Landes museum Ferdinandeum at Innsbruck, Austria, decorated in polychrome enamel, with figure subjects, birds and animals within medallions separated by palm trees and dancers (first half of the 12th century). The Mesopotamian, or Mosul , style, which flourished from the early part of the 13th century, is characterized by a predominant use of figures of men and animals and by the lavish use of silver inlay. The most famous example of figured Mosul work in Europe is the so-called Baptistery of St. Louis in the Louvre. This splendid bowl, which belongs in style to the Mosul work of the 13th century, measures five feet (150 centimetres) in circumference and is covered with figures richly inlaid with silver, so that little of the copper is visible. It is signed by the artist. Stephen Vincent Grancsay Renaissance to modern In the second half of the 16th century, copper gilt began to be used less and less often for liturgical implements because silver had become cheaper and was therefore preferred. In the late 16th century, Italian smiths used copper for water beakers and water jugs, decorating the surfaces with chased ornaments, whereas the rest of Europe used brass. High-quality copper objects dating from the 17th and 18th centuries were sometimes designed and worked in the same way as the silver of the period. Most were probably trial pieces made for the guild rank of journeyman or master by silversmiths who were too poor to supply objects in precious metal. Some may have been used as workshop models or given to clients as specimen pieces. Another type of copper vessel, known as a “ Herrengrund cup,” is purely ornamental and resembles the showpieces made in the 16th and 17th centuries. These mugs are made of copper that was extracted by a process known as cementation , in which water containing copper forms a deposit on iron. Production was limited to three places in the county of Sohl in Hungary . In those days the process seemed mysterious to many people; many of the inscriptions on “Herrengrund cups” refer to this mystery. The design of the beakers is modelled closely on that of silver vessels produced in southern Germany, Bohemia, and Silesia. The best examples are chased, engraved, or gilded or, more rarely, enamelled or set with precious stones. Many of them are decorated with mining scenes peopled with little figures. Most were made in the 17th century; a decline set in in the 18th century, though individual pieces continued to be made until the Empire period. In the 17th and 18th centuries, copper enjoyed a period of relative prosperity in middle class households on the continent of Europe. For example, copper bread bins lined with tin were used; they were often richly decorated with chased motifs or brass fittings. There were also sumptuous wine coolers, cake and pudding molds, bowls, buckets, jugs, jars, screw-top flasks, sausage pans, and many other items, all polished until they shone and thus used as kitchen decorations as well as utility items. In 18th-century Holland , jugs for tea and coffee were made in copper with a dark-brown patina and with various parts, such as the handle and the knob, in brass gilt. The sides were chased with interlaced foliage and other Rococo decorative motifs. Copper was also the main metal used for Sheffield plate , which has a silvered surface. In 1742 Thomas Bolsover invented a method of fusing copper and silver together so that the result was highly durable, and he produced this type of silver-plated ware on a large scale. Although 18th-century England was a relatively wealthy society and solid silver utensils of all kinds were used fairly widely, the middle classes, who were not all that well off, liked to buy these implements that looked like silver yet cost only a third of the price. The makers of Sheffield plate therefore adopted the designs used for English silverware at that date, and their work was often as courtly and elegant as that of the silversmiths. Copper ware was no longer important in the 19th century, though it was occasionally used for pieces designed to follow earlier styles or for copies of historical pieces. The method now used was electroplating , which is a purely technical process and has nothing to do with craftsmanship. Toward the end of the 19th century, attempts were made to create a new and individual style for copper; and there were occasional signs that its inherent properties were understood and used to full effect. But there was no renaissance in the true sense of the word. Bronze and brass Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. In the period of classical antiquity it had a low tin content, generally containing less than 10 percent, because tin was less common and therefore difficult to obtain. Like bronze, brass is an alloy, this time of copper plus zinc. It is often very difficult to distinguish between bronze and brass merely by their appearance. The colour of the different alloys ranges over various shades from gold to a reddish tinge, to silvery, greenish, and yellowish shades, according to the proportions of the basic constituents . The patina on both alloys ranges from dark brown to a dark greenish tinge, particularly in the earliest pieces. Since it is often difficult to differentiate between bronze and brass with the naked eye and since metalworkers and metal casters of previous centuries did not make an express distinction between them, they will be considered together here. From a very early date bronze was used mainly for casting. Because it is so brittle, it has only rarely been hammered or chased; brass or copper were preferred for such work because they are more malleable. Down to the Middle Ages, bronze was cast by the cire perdue, or lost-wax, method . By this process, the mold can be used only once. This method of casting is the most exclusive , not only because it is the most expensive but also because it produces the finest work from the aesthetic point of view. Later, the casting process used models made up of a number of different pieces that could be taken apart and therefore re-used. These were generally made of wood and could be pressed down into a sand mold so that the shape of the object being cast emerged as a hollow. The hollow was then filled with molten bronze, which was poured in through casting ducts. When the resulting piece had been removed from the sand mold, the surface was smoothed over and the casting seams removed. The wooden model could then be used again to make as many copies as were required, which meant that economical production was possible. Brass was cast by the same methods but over and above this a process of hammering and chasing was used to fashion sheet brass. Brass platters were often decorated with relief work ornament, which was embossed from the reverse side by means of a type of die . The brass worker could also create an ornamental frieze made up of small motifs by using a series of punches made of iron. The surface of bronze or brass objects was also occasionally decorated with engraving. Antiquity Mesopotamia In the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the bronze sword of King Adad-nirari I, a unique example from the palace of one of the early kings of the period (14th–13th century bc) during which Assyria first began to play a prominent part in Mesopotamian history. A magnificent example of Assyrian bronze embossed work is to be seen in the gates of Shalmaneser III (858–824 bc), erected to commemorate that king’s campaigns. The gates were made of wood; and the bronze bands, embossed with a wealth of figures in relief, are only about 1/16 inch (1.6 millimetres) thick. The bands were obviously intended for decoration, not to strengthen the gates against attack. Iran The Persian bronze industry was also influenced by Mesopotamia. Luristan , near the western border of Persia (Iran), is the source of many bronzes that have been dated from 1500 to 500 bc and include chariot or harness fittings, rein rings, elaborate horse bits, and various decorative rings, as well as weapons, personal ornaments, different types of cult objects, and a number of household vessels. Many of these objects show a decided originality in the development of the animal style. Egypt The bronzes that have survived are mainly votive statues placed in the temples from the Saite to the Ptolemaic period (305–30 bc), and amuletic bronzes that were buried with the dead. In its simplest form the decoration consisted of lines, representing details of clothing , ornaments, and the like, cut in the bronze with engraving tools, sometimes also combined with gilding. A fine example of inlay work of the 22nd dynasty (945–c. 730 bc) is a bronze menat damascened with gold wire (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Crete A sword, found in the palace of Mallia and dated to the Middle Minoan period (2000–1600 bc), is an example of the extraordinary skill of the Cretan metalworker in casting bronze. The hilt of the sword is of gold-plated ivory and crystal. A dagger blade found in the Lasithi plain, dating about 1800 bc (Metropolitan Museum of Art), is the earliest known predecessor of ornamented dagger blades from Mycenae . It is engraved with two spirited scenes: a fight between two bulls and a man spearing a boar. Somewhat later (c. 1400 bc) are a series of splendid blades from mainland Greece, which must be attributed to Cretan craftsmen, with ornament in relief, incised, or inlaid with varicoloured metals, gold, silver, and niello. The most elaborate inlays—pictures of men hunting lions and of cats hunting birds—are on daggers from the shaft graves of Mycenae , Nilotic scenes showing Egyptian influence. The bronze was oxidized to a blackish-brown tint; the gold inlays were hammered in and polished and the details then engraved on them. The gold was in two colours, a deeper red being obtained by an admixture of copper; and there was a sparing use of neillo. Mycenaean dagger, bronze with gold, silver, and niello, 16th century bc. In the National … Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munich Greece The Greeks, who learned much about metalwork from the Egyptians, excelled in hammering, casting, embossing, chasing, engraving, soldering , and metal intaglio . Among the ancients, the great emphasis of technology was on aesthetic expression, not on practical utilization. Greek coin dies rank with the finest work of this kind that the world has ever seen. Pottery and bronze hammer-and-cast work were important crafts of ancient Greece . Vases of terra-cotta were often designed to resemble those of bronze, and both kinds were widely used in antiquity. Unlike terra-cotta, which is breakable but otherwise practically indestructible, bronze is subject to corrosion; and a surviving Greek bronze vase in good condition is therefore something of a rarity. The body of the vase, which was hammered out of a sheet of malleable bronze, was usually left plain; the handles, feet, and overhanging lip, which were cast, were decorated. The applied elements were rivetted or soldered. It was in the time of Lysippus , the distinguished sculptor who flourished about 330 bc, that the fine Greek beaten work for decoration of armour, vases, and objects of domestic use reached its perfection. It was executed by a hammer worked from behind, the outlines being afterward emphasized by chisel or punch; or metal plate was beaten into a mold formed by carving the subject in intaglio upon a resisting material. The embossed shoulder straps of a cuirass, called the “Bronzes of Siris” (4th century bc; British Museum, London), are in exceedingly high relief and are beaten into form with wonderful skill with the hammer. The relief depicts the combat between the Greeks and the Amazons. Greek bronze statuettes —originally dedicatory offerings in shrines, ornamental figures on utensils, or decorative works of art—have survived in large numbers. They were usually cast solid, rarely hollow. Sometimes even large statuettes were cast solid. (The advantage of solid casting is that the mold can be used repeatedly, whereas in the hollow-casting process the mold is destroyed.) Greek bronzes were originally golden and bright, and they were often decorated with silver or niello for colour contrast. Bronze statuary hardly existed before the introduction of hollow casting, about the middle of the 6th century bc, after which bronze became the most important medium of monumental sculpture; its strength and lightness admitted poses that could not be reproduced in stone. Etruria The Etruscans used bronze for cast and beaten work; and although few large works remain, the museums of Europe display a marvellous variety of admirably formed small bronzes. A masterpiece of bronze Etruscan sculpture is the “ Chimera ” (a mythological beast with a goat’s body, a lion’s head, and a serpent’s tail) from Arezzo, a 5th-century bc ex-voto from a sacred building, found in 1553 and partly restored by Benvenuto Cellini (Museo Archeologico di Firenze). Etruscan bronze workers produced, often for export, votive statuettes, vessels, furniture, helmets, swords, lamps, candelabra, mirrors, and even chariots. An Etruscan chariot of c. 600 bc in the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a body and wheels of wood, sheathing of bronze, and tires of iron, the high front embossed with archaic figures of considerable grace. The Etruscans inlaid bronze with silver and gold in a manner that proves that their skill in this mode of enrichment equalled that of the Greeks and Romans. Many delicately engraved bronze objects were made in the Latin town of Praeneste (modern Palestrina), which possessed a highly developed bronze-working industry. From Praeneste came a remarkable cylindrical container of the late 4th century bc, now in the Villa Giulia, Rome; its richly engraved surface provides a good example of the perfection of ancient drawing. Rome Etruscan cities, like those of Greece, were crowded with bronze statues of gods and heroes; and Rome derived its best adornment from the pillage of Etruria and then of Greece. Distinctly Roman work is hard to trace, as the conquered Greeks worked for their masters, and the Romans copied wholesale from the Greeks. Temple statues were nearly always of bronze , but after about 190 bc the metal was chiefly used for architectural decorations and portraiture. The bronze doors of the Pantheon and of the Temple of Romulus in the Roman Forum still occupy their original positions. Two bronze doors in the Lateran Baptistery are supposed to have been brought from the Baths of Caracalla by Pope Hilarius in the 5th century. Also in the Lateran church are four fine gilt-bronze fluted Corinthian columns. Much Roman small work was exceedingly fine, though it is generally conceded that Roman productions are less aesthetically attractive than those of the Greeks. Pompeii and Herculaneum were essentially Greek towns, and the many beautiful bronzes in the Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte , Naples, collected from the ruins of private houses there, are of Greek workmanship. These included statuettes, mirrors, and all kinds of bronze work useful in a house. Many of these pieces were originally attached to pieces of furniture. During the closing years of the republic, brass, produced by what came later to be known as the calamine (zinc-carbonate) method, became an important material for the first time. Its various uses included parade armour, as may be seen in a Roman embossed brass helmet in the Castle Museum, Norwich, England. Teutonic tribes The Teutonic tribes who conquered and divided the Roman Empire were little versed in the monumental arts and unskilled in figure representation; but in metalworking, in the making of weapons and other utilitarian objects, and in the delicate ornament of the goldsmith’s art they excelled. They were among the earliest in Western Europe to develop the use of enamel decoration on bronze in the champlevé technique. Middle Ages: Byzantine Empire Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia were first the teachers and then the rivals of Constantinople (Istanbul). The fusion of antique and Eastern elements resulted in the Byzantine style, the great period of which dates from the 9th to the end of the 12th century. The extensive use of embossed work, with filigree , cabochon gems, and small plaques of enamel, may be seen in both the East and the West during the early Middle Ages. The most conspicuous examples of large Byzantine metalwork are bronze church doors inlaid with silver. Many objects are still preserved in various European treasuries, which were enriched by the spoils of the sack of Constantinople in 1204. Venice, in the Treasury of St. Mark ’s, has an unrivalled series of Byzantine chalices, bookbindings, and other treasures of metalwork; but it is in Kiev, Moscow, and Leningrad that broadly representative series of all the categories of Byzantine artistic production may be found. The art of bronze casting had been preserved in the Byzantine Empire . The first bronze doors to be made after the art had died out in Rome were those for Hagia Sophia at Constantinople, which bear the date 838; the panels, with monograms and other ornament damascened in silver, are framed in borders cast in relief and enriched with bosses and scrolls, the whole in an admirable style. Two sets of doors in St. Mark’s, Venice, of Greek workmanship and considerable but uncertain antiquity, are supposed by some to have been removed from St. Mark’s at Alexandria. Next in date among surviving doors of Byzantine workmanship is a series ordered by the Pantaleone family (about 1066–87) and destined for cities in southern Italy—Amalfi, Trani, Salerno, Canosa di Puglia , and Monte Sant’Angelo . Stephen Vincent Grancsay Middle Ages: Islām Animals in the Sāsānian style—lions, dragons, sphinxes, peacocks, doves, cocks, and the like—were cast in bronze in three dimensions and served, like their ceramic counterparts, as basins, braziers, and so on. They were particularly sought after in the later Abbāsid, Fātimid, and Seljuq periods, and from Egypt they became prototypes of similar European forms. It was the Seljuqs, apparently, who introduced a round bronze mirror, the reverse of which shows in low relief two sphinxes face to face, surrounded by a twined pattern, or two friezes with the astrological symbols of the seven chief heavenly bodies (Sun, Moon, and the five nearest planets) and the 12 signs of the zodiac, surrounded by a band of script; this goes back ultimately to Chinese origins. Early vessels, such as mugs, were ornamented with animals in low relief, but engraving quickly supplanted this. Under the later Seljuqs (particularly the Artuqid atabegs of Mosul) and the Mamlūks , engraving became almost the only form of decoration, but only to serve as a basis for the yet richer technique of inlaying, or damascening: small silver plates and wires, themselves delicately engraved, were hammered into the ribs and surfaces, which were hollowed out and undercut at the edges. In place of this, in an Artuqid bowl in the provincial museum at Innsbruck the spaces are filled in with cellular enamel . This was a method of evading the prohibition of precious metals, just as gold lustre was in pottery. The ornament consisted of friezes and medallions in lattice work and arabesque work, the interstices being filled with figures of warriors, hunters, musicians, animals, and astrological symbols. These were superseded later by Mamlūk coats of arms and inscriptions. In the 15th century the technique was imported from Syria to Venice, where productions of the same kind, alla damaschina or all’azzimina, were made right into the 16th century by Islāmic masters and were in great demand. In the East the process is still common, but both technically and artistically it has decayed. In the 15th century there was a renaissance of pure metal engraving, but the design—inscriptions and arabesques in the Tīmūrid and Ṣafavid styles—was not cut into the material but left free in the manner of a relief, the background being etched in black. Decoration was applied to bowls, basins, mugs, vases, mortars, braziers, warming pans, candlesticks, smoking utensils, inkstands, jewel cases, Qurʾān holders, and mosque lamps. These are generally in the simplest possible forms—spherical, cylindrical, prismatic; the subjects include motifs of vegetation and animal life, the former mainly in the necks and feet of vessels, the latter for handles and ears, feet, and sometimes small spouts. Hermann Goetz Europe from the Middle Ages After several centuries of artistic decline, the art of bronze casting was revived in c. 800 by Charlemagne , who had monumental bronze portals made for the Palatine Chapel in his residence in Aachen, with bronze grilles placed inside it. The artists, who probably came from Lombardy, followed the styles of classical antiquity. For many centuries the Christian Church remained the bronze caster’s chief patron. Like the stonemasons, who also were heavily patronized by the church, they joined together to form associations, or foundries. These casting foundries hired themselves out to the large ecclesiastical building sites. They cast bells—almost every church had at least one bell—and monumental doors decorated with relief work; for instance, doors for Mainz (c. 1000) and Hildesheim (1015) cathedrals, for the cathedrals at Gneissen and Augsburg (11th century), and for St. Zeno Maggiore in Verona (12th century). They also made large fonts, the most famous being the one made by Renier de Huy in 1107–18 for the church of Notre Dame aux Fonts in Liège (now in the church of St. Barthélemy in Liège). The Dinant workshops, which formed the main centre for bronze casting in the Meuse district in the Middle Ages, specialized in what are known as “ eagle lecterns.” These are book stands with ornamental pedestals, with the panel supporting the enormous missals taking the form of the outspread wings of an eagle, a griffin, or a pelican. The earliest documented eagle lectern was made in 965, but the earliest example to have survived dates from 1372. It was made by Jean Joses of Dinant for the Church of Our Lady at Tongeren (Tongres), near Liège. Records show that from the 11th to the 15th century there were more than 50 monumental seven-branched candlesticks ( menorah ) in various churches in Germany, England, France, Bohemia, and Italy, though only a few of these have survived. Documents relating to the Carolingian period speak of monumental bronze crucifixes and statues of the Virgin and of the saints, though the earliest surviving statues date from the 11th century; the crucifix in the abbey church at Werden, for example, dates from c. 1060 and was probably cast in a foundry in Lower Saxony . Among the most outstanding examples of figurative bronze sculpture dating from the Romanesque period are a group of reliquaries designed in the shape of heads or heads and shoulders or occasionally arms, hands, or feet, according to the type of relics they contain. They were made in Lower Saxony or in France. A few large chandeliers have survived from the 11th and 12th centuries, representing a sort of halfway stage between sculpture and functional objects. A far larger number are known to have existed from documents and contemporary accounts, but these have disappeared over the centuries. Examples from Germany, the southern half of the Low Countries , and France have survived or are documented. Romanesque chandeliers are always designed in the form of a crown. Candleholders, with architectonic structures and figures placed in between them, project from the crown. Besides the monumental bronzes that have survived from the 8th to the 12th century, there are also a number of smaller pieces, such as processional crosses, altar crucifixes, chests, reliquaries, and similar articles. Another group of liturgical objects consists of candlesticks used to adorn altars. Their design often shows a wealth of invention, and they are decorated in the most sumptuous fashion. There was yet another group of candlesticks, which were secular in nature, that embodied the ideal of chivalry . They are cast in the shape of human figures: an armed warrior on horseback bearing a candleholder with a spike on which the candle is placed; a kneeling page in court dress holding a candle socket in his outstretched hands; or Samson perched on the lion’s back, brandishing a candleholder. These candlestick figures are rare and precious examples of courtly life in the Romanesque period in Germany, France, England, and Scandinavia. Even at that time they were thought of as rare, deluxe articles within the reach of only a few privileged people. Toward the end of the Romanesque period a simpler type of candlestick appeared, mainly intended for religious purposes, though they were found in private homes as well. They are circular, with a round base, a slender column-like shaft, and a large grease pan with a spike for the candle. This design exercised a strong influence throughout the Gothic period and right down to the Baroque period, though it varied considerably over the years according to the styles then prevailing. Some of the finest bronze articles of the High Middle Ages were modelled on Oriental pieces brought back from the Holy Land by the crusaders. They are known as aquamaniles, a type of ewer used for pouring water for washing one’s hands. Made by bronze casters in France, Germany, England, and Scandinavia, they are usually in the shape of lions—symbols of valour, pride, physical strength, and power. Also common are those shaped like knights in armour, with a wealth of courtly detail that was obviously popular. A few aquamaniles are in the shape of winged dragons, doves, cockerels, centaurs, or sirens; but such designs are rare. Christian themes, too, played a part, some examples depicting Samson overcoming the lion with his knee planted on its back. The golden age of these vessels was the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. The end of the age of chivalry also saw a decline in such work, for the emergent bourgeoisie found other ways of marking the ceremony of hand washing. Basins were also needed for washing one’s hands; they are often mentioned in medieval documents, where they are referred to as bacina, pelves, or pelvicula. The majority of these bowls—which date from the 12th and 13th centuries—have been found in the cultural area that extends from the Baltic down to the Lower Rhine district and across to England. Because this area was once dominated by the Hanseatic League (a commercial association of free towns), the basins are known as Hanseatic bowls. They are round, some being more convex than others; and the inside is engraved with scenes from classical mythology, with themes from the Old and New Testaments and the legends of the saints, or with allegorical figures personifying the virtues and the vices, the liberal arts, the seasons, and so on. Hanseatic bowls were probably made in the bronze-casting centres where candlesticks and aquamaniles (and indeed all medieval cast bronze) were made: in the Meuse district and Lorraine, in Lower Saxony and the Harz Mountains, and also in England. The decoration on these bowls may have been added elsewhere. In the Romanesque period and later, in the Gothic period, the churches and their patrons were still the bronze caster’s main clients, ordering both functional objects and decorative pieces. Bronze fonts were relatively common in the 14th and 15th centuries, particularly in churches in northern Germany. Another common item, which was made mainly in England and in the Netherlands, was a large brass tombstone decorated with engraving. Other objects included door fittings, candlesticks, candelabra, chandeliers, pulpits, and sculptured tombs portraying the deceased. Italy Until the 12th century in Italy the art of bronze casting had been virtually neglected since the period of classical antiquity, when it had been a flourishing industry. A few churches in Italy have bronze doors inlaid with Byzantine niello work made by Byzantine craftsmen in the 11th and 12th centuries. The same technique was used by Bohemond I of Antioch for a bronze door at Canosa (1111) and by Oderisius of Benevento when casting a pair of doors for Troia Cathedral in 1119 and 1127. In the second half of the 12th century, however, Barisano da Trani made relief door panels for churches in Astrano, in Ravello (a town near Amalfi), and in Monreale. Bronze relief doors were also made in the 12th century for S. Paolo fuori le mura in Rome and for churches in northern Italy (S. Zeno Maggiore in Verona; St. Mark’s in Venice) and Tuscany (Pisa and Monreale, by Bonanno of Pisa) and in the 13th century for the Baptistery in Florence, by Andrea Pisano . Lorenzo Ghiberti’s doors for the Baptistery in Florence, made in 1403–24 and 1425–52, marked the beginning of a golden age of bronze casting in Florence that lasted throughout the Renaissance and right down to the Baroque era. Whereas bronze sculpture had been relatively rare before the 15th century, many Italian artists of the Renaissance now designed cast bronze statues, statuettes, reliefs, and various objects in the shape of human figures. Among the sculptors who worked in full-scale bronzes were Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello , Andrea del Verrocchio , Antonio Pollaiuolo, and Lucca della Robbia. Besides large-scale cast-bronze work there were also small figures, statuettes, busts, plaques, and functional objects such as candelabra, mortars, candlesticks, and inkwells. Dating from the middle of the 15th century onward, they are characterized by rich figural and ornamental design. Their style influenced work produced in northern Europe, particularly in the 16th century. In the first half of the 16th century, bronze casting declined somewhat in Italy, though it found a new lease on life in the middle of the century and, indeed, became even more important than before. Benvenuto Cellini and Giovanni da Bologna are two of the most famous artists of this period. Cellini designed a number of statues, one of the best known being his “Perseus” in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, as well as portrait busts, reliefs, and smaller articles in bronze. Giovanna da Bologna, a Fleming by birth, was active in Rome and Florence, where he made fountains, equestrian monuments, allegorical figures, crucifixes, statuettes, groups of figures, animals, and many other objects. He founded a school of sculptors who were influenced by his work for many years. Many other bronze sculptors were active in the 16th and 17th centuries, notably in Venice, which was a particularly fruitful area for bronze casting, and at a school in Padua led by Andrea Riccio (Briosco). Italian bronze casters worked abroad as well as in their homeland, working on commission for foreign potentates, mainly in France and England. In the 16th century, beautifully made bronze pieces, which were very much more than functional objects, played an important part in the art of the bronze caster. For instance, sumptuous mortars were designed and made by artists whose names have been handed down to posterity , such as Cavadini, Lenotti, Juliano da Navi, Alessandro Leopardi , Antonio Viteni, and Crescimbeni da Perugia. Elaborate brass dishes were made in Venice, under the influence of Eastern art (to which Venice had always been very receptive); indeed, the first people to produce these large dishes with engraved motifs were Islāmic artists who had settled in the town, though the local artists soon adopted both their style and their technique. Germany and the Low Countries Unlike their Italian counterparts, 15th-century bronze artists in Germany and the Low Countries were still under the spell of Gothic art , and ecclesiastical implements predominated. The Dinant workshops, in the Meuse district, continued to dominate production until well past the middle of the 15th century, just as they had since the days of Charlemagne. But when Philip III the Good, duke of Burgundy, laid siege to the town in 1466, then took it by storm and eventually completely destroyed it, the bronze casters who survived moved elsewhere, settling mainly in the Low Countries. As a result, from that date onward the trade enjoyed a sudden upsurge in Brussels and Namur, in Tournai and Bruges (Flemish Brugges), in Malines (Flemish Mechelen), Louvain (Flemish Leuven), and Middelburg. There was another centre of the bronze trade in Lower Saxony, since the mines in the Harz Mountains produced a generous supply of copper and calamine. The chief bronze-working towns in this area were Hildesheim, Goslar, and Minden. In the 16th century, a period when trade and commerce were developing very rapidly in Germany, the bronze-casting trade was no longer compelled to function close to the place where the raw material was extracted. Thus, Nürnberg , at this time the most powerful and lively town in Germany, not only traded in copper, bronze, and brass but also soon allowed its bronze casters and metalworkers to develop a flourishing industry. Brass articles from Nürnberg became famous throughout the world. The earliest documented brass workers were those known as “basin-beaters” ( Beckenschläger), who were first referred to as such in 1373. They made bowls and dishes with various types of relief decoration on the bottom. In the late Gothic period, religious themes were very popular for this decoration and were more common than secular images. During the Renaissance, beginning in about 1520, the design changed; instead of deep bowls there were large, flat dishes with decoration that consists of purely ornamental motifs or friezes as well as scenes and figures. The decoration includes the typically Gothic “fishbladder” design and also interlaced motifs and bands of lettering. The trade of the basin beaters continued to flourish in Nürnberg down to about 1550, when a decline set in, culminating in its eventual collapse just before the Thirty Years’ War in 1618. The reason for this decline may have been the emergence of what is known as display pewter (see below Pewter), which, from about 1570 onward, swept the wealthy bourgeoisie market. Until the Gothic era, bronze chandeliers were made solely for the churches; it was not until the 15th century that people began to consider lighting their homes by means of a central source of light hanging from the ceiling. In the Low Countries, one of the centres of the art of bronze casting, a type of chandelier was developed at this time that remained standard for many years. It is a type of hoop with a shaft, made up of a molded vertical centrepiece and a series of curving branches bearing drip trays and spikes. The arms, or branches, are decorated with tracery, foliage scrolls, and other motifs characteristic of the late Gothic style. In the middle of the 16th century, the central shaft took on the shape of a spherical baluster, with a large sphere jutting out just below the point where the curving arms branch off. This design continued to predominate in the Baroque period and is found as late as the 18th century. Because chandeliers of this type were most common in the Low Countries, one can assume that they originated there and were produced in large numbers and that they spread to England and Germany. Another centre was in Poland, presumably because brass founders had moved there from Nürnberg. Besides these chandeliers—which until the 19th century were exclusive to court circles, the aristocracy , and the upper ranks of the bourgeoisie—there were also candlesticks. Their design was a later development of that used for altar candlesticks. The principle of a disk-shaped foot and a baluster shaft with a spike on top remained standard from the Middle Ages well into the 19th century, though the design of the individual components was affected by the styles current in any particular period. In Dinant and Flanders in the 15th century, for instance, the shaft began to be fashioned into the shape of a human figure. This style also became popular in Germany. Whereas bronze sculpture reached its peak in Italy in the 15th century, monumental bronze figures were still rare in northern Europe at this time. Thus, the full-length equestrian statue of St. George (1373) on Hradčany Castle in Prague, which was cast by Martin and Georg von Klausenberg, did not set a trend, though rich figure decoration is often found on large fonts dating from the 13th to the 15th century. Engraved tombstones and entire tombs based on earlier traditions continued to be made until the late Gothic era (the beginning of the 16th century), as did tabernacles and lecterns. The intellectual content of the Renaissance and the styles it engendered entered the world of the northern sculptors in the second decade of the 16th century. The Nürnberg workshop run by the Vischer family , which had been flourishing since the 15th century, continued to work in the late Gothic style until it had completed the St. Sebald’s Shrine (1516), but shortly after this the style and intellectual concepts current in Italy were adopted by bronze casters in northern art centres as well. Small-scale bronze sculpture was particularly popular at this time, though some workshops were still casting monumental bronzes as late as the 18th century. Antiquity Pre-Mycenaean Gold and silver and their natural or artificial mixture, called electrum or white gold, were worked in ancient Greece and Italy for personal ornaments, vessels, arrows and weapons, coinage, and inlaid and plated decoration of baser metals. Aegean lands were rich in precious metals. The considerable deposits of treasure found in the earliest prehistoric strata on the site of Troy are not likely to be later than 2000 bc. The largest of them, called Priam’s Treasure , is a representative collection of jewels and plate. Packed in a large silver cup were gold ornaments consisting of elaborate diadems or pectorals, six bracelets, 60 earrings or hair rings, and nearly 9,000 beads. Trojan vases have bold and simple forms, mostly without ornament; but some are lightly fluted. Many are wrought from single sheets of metal. The characteristic handle is a heavy rolled loop, soldered or riveted to the body. Bases are sometimes round or pointed, sometimes fitted with separate collars but more often slightly cupped to make a low ring foot. One oddly shaped vessel in gold is an oval bowl or cup with a broad lip at each end and two large roll handles in the middle. The oval body has Sumerian affinities . A plain, spouted bowl in the Louvre is a typical specimen of goldsmith’s work from pre-Mycenaean Greece. The scarcity of precious metals points to lack of wealth as prime cause of the artistic backwardness of these regions. Silver seems to have been more plentiful in the Greek islands; but only a few simple vessels, headbands, pins, and rings survive. Minoan and Mycenaean A profusion of gold jewelry was found in early Minoan burials at Mókhlos and three silver dagger blades in a communal tomb at Kumasa. Silver seals and ornaments of the same age are not uncommon. An elegant silver cup from Gournia belongs to the next epoch (Middle Minoan I, c. 2000 bc). Numerous imitations of its conical and carinated (ridged) form in clay and of its metallic sheen in glazed and painted decoration prove that such vessels were common. Minoan plate and jewelry are amply represented in the wealth of mainland tombs at Mycenae and Vaphio. The vases from Mycenae are made indifferently of silver, gold, and bronze; but drinking cups, small phials, and boxes are generally made only of gold; and jugs are made of silver. Much funeral furniture is gold, notably masks that hid the faces or adorned the coffins of the dead. It has been thought that small gold disks, found in prodigious quantities (700 in one grave), were nailed on wooden coffins; but they may have been sewn on clothes. They are impressed with geometrical designs based on circular and spiral figures, stars and rosettes, and natural forms such as leaves, butterflies, and octopods. Smaller bossed disks bearing similar patterns may be button covers. Models of shrines and other amulets are also made of gold. A splendid piece of plate is a silver counterpart of a black steatite, or soapstone, libation vase from Knossos in the form of a bull’s head, with gold horns, a gold rosette on the forehead, and gold-plated muzzle, ears, and eyes. (The gold here and in other Mycenaean plating is not laid on the silver but on inserted copper strips.) Gold cups from Mycenae are of two main types: plain curved or carinated forms related to the silverware and pottery of Troy and embossed conical vessels of the Minoan tradition. Some of the plain pieces, such as the so-called Nestor’s cup, have handles ending in animals, which bite the rim or peer into the cup. The embossed ornament consists of vertical and horizontal bands of rosettes and spiral coils and of floral, foliate, marine, and animal figures. The designs are beaten through the walls and are consequently visible on the insides of most of the vessels; but the finest examples of their class, two gold cups from the Vaphio tomb near Sparta, have a plain gold lining that overlaps the embossed sides at the lip. The reliefs on the Vaphio cups represent men handling wild and domesticated cattle among trees in a rocky landscape. (Steatite vases carved with similar pictorial reliefs were evidently made to imitate embossed gold.) The handles show the typical Minoan form: two horizontal plates riveted to the body at one end and joined at the other by a vertical cylinder. Cretan and mainland tombs have produced many examples of weapons adorned with gold. Modest ornaments are gold caps on the rivets that join hilt and blade, but the whole hilt is often cased in gold. An example from Mycenae has a cylindrical grip of openwork gold flowers with lapis lazuli in their petals and crystal filling between them; the guard is formed by dragons, similarly inlaid. The most splendid Mycenaean blades are bronze inlaid with gold, electrum, silver, and niello. Here again the work is done on inserted copper plates. This kind of flat inlay seems to have been originally Egyptian; it occurs on daggers from the tomb of Queen Aah-Hotep, which are contemporary with the Mycenaean (c. 1600 bc). Moreover, it is significant that two of the Mycenaean designs have Egyptian subjects (cats hunting ducks among papyrus clumps beside a river in which fish are swimming), though their style is purely Minoan. Another blade bears Minoan warriors fighting lions and lions chasing deer. A dagger from Thira has inlaid ax heads; one from Argos, dolphins; and fragments from the Vaphio tomb show men swimming among flying fish. These are masterpieces of Minoan craftsmanship. In the long, subsequent decadence of the Mycenaean age, however, there seems to have been no invention, and later pieces of goldsmiths’ work repeat conventional forms and ornaments. Edgar John Forsdyke Marvin Chauncey Ross Early Christian and Byzantine The earliest Christian silverwork closely resembles the pagan work of the period in its naturalistic grace, ornament, and use of the traditional techniques of embossing and chasing. Even the subject matter is sometimes classical: the late 4th-century marriage casket of Projecta and Secondus, part of the Esquiline treasure found at Rome (British Museum), is decorated with pagan scenes; and only the inscription shows that it was made for a Christian marriage. Among the few pieces with Christian subjects are small Roman cruets (condiment bottles) from Taprain, Scotland (Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, and the British Museum), and a small pyx (casket for the reserved Host) from Pola, Yugoslavia (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Early Christian marriage casket of Projecta and Secondus, embossed silver, partially gilded, from … Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum Most of the silver of the latter part of the period has been found in the Christian East—in Syria, Egypt, Cyprus, Asia Minor , and Russia—and is mostly “church” plate (chalices, censers, candlesticks, and bowls and dishes probably used to hold the eucharistic bread). Secular plate was also decorated with religious subjects—for example, dishes depicting the life of David (Cyprus Treasure, Cyprus Museum, Nicosia, and Metropolitan Museum); both dishes and vessels were produced with pagan subjects—for example, the Concesti amphora and the Silenus Dish (both in the Hermitage, Leningrad). The figure style is often harder and flatter than previously, characterized by strictly frontal positions and symmetry. The techniques of chasing and embossing still predominated, but abstract patterns and Christian symbols inlaid in niello were used increasingly. The appearance of imperial “control stamps,” early forerunners of hallmarks, show most of this material to be of the 6th and 7th centuries. It is not known which cities were important centres of production; but the Eastern capital, Constantinople, must have been foremost among them. Of work in gold of the earliest Christian period, only personal jewelry has survived; but from the 6th and 7th centuries onward other pieces are also extant. Among the most important of the latter are votive crowns and crosses offered to churches in Spain and Italy by royal patrons. The finest of these pieces are those found in Guarrazar in Toledo Province (National Archaeological Museum, Madrid, and Musée de Cluny, Paris), inlaid with garnets and jewels; the cross of King Agilulf (cathedral of Monza, Italy); and a pair of gold book covers inscribed by Queen Theodolinda (cathedral of Monza, Italy). The book covers are set with pearls, gems, and cameos and decorated with gold cloisonné work inlaid with garnets, a popular style among the Germanic peoples. Inlaid cloisonné jewelry reached an especially high standard of workmanship in Britain , as is shown by a purse lid, a sword, and jewelry from the cenotaph (monument honouring a dead person whose body lies elsewhere) to a 7th-century East Anglian king discovered at Sutton Hoo , Suffolk (British Museum). Major works in silver and gold were also produced in the northern Hiberno-Saxon school and in the service of the Celtic Church; work in precious metal, such as the buckle on the Moylough belt reliquary and the Ardagh Chalice in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, displays a masterly synthesis of the northern arts and humanist Mediterranean tradition. Middle Ages Carolingian and Ottonian The earliest works of the Carolingian renaissance , made in the last quarter of the 8th century, resemble Hiberno-Saxon art of the 8th century in their abstract treatment of the human figure, their animal ornament, and their use of niello and “chip-carving” technique; examples are the Tassilo Chalice (Kremsmünster Abbey, Austria) and the Lindau Gospels book cover (Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City). From about 800 onward, however, the influence of the Mediterranean tradition gained strength at Charlemagne’s court at Aachen and later spread through the whole empire. Triumphal arches (now lost) given by the Emperor’s biographer Einhard to Maastricht cathedral were typical of this movement; miniature versions nine inches (22 centimetres) high of great marble triumphal arches of antiquity, they were embossed in silver with Christian subjects. The bulk of work in precious metals that survives from the Middle Ages is ecclesiastical: golden altars, like that of S. Ambrogio in Milan (c. 850), where scenes from the life of Christ and St. Ambrose are framed by panels of cloisonné enamel and filigree (openwork); and reliquaries and book covers in gold and silver, set with gems and decorated by embossed figures and scenes, such as the cover of the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram (c. 870; Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich). These pieces testify to the magnificence of Carolingian work, the techniques of which were to dominate the goldsmith’s craft until the 11th century. Book cover of the Lindau Gospels (MS. 644, fol. 115v), chased gold with pearls and precious stones, … Courtesy of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York Patronage throughout this period was mainly in the hands of the emperors and great princes of the church; and the form of liturgical plate and reliquaries, altar crosses, and the like underwent no fundamental change; Ottonian work of the later 10th and 11th centuries can be distinguished from that of the 9th only in the development of style. For example, the larger, more massive figures, with their strict pattern of folds, on the golden altar (c. 1023) given by Henry II to Basel Minster (Musée de Cluny, Paris), are markedly different from the nervous, elongated figures of the Carolingian period. Book cover with a silver-gilt Spanish setting of a Byzantine ivory crucifixion, silver-gilt with … Photograph by Katie Chao. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.134) Romanesque In the 12th century the church supplanted secular rulers as the chief patron of the arts, and the work was carried out in the larger monasteries. Under the direction of such great churchmen as Henry, bishop of Winchester, and Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, near Paris, a new emphasis was given to subject matter and symbolism. Cast bronze baptismal font by Renier de Huy, 1107–18. In the church of … Courtesy of Holle Bildarchiv, Baden-Baden Craftsmen were no longer anonymous; work by Roger of Helmarshausen, Reiner of Huy, Godefroid de Claire (de Huy), Nicholas of Verdun , and others can be identified; and the parts they played as leaders of the great centres of metalwork on the Rhine and the Meuse are recognizable. Their greatest achievement was the development of the brilliant champlevé enamelling, a method that replaced the earlier cloisonné technique. Gold and silver continued to be used as rich settings for enamels; as the framework of portable altars, or small devotional diptychs or triptychs; for embossed figure work in reliquary shrines; and for liturgical plate. Portable altar, cut-out, gilded, engraved, and incised laminated copper, attributed to Roger of … Courtesy of Holle Bildarchiv, Baden-Baden The masterpieces of the period are great house-shaped shrines made to contain the relics of saints; for example, the shrine of St. Heribert at Deutz (c. 1160) and Nicholas of Verdun’s Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne (c. 1200). In the latter, the figures are almost freestanding, and in their fine, rhythmic draperies and naturalistic movement they approach the new Gothic style. Gothic The growing naturalism of the 13th century is notable in the work of Nicholas’ follower Hugo d’Oignies, whose reliquary for the rib of St. Peter at Namur (1228) foreshadows the partly crystal reliquaries in which the freestanding relic is exposed to the view of the faithful; it is decorated with Hugo’s particularly fine filigree and enriched by naturalistic cutout leaves and little cast animals and birds. The increasing wealth of the royal courts, of the aristocracy, and, later, of the merchants led to the establishment of secular workshops in the great cities and the foundation of confraternities, or guilds, of goldsmiths and silversmiths, the first being that of Paris in 1202. As in architecture, monumental sculpture, and ivory carving , the lead held by Germany and the Low Countries during the Romanesque period now passed to France. Architectural forms continued to be the basis of design in precious metal; the silver shrine of St. Taurin at Évreux (c. 1250), for example, is a Gothic chapel in miniature, with saints under pointed arches, clustered columns, and small turrets. In England, the few pieces that survived the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century follow the same architectural pattern. Notable examples are the 14th-century Ramsey Abbey censer and the magnificent crosier made for William of Wykeham (New College, Oxford). Germany first produced work in the Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century with a large Gothic head reliquary of Charlemagne and the splendid “Three-Tower” reliquary, both still at Aachen. In Italy, despite the undercurrent of classical taste, the Gothic style predominated in the 14th century, especially at Siena; it was also probably in Italy around 1280 that basse-taille enamel—a technique in which intaglio relief carving in the metal below its surface is filled with translucent enamel—originated, whence it spread rapidly through the upper Rhine region to France and England. The Parisian school of enamellers predominated in the latter half of the 14th century. For the first time, enough secular plate survives to show that it equalled the ecclesiastical in opulence: two fine pieces are the Royal Gold Cup made in Paris around 1380 (British Museum) and the so-called King John’s Cup, probably English work of around 1340 (King’s Lynn, Norfolk). The late Gothic period produced court treasures such as the “Goldenes Rössel” (1403; Stiftskirche, Altötting, West Germany), and the Thorn reliquary (British Museum), both early 15th century. There was also an increased output of secular silver because of the rise of the middle classes; the English mazers (wooden drinking bowls with silver mounts) and the silver spoons with a large variety of finials are examples of this more modest plate. Numerous large reliquaries and altar plate of all kinds were still produced. At the end of the Middle Ages the style of these pieces and of secular plate developed more distinctive national characteristics, strongly influenced by architectural style: in England, by the geometric patterns of the Perpendicular; in Germany, by heavy and bizarre themes of almost Baroque exuberance; and in France, by the fragile elegance of the Flamboyant . The purity standards of silver became rigorously controlled, and “ hallmarking ” was enforced; the marking of silver in England, especially, was carefully observed. Renaissance to modern 16th century Italian goldsmiths preceded the rest of Europe in reverting to the style of Roman antiquity; but in the absence of antique goldsmiths’ work, vases of marble or bronze had to serve as models. Goldsmiths often worked from very free interpretations of the antique made by artists in other media. Many of these designs but very few of the actual pieces have survived; the most famous is an enamelled gold saltcellar (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) made for Francis I by the celebrated Florentine Benvenuto Cellini . In the second half of the 16th century many gifted Italian and immigrant goldsmiths worked at the court of Cosimo I , grand duke of Tuscany, specializing in vessels of hardstone mounted in enamelled and jewelled gold; their work is well represented in the Museo degli Argenti in the Pitti Palace, Florence, and in the Kunsthistorisches Museum; similar work was done by the Sarachi family in Milan. Little French goldwork is extant, and most of the surviving material is in the Galerie d’Apollon in the Louvre. Among the most sumptuous pieces are a sardonyx (a type of onyx) and gold ewer, the gold St. Michael’s Cup (both at the Kunsthistorisches Museum), and a sardonyx-covered cup in the Louvre, all of which display northern features. The massive plate of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (Louvre), dating from 1581–82, is of quite individual character; and an enamelled gold helmet and shield of Charles IX (1560–74) in the Louvre have no parallel either for quality or opulence. In other parts of Europe, goldsmiths clung to Gothic forms until well into the first half of the century, especially in the provincial towns. Immensely rich in ecclesiastical silver, Spain has little early domestic silver; Spanish silversmiths, platería, gave their name to the heavily ornamented style of the period, Plateresque . Using precious metal from the New World, goldsmiths such as Enrique and Juan de Arfe produced vast containers for the Host known as custodia. The most important Portuguese work, the Belém monstrance, created by Gil Vicente in 1506 for Belém Monastery near Lisbon, is still Gothic in style; later, Portugal developed its own style, related to Spanish work but not copied from it. Some of the finest 16th-century goldsmiths’ work was executed in Antwerp and elsewhere by such Flemish goldsmiths as Hans of Antwerp, goldsmith to Henry VIII , and Jacopo Delfe, called Biliverti, goldsmith to Cosimo I. The Flemish masters showed particular sympathy for the Mannerist style, derived from Italy but transformed by such native engravers as Cornelis Bos and Cornelis Floris. By about 1580, Dutch goldsmiths had begun to rival the Flemish; the van Vianen family of Utrecht won international renown, especially Adam, who excelled at embossing, and his brother Paulus, who worked in Italy, Munich, and in the workshop of Rudolph II at Prague. The principal centres in the north were Nürnberg and Augsburg, the former particularly notable for the exuberant Mannerism of the Jamnitzer family, the latter for its ebony caskets with silver-gilt mounts. Many German princes, especially the dukes of Bavaria, maintained their own court workshops. Production was on a vast scale, and great quantities survive. Characteristic German forms are columbine cups (the trial piece for entry into the Nürnberg Goldsmith’s Guild) and standing cups such as the Diana Cup by Hans Petzolt. England is rich in 16th-century secular silver, but church plate was mostly destroyed during the Reformation. The Renaissance style, introduced by the painter Hans Holbein the Younger, who designed vessels for the court, follows that of the Low Countries and Germany. Certain individual forms also were produced, such as standing saltcellars with tiered covers and “steeple” cups, which had a tall finial on the cover. Baroque In the first half of the 17th century, Dutch goldsmiths, such as the van Vianens and, later, Johannes Lutma the Elder of Amsterdam, developed a fleshy form of ornament known as auricular, which became common in northern Europe, including England—where Christian van Vianen worked as court goldsmith to Charles I—and Germany—where the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) reduced both the quantity and quality of production. After midcentury, bold Dutch floral ornament—usually embossed in thin metal, as though the pieces were for display rather than use—was characteristic and influential. France, however, undoubtedly led fashion with its state workshops at the Gobelins , the refined French acanthus ornament contrasting sharply with the coarser Dutch designs. Since Louis XIV melted the royal plate to pay his troops, no French work of this period remains; but its quality is demonstrated in the work of the Huguenot silversmiths who left France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Mostly provincials, they brought new standards of taste and craftsmanship wherever they settled—particularly in England, where the foremost names of the late 17th and earlier 18th centuries were of French origin: Pierre Harache, Pierre Platel, David Willaume, Simon Pantin, Paul de Lamerie , Paul Crespin, to mention but a few. Silver dish representing an early development of the auricular style by Christiaen van Vianen (son … Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London German house shrine, a portable silver Pietà by Georg Jungmair, bearing the town mark of … Photograph by Jenny O’Donnell. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, gift of Dr. W.L. Hildburgh, F.S.A. (M.1-1953) Silver furniture , a feature of the state rooms at Versailles, became fashionable among kings and noblemen. It was constructed of silver plates attached to a wooden frame; and each suite contained a dressing table , a looking glass, and a pair of candlestands. In France such furniture did not survive the Revolution; but much remains in England, Denmark, Germany, and Russia. Furniture in the king’s bedroom, Knole House, Kent, England, silver on wood, 17th century. Height … Courtesy of the National Trust After the Thirty Years’ War, Germany did not regain its eminence; even the enamelled goldwork from the court workshops at Prague and Munich, which became larger and more ostentatious in colour, was inferior in design and finish. In Scandinavia, particularly Sweden, goldsmiths evolved forms of beakers and tankards showing strong German influence. Spanish silver was of massive architectural design, oval champlevé enamelled bosses being set at intervals over the surface of the larger pieces. The few extant Italian pieces suggest that the goldsmiths worked their material with the skill of sculptors. 18th century Early 18th-century English work combined functional simplicity with grace of form, while the work of Dutch and German goldsmiths is in a similar style but of less pleasing proportions. The preeminence of the English work, however, is due to the destruction of all but a fraction of French silver of the same period; for what survives is outstanding in originality of design and fineness of finish. The superiority of French work lay in its excellence of design and the high quality of the cast and chased work. Where other goldsmiths worked in embossed metal , the French modelled and cast their ornament and then applied it—a technique that consumed much more of the precious material. In France, provincial goldsmiths competed successfully with those of the capital; but in England all the best artists went to London. In the early 1730s the French Rococo style was imported to England and adopted by goldsmiths of both Huguenot and English descent, one of the latter being Thomas Heming, goldsmith to George III . English silver in the 18th-century classical style of Robert and James Adam is of unequal merit owing to the use of industrial methods by some large producers. In France, Robert Auguste created pieces of great refinement in the Neoclassical style, which was copied in Turin and in Rome, for example, by L. Valadier. A notable workshop was founded in Madrid in 1778 by D. Antonio Martínez, who favoured severely classical designs. In both the northern and southern Netherlands, local production followed French precept, but more individuality survived in Germany. In Augsburg, excellent table silver was produced, but more important were the pictorial panels embossed in the highest relief by members of the Thelot family and the silver furniture made by the Billers and the Drentwetts. At Dresden, Augustus II the Strong established under Johann Melchior Dinglinger a court workshop that produced jewels and enamelled goldwork unequalled since the Renaissance; and the gold snuffboxes made by Johann Christian Neuber rivalled those of the Parisian goldsmiths. Claude Blair Belgium and Holland The ironwork of these two small countries prior to the 15th century was in no way inferior to that produced elsewhere. Yet so few pieces remain that the significance of craftsmen of the Low Countries has often been underestimated. During the 15th century, design and craftsmen from the Low Countries began to make their influence evident across the channel in England. Representative examples of this period are in the Hervormde Kerk at Breda; the treasury door of the cathedral at Liège; and hinges of the church of Notre Dame, at Hal. The beautiful spires of Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp should be mentioned. During the first half of the 16th century, before the Spanish occupation, there were diversified forms of ironwork, such as protective grilles for doors, windows, and chapels, often in fleur-de-lis patterns; window gratings of vertical bars, frequently octagonal in section; and interlacing bars, producing rectangular or lozenge-shaped patterns. Only a few examples still exist: some lunettes in the Hôtel de Ville of Brussels; a tabernacle grille from the chapel of the counts of Flanders and a window grille from the Cathedral of St. Bavon, both from Ghent (Victoria and Albert Museum); and hinges at the Hôtels de Ville of Bruges and Ypres (Flemish Ieper). Few Renaissance screens have survived. During the second half of the 16th century, the cruelty of the Duke of Alba and his 20,000 troops, together with the threat of the Inquisition, drove hundreds of artisans to England. After the Spanish domination there was little indigenous design in Holland and Belgium, and such ironwork as was produced fell under the spell of French imports. Gerald K. Geerlings England The initial use of wrought iron was purely protective because violent attacks were frequent, and doors had to be strengthened with massive ironwork inside and out. Window openings, especially those of the treasuries of mansions and cathedrals, were for similar reasons filled with strong interlacing bars of solid iron; a good example remains at Canterbury cathedral. When, in the course of time, the need for protective barriers ended, there was greater freedom of work and a definite trend toward ornamentation. Throughout England, medieval church doors are found with massive iron hinges , the bands worked in rich ornamental designs of scrollwork, varying from the plain hinge band, with crescent, to the most elaborate filling of the door. Examples exist at Skipwith and Stillingfleet in Yorkshire, many in the eastern counties, others in Gloucester, Somerset, and the west Midlands. The next important application of ironwork came with the erection of the great cathedrals and churches, whose shrines and treasures demanded protection. Winchester Cathedral possesses the remains of one screen with a symmetrical arrangement of scrollwork. Tombs were enclosed within railings of vertical bars with ornamental finials at intervals, such as that of the Black Prince at Canterbury. A new development appeared in the early years of the 15th century when the smith, working in cold iron, attempted to reproduce Gothic stone tracery in metal. This work was more like that of a woodworker than of a smith, often consisting of small pieces of iron chiselled and rivetted, and fixed on a background of sheet iron. Many small objects such as door knockers, handles, and escutcheons were executed in the same manner. A typical monumental example is in Henry V’s chantry at Westminster Abbey; but the most magnificent is the great grille at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, made to protect the tomb of Edward IV . The development of the art of smithing during the Renaissance period was very uneven in the various countries of Europe. In 16th-century England the smith fell behind and seemed to have lost interest, producing no very great or important work. He continued to make iron railings, balconies, and small objects for architectural application, such as hinges, latches, locks, and weathercocks. But toward the end of the 17th century, there was a growing interest in beautifying houses and laying out gardens and squares, with a commensurate demand for balconies, staircases, and garden gates. The man to whom the credit is usually given for the revival of ironwork in England was Jean Tijou , a Frenchman who, together with many of his Protestant fellow craftsmen, had been forced to leave his country owing to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. After some years in The Netherlands he went to England in 1689, where he enjoyed the patronage and favour of William III . His most important works for his royal patron are to be seen in the immense mass of screens and gates with which he embellished Hampton Court palace. He also executed work at Burleigh house, Stamford. Probably by the Queen’s wish he was associated with the architect Sir Christopher Wren , then engaged on the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Wren apparently did not particularly like ironwork and probably exercised some restraint on Tijou, with the result that his work at St. Paul’s is more dignified and freer from appendages than that of Hampton Court. There is a great amount of fine ironwork of the 18th century in London in the form of gates, railings, lamp holders, door brackets, balconies, and staircases; in almost every suburb there are gates and brackets. The precincts of the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, as well as almost every old town in England, furnish a variety of handsome work. Throughout the 18th century the smith was a busy man; the general tendency of his work, unaffected by the Rococo movement on the Continent, was toward a less ornate but more characteristically English style—perpendicular, severe, lofty, and commanding, as contrasted with Tijou’s French love of richness and mass of details. At the end of the 18th century the work of the architect brothers Adam shows a departure from true smithing; its slender delicate bars are enriched with rosettes, anthemia, and other ornament in brass or lead. The effect is pleasing and harmonizes with the architecture with which it is incorporated. During the first half of the 19th century, the art of the smith was largely eclipsed by that of the iron caster. But under the stimulus of the Victorian Gothic revival and later of the Art Nouveau movement, there was a renewal of interest in the decorative use of wrought iron, and much excellent work was produced. France Medieval door-hinge ornaments were not basically different from those in England; and beautiful work is found on church doors, especially in central and northern France. It reaches a height of greater elaboration and magnificence than in England, the culminating example being the west doors of Notre Dame, Paris, the ironwork of which is so wonderful that it was attributed to superhuman workmanship. Grilles at Troyes and Rouen also reveal a high standard of excellence. Working the iron cold and employing methods associated with carpentry was immensely popular; it was applied to small objects such as door handles, knockers, and above all to locks, which exhibit an amazing amount of detail and a remarkable delicacy of finish. The Gothic tradition survived in France until well into the 16th century and was marked by the production of work of the highest skill, largely in the form of locks, knockers, and caskets of chiselled iron. The introduction of the Renaissance style did not radically alter the direction of the smith’s art—a strange fact when it is remembered that Germany and Spain were fabricating works of enormous size and magnificence in wrought iron. France, like England at that time, was content to make door furniture, in the form of locks , keys, bolts, escutcheons, and the like, but did little ironwork of any great size. A school of locksmiths came into being under Francis I and Henry II, working from designs by Androuet du Cerceau in the 16th century and those by Mathurin Jousse and Antoine Jacquard in the 17th. The bows (a loop forming the handle) and wards (notches) of keys were of unusually intricate design and the locks of corresponding richness. Representative pieces may be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Among them is the famous Strozzi key, said to have been made for the apartments of Henry III , the bow of which takes the favoured form of two grotesque figures back to back. But as far as architectural ironwork was concerned, France remained almost at a standstill until the accession of Louis XIII in 1610. Under that monarch, a worker at the forge himself, came a great revival, which, by the end of the 17th century, had attained a marvellous pitch of perfection. It proved to be the beginning of a new movement, the force of which made itself felt in the adjoining countries and inspired ironworkers with new energy. From the accession of Louis XIV , the French ironworkers must be acknowledged as the cleverest in Europe, combining as they did good and fitting design with masterly execution. Their designs were often very daring, exploiting all the latent and previously unexplored possibilities of iron. They recognized its great adaptability and took every advantage of it, at the same time being conscious of its limitations. Their forms of expression were endless. Screens and gates were needed for parks, gardens, and avenues, staircases for mansions and palaces, screens for churches and cathedrals. Among celebrated designers were Jean Lepautre, Daniel Marot , and Jean Berain. Earlier work had been of a simple character—balconies, for instance, being in the form of a succession of balusters—but as the smith became more versatile and imaginative, they took the form of panels of flowing curved scrolls, rendered with a freedom never attained before, while constructive strength was observed and symmetry maintained. Enrichments were usually attached in hammered sheet iron. These may be considered the distinguishing features of Louis XIV work, such as that at St. Cloud, Chantilly, Fontainebleau, and elsewhere. But under Louis XIV all previous efforts were surpassed in the work for his palace at Versailles. The art of ironwork received a further impetus by the introduction of the Rococo style . The movement, initiated in 1723, was due principally to the imagination of two artists, Just-Aurèle Meissonier, architect, and Gilles-Marie Oppenordt. There was a balanced asymmetry in the design and fantastic curves with a luxury of applied ornamentation. To the French smith it furnished the opportunity for a yet greater display of his skill. He was clever enough to secure a feeling of stability in his work by counterbalancing swirling masses of ornament with straight constructional lines; he knew how to introduce an iron screen of Rococo style into a Gothic church or cathedral without giving offense to the eye or arousing any uncomfortable feeling of incongruity. Later in the 18th century, ironwork took on a more classical appearance as a result of the general revival of interest in ancient art; and many Greek and Roman details were introduced into the ornamentation. The amount of work executed was prodigious, and its beauty and craftsmanship may be seen in most cities of France. Nearly all of the adjacent countries, with the exception of England, were seized with the desire to imitate the French Rococo style. Germany In the Romanesque period in Germany, bronze was preferred to iron; the earliest examples of ironwork are thus later than those of France and England. The first iron grilles were imitations of French work, with C-scrolls filling spaces between vertical bars. Typical examples of door hinges prior to the 14th century were those at Kaisheim, St. Magnus Church, Brunswick, and St. Elizabeth’s Church, Marburg (the latter having a curious cross in the middle). Throughout the Gothic period in Germany, the imitation of natural foliage was the basis of design. There were no new marked developments in ironwork during the 14th century. Smiths confined their efforts mostly to hinges . Until this period the vine had been the only motif for elaborate hinges; but flat, lozenge-shaped leaves were introduced, such as those at Schloss Lahneck on the Rhine. During the 15th century, grilles became more popular. One of the best examples is the grille in the Monument of Bishop Ernst of Bavaria, Magdeburg cathedral (c. 1495), with elaborate Gothic tracery, nine columns, and a cornice. In hinges the cinquefoil displaced the quatrefoil, as at Orb, Oppenheim, and Magdeburg. The Erfurt cathedral was enriched with notable hinges having the vine pattern interpolated with rosettes and escutcheons of arms. Hinges for houses usually were the plain strap type, but when ornamented they consisted of superimposed layers of sheet iron. As in other parts of Europe at this time, pierced sheet iron was fashioned into tracery of a semi-architectural nature, much like Gothic windows. Pierced ornament and twisted rods were often combined to form grilles, with their extremities beaten into complicated foliage forms. During the Renaissance, ironwork in Germany was in use everywhere and for every purpose: for screens in churches, window grilles, stove guards, gates, fountain railings, well heads, grave crosses, door knockers, handles, locks, iron signs, and small objects for domestic use. Smiths were their own designers and more often than not planned intricate devices merely to show their skill in executing them. They set no limits to their problems; and so far as manipulative excellence went, the German smiths were the foremost in Europe. But clever as their workmanship undoubtedly was, their designs frequently showed a lack of stability and a tendency to run riot. Thus, many of their most imposing works consist largely of filling panels with elaborate, interlacing scrollwork, and the sense of constructional and protective strength is missing. An abundance of smiths’ work is to be found in the southern parts of Germany. Iron bars, circular in section, were most frequently used; and the most common features are interlacing bars and terminations of flowers with petals and twisted centres, foliage, or human heads. All of these characteristics occur with almost monotonous repetition, witnessing to skill but also to lack of imagination and sense of design. The style may be studied in many German and Austrian cities, such as Augsburg, Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Salzburg, Munich, and Innsbruck. The German smith gave much attention to door knockers and handles, enclosing them in pierced and embossed escutcheons, and devised locks with very involved mechanism. German influence made itself strongly felt in Switzerland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. The Baroque and Rococo periods are distinguished by a perfection of detail that exceeded that of German Medieval or Renaissance ironwork. Smiths used wrought iron as though it were a plastic material, meant to be employed in extravagant forms wherever possible. Some examples are at Zwiefalten, Weingarten, and Klosterneuburg. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, cast ironwork of outstanding quality was produced in Germany, notably at the Prussian royal foundry established in 1804. Italy The few extant examples of ironwork in Italy prior to the 14th century indicate a wide appreciation of how the material could best be worked with only the tools of the smith. Some noteworthy examples are the chancel grille at the left of the nave, Orvieto Cathedral (1337); the grille around the Scaligeri tombs of Verona (c. 1340); the grille at the baptistery of Prato cathedral (1348); the chancel screen in the sacristy chapel of Sta. Croce, Florence (1371); and the grille to the Capella degli Spagnoli, Sta. Maria Novello, Florence. Until the 16th century, Italian smiths respected the natural characteristics of wrought iron by relying almost entirely upon those forms that could be wrought with hammer and anvil. The grille was usually made by dividing it into regular panels with vertical and horizontal bars (sometimes triangular in section and enriched with dentils, or small, projecting triangular blocks). Often the quatrefoil filled some or all of these panels; they were made in Tuscany from a pierced plate and in Venice from separate scrolls collared together. A noted example is in the Palazzo della Signoria, Siena, crowned by a repoussé frieze and surmounted by a cresting of flowers, spikes, and some animal heads. It might have been thought that in the fountainhead of the Renaissance, ironwork would have proceeded at the same pace and with the same brilliant success as architecture, sculpture, bronze casting, and the other arts. Strangely enough, little use of it is found in connection with the fine buildings of the revival. Bronze was favoured; and what in other countries is found in iron has its counterpart in Italy in bronze. As time went on the smiths grew less inclined toward the more difficult processes of hammering and welding and contented themselves ultimately with thin ribbon iron, the various parts of which were fastened together by collars. Work of the later periods may be distinguished, apart from the design, by this feature, whereas the English and French smiths vigorously faced the hardest methods of work, and the German and Spanish smiths invented difficulties for the sheer pleasure of overcoming them. Notable centres of artistic ironwork were Florence, Siena, Vicenza, Venice, Lucca, and Rome, where important pieces may be found in the form of gates, balconies, screens, fanlights (semicircular windows with radiating sash bars like the ribs of a fan), well covers, and a mass of objects for domestic use, such as bowl stands, brackets, and candlesticks. In screenwork the favourite motif was the quatrefoil, which has been found with many variations ever since the 14th century. Early examples are strong and virile, but later ones tend to weakness. The C-shaped scroll is also used in many combinations. The churches and palaces of Venice contain many examples of these popular designs. Peculiar to Italy are the lanterns and banner holders such as may still be seen at Florence, Siena, and elsewhere, and the rare gondola prows of Venice. Of the ironworkers of the early Renaissance, the most famous was the late-15th-century craftsman Niccolo Grosso of Florence, nicknamed “Il Caparra” because he gave no credit but insisted on money on account. From his hand is the well-known lantern on the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, repeated with variations elsewhere in the same city. Siena has lanterns and banner holders attached to the facades of its palaces, and lanterns are still to be seen at Lucca and a few other towns. The decadence of 17th- and 18th-century ironwork paralleled that of architecture. Designs were borrowed directly from France and Germany. The metal was too often worked cold, using thin members; and the resulting construction was flimsy. Scrolls were often encased in thin, grasslike leaves. Conventional or naturalistic flowers were tacked on as seeming afterthoughts. Instead of using rods and bars, ribbonlike bands were used, with cast ornaments pinned on. Intersecting tracery was copied from Germany. The best examples of this period are confined to Venice and northern Italy , such as the screen in the south aisle chapel of S. Ambrogio, Milan; the chapel enclosure in S. Pietro, Mantua; and the screen in the Palazzo Capodilista, Padua. Spain Prior to the 15th century, Spanish ironwork was basically similar to that in France and England. The Spanish smith accepted the limitations imposed by anvil and ancillary tools; but he skillfully exploited to the limit all manner of variations—twisting square rods, coiling flat bars into C-shaped scrolls of all sizes, and devising imaginative crestings to surmount the top of church chapel screens or domestic window grilles. Many Moorish craftsmen of extraordinary ability were enticed to remain in Spain as the Moors were slowly pushed southward; the resultant blending of Gothic with Moorish resulted in the Mudejar style. Ironwork of the Renaissance period from about 1450 to 1525 reached a height of grandeur and magnificence attained in no other country. Of all the Spanish craftsmen the smiths were the busiest, especially during the 16th century. The ironwork products that for more than a century dominated the craft are the monumental screens ( rejas) found in all the great cathedrals of Spain. These immense structures, rising 25 to 30 feet (7.5 to nine metres) show several horizontal bands, or tiers, of balusters, sometimes divided vertically by columns of hammered work and horizontally by friezes of hammered arabesque ornament. Usually such screens are surmounted by a cresting, which is sometimes of simple ornament but more often a very elaborate design into which are introduced a large number of human figures. Shields of arms are freely incorporated; and the use of bright colour, silvering, and gilding adds to their impressive beauty. The great balusters were always forged from the solid, and their presence in hundreds demonstrates the extraordinary skill and power of the Spanish smith. In many cathedrals two of these monumental rejas are found facing one another. There is at least one in every large cathedral—Barcelona, Saragossa, Toledo, Sevilla (Seville), Burgos, Granada, Córdoba, and many others. Ironwork on a smaller scale is found in gates, balconies, and window screens; wrought-iron pulpits also exist. Panels of hammered and pierced iron, heightened with colours and gilding, were used in connection with domestic architecture; and many doors were ornamented with elaborate nailheads or embossed studs. William Walter Watts Gerald K. Geerlings United States The characteristics of the earliest ironwork in the various colonies naturally reflected those of the parent countries. The English were more sparing in its use in the New England Colonies than were the Germans in Pennsylvania or the French in Louisiana. In the 17th and 18th centuries ironwork was used mostly for such practical purposes as weather vanes, foot scrapers, strap hinges, latches, locks, and particularly for the necessities and conveniences for fireplaces (firedogs, cranes, skewers, toasters, kettle warmers, and spits). It was not until the late 18th century, when the threat of Indian raids and food shortages had waned and the established communities enjoyed a sense of tranquillity and prosperity, that smiths fashioned wrought iron into railings, fences, grilles, gates, and balconies. Square or flat iron bars were generally used to produce designs that were usually light, airy, and graceful and rather in contrast to the contemporary European preference for sturdier forms. Gradually, ironwork designs tended to develop characteristics of an American or composite nature, as a logical consequence of the diverse origins of colonists and smiths. An innovation that appeared toward the end of the 18th century was the combination of structural wrought-iron rods or bars with lead or cast-iron ornamental features. While the use of wrought iron declined in the 19th century, during its last quarter the use of cast-iron columns and panels for nonresidential buildings increased. These designs, timid or bold, decorative or structural, engendered the prototypes of commercial buildings for the ensuing decades. Because the life of structures in U.S. cities has been short, there are few examples of 18th- or early 19th-century ironwork extant in New York City, not many more in Boston, some in Philadelphia, but more in and near Washington, D.C., such as the excellent balconies and railings at the Octagon (headquarters of the American Institute of Architects). Charleston, South Carolina , has a rich legacy in gates, notably those at numbers 12, 23, and 36 Legare Street, 63 Meeting Street, and an unusually beautiful pair at St. Michael’s Church. New Orleans has more ironwork than other U.S. cities, thanks to a group of citizens dedicated to the preservation of the old French Quarter. Its earliest ironwork was forged by Spanish and French smiths. Unfortunately, fires, rust, and remodelling have so taken their toll of the Spanish ironwork that almost the only remaining example of importance is the gateway of the Cabildo (town hall). It has moldings beaten from solid bars, like many of the old rejas in Spanish cathedrals. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the influx of ironworkers from northern states brought about a broadening of influences that is apparent in designs and techniques. Ironwork of New Orleans can be roughly divided into three periods: (1) forged wrought iron by French and Spanish artisans with strongly marked European characteristics; (2) a transitional period with wrought-iron structural members embellished with cast-iron ornaments in the Directoire and Empire styles of France, plus some U.S. innovations; and (3) entire grilles , screens, and trellises made entirely of cast iron. No other city in the U.S. has two- and even three-story iron porches and balconies that can compare with those of New Orleans. Some of these lacy structures, such as those on St. Peter Street, were built above the sidewalks. Balconies sometimes not only extended across an entire facade but continued around a corner. Mid-19th century onward Distinctive national characteristics in the design of ironwork gradually tended to disappear in Europe because of increased travel and communications between countries. The influence of French Renaissance architecture (modified or revived) continued to exert a viable effect where the acceptance of the Art Nouveau (last quarter of the 19th century) was flaccid or denied. In England, however, 18th-century designs continued with slight modifications. In the U.S. probably the most important force, prior to World War I, was exercised by architects trained in Paris, with the result that ironwork designs were similar to French work of this period. The increased mechanization of all forms of manufacture understandably affected the character and use of ironwork. As the cost of cast iron came down, its use increased. Because wrought iron is produced by hand by beating red-hot iron on an anvil, not much change was possible through increased mechanization, whereas the casting of molten iron lent itself to improved equipment and techniques. The lowered cost of duplicating ornamental cast-iron components and the introduction of structural steel parts expanded the usage of ironwork to the modest building, whereas it had been generally confined to public or monumental structures. Foundries in the U.S. established a flourishing business in pierced cast-iron panels, modelled after Louisiana porch trellises. Compared with prior periods, the last half of the 19th century will scarcely be commemorated as introducing enduring or beautiful ironwork forms. It was not until the first quarter of the 20th century that a master craftsman-designer gave impetus to a new conception of design forms and textures. Edgar Brandt of Paris broadened the scope of decorative usage by the rich inventiveness of his compositions and by an entirely original approach that resulted in a wrought-iron texture that is akin to beaten silver. Examples of his work at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs Modernes at Paris in 1925 had an immediate effect upon ironwork designed and executed in the U.S. during the great building boom that lasted until about 1930. During this period, both wrought and cast iron enjoyed an unprecedented period of popularity not only in the form of bank screens, entrance doors, and grilles in public buildings but as decorative grilles and gates in private homes. In many cases the craftsmanship equalled that of representative examples of the Gothic or Renaissance periods in Europe. One of the most gifted and dedicated iron craftsmen in the U.S ., Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia, raised the standards of wrought-iron craftsmanship to its apex during the 1920s. He not only trained an atelier of craftsmen for the first time in the U.S., but by his efforts wrought iron was recognized as capable of enriching even the most monumental building. Yellin’s influence, however, was ended by the Depression of the early 1930s. As building activity declined after 1930, so did the use of ironwork; and it did not increase with the revival of building after World War II .

Door knocker

What Rocky Mountains range forms part of the border between Idaho and Wyoming, and created the valley known as Jackson Hole?

metalwork | Britannica.com Metalwork Written By: silverwork Metalwork, useful and decorative objects fashioned of various metals, including copper , iron , silver , bronze , lead , gold , and brass. The earliest man-made objects were of stone, wood , bone , and earth. It was only later that humans learned to extract metals from the earth and to hammer them into objects. Metalwork includes vessels, utensils, ceremonial and ritualistic objects, decorative objects, architectural ornamentation, personal ornament, sculpture, and weapons. General processes and techniques Many of the technical processes in use today are essentially the same as those employed in ancient times. The early metalworker was familiar, for example, with hammering , embossing, chasing, inlaying, gilding , wiredrawing, and the application of niello, enamel, and gems. Hammering and casting All decorative metalwork was originally executed with the hammer. The several parts of each article were hammered out separately and then were put together by means of rivets, or they were pinned on a solid core (for soldering had not yet been invented). In addition, plates of hammered copper could be shaped into statues, the separate pieces being joined together with copper rivets. A life-size Egyptian statue of the pharaoh Pepi I in the Egyptian museum, Cairo, is an outstanding example of such work. After about 2500 bce, the two standard methods of fabricating metal—hammering and casting—were developed side by side. The lost-wax , or cire perdue (casting with a wax mold), process was being employed in Egypt by about 2500 bce, the Egyptians probably having learned the technique from Sumerian craftsmen (see sculpture ). Long after the method of casting statues in molds with cores had superseded the primitive and tedious rivetting process, the hammer continued as the main instrument for producing art works in precious metals. Everything attributable to Assyrian , Etruscan , and Greek goldsmiths was wrought by the hammer and the punch. Embossing, or repoussé metalwork: Non-Western metalwork Embossing (or repoussé) is the art of raising ornament in relief from the reverse side. The design is first drawn on the surface of the metal and the motifs outlined with a tracer, which transfers the essential parts of the drawing to the back of the plate. The plate is then embedded face down in an asphalt block and the portions to be raised are hammered down into the yielding asphalt. Next the plate is removed and re-embedded with the face uppermost. The hammering is continued, this time forcing the background of the design into the asphalt. By a series of these processes of hammering and re-embedding, followed finally by chasing, the metal attains its finished appearance. There are three essential types of tools —for tracing, for bossing, and for chasing—as well as a specialized tool, a snarling iron or spring bar, which is used to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Ornament in relief is also produced by mechanical means. A thin, pliable sheet of metal may be pressed into molds, between dies, or over stamps. All of these methods have been known from antiquity. Chasing doorstop Chasing is accomplished with hammer and punches on the face of the metal. These punches are so shaped that they are capable of producing any effect—either in intaglio (incising beneath the surface of the metal) or in relief—that the metalworker may require. The design is traced on the surface, and the relief may be obtained by beating down the adjacent areas to form the background. Such chased relief work sometimes simulates embossed work, but in the latter process the design is bossed up from the back. The detailed finish of embossed work is accomplished by chasing; the term is applied also to the touching up and finishing of cast work with hand-held punches. Engraving To engrave is to cut or incise a line. Engraving is always done with a cutting tool, generally by pressure from the hand. It detaches material in cutting. When pressure is applied with a hammer, the process is called carving. Inlaying Art & Architecture: Fact or Fiction? The system of ornamentation known as damascening is Oriental in origin and was much practiced by the early goldsmiths of Damascus; hence the name. It is the art of encrusting gold wire (sometimes silver or copper) on the surface of iron, steel, or bronze. The surface upon which the pattern is to be traced is finely undercut with a sharp instrument. The gold thread is forced into the minute furrows of the cut surface by hammering and is securely held. Britannica Stories Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales Niello is the process of inlaying engraved ornamental designs with niello, a silver sulfide or mixture of sulfides. The first authors to write on the preparation of niello and its application to silver were Eraclius and Theophilus , in or about the 12th century, and Benvenuto Cellini , during the 16th. According to each of these authors, niello is made by fusing together silver, copper, and lead and then mixing the molten alloy with sulfur. The black product (a mixture of the sulfides of silver, copper, and lead) is powdered; and after the engraved metal, usually silver, has been moistened with a flux (a substance used to promote fusion), some of the powder is spread on it and the metal strongly heated; the niello melts and runs into the engraved channels. The excess niello is removed by scraping until the filled channels are visible, and finally the surface is polished. Enamelling There are two methods of applying enamel to metal: champlevé , in which hollows made in the metal are filled with enamel; and cloisonné , in which strips of metal are applied to the metal surface, forming cells, which are then filled with enamel. (For a detailed discussion, see enamelwork .) Stephen Vincent Grancsay Gilding Gilding is the art of decorating wood, metal, plaster, glass, or other objects with a covering or design of gold in leaf or powder form. The term also embraces the similar application of silver, palladium, aluminum, and copper alloys. Standing figure of Vishnu, gilt bronze sculpture from Nepal, 10th century; in the Brooklyn Museum, … Photograph by Katie Chao. Brooklyn Museum, New York, gift of Frederic B. Pratt, 29.18 The earliest of historical peoples had masterly gilders, as evidenced by overlays of thin gold leaf on royal mummy cases and furniture of ancient Egypt . From early times, the Chinese ornamented wood, pottery , and textiles with beautiful designs in gold. The Greeks not only gilded wood, masonry, and marble sculpture but also fire-gilded metal by applying a gold amalgam to it and driving off the mercury with heat , leaving a coating of gold on the metal surface. From the Greeks, the Romans acquired the art that made their temples and palaces resplendent with brilliant gilding. Extant examples of ancient gilding reveal that the gold was applied to a ground prepared with chalk or marble dust and an animal size or glue. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Beating mint gold into leaves as thin as 1⁄280,000 inch (0.00001 centimetre) is done largely by hand, though machines are utilized to some extent. After being cut to a standard 37/8inches (9.84 centimetres) square, the leaves are packed between the tissue-paper leaves of small books, ready for the gilder’s use. The many substances to which the gilder can apply his art and the novel and beautiful effects he can produce may require special modifications and applications of his methods and materials. Certain basic procedures, however, are pertinent to all types of gilding. For example, the ground to be gilded must be carefully prepared by priming. Flat paints, lacquers, or sealing glues are used, according to the nature of the ground material. Metals subject to corrosion may be primed (and protected) by red lead or iron oxide paints. With pencil or chalk the gilder lays out his design on the ground after the ground has been prepared and is thoroughly dry. Patterns may also be laid down by forcing, or pouncing, powdered chalk or dry pigment through paper containing perforations made with pricking wheels mounted on swivels; the swivel arrangement permits the attainment of the most intricate of designs. To create an adhesive surface to which the gold will be securely held, the area to be gilded is sized . The type of size used depends on the kind of surface to be gilded and on whether it is desirable for the size to dry quickly or slowly. When the size has dried enough so that it just adheres to the fingertips, it is ready to receive and retain the gold leaf or powder. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Gold leaf may be rolled onto the sized surface from the tissue book. Generally, however, the gilder holds the book firmly in his left hand with the tissue folded back to expose as much leaf as is needed and detaches that amount with a pointed tool, such as a sharpened skewer. He then picks up the leaf segment with his gilder’s tip, a brush of camel’s hair set in a thin cardboard holder, and carefully transfers it to its place in his design. The leaf is held to the tip by static electricity, which the gilder generates by brushing the tip gently over his hair. For some gilding operations the gilder uses a cushion to hold his pieces of leaf. This is a rectangular piece of wood, about 9 by 6 inches (23 by 15 centimetres) in size, which is padded with flannel and covered with dressed calfskin; a parchment shield around one end protects the delicate leaf from disturbance by drafts of air. When the gilding is completed, the leaf-covered area should be pounced with a wad of soft cotton of surgical grade. Rubbing with cotton burnishes the gold to a high lustre. Application of a gilder’s burnisher—that is, a highly polished agate stone set in a handle—also imparts a fine, high finish to the metal. Loose bits of gold, or skewings, may be removed from the finished work with a camel’s hair brush. Leaf gold may be powdered by being rubbed through a fine-mesh sieve. Powdered gold is so costly, however, that bronze powders have been substituted almost universally for the precious metal. When gold leaf is employed in the gilding of domes and the roofs of buildings, it is used in ribbon form. For finishing processes, such as burnishing and polishing, see sculpture . Western metalwork Copper The first nonprecious metal to be used by man was copper. But in the 4th millennium bc, Eastern craftsmen discovered that copper alloys using tin or zinc were both more durable and easier to work with, with the result that from then on the use of unalloyed copper declined sharply. Artists and craftsmen working in the West also discovered this, which is why pure copper work was relatively rare. Trending Topics Open Door policy Pure copper is a reddish colour and has a metallic glow. When it is exposed to damp, it becomes coated with green basic copper carbonate (incorrectly known as verdigris). This patina is a drawback if copper is to be used for functional objects, for the oxide is poisonous to man. This means that utensils that come into contact with food must be lined with tin. As copper is a relatively soft metal, it is sensitive to such influences as stress and impact. But unlike bronze it is malleable and can be hammered and chased in much the same way as silver. The surface of copper can be successfully gilded, and its reddish colouring makes the gilding seem even brighter. Because of these properties, copper was sometimes able to compete somewhat with silver. Pure copper is not particularly good for casting, as it can easily become blistered when the gases escape. The surface of sheet copper can be engraved, however, and this technique was often used for decorating purely ornamental objects. In copperplate etching, engraving became the basis of printing. Enamel is often applied to copper, using both the champlevé and cloisonné techniques. Sheet copper was also used as a base for painted enamel. Antiquity Mesopotamia In the museum at Baghdad, in the British Museum , and in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia are finely executed objects in beaten copper from the royal graves at Ur (modern Tall al-Muqayyar) in ancient Sumer. Outstanding is a copper relief that decorated the front of the temple at al-ʿUbaid . This remarkable decoration represents an eagle with a lion’s head, holding two stags by their tails. The stags’ antlers—also made of wrought copper—were developed in high relief and were soldered into their sockets with lead. This relief illustrates the high level of art and technical skill attained by the Sumerians in the days of the 1st dynasty of Ur (c. 2650–2500 bc). In the Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York City , is a Sumerian bull’s head of copper, probably an ornamental feature on a lyre, which is contemporary with the Ur finds. The malleability of unalloyed copper, which renders it too soft for weapons, is peculiarly valuable in the formation of vessels of every variety of form; and it has been put to this use in almost every age. Copper domestic vessels were regularly made in Sumer during the 4th millennium bc and in Egypt a little later. Egypt From whatever source Egypt may have obtained its metalworking processes, Egyptian work at a remote period possesses an excellence that, in some respects, has never been surpassed. Throughout Egyptian history, the same smiths who worked in the precious metals worked also in copper and bronze. Nearly every fashionable Egyptian, man or woman, possessed a hand mirror of polished copper, bronze, or silver. Copper pitchers and basins for hand washing at meals were placed in the tombs. An unusual example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is plated with antimony to imitate silver, which was very rare in the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–c. 2160 bc). The basins and the bodies of the ewers were hammered from single sheets of copper. The spouts of the ewers were cast in molds and attached to the bodies by means of copper rivets or were simply inserted in place and crimped to the bodies by cold hammering. Middle Ages Europe The first well-designed copper objects to survive in the West date from about the middle of the Carolingian period, the 8th century ad. Who made them is not known, but one can assume that in the early Middle Ages they were mainly the work of monks. Indeed, the earliest copper and copper-gilt pieces are exclusively liturgical implements . Decrees issued by the church synods held in the 8th and 9th centuries invariably expressly prohibited the use of copper and bronze for consecrated chalices , but in fact a few copper-gilt chalices like the “ Tassilo Chalice” (Kremsmünster Abbey, Austria) have survived. The care and artistry with which they were worked and their rich engraved and niello decoration show that they were valued as highly as altar vessels made of precious metals. From the 12th century onward, but particularly in the 13th and 14th centuries, copper-gilt chalices were relatively common, especially in Italy , where they were virtually mass-produced. Reliquaries , portable altars, shrines, and processional crosses dating from the Ottonian and Romanesque periods are also very frequently made of gilded copper and are generally decorated with enamel, niello work, or engraving or set with precious stones. One group of copper-gilt reliquaries, dating from the 12th century and after, takes the form of the head, or head and shoulders, of a saint. Others are in the shape of various parts of the body, such as an arm or a foot. These were also made in silver and in cast bronze. Ciboria (covered vessels for holding the wafers of the Eucharist), monstrances (receptacles for the Host), incense vessels, and other liturgical implements were also made in copper gilt, as well as in bronze and silver. Some of these copper-gilt implements were made as late as the Baroque period. Virgin and Child, copper, embossed and gilded plaque (probably for an altar) from the rood loft of … Photograph by Valerie McGlinchey. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 818-1891 Hanns-Ulrich Haedeke Islām The most magnificent example of Muslim enamel work in existence is a copper plate in the Tiroler Landes museum Ferdinandeum at Innsbruck, Austria, decorated in polychrome enamel, with figure subjects, birds and animals within medallions separated by palm trees and dancers (first half of the 12th century). The Mesopotamian, or Mosul , style, which flourished from the early part of the 13th century, is characterized by a predominant use of figures of men and animals and by the lavish use of silver inlay. The most famous example of figured Mosul work in Europe is the so-called Baptistery of St. Louis in the Louvre. This splendid bowl, which belongs in style to the Mosul work of the 13th century, measures five feet (150 centimetres) in circumference and is covered with figures richly inlaid with silver, so that little of the copper is visible. It is signed by the artist. Stephen Vincent Grancsay Renaissance to modern In the second half of the 16th century, copper gilt began to be used less and less often for liturgical implements because silver had become cheaper and was therefore preferred. In the late 16th century, Italian smiths used copper for water beakers and water jugs, decorating the surfaces with chased ornaments, whereas the rest of Europe used brass. High-quality copper objects dating from the 17th and 18th centuries were sometimes designed and worked in the same way as the silver of the period. Most were probably trial pieces made for the guild rank of journeyman or master by silversmiths who were too poor to supply objects in precious metal. Some may have been used as workshop models or given to clients as specimen pieces. Another type of copper vessel, known as a “ Herrengrund cup,” is purely ornamental and resembles the showpieces made in the 16th and 17th centuries. These mugs are made of copper that was extracted by a process known as cementation , in which water containing copper forms a deposit on iron. Production was limited to three places in the county of Sohl in Hungary . In those days the process seemed mysterious to many people; many of the inscriptions on “Herrengrund cups” refer to this mystery. The design of the beakers is modelled closely on that of silver vessels produced in southern Germany, Bohemia, and Silesia. The best examples are chased, engraved, or gilded or, more rarely, enamelled or set with precious stones. Many of them are decorated with mining scenes peopled with little figures. Most were made in the 17th century; a decline set in in the 18th century, though individual pieces continued to be made until the Empire period. In the 17th and 18th centuries, copper enjoyed a period of relative prosperity in middle class households on the continent of Europe. For example, copper bread bins lined with tin were used; they were often richly decorated with chased motifs or brass fittings. There were also sumptuous wine coolers, cake and pudding molds, bowls, buckets, jugs, jars, screw-top flasks, sausage pans, and many other items, all polished until they shone and thus used as kitchen decorations as well as utility items. In 18th-century Holland , jugs for tea and coffee were made in copper with a dark-brown patina and with various parts, such as the handle and the knob, in brass gilt. The sides were chased with interlaced foliage and other Rococo decorative motifs. Copper was also the main metal used for Sheffield plate , which has a silvered surface. In 1742 Thomas Bolsover invented a method of fusing copper and silver together so that the result was highly durable, and he produced this type of silver-plated ware on a large scale. Although 18th-century England was a relatively wealthy society and solid silver utensils of all kinds were used fairly widely, the middle classes, who were not all that well off, liked to buy these implements that looked like silver yet cost only a third of the price. The makers of Sheffield plate therefore adopted the designs used for English silverware at that date, and their work was often as courtly and elegant as that of the silversmiths. Copper ware was no longer important in the 19th century, though it was occasionally used for pieces designed to follow earlier styles or for copies of historical pieces. The method now used was electroplating , which is a purely technical process and has nothing to do with craftsmanship. Toward the end of the 19th century, attempts were made to create a new and individual style for copper; and there were occasional signs that its inherent properties were understood and used to full effect. But there was no renaissance in the true sense of the word. Bronze and brass Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. In the period of classical antiquity it had a low tin content, generally containing less than 10 percent, because tin was less common and therefore difficult to obtain. Like bronze, brass is an alloy, this time of copper plus zinc. It is often very difficult to distinguish between bronze and brass merely by their appearance. The colour of the different alloys ranges over various shades from gold to a reddish tinge, to silvery, greenish, and yellowish shades, according to the proportions of the basic constituents . The patina on both alloys ranges from dark brown to a dark greenish tinge, particularly in the earliest pieces. Since it is often difficult to differentiate between bronze and brass with the naked eye and since metalworkers and metal casters of previous centuries did not make an express distinction between them, they will be considered together here. From a very early date bronze was used mainly for casting. Because it is so brittle, it has only rarely been hammered or chased; brass or copper were preferred for such work because they are more malleable. Down to the Middle Ages, bronze was cast by the cire perdue, or lost-wax, method . By this process, the mold can be used only once. This method of casting is the most exclusive , not only because it is the most expensive but also because it produces the finest work from the aesthetic point of view. Later, the casting process used models made up of a number of different pieces that could be taken apart and therefore re-used. These were generally made of wood and could be pressed down into a sand mold so that the shape of the object being cast emerged as a hollow. The hollow was then filled with molten bronze, which was poured in through casting ducts. When the resulting piece had been removed from the sand mold, the surface was smoothed over and the casting seams removed. The wooden model could then be used again to make as many copies as were required, which meant that economical production was possible. Brass was cast by the same methods but over and above this a process of hammering and chasing was used to fashion sheet brass. Brass platters were often decorated with relief work ornament, which was embossed from the reverse side by means of a type of die . The brass worker could also create an ornamental frieze made up of small motifs by using a series of punches made of iron. The surface of bronze or brass objects was also occasionally decorated with engraving. Antiquity Mesopotamia In the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the bronze sword of King Adad-nirari I, a unique example from the palace of one of the early kings of the period (14th–13th century bc) during which Assyria first began to play a prominent part in Mesopotamian history. A magnificent example of Assyrian bronze embossed work is to be seen in the gates of Shalmaneser III (858–824 bc), erected to commemorate that king’s campaigns. The gates were made of wood; and the bronze bands, embossed with a wealth of figures in relief, are only about 1/16 inch (1.6 millimetres) thick. The bands were obviously intended for decoration, not to strengthen the gates against attack. Iran The Persian bronze industry was also influenced by Mesopotamia. Luristan , near the western border of Persia (Iran), is the source of many bronzes that have been dated from 1500 to 500 bc and include chariot or harness fittings, rein rings, elaborate horse bits, and various decorative rings, as well as weapons, personal ornaments, different types of cult objects, and a number of household vessels. Many of these objects show a decided originality in the development of the animal style. Egypt The bronzes that have survived are mainly votive statues placed in the temples from the Saite to the Ptolemaic period (305–30 bc), and amuletic bronzes that were buried with the dead. In its simplest form the decoration consisted of lines, representing details of clothing , ornaments, and the like, cut in the bronze with engraving tools, sometimes also combined with gilding. A fine example of inlay work of the 22nd dynasty (945–c. 730 bc) is a bronze menat damascened with gold wire (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Crete A sword, found in the palace of Mallia and dated to the Middle Minoan period (2000–1600 bc), is an example of the extraordinary skill of the Cretan metalworker in casting bronze. The hilt of the sword is of gold-plated ivory and crystal. A dagger blade found in the Lasithi plain, dating about 1800 bc (Metropolitan Museum of Art), is the earliest known predecessor of ornamented dagger blades from Mycenae . It is engraved with two spirited scenes: a fight between two bulls and a man spearing a boar. Somewhat later (c. 1400 bc) are a series of splendid blades from mainland Greece, which must be attributed to Cretan craftsmen, with ornament in relief, incised, or inlaid with varicoloured metals, gold, silver, and niello. The most elaborate inlays—pictures of men hunting lions and of cats hunting birds—are on daggers from the shaft graves of Mycenae , Nilotic scenes showing Egyptian influence. The bronze was oxidized to a blackish-brown tint; the gold inlays were hammered in and polished and the details then engraved on them. The gold was in two colours, a deeper red being obtained by an admixture of copper; and there was a sparing use of neillo. Mycenaean dagger, bronze with gold, silver, and niello, 16th century bc. In the National … Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munich Greece The Greeks, who learned much about metalwork from the Egyptians, excelled in hammering, casting, embossing, chasing, engraving, soldering , and metal intaglio . Among the ancients, the great emphasis of technology was on aesthetic expression, not on practical utilization. Greek coin dies rank with the finest work of this kind that the world has ever seen. Pottery and bronze hammer-and-cast work were important crafts of ancient Greece . Vases of terra-cotta were often designed to resemble those of bronze, and both kinds were widely used in antiquity. Unlike terra-cotta, which is breakable but otherwise practically indestructible, bronze is subject to corrosion; and a surviving Greek bronze vase in good condition is therefore something of a rarity. The body of the vase, which was hammered out of a sheet of malleable bronze, was usually left plain; the handles, feet, and overhanging lip, which were cast, were decorated. The applied elements were rivetted or soldered. It was in the time of Lysippus , the distinguished sculptor who flourished about 330 bc, that the fine Greek beaten work for decoration of armour, vases, and objects of domestic use reached its perfection. It was executed by a hammer worked from behind, the outlines being afterward emphasized by chisel or punch; or metal plate was beaten into a mold formed by carving the subject in intaglio upon a resisting material. The embossed shoulder straps of a cuirass, called the “Bronzes of Siris” (4th century bc; British Museum, London), are in exceedingly high relief and are beaten into form with wonderful skill with the hammer. The relief depicts the combat between the Greeks and the Amazons. Greek bronze statuettes —originally dedicatory offerings in shrines, ornamental figures on utensils, or decorative works of art—have survived in large numbers. They were usually cast solid, rarely hollow. Sometimes even large statuettes were cast solid. (The advantage of solid casting is that the mold can be used repeatedly, whereas in the hollow-casting process the mold is destroyed.) Greek bronzes were originally golden and bright, and they were often decorated with silver or niello for colour contrast. Bronze statuary hardly existed before the introduction of hollow casting, about the middle of the 6th century bc, after which bronze became the most important medium of monumental sculpture; its strength and lightness admitted poses that could not be reproduced in stone. Etruria The Etruscans used bronze for cast and beaten work; and although few large works remain, the museums of Europe display a marvellous variety of admirably formed small bronzes. A masterpiece of bronze Etruscan sculpture is the “ Chimera ” (a mythological beast with a goat’s body, a lion’s head, and a serpent’s tail) from Arezzo, a 5th-century bc ex-voto from a sacred building, found in 1553 and partly restored by Benvenuto Cellini (Museo Archeologico di Firenze). Etruscan bronze workers produced, often for export, votive statuettes, vessels, furniture, helmets, swords, lamps, candelabra, mirrors, and even chariots. An Etruscan chariot of c. 600 bc in the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a body and wheels of wood, sheathing of bronze, and tires of iron, the high front embossed with archaic figures of considerable grace. The Etruscans inlaid bronze with silver and gold in a manner that proves that their skill in this mode of enrichment equalled that of the Greeks and Romans. Many delicately engraved bronze objects were made in the Latin town of Praeneste (modern Palestrina), which possessed a highly developed bronze-working industry. From Praeneste came a remarkable cylindrical container of the late 4th century bc, now in the Villa Giulia, Rome; its richly engraved surface provides a good example of the perfection of ancient drawing. Rome Etruscan cities, like those of Greece, were crowded with bronze statues of gods and heroes; and Rome derived its best adornment from the pillage of Etruria and then of Greece. Distinctly Roman work is hard to trace, as the conquered Greeks worked for their masters, and the Romans copied wholesale from the Greeks. Temple statues were nearly always of bronze , but after about 190 bc the metal was chiefly used for architectural decorations and portraiture. The bronze doors of the Pantheon and of the Temple of Romulus in the Roman Forum still occupy their original positions. Two bronze doors in the Lateran Baptistery are supposed to have been brought from the Baths of Caracalla by Pope Hilarius in the 5th century. Also in the Lateran church are four fine gilt-bronze fluted Corinthian columns. Much Roman small work was exceedingly fine, though it is generally conceded that Roman productions are less aesthetically attractive than those of the Greeks. Pompeii and Herculaneum were essentially Greek towns, and the many beautiful bronzes in the Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte , Naples, collected from the ruins of private houses there, are of Greek workmanship. These included statuettes, mirrors, and all kinds of bronze work useful in a house. Many of these pieces were originally attached to pieces of furniture. During the closing years of the republic, brass, produced by what came later to be known as the calamine (zinc-carbonate) method, became an important material for the first time. Its various uses included parade armour, as may be seen in a Roman embossed brass helmet in the Castle Museum, Norwich, England. Teutonic tribes The Teutonic tribes who conquered and divided the Roman Empire were little versed in the monumental arts and unskilled in figure representation; but in metalworking, in the making of weapons and other utilitarian objects, and in the delicate ornament of the goldsmith’s art they excelled. They were among the earliest in Western Europe to develop the use of enamel decoration on bronze in the champlevé technique. Middle Ages: Byzantine Empire Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia were first the teachers and then the rivals of Constantinople (Istanbul). The fusion of antique and Eastern elements resulted in the Byzantine style, the great period of which dates from the 9th to the end of the 12th century. The extensive use of embossed work, with filigree , cabochon gems, and small plaques of enamel, may be seen in both the East and the West during the early Middle Ages. The most conspicuous examples of large Byzantine metalwork are bronze church doors inlaid with silver. Many objects are still preserved in various European treasuries, which were enriched by the spoils of the sack of Constantinople in 1204. Venice, in the Treasury of St. Mark ’s, has an unrivalled series of Byzantine chalices, bookbindings, and other treasures of metalwork; but it is in Kiev, Moscow, and Leningrad that broadly representative series of all the categories of Byzantine artistic production may be found. The art of bronze casting had been preserved in the Byzantine Empire . The first bronze doors to be made after the art had died out in Rome were those for Hagia Sophia at Constantinople, which bear the date 838; the panels, with monograms and other ornament damascened in silver, are framed in borders cast in relief and enriched with bosses and scrolls, the whole in an admirable style. Two sets of doors in St. Mark’s, Venice, of Greek workmanship and considerable but uncertain antiquity, are supposed by some to have been removed from St. Mark’s at Alexandria. Next in date among surviving doors of Byzantine workmanship is a series ordered by the Pantaleone family (about 1066–87) and destined for cities in southern Italy—Amalfi, Trani, Salerno, Canosa di Puglia , and Monte Sant’Angelo . Stephen Vincent Grancsay Middle Ages: Islām Animals in the Sāsānian style—lions, dragons, sphinxes, peacocks, doves, cocks, and the like—were cast in bronze in three dimensions and served, like their ceramic counterparts, as basins, braziers, and so on. They were particularly sought after in the later Abbāsid, Fātimid, and Seljuq periods, and from Egypt they became prototypes of similar European forms. It was the Seljuqs, apparently, who introduced a round bronze mirror, the reverse of which shows in low relief two sphinxes face to face, surrounded by a twined pattern, or two friezes with the astrological symbols of the seven chief heavenly bodies (Sun, Moon, and the five nearest planets) and the 12 signs of the zodiac, surrounded by a band of script; this goes back ultimately to Chinese origins. Early vessels, such as mugs, were ornamented with animals in low relief, but engraving quickly supplanted this. Under the later Seljuqs (particularly the Artuqid atabegs of Mosul) and the Mamlūks , engraving became almost the only form of decoration, but only to serve as a basis for the yet richer technique of inlaying, or damascening: small silver plates and wires, themselves delicately engraved, were hammered into the ribs and surfaces, which were hollowed out and undercut at the edges. In place of this, in an Artuqid bowl in the provincial museum at Innsbruck the spaces are filled in with cellular enamel . This was a method of evading the prohibition of precious metals, just as gold lustre was in pottery. The ornament consisted of friezes and medallions in lattice work and arabesque work, the interstices being filled with figures of warriors, hunters, musicians, animals, and astrological symbols. These were superseded later by Mamlūk coats of arms and inscriptions. In the 15th century the technique was imported from Syria to Venice, where productions of the same kind, alla damaschina or all’azzimina, were made right into the 16th century by Islāmic masters and were in great demand. In the East the process is still common, but both technically and artistically it has decayed. In the 15th century there was a renaissance of pure metal engraving, but the design—inscriptions and arabesques in the Tīmūrid and Ṣafavid styles—was not cut into the material but left free in the manner of a relief, the background being etched in black. Decoration was applied to bowls, basins, mugs, vases, mortars, braziers, warming pans, candlesticks, smoking utensils, inkstands, jewel cases, Qurʾān holders, and mosque lamps. These are generally in the simplest possible forms—spherical, cylindrical, prismatic; the subjects include motifs of vegetation and animal life, the former mainly in the necks and feet of vessels, the latter for handles and ears, feet, and sometimes small spouts. Hermann Goetz Europe from the Middle Ages After several centuries of artistic decline, the art of bronze casting was revived in c. 800 by Charlemagne , who had monumental bronze portals made for the Palatine Chapel in his residence in Aachen, with bronze grilles placed inside it. The artists, who probably came from Lombardy, followed the styles of classical antiquity. For many centuries the Christian Church remained the bronze caster’s chief patron. Like the stonemasons, who also were heavily patronized by the church, they joined together to form associations, or foundries. These casting foundries hired themselves out to the large ecclesiastical building sites. They cast bells—almost every church had at least one bell—and monumental doors decorated with relief work; for instance, doors for Mainz (c. 1000) and Hildesheim (1015) cathedrals, for the cathedrals at Gneissen and Augsburg (11th century), and for St. Zeno Maggiore in Verona (12th century). They also made large fonts, the most famous being the one made by Renier de Huy in 1107–18 for the church of Notre Dame aux Fonts in Liège (now in the church of St. Barthélemy in Liège). The Dinant workshops, which formed the main centre for bronze casting in the Meuse district in the Middle Ages, specialized in what are known as “ eagle lecterns.” These are book stands with ornamental pedestals, with the panel supporting the enormous missals taking the form of the outspread wings of an eagle, a griffin, or a pelican. The earliest documented eagle lectern was made in 965, but the earliest example to have survived dates from 1372. It was made by Jean Joses of Dinant for the Church of Our Lady at Tongeren (Tongres), near Liège. Records show that from the 11th to the 15th century there were more than 50 monumental seven-branched candlesticks ( menorah ) in various churches in Germany, England, France, Bohemia, and Italy, though only a few of these have survived. Documents relating to the Carolingian period speak of monumental bronze crucifixes and statues of the Virgin and of the saints, though the earliest surviving statues date from the 11th century; the crucifix in the abbey church at Werden, for example, dates from c. 1060 and was probably cast in a foundry in Lower Saxony . Among the most outstanding examples of figurative bronze sculpture dating from the Romanesque period are a group of reliquaries designed in the shape of heads or heads and shoulders or occasionally arms, hands, or feet, according to the type of relics they contain. They were made in Lower Saxony or in France. A few large chandeliers have survived from the 11th and 12th centuries, representing a sort of halfway stage between sculpture and functional objects. A far larger number are known to have existed from documents and contemporary accounts, but these have disappeared over the centuries. Examples from Germany, the southern half of the Low Countries , and France have survived or are documented. Romanesque chandeliers are always designed in the form of a crown. Candleholders, with architectonic structures and figures placed in between them, project from the crown. Besides the monumental bronzes that have survived from the 8th to the 12th century, there are also a number of smaller pieces, such as processional crosses, altar crucifixes, chests, reliquaries, and similar articles. Another group of liturgical objects consists of candlesticks used to adorn altars. Their design often shows a wealth of invention, and they are decorated in the most sumptuous fashion. There was yet another group of candlesticks, which were secular in nature, that embodied the ideal of chivalry . They are cast in the shape of human figures: an armed warrior on horseback bearing a candleholder with a spike on which the candle is placed; a kneeling page in court dress holding a candle socket in his outstretched hands; or Samson perched on the lion’s back, brandishing a candleholder. These candlestick figures are rare and precious examples of courtly life in the Romanesque period in Germany, France, England, and Scandinavia. Even at that time they were thought of as rare, deluxe articles within the reach of only a few privileged people. Toward the end of the Romanesque period a simpler type of candlestick appeared, mainly intended for religious purposes, though they were found in private homes as well. They are circular, with a round base, a slender column-like shaft, and a large grease pan with a spike for the candle. This design exercised a strong influence throughout the Gothic period and right down to the Baroque period, though it varied considerably over the years according to the styles then prevailing. Some of the finest bronze articles of the High Middle Ages were modelled on Oriental pieces brought back from the Holy Land by the crusaders. They are known as aquamaniles, a type of ewer used for pouring water for washing one’s hands. Made by bronze casters in France, Germany, England, and Scandinavia, they are usually in the shape of lions—symbols of valour, pride, physical strength, and power. Also common are those shaped like knights in armour, with a wealth of courtly detail that was obviously popular. A few aquamaniles are in the shape of winged dragons, doves, cockerels, centaurs, or sirens; but such designs are rare. Christian themes, too, played a part, some examples depicting Samson overcoming the lion with his knee planted on its back. The golden age of these vessels was the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. The end of the age of chivalry also saw a decline in such work, for the emergent bourgeoisie found other ways of marking the ceremony of hand washing. Basins were also needed for washing one’s hands; they are often mentioned in medieval documents, where they are referred to as bacina, pelves, or pelvicula. The majority of these bowls—which date from the 12th and 13th centuries—have been found in the cultural area that extends from the Baltic down to the Lower Rhine district and across to England. Because this area was once dominated by the Hanseatic League (a commercial association of free towns), the basins are known as Hanseatic bowls. They are round, some being more convex than others; and the inside is engraved with scenes from classical mythology, with themes from the Old and New Testaments and the legends of the saints, or with allegorical figures personifying the virtues and the vices, the liberal arts, the seasons, and so on. Hanseatic bowls were probably made in the bronze-casting centres where candlesticks and aquamaniles (and indeed all medieval cast bronze) were made: in the Meuse district and Lorraine, in Lower Saxony and the Harz Mountains, and also in England. The decoration on these bowls may have been added elsewhere. In the Romanesque period and later, in the Gothic period, the churches and their patrons were still the bronze caster’s main clients, ordering both functional objects and decorative pieces. Bronze fonts were relatively common in the 14th and 15th centuries, particularly in churches in northern Germany. Another common item, which was made mainly in England and in the Netherlands, was a large brass tombstone decorated with engraving. Other objects included door fittings, candlesticks, candelabra, chandeliers, pulpits, and sculptured tombs portraying the deceased. Italy Until the 12th century in Italy the art of bronze casting had been virtually neglected since the period of classical antiquity, when it had been a flourishing industry. A few churches in Italy have bronze doors inlaid with Byzantine niello work made by Byzantine craftsmen in the 11th and 12th centuries. The same technique was used by Bohemond I of Antioch for a bronze door at Canosa (1111) and by Oderisius of Benevento when casting a pair of doors for Troia Cathedral in 1119 and 1127. In the second half of the 12th century, however, Barisano da Trani made relief door panels for churches in Astrano, in Ravello (a town near Amalfi), and in Monreale. Bronze relief doors were also made in the 12th century for S. Paolo fuori le mura in Rome and for churches in northern Italy (S. Zeno Maggiore in Verona; St. Mark’s in Venice) and Tuscany (Pisa and Monreale, by Bonanno of Pisa) and in the 13th century for the Baptistery in Florence, by Andrea Pisano . Lorenzo Ghiberti’s doors for the Baptistery in Florence, made in 1403–24 and 1425–52, marked the beginning of a golden age of bronze casting in Florence that lasted throughout the Renaissance and right down to the Baroque era. Whereas bronze sculpture had been relatively rare before the 15th century, many Italian artists of the Renaissance now designed cast bronze statues, statuettes, reliefs, and various objects in the shape of human figures. Among the sculptors who worked in full-scale bronzes were Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello , Andrea del Verrocchio , Antonio Pollaiuolo, and Lucca della Robbia. Besides large-scale cast-bronze work there were also small figures, statuettes, busts, plaques, and functional objects such as candelabra, mortars, candlesticks, and inkwells. Dating from the middle of the 15th century onward, they are characterized by rich figural and ornamental design. Their style influenced work produced in northern Europe, particularly in the 16th century. In the first half of the 16th century, bronze casting declined somewhat in Italy, though it found a new lease on life in the middle of the century and, indeed, became even more important than before. Benvenuto Cellini and Giovanni da Bologna are two of the most famous artists of this period. Cellini designed a number of statues, one of the best known being his “Perseus” in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, as well as portrait busts, reliefs, and smaller articles in bronze. Giovanna da Bologna, a Fleming by birth, was active in Rome and Florence, where he made fountains, equestrian monuments, allegorical figures, crucifixes, statuettes, groups of figures, animals, and many other objects. He founded a school of sculptors who were influenced by his work for many years. Many other bronze sculptors were active in the 16th and 17th centuries, notably in Venice, which was a particularly fruitful area for bronze casting, and at a school in Padua led by Andrea Riccio (Briosco). Italian bronze casters worked abroad as well as in their homeland, working on commission for foreign potentates, mainly in France and England. In the 16th century, beautifully made bronze pieces, which were very much more than functional objects, played an important part in the art of the bronze caster. For instance, sumptuous mortars were designed and made by artists whose names have been handed down to posterity , such as Cavadini, Lenotti, Juliano da Navi, Alessandro Leopardi , Antonio Viteni, and Crescimbeni da Perugia. Elaborate brass dishes were made in Venice, under the influence of Eastern art (to which Venice had always been very receptive); indeed, the first people to produce these large dishes with engraved motifs were Islāmic artists who had settled in the town, though the local artists soon adopted both their style and their technique. Germany and the Low Countries Unlike their Italian counterparts, 15th-century bronze artists in Germany and the Low Countries were still under the spell of Gothic art , and ecclesiastical implements predominated. The Dinant workshops, in the Meuse district, continued to dominate production until well past the middle of the 15th century, just as they had since the days of Charlemagne. But when Philip III the Good, duke of Burgundy, laid siege to the town in 1466, then took it by storm and eventually completely destroyed it, the bronze casters who survived moved elsewhere, settling mainly in the Low Countries. As a result, from that date onward the trade enjoyed a sudden upsurge in Brussels and Namur, in Tournai and Bruges (Flemish Brugges), in Malines (Flemish Mechelen), Louvain (Flemish Leuven), and Middelburg. There was another centre of the bronze trade in Lower Saxony, since the mines in the Harz Mountains produced a generous supply of copper and calamine. The chief bronze-working towns in this area were Hildesheim, Goslar, and Minden. In the 16th century, a period when trade and commerce were developing very rapidly in Germany, the bronze-casting trade was no longer compelled to function close to the place where the raw material was extracted. Thus, Nürnberg , at this time the most powerful and lively town in Germany, not only traded in copper, bronze, and brass but also soon allowed its bronze casters and metalworkers to develop a flourishing industry. Brass articles from Nürnberg became famous throughout the world. The earliest documented brass workers were those known as “basin-beaters” ( Beckenschläger), who were first referred to as such in 1373. They made bowls and dishes with various types of relief decoration on the bottom. In the late Gothic period, religious themes were very popular for this decoration and were more common than secular images. During the Renaissance, beginning in about 1520, the design changed; instead of deep bowls there were large, flat dishes with decoration that consists of purely ornamental motifs or friezes as well as scenes and figures. The decoration includes the typically Gothic “fishbladder” design and also interlaced motifs and bands of lettering. The trade of the basin beaters continued to flourish in Nürnberg down to about 1550, when a decline set in, culminating in its eventual collapse just before the Thirty Years’ War in 1618. The reason for this decline may have been the emergence of what is known as display pewter (see below Pewter), which, from about 1570 onward, swept the wealthy bourgeoisie market. Until the Gothic era, bronze chandeliers were made solely for the churches; it was not until the 15th century that people began to consider lighting their homes by means of a central source of light hanging from the ceiling. In the Low Countries, one of the centres of the art of bronze casting, a type of chandelier was developed at this time that remained standard for many years. It is a type of hoop with a shaft, made up of a molded vertical centrepiece and a series of curving branches bearing drip trays and spikes. The arms, or branches, are decorated with tracery, foliage scrolls, and other motifs characteristic of the late Gothic style. In the middle of the 16th century, the central shaft took on the shape of a spherical baluster, with a large sphere jutting out just below the point where the curving arms branch off. This design continued to predominate in the Baroque period and is found as late as the 18th century. Because chandeliers of this type were most common in the Low Countries, one can assume that they originated there and were produced in large numbers and that they spread to England and Germany. Another centre was in Poland, presumably because brass founders had moved there from Nürnberg. Besides these chandeliers—which until the 19th century were exclusive to court circles, the aristocracy , and the upper ranks of the bourgeoisie—there were also candlesticks. Their design was a later development of that used for altar candlesticks. The principle of a disk-shaped foot and a baluster shaft with a spike on top remained standard from the Middle Ages well into the 19th century, though the design of the individual components was affected by the styles current in any particular period. In Dinant and Flanders in the 15th century, for instance, the shaft began to be fashioned into the shape of a human figure. This style also became popular in Germany. Whereas bronze sculpture reached its peak in Italy in the 15th century, monumental bronze figures were still rare in northern Europe at this time. Thus, the full-length equestrian statue of St. George (1373) on Hradčany Castle in Prague, which was cast by Martin and Georg von Klausenberg, did not set a trend, though rich figure decoration is often found on large fonts dating from the 13th to the 15th century. Engraved tombstones and entire tombs based on earlier traditions continued to be made until the late Gothic era (the beginning of the 16th century), as did tabernacles and lecterns. The intellectual content of the Renaissance and the styles it engendered entered the world of the northern sculptors in the second decade of the 16th century. The Nürnberg workshop run by the Vischer family , which had been flourishing since the 15th century, continued to work in the late Gothic style until it had completed the St. Sebald’s Shrine (1516), but shortly after this the style and intellectual concepts current in Italy were adopted by bronze casters in northern art centres as well. Small-scale bronze sculpture was particularly popular at this time, though some workshops were still casting monumental bronzes as late as the 18th century. Antiquity Pre-Mycenaean Gold and silver and their natural or artificial mixture, called electrum or white gold, were worked in ancient Greece and Italy for personal ornaments, vessels, arrows and weapons, coinage, and inlaid and plated decoration of baser metals. Aegean lands were rich in precious metals. The considerable deposits of treasure found in the earliest prehistoric strata on the site of Troy are not likely to be later than 2000 bc. The largest of them, called Priam’s Treasure , is a representative collection of jewels and plate. Packed in a large silver cup were gold ornaments consisting of elaborate diadems or pectorals, six bracelets, 60 earrings or hair rings, and nearly 9,000 beads. Trojan vases have bold and simple forms, mostly without ornament; but some are lightly fluted. Many are wrought from single sheets of metal. The characteristic handle is a heavy rolled loop, soldered or riveted to the body. Bases are sometimes round or pointed, sometimes fitted with separate collars but more often slightly cupped to make a low ring foot. One oddly shaped vessel in gold is an oval bowl or cup with a broad lip at each end and two large roll handles in the middle. The oval body has Sumerian affinities . A plain, spouted bowl in the Louvre is a typical specimen of goldsmith’s work from pre-Mycenaean Greece. The scarcity of precious metals points to lack of wealth as prime cause of the artistic backwardness of these regions. Silver seems to have been more plentiful in the Greek islands; but only a few simple vessels, headbands, pins, and rings survive. Minoan and Mycenaean A profusion of gold jewelry was found in early Minoan burials at Mókhlos and three silver dagger blades in a communal tomb at Kumasa. Silver seals and ornaments of the same age are not uncommon. An elegant silver cup from Gournia belongs to the next epoch (Middle Minoan I, c. 2000 bc). Numerous imitations of its conical and carinated (ridged) form in clay and of its metallic sheen in glazed and painted decoration prove that such vessels were common. Minoan plate and jewelry are amply represented in the wealth of mainland tombs at Mycenae and Vaphio. The vases from Mycenae are made indifferently of silver, gold, and bronze; but drinking cups, small phials, and boxes are generally made only of gold; and jugs are made of silver. Much funeral furniture is gold, notably masks that hid the faces or adorned the coffins of the dead. It has been thought that small gold disks, found in prodigious quantities (700 in one grave), were nailed on wooden coffins; but they may have been sewn on clothes. They are impressed with geometrical designs based on circular and spiral figures, stars and rosettes, and natural forms such as leaves, butterflies, and octopods. Smaller bossed disks bearing similar patterns may be button covers. Models of shrines and other amulets are also made of gold. A splendid piece of plate is a silver counterpart of a black steatite, or soapstone, libation vase from Knossos in the form of a bull’s head, with gold horns, a gold rosette on the forehead, and gold-plated muzzle, ears, and eyes. (The gold here and in other Mycenaean plating is not laid on the silver but on inserted copper strips.) Gold cups from Mycenae are of two main types: plain curved or carinated forms related to the silverware and pottery of Troy and embossed conical vessels of the Minoan tradition. Some of the plain pieces, such as the so-called Nestor’s cup, have handles ending in animals, which bite the rim or peer into the cup. The embossed ornament consists of vertical and horizontal bands of rosettes and spiral coils and of floral, foliate, marine, and animal figures. The designs are beaten through the walls and are consequently visible on the insides of most of the vessels; but the finest examples of their class, two gold cups from the Vaphio tomb near Sparta, have a plain gold lining that overlaps the embossed sides at the lip. The reliefs on the Vaphio cups represent men handling wild and domesticated cattle among trees in a rocky landscape. (Steatite vases carved with similar pictorial reliefs were evidently made to imitate embossed gold.) The handles show the typical Minoan form: two horizontal plates riveted to the body at one end and joined at the other by a vertical cylinder. Cretan and mainland tombs have produced many examples of weapons adorned with gold. Modest ornaments are gold caps on the rivets that join hilt and blade, but the whole hilt is often cased in gold. An example from Mycenae has a cylindrical grip of openwork gold flowers with lapis lazuli in their petals and crystal filling between them; the guard is formed by dragons, similarly inlaid. The most splendid Mycenaean blades are bronze inlaid with gold, electrum, silver, and niello. Here again the work is done on inserted copper plates. This kind of flat inlay seems to have been originally Egyptian; it occurs on daggers from the tomb of Queen Aah-Hotep, which are contemporary with the Mycenaean (c. 1600 bc). Moreover, it is significant that two of the Mycenaean designs have Egyptian subjects (cats hunting ducks among papyrus clumps beside a river in which fish are swimming), though their style is purely Minoan. Another blade bears Minoan warriors fighting lions and lions chasing deer. A dagger from Thira has inlaid ax heads; one from Argos, dolphins; and fragments from the Vaphio tomb show men swimming among flying fish. These are masterpieces of Minoan craftsmanship. In the long, subsequent decadence of the Mycenaean age, however, there seems to have been no invention, and later pieces of goldsmiths’ work repeat conventional forms and ornaments. Edgar John Forsdyke Marvin Chauncey Ross Early Christian and Byzantine The earliest Christian silverwork closely resembles the pagan work of the period in its naturalistic grace, ornament, and use of the traditional techniques of embossing and chasing. Even the subject matter is sometimes classical: the late 4th-century marriage casket of Projecta and Secondus, part of the Esquiline treasure found at Rome (British Museum), is decorated with pagan scenes; and only the inscription shows that it was made for a Christian marriage. Among the few pieces with Christian subjects are small Roman cruets (condiment bottles) from Taprain, Scotland (Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, and the British Museum), and a small pyx (casket for the reserved Host) from Pola, Yugoslavia (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Early Christian marriage casket of Projecta and Secondus, embossed silver, partially gilded, from … Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum Most of the silver of the latter part of the period has been found in the Christian East—in Syria, Egypt, Cyprus, Asia Minor , and Russia—and is mostly “church” plate (chalices, censers, candlesticks, and bowls and dishes probably used to hold the eucharistic bread). Secular plate was also decorated with religious subjects—for example, dishes depicting the life of David (Cyprus Treasure, Cyprus Museum, Nicosia, and Metropolitan Museum); both dishes and vessels were produced with pagan subjects—for example, the Concesti amphora and the Silenus Dish (both in the Hermitage, Leningrad). The figure style is often harder and flatter than previously, characterized by strictly frontal positions and symmetry. The techniques of chasing and embossing still predominated, but abstract patterns and Christian symbols inlaid in niello were used increasingly. The appearance of imperial “control stamps,” early forerunners of hallmarks, show most of this material to be of the 6th and 7th centuries. It is not known which cities were important centres of production; but the Eastern capital, Constantinople, must have been foremost among them. Of work in gold of the earliest Christian period, only personal jewelry has survived; but from the 6th and 7th centuries onward other pieces are also extant. Among the most important of the latter are votive crowns and crosses offered to churches in Spain and Italy by royal patrons. The finest of these pieces are those found in Guarrazar in Toledo Province (National Archaeological Museum, Madrid, and Musée de Cluny, Paris), inlaid with garnets and jewels; the cross of King Agilulf (cathedral of Monza, Italy); and a pair of gold book covers inscribed by Queen Theodolinda (cathedral of Monza, Italy). The book covers are set with pearls, gems, and cameos and decorated with gold cloisonné work inlaid with garnets, a popular style among the Germanic peoples. Inlaid cloisonné jewelry reached an especially high standard of workmanship in Britain , as is shown by a purse lid, a sword, and jewelry from the cenotaph (monument honouring a dead person whose body lies elsewhere) to a 7th-century East Anglian king discovered at Sutton Hoo , Suffolk (British Museum). Major works in silver and gold were also produced in the northern Hiberno-Saxon school and in the service of the Celtic Church; work in precious metal, such as the buckle on the Moylough belt reliquary and the Ardagh Chalice in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, displays a masterly synthesis of the northern arts and humanist Mediterranean tradition. Middle Ages Carolingian and Ottonian The earliest works of the Carolingian renaissance , made in the last quarter of the 8th century, resemble Hiberno-Saxon art of the 8th century in their abstract treatment of the human figure, their animal ornament, and their use of niello and “chip-carving” technique; examples are the Tassilo Chalice (Kremsmünster Abbey, Austria) and the Lindau Gospels book cover (Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City). From about 800 onward, however, the influence of the Mediterranean tradition gained strength at Charlemagne’s court at Aachen and later spread through the whole empire. Triumphal arches (now lost) given by the Emperor’s biographer Einhard to Maastricht cathedral were typical of this movement; miniature versions nine inches (22 centimetres) high of great marble triumphal arches of antiquity, they were embossed in silver with Christian subjects. The bulk of work in precious metals that survives from the Middle Ages is ecclesiastical: golden altars, like that of S. Ambrogio in Milan (c. 850), where scenes from the life of Christ and St. Ambrose are framed by panels of cloisonné enamel and filigree (openwork); and reliquaries and book covers in gold and silver, set with gems and decorated by embossed figures and scenes, such as the cover of the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram (c. 870; Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich). These pieces testify to the magnificence of Carolingian work, the techniques of which were to dominate the goldsmith’s craft until the 11th century. Book cover of the Lindau Gospels (MS. 644, fol. 115v), chased gold with pearls and precious stones, … Courtesy of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York Patronage throughout this period was mainly in the hands of the emperors and great princes of the church; and the form of liturgical plate and reliquaries, altar crosses, and the like underwent no fundamental change; Ottonian work of the later 10th and 11th centuries can be distinguished from that of the 9th only in the development of style. For example, the larger, more massive figures, with their strict pattern of folds, on the golden altar (c. 1023) given by Henry II to Basel Minster (Musée de Cluny, Paris), are markedly different from the nervous, elongated figures of the Carolingian period. Book cover with a silver-gilt Spanish setting of a Byzantine ivory crucifixion, silver-gilt with … Photograph by Katie Chao. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.134) Romanesque In the 12th century the church supplanted secular rulers as the chief patron of the arts, and the work was carried out in the larger monasteries. Under the direction of such great churchmen as Henry, bishop of Winchester, and Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, near Paris, a new emphasis was given to subject matter and symbolism. Cast bronze baptismal font by Renier de Huy, 1107–18. In the church of … Courtesy of Holle Bildarchiv, Baden-Baden Craftsmen were no longer anonymous; work by Roger of Helmarshausen, Reiner of Huy, Godefroid de Claire (de Huy), Nicholas of Verdun , and others can be identified; and the parts they played as leaders of the great centres of metalwork on the Rhine and the Meuse are recognizable. Their greatest achievement was the development of the brilliant champlevé enamelling, a method that replaced the earlier cloisonné technique. Gold and silver continued to be used as rich settings for enamels; as the framework of portable altars, or small devotional diptychs or triptychs; for embossed figure work in reliquary shrines; and for liturgical plate. Portable altar, cut-out, gilded, engraved, and incised laminated copper, attributed to Roger of … Courtesy of Holle Bildarchiv, Baden-Baden The masterpieces of the period are great house-shaped shrines made to contain the relics of saints; for example, the shrine of St. Heribert at Deutz (c. 1160) and Nicholas of Verdun’s Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne (c. 1200). In the latter, the figures are almost freestanding, and in their fine, rhythmic draperies and naturalistic movement they approach the new Gothic style. Gothic The growing naturalism of the 13th century is notable in the work of Nicholas’ follower Hugo d’Oignies, whose reliquary for the rib of St. Peter at Namur (1228) foreshadows the partly crystal reliquaries in which the freestanding relic is exposed to the view of the faithful; it is decorated with Hugo’s particularly fine filigree and enriched by naturalistic cutout leaves and little cast animals and birds. The increasing wealth of the royal courts, of the aristocracy, and, later, of the merchants led to the establishment of secular workshops in the great cities and the foundation of confraternities, or guilds, of goldsmiths and silversmiths, the first being that of Paris in 1202. As in architecture, monumental sculpture, and ivory carving , the lead held by Germany and the Low Countries during the Romanesque period now passed to France. Architectural forms continued to be the basis of design in precious metal; the silver shrine of St. Taurin at Évreux (c. 1250), for example, is a Gothic chapel in miniature, with saints under pointed arches, clustered columns, and small turrets. In England, the few pieces that survived the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century follow the same architectural pattern. Notable examples are the 14th-century Ramsey Abbey censer and the magnificent crosier made for William of Wykeham (New College, Oxford). Germany first produced work in the Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century with a large Gothic head reliquary of Charlemagne and the splendid “Three-Tower” reliquary, both still at Aachen. In Italy, despite the undercurrent of classical taste, the Gothic style predominated in the 14th century, especially at Siena; it was also probably in Italy around 1280 that basse-taille enamel—a technique in which intaglio relief carving in the metal below its surface is filled with translucent enamel—originated, whence it spread rapidly through the upper Rhine region to France and England. The Parisian school of enamellers predominated in the latter half of the 14th century. For the first time, enough secular plate survives to show that it equalled the ecclesiastical in opulence: two fine pieces are the Royal Gold Cup made in Paris around 1380 (British Museum) and the so-called King John’s Cup, probably English work of around 1340 (King’s Lynn, Norfolk). The late Gothic period produced court treasures such as the “Goldenes Rössel” (1403; Stiftskirche, Altötting, West Germany), and the Thorn reliquary (British Museum), both early 15th century. There was also an increased output of secular silver because of the rise of the middle classes; the English mazers (wooden drinking bowls with silver mounts) and the silver spoons with a large variety of finials are examples of this more modest plate. Numerous large reliquaries and altar plate of all kinds were still produced. At the end of the Middle Ages the style of these pieces and of secular plate developed more distinctive national characteristics, strongly influenced by architectural style: in England, by the geometric patterns of the Perpendicular; in Germany, by heavy and bizarre themes of almost Baroque exuberance; and in France, by the fragile elegance of the Flamboyant . The purity standards of silver became rigorously controlled, and “ hallmarking ” was enforced; the marking of silver in England, especially, was carefully observed. Renaissance to modern 16th century Italian goldsmiths preceded the rest of Europe in reverting to the style of Roman antiquity; but in the absence of antique goldsmiths’ work, vases of marble or bronze had to serve as models. Goldsmiths often worked from very free interpretations of the antique made by artists in other media. Many of these designs but very few of the actual pieces have survived; the most famous is an enamelled gold saltcellar (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) made for Francis I by the celebrated Florentine Benvenuto Cellini . In the second half of the 16th century many gifted Italian and immigrant goldsmiths worked at the court of Cosimo I , grand duke of Tuscany, specializing in vessels of hardstone mounted in enamelled and jewelled gold; their work is well represented in the Museo degli Argenti in the Pitti Palace, Florence, and in the Kunsthistorisches Museum; similar work was done by the Sarachi family in Milan. Little French goldwork is extant, and most of the surviving material is in the Galerie d’Apollon in the Louvre. Among the most sumptuous pieces are a sardonyx (a type of onyx) and gold ewer, the gold St. Michael’s Cup (both at the Kunsthistorisches Museum), and a sardonyx-covered cup in the Louvre, all of which display northern features. The massive plate of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (Louvre), dating from 1581–82, is of quite individual character; and an enamelled gold helmet and shield of Charles IX (1560–74) in the Louvre have no parallel either for quality or opulence. In other parts of Europe, goldsmiths clung to Gothic forms until well into the first half of the century, especially in the provincial towns. Immensely rich in ecclesiastical silver, Spain has little early domestic silver; Spanish silversmiths, platería, gave their name to the heavily ornamented style of the period, Plateresque . Using precious metal from the New World, goldsmiths such as Enrique and Juan de Arfe produced vast containers for the Host known as custodia. The most important Portuguese work, the Belém monstrance, created by Gil Vicente in 1506 for Belém Monastery near Lisbon, is still Gothic in style; later, Portugal developed its own style, related to Spanish work but not copied from it. Some of the finest 16th-century goldsmiths’ work was executed in Antwerp and elsewhere by such Flemish goldsmiths as Hans of Antwerp, goldsmith to Henry VIII , and Jacopo Delfe, called Biliverti, goldsmith to Cosimo I. The Flemish masters showed particular sympathy for the Mannerist style, derived from Italy but transformed by such native engravers as Cornelis Bos and Cornelis Floris. By about 1580, Dutch goldsmiths had begun to rival the Flemish; the van Vianen family of Utrecht won international renown, especially Adam, who excelled at embossing, and his brother Paulus, who worked in Italy, Munich, and in the workshop of Rudolph II at Prague. The principal centres in the north were Nürnberg and Augsburg, the former particularly notable for the exuberant Mannerism of the Jamnitzer family, the latter for its ebony caskets with silver-gilt mounts. Many German princes, especially the dukes of Bavaria, maintained their own court workshops. Production was on a vast scale, and great quantities survive. Characteristic German forms are columbine cups (the trial piece for entry into the Nürnberg Goldsmith’s Guild) and standing cups such as the Diana Cup by Hans Petzolt. England is rich in 16th-century secular silver, but church plate was mostly destroyed during the Reformation. The Renaissance style, introduced by the painter Hans Holbein the Younger, who designed vessels for the court, follows that of the Low Countries and Germany. Certain individual forms also were produced, such as standing saltcellars with tiered covers and “steeple” cups, which had a tall finial on the cover. Baroque In the first half of the 17th century, Dutch goldsmiths, such as the van Vianens and, later, Johannes Lutma the Elder of Amsterdam, developed a fleshy form of ornament known as auricular, which became common in northern Europe, including England—where Christian van Vianen worked as court goldsmith to Charles I—and Germany—where the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) reduced both the quantity and quality of production. After midcentury, bold Dutch floral ornament—usually embossed in thin metal, as though the pieces were for display rather than use—was characteristic and influential. France, however, undoubtedly led fashion with its state workshops at the Gobelins , the refined French acanthus ornament contrasting sharply with the coarser Dutch designs. Since Louis XIV melted the royal plate to pay his troops, no French work of this period remains; but its quality is demonstrated in the work of the Huguenot silversmiths who left France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Mostly provincials, they brought new standards of taste and craftsmanship wherever they settled—particularly in England, where the foremost names of the late 17th and earlier 18th centuries were of French origin: Pierre Harache, Pierre Platel, David Willaume, Simon Pantin, Paul de Lamerie , Paul Crespin, to mention but a few. Silver dish representing an early development of the auricular style by Christiaen van Vianen (son … Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London German house shrine, a portable silver Pietà by Georg Jungmair, bearing the town mark of … Photograph by Jenny O’Donnell. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, gift of Dr. W.L. Hildburgh, F.S.A. (M.1-1953) Silver furniture , a feature of the state rooms at Versailles, became fashionable among kings and noblemen. It was constructed of silver plates attached to a wooden frame; and each suite contained a dressing table , a looking glass, and a pair of candlestands. In France such furniture did not survive the Revolution; but much remains in England, Denmark, Germany, and Russia. Furniture in the king’s bedroom, Knole House, Kent, England, silver on wood, 17th century. Height … Courtesy of the National Trust After the Thirty Years’ War, Germany did not regain its eminence; even the enamelled goldwork from the court workshops at Prague and Munich, which became larger and more ostentatious in colour, was inferior in design and finish. In Scandinavia, particularly Sweden, goldsmiths evolved forms of beakers and tankards showing strong German influence. Spanish silver was of massive architectural design, oval champlevé enamelled bosses being set at intervals over the surface of the larger pieces. The few extant Italian pieces suggest that the goldsmiths worked their material with the skill of sculptors. 18th century Early 18th-century English work combined functional simplicity with grace of form, while the work of Dutch and German goldsmiths is in a similar style but of less pleasing proportions. The preeminence of the English work, however, is due to the destruction of all but a fraction of French silver of the same period; for what survives is outstanding in originality of design and fineness of finish. The superiority of French work lay in its excellence of design and the high quality of the cast and chased work. Where other goldsmiths worked in embossed metal , the French modelled and cast their ornament and then applied it—a technique that consumed much more of the precious material. In France, provincial goldsmiths competed successfully with those of the capital; but in England all the best artists went to London. In the early 1730s the French Rococo style was imported to England and adopted by goldsmiths of both Huguenot and English descent, one of the latter being Thomas Heming, goldsmith to George III . English silver in the 18th-century classical style of Robert and James Adam is of unequal merit owing to the use of industrial methods by some large producers. In France, Robert Auguste created pieces of great refinement in the Neoclassical style, which was copied in Turin and in Rome, for example, by L. Valadier. A notable workshop was founded in Madrid in 1778 by D. Antonio Martínez, who favoured severely classical designs. In both the northern and southern Netherlands, local production followed French precept, but more individuality survived in Germany. In Augsburg, excellent table silver was produced, but more important were the pictorial panels embossed in the highest relief by members of the Thelot family and the silver furniture made by the Billers and the Drentwetts. At Dresden, Augustus II the Strong established under Johann Melchior Dinglinger a court workshop that produced jewels and enamelled goldwork unequalled since the Renaissance; and the gold snuffboxes made by Johann Christian Neuber rivalled those of the Parisian goldsmiths. Claude Blair Belgium and Holland The ironwork of these two small countries prior to the 15th century was in no way inferior to that produced elsewhere. Yet so few pieces remain that the significance of craftsmen of the Low Countries has often been underestimated. During the 15th century, design and craftsmen from the Low Countries began to make their influence evident across the channel in England. Representative examples of this period are in the Hervormde Kerk at Breda; the treasury door of the cathedral at Liège; and hinges of the church of Notre Dame, at Hal. The beautiful spires of Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp should be mentioned. During the first half of the 16th century, before the Spanish occupation, there were diversified forms of ironwork, such as protective grilles for doors, windows, and chapels, often in fleur-de-lis patterns; window gratings of vertical bars, frequently octagonal in section; and interlacing bars, producing rectangular or lozenge-shaped patterns. Only a few examples still exist: some lunettes in the Hôtel de Ville of Brussels; a tabernacle grille from the chapel of the counts of Flanders and a window grille from the Cathedral of St. Bavon, both from Ghent (Victoria and Albert Museum); and hinges at the Hôtels de Ville of Bruges and Ypres (Flemish Ieper). Few Renaissance screens have survived. During the second half of the 16th century, the cruelty of the Duke of Alba and his 20,000 troops, together with the threat of the Inquisition, drove hundreds of artisans to England. After the Spanish domination there was little indigenous design in Holland and Belgium, and such ironwork as was produced fell under the spell of French imports. Gerald K. Geerlings England The initial use of wrought iron was purely protective because violent attacks were frequent, and doors had to be strengthened with massive ironwork inside and out. Window openings, especially those of the treasuries of mansions and cathedrals, were for similar reasons filled with strong interlacing bars of solid iron; a good example remains at Canterbury cathedral. When, in the course of time, the need for protective barriers ended, there was greater freedom of work and a definite trend toward ornamentation. Throughout England, medieval church doors are found with massive iron hinges , the bands worked in rich ornamental designs of scrollwork, varying from the plain hinge band, with crescent, to the most elaborate filling of the door. Examples exist at Skipwith and Stillingfleet in Yorkshire, many in the eastern counties, others in Gloucester, Somerset, and the west Midlands. The next important application of ironwork came with the erection of the great cathedrals and churches, whose shrines and treasures demanded protection. Winchester Cathedral possesses the remains of one screen with a symmetrical arrangement of scrollwork. Tombs were enclosed within railings of vertical bars with ornamental finials at intervals, such as that of the Black Prince at Canterbury. A new development appeared in the early years of the 15th century when the smith, working in cold iron, attempted to reproduce Gothic stone tracery in metal. This work was more like that of a woodworker than of a smith, often consisting of small pieces of iron chiselled and rivetted, and fixed on a background of sheet iron. Many small objects such as door knockers, handles, and escutcheons were executed in the same manner. A typical monumental example is in Henry V’s chantry at Westminster Abbey; but the most magnificent is the great grille at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, made to protect the tomb of Edward IV . The development of the art of smithing during the Renaissance period was very uneven in the various countries of Europe. In 16th-century England the smith fell behind and seemed to have lost interest, producing no very great or important work. He continued to make iron railings, balconies, and small objects for architectural application, such as hinges, latches, locks, and weathercocks. But toward the end of the 17th century, there was a growing interest in beautifying houses and laying out gardens and squares, with a commensurate demand for balconies, staircases, and garden gates. The man to whom the credit is usually given for the revival of ironwork in England was Jean Tijou , a Frenchman who, together with many of his Protestant fellow craftsmen, had been forced to leave his country owing to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. After some years in The Netherlands he went to England in 1689, where he enjoyed the patronage and favour of William III . His most important works for his royal patron are to be seen in the immense mass of screens and gates with which he embellished Hampton Court palace. He also executed work at Burleigh house, Stamford. Probably by the Queen’s wish he was associated with the architect Sir Christopher Wren , then engaged on the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Wren apparently did not particularly like ironwork and probably exercised some restraint on Tijou, with the result that his work at St. Paul’s is more dignified and freer from appendages than that of Hampton Court. There is a great amount of fine ironwork of the 18th century in London in the form of gates, railings, lamp holders, door brackets, balconies, and staircases; in almost every suburb there are gates and brackets. The precincts of the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, as well as almost every old town in England, furnish a variety of handsome work. Throughout the 18th century the smith was a busy man; the general tendency of his work, unaffected by the Rococo movement on the Continent, was toward a less ornate but more characteristically English style—perpendicular, severe, lofty, and commanding, as contrasted with Tijou’s French love of richness and mass of details. At the end of the 18th century the work of the architect brothers Adam shows a departure from true smithing; its slender delicate bars are enriched with rosettes, anthemia, and other ornament in brass or lead. The effect is pleasing and harmonizes with the architecture with which it is incorporated. During the first half of the 19th century, the art of the smith was largely eclipsed by that of the iron caster. But under the stimulus of the Victorian Gothic revival and later of the Art Nouveau movement, there was a renewal of interest in the decorative use of wrought iron, and much excellent work was produced. France Medieval door-hinge ornaments were not basically different from those in England; and beautiful work is found on church doors, especially in central and northern France. It reaches a height of greater elaboration and magnificence than in England, the culminating example being the west doors of Notre Dame, Paris, the ironwork of which is so wonderful that it was attributed to superhuman workmanship. Grilles at Troyes and Rouen also reveal a high standard of excellence. Working the iron cold and employing methods associated with carpentry was immensely popular; it was applied to small objects such as door handles, knockers, and above all to locks, which exhibit an amazing amount of detail and a remarkable delicacy of finish. The Gothic tradition survived in France until well into the 16th century and was marked by the production of work of the highest skill, largely in the form of locks, knockers, and caskets of chiselled iron. The introduction of the Renaissance style did not radically alter the direction of the smith’s art—a strange fact when it is remembered that Germany and Spain were fabricating works of enormous size and magnificence in wrought iron. France, like England at that time, was content to make door furniture, in the form of locks , keys, bolts, escutcheons, and the like, but did little ironwork of any great size. A school of locksmiths came into being under Francis I and Henry II, working from designs by Androuet du Cerceau in the 16th century and those by Mathurin Jousse and Antoine Jacquard in the 17th. The bows (a loop forming the handle) and wards (notches) of keys were of unusually intricate design and the locks of corresponding richness. Representative pieces may be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Among them is the famous Strozzi key, said to have been made for the apartments of Henry III , the bow of which takes the favoured form of two grotesque figures back to back. But as far as architectural ironwork was concerned, France remained almost at a standstill until the accession of Louis XIII in 1610. Under that monarch, a worker at the forge himself, came a great revival, which, by the end of the 17th century, had attained a marvellous pitch of perfection. It proved to be the beginning of a new movement, the force of which made itself felt in the adjoining countries and inspired ironworkers with new energy. From the accession of Louis XIV , the French ironworkers must be acknowledged as the cleverest in Europe, combining as they did good and fitting design with masterly execution. Their designs were often very daring, exploiting all the latent and previously unexplored possibilities of iron. They recognized its great adaptability and took every advantage of it, at the same time being conscious of its limitations. Their forms of expression were endless. Screens and gates were needed for parks, gardens, and avenues, staircases for mansions and palaces, screens for churches and cathedrals. Among celebrated designers were Jean Lepautre, Daniel Marot , and Jean Berain. Earlier work had been of a simple character—balconies, for instance, being in the form of a succession of balusters—but as the smith became more versatile and imaginative, they took the form of panels of flowing curved scrolls, rendered with a freedom never attained before, while constructive strength was observed and symmetry maintained. Enrichments were usually attached in hammered sheet iron. These may be considered the distinguishing features of Louis XIV work, such as that at St. Cloud, Chantilly, Fontainebleau, and elsewhere. But under Louis XIV all previous efforts were surpassed in the work for his palace at Versailles. The art of ironwork received a further impetus by the introduction of the Rococo style . The movement, initiated in 1723, was due principally to the imagination of two artists, Just-Aurèle Meissonier, architect, and Gilles-Marie Oppenordt. There was a balanced asymmetry in the design and fantastic curves with a luxury of applied ornamentation. To the French smith it furnished the opportunity for a yet greater display of his skill. He was clever enough to secure a feeling of stability in his work by counterbalancing swirling masses of ornament with straight constructional lines; he knew how to introduce an iron screen of Rococo style into a Gothic church or cathedral without giving offense to the eye or arousing any uncomfortable feeling of incongruity. Later in the 18th century, ironwork took on a more classical appearance as a result of the general revival of interest in ancient art; and many Greek and Roman details were introduced into the ornamentation. The amount of work executed was prodigious, and its beauty and craftsmanship may be seen in most cities of France. Nearly all of the adjacent countries, with the exception of England, were seized with the desire to imitate the French Rococo style. Germany In the Romanesque period in Germany, bronze was preferred to iron; the earliest examples of ironwork are thus later than those of France and England. The first iron grilles were imitations of French work, with C-scrolls filling spaces between vertical bars. Typical examples of door hinges prior to the 14th century were those at Kaisheim, St. Magnus Church, Brunswick, and St. Elizabeth’s Church, Marburg (the latter having a curious cross in the middle). Throughout the Gothic period in Germany, the imitation of natural foliage was the basis of design. There were no new marked developments in ironwork during the 14th century. Smiths confined their efforts mostly to hinges . Until this period the vine had been the only motif for elaborate hinges; but flat, lozenge-shaped leaves were introduced, such as those at Schloss Lahneck on the Rhine. During the 15th century, grilles became more popular. One of the best examples is the grille in the Monument of Bishop Ernst of Bavaria, Magdeburg cathedral (c. 1495), with elaborate Gothic tracery, nine columns, and a cornice. In hinges the cinquefoil displaced the quatrefoil, as at Orb, Oppenheim, and Magdeburg. The Erfurt cathedral was enriched with notable hinges having the vine pattern interpolated with rosettes and escutcheons of arms. Hinges for houses usually were the plain strap type, but when ornamented they consisted of superimposed layers of sheet iron. As in other parts of Europe at this time, pierced sheet iron was fashioned into tracery of a semi-architectural nature, much like Gothic windows. Pierced ornament and twisted rods were often combined to form grilles, with their extremities beaten into complicated foliage forms. During the Renaissance, ironwork in Germany was in use everywhere and for every purpose: for screens in churches, window grilles, stove guards, gates, fountain railings, well heads, grave crosses, door knockers, handles, locks, iron signs, and small objects for domestic use. Smiths were their own designers and more often than not planned intricate devices merely to show their skill in executing them. They set no limits to their problems; and so far as manipulative excellence went, the German smiths were the foremost in Europe. But clever as their workmanship undoubtedly was, their designs frequently showed a lack of stability and a tendency to run riot. Thus, many of their most imposing works consist largely of filling panels with elaborate, interlacing scrollwork, and the sense of constructional and protective strength is missing. An abundance of smiths’ work is to be found in the southern parts of Germany. Iron bars, circular in section, were most frequently used; and the most common features are interlacing bars and terminations of flowers with petals and twisted centres, foliage, or human heads. All of these characteristics occur with almost monotonous repetition, witnessing to skill but also to lack of imagination and sense of design. The style may be studied in many German and Austrian cities, such as Augsburg, Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Salzburg, Munich, and Innsbruck. The German smith gave much attention to door knockers and handles, enclosing them in pierced and embossed escutcheons, and devised locks with very involved mechanism. German influence made itself strongly felt in Switzerland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. The Baroque and Rococo periods are distinguished by a perfection of detail that exceeded that of German Medieval or Renaissance ironwork. Smiths used wrought iron as though it were a plastic material, meant to be employed in extravagant forms wherever possible. Some examples are at Zwiefalten, Weingarten, and Klosterneuburg. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, cast ironwork of outstanding quality was produced in Germany, notably at the Prussian royal foundry established in 1804. Italy The few extant examples of ironwork in Italy prior to the 14th century indicate a wide appreciation of how the material could best be worked with only the tools of the smith. Some noteworthy examples are the chancel grille at the left of the nave, Orvieto Cathedral (1337); the grille around the Scaligeri tombs of Verona (c. 1340); the grille at the baptistery of Prato cathedral (1348); the chancel screen in the sacristy chapel of Sta. Croce, Florence (1371); and the grille to the Capella degli Spagnoli, Sta. Maria Novello, Florence. Until the 16th century, Italian smiths respected the natural characteristics of wrought iron by relying almost entirely upon those forms that could be wrought with hammer and anvil. The grille was usually made by dividing it into regular panels with vertical and horizontal bars (sometimes triangular in section and enriched with dentils, or small, projecting triangular blocks). Often the quatrefoil filled some or all of these panels; they were made in Tuscany from a pierced plate and in Venice from separate scrolls collared together. A noted example is in the Palazzo della Signoria, Siena, crowned by a repoussé frieze and surmounted by a cresting of flowers, spikes, and some animal heads. It might have been thought that in the fountainhead of the Renaissance, ironwork would have proceeded at the same pace and with the same brilliant success as architecture, sculpture, bronze casting, and the other arts. Strangely enough, little use of it is found in connection with the fine buildings of the revival. Bronze was favoured; and what in other countries is found in iron has its counterpart in Italy in bronze. As time went on the smiths grew less inclined toward the more difficult processes of hammering and welding and contented themselves ultimately with thin ribbon iron, the various parts of which were fastened together by collars. Work of the later periods may be distinguished, apart from the design, by this feature, whereas the English and French smiths vigorously faced the hardest methods of work, and the German and Spanish smiths invented difficulties for the sheer pleasure of overcoming them. Notable centres of artistic ironwork were Florence, Siena, Vicenza, Venice, Lucca, and Rome, where important pieces may be found in the form of gates, balconies, screens, fanlights (semicircular windows with radiating sash bars like the ribs of a fan), well covers, and a mass of objects for domestic use, such as bowl stands, brackets, and candlesticks. In screenwork the favourite motif was the quatrefoil, which has been found with many variations ever since the 14th century. Early examples are strong and virile, but later ones tend to weakness. The C-shaped scroll is also used in many combinations. The churches and palaces of Venice contain many examples of these popular designs. Peculiar to Italy are the lanterns and banner holders such as may still be seen at Florence, Siena, and elsewhere, and the rare gondola prows of Venice. Of the ironworkers of the early Renaissance, the most famous was the late-15th-century craftsman Niccolo Grosso of Florence, nicknamed “Il Caparra” because he gave no credit but insisted on money on account. From his hand is the well-known lantern on the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, repeated with variations elsewhere in the same city. Siena has lanterns and banner holders attached to the facades of its palaces, and lanterns are still to be seen at Lucca and a few other towns. The decadence of 17th- and 18th-century ironwork paralleled that of architecture. Designs were borrowed directly from France and Germany. The metal was too often worked cold, using thin members; and the resulting construction was flimsy. Scrolls were often encased in thin, grasslike leaves. Conventional or naturalistic flowers were tacked on as seeming afterthoughts. Instead of using rods and bars, ribbonlike bands were used, with cast ornaments pinned on. Intersecting tracery was copied from Germany. The best examples of this period are confined to Venice and northern Italy , such as the screen in the south aisle chapel of S. Ambrogio, Milan; the chapel enclosure in S. Pietro, Mantua; and the screen in the Palazzo Capodilista, Padua. Spain Prior to the 15th century, Spanish ironwork was basically similar to that in France and England. The Spanish smith accepted the limitations imposed by anvil and ancillary tools; but he skillfully exploited to the limit all manner of variations—twisting square rods, coiling flat bars into C-shaped scrolls of all sizes, and devising imaginative crestings to surmount the top of church chapel screens or domestic window grilles. Many Moorish craftsmen of extraordinary ability were enticed to remain in Spain as the Moors were slowly pushed southward; the resultant blending of Gothic with Moorish resulted in the Mudejar style. Ironwork of the Renaissance period from about 1450 to 1525 reached a height of grandeur and magnificence attained in no other country. Of all the Spanish craftsmen the smiths were the busiest, especially during the 16th century. The ironwork products that for more than a century dominated the craft are the monumental screens ( rejas) found in all the great cathedrals of Spain. These immense structures, rising 25 to 30 feet (7.5 to nine metres) show several horizontal bands, or tiers, of balusters, sometimes divided vertically by columns of hammered work and horizontally by friezes of hammered arabesque ornament. Usually such screens are surmounted by a cresting, which is sometimes of simple ornament but more often a very elaborate design into which are introduced a large number of human figures. Shields of arms are freely incorporated; and the use of bright colour, silvering, and gilding adds to their impressive beauty. The great balusters were always forged from the solid, and their presence in hundreds demonstrates the extraordinary skill and power of the Spanish smith. In many cathedrals two of these monumental rejas are found facing one another. There is at least one in every large cathedral—Barcelona, Saragossa, Toledo, Sevilla (Seville), Burgos, Granada, Córdoba, and many others. Ironwork on a smaller scale is found in gates, balconies, and window screens; wrought-iron pulpits also exist. Panels of hammered and pierced iron, heightened with colours and gilding, were used in connection with domestic architecture; and many doors were ornamented with elaborate nailheads or embossed studs. William Walter Watts Gerald K. Geerlings United States The characteristics of the earliest ironwork in the various colonies naturally reflected those of the parent countries. The English were more sparing in its use in the New England Colonies than were the Germans in Pennsylvania or the French in Louisiana. In the 17th and 18th centuries ironwork was used mostly for such practical purposes as weather vanes, foot scrapers, strap hinges, latches, locks, and particularly for the necessities and conveniences for fireplaces (firedogs, cranes, skewers, toasters, kettle warmers, and spits). It was not until the late 18th century, when the threat of Indian raids and food shortages had waned and the established communities enjoyed a sense of tranquillity and prosperity, that smiths fashioned wrought iron into railings, fences, grilles, gates, and balconies. Square or flat iron bars were generally used to produce designs that were usually light, airy, and graceful and rather in contrast to the contemporary European preference for sturdier forms. Gradually, ironwork designs tended to develop characteristics of an American or composite nature, as a logical consequence of the diverse origins of colonists and smiths. An innovation that appeared toward the end of the 18th century was the combination of structural wrought-iron rods or bars with lead or cast-iron ornamental features. While the use of wrought iron declined in the 19th century, during its last quarter the use of cast-iron columns and panels for nonresidential buildings increased. These designs, timid or bold, decorative or structural, engendered the prototypes of commercial buildings for the ensuing decades. Because the life of structures in U.S. cities has been short, there are few examples of 18th- or early 19th-century ironwork extant in New York City, not many more in Boston, some in Philadelphia, but more in and near Washington, D.C., such as the excellent balconies and railings at the Octagon (headquarters of the American Institute of Architects). Charleston, South Carolina , has a rich legacy in gates, notably those at numbers 12, 23, and 36 Legare Street, 63 Meeting Street, and an unusually beautiful pair at St. Michael’s Church. New Orleans has more ironwork than other U.S. cities, thanks to a group of citizens dedicated to the preservation of the old French Quarter. Its earliest ironwork was forged by Spanish and French smiths. Unfortunately, fires, rust, and remodelling have so taken their toll of the Spanish ironwork that almost the only remaining example of importance is the gateway of the Cabildo (town hall). It has moldings beaten from solid bars, like many of the old rejas in Spanish cathedrals. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the influx of ironworkers from northern states brought about a broadening of influences that is apparent in designs and techniques. Ironwork of New Orleans can be roughly divided into three periods: (1) forged wrought iron by French and Spanish artisans with strongly marked European characteristics; (2) a transitional period with wrought-iron structural members embellished with cast-iron ornaments in the Directoire and Empire styles of France, plus some U.S. innovations; and (3) entire grilles , screens, and trellises made entirely of cast iron. No other city in the U.S. has two- and even three-story iron porches and balconies that can compare with those of New Orleans. Some of these lacy structures, such as those on St. Peter Street, were built above the sidewalks. Balconies sometimes not only extended across an entire facade but continued around a corner. Mid-19th century onward Distinctive national characteristics in the design of ironwork gradually tended to disappear in Europe because of increased travel and communications between countries. The influence of French Renaissance architecture (modified or revived) continued to exert a viable effect where the acceptance of the Art Nouveau (last quarter of the 19th century) was flaccid or denied. In England, however, 18th-century designs continued with slight modifications. In the U.S. probably the most important force, prior to World War I, was exercised by architects trained in Paris, with the result that ironwork designs were similar to French work of this period. The increased mechanization of all forms of manufacture understandably affected the character and use of ironwork. As the cost of cast iron came down, its use increased. Because wrought iron is produced by hand by beating red-hot iron on an anvil, not much change was possible through increased mechanization, whereas the casting of molten iron lent itself to improved equipment and techniques. The lowered cost of duplicating ornamental cast-iron components and the introduction of structural steel parts expanded the usage of ironwork to the modest building, whereas it had been generally confined to public or monumental structures. Foundries in the U.S. established a flourishing business in pierced cast-iron panels, modelled after Louisiana porch trellises. Compared with prior periods, the last half of the 19th century will scarcely be commemorated as introducing enduring or beautiful ironwork forms. It was not until the first quarter of the 20th century that a master craftsman-designer gave impetus to a new conception of design forms and textures. Edgar Brandt of Paris broadened the scope of decorative usage by the rich inventiveness of his compositions and by an entirely original approach that resulted in a wrought-iron texture that is akin to beaten silver. Examples of his work at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs Modernes at Paris in 1925 had an immediate effect upon ironwork designed and executed in the U.S. during the great building boom that lasted until about 1930. During this period, both wrought and cast iron enjoyed an unprecedented period of popularity not only in the form of bank screens, entrance doors, and grilles in public buildings but as decorative grilles and gates in private homes. In many cases the craftsmanship equalled that of representative examples of the Gothic or Renaissance periods in Europe. One of the most gifted and dedicated iron craftsmen in the U.S ., Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia, raised the standards of wrought-iron craftsmanship to its apex during the 1920s. He not only trained an atelier of craftsmen for the first time in the U.S., but by his efforts wrought iron was recognized as capable of enriching even the most monumental building. Yellin’s influence, however, was ended by the Depression of the early 1930s. As building activity declined after 1930, so did the use of ironwork; and it did not increase with the revival of building after World War II .

i don't know

Futurama chef Elzar is a parody of what celebrity chef, whose catchphrases include “kick it up a notch” and “BAM!”?

Astrology: Emeril Lagasse, date of birth: 1959/10/15, Horoscope, Astrological Portrait, Dominant Planets, Birth Data, Biography 1st Fire sign - 1st Cardinal sign (spring equinox) - Masculine In analogy with Mars, his ruler, and the 1st House Aries governs the head. His colour is red, his stone is the heliotrope, his day is Tuesday, and his professions are businessman, policeman, sportsman, surgeon... If your sign is Aries or your Ascendant is Aries: you are courageous, frank, enthusiastic, dynamic, fast, bold, expansive, warm, impulsive, adventurous, intrepid, warlike, competitive, but also naive, domineering, self-centred, impatient, rash, thoughtless, blundering, childish, quick-tempered, daring or primitive. Some traditional associations with Aries: Countries: England, France, Germany, Denmark. Cities: Marseille, Florence, Naples, Birmingham, Wroclaw, Leicester, Capua, Verona. Animals: Rams and sheeps. Food: Leeks, hops, onions, shallots, spices. Herbs and aromatics: mustard, capers, Cayenne pepper, chilli peppers. Flowers and plants: thistles, mint, bryonies, honeysuckles. Trees: hawthorns, thorny trees and bushes. Stones, Metals and Salts: diamonds, iron, potassium phosphate. Signs: Taurus 1st Earth sign - 1st Fixed sign - Feminine In analogy with Venus, his ruler, and the 2nd House Taurus governs the neck and the throat. Her colour is green or brown, her stone is the emerald, her day is Friday, her professions are cook, artist, estate agent, banker, singer... If your sign is Taurus or your Ascendant is Taurus: you are faithful, constant, sturdy, patient, tough, persevering, strong, focused, sensual, stable, concrete, realistic, steady, loyal, robust, constructive, tenacious. You need security, but you are also stubborn, rigid, possessive, spiteful, materialistic, fixed or slow. Some traditional associations with Taurus: Countries: Switzerland, Greek islands, Ireland, Cyprus, Iran. Cities: Dublin, Palermo, Parma, Luzern, Mantua, Leipzig, Saint Louis, Ischia, Capri. Animals: bovines. Food: apples, pears, berries, corn and other cereals, grapes, artichokes, asparagus, beans. Herbs and aromatics: sorrels, spearmint, cloves. Flowers and plants: poppies, roses, digitales, violets, primroses, aquilegia, daisies. Trees: apple trees, pear trees, fig-trees, cypresses, ash trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: copper, calcium and potassium sulphate, emeralds. Signs: Gemini 1st Air sign - 1st Mutable sign - Masculine In analogy with Mercury, his ruler, and the 3rd House Gemini governs the arms, the lungs and the thorax. His colour is green or silver, his stone is the crystal, his day is Wednesday, his professions are journalist, lawyer, presenter, dancer, salesman, travel agent, teacher... If your sign is Gemini or if your Ascendant is Gemini: you are expressive, lively, adaptable, quick-witted, humorous, sparkling, playful, sociable, clever, curious, whimsical, independent, polyvalent, brainy, flexible, ingenious, imaginative, charming, fanciful but also capricious, scattered, moody, shallow, inquisitive, opportunistic, unconcerned, selfish, fragile, ironical or changeable. Some traditional associations with Gemini: Countries: Belgium, Wales, United-States, Lower Egypt, Sardinia, Armenia. Cities: London, Plymouth, Cardiff, Melbourne, San Francisco, Nuremberg, Bruges, Versailles. Animals: monkeys, butterflies, parrots, budgerigars. Food: dried fruits, chestnuts, ground-level vegetables: peas, broad beans, etc. Herbs and aromatics: aniseed, marjoram, lemon balm, cumin. Flowers and plants: lilies of the valley, lavenders, myrtle, ferns, Venus-hair-ferns, bittersweets. Trees: nut trees such as chestnut trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: agates, mercury, silicas and potashes. Signs: Cancer 1st Water sign - 2nd Cardinal sign (summer solstice) - Feminine In analogy with the Moon, her ruler, and the 4th House Cancer governs the stomach and the breast. Her colour is white or black, her stone is the moonstone, her day is Monday, her professions are catering, the hotel trade, property, antique dealer, archaeologist... If your sign is Cancer or your Ascendant is Cancer: you are emotional, sentimental, peaceful, imaginative, sensitive, faithful, resistant, protective, vulnerable, generous, romantic, nostalgic, tender, poetic-minded, motherly or fatherly, dreamy, indolent, greedy, devoted but also timorous, unrealistic, evasive, passive, anxious, dependent, stubborn, moody, passive, lazy, touchy, stay-at-home or inaccessible. Some traditional associations with Cancer: Countries: Holland, Scotland, North and West Africa, New-Zealand, Paraguay, Algeria. Cities: Amsterdam, Manchester, Tokyo, New York, Istanbul, Stockholm, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Cadix, Alger, Tunis, Bern, Magdeburg. Animals: crabs, animals with shells. Food: milk, fishes, watery fruits and vegetables, turnips, white and red cabbages. Herbs and aromatics: tarragon, verbena, saxifrage. Flowers and plants: geraniums, white roses and white flowers in general, water lilies, morning glory, bear's breeches, and lilies. Trees: all trees full of sap. Stones, Metals and Salts: pearls, silver, lime and calcium phosphate. Signs: Leo 2nd Fire sign - 2nd Fixed sign - Masculine In analogy with the Sun, his ruler, and the 5th House Leo governs the heart and the spine, and the eyes, according to some authors. His colour is gold or orange, his stone is the diamond, his day is Sunday, his professions are actor, manager, jeweller, fashion and arts, and action (e.g. fireman)... If your sign is Leo or your Ascendant is Leo: you are proud, determined, strong-willed, loyal, solemn, generous, ambitious, courageous, heroic, conquering, creative, confident, seductive, happy, daring, fiery, majestic, honest, magnanimous, charismatic, responsible, noble, dramatic but also domineering, vain, susceptible, bossy, stubborn, intolerant, self-centred, violent, quick-tempered, nonchalant. Some traditional associations with Leo: Countries: Italy, Romania, Sicily, Czechoslovakia, Iraq, Lebanon, Southern France. Cities: Rome, Prague, Bombay, Madrid, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Bath, Bristol, Portsmouth, Syracuse, Damas. Animals: lions and felines in general. Food: meat and especially red meat, rice, honey, cereals, grapes, iron-rich vegetables: watercress, spinach etc. Herbs and aromatics: saffron, mint, rosemary, common rue (Ruta graveolens). Flowers and plants: marigolds, sunflowers, celandines, passion flowers. Trees: palm trees, laurel, walnuts, olive trees, lemon and orange trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: gold, rubies, magnesium and sodium phosphate. Signs: Virgo 2nd Earth sign - 2nd Mutable sign - Feminine In analogy with Mercury, her ruler, and the 6th house Virgo governs the intestine. Her colour is green or yellow, her stone is the agate, her day is Wednesday, her professions are accountant, secretary, writer, computer scientist, nurse, doctor... If your sign is Virgo or your Ascendant is Virgo: you are brainy, perspicacious, attentive to detail and numbers, analytical, serious, competent, scrupulous, sensible, modest, logical, tidy, well-organized, clean, hard-working, provident, honest, faithful, reserved, shy, helpful, a perfectionist, but also narrow-minded, calculating, irritating, petty, anxious, cold, repressed or caustic. Some traditional associations with Virgo: Countries: Brazil, Greece, Turkey, West Indies, United-States (the same as Gemini), Yugoslavia, Crete, Mesopotamia, Lower Silesia, State of Virginia. Cities: Paris, Boston, Athens, Lyon, Corinthia, Heidelberg, spa towns in general. Animals: dogs, cats and all pets. Food: root vegetables: carrots, celeriac, kohlrabies, potatoes etc... Also dried fruits such as chestnuts. Herbs and aromatics: the same as Gemini whose ruler is Mercury too, lilies of the valley, lavenders, myrtles, ferns, Venus-hair-ferns, bittersweets, clovers. Flowers and plants: small bright-coloured flowers, especially blue and yellow, such as dandelions, buttercups, yellow dead-nettles, buglosses, forget-me-nots ; cardamoms, oak leaves, acorns. Trees: all nut trees, e.g. the hazelnut tree... Stones, Metals and Salts: sards (red agate), mercury, nickel, potassium sulphate and iron phosphate. Signs: Libra 2nd Air sign - 3rd Cardinal sign (autumn equinox) - Masculine In analogy with Venus, his ruler and the 7th House Libra governs the kidneys and the bladder. His colour is blue or red (not too bright), his stone is the opal, his day is Friday, his professions are in the beauty, luxury or fashion industry, musician, artistic creator, lawyer, mediator... If your sign is Libra or your Ascendant is Libra: you are sentimental, charming, polite, refined, loyal, a pacifist, fair, distinguished, light-hearted, romantic, learned, ethereal, nice, well-groomed, a perfectionist, calm, sweet, tolerant, sociable, elegant, considerate, seductive, aesthetic, indulgent, but also hesitant, weak, indecisive, selfish, fragile, fearful, indolent, cool or even insensitive. Some traditional associations with Libra: Countries: Japan, Canada, Indo-China, South Pacific Islands, Burma, Argentina, Upper Egypt, Tibet. Cities: Lisbon, Vienna, Frankfurt, Leeds, Nottingham, Johannesburg, Antwerp, Fribourg. Animals: lizards and small reptiles. Food: berries, apples, pears, grapes, artichokes, asparagus, beans, spices, corn and other cereals. Herbs and aromatics: mint, Cayenne pepper. Flowers and plants: hydrangea, big roses, blue flowers and those associated with Taurus also ruled by Venus, namely, poppies, digitales, violets, primroses, aquilegia, and daisies. Trees: ash trees, poplars, apple trees, pear trees, fig-trees, cypresses. Stones, Metals and Salts: sapphires, jade, copper, potassium and sodium phosphate. Signs: Scorpio 2nd Water sign - 3rd Fixed sign - Feminine In analogy with Pluto, her ruler with Mars, and the 8th House Scorpio governs the sexual organs and the anus. Her colour is black or dark red, her stone is the malachite, her day is Tuesday, her professions are gynaecologist, psychiatrist, detective, the military, army, stockbroker, asset managemer... If your sign is Scorpio or your Ascendant is Scorpio: you are secretive, powerful, domineering, resistant, intuitive, asserted, charismatic, magnetic, strong-willed, perspicacious, passionate, creative, independent, vigorous, generous, loyal, hard-working, persevering, untameable, possessive, cunning, ambitious, sexual, proud, intense, competitive but also aggressive, destructive, stubborn, anxious, tyrannical, perverse, sadistic, violent, self-centred, complex, jealous. Some traditional associations with Scorpio: Countries: Morocco, Norway, Algeria, Syria, Korea, Uruguay, Transvaal. Cities: Washington, New Orleans, Valencia, Liverpool, Milwaukee, Fes, Halifax, Hull, Cincinnati. Animals: insects and other invertebrates. Food: the same strong tasting food as for Aries: red meat, garlic, onions, leeks, spices. Herbs and aromatics: aloes, witch hazels, nepeta, mustard, capers, peppers. Flowers and plants: geraniums, rhododendrons, thistles, mint, honeysuckles. Trees: blackthorns, bushes. Stones, Metals and Salts: opals, steel and iron, calcium and sodium sulphate. Signs: Sagittarius 3rd Fire sign - 3rd Mutable sign - Masculine In analogy with Jupiter, his ruler, and the 9th House Sagittarius governs the thighs and the liver. His colour is indigo, orange or red, his stone is the carbuncle, his day is Thursday, his professions are explorer, commercial traveller, pilot, philosopher, writer, clergyman... If your sign is Sagittarius or your Ascendant is Sagittarius: you are charismatic, fiery, energetic, likeable, benevolent, tidy, jovial, optimistic, extraverted, amusing, straightforward, demonstrative, charming, independent, adventurous, straightforward, bold, exuberant, freedom-loving. Some traditional associations with Sagittarius: Countries: Spain, Australia, Hungary, South Africa, Arabia, Yugoslavia. Cities: Stuttgart, Toledo, Budapest, Cologne, Avignon, Sheffield, Naples, Toronto. Animals: fallow deers, hinds, and all games. Food: grapefruits, raisins, onions, leeks, bulb vegetables. Herbs and aromatics: aniseeds, sage, bilberries, cinnamon, borage, mosses, sage, blueberry, patience, balsam. Flowers and plants: dandelions, carnations, thistles. Trees: mulberry trees, chestnut trees, ash trees, lemon trees, oaks. Stones, Metals and Salts: topaz, tin, silica, potassium chloride. Signs: Capricorn 3rd Earth sign - 4th Cardinal sign (winter solstice) - Feminine In analogy with Saturn, her ruler, and the 10th House Capricorn governs the knees, the bones and the skin. Her colour is black, or grey, green or brown, her stone is the jade, her day is Saturday, her professions are politician, researcher, jurist, scientist, engineer, administrator... If your sign is Capricorn or your Ascendant is Capricorn: you are serious, cold, disciplined, patient, focused, thoughtful, ambitious, indomitable, cautious, lucid, persistent, provident, steady, introverted, stern, wilful, hard-working, responsible, persevering, honest, realistic, loyal, reserved, resolute, moralistic, quiet, rigorous, attached and reliable. But you may also be curt, withdrawn, calculating, petty, cruel, unpleasant, ruthless, selfish, dull, rigid, slow or sceptical. Some traditional associations with Capricorn: Countries: India, Mexico, Afghanistan, Macedonia, Thrace, the Yugoslavian coast, the Orkneys and Shetland Islands, Albania, Bulgaria, Saxony. Cities: Delhi, Oxford, Brussels, Mexico, Port-Saïd, Gent, Constance, Mecklenburg, all the administrative centres of capital cities. Animals: goats, pigs and animals with split hooves. Food: meat, potatoes, barley, beets, spinach, medlars, onions, quinces, flour and starchy food in general. Herbs and aromatics: indian hemp, comfreys, centaureas, hemlocks, henbanes. Flowers and plants: ivies, wild pansies, amaranths, pansies. Trees: pines, willows, flowering ashes, aspens, poplars, alders. Stones, Metals and Salts: turquoises, amethysts, silver, lead, calcium phosphate, calcium fluorine. Signs: Aquarius 3rd Air sign - 4th Fixed sign - Masculine In analogy with Uranus his ruler, with Saturn, and the 11th House Aquarius governs the ankles and the legs. His colour is navy blue or indigo, his stone is the sapphire, his day is Saturday, his professions are astrologer, high technologies, scientist, astronaut, psychiatrist, actor, electrician... If your sign is Aquarius or your Ascendant is Aquarius: you are idealistic, altruistic, detached, independent, original, surprising, gifted, contradictory, innovative, humanistic, likeable, friendly, self-confident, impassive, quiet, intuitive, creative, charitable, elusive, disconcerting, generous, tolerant, paradoxical, and you cannot stand any kind of constraint. But you may also be marginal, resigned, distant, utopian, maladjusted, eccentric and cold. Some traditional associations with Aquarius: Countries: Russia, Sweden, Poland, Israel, Iran, Abyssinia. Cities: Moscow, Salzburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Saint Petersburg. Animals: long distance big birds such as the albatross. Food: citrus fruits, apples, limes, dried fruits and easily preserved food. Herbs and aromatics: peppers, hot red peppers, star-fruits, and generally herbs that are spicy or with an unusual flavour. Flowers and plants: orchids, dancing ladies, polygonatum. Trees: fruit trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: aquamarines, aluminium, sodium chloride and magnesium phosphate. Signs: Pisces 3rd Water sign - 4th Mutable sign - Feminine In analogy with Neptune her ruler with Jupiter, and the 12th House Pisces governs the feet and the blood circulation. Her colour is green or purple or turquoise blue, her stone is the amethyst, her day is Thursday, her professions are seamanship and and faraway travels, musician, social and emergency worker, doctor, writer and jobs in remote places... If your sign is Pisces or your Ascendant is Pisces: you are emotional, sensitive, dedicated, adaptable, nice, wild, compassionate, romantic, imaginative, flexible, opportunist, intuitive, impossible to categorized, irrational, seductive, placid, secretive, introverted, pleasant, artistic, and charming. But you may also be indecisive, moody, confused, wavering, lazy, scatterbrained, vulnerable, unpredictable and gullible. Some traditional associations with Pisces: Countries: Portugal, Scandinavia, small Mediterranean islands, Gobi desert, Sahara. Cities: Jerusalem, Warsaw, Alexandria, Seville, Santiago de Compostela. Animals: fishes, aquatic mammals and all animals living in the water. Food: melons, cucumbers, lettuces, vegemite sugar, pumpkins. Herbs and aromatics: lemon, chicory, limes, mosses. Flowers and plants: water lilies, willows, aquatic plants. Trees: fig-trees, willows, aquatic trees. Stones, Metals and Salts: heliotropes, moonstone, platinum, tin, iron phosphate and potassium sulphate. Sun 21�22' Libra, in House XII Sun Aspects Sun conjunction Mars orb +4�38' Sun sextile Uranus orb +1�06' Sun semi-square Pluto orb +0�56' Planets: Sun The Sun represents vitality, individuality, will-power and creative energy and honours. For a woman, it also represents her father, and later her husband. The Sun is one of the most important symbols in the birth chart, as much as the Ascendant, then the Moon (a bit less for a man), the ruler of the Ascendant and the fast-moving planets. It's element is fire; it is hot and dry, it governs Leo, is in exaltation in Aries and is in analogy with the heart. It represents the boss, authority, beside the father and the husband ; the age of the Sun goes from 20 years old to about 40, following the Venus age when one is aware of his seductive power. Temperament : Bilious Characterology : Emotive, Active, Secondary, passionate type. Sun in Libra You are naturally sociable and you need harmony and alternatives in your life. You loathe violence and you appreciate flexible and balanced behaviours. Who mentioned hesitation? Actually, you prefer to ask yourself questions rather than to answer them. You always put off your decisions in order to keep all your choices open. But appearances may be misleading: Libra is often more determined than she may seem. Certainly, the sign�s sociability is legendary. Libra�s flexibility is unparalleled, she is even-tempered, capable of bringing harmony into a team and dispelling tensions� She is very sensitive regarding her balance. You do not mistake black and white, yes and no. If Libra is so anxious to listen to all opposing parties and to examine all the different possible options, it is often with a view to better decide. Without this ability, there may be a danger that you indulge in dubious adherences, or even in dishonest compromises. Your forte is probably that you allow antinomical alternatives to be expressed, as long as it is necessary, until a clear decision can be taken. Sun in House XII In your natal chart, the Sun is in the 12th House, which the Tradition considers the sector of mystical experiences, but also, of ordeals and hurdles. You believe that spiritual evolution is achieved through ordeals and through renunciation. Besides, to your view, voluntary renunciation is the best way to avoid confrontations and hurdles. You long for a different world, and owing to your intuition, your thinking pattern is poetic and innovative. Sun Dominant If the Sun is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Solarian: you loathe pettiness and Machiavellian manoeuvre, and you are fond of natural nobleness as well as of direct and honest attitudes. You endeavour to get out of muddled or dark situations as quickly as possible. Your need for transparency may lead you to make cut-and-dried judgments such as yes or no, and black or white. However, your honesty commands your entourage's consideration. At times, you come across as authoritarian. It is true that you never want to be thought of the notable absentee, and that you manage to make people pay attention to you, as well as to your plans and your assessments. To this end, the Solarian sometimes develops a great talent for placing himself under the spotlight without missing a single opportunity to arouse interest. Some other Solarians, although more discreet, still manage to be the focus of any debate, even in situations of exclusion. It is your way of being present even though you are actually not there... More than other people, you appreciate the esteem extended to you. It is useless to cheat with you, since in all areas you consider establishing enduring relationships only with those who love you, admire you, respect you, or express some degree of affection to you. Your will to straighten out your inter-personal relationships is your strength and sometimes, your Achilles' heel. You cannot achieve anything behind the scenes. Therefore, your comportment is marked with heroism, and your stands are devoid of ambiguity, in the sense that your commitments are unfailing, and your rebuffs, final. Interpretation of the 21� Libra symbolic degree "A man sleeps on the grass with several pouches of silver by his side, while his horses are waiting." ( Janduz version) Neglectful, unwise, and unrealistic character. As one readily flaunts one's wealth, one is bound to be taken advantage of by friends and relatives. However, since one is intelligent and hard-working, one manages to be successful and to achieve power. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Moon 7�59' Aries, in House VI Moon Aspects Moon inconjunction Venus orb +0�25' Moon inconjunction Mercury orb -1�25' Moon trine Jupiter orb +6�07' Moon inconjunction Neptune orb +1�51' Moon square Saturn orb +6�13' Moon inconjunction Pluto orb -2�33' Moon sesqui-quadrate Uranus orb -2�43' Planets: Moon The Moon represents instinctive reaction, unconscious predestination, everyday mood, sensitivity, emotions, the feminine side of the personality, intuition, imagination. For a man, she represents his mother and later his wife, and his relationship with women in general. For a woman, the Moon is almost as important as the Sun and the Ascendant. Her element is water, she is cold and moist, she rules Cancer, is in exaltation in Taurus and is in analogy with the stomach. She symbolizes the mother, wife, the crowd, the Moon is associated with birth and childhood. Tradition also matches her with the end of life, after Saturn the old age, it is thus customary to go back to one's place of birth to die: the end of life meets the very beginning. Temperament : Lymphatic Characterology : Emotive, non Active and Primary type or Non-Emotive, non Active and Primary, Nervous or Amorphous type. Moon in Aries On the day and at the time of your birth, the Moon was in the sign of Aries. Your imagination is lively and fantastic and brings about periods of enthusiasm during which you are driven by your sudden impulses. Your sensitivity lives on thrills that you want to experience in the instant� till exhaustion. Your spontaneity is coupled with some instability: mood swings and whimsical behaviours are the dangers to which your excitability exposes you. You often show demeanours full of contrasts, especially in your intimate life. One never gets bored with you, even on a daily basis. Isn�t real rest about being touched and stimulated, over and over again? Boredom is what you dread most. Therefore, it is easy for you to adjust to precarious life rhythms and to quickly achieve balance, as temporary as it may be, should unforeseen evolution emerge. Moon in House VI With the Moon in the 6th House, your private world has nothing to do with a windmill! Your selective and demanding sensitivity does not leave your life setting to chance. You observe for a long time, you weigh up people and things with precision before you allow them in. You are sometimes criticised for your prudishness and your excessive reserve. Actually, you need to digest and to slowly integrate the specificities of the circle where you move before you can feel comfortable. Moon Dominant If the Moon is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Lunarian: the driving force behind your actions is mainly the pursuit of well-being and tranquillity. Your sensitive and romantic self lives on those periods of rest during which you let your imagination wander at will. This is your way of finding inspiration and balance. Nothing is allowed to disturb your feeling of fulfilment and security within a harmonious cell, be it a family or a clan. More than other people, the Lunarian is attached to those moments during which one forgets one's worries and lets oneself cast adrift aimlessly, with no other goal than to be lulled into an ambiance, a situation, or a perfect moment. Many people do not understand such absences and their meaning, which is to regain strength. These people readily describe you with such unflattering terms as apathy and nonchalance. Never mind! Some inspirations require surrendering as well as striking a balance derived from alternate action and passivity. Your qualities are expressed to the fullest in situations which demand familiarity and privacy. Your capacities to respect and blend into your environment is at least as valuable as some other people's aggressive dispositions. However, you are well-advised to avoid indolence and renunciation out of laziness or indifference. Interpretation of the 7� Aries symbolic degree "A man with a dagger in his hand tries to provoke a group of men who are quietly playing bowls. He is seething with rage because the players pay no attention to him." ( Janduz version) Hot-tempered, quarrelsome and reckless character. One always wants to create conflicts, antagonise everyone, criticise other people's opinions, and stir trouble. One is heading for serious problems because of one's own animosity. A career requiring aggressiveness is an excellent outlet for these violent impulses and brings about success and fame. If in the natal chart, Mars and Mercury form hard aspects with this degree, it portends bad reputation and misfortunes caused by one's own brutality. If Saturn is in conjunction with this degree, it describes a person who chooses to live in poverty or who is a professional beggar. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Mercury 9�25' Scorpio, in House I Mercury Aspects Mercury conjunction Neptune orb +3�17' Mercury sextile Venus orb +1�00' Moon inconjunction Mercury orb -1�25' Mercury sextile Pluto orb +3�58' Planets: Mercury Mercury represents communication, logical and rational mind, intellectual skills. Earth is its element, it is cold and dry, and it rules Virgo and Gemini, is in exaltation in Virgo and is in analogy with the arms, hands, nervous system. It represents tradesmen, lawyers, messengers; the age of Mercury goes from 8 or10 years old to about 15.. Temperament : Nervous Characterology : Emotive, non Active and Primary type or Non-Emotive, Active and Primary, Nervous or Sanguine type. Mercury in Scorpio Mercury describes your relationships, your communication skills and the way you relate to the external world. However, other astrological elements also influence these areas. The sign your Mercury occupies is significant only if Mercury is part of your planetary dominantes. In your chart, Mercury is in Scorpio. Your mind is curt, critical and controversial. You readily question the basis of your knowledge and you need to understand the hidden meaning of all information as well as the stakes underlying human relationships. Nothing is simple. You may be cynical or provocative when you want to find the true nature of the persons around you. Communication means understanding the inner mechanisms of a personality, even if it implies hounding your interlocutor into a corner. Love or hatred, never mind! The only important thing is to never remain indifferent. Mercury in House I Mercury is in the 1st House. For you, each new situation constitutes a field for experimentation. When you face something which is unknown, your first reaction is to discover, to learn, and to exchange information. The inquiring mind you display is remarkable and fully acknowledged. Your entourage is amused or intrigued by the spontaneity and the mobility of your comportments. You find the whole world amazing, and anything new catches your attention. Mercury Dominant If Mercury is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Mercurian: the tradition points out the importance of communication. From idle but enriching chatters to observation gift, such a dominant endows you with a wide range of expression. Human beings have one thousand facets and one thousand masks they wear according to circumstances and the fortunes of the game of life. You take the role of an observer who is avid for novelties, discoveries, and surprises. Everything catches your attention and becomes an opportunity for new encounters, relationships, and learning. The world amazes you, amuses you sometimes, and stimulates your curiosity. Because the most important thing is to discover, and because you consider that each new situation is packed with potentialities, you try to fill the gaps in your knowledge. Although your open-mindedness may scatter your centres of interest, it also enables you to carefully avoid sticking to only one immutable and rigid view. The slightest sign enables you to perceive the other side of the coin, as well as the infinite complexity of people and of situations. On the human plane, you seek the dialogue and the information without which you know that you are not able to fully grasp the nature of your interlocutor. This keen interest in the Unknown sharpens your inter-relational skills. All these qualities are traditionally associated with Mercury. Interpretation of the 9� Scorpio symbolic degree "A man wears a mask and the disguise of Mephistopheles." ( Janduz version) Cheerful, clever, and elusive character. One is highly skilled in simulation and manipulation and keeps one's objectives carefully concealed beneath merry and helpful attitudes. Should the natal chart concur, this degree indicates a brilliant success as a diplomat, an actor, or in any occupation involving the design and manufacturing of costumes. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Venus 8�25' Virgo, in House XI Venus Aspects Venus conjunction Pluto orb +2�58' Mercury sextile Venus orb +1�00' Moon inconjunction Venus orb +0�25' Venus sextile Neptune orb -2�17' Venus trine Saturn orb -6�38' Venus square Jupiter orb -6�33' Planets: Venus Venus represents the way one loves, relationships, sharing, affectivity, seductive ability. For men, she also corresponds to the kind of woman he's attracted to (but not especially in marriage which is more symbolized by the Moon, Venus is the lover and not the wife). Her element is the Air, she is moist, rules Taurus and Libra, is in exaltation in Pisces and is in analogy with the kidneys, the venous system, the bladder, the neck. She represents the artists, tradesmen, occupations linked to beauty and charm; the age of Venus goes from 15 to about 25 years old. Temperament : Sanguine and Lymphatic Characterology : Emotive, non Active and Primary type or Emotive, non Active and Secondary type. Venus in Virgo Venus describes your affective life. On the day of your birth, she is found in Virgo. The control of your emotions is essential to you. You need to understand all the aspects of your sentimental life. Therefore, you do not commit your affectivity in tortuous or hazardous paths. This attitude may be interpreted as a form of reserve, of modesty or of shyness. You complicate your amorous relationships for fun� Moderation in all things, even and particularly in love! Appearances are misleading: your behaviour may seem cautious, even shy or timid, however, your affectivity is strong� Your heart is discreet and its impulses are controlled and moderate. You do not want your relationship to run out of your control. Your soul is loyal, you are helpful when necessary and you avoid crises, clashes and tragedies in order to not endanger your couple. You are keen to maintain the balance of your unions. But, as you strive too relentlessly to keep your happiness intact, you may lose it. You do not dare to play the games of passion and of love at first sight. You fear burning feelings. In these conditions, it is important that you do not smother your emotions and you take the risk of experiencing a passionate love. Feelings cannot be calculated and they obey very few laws. Venus in House XI Venus expresses her characteristics through the 11th House values. You make no difference between fraternal friendship and absolute love. Affective relationships are marked by a complicity which turns your couple into a full-fledged entity. Al least, in theory! Although the application of this principle does not go without creating problems, you stick to your ambition to establish exemplary relationships. The world is so much more beautiful when affectivity comes into play! Do you have friends who are artists, or sensitive to aesthetics? Venus Dominant If Venus is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Venusian: you are a sensual and emotional person particularly receptive to the natural likes and dislikes aroused by your contact with people. You are prone to frequent instinctive aversions and true passions which are exclusively driven by the feeling of love. The heart has its reasons which Reason knows nothing of... Your balance is based on the richness of your affective life. Without love, the Venusian is resourceless, lost, and deprived of any reason for living. You have an obvious and strong will to charm and to arouse the attachments without which you cannot properly function. Every area of your life is thus marked by your affectivity. The danger is that you may "be taken in" by charm. In such cases, you would prefer to keep your emotions under better control. Thus, hyper-sensitivity has its own inconveniences. Nevertheless, better than anyone else, you know how to play with feelings and attractions. Although you are sometimes caught in the traps of an over sensitive emotionalism, feelings remain your best assets in many circumstances. There is another aspect to the Venusian dominant. According to the Tradition, this planet rules the Arts, and you are endowed with some degree of artistic dispositions, ranging from good to excellent. Interpretation of the 8� Virgo symbolic degree "A man and a woman wearing a mask stand at both ends of a table on which there are bags of money and beautiful fruits. The woman protects the money with her hand while the man grasps a fruit." ( Janduz version) Sociable and generous character lacking willpower. It seems that money falls on one's laps, whether it comes through inheritance or through work. However, one does not know how to deal with it, and it becomes a source of troubles because of a female's machinations. One is driven by greed and passions and may fall prey of dishonest people. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Mars 26�01' Libra, in House XII Mars Aspects Sun conjunction Mars orb +4�38' Mars conjunction Neptune orb +10�06 Mars sextile Saturn orb +5�44' Mars sextile Uranus orb +5�45' Planets: Mars Mars represents the desire for action and physical energy, sexuality, strength. For a woman, Mars corresponds to the kind of man she's attracted to (but not especially in marriage which is rather symbolized by the Sun, Mars is the lover, not the husband). Fire is its element, it is hot and dry, and it rules Aries and Scorpio (along with Pluto), is in exaltation with Capricorn and is in analogy with the muscles and the spleen. It represents the soldiers, sportsmen, warriors, surgeons, blacksmiths... ; the age of Mars goes from 42 to 50 years old. Temperament : Bilious Characterology : Emotive, Active, Primary type. It is a Choleric. Mars in Libra The planet Mars indicates how you react to life concrete stimulations. It also describes your fighting spirit, your abilities to stand for yourself and to take action. With Mars in Libra, you are enthusiastic when the situation favours exchanges and dialogues. Your affectivity responds to contacts with other people and with the unknown. You show your excited nature at each new encounter. You strive to reconcile opposite viewpoints more than to emphasize divergences. However, you do not confuse the interests at stake: what is white is not black� You may have an innate talent for difficult negotiations, and you may play the role of natural mediator in contentious situations. Your strength lies in your ability to handle conflicts and to harmonize antagonistic positions. All situations offer several alternatives, all problems have several solutions. Your matching skills may make you appear as a person who is more sociable than you really are. When necessary, you can be curt. For you, action means intense relationship, connection, sympathy with the external world and establishing a life frame that is based on harmony and respectful of differences. Mars in House XII With Mars in the 12th House, the sense of danger is not part of the arsenal of your qualities. You do not hesitate to take action even though you do not know clearly where you are heading for. Sometimes, you let yourself be guided by a premonition or a vague impression. Then, you leave no stone unturned without fearing the consequences of your deeds. This configuration describes activists, mystic campaigners, and pioneers of the unknown. You do not shirk from sacrifices when you deem that the cause is just. Mars Dominant If Mars is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Marsian: in your hand-to-hand struggle for life, you demonstrate an acute and active sense of confrontation with the world, with other people, and with your own destiny. You need to take action and to fight for your projects and your desires. You perceive all situations with deep intensity, and you react to the here and now without bothering to step back in order to ensure that events are under your control. You take up challenges with excessive foolhardiness as a consequence of your impulsiveness. However, better than anyone else, you know how to mobilise your resources in case of crisis. You take action whenever it is necessary to do so, and you are present in a timely manner. With Mars, your attitudes are dictated by the realities of the moment, by your emotions, and by everything which proved to have worked in the past. When this dominant is not well integrated, it may bring about an aggressive or impulsive behaviour. Therefore, you must learn to control your hyper-sensitivity and your fits of temper. You are also endowed with Marsian qualities: the fighting spirit and the taste for duel without which one may find oneself overwhelmed by events. When this willpower is well channelled, its precious energy enables to cope with all sorts of contingencies. There are a thousand ways to win, and a thousand challenges to take up with the enthusiasm and the dynamism which make life so worthy. A certain idea of life which is wild, passionate, and in tune with events. Interpretation of the 26� Libra symbolic degree "� In a neat little garden, there is a rustic pretty cottage under a beautiful cedar tree." ( Janduz version) Simple, methodical, and benevolent character. Although one is deeply devoted to one's professional and family responsibilities, one always manages to find the time to lend assistance to friends and neighbours, and leaves no stone unturned in order to help people in distress. One enjoys a comfortable and peaceful life, and one is blessed with a very good health. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Jupiter 1�52' Sagittarius, in House II Jupiter Aspects Jupiter square Pluto orb -3�34' Moon trine Jupiter orb +6�07' Jupiter semi-sextile Saturn orb -0�05' Venus square Jupiter orb -6�33' Planets: Jupiter Jupiter represents expansion and power, benevolence, large vision and generosity. Its element is Air, it is hot and moist, and it rules Sagittarius and Pisces (along with Neptune), is in exaltation with Cancer and is in analogy with the hips and endocrinal system. It represents the governors, magistrates, professors, religious men too; the age of Jupiter goes from 50 to 55 or even 70 years old. Temperament : Sanguine Characterology : Emotive, Active, Primary type; it is an extrovert Choleric. Actually the humid version of Mars, inclined to action like him. Jupiter in Sagittarius The planet Jupiter symbolizes expansion, broadness and generosity. Jupiter is associated with the functions of synthesis, enthusiasm and optimism. In your natal chart, his house position is more important than his sign position because, like Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, he is a slow planet. Many people born in the same period have Jupiter in the same sign. This is the reason why the sign occupied here is less meaningful than when it is occupied by the so-called fast planets, i.e. the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. Therefore, some caution is to be exercised as you read what follows. Jupiter in Sagittarius is very popular because he rules this sign, and, according to the Tradition, he is most potent and at his best. He endows you with all his natural qualities: enthusiasm, sense of humour, boldness, warmth, optimism, leadership, synthesizing mind, but also, propensity for travels or, symbolically, disposition for higher knowledge and matters such as spirituality, philosophy, politics or religion. Jupiter in House II Jupiter is in the 2nd House. Why does the Tradition credit Jupiter with such a fortunate influence? According to some treaties, no financial disaster can affect the lucky beneficiary of a 2nd House Jupiter. And even better, he is supposed to live in a natural affluence far from any kind of poverty. It is necessary to put these assertions into perspective. Indeed, some people are destitute although they feel rich in their head and can live in an environment full of cheap luxury! You are interested in acquisitions and possessions, and you have tremendous aptitudes for seizing any opportunity to make a capital yield profit, regardless of the source it comes from, and in spite of the reversal of fortune you might have undergone. Jupiter Dominant If Jupiter is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Jupiterian: because this planet brings about a keen interest in social and professional success, the Tradition considers it to be beneficial. Indeed, you know how to adjust to events and to jump at the chance when it arises. The members of you entourage gladly entrust you with high responsibilities because they are often impressed by your learning skills and your adaptation abilities as you deal with new structures and new languages. What is the secret of your good star? It is your self-confidence which wins public support. Now, what is the secret of your charm? Definitely, enthusiasm, euphoria, and exaltation. Exaggeration also. When this dominant is well integrated, it is a factor of affluence and optimism, and a certain degree of joviality enables you to easily fit into various spheres. It constitutes your main asset to manage your life. However, you must at times curb your desire for integration, lest your sense of opportunity turns into extreme opportunism. Here also, the key to success lies in a correct estimate of everyone's chances and possibilities. Although management is one of your forte, and you can adjust your objectives to current realities better than other people, you lack the hindsight which enables you to avoid short-term vagaries and daily fluctuations. If you strive too much to adapt, you run a risk of betraying yourself. This is the other traditional side of the coin with "The Greater Benefic"! Interpretation of the 1� Sagittarius symbolic degree "A man in uniform brandishes a sword while a child shoots stones with a catapult." ( Janduz version) Authoritarian, quarrelsome, and stubborn character. The natural aggressiveness must be canalised in an occupation requiring a great deal of energy and stamina such as the military, the Bar, or any sport. One may be involved in numerous lawsuits. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Saturn 1�46' Capricorn, in House III Saturn Aspects Saturn trine Pluto orb -3�40' Jupiter semi-sextile Saturn orb -0�05' Moon square Saturn orb +6�13' Venus trine Saturn orb -6�38' Saturn sextile Neptune orb -4�21' Mars sextile Saturn orb +5�44' Planets: Saturn Saturn represents concentration, effort, perseverance, time, the hard reality, inevitable consequences. Earth is its element, it is cold and dry, and it rules Capricorn and Aquarius (along with Uranus), is in exaltation in Libra and is in analogy with the bones (skeleton) and the skin. It represents the grandparents, old people, scientists, knowledgeable men, Saturn corresponds to old age; it goes from 70 years old until death. Temperament : Nervous Characterology : Non-Emotive, Active and Secondary type or Emotive, non Active and Secondary type or sometimes Non-Emotive, non Active and Secondary type; it is a Phlegmatic, a Sentimental or an Empathic type Saturn in Capricorn The planet Saturn symbolizes contraction, effort, time, limitation and concentration. Saturn eliminates anything that is not authentic, sooner or later. It is impossible to cheat him as he gives an irresistible desire to form a coherent whole with oneself, in responsible and wise ways. He is the great purifier. He represents our limitations but also our truth. In your natal chart, the house position where Saturn is posited is more important than his sign position because, like Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, he is a slow planet. Many people born in the same period have Saturn in the same sign. This is the reason why the sign occupied here is less meaningful than when it is occupied by the so-called fast planets, i.e. the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. Therefore, some caution is to be exercised as you read what follows. Saturn in Capricorn is in his own sign, and according to the Tradition, he is most potent and at his best: he increases your toughness, your seriousness, and above all, your long-term management capacities. You are persevering, resistant, hard-working, ambitious and you are aware of the fact that time is on your side. Your reputation is that of a sober and stern person but you are respected and acknowledged for your wisdom and your authenticity. Saturn in House III In your natal chart, Saturn is in the 3rd House. Learning to communicate is a difficult task for you. Your mode of assimilation is demanding and selective, which excludes simple relationships and fanciful innovations. Before you can accept a person, an idea, or a formula, you need to sift them through your inflexible will, and to understand them. It is probable that you sort out all pieces of information with a serious mind, but also with caution and scepticism. Saturn Dominant If Saturn is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Saturnian: you gladly leave to other people the decision to take life as it comes. As far as you are concerned, you prefer to take advantage of your experiences in order to discover, to grow, and to question yourself. Interpretation of the 1� Capricorn symbolic degree "Two men get out of a house carrying a reed on their shoulder as if it were a heavy burden. On the roof, the weathercock points to no particular direction." ( Janduz version) Futile, restless, and indecisive character. Huge efforts are made even though the task requires none. Owing to procrastination, nice opportunities are missed. Furthermore, many good initiatives are doomed to failure for lack of perseverance. Life is most likely to unfold in precariousness and to end up in sadness, unless one decides to become serious and display tenacity, straight away. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Uranus 20�15' Leo, in House X Uranus Aspects Sun sextile Uranus orb +1�06' Mars sextile Uranus orb +5�45' Moon sesqui-quadrate Uranus orb -2�43' Planets: Uranus Uranus represents individual freedom, originality, independence, marginality, avant guard inspiration, ultra modernism. Fire is its element, it is dry, and it rules Aquarius, is in exaltation with Scorpio and is in analogy with the brain and the nerves. It represents inventors, odd characters, revolutionaries. Temperament : Nervous to the extreme Characterology : Emotive, Active, Secondary type; it is a Passionate type. Uranus in Leo The planet Uranus symbolizes originality, independence and cerebral energy bursting suddenly. Uranus triggers the irresistible need for freedom that we have in ourselves. Uranus tends to break the constraints that have become unbearable and gives us the courage and the will to get rid of what has become a burden; when he is well aspected, he also indicates genius. In your natal chart, Uranus� house position is more important than his sign position because, like Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto, he is a slow planet. Many people born in the same period have Uranus in the same sign. This is the reason why the sign occupied here is less meaningful than when it is occupied by the so-called fast planets, i.e. the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. Therefore, some caution is to be exercised as you read what follows. The sign positions of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have a collective meaning. They do not influence your personality, unless they are involved in numerous aspects or when they emphasize a personal point of your natal chart such as your Ascendant�s ruler, an angular planet, i.e. a planet near the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Nadir or the Descendant. In such cases, the activity of the slow planet is very highlighted. Uranus in Leo endows you with a lot of self-confidence and pride. You are happy to be different. At the same time, he stimulates your creativity and may bring about sudden glory. Uranus in House X With Uranus in the 10th House, your aspirations are individualistic and clear-cut. Indeed, Uranus is not a quiet planet. You know where you want get to, and you are ready to pay the price for it. You are driven by a fierce determination. You do not accept this and that, and you do not leave your social and professional life in other people's hands. You want to run the boat of your destiny without fearing to row against the tide. Uranus Dominant If Uranus is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Uranian: personal values are prevailing. Inner certainties fuel an inflexible will and a desire to call attention on yourself as well as to follow your beliefs through. This planet prompts you to behave with determination, to put forward your own truth, and to start your personal revolution. More than other people, you are willing to keep some degree of autonomy in all circumstances, and you often display an individualistic nature. In order to achieve your ideal of freedom and independence, you may act like a despot as you try to convince and to impose your views, whether smoothly or forcefully. Regardless of the flexibility of your comportment, some situations demand an absolute firmness as well as uncompromising, frank and straightforward attitudes. People may criticise you for your intransigence and say that you are a hardliner. Outsider's opinions don't matter! The most important thing is that you act in all conscience and reach your primary objectives. More than anyone else, you know how to use your willpower and to focus your energy on a precise aim, relentlessly, whatever the consequences might be. In the chapter of qualities, let's mention a definite sense of responsibility, an innovative mind open to techniques and modern ideas, as well as a natural self-discipline which overcomes many an obstacle. Therefore, people are well-advised not to hound you into a corner. Interpretation of the 20� Leo symbolic degree "A man emerging from the mist holds a key in one hand and raises the other hand towards a moon-shaped face, above which a snake sleeps." ( Janduz version) Compassionate, diplomatic, and far-sighted character. The sleeping snake symbolises introspection, penetrating intelligence, as well as wisdom. The raised hand calls attention upon the great mysteries of life. Success can be achieved in human sciences, mathematics, astronomy, or any intellectual pursuit requiring method and riddle-solving talents. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Neptune 6�07' Scorpio, in House I Neptune Aspects Mercury conjunction Neptune orb +3�17' Neptune sextile Pluto orb +0�41' Venus sextile Neptune orb -2�17' Moon inconjunction Neptune orb +1�51' Saturn sextile Neptune orb -4�21' Mars conjunction Neptune orb +10�06 Planets: Neptune Neptune represents escapism, impressionability, daydreaming, delusions, carelessness, deception or intuition, dishonesty or inspiration, telepathy. Water is its element, it is moist, it rules Pisces, is in exaltation in Cancer, though some authors say it is Leo, and is in analogy with the vegetative system. It represents dreamers, mediums, magicians, merchants of illusion, drug addicts. Temperament : rather Lymphatic Characterology : Emotive, non Active, Primary or Secondary type; it is a Sentimental, or sometimes Amorphous type. Neptune in Scorpio The planet Neptune symbolizes extreme receptivity, intense emotional sharpness, impressionability and inspiration; it is the planet of mediums, mystics and religious faith. In an astrological chart, it indicates dilution, vagueness, understanding one�s environment through emotions and the absence of clear and determined limits and structures. In your natal chart, Neptune�s house position is more important than his sign position because, like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, he is a slow planet. Many people born in the same period have Neptune in the same sign. This is the reason why the sign occupied here is less meaningful than when it is occupied by the so-called fast planets, i.e. the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. Therefore, some caution is to be exercised as you read what follows. The sign positions of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have a collective meaning. They do not influence your personality, unless they are involved in numerous aspects or when they emphasize a personal point of your natal chart such as your Ascendant�s ruler, an angular planet, i.e. a planet near the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Nadir or the Descendant. In such cases, the activity of the slow planet is very highlighted. Neptune in Scorpio amplifies your emotions and adds more affectivity into your sexuality. Your fantasies have no limit and you revel in mysteries� Neptune in House I Neptune is in the 1st House. The most important thing is to follow the inspiration of the moment when you face new situations or people. Reason has little influence on your reactions. You prefer to leave it to your intuition to tell you what your aptitudes are, according to your innermost convictions and to the sometimes muddled feelings of the moment. Therefore, your discoveries may be experienced in an almost miraculous way. However, your beliefs sometimes turn into mirages or illusions. Neptune Dominant If Neptune is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Neptunian: your intuition is highly developed. You are of a contemplative nature, and you are particularly receptive to ambiances, places, and people. You gladly cultivate the art of letting-go, and you allow the natural unfolding of events to construct your world. You follow your inspirations, for better or for worse. At times, you display an extraordinary clairvoyance gift. You seem to be able to read your subconscious like a book, and you track down subtle underlying mechanisms, flaws, or open breaches. This innate intuition might explain the strokes of good luck which the Neptunian is sometimes credited with. However, you may also be the victim of illusions and misleading intuitions. You are an idealist, and you let your deepest aspirations prevail over the realities of the moment. Then, you set off in quest of some quixotic objective, living like a Don Quixote who relentlessly pursues an impossible dream. You have a great talent for psychology and the mysteries of the human soul. Since you instinctively perceive people's intents and motivations, as you swim in the complexity of human nature, you feel in your element. The subtlety of your perceptiveness is the source of both special affections and irrevocable rejections. What is the danger of such a dominant? If it is not offset by other influences in your natal chart, you may not have an iron will. Your trump card is your instinct, which may be developed to the extent that it becomes clairvoyance. Interpretation of the 6� Scorpio symbolic degree "As he tills his field with a spade, a young man finds a diamond." ( Janduz version) This degree indicates that wealth is acquired through sheer luck. It might be an old treasure hidden by forebears, or an unexpected bequest. The natal chart indicates if one is able to increase the riches granted, or if one squanders them. Occupations dealing with precious stones, ores, and anything buried in the earth are extremely favoured and bring about the kind of success one had never dared to imagine, even in the wildest dreams. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. Pluto 5�26' Virgo, in House X Pluto Aspects Venus conjunction Pluto orb +2�58' Neptune sextile Pluto orb +0�41' Saturn trine Pluto orb -3�40' Jupiter square Pluto orb -3�34' Mercury sextile Pluto orb +3�58' Sun semi-square Pluto orb +0�56' Moon inconjunction Pluto orb -2�33' Planets: Pluto Pluto represents deep transformations, mutations and eliminations, sexuality and magnetism, power and secrets, destruction with a view to regeneration, the phoenix rising from the ashes. Its element is indefinite; burning (like lava in fusion ?), it rules Scorpio, is in exaltation in Pisces and is in analogy with the sexual organs and excretion. It represents dictators, sadistic people, violent characters, is instinctive and powerful but also mysterious with hidden strengths. Temperament : rather Bilious Characterology : Emotive or non-Emotive, Active, Primary type; it is a Passionate Choleri typec. Pluto in Virgo The planet Pluto symbolizes deep disruptions and upheavals, domination and sexual instincts, and the inner power we have in ourselves. Pluto destroys in order to reconstruct and he provokes painful crises that are needed in metamorphosis. Pluto is our deepest instincts� brutal force. It is the hidden and unconscious violence that can explode in us with incredible intensity before being projected in our actions; in itself, the planet is not negative: the might and the intensity of its energy are beyond the conceivable but it can be funnelled. Pluto is the only possibility we have at our disposal to overcome our inner blocks and to eliminate outgrown situations that have become inextricable. Pluto�s energy is valuable because of its usefulness for the irreversible destruction of what constitutes a problem and not because of its negative side and its perversity. Pluto allows to reconstruct and to regenerate parts of our personality or whole stretches of our life, provided that we manage to funnel his wild energy and to step back. It is impossible to tame this energy, given its essence. However, it is possible to take advantage of it for a precise aim, through a temporary identification of some parts of us with this energy. In such a case, the outcome is our final evolution and even, our transformation. In your natal chart, Pluto�s house position is more important than his sign position because, like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, Pluto is a slow planet. Many people born in the same period have Pluto in the same sign. This is the reason why the sign occupied here is less meaningful than when it is occupied by the so-called fast planets, i.e. the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. Therefore, some caution is to be exercised as you read what follows. The sign positions of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have a collective meaning. They do not influence your personality and they are not to be really taken into account, unless they are involved in numerous aspects or when they emphasize a personal point of your natal chart such as your Ascendant�s ruler, an angular planet, i.e. a planet near the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Nadir or the Descendant. In such cases, the activity of the slow planet is very highlighted. Pluto in Virgo brings about achievement capacities but obsessions also, because your natural instinct and anxiety give you the propensity to be doubtful. Pluto in House X With Pluto in the 10th House, you often play your game well when you face a situation of crisis or a muddled environment. In the professional and social areas, your progression is special and subtle. The art of manipulation behind the scenes turns you into an efficient and formidable partner. You intervene in the dark, far from social niceties. You easily detect weaknesses and false values, and you carry out your work with clear-sightedness, aiming at your self-interests, and with a scheming mind. Pluto Dominant If Pluto is part of your natal chart's planetary dominants, in astrology, you are said to be a Plutonian: you sometimes feel like a foreigner who does not belong to the world, to its laws, and its concerns. The rules of life in society are not necessarily yours. You are interested in what is unknown and in the subtle laws of a hidden order. So, you take malicious pleasure in ridiculing the patterns you find too simplistic or too rigid. You also revel in underlining the limits of explanations you deem too common. There is something unconventional about the way you are, the way you think, and the way you act. What is your specificity made of? Is it an extraordinary partner? A life off the beaten path? Or do you only distance yourself from conventional morals? In any case, you have the feeling, sometimes quite vague, that you come from nowhere, and that you do not belong to any definite group... In short, it means that you cannot be simplified in order to conform to existing models. The gap between you and ordinary mortals is also an element of your strength. Your deep clear-sightedness, firstly, enables you to put things into perspective and to grant them only the attention they deserve. Your other remarkable asset is your capacity to intervene from behind the scenes, to secretly organise events, and to bring about the desirable outcome without seeming to impose or to dictate anything. However, you must still overcome one of the major difficulties of this dominant, which is to get people to accept your difference and to smoothly fit into your environment. Interpretation of the 5� Virgo symbolic degree "A man and a woman play cards while another woman cheerfully teases a dog. Fruits, food, and wine are available on a side table adorned with flowers." ( Janduz version) Young, merry, and lively character endowed with qualities which cheer up one's friends and bring good luck in love. However, one lacks stability and the courage to overcome ordeals. Money is earned as easily as it is spent, and concern for trivial pleasures is a bit overwhelming. It is advisable to dedicate more time to non-materialistic matters, would it be only in order to be prepared to tackle difficult circumstances, when the time comes. This degree usually describes a good-looking person with intense sex-appeal. It also indicates that all occupations related to dogs are favoured. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. If you wish, you can receive immediately in your mailbox your detailed astrological portrait , a nice gift for yourself or for your close friends and relatives, who will deeply appreciate it. %DYNAMIQUE_22% Asteroids: Chiron Chiron is almost renowned and used everywhere. Most astrologers consider it as a kind of "mediator" between Saturn and outer planets. Consequently, Chiron is of Saturn's nature and at the same time is influenced by Uranus, the first slow-moving planet. Astrologically, it symbolizes wisdom, patience and the faculty to reduce others' sufferings: it is said to be the "great healer" of the zodiac. Like all the secondary bodies, it must be in close conjunction with planets or angles in order to fully express its action. %TEXTES_22% %DYNAMIQUE_23% Asteroids: Ceres Ceres, the biggest of the four minor asteroids used besides Chiron, is associated with the mythological goddess of growing plants and harvest and also symbolizes physical constitution, vitality and fertility. She's also known as Demeter, according to the astrologer Zipporah Dobyns, linked to the symbolism of the mother but in a less emotive and more physical way than the Moon. Ceres is thought to be the ruler of Virgo, in exaltation in Gemini, in exile in Pisces and in fall in Sagittarius. Keywords associated with Ceres could be order, practical sense, worry, precision, modesty, method, sobriety, motherhood, fertility, the Earth: a kind of a more cerebral Moon... %TEXTES_23% %DYNAMIQUE_24% Asteroids: Pallas Pallas is sometimes used in modern Astrology: she represents intelligence, abstract and global thinking talents. It is usually considered to be a determining element in political strategy. %TEXTES_24% %DYNAMIQUE_25% Asteroids: Juno Juno is the asteroid corresponding to the adaptation to the marital partner and to the defence of individual rights; it is thus used in the field of marriage. %TEXTES_25% Vesta is rarely used and brings the ability to efficiently devote oneself to a cause. %TEXTES_26% True North Node 4�02' Я Libra, in House XI North Node The North Node (True Node here) represents the goals that must be achieved during life, in the karmic sense according to some traditions. Its position in house indicates in what field an effort is necessary in order to evolve. The North Node is often called the Dragon's head, it is usually considered beneficial, a bit like Jupiter with the planets. The Lunar nodes are fictional points and not actual heavenly bodies: they are the intersections of the Moon with the Ecliptic (the path made by the Sun in its orbit as seen from the Earth). The axis of the Lunar nodes moves 19 degrees each year, namely a bit more than three minutes each day. The South Node is diametrically opposed to the North Node, therefore it faces it (it's not drawn here, it's the same symbol but upside down). It symbolizes what has already been achieved or acquired, in a karmic sense: it's the past from which it's advised to move on in order to progress. The South Node is rather negative, of a Saturnian nature: the experience through suffering. Interpretation of the 4� Libra symbolic degree "As he tries to help a young woman climb a mountainous path, a man falls from the top of a rock into the lake which is further down." ( Janduz version) Reckless and undiscerning character lacking practical good sense. Relationships are not selected carefully enough, and confidence is granted too easily. The top of the rock symbolises a high social status, and the question is whether one is able to retain it or not. Females encountered in both the private and the professional spheres are most likely to be the cause of recurrent failures. Several marriages, including an illegal one, are possible. This degree warns against water and accidents in the mountain. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. True Lilith 3�58' Gemini, in House VIII Lilith Lilith or the Dark Moon (True Lilith here) represents the uncrossable threshold, taboos, the individual's provocative and fascinating side, including on a sexual level. She symbolizes violence and "untameability", the radical and deep-seated refusal to submit. The keywords for Lilith can be sterility, sadism, perversity, castration, sadomasochism, eroticism, orgasm, forbidden fantasies, marginality, cruelty; redemption, illumination, rebelliousness... Lilith's opposite point is called Priapus; it is the Lunar perigee, the position where the Moon is closest to the Earth. It symbolizes man's primitive nature, the horror hidden in our deepest self; masochism, extreme sensuality, impulsiveness, irrationality and excess. Physically speaking, the Dark Moon is the focal point unoccupied by the Earth: it is not a concrete body but a mathematical point. Interpretation of the 3� Gemini symbolic degree "As two men fight over the sharing of their loot, a third thief who gets hold of it." ( Janduz version) Greedy, quarrelsome, and crafty character. Intellectual capacities are good, but instead of working honestly, one prefers to covet people's goods and use underhanded malpractices to dispossess one's victims. However, sooner or later, one falls prey to a smarter swindler. This degree often indicates weeping, bad luck, and deprivation of liberty. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. Fortune 15�40' Aries, in House VI Part of Fortune The Part of Fortune is an ancient concept, used by Ptolemy and other astrologers before him. Firstly, it has nothing to do with fortune! In modern astrology, it is actually used to enhance a planet or angle when in close conjunction with it: it thus amplifies the meaning associated to the point affected by its presence. It is calculated in the following way: Part of Fortune = AS + Moon - Sun (it is the Moons position when the Sun rises) The classical Part of Fortune, of which the calculus method is unchanged whether in a diurnal or nocturnal chart, is usually distinguished from the diurnal/nocturnal Part of Fortune which is calculated by the formula AS + Sun - Moon for a nocturnal chart, and AS + Moon - Sun in a diurnal chart. We currently use the latter formula for our astrological programmes. Interpretation of the 15� Aries symbolic degree "A woman holds a pair of scales containing a cup of red wine in one pan and a heap of gold coins in the other." ( Janduz version) Selfish, materialistic, and conceited character. One is only concerned in luxury, fine clothing, and all kinds of pleasures. One spends lavishly for oneself but displays utter stinginess towards other people. One is driven by self-interest and picks one's acquaintances among wealthy and influential persons. Good luck seems to smile on this degree, and with the support of powerful protectors, one achieves success in occupations involving precious stones, gold, silver, and jewellery in general. Nevertheless, unless the natal chart indicates otherwise, such intense self-centeredness and extravagant expenses bring about ruin and unhappiness. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. Ascendant 29�03' Libra Ascendant or House I The First House or Ascendant represents one's behaviour in the eyes of others, and also one's health. It corresponds to the way the individual acts in the world. It is the image of the personality seen by others and the person's visible behaviour expressed outwardly. The 1st House is in analogy with Aries and thus Mars too, and then the Sun. It is an angular house, the most important one with the Midheaven, maybe even more so due to its link with the body and health. Ascendant in Libra Your psychological nature is sanguine and communicative or nervous and introverted, depending on who, either Venus or Saturn, is the strongest. Libra is ruled by both Venus, the principle of harmony, extraversion, attractiveness, outgoing and airy in this sign, and by Saturn, the principle of rigour, introversion, restraint, concentration and meditation. Unless Saturn is very strong in the chart, Libra is delicate, charming, sociable, perpetually compromising. For this reason, you may sometimes come across as hesitant and weak because you dare not to insist or to give your opinion. You prefer to act as a unifier, an element of understanding and equity, even though it is detrimental to your own assertiveness. You loathe violence, you spare no efforts for the sake of pacification and you adjust to the situation with flexibility and charm. With this Ascendant, you come across as sentimental, charming, polite, delicate, refined, loyal, peace-loving, fair, distinguished, light, romantic, cultured, airy, likeable, neat, perfectionist, caring, gentle, quiet, tidy, artistic, tolerant, lenient, sociable, seductive, elegant, kind, with a taste for aesthetics. But you may also be hesitant, weak, wavering, selfish, fragile, indecisive, fearful, indolent, cold or even, insensitive. Interpretation of the 29� Libra symbolic degree "In a clearing, a man lying on a heap of clothes notices neither the sparrow hawk gliding above him, nor the wolf and the snake ready to attack." ( Janduz version) Reckless, lazy, and carefree character devoid of discernment capacity. One is unable to properly analyse a situation, and one feels in security even though danger is lurking. Friends are driven by their self-interest and give bad advices, which bring about misfortunes of all kinds, physical, financial, or affective ones. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. Midheaven 4�46' Leo Midheaven or House X The Tenth House still called the Midheaven, is the highest point amidst the houses, at the top of the chart, in the South, and relates to destiny in general and career (and not daily work as meant by the Sixth House). The Midheaven represents our achievements and goals in the social sphere, our social position in society, and becomes more and more important as we get older. It is in analogy with Capricorn and Saturn. The Tenth House is the most important angular house along with the Ascendant. Midheaven in Leo Honours, fame, glamour, and high-ranking positions are your key-words. Your innate authority enables you to rapidly make your way through the higher spheres of power, arts, or business. If you do not achieve celebrity, you strive to rub shoulders with the upper crust and fit into high-society circles, for you believe that they must naturally acknowledge you. The following professions are most likely to suit you very well: corporate manager, actor of outstanding renown, film director, senior civil servant, ambassador, all positions in the gambling, amusement, or art industry, as well as first-class hotelier, jeweller and all occupations related to the luxury world, fireman, tamer, policeman/woman, or rider. Interpretation of the 4� Leo symbolic degree "A snake wrapped around the bottom of a tree is ready to attack, while another snake crawls in the grass." ( Janduz version) Cautious, greedy, and envious character inclined to compete. One is endowed with exceptional intellectual abilities, and one is deeply interested in science and in solving riddles. One is willing to work hard to succeed but does not hesitate to resort to dishonesty whenever personal interests are at stake. This degree indicates that success seldom goes beyond the average level. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. Ascendant 29�03' Libra House I (AC) The First House or Ascendant represents one's behaviour in the eyes of others and also one's health. It corresponds to the way the individual acts in the world. It is the image of the personality as seen by others and the person's visible behaviour expressed outwardly. The 1st House is in analogy with Aries and thus Mars too and then the Sun. It is an angular house, the most important one with the Midheaven, maybe even more so due to its link with the body and health; the Ascendant is as important as the Sun in a natal chart. Interpretation of the 29� Libra symbolic degree "In a clearing, a man lying on a heap of clothes notices neither the sparrow hawk gliding above him, nor the wolf and the snake ready to attack." ( Janduz version) Reckless, lazy, and carefree character devoid of discernment capacity. One is unable to properly analyse a situation, and one feels in security even though danger is lurking. Friends are driven by their self-interest and give bad advices, which bring about misfortunes of all kinds, physical, financial, or affective ones. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. House II 27�07' Scorpio House II The Second House is the sphere of material security, the money we earn, our possessions, also in a symbolic meaning (close people etc). It is in analogy with Taurus and Venus. It is a succedent house, quite important. House III 29�34' Sagittarius House III The Third House is the sphere of social and intellectual apprenticeship, studies, relationships with close people and surroundings, short trips, light-hearted and quick contacts, correspondences. It is in analogy with Gemini and Mercury. It's a cadent house, less important than the angular and succedent ones. House IV 4�46' Aquarius House IV (IC) The Fourth House also called Immum Coeli is the sphere of inner emotions, family, the father, home and roots, but also the home one creates. It's Home Sweet Home, security and cocoon. It is in analogy with Cancer and the Moon. It's an angular and important house. Interpretation of the 4� Aquarius symbolic degree "A young woman with a crown of flowers on her head admires her reflection in the water. Painting and sculpture tools are scattered here and there." ( Janduz version) Self-centred, sensual, and frivolous character. Meeting one's sexual needs is the major concern for which one is prepared to sacrifice everything. Because sensuality prevails over true love, one may be involved in adulterous relationships and experience big affective losses. On the professional area, owing to the influence of the constellation of the Dolphin, all artistic careers are very favoured, especially when the theme chosen is about love, beauty, children, or flowers. Paradoxically enough, this degree sometimes indicates a true religious vocation. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. House V 8�01' Pisces House V The Fifth House is the sphere of pleasures and love affairs (but not commitment or marriage), creations and entertainments, children, arts and game. It is in analogy with Leo and the Sun. It's a succedent and quite important house. House VI 6�10' Aries House VI The Sixth House is the sphere of apprenticeship and effort in the work environment, daily life, health on a daily basis and not operations or long-term diseases, relationships with co-workers or subordinates, desire for improvement, analysis and detail. It is in analogy with Virgo and Mercury. It is a cadent house, less important than the angular and succedent ones. House VII 29�03' Aries House VII (DS) The Seventh House also called the Descendant (in front of the Ascendant) is the sphere of partnership, marriage, contracts, relationships with others, the outer world. It is in analogy with Libra and Venus, and Saturn to a lesser extent. It is an angular and important house. Interpretation of the 29� Aries symbolic degree "Instead of riding her beautiful horse, a woman pulls it by the bridle. Further down, a man fully equipped for a battle seems to be consulting the waning moon." ( Janduz version) Independent, combative, and selfish character. One gives top priority to the fulfilment of personal pleasures and tends to be boastful. Decisions are made in solitude. Such self-centredness finally puts off family members, friends, and colleagues. Therefore, no external help is to be expected in days of misfortune and sorrow. Females are the source of troubles, and marriage is most likely to be unhappy. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. House VIII 27�07' Taurus House VIII The Eighth House is the sphere of emotional security, the depths of the self, secrets and paranormal, transcendence, sexuality, mysteries, upheavals, surgical operations, others' money (investments, inheritances), crises, transformation after evolution, death. It is in analogy with Scorpio and Pluto, and Mars to a lesser extent. It is a succedent and quite important house. House IX 29�34' Gemini House IX The Ninth House is the sphere of high studies, both physical and mental journeys (philosophy, spirituality), rebelliousness, changes of scenery, desire for dealing with the unknown. It is in analogy with Sagittarius and Jupiter. It is a cadent house, less important than the angular and succedent ones. Midheaven 4�46' Leo House X (MC) The Tenth House still called the Midheaven, is the highest point amidst the houses, at the top of the chart, in the South, and relates to destiny in general and career (and not daily work as meant by the Sixth House). The Midheaven represents our achievements and goals in the social sphere, our social position in society, and becomes more and more important as we get older. It is in analogy with Capricorn and Saturn. The Tenth House is the most important angular house along with the Ascendant. Interpretation of the 4� Leo symbolic degree "A snake wrapped around the bottom of a tree is ready to attack, while another snake crawls in the grass." ( Janduz version) Cautious, greedy, and envious character inclined to compete. One is endowed with exceptional intellectual abilities, and one is deeply interested in science and in solving riddles. One is willing to work hard to succeed but does not hesitate to resort to dishonesty whenever personal interests are at stake. This degree indicates that success seldom goes beyond the average level. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. House XI 8�01' Virgo House XI The Eleventh House is the sphere of friendship and protection, projects, search for social acceptance and security, collective and humanitarian actions. It is in analogy with Aquarius and Uranus, and Saturn to a lesser extent. It's a succedent and quite important house. House XII 6�10' Libra House XII The Twelfth House is the sphere of hidden things, enemies, closed or remote places (hospital, prison, convent etc.), ordeals, secrecy, solitude, long-term illnesses but also sincere devotion and genuine compassion. It is in analogy with Pisces and Neptune. Vertex 4�42' Gemini, in House VIII The Vertex The Vertex, sometimes called counter-Ascendant, is a fictitious point which is at the intersection of two great circles, the Ecliptic and the great vertical circle (Prime Vertical) in the West of the birthplace, linking the East, the Zenith, the West, and the Nadir. It is always located in the West of the chart around the Descendant. It is the chart's fifth angle, so to speak, less important than the other angles. Its interpretation is controversial, because certain astrologers pay no attention to it. The Vertex is sometimes considered to be the second Descendant because, like the latter, it is related to communication and exchanges. It has to do with associations and fated encounters, those that are not chosen, and reveals the type of sensitivity and reactivity we have in our dealings with other people: a refined and tolerant way in Libra, straightforward and spontaneous in Aries, etc. Interpretation of the 4� Gemini symbolic degree "A personage in a ceremonial costume stretches out his hand to a man who respectfully bows down." ( Janduz version) Magnanimous, obliging, and sincere character endowed with excellent discerning faculties. One readily forgives one's enemies and strives to alleviate deprived people's sufferings. Although one is not particularly interested in worldly gains, one easily attracts success, wealth, and honours owing to a vivid imagination and artistic gifts. Great achievements can also be expected in diplomacy or politics. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. East Point 9�31' Scorpio, in House I The East Point The East Point is a fictitious point at the intersection of two great circles, the Ecliptic and the great vertical circle (Prime Vertical) in the East of the birthplace, linking the East, the Zenith, the West, and the Nadir. It is always located in the East of the chart, around the Ascendant. The East Point is sometimes considered to be a second Ascendant, less important, but also related to how one is seen by other people, and to how one expresses one's personality. Interpretation of the 9� Scorpio symbolic degree "A man wears a mask and the disguise of Mephistopheles." ( Janduz version) Cheerful, clever, and elusive character. One is highly skilled in simulation and manipulation and keeps one's objectives carefully concealed beneath merry and helpful attitudes. Should the natal chart concur, this degree indicates a brilliant success as a diplomat, an actor, or in any occupation involving the design and manufacturing of costumes. N.B.: symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology. Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution, especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees. This is the reason why they are not included in our Astrotheme reports. %DYNAMIQUE_46% Cupido Cupido is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Cupido, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. On the upside, Cupido is related to socialisation, the arts, and marital life. On the downside, it indicates vanity, addiction to pleasures, and being strongly influenced by groups of people. %TEXTES_46% %DYNAMIQUE_47% Hades Hades is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Hades, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Hades corresponds to intellectual rigour, service rendered to people, the purpose of being useful. On the downside; it leads to carelessness, indifference, apathy, and mess. %TEXTES_47% %DYNAMIQUE_48% Zeus Zeus is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Zeus, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Zeus is related to creativity, as well as to organisational and leadership capacities. On the downside, it may lead to aggressiveness and to excessive militancy. %TEXTES_48% %DYNAMIQUE_49% Kronos Kronos is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Kronos, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Kronos is related to authority and cleverness. In tough aspect, it may make the person conceited, presumptuous, or elitist. %TEXTES_49% %DYNAMIQUE_50% Apollon Apollon is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Apollon, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Apollon is related to the ability to synthesise, as well as to broad-mindedness, and fame. In difficult aspect, it may bring about superficiality or extravagance. %TEXTES_50% %DYNAMIQUE_51% Admetos Admetos is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Admetos, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Admetos is related to the deepness of the mind, asceticism, simplicity, and analytical mind. In tough aspect, it may make the person nit-picking, inflexible, and narrow-minded. %TEXTES_51% %DYNAMIQUE_52% Vulcanus Vulcanus is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Vulcanus, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Vulcanus, sometimes said to be the higher octave of Saturn, provides strength to improve collective relations, to structure things, to be efficient, and to get straight to the point. On the downside, he may bring about arrogance and scattered efforts. %TEXTES_52% %DYNAMIQUE_53% Poseidon Poseidon is a hypothetical trans-Neptunian planet, the existence of which is not proven. It was invented by Alfred Witte, founder of the famous Hamburg School, and by his student, Friedrich Sieggrün. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Poseidon, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Poseidon brings about wisdom, a clear mind, and sometimes spirituality. On the downside, it may make the person dogmatic, manipulative, or out of touch with reality. %TEXTES_53% %DYNAMIQUE_54% Proserpina Proserpina, sometimes referred to as Persephone, is a trans-Plutonian hypothetical planet. N.B.: numerous astrologers believe neither in the influence of Proserpina, nor in that of all hypothetical planets, asteroids, Arabic parts or other fictitious points. Proserpina is related to mysteries, revival and reconstruction, as well as cycles. She enriches the unconscious, and gives the possibility to combine modern life with spirituality, the East with the West, and mysticism with concrete life. %TEXTES_54% Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. In the animated television series Futurama, the recurring chef character Elzar is a parody of Lagasse (voiced by John DiMaggio), even frequently using slightly modified versions of Lagasse's trademark catchphrases "BAM!" and "kick it up a notch". Lagasse does his catchmark phrase in a brief cameo on Family Guy. A parody of Lagasse appeared in an early episode of Cartoon Network's What-a-Cartoon! episode, Kenny and the Chimp, saying "BAM! Look at that bacon sizzle!" as an homage to Lagasse's love of pork fat. The cartoon also appears in one of the first episodes of Codename: Kids Next Door. Lagasse appeared on the animated television series Space Ghost Coast to Coast on December 11, 1996, in Episode 31 ("Cookout"). He cooks duck confit for Space Ghost. Lagasse's voice can be heard on the radio in the opening scene of the movie The Rundown discussing mushrooms, while the main character The Rock writes down notes for his own recipes. Lagasse was featured in an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch, fighting against the Two Fat Ladies. Lagasse appears both in clips from his TV show and in person in the 2006 remake of J.B. Priestley's Last Holiday, starring Queen Latifah. An episode of The Daily Show jokingly argued that Lagasse could have done more to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina and thus failed to "kick it up notch". Lagasse himself has been a primary spokesperson for Katrina relief efforts and agencies owing to his connection to the city. Miami Herald sports columnist Dan Le Batard, when substituting for Tony Kornheiser on the ESPN program Pardon the Interruption, uses Lagasse's "BAM!" as his own introduction. Lagasse has been referenced several times in the comic strip FoxTrot, such as him making cereal and stating "Snap, Crackle, Pop, BAM!" or his "nerdy twin, Chemeril" making instant ice cream with a quart of liquid nitrogen" BAM! is defined as "the sound of kicking it up a notch - Emeril Live" in KA-BOOM! A Dictionary of Comic Book Words, Symbols & Onomatopoeia On June 8, 2007, The Tournament of Roses revealed that Lagasse will be the Grand Marshal for the 2008 Tournament of Roses. Themed Passport to the World�s Celebrations, the 2008 Rose Parade will pay tribute to festivities from around the globe. As Grand Marshal, Lagasse will ride in the 119th Rose Parade in front of a worldwide television audience, and toss the coin before the 94th Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2008. In a strip from webcomic Mac Hall, Emeril is depicted as a character in World of Warcraft and Ian McConville's character Cherabim attacks him. In the last panel, Charabim is shown covered in blood, with the game announcing "Charabim receives loot: Essence of Emeril". The game World of Warcraft includes a quest NPC named Legassi, who is noted as a chef and gives various food-type quests. The final quest in the chain rewards the player with a new cooking recipe. Is hinted at rather obviously in the online game Kingdom of Loathing as the leader of the chef-magi. Contribution to space exploration In August 2006, Lagasse contributed several recipes to the meal selection aboard the International Space Station, as part of a general NASA effort to improve the quality of the food supply for astronauts. Lagasse's cuisine in particular was selected in the hopes that the spicier fare would offset the reported tendency of microgravity to deaden flavors.

Emeril Lagasse

Formerly used in navigation, and now a tool used in surveying, a theodolite is used to measure what?

A Letter A Day: February 2006 A Letter A Day One year, 365 letters. A letter a day. My resolution for 2006. I’ve always enjoyed writing letters and I want to get back in the habit. I'm not limiting myself to a letter a day. 365 is just the minimum. My goal is to get a 20% response rate. This is the official chronicle of my “year of writing letters.” Thanks for reading! - Chris Lucas About Me February 28th Tuesday February 28th Mardis Gras is here! This year’s celebration is a bit muted because of the catastrophic effects Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had on the city of New Orleans last summer. There was a party in the French Quarter, but not the lively one that is usually held. (My regret is never having gone there to see one in person. I will someday.) When I think of New Orleans, I think of food. (Gumbo, jambalaya, muffelata, beignets, etc.) When I think of food from that region, I think of one man, Emeril Lagasse, who ran two successful restaurants in the “Big Easy.” (One of the best meals I ever had in my life was at Emeril’s Orlando restaurant.) I’m thinking of Emeril, and so I’m sending him a note to wish him well. This is also Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday on the Christian calendar. Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season, where sacrifice and fasting are the norm. In the Catholic faith, consuming any type of meat or meat by product is forbidden on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent. It became a custom that Catholics had to get rid of all the perishable items that couldn’t be consumed during Lent, so on Shrove Tuesday they had big feasts, and one of the main dishes was pancakes. (Creatively using the milk, butter and eggs that would have gone bad.) In many circles, including my home, Shrove Tuesday is now called, “Pancake Tuesday” and that’s what we eat for dinner. This year, the International House of Pancakes (more commonly known as “IHOP”) capitalized on the notion of “Pancake Tuesday” and ran a promotion where pancakes were free all day, and money that the customers would have spent on the pancakes was donated to children’s charities. I thought this was a terrific way to celebrate, so my wife and I brought our kids to the local IHOP and had a blast. It was incredibly packed for a Tuesday night, and if the restaurant I was in is any indication, the charities did very well because of IHOP’s generosity. I’m contacting the CEO of IHOP to thank her for the promotion. Emeril Lagasse Emeril Lagasse is a celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and writer. He is of French Canadian and Portuguese ancestry. Emeril is most well-known for his TV show Emeril Live on the Food Network, one of its highest-rated programs. Lagasse joined Food Network in 1993 with one of its first shows, How to Boil Water. After several appearances on several other FoodTV programs, he hosted his own show, The Essence of Emeril. He is known for his light and jovial hosting style as well as several catchphrases, including "BAM!", "Kick it up a notch", "Feel the love", and "Oh yeah, babe", usually said before or after adding something spicy to a dish, or after the reaction to adding something (respectively). Lagasse initially gained fame in the culinary world after opening his first restaurant, Emeril's Restaurant, in New Orleans. He has written several best-selling cookbooks, from “Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking“, his first book which was published in 1993, to “From Emeril's Kitchen“, published in 2003. Julia A. Stewart Julia Stewart, a 34-year veteran of the foodservice industry, serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Director of IHOP Corp. Prior to joining IHOP Corp. in December 2001, Ms. Stewart served as President of the domestic division of Applebee's International, Inc. Prior to joining Applebee's, Ms. Stewart held several key executive positions with Taco Bell Corporation. Named one of Top Fifty Women in foodservice by Nation's Restaurant News, Ms. Stewart has also held leadership positions within the foodservice industry including past president and founding member of the Women's Foodservice Forum, Executive Board Member of the California Restaurant Association, and President of the National Restaurant Association's Marketing Executives Group. Ms. Stewart is also the recipient of prestigious industry awards including the Silver Plate, Golden Chain, and the Commitment to People award. February 27th Monday February 27th I just read today that one of my favorite authors, E.L. Doctorow, was given two prestigious awards for his most recent work, “The March“, about General Sherman‘s destructive march through the south during the U.S. Civil War. I’m sending him a note of congratulations and thanking him for his great work. E.L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence (E.L.) Doctorow is the author of several critically acclaimed novels that blend history and social criticism. Doctorow was raised in the Bronx, by second-generation parents of Russian Jewish descent. Doctorow was a voracious reader and after graduating college in 1952, he was drafted into the Army He began his career as a reader at Columbia Pictures, moved on to become an editor for New American Library in the early 1960s and worked as chief editor at Dial Press from 1964 to 1969. Although he had written books for years, it was not until the publication of “The Book of Daniel” in 1971 did he obtain acclaim. His next book, “Ragtime” was a superb commercial and critical success, he followed that with “Billy Bathgate.“ In 2006, Doctorow was awarded the PEN/Faulkner award and National Book Critic’s Circle Award for “The March.” February 26th Sunday February 26th Fifty six years ago today, television history was made with the premiere of “Your Show of Shows.” This was in the very early days of the medium, when producers took more chances and the audience was more literate and had a longer attention span. The star of “Your Show of Shows” was a comic genius, Sid Caesar, and he was backed by a stellar supporting cast, including Imogene Coca, Howard Morris and Carl Reiner. The impact of this show is still felt, even a half century later, as it has inspired films like “My Favorite Year”, TV shows like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and the Tony winning play, “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.” This groundbreaking show, done live for 90 minutes each week, paved the way for shows like “Saturday Night Live”, “In Living Color” and “Mad TV“, none of which could even compare to “Your Show of Shows.” Most of the credit for this enduring success is the direct result of the show’s writing staff, the best ever assembled for TV. It included luminaries like Neil Simon and his brother Danny (the inspiration for “Odd Couple’s" Oscar Madison) Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks, and Woody Allen. I am too young to have seen the show live, but It’s replayed many times, and laugh every time I see an episode. I’m writing to the surviving cast members and writers. Sid Caesar Sid Caesar was born to Eastern European Jewish immigrants in Yonkers, New York, where his father ran a lunch counter where immigrant workers would gather. From them Sid learned to mimic many of the accents that he would use throughout his career. After graduating high school, he planned on a career in music, playing the saxophone. While he earned a reputation as a talented musician in the "Borscht Belt" in the Catskills, he also began performing comedy sketches, and became a sensation. Caesar served in the Coast Guard during World War II, organizing entertainment for the enlisted men. This took him to Los Angeles, where he got a part in two films, “Tars and Spars“, based on a wartime comedy routine he did, and “The Guilt of Janet Ames.” After “Your Show of Shows”, Caesar made several appearances, starring on Broadway in Neil Simon’s “Little Me“, as a guest star on television, and in movies like “It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, “Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie” and as Coach Calhoun in “Grease.“ He has the honor of being in the inaugural class of the first ten people inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Carl Reiner Carl Reiner is an actor, director, producer, writer and comedian. He is the father of actor and director Rob Reiner, and husband of Estelle Lebold Reiner, a minor comic actress best known as the lady who says "I'll have what she's having" at Katz's Delicatessen in When Harry Met Sally... after Meg Ryan's phony orgasm scene. Born in the Bronx, Reiner performed in several Broadway musicals, including “Inside U.S.A.”, and “Call Me Mister.” In 1961, Reiner created The Dick Van Dyke Show. In addition to usually writing the show, Reiner occasionally appeared as temperamental show host Alan Brady. Reiner began his directing career on the Van Dyke show. His first feature was the 1967 adaptation of the play “Enter Laughing.” Reiner played a large role in the early career of Steve Martin, by directing and co-writing four films for the comedian; “The Jerk“, “Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid“, “The Man with Two Brains“, and “All of Me.“ In 2000 Reiner was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In 2001, he played the character of Saul Bloom in George Clooney's “Ocean's Eleven”, and its 2004 sequel. In 2004 he voiced the lion Sarmoti in the animated TV series “Father of the Pride.” Larry Gelbart Larry Gelbart is a prolific comedy writer with over 50 years of credits. He began as a writer for the Danny Thomas radio show during the 1940s, and also wrote for Martin and Lewis and Bob Hope. After his work on “Your Show of Shows” Gelbart wrote the long-running Broadway farce “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” with Stephen Sondheim. In 1972, he was one of the main forces behind the creation of the TV series M*A*S*H. He wrote and produced some of the series' finest episodes, and left after the fourth season. Gelbart also wrote the screenplays to “Oh, God!” and “Tootsie.” Gelbart's other Broadway credits include the musical “City of Angels” and the Iran-contra satire “Mastergate.” Since May 2005, Gelbart has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. Mel Brooks Born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, Mel Brooks served in the US Army during World War II as an engineer, stationed in North Africa. He started out in show business as a stand-up comic before becoming a comedy writer for television. In 1961, with Carl Reiner, he created the persona of the 2000 Year Old Man, a collection of ad libbed comedy routines made into a series of comedy records. With Buck Henry, he created the successful TV series “Get Smart.” In 1975, Brooks created “When Things Were Rotten“, a well-received Robin Hood TV parody that lasted only 13 episodes. He then moved into film, working as an actor, director, writer and producer. Among his most popular films have been “Young Frankenstein” (co-written with Gene Wilder) and “Blazing Saddles” (co-written with Richard Pryor), both of which were released in 1974. In 1980 Brooks became interested in producing the film "The Elephant Man" directed by David Lynch. Knowing that anyone seeing the poster with "Mel Brooks presents The Elephant Man" would expect a comedy, he set up the company Brooksfilm to produce the film. Brooksfilm has since produced a number of Oscar nominated non-comedy films. Brooks' most recent success has been a transfer of his film “The Producers” to the Broadway stage, which won a record 12 Tony Awards. Brooks is one of a select group who have received an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy. Neil Simon Though Neil Simon began his career as a TV comedy writer, he is most known as the author of over forty Broadway plays since 1961, ranging from the humorous and lighthearted (“Barefoot in the Park“, “The Odd Couple“) to darker, more autobiographical works (“Chapter Two“, the Eugene trilogy - featuring “Brighton Beach Memoirs“, “Biloxi Blues“, and “Broadway Bound.“) Simon also contributed librettos to such hit musical comedies as “Sweet Charity“, “Promises, Promises“, and “They're Playing Our Song.” His plays are known for their family-based New York settings, where world-weary characters use one-liners to hide often-fractured psyches. He has won three Tonys and one Pulitzer Prize (for “Lost In Yonkers”.) Woody Allen Allen Konigsberg was born in Brooklyn, NY. Nicknamed "Red" because of his hair, he impressed students with his extraordinary talent at card and magic tricks. To raise money, he began writing gags for the agent David O. Alber, who sold them to newspaper columnists. At sixteen, he started writing for show stars like Sid Caesar and began calling himself Woody Allen. After high school, he went to New York University where he studied communication and film but, never much of a student, he soon dropped out. At nineteen, he started writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and others. In 1957, he won his first Emmy Award. He started writing prose and plays, and in 1960, started a new career as a stand-up comic. He soon became an immensely popular comedian and appeared frequently in nightclubs and on television. Since moving into film in the late 1960‘s, Allen’s large body of work and cerebral style have made him one of the most widely respected and prolific filmmakers in the modern era. He writes and directs his own movies and has acted in many of them as well. Allen draws heavily on literature, philosophy, psychology, European cinema and, most importantly, New York City, where he has lived all his life, for much of his inspiration. Allen is the most frequently nominated person in the Academy Award category of Best Original Screenplay, with a total of 14 nominations. He has also been nominated many times as Best Director, and his actors are also among the most frequently nominated people in their respective categories. Allen himself was nominated for Best Actor for his role in his semi-autobiographical film “Annie Hall“, which won Best Picture. February 25th Saturday February 25th Twenty five years ago today, socialite and schoolteacher Jean Harris was convicted of murdering her lover, Scarsdale Diet Doctor Herman Tarnower. This was one of the biggest scandals of the early 80’s and lots of media attention was pai to it. I remember it well, as the details of the trial were splashed on the front pages of the paper every day. HBO is marking the anniversary by airing a new movie about the killing and subsequent trial. Candy and I watched it, and thought the lead performances were first rate. I’m writing to the lead actors to let them know how much we enjoyed the film Annette Bening Annette Bening began acting in junior high school, playing the lead in The Sound of Music. She studied drama at Patrick Henry High School and graduated in three years. She then spent a year working as a cook on a charter boat taking fishing parties out on the Pacific Ocean, and scuba diving for recreation. She attended San Diego Mesa College, then completed an academic degree in theatre arts at San Francisco State University. Bening joined the acting company at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while studying acting as part of the Advanced Theatre Training Program. During this time she established herself as a formidable acting talent in roles like Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. However, she endured a five-year struggle before breaking into motion pictures. Her first feature was in The Great Outdoors (1988) playing opposite Dan Aykroyd, and John Candy. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Grifters. She and Warren Beatty met on the set of Bugsy(1991), in which she played Virginia Hill, and the two began a romance that lasts until the present day. (They married in 1992) Ben Kingsley Ben Kingsley was born in England. His father, Harji Bhanji, was a Kenya-born doctor of Indian descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary, was a fashion model and actress; one of his maternal grandparents was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. In 1982, he was cast as “Gandhi“ in the biography of the Indian spiritual leader. Kingsley was critically acclaimed and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role. (The film won Best Picture.) Kingsley has avoided stereotyping and has been cast in a variety of roles. His credits include the films “Bugsy“, “Dave”, “Searching For Bobby Fischer”, “Sneakers” and “Schindler’s List.” Kingsley was awarded a British Knighthood in 2001 February 24th Friday February 24th This is a big anniversary for money in the United States. In 1862, on this date, Paper currency (greenbacks) were introduced in the US by President Abraham Lincoln. One year later to the day, in 1863, Congress created the national banking system, and the office of the Comptroller of Currency. To mark the occasion, I’m writing to the current Treasury Secretary and Comptroller of the Currency. John W. Snow President George W. Bush nominated John William Snow to be the 73rd Secretary of the Treasury on January 13, 2003 . The United States Senate unanimously confirmed Snow to the position on January 30, 2003 and he was sworn into office on February 3, 2003 . As Secretary of the Treasury, Snow works closely with President Bush on a broad array of economy policy issues. Snow’s previous public service includes having served at the Department of Transportation as Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Deputy Undersecretary, Assistant Secretary for the Governmental Affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Plans and International Affairs. John C. Dugan John C. Dugan was sworn in as the 29th Comptroller of the Currency in August 2005. The Comptroller of the Currency is the administrator of national banks. The OCC supervises 1,900 federally chartered commercial banks and about 50 federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States, comprising more than half the assets of the commercial banking system. The Comptroller also serves as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. February 23rd Thursday February 23rd I was looking at the TV listings tonight and noticed a number of shows dedicated to the Battle of the Alamo. I wondered why tonight, then discovered that February 23rd marks the 170th anniversary of the beginning of that historic siege. I've always been fascinated by the Alamo, particularly by the story of Davy Crockett, the "King of the Wild Frontier", who traveled from Tennessee to Texas to defend the Alamo with all the other brave men. Crockett died at the Alamo, but his legend lived on. I'm too young to have been around in the 1950's when the Walt Disney TV show that started the Davy Crockett coonskin cap craze first aired, but I watched the reruns in the 1970's. I became a Davy Crockett fan too. In honor of his memory, I'm writing to the two actors who have portrayed Crockett, both in the 50's and in the most recent retelling of the Alamo saga. Fess Parker Actor Fess Parker was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and played Davy Crocket (in 1954) and Daniel Boone (1964-1970) on TV. He currently owns and operates a family winery, Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard, near Santa Barbara, California along with two hotels, the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara and the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn and Spa in nearby Los Olivos. Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton is an actor, director, playwright, screenwriter and singer. In his late twenties, Thornton settled on Los Angeles to pursue his career as an actor. Like many other actors, Thornton had a difficult time, while taking on several odd jobs such as telemarketing, fast food management, and any way to support himself. Thornton kept plugging away for his big break. While Thornton was working as a waiter for an industry event, he was serving film director Billy Wilder. Thornton struck up a conversation with the screen legend, who advised the actor that given his not so movie star-like looks, he should consider writing to help utilize both his skills. Thornton put this advice to good use, going on to write, direct and star in "Sling Blade", which won Thornton an Academy Award for his screenplay (as well as a nomination for his performance), and made him an overnight movie star. His screen persona is that of a misanthrope, in the tradition of W. C. Fields. One of my favorite films of his is "Bad Santa" which holds the record for the most uses of the dreaded "F" word in a film. (Don't let your kids watch this Christmas movie!) February 22nd Wednesday February 22nd “The father of our Country” George Washington, was actually born on this date in 1732. This is the real “Presidents Day” to honor our nation’s first President. Many of the myths that have grown up around him have been proven false (the cherry tree chopping, wooden teeth, etc.) but he remains, even 274 years later, unblemished in character, and a God like figure in American history. To honor this day and this man, I’m writing to four men who have portrayed General Washington in recent years. (three onscreen and one voice-over.) Barry Bostwick Barry Bostwick is an actor/singer, known primarily for made-for-television movies and mini-series. Bostwick has appeared in many movies and recently played the NYC Mayor in the sitcom "Spin City", however he is probably best known for playing Brad in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and as George Washington in the epic TV films based on the first President’s life. Bostwick is also a veteran of musical theatre. In 1972, he originated the role of Danny Zuko in the Broadway production of “Grease.” Bostwick regularly serves as host of the nationally televised annual "Capitol Fourth" celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., usually leading off the show by singing a medley of patriotic songs. Jeff Daniels Jeff Daniels is perhaps best known for his roles in “Arachnophobia” and “Dumb & Dumber.“ Woody Allen gave him his big break, casting him as the hero in “The Purple Rose of Cairo.” In 1999, he played the role of general Washington in the A&E network film “The Crossing.” Last year, he starred in a critically acclaimed film called “The Squid and The whale.” Daniels currently resides in Chelsea, Michigan, where he is Founder and Executive director of the regionally-acclaimed Purple Rose Theatre Company, a not-for-profit professional theatre company. Kelsey Grammer Kelsey Grammer, first came to public attention in the classic TV sitcom "Cheers", and was able to successfully spin off his character, Dr. Frasier Crane, into a television series in its own right, "Frasier". Originally intended as a minor recurring role on "Cheers", the part of Dr. Frasier Crane was to be played by John Lithgow (“Third Rock From the Sun“), but Grammer got the role when Lithgow became unavailable. Grammer won a number of Emmys and Golden Globes for his work as Frasier. He was the first actor ever to be nominated for multiple Emmy awards for portraying the same character on three different television shows ("Cheers", "Frasier", and "Wings".) His 20-year run playing Dr. Frasier Crane ties a record set by James Arness in playing Marshall Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke” from 1955 to 1975. Grammer's smooth, deep voice makes him popular for voiceover work. He has provided the voices of Sideshow Bob on "The Simpsons", and Stinky Pete the Prospector in "Toy Story 2." He sang the title theme for Frasier, “Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs.” His next role will be Dr. Henry McCoy a.k.a. Beast in this summer’s "X-Men 3." In 2003, he played George Washington in the TV movie: “Benedict Arnold, A Question of Honor.” Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche is one of the greatest voice-over actors in show business history. Born in Toronto, his signature voice is an impersonation of Orson Welles. LaMarche provided the voice of the animated character The Brain in Pinky and the Brain, who is modeled after Welles; many Pinky and the Brain episodes are nods to Welles's career. He is only the third person in history to be the voice of Popeye, and he is responsible for hundreds of other characters. During the run of Warner Brothers TV series “Animaniacs” and “Tiny Toons” he provided the voice for many historical figures, including George Washington. February 21st Tuesday February 21st As a New York City tour guide, I often bring groups up to Harlem to spend some time. (Despite the myths, Harlem is actually a safe, wonderful, thriving neighborhood, awash in culture and history.) One of the key points of my Harlem tour is when I talk about the important people who directly impacted life in Harlem. One of those people was Muslim preacher Malcolm Shabazz, more commonly known as Malcolm X. Unfortunately, the speech about Malcolm X ends with his assassination, which happened on this day 41 years ago at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. Malcolm X’s legacy lives on four decades later, as his Muslim followers have invested in the neighborhood and rescued dilapidated buildings from demolition, restoring them and vastly improving the Harlem area. In 1992, filmmaker Spike Lee cast Denzel Washington in what would become the definitive screen biography of the fallen leader. It is a terrific film, and I’m going to write to Mr. Lee and Mr. Washington, as well as another key cast member to let them know how much I enjoyed the film. Spike Lee Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee, is a director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his many films dealing with social and political issues. He is also a distinguished documentarian and teaches film at New York University. Born in Atlanta, Lee moved with his family to Brooklyn when he was young. Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee, is a jazz bassist and responsible for the music in some of Spike's films. Spike first gained fame in the late 1980’s as the co-star and director of humorous Nike commercials starring Michael Jordan. Roger Ebert has described Spike Lee as one of the greatest filmmakers in America today. Lee's film “Do the Right Thing” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1989. His documentary “4 Little Girls” was nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Academy Award in 1997. Denzel Washington Denzel Washington is one of the most respected actors in the world today. A two time Academy Award winner, his films have been major box office hits. I first noticed him as one of the doctors on NBC‘s “St. Elsewhere” in the 1980’s. He then shifted to movies, winning acclaim in films like “Glory” “A Soldier’s Story” “The Pelican Brief” and “Philadelphia.” Though he should have won an Oscar for his role as Malcolm X, he eventually won a decade later for playing a corrupt cop in “Training Day.” He recently appeared on Broadway as Julius Caesar. Delroy Lindo Delroy Lindo is a British born American actor. The son of Jamaican immigrant parents, Lindo was born and raised in England, where at age 5 he became a stage actor. As a teenager he and his mother moved to Toronto, Canada and by the 1970s they had moved to the U.S. He spent almost two decades working in theater around the country. Spike Lee gave him a big break and cast him in a lead role as Woody Carmichael in the 1994 comedy "Crooklyn", later casting him in another big role as one of Malcolm X‘s early mentors. Among the films Lindo has starred in have been “Get Shorty“, “Clockers“, and “The Cider House Rules“. I met him after a flight from LA to New York a few years ago, and he was an extremely nice guy. February 20th Monday February 20th Like most Americans, I know that the second to last Monday in February is the day we celebrate “President’s Day.” I know this because it is a national holiday, and we all have off. I always assumed that “President’s Day” was a generic holiday created to honor all 43 US Presidents, and that we celebrate it in February because both Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays fall in February (and used to be celebrated as their own national holidays.) According to the Urban Legend website Snopes.com, “The seeds of confusion were sown in 1968 with the passage of a piece of legislation known as Uniform Holidays Bill, intended to create more three-day weekends for federal employees by moving the observance of three federal holidays (Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day) from fixed calendar dates to designated Mondays, and by establishing Columbus Day (also to be observed on a Monday) as a new federal holiday. Under this act, from 1971 onwards the observance date of Washington's Birthday would be relocated from February 22 to the third Monday in February. (Oddly enough, this change guaranteed that Washington's Birthday would never again be celebrated on his "actual" birthday of February 22, as the third Monday in February cannot fall any later than February 21.) Although early efforts to implement a Uniform Holidays Bill in 1968 also proposed moving the observance of Washington's Birthday to the third Monday in February and renaming the holiday "President's Day," the passed version of the bill provided only for the former. The official designation of the federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February is, and always has been, Washington's Birthday." President Nixon is frequently identified as the party responsible for changing Washington's Birthday into President's Day and fostering the notion that it is a day for commemorating all U.S. Presidents, a feat he supposedly achieved by issuing a proclamation on 21 February 1971 which declared the third Monday in February to be a "holiday set aside to honor all presidents, even myself." Interesting, the things one learns when doing research for writing letters. In any case, under the assumption that today honored all US Presidents, I had planned to write to the four living former Presidents and the current White House occupant. I am going to follow through with this plan. (Next year, I’ll know better.) Gerald R. Ford The Vice president of the US under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford took office in 1974 after Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal. His Presidency came at an uncertain time in American history, as the Vietnam War was coming to a close and the economy was in shambles. A former Congressional leader, Ford faced an uphill battle as President and lost his reelection bid in 1976. My memories of the Ford Presidency are linked to the spirited Bicentennial celebrations in July of 1976, as I was too young to remember any of the bad stuff. In later years, I came to know him through parodies on “Saturday Night Live” and “the Simpsons.” He is now in his 90’s, and has been in bad health lately. Jimmy Carter The first President I really remember, Jimmy Carter held office from 1977-1981. The former Governor of Georgia and a peanut farmer, he was a nice man whose presidency was also dragged down by economic problems and international strife. His daughter Amy was around my age, so I paid attention to the stories about her life growing up in the White House. Since his Presidency ended, Carter has become a goodwill ambassador and humanitarian, participating in many projects like Habitat for Humanity to help those in need. George H.W. Bush As I sat down to write this, recalling my memories of all the Presidents in my lifetime, I was stunned to realize that George H.W. Bush held either the Vice Presidency or Presidency for one third of my life! (If you add his son’s accomplishments, that’s quite a political dynasty.) VP under Ronald Reagan from 1981-1989 and President from 1989-1993, Bush Sr. (or “41”, as he’s known, to distinguish him from his son, the “43rd” President) saw a lot of changes in the world happen under his watch, from the end of the cold war to the rise of the information age. The election of 1988, where he won the Presidency with Dan Quayle as his VP, was the first one I was old enough to vote in, so he is the first President of my adult life. Bill Clinton In 1988, when Michael Dukakis was running against George H.W. Bush for President, he chose an obscure politician, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, to introduce him at the Democratic Convention. Clinton’s speech (though a little long winded) wowed the crowd. I was watching with my grandmother that night and she said to me, “forget Dukakis, this guy is going to be the next Democrat President.” I meant to write him a letter back then (and who knows what direction my life would have taken if I’d hopped onboard his nascient campaign in 1989) but I didn’t, so I’m writing now. A two term President (1993-2001) Clinton was at the helm during America’s greatest era of prosperity. Though he was marred by scandal at the end, he defined the 1990’s, and was a fitting President to close the 20th Century. George W. Bush Another “baby boomer” President, Bush (or “W” as he likes to be called) took office after one of the most unusual elections in American history. Shortly after he became President, he had to face one of the biggest challenges any President has ever had to face, the attacks of September 11, 2001. The resulting war on terrorism, and invasion of Iraq has defined his legacy. A former baseball owner, Bush is one of the most physically fit Presidents we’ve ever had, and still takes a keen interest in sports. February 19th Sunday February 19th The 48th Annual Daytona 500 was held today in Florida. It is considered to be NASCAR’s most prestigious and important race, has the largest purse, and starts the racing season. In recent years, NASCAR has been gaining popularity outside of it’s traditional southern US fan base. What started as a bunch of stock car drivers on dusty tracks has become a mega corporation, with important sponsors lining up to be involved. Television ratings have soared as well, and NASCAR has jumped into the top 4 of American professional sports (replacing hockey in the list that includes baseball, football, and basketball.) Unfortunately, the area I live in (New York City/New Jersey) has been relatively untouched by this NASCAR mania. There are no big raceways nearby, and we already have a glut of professional sports teams, so it’s been hard for auto racing to break in. NASCAR’s offices are now in New York, to be closer to the major media outlets, and they have their award ceremony every year here, so they are picking up a bit of recognition, but it’s a long road ahead. I don’t know much about NASCAR, but I do know that I admire the CEO, who comes from a long line of race team owners. I can’t name too many drivers, except for the legendary “King” Richard Petty, whose father won the first Daytona 500, and who has won the race himself a record seven times. I also know Jeff Gordon, who won the Daytona 500 in 2005 and has hosted “Saturday Night Live.” I’m sending all three of them letters to find out more about their great sport. Brian France Brian France was appointed chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of NASCAR on September 13th, 2003. France has had a diverse career at NASCAR, acting as a racetrack manager to help develop and manage the company's weekly and touring series divisions and launching the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995. He was also a key figure in getting NASCAR's new research and development facility off the ground. Since taking over the marketing of NASCAR, France has tripled the marketing, sales, licensing, and public relations staff and has been at the forefront of dramatic sponsorship involvement, attracting companies such as McDonalds and Kellogg. Advertising Age magazine ranked him among nation's top 100 marketers. He is the grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France. Richard Petty Richard Petty is most well-known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt was the only other driver to accomplish this feat), winning 200 races during his career, and winning a record of 27 wins in the 1967 season alone (ten races in a row). He also collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 top-ten finishes in his 1,185 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971-1989. He also won seven Daytona 500s and nine Most Popular Driver awards. Petty is a second generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a NASCAR champion. His son, Kyle Petty, is also a well-known NASCAR driver. Richard also owns the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando. (That’s how I know him best.) Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon made his first NASCAR Winston Cup start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1992. Since that first race, he’s accumulated a total of 64 wins, including two Daytona 500’s (1997, 1999), three Brickyard 400’s (1994, 1998, 2001) and five Southern 500’s (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002). He’s also a four-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion. Gordon was born in Vallejo, CA and began racing quarter midgets when he was just five years old. He raced locally and on a national level, winning almost every race he entered. At age eight, he won his first quarter midget national championship. At age 13, he began racing sprint cars, and he became a professional stock car racer just a few years after graduating high school. Even those that don’t know racing know Jeff Gordon, as his face is plastered on everything from cereal boxes to soup cans. He is most emblematic of the “new generation” of drivers. February 18th Saturday February 18th I took my three year old to his first movie this weekend. This may not seem like such a big deal to other people, but for me as an entertainer, that ranks as a seminal moment in one’s life. I still recall the first movie I ever saw on the big screen, Walt Disney’s “Robin Hood” in November 1973. My grandmother took my brother, cousin and I to see it at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. It wasn’t just a movie, it was a production. Before the film, the Rockettes would come out and perform, then they would show a newsreel, a short cartoon, and the movie. When the film was over, the Rockettes came out again to wrap things up. Wow! My son’s first time wasn’t as spectacular, just a visit to the local multiplex (though it did have comfy stadium seats, something we didn’t have back in the 70’s.) We did the requisite popcorn, candy and soda ritual and settled into a toddler filled theater to see “Curious George.” Growing up, I was a fan of the children’s books written by H.A. and Margaret Rey. They are classics, still read to this day. I was apprehensive about seeing this new version of “Curious George” partly because I loved the books so much, but also because reviewers that I respected panned the film as unappealing for anyone over 4. (Well, my son fits that group.) I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was a delight. The pacing was good, the story was interesting, and the music written for the film added the right tone. It was so good, in fact, that I’m going to write to the two most important creative people directly involved with the film, director Matthew O’ Callaghan and singer/songwriter Jack Johnson. Matthew O’Callaghan After graduating from the California Institute for the Arts, Matthew O’Callaghan was hired as an animator by Disney. (He worked on “The Great Mouse Detective” “The Little Mermaid” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit“ and “Mickey‘s Christmas Carol.“) He then moved to television, where he created the award winning FOX animated series “Life With Louie” based on comedian Louie Anderson’s stand-up routines. His early work with computer animation brought him back to Disney where he created the first computer generated Mickey Mouse feature, “Twice Upon A Christmas.” Jack Johnson Jack Johnson had been a professional surfer until an accident, which forced him to take some time off. He learned to play guitar at age 14, but did not seriously pursue a career in the arts until his college years. After graduating, Jack decided to spend time traveling, when he co-directed, composed the music for and shot the surf film “Thicker Than Water.” This launched his music career and eventually lead to the release of his first album, "Brushfire Fairytales" in 2001. After touring for almost two years, Johnson released his second album, “On and On” in 2003. In 2004, Johnson founded the Kokum Hawaii Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii. His soundtrack for “Curious George“ debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. February 17th Friday February 17th I was listening to the radio on my way to dropping the kids off at day care when I heard a familiar voice, that of voice-over legend Billy West. This is a man that I want to emulate. His versatility I amazing, and I could tell by the interview that he remains humble despite the amazing success he’s had. He is definitely someone I’d like to seek advice from. Billy West Billy West's voices are heard all over the world, whether it's in a cartoon or a commercial, the sound is out there somewhere at any given time. A self-proclaimed Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck etc.) devotee, West says that the cartoons he saw on TV in the 1950's hit him over the head like a cartoon anvil. West spent 1989-1995 voicing celebrity impersonations for the Howard Stern show. By then, he’d already gotten two jobs with Nickelodeon and found himself voicing the starring roles for "Doug" and the cult hit "Ren and Stimpy." The work led to Hollywood and a Matt Groening cartoon - Futurama, where hid did the voice of the show’s star, Fry, and other characters. He also replaced the late Mel Blanc as the voice of the classic Looney Tunes characters that inspired him so much. February 16th Thursday February 16th Occasionally I’ll stumble upon a magazine or newspaper article that gets my attention. This happened today when I came across a periodical called “Stylus” about people who collect pens. (no, I’m not making that up.) This particular story was about a Doctor from my home state of New Jersey who collects rare and luxury pens. He owns over 900 of them. He even mixes his own ink. What drew me to this story was the fact that this doctor appreciates and promotes the art of writing letters, the whole point of this project. I am sending him my own letter to compare notes, as it were. (I am also hand writing this letter, as opposed to the computer type written letters that have gone out to all the others.) Dr. Sushil Mehandru Chief of Nephrology at big New Jersey hospital and a kidney specialist, Dr. Mehandru is a very busy man, but takes the time to appreciate his collection and to correspond daily. His hobby began at age 13, as a boy in Punjab, India. In later years, he competed in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. February 15th Wednesday February 15th Today was the last day of the American International Toy Fair in New York City, which I was able to attend for the first time. It’s an amazing trade show, where every toymaker in the world comes under one roof to display the hot toys for the coming year. As I walked around, I was reminded of some of my favorite toys from childhood (Magic 8 Ball, GI Joe, Monopoly, View Master reels, Stretch Armstrong, etc.) I’m writing today to the CEO of America’s largest toy store, Toys R Us (I actually worked there when I was in high school) and to the CEO’s of three toy companies. One is Mattel, a mega corporation, which now owns most of the toy companies that produced some of my favorites. The others are the heads of two recently founded toy companies that my sons love. Gerald L. Storch Gerald L. Storch, former Vice Chairman of Target Corporation, was recently named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Toys “R” Us, Inc. “TRU” is based in my home state of New Jersey and is famous for its mascot, Geoffrey Giraffe. They also have a successful chain of baby stores called “Babies R Us.” Robert A. Eckert Robert A. Eckert is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Mattel, Inc., the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys with approximately $5 billion in annual sales. Their line of toys include Barbie, Fisher Price, Hot Wheels and Matchbox. Eckert joined Mattel in May 2000 from Kraft Foods, Inc. Thomas J. Kalinske Thomas Kalinske is the Chief Executive Officer of LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. Leapfrog makes computer activated learning pads for preschool children. My sons have enhanced their learning capacity by using Leapfrog products. Prior to Leapfrog, Mr. Kalinske spent six years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sega of America. Before that he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Matchbox Toy Group and Mattel Toy Inc and a Director of Knowledge Universe Inc and the Toy Industry Association. Louis Weber Since May 1967, Publications International’s founder, Louis Weber, has pursued a bold goal to reinvent the book publishing industry by working to create quality information products, both in the written word and other media, and to provide knowledge and enjoyment to the consumer at a reasonable price. Remaining true to that philosophy for more than 35 years, Weber has built the Lincolnwood, Illinois company into the fifth largest publisher of children’s books in the world. In fall 2003, they introduced the Story Reader, which lets kids read along to stories based on their favorite movies and TV shows. My three year old regularly uses his, and sits still for 15 minutes at a time as he learns by following the narrator on his Story Reader. What an amazing device! February 14th Tuesday February 14th Ah Valentine’s Day, when the attention of the world turns to love, and everyone walks around clad in red and passing out flowers, jewelry, teddy bears, and chocolate, usually all in the shape of hearts or with a heart theme. In honor of this day, I am writing to one of the premiere experts on flowers, and to the CEO’s of Zales Diamonds, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Hershey’s Chocolate, and the man who invented the artificial heart. I’m not forgetting my wife Candy (yes, that’s her real name) on Valentine’s Day. As a gift for her, I am writing to her favorite author and favorite actor asking them to send her a note Ralph Snodsmith Mr. Snodsmith has lectured at the New York Botanical Garden since 1968. In 1985, for his accomplishments in horticultural education, he was awarded both The New York Botanical Garden Distinguished Service Award and The New York Botanical Garden Distinguished Educator in Plant Studies Award. In 1998 a very rare evergreen, called Picea brewerana (or Brewer's spruce) was planted in his honor. As the popular host of The Garden Hotline, Ralph has been heard on hundreds of radio stations He was also the flower expert on ABC’s Good Morning America for years, Since 1984, Mr. Snodsmith has written the gardening section for Americana Encyclopedia Yearbook. In 1993, he distilled his 25 years of experience teaching at the New York Botanical Garden into the book, Fundamentals of Gardening. Richard C. Marcus Richard Marcus is Chairman of the Board at Texas based Zales, Inc., one of the largest chain of jewelry stores in the US. (I bought my engagement ring and wedding rings at Zales) Mr. Marcus spent 28 years in the high fashion specialty retail industry with Neiman Marcus, serving as Chief Executive Officer from 1979-1988. Since leaving Neiman Marcus he has devoted considerable time as an advisor and investor in several companies which built new businesses through the Internet. Maxine Clark Maxine Clark has been Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc.’s Chief Executive Bear since the company’s inception in 1997. Build-A-Bear has taken off in the last few years and is ubiquitous in American shopping malls. My three year old son just made his first bear there a few days ago (actually, it was an alligator, which he named Yankee.) From November 1992 until January 1996, Ms. Clark was the President of Payless ShoeSource Richard H. Lenny Mr. Lenny was elected Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hershey, probably the most famous chocolate company in the world, on January 1, 2002. From March 2001 to December 2001, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. This summer I am going to take my family to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, a theme park next to the company’s headquarters. Dr. Robert Jarvik Widely known as the inventor of the first permanent total artificial heart, in the mid-1970s, Dr. Jarvik and fellow researchers at the University of Utah designed and developed the air-driven Jarvik-7 total artificial heart, the first to successfully sustain a dying patient with the goal of lifelong support. (I remember being in high school when the first successful artificial heart transplant was performed on a patient named Barney Clark.) Today, Dr. Jarvik is President and CEO of Jarvik Heart, Inc in New York City. He holds numerous patents for medical device technology Danielle Steele America reads Danielle Steel. And so does the rest of the world, including my wife Candy. There are more than 550 million copies of her books in print, and every one of her books is a bestseller (and Candy has read most of them.) In short, Danielle Steel is the most popular author writing today. She is read by women, men, young people, old people in 47 countries and 28 languages. Ms. Steel's 65th best-selling novel, “Toxic Bachelors“, debuted in hardcover in November 2005. Since 1981, Ms. Steel has been a permanent fixture on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. In 1989, she was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having at least one of her books on the Times bestseller list for 381 consecutive weeks. But Guinness was premature. The fact is that one or more of Ms. Steel's novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 390 consecutive weeks. Twenty-one of Ms. Steel's novels have been adapted for television, each earning high ratings and critical acclaim. (Watch the Lifetime Network, you’ll see most of them.) Michael Damian Most famous for his role as Danny Romalotti on CBS’s long running popular soap opera “The Young and the Restless“, Damian is also known for a singing career in the 1980’s. His cover version of “Rock On” reached #1 on the Billboard charts, and seven other singles reached Top 40 status. Candy still talks about the time she and her whole family went to see him on Broadway in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” February 13th Monday February 13th Ok, so I’m one day late on the celebration of Lincoln’s birthday, but the snow was a big event. In any case, today I’m writing to five people who have a modern day association with our 16th and, some consider, greatest, President. Sam Waterston Most famous for his long running role as attorney Jack McCoy on “Law & Order”, Sam Waterston is an Oscar nominated (“The Killing Fields”) actor who has had a long and distinguished career in TV, film, and on stage. He is the direct descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims, and has an active interest in Abraham Lincoln, playing him three times, “The Civil War” and “Gore Vidal’s Lincoln” on TV and “Abe Lincoln In Illinois” on Broadway. His tall, lanky frame and pronounced face bears a resemblance to Lincoln Liam Neeson It has just been announced that Steven Spielberg will be directing a biography of President Lincoln. His choice to play the role is an interesting one, Irish actor Liam Neeson. Oscar nominated for his starring role in Spielberg‘s masterpiece “Schindler’s List”, Neeson fit’s the part physically, standing 6 feet 4 inches. A former boxer, Neeson gave up pugilism to pursue acting, and eventually landed iconic roles in film franchises like “Star Wars” and “Batman.” He is married to actress Natasha Richardson and was named a British Knight by Queen Elizabeth in 1999. (Order of the British Empire) Alfred J. Verrecchia According to legend, Abe Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. A whole industry has grown up around that, with people customizing log cabin homes for themselves. When I was a kid, I spent many hours playing with Lincoln logs, miniature versions of the material used to build homes. I loved this toy, and hope that my sons get as much enjoyment out of building miniature log cabins as I did. Currently, the major toy corporation, Hasbro (GI Joe, NERF, Scrabble, Mr. Potato Head) has the rights to and produces Lincoln Logs. I’m writing to the CEO of Hasbro, Mr., Verrecchia to let him know how much Lincoln Logs meant to me. Doris Kearns Goodwin One of the best modern day US Presidential historians, Pulitzer Prize winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin has written best selling books about Presidents Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. She is also an avid baseball fan, quoted in many documentaries on the sport. Dr. Gene Greismann Dr. Gene Griessman is an internationally known author, professional speaker, Abraham Lincoln impersonator, and consultant. He has written and co-authored seven motivational and business books, plus a one-man play on Abraham Lincoln. He has performed twice at Ford's Theatre (where Lincoln was assassinated) and at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. King Harald V of Norway Sent January 6th - replied February 24th You may remember that on Three Kings Day (January 6th) I wrote to three actual Kings (the King of Norway, the King of Morocco, and the King of Samoa.) I sent the letters out with great enthusiasm, asking all three Kings questions about places to visit in their country, and also about the challenges of being a monarch in the 21st Century. Unfortunately, being an American and not having much contact with royalty, I was unaware of the European protocol when writing to a King. One may not address letters directly to a King, but only to His Private Secretary. (Much like the custom of not speaking to the Queen of England until she deigns to speak to you.) King Harald of Norway replied to my letter (at least his Private Secretary did, anyway.) This was the answer (written on official Royal Norwegian Stationery): Dear Mr. Lucas, His Majesty King Harald has asked me to thank you for your letter of 6 January requesting His Majesty's reply to various questions regarding favourite spots in Norway and the challenges of being a monarch. In view of the many communications of this nature received by The King, I am sure you will understand that it will not be possible to grant your request. Yours Sincerely, Acting Private Secretary To H.M. The King Oslo, Norway If I was going to be rejected by royalty, that was the nicest possible way they could have done it. A reply from a living legend Art Linkletter Sent January 1st - Replied February 24th Today's response was from a living legend, Art Linkletter. Mr. Linkletter is now 93 years old, and still working in show business. He practically invented reality TV way back when. He was the host of two of the longest running shows in broadcast history: "House Party", which ran on CBS TV and Radio for 25 years, and "People Are Funny", which ran on NBC TV and Radio for 19 years. His other big show was "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" which was later adapted by Bill Cosby. One of the big reasons I wrote to him (in fact, he was the first person I wrote to in 2006, on January 1st) was because he was Walt Disney's neighbor and closest friend. Mr. Linkletter hosted the live opening day ceremonies for Disneyland in 1955, and was there last year for the 50th Anniversary. I am currently working on a one man show about Walt Disney, and I asked Mr. Linkletter for advice. His answer floored me (especially the first line.) Dear Chris: I enjoyed your January 1st letter because it sounds a great deal like me fifty years ago. In 1956, I was just writing my first book about my show "People are Funny" which turned out to be a disappointment in the marketing and sales of it, but I persisted and wrote a second book called "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" which was #1 in the nation for two years and sold over 11 million copies. I mention this because you must understand that book publishing, like the rest of entertainment, is a tough business and you must persist in your hopes and dreams in the face of a lot of negativity. I knew Walt Disney and it's hard for me to visualize you acquiring his mannerisms and speech. Have you got any films of him talking to the employees to help you to visualize his public persona. He was not an eloquent speaker, but he was a genius in persuading people to back him in his dream of making a new kind of entertainment for American families. I think that your project is worthy of continuing and if Walt Disney was to be asked about it, he'd probably snort "That might work" and then he'd go on to say "Go ahead and give it a shot". Best wishes to you- A reply and then some!! Steve Rushin (Sports Illustrated) Sent February 9th - Replied February 12th This next reply comes from Sports Illustrated feature writer Steve Rushin. I wrote to him on February 9th about my father's upcoming wedding at Yankee Stadium. A few days later, he emailed me and then called to ask a few questions about my father's life story and wedding. To my delight, a week later an article appeared on page 21 of the February 27th issue of Sports Illustrated written by Mr. Rushin about my dad. Here is the text of that story: A Miracle from Coogan's Bluff by Steve Rushin - Sports Illustrated - February 27, 2006 On Oct. 3, 1951, Ed Lucas raced home from school in Jersey City to see, on the family's new Philco, Bobby Thomson win the pennant for his beloved New York Giants. The 12-year-old then ran outside to celebrate on the sandlot, where he was promptly hit between the eyes by a line drive, a blow that detached both retinas and left him permanently blind. Ed's mother, he likes to say, was a professional boxer. (She boxed apples and oranges at the A&P warehouse.) That winter Rosanna Lucas marched her deeply depressed son to the American Shops, a Newark men's store, where she introduced him to part-time employee Phil Rizzuto, a Yankees star who befriended the boy. Rosanna also wrote to Giants manager Leo Durocher about Ed, who asked her to bring her son to the Polo Grounds. "We went on June 14, 1952," Ed says. "My mother waited outside on the centerfield porch because women weren't allowed in the clubhouse. I met Bobby Thomson and all the Giants. Almost every player brought me a bottle of soda. I couldn't drink them all." That fall Ed enrolled at St. Joseph's School for the Blind, a boarding school in Jersey City, where the nuns demanded that he make his bed and match his clothes. When he walked the strange hallways with his arms out in front of him, Frankenstein-style, his house mother, Sister Anthony Marie, slapped his wrists down to his sides. When he protested that he couldn't see, she said, "Isn't that a shame? We're all in the same boat here. Pick up your oar and start rowing." In 1962 Ed graduated from Seton Hall with a degree in communication arts, after which he, and his tape recorder, became fixtures in the Shea and Yankee Stadium press boxes. The players he interviewed for sundry New Jersey radio stations and newspapers often interrupted his questions to ask their own. In 1965 Mets rookie Ron Swoboda asked Ed, "Did anyone ever describe this ballpark to you?" Told no, Swoboda took him by the hand and led Ed on a lap around the warning track, where they ran their hands along the outfield wall, reading its contours as if they were written in Braille. That same year Ed married. Eventually he had two sons, Eddie and Chris. But when the boys were four and two, respectively, Ed's wife, like Ed's Giants, left him forever. He raised the boys as a blind single parent with superhuman powers. Or so it appeared to Eddie and Chris, who boasted at school that their father could read with the lights out. "I wanted their lives to be as normal as possible," says Ed. For Eddie and Chris it was not unusual to wake up and see Billy Martin drinking coffee at their kitchen table. Yankee Stadium became the boys' second home. Says Chris, "Huge stars like Mickey Mantle would tell me my dad was their hero." Many years later Phil Rizzuto was in his local flower shop in Union, N.J., when the florist told him about her niece, Allison Pfeifle, a nurse whose detached retina left her legally blind and no longer able to work as a nurse. Rizzuto asked Ed if he'd be willing to give Allison a pep talk. Ed and Allison talked on the phone for several years before they met in person. On their first date the two baseball nuts went to Shea Stadium, where Ed introduced Allison to one of his manifold friends, then Dodger Darryl Strawberry. Ed is now 67. His former house mother, Sister Anthony Marie, is 88. She still calls Ed to ask how he's doing and if he needs anything. "I know now that those nuns saved me," Ed says. "If it wasn't for them, I'd have spent my life on a corner with a cane and a cup." On March 10 Ed and Allison will be married in a small ceremony in an ancient cathedral -- they will exchange vows in Yankee Stadium, across the East River from the long-vanished Polo Grounds. When Allison walks down the aisle, she'll walk from the Yankee dugout to home plate. Ed's best men are the boys he raised, 39-year-old Eddie and 37-year-old Chris. The guest list includes Phil Rizzuto, former Yankees catcher Rick Cerone and former Yankees manager and G.M. Gene Michaels. "It is so touching to me because all my dad has ever done is sacrifice for other people," says Chris. "He's never once complained about his life and in fact has always felt blessed to have his family and friends. I think the universe, in a way, is now blessing him back." "Baseball took my sight," says the giddy groom-to-be. "But it also gave me my life." Issue date: February 27. 2006 Goose Gossage Sent January 10th - Replied February 17th This next reply comes from my favorite baseball player, former Yankee Rich "Goose" Gossage, who was the premiere reliever in the American League during the late 1970's and early 1980's. One time when I met him as a little boy, he offered me a "knuckle sandwich' when I wouldn't shut up about being hungry. I mentioned that story in my letter to him. This was his reply (written entirely on his autographed picture.) Dear Chris, Best wishes to my good buddy. WORK HARD at your profession, you have to be totally committed to what you want to do. Preparation leads to confidence. Having confidence is the key to our success. Always believe in yourself. If you don't have confidence, I have a knuckle sandwich waiting for you! Ha ha! Your pal, February 11th - 12th Saturday February 11th History was made today, as the longest non-stop flight in aviation history was accomplished by a daring adventurer with some experience at it. Businessman Steve Fossett flew 26,389.3 miles in a plane sponsored by Virgin Atlantic enterprises. The flight would have gone even longer, but Fossett’s plane had mechanical problems and was forced to land prematurely. In honor of this momentous occasion, I am sending a congratulatory note to Mr. Fossett, and to his benefactor/sponsor, Sir Richard Branson. Steve Fossett Not too many people in this world can be called adventurers or daredevils. Mr. Fossett fits that bill. He made a fortune in business, but that didn’t quite scratch his competitive and curious itch. In his 62 year lifetime, he’s broken and set records as an airplane pilot, balloon pilot, sailor, glider pilot, swimmer, race car driver, and iditarod sled racer (wow!!) If there’s anyone else on the planet that is better to seek motivational advice from, I can’t think of them. Richard Branson One of the most successful entrepreneurs on the planet, Sir Richard Branson (he was knighted by the Queen of England in 1999) started with a small mail order record business and built it into a music industry powerhouse, Virgin Records (which introduced Culture Club and the Sex Pistols to the world.) His “bigger than life” personality and drive for success led him to found Virgin Atlantic Airways, igniting his interest in aviation. In addition to his sponsorship of Mr. Fiosset’s record breaking endeavors, Sir Richard has also set his sights on space travel for the masses, founding Virgin Galactic Airways, with the hopes of having a fleet of spaceships in the next decade. Sunday February 12th I was going to write to people connected to Abraham Lincoln today, as it’s his birthday. My plans were set aside, however, by a record breaking snowstorm here in the New York area. The “Blizzard of 2006” dumped almost 30 inches of snow in one day, shutting everything down. I was homebound with my family, so we kept warm by having hot soup and hot chocolate. Eventually, I went out to shovel and lay in the snow with my son. I froze my butt off!!! My body does not respond well to cold temperatures. Heat doesn’t bother me (I can be in 100 degree weather without sweating) but a little bit of chill makes me uncomfortable. It got me wondering how people can live in the cold year round. Out of my curiosity, I’ve decided to write to the governor of Alaska (the coldest state in the US) and to the Presidents of Iceland and Greenland (which is actually the coldest nation on Earth, despite its spring like name .) Also, since blizzard is the key word of the day, I am reminded of two things, the Dairy Queen Blizzard (my favorite ice cream dish) and the Arena Football team, the Green Bay Blizzard. I’m going to write to the CEO’s of both organizations. Finally, I’m writing to the heads of both Campbell’s soup and Swiss Miss chocolate, both of whom provided me with sustinenence (and have been for years) on a cold, snowy day. Frank Murkowski A former US senator from Alaska, Mr. Murkowski was elected Governor of the state in 2002. He is a lifelong Alaska resident and has fought passionately to preserve the natural resources of our 50th state. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson The fifth President of Iceland, Mr. Grimmson was elected in 1996. Prior to this position, he was a professor of Political Science and Minister of Finance. Hans Enoksen The current Prime Minister of Greenland, Mr. Enoksen was a member of Parliament and the Minister of Fisheries, Hunting and Settlement before taking office. He is also chairman of the political party Simiut, which was founded by the native peoples of Greenland. Chuck Mooty From a small ice cream stand in Illinois, Dairy Queen has grown to become a giant in the fast food business. It was acquired by financial legend Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway in 1998. I grew up down the block from a “DQ” so I used to have Mr. Mistys, Dilly bars, and dipped cones throughout my childhood. Cartoon character Dennis the Menace was the company mascot until 2002. Chuck Mooty, who started with the company in 1987 is now the CEO. Brian Noble A linebacker for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers from 1985-1993, Noble served as an announcer for the team after his playing career was over, before taking the head coaching job for the Green Bay Blizzard and purchasing the team in 2005. Douglas R. Conant Douglas R. Conant was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Campbell Soup Company in January of 2001. He is Campbell's 11th leader in the company’s nearly 140-year history. Gary Rodkin Gary Rodkin is President and Chief Executive Officer of ConAgra Foods, Inc., the owner of Swiss Miss hot chocolate (they also own various brands such as Peter Pan peanut butter, Butterball Turkeys, Orville Redenbacher popcorn, Slim Jim, Hunts, Hebrew National, and Chef Boyardee.) Prior to joining the company in 2005, Mr. Rodkin was president and CEO of Pepsi. February 6th - February 10th Monday February 6th Today is the day after the Super Bowl (The Steelers won 21-10) which is a day many people wish would be declared a holiday, so that they can recover from the partying the night before. (The game usually doesn’t end until 10:30PM or so.) Strangely enough, for all the millions of Americans who watch the game, the football itself is not the topic of conversation around the water cooler. The commercials that play during the game are the hot topic. Every newspaper, TV show, radio show and internet outlet in the country was analyzing and rating these 30 second spots, which advertisers paid millions to air. (the investment pays off when people talk about and show your ad without you having to pay for it.) the phrase most commonly used when describing the mindset of advertisers is “Madison Avenue.” This is an antiquated term that comes from the days when most of the big advertising agencies were located on Madison Avenue in New York City. The commercial icons we love and the jingles we know came from Madison Avenue. There are very few advertisers located on Madison Avenue anymore, but the idea lives on. If you walk down that street today, you’ll see banners with the inductees into the advertising Hall of Fame. (slogans like “Get a piece of the rock” and characters like Tony the Tiger.) In honor of American advertising’s biggest day, I’m going to write to two legends of the business. Donny Deutsch Currently the host of “The Big Idea” on MSNBC, Donny Deutsch is the founder and chairman of Deutsch, Inc., which became the tenth largest ad agency in the world in just a few years and is worth 2.7 billion dollars. He also wrote a best-selling book, “Often Wrong, Never In Doubt.” Jerry DellaFemina Jerry Della Femina was part of a new breed of executives that shook up advertising in the 1960‘s. Wildly creative and eccentric, Della Femina pushed the envelope throughout his career. He used controversy and humor to promote his clients' products and his own agency. His most famous ad campaigns are “Joe Isuzu” and “Meow Mix singing cat.” Tuesday February 7th I went to see the Oscar nominated film “Munich” today. (Now I’ve seen all five films nominated for Best Picture.) The subject matter may be controversial, but the film itself is an amazing piece of craftsmanship. At times it has the feel of a documentary, and other times that of a thriller. Steven Spielberg directed it, and was nominated for Best Director for his efforts. The ensemble cast made the material shine, hitting all the right notes. I’m writing to some of the cast members to let them know my thoughts on the film. Eric Bana Best known for portraying Bruce Banner, the human alter ego of the Hulk in Ang Lee’s adaptation of the Marvel Comic, this Australian actor has had quite a career, beginning as a stand up comic, and now starring in major Hollywood films like “Troy” and “Black Hawk Down.” His role in “Munich’ as a morally conflicted Israeli assassin was sadly overlooked at Oscar time, but is destined to remain a classic. Geoffrey Rush A fellow Australian, Mr. Rush won the best actor Oscar in 1996 as a mentally disabled piano player in “Shine.” in recent years, he’s played roles in films as varied as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Frida.” He won an Emmy last year for his amazing portrayal of film legend Peter Sellers in the HBO biopic. Daniel Craig While “Munich” was being filmed, Mr. Craig was announced as the new James Bond (the first blonde haired actor to do so) replacing Pierce Brosnan. I first noticed him as Paul Newman’s weak son in the 2002 Tom Hanks film “Road To Perdition” Ciaran Hinds Currently drawing raves for his role as Julius Caesar on HBO’s epic series “Rome”, Hinds is an Irish actor who has starred in films like “Phantom of the Opera”, “Veronica Guerin” and “the Sum of All Fears.” Wednesday February 8th The Grammy Awards were handed out today to the best musicians and recording artists in America. I’m not a big music fan (I grew up watching TV and going to movies and plays, not listening to the radio) but I do have my favorites. Today I’m writing to three 2006 Grammy winners, all with diverse backgrounds. Kelly Clarkson When her obituary is written years and years from now, Kelly Clarkson will be referred to as “the first American Idol winner.” Though she tries to downplay it now, winning the popular TV show launched her from obscurity to a multi million dollar career. To be fair, she’s gotten far on her own merits and is a terrific singer/songwriter, but she’ll never be able to escape the “Idol” tag. I’m not in her fan demographic, but I enjoy her music nonetheless. Jimmy Sturr Known as “The Polka King” Mr. Sturr has dominated the “Best Polka” category of the Grammy’s (yes, there is such a category!) Out of 20 nominations, he’s won 15. You may laugh at polka, but Mr. Sturr and his band regularly sell out venues, including prestigious Carnegie Hall. Senator Barack Obama Why is a United States Senator listed on my Grammy day list of letters? No, it’s not an error, Senator Obama won a Grammy tonight for his recording of his 1995 book, “Dreams from my Father.” Senator Obama rose to prominence when he delivered the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. He is a rising star in the party and considered a future candidate for President. Thursday February 9th As mentioned in my January 3rd post, my father is getting married at home plate in Yankee Stadium (the only person in the eight decade history of the landmark Stadium to be allowed to do so.) on March 10th. The wedding is now a month away, and as his son I think the world should know about it. His life story (a blind man who has worked as a baseball reporter for over 40 years) is so inspiring that I think others might be heartened by it. I’m writing a letter to one of the best sportswriters in the country to ask him if he would write about my dad and the wedding. Steve Rushin Steve Rushin joined Sports Illustrated, America’s premiere sports magazine, as a reporter in 1988. By age 25, he became the youngest Senior Writer on the SI staff. He has the honor of being the first column in SI every week, an irreverent look at the world called “Air and Space.” I’ve been a subscriber for a long time, and I look forward to his work. He is also married to basketball legend Rebecca Lobo. Friday February 10th The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy opened tonight. Though I’ve never been physically fit enough to compete in an Olympics, I was honored to be chosen to carry the Olympic torch on its way to the 2002 Olympic games in Salt Lake City. In honor of that, I’m sending letters to some of my favorite Olympians and people who have been associated with the Olympic committee. Bruce Jenner An Olympic Hall of Famer, Jenner won the Decathlon Gold in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. One of the most famous Olympic athletes ever, Jenner is now appearing on the FOX reality show, “Skating with Celebrities” Sarah Hughes An unlikely Gold medal winner, figure skater Sarah Hughes came back from 4th place to win the gold in the 2002 Winter Olympics. She instantly became a national celebrity. She trained in the town next to mine, Hackensack, and they put up a big sign congratulating her. A student at Yale, Sarah doesn’t compete anymore, but her younger sister Emily is an Olympic hopeful. Peter Ueberroth Commissioner of baseball from 1984-1989, Ueberroth was directly responsible for the Olympics coming to the USA in 1984. He was named TIME magazine’s “Man of the Year” that year as well. He currently co-owns the Pebble Beach golf course and is head of the USOC. Mary Lou Retton People tell my wife candy that she looks like Mary Lou Retton. The darling of the 1984 summer Olympics, the diminutive Retton won a gold medal and several other medals. She was the first female to appear on the cover of a Wheaties box. She is now retired, and makes an occasional appearance on TV. February 4th - 5th Saturday February 4th Today marks the 65th anniversary of the USO, the United Service Organizations. Formed in 1941 at the request of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, six charities that helped entertain and cheer servicemen overseas united as one entity, the USO. Most famous for the Bob Hope tours of the 1940’s (which continued until the 1990’s) the USO still provides a valuable service and cure for homesickness to the military during war or peacetime. A few years ago, I had the honor of working with the USO on a project here in the New York area. They were amazing, from the USO Girls who performed, to the entertainers who signed on to the project to help. Even today, the USO attracts big names to give generously of their time and travel halfway around the world to cheer up the troops. I’m going to write to some of the more notable ones. Ann Jillian A staple of the Bob Hope USO shows from the 1980’s and 1990’s, Ms. Jillian is perhaps best known for her starring role in the TV sitcom “It’s A Living” (later renamed “Making A Living”.) She also gained international attention for her well publicized battle against breast cancer. Her life was turned into a highly rated TV movie, “The Ann Jillian Story” where she played herself and won many awards for it. Ms. Jillian is also a very busy motivational speaker. Wayne Newton “Mr. Las Vegas” Wayne Newton has been performing to sellout crowds in that desert playground for forty years. He was discovered by Jackie Gleason in the 1950’s and appeared on his show numerous times. Always a supporter of the military, Newton was named “Chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle” after Bob Hope’s death. He is one of only four people to be named an honorary Green Beret. Drew Carey A former marine himself, Carey is an enthusiastic supporter of the USO. His trademark flattop crew cut and horn rim glasses are a remnant of his time in the military. After getting out of the Marines, he went to the local library, checked out books on how to be a comedian, and was a headlining comic within a few years. In the 1990’s he was given his own eponymous TV show, which was a top rated hit for ABC. In addition to touring with the USO, Drew currently produces the US version of the British improv show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway.” Gary Sinise An Emmy winner and Tony and Academy Award nominee, Gary Sinise is most famous for his role as Lieutenant Dan in the Oscar winning film “Forrest Gump.” In 1974, he and a few other high school buddies started the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, in a Catholic-school basement. It’s now an institution housed in an $8 million theater. In 2003 he formed a cover band called “The Lt. Dan Band” and now tours military sites on behalf of the USO. Lee Greenwood Francis Scott Key‘s “The Star Spangled Banner” is the national anthem for the United States, and Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” is played just as often. In recent times, however, a song written in the 1980’s has joined the pantheon. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” has brought people together singing “I’m proud to be an American.” It’s author, Lee Greenwood has been a successful recording artist since the 1970’s and continues to tour (sometimes doing three shows a day) with the USO. Watching him sing his most famous song to soldiers always elicits Goosebumps. Sunday February 5th Today is Super Bowl Sunday, the unofficial US national holiday. Even if you’re not a football fan it’s hard to escape the big game. Parties are held even if your team is not playing in it. (This year is the 40th anniversary and the two teams playing are the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.) Since I am an avid NFL fan (I started out rooting for the Washington Redskins, and then switched over to the Buffalo Bills when Jim Kelly joined them.) so I’m going to write to some of my favorite football people. Paul Tagliabue Commissioner of the NFL since 1989, Tagliabue has led the league to incredible success and unprecedented prosperity. He originally started as a lawyer for the NFL, and grew up in my hometown of Jersey City, NJ.. Jim Kelly For a decade, Jim Kelly was the quarterback and star of the Buffalo Bills, leading them to four consecutive Super Bowls (something no other NFL quarterback has ever done.) Unfortunately, he lost all four Super Bowls. Deservedly, he was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 2002. His son Hunter was born with a rare medical condition and passed away at the age of eight. Kelly established an organization called Hunter’s Hope www.huntershope.org to raise awareness of and to help eradicate the disease that took his son’s life. For many reasons, he remains my all-time favorite NFL player and someone that I look up to as an inspiration. Mark Rypien An unlikely Super Bowl hero, Rypien quarterbacked the Redskins to victory in Super Bowl 26 (1992.) He was named MVP of that game. That was in his third NFL season, but his career went downhill after that. By 1996 he was out of football, but still lives on in history for his achievements in that magic season. Joe Gibbs A Hall of Fame coach, Gibbs led the Redskins to four Super bowls (winning three of them) in the 1980’s/early 1990’s. After retiring from football in 1992, he became successful in another sport, NASCAR, with Joe Gibbs Racing. In 2004, Gibbs returned to coach the Redskins. Amazingly, he brought them back to the playoffs in 2005 after a six year drought. Though they didn’t get to the Super Bowl, Gibbs has made the Redskins a team to be feared in the league. Marv Levy Like Joe Gibbs, Marv Levy is a football Hall of Famer who retired from the game and then returned after more than a decade. As coach of the Bills during the 1990‘s, he led them to four consecutive Super Bowls and was 11-8 in the playoffs. In 2005, he was named General Manager and Vice President of the Buffalo Bills, in the hopes of leading them back to football dominance. Joe Theismann Before Jim Kelly came along, Joe Theismann was my favorite NFL player. As quarterback of the Redskins, number 7 led them to the Super Bowl twice, winning in 1983. He was also the NFL’s MVP that year. He’s most famous for wearing an “old school” helmet with just a single bar protecting his face. His career came to an inglorious end on national television when NY Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor tackled him and snapped his leg in several places. Theismann is now a popular broadcaster covering the NFL on ESPN and is owner of a successful restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. Even though I have no athletic ability, his book, “Quarterbacking by Joe Theismann” was one of my favorite books as a teenager. (I still have it on my bookshelf.) Jim McMahon I never rooted for the Chicago Bears, except for 1985. That year featured at Bears team that dominated the NFL. Most importantly, they were quarterbacked by a guy who, like me, was born in Jersey City, Jim McMahon. More than just a QB, he was also a certified nutcase, drawing national attention for mooning cameras, drinking before game nights, and wearing headbands with messages during games. (I wore sweatbands and headbands through my high school years to honor him.) The 1985 Bears were so self confident and cocky, they even recorded a video called “The Super Bowl Shuffle” He’s also known for constantly wearing sunglasses, as a result of a childhood accident that injured his eyes. There’s never been a more free spirit in the NFL. I identify with him in many, many ways. The best reply so far! Daniel J. Travanti Sent January 22nd - replied February 1st The 5th reply of the year came from "Hill Street Blues" star Daniel J. Travanti (Captain Furillo) and I was blown away!! It was a four page letter addressing all of my questions about achieving success in show business, specifically about pitfalls to avoid. Some of you reading this blog may be aspiring performers. This is one letter you should take to heart, because it comes from the heart. (plus, he replied to me just a few days after I sent my letter to him. What a standup guy!) Dear Chris, Remember that no one in show business cares if you come in. When I started, I thought all were eager to find me. I thought producers directors and studios would welcome talent. I thought they all knew talent when they saw it. That they couldn't resist it. You have to care more than anyone. They don't. Your parents and friends can't help. They love you no matter what you do. They are dangerous though. They know nothing about being a performing artist (or are you related to one?). Yet they have the strongest opinions on the subject. They would not be so bold as to have definite opinions about the technical details of nuclear fission, but knowing next to nothing about the world of theater they are anxious to warn and guide you. Can you see the pit? If you are going to make it, no one can stop you. You will be looking for those talented and daring and undaunted few who - like you - feel they have something special to offer. I hope you think so. I identify with only those. Though I have doubted me on occasion, my only real suffering has come from fearing that "they" would not give me the chances every performer needs to prove his worth. I suffer still. But I do not doubt my abilities. What are the casting people looking for? Someone to fill a slot. If you shine in that slot you may get another. But maybe not. How many acceptances or refusals constitute success or failure? I don't know. Because your tolerance level belongs only to you. Can you see the pit? My business is to beat the odds. My top priority is HEALTH. The most boring thing old people teach is 'If you have your health you have everything.' It's the only pure truth they ever told. Stay ready, poised, and free. Freedom for some is family. Freedom for others is being unattached except to the family that made you. I am never late, unless I'm tripped up. I start out early so I have avoided many slipups. I am always prepared. There are people standing in line to take your place, remember. I eat correctly. I do not smoke or drink alcohol (for over thirty-two years.) I exercise my body. I read, read, read, only good writing! Your critical faculty ought to be sharp enough to discriminate. I am a good friend and brother and uncle. I pay my bills. No debts. NO debts. If I couldn't afford it, I didn't try to buy it. I still don't. All the details have to contribute to my work: house, family, friends, animals, colleagues, THINGS. No thing hinders me. MY mind and spirit threaten to slow me, however, on occasion. Can you see the pit? I have no idea, none, how to make it! I have always known how to act well (better some times than at others). I was rescued by circumstances from my self destruction. Thirty-three and a half years ago I became a recovering alcoholic. Without the infirmity and solution I might not have the practices of body and mind that sustain me. Some of us get what we need. I learn something new every day. That's not a platitude. I do. I know I can act. I haven't come close to my limits yet. I may never have the chance. I'm a good talker and I can write. That's all. In every other way I am mediocre. I have no idea how to make it. But I'm good at surviving. Oh, have fun! Seriously. It ought to be earnest pleasure. If it only hurts, I would suspect it is not for you. There will be (is) pain always. But satisfaction should rule. Sincerely, Benji the dog / Joe Camp Sent January 29th - Replied February 3rd This is a reply from Benji the dog. Well, actually his trainer and owner Joe Camp. I told him how much I loved the Benji films, and asked him for advice in navigating the show business world. I sent him a letter on January 29th (the first day of the Chinese New Year - year of the dog - and he answered on February 3rd. This was his reply (Mr. Camp included a few plugs for his Benji products and I've left them in. if he's nice enough to respond, I'll happily promote his books and videos): Chris... I appreciate very much the kind words.... but as to your career, there’s little I can say, beyond: you’ve got to want it more than all the other folks competing for your spot. Everybody must find their own way. The routes I took are all documented in the book Benji & Me (Amazon; Benji.com), but it would never work that way for anyone else. Someone once said words to the effect that luck is being well prepared for whatever opportunity presents itself. I add to that: whatever job you do, do it as well as it can be done regardless of whether you really want to do it or not. If you choose to do it, or accept the task, give it your best. Such discipline creates good habits. Also, be a person of action. Don’t sit around waiting for something to happen. Be out there in the midst of it all doing everything possible to pave the way for those “opportunities” I mentioned. And above all, don’t give up. There’s a story about the tribes of Aborigines in Australia who claim make rain for the planters during droughts. One tribe supposedly never failed. A planter went looking for that tribe and asked the king if it were true that they never failed. The king said absolutely true. “How do you do that?” asked the planter. “We don’t quit until it rains,” said the king. So you see, the only thing you need do to be successful is: never quit. - Joe Camp & Benji Benji Off the Leash available everywhere on DVD now! Order online at www.Benji.com/BenjiMarket/buybotlfilm.htm And see what Joe’s up to at www.benji.com/joecamp.htm I sent him a thank you a day later. February 1st - February 3rd Wednesday February 1st I just finished a great book today, called “The One Minute Millionaire.” For full disclosure, I actually bought this book when it was released three years ago, but it sat on my shelf. What a stupid thing to do! This is one of the most empowering books I’ve ever read. Basically, it states that anyone, regardless of social class, can become a millionaire if they will just devote their thoughts and efforts to the goal. Spending even one minute a day aligning your focus towards making a million can make a difference. The authors also explain that giving back to the community and to charity is one of the key things that makes most millionaires successful. Using the strategies outlined in this amazing book, I too will be a millionaire in just a short time (you can quote me on that and hold me to it.) I’m writing to the authors to let them know just how much of an impact they’ve had. Mark Victor Hansen This man co-authored the wildly popular “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series which have sold millions of copies all over the world. He is also an accomplished motivational speaker and has won many awards and degrees for his work. Robert Allen Made his name in the 1970’s with a revolutionary book called “Nothing Down” which helped ordinary people make millions in real estate investing. Another best selling book of his, “Multiple Streams of Income” echoes many of the themes in “One Minute Millionaire.” Thursday February 2nd Today is Groundhog Day, that antiquated rite of winter where the residents of Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania lift their local celebrity groundhog, Phil, out of the ground - to much fanfare- anxious to se whether he sees his own shadow, signaling a long winter. This is such a big event that all the network morning shows cover it live. Even serious meteorologists report on this bit of fuzzy weather prediction during their telecasts. For some, this is the most important weather related day of the year. In fact, the day and town are so well known that they inspired a classic comedy starring Bill Murray, called “Groundhog Day” released in 1993. Many cable stations have marathon showings of the film today. I caught one of these showings and laughed as much as I did the first time I saw it. In honor of the momentous occasion, I’m going to write to some of my favorite TV weathermen, plus two of the actors featured in memorable roles in “Groundhog Day.“ (By the way, the Phil saw his shadow, so I’m not putting my shovel away yet.) Al Roker I first noticed Al Roker as a local weatherman here in New York City. His self-deprecating sense of humor helped him stand out from the pack, and he was soon tapped by his bosses at NBC to substitute for the main weatherman on the network’s morning flagship “Today” show. By the 1990’s he became the permanent weatherman and a national celebrity. In addition to his duties on “Today” he’s written best-selling books and has appeared as the host or guest on many other TV programs. Willard Scott I’ve been watching NBC’s “Today” show since I was a kid, and one of my favorite people on the show as weatherman Willard Scott. (he held the position before Al Roker took over.) Mr. Scott’s goofy gags and announcements of people who have celebrated their 100th birthday endeared him to Americans. He still appears on the “Today” show from time to time to wish a happy 100th and to banter with Al. He also has a unique place in American pop culture history as the very first person to portray Ronald McDonald. Stephen Tobolowsky One of the best character actors around, Tobolowsky usually plays slimy businessmen or weasely office types. In “Groundhog Day” he plays Ned Ryerson, an insurance salesman who Bill Murray’s character variously ignores, embraces and torments during the course of the movie. He’s also well known for roles in movies like “Memento”, “Thelma & Louise” and “Mississippi Burning.” Chris Elliot After he burst onto the national scene in the 1980’s thanks to quirky appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman, Elliot’s unique sense of humor landed him starring roles in movies like “Cabin Boy” and his own highly acclaimed FOX TV show called “Get A Life.” His success is no surprise, as he is the son of one of the funniest comedians of the radio era, Bob Elliot, half of “Bob and Ray.” Friday February 3rd Today is my mother’s 60th birthday. Years ago, 60 would be considered old age, but she is in the class of the first “baby boomers.” This generation has changed the world, and as they age they continue to do so. Advances in medicine will keep them living longer, so 60 is the new 40 as they say. Even so, my mother is a bit down about the milestone, so I’ve decided to write to one of her favorite singers, who just turned 60 as well, and ask him to send her words of cheer. February 3rd also marks the 47th anniversary of “the day the music died” the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson, known as The Big Bopper. In 1971, singer Don McLean immortalized the tragic date with his instant classic “American Pie.” Since I can’t write to Mr. Holly or Mr. Valens, I’ll write to the actors who played them in their biographical films. I’m also writing to Mr. McLean. Rod Stewart A Grammy award winner and rock & Roll Hall of Fame member, Stewart has had quite a career in his 40 years in the music business. Known for his gravelly Scottish voice, he has had number one hits from the disco era hit “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” to “Maggie May.” Don McLean Best known for “American Pie”, McLean is also a prolific songwriter, responsible for hit songs like “Killing Me Softly”, “Crying” and “Vincent.” Lou Diamond Phillips He is best known for his heartbreaking portrayal of Richie Valens in “LaBamba” but Mr. Phillips has had an accomplished career with roles in films like “Young Guns” and “Stand & Deliver” as well as his Tony nominated Broadway debut in “the King & I.” Gary Busey An overnight success with his Oscar nomination for “the Buddy Holly Story” Busey has had memorable roles in films like “Lethal Weapon” and “Under Siege” His eccentric behavior has also gotten him into some trouble over the years.

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Which East Coast body of water has given its name to a breed of retriever?

Chesapeake Bay Retriever Chesapeake Bay Retriever Chesapeake Bay Retriever Water-Loving Dog is Loyal Family Companion Fate brought the Chesapeake Bay retriever to life. One night, during a particularly stormy gale at sea, two pups were destined to make history in the world of dog breeds. No doubt many families are pleased with the lucky outcome; the Chesapeake Bay retriever has been a family favorite, both a loyal hunting partner and affectionate, playful companion, since the early 19th century. Health The history of the Chesapeake Bay retriever dates back to 1807, when, according to the Chesapeake Bay Retriever Club, George Law rescued two dogs from a sinking Newfoundland-bound vessel off the East Coast. Law took the two dogs, which the sinking ship’s captain said were Newfoundland dogs, back to Maryland, where they were split up. The male dog, called Sailor, and the female pup, named Canton (after the boat on which it was pulled to safety), were each given to two men who lived in different areas of the Chesapeake Bay. Both dogs displayed an affinity in water, particularly when it came to retrieving ducks, and Sailor and Canton quickly became well-known in the area, producing offspring with area dogs and creating the beginning of a new breed: the Chesapeake Bay retriever. This new breed became known as the “Chessie” and was quickly distinguished for its love of water and its ability to hunt waterfowl. The Chesapeake Bay retriever became the official dog of Maryland in 1964 and went on to become the mascot for the University of Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay retriever is known to be a very loyal and loving family pet, with a friendly, happy temperament and protective nature. Affectionate and intelligent, this breed responds well to socialization and training, which is recommended for a working dog such as the Chesapeake Bay retriever. One quirky tidbit about the breed: the Chesapeake Bay retriever is known to “smile” when very happy, baring its front teeth as if grinning. The breed can also become vocal when excited or happy. The Chesapeake Bay retriever is commonly mistaken for a Labrador retriever. While the two breeds may share some physical similarities, the Chesapeake Bay retriever has a notably different fur coat. Double-thick and water-resistant, it has a wavy texture most noticeable on the dog’s neck, shoulders, back and loins. The double-thick coat protects these water dogs when swimming in icy cold ponds or lakes, typically while hunting waterfowl. A natural oil in the breed’s coat resists the water and keeps the dogs dry and warm. The breed is generally seen in three colors: brown (light to dark), “sedge” (varying from a reddish yellow, bright red or chestnut shade), and “deadgrass” (a faded tan or straw color). The Chesapeake Bay retriever also has amber-colored eyes. The Chesapeake Bay retriever is a medium to large size dog, weighing 70 to 100 pounds. Alopecia is the deficiency of hair in a dog’s coat. It does not necessarily refer to “loss” of hair. Specifically, it includes a hair deficiency due to either to failure of the hair to grow or loss of all or part of the hair shaft after growth has occurred. The condition can result from numerous disorders, infections, parasites, hormonal imbalances, allergic reactions and trauma. This condition typically affects Chesapeake Bay retrievers in a particular region of their body. Treatment depends on the underlying cause of the condition. Cataracts are an opacity of the lens of the eye and may cause blindness if not treated surgically. Symptoms can include discoloring of the pupil, and treatment may include surgery to remove the cataract. Hip dysplasia is a hereditary malformation of the hip joints most commonly associated with large breed dogs. These malformations cause discomfort, lameness and result in arthritis. X-rays of the elbows and hips when dogs are around two years of age can identify these problems. Your veterinarian should be consulted about treatment options for these crippling conditions . Progressive renal atrophy (PRA): The type of PRA found in Chesapeake Bay retrievers is known as "progressive rod-cone degeneration." This form of PRA has a late onset with dogs being between four and 10 years of age. Symptoms begin with night blindness that eventually progress to complete blindness. Since this is a genetic disorder It is important that breeding stock be checked annually by an eye specialist until 10 years of age. Because  the type of PRA in Chesapeakes is of late onset, an eye clearance at an early age does not guarantee that the dog is free of this disease. von Willebrand disease is a common inherited blood disorder, characterized by a deficiency in clotting factor VIII. The main symptom of vWD is excessive bleeding following injury or surgical procedures. As with any pet, be sure to regularly consult a veterinarian for routine care and medical advice for your four-legged friend. ShareArticle

Chesapeake Bay

Spelunking is the recreational pastime of exploring what?

Chesapeake Bay Retriever Breed Information - Breeders lists - Puppies for Sale - dogs4sale Australia Original Function: companion to trappers/hermits as well as intense swimmer/retriever of water fowl Temperament: Bright and happy disposition, alert and intelligent and showing a willingness to work. Characteristics: Independent, affectionate, and courageous, with a great love of water. Makes a good guardian and companion, especially with children. Recommended for: Active people & families. Be aware : In Australia limited numbers are breed each year and a wait for puppies is common Lifespan: 12-15yrs Height: Dogs 58.4-66 cms (23-26 ins) Height: Bitches 53.3-60.9 cms (21-24 ins) Colour: Dead grass (straw to bracken), sedge (red gold), or any shade of brown. White spots on chest, toes and belly permissible. The smaller the spot the better. Coat: A distinctive feature. Coat should be thick and reasonably short, not over 3.8 cms (1.5 inches long), with harsh oily outer coat and dense fine woolly undercoat covering whole body; hairs having tendency to wave on neck, shoulders, back and loins. Hair on face and legs only should be very short and straight. Moderate feathering on stern and tail permissible. Curly coat not permissible. Texture of coat very important as dog is used for working under all sorts of adverse weather conditions, often working in ice and snow. Oil in harsh coat and woolly undercoat of extreme value. The coat should resist water. General Appearance: Large sized body. Well proportioned, active worker with a distinctive coat and intelligent expression. Strong muscular appearance. Eye and nose colour blends with coat colour. Ears hang to the side of the head. Tail is long.     The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is an American dog from Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of America. The local hunters expected their dogs to plunge into icy waters and retrieve ducks and geese. These dogs have no worries with such conditions their oily wavy coat protects them from the elements. They have a natural love of the water and will retrieve from the sea, rivers or lakes. They have an independent streak and will think for themselves but at the same time are affectionate. They love children, although they can play a bit roughly at times. The Chesapeake loves the outdoors, especially water. They have a bright, cheerful and alert outlook on life and enjoy the companionship of other dogs and people. When it matures, about 3 years of age, can actually be quite a calm dog. They are protective by nature, not showing this until about 9 to 18 months old. They are an intelligent dog and easy to train, however owners need to maintain strong persistence in training. They are quite sensitive so don't respond well to harsh training. Grooming- The coat can be wavy but is not generally curly, feeling oily when touched. It is advised not to wash this dog as damage can be done to its waterproof coat. Also take care when brushing, which should only be necessary when the dog is moulting. Brushing will remove the dead and loose hairs. Bathing and excessive brushing could damage the texture of the coat. Exercise- require a lot of exercise, and can become somewhat badly behaved if not given enough exercise. They love water, swimming and retrieving, being their favourite sports, so make sure they have access to water on their walks. Health- For Diet and other general dog health information Health/Nutrition  

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What is the name of the 6 year-old star of the TLC series Here Comes Honey Boo?

'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' Has Been Canceled - ABC News ABC News 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' Has Been Canceled By Lesley Messer Oct 24, 2014, 10:39 AM ET 0 Shares Douglas Gorenstein/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images WATCH Honey Boo Boo and Mama June: Here Comes Season 3 0 Shares Email "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" has been canceled. The decision comes on the heels of a TMZ report that show matriarch Mama June, or June Shannon, is dating a convicted child molester. "TLC has cancelled the series 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' and ended all activities around the series, effective immediately," a spokesperson for the network told ABC News in a statement. "Supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority. TLC is faithfully committed to the children's ongoing comfort and well-being.” "We just want to thank from the bottom of our hearts the support that we've had from our fans," Shannon said in a video post today. "This experience has been awesome to us." The "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" star, a mother of four including 9-year-old Alana, a.k.a. "Honey Boo Boo," has denied having a relationship with the sex offender. "I want to make a post trying to clear up the rumors remember you can't believe everything you read!" she wrote on Facebook . "It isnt true i promise my kids r #1 priority over anything else and I would never put them in danger period over this or anything else they r my life this is my past I left him 10 yrs ago for it and I wouldn't go back." "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" is currently between seasons. Yesterday, a spokesperson for the network told ABC News that it was "reassessing the future of the series." "TLC is not currently in production on 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,'" the network told ABC News in a statement Thursday. "We are very concerned about this new information." 0 Shares

Alanna

Prohibition era gangster Al Capone was convicted of what crime on Oct 17, 1931, and subsequent sentenced to 11 years in federal prison?

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (TV Series 2012–2014) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Here Comes Honey Boo Boo  1h Watch Now on Amazon Video A reality TV show featuring the life of Toddlers and Tiaras competitor Alana, A.K.A. 'Honey Boo Boo', and her overweight family, as they live every day. Creator: In this "Holladay" special see what Honey Boo Boo and her family do for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween. 5.3 The big pageant is only a few weeks away so June puts her money-saving skills to the test to save for Alana's pageant fees. Alana meets with a new pageant coach and learns her hardest routine yet. ... 5.3 Honey Boo Boo and the family get in the Christmas spirit as they gear up for their annual Christmas display and charity drive. Penny-pinching June takes the family to the flea market to find ... 5.2 TLC's 'Willis Family' Star -- Charged With Raping Child (Mug Shot) 10 September 2016 11:17 AM, -08:00 | TMZ a list of 30 titles created 05 May 2013 a list of 35 titles created 11 Feb 2014 a list of 22 titles created 8 months ago a list of 30 titles created 6 months ago a list of 30 titles created 3 weeks ago Title: Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (2012–2014) 2.5/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Toddlers and Tiaras (TV Series 2009) Reality-TV A look at the world of child beauty pageants. Stars: MaKenzie Myers, Dawn Rochelle, Wendy D. Lee A reality-based look at the vapid lives of several New Jersey 20-somethings and their respective friends and/or hook-ups. Stars: Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola, Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino A peek inside the exploits and privileged private lives of the blended Kardashian-Jenner family, including sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloé. Stars: Khloé Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West Gypsy Sisters (TV Series 2013) Reality-TV Wild and wonderful West Virginia is the setting for the blinged-out brouhaha. Mother hen Nettie is keeping a close eye on Mellie, whose behavior lately has been anything but proper for a ... See full summary  » Stars: Kayla Williams, Mellie Stanley, Nettie Stanley The lives of the Duggars, a Christian homeschooling family with 19 children, and how their family functions. Stars: Michelle Duggar, Jackson Duggar, Jennifer Duggar The working-class twin sister of a callous, wealthy woman impulsively murders her out of revenge and assumes her identity. But impersonating her dead twin is more complicated and risky than she anticipated. Director: Paul Henreid New show will serve up a new twist on the mega-hit RuPaul's Drag Race as it pits queens from previous seasons in a wig-to-wig drag battle royale. Stars: RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Michael Feliciano A cyclical competition where women from all over the U.S. compete for the honor of being America's next "it girl" in the modeling world. Stars: Adrianne Curry, Yoanna House, Tyra Banks Edit Storyline Alana and her mother, June, have been become two of the more familiar Toddlers & Tiaras faces after a 2012 episode showed Alana drinking go-go juice before a competition. The drink, which worked her into a frenzy in front of the cameras, is a combination of Red Bull and Mountain Dew and had the pair working the talk show circuit earlier in the year to defend their caffeine consumption. Nicknamed Honey Boo Boo, Alana and her family, mother June, dad Sugar Bear and sisters Lauryn, Jessica and Anna, will be the focus of the series when the youngest daughter isn't competing in pageants. Written by TLC 8 August 2012 (USA) See more  » Also Known As: Chegou Honey Boo Boo! See more  » Company Credits Alana was known to be taken away by child care services. See more » Connections (Ireland) – See all my reviews This is the illest thing i have ever seen. The way this white trash family is making it on to the television, i will never know. Like father jack says "how did that gobshite get on the television?!" The absolute low of television. It makes The kardashians look like House. This woman is taking her little daughter and embarrassing her in front of the world. She is taking her, dressing her up as a hooker and getting paid. I cant believe we live in a world where this can happen. Even if you were just curious to see how bad it is, do NOT watch it. It is that bad! I feel sympathy for this little girl, her mom is the real harm. Someone needs to call child services and have her daughter taken off her. this is one real bad mother. PLEASE CANCEL THIS HORRIBLE SHOW! 126 of 154 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? Yes

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Known as the Peace Garden State or the Roughrider State, what was the 39th state to join the Union on November 2, 1889?

The State of North Dakota - An Introduction to the Peace Garden State from NETSTATE.COM The State of North Dakota The Badlands: Theodore Roosevelt National Park Welcome to North Dakota. "Nothing could be more lonely and nothing more beautiful than the view at nightfall across the prairies to these huge hill masses, when the lengthening shadows had at last merged into one and the faint after-glow of the red sunset filled the west." Theodore Roosevelt From the fertile Red River Valley of the east, abundant with oceans of wheat, to the vast plains and rolling hills, to the Missouri plateau and Badlands of the west, there is majesty in the open land of North Dakota. There is majesty in the skies of the day, and there is majesty in the stars of the night. THE STATE NICKNAMES: The Peace Garden State (Official) This name commemorates the International Peace Garden on North Dakota's border with Manitoba, Canada. The International Peace Garden was dedicated on July 14, 1932. The nickname was made official by the North Dakota legislature in 1957. Land of the Dakotas This nickname recognizes the Dakota tribes of North Dakota. The Dakota are also referred to as Sioux. See below. The Sioux State Similar to "The Land of the Dakotas," this name recognizes the Sioux or Dakota people of North Dakota. Theodore Roosevelt National Park The Roughrider State This nickname was used to promote tourism in the state in the 1960s and the 1970s. It references Theodore Roosevelt's short-live excursion into the cattle ranching business in North Dakota. On a buffalo hunting trip to the North Dakota Badlands in 1883, he was moved to purchase an interest in the Chimney Butte Ranch, also known as the Maltese Cross Ranch . After the tragic deaths of his mother and wife on the same day in 1894 and after the 1894 Republican convention in June, Roosevelt headed back to North Dakota to seek some peace and solitude. He purchased another parcel of land, located about 35 miles north of Medora, and named it the Elkhorn Ranch . Roosevelt's ranches were run by others as he spent most of his time in the east. His last visit to the Elkhorn Ranch was in 1892 and by 1898 he had sold all his holdings. The Flickertail State This nickname references the Richardson Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus richardsonii) of North Dakota. This squirrel flicks, or jerks, its tail while running and just before entering its borrow. The Flickertail March, by James D. Ployhar is North Dakota's official state march . The Great Central State North Dakota is sometimes called "The Great Central State" because it of its location in the center of the great western Wheat Belt.

North Dakota

What is the general classification for trees that lose their leaves every autumn?

50 Interesting Facts about North Dakota North Dakota At 3.2%, North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the United States.c In 2012, North Dakota was the fastest-growing state in the United States. The growth was largely due to an oil boom in the Bakken fields in the western part of the state. The state became the 2nd-highest oil-producing state behind Texas. Despite its oil boom, agriculture or farming is still North Dakota’s top industry.m Due to its oil boom, North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the U.S. The world’s largest hamburger was eaten in Rutland, North Dakota. It weighed 3,591 pounds and more than 8,000 people were invited to the meal.i Most of the pasta in America is made from North Dakota durum wheat. Grand Forks holds a huge pasta party each year in honor of the crop.n In 2012, North Dakota was ranked as the best-run state in the country.l It’s illegal to go dancing in Fargo with a hat on. It is even illegal to wear a hat at a party where other people are dancing. It is also illegal in North Dakota to take a nap with your shoes on. After 11 pm, it is illegal to set off fireworks at Devil’s Lake in North Dakota.n The smallest city in North Dakota is Maza, with a population of 5 people. North Dakota does not have towns or villages. Each place is officially a city, no matter how small it is.n North Dakota is America's least visited state North Dakota is the least-visited state in America.h Lying just under the surface of western North Dakota is about 25 billion tons of lignite, enough to supply the region’s coal needs for over 800 years.n Dakota is the Sioux word for “friend” or “ally.”n Famous people from North Dakota include musician and bandleader Lawrence Welk, baseball legend Roger Maris, news reporter and commentator Eric Sevareid, author Louis L’Amour, singer Peggy Lee, actress Angie Dickenson, and actor Josh Duhamel.i In 2008, Fargo, North Dakota, hosted the largest pancake feed in the world.i In 1987, North Dakota passed a bill making English the official state language.i North Dakota is the only state in the country with a state-owned bank, the Bank of North Dakota. It also has a state-owned flour mill.i Lewis and Clark spent more time in North Dakota than in any other place they visited on their expedition.n By 2000, 99.5% of North Dakota’s original grassland had been turned into farms and ranches.i Huge herds of bison once roamed the plains of North Dakota. By 1900, fewer than 600 were left. President Roosevelt spearheaded efforts to save the bison, and today about 90,000 live in North Dakota. True buffalo are found only in Asia and Europe. Early European settlers thought bison looked like buffalo and, hence, confused the names.n In 1995 the square dance became North Dakota’s official American folk dance. Square dancing combines elements of various European dances, including the quadrille of France.n North Dakota holds the Guinness World Record for the most snow angels made simultaneously in one place. On February 17, 2007, 8,962 people made snow angels at the state capitol grounds. They beat the earlier record of 3,784 set at Michigan Technological University the previous year.j North Dakota farmland would cover over 12 million city blocks. Farmers there produce enough wheat each year to make 12.6 billion loaves of bread.n North Dakota has more churches per capita than any other state North Dakota has the highest percentage of church-going population in the country. It also has more churches per capita than any other state.f North Dakota ranchers produce enough beef to make 113 million hamburgers each year. There are approximately three times more cattle than people in North Dakota and Angus is the most popular variety of cow.i North Dakota’s Jamestown, also known as Buffalo City, houses the “World’s Largest Buffalo.” The statue is 26 feet tall, 46 feet long, and weighs 60 tons. A herd of bison graze below the statue, including a rare albino named Mahpiya Ska, Lakota for “White Cloud.”k North Dakota’s state capitol is 242 feet high. It is the tallest building in North Dakota and the 3rd-tallest capitol in the country. The original capitol burned to the ground on December 28, 1930.k North Dakota produces enough canola oil every year to fill the state capitol’s 19-story tower 19 times.k North Dakota is the 19th-largest state in the United States. However, it is the 3rd-least populous and the 4th-least densely populated state in the U.S.k Comedian Red Skeleton once quipped that North Dakota is “the only place I’ve been where I didn’t have to look up to see the sky.”k North Dakota became a state the same day as South Dakota North Dakota became the 39th state in 1889. It was admitted the same day as South Dakota. Because both states wanted to be the first state admitted, President Benjamin Harrison shuffled both statehood papers and signed them without knowing which one was first. However, because North Dakaota is alphabetically before South Dakota, its proclamation was published first.n Less than 1% of North Dakota is forest, the smallest amount of any state.i Rhode Island, the smallest state in the US, could fit inside North Dakota 46 times.i Temperatures drop below 0� F on average of 65 days a year near the Canadian border and 35 days a year in the southwestern part of the state, making it one of the coldest states in the nation. The western parts of both Dakotas are also the windiest area of the United States.i Between 1950-2004, an average of 21 tornadoes a year hit North Dakota. In 1999 alone, 65 tornadoes ripped through the state. North Dakota’s deadliest tornado had winds of more than 300 mph (483 kph) in 1957. It struck Fargo, killing 10 people and injuring 103.i French Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de La V�rendrye led the first group of Europeans to explore what is now North Dakota.n North Dakota is the nation’s 3rd-top sugar producer.i In 1887, North Dakotan David Henderson Houston invented a camera. He named it by scrambling the first four letters of Dakota and adding a “K” to make Kodak. He later sold the rights of the Kodak camera to George Eastman.k North Dakota has had several nicknames, including Flickertail State, Roughrider State, and Peace Garden State.k Rugby, North Dakota, claims that it is the geographical center of North America. However, experts say the true center is closer to Balta, which is 15 miles southwest of Rugby.k Movies filmed in North Dakota including Dakota (1945), Fargo (1995), and the documentary My Father’s Garden (1996). None of the scenes in the popular movie Fargo was filmed there. Additionally, the movie was loosely based on two true events that happened in Minnesota, not North Dakota. But the wood chipper used in the movie is now on display at the Fargo-Moorhead Visitor Center.d,e North Dakota is the home to the largest state-owned sheep research center in the United States.i North Dakota produces more honey than any other state North Dakota produces more honey than any other state.n The state that grows the most sunflowers is North Dakota.k North Dakota has only one abortion clinic and has been rated as the worst state in the country for women.a North Dakota has more national wildlife refuges (62) than any other state.n North Dakota has long, harsh winters and short, hot summers. Both of its recorded weather extremes occurred in 1936: -60� F in February and 121� F in July.n One of the quirkiest sports in North Dakota is lawn mower racing. By the time mowers are customized, they can reach speeds of 60 mph, compared to the 5 mph they might do in the backyard.i The J.R. Simplot potato processing plant in Grand Forks, ND, produces over 400 million pounds of French fries per year. McDonald’s is its main customers.i Quirky city and place names in North Dakota include Antler, Buttzville, Cannon Ball, Concrete, Flasher, Medicine Hole, On-a-Slant Village, Ops, Three V Crossing, and Zap.o The most popular tourist spot in North Dakota is the Wild West town of Medora, which was founded in 1883 by the Marquis de Mores, a French nobleman. According to the 2010 census, its population is 112 people.n In 2010, scientists discovered that 80% of the 406 road-side plants they collected in North Dakota showed evidence of genetic modification. Scientists note that the proper monitoring and control of genetically modified crops in the United States is severely lacking and that the escape of genetically modified crops is “unprecedented.”b A North Dakotan highway sculpture named “Geese in Flight” holds the Guinness World Record as the largest metal sculpture in the world. Erected in 2001, it is 156 feet long, 100 feet tall, and weighs 75 tons. Retired schoolteacher Gary Greff, who wanted to break up the tedium on the highway, constructed it.n State Survey i,k,n h Lukas, Paul. “ State Secret North Dakota, Our Least-Visited State Is Also among the Most Underappreciated .” CNN Money. November 1, 1999. Accessed: February 25, 2013. i McDaniel, Melissa and Sara Louise Kras. 2011. North Dakota: Celebrate the States. New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish. j “ North Dakota Snow Angel Record Confirmed .” USA Today. March 28, 2007 (updated). Accessed: February 25, 2013. k Salonen, Roxanne B. 2005. P is for Peace Garden: A North Dakota Alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. m Shaffer, David. “ N. Dakota Population Growth Is Tops in U.S. ” StarTribune. December 22, 2012. Accessed: February 25, 2013. n Stile, Darlene R. 2010. North Dakota (America the Beautiful). New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

i don't know

"Om nom nom nom" is one of the favorite phrases of which Sesame Street character, known for his voracious appetite?

The 5 Most Loved Sesame Street Characters | LifeDaily The 5 Most Loved Sesame Street Characters 53 Shares The 5 Most Loved Sesame Street Characters The 5 Most Loved Sesame Street Characters February 23, 2015 Everyone born in the 70’s & 80’s has their own favorite Sesame street character… Who’s yours? Ahhhh those were the days, Saturday mornings sitting on the floor with your breakfast fighting for the best spot with your brothers to get your weekly sesame street fix. As soon as the opening theme tune was heard kids and adults alike appeared from random rooms in the house, out of nowhere and took their positions. ‘Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame street’ Go ahead, sing the theme song now, to yourself quietly. You kinda know it, remember the tune, no problem but somehow just can’t remember the darn words! I tried it on a couple of the guys and gals in the office and the best i got was a blank look on the face while singing ‘Everything’s A-OK’. So to kick off this 5 most loved sesame street characters article I found the lyrics to the song from the huffingtonpost.com site, so you don’t need to have a blank look on your face next time someone asks you to sing it… Sunny Day On my way to where the air is sweet Can you tell me how to get, How to get to Sesame Street Come and play On my way to where the air is sweet Can you tell me how to get, How to get to Sesame Street… There’s just something so retro and nostalgic about Sesame street. If you have time today grab yourself a bowl of fruit loops or some pop-tarts, put your laptop on the coffee table and sit on the floor watching some sesame street. Hey, you can even sing alone to the tune… And get the words right! 1: Bert & Ernie These two are probably the most famous roommates of all time. Renowned for being the central comedy duo of the show ‘Bert & Ernie’ are about as retro as it gets. 2: Elmo We all remember and love elmo, the furry red guy with the yellow nose who graced the show so wonderfully. There’s good reason why he’s in the top 5 today as one of the most popular sesame street characters of all time. 3: Big Bird Remember big bird, the 8 foot 2 big yellow rollerskating, dancing, unicycle riding bird? How could you forget? Probably the most flamboyant of all the sesame street characters, we love big bird! 4: Oscar the grouch The little green dude who lived in the garbage and had that unique kinda dry way about him, Oscar is a well known and loved sesame street character. Did you know that for some reason in the 1969-1970 season he was actually orange? I prefer him in green myself. 5: The Cookie Monster Best known for his eager appetite for cookies and his famous phrases “Me want cookies! & Om nom nom nom” this lovable character made his way into the hearts of millions of kids during the 70’s and 80’s.

Cookie Monster

A member of the family Characidae, the omnivorous freshwater fish known as the piranha is native to the waters of which continent?

Sesame Street Characters Sesame Street Characters I like almost all the Sesame Street characters when i was a kid, all other kids love them too, so i just thought it must be great to share and discuss the sesame street characters between fans. Wednesday, September 19, 2012 Sesame Street Characters From Around The World We all know that The Sesame Street Series has been around for a very long time, so we should be aware of the influence it has around the world, that's why i wanted to share all the more popular sesame street characters from around the world other than in its headquarter in the United States. There are actually lots of interesting sesame street characters out there, some of them even have the uniqueness and quality to be included in the main show of the series, to be up there with the likes of Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Big bird, and the others. From this point we could see that there is literally no limit when it comes to imagination for the team behind the original sesame street. Tommie (Netherlands) Sesame Street Characters From Around The World Tommie Tommie is a doglike character from Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street. Tommie is six years old. He is clever, energetic and creative and likes to invent things. He is also a little naughty and likes to do things his own way. Tommie can write a few words, including his own name, which he is very proud of. Tommie from Netherlands Tommie is famous for his own made up exclamations, like "Poe hee!" and "Hotseflots!", and wearing all sorts of objects on his head. In the 2005-2006 season, Tommie got his own racing car. Kami (South Africa) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Kami Kami and Whoopi Goldberg at the 2002 World AIDS Day at the United Nations Kami is a monster from Takalani Sesame, the South African co-production of Sesame Street. She made international news in September 2002 when she was introduced as the world's first HIV-positive Muppet. Brosh (Israel) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Brosh Brosh is a character from Sippuray Sumsum, the second solo Israeli co-production of Sesame Street. He is a seven-year-old character with orange fur and red hair. He is responsible to a fault and loves order. His day is run according to a strict schedule that he expects others to follow too. Along with this love of structure comes a real competitiveness. Brosh likes to win, losing just is not part of his plan. Nimnim (Egypt) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Nimnim Nimnim is a large, green, fuzzy full-bodied character from Alam Simsim, the Egyptian co-production of Sesame Street. Nimnim is a charming character who delights in life and nature. He is very young, but wise for his age. Although he is big—almost 2 meters tall—he is sweet-natured, gentle, and patient. To Nimnim, everything is fresh and amazing. He reacts deeply and with genuine emotion to all new experiences. He loves to share his love and enthusiasm for life and nature with his many friends. Khokha (Egypt) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Khokha Khokha is a peach-colored Monster who has black hair, with streaks of yellow and purple who lived on Alam Simsim, the Egyptian co-production of Sesame Street. She is a four-year-old character with a passion for learning. She wants to know everything about everything. She is curious, creative, industrious, resourceful, and loves to solve problems. She enjoys making things and also taking things apart. Her friends often join her in her pretend workshop to create, invent, and have fun. Xiao Mei Zi (China) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Xiao Mei Zi Xiao Mei Zi is a character from Zhima Jie, the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. Her name means "Little Plum". She is a bright red, three-year-old monster, who loves to read books and listen to stories. Little Plum is very smart, quick, and curious. She is also innocent, naïve, extremely optimistic, and easily distracted. She tends to overlook messes and doesn’t mind her own messy hair. What a unique sesame street character, right? Hu Hu Zhu (China) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Hu Hu Zhu Hu Hu Zhu is a furry blue pig from Zhima Jie, the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. He is an ageless, furry, blue pig with many siblings and relatives who are all the same unique color. Hu Hu Zhu admires his blue fur and tail and takes meticulous care of both. He loves the arts especially opera and enjoys singing despite his untrained voice. One more singer in the whole sesame street character squad. Samson (Germany) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Samson Samson is a character from Sesamstrasse, the German co-production of Sesame Street. He was one of the first two local Muppets on Sesamstrasse, and remained a regular character until 2010. Samson is a sweet, big shaggy brown bear. He has a black spot on his nose and two large sneakers on his feet. He is big and tough, and a little clumsy. He is probably the most underrated sesame street characters to date. Lola (Mexico) Sesame Street Characters From Around The World Lola Lola is a pink monster who lives on Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican co-production of Sesame Street. She appears in the Street segments of the show, and also has her own segment, "Lola Aventuras". Lola is a furry pink girl with a fringe of orange feathers. The four-year-old loves riddles, rhymes, songs, and surprises. She also likes counting, numbers, the letter "L" and the color pink. Haha... Would be nice if she was among those sesame street characters who people will remember for so long. Zeliboba (Russia) Sesame Street Characters Around The World Zeliboba Zeliboba is a full-bodied character on Ulitsa Sezam, the Russian co-production of Sesame Street. The character was originally created by Ed Christie with a coat of soft brown fur and leaves. When presented to the Russian producers, though, they requested that he be made blue, the color traditionally associated with spirits in Russian culture. Ed Christie considers Zeliboba his favorite character creation; he remarked that it resembles a large moving mulch pile. Zeliboba in action Zeliboba is a tall furry blue spirit who enjoys nature and lives in the hollow of a gigantic oak tree. He is a very large, somewhat awkward, kind-hearted, warm and trusting character. He has an exceptional nose, which he uses to detect smells, moods, the weather, and even music. Whenever he encounters something new, he sniffs it, he will knows for sure if he was to be awarded as one of the most admired sesame street characters, i mean he will know he has to sniff the trophy. Those are actually not all of them, there's still so much more we could share but decided not to because we believe that the sesame street characters above already represents most of them as a whole. Top 5 Funniest Sesame Street Characters This time it is the funniest sesame street characters that i will try to share and discuss with you fans out there, you should already know that i have shared the most popular characters in my previous post, right? Well, that was a category where most people already knew about, because it's most popular, you know what i mean, right? But this time, it is really a matter of perspective whether a character is funny or not, they might be funny for some, but not at all to others, i'll let you decide. Now that you know my purpose, let's begin the funniest ride from the undeniably glowing sesame street characters below Grover Grover Funniest Sesame Street Characters Grover Grover is one sesame street character who describes himself as a cute and furry little monster. He rarely uses contractions when he speaks, giving him a distinctive vocal pattern, in comparison to many other television characters. He is multi-talented, taking on many different roles and professions throughout the series. Mr. Snuffleupagus Mr. Snuffleupagus Funniest Sesame Street Characters Snuffy And Big Bird Mr. Snuffleupagus first appeared on Sesame Street in the third season. When he first appeared, many of us assumed that he was Big Bird's imaginary friend, due to a series of coincidences and very near-miss encounters that continually kept Snuffleupaguses from human interactions. Big Bird would often try to find ways for Snuffy to meet the adults, but something would always cause Snuffy to leave before the humans could see him. Sometimes, all it would take for the adults to see Mr. Snuffleupagus would be to turn their heads, yet they usually wouldn't do so until Snuffy had already gone. It is really one of the funniest thing seeing all that. Count Von Count Count von Count Funniest Sesame Street Characters Count von Count Count von Count is a mysterious but friendly vampire-like character. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 in 1972, counting blocks in a sketch with Bert and Ernie. The Count has a compulsive love of counting, which was called arithmomania, he will count anything and everything, regardless of size, amount, or how much annoyance he causes others around him. In one song he stated that he sometimes even counts himself, LMAO. When he finishes counting, The Count laughs and announces his total, which sometimes even appears on screen. Then it usually accompanied by a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning, what a way to make us laugh out loud, truly one of the best moment for one the funniest sesame street characters, well deserved. Big Bird Big Bird Funniest Sesame Street Characters Big Bird Once again we just have to feature this big yellow creature, Big Bird, which is the world-famous bird that has been a central character on Sesame Street for the program's run, premiering in the first episode. The big yellow bird can roller skate, ice skate, dance, sing, write poetry, draw, and even ride a unicycle, pretty talented for a character described in the TV show as a 6-year-old. But despite this wide array of talents, he is prone to frequent misunderstandings, like he even thinks that the alphabet is one long word, ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ, LOL. Cookie Monster Cookie Monster Funniest Sesame Street Characters Cookie Monster As his name implies, his primary craving is cookies, but he can and often does consume anything and everything, from apples and pie to letters, flatware, and hubcaps. When Cookie Monster eats something, he makes a very distinct, loud munching "noise", often interpreted as "OMM-nom-nom-nom..." Cookie Monster has a deep, growly voice, and generally speaks with simplistic diction, saying everything with "me" for instance, "Me want cookie!", as opposed to everybody probably already knew "I want a cookie!" Truly deserved as one of the funniest sesame street characters. Just to remind you, this particular list is not specifically ordered by their funny level but it is just randomly ordered, because to be honest i am not sure how to rank them, in fact, i wanted you to decide who is the funniest sesame street characters, by voting in the poll that i provided below, so that it could make most people happy because it was quoted from you after all. Most Popular Sesame Street Character Of All Time Big Bird Big Bird He has starred in his own movie, and he is arguably the biggest characters, well a least in body size he is, as for being the most popular sesame street character of all time, hmm... we'll let you decide. He is an eight-foot two-inch tall bright yellow bird. He can roller skate, ice skate, dance, sing, write poetry, draw and even ride a unicycle. But despite this wide array of talents, he is prone to frequent misunderstandings, well that's one of his signature too, so don't take that away from him. I guess we don't need to say more about him as you all are his fan and you should almost know anything about him, right? You sure knows that he lives in a large nest behind the 123 Sesame Street brownstone and he has a teddy bear named Radar. Radar was given to Big Bird by Gary Burghoff when he guest starred on the show. Later on, however, it was said that Big Bird got the bear as a gift from Mr. Hooper. In 1985, Big Bird was the star of his own movie Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird alongside the cast of Sesame Street. The plot focused on him being moved away to live with his own species by a meddling social-worker. ELMO Most Popular Sesame Street Character Of All Time Elmo Elmo In Asia he is probably the most popular sesame street character, because most parents play his videos to their toddler childs. He is a furry red monster with large white eyes and an orange nose. He currently hosts the last full 15 minute segment on Sesame Street, Elmo's World, which is aimed at toddlers. He is accompanied by his goldfish Dorothy and silent Charlie Chaplin–like characters named Mr. Noodle, Mr. Noodle's Brother Mr. Noodle, and sometimes, Mr. Noodle's sister Miss Noodle.Elmo is self-described as three-and-a-half years old and characteristically refers to himself in the third person.You should know that Elmo is the only non-human puppet ever to testify before the U.S. Congress. At the request and with the assistance of Rep. Duke Cunningham, he testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education in April 2002, urging support for increased funding in music education. BERT AND ERNIE Most Popular Sesame Street Character Of All Time Bert And Ernie Bert And Ernie Should we separate them even in this individual list of most popular sesame street character of all time debate? I guess not. Bert and Ernie are two roommates on the long-running television show Sesame Street. The two appear together in numerous skits, forming a comic duo that is one of the centerpieces of the program. Bert and Ernie were built by Don Sahlin from a simple design scribbled by Muppets creator Jim Henson. According to Frank Oz, Sahlin also defined their characters on the basis of their physical appearance: Ernie was an orange and Bert was a banana. In a classic pairing, Ernie appears chubby while Bert appears quite skinny.A typical Bert and Ernie skit follows one of two similar patterns, both beginning with Ernie devising a hare-brained idea and Bert calmly attempting to talk him out of it. Usually this ends with Bert losing his temper and Ernie remaining oblivious to his own bad idea. Sometimes Ernie's idea miraculously turns out to be correct, much to Bert's evident frustration. OSCAR THE GROUCH Oscar The Grouch Most Popular Sesame Street Character Of All Time Oscar The Grouch This next contender of most popular sesame street character of all time used to have the color orange, that was during the 1969–1970 season, but now he is that green creature who has no nose, and lives in a garbage can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". You should know that Oscar inspired an Apple Macintosh hack written by Eric B. Shapiro and shown at the 1989 MacHack conference, featuring a singing animated Oscar that appeared from the trash can whenever a file was thrown away. The hack was so popular that some parents lost the entire contents of their hard disks to preschoolers wanting to see more of Oscar. COOKIE MONSTER Cookie Monster Most Popular Sesame Street Character Of All Time Cookie Monster This last but not least contender of the most popular sesame street character of all time could become annoying on some occasion, but he is the persistent one, he is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om Nom nom nom" (said through a mouth full of food). He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples, bananas, as well as normally inedible objects such as salt and pepper shakers, signs, napkins, pencils, typewriters, telephones, motorcycles, Peabody Awards, trucks, a safe, a VW Beetle, and the Letter of the Day. However, as his name suggests, his preferred food is cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are his favorite kind; oatmeal cookies are his second favorite. He is known to have a mother, a younger sister, and an identically-designed cousin, who all share his characteristic blue fur and "googly eyes". Cookie Monster's theme song, "C is for Cookie", is one of the most famous songs from Sesame Street. Just to let you know, this will not be the only post about sesame street characters as we will be back with many post about it only based on many other category like funniest characters, most featured characters, and many other. All in the relation of sesame street characters, that's why we said you will surely enjoy our blog if you are a fan of the series. 

i don't know

First introduced by the Peter Paul Company in 1936, what candy bar consists of a coconut center and two almonds enrobed in a layer of milk chocolate?

Tropical Paradise 'Almond Joy' | Warehouse 13 Artifact Database Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Tropical Paradise 'Almond Joy' "Sometimes you feel like a nut...sometimes you don't" Origin Candy Bar Effects When opened it will let out a tropical paradise with two palm trees, sand, a beach chair and a hula girl. Downsides It leaves you in a state of euphoria and an eating craze. Activation Edit The Almond Joy bar was introduced in 1946 as a replacement for the Dream Bar (created in 1936) that contained diced almonds with the coconut. In 1978, Peter Paul merged with the Cadbury company. Hershey’s then purchased the United States portion of the combined company in 1988. It consists of a coconut-based center topped with one or two almonds, the combination enrobed in a layer of milk chocolate. Effects Edit When opened, it lets out a tropical paradise with two palm trees, sand, a beach chair and a hula girl. As a downside, however,  it leaves you in a state of euphoria and puts you in an eating craze. It reseals itself after the euphoria ends (roughly five-ten minutes) and absorbs everything back into the package.

Almond Joy

On October 18, 1867, the US took possession of Alaska, following its purchase from what country?

WAYNE SCHMIDT'S CANDY BAR AUTOPSY PAGE Wayne Schmidt's Candy Bar Autopsy Page Photos of 62 dissected candy bars with taste tests and histories. Candy bars are the most common quick snack in the world. Check-out lines in every store are lined with dozens of varieties in addition to having entire aisles devoted to them. Yet most of us grab one and eat it on impulse paying little attention to what's in them and because they are consumed on-the-go as we walk back to our cars, we hardly taste them much less look inside to see what we're eating. This is a shame because although their ubiquitousness makes them seem commonplace, they have been formulated by candy experts and evolved over decades to provide tastes and textures unrivaled in the world of culinary sweets. Come with me on a journey of discovery as we take peek inside these delicious offerings for a close look at their appearance, learn about what they are made of, and see how they taste. First up, we need to understand the common building blocks of modern candy bars. The most common ingredient of candy bars is milk chocolate. While several bars use dark or semisweet variations, they are the great minority. In addition to flavor, chocolate coatings prevent the interior of the bar from drying out. Chocolate also provides an interesting textural element: initially a solid, as it's chewed chocolate starts off crunchy and then softens to creaminess as it melts. Next comes nougat: a soft, light foamy material that adds smoothness, volume and a mellowing flavor. It's made by drizzling a sugar syrup cooked to 248-degrees F into beaten egg whites. The egg whites are cooked by the syrup's heat to provide a stable, foamy material. Firmness is determined by the temperature to which the syrup is cooked (higher temperatures create firmer nougats) and the amount of air beaten into the mixture. Nougats were originally a hard candy and had a firmer texture more like what you get in a Big Hunk candy bar. Most candy bar nougats are considerably lighter and softer. If you want to see what they're like, cut open a Three Musketeers bar, it's almost solid nougat. Most candy bar nougats have a tan color from being flavored with chocolate. True nougat is white. Half of all candy bars have caramel. It provides a creamy texture, sweetness and helps hold solid additives like nuts in place. Caramel is sugar syrup cooked with cream or condensed milk until the mixture starts to brown. Just like browning meat increases its depth of flavor, so browning sugar creates a richer sweetness. The hotter the sugar is cooked, the firmer and darker the caramel will be. The Hershey's with Caramel bar is an example of a very soft and creamy caramel. PayDay candy bars have centers of very firm caramel. The fourth most common additive is peanuts. Besides adding flavor they provide textural interest in the form of crunchiness. After these big four, other ingredients include almonds, coconut, various types of cookie chips, toffee bits, graham crackers, and even pretzels. A few bars use white chocolate, made with cocoa butter but no cocoa powder, as a coating of in the body. The fact that these are rare suggest that most people don't like white chocolate's unique aromatic flavor.   Manufacturer: Mars Calories: 260 Comments: This classic of the candy bar industry first appeared in 1923. It was designed to remind the eater of a chocolate milk shake, hence the name. It's a layer of chocolate nougat covered with a layer of soft caramel and the whole thing coated with milk chocolate. It begins with a chocolate taste, develops a caramel note and ends with a strong chocolate finish. Think of a 3 Musketeers bar with some of the nougat replaced with caramel. This is an outstanding bar with legions of fans. Early in 2008 I noticed Milky Ways with a new wrapper advertising "more caramel." In size, weight and calories it was identical with the original. Cutting one open showed: ...that the caramel layer was indeed slightly thicker than the original. I can't say that it's an improvement. The bar tastes a little too sweet, the chocolate flavor has been weakened and the overall effect is much less suggestive of a milk shake. Another thing I noticed is that the caramel layer seems softer and lighter in color. In my opinion Mars has taken a uniquely flavored classic and turned it into just another sweet chocolate bar. There is nothing that separates this new bar from dozens of others in the market. It's a pity that one of the greatest candybars ever created is now, after over 85 years of success, lost for all time. The Last Original Milky Way In The World? This may indeed be the last original recipe Milky Way in existence. I discovered it lodged behind a box of so-called "improved" Milky Way bars, evidently forgotten. Naturally, I snatched it up. It had been many months since I've seen one of these originals and I have to admit I'm in a bit of a quandary: Should I relish it now knowing that it may very well be the last of its kind, or freeze it and save it for posterity?   Manufacturer: Reese's (Hershey's) Calories: 230 Description: Peanut butter flavored nougat covered with milk chocolate. I found it harshly sweet with a very weak peanut butter taste. Most objectionable was a very sour aftertaste. There are no interesting textural elements to this candy bar. I believe this bar was introduced in late 2007. The close-up of the left side of the bar shows the complex construction hidden in many candy bars. As this image shows, the candy bar isn't simply nougat covered with chocolate. There are two intermediate layers between the center and coating. These may be flavorings, needed to protect the nougat from the molten chocolate during manufacturing, or to assist the chocolate in sticking to the center.   Manufacturer: Nestle Calories: 280 Description: The Baby Ruth bar was created in 1921 by the Curtiss Candy Company. It has a core of firm caramel coated with peanuts and then chocolate. Look close at the cross section above and a dark layer can be seen between the caramel core and the milk chocolate coating. I suspect this is a layer of a different type of caramel. Baby Ruths have a unique texture that evolves from firm chewiness, to crunchy, to soft chewiness, and finally creamy. The flavor also changes from chocolaty, to peanutty, to caramely and back to a smooth chocolate finish. With the widest range of both flavor and textural elements, Baby Ruths are easily the most entertaining candy bar to eat. (Note: This bar was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, not the famous baseball player Babe Ruth.)   Manufacturer: Cambridge Calories: 230 Description: The Charston Chew is undoubtedly the longest bar tested. It consists of a slab of very sweet vanilla-flavored white nougat covered with milk chocolate. The nougat is so chewy, call it tough, that it's more like taffy. There is a definite vanilla note but that's quickly over powered by its sweetness.   Length: Two, 2-inch long mini bars Manufacturer: Nestle Calories: 180 Description: Introduced in 1966, this bar has a very firm, dark caramel center coated with milk chocolate and crispy rice. I found it tough to chewy with harsh burnt notes. The finish, or aftertaste, was sharp, almost sour. The rice crunchies were nice, though.   Manufacturer: Mars Calories: 260 Description: Three Musketeers came out in 1932 and was given its name because at that time it had three flavors of nougat: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. The Mars company switched to the single chocolate nougat filling in 1945. It starts off with a mild crunch from the chocolate and quickly changes to a very soft chew with a hint of maltiness. Three Musketeers are attractive, large bars that make you feel that you're really getting your money's worth. This used to be my favorite candy bar but I have recently switched to the more complex and interesting Baby Ruth.   Manufacturer: Nestle Calories: 270 Description: First produced in 1923 by the Curtiss Candy Company, the original recipe for the flaky/crispy peanut butter core was lost when Nabisco took over the company. A new formula was developed but some old-timers claim the new bar isn't as good. One of the odd ingredients in the center is corn flakes. This candy bar also has one of the longest list of ingredients. It's a very large bar with a fine grained, peanutty crunch that lasts to the last chew. I like this bar in spite of the fact that the center sticks to teeth. Having said that I think it's a little too sweet and prefer the more refined 5th Avenue.   Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 280 Description: This is a good looking, large candy that debuted in 1936. Its center is a light, crunchy toffee, flavored with peanut butter and coated with milk chocolate. Think of it as an improved Butterfinger: finer grained, more delicate crunch, and not as overpoweringly sweet. The center still sticks rather badly to the teeth, though. (Note: 5th Avenue bars got a popularity boost in 1994 when Dr. Daniel Jackson used one as a piece offering to a tribal chieftain in the science fiction movie Stargate. Some people claim that both Butterfingers and 5th Avenues are poor copies of the superior Crispy Crunch bar developed by the Cadbury Company and available in Canada. I ordered some Crispy Crunches through Amazon.con and contrary to reports found it grossly inferior to both Amercan bars. Identical in appearance to a Butterfinger, though slightly smaller, its crunch was unpleasantly courser. The filling was mostly sweet with little peanut butter flavor.)   Length: Two, 2.5-inch mini bars Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 240 Description: First developed in 1922, Mounds is now manufactured by Hershey's, who purchased the company that made it in 1988. It's simply coconut covered with dark chocolate. I found the coconut very mild considering how much there was and that the bar had a sharp, harsh, dark chocolate finish. The true name of this candy isn't "Mounds," but rather "Peter Paul's Mounds."   Length: Two, 2.5-inch mini bars Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 270 Description: Almond Joys appeared in 1947. It's a Mounds bar with milk chocolate and two whole almonds on top of the coconut. The almonds add an interesting crunchiness for the first few bites but that quickly ends. The almond flavor is almost completely hidden by the coconut and chocolate.   Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 230 Description: The Hershey chocolate bar has been around since 1900, making it the oldest candy bar in the US. It's simply a slab of milk chocolate, but this simplicity has stood the test of time by delighting people for over a century. Hershey's milk chocolate is grainy, many times harsh and some claim it's too sweet. All this may be true but somehow it manages to prosper. What most people don't know is that Hershey's chocolate is produced in large batches and the quality of each batch, or vintage, varies considerably. Some are delicious, others are harsh. The key is to look at the back of the bar and read the production code. The first number, 21, refers to the batch. These work their way up to 100 every year then reset back to zero. The bar above was from vintage 21, one of the best. Vintage 23 was much poorer. To learn which vintages are good please click on: HERSHEY'S VINTAGE PAGE . The basic Hershey bar comes in several variations such as Symphony (extra smooth but harsh after taste), Special Dark (highly rated by many connoisseurs) and many others in a wide range of sizes.   Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 220 Comments: Introduced by the Heath company in 1928, the Heath bar may look and sound like Hershey's later copy Skor, but don't be fooled. The Heath bar uses a lighter, sweeter, milder butter toffee. It's not nearly as harsh as the Skor bar and the crunch is more delicate. Heath bars don't have any of the Skor's burnt notes. I'd rate this much higher than Skor. It still sticks rather badly to teeth, though. (Note: Although Hershey's ended up buying the Heath company in 1996, they decided that their Skor and Heath's Heath bar were different enough and each had such strong followings that they kept both bars in production. Hopefully if they ever decide to eliminate one it'll be the Skor bar.)   Manufacturer: Nestle Calories: 350 Comments: The Yorkie is just a big hunk of milk chocolate. Unlike many of Nestle's milk chocolates, this one has a very mild flavor and smooth, mellow finish. But, that may only apply to this particular production run. I assume that Nestle's chocolate, like Hershey's, varies from batch to batch. One oddity is the statement on the side that it's: "Not for girls." I assume that the implication is that it's too big for girls... it's a manly-man-sized candy bar.   Length: Eight, 1.5-inch mini bars Manufacturer: Chew-its Calories: 440 Comments: Manufactured by the Golgenberg Company, these caramel-peanut-milk chocolate minibars are another inferior variation of the famous Baby Ruth candy bar. Peanut Chews have a tough chewy caramel, weak peanut flavor, and an odd chemical note. The dark chocolate coating creates a sharp finish. These also come in a milk chocolate version.   Length: Two, 2-inch diameter cups Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 230 Comments: Developed by Harry Reese in the mid 1920s, the Reese's Peanut Butter cup has become one of the great American candy icons. It combines two opposing flavor elements (chocolate for sweetness and peanut butter for saltiness) to create one of the great flavor combinations of all time. Personally, I find the peanut butter to be a little too dry and sweet, but still rate this as a great candy bar, though it's shape raises the question about whether it should be appearing on this page. (Reese's cups come in a dozen different variations.) (Note: Mr. Harry Reese hit it big in the mid 1920s with the development of the popular Peanut Butter Cup. His company prospered over the decades even though it was founded on essentially a single item. Hershey purchased the company in 1963 for $23.5 million.)   Length: Two, 2-inch diameter cups Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 190 Comments: Although it's too thin to be seen in the cross section above, there is a thin layer of caramel on top of the peanut butter filler. This gives the cup a creamier texture that I liked. The chocolate is thicker and the resulting reduction of peanut butter flavor is noticeable. Still, I rate this as superior to the original.   Length: Two, 2-inch diameter cups Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 230 Comments: Despite thickness of the white chocolate coating, I found its flavor to be weak. This is an interesting bar to try, but I can't recommend it above the Reese's cup with caramel or even the original peanut butter cup.   Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 270 Comments: Introduced in 2001, the Fastbreak is a relative newcomer to the world of candy bars, but it's a good one. Its core is a smoother, creamer version of the standard Reese's peanut butter filling, topped with dark chocolate nougat. These two layers are on a base of peanut-flavored nougat and the entire structure wrapped in milk chocolate. The overall effect is outstanding. There is a strong peanut butter flavor perfectly balanced with chocolate notes. It's much smoother and creamier than the original Reese's peanut butter cup. The nougats give the bar a chew that's firmer than I prefer, but all-in-all this is a very good candy bar.   Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 230 Comments: This bar has a layer of graham cracker imbedded in the light caramel base, topped with marshmallow and covered with milk chocolate. The odd thing about this candy bar, other than an offensive chemical odor, is that the graham bits are white instead of brown. It's a very soft candy bar with a nice, delicate crunch that unfortunately doesn't last longer than a few chews. It has a sharp chemical finish that I though was a real put-off. Both bars I purchased were cracked all the way around the top edge. I suspect this is the result of the marshmallow not being strong enough to support the chocolate coating.   Length: Two, 2-inch mini bars Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 210 Comments: Released in 2004, Take 5 is the baby of the industry. I'm happy to report that it is a great addition to the Hershey line of candy bars and I hope the person who developed it got a bonus. It consists of milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel, peanut butter and pretzels. The pretzels are what sets this delicious treat aside from all the other candy bars. They create an unusual crunchy texture and interesting/salty flavor that is a real stand out. The pretzel flavor is obvious, yet doesn't overpower the other flavors. I heartily recommend this bar to anyone and everyone. This bar has been so popular that there are already several variations of it.   Length: Two, 2-inch mini bars Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 220 Comments: This variation to the excellent Take 5 candy bar features a peanut butter coating that increases the peanut butter flavor at the expense of no chocolate. I found this bar to have a harder chew than the original and don't rate it as high.   Length: Two, 4.5-inch mini bars Manufacturer: Mars Calories: 210 Comments: Developed in 1979, the Twix bar was originally marketed in Europe under the name "Raider." It's a crunchy cookie topped with peanut cream and covered with milk chocolate. It has a pleasant, fine crunch but the peanut butter flavor is hard to detect. An interesting feature is the ribbed shape of the cookie as seen in the side-sectioned view above.   Length: Two. 2-inch mini bars Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 210 Comments: This is the same as the peanut butter Twix above except that a layer of caramel replaces the peanut butter cream. I believe the caramel version was the original, but I haven't been able to find a reference to verify that. I found this version to have a firmer chew, was a little sweeter, and an enjoyable caramel finish.   Manufacturer: Annabelle Calories: 230 Comments: This candy bar was originally released by the Golden Nougat Candy Company, later bought out by Annabella. It's a slab of white nougat imbedded with peanuts. I found it to be extremely tough, almost rock hard, and difficult to chew. It's also one of the stickiest candy bars if you chew long enough to soften it and can easily pull out any loose fillings. It can't really be eaten. The best you can do is be patient and wait for it to dissolve. The peanuts don't add anything and you quickly end up stuck with a wad of hard taffy in your mouth. Like the Look bar, it's so hard that if dropped it will shatter. There are even directions on the cover for how to soften it by using a microwave!   Manufacturer: Hershey's Calories: 280 Comments: Developed by the Hershey Company in 1994 under the Reese's banner, I'm happy to report that this last candy bar on the page is a clear winner. It boasts a smooth peanut butter center overlayed with caramel and milk chocolate imbedded with peanuts. It has a pleasant chewiness and an entertaining crunch that lasts to the final chew. The peanut butter/chocolate balance is perfect and it has a delicious, mellow peanut butter finish. Outstanding! (Note: I could no longer find this great candy bar in January of 2008. I hope this doesn't mean it's been deleted from the Hershey inventory.)   A Short List of Must-Try Candy Bars: After working through all of these candy bars (in only two days) I selected the top seven and had a small panel of taste testers try them all. They rated each on a scale of 1 through 10. The scores for each bar were added to determine the final rankings. Here's the panel's favorites starting with the top-rated candy bar:   Ultra-creamy peanut butter perfectly matched with smooth milk chocolate. What more could anyone want?   This one's outstanding in so many different ways that it's hard to imagine anything better. Although the panel ranked a close second FastBreak, Baby Ruth remains my personal favorite.   The fine-grained, crunchy, peanut butter filling is delicious.   This FastBreak-with-peanuts variant is as delicious as it is fun to eat.   Candy comfort-food: great texture and flavor mixed with a touch of nostalgia.   Its long-lasting, delicate crunch is a culinary delight.   That pretzel flavor and crunch is great!   The Best Candy Company? Taking a second look at the top seven candy bars I discovered that one was made by Mars, one by Nestle and 5 were made by Hershey's. From this the argument could be made that at least as far as the taste testing panel is concerned, Hershey's makes more of the best candy bars than anyone else. While some of their bars may have been originally developed by other companies, which Hershey's then purchased, Hershey's should at least be credited for having the good sense to continue making these great candy bars.   In Closing: This is just a small sampling of the hundreds of candy bars available. I plan to add to this list as I find new bars so please check back often. Thank you for visiting!   Interesting Links: NEW!!! http://www.candyfavorites.com This is an outstanding source for all types of candy. There is even a page where candies are sorted by decade to help you find those long lost flavors of youth. One particular feature of this site that I like is that it posts customer reviews so you can see what other people thought before ordering. Check it out! http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110012/history/history_of_chocolate6.htm has an interesting time-line of the history of chocolate candy and the companies that make it. http://www.privatecookie.com/Bassi-to-Cream/candy_bar.php has an excellent chart with details about hundreds of candy bars. http://www.candyusa.org/Classroom.timeline.asp has a very thorough candy timeline.   Please click HERE to visit my main site and browse 100 other pages covering everything from the Lost Art of Knitting Nancies to how Electric Rocket Engines work.

i don't know

October 20, 1944, saw General Douglas MacArthur fulfill his famous "I shall return" promise when he landed where?

MacArthur returns - Oct 20, 1944 - HISTORY.com MacArthur returns Publisher A+E Networks After advancing island by island across the Pacific Ocean, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the area he was forced to flee in 1942. The son of an American Civil War hero, MacArthur served as chief U.S. military adviser to the Philippines before World War II . The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, Japan launched its invasion of the Philippines. After struggling against great odds to save his adopted home from Japanese conquest, MacArthur was forced to abandon the Philippine island fortress of Corregidor under orders from President Franklin Roosevelt in March 1942. Left behind at Corregidor and on the Bataan Peninsula were 90,000 American and Filipino troops, who, lacking food, supplies, and support, would soon succumb to the Japanese offensive. After leaving Corregidor, MacArthur and his family traveled by boat 560 miles to the Philippine island of Mindanao, braving mines, rough seas, and the Japanese navy. At the end of the hair-raising 35-hour journey, MacArthur told the boat commander, John D. Bulkeley, “You’ve taken me out of the jaws of death, and I won’t forget it.” On March 17, the general and his family boarded a B-17 Flying Fortress for northern Australia. He then took another aircraft and a long train ride down to Melbourne. During this journey, he was informed that there were far fewer Allied troops in Australia than he had hoped. Relief of his forces trapped in the Philippines would not be forthcoming. Deeply disappointed, he issued a statement to the press in which he promised his men and the people of the Philippines, “I shall return.” The promise would become his mantra during the next two and a half years, and he would repeat it often in public appearances. For his valiant defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and celebrated as “America’s First Soldier.” Put in command of Allied forces in the Southwestern Pacific, his first duty was conducting the defense of Australia. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Bataan fell in April, and the 70,000 American and Filipino soldiers captured there were forced to undertake a death march in which at least 7,000 perished. Then, in May, Corregidor surrendered, and 15,000 more Americans and Filipinos were captured. The Philippines were lost, and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff had no immediate plans for their liberation. After the U.S. victory at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, most Allied resources in the Pacific went to U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz, who as commander of the Pacific Fleet planned a more direct route to Japan than via the Philippines. Undaunted, MacArthur launched a major offensive in New Guinea, winning a string of victories with his limited forces. By September 1944, he was poised to launch an invasion of the Philippines, but he needed the support of Nimitz’s Pacific Fleet. After a period of indecision about whether to invade the Philippines or Formosa, the Joint Chiefs put their support behind MacArthur’s plan, which logistically could be carried out sooner than a Formosa invasion. On October 20, 1944, a few hours after his troops landed, MacArthur waded ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte. That day, he made a radio broadcast in which he declared, “People of the Philippines, I have returned!” In January 1945, his forces invaded the main Philippine island of Luzon. In February, Japanese forces at Bataan were cut off, and Corregidor was captured. Manila, the Philippine capital, fell in March, and in June MacArthur announced his offensive operations on Luzon to be at an end; although scattered Japanese resistance continued until the end of the war, in August. Only one-third of the men MacArthur left behind in March 1942 survived to see his return. “I’m a little late,” he told them, “but we finally came.” Related Videos

Philippines

What famous brand of shortening gets its name from the phrase crystallized cottonseed oil?

Why Prophecy? - DavidJeremiah.org Why Prophecy? by David Jeremiah The situation was grim in the South Pacific in February 1942. American forces were trying to hold the Philippines, but relentless Japanese attacks were making it impossible. President Roosevelt ordered the commander of American forces, General Douglas MacArthur, to withdraw to Australia. On March 12, 1942, MacArthur and his leaders boarded small PT boats and made their way to the Philippine island of Mindanao, where planes then took them to Australia. Eight days later, in Australia, MacArthur made the famous speech in which he told the Philippine people, “I came through and I shall return.” Officials in Washington, D.C., vetting the speech, asked him to change his words to, “We shall return.” Typical of MacArthur, he ignored them and said, “I shall return.” He was making a personal statement about the future; he was taking personal responsibility for changing the lives of the Philippine people. In the broadest sense, General MacArthur was prophesying—making a statement about the future. And we all are “prophets” in that way; we all make claims about the future in major or minor ways: “Tomorrow I’m going to...” But there is a catch: To be a prophet, what someone says about the future must come true. That was a standard Moses established for the second generation of Israelites before they entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). That standard establishes something profound in the biblical story: God wants to speak to His people about the future. And the way we know God has spoken prophetically is if what the prophet says comes true. Credibility has a lot to do with it. In General MacArthur’s case, the Philippine citizens had good reason to believe MacArthur would return to help them given his stature and record. And indeed he did. On October 20, 1944, MacArthur waded ashore on the Philippine island of Leyte with the president of the Philippines and other military and civilian leaders. Less than a year later, on September 2, 1945, MacArthur accepted the formal surrender of Japan to Allied forces. It is possible, however, that circumstances could have been different. MacArthur was not infallible or divine; his prophetic words—“I shall return”—could have gone unfulfilled. Therefore, we have to be careful about whose prophecies we believe. Why Prophecy? Unfortunately, some people give no more credit to the prophetic words of the Bible than they do to the words of an ordinary person—which is a shame, given the impact God intends prophecy to have. When the church at Corinth was giving priority to the gift of tongues in their meetings, Paul reminded them of the power of prophecy: “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men” (1 Corinthians 14:3). Yes, we think of prophets ministering in the Old Testament, but they were active in the New Testament era as well. A prophet named Agabus prophesied that if Paul went to Jerusalem, he would be arrested. Agabus’ credibility (track record) as a prophet was so strong that Paul’s coworkers urged him not to go. He went anyway and Agabus’ words were confirmed (Acts 21:10-14, 33). Philip the evangelist “had four daughters who prophesied” (Acts 21:9). Before the Word of God was complete and the canon of Scripture was closed, the people of God needed “edification and exhortation and comfort”—and we still do. In the transitional period of Acts, the Church relied on the Old Testament prophets as well as prophets in their midst. Since prophecy and apostleship were gifts for the foundation of the Church, not for its continuance (Ephesians 2:20), the source of our “edification and exhortation and comfort” is the words of the prophets in Scripture, not prophets in our midst. Edification means to build up. Prophecy builds our faith as we witness the omniscience of God on display through fulfilled prophecy. The God who fulfilled (and will fulfill) the prophets’ words is the same God who knows your and my every need. Fulfilled prophecy builds our confidence in God. Exhortation means to come alongside for encouragement and strengthening. Part of the immediate reason for Old Testament prophecies—like those of Daniel—was to let the nation of Israel know that God would keep His promises to His people. Yes, they were going to experience discipline for their sins, but they were also going to remain the apple of God’s eye. The God who never let go of Israel is the God who will never let go of us. Comfort means to come alongside for consolation. None of God’s servants were closer to the heart of God than His prophets to whom He revealed His plans (Amos 3:7). The more Daniel matured as a prophet in Babylon and Persia, the stronger he became because he knew the plans of God! The God who revealed the future to His prophets is the God who has given us those prophecies in His Word. Why Not Prophecy? As I mentioned, too many Christians and far too many pastors and teachers ignore biblical prophecy saying, “It’s just too hard to understand! It’s so confusing! I don’t know what it means! It divides Christians into camps!” First, let’s agree on something: Prophecy is part of the “all Scripture” that is given by God and is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, to ignore prophecy is to ignore something God has given for our good. Take the book of Daniel that is highlighted in my Agents of Babylon teaching series and book. The doctrines of the omniscience and sovereignty of God are on full display in Daniel. Pagan kings are reproved as they ignore God and His prophet (and we are thus warned not to repeat their folly). One king, Nebuchadnezzar, was corrected as he saw the power of God and the exactness of fulfilled prophecy. Daniel’s jealous peers, as well as kings, were instructed in righteousness as they observed Daniel’s righteous, faithful, and committed life of obedience to His God. All of those same things will happen to us as we study the lives of the prophets and the words from God that they spoke and wrote. What follower of Christ would not want all those effects in his or her life? Therefore, why not prophecy? Yes, prophecy can be more challenging to read than, say, the history of Exodus or Acts. It can even be more challenging than rigorous epistles like Romans and Hebrews. But here’s a fact: Prophecy in the Old Testament is like Jesus’ parables in the New Testament—filled with truth and riches for those who will apply their heart, pray for understanding, and mine each verse like they would search for hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-6; Matthew 13:10-17). Why Prophecies? The specific prophecies of the Bible build five spiritual dynamics in our life—all of which we can find illustrated in the prophecies of Daniel: Perspective. When King Nebuchadnezzar saw that his kingdom was only one of four that would fill the known world of his day and that God’s kingdom would eventually replace them all, he gained a new perspective (Daniel 2:46-47). Purpose. Prophecy—knowing the future—helped Daniel realize his purpose in life as a spokesman for God in a corrupt culture (Daniel 2:48). Patience. Daniel would die before some of his prophecies were fulfilled, which gave him patience to wait on God’s timing (Daniel 12:4). Power. When Babylon’s wise men failed at interpreting a dream and Daniel succeeded because of what God showed him, he demonstrated the difference between the power of man and the power of God (Daniel 2:10-11, 27-28). Confidence in prophetic truth gave Daniel power to speak boldly to a king who could have taken his life (Daniel 4:27). Praise. When Daniel saw prophecies of Jeremiah on the verge of fulfillment, he was moved to praise the “great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant” (Daniel 9:4). If the fulfillment of an army general’s prophetic promise in 1944 was enough to bless the nation of the Philippines, how much more should the prophetic promises of God be a blessing to a world that will know and believe them? Let us agree with the apostle Peter: “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).  

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Although he pines for the little red haired girl, which Peanuts character, who has an October birthday, has a crush on Charlie Brown?

Little Red-Haired Girl | Peanuts Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia "They say opposites attract... She's really something and I'm really nothing... How opposite can you get? Charlie Brown, 1963 The Little Red-Haired Girl is an unseen character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz . She is the object of Charlie Brown 's affection, although he never dares to go near her. Whether or not she has any feelings towards Charlie Brown has never been revealed in the comic strip. History The only known Schulz drawing of The Little Red-Haired Girl was drawn sometime in 1950, long before she was referred to in the strip. Why Schulz did not introduce her into the strip when it started is unknown. She bears a strong resemblance to Patty , a character who was prominent in the early years of the strip. Charlie Brown first pines for the Little Red-Haired Girl during lunch at school in the strip from November 19, 1961 . He continued loving her until the end of the strip in 2000. In a series of strips from July 1969 , the Little Red-Haired Girl moves away, causing Charlie Brown sheer grief. He sees her again during a ski trip  a few months later , and Peppermint Patty and Marcie run into her at summer camp in 1972. On May 30, 1978  Charlie Brown says that he thinks about the Little Red-Haired Girl constantly, suggesting that she has moved back to the neighborhood. It is confirmed that she has returned in the strip from December 27, 1978 , in which Charlie Brown stands outside her house. Even though she is often referred to in the comic strip, the Little Red-Haired Girl is never seen, except for the May 25, 1998 strip, in which she is seen in silhouette. The only known Schulz sketch of the Little Red-Haired Girl. One reason Schulz never drew the Little Red-Haired girl in the strip, is to show Charlie Brown's hopeless longing for her. Schulz also admitted in 1997, "I could never draw her to satisfy the readers' impression of what she's probably like." The character was based on Donna Johnson, a red-haired woman who Charles M. Schulz proposed to but who turned him down. This is where Schulz got the idea for Charlie Brown's unrequited love years later. Depiction in animation Francesca Capaldi (the Little Red-Haired Girl's voice actor in The Peanuts Movie) appeared on The Today Show with Rebecca Bloom ( Marcie ) and Mar Mar ( Franklin ). The Little Red-Haired Girl has been shown on television in It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown , Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! , A Charlie Brown Valentine , the second season opening of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show , and makes a brief appearance in Snoopy!!! The Musical , during the song " Poor Sweet Baby ". In It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown, and in Happy New Year, Charlie Brown, it is said that her name is Heather and that name has also been used in subsequent television specials. However, that name has never been used in the Peanuts comic strip. The Peanuts Movie (in which the Little Red-Haired Girl is voiced by Francesca Capaldi , who also voices Frieda ) is the first animated production in which the character has a speaking part. In the film, Heather's full name, Heather Wold, can be seen as fourth in the list of the students' test scores. Her last name comes from the married name of the character's inspiration, Donna Johnson Wold. The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Season 2 opening sequence Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! Snoopy!!! The Musical

Peppermint Patty

A cultural, retail, manufacturing, health care, and educational hub for the region, what is the most populous city in all of North Dakota?

Peanuts / Characters - TV Tropes Charlie Brown: I'd like to be President or a five-star general or a big-time operator... Patty and Violet: (simultaneously) Hello, there, Charlie Brown! Patty: That Charlie Brown's a good guy, isn't he? Violet: He sure is! Good Ol' Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown: But that's all I'll ever be... Just Good Ol' Charlie Brown... First Appearance: October 2, 1950 �  (having previously appeared in Li'l Folks starting in 1948) — Final Appearance: February 13, 2000 One of the most famous comic strip characters in history, "Good Ol'" Charlie Brown is the star of the strip. He's the kid who never has things go his way, partly because he's just unlucky and partly because one of his defining qualities is that he's "wishy-washy", and therefore often fails to go after what he really wants. Running Gags with him include trying to kick the football but having it pulled away, being the dedicated manager of a terrible baseball team (or, depending on Rule of Funny , being the terrible manager of a potentially good baseball team), and generally being the strip's Butt Monkey -in-chief. Actual Pacifist : He seems to despise violence, trying hard to ignore anyone who eggs him on, only once trying to teach a lesson to a bully that had pushed Sally. (He ended up beaten up by the guy's sister.) Adorkable : He's insecure and awkward, but kind-hearted and almost always tries his best. Yank the Dog's Chain : He once bowled a perfect game and won a trophy, but true to form it gave him no joy, as they spelled his name wrong ("Charlie Braun"). In a series of strips in April 1973, Charlie Brown's team won the first game of the season but they had to forfeit because of a gambling scandal (Rerun bet a nickel that the team would win). Walter Cronkite himself congratulated Charlie Browns victory on his news report, only to sadly retract it the next week. (And the better who bet against the team? Snoopy.)     Sally Brown  "Abraham Lincoln was our 16th King, and the father of Lot's wife�" �a typical book report from her First Appearance: August 23, 1959 � Final Appearance: February 6, 2000 Charlie Brown's younger sister, born in 1959. She's not that bright, and sometimes prone to firing off sarcasm when Charlie helps her with her homework. She has an unrequited crush on Linus, whom she calls "sweet babboo". Abhorrent Admirer : No matter how pretty Sally might be, Linus would like to remind you that he is not her "sweet babboo". "It was a dark and stormy night�" �opening line to his perennially-rejected novel First Appearance: October 4, 1950 � Final Appearance: February 13, 2000 Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Introduced two days into the strip, he initially acted much like a normal dog. Because Schulz had no truck with Animal Talk , the only way of knowing what Snoopy was thinking was to give him thought balloons. It soon became clear that Snoopy's imagination was...vivid. Running Gags include him pretending to be a "world-famous" something or other, fighting the Red Baron, teasing the cat next door or stealing Linus' blanket. Accidental Misnaming : Refers to Charlie Brown as "The Round-Headed Kid". The Ace : Charlie Brown fails at almost everything he does; Snoopy can do anything he imagines, which adds a lot of fun to the otherwise down-to-earth comic strip. Action Pet : Many of his alter egos, especially as "The World War I Flying Ace" where he's involved in endless battles with the Red Baron. Adaptational Heroism : In the comic strips, Snoopy is prone to Comedic Sociopathy , although he has occasional moments of kindness and is a dedicated Scoutmaster to Woodstock and the other birds. The TV cartoons downplay his Jerkassery , giving him more selfless moments, while The Movie in particular makes him more loyal and empathetic to Charlie Brown. Adaptation Personality Change : In the animated specials and The Peanuts Movie, he can only make sounds instead of speaking via thought bubbles. Through a Face Full of Fur : Trope Namer . Trademark Favorite Food : By the time the Nineties rolled around, he was pretty obsessed with cookies. Also, angel food cake with seven minute frosting. But originally, it was candies, to the point where Shermy, Patty, and Charlie Brown had to trick him or otherwise give up their candy to him. And who could forget all those pizzas before going to bed? Unusually Uninteresting Sight : Sometimes his getups and antics are noted and commented on. And sometimes it seems like they're missing the point, such as Charlie Brown grumbling about having to untangle Snoopy's ears. After Snoopy had been flying around. Under his own power.     Woodstock  First Appearance: March 4, 1966�  (but was not named until 1971) � Final Appearance: January 16, 2000 A yellow "hippie" bird that Snoopy met in the late 1960s. Unnamed at first, the bird became known as Woodstock after the music festival of the same name. Later on, other birds would appear; named ones would include Bill, Conrad, Olivier, Harriet, and Raymond. Acrophobic Bird : A literal example. Going too high causes him a lot of trouble. Affectionate Nickname : Snoopy often refers to him as his "Friend of Friends". Ambiguous Gender : Before naming him in 1970, Schulz had considered Woodstock to be a girl as a joke on "her" being Snoopy's "secretary" , but the little bird was never referred to by any pronouns beforehand anyway. Art Evolution : Schulz started out drawing more realistic-looking birds and ended up drawing ones that look like Woodstock. This may be because Woodstock was originally supposed to be a chick that hadn't fully matured (see below). Intelligible Unintelligible : His dialogue is rendered as scratch marks which Snoopy understands. Often overlaps with Repeating so the Audience Can Hear . The Klutz : Woodstock is not the best flier in the world, when under his own power. It's never outright stated, but Woodstock is implied to be one of two birds that hatched in a nest their parents made on Snoopy's stomach, and which Snoopy tipped out before they were ready to fly—they were later shown to be flying upside down, and one of them became a recurring character that was eventually named as Woodstock. This puts a rather darker turn on their friendship, perhaps even that Snoopy felt guilty over the incident. Only Six Faces : All the birds looked alike, even unnamed generic ones (except Raymond, who got halftone dots). Pint-Sized Powerhouse : He once won a fight with the mean cat next door. Seriously. Exactly how is a mystery. Also, Snoopy once formed a football team consisting of himself, Woodstock, and his other bird-friends, who managed to play Peppermint Patty's team and win, again done completely offscreen. Scout Out : The named birds often took part in Beagle Scout hikes and campouts with Snoopy as the leader. She's a Man in Japan : The Norwegian translation gives him the name "Fredrikke", a definitely female name, and refers to him exclusively as a female. The Unintelligible : Dialogue spoken by him and his friends is a series of chirps drawn as vertical lines that only Snoopy can understand. (This allows for some interesting Visual Gags now and then using the dialogue balloons. For example, in one Beagle Scout strip, Snoopy takes roll, and they count off "|", "||", "|||" and "||||", then Harriet, who is five, says "||||" with a diagonal slash through it.) Vitriolic Best Buds : His relationship with Snoopy occasionally tips over into this.     Linus van Pelt  "Cheer up, Charlie Brown�" �A phrase he ends up saying far too often First Appearance: September 19, 1952 � Final Appearance: January 1, 2000�  (final spoken line: December 14, 1999) A shy, smart young boy. Born in 1952, he developed into a hyper-intelligent toddler who could do almost anything (including build a huge paper boat and dribble a basketball like a pro) but evolved into... well, an Innocent Prodigy . He's not beyond childhood naïveté, such as his established belief in The Great Pumpkin every Halloween. There's also his trademark blue Security Blanket , which he's rarely seen without. Adorkable : Linus is an adorable, highly intelligent, shy little boy who carries a baby blue security blanket with him wherever he goes. Linus: They never tease me more than once . Windmill Crusader : More than likely, his annual quest to wait for the Great Pumpkin and prove he exists is a pointless pursuit. (Well, probably. All that is known is, if the Great Pumpkin does exist, Linus has never succeeded in his goal.) Wise Beyond Their Years : Possibly wisest of the cast. He can quote multiple Biblical passages from memory, sees images from famous works of art in the clouds, takes replicas of archaeological finds to show-and-tell, and many, many more.     Lucille "Lucy" van Pelt  "Five cents, please." �the price she charges for 'Psychiatric Help' First Appearance: March 3, 1952 � Final Appearance: December 13, 1999�  (final spoken line: December 12, 1999) Linus's older sister. She started off in 1952 as a wide-eyed, childish little girl but gradually evolved into the bossy fussbudget we all know to this day. She antagonizes not only Linus, but Charlie Brown as well. Screaming at Squick : Only happens in response to Snoopy pulling a Take-That Kiss . The Shrink : The advice she gives at her psychiatric booth is usually worthless at best, but where else can you get it for five cents a session? Small Name, Big Ego : Very much so, even the quote above describes as "a combination of zero brains and infinite self-esteem". Throw the Dog a Bone : After acknowledging Beethoven's birthday in a 1984 strip, Schroeder gives her a kiss on the cheek. Not that she ever finds out. Tiny Tyrannical Girl : She's very bossy and loud-mouthed towards other people. Token Evil Teammate : Compared to the other kids, she's by far the nastiest. True Blue Femininity : A blue dress was her Iconic Outfit for most of the strip's run. Tsundere : Most clearly toward Snoopy. Yeah, don't think about that one too much... Villainy-Free Villain : Lucy is the closest thing the strip had to an ongoing antagonist, but because this was a newspaper strip and therefore Status Quo Is God , none of the malicious things she did ever had any lasting consequences.     "Rerun" van Pelt  "Ask your dog if he wants to play." First Appearance: March 26, 1973 � Final Appearance: January 30, 2000 Linus and Lucy's younger brother, born in 1972. He was never given a true name, and was always referred to as "Rerun" after a comment that Lucy made about another younger brother being akin to a TV rerun. Annoying Younger Sibling : To Linus, though Lucy seems to handle him just fine. Drives Like Crazy : For a while, his main thing was being stuck on the back of his mother's bicycle. Said mother is a very bad cyclist. Line-of-Sight Name : Lucy is frustrated when he is born that he's male, angry stating he's a "rerun" of Linus. The nickname sticks. No Name Given : He is Only Known by Their Nickname . Sequential Artist : He specializes in what he calls "basement comics". Spotlight-Stealing Squad : After around two decades of being an incidental character, he became much more prominent in the strip's last few years, to the point where he was one of the main stars. Strong Family Resemblance : He looks an awful lot like Linus, to the point where fans and even translators have occasionally confused the two. There are a couple of visual differences: They both wear striped shirts, but Rerun often wears overalls over his. (Linus never does) Rerun's hair is only on top of his head, while Linus's hair curls around his ear.     Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt  First Appearance: August 22, 1966 � Final Appearance: January 2, 2000 A Book Dumb tomboy character who's good friends with Charlie Brown despite living on the opposite side of town and attending a different school. Accidental Misnaming : On the giving as well as the receiving end, calling Charlie Brown "Chuck" and Lucy "Lucille". The Ace : If it's even vaguely related to sports or physical activity, Peppermint Patty can do it better than anyone - except maybe Snoopy. She's always capable of trying new things, and she exudes a constant confidence to match. On the other hand, she's Book Dumb and her confidence isn't quite as boundless as it seems. Book Dumb : Grade point average of around 1.0, but easily the most athletic of the kids. Breakout Character : Almost as much as Snoopy. Schulz once said he felt Peppermint Patty was his only character besides Charlie Brown who was 'strong' enough to carry a strip by herself. Broken Ace : Sometimes, though not always. Despite her skills, Peppermint Patty is deeply self-conscious about her appearance and smarts, and her crush on Charlie Brown, and it's sometimes hinted that she doesn't think as much of herself as it appears. The first time she saw The Little Red Headed Girl, she felt so inadequate in comparison that she broke down crying and couldn't stop, causing a huge commotion at camp. Catch Phrase : "You kind of like me, don't you, Chuck?" "You're weird, Marcie." "Stop calling me 'sir'!" Cloud Cuckoolander : She thought for years that Snoopy was a weird-looking kid with a big nose. Sempai/Kohai : Only in the Japanese-dubbed version. She addresses Patty as such as part of the adaptation in that language, seeing as calling a classmate "-san" (equivalent to sir or ma'am) is considered normal in Japan . The Smart Guy : One of the smartest characters, though she has her moments of silliness. Troll : Increasingly with Peppermint Patty in the strip, as the years went by - especially in the school strips. It wouldn't be remiss to say that by the 90's trolling and having harmless fun at each other's expense was a major element of their friendship.     Schroeder  First Appearance: May 30, 1951 � Final Appearance: September 12, 1999 Introduced in 1951, he started off as a sarcastic, deadpan little boy until Charlie Brown introduced him to Beethoven and the piano and gradually evolved into the musical prodigy and Beethoven fanboy he is today. Lucy often tries to hit on him, to little success. He is also set as the catcher on the gang's baseball team. Out of Focus : Occurred in the 1980s. The Piano Player : He does get lines (usually trading Lucy's flirtations for sarcasm), but in big crowd scenes he tends to stay in the background, hunched over his instrument. Satellite Love Interest : Inverted; most of his personality is based on his sarcastic replies to Lucy's advances. Shown Their Work : The musical scales above Schroeder that illustrated his playing were often actual drawn sheet music; Schulz said he liked thinking that at least a few readers were trying to figure out what he was playing.note Most of the time the music isn't actually Beethoven; Schulz found that Mozart's music looked better. The Stoic : Almost always seen with a perfectly calm expression. Visual Gag : A lot of strips involving him with Snoopy or Woodstock had them. Like Snoopy reclining on the musical scale or getting his foot caught in it, the notes falling off the scale and onto an umbrella-holding Snoopy, Woodstock sliding down notes, or running from a treble clef, or Schroeder quieting him with a pound sign on his beak. He once even got Lucy to clam up with a music scale over her mouth! The stuff you can only pull off in comic strips.     Franklin  First Appearance: July 31, 1968 � Final Appearance: November 5, 1999 The strip's first Black character and Only Sane Man . He never developed much of a personality beyond that, although he's apparently unnaturally good at break-dancing. According to Word of God , he's the only character whose knowledge of scripture comes close to rivalling Linus's. Also, he manages Peppermint Patty's baseball team. Badass Grandpa : Franklin often mentions that his grandfather was a real go-getter who likes his age with the quote, "When you're over the hill, you pick up speed." Only Sane Man : He frequently lampshades the other kids' eccentric natures. This strip is a good example. Token Minority : The only reason he existed, although Schulz himself insisted that Franklin's race was immaterial to his creation. Schulz got in a fair bit of trouble at the time for including a black character: several readers (mostly in the Deep South ) wrote to him and his editors, angrily demanding Franklin not be shown interacting with the rest of the (white) cast due to the "controversy" of it. When Schulz ignored the complaints, some Southern papers dropped the strip in protest.     "Pig-Pen"  First Appearance: July 13, 1954 � Final Appearance: September 8, 1999 Another mostly undeveloped character, introduced in the strip's first decade. He existed mainly to be, well, a dirty character. Schulz phased Pig-Pen out gradually because he considered Pig-Pen to be a one-joke character. Flat Character : The reason for the above. Charles Schulz disliked the character, because he was basically just one joke, but character popularity forced him to include Pig-Pen occasionally. Hidden Depths : One-note character or not, Pig-Pen is the only one of the gang to be truly happy and secure in his own skin. He also plays a mean upright bass. Only Known by Their Nickname : If he does have a real name, it is never mentioned. The Pig Pen : Trope Namer . One strip from the 1950s features a clean Pig-Pen. He looks weird. Often he pushes the bounds of believability. Even when he is clean, he can often become dirty within seconds merely by stepping outside (at which point he says, "You know what I am? I'm a dust magnet!" He once got dirty while walking in a snowstorm. The other characters in the strip are torn between disbelief and a weird sense of admiration towards him. (Charlie Brown once said half-sarcastically that Pig-Pen "might carry on him the dust and dirt of ancient civilizations".)     Frieda  First Appearance: March 6, 1961 � Final Appearance: November 22, 1985 An early female periphery character whose main concern was her "naturally curly hair." Early on, she was a schoolmate of Linus'. She also carried a cat called Faron, whom Schulz eliminated out of fear of making it a cat-and-dog strip. Only in the strip during the so-called "Golden Era". Demoted to Extra : By the 70s. Flat Character : She had naturally curly hair and wanted you to know it, and is obsessed with proper beagle conduct for some reason, but apart from that she didn't do much. Individuality Is Illegal : She disliked the fact that Snoopy would rather dance and play with rabbits than hunt them, and once even reported him to the Head Beagle over it. (Fortunately, the Head Beagle is a Reasonable Authority Figure .) Jerk with a Heart of Gold : She's constantly badgering Snoopy to hunt rabbits, as stated above, but only because she cares about him in her own way. Motor Mouth : Early on, especially in her first week of strips . In fact, this was initially her key character trait, her "naturally curly hair" shtick springing from a whole series of almost Talkative Loon -type asides in the first strip featuring her: Frieda: How do you do, Charlie Brown? I have naturally curly hair! Do you feel that spring will be here soon? I belong to twelve record clubs! Now that we're getting a good picture on our TV, the programs are lousy! Shout-Out : Faron was named for Country Music singer Faron Young. The Stool Pigeon : In one arc, she becomes the Concerned Clair type, threatening to report Snoopy to the Head Beagle for refusing to hunt rabbits, and then, actually doing it. (Not a single other member of the cast takes her side - dogs regard this as the equivalent of being Hauled Before A Senate Subcommittee .) Fortunately, the current Head Beagle is "very understanding" , according to Snoopy. Tomboyish Baseball Cap : Inverted. She refuses to wear a baseball cap when she is playing baseball because she's afraid it will mess up her "naturally curly hair".     Patty  First Appearance: October 2, 1950 � Final Appearance: November 27, 1997 One of the first characters to appear in the strip (she's there on its very first day!), she and Shermy were both portrayed as older than Charlie Brown in the beginning. Patty existed mainly to antagonize Charlie Brown before even Lucy did so. She got Demoted to Extra early on and then disappeared entirely as Lucy upstaged her and Violet. Beta Bitch : More of a follower to Violet than a full-fledged Alpha Bitch . When she was alone, she was usually quite friendly; whenever with Violet she was all too happy to join in on all the meanness. Team Mom : In the 1950s, anyway. Those Two Girls : Started out as a solo character, but as the years went by she was rarely seen without Violet.     Violet Gray  First Appearance: February 7, 1951 � Final Appearance: November 27, 1997 The other original female in the strip. She never developed all that much in her run, and existed mainly as a young Suzy Homemaker-type and tormentor of Charlie Brown (moreso than Lucy). She also held her dad in high esteem. Alpha Bitch : She once got inexplicably angry at Charlie Brown, threw his coat and hat at him, and shoved him out of the house. They were in his house at the time. Those Two Girls : Along with Patty, above. Took a Level in Jerkass : She was very nice and sweet in the early days of the strip (especially to Charlie Brown, surprisingly enough). But a few years down the line... Interestingly, the personality flip seems to coincide with her hairstyle changing from its original braided pigtails to the topknot (making her look a lot like Lucy in the process). Unintentional Important Haircut moment?     Shermy  First Appearance: October 2, 1950 � Final Appearance: June 15, 1969 A male character featured in the strip's early years, Shermy was the first Peanuts kid to speak, having all the dialogue (and delivering the punchline) in the very first strip on October 2, 1950. ◊ His original purpose was to serve as a Straight Man to Charlie Brown, but he gradually got fewer and fewer roles as Schulz said that he saved him for instances when he "needed a character with very little personality". Chuck Cunningham Syndrome : Shermy's last appearance in the strip was in 1969. The last time his name got mentioned was during a strip in 1977 when Charlie Brown mentioned Shermy was the baseball team's Designated Hitter. Demoted to Extra : One of the first characters to suffer this. The Generic Guy : The reason for his reduced role and eventual vanishing; he just didn't have many interesting qualities about him. Love Triangle : Many of the early strips implied various forms of love triangles between Charlie Brown, Shermy, Patty, and Violet (once she showed up). Often Patty and Violet fought over who was Charlie Brown's girl friend, although they were just as likely to be fighting to push him onto the other girl. Straight Man : Served as this when paired with Charlie Brown.     Eudora  First Appearance: June 13, 1978 � Final Appearance: June 13, 1987 Sally's classmate and summer campmate, who makes even her look smart by comparison. Chuck Cunningham Syndrome : Arguably the last major character to get introduced in the strip, she debuted in the late seventies and was a semi-major character for nearly a decade until she vanished around the late eighties. Cloudcuckoolander : Without question the most eccentric cast member; she writes her book reports on the TV guide, eats chocolate-and-gravy sandwiches, tries to attack the water with loud battle cries when going swimming, and goes on field trips to a car wash. The Ditz : Just as an example: Sally: Eudora! What are you doing here? There's no school on Saturday! Eudora: There isn't? That explains everything. Saturday's the only day I never get anything wrong. Nice Hat : She's never seen without her cap.     The Little Red-Haired Girl  As seen in The Peanuts Movie  Charlie Brown's one true love, though he's too spineless to come out and admit it to her. First referenced in 1961. The Bus Came Back : Charlie Brown glimpses her while on a skiing trip a few months after her departure, Peppermint Patty and Marcie see her at a girls' summer camp in 1972, and she's revealed to be back in the neighborhood in 1978. The Ghost : She's always off-panel in the comic strip. The Peanuts Movie plays with this: she's on-camera quite frequently, but her face is always obstructed, or she's being seen from far away, or she has her back to the camera. She's only shown close-up in plain view in the last few minutes. Informed Attractiveness : She has never been shown in the comic strips, but has appeared a handful of times in the various animations. Most of the time, she has roughly the same face model as the other children, with two separate appearances giving her the Blush Sticker treatment to set her apart from the others. The new movie gives her almost the exact same face model as the other kids, just with a smaller, pointier nose. Named by the Adaptation : Heather in the TV show. No Name Given , in the comic strip, although in the 1977 TV special It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown, she was dubbed "Heather" (as well as being seen for the first time), a name that Schulz had revealed for her nine years earlier in an article in Woman's Day magazine. In The Peanuts Movie, her full name is "Heather Wold" according to the list of test scores. Put on a Bus : She moves away (devastating Charlie Brown) in a 1969 story arc. Satellite Love Interest : In the comics and specials (at least up until the 2015 movie), she had no traits other just being somebody for Charlie Brown to dote on. In the strip, she's never seen at all. Single Woman Seeks Good Man : This is her role in The Peanuts Movie . She becomes Charlie Brown's summer pen pal not out of pity, but because he's a genuinely good person that she likes and respects.     Spike  First Appearance: August 13, 1975 � Final Appearance: December 21, 1999 One of Snoopy's five brothers, and the first of his siblings to be introduced, in 1975. Spike lives in the desert outside Needles, California, and hangs out with his only friend, an inanimate saguaro cactus. He works as a den-cleaner for coyotes. Snoopy often sends him mail to keep in touch. A Day in the Limelight : Surprisingly for such a minor character, Spike got his own Spinoff live-action movie, It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown. The One Who Wears Shoes : Not usually, but sometimes. Spike claims that his shoes were a gift from Mickey Mouse . Unusually Uninteresting Sight : At one point he had a real estate office. His clients? A pack of coyotes. One of his most visible deals? Selling them the vacant lot on which Charlie Brown's baseball team plays. The ramifications? Celebration that some strict league rules would not be as heavily enforced.      Snoopy's other siblings  Apart from Spike, Snoopy has six other siblings. Four of them, Andy, Olaf, Marbles and Belle, have appeared in the comic strip. The final two, Molly and Rover, only appeared in the animated TV special Snoopy's Reunion. Advertised Extra : Belle, kind of. She never became more than an extremely minor character in either comic or cartoon, but she's had a lot of merchandise dedicated to her and even appeared in the intro for The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, as one of the characters mentioned by the theme song — despite never actually appearing in the show itself. Canon Foreigner : Molly and Rover. While the strip made it quite clear that Snoopy had seven siblings, only five of them were named in the strip itself, and the names and appearances of Molly and Rover are not considered canon to the strip. Canon Immigrant : Andy. He's the only Peanuts character to have debuted in animation before appearing in the comic. The Klutz : Andy has traces of this. Fat Idiot : Olaf is the chubbiest and probably the dimmest of the siblings. Non-Standard Character Design : Olaf is the only sibling who is fat and has his eyes perpetually spherical. The One Who Wears Shoes : Marbles, like Spike, occasionally wears shoes. Unlike Spike, he doesn't wear anything else. Screw This, I'm Outta Here! : Marbles's reaction when Snoopy's World War I fantasies get too weird for him. The Smart Guy : Marbles is considered the brains of the family, and has spent some time researching why some dogs walk at an angle. He's also the only one of them who doesn't buy into Snoopy's fantasies and finds it ludicrous when his brother refers to his doghouse as a Sopwith Camel. Spoiled Sweet : Molly seems to be this; she has a luxurious doghouse and her own makeup, but is a loving dog all the same. Tertiary Sexual Characteristics : Belle and Molly have prominent eyelashes. In addition, Molly wears makeup and Belle wears a lace collar, sometimes a pearl necklace, and a dress in her animated appearances. Those Two Guys : Andy and Olaf eventually took on this role in the strip. Walking the Earth : Andy and Olaf took to doing this, but as they're not very good at finding their way they never seem to end up where they want to be. Somehow they always do manage to find their way back to Snoopy's doghouse, though. :: Indexes ::

i don't know

Although rarely used, what is the internet top-level domain for America?

.DO Domain .DO Domain most popular ccTLD in North America The main Language used Domain Registration term in years 2-10 Most popular Languages on the Web 4.7% Most popular Domains on the Web 246 million domain names registered globally .NET 6.0% About .do What is .do? The .do domain name is a ccTLD (country code top-level domain) and the Internet code for Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic with its estimated population of 9,445,281, ranks as the 8th most populous country in North America. These days .do is the 5th most likeable ccTLD (country code top-level domain) used in North America. Today .do has more than 25,600 registered addresses. This means that people like and trust this domain name. You can register your own .do domain and create a professional web page, a personal website, a blog or an online portal to demonstrate the connection to this region. The .do domain has been around since 1991. Who can register .do domain? Any individual or company are allowed to register a .do domain. Why is it good to choose a domain name with a .do extension? A .do domain name could be one of the best choice for local and international companies wanting to represent their business in Dominican Republic. In Dominican Republic the first language is Spanish. Spanish is the 4th most used website language in the world. A website with a .do extension helps you reach your audience easier and also give a professional look to your company. When you targeting this local market with a local domain name, you demonstrate proof of your commitment to the local customers. In this way you can maximize your website’s revenues. Along with this, it is much easier to register a short or a common word in a ccTLD (country code top-level domain) than with other more popular domain names like .com or .net. Additionally, country code top-level domain gives you the opportunity to find domain hacks much easier. Try our domain hack tool! What kind of characters can be used in a domain name and how long can it be? When choosing a web name always remember the following restrictions: The .do web name can contain the English characters ( ie. a-z, A-Z), the digits (0-9) and hyphen "-". A domain has to start with a digit and end with a digit. The domain name cannot start or end with hyphens. Although the character "-" is allowed inside the name, but cannot have two dashes in a row. You can't use symbols (such as ' + . , | ! " £ $ % & / ( ) = ? ^ * ç ° § ; : _ > ] [ @ ), or spaces or stressed vowels (such as à, é, ò, í). Maximum length of a web name can’t be more than 63 characters long and can’t be less than 3 characters (including extensions like .do). Your registration will not be accepted if your domain name doesn’t follow the above limitations. Domain name registration term allowance: The .do domain can be registered 2 to 10 years at one time.

.us

What super hero, born Steve Rogers, wields a shield made of vibranium alloy?

.LA Domain Names • a domain for Los Angeles or Laos Search Why choose a .la domain extension? If you’re in or near Los Angeles, .LA is a great way to give your website some Southern California branding. In addition to Laos and Los Angeles, .LA could represent Louisiana or Latin America. Create hacks like grano.LA or umbrel.LA. About .LA domain names Although there is some use of this TLD for websites associated with Laos, it is mostly used outside this arena. CentralNic, the registry for .LA, has marketed this domain for the city of Los Angeles (LA). .LA lets you tell the world not only who you are, but WHERE you are. The domain's popularity has grown since its launch in 1996 and continues to draw new registrations. If you have a trademark, you need to protect it. Protecting your identity, as well as that of your business online is just as important as protecting your personal identity. By registering ccTLDs you are taking one more step toward preserving your trademark. It is much wiser to be the initial purchaser of a domain, than attempting to acquire it after someone else has. Another great use for ccTLDs is acquiring shorter names. It is near impossible to register common words in more prevalent domains such as .NET or .COM. It is much more likely to find these types of domains available in a ccTLD. Similarly, domain hacks are much easier to find in ccTLDs. There are no restrictions on .LA domain name registrations Anyone in the world is welcome to register a .LA, similar to .COM, .NET, or .ORG. More Information

i don't know

"More saving. More doing." is the current advertising slogan for what home improvement behemoth?

Home Depot Gets a Slogan Makeover Home Depot Gets a Slogan Makeover April 10, 2009 by Susan Gunelius For more than half a decade, Home Depot has been the leader of the do-it-yourself, cheap home improvement retail industry (and the second largest retailer overall behind Walmart ).  To hammer that message home to consumers, the company used a simple slogan, “You can do it.  We can help.”  It was inspirational.  During a time when everyone and their brother was watching HGTV and more home remodeling and redecorating programs on television than any sane person had time for, the slogan worked very well.  Consumers heard it and said to themselves, “you know what?  I can do it!  I’m going to Home Depot.” Usher in 2009, a time when the economy is no where near turning around, unemployment is up, and remodeling your kitchen is at the bottom of the priority list.  Time for a new slogan for Home Depot ! The new Home Depot tagline is just as simple as the previous iteration but it focuses more on saving money and less on inspiration.  What is the new slogan?  Drum roll please… “More saving. More doing.” Frankly, as a consumer, I like the “more saving” part, but I don’t like the “more doing” part.  Just because the economy is in the toilet doesn’t mean I want to do more work.  How about, “More saving. Easier doing”?  I don’t like that either, but at least it combines my two biggest motivators these days — leaving more money in my wallet, and giving me more time to do far more important things than install laminate flooring.  What do you think about the new Home Depot tagline?  Will it get the job done and motivate consumers to go buy some crown molding? Image: HomeDepot.com

The Home Depot

What is the nickname for the sports teams from Western Washington University, the pride of Bellingham?

The Emotional Trap The Emotional Trap comments, called-out Slowly, I’ve watched the advertising industry get very emotional. I’m not referring to their getting upset with the fact that their income is being squeezed by aggressive clients making them work more for less. What I mean is that in their work, rational reasons to buy are being replaced by emotional reasons to buy. I suspect that their argument for this approach is that emotional advertising gets more attention than advertising that presents a solid rationale for a purchase. Let me give you two examples: Once upon a time, Continental Airlines had a simple, rational reason to fly with them instead of their competitors. Their slogan: “More airline for the money.” They had plenty of support for this idea, and they still have. Then some agency that didn’t come up with that line changed it to “Work hard. Fly right.” What in the world does that mean? I suspect that their argument was something about how this was a more powerful emotional argument. That’s silly. Lowe’s , a very successful challenger to Home Depot , had a brilliant rational argument for shopping at their stores. Their slogan: “Improving home improvement.” So what did they do? They replaced this concept with a more emotional slogan, “Let’s build something together.” More silliness. This kind of advertising is being produced all over the industry as clients are being sold on the concept that people have to love brands, not just buy them. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have an artful or dramatic way to involve a prospect in your message. The current Wal-Mart advertising is a good example of this kind of work. Their advertising uses a tried and true “slice of life” commercial to dramatize the fact that the money you save will enable you to have more fun in life. Nicely done. But saving money is still the reason to shop at Wal-Mart–fun or no fun. All advertising and marketing has to supply that reason to buy your product instead of your competitor’s product. Sure, you can say that buying a $50,000 BMW or a $10,000 Rolex is an emotional purchase. Yes, these products are all about prestige or impressing your friends and neighbors. But you still have to supply a rationale for that purchase. BMW is a driving machine. A Rolex takes a year to build. No one wants to admit to themselves that this purchase is all about prestige. Interestingly, some folk are finally beginning to weigh in on the more rational approach to selling. Mark Penn, in a new book called Microtrends, makes the point that “the rational side of people is far more powerful in many areas of life than the purely emotional side.” He should know, as he is widely regarded as the most perceptive pollster in American politics. He is also the worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller, a very large PR firm. But what really begins to undermine this emotional silliness is an important piece of research conducted by the digital video-recorder maker TiVo . They examined the commercial-viewing habits of some 20,000 TiVo-equipped households, including which ad campaigns are fast-forwarded past by the lowest percentage of viewers. The results, so far, weigh heavily in favor of rational arguments. Relevance outweighs creativity in TV commercials by a lot. The ads on the “least-fast-forwarded” list aren’t funny, they aren’t touching and they aren’t clever. In June, the No. 1 least fast-forwarded campaign was for the home gym brand Bowflex. Viewers looked at the good-looking people on those machines and said, “Maybe I can have a body like that.” A sculpted abdomen is one heck of a rationale for a machine like that. Other winners were for CORT furniture company, Dominican Republic tourism and Hooters Restaurant. Several even throw 1-800 numbers at the end of the commercial. Clearly, the moral of the story is: If you only have 30 seconds to state your case, skip the seduction and sell your heart out! With more than 40 years of experience in advertising and marketing, Jack Trout is the author of many marketing classics, including Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind, Marketing Warfare, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Differentiate or Die, Big Brands, Big Trouble and his latest, Trout on Strategy. He is president of marketing consultancy Trout & Partners and has consulted for such companies as AT&T, IBM, Southwest Airlines, Merck, Procter & Gamble and others. Recognized as one of the world’s foremost marketing strategists, Trout is the originator of “positioning” and other important concepts in marketing strategy.

i don't know

What is the name for the common alloy of silver that consists of 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper?

Silver and Silver Alloys :: Total Materia Article Silver and Silver Alloys Abstract: Silver and silver alloys are most often associated with beautiful tableware, jewelry and coins. However, more than half or world silver demands are from growing industrial requirements. It is difficult to imagine development in electronics without silver and silver alloys. Silver alloys intended for industrial application should be generally characterized by high electrical conductivityas well as high mechanical and functional properties, stable also at elevated temperature. Silver is another unique member of the metals family - the "whitest" of all metals. In its pure form this moon-colored metal is highly lustrous, and can be polished to a mirror finish. Silver was known and used by primitive man. The ancient Hebrews called it by a name meaning pale. The Greeks knew it by a name meaning shining. American Indians called it "tears of the moon". The chemical symbol for silver, Ag, comes from its Latin name, argentinum. Like gold, silver is considered a precious metal, and is extremely malleable and ductile. It is harder than gold, but softer than copper. Silver can be hammered into sheets so thin that it would take 100,000 of them to make a stack an inch high. Silver has a specific gravity of 10.5, and a melting point of 1760°F (960°C) - almost 200°F below that of gold. The highest purity of silver commercially attainable is 99.95% (nominally considered 100%), but because of its softness and susceptibility to damage, silver is rarely used in pure form. Many silver alloy compositions are known. Some of these are used for jewelry and flatware, while others are used in brazing compositions and as electrical conductors. Pure silver is very soft and ductile but can be hardened by alloying. Copper is the favorite hardener and normally is employed in the production of sterling silver, which must contain a minimum of 92.5% silver, and also in the production of coin silver. Silver-copper eutectic and modifications containing other elements such as zinc, tin, cadmium, phosphorus, or lithium are widely used for brazing purposes, where strong joints having relatively good corrosion resistance are required. Where higher strengths at elevated temperature are required, silver-copper-palladium alloys and other silver-palladium alloys are suitable. The addition of a small amount of silver to copper raises the recrystallizing temperature without adverse effect upon the electrical conductivity. Silver may be alloyed with gold or palladium in any ratio, producing soft and ductile alloys; certain of these intermediate alloys are useful for electrical contacts, where resistance to sulfide formation must be achieved. Silver has proved to be a useful component for high-duty bearings in aircraft engines, where it may be overlaid with a thin layer of lead and finally with a minute coating of indium. Specially developed alloys of silver with tin, plus small percentages of copper and zinc in the form of moderately fine powder, can be mixed with mercury to yield a mass which is plastic for a time and then hardens, developing relatively high strength despite the fact that it contains about 50% mercury. This material was developed specifically for dental use and is generally known as amalgam, although the term amalgam actually includes all the alloys of mercury with other metals. Among these various silver-containing alloys, sterling silver must contain at least 92.5% pure fine silver. The balance of this alloy may be some other metal, but typically includes a substantial percentage of copper. The presence of copper tends to increase the hardness of the resulting alloy. The use of the term "sterling" has a historical derivation. In the 12th century, five towns in eastern Germany banded together to form the Hanseatic League, an entity which engaged in substantial commerce with England. In payment for English cattle and grain, the League used its own currency, silver coins called "Easterlings" The English soon learned that these coins were extremely dependable, and it is believed that, under the reign of Henry II, the Easterling was used as a basis for standardizing English coinage. As time went on, the name was shortened to "Sterling", which is still in use today, referring to the English monetary system, and to a particular alloy of silver. The word "sterling" represents the best known and most respected quality marking in use today. It signifies that the article so stamped is made from silver with a silver content of at least 92.5% by weight, with no stipulation about the remaining 7.5%. The reason for the relatively "low" silver content in sterling is a practical one: finer grades of silver are too soft for everyday use. Alloying elements are needed to increase strength and hardness. Since copper provides the best combination of wear qualities, it is the most common alloying element used by jewelers and silversmiths. Silver has a known affinity for oxygen, which affinity increases with temperature. When exposed to air, molten silver will absorb about twenty-two times its volume of oxygen. Like silver, copper also has a great affinity for oxygen, typically forming copper oxide. This may be of the cupric or cuprous variety, or both. Hence, unless air is excluded during the casting process, the cast article may be porous and characterized by the presence of internal voids. Thus, in melting sterling silver and other silver-copper alloys, care must be taken to prevent oxidation. Copper oxide, also known as fire scale, is typically a darkened portion which blemishes the cast article. Such fire scale is not limited to the surface of the cast article, as in the case of conventional tarnishes, but may penetrate the article to some depth. In some cases, such fire scale may not be removed by buffing and polishing. Moreover, the opportunity for the creation of fire scale exists when the alloy is initially formed as shot, when such shot is melted and recast to form the desired article, and subsequently if the cast article is thereafter annealed. In each of these cases, the alloy is heated, and, given the opportunity, may form fire scale. Silver alloys are normally supplied soft- for easy working. If desired, the alloys can be supplied in various tempers, by reducing (working) the alloy without annealing it. Though virtually all sterling silvers consist of the same alloy of copper and silver, their properties are greatly affected by working and by heat treatment, such as annealing and quenching. An improved sterling silver alloy composition, exhibiting the desirable properties of reduced fire scale, reduced porosity and reduced grain size, consists essentially of the following parts by weight: about 92.5% silver, about 0.5% copper, about 4.25% zinc, about 0.02% indium, about 0.48% tin, about 1.25% of a boron-copper alloy containing about 2% boron and about 98% copper, and about 1% of a silicon-copper alloy containing about 10% silicon and about 90% copper. Silver and silver alloys are most often associated with beautiful tableware, jewelry and coins. However, more than half or world silver demands are from growing industrial requirements. It is difficult to imagine development in electronics without silver and silver alloys. Silver alloys intended for industrial application should be generally characterized by high electrical conductivity (as pure silver) as well as high mechanical and functional properties, stable also at elevated temperature. Silver alloys designed for producing electrical contacts should also have high corrosion and erosion resistance, high temperature resistance, ability to extinct of electric arcs and it mustn’t weld during work. Alloy additives are used to meet these requirements, particularly such which cause precipitation hardening or dispersion hardening. These mechanisms are well known in platinum alloys and copper alloys. Since it is important that the electrical conductivity decreasing has to remain small, the amount of alloy additive is limited. Chosen alloy additives should slow down dislocation movement and grain boundaries migration, causing improvement in mechanical properties. The presence of particles in grain boundaries slows down grain growth at elevated temperature, which contributes to the stabilization of properties. The increase of mechanical properties depends on particle size and dispersity. Another useful feature should be fine structure, providing good functional properties. Among the variety of precious metallic materials used in dental applications like gold, palladium and silver, there are significant differences in terms of price, elasticity modulus, strength, coefficient of thermal expansion, density, hardness and melting temperature. As far as the cost is concerned, the silver alloys can be regarded as a cheaper choice, relatively to other precious materials. Two groups of cast silver alloys were used for the restoration of the analogous had the following compositions (per weight): Ag - 80% , Sn – 19%, Cu – 1% (Silver Pratalloy Degussa-Hüls), designated as Ag; and Ag - 58.5% - Pd 27.4%, Cu – 10.5, Au – 2%, Zn 1.5%, Ir 0.1% (Silver Palladium Palliag M Degussa-Hüls), designated as Ag-Pd. Several silver based alloys have been developed to improve tarnish resistance in multi-layer stacks. These alloys traditionally have had 80-95% silver and employed gold or platinum group metals as alloying elements to stabilize the properties of the silver when exposed to moisture or mildly acidic environments. New, lower cost alloys have been developed that represent a favorable balance between cost and performance. These new alloys tend to be more complex than the standard binary or ternary alloys currently in use, but they can be produced using readily available production equipment. Silver and some of its alloys have been employed for many years as reflectors in thick or thin film applications. In thick film applications such as paints, they were applied to the back side of the substrate and normally laminated into an assembly. In thin films, silver has been used on both the front and back side of substrates and has been employed as a mirroring material for IR, laser and visual light applications. In all applications, pure silver thin films required protective layers on top, or in some cases, below to prevent degradation of the film. Silver also requires edgewise protection to inhibit corrosion at the edges in the film that slowly creep into the working surface area of the film. Historically, gold, palladium or platinum have been added as a means of adding nobility to the silver. This has worked for many applications, but the added cost of gold or platinum group metals can increase the intrinsic raw material component of the cost by an order of magnitude or more. Therefore any improvements made would have to give due consideration to metal costs. Due to the low density and the high palladium- and silver content Ag-Pd-Au alloys are of especially good value. They have, however, a tighter processing tolerance than the high gold and gold reduced metal alloys. This group contains alloys with differing mechanical and physical properties. The alloys can be soldered without problems and can be used for the casting-on technique. When using plaster based investment compounds care has to be taken not to exceed a preheating temperature of 700°C in order to prevent an embrittlement of the alloy by the uptake of sulfur. Pd-based alloys absorb carbon in the melted condition. Therefore graphite based investment compounds should not be used. Also, these alloys should only be melted in ceramic or vitrified carbon crucibles to prevent embrittlement of the alloy during frequent remelting. Date Published: Mar-2010

Sterling silver

Describing a verb used as a noun, a gerund must end in what letters?

Precious metals gold, silver, platinum, palladium and titanium, plating, enamelling, finishes Silver Plated Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium and Titanium are precious metals, meaning they are rare metallic chemical elements of high economic value, shiny, hard, strong with high melting points. They form alloys (mixtures) with other metals and this makes them ideal for jewellery. Gold(Au) - Gold is a highly sought-after rare metallic element. For many centuries gold has been used for money, jewellery and ornamentation symbolising wealth and prosperity. Like other precious metals, gold is measured by troy weight and by grams. When it is alloyed with other metals the term carat (or karat in the USA) is used to indicate the amount of gold present. Pure gold is twenty-four twenty-fourths (24/24ths) gold, and is called 24-carat gold. Gold that is 18-caret gold is eighteen twenty-fourths (18/24ths) gold and six twenty-fourths (6/24ths) other metals. Only 24-carat gold is 100% pure gold. Its chemical symbol, Au, is short for the Latin word for gold, "Aurum", which means "Glowing Dawn". Is a very soft metal when it is pure (24ct). It is often alloyed with other metals to make it harder though this lessens the value. Pure gold has an attractive bright yellow colour however when alloyed with other metals it can come in other colours. It is non reactive to air and water. Silver(Ag) - Silver was once thought more precious than gold. It is a very soft metal and is often mixed with an alloy like copper. The term "Sterling Silver" probably originated in eastern Germany where they minted coins of .925 percent silver. When Britain sold cattle and grain to this area they were paid in "Easterling coins". These coins were found be be resilient and durable so King Henry II decided to adopt the standard .925 coins for Britain's own currency and set up a royal mint to produce silver coins. The term easterling silver was eventually shortened to sterling silver. To be sterling silver, the metal is made up of 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper. Silver has been used to make jewellery for many thousands of years. These days most silver is produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc mining. Silver tarnishes after exposure to air (a thin layer of silver oxide forms on the surface). The best way to deal with this is use silver dip or wipe with an impregnated cloth. We can also repolish any item to return it to its original condition. Platinum (PT) - Platinum is more precious than gold, it is a very strong dense metal that never corrodes. In its pure form it is harder than gold and silver so for jewellery it is alloyed with 5% of other metals, usually Iridium (another even rarer metal in the platinum family) to make it more workable. Naturally-occurring platinum has been known for a long time. The metal was used by pre-Columbian Native Americans, the first European reference to platinum appears in 1557 in the writings Julius Caesar Scaliger as a description of a mysterious metal found in Central American mines. It is a rare greyish white metal, ten tons of ore have to be mind to produce a single ounce of platinum. The word platinum comes from the Spanish word platina, meaning "little silver." Platinum exists in relatively higher abundance on the Moon. Palladium (Pd) - Palladium was discovered in 1803 and named after the asteroid Pallas. It is an element belonging to the platinum group of metals, Palladium is steel-white in colour, except in powder form, when it appears black. Palladium resists tarnishing in air and if annealed (a form of heat treatment) it is soft and ductile. Most palladium is used for catalytic converters in the automobile industry, it is also used in dentistry and now in jewellery due to its naturally white properties. It will develop a hazy patina over time and will discolour at soldering temperatures. Palladium becomes brittle with repeated heating and cooling. Palladium is one of three most used metals which can be alloyed with gold to produce white gold. Palladium-gold is a much more expensive alloy than nickel-gold but is hypoallergenic and holds its white colour better. Titanium - Titanium is not a rare element, its the 9th most common element, accounting for 0.6 % of the earth's crust. The name titanium comes from the Titans of Greek mythology, known for their superior strength. It is a silvery white non ferrous metal with the highest strength to weight ratio of any known element, 85% of the structural components in the Space Shuttle are made of titanium. Titanium does not react to salt, water, sunlight or any body chemistry, has a diminished potential for causing an allergic reaction and is corrosion resistant. Titanium has become more popular for jewellery in recent years. Titanium cannot be repaired or soldered. Assay - An assay is a test of the purity of an alloy. A tiny area of metal is scraped from the piece of jewellery and the percentage of gold or silver is determined, it is then given the appropriate Hallmark. Hallmark- These are the authorised stamp impressions that indicate maker, standard of fineness and the Assay office the Hallmark was issued. Click here to read more about hallmarks and see example. Types of Finishes - We are able to offer the following finishes Sand Blasted, Satin, Rhodium Plating, gilding, Hard Gold Plating, Silver Plating and Diamond Cutting. Plating - Plating is a process that coats a metal usually with a bright coloured plating changing the original appearance. It makes standard yellow gold chains change to a gleaming yellow or white metal to a mirror like finish with rhodium. All white gold contains a trace element of yellow gold and to compensate for this manufacturers plate the metal with rhodium (which is part of the platinum family of metals)which gives it a very strong white colour. This colour is more in keeping with the public perception that white gold is actually white rather than an alloy of yellow gold. Pieces of jewellery are put into chemical baths that have the various plating solutions in. An electronic current is passed through the plating solution which causes the plating to bond onto the metal. If the item has two different colours then we first have to mask off the metal that we do not wish to be plated leaving exposed the area that needs plating. N.B. Gilding and Rhodium plating are the two most common types of finishing we carry out, these are only a very thin surface covering and will usually only last a limited period of time depending on wear and tear. Customers should be advised to take care to prolong the life of the plating. Rolled Gold - Rolled gold is a very thin sheet of gold that is laminated to a lesser metal (usually brass or copper). The two layers of metal are heated under pressure to fuse them together. The sheet is then rolled into a very thin sheet and then used to make jewellery or other objects e.g. pens. The gold will wear off over time, we can guild certain items. gilding is a very thin surface covering and will usually only last a limited period of time depending on wear and tear. Rolled gold pieces are marked rolled gold plate, R.G.P., or plaqu� d'or lamin�. Enamelling- There are two types of enamelling - Hard and Cold. Hard enamelling is the fusion of a special powdered glass to metals. The glass powder can be applied using different techniques, but all methods use heat to melt the powder. We don't undertake hard enamelling on the premises, as this requires specialist equipment it has to be sent away. Most jewellery now is cold enamel which doesn't have the durability of hard enamel. Cold enamelling refers to enamel paint which we can do on the premises. Laser soldering requires less heat to repair jewellery. This is beneficial in cases where a jewellery items contains more fragile gemstones, previously these stones would have to be removed. Silver jewellery can be repaired much more easily with this process. We can also repair metals that are non-precious, such as those used in costume jewellery or fashion accessories. Faulty Gold - Sometimes during the repair of an item the gold appears to shatter or snap this is due to the fact that the metal is faulty, if this occurs the item is unrepairable. The fault occurs during the manufacturing process of the item due to such factors as overheating during the casting process or impurities in the metals. Metal Allergies - If wearing certain jewellery causes localized areas of skin to become itchy, red and/or swollen this can indicate an allergic reaction to the metals in jewellery. Nickel is the most common culprit; if a 9ct gold piercing, bracelet, necklace or ring is causing a reaction, it�s the nickel in the gold�not the gold itself�causing the problem. Women are more commonly affected by a nickel allergy than men. People rarely have a reaction to pure gold (24k), platinum or titanium. There is a risk of allergic reactions with sterling silver too. European Directive 94/27/EC was made UK Law in 2000 and specifies the upper limit for nickel release in articles which have direct and prolonged contact with the skin - such as Jewellery, fashion accessories, and metal adornments for apparel. It also specifies the upper limit for nickel content in specified articles. The term hypoallergenic was made up in the 1950's as part of an advertising campaign and has since been adopted to indicate that the metal used has a diminished potential for causing an allergic reaction. Tarnishing - Some, not all, metals tarnish. The discoloration occurs when the metal is able to react with or be attacked by something that can make a chemical compound with the underlying metal. (A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more different elements chemically bonded together). Silver can react with oxygen or sulphur compounds to form a brownish-to-black tarnish film. This is due to the formation of oxides (An oxide is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom as well as at least one other element) and/or sulphides (a compound of sulphur and an element that has a more positive electric charge) on the metal surface. Because of the small particle size, the oxide/sulphide particles on the surface appear black, so the metal loses its lustre. Pure gold is resistant to such reactions however lower carat golds are all alloys of gold with other metals and as such can tarnish. Wherever it occurs, tarnish almost always looks very different from the original polished metal. Tarnish is removed either by employing another chemical reaction to dissolve the tarnished surface or by using a mild abrasive to actually polish away the discoloured compound on the metal to expose the underlying metal again. Ordinarily, such cleaning processes remove very little of the original metal.

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Now owned by Kellogg, Wally Amos started the Famous Amos company in 1975 to produce what?

Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company - Homegrown Talent, Competition Muddies the Water Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company Famous Amos Chocolate Chip www.famous-amos.com The story of the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company is a bit complicated and not always sweet. In 1975, Wally Amos, a talent agent turned baker, introduced Americans to "gourmet" cookies, with a rich chewy taste not found in packaged cookies stocked on grocery store shelves. Amos made millions, yet he was not prepared for the financial pressures and ended up selling his business in 1985. The company was then bought and sold numerous times, and suffered through too many owners and not enough direction. Keebler Foods eventually brought Famous Amos stability and a return to its roots by 1999. In 2000, Wally Amos was back promoting his namesake treats, and the Famous Amos company was selling more than $100 million in cookies each year. Homegrown Talent Wally Amos had been a successful talent agent with the William Morris Agency in New York City when he decided to start his own talent management firm in 1967. When the new agency experienced problems Amos moved his company to Los Angeles, California. By 1974, Amos tired of show business and turned to his love of baking. Always comfortable in the kitchen, where his mother and grandmother had taught him to cook and bake in his teens, Amos considered baking cookies professionally. He took what money he had and rented a small storefront to sell his cookies. In 1975, with financial support from celebrity friends and former clients, Wally Amos created the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company. In his new business venture, Amos was a success. He used an old-fashioned recipe to make "gourmet" chocolate chip cookies, something new and entirely different in the baked goods market. Word of the premium cookies spread beyond Los Angeles, and soon Famous Amos cookies were the talk of the West Coast—bringing in sales of $300,000 for the company in its first year. Amos set up deals with upscale department stores like Bloomingdale's to sell the bite-sized cookies for about $3 a pound, as well as in specialty food stores. Within two years, two baking and packaging plants—one in California and the other in New Jersey—opened to keep up with the demand of over six tons of cookies a week. Additional stores opened in Los Angeles, and then in Hawaii, where Amos relocated in 1977. Famous Amos at a Glance Employees: 8,000 CEO: David Vermylen Subsidiaries: None; Famous Amos is a subsidiary of the Kellogg Company Major Competitors: Mrs. Fields' Chocolate Chippery; David's Cookies; Nabisco; Original Cookie Company; Otis Spunkmeyer; Pepperidge Farms • Notable Products: Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies; Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies; Famous Amos Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie with Walnuts; Famous Amos Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies Competition Muddies the Water Famous Amos was ringing up sales of an astonishing $12 million a year by 1982, with its cookies available in over twenty thousand locations. Yet as Famous Amos gained in popularity, competitors entered the market to capture a slice of the profits. Gourmet cookies, it turned out, were big business and soon the makers of packaged cookies like Duncan Hines, Keebler, and Nabisco began baking their own premium cookies to sell in grocery stores. Other rivals like Mrs. Fields' Original Cookies and David's Cookies opened tiny spaces in malls to sell fresh-baked gourmet cookies to shoppers. To keep ahead of the growing competition, Amos knew Famous Amos had to keep expanding, and rather quickly. But he was in over his head; he was not, he realized, equipped to deal with all the financial and production issues facing a large national company. Timeline Company celebrates twenty-five years in business. 2001: Famous Amos and Keebler are purchased by Kellogg Company. Amos began selling off parts of his business to investors, in the hopes of bringing in experienced executives. He also took time off in 1983 to write his autobiography, The Famous Amos Story: The Man Who Launched a Thousand Chips, the first of five books he would write about his life experiences. In the meantime, Famous Amos had new shops popping up on the West Coast and franchised stores opening in Japan and its Asian neighbors. By the end of 1984, Famous Amos was still earning $10 million, but debts were mounting. Both Amos and company were in serious financial distress. In February 1985, the Fort Worth-based Bass Brothers, which had come to own a majority of Famous Amos, approached the founder about selling his remaining shares. He did, for $1.1 million, and left the business. It was soon apparent, however, that the Bass Brothers were not any better equipped to run the struggling cookie company. They sold their shares later in the year for $5 million to another investment group, which included John Tunney, a former senator from California. Too Many Owners, No Direction The new owners of Famous Amos had big plans to quickly and aggressively expand the company, and to give its rivals a run for their money. Both Mrs. Fields and David's were far larger than Famous Amos, with nearly three hundred Mrs. Fields locations in the United States and abroad, and one hundred fifty locations for David's Cookies. Since most Famous Amos shops were mostly on the West Coast (with the exception of New York), the new owners planned to open some two dozen new locations in the eastern and southern United States. Without much money for advertising, Wally Amos found other ways to promote his cookies. For example, he once traded several batches of cookies to a radio station for air time. But Famous Amos was sold again in 1987, this time to the Baer brothers based in Denver, Colorado. Robert, Ronald, and Jeffery Baer bought the cookie maker, like all of its previous owners, with high hopes. They hired a young executive named Keith Lively to run the firm in 1988. Soon after, the Baers sold Famous Amos to the California-based Shansby Group for less than $3 million. Lively elected to stay with the cookie maker, believing that the Famous Amos brand had nearly unlimited potential, regardless of who owned it. Luckily for the troubled Famous Amos, he was right. Wally Amos holding a tray of his famous cookies. Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos. Once the Shansby Group was in charge, Wally Amos cut all ties to his former company and signed a two-year agreement in 1989 not to create a competing business. With Wally Amos out of the picture, chief executive Lively was given the green light to grow the brand. He gave Famous Amos a makeover by changing its packaging, slashing prices, and even closing its retail shops, which were expensive to run and maintain. Instead, Famous Amos cookies were available to a wider audience, through vending machines (its highest area of growth), in the cafeterias of large corporations, warehouse food clubs, neighborhood convenience stores, and some grocery chains. There was also an alliance with Burger King, which stocked the cookies in two hundred of its fast food restaurants in 1991. In the fall of 1992, Famous Amos was again up for sale. The Shansby Group, which had turned the cookie maker back into a profitable enterprise, sold their interest in Famous Amos to President Baking Company for just under $61 million. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, President Baking was no stranger to Famous Amos, since the two had been in business together for some time. President packaged and shipped about a third of the Famous Amos cookies, and was also well known as the nation's largest producer of Girl Scout cookies. With sales of over $450 million in 1992, President was the United States's fourth largest cookie distributor and more than had the assets to help make Famous Amos a nationally available brand. A Man with No Name Although Wally Amos was no longer a part of Famous Amos, he had managed to stay in the limelight by selling dolls, T-shirts, and books. His non-compete agreement ended in 1991, and he decided to form another cookie company called Wally Amos Presents Chip & Cookie Company. Unfortunately, since Famous Amos was once again truly famous and doing well, its owners did not want consumers confused by another product with the Amos name. Famous Amos and its founder tangled in court, battling for the Amos name. Wally Amos lost the fight in 1992 was ordered not to use his own name or face in business, especially on baked goods. Amos's solution was to choose another name. In 1992, he began the Uncle Noname (pronounced no-nah-may) Cookie Company, and although he originally wanted to sell cookies, it did not work out. Amos switched to muffins and mini pound cakes and was soon receiving high praise for the gourmet goodies. He also scored a distributing deal in the northeastern United States, ironically selling Uncle Noname muffins side by side with Famous Amos cookies. While the Uncle Noname treats were gaining acceptance and rave reviews in the mid-1990s, Famous Amos was doing better than ever. The cookie maker, with the backing of President Baking, had finally begun to put its products in the bigger grocery chains. Sales for 1995 hit $75 million, and climbed to $87 million the following year. As the end of the century approached, Famous Amos had recaptured its fame and was selling its cookies in hundreds of regional grocery stores, thousands of vending machines, and on countless convenience store shelves. The company's success did not go unnoticed, and in 1998 came another buyout. Wally Amos took his love of cookies to the extreme: he even had a chocolate chip cookie car. Reproduced by permission of Corbis Corporation (Bellevue). A New Era Rival cookie giant Keebler Foods bought President Baking Company for $450 million in late 1998, which meant Famous Amos became part of Keebler's well stocked cookie empire. By 1999, Keebler was ready to take Famous Amos to a wider audience. The company also wanted Famous Amos to return to its roots. Its roots, of course, were in chocolate, but over the years chocolate-based cookies had been replaced with fruit and cinnamon flavors. Keebler not only launched two new chocolate chip cookies, with toffee and walnuts, but they also asked Wally Amos to make appearances to support the brand. Happy with his former company's new ownership, Amos agreed and went on the road in 2000, which happened to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Famous Amos. In 2001, the ownership of Famous Amos shifted for a seventh time as Keebler was gobbled up by cereal titan Kellogg Company (see entry) for $4.5 billion. While the deal had little impact on Famous Amos, which had reached sales of $100 million, it marked another turning point in the cookie maker's long and remarkable journey. From its promising start as a Los Angeles gourmet cookie shop to part of one of the world's largest food companies, Famous Amos had indeed come a very long way. User Contributions:

Chocolate chip cookie

Old Ironsides, so called because cannon balls seemed to bounce off her sides, is the nickname for what famous frigate, launched on Oct 21, 1797?

Famous Amos - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on Famous Amos   Wikis       Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Famous Amos Famous Amos is a brand of cookie from the United States . Contents History Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies Wally Amos , an Air Force veteran who worked as a talent agent with the William Morris Agency , would send home-baked chocolate chip cookies to celebrities to entice them to meet with him and maybe sign a deal to be represented by the William Morris company. On March 10, 1975, Amos took the advice of some friends and opened a cookie store in Los Angeles, California ; the store was named "Famous Amos". In the first year he sold $300,000 worth of cookies and in the second year it was over $1,000,000 in sales. The store proved so popular that eventually, the "Famous Amos" brand would branch out, starting the production of cookies to be sold at supermarkets , in a move that would later be emulated by other specialty stores, such as Baskin Robbins , T.G.I. Fridays , Starbucks , etc. Brand familiarity with Famous Amos cookies received a boost when the cookies, and their maker, were prominently featured in an episode of the television sitcom Taxi (season 3, episode #55, February 5, 1981). In the episode, entitled "Latka's Cookies," Sunshine Cab Company mechanic Latka Gravas strives to become a famous cookie mogul like his idol, Famous Amos. Latka's cookies, however, contain a narcotic ingredient that makes the nearly inedible cookies (based on his grandmother's secret recipe) addictive. Cookie maker Wally Amos appears to Latka in a vision. It was, at the time, an unparalleled instance of product placement for a prime-time television show. Close up of assorted Famous Amos cookies. The Famous Amos brand has gone through a number of owners since inception. Between 1985 and 1989, the Famous Amos company went through four different owners [1] . In 1992 the President Baking Company purchased the brand from The Shansby Group [2] . Then, in 1998 Keebler foods purchased the President Baking Company. It was then owned by Keebler Foods until the Kellogg Company purchased Keebler in 2001. The brand is now a part of Kellogg's Company. Some Famous Amos stores were sold and operate under a different name due to the brand issues. In Hong Kong , a shop in New Town Plaza, Shatin is operating under 'Cookies Plus' as opposed to Famous Amos, but the style of cookies is very similar.[citation needed] Today, there is a sign commemorating the first Famous Amos store in Los Angeles, located at West Sunset Boulevard and North Formosa Avenue in Hollywood. Wally Amos started another brand of cookie called Chip and Cookie, named after two characters he created in the 80s. The Chip and cookie brand is owned by Wally himself, and has a slightly different recipe then that of the kelloggs variation. (they have ruined the taste - this is not the same cookie that Wally created.) Packages Package from a Singapore outlet, circa 2007. The Famous Amos cookie brand has gone through four package designs. The original package consisted of a round, tin metal box, similar to the blue packages of a European brand of cookies, except that Famous Amos' package was white , and with a photo of what seemed to be a large chocolate chip cookie spinning on Wally Amos' finger. Amos himself was pictured on these packages, wearing his trademark straw hat and cotton shirt. [3] The 1980s packages consisted of small plastic bags that resembled the larger bags of the same material used by supermarkets during that period. They had the brand's name inscribed in small letters, and once again, with a photo of Amos apparently spinning a large chocolate chip cookie on his finger, in a way that was similar to the basketball -spinning trick made famous by the Harlem Globetrotters . The 1990s packages were much larger than those of the 1980s, with the name "Famous Amos" prominently displayed on the cover. These packages marked the end of Wally Amos' cover appearances, and featured a number of small cookies pictured instead, with a blue ribbon reading "chocolate chip". The 2000s Famous Amos packages are very similar to the ones used during the 1990s, except for a couple of differences, such as the ribbon's color ( almond has replaced blue). Part of Wally Amos' biography is featured on the back of the newest packages. The design of the 2000s Famous Amos package does not have the biography on the back of the Not for Resale editions, or packages that come in large boxes or packs, usually found at Sam's Club and Costco . References and footnotes

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October 21, 1833 saw the birth of what Swedish chemist, engineer, and inventor, responsible for creating dynamite?

Mlk Nobel Peace Prize Speech Analysis Free Essays Mlk Nobel Peace Prize Speech Analysis MLK Commentary: The Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech Martin Luther King was a... powerful, memorable, eloquent and educated civil rights activist. He passionately promoted the drive and push for peaceful non-violent protesting. His speeches were inspirational, charismatic and effective and the passion and power in his delivery set the pacing of the emotional experience. He used many rhetorical devices along with his determination to get across the feeling and flavour of perpetuated slavery of... African American, Black people, Jimmy Carter 936  Words | 3  Pages Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize It was announced on October 9, 2009 that American President Barack Obama is this... year’s recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace. The Nobel Foundation states that Obama was chosen "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." 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Official Nobel Prize announced that the Prize motivation is "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent". They discover that mature cells can be converted to stem cells. Sir John B. Gurdon was born in Dippenhall in 1933... Biotechnology, Cellular differentiation, Disease 793  Words | 2  Pages Analysis of Mlk Speech Analysis of MLK’s I Have a Dream Speech The famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.... at the historic March in Washington in August 1963 effectively urged the US government to take actions and to finally set up equality between the black and white people in America. Although there were many factors that contributed to the success of the speech, it was primarily King’s masterly use of different rhetorical instruments that encouraged Kennedy and his team to take further... Allusion, Figure of speech, Gettysburg Address 1096  Words | 3  Pages Nobel Noble Prize The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards that a person can receive. The history of... the Nobel Prize dates back to the 1901. Nobel, Alfred Bernhard is the founder of the Nobel Prize. Nobel, Alfred Bernhard was an inventor, chemist, engineer, writer, and a businessman. He had no children or wife to will his fortune, so he decides to establish an award to honor people for their achievements in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine, Literature and Peace. Later in... Alfred Nobel, Nobel Foundation, Nobel Peace Center 1630  Words | 5  Pages Analysis of Mlk Speech King Jr. touched America with his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech spoke about the racial injustice towards the black... community of America and demanded change. The theme of this speech was that all human beings were created equal and that no one should be mistreated just because their race, color or religion. Martin Luther King's powerful message touched millions of people and allowed change to occur. Martin Luther King's speech was very carefully written and constructed so his message... Gettysburg Address, I Have a Dream, Lincoln Memorial 1100  Words | 3  Pages Nobel Prize Assignment Nobel Prize Founded by Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prize is awarded to candidates in the... fields of physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature, economic sciences, and peace every year since 1901 – except for economic sciences, which was introduced as a Nobel Prize in 1968 by the Sveriges Riksbank. On account of World War I and II, the Nobel Prize was not awarded only on nine occasions since the established year from 1901. Alfred Nobel, a Swedish engineer, chemist, and philanthropist, created... Basal ganglia, Dopamine, Neurotransmitter 1260  Words | 4  Pages Nobel Prize Research Paper Nobel Prize In this paper I am going to discuss the Nobel Prize. Firstly I will inform you of the... history of the prize, secondly its origin, and how it is awarded today. After that I will discuss the 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1901 Nobel Prize for Physics, and the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Alfred Nobel The Nobel Prize was named after a Swedish inventor and industrialist, Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden on October 21, 1833. He was born into... Alfred Nobel, Blood type, Dynamite 2086  Words | 6  Pages Alfred Nobel: the Man Behind the Prize. Alfred Nobel: The Man behind the Prize. Alfred Nobel is known for starting the Nobel... Prize. This prize is given every year to some of the greatest minds in the world who through their work, help to better society. In opposition to the improvement of society, is the fact that Nobel's other known inventions brought much death and destruction to the world (Frost). This combination of inventions helps to pose the question who was Alfred Nobel, and why did Nobel create this prize to help the world... Alfred Nobel, Dynamite, Nobel Peace Prize 1953  Words | 5  Pages Mlk Analysis Dream Speech Martin Luther King's speech "I Have a Dream" delivered on August 28, 1963 is said to be the greatest demonstration of America's history. Dr.... King intended to appeal to both black and white audiences through his inspirational speech. Written in a persuasive, stylistic manner, he used strong diction to call for a change in the nation, doing so without violence. He successfully combined the use of repetition, word choice and figurative language in his speech to connect to his audience and set the... African American, Black people, Emancipation Proclamation 1033  Words | 3  Pages Nobel Peace Prize A Prize for What? Early in the presidency of Barack Obama, he was given attention that some see as being premature. The Norwegian... Nobel Committee saw it fit to reward Obama with the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. At this point, not much had changed in America during Obama’s time as president. Many people saw the award as a strict political act by the Committee. Others simply see the award as something that Obama has not done anything to deserve. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama... Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Illinois 756  Words | 2  Pages Mlk Speech Critical Thinking 1 Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have a Dream Speech The 1960's were a changing time for America. Soon to be gone were the... conservative fifties as many post-war baby boomers became young adults. The youth of American was no longer content to continue with traditional thinking, it was a time for a revolutionary change. The changes would affect values, laws, education, lifestyles and entertainment. All of this would take place during a turbulent time for our country. The Civil... Abraham Lincoln, I Have a Dream, Lincoln Memorial 989  Words | 3  Pages MLK Essay Martin Luther King is renounced world wide as a leading member of the American civil rights campaign, his speech 'I have a dream' (1963) which... brought together roughly a quarter of a million people (of which about half were white) is seen as his leading act of his civil rights campaign. His change of focus from 'de jure' in the south to 'de facto' in the North however led to huge failures and criticism of his tactics as well as the forever growing in popularity more extremist civil rights groups... African-American Civil Rights Movement, Civil disobedience, John F. Kennedy 864  Words | 2  Pages Mlk Rhetorical Analysis Rhetorical Analysis of “I Have a Dream” (the real one this time) In 1863, Abraham Lincoln oversaw the passage of the Emancipation... Proclamation. Although all black slaves were freed by this proclamation, unfortunately, the oppression towards African Americans was far from over. It wasn’t until the mid 1900’s that African Americans took a stand against this ongoing segregation and racism. Amongst all the civil rights leaders that arose during this time, MLK was arguably the most influential figure... Abraham Lincoln, African American, American Civil War 1120  Words | 3  Pages Wangari Maathai's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech Analysis Essay Wangari Maathai expresses her gratitude to the world for her Nobel Peace Prize, and also calls her audience to... action. Her goal is to convince the world that the environment has much more importance than most people seem to realize. In her speech she begins by expressing her gratitude, and persuading her audience that she is worth listening to. Second she discusses the importance of the environment and explains how the Green Belt Movement has helped and changed the world. She then clarifies the... Earth, Natural environment, Nobel Peace Prize 747  Words | 2  Pages Peace essay ! Peace is a word often said but not always practiced. Wanguri Maathai spent her life striving to make Kenya a better environment and... initiating the planting of trees. Tenzin Gyatso also wanted to improve the environment as a spiritual leader to the absence of war, pain and torture. Aung San Suu Kyi wanted freedom and equal rights through non-violence. Wanagari Maathai, Tenzin Gyatso and Aung San Suu Kyi were all awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, 1989 and 1991 for the GreenBelt Movement, spiritual... 14th Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Dalai Lama 553  Words | 2  Pages Alfred Nobel Essay 2 Informative Speech: Alfred Nobel Speech 1100 What would you say if one morning you wake up, read by mistake... your own obituary, and see what people think about you? How would you like to be called:” the merchant of death, who built a fortune, by discovering new ways to mutilate and kill, is dead”. This happened to Alfred Nobel. The story is that when Alfred Nobel’s brother died, a French newspaper mistakenly published an obituary of Alfred. When he read this, he remained pained all of his life... Alfred Nobel, Dynamite, Explosive material 898  Words | 3  Pages Nobel Prize  Nobel Prize "The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- - -/ one... part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics ..."(Alfred Nobel). The Nobel Prize was created by a Mr. Alfred Nobel who had accumulated much wealth throughout his life (mostly due to his invention and production of dynamite) and loved learning in all fields. Following his death much of his wealth was put towards... Albert Abraham Michelson, Alfred Nobel, Book of Optics 561  Words | 2  Pages Analysis of Mandela Speech Analysis of Mandela Speech Nelson Mandela was known as a civil rights leader in South Africa that fought against apartheid.... He served a numerous amount of years in prison for his protests. Mandela was born July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, South Africa. Mandela’s birth name was Rolihlahla, and he received the name Nelson from a school teacher. Mandela was a member of the Thimbu royalty, where his father was chief of the city of Mvezo. At the age of twelve his fathered died and he became a ward of... African National Congress, Frederik Willem de Klerk, Harry Schwarz 1123  Words | 3  Pages Alfred Nobel: Life and Career Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel (21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer,... innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He was the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments. Nobel held 350 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. He used his fortune to posthumously institute the Nobel Prizes. The synthetic... Alfred Nobel, Dynamite, Nitroglycerin 763  Words | 3  Pages Alfred Nobel become a famous scientist, inventor, businessman and founder of the Nobel Prizes. His father was Immanuel Nobel and... his mother was Andriette Ahlsell Nobel. They named their son Alfred.   Alfred's father was an engineer and inventor. He built bridges and buildings and experimented with different ways of blasting rocks. The same year that Alfred was born, his father's business suffered losses and had to be closed. In 1837, Immanuel Nobel decided to try his business somewhere else and left for Finland... Alfred Nobel, Dynamite, Ludvig Nobel 1077  Words | 4  Pages Jfk Speech vs. Mlk Speech Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning,... signifying renewal as well as change, for I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago. The world is very different now, for man holds in his mortal hand the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which... Dan Aykroyd, English-language films, Human rights 1352  Words | 3  Pages Mlk- I Have a Dream Speech Analysis Review of a Filmed Speech “I Have A Dream” Martin Luther King Jr. Evan Rodgers On August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered a... speech on the equality of whites and blacks. He gave the speech in front of an audience of approximately 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial. It was a dynamic speech that touched the hearts of audiences and brought the country together to fight for a common dream of equality. The main message that the speech has is freedom and equality. King had suffered... African American, Black people, Martin Luther King, Jr. 1078  Words | 3  Pages Alfred Nobel: Research Paper ALFRED NOBEL Alfred Nobel is one the most accredited scientist and industrialist in history. With over 300 patents held, he has... made numerous amounts of contributions to science. Although Alfred Nobel had accomplished many things, the most significant things he had done, in my opinion, was the creation of dynamite and his involvement in the establishment of the Nobel Prize. Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. His family had descended from Olof Rudbeck, a well-known... Alfred Nobel, Dynamite, Nobel Foundation 952  Words | 3  Pages Mlk Essay activist, refused to give up her seat to a white man. It was after her arrest when Martin Luther King made his first mark on the movement. He was elected... leader of a group called the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). King stated in his first speech as newly elected leader: “Right here in Montgomery, when the history books are written in the future somebody will have to say, “there lived a race of people, a black people...a people who had the moral courage to stand up for their rights.” King... African American, Black people, Civil and political rights 2008  Words | 6  Pages analysis of MLK's i have a dream speech Analysis of MLK’s ‘I have a dream’ speech 1. Period in time: MLK’s speech is in 1963, this is significant... because it’s the year that blacks started fighting back against whites so that may be what inspired MLK’s speech. 2. Location: the speech was delivered in front of the Lincoln memorial. This was built in honour of Abraham Lincoln who after the civil war abolished black slavery. So it adds to the speech that it’s given outside the statue of the man who supposedly ended mistreatment of blacks... Abraham Lincoln, Audience, Black people 908  Words | 3  Pages Speech analysis Speech analysis The speech made by Manal- Al Sharif called “A Saudi woman who dared to drive” is presented in a... TED conference (Technology, Environment, and Design) which is a global set of conferences. They offer live streaming of the talks and address a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speech was filmed sometime within June 2013. Manal- Al Sharif is a woman from Saudi Arabia who advocates for women’s right to drive, male guardianship annulment... Arabian Peninsula, Automobile, Mecca 1116  Words | 3  Pages speech analysis Speech Analysis Throughout the course of history, there have been copious amounts of famous speeches, given by many different... people. From political figures to sports players, these people have provided deep thoughts and great insights about who they are and the world we live in today. Speeches also play an important and powerful role in both persuading and convincing large groups of people. Adolf Hitler, for example, somehow managed to persuade much of Germany to follow his beliefs, and actually... Lou Gehrig, Martin Luther King, Jr., Orator 1577  Words | 5  Pages Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords of 1973, intended to establish peace in Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of... Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea, referred to as East Sea , to the east...  and an end to the Vietnam Conflict, ended direct U.S. military involvement and temporarily stopped the fighting between north and... Cold War, Henry Kissinger, Lyndon B. Johnson 938  Words | 4  Pages A Separate Peace Analysis 4 A Separate Peace Obstacles after obstacles came in the path to success. In the novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles... revealed a very strong idea through one of his characters. Through Gene it was revealed that weak individual who once was weak morally and mentally can become a strong and a more matured person. John Knowles revealed this idea through Gene's perspective; symbolism; and also Gene's speech/action. Gene had proved many things through only his perspective. He had intriguing... A Separate Peace, Calcium carbonate, Individual 949  Words | 3  Pages Speech Analysis Worksheet 2 Speech Analysis Worksheet Content Purpose: The purpose was to let America know that they was attacked on December 7th, 1941.... Speaker’s background knowledge: The speaker’s background knowledge was he knew more than he told people in his speech. People think that he provoked Japan into bombing Pearl Harbor. Influences (traditional, cultural, historical): Historical. Listener’s background knowledge: The listener’s background knowledge was probably limited. They probably didn’t know much... Attack on Pearl Harbor, Cordell Hull, Empire of Japan 850  Words | 5  Pages Mlk Rhetorical Analysis Rhetorical Analysis on Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail In Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail,... MLK uses ethos, logos, and pathos powerfully and effectively to present his argument that the discrimination of African Americans all over the country is unbearable and should be outlawed forever. King wrote the letter in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation which was King’s way of reinforcing his belief that without forceful, direct... African American, Civil disobedience, Letter from Birmingham Jail 1193  Words | 3  Pages Speech Analysis Transcendental Meditation The speech was delivered by Dr. Fred Travis who presented his research advances of brain's... ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. 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The eight years between the explosion of the first atomic bomb in 1945 and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s speech in 1953 were filled with atomic research. Bombs were made “twenty-five times as powerful as the weapons with which the atomic age... Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Cold War, Dwight D. Eisenhower 1828  Words | 5  Pages Mlk Jr. Speech Dream In the speech titled, I Have a Dream, by Martin Luther King Jr., King is expressing his emotions and feelings towards the racial issues... that were present in the 60's during the civil rights movement. He goes through his speech informing the public of the abomination known as racism. He tells of why racism was hurting the society and how the removal of racism would make it better. It is King's most well known speech. He uses poetic devices, tone, and metaphors through out the speech to make the... Civil and political rights, Emancipation Proclamation, Great Depression 918  Words | 3  Pages Mlk Rhetorical Analysis Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” The “I Have a Dream” speech has very simple diction and context.... The author of the “I Have A Dream” speech is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King and is known for his work in Civil Rights during the late 1950s and mid1960s. The purpose of this speech is to inspire change in both white and black citizens of the United States during the Civil Rights era. The main idea of the speech is to convince both sides of the discussion that they must... African American, Black people, I Have a Dream 2673  Words | 7  Pages Speech Analysis Report SPEECH ANALYSIS REPORT The title of the speech is “Al Gore finds the solution to the climate crisis”. Al Gore is... the Former Vice President of the US, the star of “An Inconvenient Truth” program and the Nobel Peace Prize winner. His purpose of the speech is to draw the world's attention on climate change individualistically. My overall impression about the speech of Al Gore is that he presented his topic successfully, had self-assurance and sense of humor and succeeded in his form of address to... Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, Climate change 468  Words | 2  Pages mlk speech  Mlk’S” I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH” ASSIGNMENT Identify the following: THEME Speech Type Main Points Sub... Points/Support Evidence Style of Speech/Delivery Language Delivery Martin Luther King’s I have a Dream Speech provides you an opportunity to use “Critical Thinking” in analyzing the dynamics of the speech and what makes for an outstanding speech. MLK’s Dream speech is one of the top 5 speeches in the History of speech making. You may do this assignment in... Language, Martin Luther King, Jr., Metaphor 518  Words | 2  Pages Nobel Prize Winner Jules Hoffmann to Speak at 2016 International Congress of Entomology Nobel Prize Winner Jules Hoffmann to Speak at 2016 International Congress of Entomology (1888 PressRelease) Dr. Jules... A. Hoffmann, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, will be one of two Nobel Prize winners, along with Peter Agre (2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), to speak at the 2016 International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, Florida. Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV - Dr. Jules A. Hoffmann, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, will speak at the... Biology, Entomology, Immune system 554  Words | 2  Pages Littlefield Fountain and Mlk Statue at Ut Analysis to be directly relatable to the building it is next to, The Jackson School of Geosciences, but it does fit the scholarly setting in general. More... importantly, this statue fits in with the city; it is a representation of political stances and free speech. Physically speaking, the statue could be uprooted and moved to another part of campus, but it would take away from its central location it currently has, since it is the main attraction in the East Mall. The King statue is a larger than life representation... Civil disobedience, Civil rights and liberties, Community organizing 1012  Words | 3  Pages Analysis on a Separate Peace Analysis on A Separate Peace Telgen states John Knowles was born on 16 September 1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia. At the age... of fifteen, Knowles attended New Hampshire's prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy. The Devon school, where most of the actions of A Separate Peace take place, is based on Phillips Exeter. After graduating from Exeter, Knowles entered Yale University for the 1944 fall term before going into the U.S. Army Air Force. After being discharged from service, he returned to Yale... A Separate Peace, American novels, Boarding school 1468  Words | 4  Pages Rhetorical Analysis of Jfk's Innaugural Speech Rhetorical Analysis of President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech By D. Collins RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF JFK... INAUGURAL Page 2 On a cold wintry Friday, the 21st day of January in 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural speech after Chief Justice Earl Warren had sworn him in as the thirty-fifth President of the United States. Excerpts from this famous speech have been echoed in various sound bites and classrooms since the... Cold War, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy 1038  Words | 3  Pages The Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics 1968 was awarded to Luis Alvarez "for his decisive contributions to elementary particle physics, in... particular the discovery of a large number of resonance states, made possible through his development of the technique of using hydrogen bubble chamber and data analysis". Alvarez's colleagues sometimes called him the "prize wild idea man" because of the huge range of his activities. He did all kinds of research into the atomic nucleus, light, electrons, radar, and so... Electron, Fermion, Neutron 452  Words | 2  Pages Nobel Prize and Role Model Pakistan, when the Taliban reportedly hijacked the bus and singled her out, shooting her in the head. Layla: On 12 July 2013, she spoke at the UN to call for... worldwide access to education. The UN dubbed the event "Malala Day" .It was her first public speech since the attack, leading the first ever Youth Takeover of the UN, with an audience of over 500 young education advocates from around the world. Megan: Malala said this: ‘The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but... Alfred Nobel, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize 393  Words | 1  Pages I Have a Dream Rhetorical Analysis Mike Weber October 17, 2013 Mika, Period 7 “I Have A Dream” Speech Rhetorical Analysis On August 28, 1963, Martin... Luther King Jr. delivered what would become perhaps the most brilliant and powerful speech in American history. This speech took place in Washington, D.C in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial where hundreds of thousands of black and white Americans gathered to hear MLK make history. In his speech, MLK frequently called for an immediate end to segregation, and spoke of the injustices... African American, Martin Luther King, Jr., Racial segregation 1226  Words | 4  Pages Novel Prize on Economics in 2009 TOPIC: Novel Prize on Economics In 2009 Abstract: This year's Nobel Prize in economics goes to Elinor Ostrom... and Oliver E. Williamson. Elinor Ostrom received the prize for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons while Oliver E. Williamson received the prize for his contributions to the economic governance, emphasizing the boundaries of the firm and its role in conflict resolution and case bargaining.Michael Spence, the 2001 Nobel prize winner, briefly summarized the main... Alfred Nobel, Economics, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 3457  Words | 11  Pages Religion and Peace- Islam RELIGION AND PEACE: Islam SACRED TEXTS -The sacred texts of Islam, the Qur’an and the way of the Prophet Muhammad (sunna) as found in the... hadith, are fundamental to Islam. -Qur'an is the fundamental text for all Muslims -It contains the revelation of Allah, complete and unaltered as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad -Qur'an is organised into 114 Surahs or chapters -Hadith refers to the collection of traditions of the words and deeds of Muhammad -The Qur'an sets out clear paths for Muslims... Allah, Islam, Muhammad 2281  Words | 7  Pages What Is Peace? What is Peace? Peace is a noun and could be defined as freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility. Although it is much... more than just that; peace is what we all yearn for however most of us can never find. It is what we fight for. It is what we live for. Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict and the freedom from fear of violence. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize 1028  Words | 4  Pages Analysis of Edmond Burke’s Speech Analysis of Edmond Burke’s Speech on conciliation with America Edmund Burke was an advocate of reason, order, and... peace. Based on his comments in his speech he believed that as families pass down their possessions to their children, the crown and its privileges should also be passed down to the colonies. Although Burke was not a supporter of war but he did have a fondness and empathy for the colonies. He felt that traditional ways of doing things should be preserved and anything to the contrary... American Revolution, Canada, Colonialism 999  Words | 3  Pages Nobel Prizes in Chemistry All Nobel Prizes in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded 104 times to 163... Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2012. Frederick Sanger is the only Nobel Laureate who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice, in 1958 and 1980. This means that a total of 162 individuals have received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Click on the links to get more information. 2012 – Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka "for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors" 2011 – Dan Shechtman ... Chemical reaction, Chemistry, Molecule 2484  Words | 14  Pages Peace Speech 900101559 Tawakkol Karman peace speech... On december 2011, Tawakkol Karman was awarded the Nobel peace price for her great efforts and struggles to maintain peace on a global scale. She addresses her speech to mankind, and in particular the audience present at her ceremony. Throughout the speech Karman sets one's sight on the violence, corruption and injustice spread all over the planet, mainly in the arab... Abu Bakr, Alfred Nobel, Ali Abdullah Saleh 674  Words | 2  Pages A Critical Discourse Analysis of I Have a Dream Speech through the Semantic Use of Monetary Symbols to Reflect Injustice Critical Discourse Analysis of I Have a Dream Speech through the Semantic Use of Monetary Symbols to Reflect Injustice... Abstract This paper is a critical discourse analysis of I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King to show how he uses metaphors to reflect injustice. The paper aims first at giving a glimpse of the econo-, politico-, and socio- cultural background which triggered the speech. From there, I move on to studying the macro and micro layers of the speech and to how many... African American, Black people, Critical discourse analysis 1674  Words | 9  Pages MLK Rhetorical Analysis intelligence on worldly subjects. King does this when he says, “Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that... individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding brotherhood.” (King 73-77)... African American, Black people, Civil disobedience 1155  Words | 3  Pages

Alfred Nobel

What is the name of the sugar found in milk?

Free Nobel Essays and Papers Color Rating   The Chemistry Nobel Prize 2013 - For what work (research) was the prize awarded. Chemistry is one of category of Nobel Prize given to chemists who have dedicated in chemistry science. For a chemist, Nobel Prize is one of most prestigious award. Nobel Prize for chemistry 2013 has been decided, chemistry prize goes to three theoretical chemists who have developed a multiscale computer model to predict complex chemical reaction. For some people, maybe it the Chemistry Nobel Prize 2013 decision was a surprise. The Prize did not go to chemist who had developed new formula of chemistry but the prize went to a group of chemists who had developed a computer program about chemistry....   [tags: Science, Chemistry, Nobel Prize] :: 9 Works Cited [preview] Alfred Nobel - Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has honored men and women worldwide for his or her achievements whose work had been of the greatest benefit to mankind. It is a little known fact that the man who created the Nobel Peace Prize was the inventor of dynamite. Nobel’s dynamite was an extraordinary invention, with this invention we are now able to build roads, ports, bridges, mines, tunnels, and for the use of war. Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm in the year 1833. When Nobel was five years old, his father Immanuel Nobel moved their family to St....   [tags: Biography Nobel Prize] 1209 words [preview] The Life and Accomplishments of Alfred Nobel - Alfred Nobel, born in 1833, was the inventor of dynamite. He was much more than an inventor, was fluent in several languages, enjoyed poetry and was considered to have radical ideas during his time. He left a lasting legacy by establishing the famous peace prize which is named in his honour. Nobel’s father was an engineer and inventor. He built bridges and in relation to this, he experimented with ways to blast rock. In the year Alfred was born, his father went bankrupt because several barges of building materials went missing....   [tags: biography] :: 2 Works Cited [preview] Nobel Prize Winner Marie Curie - ... Then after his death Marie Curie had took over his teaching post. Later because of Marie taking over the teaching then she had become the first the first woman to teach Sorbonne. The in 1911 she had won her second nobel prize for chemistry. The Curie’s research was helpful for the development of x- rays. During the world war Marie Curie helped with the x- ray equipment which she drove to the front lines by her- self. Meanwhile she was in there the red cross made her in charge of the radiological service....   [tags: Chemist, Scientist] :: 3 Works Cited [preview] The Nobel Prize and The Bluest Eye - The Nobel Prize and The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison's Nobel prize acceptance speech has many interesting parallels between that and her novel The Bluest Eye. The speech opens up new ideas and interesting correlations between the address and the story. In this paper, I will document how parts of Morrison's speech uses situations in The Bluest Eye. The first being that of the story about the blind woman and the bird. Morrison says, "Her answer can be taken to mean: if it is dead, you have either found it that way or you have killed it....   [tags: Bluest Eye Essays] 444 words [preview] Nobel Prize Laureates in the Field of Medicine and Physiology - Every year, a prestigious prize is given to people who provide a reason for change, a new invention or a new discovery. The Nobel Prize Laureates in 2013 in the field of physiology, and medicine was given to three individuals. The Laureates were James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof. The three investigators revealed that there is the machinery that controls how cells transport major molecules in a cargo system which ends up delivering them to the right place at the right time in the body....   [tags: James Rothman, Randy Schekman, Sudhof] :: 2 Works Cited [preview] Nobel Prize Ahmed Zewail - Ahmed Zewail Nobel Prize Winner 709 Words A boy who was named Ahmed Zewail was born February 26, 1946 in Damanhur, the "City of Horus", only 60 km from Alexandria. He lived a good childhood in the City of Disuq, which is the home of the famous mosque, Sidi Ibrahim. He was the only son in a family of three sisters and two loving parents. His father was liked and respected by the community because he was helpful, cheerful and very much enjoyed his life. He worked for the government and also had his own business....   [tags: essays research papers] 708 words [preview] Alfred Nobel - Alfred Nobel Born in Stockholm in 1833 of Swedish parents, Alfred Nobel moved with his family to St. Petersburg, then the capital of Russia, at the age of nine. There his energetic and inventive father soon acquired a strong and respected position as an inventor and industrialist. Nobel subsequently lived in several countries and ultimately came to regard himself as a citizen of the world. Even so, he never gave up his Swedish citizenship. By virtue of the education he received in many countries, Nobel read, spoke and wrote fluently in five European languages: Swedish, Russian, English, French and German....   [tags: essays research papers] 1822 words [preview] Alfred Nobel - The inventor of dynamite was a very important roll to take part in. The ultimate inventor of it was a mane named Alfred Nobel. Before dynamite, miners had to use nitrogen to blow holes in rock and other things. However it is too volatile and can explode incredibly easily. Alfred changed all this.   Alfred Nobel was born on October 21st 1833 in Stockholm. He studied their until1842 when his family moved to St. Petersburg in Russia. Since his father was an influential inventor and industrialist the family moved from country to country....   [tags: essays research papers] 479 words [preview] Alfred Nobel: The Man behind the Prize. - Alfred Nobel: The Man behind the Prize. Alfred Nobel is known for starting the Nobel Prize. This prize is given every year to some of the greatest minds in the world who through their work, help to better society. In opposition to the improvement of society, is the fact that Nobel’s other known inventions brought much death and destruction to the world (Frost). This combination of inventions helps to pose the question who was Alfred Nobel, and why did Nobel create this prize to help the world. In this paper I will find out who was the man behind the inventions that brought so much death and destruction to the world....   [tags: essays research papers fc] :: 3 Works Cited [preview] Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez a Champion for Latin American Solitude - The works of the late 1982 Columbian literary Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garica Marquez reflect not only the sentiments of postcolonial Columbians, but also the surreal realities lived by Latin Americans in the New World. This surreal reality is what Marquez has become synonymous with — magic realism. The literary genre, magic realism, can be found in Marquez’s books and short stories such as 100 Years of Solitude and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”. Literary critics and audience alike have marveled at how Marquez masterfully connected the ethereal and the mundane with such precision in diction and syntax that the narratives seem more than commonplace but actually feasible and tangible....   [tags: surreal realities, latin community] :: 1 Works Cited [preview] Naipaul Does Not Deserve his Nobel Prize - What makes an individual worthy of a Nobel Prize in a category as broad as literature. Is it an immense knowledge of writing procedures that other authors have not begun to attempt to use. Or is an appropriate representation of the author's subject that is solely objective, and lacks all personal opinions. If that was the case, several Prizes should be taken away from some authors and handed to other more deserving writers. V. S. Naipaul, who received a Nobel Prize in Literature for Miguel Street, falls into the former category....   [tags: essays research papers] 897 words [preview] The Brilliance of William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech - The Brilliance of William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech       On December 10, 1950 , William Faulkner delivered his Nobel Prize acceptance speech to the academy in a voice so low and rapid that few could translate his murmurs. When his words were published in the newspaper the following day, they were recognized for their brilliance; in later years, Faulkner's speech would be lauded as the best speech ever given at a Nobel ceremony. His acceptance speech is much like his literary life- he wrote many novels, poems, and short stories, as many works as most writers produce in their lifetime in just over a decade, but received little recognition for...   [tags: Biography Biographies Essays] :: 1 Works Cited [preview] A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner - “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” (Twain) The Nobel Prizes were established all the way back in 1895 by a Swedish inventor by the name of Alfred Nobel. He established a foundation that was dedicated to encouraging achievement and diplomacy, this foundation most commonly referred to as the distributer of the Nobel Prizes. These prizes are awarded for outstanding contributions in a wide array of subjects including; physics, chemistry, literature, peace, physiology, medicine and economic sciences....   [tags: nobel prize, salinger] :: 5 Works Cited [preview] Louis Pasteur: An Amazing Chemist - ... Pasteur proved this as he boiled broth in a flask with a curved neck. He let the flask sit there for a year or so, and found that there still were not any microorganisms in the broth. Then, he broke off the curved neck of the flask and the broth eventually became full of microorganisms, bacteria, and germs. Louis Pasteur made several discoveries that have been very beneficial for the common people. Louis Pasteur discovered that milk soured from fermentation and that he could prevent it with Pasteurization....   [tags: Cure, Scientist, Nobel Prize] 575 words [preview] William Faulkner and the Civil War - William Faulkner was able to achieve what no man before him and few men after him were able to do. He not only wrote some of the most important and influential American literature in history; he spun stories that depicted to the world the inner workings of the Southern mentality. Faulkner pioneered many literary as well as psychological fronts in a way that is unmatched even today. William Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 and twice the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, once in 1955 and then again in 1963(Minter)....   [tags: biography, nobel prize, literature] :: 5 Works Cited [preview] William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech and its Relevance - William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech and its Relevance William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech is a dynamic statement that challenges the writer and man to not simply sit around and watch the end of man, but to help man endure and prevail. Faulkner refuses to accept the naturalists theme that human beings are dominated, controlled, and overwhelmed by their environment and nature. He does not accept the end of man, but rather says that man will prevail. Though many have accepted the easy way out by saying man will simply endure because one can hear his soft, inexhaustible voice even after death, Faulkner also refuses this....   [tags: Papers] 475 words [preview] Quantum Theory - MAX PLANCK Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, a German theoretical physicist, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918 at the age of sixty. Planck is often referred to as the father of Quantum Theory thanks to his revolutionary discoveries regarding light and energy and how his discoveries led to the creation and growth of the Quantum Theory. In the early 1900 ‘s Planck theorized that oscillating atoms absorb and emit energy not in a continuous fashion, but rather, in discrete packets of light that would later be known as “quanta” and eventually “photons”....   [tags: Nobel price, planck] :: 8 Works Cited [preview] The Nobel Hamlet of Shakespeare’s Play Hamlet - The thought of knowing the secret of .your father’s murderer must be extremely agonizing. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, this is the unfortunate tragedy the Prince of Denmark faces. Shakespeare implies the pyramid structure using the five acts, which builds the intensity of the drama before revealing the tragic climax. Hamlet is ordered by the ghost of his beloved father to restore order to Denmark and seek revenge on Claudius. This young prince is eager to revenge his father’s death but he is not sure morally if it’s the right thing to do....   [tags: Shakespeare, Hamlet] :: 1 Works Cited [preview] Malala Yousafzai´s Speech - The speaker is Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani girl; she is sixteen years old. She was shot by Taliban in on October 2012. Malala was the first and the youngest person who received the biggest European human rights prize called "Sakh arov" Malala was received Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. She also received many other international awards such as women of the year 2013 by Glamour, Women's rights award "Raw & War (Malala yousafzai Web, 2013). Malala Yousafzai give a speech at the United Nations. The terrorist attack make her strong person although she is young....   [tags: Nobel Peace Prize, United Nations, Taliban] :: 8 Works Cited [preview] Nelson Mandela's Life - “The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight” (“Nelson Mandela”). Nelson Mandela took the chance and fought for his rights and freedom. Mandela has gone through many troubles in his life since the day he was born. A young man that had no shoes till he approached the age of sixteen, and then transformed into a great political leader of his country. Mandela’s life is an impressing story to be told. Born on July 18, 1918, Nelson Mandela grew up like many other children in his tribe....   [tags: nobel peace prize, south africa, freedom] :: 3 Works Cited [preview] The Life of Ernest Hemingway - Ernest Hemingway “But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” (Hemingway, 29). This is one of the lines that Ernest Hemingway uses in one of his books, titled, “The Old Man and The Sea.” It was published in 1952, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize the following year. The story of an old fisherman's journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, was considered to be the most popular of all his works. Fortunately for this well-known author, he has many more books, novels and short stories that his readers enjoy....   [tags: literature, wives, Nobel prize] :: 6 Works Cited [preview] Elie Wiesel’s “The Perils of Indifference” Speech - Elie Wiesel’s “The Perils of Indifference” Speech Elie Wiesel, a Noble Peace Prize winner and Boston University Professor, presented a speech as part of the Millennium Lecture Series at the White House on April 12, 1999. President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton hosted the formal lecture series. Numerous dignitaries from a wide array of public, private and foreign office attended the event. Although Elie Wiesel designed his speech to persuade, it actually fell somewhat outside the deliberative genre category, as being more non-typical within this genre category....   [tags: Nobel Peace Prize, Speech Analysis] :: 6 Works Cited [preview] John Steinbeck: An American Writer During the Great Depression - 1. Introduction During the 1920s and 1930s, USA was suffering from a terrible economic downturn-the Great Depression. It was also a boom period of literature creation and many well-known writers emerged in that special historical time. Because of the difficult situations, American writers turned their focus to social problems and issues. They were motivated to arouse sympathy for the suffering of common people, especially those at the very bottom of the society. (Wang, 2012) John Steinbeck (1902-1968), born in Salinas, California, is one of the most significant and representative American writers in that era....   [tags: realism, literature, nobel prize, natural scenery] :: 7 Works Cited [preview] Marie Curie and The Discobery of Radim and Plonium - Marie Curie... She is best known for her discovery of radium and polonium and her work with radioactivity. She encountered times of adversity in her career just because she was a woman, but she met her challenges and overcame them. Marie Curie exceeded the barriers put on women in her time to become one of the world’s most famous scientists and used her knowledge to the benefit of humanity. Marie Curie was breaking barriers even when she was young. Marya Salomee Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867 in Russia controlled Poland....   [tags: woman, magnetic properties, paris] :: 2 Works Cited [preview] Marie Curie and The Discovery of The X-Ray - When defining the greatest scientist, it is considered someone who thinks out of the ordinary to find answers and explanations to determine the forces of science and their course of action. To prove their scientific excellence, a scientist may receive various awards to show public recognition. Marie Curie is considered the greatest scientist in European history because of her work and commitment to science that has left an impact on all of Europe. Despite the work of other great scientists, namely Antoine Becquerel, Marie Curie proved to be the greatest scientist in European history by earning many awards, becoming the first female scientist, and assisting in the discovery of the X- Ray....   [tags: european scientist, chemistry] :: 5 Works Cited [preview] The Life of Linus Pauling - The 20th century was filled with advancements in science and technology as chemists rapidly began introducing new techniques and discoveries into the world. Linus Carl Pauling is one of the most well recognized scientists of the 1900’s as his assortment of knowledge spread across many topics of science. Pauling was born in Portland, Oregon where he was forced to begin working at a young age of twelve due to his father’s death when he was merely nine. Although Pauling was often preoccupied with family responsibilities, he quickly realized his interest in the field of science....   [tags: biography, chemistry] :: 3 Works Cited [preview] The Life of Madame Curie - The Life of Madame Curie Madame Curie was born Maria Sklodowska on November 7,1867, in Warsaw Poland. Maria was the fifth and youngest child of Bronsilawa Boguska, a pianist, singer, and teacher, and Wladyslaw Sklodowski, a professor of mathematics and physics. Maria's accomplishments began at a young age; by the time she was sixteen she had completed secondary school and taken work as a teacher. In 1891 Maria went to Paris, while in Paris Marie attend Sorbonne University and began to follow lectures of many already well known physicists--Jean Perrin, Charles Maurain, and Aime' Cotton....   [tags: Essays Papers] :: 2 Works Cited [preview] Exploring the Life and Achievements of Nelson Mandela - Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela was, without question, the most important leader in South African history, and he has acted as a symbol for equal civil rights worldwide. In this paper, I will provide you with a short biography about Mandela’s life, his presidency, and explain the impact he had on his country, and why it matters today. Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in the village of Mvezo in southern South Africa, to his father’s third out of four wives. (Aikman 70-71) The South Africa that Mandela was born into was prone by the rule known as apartheid, which was a powerful system of racial segregation that essentially denied Black and Colored people rights that applied to the...   [tags: south africa, biography, biographical] 629 words [preview] Clara Barton and the American Red Cross - Clara Barton and the American Red Cross Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in Oxford, Massachusetts. Clara was the youngest of five children in a middle class family. She was educated at home until the age of fifteen, when Clara began teaching school herself. Though Clara Barton is probably most known for establishing the Red Cross, she only had two years of medical experience before the war. Clara gained this experience by taking care of her invalid (a person made weak by injury or illness) brother....   [tags: Biography] :: 3 Works Cited [preview] Toni Morrison's Literary Achievements - Toni Morrison's Literary Achievements In 1993 Toni Morrison joined the illustrious ranks of the Nobel Prize for Literature laureates as the ninetieth recipient, twentieth English-language author, eighth American, eighth woman, third black, and first African-American 1. Her mid-century predecessor William Faulkner (1897-1962) had just received the award in 1950 when Morrison (b. 1931) began writing her Master of Arts thesis on his work.2 Aside from both being Nobel laureates, this unlikely pair has, at first glance, little in common: Morrison, the college-educated daughter of a black Ohio shipyard welder, a key figure in the publishing and academic world; Faulkner, Southern son of "aristo...   [tags: Papers] 697 words [preview] Henry Kissinger: Peace Maker or War Monger? - The Nobel Peace Prize is a prestigious grant awarded to those who exemplify the pursuit of peace and coexistence of all races and cultures. The prize was created after the death of multi-millionaire and inventor Alfred Nobel who amassed a great fortune through the creation and manufacturing of dynamite for use in transportation, farming and building (Kushner p. 444 – 45). Alfred was criticized, however, for his invention due to its application in war. He must have taken these criticisms harshly for on his deathbed Alfred asked those around him to use his great wealth to create five individual prizes to be awarded to those who have promoted great progress in the fields of science, literature...   [tags: U.S. History] :: 6 Works Cited [preview] Defining Moments of a Nation - In the past, some Canadians faced a lot of discrimination. Non-whites were not allowed to enter, women were not counted as persons, and we were included in both wars. Canada didn’t have much of a reputation until women finally fought for their rights, a United Nations Emergency Force was formed, and when Canada decided on inviting people of colour into their country. That’s when Canada slowly became recognized around the globe. It has improved politically as well as socially. There have been many significant moments in Canada that has made it internationally known....   [tags: Canada] :: 10 Works Cited [preview] The Poems of Derek Walcott - “…in spite of the gift of language, Caliban remains too heavily mired in nature for its uplifting powers of reason and civilization.”- (Paget, 20) “Break a vase, and the love that resembles the fragments is greater than the love which took its symmetry for granted when it was a whole.” (Walcott, Nobel Speech) The issue of cultural blend is central to Caribbean poetics and politics. The poetics of this ‘New World’ claimed to emerge from a landscape devoid of narrative, without history. Yet, Derek Walcott’s poetry is replete with allusions to history, with an undercutting of the imposed past, with an emphasis on language being central to knowledge, with a poet-speaker whose figure is an enmes...   [tags: Derek Walcott Poetry] :: 12 Works Cited [preview] Essay on Fame in Djerassi’s Cantor's Dilemma - Dreams of Fame in Djerassi’s Cantor's Dilemma       Opportunistic scientists, the most hypocritical deviants of the modern age, revolve around the scientific method, or at least they used to. The scientific method once involved formulating a hypothesis from a problem posed, experimenting, and forming a conclusion that best explained the data collected. Yet today, those who are willing to critique the work of their peers are themselves performing the scientific method out of sequence. I propose that scientists, or the "treasure hunters" of that field, are no longer interested in permanent solutions, achieved through proper use of the scientific method, and rather are more interested in so...   [tags: Cantor's Dilemma Essays] :: 2 Works Cited [preview] The Life And Accomplishments Of Marie Curie - Marie Curie was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. Her first few years were very trying on her spirits; her sister died from typhus, and four years later, her mother. Despite her difficult childhood, however, Curie went on to graduate at the top of her high school class at the age of fifteen. Due to her gender and Russian reprisals following the January Uprising, she was prohibited from going to a university, and therefore attended the illegal "underground" Flying University. In 1891, however, Curie left Poland and enrolled in the Sorbonne, and graduated first in her undergraduate class in 1893, and in 1894 she earned a Master's Degree in mathematics....   [tags: Biography] 1362 words [preview] Migration in One Out of Many by V.S. Naipaul and The Old Chief Mshlanga by Doris Lessing - Migration of the human population began over a million years ago beginning in Africa and later across Asia and Europe. Since the beginning of human existence, migration has continued through both voluntary migration within one’s country or elsewhere and through involuntary migration, which includes the slave trade and human trafficking. The movement of labor to capital can simply illustrate modern migration, in its purest form. Because of the constant migration of humans across the globe, the assimilation of many cultures was forced....   [tags: alienation, fragmentation] :: 1 Works Cited [preview] When Obsession Becomes Deadly: The Life of Marie Curie - When Obsession Becomes Deadly: The Life of Marie Curie Marie Curie, a pioneer in her field and Nobel Prize winning Chemist, took a path that few women of her time dared and unfortunately, her passion for Science would be her ultimate demise. From birth to death Marie Curie lived a full life, with love, work, and passion at the center. Maria Skłodowska was born in Warsaw, Poland, on 7 November 1867, the fifth and youngest child of well-known teachers Bronisława and Władysław Skłodowski. Maria's father was an atheist and her mother a devout Catholic....   [tags: biography, scientist, biographical essay] 1465 words [preview] Common Features of Some of the World's Deadliest Diseases - ... These mutations are the key to the survival of bacterial strains, and to drug resistance. The rapid multiplication of bacteria, and the mutations that occur, especially in TB, have led to antibiotic resistant strains of bacterial infections and causing bacterial infections to become harder to treat (Kaufman, 2009). Another example of a disease impacted by genetics is Influenza or the flu. The flu is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is a virus that is also affected by DNA and RNA mutations that greatly impact treatment and prevention efforts....   [tags: biological health, medical research] :: 16 Works Cited [preview] Major Turning Point In History: Gdansk Shipyard Strike - The gdansk shipyard strike was a major turning point in history. This event occurred during the August of 1980. Though it only started in one isolated area, it spread hope throughout all of Poland. The strike itself was lead by a great leader, it was a very historical event, and there were actually a few different significant reasons as to why it started in the first place that makes it important. There was no doubt that Lech Walesa was a great man, a noble speaker, and a powerful leader. However, his life was not always bliss....   [tags: lech walesa, gdansk, lenin shipyard ] :: 6 Works Cited [preview] The Dalai Lama, a Leader in Exile - Whilst examining the world’s leaders, there is no one who compares to the Dalai Lama, who is the religious and political leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama, (Tenzin Gyatso) had a customary childhood until the age of three, when Regent, one of the senior Lama’s, had a vision that was conclusive to having Tenzin Gyatso as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. After years of schooling in religion and worldly affairs, he became Head of the State of Tibet at the age of 16, but was later forced into exile by the Chinese government in when Tibet was invaded....   [tags: Religion] :: 2 Works Cited [preview] Comparison and Contrast of Two Colonialists Writers - Rudyard Kipling who was born in the year 1865 December 30th in Bombay, India, was an architectural sculpture teacher and an artist. Kipling spent most of his early life in India and was later sent to England by his parents for education, This is where Kipling gained some rich experience of colonial life. Kipling made significant contributions to English Literature through his various works which included short story writing, writing novels, and contributions in poetry. While in England, he lived a miserable life due to victimization through beatings and mistreatment and later suffered from bouts of insomnia....   [tags: Literary Analysis ] :: 5 Works Cited [preview] William Faulkner and the Question of Race - William Faulkner was an odd, but outstanding man. He lived a life as an alcoholic. However, through these dark times Faulkner created outstanding literary works. These works tell how we should live, and not let ourselves become engulfed in the everyday battles between family, racial, and sexual differences. Faulkner received a Nobel Prize in 1949 for his powerful and unique contribution to the Modern American Novel ("The Nobel Prize in Literature 1949"). 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Oct 21, 1797 saw the launch of what famous frigate, the world's oldest commissioned warship, in Boston Harbor?

USS Constitition - Frigate Constitution - War of 1812 2 x 24-pdrs (bow chasers) 20 x 32-pdr carronades USS Constitution - Construction: Shorn of the protection of the Royal Navy, the merchant marine of the young United States began to suffer attacks from North African Barbary pirates in the mid-1780s. In response, President George Washington signed the Naval Act of 1794. This authorized the building of six frigates with the restriction that construction would halt if a peace agreement was reached. Designed by Joshua Humphreys, the construction of the vessels was assigned to various ports on the East Coast. The frigate assigned to Boston was dubbed USS Constitution and was laid down at Edmund Hartt's yard on November 1, 1794. Aware that the US Navy would be unable to match the fleets of Britain and France, Humphreys designed his frigates to be able to overpower similar foreign ships but still be fast enough to escape larger ships of the line . Possessing a long keel and narrow beam, Constitution's framing was made of live oak and included diagonal riders which increased the hull's strength and aided in preventing hogging. Heavily planked, Constitution's hull was stronger than similar vessels of its class. Copper bolts and other hardware for the vessel were made by Paul Revere. USS Constitution - The Quasi-War: Though a peace settlement was reached with Algiers in 1796, Washington permitted the three ships nearest completion to be finished. As one of the three, Constitution was launched, with some difficulty, on October 21, 1797. Completed the following year, the frigate readied for service under the command of Captain Samuel Nicholson. Though rated at forty-four guns, Constitution typically mounted around fifty. Putting to sea on July 22, 1798, Constitution began patrols to protect American commerce during the Quasi-War with France. Operating on the East Coast and in the Caribbean, Constitution conducted escort duty and patrolled for French privateers and warships. The highlight of its Quasi-War service came on May 11, 1799 when Constitution's sailors and marines, led by Lieutenant Isaac Hull , seized the French privateer Sandwich near Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo. Continuing its patrols after the conflict ended in 1800, Constitution returned to Boston two years later and was placed in ordinary. This proved brief as the frigate was re-commissioned for service in the First Barbary War in May 1803. USS Constitution - First Barbary War: Commanded by Captain Edward Preble, Constitution arrived at Gibraltar on September 12 and was joined by additional American ships. Crossing to Tangier, Preble exacted a peace treaty before departing on October 14. Overseeing American efforts against the Barbary states, Preble began a blockade of Tripoli and worked to free the crew of USS Philadelphia (36 guns) which had run aground in the harbor on October 31. Unwilling to allow the Tripolitans to keep Philadelphia, Preble dispatched Lieutenant Stephen Decatur on a daring mission which destroyed the frigate on February 16, 1804. Through the summer, Preble mounted attacks against Tripoli with small gunboats and used his frigates to provide fire support. In September, Preble was replaced in overall command by Commodore Samuel Barron. Two months later, he turned command of Constitution over to Captain John Rodgers. Following the American victory at the Battle of Derna in May 1805, a peace treaty with Tripoli was signed aboard Constitution on June 3. The American squadron then moved to Tunis where a similar agreement was obtained. With peace in the region, Constitution remained in the Mediterranean until returning in late 1807. USS Constitution - War of 1812: During the winter of 1808, Rodgers supervised a major overhaul of the ship until passing command to Hull, now a captain, in June 1810. After a cruise to Europe in 1811-1812, Constitution was in the Chesapeake Bay when news arrived that the War of 1812 had begun. Departing the bay, Hull sailed north with the goal of joining a squadron that Rodgers was assembling. While off the coast of New Jersey, Constitution was spotted by a group of British warships. Pursued for over two days in light winds, Hull used a variety of tactics, including kedge anchors, to escape. Arriving at Boston, Constitution quickly resupplied before sailing on August 2. Moving northeast, Hull captured three British merchantmen and learned that a British frigate was sailing to the south. Moving to intercept, Constitution encountered HMS Guerriere (38) on August 19. In a sharp fight, Constitution dismasted its opponent and forced it to surrender. During the battle, several of Guerriere's cannon balls were seen to bounce off Constitution's thick sides leading it to earn the nickname "Old Ironsides." Returning to port, Hull and his crew were hailed as heroes. On September 8, Captain William Bainbridge took command and Constitution returned to sea. Sailing south with the sloop of war USS Hornet, Bainbridge blockaded the corvette HMS Bonne Citoyenne (20) at Salvador, Brazil. Leaving Hornet to watch the port, he maneuvered offshore seeking prizes. On December 29, Constitution spotted the frigate HMS Java (38). Engaging, Bainbridge captured the British ship after causing its foremast to collapse. Needing repairs, Bainbridge returned to Boston, arriving in February 1813. Requiring an overhaul, Constitution entered the yard and work began under the guidance of Captain Charles Stewart. Sailing for the Caribbean on December 31, Stewart captured five British merchant ships and HMS Pictou (14) before being forced back to port due to issues with the main mast. Pursued north, he ran into Marblehead harbor before slipping down the coast to Boston. Blockaded at Boston until December 1814, Constitution next steered for Bermuda and then Europe. On February 20, 1815, Stewart engaged and captured the sloops of war HMS Cyane (22) and HMS Levant (20). Arriving in Brazil in April, Stewart learned of the war's end and returned to New York. USS Constitution - Later Career With the end of the war, Constitution was laid up at Boston. Re-commissioned in 1820, it served in the Mediterranean Squadron until 1828. Two years later, an erroneous rumor that the US Navy intended to scrap the ship led to public outrage and caused Oliver Wendell Holmes to pen the poem Old Ironsides. Repeatedly overhauled, Constitution saw service in the Mediterranean and Pacific during the 1830s before embarking on an around the world cruise in 1844-1846. Following a return to the Mediterranean in 1847, Constitution served as flagship of the US African Squadron from 1852 to 1855. Arriving home, the frigate became a training ship at the US Naval Academy from 1860 to 1871 when it was replaced by USS Constellation (22). In 1878-1879, Constitution carried exhibits to Europe for display at the Paris Exposition. Returning, it ultimately was made a receiving ship at Portsmouth, NH. In 1900, the first efforts were made to restore the ship and seven years later it opened for tours. Heavily restored in the early 1920s, Constitution embarked on a national tour in 1931-1934. Further restored several times during the 20th century, Constitution is currently docked at Charlestown, MA as a museum ship. USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship in the US Navy.

USS Constitution

Although the awards ceremony is not until December, the winners of the Nobel prizes have been announced. The US has had the most number of recipients with 325. Which country ranks second with 115?

Vacation 1984 Back to Boston Page Three USS Constitution, known as "Old Ironsides," is a wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate of the United States Navy. Named after the United States Constitution, she is the oldest commissioned ship afloat in the world, and is still in service in the US Navy. The Constitution was one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and was launched in 1797. Joshua Humphreys designed them to be the Navy's capital ships and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed than the standard frigates of the period. In 1917 she was renamed to Old Constitution, to free the name for a new Constitution, a Lexington class battle cruiser that was never completed. She resumed the name Constitution in 1925 after the new hull was cancelled. In early 1941, Constitution was assigned the hull classification symbol IX-21 (the "IX" hull code stands for "Unclassified Miscellaneous"), but was reclassified to "none" on 1 September 1975 History Construction and early service Constitution was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts from the resilient lumber of 2,000 live oak trees (specifically Southern live oak) cut and milled at Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons, Georgia. Constitution's planks were up to seven inches (178 mm) thick. The ship's design was also unique for its time because of a diagonal cross-bracing of the ship's skeleton that contributed considerably to the ship's structural strength. Paul Revere forged the copper spikes and bolts that held the planks in place and the copper sheathing that protected the hull. It took several abortive attempts to launch Constitution in 1797 before she finally slipped into Boston Harbor. Armed, Constitution first put to sea 22 July 1798 and saw her first service patrolling the southeast coast of the United States during the Quasi-War with France. During her service in the conflict, Constitution's sailors and Marines took part in the amphibious operation against Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo wherein the French privateer Sandwich was cut out and guns from the local Spanish fort were spiked. In 1803 Constitution was designated flagship for the Mediterranean Squadron under Captain Edward Preble and went to serve against the Barbary States of North Africa, which were demanding tribute from the United States in exchange for allowing American merchant vessels access to Mediterranean ports. Preble began an aggressive campaign against Tripoli, blockading ports and bombarding fortifications. Finally Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers agreed to a peace treaty. Constitution patrolled the North African coast for two years after the war ended, commanded by Stephen Decatur and two other captains between 1803 and 1805, to enforce the terms of the treaty. She returned to Boston in 1807 for two years of refitting. The ship was recommissioned as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron in 1809 under Commodore John Rodgers. War of 1812 By early 1812, relations with the United Kingdom had deteriorated and the Navy began preparing for war, which was declared 20 June. Captain Isaac Hull, who had been appointed Constitution's commanding officer in 1810, put to sea 12 July, without orders, to prevent being blockaded in port. His intention was to join the five ships of Rodgers' squadron. Constitution sighted five ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey, July 17. By the following morning the lookouts had determined they were a British squadron that had sighted Constitution and were giving chase. Finding themselves becalmed, Hull and his seasoned crew put boats over the side to tow their ship out of range. By using kedge anchors to draw the ship forward, and wetting the sails down to take advantage of every breath of wind, Hull slowly made headway against the pursuing British. After two days and nights of toil in the relentless July heat, Constitution finally eluded her pursuers. Locked in combat, Constitution brings down Guerriere's mizzenmast But one month later on August 19, she met with one of them again�the frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British frigate opened fire upon entering range of Constitution. Captain Hull held his ship's guns in check until the two warships were a mere 25 yards apart, at which point he ordered a full broadside. Over the course of the engagement, the ships collided three times but musket fire from the Marine complements on both Guerriere and Constitution prevented boarding parties from being sent. During the third and final collision, Guerriere 's bowsprit became entangled in Constitution 's rigging. When the two ships pulled apart, the force of extracting the bowsprit sent shockwaves through Guerriere 's rigging. Her foremast soon collapsed and it took the mainmast down with it shortly afterward. At the conclusion of the engagement Guerriere was a dis-masted hulk, so badly damaged that she was not worth towing to port. Hull had used his heavier broadsides and his ship's superior sailing ability, while the British, to their astonishment, saw that their shot seemed to rebound harmlessly off Constitution's strong live oak hull�giving her the nickname "Old Ironsides". Under the command of William Bainbridge, "Old Ironsides" met HMS Java, another British frigate, in December. Their three-hour engagement left Java unfit for repair, so she was burned. Constitution's victories gave a tremendous boost to the morale of the American people. Despite having to spend many months in port, either under repair or because of blockades, Constitution managed eight more captures under the command of Charles Stewart, including a British frigate, HMS Cyane, and a sloop, HM Sloop Levant, sailing in company which she fought and defeated simultaneously, before she returned to port in 1815 to find the war had ended. After six years of extensive repairs, she returned to duty as flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron. She sailed back to Boston in 1828. 1835 Service after reconstruction An examination in 1830 found her unfit for sea, but the American public expressed great indignation at the recommendation that she be scrapped, especially after publication of Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem "Old Ironsides". Congress passed an appropriation for reconstruction and in 1835 she was placed back in commission. She served as flagship in the Mediterranean and the South Pacific and made a 30-month voyage around the world beginning in March 1844. In the 1850s she patrolled the African coast in search of slavers, and during the American Civil War served as a training ship for midshipmen. But Constitution, along with all ships of her type, was becoming rapidly obsolete as a fighting vessel. As early as 1838, steamships had begun to make regular transatlantic crossings and the Civil War's Battle of Hampton Roads had shown the impotence of wooden-hulled warships when faced with ships made of (or clad in) iron. Even when restricted from front line duties, however, Constitution continued to serve the Navy and the country, and after another period of rebuilding in 1871, she transported goods for the Paris Exposition of 1877 and served once more as a training ship. Decommissioned in 1882, she was used as a receiving ship at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She returned to Boston to celebrate her centennial in 1897. 1925 restoration In 1905, public sentiment saved her once more from scrapping. In 1917 she was renamed Old Constitution, to free her name for a planned new Lexington-class battlecruiser, USS Constitution (CC-5). Constitution (CC-5) was canceled in 1923 (only 14 percent completed) due to the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. In 1925 the ship, once again bearing the name Constitution, was restored through the donations of schoolchildren and patriotic groups. After being recommissioned on July 1, 1931, she set out under tow for a tour of 90 port cities along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. More than 4.6 million people visited her during the three-year journey. Having secured her position as an American icon, she returned to her home port of Boston. In 1940, she was placed in permanent commission, and an act of Congress in 1954 made the Secretary of the Navy responsible for her upkeep. On July 11, 1976, as part of her Bicentennial Visit to the United States, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh came to Boston and toured the ship with Commanding Officer Tyrone G. Martin. Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf presented the queen with a sea chest made from original wood that had been removed from the hull of Constitution during refurbishment in the early 1970s. 1992-95 refit and return to sail From 1992 to 1995, the Constitution underwent a 44-month refit and overhaul that returned the ship to fully sailable condition. Her refit was far less extensive and intensive than Constellation's, as Constitution was in much better shape. On July 21, 1997, as part of her 200th birthday celebration, Constitution set sail for the first time in 116 years. She was towed from her usual berth in Boston enroute to an overnight mooring in Marblehead. The visit to Marblehead marked the first time since 1934 that the ship had been absent overnight from its berth in Charlestown. Embarked dignitaries among the approximately 450 personnel onboard included the Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps(General Richard I. Neal), Senator Kennedy, and the venerable Walter Cronkite, an avid sailor. A little more than five nautical miles offshore, the tow line was dropped, and the commanding officer (Commander Mike Beck, USN) ordered her six sails set -- (jibs, topsails, and driver). Constitution then sailed unassisted for 40 minutes on a South South East course. With true wind speeds of about 12 knots, the ship attained a top recorded speed of six and a half knots. (See infobox picture at top.) While under sail, her modern naval combatant escorts, USS Ramage (DDG-61) and USS Halyburton (FFG-40), rendered Passing Honors to Old Ironsides. The ship was overflown by the Blue Angels, honoring the ship's first sail in over 116 years. Inbound to her permanent berth at Charlestown the following evening, she rendered a 21-gun salute to the nation, abeam Fort Independence (Castle Island) in Boston Harbor. Present day Constitution renders a 21-gun salute to the Nation off Fort Independence during her Independence Day turnaround cruise. The modern day role of "Old Ironsides" is that of "ship of state". USS Constitution is today considered the most famous vessel in American naval history. Her mission is to promote the Navy to millions of visitors and observers each year. The crew of 55 sailors participates in ceremonies, educational programs and special events (including sail drill) while keeping the ship open to visitors year-round and providing free tours. The crew are all active-duty sailors and the assignment is considered special duty in the Navy. Traditionally, the duty of captain of the vessel is assigned to an active duty Navy commander. While Constitution is the oldest fully commissioned vessel afloat, she is not the oldest commissioned. HMS Victory holds the honor of being the oldest commissioned warship by three decades, however Victory is permanently drydocked. Constitution is one of only two presently commissioned ships in the US Navy known to have sunk an enemy vessel. The other is USS Simpson (FFG-56). No others are still in service. Constitution is berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail. She is open to the public year round. However, as a commissioned US Navy ship, a visit to "Old Ironsides" is subject to Navy provisions and the fact that she occasionally puts out to sea. Consult her official website for schedule and provisions. The private USS Constitution Museum is nearby, located in a restored shipyard building at the foot of Pier 2. Timeline October 21, 1797 - USS Constitution launched and christened at Edmond Hartt's Shipyard, Boston. August 1798 - Ordered into action in the Quasi-War with France. 1803�1806 - Flagship, Mediterranean Squadron, Barbary Wars. 1812�1815 - War of 1812 with United Kingdom. August 19, 1812 - Defeats 38-gun British frigate HMS Guerriere. Crew bestows her with "Old Ironsides" nickname because of cannonballs bouncing off her sides. December 29, 1812 - Captures British frigate HMS Java and five smaller vessels. February 20, 1815 - Captures British frigate HMS Cyane sailing in company with HM Sloop Levant. 1828�1830 - Laid up at Boston and condemned by naval commissioners, she was saved by the poem "Old Ironsides" by Oliver Wendell Holmes. March 1844 - Begins 30-month voyage around the world. 1920 - Renamed Old Constitution in preparation for the construction of a brand new all-steel battlecruiser to be named USS Constitution (CC-5). 1923 - Constitution (CC-5) is canceled before completion and scrapped. The word "Old" is dropped from the name of Old Constitution, restoring her to her original name. 1931�1934 - National cruise takes "Old Ironsides" to 90 American cities, returns to her place of honor in Boston harbor. 1957 - Norwegian cadet sailors of the Christian Radich came aboard Constitution in Boston during summer filming of the wide-screen motion picture "Windjammer". The movie was released in America in 1958. Scenes of the movie were also filmed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. December 19, 1960 - Constitution designated a National Historic Landmark. 1972�1975 - A restoration of Constitution takes place in preparation for the Bicentennial celebration of the United States; some original wood is removed from the hull. 1976 - Queen Elizabeth II tours "Old Ironsides" during the U.S. Bicentennial. March 1996�1997 - Completes 44-month restoration. July 21, 1997 - Underway on sail alone for the first time 116 years. Specifications

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What English poet, founder of the Romantic Movement (along with William Wordsworth), wrote such works as Kubla Khan and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge | British poet and critic | Britannica.com British poet and critic Edward Young Samuel Taylor Coleridge, (born October 21, 1772, Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire , England —died July 25, 1834, Highgate, near London), English lyrical poet, critic, and philosopher. His Lyrical Ballads, written with William Wordsworth, heralded the English Romantic movement , and his Biographia Literaria (1817) is the most significant work of general literary criticism produced in the English Romantic period. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, detail of an oil painting by Washington Allston, 1814; in the National … Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London Early life and works Coleridge’s father was vicar of Ottery and headmaster of the local grammar school . As a child Coleridge was already a prodigious reader, and he immersed himself to the point of morbid fascination in romances and Eastern tales such as The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. In 1781 his father died suddenly, and in the following year Coleridge entered Christ’s Hospital in London, where he completed his secondary education. In 1791 he entered Jesus College, Cambridge. At both school and university he continued to read voraciously, particularly in works of imagination and visionary philosophy, and he was remembered by his schoolmates for his eloquence and prodigious memory. In his third year at Cambridge, oppressed by financial difficulties, he went to London and enlisted as a dragoon under the assumed name of Silas Tomkyn Comberbache. Despite his unfitness for the life, he remained until discovered by his friends; he was then bought out by his brothers and restored to Cambridge. On his return, he was restless. The intellectual and political turmoil surrounding the French Revolution had set in motion intense and urgent discussion concerning the nature of society. Coleridge now conceived the design of circumventing the disastrous violence that had destroyed the idealism of the French Revolution by establishing a small society that should organize itself and educate its children according to better principles than those obtaining in the society around them. A chance meeting with the poet Robert Southey led the two men to plan such a “pantisocracy” and to set up a community by the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania . To this end Coleridge left Cambridge for good and set up with Southey as a public lecturer in Bristol . In October 1795 he married Sara Fricker, daughter of a local schoolmistress, swayed partly by Southey’s suggestion that he was under an obligation to her since she had been refusing the advances of other men. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent Shortly afterward, Southey defected from the pantisocratic scheme, leaving Coleridge married to a woman whom he did not really love. In a sense his career never fully recovered from this blow: if there is a makeshift quality about many of its later events, one explanation can be found in his constant need to reconcile his intellectual aspirations with the financial needs of his family. During this period, however, Coleridge’s intellect flowered in an extraordinary manner, as he embarked on an investigation of the nature of the human mind, joined by William Wordsworth , with whom he had become acquainted in 1795. Together they entered upon one of the most influential creative periods of English literature . Coleridge’s intellectual ebullience and his belief in the existence of a powerful “life consciousness” in all individuals rescued Wordsworth from the depression into which recent events had cast him and made possible the new approach to nature that characterized his contributions to Lyrical Ballads (which was to be published in 1798). Coleridge, meanwhile, was developing a new, informal mode of poetry in which he could use a conversational tone and rhythm to give unity to a poem. Of these poems, the most successful is “ Frost at Midnight ,” which begins with the description of a silent frosty night in Somerset and proceeds through a meditation on the relationship between the quiet work of frost and the quiet breathing of the sleeping baby at the poet’s side, to conclude in a resolve that his child shall be brought up as a “child of nature,” so that the sympathies that the poet has come to detect may be reinforced throughout the child’s education. At the climax of the poem, he touches another theme, which lies at the root of his philosophical attitude: …so shalt thou see and hear The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible Of that eternal language, which thy God Utters, who from eternity doth teach Himself in all, and all things in himself. Coleridge’s attempts to learn this “language” and trace it through the ancient traditions of mankind also led him during this period to return to the visionary interests of his schooldays: as he ransacked works of comparative religion and mythology, he was exploring the possibility that all religions and mythical traditions, with their general agreement on the unity of God and the immortality of the soul, sprang from a universal life consciousness , which was expressed particularly through the phenomena of human genius. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies While these speculations were at their most intense, he retired to a lonely farmhouse near Culbone, Somersetshire, and, according to his own account, composed under the influence of laudanum the mysterious poetic fragment known as “ Kubla Khan .” The exotic imagery and rhythmic chant of this poem have led many critics to conclude that it should be read as a “meaningless reverie” and enjoyed merely for its vivid and sensuous qualities. An examination of the poem in the light of Coleridge’s psychological and mythological interests, however, suggests that it has, after all, a complex structure of meaning and is basically a poem about the nature of human genius. The first two stanzas show the two sides of what Coleridge elsewhere calls “commanding genius”: its creative aspirations in time of peace as symbolized in the projected pleasure dome and gardens of the first stanza; and its destructive power in time of turbulence as symbolized in the wailing woman, the destructive fountain, and the voices prophesying war of the second stanza. In the final stanza the poet writes of a state of “absolute genius” in which, if inspired by a visionary “Abyssinian maid,” he would become endowed with the creative, divine power of a sun god—an Apollo or Osiris subduing all around him to harmony by the fascination of his spell. Coleridge was enabled to explore the same range of themes less egotistically in “ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ,” composed during the autumn and winter of 1797–98. For this, his most famous poem, he drew upon the ballad form. The main narrative tells how a sailor who has committed a crime against the life principle by slaying an albatross suffers from torments, physical and mental, in which the nature of his crime is made known to him. The underlying life power against which he has transgressed is envisaged as a power corresponding to the influx of the sun’s energy into all living creatures, thereby binding them together in a joyful communion. By killing the bird that hovered near the ship, the mariner has destroyed one of the links in this process. His own consciousness is consequently affected: the sun, previously glorious, is seen as a bloody sun, and the energies of the deep are seen as corrupt. All in a hot and copper sky, The bloody Sun, at noon, Right up above the mast did stand, No bigger than the Moon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Only at night do these energies display a sinister beauty. About, about, in reel and rout The death-fires danced at night; The water, like a witch’s oils, Burnt green, and blue and white. After the death of his shipmates, alone and becalmed, devoid of a sense of movement or even of time passing, the mariner is in a hell created by the absence of any link with life. Eventually, however, a chance sight of water snakes flashing like golden fire in the darkness, answered by an outpouring of love from his heart, reinitiates the creative process: he is given a brief vision of the inner unity of the universe, in which all living things hymn their source in an interchange of harmonies. Restored to his native land, he remains haunted by what he has experienced but is at least delivered from nightmare, able to see the ordinary processes of human life with a new sense of their wonder and mercifulness. These last qualities are reflected in the poem’s attractive combination of vividness and sensitivity. The placing of it at the beginning of Lyrical Ballads was evidently intended to provide a context for the sense of wonder in common life that marks many of Wordsworth’s contributions. While this volume was going through the press, Coleridge began a complementary poem, a Gothic ballad entitled “ Christabel ,” in which he aimed to show how naked energy might be redeemed through contact with a spirit of innocent love. Troubled years Eyjafjallajökull volcano Early in 1798 Coleridge had again found himself preoccupied with political issues. The French Revolutionary government had suppressed the states of the Swiss Confederation , and Coleridge expressed his bitterness at this betrayal of the principles of the Revolution in a poem entitled “France: An Ode.” At this time the brothers Josiah and Thomas Wedgwood, who were impressed by Coleridge’s intelligence and promise, offered him in 1798 an annuity of £150 as a means of subsistence while he pursued his intellectual concerns. He used his new independence to visit Germany with Wordsworth and Wordsworth’s sister, Dorothy. While there Coleridge attended lectures on physiology and biblical criticism at Göttingen. He thus became aware of developments in German scholarship that were little-known in England until many years later. On his return to England, the tensions of his marriage were exacerbated when he fell in love with Sara Hutchinson, the sister of Wordsworth’s future wife, at the end of 1799. His devotion to the Wordsworths in general did little to help matters, and for some years afterward Coleridge was troubled by domestic strife, accompanied by the worsening of his health and by his increasing dependence on opium . His main literary achievements during the period included another section of “Christabel.” In 1802 Coleridge’s domestic unhappiness gave rise to “ Dejection: An Ode ,” originally a longer verse letter sent to Sara Hutchinson in which he lamented the corrosive effect of his intellectual activities when undertaken as a refuge from the lovelessness of his family life. The poem employs the technique of his conversational poems; the sensitive rhythms and phrasing that he had learned to use in them are here masterfully deployed to represent his own depressed state of mind. Although Coleridge hoped to combine a platonic love for Sara with fidelity to his wife and children and to draw sustenance from the Wordsworth household, his hopes were not realized, and his health deteriorated further. He therefore resolved to spend some time in a warmer climate and, late in 1804, accepted a post in Malta as secretary to the acting governor. Later he spent a long time journeying across Italy, but, despite his hopes, his health did not improve during his time abroad. The time spent in Malta had been a time of personal reappraisal, however. Brought into direct contact with men accustomed to handling affairs of state, he had found himself lacking an equal forcefulness and felt that in consequence he often forfeited the respect of others. On his return to England he resolved to become more manly and decisive. Within a few months he had finally decided to separate from his wife and to live for the time being with the Wordsworths. Southey atoned for his disastrous youthful advice by exercising a general oversight of Coleridge’s family for the rest of his days. Coleridge published a periodical, The Friend, from June 1809 to March 1810 and ceased only when Sara Hutchinson, who had been acting as amanuensis, found the strain of the relationship too much for her and retired to her brother’s farm in Wales. Coleridge, resentful that Wordsworth should apparently have encouraged his sister-in-law’s withdrawal, resolved shortly afterward to terminate his working relationship with William and Dorothy Wordsworth and to settle in London again. The period immediately following was the darkest of his life. His disappointment with Wordsworth was followed by anguish when a wounding remark of Wordsworth’s was carelessly reported to him. For some time he remained in London, nursing his grievances and producing little. Opium retained its powerful hold on him, and the writings that survive from this period are redolent of unhappiness, with self-dramatization veering toward self-pity. In spite of this, however, there also appear signs of a slow revival, principally because for the first time Coleridge knew what it was to be a fashionable figure. A course of lectures he delivered during the winter of 1811–12 attracted a large audience; for many years Coleridge had been fascinated by William Shakespeare’s achievement, and his psychological interpretations of the chief characters were new and exciting to his contemporaries. During this period, Coleridge’s play Osorio, written many years before, was produced at Drury Lane with the title Remorse in January 1813. Late life and works In the end, consolation came from an unexpected source. In dejection, unable to produce extended work or break the opium habit, he spent a long period with friends in Wiltshire, where he was introduced to Archbishop Robert Leighton ’s commentary on the First Letter of Peter. In the writings of this 17th-century divine, he found a combination of tenderness and sanctity that appealed deeply to him and seemed to offer an attitude to life that he himself could fall back on. The discovery marks an important shift of balance in his intellectual attitudes. Christianity, hitherto one point of reference for him, now became his “official” creed. By aligning himself with the Anglican church of the 17th century at its best, he hoped to find a firm point of reference that would both keep him in communication with orthodox Christians of his time (thus giving him the social approval he always needed, even if only from a small group of friends) and enable him to pursue his former intellectual explorations in the hope of reaching a Christian synthesis that might help to revitalize the English church both intellectually and emotionally. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. © Photos.com/Thinkstock One effect of the adoption of this basis for his intellectual and emotional life was a sense of liberation and an ability to produce large works again. He drew together a collection of his poems (published in 1817 as Sibylline Leaves) and wrote Biographia Literaria (1817), a rambling and discursive but highly stimulating and influential work in which he outlined the evolution of his thought and developed an extended critique of Wordsworth’s poems. For the general reader Biographia Literaria is a misleading volume, since it moves bewilderingly between autobiography, abstruse philosophical discussion, and literary criticism. It has, however, an internal coherence of its own. The book’s individual components—first an entertaining account of Coleridge’s early life, then an account of the ways in which he became dissatisfied with the associationist theories of David Hartley and other 18th-century philosophers, then a reasoned critique of Wordsworth’s poems—are fascinating. Over the whole work hovers Coleridge’s veneration for the power of imagination: once this key is grasped, the unity of the work becomes evident. A new dramatic piece, Zapolya, was also published in 1817. In the same year, Coleridge became associated for a time with the new Encyclopaedia Metropolitana , for which he planned a novel system of organization, outlined in his Prospectus. These were more settled years for Coleridge. Since 1816 he had lived in the house of James Gillman, a surgeon at Highgate, north of London. His election as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1824 brought him an annuity of £105 and a sense of recognition. In 1830 he joined the controversy that had arisen around the issue of Catholic Emancipation by writing his last prose work, On the Constitution of the Church and State. The third edition of Coleridge’s Poetical Works appeared in time for him to see it before his final illness and death in 1834. Evaluation Coleridge’s achievement has been given more widely varying assessments than that of any other English literary artist, though there is broad agreement that his enormous potential was never fully realized in his works. His stature as a poet has never been in doubt; in “Kubla Khan” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” he wrote two of the greatest poems in English literature and perfected a mode of sensuous lyricism that is often echoed by later poets. But he also has a reputation as one of the most important of all English literary critics, largely on the basis of his Biographia Literaria. In Coleridge’s view, the essential element of literature was a union of emotion and thought that he described as imagination. He especially stressed poetry’s capacity for integrating the universal and the particular, the objective and the subjective, the generic and the individual. The function of criticism for Coleridge was to discern these elements and to lift them into conscious awareness, rather than merely to prescribe or to describe rules or forms. In all his roles, as poet, social critic, literary critic, theologian, and psychologist, Coleridge expressed a profound concern with elucidating an underlying creative principle that is fundamental to both human beings and the universe as a whole. To Coleridge, imagination is the archetype of this unifying force because it represents the means by which the twin human capacities for intuitive, non-rational understanding and for organizing and discriminating thought concerning the material world are reconciled . It was by means of this sort of reconciliation of opposites that Coleridge attempted, with considerable success, to combine a sense of the universal and ideal with an acute observation of the particular and sensory in his own poetry and in his criticism. Thomas De Quincey ’s biography on Samuel Taylor Coleridge appeared in the eighth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (see the Britannica Classic: Samuel Taylor Coleridge). More about Samuel Taylor Coleridge 34 References found in Britannica Articles Assorted References

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Knitting uses needles. What does crochet use?

SparkNotes: Coleridge’s Poetry: Context Coleridge’s Poetry Table of Contents Analysis Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Devon in 1772. His father, a clergyman, moved his family to London when Coleridge was young, and it was there that Coleridge attended school (as he would later recall in poems such as “Frost at Midnight”). He later attended Cambridge but left without completing his studies. During the politically charged atmosphere of the late eighteenth century—the French Revolution had sent shockwaves through Europe, and England and France were at war—Coleridge made a name for himself both as a political radical and as an important young poet; along with his friends Robert Southey and William Wordsworth, he became one of the most important writers in England. Collaborating with Wordsworth on the revolutionary Lyrical Ballads of 1798, Coleridge helped to inaugurate the Romantic era in England; as Wordsworth explained it in the 1802 preface to the third edition of the work, the idea of poetry underlying Lyrical Ballads turned the established conventions of poetry upside down: Privileging natural speech over poetic ornament, simply stated themes over elaborate symbolism, emotion over abstract thought, and the experience of natural beauty over urban sophistication, the book paved the way for two generations of poets, and stands as one of the milestones of European literature. While Coleridge made important contributions to Lyrical Ballads, it was much more Wordsworth’s project than Coleridge’s; thus, while it is possible to understand Wordsworth’s poetic output in light of his preface to the 1802 edition of the volume, the preface’s ideas should not be used to analyze Coleridge’s work. Insofar as Wordsworth was the poet of nature, the purity of childhood, and memory, Coleridge became the poet of imagination, exploring the relationships between nature and the mind as it exists as a separate entity. Poems such as “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Kubla Khan” demonstrate Coleridge’s talent for concocting bizarre, unsettling stories full of fantastic imagery and magic; in poems such as “Frost at Midnight” and “Dejection: An Ode,” he muses explicitly on the nature of the mind as it interacts with the creative source of nature. Coleridge married in 1795 and spent much of the next decade living near and traveling with Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. In 1799, Coleridge met Sara Hutchinson, with whom he fell deeply in love, forming an attachment that was to last many years. Coleridge became an opium addict (it is thought that “Kubla Khan” originated from an opium dream) and, in 1816, moved in with the surgeon James Gillman in order to preserve his health. During the years he lived with Gillman, Coleridge composed many of his important non-fiction works, including the highly regarded Biographia Literaria. However, although he continued to write until his death in 1834, Romanticism was always a movement about youth, and today Coleridge is remembered primarily for the poems he wrote while still in his twenties. More Help

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According to the nursery rhyme, who's pocket did Kitty Fisher find?

Lucy Lockett Lucy Lockett Rhyme Lyrics, Origins and History   Rhyme & History The words of the Nursery Rhyme, 'Lucy Lockett' were based on people and places in London during the 1700's. Lucy Lockett was believed to be a barmaid at the Cock public House in Fleet Street, London. This pub, or alehouse was first established in 1554 and rebuilt in 1888. Samuel Pepys mentioned the Cock Alehouse in his diary which stated: April 23 1668 "To the Cock Alehouse and drank and eat a lobster, and sang..." Kitty Fisher was a famous courtesan - Catherine Maria ('Kitty') Fisher (died 1767). Her lifestyle was described as follows: "She lives in the greatest possible splendor, spends twelve thousand pounds a year, and she is the first of her social class to employ liveried servants..." The Pocket referred to was the old Middle English word for a pouch or a small bag. The implication is that poor Lucy Lockett made very little money as opposed to the similarly employed Kitty who was envied for her great beauty and vast wealth! Our grateful thanks go to Jenny Armstrong for reminding us of this old rhyme and suggesting the possible origins - Thanks Jenny!  

Lucy Locket

The surveying for the Mason-Dixon line was complete on Oct 18, 1767. Which two states does the line separate?

nursery rhymes | The Haunted Palace The Haunted Palace ~ History, Reviews and the Supernatural Search: ≈ 1 Comment Tags Abbot Whiting , Alexander Pope , Ambrose Philips , baa baa black sheep , Bloody Mary , dissolution of the monasteries , french revolution , Glastonbury Abbey , great wool tax , jack , jack and Jill , Kitty Fisher , knave , Little Jack Horner , Lucy Locket , nursery rhymes , origins , Richard Whiting , thomas horner Image: public domain(?) We all grow up learning nursery rhymes but how many of us know of the darker, underlying meanings behind some of our most popular and seemingly innocent poems. I remember asking my mother to sing “Seesaw Margery Daw, Johnny shall have a new master, He shall earn but a penny a day, Because he can’t work any faster” not knowing that we were actually laughing about child slave labour in workhouses [1] . Nowadays we have only to open up a newspaper or turn on the television to be confronted with images or articles on social inequality, religious intolerance or political discontent but go back six hundred years and it was a whole different ballgame. It is nearly impossible to stop people from venting their grievances especially when faced with deep injustice but fear of the consequences did shape how they expressed them. One such way was through the composition of punchy verses which on the surface seemed nonsensical but which often contained hidden or barely veiled criticism of prominent figures or institutions which if expressed openly could have had serious repercussions for the teller such as loss of status, property, goods, freedom or life. Nursery rhymes also served another purpose, the catchy tunes were easy to remember and enabled a largely illiterate population to learn and pass on stories from generation to generation creating and expanding an important oral tradition. Ballad singer. image source unknown. The meanings of some nursery rhymes were ascribed in the nineteenth century; others have verified historical roots whilst the origins of many have been lost due to the passage of time. Despite the disputed background of some of the rhymes, what is not in doubt is that nursery rhymes are one of the most fascinating but neglected body of work in the English language. Sinister undertones: A look at four nursery rhymes Ba Ba Black Sheep Bah, Bah, a black Sheep, Have you any Wool? One for the Little Boy That lives in the lane (First written version known from Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book, c.1744) Image by Dorothy M Wheeler 1916. Via Wikimedia. This popular nursery rhyme has suffered a bit of a black lash in recent times. In the 80s and 90s the rhyme was under attack by critics who accused it of having racist connotations. Despite the rhyme’s supporters calling it political correctness gone mad, many groups jumped on the bandwagon insisting that the word ‘black’ should be replaced with other adjectives such as little, big, hopping, pink and happy [2] . In actual fact the poem has no connections with racism at all but is believed to refer to the Great Wool Tax of 1275 which saw the crown for the first time implement a taxation system on what had been up to that point free trade. Wool was probably the most important commodity exported in England at that time and the tax would have dealt a serious financial blow to the small tenant farmers and merchants. The tax per sack of exported wool was set at 6s 8d and the property confiscated of anyone found evading the charge [3] . Illustration for the rhyme from Mother Goose’s Melody, first published c. 1765 In the rhyme ‘master’ refers to the tax given to the king and ‘dame’ to the church. Experts disagree with whether ‘black’ wool was a positive or negative term, as on one hand black wool could not be dyed and so limited its market but on the other hand it had value as it could be made into made into clothing or furnishings immediately without the need for the lengthy dyeing process. The last line refers to the small amount of money (i.e. about 1/3 of the overall profits) that was left for the farmers or shepherds. Interestingly in the second edition of the book the line changes with the message showing even more clearly how dire the situation was for the small cottage industries at that time “But none for the little boy who cries in the lane” [4] . Mary, Mary Quite Contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells And pretty maids all in a row. Queen Mary I Although the precise meanings of some of the lines are disputed it is generally accepted that the rhyme is about Mary Tudor, Queen of England and her reign, which left a trail of blood and fear throughout England. Some experts believe that ‘quite contrary’ is an allusion to her reversal of the political and religious changes brought in by her father and brother whilst ‘pretty maids’ is a reference to the execution of Lady Jane Grey. ‘How does your garden grow?’ is either a mocking reference to Mary’s inability to have children or else alludes to the graveyards ‘garden’ full of murdered Protestants. Given the subject matter of the next line, the latter interpretation seems more likely as ‘silver bells’ is a pretty way of describing thumbscrews whilst ‘cockle shells’ are instruments of torture which were attached to male genitals [5] . Lucy Locket Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it; Not a penny was there in it, Only ribbon round it. Lucy Locket.  Image source unknown. The rhyme refers to a famous argument between two 18th century prostitutes whose spat became the talk of the town and added to Kitty Fisher’s notoriety as one of the most popular, beautiful, desirable and wealthy courtesans in London society [6] . Lucy Locket worked as a barmaid/prostitute in London and on finding out that her lover ‘pocket’  had lost all his money, dropped him. Despite having been the one to end the relationship, Lucy became incensed on finding out that the popular courtesan Kitty Fisher had taken up with him despite his reduced circumstances. Kitty claimed that she had found him with a ribbon tied around him which was a serious jibe at Lucy since prostitutes kept their money tied around their thigh with a ribbon. Lucy’s anger may have been largely to do with jealous. Kitty being able to take a poor lover was showing London and other women in her profession how financially secure she had become as now she could choose lovers based on her own inclination rather than money. Kitty Fisher by Joshua Reynolds via Wikimedia. Kitty Fisher (born Catherine Marie Fischer) had a number of influential suitors, was a leader of fashion and was painted several times by Sir Joshua Reynolds. In 1766 she married John Norris, the son of the MP for Rye and moved to his house in Hemsted. Unfortunately she died only four months later, aged 25 from either from smallpox, consumption or poisoning from lead based makeup [7] . Jack and Jill Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water Jack fell down and broke his crown And Jill came tumbling after. Jack and Jill. Source unknown. The small village of Kilmersdon in Somerset claims to be the site of the true story of Jack and Jill.  According to local legend in 1697 a young unmarried woman ‘Jill’ fell pregnant. The father of the baby ‘Jack’ was soon after killed by a rock from Badstone Quarry and ‘Jill’ died not long after she gave birth to her son [8] . The phrase ‘a pail of water’ is an old idiom meaning to have sex. The village to commemorate the story has introduced an annual race whereby contestants must run up to the top of the local hill with an empty bucket of water, fill it up and run back down to the school. The winner is the contestant which has the maximum amount of water still left in their bucket [9] . Even though I would love this story to be true, it is generally agreed that the Jack and Jill in the rhyme are King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette who were beheaded during the French revolution in 1793. Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI (or perhaps it’s Sue Perkins and Giles Coren) To make the rhyme more suitable for children another verse was added ‘Up got Jack, and home did trot, As fast as he could caper, He went to bed and bound his head, With vinegar and brown paper’. Little Jack Horner, a coffin pie and the dissolution of the monasteries One of the most fascinating nursery rhymes in my opinion is that of Little Jack Horner. Who was Jack Horner? Why was he sitting in the corner? And what is so exciting about pulling out a plum? Little Jack Horner. Source: Pinterest. The ridicule of Ambrose Philips In 1725, the satirical poet Henry Carey published the following version of Little Jack Horner in his Namby Pamby ballads. “Now he sings of Jackey Horner Sitting in the Chimney-Corner Eating of a Christmas pye, Putting in his thumb, Oh fie! Putting in, Oh fie! his Thumb Pulling out, Oh strange! a Plum [10] ” Alexander Pope by Johnathan Richardson (public domain?) The ‘Little Jack Horner’ that Carey is mockingly referring to is Ambrose Philips, a popular poet and Whig politician. Philips born in 1674 in Shrewsbury spent most of his early career as a fellow at St John’s College, Cambridge before his poems collectively called the ‘Pastorals’ were published in 1710 [11] . High praise of Philips’ work and comparisons to Edmund Spenser angered other leading poets of the time in particular Alexander Pope who believed that Philips’ success was due to his obsequious behavior towards his wealthy patrons rather than to talent. The war of words which erupted between Pope and Philips reached such heights that Philips threatened to hit Pope with a rod he kept hung in Button’s Coffee House. Samuel Johnson described relations between the two men as ‘perpetual reciprocation of malevolence’ [12] . The use of a nursery rhyme with which to ridicule Philips was particular apt as Philips’ was well-known for composing childish verses to flatter and please his sponsors’ children. The fact that Carey italicized the original words clearly indicates that people were already very familiar with the rhyme. So the question remains if ‘Jack Horner’ was not Ambrose Philips then who was he? What’s in a name? Knave of Spades. V&A collection. In early tales and nursery rhymes roguish, vagrant and ne’er-do-well characters were often called Jack.  A Jack or Knave is also the name of a playing card. The Collins dictionary gives a number of different definitions for the word knave including a deceitful dishonest person; a rogue or rascal and; a male servant. It can’t be a coincidence then that the Jack of the nursery rhyme was believed to have been based on a devious male servant whose behavior helped to bring about the downfall of a well-respected abbot and the destruction of one of the last monasteries of Tudor England. Many people believe that Jack Horner was in fact Thomas Horner, the steward of Abbot Whiting of Glastonbury. The story goes that the abbot had sent Horner on a mission to see King Henry VIII in London, the aim of which was to try to save Glastonbury Abbey from being dissolved. Feeling hungry on the journey, Horner, who had been sent on his way with a pie, decided to eat a piece of it. To his surprise instead of pulling out the mince filling he pulled out a deed to one of Glastonbury’s smaller properties. On examining the contents of the pie he found a further eleven deeds concealed inside. Keeping the first deed, he delivered the other papers to the king [13] . The abbot was caught in a no-win situation as he could not accuse Horner of theft because then he would have to openly admit to trying to bribe the king giving Henry an easy excuse to charge the abbot with corruption. Horner gained the deeds to the estate of Mells Manor in Somerset where his descendants lived until the beginning of the 20th century [14] . “Take a Legge of Mutton, and cut the best of the flesh from the bone, and parboyl it well then put to it three-pound of the best Mutton suet and shred it very small; then spread it abroad, and fashion it with Salt Cloves and Mace” [15] The quote above is taken from a 1615 recipe for mince pies. The recipe goes on to instruct the reader to place the mixture in a coffin or divers coffin before baking. The coffin is in fact a dough crust in the shape of a basket or box which was several inches thick and had been cooked for several hours. The coffin was inedible and acted as a container and cooking vessel to keep the meat tender by preventing the juice meat dripping away [16] . Due to the sturdy nature of the pies, people often hid valuable objects such as jewellery, money and important papers in them to stop their possessions falling into the hands of robbers. Therefore it is highly plausible that the deeds to the Glastonbury properties would have been hidden in a mince-pie. It is also interesting to note that mince pies were considered symbols of Catholic idolatry and were banned under Oliver Cromwell. It was believed that the coffin pastry represented Jesus’ crib! Glastonbury Abbey: The last monastery of Somerset “I wish to create a church so beautiful that it would move even the hardest heart to prayer” (unknown architect of Glastonbury abbey) [17] Glastonbury Abbey. Image from Wikimedia. The Benedictine abbey of Glastonbury in Somerset was believed to have been founded in the 7th century by King Ine of Wessex and later expanded by St Dunstan in the 10th century [18] . By the 16th century the magnificent abbey of Glastonbury had become the largest and second wealthiest abbey in England with its estates covering a large swathe of Somerset, a community of 100 monks and an important centre of learning for the sons of nobility. In 1525 Cardinal Wolsey with the permission of Henry VIII ordained Richard Whiting as Abbot of Glastonbury. Contemporary records show that Whiting was well-respected, held in high esteem and considered a good and honest manager. For the first few years, the abbey and its monks lived in peace and security but with the chaos caused by Henry’s attempts to divorce Catherine of Aragon and break away from the authority of Rome, Whiting knew that it was only a matter of time before Glastonbury would be under attack [19] . Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein the Younger. Despite the 1535 Suppression of Religious Houses Act which dissolved the lesser monasteries, for a while Whiting felt safe. Henry repeatedly assured Whiting that the abbey would be spared, a belief strengthened by Richard Layton’s inability to find any evidence of mismanagement in the abbey’s accounts. By 1539 Glastonbury was the only abbey left in Somerset. In September of that year, Cromwell demanded that the abbey be surrendered to him. Whiting refused. In response Layton, Richard Pollard and Thomas Moyles on Cromwell’s orders closed the monastery and the 78-year-old Whiting sent to the Tower to be personally examined by Cromwell. The Fall of the Abbot of Whiting “Whose soul god pardon” (Pollard, Royal Commissioner on the death of Abbot Whiting) The precise charge on which Whiting was arrested has never been known but on the 25 October 1539, Marillac, the French Ambassador wrote “The Abbot of Glastonbury…has lately, been put in the Tower, because, In taking the abbey treasures, valued at 200,000 crowns, they found a written book of arguments in behalf of queen Katherine” [20] Although Whiting was condemned by an Act of Parliament as a traitor to the crown, his fate was already sealed. Whiting accompanied by Pollard returned to Somerset to face trial. On the 14th November, Whiting was sentenced by a jury on the trumped-up charge of ‘robbing Glastonbury Church’. It is interesting that the jury contained none other than his former steward, manager of the household, keeper of the abbey’s accounts and collector of taxes, Thomas Horner. The following day, Whiting along with two of his monks, John Thorne and Roger James were tied on hurdles and dragged by horses up to Glastonbury Tor where they were hung, drawn and quartered. Whiting’s disgrace did not end there. His head was fastened over the west gate of the town and his limbs exposed at Wells, Bath, Ilchester and Bridgwater. Even at the end, Whiting never admitted to treason and died a dignified and humble death asking for mercy from god and forgiveness from the king and all men (even those whose actions had led him to the gallows) [21] . After the abbot’s death Glastonbury Abbey was finally destroyed and its stones used for building material. Quartering a body. Source: Fr Wikimedia. As with all sites with a traumatic history, Glastonbury is believed to have its own share of ghostly residents. Many of the sightings have links to the abbey these include the ghost of an important monk who has been seen at the abbey; ‘a mad monk who is said to wander the ruins muttering to himself’ and the kind spirit of a monk known as Friar Francis who remains on the site of the former leper hospital where he worked. The George and Pilgrim Hotel is the residence of two ghost lovers, a lady and a monk whose unconsummated love has condemned them to wander the corridors of the pub for all eternity. Lastly the ghost of Richard Whiting has also been seen on a number of occasions on Dod Lane making his final, tragic journey towards Glastonbury Tor [22] . Glastonbury Tor. Source Wikimedia. The enigmatic ‘Little Jack Horner’ The descendants of Thomas Horner have always denied the accusation that their ancestor obtained the rights to the Mells Manor estate by dubious means and there is solid evidence to support their claims. The original conveyance still survives which records Thomas Horner’s purchase of the deeds from Henry VIII at a high valuation which is confirmed by John Leland who visited Horner in 1543 on behalf of the king [23] . Also another rhyme has been discovered referring to the change of hands of the property, “Hopton, Horner, Smyth and Thynne When the abbots went out, they came in” [24] There is even evidence of a Little Jack Horner rhyme being known as early as 1390 and connected to a location in Barnet long before the Horners of Mells enter the picture [25] . If this now seemingly pro-catholic/anti-protestant verse was not originally written to condemn the actions of Henry VIII and Thomas Horner we will never know who the first Jack Horner really was and what the rhyme was about. It is remarkable how six lines of what on the surface is a childish and simple rhyme has been imbued with such deep historic significance and for me the speculation is absolutely fascinating. Notes

i don't know

What male singing voice lies between bass and tenor?

Male Vocal Range and Voice Type | Your Personal Singing Guide Male Vocal Range and Voice Types! There are many vocal ranges and voice types for males, and this section will discuss the 4 main types of male voices, their respective pitch ranges, unique tonal characteristics, as well as how their tessituras or most comfortable voice ranges differ from each other. One important point to note: These 2 terms – Vocal Range and Voice Type – are not to be confused with each other. The Range of our Voice refers to the range of notes that our voice can reach or produce a sound at, whereas the Type of Voice refers to the various kinds of voices classified using certain criteria like range of vocals, tessituras, register transition points, vocal timbre or tone and so on. Click on the links provided above to understand more about how to find your own vocal range, as well as how to determine your own voice type using the various criteria! Now, the 4 main types of male voices are as follows: 1. Countertenor Let us look at each of these male voices in more detail: 1. COUNTERTENOR The Countertenor Voice may actually be unfamiliar to those of us not from the classical realm, as many of us would probably only have heard of the 3 main male voices – Tenor, Baritone and Bass. The Countertenor voice is the highest of the adult male voice types, and has a vocal range that is similar to that of the Female Contralto Voice, the lowest of the female voice types! In the Mandarin pop scene, certain singers like Jeff Chang and the lead singer of popular pop rock band Soda Green would probably qualify as countertenor voices! An approximate Countertenor Vocal Range would be from a G note below the middle C (G3) to a high F one octave above the middle C (F5). Be sure to support your voice well with your breath so as to get a more accurate representation of the range in your voice. Check out the section on ‘How to Find Your Singing Range and Voice Type’ to get some tips on finding your range on your own! Also, the Tessitura or most comfortable singing range for Countertenors lies above that of the Tenor and other adult male voices. The Countertenor voice would usually be able to sing the high head voice notes with great ease and brightness in tone, and would often be confused by many listeners with regular female voices. 2. TENOR The Tenor Voice is the highest of the main male vocal types that most people would be familiar with, with the typical tenor vocal range lying between the C note one octave below middle C (C3) to the C note one octave above middle C (C5)! This means that it would lie just slightly below the Countertenor voice, but has similar characteristics in the sense that the Tenor would also be able to sing most high notes with ease and vocalize the head voice notes with strength and brightness! The Tenor voice would probably transition into his middle voice around the D or E note above middle C (D4 or E4) and shift into head voice around the F sharp or G above middle C (F4 or G4). The tenor tessitura would lie between that of the Countertenor’s and the Baritone’s. Do make sure that we avoid certain common singing problems like jaw tightness when we attempt to find out where our vocal register transitions lie, as this will affect the notes at which we transition, affecting the voice type we may classify ourselves to be! Famous Tenor voices include the 3 Tenors – Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo, as well as other classical singers like Enrico Caruso and pop singers like Elton John, Stevie Wonder. In the Mandarin pop scene, JJ Lin Junjie and Jay Chou would probably be considered Tenor voices too! 3. BARITONE Most men would have a vocal range similar to that of a Baritone voice, as this is the most common of the male voice types! A typical Baritone Voice Range would be between the A flat note one octave below the middle C (A Flat 2) to the A flat note above the middle C (A Flat 4). The Baritone Voice would transition into middle voice somewhere around the A or B note just below middle C (A3 or B3), and move into head voice somewhere at the D or E note just above middle C (D4 or E4). Also, the baritone tessitura would lie somewhere between the Tenor and the Bass tessituras, and the baritone voice would be strongest in the middle range pitches. Famous Baritones include John Charles Thomas, Lawrence Tibbett, Leonard Warren and Robert Merrill. In the Mandarin pop scene, the iconic Andy Lau would qualify as a baritone singer. 4. BASS The Bass Voice is the lowest of the male voice types. It is also quite rare to find a good bass voice, which means that bass singers will be very much in demand in choirs and also in A Cappella groups! Famous Bass singers include Barry White, James Morris and Samuel Ramey. Bass singers would be strongest in their low voice, with a deep and dark booming quality to his voice, somewhat like how a sub woofer speaker may sound! The Bass voice would have a vocal range of between the F note 1 octave below the middle C (F2) to the E note just above middle C (E4). He would also have a tessitura or most comfortable voice range that is lower than the Baritone’s. The Bass voice would probably transition from chest voice to middle voice somewhere around the A or A flat note just below the middle C (A3 or A Flat 3), and then shift into head voice somewhere around the D Flat note just above middle C (D Flat 4). Understanding more about the 4 main male voice types and their vocal ranges helps us to be able to understand more about our own voice as well as which voice type we may belong to. Knowing our voice type will help us to determine the various keys or pitches with which to do our vocal warmups before we sing, so as to achieve maximum desired effect! Achieve A Singing Voice You Can Be Proud Of ! Hit Higher Notes, Avoid Embarrassing Voice Breaks, And Achieve Vocal Mastery and Understanding ! The Ultimate Vocal Training System is a comprehensive online training system that will provide targeted solutions to vocal problems that you are facing, allowing you to sing higher in your vocal range, avoid sore throats or vocal swelling after a long night of singing, and avoid embarrassing vocal breaks or cracks in the range! This comprehensive vocal training system is divided into a total of 10 Modules consisting of 80+ training videos and other pdf resources, covering topics like breath and voice production, vocal folds and how they work, voice projection and a simple trick that will give you more singing power, as well as pitching and aural awareness training too!

Baritone

How many sides does a rhombus have?

Baritone | Uncyclopedia | Fandom powered by Wikia Leonard Cohen , king of dirge . World famous baritone Baritone (or barytone) is a type of voice that lies in sin between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. [1] It is a plain, gray, flat, monotonous, dirge -like and not particularly anything type of voice. Some people value its 'warm, resonant' quality, but that resonance is soporific and hypnotic and can lead directly to sleep. Most men possess this vocal range . Contents edit Baritone denial When a man learns that he has a baritone ranged voice, it is usually a traumatic experience as he realizes that he can neither sing high enough or low enough to be of significant value to the music industry. He will then try to convince himself (and the rest of the world) that he is indeed either a tenor or a bass (voice) . Unfortunately, this self-delusion will ultimately fail when he learns that he cannot actually reach those high or low notes; and that his voice is too plain and nondescript to have the appropriate tonal quality required of the other types. However, some baritones refuse to quit the charade. "I'm just so gorgeous, aren't I?" edit Faking it Baritones that want to sing popular music often get frustrated that they have a flat, dull, depressing and boring voice and cannot sing tenor . So to get around that, they learn to use falsetto and become a David Bowie or Morrissey clone. There are an abundance of fake tenors in the popular music industry as a result of this. Brett Anderson of Suede is another faker; but these fake tenors can't help but to always carry the baritone's signature melancholic underlying essence of doom. And the occasional songs that delve deep into the second octave totally give the game away anyhow. A learned observer can always tell the difference between a tenor and a baritone. Baritones strain at high notes or use blatant falsetto to achieve any, and they simply sound manlier. Tenors have no need for falsetto and have lighter, gayer voices. ? Did you know... ...that wannabe tenors are usually bisexual ? Baritones also try to fake bass (voice) to sound extremely manly by growling bass notes that their ordinary voices fail to sing with any credibility. Baritone growling can be found in the rock music industry as standard. Rob Zombie and Sepultura are examples. This growling is not very effective. It sounds quite fake in comparison with the bass (voice) . But being a tuneless middle ranged singer is a bit of a tough cookie to swallow. Generally it means that baritones have no natural talent in music. But it won't stop them from faking talent, and this sells to untrained ears that have no idea what falsetto is... edit The Baritone Voice in Music Andrew Eldritch : An accomplished (bass-)baritone Faking aside, baritones have musical opportunities in anything that is depressing. Since they can reach lower notes than the Mc Tenors that overpopulate the charts, they use these lower notes to emphasize their depressive state of mind in a miserable mumble. It is because of this that baritones rule the indie / alternative markets. It seems that baritone dirge appeals most to goths , students , communists and other left wing types. But essentially being a baritone makes you worthless to the musical industry (other then backing up a Bass or Tenor) and no one will be impressed by a voice you have no means of changing. It will also make you the least remembered singer in any performance and no one will discuss you afterwards. edit Goth is synonymous with baritone As a matter of fact, every single goth band has a baritone singer (with the exception of The Cure ). It is simply statutory. No other vocal type can convey true abject misery, despair and dullness so well. Goth music would never even exist were it not the discovery of the baritone dirge . Leonard Cohen , due to his creation of the entire genre of goth music , is the crowned king of the wrist-slitting dirge , and many others have since followed in his footsteps, people such as Nick Cave , Andrew Eldritch and Carl McCoy of Fields of the Nephilim , abandoning general flat monotonous regular singing in favor of gloom. The baritone voice can sum up a depressive state of mind far better than any other vocal type . It is the fact that it is so monotonous, doomy and gloomy. Baritones make excellent crooners too. Anything that can be complained about, felt unhappy about, or moaned over naturally fits this vocal type. edit Baritones can never sound happy Camilo Sesto , the Spanish drunkard, used to be a tenor , but the drink turned him into a baritone. And it doesn't sound good, either. Apart from misery, baritones such as Frank Sinatra , Elvis , Jim Morrison , Eddie Vedder and the like attempted to make baritone a happier sort of vocal type. It did not work out, however. "Love me tender" is more of a morose dirge than a love song, "My Way" is about death , Jim Morrison 's songs are actually all really pretty gloomy, and Eddie Vedder simply does not sound happy at all- ever. In fact you would not be wrong in saying that he is a miserable bastard... In fact, the grunge scene of the 1990s was full of miserable bastards; bland, self loathing baritones; and, as a matter of fact, a particularly famous one, Kurt Cobain (see 'Plateau' for proof of his baritone dirge) actually killed himself. In the UK, '90's 'Britpop', the baritone monotony was ever present. Brett Anderson revealed his true gray tones in the song 'Still Life'. The Jesus and Mary Chain was headed by a dreary baritone, as were the (un) Happy Mondays , Pulp , Inspiral Carpets and Blur . Brian Molko of Placebo makes dirges, as does Coldplay and innumerable other similar dreary bands. Music to make you feel like slitting your wrists to is normally sung by a baritone (unless it happens to be Robert Smith , a tenor , who is excused)... edit The two types of baritone There are two main types of baritone: High baritone or failed tenor such as Morrissey , and low baritone or failed bass (voice) such as Andrew Eldritch . Although Eldritch cannot give a decent low C (C2), his tone is deep enough to award him the title 'bass-baritone' although this is usually given to true basses that have sick vocal ranges. In a choir of 8 parts these two types are called 'tenor 2' (failed tenor) and 'bass 1' (failed bass) respectively; simply because if ordinary choirs had a baritone section, it would be far, far larger than any other section and would drown out all the other singers with flat, monotonous, tuneless dirge . edit Baritones in classical music Nina Hagen: German female/shemale/hermaphrodite baritone In opera , baritones are nowhere near as highly prized as tenors , however they still get to sing Figaro and the Toreador song; two songs that famously do not rely on high notes, low notes or much of a vocal range; so it isn't utterly hopeless for one to seek an operatic career - but because most men are this vocal type , there is one role for a part for around 8697546837789790789897896785674 applicants - so maybe a career as a goth rock band's frontman would be a better option to consider. edit The other baritone variety There are also, worryingly enough, female baritones. Every once in a while, one encounters women with exceptionally deep, masculine voices - well beyond contralto . These women are actually hermaphrodites and usually arm wrestling champions. They smoke cigars and are usually called Charlie, Sam or anything androgynous like that. They are butch lesbians , cross- dress and probably eat men. Female baritones are thankfully a rare species in the wild, but their population is higher in women over 40. As a matter of fact, as women age, they do tend to turn into old men; developing hairs on their chests and drinking vodka . 04:05

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What's missing: Woods, putters, chippers

Chippers (Right Handed) Click Here to take advantage of our free Custom Club Fitting Service Thomas Golf Chippers With the Thomas Golf Chippers, we've taken the hybrid concept to the next level. Our regular hybrid golf clubs are a combination of irons and fairway woods, while our chippers are a combination of irons, fairway woods and putters. If you've never used a chipper before, you may be missing out on a very useful tool. Thomas Golf chippers work great around the green. They are perfect for the times that you need the control of a putter, but there is just too much tall grass between you and the green. Therefore, using your chipper gets the ball up and over those obstacles, while keeping the ball low enough to the ground to get a good rolling finish up to the hole. The key to Thomas Golf's superior chipper is the weighted hosel adapter that converts the lie of the club to be more upright, much like a putter. Since the chipper is designed with a lie and shaft length of a standard putter, you can use the stroke that you normally use with your putter. The added weight and offset hosel of our chippers are crucial to hitting a consistently crisp shot. The chipper also features the snag-less hybrid head design with a 4-faced sole, to help lower the chances of hitting a fat or thin shot. Thomas Golf offers a wide variety of chippers in eight different lofts ranging from 27-degrees to 60-degrees (#5 through LW). Whatever shot you are trying to achieve, you have the tools at your finger tips with the Thomas Golf chipper series. To help you figure out which chipper is right for your game, we have a chart that shows you how the golf ball will react to the different loft angles of the various Thomas Golf chippers. The #9 chipper is what we call the 50/50 chipper, meaning that when hit, a golf ball will travel 50% of the time through the air and 50% on the ground; The ball will fly just as far as it will roll. For example, if you are 15 feet off the green and the hole is 15 feet back from the edge of the green, you can fly the ball about 15 feet and expect about a 15 feet of roll out to the hole. A more lofted chipper, such as the SW, will spend more time in the air and roll less distance. While a less lofted chipper, such as our #5, will spend the least amount of time traveling through the air, but will produce the most roll.   

Irons

Crenshaw, crane, musk, horned, and honeydew are all types of what?

Acer XK Flipper Chipper - Custom Assembled - Hireko Custom Golf Clubs and Components Acer XK Flipper Chipper - Custom Assembled Model: XCP1026H Shipping Specifications Details What type of club would produce the perfect cross between a chip shot and a flop shot? That would be the innovative Acer XK Flipper, which is not just another ordinary chipper on the market. The Flipper is based on our ever-popular Acer XK Chipper that measures 37° loft and is perfect for producing that pitch and run shot around the green. However, what happens when you miss the green short sided or when there is little room between the fringe and the hole to work with? A pitch and run shot will surely run the ball past the hole and further from your goal. Ask yourself how comfortable are you at pulling a wedge out of your bag to cozy the ball near the hole in those situations? If the answer to that is not very good, then the ultra-wide sole to glide along the grass coupled with the higher loft (46°), the Flipper allows you to finally make that 'fly & die' or 'pop and stop' shot that? been missing from your bag. Customer Reviews Items 1 to 25 of 25 total Show Only registered users can write reviews. Please, log in or register Questions on Acer XK Flipper Chipper - Custom Assembled Sort by From Bob at 6/14/14 9:10 PM How high is the face of this club? I have a shallow-faced chipper that doesn't work very well in fluffy lies since it can easily go under the ball and pop it up too fast. I don't get much forward movement with that type of shot. Bob, The distance from the straight edge of the top line to the ground line is 1.06". Do you find this question helpful?  Yes   No From Phill at 8/30/16 7:41 PM Is this club legal in tournaments? Does it conform to the USGA rules for irons? If not do you make one that does Phil, It was never submitted to the USGA for an official ruling, but doubt it would pass the stringent groove rule. This is our only higher lofted chipper so there is no substitute. The XK Chipper was submitted and it conformed to the Rules of Golf at the time and most likely grandfathered in except when the Condition of Competition is enforced. Do you find this question helpful?  Yes   No Ask Your Own Question

i don't know

First introduced by the Peter Paul Company in 1929, what candy bar consists of a coconut center surrounded by luscious chocolate?

Industries - Business History of Industries - Business History Books Food - Part 2   610 A.D. - Pretzels originated in Southern France or Northern Italy; young monk prepared unleavened bread for Lent (Christian period of fasting and penitence before Easter) in shape of Christians' praying - arms folded across chests, each hand on opposite shoulder; twisted leftover dough into this shape, used as treat for children to recite their prayers; named twisted bread 'pretiola' (Latin for 'little reward'); form became symbol of good luck, long life, prosperity. June 4, 1070 - Roquefort cheese created in cave near Roquefort, France. July 28, 1586 - Sir Thomas Harriot introduced potatoes to Europe. November 16, 1620 - Sixteen hungry Pilgrims, led by Myles Standish, William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Tilley, discovered first corn (maize) in U.S. in Provincetown, MA (named it Corn Hill); food previously harvested by local Indian tribe; provided much needed supply of food which saw Pilgrims through first Winter in New World. 1630 - Mogi family started making soy sauce in Japan; 1861 - Mogi-Takanashi families established Kikkoman; August 13, 1957 - Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. registered in U.S. "Kikkoman" trademark first used 1885 ("Kikko" - "Hexagon," and "Man" - equivalent of English term "Ten Thousand"; all-purpose sauce and seasoning-namely, soy in liquid firm and Worcestershire sauce). February 22, 1630 - Quadequine, brother of Massasoit introduced popcorn to English colonists (corn with smaller kernels than regular corn, "pops" when heated over flame); U.S. grows nearly all of world's popcorn.  April 10, 1633 - Thomas Johnson, of Snow Hill, London, displayed bananas in shop window, first time on sale in Britain; 1884 - Elder Dempster and Co. regularly imported bananas from Canary Islands into Britain. November 25, 1715 - Sybilla Masters first American to be granted English patent, for processing June 10, 1720 - Mrs. Clements, of Durham, England marketed first paste-style mustard (biting-hot mustard powder); found way to mill heart of seed to fine flour; became standard method of processing seed for use as spice, in cooking, prepared mustards. 1728 - Walter Churchman started apothecary business in Bristol, England; 1729 - granted Letters Patent by George II for a chocolate making process; 1761 - Quaker, Doctor Joseph Fry, purchased patent and recipes from Charles Churchman (son); 1787 - business passed to wife and son, Joseph Storrs Fry; named J.S. Fry & Sons, oldest chocolate firm in Britain; 1847 - Fry's chocolates factory molded first "chocolate bar". April 14, 1757 - Benjamin Jackson, chocolate and flour of mustard maker,  advertised mustard for sale for first time in America in Philadelphia Gazette. March 8, 1765 - John Hannon, financed by James Baker, began producing one of first North American-made chocolate products, using water power, in Dorchester, MA; May 16, 1771 - Baker prepared to go into chocolate business on his own, bought what is believed to be his first order of cocoa beans; July 2, 1772 - made first recorded sale of chocolate; 1779 - Hannon lost at sea on cacao bean buying trip to West Indies; 1780 - Baker bought out John Hannon's widow, took over full ownership of business, produced first known chocolate branded as "Baker's"; 1791 - Edmund Baker (son, 21) entered into partnership; 1806 - built first Baker family mill for chocolate, grist, cloth; 1818 - Walter Baker (grandson) became partner; 1824 - took over; 1852 - employee Sam German created Baker's German Sweet Chocolate; 1854 - Walter Baker estate trustees appointed Henry Pierce (nephew) to run company; 1883 - adopted La Belle Chocolatiere (by Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Liotard) as Baker's official company trademark; 1884 - Pierce obtained full ownership of Walter Baker & Company from Baker estate trustees; 1895 - incorporated as Walter Baker & Company, Ltd.; 1896 - acquired by Forbes Syndicate for $4.75 million; July 4, 1905 - registered La Belle Chocolatiere design first used in 1877 (Colonial dress, women wearing; Hoop skirts); August 21, 1906 - registered "Baker's" trademark first used in October 1836 cocoa, chocolate, [broma] and cocoa preparations); July 12, 1921 - registered "German's" trademark first used in January 1910 (sweet chocolate); 1927 - acquired by Potsum Company (General Foods); 1989 - acquired by Kraft Foods. 1777 - Maurice Grey, who had developed a secret recipe for a strong mustard made with white wine, formed a partnership with Auguste Poupon, who supplied the financial backing to manufacture the product, in Dijon, France; introduced first automatic mustard machines. May 12, 1777 - Philip Lenzi, London confectioner, ran first advertisement for ice cream in U.S. in New York Gazette; announced his selling of various confections, including ice cream. June 8, 1786 - Mr. Hall of 76 Chatham Street (now Park Row) advertised first commercially-made ice cream in the U.S. (George Washington's expense ledger, of May 17, 1784, recorded purchase of "a cream machine for ice" [non-commercial production of ice-cream]). 1790 - Henry Wood, of Henry Wood & Son, commission merchant (wholesaler), distributed flour brought by English ships to Long Wharf in Boston's harbor; 1838 - Henry Wood and partner, George J. Cook, bought Richards and Co., flour company; 1840 - John Low Sands joined company started as a salesman, became part owner; 1895 - Orin E. Sands (youngest son of John Low Sands), Mark C. Taylor, George E. Wood owned company in limited partnership; renamed Sands, Taylor & Wood Co. (ST & W); October 1896 - introduced King Arthur Flour ('Never Bleached, Never Bromated') at Boston Food Fair; made of only hard, red, spring wheat from Minnesota and Canada; high-protein wheat produced more gluten, absorbed moisture better, made yeast-baked goods rise better, kept baked goods fresher for longer time; July 1, 1904 - incorporated as Sands, Taylor & Wood Co.; 1917 - Frank Edgar Sands (Ben's son) took over Presidency upon Orin's death; 1944 - Walter Sands (Frank's son) elected ST & W president; 1967 - Edgar Sands II (Walter's son) became president; acquisitions made ST & W largest New England distributor of bakery supplies; 1990 - published mail-order catalog under title The Baker's Catalogue; 1996 - Sands Family established an employee stock-ownership plan; 1998 - Catalogue mailed to some 3.5 million people, accounted for $10 million in sales; July 1, 1999 - name changed to The King Arthur Flour Company; oldest flour company, earliest food company in New England. (http://www.vtliving.com/flour/KAFlogo.gif) February 2, 1795 - Nicholas Appert, French chef who invented way to can food, won prize of 12,000 francs offered by French government for method of preserving, transporting food to its armies; developed method of heating food in airtight glass jars. February 14, 1803 - Moses Coates, of Coatsville, PA, received a patent for a "Machine for Paring Apples." November 13, 1805 - Johann Georg Lehner, German butcher from Frankfurt living in Vienna, Austria, created sausage with mixture of beef and pork (allowed in Austria); Austrians called sausage 'Frankfurter' (created by someone from Frankfurt); called Wiener elsewhere (invented in Vienna). 1807 - Frederick C. and William Havemeyer, former employees of Edmund Seaman and Company sugar boiler business, founded William & F. C. Havemeyer Company, sugarhouse, on Van Dam Street in Manhattan; 1855 - Frederick C. Havemeyer, Jr., relocated sugarhouse to Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 1857 - operated as Havemeyer, Townsend & Co.; 1863 - name changed to Havemeyers & Elder Sugar Refining Co. (Joseph L. Elder, son-in-law); December 1887 - Henry O. Havemeyer (son of Frederick, Jr.) formed Sugar Refineries Company ("Sugar Trust"), consolidated 18 major refiners in Brooklyn, NY controlling 80% of industry capacity (Havemeyers & Elder, DeCastro & Donner, Brooklyn Sugar Refining, Dick & Meyer, Moller, Sierck); March 1889 - acquired American Sugar Refinery (former Bay Sugar Refining Company founded by Claus Spreckels in 1864); January 10, 1891 - American Sugar Refining Co. incorporated; October 8, 1901 - American Sugar Refining Co. registered "Domino" trademark first used August 1, 1900 (hard sugar); November 1910 - U. S. Government sued for dissolution of American Sugar Refining Company for restraint of trade - reduced competition, increased sugar prices, lost employment (controlled about 75% of refined sugar industry of United States); December 29, 1921 - anti-trust case settled by consent decree (industry control reduced to 24%); 1970 - American Sugar changed name to Amstar Corp.; 1988 - acquired by Tate & Lyle. Henry O. Havemeyer - American Sugar Refining (http://academics.smcvt.edu/shelburnemuseum/sestey/images/Scan0002.jpg) April 17, 1810 - Lewis Mills Norton, of Goshen, CT, received a patent for a "Vat for Pineapple Cheese". 1814 - Jeremiah Colman, flour miller, took over mustard manufacturing business based on river Tas, four miles south of Norwich, UK; 1823 - took adopted nephew, James, into partnership in new firm; named J & J Colman; 1866 - introduced red and yellow livery to label; granted Royal Warrant as manufacturers to Queen Victoria; 1938 - merged with Reckitt & Sons; renamed Reckitt & Colman; March 26, 1974 - registered in U.S. "Colman's Mustard" trademark first used 1948 (mustard); 1995 - acquired by Unilever. Jeremiah Colman - Colman's Mustard (http://www.redhill-reigate-history.co.uk/kgv%20colman%20pic.JPG) 1815 - Casparus van Houten established chocolate factory; 1828 - received a patent for Van Houten cocoa press to separate cocoa solids from cocoa butter to make cocoa powder; Coenraad Johannes Van Houten created process to treat cocao powder with alkaline salts to remove bitter taste, allow cocoa powder to mix more easily with water (called "Dutch process" chocolate); inventions by father and son led to 19th-century mass production, consumption of chocolate, put Dutch at forefront of cocoa processing; April 3, 1906 - C. J. Van Houten & Zoon registered "Van Houten" trademark first used in 1852 (cocoa). Coenraad Johannes Van Houten - Van Houten cocoa (http://exhibits.mannlib.cornell.edu/chocolate/images/content_img/VanHoutten_small.jpg) February 3, 1815 - World's first commercial cheese factory established in Kiesen, canton of Berne, Switzerland (first cheese production facility opened in 1802 in Howfil; only about 200 pounds of cheese exported from Switzerland in 1810); 1900 - about 2,600 cheese factories in Switzerland. 1818 - Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge founded Bunge & Co. in Amsterdam, Netherlands as import/export trading business; 1859 - Edouard Bunge (grandson) relocated company to Antwerp, Belgium (one of world's leading commodities traders); 1884 - expanded to South America; Ernest Bunge (grandson) founded Bunge y Born in Argentina; 1905 - entered wheat milling business in Brazil; 1918 - entered North American market; 1923 - established Bunge North American Grain Corporation; 1935 - purchased first sizable grain facility, Midway, rail terminal in Minneapolis, MN; 1943 - name changed to Bunge Corporation; 1945 - first export of Brazilian soybeans (largest exporter of agricultural products in 2008); 1961 - opened export grain-handling elevator in Louisiana (centerpiece of U.S. export business); 1987 - acquired Carlin Food Corp. (served retail, wholesale bakers, foodservice operators, food processors); 1997-2004 - largest fertilizer producer, soy processor in South America; 1998 - built largest soybean crushing, refining plant in U.S. in Iowa; 1999 - moved headquarters to White Plains, NY; 2001 - went public; 2002 - world's largest soy processor, supplier of bottled oils to consumers; June 23, 2008 - announced acquisition of Corn Products International (fourth-largest maker of high-fructose corn syrup in U.S.) for $4.4. billion (foothold in syrups, sweeteners business); third largest agribusiness company in U. S. by revenue (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland). 1822 - Englishman William Underwood set up small condiment business on Boston's Russia Wharf; 1836 - started packing his products in tin canisters (cans); 1868 - Underwood's sons began experimenting with new product created from ground ham blended with special seasonings; called process "deviling" (new way to cook, prepare ham, unique taste); 1870 - company registered Underwood devil logo trademark; 1895 - advertising with little red devil began to appear nationally; May 23, 1939 - William Underwood Company registered "Underwood" trademark first used June 1, 1937 (canned deviled ham); 2006 - oldest existing trademark still in use in United States. January 1, 1823 - John Wheeley Lea, William Henry Perrins, of Worcester, UK, formed partnership; August 28, 1837 - began to produce Worcestershire Sauce commercially; May 31, 1892 - Lea & Perrins Firm registered "Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce" trademark; 1904 - granted rare Royal Warrant by King Edward VII; 1916 - granted The Spanish Royal Warrant by King of Spain; June 11, 1930 - acquired by HP Foods. 1824 - John Cadbury (22), former apprentice to tea dealer in Leeds, UK, opened grocer's shop in Birmingham, England; sold cocoa, drinking chocolate; 1831 - began to manufacture on commercial scale; 1842 - sold 16 lines of drinking chocolate, cocoa in cake and powder forms; 1847 - Benjamin Cadbury (brother) made partner (dissolved in 1856), name changed to Cadbury Brothers; mid-1850s - Prime Minister William Gladstone reduced taxes on imported cocoa beans; February 4, 1854 - received first Royal Warrant as 'manufacturers of cocoa and chocolate to Queen Victoria'; 1861 - George (21) and Richard (25) Cadbury (sons) took over; 1866 - introduced new cocoa press process to remove some of cocoa butter from beans, produce less rich, more palatable cocoa essence (no need to add flour); helped turn small business into worldwide company; 1897 - introduced its first milk chocolate; 1899 - became private limited company, renamed Cadbury Brothers Limited; 1905 - introduced 'Dairy Milk' brand (company's best selling line in Britain by 1913, brand market leader in mid-1920s); 1919 - merged with J. S. Fry & Sons of Bristol, UK (introduced 'Chocolate Cream', plain chocolate bar with white fondant center in 1853); 1962 - re-organized, renamed Cadbury Limited, went public; 1964 - expanded into sugar confectionery; 1969 - merged with Schweppes, renamed Cadbury Schweppes; May 7, 2008 - separated beverage business from confection business, focused on confection; February 2010 - acquired by Kraft Foods Inc. for about $19.5 billion; created world's largest confectioner (more than $500 billion in sales). John Cadbury - Cadbury Group (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/01/20/article-1244330-07EF049F000005DC-380_306x423.jpg) 1824 - Crowley family began making cheese in kitchen in Healdville, VT; 1882 - Winfield Crowley built present-day factory, Crowley Cheese started to reach shores of Maine, streets of Manhattan; January 24, 1893 - Crowley Foods, Inc. registered "Crowley" trademark first used February 24, 1969 (dairy products); believed to be oldest existing cheese factory in Western Hemisphere. Winfield Crowley - Crowley Cheese (http://www.crowleycheese-vermont.com/img/Winifred.jpg) January 19, 1825 - Ezra Daggett, Thomas Kensett (nephew) of New York City, received a patent for "Preserving Animal Substances"; food storage in cans (had introduced method for canned salmon, oysters, lobsters in 1819; tin cans had been used by military, explorers in Europe since 1813 but their development did not start until after Civil War). 1827 - John Morrell & Co. founded in Bradford, Yorkshire, England; local woolcomber George Morrell bought barge load of oranges in local canal with 80 pound bequest left to his wife by an uncle; sold oranges at profit in streets of Bradford; started business in produce, butter, eggs, cheese, bacon, hams; 1864 - U.S.-based operations established in New York; December 1967 - acquired by AMK Corporation; 1970 - merged with United Fruit, renamed United Brands; December 1995 - acquired by Smithfield Foods for $60 million; considered to be the oldest continuously operating meat manufacturer in the U.S. 1828 - Baker Alfred Wyman made first Westminster Crackers in Westminster, MA; 1842 - built cracker factory; barrel of "seconds" near front door offered free samples to residents, visitors; 1891 - acquired by Charles Dawley, Frank Battles, Herman Shepard (Dawley & Shepard, Inc.); 1968 - breadcrumb business acquired by Pillsbury (ceased baking in Westminster, MA); cracker business remained with Dawley family; 1989 - resumed cracker manufacture in Rutland, VT; January 23, 1990 - Westminster Cracker company, Inc. registered "Westminster Crackers" trademark first used in 1890 (crackers); 1999 - 61% control acquired by Cains Foods, LP through acquisition of Olde Cape Cod Food Products; 2008 - fifth generation management. 1833 - AJ & RG Barber began farming, making cheese at Maryland Farm in Ditcheat, Somerset, UK; incorporated; sold milk from farm locally, used cheese to feed family, farm workers; 2010 - Barber farms comprise 10 farms, 2500 acres of prime Somerset dairy land, home to some 2,000 dairy cows; sixth generation management (cousins); Britain's oldest cheese-making family. August 14, 1834 - Jacob Perkins, of Newburyport, MA, received British patent for "Improvement in the Apparatus and Means for Producing Ice, and in Cooling Fluids" ("volatile fluid for the purpose of producing the cooling and freezing ... and yet at the same time condensing such volatile fluids, and bringing them into operation without waste"); refrigerating machine; vapor-compression machine using sulphuric ether compression in a closed cycle. 1838 - Carl Heinrich Knorr built factory in Heilbronn, Germany, to dry, grind chicory for coffee trade; developed process for dried soups (preserved natural values of ingredients, flavors, reduced cooking times); 1873 - KNORR Company began packaging, selling soup mixes in food shops; 1899 - C.H. KNORR A.G. went public; 1908 - introduced European sauce mix. 1912 - introduced bouillon cube; 1947 - near bankruptcy (demand immense, quality eroded); 1948 - substituted liquid brown seasoning with Glutamate (eliminated former factory taste); reduced cooking times from 30 to 5-10 minutes; replaced cardboard package with hermetically sealed aluminum pouch (protected product against humidity, other taste influences); launched chicken noodle soup (sold 6.4 million servings in first 7 months); 1957 - KNORR products (bouillons, soups, sauces, entree mixes) available in eight countries around world: April 1958 - acquired by CPC International Inc.; September 22, 1959 - KNORR Nahrmittel Aktiengesellschaft, Thayngen Corporation registered "Knorr" trademark first used October 23, 1913 (dehydrated, granulated, concentrated [and canned] coups and broths, [flours,] seasonings-to wit, [vinegar, mustard, table salt and] seasoned salt, [tapioca, oat flakes and] bouillon and vegetable cubes); 2000 - products sold in 87 countries; October 2000 - acquired by Unilever (largest brand); 2002 - introduced frozen meals, mealkits, vegetable products, snacks. Carl Heinrich Knorr - Knorr soups (http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:EYmGualsBX06IM:http://www.knorr.nl/livelinkImage.php%3Fobjid%3D2308202) March 12, 1841 - Orlando Jones (City Road, England) received first U.S. patent for "Improvement in the Manufacture of Starch" ("new and useful improvements in the treating or operating on farinaceous matters to obtain starch and other products, and in the manufacture of starch"); used alkali to speed up starch making process (corn starch); shortened production time, increased yield, left by-products in a condition suitable for further uses. 1842 - Stephen F. Whitman (19) founded Stephen F. Whitman & Son "confectionery and fruiterer shoppe" on Market Street near the Philadelphia waterfront; 1854 - introduced first prepackaged Whitman's candy (box of sugar plums adorned with curlicues and rosebuds); first packaged confection in printed, marked box; December 29, 1860 - ran first newspaper advertisement; 1888 - Horace F. Whitman (son) took over; April 3, 1906 - Stephen F. Whitman registered "Whitman's" trademark first used in 1842 (candies and chocolates of all descriptions); 1907 - established own national sales organization for direct distribution to dealers on national level; 1909 - incorporated; 1912 - introduced Whitman's Sampler, first use of cellophane by candy industry; March 24, 1914 - registered "Whitman's Sampler Chocolates & Confections" trademark first used January 1, 1912 (candy confections); 1915 - Sampler become America's best-selling box of chocolates (still is); early 1960s - acquired by Pet, Inc.; 1978 - Pet acquired by IC Industries; 1991 - became permanent fixture in Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History; 1993 - acquired by Russell Stover Candies; America's oldest continuous producer of boxed chocolates. 1842 - Samuel R. Mott founded Mott's in Bouckville, New York; made cider with help of hitched horses that plodded in circle, apples crushed between two large stone drums at center of 'sweep', shoveled into crib with slatted sides, packed in straw, pressed by three men leaning on lengthy level that operated jack screw; golden juice ran off into tank beneath, ready for bottling; 1900 - merged with W.B. Duffy Cider Company (Rochester, NY, also founded 1842); March 20, 1923 - Duffy-Mott Company, Inc. registered "Mott's" trademark first used (in another form) in 1850 (vinegar); 1929 - introduced series of new fruit products, contributed more to growth than events of any prior decade; 1930 - launched apple sauce; 1933 - introduced prune juice, in collaboration with California Prune and Apricot Growers Association (could be produced in apple processing plants during off-season); 1936 - began to make jellies; 1938 - acquired by American Brands, Inc.; 1982 - acquired by Cadbury-Schweppes 1842 - Thomas Kingsford, former superintendent of William Colgate & Co. wheat-starch factory, isolated starch from kernels of corn; perfected process, made pure laundry starch from corn; 1846 - "T. Kingsford and Son", corn starch merchant, established in Bergen, NJ; 1891 - corn milling plant (later called Argo Manufacturing) incorporated in Nebraska; 1892 - introduced ARGO Corn Starch; 1899 - Argo, Kingsford's, two other starch companies merged, formed United Starch Company (forerunner of The Corn Products Refining Co.); 1900 - acquired by National Starch Co.; 1906 - became Corn Products Refining Co.; January 26, 1915 - registered "ARGO" trademark first used January 1, 1891 (corn starch); October 19, 1915 - National Starch Co. registered "Kingsford's" trademark first used in 1848 (corn starch). Thomas Kingsford - Oswego Starch Factory (http://www.argostarch.com/images/hist_1842Pic.jpg) August 26, 1843 - Norbert Rillieux, of New Orleans, LA, received patent for a "Vacuum Pan" ("Improvement in Sugar-Works"); December 10, 1846 - received patent for an "Evaporating Pan" ("Improvement in Sugar-Making"); multiple effect vacuum sugar evaporator; device revolutionized sugar processing; made it more efficient, faster, much safer. September 9, 1843 - Nancy M. Johnson, of Philadelphia, PA, received a patent for an "Artificial Freezer" ("Improvement in the Art of Producing Artificial Ices"). 1845 - David Sprangli-Schwarz, confectioner, and Rudolf Sprangli-Ammann (son) owned small confectionery shop in Marktgasse of Zurich's Old Town; 1892 - business split between two sons (confectionery stores to David Robert, chocolate factory to Johann Rudolf Sprangli-Schifferli); 1899 - Sprangli-Schifferli converted company Chocolat Sprangli AG to raise money; acquired option to acquire chocolate factory of Rodolphe Lindt in Berne; name changed to to Aktiengesellschaft Vereinigte Berner und Zarcher Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprangli (option fully exercised in 1928); July 9, 1912 - Aktiengesellschaft Vereinigte Berner und Zarcher Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprangli Corporation registered "Lindt" trademark first used in 1879 (chocolate candies); 1919-1946 - sales flat; 1947 - signed licensing agreement in Italy (Germany in 1950, France in 1954); 1986 - Lindt & Sprangli (USA) Inc. activated (founded in New York in 1925); went public; 1993 - acquisitions of former licensees completed; worldwide net sales nearly 900 million Swiss Francs; 1994 - Kilchberg-based holding company formed; all companies became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprangli AG; September 1997 - acquired Caffarel (Torino, Italy); January 1998 - acquired Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (San Francisco, CA); world-wide leader in premium quality chocolate segment in all markets. David Spr�ngli-Schwarz, Rudolf Spr�ngli- Ammann - Lindt (http://www.lindt.com/typo3temp/pics/0a99698e21.jpg) June 30, 1845 - Peter Cooper, of New York, NY, received a patent for "Improvement in the Preparation of Portable Gelatine" ("consists in making a transparent concentrated or solidified jelly containing all the ingredients fitting it for table use, in a portable form, and requiring only the addition of a prescribed quantity of hot water to dissolve it, when it may be poured into glasses or molds, and when cold will be fit for use"). 1847 - Oliver R. and Silas Edwin Chase founded Chase and Company; November 14, 1871 - Oliver Rice Chase, of Boston, MA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Machine for Manufacturing Lozenges" ("...eminent advantages both as to simplicity of construction and to the manner in which it operates, and affords site of the paste prepatory to its being cut into lozenges and discharged from the machine"); 1901 - merged with Forbes, Hayward and Company (1848), Wright and Moody (1856); formed New England Confectionery Company (NECCO); January 30, 1906 - registered "NECCO Sweets" trademark first used June 1, 1904 (candy). 1848 - Alonzo Richmond founded Richmond & Company in Chicago, IL; agent for Onondaga Salt (Syracuse, NY); 1886 - Joy Morton, J. Sterling Morton (son), Secretary of Agriculture under Grover Cleveland, acquired majority interest; changed name to Joy Morton & Company; 1910 - renamed Morton Salt Company; 1914 - introduced Morton Umbrella Girl to blue package of table salt; March 30, 1915 - registered "When It Rains It Pours" trademark first used November 6, 1914 (salt); 1924 - developed iodized salt (contained 0.01% sodium iodide as dietary supplement as iodine reduced incidence of goiter [major swelling of thyroid gland in neck]); May 17, 1949 - registered "Morton" trademark first used June 15, 1912 (salt and meat and poultry seasoning, the seasoning consisting of salt and spices); 1999 - acquired by Rohm and Haas. Joy Morton - Morton Salt (http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OkMSZRidIIMROM:http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111463/media/joy.gif) May 30, 1848 - William G. Young, of Baltimore, MD, received a patent for an "Ice Cream Freezer"; improvement made freezer turn rapidly within the ice-tub as well as the cream inside; designed to be used while both agitating the cream and turning the freezer using the weighted top-mounted handle; beating brought all cream in better contact with cold sides, air trapped with motion made cream lighter. September 23, 1848 - John B. Curtis started first commercial chewing gum factory in Bangor, ME to produce State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum; first commercially sold chewing gum in U.S.; 1860 - employed 200 people at facility in Portland, ME; end of 19th century - Maine spruce gum production peaked at 300,000 pounds a year. John B. Curtis - made first chewing-gum, in Maine (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/John_B_Curtis.png/125px-John_B_Curtis.png) 1849 - Samuel Northrup Castle, Amos Starr Cooke of Boston formed partnership to run private storehouse (once the missionary depository); 1851 - obtained licenses to sell wholesale products (farm tools, sewing machines, medicine), formed Castle & Cooke Corporation ("Kakela Me Kuke" in Hawaiian); 1853 - fourth largest company in Hawaii; 1894 - incorporated under laws of Hawaii; 1905 - organized Sugar Factors Company, Ltd., to buy, sell, transport, arrange for refining Hawaii's sugars; 1932 - acquired 21% ownership of Hawaiian Pineapple Company; 1961 - merged with Dole Pineapple, Columbia River Packers (Bumble Bee); 1968 - acquired Standard Fruit, second largest producer, importer of bananas; 1972 - established Castle & Cooke Foods group (all food activities except sugar); 1985 - severe financial problems, merged with Flexi-Van Corporation (transportation equipment leasing company); 1991 - name changed to Dole Food Company, Inc.; 1995 - separated food, real estate businesses: Dole Food Company, Inc. as food producer, distributor; Castle & Cooke, Inc. as developer, builder of residential real estate, resorts , commercial real estate; 2003 - Dole acquired by David H. Murdock. Samuel Northrup Castle - Castle & Cooke (http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/castle/castles.jpg) 1849 - Isidore Boudin established French bakery in San Francisco (one of more than 60 in the city); continued use of leavening bread with wild yeast starter ('mother dough'); combined ordinary sourdough yeast used by miners with French-style loaf of bread; 1873 - home deliveries by horse-drawn wagon; 1900 - introduced motorized delivery trucks; 1910 - Charles, Jules Boudin (sons) took over; 1941 - acquired by Steve Giraudo Sr.; 1975 - first retail demonstration bakery on Fisherman's Wharf; 1978 - mail order business started; 1984 - focus shifted to bakery-cafes, away from wholesale business. Isidore Boudin (with family at right) - 1849 (http://www.boudinbakery.com/ximages/J_467x245_since1849.jpg) 1849 - John Pew founded John Pew & Sons in Gloucester, MA; 1868 - Slade Gorton began fishing business in Rockport, MA; first to pack salt-dried codfish; 1904 - "Man at Wheel" painting became logo; March 31, 1906 - Slade Gorton & Co., John Pew & Son, David B. Smith & Co., Reed & Gamage combined, formed Gorton-Pew Fisheries Co.; fleet of 39 fishing vessels, largest fleet operated by any company on Atlantic Coast; 1923 - reorganized from bankruptcy by Boston lawyer named William Putnam; February 6, 1945 - Gorton-Pew Fisheries Company, Ltd. registered "Gorton's" trademark first used in 1875 (canned fish, salt fish, smoked fish, and spiced fish); 1957 - name changed to Gorton's of Gloucester; December 12, 1967 - Gorton Corporation registered "Gorton's of Gloucester" trademark first used August 26, 1966 (frozen seafood et al); 1968 - acquired by General Mills; May 1995 - acquired by Unilever; August 2001 - acquired, with BlueWater Seafoods, by Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc., subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd., for $175 million in cash. 1850 - Eugene Durkee founded Durkee Spices in Buffalo, NY; 1907 - Durkee helped establish the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA); 1918 - introduced cans for spices (replaced paperboard cartons); August 28, 1951 - Glidden Company (dba as Durkee Famous Foods Corporation) registered "Durkee's" trademark first used July 18, 1929 (spices, meat sauces, salad and mayonnaise dressings, coconut, margarine, vegetable oils solid for edible purposes, vegetable oil shortening and hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening); 1982 - pioneered freeze-ground milling, introduced plastic packaging with tamper-evident seals; 1994 - acquired by Burns Philp of Sydney, Australia; 2005 - acquired by Associated British Foods plc purchased (operated under ACH Food Companies, Inc. management). Eugene Durkee - Durkee Foods (http://www.durkeefoodservice.com/images/ahGfx1.jpg) 1850 - Francis Hulman, John Bernhard Ludowici invested $700 and $1,400, respectively, opened Cincinnati Wholesale Grocery Store in Terre Haute, IN; March 12, 1853 - partnership ended; Ludowici kept business; Septrember 1853 - Hulman opened F.T. Hulman Wholesale Store directly across street; 1854 - Herman Hulman (23) arrived from Germany to sell for Francis; September 13, 1858 - Francis Hulman, wife and child died aboard ship destroyed by fire on way to New York; July 1869 - merged with R.S. Cox Jr., closest competitor in wholesale grocery business; 1878 - acquired Benjamin Cox's half-interest; became major supplier of food, merchandise under house brands (Crystal, Dauntless, REX, Farmers Pride, Clabber Brand baking powder (mixture of baked fireplace ash and "clabber" - sour milk); September 1893 - opened Clabber Baking Powder building; 1923 - renamed Clabber Girl Baking Powder; March 18, 1924 - Hulman & Company registered "Clabber Girl Baking Powder" trademark first used July 13, 1923 (baking powder); 1926 - Tony Hulman, Jr. (grandson), company's sales manager, made Clabber Girl #1 selling baking powder in U.S.; 1931 - assumed management of company (age 30); 1945 - acquired Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 1995 - closed grocery business. Herman Hulman, Francis Hulman, Theodore Hulman - Hulman & Company (http://www.clabbergirl.com/images/features/3_hulmans.jpg) 1850 - Scotsman David Jack, arrived in Monterey, CA; 1869 - Monterey's dominant landowner (had bought, with attorney Delos Rodeyn Ashley, 29,698.53 acres of Monterey peninsula at auction on February 9, 1859 - included what is now Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Del Rey Oaks, Del Monte Forest [aka Pebble Beach], Fort Ord [now California State University, Monterey Bay); owned dairy along Salinas River, produced cheese originally known as Queso Blanco (soft, creamy, light cheese known as "Queso blanco pais", country peasant cheese, and "Queso blanco", white cheese, first made by Franciscan padres at nearby Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo); went into partnership with 13 regional dairies (Spanish and Portuguese dairymen dominated North Californian dairy farming); used excess milk to produce cheese, marketed as "Jacks Cheese" (changed to 'Monterey Jack' because so many customer's asked for the cheese by that name; became synonymous with white, creamy cheese; official name approved by Food and Drug Administration in 1955); first to commercially manufacture Jack cheese on large scale (Domingo Pedrazzi of Carmel Valley argued that his use of pressure housejack gave cheese its name, Pedrazzi's jack cheese); one of four cheeses to supposedly have been created in United States. David Jack - Monterey Jack Cheese (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/David_Jack.jpg/180px-David_Jack.jpg) February 5, 1850 - Gail Borden, Jr. of Galveston, TX, received patent for "Preparation of Portable Soup-Bread"; process baked a combination of extracts from meat with flour to produce a meat biscuit capable of long term storage; convenient method that preserved meat-based product could be carried by the military, seamen and other travelers; reconstituted with hot water as a soup. August 24, 1853 - It has been claimed that Chef George Crum, an American Indian, prepared first potato chips at Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, NY - railroad magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his potatoes were "too thick", sent them back to kitchen, Crum retaliated by slicing paper thin strips of potatoes, frying them to a crisp; Vanderbilt loved them; "Saratoga Chips" -instant success; 1895 - William Tappenden began delivering potato chips to stores in Cleveland, OH; potato chips first became available in grocery stores; 1926 - Laura Scudder (Monterey Park, CA) introduced potato chips in hand-ironed wax paper 'bags' (vs. dispensed in bulk in paper sacks from from cracker barrels or glass display cases); 1937 - Potato Chip Institute (PCI) established (formerly Ohio Potato Chip Association); 2003 - Snack Food Association (SFA), United States Potato Board (USPB) celebrated this history. Chef George Crum - potato chip (http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/snacks/images/GeorgeCrum.gif) 1856 - Cadwallader Colden (C. C.) Washburn formed Minneapolis Milling Company to lease power rights to mill operators; 1866 - built his first flour mill (one of largest in world) on banks of Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN; 1874 - built second mill (burned down); 1877 - John Crosby joined C. C. and William D. Washburn (brother) in milling business as partner (married to sister of Washburn's sister-in-law); formed Washburn Crosby Company; 1880 - Washburn Crosby Company won gold medal at first Millers International Exhibition, renamed highest quality product Gold Medal Flour (remains best selling brand in U.S.); 1888 - James Stroud Bell assumed leadership; expanded national flour market; 1921 - Betty Crocker created; 1924 - Wheaties, company's first ready-to-eat cereal introduced; June 20, 1928 - James Ford Bell (son) incorporated General Mills Inc. 1858 - David Oppenheimer and three brothers founded Oppenheimer Bros. & Co. in Victoria, BC, to provide food, supplies to thousands of fortune seekers who followed gold rush to British Columbia; 1859 - opened second store in Yale, along Cariboo trail; 1862 - opened another branch in Barkerville; 1887 - moved company to Vancouver, BC, effectively opened city's first wholesale provisions warehouse; considered innovative founding father of Vancouver; 1891 - established strategic alliance with Japan Fruit Growers Cooperative; 1956 - brought first Granny Smith apples to North America from New Zealand; late 1960s - established one of first large-scale Chilean shipping programs to import grapes, stone fruit; 1985 - established U.S. business under name David Oppenheimer & Co. Seattle, WA; 1992 - The David Oppenheimer Group - comprised David Oppenheimer & Associates (Canadian company), David Oppenheimer & Co. (U.S. company), David Oppenheimer Transport Inc. (transport services); 2002 - name changed to The Oppenheimer Group; shipped total of 35 million packages of fresh produce; 2003 - launched Oppenheimer-branded packaging; chosen by Ocean Spray to market fresh cranberries in North America; 2008 - awarded platinum status, from National Post, as one of Canada's "Best Managed Companies." 1859 - Henry Tate (40), grocer in Liverpool, joined John Wright & Co, sugar refinery, as partner; 1862 - set up his own refinery; joined by Alfred and Edwin (sons), formed Henry Tate & Sons; 1872 - Love Lane Refinery (Liverpool) began operations; incorporated new refining technique to increase yield of white sugar; 1875 - acquired rights, in partnership with David Martineau, from German inventor Eugen Langen, introduced sugar cube to UK; 1878 -- opened refinery at Silvertown in East London; 1921 - merged with Abram Lyle & Sons, formed Tate & Lyle PLC; 1963 - acquired United Molasses for �30 million, became world leader in molasses trade; 1976 - acquired one-third stake in Amylum, established first major interest in cereal sweetener, starch-based manufacturing; 1988 - acquired 90% North American AE Staley Manufacturing Co. (2000 - acquired balance); increased stake in Amylum to 63%; 1998 - acquired citric acid business of Haarmann & Reimer (subsidiary of Bayer AG), became world's leading producer of citric acid; 2006 - Lyle's Golden Syrup tin design named Guinness World Records as world's oldest branding (packaging); March 21 2006 - annual sales of �3.7 billion, 7,000 employees in subsidiaries, 4,800 in joint ventures. 1861 - Julius Sturgis, ran bread bakery, established first commercial pretzel bakery in America, in Lititz, Lancaster County, PA. 1861 - William G. Bell founded The William G. Bell Company; created, marketed premium nutrition products, savory combinations that enhanced cuisines (Jamaican ginger, Zanzibar clove, Batavian cinnamon, Dalmatian sage); 1867 - introduced Bell's seasoning; March 16, 1937 - William G. bell Company registered "Bell's" trademark first used March 10, 1878 (spiced seasonings). William G. Bell - Bell's Seasoning (http://bellventures.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/grandpag.jpg?w=300&h=244) 1862 - Godfrey Keebler bought baking business of John T. Ricketts (deceased employer) in Philadelphia; 1890 - formed partnership with Augustus Weyl, incorporated Keebler-Weyl Baking Company; February 1898 - New York Biscuit Company, United States Baking Company, American Biscuit Company formed 'Cracker Trust' (controlled 145 bakeries); 1966 - Keebler adopted as corporate title for bakery network, single brand name for all bakery products; February 20, 1968 - Keebler Company registered "Keebler" trademark first used May 5, 1966 (cookies, crackers, and candy); 1974 - acquired by U.K.-based United Biscuit Company; 1996 - acquired in leveraged buyout; acquired Sunshine Biscuit Co.; 1997 - name changed to Keebler Foods Company; 1998 - acquired President Baking Co.; Flowers Industries became majority shareholder after initial public offering; 2001 - acquired by Kellogg Company, no. 2 cookie and cracker brand in United States. 1862 - Henry Issac Rowntree acquired cocoa side of Wm. Tuke and Sons shop; 1869 - Joseph Rowntree joined brother's business as partner; 1887 - Elect Cocoa introduced; 1890 - built Cocoa, Chocolate & Chicory Works in York, UK; 1897 - Rowntree & Co went Limited, Joseph Rowntree as Chairman; 1904 - established Rowntree Foundation; 1937 - Chocolate Crisp changed name to Kit Kat; Rolos introduced; 1962 - After Eight is introduced; 1969 - merged with rival John Mackintosh & Sons Ltd., formed Rowntree Mackintosh Ltd.; 1987 - name changed to Rowntree plc; 1988 - acquired by Nestle SA. 1862 - Charles Gulden established mustard company near South Street Seaport in New York City; purchased imported seeds and spices, earned prestigious award from American Institute in 1869, 1883; March 16, 1875 - Jacob Gulden (father), of New York, NY, received patent for a "Design for Mustard-Bottle"; July 5, 1881 - received a patent for a "Vessel for Holding and Dispensing Mustard"; January 30, 1893 - Charles Gulden received patent for a "Cap for Mustard-Bottles"; March 16, 1897 - Charles Gulden, Jr. received a patent for a "Package for Mustard, etc."; January 2, 1906 - registered "Gulden's Mustard" trademark first used 1875 (mustard). 1863 - Claus and Bernard Spreckels built Bay Sugar Refinery in San Francisco, CA (with proceeds from sale of grocery business, brewery); used raw sugar from Hawaii; 1866 - sold refinery; 1867 - incorporated California Sugar Refinery in San Francisco to refine, produce sugar made from Hawaiian sugar cane (became largest factory on West Coast in value of output); July 28, 1874 - received a patent for an "Improvement in Processes of manufacturing hard Sugar" ("To make the crystals or grains adhere to each other, so as to be molded, pressed, and dried into hard sugar ...water to do the cleansing and white liquor to give the necessary adhesiveness"); September 30, 1878 - organized Hawaiian Commercial Company; 1881 - organized Oceanic Steamship Company (shipping line between San Francisco, Hawaii); March 31, 1882 - organized Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company as plantation company; 1888 - established Western Beet Sugar Company in Watsonville, CA; 1889-1892 - battled Havemeyer Sugar Trust; 1891 - 50% of California Sugar Refinery acquired by American Sugar Refining Company); renamed Western Sugar Refinery; 1895 - President of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway (acquired by Santa Fe in 1901); August 6, 1896 - incorporated Spreckels Sugar Co., beet sugar company, in Salinas, CA; 1908 - Adolph B. Spreckels (second son) assumed control; 1963 - acquired by American Refining Company (AMSTAR); 1987 - went private in management buyout; renamed Spreckels Industries; 1996 - acquired by Holly Sugar; 2005 - Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative acquired Holly Sugar from Imperial Sugar Company; name changed to Spreckels Sugar Company, Inc. 1863 - German-British Liebig Extract of Meat Company built factory in Fray Bentos, Uruguay (town once known as "The Kitchen of the World"); produced meat extract, tinned beef, by-products, corned beef (initially for working classes, became staple for many people in Britain, continental Europe); 1924 - renamed Anglo Meatpacking plant. November 3, 1863 - J. T. Alden, of Cincinnati, OH, received patent for "Improvement in the Preparation of Yeast"; reduced concentrated yeast from plastic or semi-fluid state to dry granular form, convenient way of preservation for future use. 1865 - Abram Lyle (shipowner, sugar transporter), John Kerr, two partners acquired Glebe Sugar Refinery; 1872 - Lyle sold his shares, looked for site for new refinery; 1883 - Abram Lyle & Sons started melting sugar in Plaistow Refinery (Plaistow Wharf in London's Docklands, mile-and-a-half from Henry Tate's refinery); created Lyle's Golden Syrup (treacly syrup from sugar cane refining process); January 10, 1885 - first packaged in tins; 1904 - "lion and bees" identified with Lyle's Golden Syrup, registered as trademark; November 5, 1912 - Abram Lyle & sons, Limited registered "Lyle's Golden Syrup" trademark in the U. S. first used October 1884 (table-syrup); 1921 - merged with Henry Tate & Sons, formed Tate & Lyle PLC; 2006 - Lyle's Golden Syrup named by Guinness World Records as world's oldest branding/packaging (since 1885). 1865 - Jefferson A. Thompson (Thompson Bros. Cheese Company) started producing California fresh cheese for San Francisco market; created shortage of eggs; sold fresh cheese (later named Breakfast Cheese) to Saloons (served on bar as substitute for pickled eggs), readily consumed by Stevedores (dockworkers); cheese transported by horse, wagon to Petaluma River, taken by The Steamer Gold across bay to Yerba Buena oldest continually operating cheese factory in the United States. 1865 - David F. Bremner opened D.F. Bremner Baking Company in Cairo, IL; 1871 - moved to Chcago to supply bread to devastated public after Great Fire; bread baked with his initials, D.F.B., stamped on the top, became known as "Damn Fine Bread"; 1902 - original Bremner Butter Wafer created; 1905 - sons established their own bakery, called it Bremner Brothers Biscuit Company. 1865 - Douw Ditmars Williamson founded D. D. Williamson & Co., Inc. in New York to manufacture burnt sugars for brewing industry; 1963 - developed double-strength caramel color (largest caramel category on a global basis); 2001 - opened South America's largest caramel color manufacturing operation in Manaus, Brazil; 2007 - leader in caramel color, seven caramel manufacturing sites on five continents. 1866 - William A. Breyer produced, sold dairy product made of cream, pure cane sugar, nuts, fresh fruits, other natural flavorings, from his kitchen in Philadelphia; 1882 - opened retail ice cream store; Louisa Breyer (widow) assumed control; 1904 - began to freeze ice cream by using brine rather than salt, ice; 1908 - incorporated as Breyers Ice Cream Company; 1914 - produced one million gallons annually; July 19, 1921 - registered "Breyer's" trademark first used in May 1912 (ice-ream); 1926 - became division of National Dairy Products Corporation (NDPC, formed in 1923), holding company; 1969 - renamed Kraftco; 1976 - name changed to Kraft, Inc.; 1993 - acquired by Unilever, Inc.; merged with Gold Bond-Good Humor Ice Cream Company (founded 1920 by Harry Burt in Youngstown, OH; acquired in 1961 by Thomas J. Lipton, subsidiary of Unilever), renamed Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream Company. William A. Breyer - Breyer's Ice Cream (http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ChnzYK6ct0LhpM:http://www.goodhumor.com/assets/images/breyers/breyers) 1866 - Druggists Cornelius, Joseph Hoagland (brothers), Thomas Biddle (Fort Wayne, IN) developed powder that revolutionized baking (substitute for yeast sold over-the-counter at drugstore); 1870 - Joseph Hoagland, William Ziegler, John H. Seal organized Royal Chemical Company; 1873 - formed Royal Baking Powder Company; 1888 - Ziegler sold his interest for $4 million; acquired Price Baking Powder Company (Chicago), Tartar Chemical Company (New Jersey); March 1, 1899 - incorporated as consolidation of Royal Baking Powder Company, Cleveland Baking Powder Company, Price Baking Powder Company, Tartar Chemical Company, New York Tartar Company; July 12, 1910 - Royal Baking Powder Company registered "Royal Baking Powder" trademark first used in April 1873 (baking powder); 1929 - merged with Fleischmann Company, Chase and Sanborn, became Standard Brands Incorporated. 1866 - Charles Feltman started as baker on Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY; delivered freshly baked pies to inns, lager-beer saloons that lined Coney Island's beaches; expanded product line to hot sandwiches - built tin-lined chest to keep rolls fresh, small charcoal stove inside to boil sausages; served hot sausage on a roll; 1871 - opened first Coney Island hot dog stand, sold 3,684 dachshund sausages in a milk roll first year; built ocean pavilion ($20,000), hotel, beer gardens, restaurants, food stands, various rides to amuse customers; considered true inventor of hot dog (ten cents).  (http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/graphics/hall_of_fame/banner_feltman.jpg) 1867 - Johann Tobler established Tobler brand of hand-made, specialty candies in Bern, Switzerland; March 30, 1926 - Aktiengesellschaft Chocolat Tobler registered "Toblerone" trademark first used February 11, 1909 (chocolate and cocoa). Johann Tobler - Toblerone (http://www.chocolat-villars.com/typo3temp/pics/4eac8bf59b.jpg) 1868 - Henri Nestle opened office in London to cope with quantity of orders for farine lactate (based, as he put it, on wholesome Swiss milk and cereal component) for mothers unable to breastfeed; 1873 - exported to South America, Australia; 1874 - sold company for million francs; November 25, 1884 - Henri Nestle (composed of Jules Monnerat, Louis Roussy, and Henry Marguys) registered "Nestle" trademark (condensed milk); 1905 - acquired Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk; 1929 - acquired chocolate makers Peter, Cailler and Kohler, pioneers in making milk chocolate; 1938 - launched Nescafe, world's first instant coffee; mid-1960s - Switzerland's biggest company, multinational with over 200 factories around world. 1868 - Edmund McIlhenny founded McIlhenny Company at Avery Island, LA; legend: obtained hot pepper seeds from traveler recently arrived in Louisiana from Central America; planted seeds on Avery Island, experimented with pepper sauce recipes; named one he liked, TABASCO Sauce (state of Tabasco in Mexico, where seeds allegedly came from); September 27, 1870 - McIlhenny, of New Iberia, LA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Pepper-Sauce" ("new process for preparing an aromatic and strong sauce from the pepper known in the market as Tabasco pepper. This pepper is as strong as Cayenne pe, but of finer flavor"); unique formula for processing peppers into pepper sauce; Avery Island factory produces more than 700,000 bottles of Tabasco sauce daily; February 1, 1927 - registered "Tabasco" trademark first used in 1868 (pepper sauce). 1868 - Charles and Maximilian Fleischmann, immigrants from Austria-Hungary, James F. Gaff of Cincinnati, founded Gaff, Fleischmann & Co. in Riverside, OH; May 1876 - exhibited Model Vienna Bakery at Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia (10 million visitors); introduced first compressed yeast (Viennese production) sold in North America; February 14, 1922 - The Fleischmann Company registered "Fleischmann's" trademark first used January 1, 1876 (compressed yeast and yeast mixtures, adapted for use as food alone or for use in the making of bread and bread stuffs or other food products); June 1929 - absorbed four smaller corporations (Royal Baking Powder Company, E.W. Gillette Company Ltd. of Canada, The Widlar Food Products Company, Chase and Sanborn, Inc.); formed Standard Brands, Incorporated; 2004 - acquired by Associated British Foods. Charles Fleischmann - yeast (http://www.microsour.com/ images/yeast_7.jpg) 1868 - Etienne Guittard opened Guittard Chocolate on Sansome Street, San Francisco; 1950s - Horace A. Guittard (grandson) became President; 1955 - relocated factory to Burlingame; remained one of foremost suppliers of fine chocolate to professionals in pastry, confectionery, ice cream trades; oldest family owned, operated chocolate company in U.S. Etienne Guittard - Guittard Chocolate Company (http://www.guittard.com/images/history/history10.jpg) 1868 - Arthur Albion Libby began barreling beef; formed A. A, Libby & Company with brother, Charles Perly Libby; admitted Archibald McNeill to partnership; 1874 - name changed to Libby, McNeill and Libby in Chicago. IL; pioneered refrigeration, canning of meats; 1888 - acquired by Swift & Co.; 1900 - began canning fruits, vegetables; 1918 - spun off from Swift; June 8, 1920 - Libby, McNeill & Libby Corporation registered "Libby's" trademark first used 1894 ([fresh], prepared, [pickled, and] canned beef, [veal,] pork, [mutton, and] poultry and their products...); 1971 - canned fruit, vegetable business acquired by Nestle, annual sales close to $500 million, 1,300 workers in Chicago area; 1998 - canned meats division acquired by ConAgra. 1868 - Edouard Naegelin, Sr. (24) opened Naegelin's Bakery in New Braunfels, TX; January 1, 1924 - Edward and Laura Naegelin took over management; early 1980s - acquired by Granzin Family; oldest bakery in Texas. June 16, 1868 - William Davis, fish dealer in Detroit, MI, received a patent for an "Improvement in Preserving Meats, etc." ("peculiar construction of a railroad-car, box, chest or room in which to preserve animal or vegetable substances from decay for a certain reasonable time, to allow them to be transported from place to place or kept in store in a sweet and fresh condition"); refrigerated railroad car; January 19, 1869 - received a patent for an "Improvement in Freezing-Box for Fish, etc." ("freezing-box or pan for freezing fish and meats"). 1869- Henry John Heinz and L. Clarence Noble established Heinz & Noble in Sharpsburg, PA to bottle horseradish; 1875 - forced into bankruptcy; 1876 - established F. & J. Heinz (financial assistance from brother John, cousin Frederick), introduced tomato ketchup, six other products (celery sauce, pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut, vinegar); 1886 - Fortnum & Mason, England's leading food purveyor, accepted all seven products for distribution; 1888 - acquired controlling interest from brother, renamed H. J. Heinz; 1893 - introduced pickle pin at Chicago World's Fair; 1896 - introduced "57 Varieties" slogan; December 28, 1897 - Henry J. Heinz registered "Heinz" trademark first used June 1, 1893 (pickles, vinegar, sauces, catsups [horse radish ], prepared mustard, [mince-meat, preserves, jellies, marmalades, jams, and fruit butters]; March 5, 1907 - H. J. Heinz Corporation registered "57 Varieties" trademark first used in 1898; February 25, 1908 - H. J. Heinz Corporation registered "Heinz 57 Varieties Pure Food Products" trademark first used in May 1900; 1963 - acquired StarKist, "Charlie the Tuna" became national media star; 1965 - acquired Ore-Ida, transformed regional business into leading retail frozen potato brand in U.S.; 1978 - acquired Weight Watchers International, now largest weight-loss program in U.S.; 1987 - Anthony ('Tony') O'Reilly first non-Heinz family member named Chairman, President and CEO; 2002 - U.S. StarKist seafood, North American pet foods and pet snacks, U.S. private label soup, College Inn broth, U.S. baby food businesses acquired by Del Monte Foods Company. Henry John Heinz and L. Clarence Noble (front center, front right, respectively)  - founded Heinz & Noble (http://doclibrary.com/MFR66/CMM/relishing.jpg) 1869 - Joseph Campbell, fruit merchant, and Abraham Anderson, icebox manufacturer, formed Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company in Camden, New Jersey, to produce canned tomatoes, vegetables, jellies, soups, condiments, minced meats; 1876 - Campbell bought Anderson's share of company; formed partnership with Arthur Dorrance; 1891 -renamed Jos. Campbell Preserve Company; 1897 - Dr. John T. Dorrance (24), chemist and nephew of company GM, joined company at token wage of $7.50 a week; invented condensed soup; eliminated water in canned soup, lowered costs for packaging, shipping, storage (volume of can of soup reduced from 32 ounces to approximately 10 ounces, and the price lowered from about 34 cents to a dime); October 31, 1905 - Joseph H. Campbell Company registered "Campbell's" trademark first used in 1898 (baked beans); September 1, 1910 - Heinz tomato soup went on sale in UK for first time, at Fortnum & Mason; 1914 - Dr. Dorrance named President; 1921 - company renamed Campbell Soup Company; 1931 - Arthur C. Dorrance (brother) succeeded as president. Dr. Joseph Campbell, Abraham Anderson - Campbell Soup (http://careers.campbellsoupcompany.com/Styles/Sites/Campbells/Images/1869.jpg) Dr. John T. Dorrance - Campbell Soup (http://careers.campbellsoupcompany.com/Styles/Sites/Campbells/Images/1897.jpg) (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njcamden/arthurcdorrance.gif) 1869 - Charles Alfred (C. A.) Pillsbury (27) bought one-third interest in failing Minneapolis Flouring Mill for $10,000 (made profit within year); 1872 - produced 2,000 barrels of flour a day; reorganized company as C.A. Pillsbury and Company, made father and uncle partners; August 8, 1905 - registered trademark; 1889 - mills acquired by English financial syndicate, renamed Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company Ltd.; 1896 - produced 10,000-barrels-per-day; 1908 - entered bankruptcy (freight rates, poor harvest); Charles S. Pillsbury (son) reorganized company, renamed Pillsbury Flour Mills Company; June 27, 1923 - acquired all remaining assets from shareholders of Pillsbury-Washburn; 1927 - went public; 1940 - Philip W. Pillsbury (grandson) became president; 1944 - changed name to Pillsbury Mills, Inc.; 1979 - acquired Green Giant; October 1965 - introduced little dough-boy mascot; 1983 - acquired HagenDazs ice cream; 1984 - acquired Van de Kamp, seafood company; 1989 - acquired by Grand Metropolitan for $5.8 billion (8th largest food manufacturing company in world); 1997 - Grand Met merged with Guinness plc; formed Diageo plc; November 2001 - acquired by General Mills for $10.4 billion. 1869 - Gustav (24), Albert (21) Goelitz, immigrants from the Harz Mountain region of Germany, bought an ice cream and candy store in a Belleville, IL (above); Gustave made candy, Albert sold it from a horsedrawn wagon; 1897 - forced to sell business in wake of Panic of 1893; 1898 - Adolph (Gustave's son) established Goelitz Confectionery Co., candy making company, in Cincinnati, OH; Gus Jr. and Herman Goelitz (brothers) joined company; 1900 - made Candy Corn; 1922 - Herman opened Herman Goelitz Candy Co. in Oakland, CA; 1976 - Los Angeles candy distributor had idea for jelly bean made with natural flavorings; created first eight Jelly Belly flavors; 1978 - Goelitz Confectionary merged with Herman Goelitz Candy Co.; renamed Herman Goelitz, Inc.; 1980 - sold 1.4 billion jelly beans annually; August 3, 1982 - Herman Goelitz Candy Co. registered "Jelly Belly" trademark first used July 15, 1976 (Candy-Namely, Jelly Beans); April 2001 - Goelitz companies merged into Jelly Belly Candy Company; two factories produce 100,000 pounds of Jelly Belly beans a day, 1.25 million beans an hour; world's #1 gourmet jelly bean; Herm Rowland (Gustave's great grandson) as president. Gustav Goelitz - Jelly Belly (http://www.germanheritage.com/biographies/atol/goelitz1.jpg) June 10, 1869 - Machine-frozen food transported significant distance in U.S. for first time; frozen shipment of Texas beef (refrigeration equipment invented by John Gorrie) delivered via steamship ('Agnes') to New Orleans, LA; meat served in meals at hospitals, celebration banquets at hotels, restaurants. October 20, 1869 - Hippolyte Mege-Mouries received a 15-year French patent for "Demande d'un Brevet d'Invention de Quinze Ans pour la Production de Certains Corps Gras d'Origine Animale" from French Ministry of Agriculture and Trade (processing, production of certain fats of animal origin (patent also registered in England); 1870 - won contest, held by Emperor Napoleon III, to find suitable substitute for butter used by French Navy; 1871 - invention acquired by Dutch firm Anton Jurgens (later Unilever) for 60000 Francs; April 12, 1872 - French government permitted commercial sale of margarine (after Felix Henri Boudet, French druggist retained by government, reported favorably on product); 1873 - Mege formed Societe Anonyme d'Alimentation; began production of formula with fatty component with pearly luster when mixed (named product after Greek word for pearl - margaritari); manufactured from tallow; December 30, 1873 - received American patent for "Improvement in Treating Animal Fats"; acquired by U.S. Dairy Company. December 28, 1869 - William Finley Semple, of Mount Vernon, OH, received first patent for "Improved Chewing-Gum"; made of "the combination of rubber with other articles adapted to the formation of an acceptable chewing gum"; he never commercially produced gum. 1870 - Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker bought 160 bunches of bananas in Jamaica for a shilling per bunch, sold them in Jersey City for $2 each; joined Bostonian entrepreneur Andrew Preston to develop banana market in Boston; 1885 - established Boston Fruit Company; Preston took charge of tropical enterprises, Baker controlled management in Boston; 1899 - Minor Copper Keith, 50% owner of Snyder Banana Co. (produced bananas on 6,000 acres at Bocas del Toro, Panama), merged with Boston Fruit; controlled 75% of banana market in U.S.; March 30, 1899 - United Fruit Company established; 1944 -hired cartoonist Dik Browne (creator of Hagar the Horrible) to create cartoon based on Latin American singer, movie star Carmen Miranda; 1945 - character of Miss Chiquita Banana debuted in technicolor movie advertisement "Miss Chiquita Banana's Beauty Treatment" (sang to revive an exhausted housewife); April 12, 1949 - United Fruit Company registered "Chiquita Banana" trademark first used September 11, 1947 (fresh bananas); 1962 - created individual banana sticker label (small blue stickers with Chiquita logo affixed to fruit to promote consumption of its branded banana); 1969 - Eli Black acquired 733,000 shares in one trading day (3rd largest transaction in Wall Street history to date), became largest shareholder; March 1973 - Dole moved to first place in U. S. sales (45%) ahead of United Brands (35%); February 3, 1975 - Black committed suicide, jumped from 44th floor of Pan Am building in New York (SEC accused United Brands of bribing President of Honduras, Osvaldo Lopez Arellano ($1.25 million with promise of another $1.25 million later, in exchange for a reduction in export taxes); 1975 - Carl Lindner, one of biggest investors, became new President; 1989 - name changed to Chiquita Brands International Incorporated; 1990 - returned to number one banana importer (33% share of world's market), Dole (22%); June 10, 2005 - Wal-Mart, Chiquita's biggest U. S. customer, decreased its banana purchases = 33% decrease in Chiquita banana U. S. sales (cheaper bananas from competitors). 1870 - William Underwood & Co. received first U.S. food trademark registered by U.S. Patent Office, for red devil logo (for "deviled entremets"); 1895 - advertising with little red devil began to appear nationally; oldest existing trademark still in use in United States. 1870 - Pembroke Decatur Gwaltney, Sr., Confederate veteran, formed partnership with O.G. Delk (cousin), named Gwaltney and Delk; retail mercantile business sold cured and smoked hams, produced smoked ham known as "Smithfield Ham"; 1875 - Delk share acquired by Gwaltney (store, smokehouse, shed, wharf property); renamed "P.D. Gwaltney & Co."; 1880 - formed partnership, "Gwaltney, Chapman and Company"; set up peanut cleaning plant (peanut sorting, cleaning machines) and warehouse on Pagan Creek; 1882 - P.D. Gwaltney and P.D. Gwaltney, Jr. (21) went into business together; renamed P.D. Gwaltney and Sons (sold groceries, dry goods, general merchandising - fertilizer, fine Smithfield Hams as "specialties"); 1891 - with Augustus Bunkley incorporated Gwaltney-Bunkley Peanut Company in Norfolk, VA (returned to Smithfield after fire); 1902 - turned ham into promotional tool ("World's Oldest Smithfield Ham" still on display); 1911 - merged with American Peanut (Norfolk, VA), Bain Peanut (Wakefield, VA), formed American Peanut Corporation; 1914 - P.D. Gwaltney, Jr. took over; sold peanut factories to American Peanut Corporation; expanded ham industry (pork-processing operations); 1921 - fire wiped out local peanut industry; 1926 - Virginia enacted law defining Genuine Smithfield Meats as peanut-fed hogs raised in Virginia or North Carolina, cured in town limits; July 28, 1931 - P.D. Gwaltney Jr. & Co., Inc. registered "Gwaltney's Smithfield Ham" trademark first used in 1882 (cured meats-namely, hams); 1936 - Howard W. Gwaltney became president, Julius D. Gwaltney vice president, P.D. Gwaltney, III, secretary/treasurer and chairman; 1957 - name changed to "Gwaltney, Inc."; 1970 - merged with International Telephone and Telegraph Corp., renamed ITT Gwaltney Inc.; October 27, 1981 - acquired by Smithfield Foods, Inc.; name changed to Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. 1871 - Charles Alfred Pillsbury, brother Fred, father George, uncle John Sargent Pillsbury founded C. A. Pillsbury & Co. in Minneapolis; November 19, 1940 - Pillsbury Flour Mills Company registered "Pillsbury's Best XXXX" trademark (flour made from wheat; brand first used January 1, 1873); 1989 - acquired by Grand Metropolitan PLC in $5.76 billion hostile takeover. 1871 - Dr. James Madison Dawson, his wife Eloise Jones Dawson, their son Thomas Dawson established first successful commercial canning operation in Santa Clara Valley (300 cases of peaches, apricots, pears, plums processed in woodshed in Dawson's backyard); 1872 - founded J. M. Dawson & Co.; 1875 - incorporated as San Jose Fruit Packing Company; 1889 - joined forces with 17 other small companies, formed California Fruit Canners Association; 1916 - Tom Dawson as general superintendent of California Packing Corporation (Del Monte premium brand); 1967 - name changed to Del Monte Corp. 1871 - Charles Schimpff (son of Gustav Schimpff, Sr., who had been making candy in Louisville since the 1850s) opened confectionary store in Jeffersonville, IN; April 11, 1891 - Gustav Schimpff, Sr. and Jr. established G.A. Schimpff's Confectionery in Jeffersonville in rented storefront; 1918 - Gus Jr. and wife Louisa Weber Schimpff primary owners; 1940s - Catherine and Wig Schimpff (grand children), and Sonny Schimpff (great grandson) became working partners; 1952 - Sonny took over as candy maker; 1990 - acquired from Catherine's estate by Warren Schimpff (grandson) and his wife, Jill Wagner Schimpff. Gustav Schimpff, Sr. - G.A. Schimpff's Confectionery (http://www.schimpffs.com/images/GusSR.gif) January 3, 1871 - Henry Bradley, of Binghamton, NY, received patent for "Improvement in Compounds for Culinary Use"; oleomargarine. February 14, 1871 - Thomas Adams, of Hudson City, NJ, received patent for "Improvement in Chewing-Gum" ("method of producing the natural product 'chickly' to produce a chewing-gum"); first chicle-based chewing gum, "Adams' New York Gum No. 1 -- Snapping and Stretching" (from Sapodilla trees (introduced to it by exiled Mexican, former president and general, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in 1869). February 1871 - Adams New York Gum went on sale in drug stores for penny apiece; 1876 - glass merchant Thomas Adams, two sons, formed Adams Sons and Company; 1884 - added licorice flavoring, called Adams' Black Jack, first flavored gum in America; 1888 - introduced irst vending machines to United States, installed on elevated subway platforms in New York City, sold Tutti-Fruiti gum; 1899 - merged with six largest, best-known chewing gum manufacturers in United States and Canada (Beeman, Primley, S.T. Britten, Frank Fleer Company); formed monopoly, American Chicle Company; nation's most prosperous chewing gum company by end of century; achieved great success as the maker of Chiclets; 1962 - acquired by Warner-Lambert; 2002 - acquired by Cadbury Schweppes for $4.2 billion; 2004 -number one worldwide in confectionery (leader in functional confectionery, number two in chewing gum). 1872 - Christian Ditlev Ammentorp (D. A.) Hansen, Danish pharmacist from University of Copenhagen, awarded gold medal for chemical treatise (procedure to extract pure, standardized rennet enzyme from calves' stomachs, used to make cheese.); revolutionized production of dairy products; 1874 - established rennet factory in Copenhagen; 1878 - established processing plant in New York City; 1886 - introduced Junket brand (initially in form of rennet tablets); 1891 - built factory in Little Falls, NY; November 30, 1897 - Johan D. Frederiksen, vice-president and general manager of Chr. Hansen's Laboratory, Little Falls, NY, registered "Junket" trademark" ("milk with rennet") first used April 1887 (preparations for coagulating or curdling milk); one of world's top 15 food ingredients companies; global market leader within enzymes for cheese production, bacterial cultures for cheese, yoghurt, wine and meat products, natural colors for the food and beverage industries and special products for the health food and agricultural industries. 1872 - Chocolates Arumi founded in Barcelona city of Vic, Spain; 1977 - acquired by Nederland Group, renamed Chocovic, S.A.; 2008 - annual sales of about EUR 60 million, 120 employees, made about 30,000 tons of chocolate, specialty products for industrial and artisanal customers; November 3, 2009 - signed agreement to be acquired by Barry Callebaut (Zurich, Switzerland). July 9, 1872 - Captain John F. Blondel (Thomaston, ME) received a patent for "Improvement in Doughnut-Cutters", "an improved device for removing the dough from the cutter-tube automatically"; origin of doughnut as a deep-fried egg-batter pastry was from Holland with the Dutch name of olykoeks -- "oily cakes." 1847 - New England ship captain Hanson Gregory enjoyed his mother's pastries made using a deep-fried spiced dough; Elizabeth Gregory put hazelnuts or walnuts in the center, where the dough might not cook through ("doughnuts"); Captain Gregory claimed credit for originating the hole in the doughnut; originally cut hole using top of a round tin pepper box, made more uniform frying possible with increased surface area; commemorated by a bronze plaque at his hometown, Rockport, Maine. April 8, 1873 - Alfred Paraf, of New York, NY, received a patent for an "Improvement in Purifying and Separating Fats"; first commercially successful margarine manufacturing process; federal and state taxes were levied when its success threatened butter sales. November 4, 1873 - Anthony Iske, of Lancaster, PA, received a patent for "Machines for Slicing Dried Beef"; oblique knife in vertical sliding frame. June 1, 1875 - Black American inventor Alexander P. Ashbourne, of Oakland, CA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Processes for Preparing Cocoa-Nut for Domestic Use"; November 30, 1875 - received a U.S. patent for a "Biscuit Cutter". November 30, 1875 - Asmus J. Ehrrichson, of Akron, Ohio, received a patent for an "Oat-Meal Machine" ("process of converting the hulled kernels of oats into coarse meal"); oat-crushing machine. November 30, 1875 - Alexander P. Ashbourne, of Oakland, CA, received a patent for "Biscuit-Cutters" ("molding-board, having hinged to one side or end a cover, which is provided with the desired shaped cutters upon its lower side"); plate closed over dough, allowed cutters to cut through dough, formed many shapes simultaneously. 1876 - Charles and Maxmillian Fleischmann introduced new yeast to 10 million visitors to Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition; February 14, 1922 - The Fleischmann Company registered "Fleischmann's" trademark first used January 1, 1876 (compressed yeast and yeast mixtures, adapted for use as food alone or for use in the making of bread and bread stuffs or other food products); June 1929 - absorbed four smaller corporations (Royal Baking Powder Company, E.W. Gillette Company Ltd. of Canada, The Widlar Food Products Company, Chase and Sanborn, Inc.); formed Standard Brands, Incorporated. February 17, 1876 - Julius Wolff, of Wolff & Reessing, New York importers, produced the first canned sardines in Eastport, Maine; 1875 - established Eagle Preserved Fish Company; first year - 60,000 cans (not cases) packed and sold; 1880 - 18 factories operated; 1881-1898 - 23 sardine factories operated in Lubec, ME. 1878 - Giuseppe Citterio established Giuseppe Citterio S. p. A. in Milan, Italy; December 25, 1956 - Societa in Accomandita Giuseppe Citterio Corporation registered "Citterio il Salame Famoso in Tutto Ilmondo" (The Salami Which Is Famous Thgroughout the World) trademark (salamis). 1879 - Rudolph Lindt invented "conching" machine; improved quality, aroma of chocolate confectionery; rocked chocolate for 72 hours; improved flavor, attained high degree of smoothness (vs. coarse, gritty); smooth substance called "fondant" or "melting". February 4, 1879 - John H. Heinz, of Sharpsburg, PA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Vegetable-Assorters" ("machines for assorting vegetables, fruits, pickles etc. according to their size"). February 27, 1879 - American chemists Ira Remsen, Constantine Fahlberg announced discovery of saccharin, artificial sweetener, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. November 4, 1879 - Thomas Elkins, of Albany, NY, received a patent for a "Refrigerating Apparatus" ("apparatus or devices for chilling or cooling articles liable to decay"). 1880 - Samuel Bath Thomas purchased bakery at 163 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan (arrived from England in 1876); featured Thomas' English muffins (unknown in England), baked on griddle instead of in oven; alternative to toast; 1922 - family incorporated S.B. Thomas, Inc. (after his death); August 3, 1926 - registered "Thomas'" trademark firsts used 1894 (bread); 1970 - acquired by CPC, food conglomerate; January 1, 1998 - renamed Bestfoods. 1880 - New York cheese distributor, A. L. Reynolds, began distributing cream cheese, produced by William Lawrence, of Chester, NY (had developed method of producing cream cheese in 1872, under Empire Company, while trying to reproduce French cheese called Neufchatel); 1903 - acquired by Phenix Cheese Corporation (Chicago); January 1928 - acquired by Kraft Cheese Company; 1930 - Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corporation acquired by National Dairy Products Corporation (formed in 1923 as merger of several dairy companies); 1940 - name changed to Kraft Cheese Company; December 16, 1941 - registered "Philadelphia Brand" trademark first used September 1, 1880 (cream cheese); 1945 - name changed to Kraft Foods Company; 1969 - National Dairy renamed Kraftco Corporation; 1976 - renamed Kraft, Inc. February 2, 1880 - First shipment of frozen meat (exports of meat had previously been in tins) arrived in London from Melbourne, Australia (departed December 6, 1879); steamship SS Strathleven had been chartered, fitted with Bell and Coleman (of Glasgow) air compression/expansion refrigeration equipment; meat loaded from chill rooms in Sydney and Melbourne and frozen on board; arrived in excellent condition and sold well. March 23, 1880 - John Stevens of Neenah, WI received patent for a "Grain-Crushing Roll"; grain crushing mill; allowed flour production to increase by 70% and for flour to sell for $2 per barrel. July 27, 1880 - African-American inventor Alexander P. Ashbourne, of Boston, MA, received patent for "Refining Cocoanut Oil" ("so that it will keep sweet and fresh for many years"). 1881 - Mathias Gedney began pickle company in Minneapolis, MN; made recipes for pickles, condiments; 1882 - delivered, sold directly from horse-driven "cash wagons"; 1893 - four sons involved in company; production exceeds annual 30,000 barrels of homemade, sweet, mixed and chow-chow, American and English-style pickles; 1903 - M.A. Gedney Company incorporated; October 30, 1906 - M. A. Gedney Pickling Co. registered "Gedney" trademark first used July 12, 1888 (pickles, [pickled onions, catsup, olives, chow-chow,] mustard, [pepper-sauce, chili sauce,] and vinegar); 1945 - Harry Tuttle II (son-in-law of Mathias Gedney son) became President; 1967 - Gedney Tuttle (son, started with company in 1942) named president of firm; 1992 - product distribution mainly through food brokers to wholesale distributors, chain stores; 1998 - Jeff Tuttle (grandson) named President; 2000 - acquired Cains Foods pickle business, trademark, began producing pickles throughout New England; 2002 - began production of Del Monte, Target Archer Farms pickles; 2008 - produced more than 20 million jars/year of 78 products; state's oldest food company with one primary product. 1881 - Valeriano Lopez Lloret founded small family business, Chocolates Valor, in Spain; 1891- Don Vicente Lopez Soler (son of Done Valeriano Lopez Lloret) took charge, carried on with agriculture activity; 1916 - capstan mill, large wheel moved by team of horses, replaced simple grindstone; 1930 - diesel motor replaced team of horses on capstan mill; sales no longer made directly to families, channelled through shops and businesses; 1935 - electricity; 1942 - Don Pedro Lopez Mayor took over, formed partnership Don Valeriano Lopez (brother); 1950 - Don Valeriano Lopez Lloret, cousin of founders, grandson of first chocolate maker, joined company; 1953 - incorporated "Valeriano and Pedro Lopez SRC; 1963 - built new factory, on 6,000 square meter plot of land, in Les Mediasses, Villajoyosa; 1968 - installed first automatic moulding, demoulding equipment (factory production capacity at 10,000 kilograms per 8-hour day); launched 'Pure Chocolate' to highlight its rejection of use of vegetable fats as substitute for cocoa butter; became key product of company; 1973 - went public; November 27, 1984 - Valeriano Y Pedro Lopez, S.A.b registered "Valor" trademark in U.S. (Chocolates, Candy Bars of Chocolate and Cocoa); September 1987 - invested over 300 million pesetas (over 1.8 million euros) in first phase of modernization plan; opened first Valor Chocolate Shop, start of first chocolate shop franchise in Spain, in Villajoyosa; November 16, 1990 - opened new plant ion second phase of modernization (invested over 400 million pesetas - over 12 million euros); most modern chocolate factory in Spain; September 29, 1995 - added new extension to plant (occupied total surface area of 22,000 square meters); 2002 - launched commercial subsidiary Valor USA Inc. to distribute product in Central, North American markets. Don Valeriano Lopez Lloret - Valor Chocolates (http://www.valorchocolate.com/img/about/1881.jpg) July 8, 1881 - Edward Berner, druggist of Two Rivers, WI, served first ice cream sundae -- by acciden; put ice cream in dish, poured flavoring syrup, for soda water, on top (not allowed on Sundays). 1882 - George Weston (18), Toronto baker's apprentice, acquired bread route from his employer for $200; 1896 - established "Weston's Model Bakery"; eventually expanded to Montreal, Winnipeg; 1910 - merged with other major Toronto bakers, formed Canada Bread Company for $1 million Canadian; signed 10-year non-compete agreement; 1921 - reentered bread business with purchase of H.C. Tomlin bread bakery; 1928 - Garfield Weston (son) incorporated company as George Weston Limited, went public; 1935 - established operations in United Kingdom; incorporated Associated British Foods plc (seven bakery subsidiaries); 1938 - facilities, resources to produce 370 varieties of candy, 100 types of biscuits; 1943 - acquired papermaker E.B. Eddy; 1944 - entered food distribution with purchase of Western Grocers; 1953 - gained majority control of Loblaw, food retailer, distributor; 1978 - Loblaw launched No Name private label (low prices, clean and simple packaging, high quality); 1984 - Loblaws introduced premium private label called President's Choice; 1986 - food processing operations consolidated within umbrella subsidiary called Weston Foods Ltd. (baking and milling, biscuits, chocolate, dairy, specialty products, providing food and ingredients both to intermediate processors and directly to consumers); 1990s - divestment, return to core competencies, reduced company to majority ownership of Loblaw and food processing businesses, focused on bakery products, cookies, milk, fish; December 1998 - Loblaws acquired Provigo for $890 million Canadian, gained number one supermarket chain in Quebec, Canada-wide retail network, dominating 40% nationwide market share; 1999 - sales rose 41% to $20.85 billion Canadian; 2003 - sales of $29.2 billion Canadian. George Weston - George Weston Limited (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/George_weston_1899.jpg) 1882 - William Purvis brought macadamia seeds from Queensland to US Territory of Hawaii, planted seedlings on big island, Hawaii, at Kapulena near Waipi'o Valley; cultivated in Australia during mid 1800s by Scottish doctor (died at sea traveling from Australia to New Zealand), John Macadam; 1857 - botanist friend, Baron Ferdinand von Muller, first described tree botanically; earned right to name it - chose "Macadamia" in honor of his friend, Macadam. 1882 - Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, Isaac (24) and Joseph Breakstone (Breakstone Bros., Inc.), opened small dairy store at 135 Madison Street on New York's lower east side; sold full dairy line including cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese; 1896 - started wholesale butter business under name Breakstone Brothers at 29 Jay Street, Brooklyn; 1928 - acquired by National Dairy Products Corporation; 1940 - name changed to Kraft Cheese Company; August 6, 1957 - National Dairy Products Corporation registered "Breakstone's" trademark first used in 1884 (butter, sour cream, cheese); 1976 - renamed Kraft, Inc. 1883 - German immigrant Oscar F. Mayer and his brother, Gottfried, leased Kolling Meat Market, small retail store in German neighborhood on Chicago's near north side; 1904 - branded its meats (put name on products); 1919 - name changed to Oscar Meyer & Co.; 1924 - introduced packaged sliced bacon (December 19, 1967 - patent for "Method of Preparing Packaged Sliced Bacon" assigned to company); May 9, 1939 - registered "Oscar Mayer" trademark first used January 1, 1885 (meats and meat products); September 29, 1942 - registered 'Little Oscar' trademark (meat products -namely, sausage, ham bacon, beef loaves and meat loaves); goodwill ambassador dressed as a chef who would drive his sausage-shaped WIENERMOBILE to store openings, children's hospitals, and other locations throughout the Chicago area; 1963 - "The Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle" made radio debut; 1981 - acquired by General Foods. Oscar F. Meyer (http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/oscarfmayer88_edited_1.jpg) 1883 - J. Allen Smith (from Elberton, GA), organized, built City Mills, later called J. Allen Smith & Co., grain business, in Knoxville, TN; began milling a soft-wheat flour; named it for his wife, Lillie; produced 100 barrels of flour, 200 bushels of cornmeal a day; became known as the Sunday flour; only major brand in United States milled entirely from soft winter wheat (contains less gluten than hard wheat), flakier biscuits and piecrusts; best-selling flour in southeastern United States; 1920 - Powell Smith (son) became owner; 1968 - acquired by Great Western United Corp.; 1972 - acquired by Dixie-Portland Flour Mills (Memphis); 1988 - 68.5% of retail market in Knoxville, fourth-largest-selling brand of flour nationally; 1989-1995 - five ownership changes; 1995 - acquired by H. Guenther & Son Inc. (San Antonio); 2006 - White Lily brand name acquired by J. M. Smucker Company (H. Guenther & Son Inc. continues as owner of mill, supplier of White Lily products); March 2008 - Smucker ended supply agreement; June 30, 2008 - mill closed. February 5, 1884 - Black American inventor Willis Johnson, of Cincinnati, Ohio, received patent for an "Egg-Beater"; designed so that eggs, batter and similar ingredients used by bakers or confectioners could be mixed intimately efficiently. May 20, 1884 - Lockrum Blue, of Washington, DC, received a patent for a "Hand Corn-Shelling Device" ("for rapidly and effectually removing the grain from ears of corn"). 1885 - Brothers Pierre and Marius Barnier established artisan confectionary company in Rouen, France; produced bonbons under name of Bonbons Suisse; 1900 - acquired by Eugene Callet, wholesaler in confections in Nantes, renamed Bonbons Barnier; 1930 - first machines to wrap bonbons; introduced filled candies; 1969 -created 'mini bonbon'; 2007 - managed by fourth Callet generation. 1885 - John Baptist Caito and family started Western Fish Company in Pittsburg, CA; processed salmon caught in in Sacramento River; 1906 - earthquake destroyed production facility; formed California Western Fish Company; 1975 - fourth-generation Caito Brothers (Joe, Jim & John) took over operation; process millions of pounds of crab, cod, snapper, salmon at five locations along West Coast. 1885 - Farmer Arthur Charles Wilkin, two friends formed Britannia Fruit Preserving Company; made first batch of strawberry jam in Tiptree, Essex, UK; 1901 - 8,000 customers; 1905 - renamed Wilkin & Sons Limited; 1911 - King George V awarded Royal Warrant; 1913 - Charles J. Wilkin (son) became Chairman; 1920 - sales exceeded �100,000, over 200,000 customers; 1942 - T.G. Wilkin appointed director, A. F. Wilkin appointed chairman; September 30, 1952 - Wilkin & Sons Limited registered "Tiptree" trademark first used 1904 (fruit conserves, Jams, Marmalades, preserved fruits, fruit preserves, and vegetable preserves and honey and chutney); 1954 - HM the Queen awarded Royal Warrant for supply of Jam & Marmalade; 1971 - Peter Wilkin (great-grandson) appointed director; 1980 - sales exceeded �5million, exports to over 50 countries; 2009 - more than 200 full-time employees. Arthur Charles Wilkin - Tiptree (http://tiptreegardenclub.com/images/wilkin.jpg) 1886 - Milton Hershey founded Lancaster Caramel Company in Lancaster, PA; 1894 - produced sweet chocolate as coating for caramels; called new subsidiary Hershey Chocolate Company; August 10, 1900 - Lancaster Caramel Company acquired for $1 million by The American Caramel Company; produced low-cost, high-quality milk chocolate in bars, wafers, other shapes; March 2, 1903 - ground breaking for new chocolate factory in Derry Church, PA (renamed Hershey in 1906); 1905 - town of Hershey took shape; June 19, 1906 - Milton S. Hershey (dba Hershey Chocolate Company) registered "Hershey's" trademark first used January 1, 1894 (chocolate, cocoa, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate coatings, chocolate liquors, and chocolate powder); July 1, 1907 - produced flat-bottomed, conical milk chocolate candy, named Hershey's Kisses Chocolates; November 15, 1909 - deeded 486 acres of farm land to Hershey Trust Company for creation of orphan boys' school; November 13, 1918 - gave $60 million in Hershey Chocolate Company stock to trust; March 6, 1923 - Hershey Chocolate Co. registered 'Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses' trademark first used July 1, 1907 (chocolates) and Hershey's Kisses" (solid chocolates); 1969 - sales of $334 million; 2004 - sales of $4.4 billion. Milton Hershey - chocolate (http://www.hersheypa.com/about_hershey/our_proud_history/images/ featureMiltonHershey.jpg) 1886 - Alphonse Biardot, French immigrant, founded Franco-American Food Company with his two sons as commercial kitchen in Jersey City, NJ; featured French foods; line of canned soup and pasta particularly successful; 1921 - acquired by Campbell Soup; November 15, 1955 - registered "Franco-American" trademark first used in May 1911 (spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, macaroni, and beef gravy); November 19, 2004 - name discontinued. 1886 - David L. Clark opened D. L. Clark Company candy business in Pittsburgh, PA; 1917 - introduced first five-cent candy bar, Clark bar; honeycombed ground roasted peanuts, covered with milk chocolate. 1886 - Del Monte Brand first appeared, property of Tillman & Bendel, Oakland-based firm, which used it for blend of coffee prepared for luxury Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, CA; later used by Oakland Preserving Company; 1889 - Marco Fontana, Italian immigrant, Antonio Cerruti founded California Fruit Canners Association (Oakland Preserving Company, San Jose Fruit Packing Company, 15 others); set purchase prices for crops that challenged those set by growers' cooperatives; canneries soon became largest food processing corporation in world; marketed premium brand under Del Monte label; January 1, 1918 - California Packing Corporation registered "Del Monte" trademark first used October 1, 1891 (canned fruits, canned vegetables, canned fish, tomato sauce, catsup, peppers, sauerkraut, dried fruits, raisins). April 1886 - Charles F. Moore, started St. Clair Rock Salt Co. in St. Clair, MI; May 1886 - renamed Diamond Crystal Salt Company; used Alberger process to make flake salt instead of granule or cube salt (99.99% pure sodium chloride vs. 99.95% for granule salt); produced unique-shaped crystals with numerous facets, extraordinary adherence, blendability, flavor; October 19, 1886 - Horace Williams, John L. Alberger and Louis R. Alberger, of Buffalo, NY, received a patent for the "Manufacture of Salt" ("process of making salt from brine and the apparatus used, it being especially adapted to the manufacture of fine salt and to the saving of fuel usually employed"); April 9, 1889 - received a patent for an "Apparatus for the Manufacture of Salt"; September 19, 1905 - registered "Diamond Crystal Salt" trademark first used November 1, 1886 (table and dairy salt); 1929 - acquired by General Foods; 1953 - reacquired by Moore family; 1987 - acquired by Akzo Nobel Salt; 1997 - acquired by Cargill. 1887 - Southern Cotton Oil Company incorporated in New Jersey to consolidate, carry on business of number of cottonseed crushing works, refineries located in Southern States; 1899 - David Wesson, company chemist, developed process for deodorizing cottonseed oil through high-temperature vacuum process; first commercial all-vegetable shortening marketed as Snowdrift; 1920s - vegetable oil division spun off as Wesson Oil & Snowdrift Company; January 3, 1922 - The Southern Cotton Oil Company registered "Wesson 22" trademark first used September 3, 1903 (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); registered "Wesson 44" first used September 1901 (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); registered "Wesson 77" (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); registered "Wesson 88" first used September 1901 (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); 1960 - merged with Hunt's Foods, Inc., became Hunt-Wesson Foods; acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1990 - acquired by ConAgra. 1887 - E. K. White purchased mill in Chelsea, MI (family had been milling flour in Michigan, Indiana, Kansas as early as 1802); 1901 - incorporated as Chelsea Milling Company; 1908 - acquired by Harmon S. Holmes (H.S. Holmes Mercantile); 1930 - Mabel Holmes (E.K. White's daughter) created new product, premixed blend of flour, baking powder, other ingredients; named "Jiffy"; 1936 - Mabel Holmes, twin sons took over; July 13, 1948 - Chelsea Milling Company registered "Jiffy" trademark first used in 1930 (biscuit mix, pie crust); fourth largest maker of prepackaged baking mixes in United States; Jiffy among top three sellers in every category of mix the company made, captured % of corn muffin mix sales nationwide. 1887 - Don Nicola De Cecco and brothers started pasta enterprise (molino, mill, later pastificio, pasta factory) in small village of Fara San Martino, located at foot of Mount Maiella (Italy); created new "low temperature" pasta (dried in 24 hours, vs. sun dried); 1908 - country girl from Abruzzo with wheat stacks became company's trademark; 1986 - established "Olive Oil Company", first step toward product diversification. 1888 - Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz opened small Matzo bakery in Cincinnati, OH; 1932 - built second factory in Jersey City, NJ; 1940 - produced first Tam Tam cracker, initial departure from line of matzo products; signed licensing arrangement, began to sell wines throughout country; July 10, 1956 - B. Manischewitz Company registered "Manischewitz" trademark first used in March 1936 (wines); 1990 - acquired by Kohlberg & Company and Manischewitz management for $42.4 million; 1998 - acquired by R.A.B. Holdings; August 2004 - name changed to RAB Food Group, LLC; August 2007 - acquired by Harbinger Capital Partners. 1888 - Irish immigrant Patrick Cudahy opened Cudahy Bros. Co., meatpacking plant, in Milwaukee, WI; 1957 - name changed; 1971 - Bluebird Inc. Philadelphia, PA); 1980 - Bluebird acquired by England's Northern Foods; 1984 - Patrick Cudahy acquired by Smithfield Foods (Smithfield, VA); January 1987-April 1989 - United Food & Commercial Workers Local P-40, representing more than 700 slaughter, processing, packing employees, went on strike after rejecting contract concessions. March 6, 1888 - Max Sielaff, of Berlin, Germany, received a U.S. patent (German Letters Patent received on August 18, 1887) for a "Vending Apparatus" ("...apparatuses containing a potable liquor or certain articles-such as cigars, newspapers, and others-and which can be put in operation with the introduction of a coin of determinate size and the subsequent movement of a handle, so as to deliver a measured quantity of the liquor or one of the articles contained in the apparatus"); vending machine. 1889 - Willoughby M. McCormick (25), staff (two girls, boy) founded McCormick & Company in one room, cellar in Baltimore, MD; root beer, flavoring extracts, fruit syrups, juices -first products; 1896 - entered spice market; 1926 - stock offered to wholesale grocers; 1932 - Charles P. McCormick (nephew) elected President, Chairman; 1961 - sales topped $50 million; 1969 - sales surpassed $100 million; 1980 - sales surpassed $500 million; 1987 - Charles P. McCormick, Jr., elected President, CEO; sales of $1 billion; 2003 - added to Standard and Poor's 500 Index; August 2008 - acquired, with Adolph's Meat Tenderizer, Lawry's, dominant in market for branded seasoned salt products, for $605 million (forced by FTC to spin off Season-All line, with $18 million in sales, to Morton International Inc. for $15 million). 1889 - Chris Rutt, newspaperman, Charles Underwood, of Pearl Milling Company, developed Aunt Jemima, first ready-mixed, self-rising pancake flour; 1890 - acquired by R. T. Davis Milling Company; April 29, 1890 - Aunt Jemima Manufacturing Co. (St. Joseph, MO) registered "Aunt Jemima" trademark first used November 27, 1889 (self-raising flour); hired Nancy Green as spokeswoman; 1914 - company renamed Aunt Jemima Mills Company; 1926 - acquired by Quaker Oats Company. 1889 - Alfred E. Green put $16 deposit property on Skeena Slough to participate in salmon boom of late 1800s after Inverness, first cannery, opened in 1876; 1903 - acquired by Cassiar Packing Company (Caspaco); longest consecutively operating cannery on West Coast; 1905 - 12 canneries operated near mouth of Skeena River; 1914 - Grand Trunk Railroad connected Skeena canneries, offered new method of transport from traditional boats or walking, connected Prince Rupert with rest of Canada; 1920s - number of Skeena canneries began to drop; 1959 - Departments of Highways built road terminating at Cassiar, linked canneries with Highway 16; 1960s - only 3 operational canneries left; 1980s - last operating salmon cannery on Skeena River; 2006 - underwent restoration, diversified into conservation economy. January 5, 1889 - Word hamburger first appeared in print in Walla Walla, Washington, newspaper (according to date given in Oxford English Dictionary); named after German food called hamburg steak (from Hamburg Germany), form of pounded beef; 1902 - first description of hamburg steak close to American conception of hamburger, gave recipe calling for ground beef mixed with onion, pepper. 1890 - Adolphus Green formed American Biscuit & Manufacturing Co. in Chicago (combined approximately 40 midwestern bakeries); William Moore united Pearson, Bent, six other eastern bakeries into New York Biscuit Company; 1898 - Green and Moore merged companies plus United States Baking Company, formed National Biscuit Co. (Nabisco). 1890 - Joseph and William Hunt incorporated Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company in Santa Rosa, CA; 1943 - merged Val Vita Food Products, formed new company, Hunt Foods, headed by Norton Simon; 1956 - renamed Hunt Foods and Industries to reflect company's diversification; 1960 - merged with Wesson Oil and Snowdrift Company; 1964 - combined sales exceeded $400 million, company renamed Hunt-Wesson Foods. 1891 - Kennedy Biscuit Works (Cambridge, MA) created "Newtons" in honor of Newton, MA (after Philadelphia baker James Henry Mitchell invented machine which combined hollow cookie crust with jam filling); July 7, 1914 - Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc. registered "Fig Newtons" trademark first used September 1, 1892 (biscuit). 1891 - William Wrigley Jr. (29) sold Wrigley's Scouring Soap in Chicago; 1892 - sold baking powder, offered two packages of chewing gum, as sales incentive, with each can (premium, chewing gum, seemed more promising than the product it was supposed to promote); marketed first two brands of chewing gum, Lotta and Vassar, under his name; 1893 - introduced Juicy Fruit and Spearmint; December 1903 - incorporated in Illinois; November 1910 - reincorporated (under West Virginia law) as Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company; 1914 - introduced Doublemint gum (1939 - introduced "Doublemint Twins" in advertising); June 29, 1915 - Juicy Fruit chewing gum trademark registered; 1920 - made 9 billion sticks of gum per year, world's largest advertiser of a single product; 1924 - Wrigley Building on North Michigan Avenue completed; October 1927 - reincorporated under same name under Delaware law; October 6, 2008 - acquired by Mars, Incorporated ($22 billion in sales) for $23 billion (included financing from Berkshire Hathaway, holding company run by Warren Buffett) as separate, stand-alone subsidiary; six core growth categories -- chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum, food, drinks, petcare. February 7, 1891 - Bartlett Arkell, Walter H. Lipe, David Zielley, Jr., John D. Zielley, and Raymond P. Lipe incorporated Imperial Packing Co. in Canajoharie, NY (latter three left in few months); family business, smoking ham and bacon; products called "Beech-Nut" brand (to evoke feeling of wholesomeness, freshness, purity of the country); 1898 - company reorganized, name changed to Beech-Nut Packing Co.; 1911 - peppermint gum introduced; December 31, 1912 - Beech-Nut Packing Company registered "Beech-Nut" trademark first used in 1899 (cured ham, bacon, beef and myriad other food products); 1931 - 13 varieties of strained baby foods introduced; first company to put baby food in glass jars (vs, lead-soldered metal cans); 1938 - chopped ("junior") foods launched; early 1950s - demand for baby food increased 98% in three years; 1956 - merged with Life Savers; 1968 - merged with Squibb, Inc.; 1973 - acquired by Baker Corporation; 1977 - name changed to Beech-Nut Foods Corporation; November 1979 - acquired by Nestle S.A.; February 1982 - name changed to Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation; 1989 - acquired by Ralston Purina Company; 1994 - spun-off to form Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.; September 1998 - acquired by The Milnot Company (privately held, St. Louis manufacturer of branded and private-label food products). Bartlett Arkell - Beech-Nut Foods (http://www.arkellmuseum.org/sites/default/files/11b30b4bec67e675f0f2a277ce1b3c12.jpg) June 1891 - F. Schumacher Milling Company (founded 1856 by Ferdinand Schumacher as German Mills American Oatmeal Company) consolidated operations with Hower Oatmeal Company, Quaker Milling company, Cereal Milling Company, Rockford Oatmeal Milling Company, Iowa City Oatmeal Company, formed The American Cereal Company (capitalization of $3.4 million) in Akron, OH; 'oatmeal trust' - represented about 85% of oatmeal output in U.S.; 1901 - Ferdinand Schumacher (The American Cereal Company), Henry Parsons Crowell (Quaker Mill Company, founded in September 1877 by Henry D. Seymour and William Heston [received a patent for an "Oatmeal-Machine" on June 8, 1880], acquired by Crowell, James H. Andrews for $25,000 in 1881), Robert Stuart (Stuart, Higley, Douglas families established North Star Oatmeal Mills in Cedar Rapids. IA in 1874) combined their companies, founded Quaker Oats Company; Robert Stuart as CEO; 1907 - reorganized as operating company; June 26, 1906 - American Cereal Company registered "Quaker" trademark first used in September 1877 (oatmeal, rolled oats, [cracked wheat, rolled wheat,] farina, hominy grits, pearled barley, [prepared rice,] and breakfast foods); 1926 - acquired Aunt Jemima Mills Company; October 16, 1951 - registered "Shot From Guns" trademark first used in 1909 (puffed wheat and puffed rise, for human consumption); August 2001 - acquired by Pepsico. Ferdinand Schumacher - Quaker Oats (http://www.quakeroats.com/Libraries/articles-about-quaker-oats/callout-about-quaker-history1850.sflb.ashx) June 16, 1891 - George A. Hormel, son of German immigrants, founded Geo. A. Hormel & Company as small retail store in Austin, MN; first plant in abandoned creamery located on banks of Red Cedar River; 1941 - nearly 4,500 employees, $74.6 million in sales; August 22, 1950 - registered "Spam" trademark first used May 11, 1937 (canned meat product, consisting primarily of pork chopped and molded in loaf form in the can); December 1984 - members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local P-9 initiated campaign against wage, benefit concessions demanded by management; 1,700 workers struck; spring 1986 - International union placed local in receivership; 1991 - name changed to Hormel Foods Corporation. May 31, 1892 - Lea & Perrins Firm registered "Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce" trademark first used 1874 (Sauce for Roast Meats, Steaks, Cutlets, Chops, Fish, Curries, Gravies, Game, and Soup). 1893 - Quaker City Confectionery Company in Philadelphia first produced GOOD & PLENTY candy; oldest branded candy in United States; June 12, 1928 - registered "Good and Plenty" trademark first used September 1908 (candy); 1950 - Choo Choo Charlie, engineer who fueled his train with GOOD & PLENTY Candy, first appeared in advertisements; 1973 - acquired by Warner Lambert; 1982 - acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1983 - acquired by Huhtamaki Oy; 1996 - acquired by Hershey Foods. 1893 - Halls Brothers formed in Britain, originally to sell soap and jams; broadened to candy products. 1893 - Joseph Fralinger, former glassblower and fish merchant, opened retail store on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ; 1894 - added taffy concession (sold on Boardwalk since 1880), perfected Salt Water Taffy formula (used molasses, then chocolate and vanilla, reached 25 flavors); grew to six locations; packed one pound oyster boxes with Salt Water Taffy (first "Atlantic City Souvenir"); 1905 - Enoch James, former employee of large candy companies throughout country, entered business (had developed high quality recipe that would not pull out teeth, eliminated stickiness that made taffy stick to wrapper); August 28, 1923 - Theo. J. Lapres, Inc. (Fralinger son-in-law) registered "Fralinger's" trademark first used December 1894 (salt-water taffy); January 14, 1930 - registered "Fralinger's Original Salt Water Taffy" first used in 1894 (salt water taffy); January 19, 1932 - James' Inc. Corporation registered "James' Sealed" trademark first used May 24, 1929 (confections-namely, candies); 1947 - James' Candy Co. acquired by Glaser family (owners, operators of Dairy Maid stores); 1991 - Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy acquired by James' Candy Company; fifth generation-owned family business; produce 11,000 pounds of taffy/day in summer. June 16, 1893 - F.W. (Frederick William) Rueckheim and Brother introduced a popcorn, peanuts, and molasses confection at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago's First World Fair; 1896 - Louis Rueckheim , F.W.'s brother and partner, discovered process for keeping molasses-covered popcorn from sticking together; gave treat to a salesman who exclaimed, "That's crackerjack!"; November 26, 1907 - Rueckheim Bros. and Eckstein Corporation registered "Cracker Jack" trademark first used Januaary 1906 (candied popcorn); 1908 - Jack Norworth wrote lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during a 30-minute subway ride (Albert Von Tilzer composed the music); song's third line immortalized rand: "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack"; 1912 - introduced "A Prize in Every Box" with toys inserted into every package; June 1919 - Sailor Jack and his dog, Bingo, first appeared on packages (modeled after F.W. Rueckheim's young grandson, Robert); April 14, 1925 - Cracker Jack Co. registered "Cracker Jack" trademark (candies pop corn with sailor and dog logo); 1964 - acquired by  Borden; 1997 - acquired by Frito-Lay. August 1, 1893 - Henry D. Perky and William H. Ford, of Watertown, NY, received a patent for a "Machine for the Preparation of Cereals for Food" (the economic reduction of cereals in the grain state to desirable forms of food without detracting from their natural nutritious qualities and virtue and for the better preparation of the same for more convenient and general use"); May 29, 1894 - received a patent for a "Machine for the Manufacture of Food Products from Cereals" ("practical and efficient machine for the treatment of cereals whereby they may be economically converted into a wholesome food production a desirable and convenient form"); June 26, 1894 - received a patent for a "Machine for the Manufacture of Food Products from Cereals" ("production of a simple, efficient, and practical machine for the reduction of cereals into an edible, wholesome and palatable food product in a convenient and desirable form"); all patents assigned to The Cereal Machine Company (Colorado). August 29, 1893 - Sixty independent orange growers formed Southern California Fruit Exchange, union of local associations into general cooperative (at urging of T.H.B. Chamblin, manager of Pachappa Orange Growers Association in Riverside), to market their fruit (citrus acreage grew from 3,000 to more than 40,000 acres between 1880-1893); 1905 - incorporated as California Fruit Growers Exchange; April 1908 - Exchange's advertising agency, Lord & Thomas, adopted 'Sunkist' for new name in ad campaigns; $7,000 advertising campaign launched in Iowa; orange sales increased 50%; January 30, 1912 - California Fruit Growers Exchange Corporation registered "Sunkist" trademark first used on May 10, 1908 (lemons); February 1952 - name changed to Sunkist Growers, Inc.; 2008 - not-for-profit marketing cooperative entirely owned, operated for 6,000 California, Arizona citrus growers; one of ten largest marketing cooperatives in America, largest fruit and vegetable cooperative in world. October 6, 1893 - Diamond Milling Company, Grand Forks, ND, owned by Emery Mapes, George Bull, George Clifford, created Cream Of Wheat (named by Fred Clifford, Sr. because the product was so white), a hot cereal, a porridge product using farina, during the economic depression of that year; Emery Mapes created Rastus, African American chef used on logo for skillet, woodcut image of Cream of Wheat chef, on box; January 23, 1900 - Cream of Wheat Company (Minneapolis, MN) registered "Cream of Wheat" trademark first used March 1, 1895 (breakfast-foods, including rolled wheat, cracked wheat, wheat grits, wheat-farina, and purified middlings); 1920s - replaced by face of Chicago waiter who was paid five dollars to pose in chef's hat, jacket; 1962 - acquired by National Biscuit Company Grocery Division; 2000 - Nabisco Holdings acquired by Kraft Foods' parent company, Philip Morris Companies, Inc.; February 25, 2007 - acquired (with Cream of Rice) by subsidiaries of B&G Foods, Inc. from Kraft Foods Global, Inc., for $200 million (2006 sales of $60 million). 1894 - William H. Danforth (bookkeeper), George Robinson, William Andrews formed Robinson-Danforth Commission Company, with a capital investment of $12,000, to manufacture horse and mule feed made from crushed grains; May 26, 1896 - tornado destroyed company's milling facility; Danforth borrowing $10,000 to build new mill; became majority shareholder (bought Andrews shares); 1898 - entered human foods market with Purina ( 'Where purity is paramount') Whole Wheat Cereal, line of whole-wheat breakfast cereals; renamed 'Ralston Wheat Cereal' after endorsed by human-diet guru Dr. Ralston (Webster Edgerly - had begun program called Ralstonism, from RALSTON anagram: Regime, Activity, Light, Strength, Temperation, Oxygen and Nature); 1902 - merged with Ralston Cereal Company (founded 1900), renamed Ralston Purina Company, Checkerboard as Ralston's trademark; March 5, 1907 - registered "Purina" trademark first used October 1, 1893 (cornmeal, wheat-flour, cereal breakfast food, and pancake-flour); May 7, 1907 - registered "Ralston" trademark first used March 1, 1895 (cereal breakfast food); December 12, 2001 - merged with Nestle Holdings, Inc. in $10.3 billion transaction. Albert Webster Edgerly - Dr Ralston (Ralston Purina) (http://oddbooks.co.uk/files/images/edgerly/edgerly.jpg) 1894 - George Everett Haskell, William W. Bosworth formed Haskell & Bosworth in Beatrice, NE; sold poultry, eggs, butter, produce; began producing creamery butter provided by local farmers; 1898 - incorporated as Beatrice Creamery Company in Lincoln, NE; (had been originally founded in  1882 but had failed); 1899 - Bosworth lect company; November 12, 1901 - adopted "Meadow Gold" as trademark; 1913 - moved to Chicago; September 1919 - W. H. ferguson named presidxent; August 7, 1923 - Beatrice Creamery Company registered "Meadow Gold" first used September 28, 1922 (cheese); January 15, 1924 - registered "Beatrice" trademark firt use March 1, 1910 (ice cream); 1943 - acquired La Choy; 1946 - name changed to Beatrice Foods Co.; 1957 - established grocery division; 1973 - acquired Samsonite luggage; 1976 - acquired Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation (acquired in 1982 by group of franchisees, led by Joseph A. McAleer Sr.); 1984 - name changed to Beatrice Companies, Inc.; 1985 - acquired Norton Simon, Inc.; 1990 - acquired by ConAgra. 1894 - Austria-Hungarian immigrants Emil Reichel, Sam Ladany opened first Vienna Sausage Co. store on Chicago's Near West Side at 417 S. Halsted Ave.; 1900 - marketed, sold products to other stores, restaurants around Chicago; 1984 - acquired Chicago Pickle Company, added condiments to product mix; 2004 - entered Guinness Book of World Records with longest hot dog ever-37 feet and 2 inches. 1895 - Charles William (C.W.) Post developed, produced his first product, Postum cereal beverage (coffee substitute); named company Postum Ltd.; 1897 - developed Grape-Nuts cereal (nutty flavor of nuggets), part of new ready-to-eat breakfast food industry in United States; June 14, 1898 - registered "Grape-Nuts" trademark first used December 1, 1897 (cooked or prepared cereal food for human consumption); 1908 - introduced corn flakes product first called Elijah's Manna, later renamed Post Toasties; June 2, 1908 - registered "Post Toasties" trademark first used August 23, 1907 (cereal breakfast-foods); December 31, 1925 - acquired Jell-O Company, Inc.; July 24, 1929 - Postum Incorporated renamed General Foods; 1985 - acquired by Philip Morris Companies for $5.6 billion, largest non-oil acquisition to that time; March, 1989 - combined with Kraft Inc., renamed Kraft General Foods (KGF). 1895 - Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association founded. June 4, 1895 - Black American inventor Joseph Lee, of Auburndale, MA, received a patent for a "Bread Crumbing Machine" intended "for use in hotels or restaurants, where a large quantity of bread crumbs are used in cooking." September 17, 1895 - Henry D. Perky, of Denver, CO, received a design patent for "A Design for a Biscuit" ("presents a fibrous interstitial appearance , showing superimposed layers or irregular interlacing threads or filaments which are wound or disposed in such loose relation to each other that the threads or filaments of the inner layers are visible from the surface to a greater or less degree through the interstices of the outer layers"); shredded wheat; October 15, 1895 - received patent for "Bread and Method of Preparing Same"; shredded wheat; founded The Cereal Machine Company to make shredded wheat; pioneer of the "cookless breakfast food" and it was he who first mass produced and nationally distributed ready-to-eat cereal; 1901 - opened factory in Niagara Falls, NY (called 'Palace of Light'); 1908 - renamed Natural Food Company; 1913 - renamed The Shredded Wheat Company; December 1928 - acquired by National Biscuit Company (Nabisco); 1941 - product name changed to Nabisco Shredded Wheat. Henry D. Perky - Shredded Wheat (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/11/Henry_Perky.jpg/200px-Henry_Perky.jpg) 1896 - P.G. Molinari (26) opened salame store and factory at 433 Broadway, San Francisco; 1950 - Peter Giorgi (son's son-in-law) joined business; 1978 - Frank Giorgi, great grandson, joined company. P.G. Molinari - Molinari & Sons (http://www.molinarisalame.com/images/company/trad_02.jpg) February 23, 1896 - Austrian immigrant Leo Hirshfield brought recipe for chocolaty, chewy candy to U. S., produced it in small store in New York City; candy named for his five-year-old daughter (nickname of "Tootsie"); September 14, 1909 - Stern & Saalberg Company, New York, NY, registered "Tootsie" trademark first used September 1908 (chocolate candy); 1917 -name changed to Sweets Company of America; advertised nationally; 1922 - went public; June 16, 1925 - registered "Tootsie Rolls" trademark first used in September 1908 (candy); 1931 - introduced Tootsie Pop; 1966 - name changed to Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.; 1978 - Ellen Gordon named President, second woman elected president of company listed on New York Stock Exchange; 1988 - acquired Charms Company, became world's largest lollipop producer; 2003 - production reached more than 60 million Tootsie Rolls, 20 million Tootsie Pops each day. April 14, 1896 - John Harvey Kellogg, of Battle Creek, MI, received a patent for "Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same" ("to provide a food product which is in a proper condition to be readily digested without preliminary cooking or heating operation, and which is highly nutritive and of an agreeable taste, thus affording a food product particularly well suited for sick and convalescing persons"); to improve vegetarian diet of his hospital patients with digestible bread-substitute made by boiling wheat (easy to prepare breakfast when milk added). August 29, 1896 - Chinese-American dish chop suey invented in New York City by chef to visiting Chinese Ambassador Li Hung-chang. December 8, 1896 - Black-American inventor John T. White, of New York, NY, received patent for a "Lemon-Squeezer"; made squeezing lemons, straining juice easy; kept hands clean while juicing. 1897 - Dr. John Thompson Dorrance (24) joined uncle's company, Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Co., producer of canned tomatoes, vegetables, jellies, soups, condiments, minced meats (father, Arthur Dorrance, general manager); invented condensed soup by eliminating water in canned soup; lowered the costs for packaging, shipping, storage; made it possible to offer 10-ounce can of Campbell's condensed soup for a dime, versus more than 30 cents for a typical 32-ounce can of soup; introduced tomato soup; 1905 - name changed to Joseph Campbell Company; 1915 - acquired Franco-American Food Company; 1922 - incorporated as Campbell Soup Company; 1934 - introduced Cream of Mushroom, Chicken Noodle soups; 1955 - acquired C.A. Swanson & Sons, originator of TV dinner, takes Campbell into frozen foods; 1961 - acquired Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated; 1974 - acquired full control of Godiva Chocolatier, Inc.; 1978 - acquired Vlasic Foods, Inc.; 1981 - acquired Prego spaghetti sauces; 1998 - spun off specialty foods unit (Vlasic pickles, Swanson frozen foods); focused on soups, sauces, beverages, biscuits, confectionery, foodservice. 1897 - Jerome Monroe Smucker opened cider mill in Orrville, OH; prepared apple butter, sold it from back of a horse-drawn wagon; each crock had hand-signed seal as personal guarantee of quality; 1921 - J. M. Smucker Company incorporated; 1923 - introduced preserves, jelllies; February 22, 1949 - registered "Smucker's" trademark first used in 1900 (fruit preserves, jellies, jam, marmalade, and apple butter); 1962 - introduced slogan: "With a name like Smucker's it has to be good"; June 4, 2008 - announced acquisition of Folgers coffee business from Procter & Gamble for $3.3 billion; biggest U.S. producer of coffee; seventh acquisition in two years, boost annual sales to $4.7 billion (2.15 billion in 2007). 1897 - Isaac VanWestenbrugge (23), Dutch immigrant, borrowed $300 from older brother Martin, started business delivering butter and eggs in Grand Rapids, MI; 1916 - Ben Gordon (high school senior) joined company; 1921 -married Isaac's daughter; brought in brother (Frank); 1942 - company renamed Gordon Food Service; 2007 - #46 largest privately-owned company in U. S. (estimated 2006 sales of $5.9 billion); largest independent foodservice distributor in North America. February 2, 1897 - Alfred L. Cralle of Pittsburgh, PA, received a patent for an "Ice-Cream Mold and Disher" ("may be conveniently operated with one hand"); able to keep ice cream and other foods from sticking; constructed in almost any desired shape (cone or mound) with no delicate parts that could break or malfunction. May 28, 1897 - Pearle Wait, carpenter in LeRoy, NY, adapted 1845 Peter Cooper portable gelatine patent to fruit flavored gelatin dessert; his wife, May, named product Jell-O; September 9, 1899 - sold formula to Orator Frank Woodward, founder of Genesee Pure Food Co. for $450; 1902 - launched first advertising campaign in Ladies' Home Journal, sales eventually reached $250,000; September 22, 1908 - Genesee Pure Food Company (LeRoy, NY) registered "Jell-O" trademark first used in March 1897 (compound used in the preparation of jellies, desserts, pastries and ice cream); November 5, 1923 - reorganized, renamed Jell-O Company, Inc; December 31, 1925 - acquired by Postum Cereal. August 3, 1897 - Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer, of Reading, PA, received two design patents for a "Design for Fuel" ("form of two truncated pyramids placed base to base and separated by a flat rectangular body and furnished with rounded corners and slightly rounded or convex tops"); charcoal. 1898 - American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company (formed in 1830 from 40 Midwestern bakeries), New York Biscuit Company (seven eastern bakeries), United States Baking Company merged, formed National Biscuit Company (114 bakeries across United States); introduced first product, Uneeda Biscuit; created first "inner-seal package" (inter-folded layers of wax paper, cardboard, one of first self-service packages for cracker products); December 27, 1898 - National Biscuit Company registered "Uneeda" trademark first used September 6, 1898 (biscuits, crackers); March 28, 1899 - Frank M. Peters, of Chicago, IL, Nabisco designer, received a patent for a "Method of and Means for Packing Biscuit, Crackers, or the Like" ("to provide an inexpensive package whereby bakery goods...may be kept fresh and in proper condition for consumption by effectually excluding moisture therefrom and whereby the goods will be firmly packaged and held and thereby prevented from rattling and breaking in the package"); 'In-Er-Seal' wax paper wrapper to keep crackers fresh. 1898 - Augustus Eugene (Gene) Staley bought bulk starch for two cents a pound, repackaged it under his own Cream Starch (cornstarch) label, sold it for profit of five cents a pound in Baltimore, MD; 1906 - incorporated A E Staley Manufacturing Company when his suppliers realized he was serious competition; 1909 - moved to Decatur, IL; March 12, 1919 - bought starch plant in Illinois, began processing, ground 1000 pounds of corn; March 1920 - hired George Halas as starch-maker by day, manage Decatur Staleys football team on side; played 13 games, finished 10-1-2 (1922 - renamed Chicago Bears, continued to use Staley da Bear as mascot); September 30, 1922 - first soybean crushing plant went into operation; 1932 - A E Staley Jr. (Gus) became President; 1988 - 90% North American AE Staley Manufacturing Co. acquired by Tate & Lyle (2000 - acquired balance). A E Staley's 1920 Decatur Staleys (1922 - renamed Chicago Bears) (http://www.bearshistory.com/images/20bears.jpg) 1898 - William Entenmann opened bakery in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York; delivered cakes, breads, rolls door-to-door in horse-drawn buggy; 1961 - built largest baking facility of its kind in United States on five acres in Bay Shore, long Island; acquired by George Weston Bakeries. 1898 - Joseph Walker (21) opened bakery in Torphins with a loan of 50 pounds and dream of making the finest shortbread in the world; 1970s - grandchildren exported Walkers shortbread to over 60 countries around the world - still baked to his original recipe; within decade won the first of three Queen's Awards for Export Achievement - highest accolade given to British exporters. March 30,1898 - Minor C. Keith, Andrew Preston founded United Fruit Company. 1899 - 7 canners in Astoria, OR formed Columbia River Packers Association to fish, process Salmon successfully; 1910 - albacore tuna discovered in seasonal abundance off Oregon coast; Bumble Bee Brand made first appearance; January 22, 1952 - registered "Bumble Bee" trademark first used in 1896 (canned, fresh and fresh frozen fish); 1961 - 61% ownership acquired by Castle and Cooke; renamed Bumble Bee Seafoods, Inc. as wholly owned subsidiary; 1997 - acquired by International Home Foods Inc.; 2000 - acquired by Conagra Foods; 2003 - renamed Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC; 2004 - merged with Connors Bros. Income Fund, became largest branded seafood company in North America; 2005 - name changed to Bumble Bee Foods, LLC. 1899 - Franklin V. Canning, New York druggist, created Dentyne gum (combination of "dental" and hygiene"); 1916 - acquired by American Chicle Company; May 19, 1925 - registered "Dentyne" trademark first used January 1, 1901 (chewing gum). 1899 - Richard Lindsey, operator of Royal Flour Mill in Nashville, TN, named his company's finest flour for his three-year-old daughter, Martha White; 1941 - Cohen E. Williams and sons acquired Royal Flour Mill and Martha White name; 1975 - Martha White merged with Beatrice Companies; 1994 - acquired by Pillsbury Company. 1899 - Ichitaro Kanie began growing tomatoes in in his garden in Japan; first to do so; 1903 - produced tomato sauce; 1908 - produced tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce; 1933 - introduced tomato juice; 1949 - five companies merged, formed Aichi Tomato Co., Ltd.; 1963 - name changed to Kagome Co., Ltd. now one of largest producers of tomato products in Japan; 1966 - introduced ketchup in world's first plastic tube; 1978 - went public; December 20, 1983 - Kagome Co., Ltd. registered "Kagome" trademark in U.S., first used in 1974 (vegetable based sauces); 1988 - established U.S. subsidiary, Kagome Inc.; sales of 100 billion yen. 1900 - Carl A. Swanson, Swedish immigrant, formed partnership with John Hjerpe, Frank Ellison in Omaha, NE; named Jerpe Commission Company; 1905 - incorporated; focused on butter production, poultry; 1928 - Swanson bought out Hjerpe's interest (Ellison died in 1918); 1944 - renamed C.A. Swanson & Sons; 1949 - Gilbert and Clarke Swanson (sons) took over; October 11, 1949 - C.A. Swanson & Sons registered "Swanson" trademark first used in 1928; 1954 - introduced TV dinner; Gerry Thomas, sales executive, redesigned single-compartment aluminum trays, used to keep food hot in airline food kitchens of Pan American Airways in Pittsburgh into 'segmented plat' (three-compartment tray) for packaging 520,000 pounds of leftover Thanksgiving poultry into 10 refrigerated railroad cars (not enough storage in warehouses); first Swanson TV Dinner - turkey with corn bread dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, buttered peas (sold for $.98, cooked in 25 minutes at 425 degrees); first production order for 5,000 dinners (thought to be a big gamble); sold more than 25 million TV dinners; 1955 - acquired by Campbell Soup Company. Gilbert and W. Clarke Swanson - TV Dinner (http://www.omahachamber.org/admin/remoteuploads/279.jpg) 1901 - James Drummond Dole, son of pastor of First Church in Jamaica Plain, MA, began growing pineapple on 60 acres on Wahiawa, north of Oahu; incorporated Hawaiian Pineapple Company, first successful pineapple growing, canning operation; advertised with recipes in ladies magazines; 1903 - packed 1,893 cases of canned pineapple; January 30, 1912 - Hawaiian Pineapple Company registered "JDDole" trademark first used in March 1910 (canned pinepapple); 1915 - Hawaii's second largest industry; owned 29 patents covering machines, processes in pineapple industry (represented virtually all of specialized pineapple canning machinery, most of which developed by employees of the Company); 1932 - Castle & Cooke acquired ownership of 21% of Hawaiian Pineapple Company; 1933 - company first used "DOLE" on cans of pineapple, pineapple juice; April 19, 1949 - Hawaiian Pineapple Company registered "Dole" trademark first used in 1927 (canned fruit canned fruit juices for food purposes and frozen fresh fruit); 1961 - merged with Castle & Cooke; 1991 - shareholder resolution approved to change name of Castle & Cooke to Dole Food Company, Inc.; world's largest producer, marketer of fresh fruit, vegetables with major line of packaged products; 1995 - separated food, real estate businesses; 2003 - Dole Food Company acquired by David H. Murdock, former CEO of Flexi-Van Corporation, transportation equipment leasing company (merged with Castle & Cooke in 1985). James Drummond Dole - Dole Pineapple (http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/images/dole6.jpg) 1901 - New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) formed from merger of Chase and Company (1847), Forbes, Hayward and Company (1848) Wright and Moody (1856); incorporated with capital of $1,000,000.00; trade name NECCO Sweets, derived from its title, adopted; January 30, 1906 - registered "NECCO" trademark first used January 25, 1903; registered "NECCO Sweets" trademark first used June 1, 1904; 1912 - NECCO Wafer, Hub Wafer widely advertised; 1927 - largest factory in world devoted to manufacture of candy; March 8, 1938 - registered "Sky Bar" trademark first used August 26, 1837 (molded chocolate bar with four distinctly different centers encased in chocolate covering); 1963 - acquired by UIS, Inc. (New York); period of restructuring under seven presidents; 1999 - acquired assets of Clark Bar America, Inc., maker of Clark bar (introduced in 1917), chocolately coated peanut butter crunch candy. October 8, 1901 - American Sugar Refining Co., New York, NY, registered "Domino" trademark first used August 1, 1900 (hard sugar). November 12, 1901 - National Biscuit Company registered "Nabisco" trademark first used June 28, 1901 (biscuits, crackers, bread); December 1902 - introduced Barnum's Animal Crackers; 1912 - introduced Lorna Doone, Oreo cookies; April 22, 1913 - registered "Lorna Doone" trademark first used June 12, 1912 (biscuit); August 12, 1913 - registered "Oreo" trademark first used March 6, 1912 (biscuit); July 7, 1914 - registered "Fig Newtons" trademark first used September 1, 1892 (biscuit); 1952 - first used red triangular logo; May 4, 1954 - registered "Barnum's Animals" trademark first used in December 1902 (bakery products, namely biscuits); 1971 - name changed to Nabicso; 1981 - merged with Standard Brands (Planters Nuts), acquired LifeSavers Candies; renamed Nabisco Brands, Inc.; 1985 - acquired by R.J. Reynolds, formed RJR Nabisco; 1988 - acquired by Kolberg Kravis Roberts (biggest leveraged buyout in history); 2000 - acquired by Philip Morris Companies. 1902 - John W. Daniels, George A. Archer founded Daniels Linseed Company in Minneapolis, MN; 1903 - Archer joined company; February 17, 1903 - first bottle of flax linseed oil made; February 1905 - name changed to Archer Daniels Linseed Company; May 23, 1923 - acquired Midland Linseed Products Company, formed Archer-Daniels-Midland Company; 1947 - sales of $297 million; 1952 - more than 5,000 employees; 1962 - logo created to represent chemical molecules coming from natural resource; 1980 - sales of $2.8 billion; 1981 - 50 years of uninterrupted stock dividends. 1902 - Jacob Leander Loose, Joseph Schull Loose, John A. Wiles formed Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company in Kansas City, MO; 1908 - introduced Hydrox cookie (name combined water's atomic elements--hydrogen and oxygen); April 15, 1913 - registered "Hydrox" trademark first used January 1, 1910 (biscuits, cakes, cookies); May 4, 1937 - Sunshine Biscuits, Inc. registered "HI-HO" trademark first used December 1931 (crackers, biscuits, and cakes); 1947 - name changed to Sunshine Biscuits (better known than Loose-Wiles); March 27, 1951 - registered "Vienna Fingers" trademark first used January 1915 (biscuits - namely cookies); January 28, 1958 - registered "Sunshine Krispy" trademark first used in 1908 (crackers), saltines; July 25, 1967 - registered "Sunshine" trademark first used in August 1908 (crackers e al); April 18, 1988 - acquired by G. F. Industries, Inc.; 1995 - sales of about $500 million; June 4, 1996 - merged into Keebler Company (leader in supplying biscuits to food service industry, more than $2 billion in annual sales, combined market share of about 23% by volume, vs. 36% held by Nabisco Biscuit Co.); 2003- Hydrox discontinued (1998 sales of $16 million vs. $374 million for Oreos); 2008 - Hydrox reintroduced by popular demand (more than 1,300 phone inquiries, online petition with more than 1,000 signatures, Internet chat sites). Jacob Leander Loose - Sunshine Biscuits (http://www.astorialic.org/images/loosej.jpg) 1902 - Otosaburo Noda, immigrant Japanese farmer, labor contractor, businessman, began canning abalone and salmon on rocky shoreline of Monterey, CA; with partner, Harry Malpas, constructed Monterey Fishing and Canning Company on Ocean View Avenue (later known as "Cannery Row"), first canning operation located on "Street of the Sardine"; 1903 - Frank Booth, "Father of the Sardine Industry," constructed F.E. Booth Company, Monterey's first large-scale cannery; 1907 - Maplas business acquired by James A. Madison, Joseph A. Nichols, Bernard Senderman; became Pacific Fish Company; July 7, 1916 - Norwegian fishery engineer Knut Hovden opened Hovden Food Products Corporation; revolutionized canning industry; 1926 - Pacific Fish Co. became California Packing Corp. ("Cal-Pac"); 1945 - 19 canneries. 1902 - First Stone-Buhr mill built in Seattle, WA; 1914 - Charles E. Young, former real estate broker and carpenter, opened Young-Stone Buhr Milling Co in Fremont neighborhood in Seattle; 1969 - acquired by Orowheat Foods; 1981 - acquired by Bestfoods / Corn Products Co. (CPC); 2002 - acquired by JOG Distribution, Inc. February 1902 - National Starch Manufacturing Company, Glucose Sugar Refining Co., Illinois Sugar Refining Company, 49% of New York Glucose Co. merged, formed Corn Products Company; produced about 84% of American corn starch; May 13, 1902 - introduced Karo Light and Dark Corn Syrup; September 15, 1903 - registered "Karo" trademark first used in July 1902 (syrup); February 1906 - merged with New York Glucose Company, Warner Sugar Refining Company, St. Louis Syrup & Preserving Company, formed Corn Products Refining Company; Edward T. Bradford (former President of New York Glucose) as president; October 3, 1911 - registered "Mazola" trademark first used June 5, 1911 (edible corn-oil); April 1958 - acquired KNORR GmbH of West Germany, maker of bouillon, dehydrated soups; May 1959 - merged with The Best Foods, Inc., formed Corn Products Company; April 1969 - name changed to CPC International Inc.; 1980 - sales over $4 billion; 1986 - fought off takeover attempt by Ronald O. Perelman (chairman of Revlon Group); restructured; December 31, 1997 - corn-refining business spun off to shareholders, named Corn Products International, Inc.; January 2, 1998 - renamed Bestfoods; October 2000 - acquired by Unilever PLC for $24.3 billion; world's largest food conglomerate (ranked by total sales), combined annual revenue of $52.3 billion, annual profits of $6.2 billion; June 23, 2008 - acquisition of Corn Products International (35 facilities, 15 countries, fourth-largest maker of high-fructose corn syrup in U.S.) for $4.4. billion announced by Bunge Group (foothold in syrups, sweeteners business); third largest agribusiness company in U. S. by revenue (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland). August 23, 1902 - Fanny Farmer, among first to emphasize relationship of diet to health, opened her School of Cookery in Boston. August 26, 1902 - Alexander P. Anderson, of New York, NY, received a patent for the "Art of Treating Starch Material" ("a dry method of swelling starch materials of all kinds to render them porous, thereby enhancing their nutritive value and rendering them more readily and completely digested than when used in their present form"); invented 'puffed wheat" and 'puffed rice"; patent acquired by Quaker Oats. Alexander P. Anderson - invented "puffed wheat", "puffed rice" with above canon (http://www.minnesotainventors.org/inductees/images/alexander-p-anderson.jpg) September 1902 - Small group of local investors bought Hoerner & Knopf Bakery in Richmond, IN (founded in 1855 by David Hoerner, took on partner named Knopf in 1881); renamed Richmond Baking Co.; William H. Quigg became general manager; 1918 - Eugene K. Quigg (son) succeeded; 1950 - J. Robert Quigg (brother) took over; 1969 - James R. Quigg Jr. (son) took over; 2010 - under fifth generation management (Bill Quigg, Rob Quigg); nation's oldest family-owned cookie and cracker company. 1903 - James L. Kraft (29) began a wholesale cheese business in Chicago with $65 in capital; 1909 - J. L. Kraft & Bros. Co. incorporated; June 6, 1916 - received patent for "Process of Sterilizing Cheese and an Improved Product Produced by Such Process"; process cheese; August 24, 1920 - received a patent for a "Process for Sterilizing and Packaging Cheese" ("apples more specifically to the treatment of cheese of the Cheddar genus"); 1927 - acquired Velveeta Cheese Company; 1930 - acquired by National Dairy Products Corporation; 1937 - Macaroni & Cheese Dinner debuted; 1945 - name changed to Kraft Foods Company; 1952 - Cheez Whiz introduced; June 9, 1953 - John H. Kraft, of Chicago, IL, received patent for the "Manufacture of Soft Surface Cured Cheese" ("soft, surface cured, mold ripened cheeses, such as Camembert, Brie, and the like and in particular, to the provision of a soft, surface cured cheese whose mold pad may be readily removed"); assigned to Kraft Foods Company; 1969 - National Dairy renamed Kraftco Corporation; 1976 - name changed to Kraft Inc.; 1980 - merged with Dart Industries; formed Dart & Kraft; 1986 - Kraft split off; October 30, 1988 - acquired by Philip Morris Companies Inc. for $13.1 billion; January 27, 2003 - Philip Morris name changed to Altria Group, Inc.; March 30, 2007 - Kraft Foods Inc. spun off from Altria; January 19, 2010 - agreed to acquire Cadbury plc for about $19.5 billion; created world's largest confectioner (more than $500 billion in sales). James L. Kraft -  Kraft Foods (http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/images/jameskraft_1.jpg) 1903 - Minnesota Valley Canning Company established; only product - white cream-style corn (shipped 12,000 cases); 1907 - produced Early June Peas; 1925 - "Green Giant" created (to describe larger, sweeter pea; white, wore bearskin); July 12, 1927 - registered "Green Giant" trademark first used on January 1, 1926 (canned peas); 1932 - more trial acres of corn hybrids than all research acres at nation's colleges combines; 1950 - company changed name to Green Giant Company. December 15, 1903 - Italo Marchiony, of New York, NY, received U.S. patent for a "Mold" ("particularly such molding apparatuses as are used in the manufacture of ice cream sups and the like"); ice cream cup mold; sold ice cream and lemon ice on Wall Street served in baked waffles, folded by hand while warm into shape of a cup; built chain of 45 carts; met need for mass production with invention of a multiple recess mold based on a waffle-iron; produced 10 cups at a time; April 30, 1904 - took confection to Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, got idea for a cone shape. 1904 - Emil J. Brach (45), son of German immigrants who had invested in failed candy factory, founded Brach's Palace of Sweets in Chicago; first product was caramels; end of 1930s - leading maker of fresh bulk candy; 1966 - acquired by American Home Products; 1987 - Brach's division acquired by Jacobs Suchard, European candy and coffee company; 1990 - Jacobs Suchard acquired by Phillip Morris except for Brach's (retained by Klaus J. Jacobs); 1994 - merged with Brock Candy Co., new company called Brach & Brock Confections Inc., based in Chattanooga, TN; 2003 - Brach's Confections Holding Inc. acquired by Barry Callebaut AG (Zurich), world's leading manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate products. 1904 - Dairy farmers in Lucerne Township in Kings County, CA established cooperative creamery named Lucerne Cream & Butter Co.; built plant in Hanford, CA; 1929 - acquired by Safeway, became dairy label; 1945 - Lucerne Milk Company established within Safeway; 1982 - Safeway operated 30 dairy plants in United States and Canada, processed fluid, cultured, frozen desserts, cheese, powder; 1980s - reduced number of plants to14. July 1904 - Ice cream cone invented during 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis (known as St. Louis World's Fair); several credited with invention of first edible cone: David Avayou, Abe Doumar (Lebanese immigrant recognized by Smithsonian), Arnold Fornachou, Ernest Hamwi, Albert and Nick Kabbaz, Charles E. Menches - all made, sold confections at 1904 Fair. 1905 - Cadbury introduced liquid milk into chocolate, launched Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM) chocolate; used full cream milk (vs. powdered milk often used in products of Swiss rivals); outsold traditional continental dark chocolate in Britain within few years; broke Swiss chocolate monopoly by end of first decade. 1905 - German immigrant Richard Hellmann sold first ready-made mayonnaise at New York deli; 1912 - designed "Blue Ribbon" label placed on larger glass jars; 1932 - acquired by Best Foods; August 23, 1949 - registered "Hellmann's" trademark first use August 1, 1926 (mayonnaise). 1905 - Frank Epperson (11) invented popsickle; glass filled with soda- water powder and water with stirring stick froze on back porch overnight; 1922 - introduced Popsicle at a fireman's ball; August 19, 1924 - received a patent for a ''Frozen Confectionery" ("...a method or process for making a frozen confection of attractive appearance, which can be conveniently consumed without contamination by contact with the hand or without the need for a plate, spoon, fork or other implement, which process can be expeditiously carried out at small expense with simple apparatus, without the need for expert care and in a thoroughly sanitary manner"; 1929 - patent acquired by Popsicle Corporation. August 8, 1905 - Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company registered "Pillsbury's Best" trademark first used in January 1, 1873 (flour made from wheat); November 19, 1940 - Pillsbury Flour Mills Company registered "Pillsbury Best XXXX" trademark first used on January 1, 1873 (flour made from wheat); February 11, 1941 - registered "Pillsbury's Best XXXX Flour" trademark first used in April 1924 (flour made from wheat). October 31, 1905 - Joseph Campbell Company (Camden, NJ) registered "Campbell's" trademark (for baked beans); January 9, 1906 - Joseph Campbell Company registered "Campbell's" trademark for condensed soups. December 5, 1905 - Frank H. Fleer and Company, Philadelphia, PA, registered "Chiclets" trademark first used October 1, 1899 (chewing-gum). 1906 - Amedeo Voltejo Obici, Mario Peruzzi founded Planters Peanut Company in Wilkes-Barre, PA; 1908 - incorporated as Planter Nut & Chocolate Co.; 1916 - schoolboy Antonio Gentile (14) won Planters Contest for brand icon in Suffolk, VA with sketch of Mr. Peanut (graphic artist later added top hat, monocle and cane); 1918 - first salted nut ever advertised in Saturday Evening Post; 1928 - introduced Planters Cocktail Peanuts in 8-oz. vacuum-sealed can; March 5, 1935 - Planters Nut & Chocolate Co. registered "Planters" trademark first used in 1906 (roasted peanuts, salted peanuts, peanut butter, peanut candy bars). Amedeo Obici - Planters Peanuts (http://image1.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2009/322/11511003_125864785072.jpg) 1906 - Perry Bernstein owned small New York delicatessen; created Bernstein's salad dressings for vegetables and salads; second generation took over, moved business to California; moved operations to Tacoma, WA; 1974 - acquired by Nalley's Fine Foods (division of W.R. Grace); July 1975 - acquired by Curtice-Burns; September 1997 - renamed Agrilink Foods, Inc.; 1998 - acquired Dean Foods Vegetable Company; February 10, 2003 - name changed to Birds Eye Foods Inc. to reflect company's largest brand. 1906 - Suyeichi Okamura opened Benkyodo Company, one of original businesses in Japantown (on San Francisco's Geary Boulevard); 1940s - forced to close temporarily when the family was interned during World War II; 1951 - Hirofumi (son) took over; 1990 - grandsons took over. February 19, 1906 - Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg and Charles D. Bolin, St. Louis insurance man and former patient at Kellogg's sanitarium, incorporated Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Co. in Michigan, with $35,000 raised by Bolin in St. Louis, to produce Kellogg's Corn Flakes (after having purchased right to make flakes from Dr. John Harvey Kellogg); began manufacture of Sanitas Corn Flakes, cereal products to former sanitarium patients; name changed later to Toasted Corn Flake Company, then to Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company, finally to Kellogg Co. Dr. Kellogg as majority stockholder; distributed part of this stock among the Sanitarium doctors in lieu of salary increases; W. K. bought all of stock Dr. John had given to Physicians in aggressive effort to become majority shareholder; April 1 1906 - company started production of Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes; October 1906 - company began using phrase, "The Original Has This Signature - W.K. Kellogg" (remained a prominent feature on cereal packages, in advertisements for years; (about) May 1, 1907 - first use of Kellogg's logo (stylized version of W.K.'s last name) placed on the top of cereal packages; June 1907 - 300 employees on the payroll, workers' paid $2 a day; 1909 - annual sales exceeded a million cases; 1909 - company introduced second product, Kellogg's Toasted Rice Flakes; 1912 - one of first organizations to use large-scale outdoor advertising display; erected a 106-foot-wide, 80-foot-tall billboard on top of Mecca Building at 48th Street and Broadway in Times Square, New York City; billed as world's largest advertising sign; 1914 - introduced "Waxtite", thick, smooth envelope of paraffin (waxed paper) that encased Kellogg's cereal boxes after they were opened (liners inside the packages were added a few years later). February 28, 1906 - New York Glucose Company (1901), Corn Products Company (incorporated in February 1902 from reorganized National Starch Co., New York Glucose Co., Illinois Sugar Refining Co., Charles Pope Glucose Co.. 49% of Glucose Sugar Refining Co.), St. Louis Syrup & Preserving Company, Warner Sugar Refining Company, Cereal Sugar Company (corn refiners) merged, incorporated Corn Products Refining Company; Edward T. Bradford (of NY Glucose) first president; June 27, 1911 - registered "Cerelose" trademark first used January 5, 1911 (corn-sugar); October 23, 1923 - William B. Newkirk, of Edgewater, NJ, received a patent for a "Method of making Grape Sugar" ("...to make possible the production, on a commercial scale and by methods which are economically feasible, of a crystalline dextrose which will be to all intents and purposes pure"); assigned to Corn Products Refining Company; 1958 - merged with Best Foods, Inc.; renamed Corn Products Company; 1969 - renamed CPC International; 1997 - Corn Products International, Inc. spun off; June 23, 2008 - acquisition of Corn Products International (35 facilities, 15 countries, fourth-largest maker of high-fructose corn syrup in U.S.) for $4.4. billion announced by Bunge Group (foothold in syrups, sweeteners business); third largest agribusiness company in U. S. by revenue (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland). March 1906 - California and Hawaiian Sugar Refining Company began refining pure cane sugar in Crockett, CA (near San Francisco) to compete with sugar Trust on West Coast (started in 1897 as California Beet Sugar Refining Company at site of former flour mill; 1903 - failed, couldn't process enough beets; Claus Spreckels granted three year lease on plant, docks; 1905 - acquired by Sugar Factors Co. Ltd. of Hawaii commission company for handling output for several Hawaii sugar plantations; controlled by Alexander & Baldwin, Castle & Cooke, C. Brewer & Co., Amfac, Theo H. Davies & Co. - Hawaii's 'Big Five'), Makee Sugar Company (Col. Z. S. Spalding); name changed to California and Hawaiian Sugar Refining Company; employed 490 people, produced 67,000 tons of refined cane sugar; 1921 - reorganized as agricultural cooperative marketing association owned by owned by fourteen sugar plantations in Hawaii; one of 50 largest U.S. cooperatives, second largest U.S. refined sugar marketing organization; January 14, 1936 - registered "C & H" trademark first used August 4, 1934 (sugar); June 1993 - acquired by Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.; August 5, 1998 - 60% interest in recapitalized company acquired by investment group (including Citicorp Venture Capital, Ltd.). March 31, 1906 - Slade Gorton & Co., John Pew & Son (founded 1849), David B. Smith & Co., Reed & Gamage combined to form Gorton-Pew Fisheries Co.; fleet of 39 vessels; largest fleet of fishing vessels operated by any company on Atlantic coast; 1922-23 - Italian government bought million dollar cargo of salted cod; government overthrown by Mussolini, confiscated entire cargo, never paid the bill; sent Gorton-Pew was into bankruptcy; reorganized by William Lowell Putnam; October 23, 1923 - Gorton-Pew Fisheries Company registered "Mother Ann" trademark first used on January 17, 1899 (salt codfish); August 23, 1949 - registered "Gorton's" trademark first used in December 1929 (frozen fish); 1954 - renamed Gorton's of Gloucester, Inc.; May 30, 1961 - registered "Gorton's" trademark fist used in 1875 (canned fish); 1965 - company officially became The Gorton Corporation; December 12, 1967 - registered "Gorton's of Gloucester" trademark first used on August 26, 1966 (frozen seafood-namely fish sticks, fish steaks, filets of fish...); 1968 - acquired by General Mills; May 18, 1995 - acquired by Unilever; August 2001 - acquired by Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc., a subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha (one of Japan's three largest seafood conglomerates). Captain John Pew - John Pew & Son (Gorton's) (http://www. shuteandmerchant.com/pew1.jpg) April 20, 1906 - J. Lloyd Ford purchased small barn-like milling operation in Shawnee, OK, named it Shawnee Milling Company (75 barrels of flour a day); 2005 - produces over 2 million pounds per day of consumer and food service products, wide variety of quality animal feed products. May 22, 1906 - Wheatena Corporation (Rahway, NJ) registered "Wheatena" trademark first used in 1879 (wheat breakfast food). May 22, 1906 - Natural Food Company (Niagara Falls, NY), maker of shredded wheat, registered "Triscuit" trademark first used January 1, 1903 (biscuit or crackers). June 19, 1906 - Milton S. Hershey registered "Hershey's" trademark first used January 1, 1894 (chocolate, cocoa, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate coatings, chocolate liquors, and chocolate powder). June 26, 1906 - Bon-Bon Company, New York, NY, registered "Dentyne" trademark first used January 1, 1901 (chewing-gum) June 30, 1906 - Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906 (The "Wiley Act") became law (Meat Inspection Act was companion measure with Pure Food and Drug Act); prevented the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes" (named for Harvey W. Wiley, leader of "pure food crusade" -  chemist and physician, State chemist of Indiana, professor at Purdue University; had gone to Washington in 1883 as chief chemist of Department of Agriculture; made study of food adulteration bureau's principal business). 1907 - Hershey Company introduced "Kisses" milk chocolate candy; popular theory - candy named for sound or motion of chocolate being deposited during manufacturing process; August 1921 - single channel wrapper developed, flag added to product (2006 - wrapping machines wrap up to 1,300 KISSES a minute); March 6, 1923 - Hershey Foods Corporation registered "Hershey's Kisses" trademark first used July 1, 1907 (solid chocolates); 1942-1949 - not produced due to rationing of silver foil during and after World War II; 1990 - KISSES Brand Chocolates with Almonds introduced; 2006 - 80 million KISSES Brand Chocolates made every day; 99 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates equals one pound of chocolate. 1907 - Nathan Radutzky (24), Russian immigrant from Kiev, Ukraine, produced first batch of Halvah ("sweet meat" in Turkish), 3,000-year-old Turkish confection (made with crushed sesame seeds, honey, soya protein), one of oldest in world, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan; 1908 - founded Independent Halvah and Candies, ethnic and specialty food manufacturer, to sell Halvah to delicatessens and street peddlers; after WW II, name changed to The Joyva Corporation; July 2, 1974 - registered "Joyva" trademark (logo) first used in another form as early 1940 (candy); owned, operated by third-generation of family. 1907 - Giovanni Buitoni, young heir to Perugina, Luisa Spagnoli, confectioner , established Perugina Chocolates in ancient Umbrian hill town of Perugia, in central Italy; 1922 - Luisa created Perugina's signature chocolate, Baci or "kisses" in Italian; 1939 - introduced to U.S.A at 1939 World's Fair in New York; April 7, 1964 - Societa per Azioni Perugina registered "Perugina" trademark (translated as "The girl from Perugia") first used January 1, 1957 (candies of various kinds); 1988 - Buitoni-Perugina Pasta Company acquired by Nestle. April 2, 1907 - Washburn-Crosby Company, Minneapolis, MN, registered "Gold Medal" flour trademark first used January 1, 1888 (wheat flour). August 17, 1907 - Seattle established Pike Place market on nine acres; eight farmers brought their wagons to corner of First Avenue and Pike Street; quickly overwhelmed by estimated 10,000 shoppers; sold out by 11:00 am; proposed by Seattle City Councilman Thomas Revelle as public street market that would connect farmers directly with consumers who could "Meet the Producer" directly; December 1907 -first Market building opened, every space filled; 2007 - home to nearly 200 year-round commercial businesses; 190 craftspeople, 120 farmers rent table space by the day; 240 street performers, musicians; 300 apartment units (low-income elderly people); attracts 10 million visitors a year. 1908 - Theodore Tobler introduced triangle-shaped Toblerone ("Tobler" with "torrone," nougat candy) chocolate bar; 1909 - first patented milk chocolate candy containing honey and almonds; 1970 - A.G. Chocolat Tobler and Chocolat Suchard S.A., another Switzerland-based chocolate manufacturer, joined forces as Suchard Tobler to enable Toblerone chocolates to broaden distribution. 1909 - Harry V. Warehime established Hanover Pretzel Company with a single recipe, Hanover Olde Tyme Pretzels; 1923 - William and Helen Snyder opened first pretzel bakery with sons Edward and Bill; 1961 - Snyder's family distribution business (sales of $400,00), acquired by Hanover Canning; 1963 - acquired Bechtel Pretzel Company (recipe for Sourdough Hard Pretzels); 1977 - company focused on pretzels, potato chips as core products; 1980 -Snyder's of Hanover Snack Operation (sales of $15.8 million) spun off from Hanover Brands. 1909 - M. B. Moraghan obtained permit for harvesting oysters from Tomales Bay (entered trade in oysters from Shoalwater Bay, Washington in 1868, introduced Pacific oysters to San Francisco in 1896; planted oyster beds in Tamales Bay, founded Tomales Bay Oyster Company in 1906); 1936 - last commercial oysters harvested from San Francisco Bay; Company acquired by Gretchen and Drew Alden, partners; 2009 - acquired by Tod Friend, owner of Marshall (CA) Store since 2006; California's oldest continuously run shellfish farm; oysters, mussels, clams - $2.6 million business in Marin County (4% of county's $67 million agricultural yield, according to Marin County Department of Agriculture). 1909 - P. Edward Pearson, with assistance of his brothers, John Albert and Oscar F. Pearson, founded Pearson Candy Company as candy distribution firm; 1912 - began manufacturing candy; Waldemar and C. Fritz Pearson (brothers) joined company; introduced Nut Goodie Bar (premium 5-cent candy bar), one of company's first manufactured products; 1933 - introduced Salted Nut Roll (name changed to Choo Choo Bar to distinguish it from competitors; name dropped, Pearson's name prominently displayed on wrapper); end of World War II - concentrate solely on candy manufacturing; 1944 - William Henning Pearson (youngest brother), George Pearson (son of founder P. Edward Pearson) joined family business; 1951 - acquired Trudeau Candy Company (Saint Paul, MN), known for Seven-Up Bar, Mint Pattie; 1968 - acquired by ITT/Continental Baking; 1979 - acquired by confectionery partnership; 1985 - acquired by former employees, Larry Hassler (CFO), Judith Johnston; manufactured 1.5 million General Mills Nature Valley Granola Bars/day; 1986 - General Mills pulled out; 1998 - acquired Bun Bar trademark (first manufactured in early 1900's) from Clark Bar America; 2009 - 28th largest candy company in America; produces 35,000 Nut Goodie and Bun Bars, 225,000 Salted Nut Rolls, 2.1 million Mint Patties daily. 1909 - H. J. Heinz opened production facility in Leamington, ON; moved seven staff to Leamington, hired 60 employees for first harvest; 1910 - made ketchup; 1940 - incorporated as Canadian company; 1960s - average tomato yield rose to 700 or 800 bushels per acre (vs.100 bushels in 1920s); 1961 - company payroll was around $9 million, paid Ontario farmers $23 million for their production; 2009 - 48 tomato growers deliver from more than 5,000 acres, many other farmers are involved; 1,300 full-time employees in Canada, about 800 in Leamington (second largest Heinz facility in world); produces over 650 million bottles of ketchup/year; Canada - 2nd largest consumer per capita of ketchup in world (behind Finland), 1.4 liters per person/year). January 1, 1909 - John J. and Peter Schmid (brothers) used $500 they had saved, $300 they borrowed from neighbor, bought two horses, two wagons, some milk bottles, cans, dippers, hand-cranked freezer to begin daily deliveries to Orrville, OH homes; customers called them "Smith" brothers, easier to pronounce than Schmid; established Smith Dairy Products Company; June 24, 1997 - Smith Dairy Products Company registered "Smith's The Dairy in the Country" trademark; 2009 - still family owned; Steve and John Schmid (grandsons) as president, vice president, respectively; manufactures full line of quality dairy, beverage, ice cream, foodservice products. John, Peter Schmid - Smith Brothers Dairy Products (http://www.smithdairy.com/images/earlyyears-2.gif) 1910 - Francis Atherton Bean Sr. introduced Robin Hood Flour (former President of Polar Star Milling Company of Fairbault, MN, which had declared bankruptcy in 1891 due to rising railroad freight rates, plunging flour prices, and New Prague Flouring Mill Company, rented in New Prague, MN in 1892, been reclaimed by former owner in 1896; had leased McLean Mill in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1909, renamed Saskatchewan Flour Mills Ltd. (parent company became International Milling); 50 workers, 12 field salesmen; 1911 - repaid principal, interest (more than $200,000) to Polar Star Milling creditors; 1912 - produced 1600 barrells of flour/day; renamed Robin Hood Flour Mills, Ltd. (brand name flour introduced around 1910 exclusively for Canadian markets); February 1, 1916 - Robin Hood Flour Mills, Ltd. registered "Robin Hood" trademark first used June 1, 1911 (farina, rolled oats, and oatmeal); 1938 - Francis Atherton Bean, Jr. named president; 1945 - leading consumer flour in Canada; 1964 - International Milling went public; 1970 - renamed International Multifoods; 1980 - revenues exceeded $1 billion; 1980s - transformed from flour milling, consumer foods company into food service distribution, manufacturing company; 1984 - acquired Vendors Supply of America, vending distributor with $900 million in annual sales; April 25, 2010 - U.S. flour milling operations acquired by ConAgra Inc. July 1, 1910 - Ward Baking Company of Chicago opened first completely automatic bread plant in U.S.; dough not touched, not handled until placed on wrapping machine. 1911 - Frank and Ethel Mars made, sold variety of butter-cream candies from kitchen of their home in Tacoma, WA; 1913 - rented first factory, Mars Candy Factory, Inc.; 1914-1915 - moved to another factory; 1916 - moved to third factory, 125 employees; business failed; 1920 - returned to Minneapolis, MN, started Nougat House basket candies business; 1922 - introduced Mar-O-Bar, changed name to Mar-O-Bar Company to manufacture chocolate candy bars (later incorporated as Mars, Inc.); 1923 - sales of $69,000; introduced Milky Way; March 10, 1925 - Frank C. Mars, doing business as Mar-O-Bar Company, registered "Milky Way" trademark first used in 1922 (candy); 1926 - name changed to Mars Candies; February 28, 1928 - Mars Incorporated dba Mar-O-Bar Company registered "Snickers" trademark first used in April 1923 (candy comprising candy bars); 1929 - known as Mars, Incorporated (200 employees); 1930 - sales of $26.7 million; Snickers Bar introduced; June 20, 1933 - registered Mars" trademark first used May 1, 1932 (candy); 1941 - introduced M&Ms Plain Chocolate Candies; August 11, 1942 - M. & M. Limited Partnership registered "M&Ms" trademark first used March 3, 1941 (candy); 1954 - introduced M&Ms Peanut Chocolate Candies; 1967 - Forrest Mars (son) took over; April 28, 2008 - $22 billion in sales; agreed to acquire Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company for $23 billion (included financing from Berkshire Hathaway, holding company run by Warren Buffett); Wrigley (founded 1891, $5.4 billion in sales, world leader in gum and confections) will become separate, stand-alone subsidiary of Mars (Berkshire Hathaway will make minority equity investment in Wrigley subsidiary); combined company would have strong foundation of established brands in six core growth categories -- chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum, food, drinks, petcare. August 15, 1911 - Procter & Gamble Company introduced Crisco as economical alternative to animal fats, butter = first solidified shortening product made entirely of vegetable oil, result of hydrogenation, new process which produced shortening that would stay in solid form year-round, regardless of temperature; July 24, 1917 - registered "Crisco" trademark first used June 1, 1911 (cooking-fat). October 3, 1911 - Corn Products Refining Company registered "Mazola" trademark first used June 5, 1911 (edible corn-oil). 1912 - Clarence A. Crane invented Life Savers candy in Cleveland, OH; needed new candy to supplement chocolate business (sales fell in hot weather); developed line of hard mints; contracted with a pill manufacturer to press the mints into shape; pressing process worked much better when the had mints were stamped out with hole in the middle; new candy called "Cranes Life Savers" because they looked like miniature life preservers; introduced Pep O Mint flavor; August 19, 1913 - Clarence Crane registered "Life Savers" trademark first used February 28, 1913 (candy); sold rights to Life Savers for $2900 to Edward J. Noble; mints became known as Pep-O-Mint Life Savers; mints packaged into rolls wrapped in tin foil to keep them fresh-tasting; March 20, 1917 - Mint Products Company, Incorporated (New York, NY) registered "Life Savers" trademark; 1925 - aluminum foil used for the first time; candy promoted at cash registers of saloons, cigar stores, drug stores, barbers shops, restaurants. Clarence Crane (left) -  Life Savers (http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/crane/images/father.jpg) 1912 - Three Sicilian immigrants, Gaetana LaMarca, Guiseppe Seminara, Michele Cantella, started small spaghetti manufacturing company, Prince Macaroni Mfg. Co., on Prince Street in Boston; November 30, 1920 - registered "Prince" trademark first used on December 14, 1912 (macaroni"); 1941 - Guiseppe Pellegrino (34), another Sicilian immigrant, joined company; soon bought controlling interest; 1953 - Boston advertising firm of Jerome O'Leary created famous slogan "Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day"; 1987 - acquired by Borden Inc.; July 11, 1997 - Prince Pasta Company ceased production. 1912 - California Associated Raisin Company formed; 1915 - Sun-Maid brand launched; now world's largest producer and processor of raisins, other dried fruits; 1916 - Lorraine Collett Petersen (Fresno, CA) became brand's original trademark Sun-Maid girl; April 30, 1918 - California Associated Raisin Co. (Fresno, CA), registered "Sun Maid" trademark first used April 19, 1915 (dried fruits). March 6, 1912 - National Biscuit Company introduced Oreo cookies (two embossed chocolate-flavored wafers with a rich vanilla frosting in between); origin of name unclear; August 12, 1913 - registered "Oreo" trademark first used March 6, 1912 (biscuit); November 20, 1913 - National Biscuit Company introduced Mallomars, chocolate covered marshmallow cookies (not sold in the Summer); April 7, 1914 - registered "Mallomars" trademark first used November 20, 1913 (biscuit). 1913 - Fred H. Wells paid $250 to Ray Bowers (LeMars, IA dairy farmer) for a horse, delivery wagon, few cans and jars, good will of the business in Iowa; original contract granted milk distribution route, guaranteed source of raw milk from Bowers's herd of 10 to 15 milk cows; became Wells' Dairy, Inc.; 1925 - began manufacturing ice cream; 1928 - ice cream distribution system in Sioux City, IA, right to use Wells' name acquired by Fairmont Ice Cream; 1935 - held "Name that Ice Cream" contest The Sioux City Journal; awarded $25 prize for submitting "BLUE BUNNY"; 1950s - Harold, Mike, Roy, Fay Wells (sons of original founder), Fred D. Wells (son of Harry C. Wells) formed partnership; 1994 - Iowa State Legislature officially designated Le Mars, IA as Ice Cream Capital of the World; more ice cream produced in Le Mars by Wells' Dairy, Inc. than in any other city in world; world's largest family-owned, managed dairy processor; world's largest manufacturer of ice cream in one location. 1914 - Charles N. Miller named bite-size peanut butter,� molasses candy for his favorite aunt, Mary Jane. 1914 - John E. Cain opened John E. Cain Co., cheese distribution company at Fanueil Hall, Boston, MA; 1924 - introduced Cains All Natural Mayonnaise (did not separate, kept creamy smooth texture, appearance); 1932 - acquired Sunrise Food Company (great tasting Potato Chips); 1939 - renamed Cains Potato Chips (exited potato chip business in 1981); 1950 - Robert Cain (son) took control; October 10, 1950 - John E. Cain Co. registered "Cain's" trademark first used in 1924 (mayonnaise, sandwich spread, sweet relish, horseradish with and without beets, tartar sauce, russian dressing, piccalilli, french dressing, mustard pickle, vegetable relish, olives, pickles, prepared mustard, grated cheese, and pickle chips); 1955 - acquired Jewett Pickle Company, Oxford Pickle Company; 1970 - direct delivery to grocery warehouses (instead of store-door delivery); 1986 - acquired by BolsWessanen (Heluva Good Cheese, Kemps Frozen Yogurt); renamed Cains Foods; 1995 - acquired by Denis J. Keaveny (private investor); 1998 - acquired Olde Cape Cod Company; 2000 - sold pickle division to M. A. Gedney Co. 1914 - Harry and David Holmes inherited 240-acre Bear Creek Orchards (father's death); grew Cornice pears (much sought by European grand hotels, restaurants); named their variety Royal Riviera; 1934 - mail-order business; 1938 - introduced "Fruit of the Month Club"; February 9, 1943 - Holmes Brothers d.b.a. Bear Creek Orchards registered "Harry and David" trademark first used September 5, 1942 (Fresh Fruits-Namely, Nectarines, Grapes, and Pears); 2009 - 136 stores across United States; world's leading catalog mail-order company of fruit, confections, roses. Harry and David Holmes - Harry and David (http://www.hndcorp.com/overview/images/harryanddavid.jpg) January 7, 1914 - Heath brothers confectionary opened in Robinson, IL; sold fountain drinks, ice cream, homemade candies; 1928 - developed formula for "English Toffee" (Hearth Toffee Bar); 1946 - L.S. Heath and Sons Inc. incorporated; 1989 - acquired by Leaf, Inc., division of Hutamaki Oy of Helsinki, Finland. 1915 - Emanuele Ronzoni founded Ronzoni Macaroni Company (had started small macaroni company in 1892; created Atlantic Macaroni Company in 1895 - in charge of production for 19 years); December 13, 1949 - registered "Ronzoni" trademark first used on May 1, 1919 (alimentary pastes, spaghetti sauce, and cereal food for infants, children, or convalescents). 1915 - Alfred E. Haigh established chocolate shop in Beehive Building in Adelaide, Australia; 1933 - Claude Haigh (son) took over (six shops); 1946 - John Haigh (grandson) joined company; 1960s - expanded to Melbourne; 2009 - 12 stores. January 19, 1915 - Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company registered "Doublemint" trademark first used July 28, 1914 (chewing-gum); June 29, 1915 - registered "Juicy Fruit" trademark first used January 1, 1894 (chewing gum). November 9, 1916 - California Packing Company (Calpak) created from merger of California Fruit Canners Association (formed in 1899 by merger of 18 canneries; comprised approximately half of entire California canning industry; largest canner of fruits and vegetables in world), Griffin & Skelley, Central California Canneries, J.K. Armsby Company, Alaska Packers Association; consolidated control over canning, drying, packing houses, brokers who sold products, farmers who grew them; April 1917 - first national advertising campaign featuring Del Monte (full color ads in national magazines like Good Housekeeping and the Saturday Evening Post); January 1, 1918 - registered "Del Monte" trademark first used October 1, 1891 (canned fruits, canned vegetables, canned fish, tomato sauce, catsup, peppers, sauerkraut, [baked beans, marmalades, jams, preserves, jellies, honey, maraschino cherries] dried fruits, and raisins); 1967 - name changed to Del Monte Corporation; 1979 - acquired by R.J. Reynolds Industries. 1917 - J. J. and B.A (son) Simon, Latvian immigrants, established Table Supply Meat Company in Omaha, NE; 1952 - first mail order venture (meats shipped in dry ice-filled, wax lined, cardboard cartons - by train); aided by direct parcel shipping, polystyrene shipping coolers, vacuum packaging; 1961 - Nebraska Governor Frank B. Morrison sent Table Supply Meat Company steaks to all U.S. Governors and President Kennedy; 1963 - first direct mail flyers and catalogs sent to customers; 1966 - name changed to Omaha Steaks International; 2006 - two fifth-generation family members now play major roles in managing the company. May 1, 1917 - Prune, apricot growers of San Joaquin Valley, CA formed California Prune and Apricot Growers Association, Inc. as agricultural marketing cooperative to offer crops of its members to consumers at better prices than were offered by individual growers; membership of about 7,000 controlled about 75% of apricot-bearing acreage, 80% of prune-bearing acreage in California; May 14, 1918 - registered "Sunsweet" trademark first used July 7, 1917 (dried apricots and prunes); April 1921 - reincorporated; 1960 - name changed to Sunsweet Growers, Inc. December 1917 - Eight family companies (branches of the Mogi family) merged to form Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. (predecessor of Kikkoman Corporation), with capital of 7 million yen; April 1925 - merged with Noda Shoyu Jozo Co., Ltd., Manjo Mirin Co., Ltd., Nippon Shoyu Co., Ltd.; June 1957 - Kikkoman International Inc. established in San Francisco, CA; July 1961 - Kikko Food Industries Co., Ltd. establishe (July 1991 - became Nippon Del Monte Corporation.); October 1964 - Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. renamed Kikkoman Shoyu Co., Ltd.; October 1980 - Kikkoman Shoyu Co., Ltd. renamed Kikkoman Corporation; 2007 - 17th generation of family ownership; oldest among large industrial companies in Japan. 1919 - Isaac Carasso, doctor and member of prominent Sephardic Jewish Carasso family of Ottoman Selanik, founded yogurt factory in Barcelona, Spain; opened small yogurt business named "Danone" (variation on Catalan nickname of his son, Daniel); perfected first industrial process for making yogurt, combined traditional method of making yogurt with pure cultures isolated in Paris (lactic ferments from the Pasteur Institute); 1929 - Daniel Carasso (son) established Danone in France; 1942 - founded first American yogurt company, Dannon Milk Products, Inc., in Bronx, NY (name changed to DANNON to make the brand sound more American); January 12, 1943 - Dannon Milk Products Inc. registered "Dannon" trademark first used June 25, 1942 (Milk Products-Namely, Yogurt); 1947 - introduced yogurt with strawberry fruit on bottom; 1959 - Dannon Milk Products Inc. acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1979 - first perishable dairy product sold coast to coast; 1967 - Danone merged with Gervais, leading fresh cheese business in France; formed Gervais Danone; 1973 - merged with BSN (formed in 1966 by merger of Glaces de Boussois, Souchon-Neuvesel), leading glass container, beverages company; renamed SN Gervais Danone, one of world's largest food manufacturers present in 30 countries worldwide; 1994 - renamed Groupe Danone; 2007 - acquired Numico, Dutch baby food and clinical nutrition company; became world's second largest manufacturer of baby food. Isaac Carasso - Danone Group (http://www.dannon.com/Images/ad_herit_carasso.gif) 1919 - Henry Glade Milling Company, Ravenna Mills, Hastings Mills, Blackburn-Furry Mill merged, incorporated as Nebraska Consolidated Mills (NCM) in Grand Island, NE; 1941 - expanded outside Nebraska, built flour mill in Alabama; 1969 - acquired Montana Flour Mills Company, flour milling business spanned U. S.; flour made up 40% of sales; 1971 - renamed ConAgra, Inc.; 1980 - acquired Banquet Foods from RCA, entered frozen food market; 1982 - acquired Peavey Company, became largest publicly-held grain merchandiser; 1988 - acquired Lamb Weston, largest U. S. frozen potato processor; 1990 - acquired Beatrice Foods; 1991 - merged with Golden Valley Microwave Foods; 1993 - acquired Hebrew National Foods; 1994 - acquired Marie Callender (frozen meats, pot pies); 1995 - acquired Knotts Berry Farm Foods; 2006 - divested meat, seafood, cheese businesses. 1919 - Peter Paul Halajian, five Armenian associates, joined to expand Halajian's home-made chocolate business, open small shop; formed Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company; first product - Konabar (blend of coconut, fruits, nuts, chocolate); made at night when air coolest, sold fresh, door-to-door following day"; 1920 - introduced Mounds candy bar; December 12, 1922 - Peter Paul Candy Mfg. Co., Inc. registered "Mounds" trademark first used May 1, 1920 (candy); 1946 - introduced Almond Joy (sold for ten cents); March 7, 1950 - Peter Paul, Inc. registered "Almond Joy" trademark first used December 10, 1945 (candy); April 11, 1950 - Peter Paul, Inc. registered "Peter Paul Distinctive Candies" first used May 1, 1920 ([chewing gum] and candy); September 30, 1952 - York Cone Company registered "York" trademark first used January 28, 1922 (peppermint pattie mint); 1972 - acquired York Cone Company (York Peppermint Pattie); 1978 - acquired by Cadbury; 1988 acquired by Hershey Foods. August 19, 1919 - William B. Ward, Buffalo, NY, registered "Hostess" trademark first used January 3, 1919 ("Bread, Biscuits, and Cakes"). 1920 - Arthur W. Perdue founded backyard table egg business in Salisbury, MD; 1925 - built company's first hatchery, began selling layer chicks to farmers; 1930 - Frank Perdue (19) left college, joined father's business; 1950s - incorporated as A.W. Perdue & Son, Frank Perdue took over leadership; 1968 - began operating its first poultry processing plant; 1970 - began now-famous TV commercials, Frank Perdue became one of first corporate leaders to serve as advertising spokesperson (filmed more than 150 TV commercials); November 19, 1974 - Perdue Farms Incorporated registered 'Perdue' trademark first used in 1968 (chicken and parts thereof); 1974 - introduced PERDUE Oven Stuffer Roaster, proprietary breed; Jim Perdue (son) assumed leadership.   Frank Perdue - Perdue Farms (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/ 2005/04/01/national/01cnd-perd.184.jpg) 1920 - Harry R. Burt, Youngstown OH candy maker, created the Jolly Boy Sucker, a lollypop on a stick; created first ice cream on a stick; October 9, 1923 - received patent for "Process of Making Frozen Confection" (not for confection itself); Good Humor Ice Cream Bar (name came from the belief that a person's "humor" or temperament was related to the humor of the palate); sent out a fleet of 12 chauffeur-driven trucks with bells to make door-to-door deliveries; October 21, 1924 - registered "Good Humor" trademark (used in another form in December 1921; ice cream suckers); 1930 - M.J. Meehan, New York businessman and investor, acquired the national rights to the company (bought 75% of the shares.); 1961 - acquired by Thomas J. Lipton Company, U.S. operating subsidiary of Unilever; 1993 - name changed to Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream. Harry Burt - Good Humor (http://www.goodhumor.com/Images/519/519-114290.png) 1920 - Donley Cross, Charlie Fox opened Fox-Cross Candy Company in Emeryville, CA with candy bar called the Nu Chu; 1922 - introduced Charleston Chew, named after dance craze; vanilla-flavored nougat covered with milk chocolate; one of earliest candy bars to capitalize on use of freezer in home refrigerator; 1957 - acquired by Nathan Sloane; February 1, 1972 - registered "Charleston Chew" trademark first used April 1, 1924 (candy); 1980 - acquired by Nabisco; 1988 - acquired by Warner Lambert; 1993 - acquired by Tootsie Roll Industries. 1920 - E.K Pond label of Swift & Company (acquired in 1904 from Henry Clay Derby, Derby Foods name adopted) introduced introduced peanut butter; later adopted patented Rosefield hydrogenation technology; became first emulsified peanut butter sold to public; 1928 - changed name to Peter Pan Peanut Butter; originally packaged in tin can with a turn key, re-closable lid, switched to glass during World War II; September 12, 1933 - Leo C. Brown, of Chicago, IL, received a patent for "Peanut Butter" ("improvements in food products of paste-like consistency of the character of nut butter, such as peanut butter or the like"); assigned to E. K. Pond Company; 1955 - glass jar with screw-off cap introduced; April 14, 1970 - Derby Foods, Inc. registered "Peter Pan" trademark first used March 1, 1927 (peanut butter); 1984 - acquired by Beatrice/Hunt-Wesson product group; 1990 - acquired by Conagra, Inc. 1920 - Ilhan New, Wally Smith canned bean sprouts at Detroit grocery store; 1922 - incorporated La Choy Food Products Company; August 20, 1929 - La Choy Food Products, Inc. registered "La Choy" trademark first used in 1922 (canned food product, the principal ingredients of which are water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and vegetable sprouts); November 1943 - acquired by Beatrice Food Company; 1984 - fully integrated into Hunt-Wesson division; 1986 - Beatrice acquired by Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts; 1990 - acquired by ConAgra, Inc. 1920s - Caesar Gardini invented caesar salad in Tijuana, Mexico. 1920s - Harry Burnett Reese formed H.B. Reese Candy Company, began manufacturing candy, first in basement of his home, later in basement of  restaurant; 1928 - created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, peanut butter-filled chocolate cups; 1963 - acquired by Hershey. 1920s - Robert Welch founded Oxford Candy Company in Brooklyn, NY; 1925 - introduced Papa Sucker, flat piece of caramel on a stick so it could be eaten like a lollipop; licensed to Brach's candy company in Chicago; 1932 - name changed to Sugar Daddy (popular expression at time); joined brother's company, James O. Welch Company; 1935 - introduced Sugar Baby, spin-off from success of Sugar Daddy (young women on whom middle-aged "Sugar Daddies" spent money); created Junior Mints, and Pom Poms. August 10, 1920 - Vermont Maple Syrup Company, Inc., Essex Junction, VT, registered "Vermont Maid" trademark first used April 22, 1919 (blended cane and maple table syrup). 1921 - Washburn Crosby's Home Services Department created "Betty Crocker" to respond to cooking, baking questions received from Gold Medal flour advertisement in Saturday Evening Post ("Crocker" chosen in honor of recently retired company director, "Betty" chosen for friendly sound); 1924 - Betty Crocker given voice (Blanche Ingersoll) on Gold Medal Flour Home Service Talks on WCCO radio station owned by Washburn Crosby; 1936 - given a face (created by Neysa McMein, commercial artist); January 16, 1951 - General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, registered "Betty Crocker" trademark first used September 20, 1924 (wheat flour, prepared cake mixes, pie crust mix); 1955 - image updated by Hilda Taylor portrait; March 19, 1996 - image updated in John Stuart Ingle portrait. Marjorie Child Husted - home economist, radio voice of Betty Crocker until 1950 (http://books.google.com/books?id=jViWRdeJ1DkC&pg=PA120&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&ots=NyOdnyAi8I&sig=ACfU3U3t-duvRXrS7UpKV8pB5TJGJ2hFVQ&w=685) Adelaide Hawley Cumming - original Betty Crocker from 1952 -1964 on TV (http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V61N3/photos/59-2.JPG) 1921 - Earl Wise. Sr., owner of Wise Delicatessen in Berwick, PA, made potato chips from excess potato inventory; founded Wise Potato Chip Company; leading potato chip company in eastern United States; July 23, 1935 - registered "Wise Potato Chips" trademark first used January 1935 (potato chips); 1964 - acquired by Borden; 1969 - name changed to Wise Foods, Inc. to reflect wide variety of snacks sold; 1990's - acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.); 2000 - acquired by Palladium Equity Partners, private investment firm; number three in national market share in potato chips at 3.1%, (private-label chips 6.4%, Frito-Lay with 68% share); 2005 - Official Potato Chip of New York Mets. 1921 - Henry Ford applied existing technology to convert wood waste (hardwood chips) from sawmills (used in production of Model T's) into charcoal briquettes (charred, ground, mixed with starch, compressed into pillow-shaped briquettes patented in 1897 by Ellsworth Zwoyer); relied on E.G. Kingsford (Ford dealer, married to Ford's cousin) to select site ( 313,447 acres) for wood production, charcoal processing plant in Iron Mountain area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula; December 29, 1923 - charter for newly formed Village of Kingsford approved (city charter approved August 7, 1947); 1924 - chemical plant reclaimed 610 pounds of charcoal per ton of scrap wood, produced 55 tons of briquettes each day, sold as Ford Charcoal Briquets ($25/bag) to industry (meat, fish smokehouses, foundries, tobacco-curing plants), to car customers through Ford dealerships; 1951 - acquired by local investment group; renamed The Kingsford Chemical Company; Ford Charcoal renamed Kingsford Charcoal; September 22, 1953 - registered "Kingsford" trademark first used December 17, 1951 (charcoal briquettes); 1973 - acquired by The Clorox Company; 1999 - controlled about half of $455 million market. E.G. Kingsford (top frame, far right) - Kingsford Charcoal (http://www.creativepro.com/files/story_images/20060904_fg17.jpg) 1921 - Norman Nash "brewed" sauce in his kitchen in Shooter's Hill, Jamaica; combination of tomatoes, onions, mangoes, raisins, garlic, thyme cloves, some secret ingredients; cooked, stored in oak barrels for year before being separated and bottled (bottled sauce has shelf life of five years); 1945 - rights acquired by Joseph Lyn Kee Chow; July 24, 1973 - Pickapeppa Company, Ltd. registered "Pickapeppa" trademark first used April 7, 1943 (sauce, hot pepper sauce, manho chitney, white veinegar, cane vinegar). May 21, 1921 - Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis, IN introduced Wonder bread; red, yellow and blue logo conceived by Taggart Vice President Elmer Cline (inspired by International Balloon Race at Indianapolis Speedway); 1925 - acquired by Continental Baking; July 13, 1926 - Taggart Baking Company registered "Wonder" trademark first used May 1, 1921 (bread and cake); 1930s - began shipping Wonder Bread in sliced form; 1960s - advertised with slogan "Helps build strong bodies in 12 ways" (referred to number of added nutrients); 1986 - lower-calorie Wonder Light bread introduced; 1995 - acquired by Interstate Brands Corporation; "Remember the Wonder" ad campaign launched. July 8, 1921 - Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association incorporated; 1924 - Mrs. E.B. Foss and Mr. George L. Swift won contest to choose brand name, trademark for its butter; April 7, 1925 - registered "Land O' Lakes" trademark (butter, dressed poultry, cheese, eggs); 1926 - cooperative changed corporate name to Land O' Lakes Creameries, Inc. (later to Land O' Lakes, Inc.); 1928 - painting of Indian maiden began facing viewer, holding butter carton and surrounded by lakes, pines, flowers, grazing cows placed on packaging; reflected Native American heritage of Upper Midwest; 1939 - simplified, modernized. July 19, 1921 - Breyer Ice Cream Company, Philadelphia, PA, registered "Breyers" trademark first used in May 1912 (ice-cream). July 13, 1921 - Christian K. Nelson, chocolate maker Russell C. Stover entered into a joint agreement in Des Moines, IA to produce, market Nelson's "I-Scream Bar"; name changed to Eskimo Pie ("coat ice cream with chocolate [sic] divide the profits equally"); decided to sell manufacturing rights to local ice cream companies for $500 to $1000, plus royalties on each Eskimo Pie sold; first 250,000 pies produced sold within 24 hours; January 24, 1922 - Nelson, of Onawa, IA, received patent for a "Confection"; Eskimo Pie; ice cream centre covered in chocolate; described: "in its simplest form, a block or brick or frozen confection within an edible container or shell. The core or center may be an ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, ice, or other material congealed by refrigeration"; shell was described as "like that used in coating chocolate candies, although preferably modified to harden at a lower temperature," and not too brittle; half patent assigned to Russell Stover (Chicago, IL); 1922 - Stover sold his share of the company; spring 1922 - 2,700 manufacturers sold one million Eskimo Pies per day; 1924 - acquired by United States Foil Company, supplier of Eskimo Pie wrapper (later known as Reynolds Metals Company); October 3, 1929 - U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared 1922 patent was invalid, due to "lack of invention"; April 13, 1943 - registered "Eskimo Pie" trademark first used October 3, 1921 (ice cream); 1992 - Eskimo Pie became independent of Reynolds' Metals.   Christian K. Nelson - Eskimo Pie (http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/images/d8553-2.jpg) November of 1921 - Charles See, his mother, his wife, Florence, opened first See's Candies shop and kitchen on Western Avenue in Los Angeles; mid-1920s - twelve shops; 1936 - opened in San Francisco; 1972 - acquired by Berkshire Hathaway; 2007 - over two hundred shops throughout West. September 1922 - Clarence Birdseye started Birdseye Seafoods Inc. to process chilled fish fillets at plant near the Fulton Fish Market in New York City (former U.S. field naturalist near the Arctic, learned technique of flash freezing from Labrador Inuit); 1924 - filed for bankruptcy; July 3, 1924 - organized General Seafood Corporation (began frozen foods industry); October 14, 1924 - received a patent for a "Method of Preserving Piscatorial Products" ('improved process for the preservation of fish and sea-foods in general"); November 30, 1926 - received a patent for a "Method in Preparing Foods and the Product Obtained Thereby" ("which will render the same more readily handles without damage, and more permanent in form when sliced, cooked or otherwise treated after purchase and in preparation for eating"); June 1929 - Postum Company acquired General Seafood Corporation for $22 million; later renamed General Foods Corporation; Birdseye relinquished all patents related to quick-freezing process, remained head of Research and Development (Birds Eye Frosted Foods division). Clarence Birdseye - frozen foods (http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bpp/Newsletters/ClarenceBirdseye.JPG) 1923 - Russell and Clara Stover began candy business in their home in Denver, CO (had sold interest in Eskimo Pie); marketed as "Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies"; 1941 - name changed to Russell Stover Candies; October 16, 1962 - registered "Russell Stover" trademark first used in 1941 (candy); 1969 - acquired by Louis Ward (made boxes for Stover chocolates; 35 retail stores, more than 2,000 agencies); March 1993 - acquired Stephen F. Whitman & Son ($85 million in sales), America's oldest continuous producer of boxed chocolates, for $35 million. Russell Stover - Russell Stover Candies (http://www.newton.k12.ks.us/tech/russellstover250.jpg) February 13, 1923 - Joseph Rosefield, of Alameda, CA, received a patent for "Peanut Butter and Process of Manufacturing the Same"; process to prevent oil separation in peanut butter (hydrogenated peanut butter); used finer grinding, hydrogenation, emulsifier to keep oil from separating; shelf-stable peanut butter would stay fresh for up to a year because oil didn't separate from peanut butter. February 14, 1923 - Velveeta (smooth as velvet) Cheese Company incorporated in Monroe, NY; packaged using 1921 invention of tinfoil lining that could house cheese inside wooden box; special cooking properties - would never curdle when heated; November 27, 1923 - Max O. Schaefer (d.b.a. Velveeta Cheese Company) registered 'Velveeta' trademark (cheese); 1927 - acquired by Kraft. 1924 - Ettore (Hector) Boiardi, formerly of Plaza Hotel in New York, Greenbriar in West Virginia, Hotel Winton in Cleveland, opened Il Giardino d'Italia restaurant in Cleveland; packaged pasta and sauce for customers to take home; 1930s - began selling pasta, sauce in cans; food distributor convinced him to change spelling of his name to 'Boyardee' to make it easier for Americans to pronounce; during World War II - largest supplier of rations for U.S. and Allied Forces; 1946 - acquired by conglomerate American Home Foods (now International Home Foods). for $6 million; September 28, 1965 - American Home Products registered "Chef Boyardee" trademark first used September 1929; 2000 - acquired by ConAgra. Ettore (Hector) Boiardi - Chef Boyardee (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/15/Chefboyardeepic.jpg/250px-Chefboyardeepic.jpg) 1924 - Johnson Company of Chicago produced Bit-O-Honey candy bar; almond bits embedded in honey-flavored taffy; July 14, 1925 - Schutter-Johnson Candy Co. registered "Bit-O-Honey" trademark first used October 1924 (candy); now owned by Nestle. 1924 - California Avocado Growers Exchange founded as grower-member-owned cooperative; packing volume of approximately 180,000 pounds; 1926 - renamed Calavo; 1928 - built first grower-owned packinghouse in Vernon, CA; 1931 - diversified product line with limes, avocado oil (Company's first processed food); 1943 - 31 sales offices nationwide; 1949 - began marketing papaya under Calavo Gold name; 1964 - expand internationally, beginning with Japan; 1965 - launched first processed consumer product, one pound can of "Avocado Dip" (guacamole); 1974 - sales of $25 million; 1990 - gross sales exceeded $150 million; 2001 - member-shareholders voted overwhelmingly to convert to for-profit status, became publicly traded company; 2004 - annual packing volume exceeded152 million pounds; 2009 - nation's largest avocado packer. 1924 - Benjamin Tillman “Pop” Byrd founded Byrd Cookie Co. in Savannah, GA; made cookies by hand in small building behind Norwood Avenue home, packed them in wooden boxes, delivered them in Model-T Ford to businesses around Savannah; one-man operation to international player in gourmet food industry; 2011 - fourth generation management. January 29, 1924 - Carl R. Taylor, of Cleveland, OH, received patent for a "Cone-Rolling Machine"; ice cream cone rolling machine; described as a "machine for forming thin, freshly baked wafers while still hot into cone shaped containers" for ice-cream. November 1924 - Ready-to-eat cereal, known as Washburn�€™s Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes, introduced; created when Minneapolis health clinician preparing wheat bran mixture accidentally spilled some on hot stove, created tasty wheat flakes; George Cormack, head miller at Washburn Crosby Company (General Mills's predecessor), perfected process for producing wheat flakes; name shortened to "Wheaties" as result of employee contest won by Jane Bausman, wife of company executive; June 9, 1925 - Washburn Crosby Company (Minneapolis, MN) registered "Wheaties" trademark first used November 12, 1924 (cereal food product); 1933 - brand's sports association began with sign on left field wall at Nicollet Park in south Minneapolis, home of Minneapolis Millers, minor league team; Minneapolis advertising man Knox Reeves created slogan: "Wheaties - The Breakfast of Champions"; 1934 - Lou Gehrig first athlete to appear on Wheaties box (back); August 29, 1939 - sponsored first televised commercial sports broadcast of game between Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers for some 500 owners of television sets in New York City; 1958 - Bob Richards, Olympic decathlon gold medalist, first athlete to appear on front of Wheaties box; 1984 - Mary Lou Retton, gold medal gymnast, first woman to appear on front of Wheaties box. December 9, 1924 - Wm. Wrigley, Jr. Company, Chicago, IL, registered "Wrigley's" (chewing gum) trademark first used January 1, 1892 (chewing gum). December 1, 1925 - Planters Nut & Chocolate Company, Suffolk, VA, registered "Mr. Peanut" trademark first used June 1916 (Candy, Salted Peanuts, Peanut Meal, Peanut Butter, and Candies Peanuts); March 5, 1935 - registered "Planters" trademark first used in 1906 (roasted peanuts, salted peanuts, peanut butter..."). 1926 - Joseph Draps founded chocolate company in Belgium named in honor of legend of Lady Godiva; 1974 - acquired by Campbell Soup Company. December 7, 1926 - Keebler Weyl Baking Co., Philadelphia, PA, registered "Keebler" trademark first used 1860 (cookies, cakes, crackers and fancy grade of biscuit-like articles coated with chocolate, fondant, and marshmallow). 1927 - Dorothy Gerber hand-strained solid food for her seven-month-old daughter; 1928 - became first baby food analyst at Fremont Canning Company (family produced line of canned fruits, vegetables); strained peas, prunes, carrots. spinach, to beef vegetable soup ready for national market; launched advertising campaign featuring coupon and Gerber Baby in publications from The Journal of the American Medical Association to Good Housekeeping; grocers placed orders by dozen; within six months, Gerber Baby Foods on grocery store shelves across nation; March 4, 1952 - Gerber Products Company registered "Gerber" trademark first used October 12, 1928 (canned foods for infants); 1994 - merged with Sandoz Ltd.; December 1996 - part of Novartis group of companies (formed by merger of Ciba-Geigy Ltd. and Sandoz Ltd.). Dorothy Gerber - Gerber Baby Foods (http://www.nestlebaby.com/NR/rdonlyres/9B0D51F9-DCE2-4601-9FEF-0106310B66A4/0/dorothy.jpg) 1927 - Austrian candy executive Eduard Haas (Vienna-based Haas Food Manufacturing Corporation) invented Pez candy (abbreviation of the German word for peppermint, PfeffErminZ); originally marketed as an adult mint for people trying to quit smoking; 1947 - Pez dispenser designed, looked like a cigarette lighter (patented in 1949); 1952 - exporting Pez candies to the United States; May 27, 1952 - registered "Pez" trademark (sweets). 1927 - Vincent Taormina's New York business merged with his cousin's business [Guiseppe] Uddo & Taormina Corporation of New Orleans, formed Progresso Italian Food Corporation of New York City; December 1, 1942 - Uddo Taormina Corp. registered "Progresso" trademark first used in 1922 (canned vegetables); 1949 - first Progresso premium soup was introduced (first canned, ready-to-serve soup in America). 1927 - Cal Stinson Sr. founded Stinson Seafood plant in Prospect Harbor, Maine; 1951 - Maine State Legislature established Maine Sardine Council; May 19, 1964 - Stinson Seafood Company L.P. registered "Beach Cliff" trademark first used in 1929 (canned sardines); 2001 - former Stinson Seafood plant acquired by Connors Bros.; 2004 - acquired by Bumble Bee Foods (federal limit on Atlantic herring - 180,000 metric tons); 2010 - New England Fishery Management Council reduced quota on Atlantic herring to 91,000 metric tons; America's largest producer of canned herring products; 500 employees at three modern canning facilities on coast of Maine; vertically integrated: fishing fleet, processing plants, automated factory that produces cans; April 18, 2010 - last remaining sardine cannery United States closed. 1928 - William Dreyer, former manager of National Ice Cream plant in Oakland, CA, partnered with candy-maker Joseph Edy (Edy's Character Candies Shop), opened Grand Ice Cream Company on Grand Avenue in Oakland; 1929 - Rocky Road flavor debuts; July 1947 - partnership dissolved; 1953 - William Dreyer, Jr. took over; name changed to Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream; 1963 - acquired by Al Wolff, Bob Boone and Ken Cook (company officers); May 20, 1977 - acquired by T. Gary Rogers, William F. Cronk (former classmates at Berkeley) for $1.1 million; leading manufacturer and distributor of packaged ice cream in the West; 1981 - went public; 1994 - #1 packaged ice cream in U.S., largest share in premium ice cream market; 2003 - 67% acquired by Nestle; January 2006 - 100% control acquired by Nestle ($2 billion in sales, more than 6,000 employees); world's biggest ice cream maker. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (http://www.dreyersinc.com/ images/ad_history_founders.gif) 1928 - Milton J. Holloway took over F. Hoffman & Company of Chicago, original manufacturer of Milk Duds chocolate covered caramels; named because original idea of perfectly round piece was impossible, word "duds" used; "milk" used to reflect large amount of milk in product. June 20, 1928 - General Mills incorporated; result of James Ford Bell's merging of Red Star Milling Company, Royal Milling Company, Kalispell Flour Mills Company; Rocky Mountain Elevator Company, Washburn Crosby Company; June 22, 1928 - came into existence; November 30, 1928 - stock first traded on New York Stock Exchange; 2001 - acquired The Pillsbury Company. November 27, 1928 - Kellogg Company registered "Rice Krispies" trademark first used February 29, 1928 (breakfast food). November 27, 1928 - Kellogg Company registered "Rice Krispies" trademark first used February 29, 1928 (breakfast food). 1929 - Alfred Nef and Alfred Gonzenbach, Swiss immigrants with knack for cheese making, established Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc. in Milbank, SD; farmers learned of many advantages of selling their milk rather than marketing their cream; 2009 - over 100 employees; Rudy Nef (son) Chairman; Max Gonzenbach (son) President; April 2009 - named South Dakota Business of the Year by South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry; May 13, 2009 - Rudy and Marilyn Nef provided a gift of undisclosed amount to Augustana College to create the Nef Family Chair of Political Economy (college's first endowed faculty chair); Robert Wright, 40, associate professor in economics department at New York University's Stern School of Business, held chair. 1930 - Marcus L. Urann, two other cranberry growers formed Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.; first introduced Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail; June 2, 1931 - Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (Lakeville-Middleboro, MA) registered "Ocean Spray" trademark first used October 1921 (fresh cranberries, canned cranberries, and cranberry syrup); 1963 - introduced juice industry's first juice blend--CranApple Cranberry Apple Juice Drink; 1976 - expanded co-op to include grapefruit growers from Florida's Indian River region; 1991 - introduced Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Drink. 1930 - Oscar Benson, Colonel ‘Bertie’ Dickson acquired small confectionery business at 164 Church Street, in Kensington, London; named Bendicks (combined first syllables of each last name; made chocolates in tiny basement); 1931 - Lucia Benson (sister-in-law) created mint chocolate recipe (mint fondant enrobed in 95% cocoa solids’ chocolate); named Bittermint; 1933 - opened store in heart of Mayfair (London); became known as Bendicks of Mayfair; 1962 - awarded Royal Warrant: “By Appointment of Her Majesty the Queen"; June 25, 1968 - Bendicks (Mayfair) LLC registered "Bendicks Bittermints" trademark fist used 1919 (mint flavored chocolates). 1930s - Ruth Wakefield, of Whitman MA, is credited with inventing chocolate chip cookies at her Toll House Restaurant; August 27, 1940 - Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. registered "Toll House" trademark first used April 10, 1940 (cookies); 1941 - Nestle began marketing her chip cookies to public; April 17, 1956 - Nestle S.A. Company, Inc. (White Plains, NY) registered "Toll House" trademark (cookie mix). March 6, 1930 - Clarence Birdseye conducted (via General Foods) "Springfield Experiment Test Market" in Springfield, MA ((had invested $7 in 1923, purchased electric fan, buckets of brine, some ice, invented system of packing, flash-freezing waxed cardboard boxes of fresh foods); sold 26 different (first) frozen vegetables, fruits, fish, meats at 18 retail stores to see how consumers would react to frozen foods; birth of retail frozen foods; May 20, 1930 - Clarence Birdseye, of Gloucester, MA, received a patent for a "Method of Preparing Consumer Packages" ("practiced most advantageously when it includes as one characteristic step the quick-freezing of the product"); August 12, 1930 - received a patent for a "Method of Preparing Food Products" ("treating food products by refrigerating same, preferably by "quick" freezing the product into a frozen block in which the pristine qualities and flavors of the product are retained for a substantial period after the block has been thawed"); packaged frozen food; assigned to Frosted Foods Company, Inc. (General Foods subsidiary); September 9, 1930 - received a patent for a "Method of Packaging Fruit Juices" ('without deterioration in flavor or composition...by freezing with sufficient rapidity to avoid such separation"); July 7, 1931 - Frosted Foods Company, Inc. registered "Birds Eye" trademark first used February 15, 1930 (frozen food products); November 3, 1952 - marketed first frozen peas in Chester, NY; 1961 - incorporated as producer, marketer of processed food products; 1983 - General Foods acquired by Philip Morris; 1993 - Birdseye acquired by Dean Foods Vegetable Company for about $140 million; 1998 - acquired by Agrilink Foods; February 10, 2003 - name changed to Birds Eye Foods Inc. to reflect company's largest brand. April 6, 1930 - Continental Baking Company executive Jimmy Dewar invented (Hostess) Twinkies; used machines for cream filled strawberry shortcake, idle after strawberry season, to make snack cake filled with banana filling, charged nickel for package of 2; came up with name when driving by a billboard that had an ad for shoes from the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Company", shortened name to ....Twinkies; June 20, 1961 - Continental Baking Company registered "Twinkie" trademark first used June 25, 1930 (cake); 1995 - acquired by Interstate Bakeries Corporation. April 28, 1931 - Automotive pioneer, industrialist, philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott (largest GM shareholder) acquired lands, sugar mill, other assets of bankrupt Southern Sugar Company in Florida; renamed United States Sugar Corporation; 1941 - Florida sugar industry profitable; early 1980s - largest sugar-producing state in country (U.S. Sugar Corporation largest sugar producer in state - internal transportation system, railroad with over 120 miles of track, 1100 railcars linking sugarcane fields with mills, extensive research facility); mid 1980s - employees became largest shareholders in Company through ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan); 2008 - one of country's largest privately held agricultural firms, farms nearly 187,858 acres of most productive farmland in United States, mills can process nearly 45,000 tons of sugarcane per day, produce over 700,000 tons of sugar per year. November 24, 1931 - General Mills, Inc. registered "Bisquick" trademark first used July 16, 1931 (biscuit flour). November 24, 1931 - Thomas Midgley, Jr., of Worthington, OH), Albert L. Henne (of Columbus, OH) and Robert R. McNary (of Dayton, OH) received a patent for "Heat Transfer" ("...to provide a process of refrigeration and, generically, a process of heat transfer in which...non-inflammability and non-toxicity are obtained in combination with the desired boiling points"); flurocarbon refrigeration (Freon). 1932 - Charles Elmer Doolin of San Antonio, TX, operator of the Highland Park Confectioner, purchased rights to unknown corn chip product to diversify his ice cream business; spent $100 for corn chip recipe, 19 retail accounts, manufacturing equipment (converted hand-operated potato ricer); established new business venture in his mother's kitchen; 1933 - increased Fritos production from 10 pounds to nearly 100 pounds an hour; August 29, 1933 - Daisy D. Doolin (dba FRITO Company) registered FRITOS trademark first used March 27, 1932 (cakes); 1939 - Herman W. Lay, former major distributor of Gardner's Potato Chips for Barrett Food Products Company, formed H.W. Lay Corporation in Atlanta, GA as a distributor of potato chips; 1944 - changed product name to Lay's Potato Chips; 1945 - first of  FRITOS franchises offered to The H.W. Lay Company of Atlanta, GA; 1950 - FRITOS sold in all 48 states; 1954 - Frito sales of $21 million; 1956 - H.W. Lay & Company & Company largest manufacturer of potato chips, snack foods in United States; more than 1,000 employees, plants in eight cities, branches or warehouses in thirteen others; LAY'S Potato Chips is America's favorite potato chip; January 12, 1971 - Frito-Lay Inc. registered "Lays" trademark first used May 1, 1938 ([snack foods-namely,] potato chips [and sticks, popcorn, nuts (shelled and unshelled), and cookie sandwiches]). Charles Elmer Doolin - Fritos (http://media.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2007/oct/frito/doolin_family200.jpg?t=1248631062) Herman W. Lay - Lay's Potato Chips (http://www.fritolay.com/assets/images/head/au-how-it-all-CEDoolin.gif) 1932 - Rosefield Packing Co. (Alamada, CA) introduced Skippy Peanut Butter (based on February 13, 1923 patented manufacturing process); first use of "Skippy" as trademark for peanut butter (apparently taken from Percy Crosby cartoon character of same name, invalidated in 1934); canceled exclusive licensing agreement with Swift & Co., makers of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, following a dispute; February 1, 1933 - began selling Skippy; introduced chunk-style peanut butter; December 21, 1948 - registered "Skippy" trademark first used February 1, 1933 (peanut butter); April 18, 1950 - Fitzhugh L. Avera, of Alameda, CA, received patent for a "Process of Manufacturing Stabilized Nut Butters" ("improved process of with hydrogenated stabilizers to afford end products substantially devoid of taste sensations of waxiness or unctuosity"); new type of cold-processed hydrogenated peanut oil; assigned to Rosefield Packing Co.; 1954 - company had nearly 25 percent of U.S. peanut butter market; 1955 - company acquired by BestFoods; June 6, 2000 - British-Dutch food giant Unilever NV agreed to buy BestFoods in deal worth $24.3 billion; April 5, 2004 - U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear trademark infringement suit by Joan Crosby Tibbetts, daughter of Percy Crosby, against Skippy's manufacturer, BestFoods division of multinational conglomerate Unilever; [may have] ended 39-year quest to invalidate Skippy trademark registered by CPC International. November 15, 1932 - MARS, Incorporated registered "3 MUSKETEERS" trademark first used May 1, 1932 (candy); third brand produced, manufactured by company; named for original design of product (three pieces, three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry). February 16, 1932 - James E. Markham, of Xenia, IL, received a patent for a "Peach" ("cross of the J. H. Hale peach and an unknown yellow variety of a strong and vigorous character, the object in view being by reproduction to combine and improve the good characteristics of the two varieties so as to obtain a better tree, large in size, bearing good quality fruit and possessing other characteristics which go to make a good commercial or marketable peach"); assigned to Stark Bro's Nurseries and Orchards Company of Louisiana, MS; first patent for fruit tree, seventh plant patent in U.S. July 12, 1932 - Otto Frederick Rohwedder, of Davenport, IA, received a patent for a "Machine for Slicing an Entire Loaf of Bread at a Single Operation"; first loaf-at-a-time bread-slicing machine with multiple cutting bands; 1928 - Chillicothe Baking Company (Chillicothe, MO) installed first machine; July 7, 1928 - first sliced bread produced ("Kleen Maid Sliced Bread"); 1929 - Rohwedder sold invention to Bettendorf (Iowa) Company (acquired by Micro-Westco., Inc. of Davenport); served as vice-president, sales manager of company for many years. Otto Frederick Rohwedder - invented sliced bread (http://www.albionmich.com/history/histor_notebook/images/sRohwedderOtto.jpg) 1933 - Harry and Pat Olivieri made first version of Philadelphia cheese steak in their corner hot dog stand nera the Italian market in South Philadelphia (Pat's King of Steaks); piled sliced, grilled beef with onions on rolls; decades later - Cheez Whiz added to steak and onions; provalone, American cheese, pizza sauce became options. November 13, 1933 - First sit-down strike in American history held by workers at packing plant of George A. Hormel and Company in Austin, MN. 1934 - Norton Simon started Val Vita Food Products; built business from annual sales of $45,000 to $9 million company in less than a decade; became something of star in California canning business; 1943 - merged Val Vita Food Products, formed new company, Hunt Foods, headed company. 1934 - O.D. and Ruth McKee bought small, three-employee bakery in downtown Chattanooga, TN; converted cookie shop into a 5-cent cake bakery; 1950s - named McKee Baking Company; 1960 - introduced "Little Debbie" snack cakes (his granddaughter’s name); first bakery to sell individually wrapped cakes in multipack carton; July 31, 1962 - McKee Baking Company registered "Little Debbie" trademark first used August 23, 1960 (oatmeal cream pie); 1963 - used bow-tie logo; 1991 - name changed to McKee Foods Corporation; 2010 - more than $1 billion in annual sales, more than 6,000 employees nationally. Little Debbie (serving samples) - Snack Cakes (http://media.timesfreepress.com/img/photos/2010/01/22/0123_web_lb_little_debbie_t305.jpg?ba7ba0dd8d7f1e464d5eb01fb9ba8c10bd9c61fe) October 2, 1934 - Dale W. McMillen founded, incorporated Central Soya Company in Decatur, IN (livestock feeds and soybeans); June 1985 - acquired by Shamrock Holdings Inc. (privately owned by Roy E. Disney family); October 1987 - acquired by Ferruzzi Finanziaria SpA in Ravenna, Italy; October 2002 - acquired by Bunge Limited. 1935 - Nabisco launched Ritz Crackers in US; January 5, 1937 - National Biscuit Company registered "Ritz" cracker trademark first used November 1, 1934 (bakery products-namely biscuit). 1936 - Joseph W. Luter, Sr. and his son, Joseph W. Luter, Jr., opened Smithfield Packing plant in Smithfield, VA; 1969 - acquired by Liberty Equities; 1981 - first major acquisition, Gwaltney of Smithfield, local rival and well-established pork products company; 1984 - acquired 80% of Patrick Cudahy for $27.5 million (100-year-old Wisconsin company that was losing money but famous for its sweet apple-wood smoked sausages, bacon and ham); 1995 - acquired John Morrell & Co., largest acquisition to date, allowed Smithfield Foods to expand throughout Midwestern United States; October 2003 - won Farmland Foods, sixth-largest U.S. pork processor, in court-supervised bankruptcy auction; 2006 - sales exceeded $11 billion, 24 percent average annual compounded rate of return to investors since 1975, world's largest pork processor and hog producer, largest turkey producer in U. S., fifth-largest U.S. beef processor. 1937 - Margaret Rudkin, Connecticut woman who began baking preservative-free bread for her son who had allergy to commercial breads with preservatives, artificial ingredients; began small business out of her kitchen, sold "Pepperidge Farm" bread to local grocers; named for family's farm in Fairfield, CT; September 20, 1938 - registered "Pepperidge Farm" trademark first used September 1, 1937 (bread and cereal food products, particularly breakfast cereals, cracked wheat flour and corn meal); July 4, 1947 - opening of company's first modern bakery in Norwalk, CT; 1955 - launched Distinctive line of European-style cookies (reached agreement with Delacre Company in Brussels); 1961 - acquired by Campbell Soup Company. Margaret Rudkin - Pepperidge Farm (http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/Images/photo-margaret5.jpg) 1937 - Necco introduced Sky Bars; first molded chocolate bar with 4 distinctly different centers (caramel, vanilla, peanut or fudge); first advertised to public in sky-writing campaign. January 1, 1937 - At a party at the Hormel Mansion in Minnesota, a guest won $100 for naming a new canned meat -- Spam (originally called HORMEL Spiced Ham); August 22, 1950 - Geo. A. Hormel & Co. registered "SPAM" trademark first used May 11, 1937 (canned meat product, consisting primarily of pork chopped and molded in loaf form in the can); 1959 - produced one-billionth can of SPAM Luncheon Meat. March 25, 1937 - Quaker Oats paid Babe Ruth $25,000 per year for ads. July 13, 1937 - Vernon Rudolph bought secret yeast-based doughnut recipe from French chef from New Orleans, rented building in Old Salem (Winston Salem), NC, began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts to grocery stores; March 13, 1951 - Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation registered "Krispy Kreme" trademark first used August 1934 (doughnuts and the mix for making same). 1938 - Abram, Ira, Philip, Joseph Shorin established Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. in Brooklyn, NY; 1947 - incorporated, developed Bazooka bubble gum; named after humorous 1930's musical instrument made from two gas pipes and a funnel by Bob Burns; 1951 - baseball cards introduced; 1953 - Bazooka Joe comics introduced; January 27, 1959 - registered "Bazooka Joe" trademark first used in August 1954 (comic strip in sheet form); 1972 - went public; 1984 - acquired in leveraged buyout led by Forstmann Little & Company; 1987 - went public again; September 19, 2007 - shareholders approved sale of company for $385.4 million to Tornante Co. investment firm (Michael Eisner), Madison Dearborn Partners LLC. 1938 - Samuel Isaac Greenberg, Jewish immigrant from Poland, began smoking turkeys, rubbed with spice mix attributed to his mother, Jennie Greenberg, over hickory logs in Tyler, TX; sold smoked kosher turkeys to Jews, non-Jews alike from metal shebang with sand-covered floor in back corner of milking barn; June 23, 1987 - Greenberg Smoked Turkeys, Inc. registered "Greenberg" trademark first used in october 1938 (smoked meat, namely, smoked turekey); 2010 - managed by Sam Greenberg (grandson); 20 brick-lined, hardwood-fired pit houses (not in use 9 months/per year) smoke more than 200,000 turkeys per year (about 20,000 turkeys sold to to walk-in customers during TYhanksgiving this season, priced at a little more than $4 a pound). 1938 - Lawrence Frank and Walter Van de Kamp opened Lawry's The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, restaurant with single entree, prime rib; introduced Lawry's Seasoned Salt (blend of salt, spice, herbs); shakers disappeared from tables; introduced to marketplace in response to popular demand; Lawry's Seasoned Salt rapidly became best-selling bottled spice blend in world (annual sales $150 million); September 4, 1962 - Lawry's Foods, Inc. registered "Lawry's" trademark first used August 8, 1939 (Powdered Dip Mixes, Seasoned Salt, Salt Substitute, Sauce Mixes, Seasoning Mixes, Dressing Mixes for Salads, Garlic Spread Concentrate, Salad Dressings, All Purpose Dressings, Bleu Cheese Dressings); dominates market for branded seasoned salt products; August 2008 - acquired, with Adolph's Meat Tenderizer, by McCormick for $605 million (forced by FTC to spin off Season-All line, with $18 million in sales, to Morton International Inc. for $15 million). Lawrence Frank - Lawry's Foods (http://www.lawrys.com.tw/images/lawryw_photo2c.jpg) 1939 - Nathan Cummings (43) acquired C.D. Kenny Company, small wholesale distributor of sugar, coffee and tea in Baltimore (net sales of $24 million); 1942 - acquired Sprague, Warner & Company; changed name to Sprague Warner-Kenny Corporation; 1954 - company's name changed to Consolidated Foods Corporation to emphasize its diversified role in food processing, packaging and distribution; 1956 - acquired Kitchens of Sara Lee (originally called Community Bake Shops, named for Sara Lee Lubin, daughter of entrepreneur Charles Lubin), entered retail food business by acquiring 34 Piggly Wiggly supermarkets; 1985 - changed name to Sara Lee Corporation to reflect consumer marketing orientation of company, high-quality, well-known branded products marketed around world. Nathan Cummings - Sara Lee (http://www.nathancummings.org/nathancummings.jpg) 1939 - Henry Blommer, Sr., Al, Bernard Blommer (brothers), founded Blommer Chocolate in Chicago, IL; 1948 - branched out nationally, added Blommer Chocolate Factory of California in Los Angeles; 1952 - acquired Boldemann Chocolate of San Francisco; 1970 - consolidated southern California, San Francisco operations; February 8, 2000 - Blommer Chocolate Company registered "Blommer" trademark first used in 1939 (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate liquor, chocolate liquor wafers, flavored confectioner coatings, etc.); largest processor of cocoa beans in country; one of largest chocolate manufacturers in North America. 1940 -Henry C. Kessler, of York Cone Company in York, PA, introduced York Peppermint Pattie; September 30, 1952 - York Cone Company registered "York" trademark first used January 28, 1922 (peppermint pattie mint); 1972 - acquired by Peter Paul Inc.; June 11, 1940 - Ada Walker (Wyoming, OH) registered "Butterball" trademark first used September 1, 1938 (live and dressed poultry); February 1951 - trademark acquired by Leo Peters; licensed name to Swift and Co.; 1960s - name acquired by Swift and Co.; 1989 - Swift acquired by ConAgra; October 2006 - Butterball branded turkey business acquired by Carolina Turkeys (North Carolina), renamed Butterball LLC. September 24, 1940 - French Sardine Company of California registered "Star-Kist" trademark first used April 30, 1940 (canned fish-namely canned tuna). 1941 - General Mills introduced Cheerioats as first read-to-eat oat cereal; 1942 - introduced Cheeri O'Leary, cereal's first mascot; 1945 - name changed to Cheerios in response to competitor lawsuit over use of "oats"; June 5, 1945 - registered "Cheerios" trademark first used on January 9, 1945 (read-to-eat cereal); 1954 - number one selling cold cereal at General Mills. 1941 - Frank Dulcich Sr., Dominic Dulcich (son) started Pacific Seafood, retail seafood shop, in Portland, OR; went from 18 employees to over 2,500 at 37 facilities; 2011 - Frank Dulcich (grandson) as CEO of seafood processing, distribution company. December 1, 1942 - Joseph A. Numero and Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for an "Air Conditioner for Vehicles" ("air conditioners for compartments of vehicle carriers...to provide...a means of conditioning the air within the compartment of sdaid carrier tempering, humidifying and circulating the air therein, which means shall be conveniently attachable to and removable from such carrier and which shall automatically effect the desired air conditioning within he compartment of the carrier"); first reliable system for refrigerating trucks; assigned to U. S. Thermo Control Company; became springboard for launching Thermo King Corporation. 1943 - John Tyson purchased first company-owned broiler farm, located in Springdale, AR; 1947 - incorporated Tyson Feed and Hatchery; provided three services: sale of baby chicks, sale of feed, transportation of chickens to market; 1950 - processed about 96,000 broilers a week; 1963 - changed name to Tyson's Foods; 1971 - name changed to Tyson Foods, Inc.; end of 1970s - produced 4.5 million birds per week (234 million per year), nation's largest hog producer; 1989 - acquired Holly Farms - doubled size of Tyson Foods, about 48,000 people employed, sales more than $2.5 billion. January 18, 1943 - Wartime ban on sale of pre-sliced bread in U.S. went into effect; aimed at reducing bakeries' demand for metal replacement parts. 1945 - Maxson Food Systems, Inc., introduced "Strato-Plates" (18 different individual three-part frozen meals on tray) for military, civilian airplane passengers; 1947 - left business after war, death of founder. 1945 - Robert E. Rich, Sr. discovered that soy beans could be frozen, thawed and whipped; immediately hailed as "the miracle cream from the soy bean," revolutionized food processing, opened new world of non-dairy products to the growing frozen food industry; founded Rich Products Corporation; became nation's largest ($1.7 billion in sales) family-owned frozen foods manufacturer. Robert E. Rich, Sr. - Rich Products (http://www. foodengineeringmag.com/FE/2003/09/ Files/Images/88275.jpg) 1945 - Phillip Sollomi opened "The Wishbone" restaurant in Kansas City, MO; 1948 - created "The Kansas City Wishbone Famous Italian Style Dressing". (based on his mother's Sicilian recipe; 1957 - acquired by Lipton. December 2, 1945 - Lorenzo Servitje, Jaime A. Sendra, Jose T. Mata, and Jaime Jorba opened first plant of Panificaci�n Bimbo, S.A. in Santa Mar�a Insurgentes area in Mexico City (one office area, one courtyard, warehouse, production room); offered Bimbo Bear Products (large bread, small bread, toast); January 1946 - bread production began; end of 1947 - introduced cupcake, pound cake; December 10, 2008 - acquired \Weston Foods Inc. subsidiary of George Weston Ltd. for $2.38 billion, became largest bakery company in USA; 2010 - markets more than 7,000 products, manufactured in 98 plants, distributed over 39,000 routes to more than 1,800,000 points of sale around world; world's largest bread manufacturing company; 2011 - acquired Sara Lee's North American Fresh Bakery business for $925 million; world's leading bread maker. May 22, 1946 - Frances Roth, Katharine Angell opened New Haven Restaurant Institute as vocational training school for World War II veterans; storefront cooking school with enrollment of 50 students, faculty consisting of a chef, a baker, a dietitian; offered 16-week program, featured instruction in 78 popular menus of the day; 1951 - name changed to The Culinary Institute of America; educational program expanded to two years, continuing education courses for industry professionals introduced; 1965 - 400 students enrolled, operated a $2 million facility; 1970 - acquired five-story, 150-room building, on 80 acres of land overlooking Hudson River in Hyde Park, NY for $1 million; 1972 - new school opened; 1981 - only school authorized to administer American Culinary Federation's (A.C.F.) master chef certification exam; 2006 - physical assets valued at $101 million, annual budget in excess of $86 million; more than 2,400 students enrolled in degree programs, more than 130 chef-instructors. and other faculty members representing 16 countries employed. 1948 - Lloyd E. Rigler and Lawrence E. Deutsch, partners in Rigler & Deutsch Food Brokers, bought recipe, name Adolph's Meat Tenderizer from Adolph Remp, Santa Barbara restaurant owner; 1950 - formed Adolph's Ltd.; February 26, 1974 - registered "Adolph's" trademark first used June 4, 1949 (meat tenderizer in solid form, consisting of salt, spices, dextrose, tri-calcium phosphate and vegetable enzyme made from the tropical papaya melon); 1974 - acquired by Chesebrough-Ponds (later part of Lever Brothers, Unilever Best Foods; 2007 - acquired, with Lawry's seasonings, by McCormick for $605 million. Lloyd E. Rigler - Adolph's Ltd. (http://www.classicartsshowcase.org/images/ler.jpg) 1948 - Momofuku Ando founded small family-run company producing salt; 1958 - changed name to Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd.; August 25, 1958 - perfected flash-frying method, invented instant noodle (chicken-both noodles in cellophane bags) market; 1964 - founded Instant Food Industry Association which set guidelines for fair competition, product quality, introduced several industry standards (inclusion of production dates on packaging); September 18, 1971 - developed "Cup Noodle", world's first cup-type instant noodle product; 2006 - company sold 46.3 billion packs and cups , generated $131 million in profits. March 9, 1948 - Gordon L. Harwell, Forrest E. Mars, of Converted Rice, Inc., registered "Uncle Ben's" trademark first used in 1937 (rice for food); named for Texas rice grower; January 19, 1954 - Converted Rice, Inc. (Houston, TX) registered "Uncle Ben's Converted" trademark first used on January 24, 1947 (rice); trademark consisted in part of picture of Frank C. Brown, of Chicago, IL, who consented to use of his picture. July 10, 1948 - Aaron "Bunny" Lapin, St. Louis, MO, put whipped cream in  spray can, called it "Reddi Wip" (had sold Sta-Whip, wartime substitute for whipping cream); sold through milkmen; turned dessert topping into symbol of postwar America's drive for convenience; July 1, 1952 - Reddi-Wip, Inc. registered "Reddi-Wip" trademark first used March 15, 1948 (cream containing vanilla, sugar, and stabilizer and in which cream whipping gas is dissolved under pressure, for use as a food topping); 1954 - national distribution; March 15, 1955 - received a patent for "Dispensing Valves for Gas Pressure Containers"; assigned to Reddi-Wip Corporation; established Clayton Corp. to make valves for cans; 1963 - lost control of company, post as president; acquired by Norton Simon, Inc.; 1985 - acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1990 - acquired ny ConAgra; 1998 - Time magazine listed Reddi-wip as one of century's 100 great things for consumers (along with pop-top can, Spam); now a brand of Con Agra's Beatrice Foods. Aaron "Bunny" Lapin - "Reddi-Wip" (http://www.todayinsci.com/L/Lapin_Aaron/LapinAaronThm.jpg) 1949 - Peggy and Lawton Wolf, owned luncheonette called The Sampler in Dedham Square, MA; fudge brownie recipe always sold out; established baked goods company; first Peggy Lawton shop opened at 252 Bussey Street in East Dedham (rent of $20 a month); February 27, 1979 - PEGGY LAWTON KITCHENS, INC.registered "PEGGY LAWTON"trademark cirst used in 1949 (bakery goods). October 11, 1949 - C.A. Swanson & Sons registered "Swanson" trademark first used in 1928. January 31, 1950 - Isaly Dairy Company registered "Klondike" trademark first used January 1, 1928 (chocolate covered ice cream slice). May 23, 1950 - Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for a "System for Controlling the Operation of Refrigeration Units" ("the circulation of refrigerant medium and air are simultaneously stopped at periodic intervals and definite steps are taken to improve the removal and disposal of accumulated frost or ice during the defrosting operation"). 1952 - Kellogg developed "Tony the Tiger" and three other characters as part of a contest for packages of Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes of Corn; proved to be most popular with consumers, all of other characters were removed from the packaging; 1953 - Kellogg's advertising agency developed first four-color ad with Tony the Tiger, published in August issue of Life Magazine; April 4, 1961 - Kellogg registered "Tony" trademark first used October 25, 1957 (Ready-to-Eat Cereal Foods). January 22, 1952 - Columbia River Packers Association, Inc., Astoria, OR, registered "Bumble Bee" trademark first used 1896 (canned, fresh and fresh frozen fish). 1953 - Jose Batista Sobrinho began operations at small slaughtering plant, in Anapolis (state of Goias), Brazil, with 5 head/ day capacity; 1968 - acquired first slaughtering plant in Planaltina (Distrito Federal); 1970 - slaughtering capacity increased to 500 head of cattle per day; 1981-2002- operations expanded, acquired slaughtering plants, fresh and processed beef production plants; slaughtering capacity reached 5.8 thousand head/day; 2005 - Grupo Friboi restructured, formed JBS S.A.; acquired Swift Armour S.A., Argentina's largest beef producer, exporter; 2006 - slaughtering capacity grew to 22.6 thousand head/day at total of 21 plants in Brazil, Argentina; April 2007 - went public; 2008 - acquired National Beef, Smithfield Beef, Australian company Tasman; world's largest beef producer (slaughtering capacity of 51.4 thousand head/day (not including National Beef, Smithfield Beef , Tasman group); largest beef exporter in world (operations in 22 countries). September 26, 1953 - Sugar rationing in Great Britain ended after almost 14 years. 1954 - Harry Brownstein established Acme Smoked Fish Corporation (name chosen to appear first in phone book) in Brooklyn, NY; became largest producer, distributor of smoked fish in U. S.; under fourth-generation management. June 15, 1954 - American Chicle Company (Long Island City, NY) registered "Trident" trademark first used August 26, 1953 (chewing Gum and candy lozenges); 1962 - Trident Original launched as first nationally distributed sugar-free product, first product promoted not to cause tooth decay. July 13, 1954 - Edwin Traisman, of Des Plaines, IL (leader of Kraft Foods processed-cheese group), and Wallce Kurtzhalts, of Wheeling, IL, received a patent for a "Process of Making Grated Cheese" ("method of making grated cheese of the high-fat type wherein all of the constituents are comminuted cheese particles, the finished grated cheese being resistant to caking or agglomeration under ordinary atmospheric conditions"); assigned to Kraft Foods Company. 1955 - Hawaii set pineapple production record at 1.5 million tons. 1955 - Procter & Gamble entered peanut butter business; acquired W.T. Young Foods (Lexington, KY), makers of Big Top Peanut Butter; 1956 - introduced Jif Peanut Butter; March 26, 1957 - registered "Jif" trademark first used January 24, 1956 (salted shelled nuts, candies nuts, and nut [butters] spreads); June 1, 2002 - acquired (with Crisco brand) by J.M Smucker Company for $1 billion. September 27, 1955 - Knott's Berry Farm Partnership registered "Mrs. Knott's" trademark first used July 1, 1940 (pancake flour, French dressing, and barbecue sauce); February 28, 1956 - registered "Knott's Berry Farm" trademark first used November 1, 1928 (bread, table syrups, jellies, jams, fruit and berry preserves, etc.). March 17, 1956 - James and William Conway founded Mr. Softee ice cream company; put a Sweden Freezer machine into a truck and drove it through Philadelphia, gave away green ice cream; went into business, at first as the Dairy Van; currently among the largest franchisers of ice cream trucks in the country, with more than 600 trucks in 15 states. 1957 - Burger King Corporation introduced the WHOPPER at first Burger King restaurant in Miami; nine special ingredients (sesame seed crown, beef patty, pickles, ketchup, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo and bun heel) and three optional ingredients (cheese, bacon and mustard); erected sign proclaiming the restaurant "HOME OF THE WHOPPER(R)"; January 5, 1965 - Burger King of Florida, Inc. registered "Home of the Whopper" trademark first used January 12, 1958 (drive-in restaurant services); mid-1970s - introduced "HAVE IT YOUR WAY" advertising tagline. 1957 - Francois Boursin, cheesemaker in Normandy, France, created Boursin cheese; first variety, Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs, inspired by long-standing traditional dish: fromage frais (fresh cheese) served with bowl of fine herbs (allowed each person to create his or her own personally seasoned cheese); first flavored fresh cheese sold throughout France; 1989 - acquired by Unilever. 1957 - Vincent DeDomenico, President of Golden Grain Macaroni Corporation (San Leandro, CA), introduced Rice-A-Roni 'kitchen helper', version of chicken broth (dried soup) mixed with rice and vermicelli; August 25, 1959 - Golden Grain Macaroni Corporation registered "Rice-A-Roni" trademark first used December 11, 1957 (prepared packaged ric and vermicelli dinner); 1986 - acquired by Quaker Oats for $250 million. February 12, 1957 - Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for a "Method and Means of Preserving Perishable Foodstuffs in Transit" ("construction of transport vehicles such as trucks and railway cars and a mode for controlling atmospheric conditions therein to preserve the natural body and flavors of fresh produce"). June 24, 1958 - E. J. McAleer & Co., Inc., Philadelphia, PA, registered "Mrs. Paul's" trademark first used April 1, 1946 (frozen foods-namely fish). August 4, 1958 - First potato-flake plant established in U.S. at Grand Fork, ND. 1959 - Reuben Mattus (45) created first national brand of premium ice cream (high butter-fat, all natural ingredients); manufactured at family's ice cream factory, Senator Frozen Products, in Bronx; 1961 - called new brand Danish-sounding Haagen-Dazs (appreciated Dane's treatment of Jews during WW II); conveyed aura of old-world traditions, craftsmanship; formed company of same name to distribute it; introduced three flavors - vanilla, coffee, chocolate packed in cartons with map of Scandinavia; September 4, 1962 - Rose Mattus registered Haagen-Dazs trademark first used October 24, 1960; 1976 - product took off; 1983 - acquired by The Pillsbury Company for more than $70 million. Reuben Mattus - Haagen Dazs ((http://www.journaldunet.com/management/0708/fondateurs-entreprises/images/4.jpg) February 23, 1960 - Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for a "Thermostat and Temperature Control System" ("concerned with vehicles in which perishable products are transported and must be maintained at desirable temperatures throughout the extent of the journey by mechanical means capable of maintaining a substantially constant temperature, by either cooling or heating the space n which the products are stores"); assigned to Thermo King Corporation. July 22, 1960 - Cuba nationalized all U.S. owned sugar factories. June 20, 1961 - Continental Baking Company, Rye, NY, registered "Twinkies" trademark first used June 25, 1930 (cake). September 1961 - Frito Company merged with H. W. Lay & Company to form Frito-Lay, Inc., largest snack selling company in United States; June 8, 1965 - shareholders approved merger of Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola Company, new company called PepsiCo, Inc.; formed (Frito-Lay owned 46 manufacturing plants nationwide, more than 150 distribution centers across the United States); September 9, 1969 - FRITO-LAY, Inc. registered "FRITO LAY'S" trademark first used November 1967 (potato chips). August 21, 1962 - Edwin Traisman, of Madison, WI (McDonald's franchisee), received a patent for a "Method for Preparing Frozen French Fried Potatoes" ("a frozen French fried potato which can, on short notice, be quickly converted into a high quality hot French fried potato with a minimum of effort...which will compare favorably in body, flavor and eating quality to a freshly prepared French fried potato...which can be stored indefinitely to be available in quantity for quick use when wanted"); eliminated problem of soggy, non-uniform fries; 1972 - adopted system-wide by McDonald's. March 5, 1963 - Cherry-Levis Food Products Corporation registered "Slim Jim" trademark first used in December 1953 (sausage). 1964 - Frank Bellissimo, founder of Anchor Bar, on Main Street, Buffalo, NY, invented Buffalo chicken wings (had received delivery of chicken wings, instead of backs and necks that were ordinarily used in making spaghetti sauce; Teressa Bellissimo [wife] made some hors d’oeuvres for bar; chopped each wing in half, served two straight sections that regulars at bar could eat with their fingers; “deep-fried” them, applied some hot sauce, served them on plate that included some celery from Anchor Bar’s regular antipasto, some blue-cheese dressing normally used as house dressing for salads); immediate success, famous throughout Buffalo within weeks); July 29, 1977 - City of Buffalo proclaimed 'Chicken Wing Day' (“WHEREAS, the success of Mr. Bellissimo’s tasty experiment in 1964 has grown to the point where thousands of pounds of chicken wings are consumed by Buffalonians in restaurants and taverns throughout our city each week. . .”). 1964 - Louis Flores Ruiz and son, Fred, founded Ruiz Foods in warehouse in Tulare, CA; cooked his mother's Mexican food recipes in morning, sold enchiladas to local businesses in afternoon; largest Latino-owned manufacturing company in California (2005 revenue of $326 million); sells about 200 products, 'El Monterey' accounts for 4.30 of every dollar spent on frozen Mexican food. May 16, 1965 - Spaghetti-O's first sold; variously-sized rings of cooked pasta in a sweet tomato and cheese sauce, sold in cans. June 22, 1965 - Kellogg Company registered "Pop-Tarts", trademark first used July 14, 1964 (fruit preserve filled pastry bakery product). July 13, 1965 - MIitsubishi Shojikaisha, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, registered "Three Diamonds" trademark (frozen fish, shrimp, crab, and other shellfish). October 1965 - Pillsbury debuted 14-ounce, 8 3/4-inch Poppin' Fresh Doughboy character in a Crescent Roll commercial; actor Paul Frees performed original voice of the Doughboy ( (voice of Boris Badenov in "The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky"); conceived by Rudy Perz, copywriter at Leo Burnett advertising agency; August 4, 1970 - Pillsbury registered "Poppin' Fresh" trademark first used June 1966 (dolls); 1972 - named "Toy of the Year" by Playthings Magazine. 1968 - McDonald's introduced The Big Mac systemwide; created by Jim Delligatti, Pittsburgh-area McDonald's franchisee (one of Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees); added lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and most important, the "special sauce," to create one of world's best-known hamburgers in Uniontown, PA. 1968 - Hunt-Wesson Foods, Canada Dry Corporation, McCall Corporation consolidated, formed Norton Simon, Inc., $1 billion corporation; 1979 - Hunt-Wesson sales topped $1 billion; 1983 - Norton-Simon Inc. acquired by Chicago-based Esmark, Inc.; 1984 - Esmark acquired by Beatrice Companies, Inc.; 1985 - Beatrice went private in leveraged buyout by Kohlberg, Kravis, and Roberts (KKR); renamed BCI Holding Company. October 18, 1969 - Federal government banned artificial sweeteners known as cyclamates because of evidence they cause cancer in laboratory rats (non-caloric sweetener had been discovered in 1937; widely used as tabletop sweetener, in sugar-free beverages, in baked goods, other low-calorie foods, particularly in combination with saccharin); June 1985 - National Academy of Sciences affirmed the FDA's Cancer Assessment Committee's latest conclusion: "the totality of the evidence from studies in animals does not indicate that cyclamate or its major metabolite cyclohexylamine is carcinogenic by itself"; approved for use in more than 50 countries. August 4, 1970 - Cumberland Packing Corp. registered "Sweet'n Low" trademark first used June 1958; December 17, 1974 - Cumberland Packing Corp. registered 1,000,000th trademark, G clef and staff design used on "Sweet'n Low". 1972 - Ruth M. Siems, home economist on staff of General Foods, invented Stove Top stuffing (now owned by Kraft Foods); made stuffing without a turkey possible; about 60 million boxes sold at Thanksgiving; July 23, 1974 - General Foods registered "Stove Top" trademark (stuffing mix); March 11, 1975 - received a patent for an "Instant Stuffing Mix" ("prepared from dried yeast-leavened corn bread crumb or a mixture of dried yeast-leavened white bread crumb and a member selected from the group consisting of dried yeast-leavened whole wheat bread crumb, corn bread crumb and mixtures thereof"); assigned to General Foods Corporation. Ruth M. Siems - Stove Top Stuffing (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/11/23/national/siems_184.jpg) March 7, 1972 - Star-Kist Foods, Inc. registered "Charlie the Tuna" trademark first used November 1970 (canned fish). June 26, 1974 - first bar-code scanned in Troy, OH; Norman Joseph Woodland, one of inventors of Universal Product Code (UPC) symbol, got idea by scratching elongated Morse code symbols into sand on beach. October 22, 1976 - US Food and Drug Administration banned red dye #4 after discovery that it causes tumors in the bladders of dogs; still used in Canada. August 1977 - Debbi Fields, a young mother with no business experience, opened first cookie store in Palo Alto, CA; 1990 - began to sell franchises; 2007 - nearly 390 location in U.S., over 80 locations internationally. May 5, 1978 - With a $12,000 investment ($4,000 of it borrowed), Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream scoop shop in renovated gas station in downtown Burlington, VT; 1980 - began packing ice cream in pints to distribute to grocery, Mom & Pop stores along restaurant delivery routes Ben services from back of old VW Squareback wagon; 1981 - first Ben & Jerry's franchise opened in Shelburne, VT; 1984 - Haagen-Dazs tried to limit distribution of Ben & Jerry's in Boston; prompted Ben & Jerry's to file suit against parent company, Pillsbury, in famous "What's the Doughboy Afraid Of?" campaign; sales exceeded $4 million; 1987 - Haagen-Dazs again tried to enforce exclusive distribution, Ben & Jerry's filed second lawsuit against the Pillsbury Company; sales just under $32 million; 1988 - more than 80 Ben & Jerry's ice cream scoop shops open in 18 states; 1991 - introduced Low Fat Frozen Yogurt; 1996 - introduced Sorbets; September 1999 - Harris Interactive poll of the public's perceptions of corporate reputability Ben & Jerry's ranked #5 in 'Reputation Quotient' (responsibility, emotional appeal, innovation) out of top 30 Most Reputable US companies, earned #1 ranking in "Social Responsibility" category; net sales of $237,043,000; April 12, 2000 - acquired by Unilever for $326 million. April 21, 1981 - Swift & Company registered "Butterball" trademark first used in 1962 (Poultry and Poultry Parts Including Frozen Dressed Whole Turkey, Stuffed Turkey, and Frozen Turkey Breast). 1985 - Philip Morris acquired General Foods for $5.7 billion; became largest U.S. consumer products company; R. J. Reynolds acquired Nabisco Brands for $4.9 billion; name changed to RJR Nabisco. October 10, 1988 - CEO F. Ross Johnson offered $75 per share for a leveraged buyout of RJR/Nabisco (stock at $56 per share); November 30, 1998 - Special Committee recommended acceptance of $109 per share buyout ($25.07 billion) by Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. to board of directors. October 30, 1988 - Philip Morris paid $13.1 billion for Kraft foods; became world's single biggest producer of consumer goods. February 21, 1989 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Simplesse, low-calorie substitute for fat; February 28, 1989 - Nutrasweet Company registered "Simplesse" trademark first used January 20, 1988 (fat substitute). March 27, 1990 - Harold Osrow, Zvi Bleier received a patent for a "Portable Ice Cream Machine"; assigned to NEC Corporation. April 5, 1990 - Paul Newman won court victory over Julius Gold to keep giving all profits from Newman foods to charity. August 1990 - ConAgra Inc. completed $1.34 billion acquisition of BCI Holding Company (Beatrice Company). 1991 - Hawaii set record for highest sales of pineapples, $107.8 million. August 21, 1997 - Hudson Foods Co. closed plant in Nebraska, agreed to destroy some 25 million pounds of hamburger after largest meat recall in U.S. history. October 31, 2003 - The U.S. Food and Drug administration released summary of draft report concluding that cloned farm animals and their offspring posed little scientific risk to food supply. May 2005 - Jelly Belly Candy Company's factory tour in Fairfield, CA named "Best of America" by editors of Reader's Digest magazine; tours first offered in 1986 at request of local groups; more than 400,000 people tour facility annually. February 3, 2006 - Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. announced it would cease pineapple operation in two years, no longer economically feasible to grow pineapple in Hawaii because it can be produced for less elsewhere (increased planting of pineapple at lower costs in other parts of the world, "...cheaper for Del Monte to buy pineapples on the open market than for the company to grow, market and distribute Hawaiian pineapple"; Del Monte, called California Packing Corp., had begun pineapple operations in Hawaii in 1916; two remaining pineapple companies in Hawaii - Dole Food Hawaii, Maui Pineapple Co.; Hawaii produced 212,000 tons of pineapples in 2005 worth estimated $79 million; top pineapple producers - Thailand, Philippines, Brazil, China, India, Costa Rica [source: USDA]). March 15, 2011 - Consuming meat (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/03/15/science/15food_graphic/15food_graphic-popup.jpg)

Mound (disambiguation)

"I Like Ike" was the campaign slogan for what eventual US president?

Industries - Business History of Industries - Business History Books Food - Part 2   610 A.D. - Pretzels originated in Southern France or Northern Italy; young monk prepared unleavened bread for Lent (Christian period of fasting and penitence before Easter) in shape of Christians' praying - arms folded across chests, each hand on opposite shoulder; twisted leftover dough into this shape, used as treat for children to recite their prayers; named twisted bread 'pretiola' (Latin for 'little reward'); form became symbol of good luck, long life, prosperity. June 4, 1070 - Roquefort cheese created in cave near Roquefort, France. July 28, 1586 - Sir Thomas Harriot introduced potatoes to Europe. November 16, 1620 - Sixteen hungry Pilgrims, led by Myles Standish, William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Tilley, discovered first corn (maize) in U.S. in Provincetown, MA (named it Corn Hill); food previously harvested by local Indian tribe; provided much needed supply of food which saw Pilgrims through first Winter in New World. 1630 - Mogi family started making soy sauce in Japan; 1861 - Mogi-Takanashi families established Kikkoman; August 13, 1957 - Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. registered in U.S. "Kikkoman" trademark first used 1885 ("Kikko" - "Hexagon," and "Man" - equivalent of English term "Ten Thousand"; all-purpose sauce and seasoning-namely, soy in liquid firm and Worcestershire sauce). February 22, 1630 - Quadequine, brother of Massasoit introduced popcorn to English colonists (corn with smaller kernels than regular corn, "pops" when heated over flame); U.S. grows nearly all of world's popcorn.  April 10, 1633 - Thomas Johnson, of Snow Hill, London, displayed bananas in shop window, first time on sale in Britain; 1884 - Elder Dempster and Co. regularly imported bananas from Canary Islands into Britain. November 25, 1715 - Sybilla Masters first American to be granted English patent, for processing June 10, 1720 - Mrs. Clements, of Durham, England marketed first paste-style mustard (biting-hot mustard powder); found way to mill heart of seed to fine flour; became standard method of processing seed for use as spice, in cooking, prepared mustards. 1728 - Walter Churchman started apothecary business in Bristol, England; 1729 - granted Letters Patent by George II for a chocolate making process; 1761 - Quaker, Doctor Joseph Fry, purchased patent and recipes from Charles Churchman (son); 1787 - business passed to wife and son, Joseph Storrs Fry; named J.S. Fry & Sons, oldest chocolate firm in Britain; 1847 - Fry's chocolates factory molded first "chocolate bar". April 14, 1757 - Benjamin Jackson, chocolate and flour of mustard maker,  advertised mustard for sale for first time in America in Philadelphia Gazette. March 8, 1765 - John Hannon, financed by James Baker, began producing one of first North American-made chocolate products, using water power, in Dorchester, MA; May 16, 1771 - Baker prepared to go into chocolate business on his own, bought what is believed to be his first order of cocoa beans; July 2, 1772 - made first recorded sale of chocolate; 1779 - Hannon lost at sea on cacao bean buying trip to West Indies; 1780 - Baker bought out John Hannon's widow, took over full ownership of business, produced first known chocolate branded as "Baker's"; 1791 - Edmund Baker (son, 21) entered into partnership; 1806 - built first Baker family mill for chocolate, grist, cloth; 1818 - Walter Baker (grandson) became partner; 1824 - took over; 1852 - employee Sam German created Baker's German Sweet Chocolate; 1854 - Walter Baker estate trustees appointed Henry Pierce (nephew) to run company; 1883 - adopted La Belle Chocolatiere (by Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Liotard) as Baker's official company trademark; 1884 - Pierce obtained full ownership of Walter Baker & Company from Baker estate trustees; 1895 - incorporated as Walter Baker & Company, Ltd.; 1896 - acquired by Forbes Syndicate for $4.75 million; July 4, 1905 - registered La Belle Chocolatiere design first used in 1877 (Colonial dress, women wearing; Hoop skirts); August 21, 1906 - registered "Baker's" trademark first used in October 1836 cocoa, chocolate, [broma] and cocoa preparations); July 12, 1921 - registered "German's" trademark first used in January 1910 (sweet chocolate); 1927 - acquired by Potsum Company (General Foods); 1989 - acquired by Kraft Foods. 1777 - Maurice Grey, who had developed a secret recipe for a strong mustard made with white wine, formed a partnership with Auguste Poupon, who supplied the financial backing to manufacture the product, in Dijon, France; introduced first automatic mustard machines. May 12, 1777 - Philip Lenzi, London confectioner, ran first advertisement for ice cream in U.S. in New York Gazette; announced his selling of various confections, including ice cream. June 8, 1786 - Mr. Hall of 76 Chatham Street (now Park Row) advertised first commercially-made ice cream in the U.S. (George Washington's expense ledger, of May 17, 1784, recorded purchase of "a cream machine for ice" [non-commercial production of ice-cream]). 1790 - Henry Wood, of Henry Wood & Son, commission merchant (wholesaler), distributed flour brought by English ships to Long Wharf in Boston's harbor; 1838 - Henry Wood and partner, George J. Cook, bought Richards and Co., flour company; 1840 - John Low Sands joined company started as a salesman, became part owner; 1895 - Orin E. Sands (youngest son of John Low Sands), Mark C. Taylor, George E. Wood owned company in limited partnership; renamed Sands, Taylor & Wood Co. (ST & W); October 1896 - introduced King Arthur Flour ('Never Bleached, Never Bromated') at Boston Food Fair; made of only hard, red, spring wheat from Minnesota and Canada; high-protein wheat produced more gluten, absorbed moisture better, made yeast-baked goods rise better, kept baked goods fresher for longer time; July 1, 1904 - incorporated as Sands, Taylor & Wood Co.; 1917 - Frank Edgar Sands (Ben's son) took over Presidency upon Orin's death; 1944 - Walter Sands (Frank's son) elected ST & W president; 1967 - Edgar Sands II (Walter's son) became president; acquisitions made ST & W largest New England distributor of bakery supplies; 1990 - published mail-order catalog under title The Baker's Catalogue; 1996 - Sands Family established an employee stock-ownership plan; 1998 - Catalogue mailed to some 3.5 million people, accounted for $10 million in sales; July 1, 1999 - name changed to The King Arthur Flour Company; oldest flour company, earliest food company in New England. (http://www.vtliving.com/flour/KAFlogo.gif) February 2, 1795 - Nicholas Appert, French chef who invented way to can food, won prize of 12,000 francs offered by French government for method of preserving, transporting food to its armies; developed method of heating food in airtight glass jars. February 14, 1803 - Moses Coates, of Coatsville, PA, received a patent for a "Machine for Paring Apples." November 13, 1805 - Johann Georg Lehner, German butcher from Frankfurt living in Vienna, Austria, created sausage with mixture of beef and pork (allowed in Austria); Austrians called sausage 'Frankfurter' (created by someone from Frankfurt); called Wiener elsewhere (invented in Vienna). 1807 - Frederick C. and William Havemeyer, former employees of Edmund Seaman and Company sugar boiler business, founded William & F. C. Havemeyer Company, sugarhouse, on Van Dam Street in Manhattan; 1855 - Frederick C. Havemeyer, Jr., relocated sugarhouse to Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 1857 - operated as Havemeyer, Townsend & Co.; 1863 - name changed to Havemeyers & Elder Sugar Refining Co. (Joseph L. Elder, son-in-law); December 1887 - Henry O. Havemeyer (son of Frederick, Jr.) formed Sugar Refineries Company ("Sugar Trust"), consolidated 18 major refiners in Brooklyn, NY controlling 80% of industry capacity (Havemeyers & Elder, DeCastro & Donner, Brooklyn Sugar Refining, Dick & Meyer, Moller, Sierck); March 1889 - acquired American Sugar Refinery (former Bay Sugar Refining Company founded by Claus Spreckels in 1864); January 10, 1891 - American Sugar Refining Co. incorporated; October 8, 1901 - American Sugar Refining Co. registered "Domino" trademark first used August 1, 1900 (hard sugar); November 1910 - U. S. Government sued for dissolution of American Sugar Refining Company for restraint of trade - reduced competition, increased sugar prices, lost employment (controlled about 75% of refined sugar industry of United States); December 29, 1921 - anti-trust case settled by consent decree (industry control reduced to 24%); 1970 - American Sugar changed name to Amstar Corp.; 1988 - acquired by Tate & Lyle. Henry O. Havemeyer - American Sugar Refining (http://academics.smcvt.edu/shelburnemuseum/sestey/images/Scan0002.jpg) April 17, 1810 - Lewis Mills Norton, of Goshen, CT, received a patent for a "Vat for Pineapple Cheese". 1814 - Jeremiah Colman, flour miller, took over mustard manufacturing business based on river Tas, four miles south of Norwich, UK; 1823 - took adopted nephew, James, into partnership in new firm; named J & J Colman; 1866 - introduced red and yellow livery to label; granted Royal Warrant as manufacturers to Queen Victoria; 1938 - merged with Reckitt & Sons; renamed Reckitt & Colman; March 26, 1974 - registered in U.S. "Colman's Mustard" trademark first used 1948 (mustard); 1995 - acquired by Unilever. Jeremiah Colman - Colman's Mustard (http://www.redhill-reigate-history.co.uk/kgv%20colman%20pic.JPG) 1815 - Casparus van Houten established chocolate factory; 1828 - received a patent for Van Houten cocoa press to separate cocoa solids from cocoa butter to make cocoa powder; Coenraad Johannes Van Houten created process to treat cocao powder with alkaline salts to remove bitter taste, allow cocoa powder to mix more easily with water (called "Dutch process" chocolate); inventions by father and son led to 19th-century mass production, consumption of chocolate, put Dutch at forefront of cocoa processing; April 3, 1906 - C. J. Van Houten & Zoon registered "Van Houten" trademark first used in 1852 (cocoa). Coenraad Johannes Van Houten - Van Houten cocoa (http://exhibits.mannlib.cornell.edu/chocolate/images/content_img/VanHoutten_small.jpg) February 3, 1815 - World's first commercial cheese factory established in Kiesen, canton of Berne, Switzerland (first cheese production facility opened in 1802 in Howfil; only about 200 pounds of cheese exported from Switzerland in 1810); 1900 - about 2,600 cheese factories in Switzerland. 1818 - Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge founded Bunge & Co. in Amsterdam, Netherlands as import/export trading business; 1859 - Edouard Bunge (grandson) relocated company to Antwerp, Belgium (one of world's leading commodities traders); 1884 - expanded to South America; Ernest Bunge (grandson) founded Bunge y Born in Argentina; 1905 - entered wheat milling business in Brazil; 1918 - entered North American market; 1923 - established Bunge North American Grain Corporation; 1935 - purchased first sizable grain facility, Midway, rail terminal in Minneapolis, MN; 1943 - name changed to Bunge Corporation; 1945 - first export of Brazilian soybeans (largest exporter of agricultural products in 2008); 1961 - opened export grain-handling elevator in Louisiana (centerpiece of U.S. export business); 1987 - acquired Carlin Food Corp. (served retail, wholesale bakers, foodservice operators, food processors); 1997-2004 - largest fertilizer producer, soy processor in South America; 1998 - built largest soybean crushing, refining plant in U.S. in Iowa; 1999 - moved headquarters to White Plains, NY; 2001 - went public; 2002 - world's largest soy processor, supplier of bottled oils to consumers; June 23, 2008 - announced acquisition of Corn Products International (fourth-largest maker of high-fructose corn syrup in U.S.) for $4.4. billion (foothold in syrups, sweeteners business); third largest agribusiness company in U. S. by revenue (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland). 1822 - Englishman William Underwood set up small condiment business on Boston's Russia Wharf; 1836 - started packing his products in tin canisters (cans); 1868 - Underwood's sons began experimenting with new product created from ground ham blended with special seasonings; called process "deviling" (new way to cook, prepare ham, unique taste); 1870 - company registered Underwood devil logo trademark; 1895 - advertising with little red devil began to appear nationally; May 23, 1939 - William Underwood Company registered "Underwood" trademark first used June 1, 1937 (canned deviled ham); 2006 - oldest existing trademark still in use in United States. January 1, 1823 - John Wheeley Lea, William Henry Perrins, of Worcester, UK, formed partnership; August 28, 1837 - began to produce Worcestershire Sauce commercially; May 31, 1892 - Lea & Perrins Firm registered "Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce" trademark; 1904 - granted rare Royal Warrant by King Edward VII; 1916 - granted The Spanish Royal Warrant by King of Spain; June 11, 1930 - acquired by HP Foods. 1824 - John Cadbury (22), former apprentice to tea dealer in Leeds, UK, opened grocer's shop in Birmingham, England; sold cocoa, drinking chocolate; 1831 - began to manufacture on commercial scale; 1842 - sold 16 lines of drinking chocolate, cocoa in cake and powder forms; 1847 - Benjamin Cadbury (brother) made partner (dissolved in 1856), name changed to Cadbury Brothers; mid-1850s - Prime Minister William Gladstone reduced taxes on imported cocoa beans; February 4, 1854 - received first Royal Warrant as 'manufacturers of cocoa and chocolate to Queen Victoria'; 1861 - George (21) and Richard (25) Cadbury (sons) took over; 1866 - introduced new cocoa press process to remove some of cocoa butter from beans, produce less rich, more palatable cocoa essence (no need to add flour); helped turn small business into worldwide company; 1897 - introduced its first milk chocolate; 1899 - became private limited company, renamed Cadbury Brothers Limited; 1905 - introduced 'Dairy Milk' brand (company's best selling line in Britain by 1913, brand market leader in mid-1920s); 1919 - merged with J. S. Fry & Sons of Bristol, UK (introduced 'Chocolate Cream', plain chocolate bar with white fondant center in 1853); 1962 - re-organized, renamed Cadbury Limited, went public; 1964 - expanded into sugar confectionery; 1969 - merged with Schweppes, renamed Cadbury Schweppes; May 7, 2008 - separated beverage business from confection business, focused on confection; February 2010 - acquired by Kraft Foods Inc. for about $19.5 billion; created world's largest confectioner (more than $500 billion in sales). John Cadbury - Cadbury Group (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/01/20/article-1244330-07EF049F000005DC-380_306x423.jpg) 1824 - Crowley family began making cheese in kitchen in Healdville, VT; 1882 - Winfield Crowley built present-day factory, Crowley Cheese started to reach shores of Maine, streets of Manhattan; January 24, 1893 - Crowley Foods, Inc. registered "Crowley" trademark first used February 24, 1969 (dairy products); believed to be oldest existing cheese factory in Western Hemisphere. Winfield Crowley - Crowley Cheese (http://www.crowleycheese-vermont.com/img/Winifred.jpg) January 19, 1825 - Ezra Daggett, Thomas Kensett (nephew) of New York City, received a patent for "Preserving Animal Substances"; food storage in cans (had introduced method for canned salmon, oysters, lobsters in 1819; tin cans had been used by military, explorers in Europe since 1813 but their development did not start until after Civil War). 1827 - John Morrell & Co. founded in Bradford, Yorkshire, England; local woolcomber George Morrell bought barge load of oranges in local canal with 80 pound bequest left to his wife by an uncle; sold oranges at profit in streets of Bradford; started business in produce, butter, eggs, cheese, bacon, hams; 1864 - U.S.-based operations established in New York; December 1967 - acquired by AMK Corporation; 1970 - merged with United Fruit, renamed United Brands; December 1995 - acquired by Smithfield Foods for $60 million; considered to be the oldest continuously operating meat manufacturer in the U.S. 1828 - Baker Alfred Wyman made first Westminster Crackers in Westminster, MA; 1842 - built cracker factory; barrel of "seconds" near front door offered free samples to residents, visitors; 1891 - acquired by Charles Dawley, Frank Battles, Herman Shepard (Dawley & Shepard, Inc.); 1968 - breadcrumb business acquired by Pillsbury (ceased baking in Westminster, MA); cracker business remained with Dawley family; 1989 - resumed cracker manufacture in Rutland, VT; January 23, 1990 - Westminster Cracker company, Inc. registered "Westminster Crackers" trademark first used in 1890 (crackers); 1999 - 61% control acquired by Cains Foods, LP through acquisition of Olde Cape Cod Food Products; 2008 - fifth generation management. 1833 - AJ & RG Barber began farming, making cheese at Maryland Farm in Ditcheat, Somerset, UK; incorporated; sold milk from farm locally, used cheese to feed family, farm workers; 2010 - Barber farms comprise 10 farms, 2500 acres of prime Somerset dairy land, home to some 2,000 dairy cows; sixth generation management (cousins); Britain's oldest cheese-making family. August 14, 1834 - Jacob Perkins, of Newburyport, MA, received British patent for "Improvement in the Apparatus and Means for Producing Ice, and in Cooling Fluids" ("volatile fluid for the purpose of producing the cooling and freezing ... and yet at the same time condensing such volatile fluids, and bringing them into operation without waste"); refrigerating machine; vapor-compression machine using sulphuric ether compression in a closed cycle. 1838 - Carl Heinrich Knorr built factory in Heilbronn, Germany, to dry, grind chicory for coffee trade; developed process for dried soups (preserved natural values of ingredients, flavors, reduced cooking times); 1873 - KNORR Company began packaging, selling soup mixes in food shops; 1899 - C.H. KNORR A.G. went public; 1908 - introduced European sauce mix. 1912 - introduced bouillon cube; 1947 - near bankruptcy (demand immense, quality eroded); 1948 - substituted liquid brown seasoning with Glutamate (eliminated former factory taste); reduced cooking times from 30 to 5-10 minutes; replaced cardboard package with hermetically sealed aluminum pouch (protected product against humidity, other taste influences); launched chicken noodle soup (sold 6.4 million servings in first 7 months); 1957 - KNORR products (bouillons, soups, sauces, entree mixes) available in eight countries around world: April 1958 - acquired by CPC International Inc.; September 22, 1959 - KNORR Nahrmittel Aktiengesellschaft, Thayngen Corporation registered "Knorr" trademark first used October 23, 1913 (dehydrated, granulated, concentrated [and canned] coups and broths, [flours,] seasonings-to wit, [vinegar, mustard, table salt and] seasoned salt, [tapioca, oat flakes and] bouillon and vegetable cubes); 2000 - products sold in 87 countries; October 2000 - acquired by Unilever (largest brand); 2002 - introduced frozen meals, mealkits, vegetable products, snacks. Carl Heinrich Knorr - Knorr soups (http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:EYmGualsBX06IM:http://www.knorr.nl/livelinkImage.php%3Fobjid%3D2308202) March 12, 1841 - Orlando Jones (City Road, England) received first U.S. patent for "Improvement in the Manufacture of Starch" ("new and useful improvements in the treating or operating on farinaceous matters to obtain starch and other products, and in the manufacture of starch"); used alkali to speed up starch making process (corn starch); shortened production time, increased yield, left by-products in a condition suitable for further uses. 1842 - Stephen F. Whitman (19) founded Stephen F. Whitman & Son "confectionery and fruiterer shoppe" on Market Street near the Philadelphia waterfront; 1854 - introduced first prepackaged Whitman's candy (box of sugar plums adorned with curlicues and rosebuds); first packaged confection in printed, marked box; December 29, 1860 - ran first newspaper advertisement; 1888 - Horace F. Whitman (son) took over; April 3, 1906 - Stephen F. Whitman registered "Whitman's" trademark first used in 1842 (candies and chocolates of all descriptions); 1907 - established own national sales organization for direct distribution to dealers on national level; 1909 - incorporated; 1912 - introduced Whitman's Sampler, first use of cellophane by candy industry; March 24, 1914 - registered "Whitman's Sampler Chocolates & Confections" trademark first used January 1, 1912 (candy confections); 1915 - Sampler become America's best-selling box of chocolates (still is); early 1960s - acquired by Pet, Inc.; 1978 - Pet acquired by IC Industries; 1991 - became permanent fixture in Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History; 1993 - acquired by Russell Stover Candies; America's oldest continuous producer of boxed chocolates. 1842 - Samuel R. Mott founded Mott's in Bouckville, New York; made cider with help of hitched horses that plodded in circle, apples crushed between two large stone drums at center of 'sweep', shoveled into crib with slatted sides, packed in straw, pressed by three men leaning on lengthy level that operated jack screw; golden juice ran off into tank beneath, ready for bottling; 1900 - merged with W.B. Duffy Cider Company (Rochester, NY, also founded 1842); March 20, 1923 - Duffy-Mott Company, Inc. registered "Mott's" trademark first used (in another form) in 1850 (vinegar); 1929 - introduced series of new fruit products, contributed more to growth than events of any prior decade; 1930 - launched apple sauce; 1933 - introduced prune juice, in collaboration with California Prune and Apricot Growers Association (could be produced in apple processing plants during off-season); 1936 - began to make jellies; 1938 - acquired by American Brands, Inc.; 1982 - acquired by Cadbury-Schweppes 1842 - Thomas Kingsford, former superintendent of William Colgate & Co. wheat-starch factory, isolated starch from kernels of corn; perfected process, made pure laundry starch from corn; 1846 - "T. Kingsford and Son", corn starch merchant, established in Bergen, NJ; 1891 - corn milling plant (later called Argo Manufacturing) incorporated in Nebraska; 1892 - introduced ARGO Corn Starch; 1899 - Argo, Kingsford's, two other starch companies merged, formed United Starch Company (forerunner of The Corn Products Refining Co.); 1900 - acquired by National Starch Co.; 1906 - became Corn Products Refining Co.; January 26, 1915 - registered "ARGO" trademark first used January 1, 1891 (corn starch); October 19, 1915 - National Starch Co. registered "Kingsford's" trademark first used in 1848 (corn starch). Thomas Kingsford - Oswego Starch Factory (http://www.argostarch.com/images/hist_1842Pic.jpg) August 26, 1843 - Norbert Rillieux, of New Orleans, LA, received patent for a "Vacuum Pan" ("Improvement in Sugar-Works"); December 10, 1846 - received patent for an "Evaporating Pan" ("Improvement in Sugar-Making"); multiple effect vacuum sugar evaporator; device revolutionized sugar processing; made it more efficient, faster, much safer. September 9, 1843 - Nancy M. Johnson, of Philadelphia, PA, received a patent for an "Artificial Freezer" ("Improvement in the Art of Producing Artificial Ices"). 1845 - David Sprangli-Schwarz, confectioner, and Rudolf Sprangli-Ammann (son) owned small confectionery shop in Marktgasse of Zurich's Old Town; 1892 - business split between two sons (confectionery stores to David Robert, chocolate factory to Johann Rudolf Sprangli-Schifferli); 1899 - Sprangli-Schifferli converted company Chocolat Sprangli AG to raise money; acquired option to acquire chocolate factory of Rodolphe Lindt in Berne; name changed to to Aktiengesellschaft Vereinigte Berner und Zarcher Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprangli (option fully exercised in 1928); July 9, 1912 - Aktiengesellschaft Vereinigte Berner und Zarcher Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprangli Corporation registered "Lindt" trademark first used in 1879 (chocolate candies); 1919-1946 - sales flat; 1947 - signed licensing agreement in Italy (Germany in 1950, France in 1954); 1986 - Lindt & Sprangli (USA) Inc. activated (founded in New York in 1925); went public; 1993 - acquisitions of former licensees completed; worldwide net sales nearly 900 million Swiss Francs; 1994 - Kilchberg-based holding company formed; all companies became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprangli AG; September 1997 - acquired Caffarel (Torino, Italy); January 1998 - acquired Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (San Francisco, CA); world-wide leader in premium quality chocolate segment in all markets. David Spr�ngli-Schwarz, Rudolf Spr�ngli- Ammann - Lindt (http://www.lindt.com/typo3temp/pics/0a99698e21.jpg) June 30, 1845 - Peter Cooper, of New York, NY, received a patent for "Improvement in the Preparation of Portable Gelatine" ("consists in making a transparent concentrated or solidified jelly containing all the ingredients fitting it for table use, in a portable form, and requiring only the addition of a prescribed quantity of hot water to dissolve it, when it may be poured into glasses or molds, and when cold will be fit for use"). 1847 - Oliver R. and Silas Edwin Chase founded Chase and Company; November 14, 1871 - Oliver Rice Chase, of Boston, MA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Machine for Manufacturing Lozenges" ("...eminent advantages both as to simplicity of construction and to the manner in which it operates, and affords site of the paste prepatory to its being cut into lozenges and discharged from the machine"); 1901 - merged with Forbes, Hayward and Company (1848), Wright and Moody (1856); formed New England Confectionery Company (NECCO); January 30, 1906 - registered "NECCO Sweets" trademark first used June 1, 1904 (candy). 1848 - Alonzo Richmond founded Richmond & Company in Chicago, IL; agent for Onondaga Salt (Syracuse, NY); 1886 - Joy Morton, J. Sterling Morton (son), Secretary of Agriculture under Grover Cleveland, acquired majority interest; changed name to Joy Morton & Company; 1910 - renamed Morton Salt Company; 1914 - introduced Morton Umbrella Girl to blue package of table salt; March 30, 1915 - registered "When It Rains It Pours" trademark first used November 6, 1914 (salt); 1924 - developed iodized salt (contained 0.01% sodium iodide as dietary supplement as iodine reduced incidence of goiter [major swelling of thyroid gland in neck]); May 17, 1949 - registered "Morton" trademark first used June 15, 1912 (salt and meat and poultry seasoning, the seasoning consisting of salt and spices); 1999 - acquired by Rohm and Haas. Joy Morton - Morton Salt (http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OkMSZRidIIMROM:http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111463/media/joy.gif) May 30, 1848 - William G. Young, of Baltimore, MD, received a patent for an "Ice Cream Freezer"; improvement made freezer turn rapidly within the ice-tub as well as the cream inside; designed to be used while both agitating the cream and turning the freezer using the weighted top-mounted handle; beating brought all cream in better contact with cold sides, air trapped with motion made cream lighter. September 23, 1848 - John B. Curtis started first commercial chewing gum factory in Bangor, ME to produce State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum; first commercially sold chewing gum in U.S.; 1860 - employed 200 people at facility in Portland, ME; end of 19th century - Maine spruce gum production peaked at 300,000 pounds a year. John B. Curtis - made first chewing-gum, in Maine (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/John_B_Curtis.png/125px-John_B_Curtis.png) 1849 - Samuel Northrup Castle, Amos Starr Cooke of Boston formed partnership to run private storehouse (once the missionary depository); 1851 - obtained licenses to sell wholesale products (farm tools, sewing machines, medicine), formed Castle & Cooke Corporation ("Kakela Me Kuke" in Hawaiian); 1853 - fourth largest company in Hawaii; 1894 - incorporated under laws of Hawaii; 1905 - organized Sugar Factors Company, Ltd., to buy, sell, transport, arrange for refining Hawaii's sugars; 1932 - acquired 21% ownership of Hawaiian Pineapple Company; 1961 - merged with Dole Pineapple, Columbia River Packers (Bumble Bee); 1968 - acquired Standard Fruit, second largest producer, importer of bananas; 1972 - established Castle & Cooke Foods group (all food activities except sugar); 1985 - severe financial problems, merged with Flexi-Van Corporation (transportation equipment leasing company); 1991 - name changed to Dole Food Company, Inc.; 1995 - separated food, real estate businesses: Dole Food Company, Inc. as food producer, distributor; Castle & Cooke, Inc. as developer, builder of residential real estate, resorts , commercial real estate; 2003 - Dole acquired by David H. Murdock. Samuel Northrup Castle - Castle & Cooke (http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/castle/castles.jpg) 1849 - Isidore Boudin established French bakery in San Francisco (one of more than 60 in the city); continued use of leavening bread with wild yeast starter ('mother dough'); combined ordinary sourdough yeast used by miners with French-style loaf of bread; 1873 - home deliveries by horse-drawn wagon; 1900 - introduced motorized delivery trucks; 1910 - Charles, Jules Boudin (sons) took over; 1941 - acquired by Steve Giraudo Sr.; 1975 - first retail demonstration bakery on Fisherman's Wharf; 1978 - mail order business started; 1984 - focus shifted to bakery-cafes, away from wholesale business. Isidore Boudin (with family at right) - 1849 (http://www.boudinbakery.com/ximages/J_467x245_since1849.jpg) 1849 - John Pew founded John Pew & Sons in Gloucester, MA; 1868 - Slade Gorton began fishing business in Rockport, MA; first to pack salt-dried codfish; 1904 - "Man at Wheel" painting became logo; March 31, 1906 - Slade Gorton & Co., John Pew & Son, David B. Smith & Co., Reed & Gamage combined, formed Gorton-Pew Fisheries Co.; fleet of 39 fishing vessels, largest fleet operated by any company on Atlantic Coast; 1923 - reorganized from bankruptcy by Boston lawyer named William Putnam; February 6, 1945 - Gorton-Pew Fisheries Company, Ltd. registered "Gorton's" trademark first used in 1875 (canned fish, salt fish, smoked fish, and spiced fish); 1957 - name changed to Gorton's of Gloucester; December 12, 1967 - Gorton Corporation registered "Gorton's of Gloucester" trademark first used August 26, 1966 (frozen seafood et al); 1968 - acquired by General Mills; May 1995 - acquired by Unilever; August 2001 - acquired, with BlueWater Seafoods, by Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc., subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd., for $175 million in cash. 1850 - Eugene Durkee founded Durkee Spices in Buffalo, NY; 1907 - Durkee helped establish the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA); 1918 - introduced cans for spices (replaced paperboard cartons); August 28, 1951 - Glidden Company (dba as Durkee Famous Foods Corporation) registered "Durkee's" trademark first used July 18, 1929 (spices, meat sauces, salad and mayonnaise dressings, coconut, margarine, vegetable oils solid for edible purposes, vegetable oil shortening and hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening); 1982 - pioneered freeze-ground milling, introduced plastic packaging with tamper-evident seals; 1994 - acquired by Burns Philp of Sydney, Australia; 2005 - acquired by Associated British Foods plc purchased (operated under ACH Food Companies, Inc. management). Eugene Durkee - Durkee Foods (http://www.durkeefoodservice.com/images/ahGfx1.jpg) 1850 - Francis Hulman, John Bernhard Ludowici invested $700 and $1,400, respectively, opened Cincinnati Wholesale Grocery Store in Terre Haute, IN; March 12, 1853 - partnership ended; Ludowici kept business; Septrember 1853 - Hulman opened F.T. Hulman Wholesale Store directly across street; 1854 - Herman Hulman (23) arrived from Germany to sell for Francis; September 13, 1858 - Francis Hulman, wife and child died aboard ship destroyed by fire on way to New York; July 1869 - merged with R.S. Cox Jr., closest competitor in wholesale grocery business; 1878 - acquired Benjamin Cox's half-interest; became major supplier of food, merchandise under house brands (Crystal, Dauntless, REX, Farmers Pride, Clabber Brand baking powder (mixture of baked fireplace ash and "clabber" - sour milk); September 1893 - opened Clabber Baking Powder building; 1923 - renamed Clabber Girl Baking Powder; March 18, 1924 - Hulman & Company registered "Clabber Girl Baking Powder" trademark first used July 13, 1923 (baking powder); 1926 - Tony Hulman, Jr. (grandson), company's sales manager, made Clabber Girl #1 selling baking powder in U.S.; 1931 - assumed management of company (age 30); 1945 - acquired Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 1995 - closed grocery business. Herman Hulman, Francis Hulman, Theodore Hulman - Hulman & Company (http://www.clabbergirl.com/images/features/3_hulmans.jpg) 1850 - Scotsman David Jack, arrived in Monterey, CA; 1869 - Monterey's dominant landowner (had bought, with attorney Delos Rodeyn Ashley, 29,698.53 acres of Monterey peninsula at auction on February 9, 1859 - included what is now Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Del Rey Oaks, Del Monte Forest [aka Pebble Beach], Fort Ord [now California State University, Monterey Bay); owned dairy along Salinas River, produced cheese originally known as Queso Blanco (soft, creamy, light cheese known as "Queso blanco pais", country peasant cheese, and "Queso blanco", white cheese, first made by Franciscan padres at nearby Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo); went into partnership with 13 regional dairies (Spanish and Portuguese dairymen dominated North Californian dairy farming); used excess milk to produce cheese, marketed as "Jacks Cheese" (changed to 'Monterey Jack' because so many customer's asked for the cheese by that name; became synonymous with white, creamy cheese; official name approved by Food and Drug Administration in 1955); first to commercially manufacture Jack cheese on large scale (Domingo Pedrazzi of Carmel Valley argued that his use of pressure housejack gave cheese its name, Pedrazzi's jack cheese); one of four cheeses to supposedly have been created in United States. David Jack - Monterey Jack Cheese (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/David_Jack.jpg/180px-David_Jack.jpg) February 5, 1850 - Gail Borden, Jr. of Galveston, TX, received patent for "Preparation of Portable Soup-Bread"; process baked a combination of extracts from meat with flour to produce a meat biscuit capable of long term storage; convenient method that preserved meat-based product could be carried by the military, seamen and other travelers; reconstituted with hot water as a soup. August 24, 1853 - It has been claimed that Chef George Crum, an American Indian, prepared first potato chips at Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, NY - railroad magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his potatoes were "too thick", sent them back to kitchen, Crum retaliated by slicing paper thin strips of potatoes, frying them to a crisp; Vanderbilt loved them; "Saratoga Chips" -instant success; 1895 - William Tappenden began delivering potato chips to stores in Cleveland, OH; potato chips first became available in grocery stores; 1926 - Laura Scudder (Monterey Park, CA) introduced potato chips in hand-ironed wax paper 'bags' (vs. dispensed in bulk in paper sacks from from cracker barrels or glass display cases); 1937 - Potato Chip Institute (PCI) established (formerly Ohio Potato Chip Association); 2003 - Snack Food Association (SFA), United States Potato Board (USPB) celebrated this history. Chef George Crum - potato chip (http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/snacks/images/GeorgeCrum.gif) 1856 - Cadwallader Colden (C. C.) Washburn formed Minneapolis Milling Company to lease power rights to mill operators; 1866 - built his first flour mill (one of largest in world) on banks of Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN; 1874 - built second mill (burned down); 1877 - John Crosby joined C. C. and William D. Washburn (brother) in milling business as partner (married to sister of Washburn's sister-in-law); formed Washburn Crosby Company; 1880 - Washburn Crosby Company won gold medal at first Millers International Exhibition, renamed highest quality product Gold Medal Flour (remains best selling brand in U.S.); 1888 - James Stroud Bell assumed leadership; expanded national flour market; 1921 - Betty Crocker created; 1924 - Wheaties, company's first ready-to-eat cereal introduced; June 20, 1928 - James Ford Bell (son) incorporated General Mills Inc. 1858 - David Oppenheimer and three brothers founded Oppenheimer Bros. & Co. in Victoria, BC, to provide food, supplies to thousands of fortune seekers who followed gold rush to British Columbia; 1859 - opened second store in Yale, along Cariboo trail; 1862 - opened another branch in Barkerville; 1887 - moved company to Vancouver, BC, effectively opened city's first wholesale provisions warehouse; considered innovative founding father of Vancouver; 1891 - established strategic alliance with Japan Fruit Growers Cooperative; 1956 - brought first Granny Smith apples to North America from New Zealand; late 1960s - established one of first large-scale Chilean shipping programs to import grapes, stone fruit; 1985 - established U.S. business under name David Oppenheimer & Co. Seattle, WA; 1992 - The David Oppenheimer Group - comprised David Oppenheimer & Associates (Canadian company), David Oppenheimer & Co. (U.S. company), David Oppenheimer Transport Inc. (transport services); 2002 - name changed to The Oppenheimer Group; shipped total of 35 million packages of fresh produce; 2003 - launched Oppenheimer-branded packaging; chosen by Ocean Spray to market fresh cranberries in North America; 2008 - awarded platinum status, from National Post, as one of Canada's "Best Managed Companies." 1859 - Henry Tate (40), grocer in Liverpool, joined John Wright & Co, sugar refinery, as partner; 1862 - set up his own refinery; joined by Alfred and Edwin (sons), formed Henry Tate & Sons; 1872 - Love Lane Refinery (Liverpool) began operations; incorporated new refining technique to increase yield of white sugar; 1875 - acquired rights, in partnership with David Martineau, from German inventor Eugen Langen, introduced sugar cube to UK; 1878 -- opened refinery at Silvertown in East London; 1921 - merged with Abram Lyle & Sons, formed Tate & Lyle PLC; 1963 - acquired United Molasses for �30 million, became world leader in molasses trade; 1976 - acquired one-third stake in Amylum, established first major interest in cereal sweetener, starch-based manufacturing; 1988 - acquired 90% North American AE Staley Manufacturing Co. (2000 - acquired balance); increased stake in Amylum to 63%; 1998 - acquired citric acid business of Haarmann & Reimer (subsidiary of Bayer AG), became world's leading producer of citric acid; 2006 - Lyle's Golden Syrup tin design named Guinness World Records as world's oldest branding (packaging); March 21 2006 - annual sales of �3.7 billion, 7,000 employees in subsidiaries, 4,800 in joint ventures. 1861 - Julius Sturgis, ran bread bakery, established first commercial pretzel bakery in America, in Lititz, Lancaster County, PA. 1861 - William G. Bell founded The William G. Bell Company; created, marketed premium nutrition products, savory combinations that enhanced cuisines (Jamaican ginger, Zanzibar clove, Batavian cinnamon, Dalmatian sage); 1867 - introduced Bell's seasoning; March 16, 1937 - William G. bell Company registered "Bell's" trademark first used March 10, 1878 (spiced seasonings). William G. Bell - Bell's Seasoning (http://bellventures.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/grandpag.jpg?w=300&h=244) 1862 - Godfrey Keebler bought baking business of John T. Ricketts (deceased employer) in Philadelphia; 1890 - formed partnership with Augustus Weyl, incorporated Keebler-Weyl Baking Company; February 1898 - New York Biscuit Company, United States Baking Company, American Biscuit Company formed 'Cracker Trust' (controlled 145 bakeries); 1966 - Keebler adopted as corporate title for bakery network, single brand name for all bakery products; February 20, 1968 - Keebler Company registered "Keebler" trademark first used May 5, 1966 (cookies, crackers, and candy); 1974 - acquired by U.K.-based United Biscuit Company; 1996 - acquired in leveraged buyout; acquired Sunshine Biscuit Co.; 1997 - name changed to Keebler Foods Company; 1998 - acquired President Baking Co.; Flowers Industries became majority shareholder after initial public offering; 2001 - acquired by Kellogg Company, no. 2 cookie and cracker brand in United States. 1862 - Henry Issac Rowntree acquired cocoa side of Wm. Tuke and Sons shop; 1869 - Joseph Rowntree joined brother's business as partner; 1887 - Elect Cocoa introduced; 1890 - built Cocoa, Chocolate & Chicory Works in York, UK; 1897 - Rowntree & Co went Limited, Joseph Rowntree as Chairman; 1904 - established Rowntree Foundation; 1937 - Chocolate Crisp changed name to Kit Kat; Rolos introduced; 1962 - After Eight is introduced; 1969 - merged with rival John Mackintosh & Sons Ltd., formed Rowntree Mackintosh Ltd.; 1987 - name changed to Rowntree plc; 1988 - acquired by Nestle SA. 1862 - Charles Gulden established mustard company near South Street Seaport in New York City; purchased imported seeds and spices, earned prestigious award from American Institute in 1869, 1883; March 16, 1875 - Jacob Gulden (father), of New York, NY, received patent for a "Design for Mustard-Bottle"; July 5, 1881 - received a patent for a "Vessel for Holding and Dispensing Mustard"; January 30, 1893 - Charles Gulden received patent for a "Cap for Mustard-Bottles"; March 16, 1897 - Charles Gulden, Jr. received a patent for a "Package for Mustard, etc."; January 2, 1906 - registered "Gulden's Mustard" trademark first used 1875 (mustard). 1863 - Claus and Bernard Spreckels built Bay Sugar Refinery in San Francisco, CA (with proceeds from sale of grocery business, brewery); used raw sugar from Hawaii; 1866 - sold refinery; 1867 - incorporated California Sugar Refinery in San Francisco to refine, produce sugar made from Hawaiian sugar cane (became largest factory on West Coast in value of output); July 28, 1874 - received a patent for an "Improvement in Processes of manufacturing hard Sugar" ("To make the crystals or grains adhere to each other, so as to be molded, pressed, and dried into hard sugar ...water to do the cleansing and white liquor to give the necessary adhesiveness"); September 30, 1878 - organized Hawaiian Commercial Company; 1881 - organized Oceanic Steamship Company (shipping line between San Francisco, Hawaii); March 31, 1882 - organized Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company as plantation company; 1888 - established Western Beet Sugar Company in Watsonville, CA; 1889-1892 - battled Havemeyer Sugar Trust; 1891 - 50% of California Sugar Refinery acquired by American Sugar Refining Company); renamed Western Sugar Refinery; 1895 - President of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway (acquired by Santa Fe in 1901); August 6, 1896 - incorporated Spreckels Sugar Co., beet sugar company, in Salinas, CA; 1908 - Adolph B. Spreckels (second son) assumed control; 1963 - acquired by American Refining Company (AMSTAR); 1987 - went private in management buyout; renamed Spreckels Industries; 1996 - acquired by Holly Sugar; 2005 - Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative acquired Holly Sugar from Imperial Sugar Company; name changed to Spreckels Sugar Company, Inc. 1863 - German-British Liebig Extract of Meat Company built factory in Fray Bentos, Uruguay (town once known as "The Kitchen of the World"); produced meat extract, tinned beef, by-products, corned beef (initially for working classes, became staple for many people in Britain, continental Europe); 1924 - renamed Anglo Meatpacking plant. November 3, 1863 - J. T. Alden, of Cincinnati, OH, received patent for "Improvement in the Preparation of Yeast"; reduced concentrated yeast from plastic or semi-fluid state to dry granular form, convenient way of preservation for future use. 1865 - Abram Lyle (shipowner, sugar transporter), John Kerr, two partners acquired Glebe Sugar Refinery; 1872 - Lyle sold his shares, looked for site for new refinery; 1883 - Abram Lyle & Sons started melting sugar in Plaistow Refinery (Plaistow Wharf in London's Docklands, mile-and-a-half from Henry Tate's refinery); created Lyle's Golden Syrup (treacly syrup from sugar cane refining process); January 10, 1885 - first packaged in tins; 1904 - "lion and bees" identified with Lyle's Golden Syrup, registered as trademark; November 5, 1912 - Abram Lyle & sons, Limited registered "Lyle's Golden Syrup" trademark in the U. S. first used October 1884 (table-syrup); 1921 - merged with Henry Tate & Sons, formed Tate & Lyle PLC; 2006 - Lyle's Golden Syrup named by Guinness World Records as world's oldest branding/packaging (since 1885). 1865 - Jefferson A. Thompson (Thompson Bros. Cheese Company) started producing California fresh cheese for San Francisco market; created shortage of eggs; sold fresh cheese (later named Breakfast Cheese) to Saloons (served on bar as substitute for pickled eggs), readily consumed by Stevedores (dockworkers); cheese transported by horse, wagon to Petaluma River, taken by The Steamer Gold across bay to Yerba Buena oldest continually operating cheese factory in the United States. 1865 - David F. Bremner opened D.F. Bremner Baking Company in Cairo, IL; 1871 - moved to Chcago to supply bread to devastated public after Great Fire; bread baked with his initials, D.F.B., stamped on the top, became known as "Damn Fine Bread"; 1902 - original Bremner Butter Wafer created; 1905 - sons established their own bakery, called it Bremner Brothers Biscuit Company. 1865 - Douw Ditmars Williamson founded D. D. Williamson & Co., Inc. in New York to manufacture burnt sugars for brewing industry; 1963 - developed double-strength caramel color (largest caramel category on a global basis); 2001 - opened South America's largest caramel color manufacturing operation in Manaus, Brazil; 2007 - leader in caramel color, seven caramel manufacturing sites on five continents. 1866 - William A. Breyer produced, sold dairy product made of cream, pure cane sugar, nuts, fresh fruits, other natural flavorings, from his kitchen in Philadelphia; 1882 - opened retail ice cream store; Louisa Breyer (widow) assumed control; 1904 - began to freeze ice cream by using brine rather than salt, ice; 1908 - incorporated as Breyers Ice Cream Company; 1914 - produced one million gallons annually; July 19, 1921 - registered "Breyer's" trademark first used in May 1912 (ice-ream); 1926 - became division of National Dairy Products Corporation (NDPC, formed in 1923), holding company; 1969 - renamed Kraftco; 1976 - name changed to Kraft, Inc.; 1993 - acquired by Unilever, Inc.; merged with Gold Bond-Good Humor Ice Cream Company (founded 1920 by Harry Burt in Youngstown, OH; acquired in 1961 by Thomas J. Lipton, subsidiary of Unilever), renamed Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream Company. William A. Breyer - Breyer's Ice Cream (http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ChnzYK6ct0LhpM:http://www.goodhumor.com/assets/images/breyers/breyers) 1866 - Druggists Cornelius, Joseph Hoagland (brothers), Thomas Biddle (Fort Wayne, IN) developed powder that revolutionized baking (substitute for yeast sold over-the-counter at drugstore); 1870 - Joseph Hoagland, William Ziegler, John H. Seal organized Royal Chemical Company; 1873 - formed Royal Baking Powder Company; 1888 - Ziegler sold his interest for $4 million; acquired Price Baking Powder Company (Chicago), Tartar Chemical Company (New Jersey); March 1, 1899 - incorporated as consolidation of Royal Baking Powder Company, Cleveland Baking Powder Company, Price Baking Powder Company, Tartar Chemical Company, New York Tartar Company; July 12, 1910 - Royal Baking Powder Company registered "Royal Baking Powder" trademark first used in April 1873 (baking powder); 1929 - merged with Fleischmann Company, Chase and Sanborn, became Standard Brands Incorporated. 1866 - Charles Feltman started as baker on Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY; delivered freshly baked pies to inns, lager-beer saloons that lined Coney Island's beaches; expanded product line to hot sandwiches - built tin-lined chest to keep rolls fresh, small charcoal stove inside to boil sausages; served hot sausage on a roll; 1871 - opened first Coney Island hot dog stand, sold 3,684 dachshund sausages in a milk roll first year; built ocean pavilion ($20,000), hotel, beer gardens, restaurants, food stands, various rides to amuse customers; considered true inventor of hot dog (ten cents).  (http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/graphics/hall_of_fame/banner_feltman.jpg) 1867 - Johann Tobler established Tobler brand of hand-made, specialty candies in Bern, Switzerland; March 30, 1926 - Aktiengesellschaft Chocolat Tobler registered "Toblerone" trademark first used February 11, 1909 (chocolate and cocoa). Johann Tobler - Toblerone (http://www.chocolat-villars.com/typo3temp/pics/4eac8bf59b.jpg) 1868 - Henri Nestle opened office in London to cope with quantity of orders for farine lactate (based, as he put it, on wholesome Swiss milk and cereal component) for mothers unable to breastfeed; 1873 - exported to South America, Australia; 1874 - sold company for million francs; November 25, 1884 - Henri Nestle (composed of Jules Monnerat, Louis Roussy, and Henry Marguys) registered "Nestle" trademark (condensed milk); 1905 - acquired Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk; 1929 - acquired chocolate makers Peter, Cailler and Kohler, pioneers in making milk chocolate; 1938 - launched Nescafe, world's first instant coffee; mid-1960s - Switzerland's biggest company, multinational with over 200 factories around world. 1868 - Edmund McIlhenny founded McIlhenny Company at Avery Island, LA; legend: obtained hot pepper seeds from traveler recently arrived in Louisiana from Central America; planted seeds on Avery Island, experimented with pepper sauce recipes; named one he liked, TABASCO Sauce (state of Tabasco in Mexico, where seeds allegedly came from); September 27, 1870 - McIlhenny, of New Iberia, LA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Pepper-Sauce" ("new process for preparing an aromatic and strong sauce from the pepper known in the market as Tabasco pepper. This pepper is as strong as Cayenne pe, but of finer flavor"); unique formula for processing peppers into pepper sauce; Avery Island factory produces more than 700,000 bottles of Tabasco sauce daily; February 1, 1927 - registered "Tabasco" trademark first used in 1868 (pepper sauce). 1868 - Charles and Maximilian Fleischmann, immigrants from Austria-Hungary, James F. Gaff of Cincinnati, founded Gaff, Fleischmann & Co. in Riverside, OH; May 1876 - exhibited Model Vienna Bakery at Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia (10 million visitors); introduced first compressed yeast (Viennese production) sold in North America; February 14, 1922 - The Fleischmann Company registered "Fleischmann's" trademark first used January 1, 1876 (compressed yeast and yeast mixtures, adapted for use as food alone or for use in the making of bread and bread stuffs or other food products); June 1929 - absorbed four smaller corporations (Royal Baking Powder Company, E.W. Gillette Company Ltd. of Canada, The Widlar Food Products Company, Chase and Sanborn, Inc.); formed Standard Brands, Incorporated; 2004 - acquired by Associated British Foods. Charles Fleischmann - yeast (http://www.microsour.com/ images/yeast_7.jpg) 1868 - Etienne Guittard opened Guittard Chocolate on Sansome Street, San Francisco; 1950s - Horace A. Guittard (grandson) became President; 1955 - relocated factory to Burlingame; remained one of foremost suppliers of fine chocolate to professionals in pastry, confectionery, ice cream trades; oldest family owned, operated chocolate company in U.S. Etienne Guittard - Guittard Chocolate Company (http://www.guittard.com/images/history/history10.jpg) 1868 - Arthur Albion Libby began barreling beef; formed A. A, Libby & Company with brother, Charles Perly Libby; admitted Archibald McNeill to partnership; 1874 - name changed to Libby, McNeill and Libby in Chicago. IL; pioneered refrigeration, canning of meats; 1888 - acquired by Swift & Co.; 1900 - began canning fruits, vegetables; 1918 - spun off from Swift; June 8, 1920 - Libby, McNeill & Libby Corporation registered "Libby's" trademark first used 1894 ([fresh], prepared, [pickled, and] canned beef, [veal,] pork, [mutton, and] poultry and their products...); 1971 - canned fruit, vegetable business acquired by Nestle, annual sales close to $500 million, 1,300 workers in Chicago area; 1998 - canned meats division acquired by ConAgra. 1868 - Edouard Naegelin, Sr. (24) opened Naegelin's Bakery in New Braunfels, TX; January 1, 1924 - Edward and Laura Naegelin took over management; early 1980s - acquired by Granzin Family; oldest bakery in Texas. June 16, 1868 - William Davis, fish dealer in Detroit, MI, received a patent for an "Improvement in Preserving Meats, etc." ("peculiar construction of a railroad-car, box, chest or room in which to preserve animal or vegetable substances from decay for a certain reasonable time, to allow them to be transported from place to place or kept in store in a sweet and fresh condition"); refrigerated railroad car; January 19, 1869 - received a patent for an "Improvement in Freezing-Box for Fish, etc." ("freezing-box or pan for freezing fish and meats"). 1869- Henry John Heinz and L. Clarence Noble established Heinz & Noble in Sharpsburg, PA to bottle horseradish; 1875 - forced into bankruptcy; 1876 - established F. & J. Heinz (financial assistance from brother John, cousin Frederick), introduced tomato ketchup, six other products (celery sauce, pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut, vinegar); 1886 - Fortnum & Mason, England's leading food purveyor, accepted all seven products for distribution; 1888 - acquired controlling interest from brother, renamed H. J. Heinz; 1893 - introduced pickle pin at Chicago World's Fair; 1896 - introduced "57 Varieties" slogan; December 28, 1897 - Henry J. Heinz registered "Heinz" trademark first used June 1, 1893 (pickles, vinegar, sauces, catsups [horse radish ], prepared mustard, [mince-meat, preserves, jellies, marmalades, jams, and fruit butters]; March 5, 1907 - H. J. Heinz Corporation registered "57 Varieties" trademark first used in 1898; February 25, 1908 - H. J. Heinz Corporation registered "Heinz 57 Varieties Pure Food Products" trademark first used in May 1900; 1963 - acquired StarKist, "Charlie the Tuna" became national media star; 1965 - acquired Ore-Ida, transformed regional business into leading retail frozen potato brand in U.S.; 1978 - acquired Weight Watchers International, now largest weight-loss program in U.S.; 1987 - Anthony ('Tony') O'Reilly first non-Heinz family member named Chairman, President and CEO; 2002 - U.S. StarKist seafood, North American pet foods and pet snacks, U.S. private label soup, College Inn broth, U.S. baby food businesses acquired by Del Monte Foods Company. Henry John Heinz and L. Clarence Noble (front center, front right, respectively)  - founded Heinz & Noble (http://doclibrary.com/MFR66/CMM/relishing.jpg) 1869 - Joseph Campbell, fruit merchant, and Abraham Anderson, icebox manufacturer, formed Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company in Camden, New Jersey, to produce canned tomatoes, vegetables, jellies, soups, condiments, minced meats; 1876 - Campbell bought Anderson's share of company; formed partnership with Arthur Dorrance; 1891 -renamed Jos. Campbell Preserve Company; 1897 - Dr. John T. Dorrance (24), chemist and nephew of company GM, joined company at token wage of $7.50 a week; invented condensed soup; eliminated water in canned soup, lowered costs for packaging, shipping, storage (volume of can of soup reduced from 32 ounces to approximately 10 ounces, and the price lowered from about 34 cents to a dime); October 31, 1905 - Joseph H. Campbell Company registered "Campbell's" trademark first used in 1898 (baked beans); September 1, 1910 - Heinz tomato soup went on sale in UK for first time, at Fortnum & Mason; 1914 - Dr. Dorrance named President; 1921 - company renamed Campbell Soup Company; 1931 - Arthur C. Dorrance (brother) succeeded as president. Dr. Joseph Campbell, Abraham Anderson - Campbell Soup (http://careers.campbellsoupcompany.com/Styles/Sites/Campbells/Images/1869.jpg) Dr. John T. Dorrance - Campbell Soup (http://careers.campbellsoupcompany.com/Styles/Sites/Campbells/Images/1897.jpg) (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njcamden/arthurcdorrance.gif) 1869 - Charles Alfred (C. A.) Pillsbury (27) bought one-third interest in failing Minneapolis Flouring Mill for $10,000 (made profit within year); 1872 - produced 2,000 barrels of flour a day; reorganized company as C.A. Pillsbury and Company, made father and uncle partners; August 8, 1905 - registered trademark; 1889 - mills acquired by English financial syndicate, renamed Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company Ltd.; 1896 - produced 10,000-barrels-per-day; 1908 - entered bankruptcy (freight rates, poor harvest); Charles S. Pillsbury (son) reorganized company, renamed Pillsbury Flour Mills Company; June 27, 1923 - acquired all remaining assets from shareholders of Pillsbury-Washburn; 1927 - went public; 1940 - Philip W. Pillsbury (grandson) became president; 1944 - changed name to Pillsbury Mills, Inc.; 1979 - acquired Green Giant; October 1965 - introduced little dough-boy mascot; 1983 - acquired HagenDazs ice cream; 1984 - acquired Van de Kamp, seafood company; 1989 - acquired by Grand Metropolitan for $5.8 billion (8th largest food manufacturing company in world); 1997 - Grand Met merged with Guinness plc; formed Diageo plc; November 2001 - acquired by General Mills for $10.4 billion. 1869 - Gustav (24), Albert (21) Goelitz, immigrants from the Harz Mountain region of Germany, bought an ice cream and candy store in a Belleville, IL (above); Gustave made candy, Albert sold it from a horsedrawn wagon; 1897 - forced to sell business in wake of Panic of 1893; 1898 - Adolph (Gustave's son) established Goelitz Confectionery Co., candy making company, in Cincinnati, OH; Gus Jr. and Herman Goelitz (brothers) joined company; 1900 - made Candy Corn; 1922 - Herman opened Herman Goelitz Candy Co. in Oakland, CA; 1976 - Los Angeles candy distributor had idea for jelly bean made with natural flavorings; created first eight Jelly Belly flavors; 1978 - Goelitz Confectionary merged with Herman Goelitz Candy Co.; renamed Herman Goelitz, Inc.; 1980 - sold 1.4 billion jelly beans annually; August 3, 1982 - Herman Goelitz Candy Co. registered "Jelly Belly" trademark first used July 15, 1976 (Candy-Namely, Jelly Beans); April 2001 - Goelitz companies merged into Jelly Belly Candy Company; two factories produce 100,000 pounds of Jelly Belly beans a day, 1.25 million beans an hour; world's #1 gourmet jelly bean; Herm Rowland (Gustave's great grandson) as president. Gustav Goelitz - Jelly Belly (http://www.germanheritage.com/biographies/atol/goelitz1.jpg) June 10, 1869 - Machine-frozen food transported significant distance in U.S. for first time; frozen shipment of Texas beef (refrigeration equipment invented by John Gorrie) delivered via steamship ('Agnes') to New Orleans, LA; meat served in meals at hospitals, celebration banquets at hotels, restaurants. October 20, 1869 - Hippolyte Mege-Mouries received a 15-year French patent for "Demande d'un Brevet d'Invention de Quinze Ans pour la Production de Certains Corps Gras d'Origine Animale" from French Ministry of Agriculture and Trade (processing, production of certain fats of animal origin (patent also registered in England); 1870 - won contest, held by Emperor Napoleon III, to find suitable substitute for butter used by French Navy; 1871 - invention acquired by Dutch firm Anton Jurgens (later Unilever) for 60000 Francs; April 12, 1872 - French government permitted commercial sale of margarine (after Felix Henri Boudet, French druggist retained by government, reported favorably on product); 1873 - Mege formed Societe Anonyme d'Alimentation; began production of formula with fatty component with pearly luster when mixed (named product after Greek word for pearl - margaritari); manufactured from tallow; December 30, 1873 - received American patent for "Improvement in Treating Animal Fats"; acquired by U.S. Dairy Company. December 28, 1869 - William Finley Semple, of Mount Vernon, OH, received first patent for "Improved Chewing-Gum"; made of "the combination of rubber with other articles adapted to the formation of an acceptable chewing gum"; he never commercially produced gum. 1870 - Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker bought 160 bunches of bananas in Jamaica for a shilling per bunch, sold them in Jersey City for $2 each; joined Bostonian entrepreneur Andrew Preston to develop banana market in Boston; 1885 - established Boston Fruit Company; Preston took charge of tropical enterprises, Baker controlled management in Boston; 1899 - Minor Copper Keith, 50% owner of Snyder Banana Co. (produced bananas on 6,000 acres at Bocas del Toro, Panama), merged with Boston Fruit; controlled 75% of banana market in U.S.; March 30, 1899 - United Fruit Company established; 1944 -hired cartoonist Dik Browne (creator of Hagar the Horrible) to create cartoon based on Latin American singer, movie star Carmen Miranda; 1945 - character of Miss Chiquita Banana debuted in technicolor movie advertisement "Miss Chiquita Banana's Beauty Treatment" (sang to revive an exhausted housewife); April 12, 1949 - United Fruit Company registered "Chiquita Banana" trademark first used September 11, 1947 (fresh bananas); 1962 - created individual banana sticker label (small blue stickers with Chiquita logo affixed to fruit to promote consumption of its branded banana); 1969 - Eli Black acquired 733,000 shares in one trading day (3rd largest transaction in Wall Street history to date), became largest shareholder; March 1973 - Dole moved to first place in U. S. sales (45%) ahead of United Brands (35%); February 3, 1975 - Black committed suicide, jumped from 44th floor of Pan Am building in New York (SEC accused United Brands of bribing President of Honduras, Osvaldo Lopez Arellano ($1.25 million with promise of another $1.25 million later, in exchange for a reduction in export taxes); 1975 - Carl Lindner, one of biggest investors, became new President; 1989 - name changed to Chiquita Brands International Incorporated; 1990 - returned to number one banana importer (33% share of world's market), Dole (22%); June 10, 2005 - Wal-Mart, Chiquita's biggest U. S. customer, decreased its banana purchases = 33% decrease in Chiquita banana U. S. sales (cheaper bananas from competitors). 1870 - William Underwood & Co. received first U.S. food trademark registered by U.S. Patent Office, for red devil logo (for "deviled entremets"); 1895 - advertising with little red devil began to appear nationally; oldest existing trademark still in use in United States. 1870 - Pembroke Decatur Gwaltney, Sr., Confederate veteran, formed partnership with O.G. Delk (cousin), named Gwaltney and Delk; retail mercantile business sold cured and smoked hams, produced smoked ham known as "Smithfield Ham"; 1875 - Delk share acquired by Gwaltney (store, smokehouse, shed, wharf property); renamed "P.D. Gwaltney & Co."; 1880 - formed partnership, "Gwaltney, Chapman and Company"; set up peanut cleaning plant (peanut sorting, cleaning machines) and warehouse on Pagan Creek; 1882 - P.D. Gwaltney and P.D. Gwaltney, Jr. (21) went into business together; renamed P.D. Gwaltney and Sons (sold groceries, dry goods, general merchandising - fertilizer, fine Smithfield Hams as "specialties"); 1891 - with Augustus Bunkley incorporated Gwaltney-Bunkley Peanut Company in Norfolk, VA (returned to Smithfield after fire); 1902 - turned ham into promotional tool ("World's Oldest Smithfield Ham" still on display); 1911 - merged with American Peanut (Norfolk, VA), Bain Peanut (Wakefield, VA), formed American Peanut Corporation; 1914 - P.D. Gwaltney, Jr. took over; sold peanut factories to American Peanut Corporation; expanded ham industry (pork-processing operations); 1921 - fire wiped out local peanut industry; 1926 - Virginia enacted law defining Genuine Smithfield Meats as peanut-fed hogs raised in Virginia or North Carolina, cured in town limits; July 28, 1931 - P.D. Gwaltney Jr. & Co., Inc. registered "Gwaltney's Smithfield Ham" trademark first used in 1882 (cured meats-namely, hams); 1936 - Howard W. Gwaltney became president, Julius D. Gwaltney vice president, P.D. Gwaltney, III, secretary/treasurer and chairman; 1957 - name changed to "Gwaltney, Inc."; 1970 - merged with International Telephone and Telegraph Corp., renamed ITT Gwaltney Inc.; October 27, 1981 - acquired by Smithfield Foods, Inc.; name changed to Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. 1871 - Charles Alfred Pillsbury, brother Fred, father George, uncle John Sargent Pillsbury founded C. A. Pillsbury & Co. in Minneapolis; November 19, 1940 - Pillsbury Flour Mills Company registered "Pillsbury's Best XXXX" trademark (flour made from wheat; brand first used January 1, 1873); 1989 - acquired by Grand Metropolitan PLC in $5.76 billion hostile takeover. 1871 - Dr. James Madison Dawson, his wife Eloise Jones Dawson, their son Thomas Dawson established first successful commercial canning operation in Santa Clara Valley (300 cases of peaches, apricots, pears, plums processed in woodshed in Dawson's backyard); 1872 - founded J. M. Dawson & Co.; 1875 - incorporated as San Jose Fruit Packing Company; 1889 - joined forces with 17 other small companies, formed California Fruit Canners Association; 1916 - Tom Dawson as general superintendent of California Packing Corporation (Del Monte premium brand); 1967 - name changed to Del Monte Corp. 1871 - Charles Schimpff (son of Gustav Schimpff, Sr., who had been making candy in Louisville since the 1850s) opened confectionary store in Jeffersonville, IN; April 11, 1891 - Gustav Schimpff, Sr. and Jr. established G.A. Schimpff's Confectionery in Jeffersonville in rented storefront; 1918 - Gus Jr. and wife Louisa Weber Schimpff primary owners; 1940s - Catherine and Wig Schimpff (grand children), and Sonny Schimpff (great grandson) became working partners; 1952 - Sonny took over as candy maker; 1990 - acquired from Catherine's estate by Warren Schimpff (grandson) and his wife, Jill Wagner Schimpff. Gustav Schimpff, Sr. - G.A. Schimpff's Confectionery (http://www.schimpffs.com/images/GusSR.gif) January 3, 1871 - Henry Bradley, of Binghamton, NY, received patent for "Improvement in Compounds for Culinary Use"; oleomargarine. February 14, 1871 - Thomas Adams, of Hudson City, NJ, received patent for "Improvement in Chewing-Gum" ("method of producing the natural product 'chickly' to produce a chewing-gum"); first chicle-based chewing gum, "Adams' New York Gum No. 1 -- Snapping and Stretching" (from Sapodilla trees (introduced to it by exiled Mexican, former president and general, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in 1869). February 1871 - Adams New York Gum went on sale in drug stores for penny apiece; 1876 - glass merchant Thomas Adams, two sons, formed Adams Sons and Company; 1884 - added licorice flavoring, called Adams' Black Jack, first flavored gum in America; 1888 - introduced irst vending machines to United States, installed on elevated subway platforms in New York City, sold Tutti-Fruiti gum; 1899 - merged with six largest, best-known chewing gum manufacturers in United States and Canada (Beeman, Primley, S.T. Britten, Frank Fleer Company); formed monopoly, American Chicle Company; nation's most prosperous chewing gum company by end of century; achieved great success as the maker of Chiclets; 1962 - acquired by Warner-Lambert; 2002 - acquired by Cadbury Schweppes for $4.2 billion; 2004 -number one worldwide in confectionery (leader in functional confectionery, number two in chewing gum). 1872 - Christian Ditlev Ammentorp (D. A.) Hansen, Danish pharmacist from University of Copenhagen, awarded gold medal for chemical treatise (procedure to extract pure, standardized rennet enzyme from calves' stomachs, used to make cheese.); revolutionized production of dairy products; 1874 - established rennet factory in Copenhagen; 1878 - established processing plant in New York City; 1886 - introduced Junket brand (initially in form of rennet tablets); 1891 - built factory in Little Falls, NY; November 30, 1897 - Johan D. Frederiksen, vice-president and general manager of Chr. Hansen's Laboratory, Little Falls, NY, registered "Junket" trademark" ("milk with rennet") first used April 1887 (preparations for coagulating or curdling milk); one of world's top 15 food ingredients companies; global market leader within enzymes for cheese production, bacterial cultures for cheese, yoghurt, wine and meat products, natural colors for the food and beverage industries and special products for the health food and agricultural industries. 1872 - Chocolates Arumi founded in Barcelona city of Vic, Spain; 1977 - acquired by Nederland Group, renamed Chocovic, S.A.; 2008 - annual sales of about EUR 60 million, 120 employees, made about 30,000 tons of chocolate, specialty products for industrial and artisanal customers; November 3, 2009 - signed agreement to be acquired by Barry Callebaut (Zurich, Switzerland). July 9, 1872 - Captain John F. Blondel (Thomaston, ME) received a patent for "Improvement in Doughnut-Cutters", "an improved device for removing the dough from the cutter-tube automatically"; origin of doughnut as a deep-fried egg-batter pastry was from Holland with the Dutch name of olykoeks -- "oily cakes." 1847 - New England ship captain Hanson Gregory enjoyed his mother's pastries made using a deep-fried spiced dough; Elizabeth Gregory put hazelnuts or walnuts in the center, where the dough might not cook through ("doughnuts"); Captain Gregory claimed credit for originating the hole in the doughnut; originally cut hole using top of a round tin pepper box, made more uniform frying possible with increased surface area; commemorated by a bronze plaque at his hometown, Rockport, Maine. April 8, 1873 - Alfred Paraf, of New York, NY, received a patent for an "Improvement in Purifying and Separating Fats"; first commercially successful margarine manufacturing process; federal and state taxes were levied when its success threatened butter sales. November 4, 1873 - Anthony Iske, of Lancaster, PA, received a patent for "Machines for Slicing Dried Beef"; oblique knife in vertical sliding frame. June 1, 1875 - Black American inventor Alexander P. Ashbourne, of Oakland, CA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Processes for Preparing Cocoa-Nut for Domestic Use"; November 30, 1875 - received a U.S. patent for a "Biscuit Cutter". November 30, 1875 - Asmus J. Ehrrichson, of Akron, Ohio, received a patent for an "Oat-Meal Machine" ("process of converting the hulled kernels of oats into coarse meal"); oat-crushing machine. November 30, 1875 - Alexander P. Ashbourne, of Oakland, CA, received a patent for "Biscuit-Cutters" ("molding-board, having hinged to one side or end a cover, which is provided with the desired shaped cutters upon its lower side"); plate closed over dough, allowed cutters to cut through dough, formed many shapes simultaneously. 1876 - Charles and Maxmillian Fleischmann introduced new yeast to 10 million visitors to Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition; February 14, 1922 - The Fleischmann Company registered "Fleischmann's" trademark first used January 1, 1876 (compressed yeast and yeast mixtures, adapted for use as food alone or for use in the making of bread and bread stuffs or other food products); June 1929 - absorbed four smaller corporations (Royal Baking Powder Company, E.W. Gillette Company Ltd. of Canada, The Widlar Food Products Company, Chase and Sanborn, Inc.); formed Standard Brands, Incorporated. February 17, 1876 - Julius Wolff, of Wolff & Reessing, New York importers, produced the first canned sardines in Eastport, Maine; 1875 - established Eagle Preserved Fish Company; first year - 60,000 cans (not cases) packed and sold; 1880 - 18 factories operated; 1881-1898 - 23 sardine factories operated in Lubec, ME. 1878 - Giuseppe Citterio established Giuseppe Citterio S. p. A. in Milan, Italy; December 25, 1956 - Societa in Accomandita Giuseppe Citterio Corporation registered "Citterio il Salame Famoso in Tutto Ilmondo" (The Salami Which Is Famous Thgroughout the World) trademark (salamis). 1879 - Rudolph Lindt invented "conching" machine; improved quality, aroma of chocolate confectionery; rocked chocolate for 72 hours; improved flavor, attained high degree of smoothness (vs. coarse, gritty); smooth substance called "fondant" or "melting". February 4, 1879 - John H. Heinz, of Sharpsburg, PA, received a patent for an "Improvement in Vegetable-Assorters" ("machines for assorting vegetables, fruits, pickles etc. according to their size"). February 27, 1879 - American chemists Ira Remsen, Constantine Fahlberg announced discovery of saccharin, artificial sweetener, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. November 4, 1879 - Thomas Elkins, of Albany, NY, received a patent for a "Refrigerating Apparatus" ("apparatus or devices for chilling or cooling articles liable to decay"). 1880 - Samuel Bath Thomas purchased bakery at 163 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan (arrived from England in 1876); featured Thomas' English muffins (unknown in England), baked on griddle instead of in oven; alternative to toast; 1922 - family incorporated S.B. Thomas, Inc. (after his death); August 3, 1926 - registered "Thomas'" trademark firsts used 1894 (bread); 1970 - acquired by CPC, food conglomerate; January 1, 1998 - renamed Bestfoods. 1880 - New York cheese distributor, A. L. Reynolds, began distributing cream cheese, produced by William Lawrence, of Chester, NY (had developed method of producing cream cheese in 1872, under Empire Company, while trying to reproduce French cheese called Neufchatel); 1903 - acquired by Phenix Cheese Corporation (Chicago); January 1928 - acquired by Kraft Cheese Company; 1930 - Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corporation acquired by National Dairy Products Corporation (formed in 1923 as merger of several dairy companies); 1940 - name changed to Kraft Cheese Company; December 16, 1941 - registered "Philadelphia Brand" trademark first used September 1, 1880 (cream cheese); 1945 - name changed to Kraft Foods Company; 1969 - National Dairy renamed Kraftco Corporation; 1976 - renamed Kraft, Inc. February 2, 1880 - First shipment of frozen meat (exports of meat had previously been in tins) arrived in London from Melbourne, Australia (departed December 6, 1879); steamship SS Strathleven had been chartered, fitted with Bell and Coleman (of Glasgow) air compression/expansion refrigeration equipment; meat loaded from chill rooms in Sydney and Melbourne and frozen on board; arrived in excellent condition and sold well. March 23, 1880 - John Stevens of Neenah, WI received patent for a "Grain-Crushing Roll"; grain crushing mill; allowed flour production to increase by 70% and for flour to sell for $2 per barrel. July 27, 1880 - African-American inventor Alexander P. Ashbourne, of Boston, MA, received patent for "Refining Cocoanut Oil" ("so that it will keep sweet and fresh for many years"). 1881 - Mathias Gedney began pickle company in Minneapolis, MN; made recipes for pickles, condiments; 1882 - delivered, sold directly from horse-driven "cash wagons"; 1893 - four sons involved in company; production exceeds annual 30,000 barrels of homemade, sweet, mixed and chow-chow, American and English-style pickles; 1903 - M.A. Gedney Company incorporated; October 30, 1906 - M. A. Gedney Pickling Co. registered "Gedney" trademark first used July 12, 1888 (pickles, [pickled onions, catsup, olives, chow-chow,] mustard, [pepper-sauce, chili sauce,] and vinegar); 1945 - Harry Tuttle II (son-in-law of Mathias Gedney son) became President; 1967 - Gedney Tuttle (son, started with company in 1942) named president of firm; 1992 - product distribution mainly through food brokers to wholesale distributors, chain stores; 1998 - Jeff Tuttle (grandson) named President; 2000 - acquired Cains Foods pickle business, trademark, began producing pickles throughout New England; 2002 - began production of Del Monte, Target Archer Farms pickles; 2008 - produced more than 20 million jars/year of 78 products; state's oldest food company with one primary product. 1881 - Valeriano Lopez Lloret founded small family business, Chocolates Valor, in Spain; 1891- Don Vicente Lopez Soler (son of Done Valeriano Lopez Lloret) took charge, carried on with agriculture activity; 1916 - capstan mill, large wheel moved by team of horses, replaced simple grindstone; 1930 - diesel motor replaced team of horses on capstan mill; sales no longer made directly to families, channelled through shops and businesses; 1935 - electricity; 1942 - Don Pedro Lopez Mayor took over, formed partnership Don Valeriano Lopez (brother); 1950 - Don Valeriano Lopez Lloret, cousin of founders, grandson of first chocolate maker, joined company; 1953 - incorporated "Valeriano and Pedro Lopez SRC; 1963 - built new factory, on 6,000 square meter plot of land, in Les Mediasses, Villajoyosa; 1968 - installed first automatic moulding, demoulding equipment (factory production capacity at 10,000 kilograms per 8-hour day); launched 'Pure Chocolate' to highlight its rejection of use of vegetable fats as substitute for cocoa butter; became key product of company; 1973 - went public; November 27, 1984 - Valeriano Y Pedro Lopez, S.A.b registered "Valor" trademark in U.S. (Chocolates, Candy Bars of Chocolate and Cocoa); September 1987 - invested over 300 million pesetas (over 1.8 million euros) in first phase of modernization plan; opened first Valor Chocolate Shop, start of first chocolate shop franchise in Spain, in Villajoyosa; November 16, 1990 - opened new plant ion second phase of modernization (invested over 400 million pesetas - over 12 million euros); most modern chocolate factory in Spain; September 29, 1995 - added new extension to plant (occupied total surface area of 22,000 square meters); 2002 - launched commercial subsidiary Valor USA Inc. to distribute product in Central, North American markets. Don Valeriano Lopez Lloret - Valor Chocolates (http://www.valorchocolate.com/img/about/1881.jpg) July 8, 1881 - Edward Berner, druggist of Two Rivers, WI, served first ice cream sundae -- by acciden; put ice cream in dish, poured flavoring syrup, for soda water, on top (not allowed on Sundays). 1882 - George Weston (18), Toronto baker's apprentice, acquired bread route from his employer for $200; 1896 - established "Weston's Model Bakery"; eventually expanded to Montreal, Winnipeg; 1910 - merged with other major Toronto bakers, formed Canada Bread Company for $1 million Canadian; signed 10-year non-compete agreement; 1921 - reentered bread business with purchase of H.C. Tomlin bread bakery; 1928 - Garfield Weston (son) incorporated company as George Weston Limited, went public; 1935 - established operations in United Kingdom; incorporated Associated British Foods plc (seven bakery subsidiaries); 1938 - facilities, resources to produce 370 varieties of candy, 100 types of biscuits; 1943 - acquired papermaker E.B. Eddy; 1944 - entered food distribution with purchase of Western Grocers; 1953 - gained majority control of Loblaw, food retailer, distributor; 1978 - Loblaw launched No Name private label (low prices, clean and simple packaging, high quality); 1984 - Loblaws introduced premium private label called President's Choice; 1986 - food processing operations consolidated within umbrella subsidiary called Weston Foods Ltd. (baking and milling, biscuits, chocolate, dairy, specialty products, providing food and ingredients both to intermediate processors and directly to consumers); 1990s - divestment, return to core competencies, reduced company to majority ownership of Loblaw and food processing businesses, focused on bakery products, cookies, milk, fish; December 1998 - Loblaws acquired Provigo for $890 million Canadian, gained number one supermarket chain in Quebec, Canada-wide retail network, dominating 40% nationwide market share; 1999 - sales rose 41% to $20.85 billion Canadian; 2003 - sales of $29.2 billion Canadian. George Weston - George Weston Limited (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/George_weston_1899.jpg) 1882 - William Purvis brought macadamia seeds from Queensland to US Territory of Hawaii, planted seedlings on big island, Hawaii, at Kapulena near Waipi'o Valley; cultivated in Australia during mid 1800s by Scottish doctor (died at sea traveling from Australia to New Zealand), John Macadam; 1857 - botanist friend, Baron Ferdinand von Muller, first described tree botanically; earned right to name it - chose "Macadamia" in honor of his friend, Macadam. 1882 - Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, Isaac (24) and Joseph Breakstone (Breakstone Bros., Inc.), opened small dairy store at 135 Madison Street on New York's lower east side; sold full dairy line including cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese; 1896 - started wholesale butter business under name Breakstone Brothers at 29 Jay Street, Brooklyn; 1928 - acquired by National Dairy Products Corporation; 1940 - name changed to Kraft Cheese Company; August 6, 1957 - National Dairy Products Corporation registered "Breakstone's" trademark first used in 1884 (butter, sour cream, cheese); 1976 - renamed Kraft, Inc. 1883 - German immigrant Oscar F. Mayer and his brother, Gottfried, leased Kolling Meat Market, small retail store in German neighborhood on Chicago's near north side; 1904 - branded its meats (put name on products); 1919 - name changed to Oscar Meyer & Co.; 1924 - introduced packaged sliced bacon (December 19, 1967 - patent for "Method of Preparing Packaged Sliced Bacon" assigned to company); May 9, 1939 - registered "Oscar Mayer" trademark first used January 1, 1885 (meats and meat products); September 29, 1942 - registered 'Little Oscar' trademark (meat products -namely, sausage, ham bacon, beef loaves and meat loaves); goodwill ambassador dressed as a chef who would drive his sausage-shaped WIENERMOBILE to store openings, children's hospitals, and other locations throughout the Chicago area; 1963 - "The Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle" made radio debut; 1981 - acquired by General Foods. Oscar F. Meyer (http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/oscarfmayer88_edited_1.jpg) 1883 - J. Allen Smith (from Elberton, GA), organized, built City Mills, later called J. Allen Smith & Co., grain business, in Knoxville, TN; began milling a soft-wheat flour; named it for his wife, Lillie; produced 100 barrels of flour, 200 bushels of cornmeal a day; became known as the Sunday flour; only major brand in United States milled entirely from soft winter wheat (contains less gluten than hard wheat), flakier biscuits and piecrusts; best-selling flour in southeastern United States; 1920 - Powell Smith (son) became owner; 1968 - acquired by Great Western United Corp.; 1972 - acquired by Dixie-Portland Flour Mills (Memphis); 1988 - 68.5% of retail market in Knoxville, fourth-largest-selling brand of flour nationally; 1989-1995 - five ownership changes; 1995 - acquired by H. Guenther & Son Inc. (San Antonio); 2006 - White Lily brand name acquired by J. M. Smucker Company (H. Guenther & Son Inc. continues as owner of mill, supplier of White Lily products); March 2008 - Smucker ended supply agreement; June 30, 2008 - mill closed. February 5, 1884 - Black American inventor Willis Johnson, of Cincinnati, Ohio, received patent for an "Egg-Beater"; designed so that eggs, batter and similar ingredients used by bakers or confectioners could be mixed intimately efficiently. May 20, 1884 - Lockrum Blue, of Washington, DC, received a patent for a "Hand Corn-Shelling Device" ("for rapidly and effectually removing the grain from ears of corn"). 1885 - Brothers Pierre and Marius Barnier established artisan confectionary company in Rouen, France; produced bonbons under name of Bonbons Suisse; 1900 - acquired by Eugene Callet, wholesaler in confections in Nantes, renamed Bonbons Barnier; 1930 - first machines to wrap bonbons; introduced filled candies; 1969 -created 'mini bonbon'; 2007 - managed by fourth Callet generation. 1885 - John Baptist Caito and family started Western Fish Company in Pittsburg, CA; processed salmon caught in in Sacramento River; 1906 - earthquake destroyed production facility; formed California Western Fish Company; 1975 - fourth-generation Caito Brothers (Joe, Jim & John) took over operation; process millions of pounds of crab, cod, snapper, salmon at five locations along West Coast. 1885 - Farmer Arthur Charles Wilkin, two friends formed Britannia Fruit Preserving Company; made first batch of strawberry jam in Tiptree, Essex, UK; 1901 - 8,000 customers; 1905 - renamed Wilkin & Sons Limited; 1911 - King George V awarded Royal Warrant; 1913 - Charles J. Wilkin (son) became Chairman; 1920 - sales exceeded �100,000, over 200,000 customers; 1942 - T.G. Wilkin appointed director, A. F. Wilkin appointed chairman; September 30, 1952 - Wilkin & Sons Limited registered "Tiptree" trademark first used 1904 (fruit conserves, Jams, Marmalades, preserved fruits, fruit preserves, and vegetable preserves and honey and chutney); 1954 - HM the Queen awarded Royal Warrant for supply of Jam & Marmalade; 1971 - Peter Wilkin (great-grandson) appointed director; 1980 - sales exceeded �5million, exports to over 50 countries; 2009 - more than 200 full-time employees. Arthur Charles Wilkin - Tiptree (http://tiptreegardenclub.com/images/wilkin.jpg) 1886 - Milton Hershey founded Lancaster Caramel Company in Lancaster, PA; 1894 - produced sweet chocolate as coating for caramels; called new subsidiary Hershey Chocolate Company; August 10, 1900 - Lancaster Caramel Company acquired for $1 million by The American Caramel Company; produced low-cost, high-quality milk chocolate in bars, wafers, other shapes; March 2, 1903 - ground breaking for new chocolate factory in Derry Church, PA (renamed Hershey in 1906); 1905 - town of Hershey took shape; June 19, 1906 - Milton S. Hershey (dba Hershey Chocolate Company) registered "Hershey's" trademark first used January 1, 1894 (chocolate, cocoa, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate coatings, chocolate liquors, and chocolate powder); July 1, 1907 - produced flat-bottomed, conical milk chocolate candy, named Hershey's Kisses Chocolates; November 15, 1909 - deeded 486 acres of farm land to Hershey Trust Company for creation of orphan boys' school; November 13, 1918 - gave $60 million in Hershey Chocolate Company stock to trust; March 6, 1923 - Hershey Chocolate Co. registered 'Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses' trademark first used July 1, 1907 (chocolates) and Hershey's Kisses" (solid chocolates); 1969 - sales of $334 million; 2004 - sales of $4.4 billion. Milton Hershey - chocolate (http://www.hersheypa.com/about_hershey/our_proud_history/images/ featureMiltonHershey.jpg) 1886 - Alphonse Biardot, French immigrant, founded Franco-American Food Company with his two sons as commercial kitchen in Jersey City, NJ; featured French foods; line of canned soup and pasta particularly successful; 1921 - acquired by Campbell Soup; November 15, 1955 - registered "Franco-American" trademark first used in May 1911 (spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, macaroni, and beef gravy); November 19, 2004 - name discontinued. 1886 - David L. Clark opened D. L. Clark Company candy business in Pittsburgh, PA; 1917 - introduced first five-cent candy bar, Clark bar; honeycombed ground roasted peanuts, covered with milk chocolate. 1886 - Del Monte Brand first appeared, property of Tillman & Bendel, Oakland-based firm, which used it for blend of coffee prepared for luxury Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, CA; later used by Oakland Preserving Company; 1889 - Marco Fontana, Italian immigrant, Antonio Cerruti founded California Fruit Canners Association (Oakland Preserving Company, San Jose Fruit Packing Company, 15 others); set purchase prices for crops that challenged those set by growers' cooperatives; canneries soon became largest food processing corporation in world; marketed premium brand under Del Monte label; January 1, 1918 - California Packing Corporation registered "Del Monte" trademark first used October 1, 1891 (canned fruits, canned vegetables, canned fish, tomato sauce, catsup, peppers, sauerkraut, dried fruits, raisins). April 1886 - Charles F. Moore, started St. Clair Rock Salt Co. in St. Clair, MI; May 1886 - renamed Diamond Crystal Salt Company; used Alberger process to make flake salt instead of granule or cube salt (99.99% pure sodium chloride vs. 99.95% for granule salt); produced unique-shaped crystals with numerous facets, extraordinary adherence, blendability, flavor; October 19, 1886 - Horace Williams, John L. Alberger and Louis R. Alberger, of Buffalo, NY, received a patent for the "Manufacture of Salt" ("process of making salt from brine and the apparatus used, it being especially adapted to the manufacture of fine salt and to the saving of fuel usually employed"); April 9, 1889 - received a patent for an "Apparatus for the Manufacture of Salt"; September 19, 1905 - registered "Diamond Crystal Salt" trademark first used November 1, 1886 (table and dairy salt); 1929 - acquired by General Foods; 1953 - reacquired by Moore family; 1987 - acquired by Akzo Nobel Salt; 1997 - acquired by Cargill. 1887 - Southern Cotton Oil Company incorporated in New Jersey to consolidate, carry on business of number of cottonseed crushing works, refineries located in Southern States; 1899 - David Wesson, company chemist, developed process for deodorizing cottonseed oil through high-temperature vacuum process; first commercial all-vegetable shortening marketed as Snowdrift; 1920s - vegetable oil division spun off as Wesson Oil & Snowdrift Company; January 3, 1922 - The Southern Cotton Oil Company registered "Wesson 22" trademark first used September 3, 1903 (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); registered "Wesson 44" first used September 1901 (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); registered "Wesson 77" (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); registered "Wesson 88" first used September 1901 (prepared fatty oleaginous or unctuous food substances); 1960 - merged with Hunt's Foods, Inc., became Hunt-Wesson Foods; acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1990 - acquired by ConAgra. 1887 - E. K. White purchased mill in Chelsea, MI (family had been milling flour in Michigan, Indiana, Kansas as early as 1802); 1901 - incorporated as Chelsea Milling Company; 1908 - acquired by Harmon S. Holmes (H.S. Holmes Mercantile); 1930 - Mabel Holmes (E.K. White's daughter) created new product, premixed blend of flour, baking powder, other ingredients; named "Jiffy"; 1936 - Mabel Holmes, twin sons took over; July 13, 1948 - Chelsea Milling Company registered "Jiffy" trademark first used in 1930 (biscuit mix, pie crust); fourth largest maker of prepackaged baking mixes in United States; Jiffy among top three sellers in every category of mix the company made, captured % of corn muffin mix sales nationwide. 1887 - Don Nicola De Cecco and brothers started pasta enterprise (molino, mill, later pastificio, pasta factory) in small village of Fara San Martino, located at foot of Mount Maiella (Italy); created new "low temperature" pasta (dried in 24 hours, vs. sun dried); 1908 - country girl from Abruzzo with wheat stacks became company's trademark; 1986 - established "Olive Oil Company", first step toward product diversification. 1888 - Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz opened small Matzo bakery in Cincinnati, OH; 1932 - built second factory in Jersey City, NJ; 1940 - produced first Tam Tam cracker, initial departure from line of matzo products; signed licensing arrangement, began to sell wines throughout country; July 10, 1956 - B. Manischewitz Company registered "Manischewitz" trademark first used in March 1936 (wines); 1990 - acquired by Kohlberg & Company and Manischewitz management for $42.4 million; 1998 - acquired by R.A.B. Holdings; August 2004 - name changed to RAB Food Group, LLC; August 2007 - acquired by Harbinger Capital Partners. 1888 - Irish immigrant Patrick Cudahy opened Cudahy Bros. Co., meatpacking plant, in Milwaukee, WI; 1957 - name changed; 1971 - Bluebird Inc. Philadelphia, PA); 1980 - Bluebird acquired by England's Northern Foods; 1984 - Patrick Cudahy acquired by Smithfield Foods (Smithfield, VA); January 1987-April 1989 - United Food & Commercial Workers Local P-40, representing more than 700 slaughter, processing, packing employees, went on strike after rejecting contract concessions. March 6, 1888 - Max Sielaff, of Berlin, Germany, received a U.S. patent (German Letters Patent received on August 18, 1887) for a "Vending Apparatus" ("...apparatuses containing a potable liquor or certain articles-such as cigars, newspapers, and others-and which can be put in operation with the introduction of a coin of determinate size and the subsequent movement of a handle, so as to deliver a measured quantity of the liquor or one of the articles contained in the apparatus"); vending machine. 1889 - Willoughby M. McCormick (25), staff (two girls, boy) founded McCormick & Company in one room, cellar in Baltimore, MD; root beer, flavoring extracts, fruit syrups, juices -first products; 1896 - entered spice market; 1926 - stock offered to wholesale grocers; 1932 - Charles P. McCormick (nephew) elected President, Chairman; 1961 - sales topped $50 million; 1969 - sales surpassed $100 million; 1980 - sales surpassed $500 million; 1987 - Charles P. McCormick, Jr., elected President, CEO; sales of $1 billion; 2003 - added to Standard and Poor's 500 Index; August 2008 - acquired, with Adolph's Meat Tenderizer, Lawry's, dominant in market for branded seasoned salt products, for $605 million (forced by FTC to spin off Season-All line, with $18 million in sales, to Morton International Inc. for $15 million). 1889 - Chris Rutt, newspaperman, Charles Underwood, of Pearl Milling Company, developed Aunt Jemima, first ready-mixed, self-rising pancake flour; 1890 - acquired by R. T. Davis Milling Company; April 29, 1890 - Aunt Jemima Manufacturing Co. (St. Joseph, MO) registered "Aunt Jemima" trademark first used November 27, 1889 (self-raising flour); hired Nancy Green as spokeswoman; 1914 - company renamed Aunt Jemima Mills Company; 1926 - acquired by Quaker Oats Company. 1889 - Alfred E. Green put $16 deposit property on Skeena Slough to participate in salmon boom of late 1800s after Inverness, first cannery, opened in 1876; 1903 - acquired by Cassiar Packing Company (Caspaco); longest consecutively operating cannery on West Coast; 1905 - 12 canneries operated near mouth of Skeena River; 1914 - Grand Trunk Railroad connected Skeena canneries, offered new method of transport from traditional boats or walking, connected Prince Rupert with rest of Canada; 1920s - number of Skeena canneries began to drop; 1959 - Departments of Highways built road terminating at Cassiar, linked canneries with Highway 16; 1960s - only 3 operational canneries left; 1980s - last operating salmon cannery on Skeena River; 2006 - underwent restoration, diversified into conservation economy. January 5, 1889 - Word hamburger first appeared in print in Walla Walla, Washington, newspaper (according to date given in Oxford English Dictionary); named after German food called hamburg steak (from Hamburg Germany), form of pounded beef; 1902 - first description of hamburg steak close to American conception of hamburger, gave recipe calling for ground beef mixed with onion, pepper. 1890 - Adolphus Green formed American Biscuit & Manufacturing Co. in Chicago (combined approximately 40 midwestern bakeries); William Moore united Pearson, Bent, six other eastern bakeries into New York Biscuit Company; 1898 - Green and Moore merged companies plus United States Baking Company, formed National Biscuit Co. (Nabisco). 1890 - Joseph and William Hunt incorporated Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company in Santa Rosa, CA; 1943 - merged Val Vita Food Products, formed new company, Hunt Foods, headed by Norton Simon; 1956 - renamed Hunt Foods and Industries to reflect company's diversification; 1960 - merged with Wesson Oil and Snowdrift Company; 1964 - combined sales exceeded $400 million, company renamed Hunt-Wesson Foods. 1891 - Kennedy Biscuit Works (Cambridge, MA) created "Newtons" in honor of Newton, MA (after Philadelphia baker James Henry Mitchell invented machine which combined hollow cookie crust with jam filling); July 7, 1914 - Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc. registered "Fig Newtons" trademark first used September 1, 1892 (biscuit). 1891 - William Wrigley Jr. (29) sold Wrigley's Scouring Soap in Chicago; 1892 - sold baking powder, offered two packages of chewing gum, as sales incentive, with each can (premium, chewing gum, seemed more promising than the product it was supposed to promote); marketed first two brands of chewing gum, Lotta and Vassar, under his name; 1893 - introduced Juicy Fruit and Spearmint; December 1903 - incorporated in Illinois; November 1910 - reincorporated (under West Virginia law) as Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company; 1914 - introduced Doublemint gum (1939 - introduced "Doublemint Twins" in advertising); June 29, 1915 - Juicy Fruit chewing gum trademark registered; 1920 - made 9 billion sticks of gum per year, world's largest advertiser of a single product; 1924 - Wrigley Building on North Michigan Avenue completed; October 1927 - reincorporated under same name under Delaware law; October 6, 2008 - acquired by Mars, Incorporated ($22 billion in sales) for $23 billion (included financing from Berkshire Hathaway, holding company run by Warren Buffett) as separate, stand-alone subsidiary; six core growth categories -- chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum, food, drinks, petcare. February 7, 1891 - Bartlett Arkell, Walter H. Lipe, David Zielley, Jr., John D. Zielley, and Raymond P. Lipe incorporated Imperial Packing Co. in Canajoharie, NY (latter three left in few months); family business, smoking ham and bacon; products called "Beech-Nut" brand (to evoke feeling of wholesomeness, freshness, purity of the country); 1898 - company reorganized, name changed to Beech-Nut Packing Co.; 1911 - peppermint gum introduced; December 31, 1912 - Beech-Nut Packing Company registered "Beech-Nut" trademark first used in 1899 (cured ham, bacon, beef and myriad other food products); 1931 - 13 varieties of strained baby foods introduced; first company to put baby food in glass jars (vs, lead-soldered metal cans); 1938 - chopped ("junior") foods launched; early 1950s - demand for baby food increased 98% in three years; 1956 - merged with Life Savers; 1968 - merged with Squibb, Inc.; 1973 - acquired by Baker Corporation; 1977 - name changed to Beech-Nut Foods Corporation; November 1979 - acquired by Nestle S.A.; February 1982 - name changed to Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation; 1989 - acquired by Ralston Purina Company; 1994 - spun-off to form Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.; September 1998 - acquired by The Milnot Company (privately held, St. Louis manufacturer of branded and private-label food products). Bartlett Arkell - Beech-Nut Foods (http://www.arkellmuseum.org/sites/default/files/11b30b4bec67e675f0f2a277ce1b3c12.jpg) June 1891 - F. Schumacher Milling Company (founded 1856 by Ferdinand Schumacher as German Mills American Oatmeal Company) consolidated operations with Hower Oatmeal Company, Quaker Milling company, Cereal Milling Company, Rockford Oatmeal Milling Company, Iowa City Oatmeal Company, formed The American Cereal Company (capitalization of $3.4 million) in Akron, OH; 'oatmeal trust' - represented about 85% of oatmeal output in U.S.; 1901 - Ferdinand Schumacher (The American Cereal Company), Henry Parsons Crowell (Quaker Mill Company, founded in September 1877 by Henry D. Seymour and William Heston [received a patent for an "Oatmeal-Machine" on June 8, 1880], acquired by Crowell, James H. Andrews for $25,000 in 1881), Robert Stuart (Stuart, Higley, Douglas families established North Star Oatmeal Mills in Cedar Rapids. IA in 1874) combined their companies, founded Quaker Oats Company; Robert Stuart as CEO; 1907 - reorganized as operating company; June 26, 1906 - American Cereal Company registered "Quaker" trademark first used in September 1877 (oatmeal, rolled oats, [cracked wheat, rolled wheat,] farina, hominy grits, pearled barley, [prepared rice,] and breakfast foods); 1926 - acquired Aunt Jemima Mills Company; October 16, 1951 - registered "Shot From Guns" trademark first used in 1909 (puffed wheat and puffed rise, for human consumption); August 2001 - acquired by Pepsico. Ferdinand Schumacher - Quaker Oats (http://www.quakeroats.com/Libraries/articles-about-quaker-oats/callout-about-quaker-history1850.sflb.ashx) June 16, 1891 - George A. Hormel, son of German immigrants, founded Geo. A. Hormel & Company as small retail store in Austin, MN; first plant in abandoned creamery located on banks of Red Cedar River; 1941 - nearly 4,500 employees, $74.6 million in sales; August 22, 1950 - registered "Spam" trademark first used May 11, 1937 (canned meat product, consisting primarily of pork chopped and molded in loaf form in the can); December 1984 - members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local P-9 initiated campaign against wage, benefit concessions demanded by management; 1,700 workers struck; spring 1986 - International union placed local in receivership; 1991 - name changed to Hormel Foods Corporation. May 31, 1892 - Lea & Perrins Firm registered "Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce" trademark first used 1874 (Sauce for Roast Meats, Steaks, Cutlets, Chops, Fish, Curries, Gravies, Game, and Soup). 1893 - Quaker City Confectionery Company in Philadelphia first produced GOOD & PLENTY candy; oldest branded candy in United States; June 12, 1928 - registered "Good and Plenty" trademark first used September 1908 (candy); 1950 - Choo Choo Charlie, engineer who fueled his train with GOOD & PLENTY Candy, first appeared in advertisements; 1973 - acquired by Warner Lambert; 1982 - acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1983 - acquired by Huhtamaki Oy; 1996 - acquired by Hershey Foods. 1893 - Halls Brothers formed in Britain, originally to sell soap and jams; broadened to candy products. 1893 - Joseph Fralinger, former glassblower and fish merchant, opened retail store on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ; 1894 - added taffy concession (sold on Boardwalk since 1880), perfected Salt Water Taffy formula (used molasses, then chocolate and vanilla, reached 25 flavors); grew to six locations; packed one pound oyster boxes with Salt Water Taffy (first "Atlantic City Souvenir"); 1905 - Enoch James, former employee of large candy companies throughout country, entered business (had developed high quality recipe that would not pull out teeth, eliminated stickiness that made taffy stick to wrapper); August 28, 1923 - Theo. J. Lapres, Inc. (Fralinger son-in-law) registered "Fralinger's" trademark first used December 1894 (salt-water taffy); January 14, 1930 - registered "Fralinger's Original Salt Water Taffy" first used in 1894 (salt water taffy); January 19, 1932 - James' Inc. Corporation registered "James' Sealed" trademark first used May 24, 1929 (confections-namely, candies); 1947 - James' Candy Co. acquired by Glaser family (owners, operators of Dairy Maid stores); 1991 - Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy acquired by James' Candy Company; fifth generation-owned family business; produce 11,000 pounds of taffy/day in summer. June 16, 1893 - F.W. (Frederick William) Rueckheim and Brother introduced a popcorn, peanuts, and molasses confection at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago's First World Fair; 1896 - Louis Rueckheim , F.W.'s brother and partner, discovered process for keeping molasses-covered popcorn from sticking together; gave treat to a salesman who exclaimed, "That's crackerjack!"; November 26, 1907 - Rueckheim Bros. and Eckstein Corporation registered "Cracker Jack" trademark first used Januaary 1906 (candied popcorn); 1908 - Jack Norworth wrote lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during a 30-minute subway ride (Albert Von Tilzer composed the music); song's third line immortalized rand: "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack"; 1912 - introduced "A Prize in Every Box" with toys inserted into every package; June 1919 - Sailor Jack and his dog, Bingo, first appeared on packages (modeled after F.W. Rueckheim's young grandson, Robert); April 14, 1925 - Cracker Jack Co. registered "Cracker Jack" trademark (candies pop corn with sailor and dog logo); 1964 - acquired by  Borden; 1997 - acquired by Frito-Lay. August 1, 1893 - Henry D. Perky and William H. Ford, of Watertown, NY, received a patent for a "Machine for the Preparation of Cereals for Food" (the economic reduction of cereals in the grain state to desirable forms of food without detracting from their natural nutritious qualities and virtue and for the better preparation of the same for more convenient and general use"); May 29, 1894 - received a patent for a "Machine for the Manufacture of Food Products from Cereals" ("practical and efficient machine for the treatment of cereals whereby they may be economically converted into a wholesome food production a desirable and convenient form"); June 26, 1894 - received a patent for a "Machine for the Manufacture of Food Products from Cereals" ("production of a simple, efficient, and practical machine for the reduction of cereals into an edible, wholesome and palatable food product in a convenient and desirable form"); all patents assigned to The Cereal Machine Company (Colorado). August 29, 1893 - Sixty independent orange growers formed Southern California Fruit Exchange, union of local associations into general cooperative (at urging of T.H.B. Chamblin, manager of Pachappa Orange Growers Association in Riverside), to market their fruit (citrus acreage grew from 3,000 to more than 40,000 acres between 1880-1893); 1905 - incorporated as California Fruit Growers Exchange; April 1908 - Exchange's advertising agency, Lord & Thomas, adopted 'Sunkist' for new name in ad campaigns; $7,000 advertising campaign launched in Iowa; orange sales increased 50%; January 30, 1912 - California Fruit Growers Exchange Corporation registered "Sunkist" trademark first used on May 10, 1908 (lemons); February 1952 - name changed to Sunkist Growers, Inc.; 2008 - not-for-profit marketing cooperative entirely owned, operated for 6,000 California, Arizona citrus growers; one of ten largest marketing cooperatives in America, largest fruit and vegetable cooperative in world. October 6, 1893 - Diamond Milling Company, Grand Forks, ND, owned by Emery Mapes, George Bull, George Clifford, created Cream Of Wheat (named by Fred Clifford, Sr. because the product was so white), a hot cereal, a porridge product using farina, during the economic depression of that year; Emery Mapes created Rastus, African American chef used on logo for skillet, woodcut image of Cream of Wheat chef, on box; January 23, 1900 - Cream of Wheat Company (Minneapolis, MN) registered "Cream of Wheat" trademark first used March 1, 1895 (breakfast-foods, including rolled wheat, cracked wheat, wheat grits, wheat-farina, and purified middlings); 1920s - replaced by face of Chicago waiter who was paid five dollars to pose in chef's hat, jacket; 1962 - acquired by National Biscuit Company Grocery Division; 2000 - Nabisco Holdings acquired by Kraft Foods' parent company, Philip Morris Companies, Inc.; February 25, 2007 - acquired (with Cream of Rice) by subsidiaries of B&G Foods, Inc. from Kraft Foods Global, Inc., for $200 million (2006 sales of $60 million). 1894 - William H. Danforth (bookkeeper), George Robinson, William Andrews formed Robinson-Danforth Commission Company, with a capital investment of $12,000, to manufacture horse and mule feed made from crushed grains; May 26, 1896 - tornado destroyed company's milling facility; Danforth borrowing $10,000 to build new mill; became majority shareholder (bought Andrews shares); 1898 - entered human foods market with Purina ( 'Where purity is paramount') Whole Wheat Cereal, line of whole-wheat breakfast cereals; renamed 'Ralston Wheat Cereal' after endorsed by human-diet guru Dr. Ralston (Webster Edgerly - had begun program called Ralstonism, from RALSTON anagram: Regime, Activity, Light, Strength, Temperation, Oxygen and Nature); 1902 - merged with Ralston Cereal Company (founded 1900), renamed Ralston Purina Company, Checkerboard as Ralston's trademark; March 5, 1907 - registered "Purina" trademark first used October 1, 1893 (cornmeal, wheat-flour, cereal breakfast food, and pancake-flour); May 7, 1907 - registered "Ralston" trademark first used March 1, 1895 (cereal breakfast food); December 12, 2001 - merged with Nestle Holdings, Inc. in $10.3 billion transaction. Albert Webster Edgerly - Dr Ralston (Ralston Purina) (http://oddbooks.co.uk/files/images/edgerly/edgerly.jpg) 1894 - George Everett Haskell, William W. Bosworth formed Haskell & Bosworth in Beatrice, NE; sold poultry, eggs, butter, produce; began producing creamery butter provided by local farmers; 1898 - incorporated as Beatrice Creamery Company in Lincoln, NE; (had been originally founded in  1882 but had failed); 1899 - Bosworth lect company; November 12, 1901 - adopted "Meadow Gold" as trademark; 1913 - moved to Chicago; September 1919 - W. H. ferguson named presidxent; August 7, 1923 - Beatrice Creamery Company registered "Meadow Gold" first used September 28, 1922 (cheese); January 15, 1924 - registered "Beatrice" trademark firt use March 1, 1910 (ice cream); 1943 - acquired La Choy; 1946 - name changed to Beatrice Foods Co.; 1957 - established grocery division; 1973 - acquired Samsonite luggage; 1976 - acquired Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation (acquired in 1982 by group of franchisees, led by Joseph A. McAleer Sr.); 1984 - name changed to Beatrice Companies, Inc.; 1985 - acquired Norton Simon, Inc.; 1990 - acquired by ConAgra. 1894 - Austria-Hungarian immigrants Emil Reichel, Sam Ladany opened first Vienna Sausage Co. store on Chicago's Near West Side at 417 S. Halsted Ave.; 1900 - marketed, sold products to other stores, restaurants around Chicago; 1984 - acquired Chicago Pickle Company, added condiments to product mix; 2004 - entered Guinness Book of World Records with longest hot dog ever-37 feet and 2 inches. 1895 - Charles William (C.W.) Post developed, produced his first product, Postum cereal beverage (coffee substitute); named company Postum Ltd.; 1897 - developed Grape-Nuts cereal (nutty flavor of nuggets), part of new ready-to-eat breakfast food industry in United States; June 14, 1898 - registered "Grape-Nuts" trademark first used December 1, 1897 (cooked or prepared cereal food for human consumption); 1908 - introduced corn flakes product first called Elijah's Manna, later renamed Post Toasties; June 2, 1908 - registered "Post Toasties" trademark first used August 23, 1907 (cereal breakfast-foods); December 31, 1925 - acquired Jell-O Company, Inc.; July 24, 1929 - Postum Incorporated renamed General Foods; 1985 - acquired by Philip Morris Companies for $5.6 billion, largest non-oil acquisition to that time; March, 1989 - combined with Kraft Inc., renamed Kraft General Foods (KGF). 1895 - Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association founded. June 4, 1895 - Black American inventor Joseph Lee, of Auburndale, MA, received a patent for a "Bread Crumbing Machine" intended "for use in hotels or restaurants, where a large quantity of bread crumbs are used in cooking." September 17, 1895 - Henry D. Perky, of Denver, CO, received a design patent for "A Design for a Biscuit" ("presents a fibrous interstitial appearance , showing superimposed layers or irregular interlacing threads or filaments which are wound or disposed in such loose relation to each other that the threads or filaments of the inner layers are visible from the surface to a greater or less degree through the interstices of the outer layers"); shredded wheat; October 15, 1895 - received patent for "Bread and Method of Preparing Same"; shredded wheat; founded The Cereal Machine Company to make shredded wheat; pioneer of the "cookless breakfast food" and it was he who first mass produced and nationally distributed ready-to-eat cereal; 1901 - opened factory in Niagara Falls, NY (called 'Palace of Light'); 1908 - renamed Natural Food Company; 1913 - renamed The Shredded Wheat Company; December 1928 - acquired by National Biscuit Company (Nabisco); 1941 - product name changed to Nabisco Shredded Wheat. Henry D. Perky - Shredded Wheat (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/11/Henry_Perky.jpg/200px-Henry_Perky.jpg) 1896 - P.G. Molinari (26) opened salame store and factory at 433 Broadway, San Francisco; 1950 - Peter Giorgi (son's son-in-law) joined business; 1978 - Frank Giorgi, great grandson, joined company. P.G. Molinari - Molinari & Sons (http://www.molinarisalame.com/images/company/trad_02.jpg) February 23, 1896 - Austrian immigrant Leo Hirshfield brought recipe for chocolaty, chewy candy to U. S., produced it in small store in New York City; candy named for his five-year-old daughter (nickname of "Tootsie"); September 14, 1909 - Stern & Saalberg Company, New York, NY, registered "Tootsie" trademark first used September 1908 (chocolate candy); 1917 -name changed to Sweets Company of America; advertised nationally; 1922 - went public; June 16, 1925 - registered "Tootsie Rolls" trademark first used in September 1908 (candy); 1931 - introduced Tootsie Pop; 1966 - name changed to Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.; 1978 - Ellen Gordon named President, second woman elected president of company listed on New York Stock Exchange; 1988 - acquired Charms Company, became world's largest lollipop producer; 2003 - production reached more than 60 million Tootsie Rolls, 20 million Tootsie Pops each day. April 14, 1896 - John Harvey Kellogg, of Battle Creek, MI, received a patent for "Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same" ("to provide a food product which is in a proper condition to be readily digested without preliminary cooking or heating operation, and which is highly nutritive and of an agreeable taste, thus affording a food product particularly well suited for sick and convalescing persons"); to improve vegetarian diet of his hospital patients with digestible bread-substitute made by boiling wheat (easy to prepare breakfast when milk added). August 29, 1896 - Chinese-American dish chop suey invented in New York City by chef to visiting Chinese Ambassador Li Hung-chang. December 8, 1896 - Black-American inventor John T. White, of New York, NY, received patent for a "Lemon-Squeezer"; made squeezing lemons, straining juice easy; kept hands clean while juicing. 1897 - Dr. John Thompson Dorrance (24) joined uncle's company, Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Co., producer of canned tomatoes, vegetables, jellies, soups, condiments, minced meats (father, Arthur Dorrance, general manager); invented condensed soup by eliminating water in canned soup; lowered the costs for packaging, shipping, storage; made it possible to offer 10-ounce can of Campbell's condensed soup for a dime, versus more than 30 cents for a typical 32-ounce can of soup; introduced tomato soup; 1905 - name changed to Joseph Campbell Company; 1915 - acquired Franco-American Food Company; 1922 - incorporated as Campbell Soup Company; 1934 - introduced Cream of Mushroom, Chicken Noodle soups; 1955 - acquired C.A. Swanson & Sons, originator of TV dinner, takes Campbell into frozen foods; 1961 - acquired Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated; 1974 - acquired full control of Godiva Chocolatier, Inc.; 1978 - acquired Vlasic Foods, Inc.; 1981 - acquired Prego spaghetti sauces; 1998 - spun off specialty foods unit (Vlasic pickles, Swanson frozen foods); focused on soups, sauces, beverages, biscuits, confectionery, foodservice. 1897 - Jerome Monroe Smucker opened cider mill in Orrville, OH; prepared apple butter, sold it from back of a horse-drawn wagon; each crock had hand-signed seal as personal guarantee of quality; 1921 - J. M. Smucker Company incorporated; 1923 - introduced preserves, jelllies; February 22, 1949 - registered "Smucker's" trademark first used in 1900 (fruit preserves, jellies, jam, marmalade, and apple butter); 1962 - introduced slogan: "With a name like Smucker's it has to be good"; June 4, 2008 - announced acquisition of Folgers coffee business from Procter & Gamble for $3.3 billion; biggest U.S. producer of coffee; seventh acquisition in two years, boost annual sales to $4.7 billion (2.15 billion in 2007). 1897 - Isaac VanWestenbrugge (23), Dutch immigrant, borrowed $300 from older brother Martin, started business delivering butter and eggs in Grand Rapids, MI; 1916 - Ben Gordon (high school senior) joined company; 1921 -married Isaac's daughter; brought in brother (Frank); 1942 - company renamed Gordon Food Service; 2007 - #46 largest privately-owned company in U. S. (estimated 2006 sales of $5.9 billion); largest independent foodservice distributor in North America. February 2, 1897 - Alfred L. Cralle of Pittsburgh, PA, received a patent for an "Ice-Cream Mold and Disher" ("may be conveniently operated with one hand"); able to keep ice cream and other foods from sticking; constructed in almost any desired shape (cone or mound) with no delicate parts that could break or malfunction. May 28, 1897 - Pearle Wait, carpenter in LeRoy, NY, adapted 1845 Peter Cooper portable gelatine patent to fruit flavored gelatin dessert; his wife, May, named product Jell-O; September 9, 1899 - sold formula to Orator Frank Woodward, founder of Genesee Pure Food Co. for $450; 1902 - launched first advertising campaign in Ladies' Home Journal, sales eventually reached $250,000; September 22, 1908 - Genesee Pure Food Company (LeRoy, NY) registered "Jell-O" trademark first used in March 1897 (compound used in the preparation of jellies, desserts, pastries and ice cream); November 5, 1923 - reorganized, renamed Jell-O Company, Inc; December 31, 1925 - acquired by Postum Cereal. August 3, 1897 - Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer, of Reading, PA, received two design patents for a "Design for Fuel" ("form of two truncated pyramids placed base to base and separated by a flat rectangular body and furnished with rounded corners and slightly rounded or convex tops"); charcoal. 1898 - American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company (formed in 1830 from 40 Midwestern bakeries), New York Biscuit Company (seven eastern bakeries), United States Baking Company merged, formed National Biscuit Company (114 bakeries across United States); introduced first product, Uneeda Biscuit; created first "inner-seal package" (inter-folded layers of wax paper, cardboard, one of first self-service packages for cracker products); December 27, 1898 - National Biscuit Company registered "Uneeda" trademark first used September 6, 1898 (biscuits, crackers); March 28, 1899 - Frank M. Peters, of Chicago, IL, Nabisco designer, received a patent for a "Method of and Means for Packing Biscuit, Crackers, or the Like" ("to provide an inexpensive package whereby bakery goods...may be kept fresh and in proper condition for consumption by effectually excluding moisture therefrom and whereby the goods will be firmly packaged and held and thereby prevented from rattling and breaking in the package"); 'In-Er-Seal' wax paper wrapper to keep crackers fresh. 1898 - Augustus Eugene (Gene) Staley bought bulk starch for two cents a pound, repackaged it under his own Cream Starch (cornstarch) label, sold it for profit of five cents a pound in Baltimore, MD; 1906 - incorporated A E Staley Manufacturing Company when his suppliers realized he was serious competition; 1909 - moved to Decatur, IL; March 12, 1919 - bought starch plant in Illinois, began processing, ground 1000 pounds of corn; March 1920 - hired George Halas as starch-maker by day, manage Decatur Staleys football team on side; played 13 games, finished 10-1-2 (1922 - renamed Chicago Bears, continued to use Staley da Bear as mascot); September 30, 1922 - first soybean crushing plant went into operation; 1932 - A E Staley Jr. (Gus) became President; 1988 - 90% North American AE Staley Manufacturing Co. acquired by Tate & Lyle (2000 - acquired balance). A E Staley's 1920 Decatur Staleys (1922 - renamed Chicago Bears) (http://www.bearshistory.com/images/20bears.jpg) 1898 - William Entenmann opened bakery in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York; delivered cakes, breads, rolls door-to-door in horse-drawn buggy; 1961 - built largest baking facility of its kind in United States on five acres in Bay Shore, long Island; acquired by George Weston Bakeries. 1898 - Joseph Walker (21) opened bakery in Torphins with a loan of 50 pounds and dream of making the finest shortbread in the world; 1970s - grandchildren exported Walkers shortbread to over 60 countries around the world - still baked to his original recipe; within decade won the first of three Queen's Awards for Export Achievement - highest accolade given to British exporters. March 30,1898 - Minor C. Keith, Andrew Preston founded United Fruit Company. 1899 - 7 canners in Astoria, OR formed Columbia River Packers Association to fish, process Salmon successfully; 1910 - albacore tuna discovered in seasonal abundance off Oregon coast; Bumble Bee Brand made first appearance; January 22, 1952 - registered "Bumble Bee" trademark first used in 1896 (canned, fresh and fresh frozen fish); 1961 - 61% ownership acquired by Castle and Cooke; renamed Bumble Bee Seafoods, Inc. as wholly owned subsidiary; 1997 - acquired by International Home Foods Inc.; 2000 - acquired by Conagra Foods; 2003 - renamed Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC; 2004 - merged with Connors Bros. Income Fund, became largest branded seafood company in North America; 2005 - name changed to Bumble Bee Foods, LLC. 1899 - Franklin V. Canning, New York druggist, created Dentyne gum (combination of "dental" and hygiene"); 1916 - acquired by American Chicle Company; May 19, 1925 - registered "Dentyne" trademark first used January 1, 1901 (chewing gum). 1899 - Richard Lindsey, operator of Royal Flour Mill in Nashville, TN, named his company's finest flour for his three-year-old daughter, Martha White; 1941 - Cohen E. Williams and sons acquired Royal Flour Mill and Martha White name; 1975 - Martha White merged with Beatrice Companies; 1994 - acquired by Pillsbury Company. 1899 - Ichitaro Kanie began growing tomatoes in in his garden in Japan; first to do so; 1903 - produced tomato sauce; 1908 - produced tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce; 1933 - introduced tomato juice; 1949 - five companies merged, formed Aichi Tomato Co., Ltd.; 1963 - name changed to Kagome Co., Ltd. now one of largest producers of tomato products in Japan; 1966 - introduced ketchup in world's first plastic tube; 1978 - went public; December 20, 1983 - Kagome Co., Ltd. registered "Kagome" trademark in U.S., first used in 1974 (vegetable based sauces); 1988 - established U.S. subsidiary, Kagome Inc.; sales of 100 billion yen. 1900 - Carl A. Swanson, Swedish immigrant, formed partnership with John Hjerpe, Frank Ellison in Omaha, NE; named Jerpe Commission Company; 1905 - incorporated; focused on butter production, poultry; 1928 - Swanson bought out Hjerpe's interest (Ellison died in 1918); 1944 - renamed C.A. Swanson & Sons; 1949 - Gilbert and Clarke Swanson (sons) took over; October 11, 1949 - C.A. Swanson & Sons registered "Swanson" trademark first used in 1928; 1954 - introduced TV dinner; Gerry Thomas, sales executive, redesigned single-compartment aluminum trays, used to keep food hot in airline food kitchens of Pan American Airways in Pittsburgh into 'segmented plat' (three-compartment tray) for packaging 520,000 pounds of leftover Thanksgiving poultry into 10 refrigerated railroad cars (not enough storage in warehouses); first Swanson TV Dinner - turkey with corn bread dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, buttered peas (sold for $.98, cooked in 25 minutes at 425 degrees); first production order for 5,000 dinners (thought to be a big gamble); sold more than 25 million TV dinners; 1955 - acquired by Campbell Soup Company. Gilbert and W. Clarke Swanson - TV Dinner (http://www.omahachamber.org/admin/remoteuploads/279.jpg) 1901 - James Drummond Dole, son of pastor of First Church in Jamaica Plain, MA, began growing pineapple on 60 acres on Wahiawa, north of Oahu; incorporated Hawaiian Pineapple Company, first successful pineapple growing, canning operation; advertised with recipes in ladies magazines; 1903 - packed 1,893 cases of canned pineapple; January 30, 1912 - Hawaiian Pineapple Company registered "JDDole" trademark first used in March 1910 (canned pinepapple); 1915 - Hawaii's second largest industry; owned 29 patents covering machines, processes in pineapple industry (represented virtually all of specialized pineapple canning machinery, most of which developed by employees of the Company); 1932 - Castle & Cooke acquired ownership of 21% of Hawaiian Pineapple Company; 1933 - company first used "DOLE" on cans of pineapple, pineapple juice; April 19, 1949 - Hawaiian Pineapple Company registered "Dole" trademark first used in 1927 (canned fruit canned fruit juices for food purposes and frozen fresh fruit); 1961 - merged with Castle & Cooke; 1991 - shareholder resolution approved to change name of Castle & Cooke to Dole Food Company, Inc.; world's largest producer, marketer of fresh fruit, vegetables with major line of packaged products; 1995 - separated food, real estate businesses; 2003 - Dole Food Company acquired by David H. Murdock, former CEO of Flexi-Van Corporation, transportation equipment leasing company (merged with Castle & Cooke in 1985). James Drummond Dole - Dole Pineapple (http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/images/dole6.jpg) 1901 - New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) formed from merger of Chase and Company (1847), Forbes, Hayward and Company (1848) Wright and Moody (1856); incorporated with capital of $1,000,000.00; trade name NECCO Sweets, derived from its title, adopted; January 30, 1906 - registered "NECCO" trademark first used January 25, 1903; registered "NECCO Sweets" trademark first used June 1, 1904; 1912 - NECCO Wafer, Hub Wafer widely advertised; 1927 - largest factory in world devoted to manufacture of candy; March 8, 1938 - registered "Sky Bar" trademark first used August 26, 1837 (molded chocolate bar with four distinctly different centers encased in chocolate covering); 1963 - acquired by UIS, Inc. (New York); period of restructuring under seven presidents; 1999 - acquired assets of Clark Bar America, Inc., maker of Clark bar (introduced in 1917), chocolately coated peanut butter crunch candy. October 8, 1901 - American Sugar Refining Co., New York, NY, registered "Domino" trademark first used August 1, 1900 (hard sugar). November 12, 1901 - National Biscuit Company registered "Nabisco" trademark first used June 28, 1901 (biscuits, crackers, bread); December 1902 - introduced Barnum's Animal Crackers; 1912 - introduced Lorna Doone, Oreo cookies; April 22, 1913 - registered "Lorna Doone" trademark first used June 12, 1912 (biscuit); August 12, 1913 - registered "Oreo" trademark first used March 6, 1912 (biscuit); July 7, 1914 - registered "Fig Newtons" trademark first used September 1, 1892 (biscuit); 1952 - first used red triangular logo; May 4, 1954 - registered "Barnum's Animals" trademark first used in December 1902 (bakery products, namely biscuits); 1971 - name changed to Nabicso; 1981 - merged with Standard Brands (Planters Nuts), acquired LifeSavers Candies; renamed Nabisco Brands, Inc.; 1985 - acquired by R.J. Reynolds, formed RJR Nabisco; 1988 - acquired by Kolberg Kravis Roberts (biggest leveraged buyout in history); 2000 - acquired by Philip Morris Companies. 1902 - John W. Daniels, George A. Archer founded Daniels Linseed Company in Minneapolis, MN; 1903 - Archer joined company; February 17, 1903 - first bottle of flax linseed oil made; February 1905 - name changed to Archer Daniels Linseed Company; May 23, 1923 - acquired Midland Linseed Products Company, formed Archer-Daniels-Midland Company; 1947 - sales of $297 million; 1952 - more than 5,000 employees; 1962 - logo created to represent chemical molecules coming from natural resource; 1980 - sales of $2.8 billion; 1981 - 50 years of uninterrupted stock dividends. 1902 - Jacob Leander Loose, Joseph Schull Loose, John A. Wiles formed Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company in Kansas City, MO; 1908 - introduced Hydrox cookie (name combined water's atomic elements--hydrogen and oxygen); April 15, 1913 - registered "Hydrox" trademark first used January 1, 1910 (biscuits, cakes, cookies); May 4, 1937 - Sunshine Biscuits, Inc. registered "HI-HO" trademark first used December 1931 (crackers, biscuits, and cakes); 1947 - name changed to Sunshine Biscuits (better known than Loose-Wiles); March 27, 1951 - registered "Vienna Fingers" trademark first used January 1915 (biscuits - namely cookies); January 28, 1958 - registered "Sunshine Krispy" trademark first used in 1908 (crackers), saltines; July 25, 1967 - registered "Sunshine" trademark first used in August 1908 (crackers e al); April 18, 1988 - acquired by G. F. Industries, Inc.; 1995 - sales of about $500 million; June 4, 1996 - merged into Keebler Company (leader in supplying biscuits to food service industry, more than $2 billion in annual sales, combined market share of about 23% by volume, vs. 36% held by Nabisco Biscuit Co.); 2003- Hydrox discontinued (1998 sales of $16 million vs. $374 million for Oreos); 2008 - Hydrox reintroduced by popular demand (more than 1,300 phone inquiries, online petition with more than 1,000 signatures, Internet chat sites). Jacob Leander Loose - Sunshine Biscuits (http://www.astorialic.org/images/loosej.jpg) 1902 - Otosaburo Noda, immigrant Japanese farmer, labor contractor, businessman, began canning abalone and salmon on rocky shoreline of Monterey, CA; with partner, Harry Malpas, constructed Monterey Fishing and Canning Company on Ocean View Avenue (later known as "Cannery Row"), first canning operation located on "Street of the Sardine"; 1903 - Frank Booth, "Father of the Sardine Industry," constructed F.E. Booth Company, Monterey's first large-scale cannery; 1907 - Maplas business acquired by James A. Madison, Joseph A. Nichols, Bernard Senderman; became Pacific Fish Company; July 7, 1916 - Norwegian fishery engineer Knut Hovden opened Hovden Food Products Corporation; revolutionized canning industry; 1926 - Pacific Fish Co. became California Packing Corp. ("Cal-Pac"); 1945 - 19 canneries. 1902 - First Stone-Buhr mill built in Seattle, WA; 1914 - Charles E. Young, former real estate broker and carpenter, opened Young-Stone Buhr Milling Co in Fremont neighborhood in Seattle; 1969 - acquired by Orowheat Foods; 1981 - acquired by Bestfoods / Corn Products Co. (CPC); 2002 - acquired by JOG Distribution, Inc. February 1902 - National Starch Manufacturing Company, Glucose Sugar Refining Co., Illinois Sugar Refining Company, 49% of New York Glucose Co. merged, formed Corn Products Company; produced about 84% of American corn starch; May 13, 1902 - introduced Karo Light and Dark Corn Syrup; September 15, 1903 - registered "Karo" trademark first used in July 1902 (syrup); February 1906 - merged with New York Glucose Company, Warner Sugar Refining Company, St. Louis Syrup & Preserving Company, formed Corn Products Refining Company; Edward T. Bradford (former President of New York Glucose) as president; October 3, 1911 - registered "Mazola" trademark first used June 5, 1911 (edible corn-oil); April 1958 - acquired KNORR GmbH of West Germany, maker of bouillon, dehydrated soups; May 1959 - merged with The Best Foods, Inc., formed Corn Products Company; April 1969 - name changed to CPC International Inc.; 1980 - sales over $4 billion; 1986 - fought off takeover attempt by Ronald O. Perelman (chairman of Revlon Group); restructured; December 31, 1997 - corn-refining business spun off to shareholders, named Corn Products International, Inc.; January 2, 1998 - renamed Bestfoods; October 2000 - acquired by Unilever PLC for $24.3 billion; world's largest food conglomerate (ranked by total sales), combined annual revenue of $52.3 billion, annual profits of $6.2 billion; June 23, 2008 - acquisition of Corn Products International (35 facilities, 15 countries, fourth-largest maker of high-fructose corn syrup in U.S.) for $4.4. billion announced by Bunge Group (foothold in syrups, sweeteners business); third largest agribusiness company in U. S. by revenue (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland). August 23, 1902 - Fanny Farmer, among first to emphasize relationship of diet to health, opened her School of Cookery in Boston. August 26, 1902 - Alexander P. Anderson, of New York, NY, received a patent for the "Art of Treating Starch Material" ("a dry method of swelling starch materials of all kinds to render them porous, thereby enhancing their nutritive value and rendering them more readily and completely digested than when used in their present form"); invented 'puffed wheat" and 'puffed rice"; patent acquired by Quaker Oats. Alexander P. Anderson - invented "puffed wheat", "puffed rice" with above canon (http://www.minnesotainventors.org/inductees/images/alexander-p-anderson.jpg) September 1902 - Small group of local investors bought Hoerner & Knopf Bakery in Richmond, IN (founded in 1855 by David Hoerner, took on partner named Knopf in 1881); renamed Richmond Baking Co.; William H. Quigg became general manager; 1918 - Eugene K. Quigg (son) succeeded; 1950 - J. Robert Quigg (brother) took over; 1969 - James R. Quigg Jr. (son) took over; 2010 - under fifth generation management (Bill Quigg, Rob Quigg); nation's oldest family-owned cookie and cracker company. 1903 - James L. Kraft (29) began a wholesale cheese business in Chicago with $65 in capital; 1909 - J. L. Kraft & Bros. Co. incorporated; June 6, 1916 - received patent for "Process of Sterilizing Cheese and an Improved Product Produced by Such Process"; process cheese; August 24, 1920 - received a patent for a "Process for Sterilizing and Packaging Cheese" ("apples more specifically to the treatment of cheese of the Cheddar genus"); 1927 - acquired Velveeta Cheese Company; 1930 - acquired by National Dairy Products Corporation; 1937 - Macaroni & Cheese Dinner debuted; 1945 - name changed to Kraft Foods Company; 1952 - Cheez Whiz introduced; June 9, 1953 - John H. Kraft, of Chicago, IL, received patent for the "Manufacture of Soft Surface Cured Cheese" ("soft, surface cured, mold ripened cheeses, such as Camembert, Brie, and the like and in particular, to the provision of a soft, surface cured cheese whose mold pad may be readily removed"); assigned to Kraft Foods Company; 1969 - National Dairy renamed Kraftco Corporation; 1976 - name changed to Kraft Inc.; 1980 - merged with Dart Industries; formed Dart & Kraft; 1986 - Kraft split off; October 30, 1988 - acquired by Philip Morris Companies Inc. for $13.1 billion; January 27, 2003 - Philip Morris name changed to Altria Group, Inc.; March 30, 2007 - Kraft Foods Inc. spun off from Altria; January 19, 2010 - agreed to acquire Cadbury plc for about $19.5 billion; created world's largest confectioner (more than $500 billion in sales). James L. Kraft -  Kraft Foods (http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/images/jameskraft_1.jpg) 1903 - Minnesota Valley Canning Company established; only product - white cream-style corn (shipped 12,000 cases); 1907 - produced Early June Peas; 1925 - "Green Giant" created (to describe larger, sweeter pea; white, wore bearskin); July 12, 1927 - registered "Green Giant" trademark first used on January 1, 1926 (canned peas); 1932 - more trial acres of corn hybrids than all research acres at nation's colleges combines; 1950 - company changed name to Green Giant Company. December 15, 1903 - Italo Marchiony, of New York, NY, received U.S. patent for a "Mold" ("particularly such molding apparatuses as are used in the manufacture of ice cream sups and the like"); ice cream cup mold; sold ice cream and lemon ice on Wall Street served in baked waffles, folded by hand while warm into shape of a cup; built chain of 45 carts; met need for mass production with invention of a multiple recess mold based on a waffle-iron; produced 10 cups at a time; April 30, 1904 - took confection to Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, got idea for a cone shape. 1904 - Emil J. Brach (45), son of German immigrants who had invested in failed candy factory, founded Brach's Palace of Sweets in Chicago; first product was caramels; end of 1930s - leading maker of fresh bulk candy; 1966 - acquired by American Home Products; 1987 - Brach's division acquired by Jacobs Suchard, European candy and coffee company; 1990 - Jacobs Suchard acquired by Phillip Morris except for Brach's (retained by Klaus J. Jacobs); 1994 - merged with Brock Candy Co., new company called Brach & Brock Confections Inc., based in Chattanooga, TN; 2003 - Brach's Confections Holding Inc. acquired by Barry Callebaut AG (Zurich), world's leading manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate products. 1904 - Dairy farmers in Lucerne Township in Kings County, CA established cooperative creamery named Lucerne Cream & Butter Co.; built plant in Hanford, CA; 1929 - acquired by Safeway, became dairy label; 1945 - Lucerne Milk Company established within Safeway; 1982 - Safeway operated 30 dairy plants in United States and Canada, processed fluid, cultured, frozen desserts, cheese, powder; 1980s - reduced number of plants to14. July 1904 - Ice cream cone invented during 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis (known as St. Louis World's Fair); several credited with invention of first edible cone: David Avayou, Abe Doumar (Lebanese immigrant recognized by Smithsonian), Arnold Fornachou, Ernest Hamwi, Albert and Nick Kabbaz, Charles E. Menches - all made, sold confections at 1904 Fair. 1905 - Cadbury introduced liquid milk into chocolate, launched Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM) chocolate; used full cream milk (vs. powdered milk often used in products of Swiss rivals); outsold traditional continental dark chocolate in Britain within few years; broke Swiss chocolate monopoly by end of first decade. 1905 - German immigrant Richard Hellmann sold first ready-made mayonnaise at New York deli; 1912 - designed "Blue Ribbon" label placed on larger glass jars; 1932 - acquired by Best Foods; August 23, 1949 - registered "Hellmann's" trademark first use August 1, 1926 (mayonnaise). 1905 - Frank Epperson (11) invented popsickle; glass filled with soda- water powder and water with stirring stick froze on back porch overnight; 1922 - introduced Popsicle at a fireman's ball; August 19, 1924 - received a patent for a ''Frozen Confectionery" ("...a method or process for making a frozen confection of attractive appearance, which can be conveniently consumed without contamination by contact with the hand or without the need for a plate, spoon, fork or other implement, which process can be expeditiously carried out at small expense with simple apparatus, without the need for expert care and in a thoroughly sanitary manner"; 1929 - patent acquired by Popsicle Corporation. August 8, 1905 - Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company registered "Pillsbury's Best" trademark first used in January 1, 1873 (flour made from wheat); November 19, 1940 - Pillsbury Flour Mills Company registered "Pillsbury Best XXXX" trademark first used on January 1, 1873 (flour made from wheat); February 11, 1941 - registered "Pillsbury's Best XXXX Flour" trademark first used in April 1924 (flour made from wheat). October 31, 1905 - Joseph Campbell Company (Camden, NJ) registered "Campbell's" trademark (for baked beans); January 9, 1906 - Joseph Campbell Company registered "Campbell's" trademark for condensed soups. December 5, 1905 - Frank H. Fleer and Company, Philadelphia, PA, registered "Chiclets" trademark first used October 1, 1899 (chewing-gum). 1906 - Amedeo Voltejo Obici, Mario Peruzzi founded Planters Peanut Company in Wilkes-Barre, PA; 1908 - incorporated as Planter Nut & Chocolate Co.; 1916 - schoolboy Antonio Gentile (14) won Planters Contest for brand icon in Suffolk, VA with sketch of Mr. Peanut (graphic artist later added top hat, monocle and cane); 1918 - first salted nut ever advertised in Saturday Evening Post; 1928 - introduced Planters Cocktail Peanuts in 8-oz. vacuum-sealed can; March 5, 1935 - Planters Nut & Chocolate Co. registered "Planters" trademark first used in 1906 (roasted peanuts, salted peanuts, peanut butter, peanut candy bars). Amedeo Obici - Planters Peanuts (http://image1.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2009/322/11511003_125864785072.jpg) 1906 - Perry Bernstein owned small New York delicatessen; created Bernstein's salad dressings for vegetables and salads; second generation took over, moved business to California; moved operations to Tacoma, WA; 1974 - acquired by Nalley's Fine Foods (division of W.R. Grace); July 1975 - acquired by Curtice-Burns; September 1997 - renamed Agrilink Foods, Inc.; 1998 - acquired Dean Foods Vegetable Company; February 10, 2003 - name changed to Birds Eye Foods Inc. to reflect company's largest brand. 1906 - Suyeichi Okamura opened Benkyodo Company, one of original businesses in Japantown (on San Francisco's Geary Boulevard); 1940s - forced to close temporarily when the family was interned during World War II; 1951 - Hirofumi (son) took over; 1990 - grandsons took over. February 19, 1906 - Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg and Charles D. Bolin, St. Louis insurance man and former patient at Kellogg's sanitarium, incorporated Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Co. in Michigan, with $35,000 raised by Bolin in St. Louis, to produce Kellogg's Corn Flakes (after having purchased right to make flakes from Dr. John Harvey Kellogg); began manufacture of Sanitas Corn Flakes, cereal products to former sanitarium patients; name changed later to Toasted Corn Flake Company, then to Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company, finally to Kellogg Co. Dr. Kellogg as majority stockholder; distributed part of this stock among the Sanitarium doctors in lieu of salary increases; W. K. bought all of stock Dr. John had given to Physicians in aggressive effort to become majority shareholder; April 1 1906 - company started production of Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes; October 1906 - company began using phrase, "The Original Has This Signature - W.K. Kellogg" (remained a prominent feature on cereal packages, in advertisements for years; (about) May 1, 1907 - first use of Kellogg's logo (stylized version of W.K.'s last name) placed on the top of cereal packages; June 1907 - 300 employees on the payroll, workers' paid $2 a day; 1909 - annual sales exceeded a million cases; 1909 - company introduced second product, Kellogg's Toasted Rice Flakes; 1912 - one of first organizations to use large-scale outdoor advertising display; erected a 106-foot-wide, 80-foot-tall billboard on top of Mecca Building at 48th Street and Broadway in Times Square, New York City; billed as world's largest advertising sign; 1914 - introduced "Waxtite", thick, smooth envelope of paraffin (waxed paper) that encased Kellogg's cereal boxes after they were opened (liners inside the packages were added a few years later). February 28, 1906 - New York Glucose Company (1901), Corn Products Company (incorporated in February 1902 from reorganized National Starch Co., New York Glucose Co., Illinois Sugar Refining Co., Charles Pope Glucose Co.. 49% of Glucose Sugar Refining Co.), St. Louis Syrup & Preserving Company, Warner Sugar Refining Company, Cereal Sugar Company (corn refiners) merged, incorporated Corn Products Refining Company; Edward T. Bradford (of NY Glucose) first president; June 27, 1911 - registered "Cerelose" trademark first used January 5, 1911 (corn-sugar); October 23, 1923 - William B. Newkirk, of Edgewater, NJ, received a patent for a "Method of making Grape Sugar" ("...to make possible the production, on a commercial scale and by methods which are economically feasible, of a crystalline dextrose which will be to all intents and purposes pure"); assigned to Corn Products Refining Company; 1958 - merged with Best Foods, Inc.; renamed Corn Products Company; 1969 - renamed CPC International; 1997 - Corn Products International, Inc. spun off; June 23, 2008 - acquisition of Corn Products International (35 facilities, 15 countries, fourth-largest maker of high-fructose corn syrup in U.S.) for $4.4. billion announced by Bunge Group (foothold in syrups, sweeteners business); third largest agribusiness company in U. S. by revenue (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland). March 1906 - California and Hawaiian Sugar Refining Company began refining pure cane sugar in Crockett, CA (near San Francisco) to compete with sugar Trust on West Coast (started in 1897 as California Beet Sugar Refining Company at site of former flour mill; 1903 - failed, couldn't process enough beets; Claus Spreckels granted three year lease on plant, docks; 1905 - acquired by Sugar Factors Co. Ltd. of Hawaii commission company for handling output for several Hawaii sugar plantations; controlled by Alexander & Baldwin, Castle & Cooke, C. Brewer & Co., Amfac, Theo H. Davies & Co. - Hawaii's 'Big Five'), Makee Sugar Company (Col. Z. S. Spalding); name changed to California and Hawaiian Sugar Refining Company; employed 490 people, produced 67,000 tons of refined cane sugar; 1921 - reorganized as agricultural cooperative marketing association owned by owned by fourteen sugar plantations in Hawaii; one of 50 largest U.S. cooperatives, second largest U.S. refined sugar marketing organization; January 14, 1936 - registered "C & H" trademark first used August 4, 1934 (sugar); June 1993 - acquired by Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.; August 5, 1998 - 60% interest in recapitalized company acquired by investment group (including Citicorp Venture Capital, Ltd.). March 31, 1906 - Slade Gorton & Co., John Pew & Son (founded 1849), David B. Smith & Co., Reed & Gamage combined to form Gorton-Pew Fisheries Co.; fleet of 39 vessels; largest fleet of fishing vessels operated by any company on Atlantic coast; 1922-23 - Italian government bought million dollar cargo of salted cod; government overthrown by Mussolini, confiscated entire cargo, never paid the bill; sent Gorton-Pew was into bankruptcy; reorganized by William Lowell Putnam; October 23, 1923 - Gorton-Pew Fisheries Company registered "Mother Ann" trademark first used on January 17, 1899 (salt codfish); August 23, 1949 - registered "Gorton's" trademark first used in December 1929 (frozen fish); 1954 - renamed Gorton's of Gloucester, Inc.; May 30, 1961 - registered "Gorton's" trademark fist used in 1875 (canned fish); 1965 - company officially became The Gorton Corporation; December 12, 1967 - registered "Gorton's of Gloucester" trademark first used on August 26, 1966 (frozen seafood-namely fish sticks, fish steaks, filets of fish...); 1968 - acquired by General Mills; May 18, 1995 - acquired by Unilever; August 2001 - acquired by Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc., a subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha (one of Japan's three largest seafood conglomerates). Captain John Pew - John Pew & Son (Gorton's) (http://www. shuteandmerchant.com/pew1.jpg) April 20, 1906 - J. Lloyd Ford purchased small barn-like milling operation in Shawnee, OK, named it Shawnee Milling Company (75 barrels of flour a day); 2005 - produces over 2 million pounds per day of consumer and food service products, wide variety of quality animal feed products. May 22, 1906 - Wheatena Corporation (Rahway, NJ) registered "Wheatena" trademark first used in 1879 (wheat breakfast food). May 22, 1906 - Natural Food Company (Niagara Falls, NY), maker of shredded wheat, registered "Triscuit" trademark first used January 1, 1903 (biscuit or crackers). June 19, 1906 - Milton S. Hershey registered "Hershey's" trademark first used January 1, 1894 (chocolate, cocoa, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate coatings, chocolate liquors, and chocolate powder). June 26, 1906 - Bon-Bon Company, New York, NY, registered "Dentyne" trademark first used January 1, 1901 (chewing-gum) June 30, 1906 - Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906 (The "Wiley Act") became law (Meat Inspection Act was companion measure with Pure Food and Drug Act); prevented the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes" (named for Harvey W. Wiley, leader of "pure food crusade" -  chemist and physician, State chemist of Indiana, professor at Purdue University; had gone to Washington in 1883 as chief chemist of Department of Agriculture; made study of food adulteration bureau's principal business). 1907 - Hershey Company introduced "Kisses" milk chocolate candy; popular theory - candy named for sound or motion of chocolate being deposited during manufacturing process; August 1921 - single channel wrapper developed, flag added to product (2006 - wrapping machines wrap up to 1,300 KISSES a minute); March 6, 1923 - Hershey Foods Corporation registered "Hershey's Kisses" trademark first used July 1, 1907 (solid chocolates); 1942-1949 - not produced due to rationing of silver foil during and after World War II; 1990 - KISSES Brand Chocolates with Almonds introduced; 2006 - 80 million KISSES Brand Chocolates made every day; 99 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates equals one pound of chocolate. 1907 - Nathan Radutzky (24), Russian immigrant from Kiev, Ukraine, produced first batch of Halvah ("sweet meat" in Turkish), 3,000-year-old Turkish confection (made with crushed sesame seeds, honey, soya protein), one of oldest in world, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan; 1908 - founded Independent Halvah and Candies, ethnic and specialty food manufacturer, to sell Halvah to delicatessens and street peddlers; after WW II, name changed to The Joyva Corporation; July 2, 1974 - registered "Joyva" trademark (logo) first used in another form as early 1940 (candy); owned, operated by third-generation of family. 1907 - Giovanni Buitoni, young heir to Perugina, Luisa Spagnoli, confectioner , established Perugina Chocolates in ancient Umbrian hill town of Perugia, in central Italy; 1922 - Luisa created Perugina's signature chocolate, Baci or "kisses" in Italian; 1939 - introduced to U.S.A at 1939 World's Fair in New York; April 7, 1964 - Societa per Azioni Perugina registered "Perugina" trademark (translated as "The girl from Perugia") first used January 1, 1957 (candies of various kinds); 1988 - Buitoni-Perugina Pasta Company acquired by Nestle. April 2, 1907 - Washburn-Crosby Company, Minneapolis, MN, registered "Gold Medal" flour trademark first used January 1, 1888 (wheat flour). August 17, 1907 - Seattle established Pike Place market on nine acres; eight farmers brought their wagons to corner of First Avenue and Pike Street; quickly overwhelmed by estimated 10,000 shoppers; sold out by 11:00 am; proposed by Seattle City Councilman Thomas Revelle as public street market that would connect farmers directly with consumers who could "Meet the Producer" directly; December 1907 -first Market building opened, every space filled; 2007 - home to nearly 200 year-round commercial businesses; 190 craftspeople, 120 farmers rent table space by the day; 240 street performers, musicians; 300 apartment units (low-income elderly people); attracts 10 million visitors a year. 1908 - Theodore Tobler introduced triangle-shaped Toblerone ("Tobler" with "torrone," nougat candy) chocolate bar; 1909 - first patented milk chocolate candy containing honey and almonds; 1970 - A.G. Chocolat Tobler and Chocolat Suchard S.A., another Switzerland-based chocolate manufacturer, joined forces as Suchard Tobler to enable Toblerone chocolates to broaden distribution. 1909 - Harry V. Warehime established Hanover Pretzel Company with a single recipe, Hanover Olde Tyme Pretzels; 1923 - William and Helen Snyder opened first pretzel bakery with sons Edward and Bill; 1961 - Snyder's family distribution business (sales of $400,00), acquired by Hanover Canning; 1963 - acquired Bechtel Pretzel Company (recipe for Sourdough Hard Pretzels); 1977 - company focused on pretzels, potato chips as core products; 1980 -Snyder's of Hanover Snack Operation (sales of $15.8 million) spun off from Hanover Brands. 1909 - M. B. Moraghan obtained permit for harvesting oysters from Tomales Bay (entered trade in oysters from Shoalwater Bay, Washington in 1868, introduced Pacific oysters to San Francisco in 1896; planted oyster beds in Tamales Bay, founded Tomales Bay Oyster Company in 1906); 1936 - last commercial oysters harvested from San Francisco Bay; Company acquired by Gretchen and Drew Alden, partners; 2009 - acquired by Tod Friend, owner of Marshall (CA) Store since 2006; California's oldest continuously run shellfish farm; oysters, mussels, clams - $2.6 million business in Marin County (4% of county's $67 million agricultural yield, according to Marin County Department of Agriculture). 1909 - P. Edward Pearson, with assistance of his brothers, John Albert and Oscar F. Pearson, founded Pearson Candy Company as candy distribution firm; 1912 - began manufacturing candy; Waldemar and C. Fritz Pearson (brothers) joined company; introduced Nut Goodie Bar (premium 5-cent candy bar), one of company's first manufactured products; 1933 - introduced Salted Nut Roll (name changed to Choo Choo Bar to distinguish it from competitors; name dropped, Pearson's name prominently displayed on wrapper); end of World War II - concentrate solely on candy manufacturing; 1944 - William Henning Pearson (youngest brother), George Pearson (son of founder P. Edward Pearson) joined family business; 1951 - acquired Trudeau Candy Company (Saint Paul, MN), known for Seven-Up Bar, Mint Pattie; 1968 - acquired by ITT/Continental Baking; 1979 - acquired by confectionery partnership; 1985 - acquired by former employees, Larry Hassler (CFO), Judith Johnston; manufactured 1.5 million General Mills Nature Valley Granola Bars/day; 1986 - General Mills pulled out; 1998 - acquired Bun Bar trademark (first manufactured in early 1900's) from Clark Bar America; 2009 - 28th largest candy company in America; produces 35,000 Nut Goodie and Bun Bars, 225,000 Salted Nut Rolls, 2.1 million Mint Patties daily. 1909 - H. J. Heinz opened production facility in Leamington, ON; moved seven staff to Leamington, hired 60 employees for first harvest; 1910 - made ketchup; 1940 - incorporated as Canadian company; 1960s - average tomato yield rose to 700 or 800 bushels per acre (vs.100 bushels in 1920s); 1961 - company payroll was around $9 million, paid Ontario farmers $23 million for their production; 2009 - 48 tomato growers deliver from more than 5,000 acres, many other farmers are involved; 1,300 full-time employees in Canada, about 800 in Leamington (second largest Heinz facility in world); produces over 650 million bottles of ketchup/year; Canada - 2nd largest consumer per capita of ketchup in world (behind Finland), 1.4 liters per person/year). January 1, 1909 - John J. and Peter Schmid (brothers) used $500 they had saved, $300 they borrowed from neighbor, bought two horses, two wagons, some milk bottles, cans, dippers, hand-cranked freezer to begin daily deliveries to Orrville, OH homes; customers called them "Smith" brothers, easier to pronounce than Schmid; established Smith Dairy Products Company; June 24, 1997 - Smith Dairy Products Company registered "Smith's The Dairy in the Country" trademark; 2009 - still family owned; Steve and John Schmid (grandsons) as president, vice president, respectively; manufactures full line of quality dairy, beverage, ice cream, foodservice products. John, Peter Schmid - Smith Brothers Dairy Products (http://www.smithdairy.com/images/earlyyears-2.gif) 1910 - Francis Atherton Bean Sr. introduced Robin Hood Flour (former President of Polar Star Milling Company of Fairbault, MN, which had declared bankruptcy in 1891 due to rising railroad freight rates, plunging flour prices, and New Prague Flouring Mill Company, rented in New Prague, MN in 1892, been reclaimed by former owner in 1896; had leased McLean Mill in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1909, renamed Saskatchewan Flour Mills Ltd. (parent company became International Milling); 50 workers, 12 field salesmen; 1911 - repaid principal, interest (more than $200,000) to Polar Star Milling creditors; 1912 - produced 1600 barrells of flour/day; renamed Robin Hood Flour Mills, Ltd. (brand name flour introduced around 1910 exclusively for Canadian markets); February 1, 1916 - Robin Hood Flour Mills, Ltd. registered "Robin Hood" trademark first used June 1, 1911 (farina, rolled oats, and oatmeal); 1938 - Francis Atherton Bean, Jr. named president; 1945 - leading consumer flour in Canada; 1964 - International Milling went public; 1970 - renamed International Multifoods; 1980 - revenues exceeded $1 billion; 1980s - transformed from flour milling, consumer foods company into food service distribution, manufacturing company; 1984 - acquired Vendors Supply of America, vending distributor with $900 million in annual sales; April 25, 2010 - U.S. flour milling operations acquired by ConAgra Inc. July 1, 1910 - Ward Baking Company of Chicago opened first completely automatic bread plant in U.S.; dough not touched, not handled until placed on wrapping machine. 1911 - Frank and Ethel Mars made, sold variety of butter-cream candies from kitchen of their home in Tacoma, WA; 1913 - rented first factory, Mars Candy Factory, Inc.; 1914-1915 - moved to another factory; 1916 - moved to third factory, 125 employees; business failed; 1920 - returned to Minneapolis, MN, started Nougat House basket candies business; 1922 - introduced Mar-O-Bar, changed name to Mar-O-Bar Company to manufacture chocolate candy bars (later incorporated as Mars, Inc.); 1923 - sales of $69,000; introduced Milky Way; March 10, 1925 - Frank C. Mars, doing business as Mar-O-Bar Company, registered "Milky Way" trademark first used in 1922 (candy); 1926 - name changed to Mars Candies; February 28, 1928 - Mars Incorporated dba Mar-O-Bar Company registered "Snickers" trademark first used in April 1923 (candy comprising candy bars); 1929 - known as Mars, Incorporated (200 employees); 1930 - sales of $26.7 million; Snickers Bar introduced; June 20, 1933 - registered Mars" trademark first used May 1, 1932 (candy); 1941 - introduced M&Ms Plain Chocolate Candies; August 11, 1942 - M. & M. Limited Partnership registered "M&Ms" trademark first used March 3, 1941 (candy); 1954 - introduced M&Ms Peanut Chocolate Candies; 1967 - Forrest Mars (son) took over; April 28, 2008 - $22 billion in sales; agreed to acquire Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company for $23 billion (included financing from Berkshire Hathaway, holding company run by Warren Buffett); Wrigley (founded 1891, $5.4 billion in sales, world leader in gum and confections) will become separate, stand-alone subsidiary of Mars (Berkshire Hathaway will make minority equity investment in Wrigley subsidiary); combined company would have strong foundation of established brands in six core growth categories -- chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum, food, drinks, petcare. August 15, 1911 - Procter & Gamble Company introduced Crisco as economical alternative to animal fats, butter = first solidified shortening product made entirely of vegetable oil, result of hydrogenation, new process which produced shortening that would stay in solid form year-round, regardless of temperature; July 24, 1917 - registered "Crisco" trademark first used June 1, 1911 (cooking-fat). October 3, 1911 - Corn Products Refining Company registered "Mazola" trademark first used June 5, 1911 (edible corn-oil). 1912 - Clarence A. Crane invented Life Savers candy in Cleveland, OH; needed new candy to supplement chocolate business (sales fell in hot weather); developed line of hard mints; contracted with a pill manufacturer to press the mints into shape; pressing process worked much better when the had mints were stamped out with hole in the middle; new candy called "Cranes Life Savers" because they looked like miniature life preservers; introduced Pep O Mint flavor; August 19, 1913 - Clarence Crane registered "Life Savers" trademark first used February 28, 1913 (candy); sold rights to Life Savers for $2900 to Edward J. Noble; mints became known as Pep-O-Mint Life Savers; mints packaged into rolls wrapped in tin foil to keep them fresh-tasting; March 20, 1917 - Mint Products Company, Incorporated (New York, NY) registered "Life Savers" trademark; 1925 - aluminum foil used for the first time; candy promoted at cash registers of saloons, cigar stores, drug stores, barbers shops, restaurants. Clarence Crane (left) -  Life Savers (http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/crane/images/father.jpg) 1912 - Three Sicilian immigrants, Gaetana LaMarca, Guiseppe Seminara, Michele Cantella, started small spaghetti manufacturing company, Prince Macaroni Mfg. Co., on Prince Street in Boston; November 30, 1920 - registered "Prince" trademark first used on December 14, 1912 (macaroni"); 1941 - Guiseppe Pellegrino (34), another Sicilian immigrant, joined company; soon bought controlling interest; 1953 - Boston advertising firm of Jerome O'Leary created famous slogan "Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day"; 1987 - acquired by Borden Inc.; July 11, 1997 - Prince Pasta Company ceased production. 1912 - California Associated Raisin Company formed; 1915 - Sun-Maid brand launched; now world's largest producer and processor of raisins, other dried fruits; 1916 - Lorraine Collett Petersen (Fresno, CA) became brand's original trademark Sun-Maid girl; April 30, 1918 - California Associated Raisin Co. (Fresno, CA), registered "Sun Maid" trademark first used April 19, 1915 (dried fruits). March 6, 1912 - National Biscuit Company introduced Oreo cookies (two embossed chocolate-flavored wafers with a rich vanilla frosting in between); origin of name unclear; August 12, 1913 - registered "Oreo" trademark first used March 6, 1912 (biscuit); November 20, 1913 - National Biscuit Company introduced Mallomars, chocolate covered marshmallow cookies (not sold in the Summer); April 7, 1914 - registered "Mallomars" trademark first used November 20, 1913 (biscuit). 1913 - Fred H. Wells paid $250 to Ray Bowers (LeMars, IA dairy farmer) for a horse, delivery wagon, few cans and jars, good will of the business in Iowa; original contract granted milk distribution route, guaranteed source of raw milk from Bowers's herd of 10 to 15 milk cows; became Wells' Dairy, Inc.; 1925 - began manufacturing ice cream; 1928 - ice cream distribution system in Sioux City, IA, right to use Wells' name acquired by Fairmont Ice Cream; 1935 - held "Name that Ice Cream" contest The Sioux City Journal; awarded $25 prize for submitting "BLUE BUNNY"; 1950s - Harold, Mike, Roy, Fay Wells (sons of original founder), Fred D. Wells (son of Harry C. Wells) formed partnership; 1994 - Iowa State Legislature officially designated Le Mars, IA as Ice Cream Capital of the World; more ice cream produced in Le Mars by Wells' Dairy, Inc. than in any other city in world; world's largest family-owned, managed dairy processor; world's largest manufacturer of ice cream in one location. 1914 - Charles N. Miller named bite-size peanut butter,� molasses candy for his favorite aunt, Mary Jane. 1914 - John E. Cain opened John E. Cain Co., cheese distribution company at Fanueil Hall, Boston, MA; 1924 - introduced Cains All Natural Mayonnaise (did not separate, kept creamy smooth texture, appearance); 1932 - acquired Sunrise Food Company (great tasting Potato Chips); 1939 - renamed Cains Potato Chips (exited potato chip business in 1981); 1950 - Robert Cain (son) took control; October 10, 1950 - John E. Cain Co. registered "Cain's" trademark first used in 1924 (mayonnaise, sandwich spread, sweet relish, horseradish with and without beets, tartar sauce, russian dressing, piccalilli, french dressing, mustard pickle, vegetable relish, olives, pickles, prepared mustard, grated cheese, and pickle chips); 1955 - acquired Jewett Pickle Company, Oxford Pickle Company; 1970 - direct delivery to grocery warehouses (instead of store-door delivery); 1986 - acquired by BolsWessanen (Heluva Good Cheese, Kemps Frozen Yogurt); renamed Cains Foods; 1995 - acquired by Denis J. Keaveny (private investor); 1998 - acquired Olde Cape Cod Company; 2000 - sold pickle division to M. A. Gedney Co. 1914 - Harry and David Holmes inherited 240-acre Bear Creek Orchards (father's death); grew Cornice pears (much sought by European grand hotels, restaurants); named their variety Royal Riviera; 1934 - mail-order business; 1938 - introduced "Fruit of the Month Club"; February 9, 1943 - Holmes Brothers d.b.a. Bear Creek Orchards registered "Harry and David" trademark first used September 5, 1942 (Fresh Fruits-Namely, Nectarines, Grapes, and Pears); 2009 - 136 stores across United States; world's leading catalog mail-order company of fruit, confections, roses. Harry and David Holmes - Harry and David (http://www.hndcorp.com/overview/images/harryanddavid.jpg) January 7, 1914 - Heath brothers confectionary opened in Robinson, IL; sold fountain drinks, ice cream, homemade candies; 1928 - developed formula for "English Toffee" (Hearth Toffee Bar); 1946 - L.S. Heath and Sons Inc. incorporated; 1989 - acquired by Leaf, Inc., division of Hutamaki Oy of Helsinki, Finland. 1915 - Emanuele Ronzoni founded Ronzoni Macaroni Company (had started small macaroni company in 1892; created Atlantic Macaroni Company in 1895 - in charge of production for 19 years); December 13, 1949 - registered "Ronzoni" trademark first used on May 1, 1919 (alimentary pastes, spaghetti sauce, and cereal food for infants, children, or convalescents). 1915 - Alfred E. Haigh established chocolate shop in Beehive Building in Adelaide, Australia; 1933 - Claude Haigh (son) took over (six shops); 1946 - John Haigh (grandson) joined company; 1960s - expanded to Melbourne; 2009 - 12 stores. January 19, 1915 - Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company registered "Doublemint" trademark first used July 28, 1914 (chewing-gum); June 29, 1915 - registered "Juicy Fruit" trademark first used January 1, 1894 (chewing gum). November 9, 1916 - California Packing Company (Calpak) created from merger of California Fruit Canners Association (formed in 1899 by merger of 18 canneries; comprised approximately half of entire California canning industry; largest canner of fruits and vegetables in world), Griffin & Skelley, Central California Canneries, J.K. Armsby Company, Alaska Packers Association; consolidated control over canning, drying, packing houses, brokers who sold products, farmers who grew them; April 1917 - first national advertising campaign featuring Del Monte (full color ads in national magazines like Good Housekeeping and the Saturday Evening Post); January 1, 1918 - registered "Del Monte" trademark first used October 1, 1891 (canned fruits, canned vegetables, canned fish, tomato sauce, catsup, peppers, sauerkraut, [baked beans, marmalades, jams, preserves, jellies, honey, maraschino cherries] dried fruits, and raisins); 1967 - name changed to Del Monte Corporation; 1979 - acquired by R.J. Reynolds Industries. 1917 - J. J. and B.A (son) Simon, Latvian immigrants, established Table Supply Meat Company in Omaha, NE; 1952 - first mail order venture (meats shipped in dry ice-filled, wax lined, cardboard cartons - by train); aided by direct parcel shipping, polystyrene shipping coolers, vacuum packaging; 1961 - Nebraska Governor Frank B. Morrison sent Table Supply Meat Company steaks to all U.S. Governors and President Kennedy; 1963 - first direct mail flyers and catalogs sent to customers; 1966 - name changed to Omaha Steaks International; 2006 - two fifth-generation family members now play major roles in managing the company. May 1, 1917 - Prune, apricot growers of San Joaquin Valley, CA formed California Prune and Apricot Growers Association, Inc. as agricultural marketing cooperative to offer crops of its members to consumers at better prices than were offered by individual growers; membership of about 7,000 controlled about 75% of apricot-bearing acreage, 80% of prune-bearing acreage in California; May 14, 1918 - registered "Sunsweet" trademark first used July 7, 1917 (dried apricots and prunes); April 1921 - reincorporated; 1960 - name changed to Sunsweet Growers, Inc. December 1917 - Eight family companies (branches of the Mogi family) merged to form Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. (predecessor of Kikkoman Corporation), with capital of 7 million yen; April 1925 - merged with Noda Shoyu Jozo Co., Ltd., Manjo Mirin Co., Ltd., Nippon Shoyu Co., Ltd.; June 1957 - Kikkoman International Inc. established in San Francisco, CA; July 1961 - Kikko Food Industries Co., Ltd. establishe (July 1991 - became Nippon Del Monte Corporation.); October 1964 - Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. renamed Kikkoman Shoyu Co., Ltd.; October 1980 - Kikkoman Shoyu Co., Ltd. renamed Kikkoman Corporation; 2007 - 17th generation of family ownership; oldest among large industrial companies in Japan. 1919 - Isaac Carasso, doctor and member of prominent Sephardic Jewish Carasso family of Ottoman Selanik, founded yogurt factory in Barcelona, Spain; opened small yogurt business named "Danone" (variation on Catalan nickname of his son, Daniel); perfected first industrial process for making yogurt, combined traditional method of making yogurt with pure cultures isolated in Paris (lactic ferments from the Pasteur Institute); 1929 - Daniel Carasso (son) established Danone in France; 1942 - founded first American yogurt company, Dannon Milk Products, Inc., in Bronx, NY (name changed to DANNON to make the brand sound more American); January 12, 1943 - Dannon Milk Products Inc. registered "Dannon" trademark first used June 25, 1942 (Milk Products-Namely, Yogurt); 1947 - introduced yogurt with strawberry fruit on bottom; 1959 - Dannon Milk Products Inc. acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1979 - first perishable dairy product sold coast to coast; 1967 - Danone merged with Gervais, leading fresh cheese business in France; formed Gervais Danone; 1973 - merged with BSN (formed in 1966 by merger of Glaces de Boussois, Souchon-Neuvesel), leading glass container, beverages company; renamed SN Gervais Danone, one of world's largest food manufacturers present in 30 countries worldwide; 1994 - renamed Groupe Danone; 2007 - acquired Numico, Dutch baby food and clinical nutrition company; became world's second largest manufacturer of baby food. Isaac Carasso - Danone Group (http://www.dannon.com/Images/ad_herit_carasso.gif) 1919 - Henry Glade Milling Company, Ravenna Mills, Hastings Mills, Blackburn-Furry Mill merged, incorporated as Nebraska Consolidated Mills (NCM) in Grand Island, NE; 1941 - expanded outside Nebraska, built flour mill in Alabama; 1969 - acquired Montana Flour Mills Company, flour milling business spanned U. S.; flour made up 40% of sales; 1971 - renamed ConAgra, Inc.; 1980 - acquired Banquet Foods from RCA, entered frozen food market; 1982 - acquired Peavey Company, became largest publicly-held grain merchandiser; 1988 - acquired Lamb Weston, largest U. S. frozen potato processor; 1990 - acquired Beatrice Foods; 1991 - merged with Golden Valley Microwave Foods; 1993 - acquired Hebrew National Foods; 1994 - acquired Marie Callender (frozen meats, pot pies); 1995 - acquired Knotts Berry Farm Foods; 2006 - divested meat, seafood, cheese businesses. 1919 - Peter Paul Halajian, five Armenian associates, joined to expand Halajian's home-made chocolate business, open small shop; formed Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company; first product - Konabar (blend of coconut, fruits, nuts, chocolate); made at night when air coolest, sold fresh, door-to-door following day"; 1920 - introduced Mounds candy bar; December 12, 1922 - Peter Paul Candy Mfg. Co., Inc. registered "Mounds" trademark first used May 1, 1920 (candy); 1946 - introduced Almond Joy (sold for ten cents); March 7, 1950 - Peter Paul, Inc. registered "Almond Joy" trademark first used December 10, 1945 (candy); April 11, 1950 - Peter Paul, Inc. registered "Peter Paul Distinctive Candies" first used May 1, 1920 ([chewing gum] and candy); September 30, 1952 - York Cone Company registered "York" trademark first used January 28, 1922 (peppermint pattie mint); 1972 - acquired York Cone Company (York Peppermint Pattie); 1978 - acquired by Cadbury; 1988 acquired by Hershey Foods. August 19, 1919 - William B. Ward, Buffalo, NY, registered "Hostess" trademark first used January 3, 1919 ("Bread, Biscuits, and Cakes"). 1920 - Arthur W. Perdue founded backyard table egg business in Salisbury, MD; 1925 - built company's first hatchery, began selling layer chicks to farmers; 1930 - Frank Perdue (19) left college, joined father's business; 1950s - incorporated as A.W. Perdue & Son, Frank Perdue took over leadership; 1968 - began operating its first poultry processing plant; 1970 - began now-famous TV commercials, Frank Perdue became one of first corporate leaders to serve as advertising spokesperson (filmed more than 150 TV commercials); November 19, 1974 - Perdue Farms Incorporated registered 'Perdue' trademark first used in 1968 (chicken and parts thereof); 1974 - introduced PERDUE Oven Stuffer Roaster, proprietary breed; Jim Perdue (son) assumed leadership.   Frank Perdue - Perdue Farms (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/ 2005/04/01/national/01cnd-perd.184.jpg) 1920 - Harry R. Burt, Youngstown OH candy maker, created the Jolly Boy Sucker, a lollypop on a stick; created first ice cream on a stick; October 9, 1923 - received patent for "Process of Making Frozen Confection" (not for confection itself); Good Humor Ice Cream Bar (name came from the belief that a person's "humor" or temperament was related to the humor of the palate); sent out a fleet of 12 chauffeur-driven trucks with bells to make door-to-door deliveries; October 21, 1924 - registered "Good Humor" trademark (used in another form in December 1921; ice cream suckers); 1930 - M.J. Meehan, New York businessman and investor, acquired the national rights to the company (bought 75% of the shares.); 1961 - acquired by Thomas J. Lipton Company, U.S. operating subsidiary of Unilever; 1993 - name changed to Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream. Harry Burt - Good Humor (http://www.goodhumor.com/Images/519/519-114290.png) 1920 - Donley Cross, Charlie Fox opened Fox-Cross Candy Company in Emeryville, CA with candy bar called the Nu Chu; 1922 - introduced Charleston Chew, named after dance craze; vanilla-flavored nougat covered with milk chocolate; one of earliest candy bars to capitalize on use of freezer in home refrigerator; 1957 - acquired by Nathan Sloane; February 1, 1972 - registered "Charleston Chew" trademark first used April 1, 1924 (candy); 1980 - acquired by Nabisco; 1988 - acquired by Warner Lambert; 1993 - acquired by Tootsie Roll Industries. 1920 - E.K Pond label of Swift & Company (acquired in 1904 from Henry Clay Derby, Derby Foods name adopted) introduced introduced peanut butter; later adopted patented Rosefield hydrogenation technology; became first emulsified peanut butter sold to public; 1928 - changed name to Peter Pan Peanut Butter; originally packaged in tin can with a turn key, re-closable lid, switched to glass during World War II; September 12, 1933 - Leo C. Brown, of Chicago, IL, received a patent for "Peanut Butter" ("improvements in food products of paste-like consistency of the character of nut butter, such as peanut butter or the like"); assigned to E. K. Pond Company; 1955 - glass jar with screw-off cap introduced; April 14, 1970 - Derby Foods, Inc. registered "Peter Pan" trademark first used March 1, 1927 (peanut butter); 1984 - acquired by Beatrice/Hunt-Wesson product group; 1990 - acquired by Conagra, Inc. 1920 - Ilhan New, Wally Smith canned bean sprouts at Detroit grocery store; 1922 - incorporated La Choy Food Products Company; August 20, 1929 - La Choy Food Products, Inc. registered "La Choy" trademark first used in 1922 (canned food product, the principal ingredients of which are water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and vegetable sprouts); November 1943 - acquired by Beatrice Food Company; 1984 - fully integrated into Hunt-Wesson division; 1986 - Beatrice acquired by Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts; 1990 - acquired by ConAgra, Inc. 1920s - Caesar Gardini invented caesar salad in Tijuana, Mexico. 1920s - Harry Burnett Reese formed H.B. Reese Candy Company, began manufacturing candy, first in basement of his home, later in basement of  restaurant; 1928 - created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, peanut butter-filled chocolate cups; 1963 - acquired by Hershey. 1920s - Robert Welch founded Oxford Candy Company in Brooklyn, NY; 1925 - introduced Papa Sucker, flat piece of caramel on a stick so it could be eaten like a lollipop; licensed to Brach's candy company in Chicago; 1932 - name changed to Sugar Daddy (popular expression at time); joined brother's company, James O. Welch Company; 1935 - introduced Sugar Baby, spin-off from success of Sugar Daddy (young women on whom middle-aged "Sugar Daddies" spent money); created Junior Mints, and Pom Poms. August 10, 1920 - Vermont Maple Syrup Company, Inc., Essex Junction, VT, registered "Vermont Maid" trademark first used April 22, 1919 (blended cane and maple table syrup). 1921 - Washburn Crosby's Home Services Department created "Betty Crocker" to respond to cooking, baking questions received from Gold Medal flour advertisement in Saturday Evening Post ("Crocker" chosen in honor of recently retired company director, "Betty" chosen for friendly sound); 1924 - Betty Crocker given voice (Blanche Ingersoll) on Gold Medal Flour Home Service Talks on WCCO radio station owned by Washburn Crosby; 1936 - given a face (created by Neysa McMein, commercial artist); January 16, 1951 - General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, registered "Betty Crocker" trademark first used September 20, 1924 (wheat flour, prepared cake mixes, pie crust mix); 1955 - image updated by Hilda Taylor portrait; March 19, 1996 - image updated in John Stuart Ingle portrait. Marjorie Child Husted - home economist, radio voice of Betty Crocker until 1950 (http://books.google.com/books?id=jViWRdeJ1DkC&pg=PA120&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&ots=NyOdnyAi8I&sig=ACfU3U3t-duvRXrS7UpKV8pB5TJGJ2hFVQ&w=685) Adelaide Hawley Cumming - original Betty Crocker from 1952 -1964 on TV (http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V61N3/photos/59-2.JPG) 1921 - Earl Wise. Sr., owner of Wise Delicatessen in Berwick, PA, made potato chips from excess potato inventory; founded Wise Potato Chip Company; leading potato chip company in eastern United States; July 23, 1935 - registered "Wise Potato Chips" trademark first used January 1935 (potato chips); 1964 - acquired by Borden; 1969 - name changed to Wise Foods, Inc. to reflect wide variety of snacks sold; 1990's - acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.); 2000 - acquired by Palladium Equity Partners, private investment firm; number three in national market share in potato chips at 3.1%, (private-label chips 6.4%, Frito-Lay with 68% share); 2005 - Official Potato Chip of New York Mets. 1921 - Henry Ford applied existing technology to convert wood waste (hardwood chips) from sawmills (used in production of Model T's) into charcoal briquettes (charred, ground, mixed with starch, compressed into pillow-shaped briquettes patented in 1897 by Ellsworth Zwoyer); relied on E.G. Kingsford (Ford dealer, married to Ford's cousin) to select site ( 313,447 acres) for wood production, charcoal processing plant in Iron Mountain area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula; December 29, 1923 - charter for newly formed Village of Kingsford approved (city charter approved August 7, 1947); 1924 - chemical plant reclaimed 610 pounds of charcoal per ton of scrap wood, produced 55 tons of briquettes each day, sold as Ford Charcoal Briquets ($25/bag) to industry (meat, fish smokehouses, foundries, tobacco-curing plants), to car customers through Ford dealerships; 1951 - acquired by local investment group; renamed The Kingsford Chemical Company; Ford Charcoal renamed Kingsford Charcoal; September 22, 1953 - registered "Kingsford" trademark first used December 17, 1951 (charcoal briquettes); 1973 - acquired by The Clorox Company; 1999 - controlled about half of $455 million market. E.G. Kingsford (top frame, far right) - Kingsford Charcoal (http://www.creativepro.com/files/story_images/20060904_fg17.jpg) 1921 - Norman Nash "brewed" sauce in his kitchen in Shooter's Hill, Jamaica; combination of tomatoes, onions, mangoes, raisins, garlic, thyme cloves, some secret ingredients; cooked, stored in oak barrels for year before being separated and bottled (bottled sauce has shelf life of five years); 1945 - rights acquired by Joseph Lyn Kee Chow; July 24, 1973 - Pickapeppa Company, Ltd. registered "Pickapeppa" trademark first used April 7, 1943 (sauce, hot pepper sauce, manho chitney, white veinegar, cane vinegar). May 21, 1921 - Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis, IN introduced Wonder bread; red, yellow and blue logo conceived by Taggart Vice President Elmer Cline (inspired by International Balloon Race at Indianapolis Speedway); 1925 - acquired by Continental Baking; July 13, 1926 - Taggart Baking Company registered "Wonder" trademark first used May 1, 1921 (bread and cake); 1930s - began shipping Wonder Bread in sliced form; 1960s - advertised with slogan "Helps build strong bodies in 12 ways" (referred to number of added nutrients); 1986 - lower-calorie Wonder Light bread introduced; 1995 - acquired by Interstate Brands Corporation; "Remember the Wonder" ad campaign launched. July 8, 1921 - Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association incorporated; 1924 - Mrs. E.B. Foss and Mr. George L. Swift won contest to choose brand name, trademark for its butter; April 7, 1925 - registered "Land O' Lakes" trademark (butter, dressed poultry, cheese, eggs); 1926 - cooperative changed corporate name to Land O' Lakes Creameries, Inc. (later to Land O' Lakes, Inc.); 1928 - painting of Indian maiden began facing viewer, holding butter carton and surrounded by lakes, pines, flowers, grazing cows placed on packaging; reflected Native American heritage of Upper Midwest; 1939 - simplified, modernized. July 19, 1921 - Breyer Ice Cream Company, Philadelphia, PA, registered "Breyers" trademark first used in May 1912 (ice-cream). July 13, 1921 - Christian K. Nelson, chocolate maker Russell C. Stover entered into a joint agreement in Des Moines, IA to produce, market Nelson's "I-Scream Bar"; name changed to Eskimo Pie ("coat ice cream with chocolate [sic] divide the profits equally"); decided to sell manufacturing rights to local ice cream companies for $500 to $1000, plus royalties on each Eskimo Pie sold; first 250,000 pies produced sold within 24 hours; January 24, 1922 - Nelson, of Onawa, IA, received patent for a "Confection"; Eskimo Pie; ice cream centre covered in chocolate; described: "in its simplest form, a block or brick or frozen confection within an edible container or shell. The core or center may be an ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, ice, or other material congealed by refrigeration"; shell was described as "like that used in coating chocolate candies, although preferably modified to harden at a lower temperature," and not too brittle; half patent assigned to Russell Stover (Chicago, IL); 1922 - Stover sold his share of the company; spring 1922 - 2,700 manufacturers sold one million Eskimo Pies per day; 1924 - acquired by United States Foil Company, supplier of Eskimo Pie wrapper (later known as Reynolds Metals Company); October 3, 1929 - U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared 1922 patent was invalid, due to "lack of invention"; April 13, 1943 - registered "Eskimo Pie" trademark first used October 3, 1921 (ice cream); 1992 - Eskimo Pie became independent of Reynolds' Metals.   Christian K. Nelson - Eskimo Pie (http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/images/d8553-2.jpg) November of 1921 - Charles See, his mother, his wife, Florence, opened first See's Candies shop and kitchen on Western Avenue in Los Angeles; mid-1920s - twelve shops; 1936 - opened in San Francisco; 1972 - acquired by Berkshire Hathaway; 2007 - over two hundred shops throughout West. September 1922 - Clarence Birdseye started Birdseye Seafoods Inc. to process chilled fish fillets at plant near the Fulton Fish Market in New York City (former U.S. field naturalist near the Arctic, learned technique of flash freezing from Labrador Inuit); 1924 - filed for bankruptcy; July 3, 1924 - organized General Seafood Corporation (began frozen foods industry); October 14, 1924 - received a patent for a "Method of Preserving Piscatorial Products" ('improved process for the preservation of fish and sea-foods in general"); November 30, 1926 - received a patent for a "Method in Preparing Foods and the Product Obtained Thereby" ("which will render the same more readily handles without damage, and more permanent in form when sliced, cooked or otherwise treated after purchase and in preparation for eating"); June 1929 - Postum Company acquired General Seafood Corporation for $22 million; later renamed General Foods Corporation; Birdseye relinquished all patents related to quick-freezing process, remained head of Research and Development (Birds Eye Frosted Foods division). Clarence Birdseye - frozen foods (http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bpp/Newsletters/ClarenceBirdseye.JPG) 1923 - Russell and Clara Stover began candy business in their home in Denver, CO (had sold interest in Eskimo Pie); marketed as "Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies"; 1941 - name changed to Russell Stover Candies; October 16, 1962 - registered "Russell Stover" trademark first used in 1941 (candy); 1969 - acquired by Louis Ward (made boxes for Stover chocolates; 35 retail stores, more than 2,000 agencies); March 1993 - acquired Stephen F. Whitman & Son ($85 million in sales), America's oldest continuous producer of boxed chocolates, for $35 million. Russell Stover - Russell Stover Candies (http://www.newton.k12.ks.us/tech/russellstover250.jpg) February 13, 1923 - Joseph Rosefield, of Alameda, CA, received a patent for "Peanut Butter and Process of Manufacturing the Same"; process to prevent oil separation in peanut butter (hydrogenated peanut butter); used finer grinding, hydrogenation, emulsifier to keep oil from separating; shelf-stable peanut butter would stay fresh for up to a year because oil didn't separate from peanut butter. February 14, 1923 - Velveeta (smooth as velvet) Cheese Company incorporated in Monroe, NY; packaged using 1921 invention of tinfoil lining that could house cheese inside wooden box; special cooking properties - would never curdle when heated; November 27, 1923 - Max O. Schaefer (d.b.a. Velveeta Cheese Company) registered 'Velveeta' trademark (cheese); 1927 - acquired by Kraft. 1924 - Ettore (Hector) Boiardi, formerly of Plaza Hotel in New York, Greenbriar in West Virginia, Hotel Winton in Cleveland, opened Il Giardino d'Italia restaurant in Cleveland; packaged pasta and sauce for customers to take home; 1930s - began selling pasta, sauce in cans; food distributor convinced him to change spelling of his name to 'Boyardee' to make it easier for Americans to pronounce; during World War II - largest supplier of rations for U.S. and Allied Forces; 1946 - acquired by conglomerate American Home Foods (now International Home Foods). for $6 million; September 28, 1965 - American Home Products registered "Chef Boyardee" trademark first used September 1929; 2000 - acquired by ConAgra. Ettore (Hector) Boiardi - Chef Boyardee (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/15/Chefboyardeepic.jpg/250px-Chefboyardeepic.jpg) 1924 - Johnson Company of Chicago produced Bit-O-Honey candy bar; almond bits embedded in honey-flavored taffy; July 14, 1925 - Schutter-Johnson Candy Co. registered "Bit-O-Honey" trademark first used October 1924 (candy); now owned by Nestle. 1924 - California Avocado Growers Exchange founded as grower-member-owned cooperative; packing volume of approximately 180,000 pounds; 1926 - renamed Calavo; 1928 - built first grower-owned packinghouse in Vernon, CA; 1931 - diversified product line with limes, avocado oil (Company's first processed food); 1943 - 31 sales offices nationwide; 1949 - began marketing papaya under Calavo Gold name; 1964 - expand internationally, beginning with Japan; 1965 - launched first processed consumer product, one pound can of "Avocado Dip" (guacamole); 1974 - sales of $25 million; 1990 - gross sales exceeded $150 million; 2001 - member-shareholders voted overwhelmingly to convert to for-profit status, became publicly traded company; 2004 - annual packing volume exceeded152 million pounds; 2009 - nation's largest avocado packer. 1924 - Benjamin Tillman “Pop” Byrd founded Byrd Cookie Co. in Savannah, GA; made cookies by hand in small building behind Norwood Avenue home, packed them in wooden boxes, delivered them in Model-T Ford to businesses around Savannah; one-man operation to international player in gourmet food industry; 2011 - fourth generation management. January 29, 1924 - Carl R. Taylor, of Cleveland, OH, received patent for a "Cone-Rolling Machine"; ice cream cone rolling machine; described as a "machine for forming thin, freshly baked wafers while still hot into cone shaped containers" for ice-cream. November 1924 - Ready-to-eat cereal, known as Washburn�€™s Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes, introduced; created when Minneapolis health clinician preparing wheat bran mixture accidentally spilled some on hot stove, created tasty wheat flakes; George Cormack, head miller at Washburn Crosby Company (General Mills's predecessor), perfected process for producing wheat flakes; name shortened to "Wheaties" as result of employee contest won by Jane Bausman, wife of company executive; June 9, 1925 - Washburn Crosby Company (Minneapolis, MN) registered "Wheaties" trademark first used November 12, 1924 (cereal food product); 1933 - brand's sports association began with sign on left field wall at Nicollet Park in south Minneapolis, home of Minneapolis Millers, minor league team; Minneapolis advertising man Knox Reeves created slogan: "Wheaties - The Breakfast of Champions"; 1934 - Lou Gehrig first athlete to appear on Wheaties box (back); August 29, 1939 - sponsored first televised commercial sports broadcast of game between Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers for some 500 owners of television sets in New York City; 1958 - Bob Richards, Olympic decathlon gold medalist, first athlete to appear on front of Wheaties box; 1984 - Mary Lou Retton, gold medal gymnast, first woman to appear on front of Wheaties box. December 9, 1924 - Wm. Wrigley, Jr. Company, Chicago, IL, registered "Wrigley's" (chewing gum) trademark first used January 1, 1892 (chewing gum). December 1, 1925 - Planters Nut & Chocolate Company, Suffolk, VA, registered "Mr. Peanut" trademark first used June 1916 (Candy, Salted Peanuts, Peanut Meal, Peanut Butter, and Candies Peanuts); March 5, 1935 - registered "Planters" trademark first used in 1906 (roasted peanuts, salted peanuts, peanut butter..."). 1926 - Joseph Draps founded chocolate company in Belgium named in honor of legend of Lady Godiva; 1974 - acquired by Campbell Soup Company. December 7, 1926 - Keebler Weyl Baking Co., Philadelphia, PA, registered "Keebler" trademark first used 1860 (cookies, cakes, crackers and fancy grade of biscuit-like articles coated with chocolate, fondant, and marshmallow). 1927 - Dorothy Gerber hand-strained solid food for her seven-month-old daughter; 1928 - became first baby food analyst at Fremont Canning Company (family produced line of canned fruits, vegetables); strained peas, prunes, carrots. spinach, to beef vegetable soup ready for national market; launched advertising campaign featuring coupon and Gerber Baby in publications from The Journal of the American Medical Association to Good Housekeeping; grocers placed orders by dozen; within six months, Gerber Baby Foods on grocery store shelves across nation; March 4, 1952 - Gerber Products Company registered "Gerber" trademark first used October 12, 1928 (canned foods for infants); 1994 - merged with Sandoz Ltd.; December 1996 - part of Novartis group of companies (formed by merger of Ciba-Geigy Ltd. and Sandoz Ltd.). Dorothy Gerber - Gerber Baby Foods (http://www.nestlebaby.com/NR/rdonlyres/9B0D51F9-DCE2-4601-9FEF-0106310B66A4/0/dorothy.jpg) 1927 - Austrian candy executive Eduard Haas (Vienna-based Haas Food Manufacturing Corporation) invented Pez candy (abbreviation of the German word for peppermint, PfeffErminZ); originally marketed as an adult mint for people trying to quit smoking; 1947 - Pez dispenser designed, looked like a cigarette lighter (patented in 1949); 1952 - exporting Pez candies to the United States; May 27, 1952 - registered "Pez" trademark (sweets). 1927 - Vincent Taormina's New York business merged with his cousin's business [Guiseppe] Uddo & Taormina Corporation of New Orleans, formed Progresso Italian Food Corporation of New York City; December 1, 1942 - Uddo Taormina Corp. registered "Progresso" trademark first used in 1922 (canned vegetables); 1949 - first Progresso premium soup was introduced (first canned, ready-to-serve soup in America). 1927 - Cal Stinson Sr. founded Stinson Seafood plant in Prospect Harbor, Maine; 1951 - Maine State Legislature established Maine Sardine Council; May 19, 1964 - Stinson Seafood Company L.P. registered "Beach Cliff" trademark first used in 1929 (canned sardines); 2001 - former Stinson Seafood plant acquired by Connors Bros.; 2004 - acquired by Bumble Bee Foods (federal limit on Atlantic herring - 180,000 metric tons); 2010 - New England Fishery Management Council reduced quota on Atlantic herring to 91,000 metric tons; America's largest producer of canned herring products; 500 employees at three modern canning facilities on coast of Maine; vertically integrated: fishing fleet, processing plants, automated factory that produces cans; April 18, 2010 - last remaining sardine cannery United States closed. 1928 - William Dreyer, former manager of National Ice Cream plant in Oakland, CA, partnered with candy-maker Joseph Edy (Edy's Character Candies Shop), opened Grand Ice Cream Company on Grand Avenue in Oakland; 1929 - Rocky Road flavor debuts; July 1947 - partnership dissolved; 1953 - William Dreyer, Jr. took over; name changed to Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream; 1963 - acquired by Al Wolff, Bob Boone and Ken Cook (company officers); May 20, 1977 - acquired by T. Gary Rogers, William F. Cronk (former classmates at Berkeley) for $1.1 million; leading manufacturer and distributor of packaged ice cream in the West; 1981 - went public; 1994 - #1 packaged ice cream in U.S., largest share in premium ice cream market; 2003 - 67% acquired by Nestle; January 2006 - 100% control acquired by Nestle ($2 billion in sales, more than 6,000 employees); world's biggest ice cream maker. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (http://www.dreyersinc.com/ images/ad_history_founders.gif) 1928 - Milton J. Holloway took over F. Hoffman & Company of Chicago, original manufacturer of Milk Duds chocolate covered caramels; named because original idea of perfectly round piece was impossible, word "duds" used; "milk" used to reflect large amount of milk in product. June 20, 1928 - General Mills incorporated; result of James Ford Bell's merging of Red Star Milling Company, Royal Milling Company, Kalispell Flour Mills Company; Rocky Mountain Elevator Company, Washburn Crosby Company; June 22, 1928 - came into existence; November 30, 1928 - stock first traded on New York Stock Exchange; 2001 - acquired The Pillsbury Company. November 27, 1928 - Kellogg Company registered "Rice Krispies" trademark first used February 29, 1928 (breakfast food). November 27, 1928 - Kellogg Company registered "Rice Krispies" trademark first used February 29, 1928 (breakfast food). 1929 - Alfred Nef and Alfred Gonzenbach, Swiss immigrants with knack for cheese making, established Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc. in Milbank, SD; farmers learned of many advantages of selling their milk rather than marketing their cream; 2009 - over 100 employees; Rudy Nef (son) Chairman; Max Gonzenbach (son) President; April 2009 - named South Dakota Business of the Year by South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry; May 13, 2009 - Rudy and Marilyn Nef provided a gift of undisclosed amount to Augustana College to create the Nef Family Chair of Political Economy (college's first endowed faculty chair); Robert Wright, 40, associate professor in economics department at New York University's Stern School of Business, held chair. 1930 - Marcus L. Urann, two other cranberry growers formed Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.; first introduced Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail; June 2, 1931 - Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (Lakeville-Middleboro, MA) registered "Ocean Spray" trademark first used October 1921 (fresh cranberries, canned cranberries, and cranberry syrup); 1963 - introduced juice industry's first juice blend--CranApple Cranberry Apple Juice Drink; 1976 - expanded co-op to include grapefruit growers from Florida's Indian River region; 1991 - introduced Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Drink. 1930 - Oscar Benson, Colonel ‘Bertie’ Dickson acquired small confectionery business at 164 Church Street, in Kensington, London; named Bendicks (combined first syllables of each last name; made chocolates in tiny basement); 1931 - Lucia Benson (sister-in-law) created mint chocolate recipe (mint fondant enrobed in 95% cocoa solids’ chocolate); named Bittermint; 1933 - opened store in heart of Mayfair (London); became known as Bendicks of Mayfair; 1962 - awarded Royal Warrant: “By Appointment of Her Majesty the Queen"; June 25, 1968 - Bendicks (Mayfair) LLC registered "Bendicks Bittermints" trademark fist used 1919 (mint flavored chocolates). 1930s - Ruth Wakefield, of Whitman MA, is credited with inventing chocolate chip cookies at her Toll House Restaurant; August 27, 1940 - Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. registered "Toll House" trademark first used April 10, 1940 (cookies); 1941 - Nestle began marketing her chip cookies to public; April 17, 1956 - Nestle S.A. Company, Inc. (White Plains, NY) registered "Toll House" trademark (cookie mix). March 6, 1930 - Clarence Birdseye conducted (via General Foods) "Springfield Experiment Test Market" in Springfield, MA ((had invested $7 in 1923, purchased electric fan, buckets of brine, some ice, invented system of packing, flash-freezing waxed cardboard boxes of fresh foods); sold 26 different (first) frozen vegetables, fruits, fish, meats at 18 retail stores to see how consumers would react to frozen foods; birth of retail frozen foods; May 20, 1930 - Clarence Birdseye, of Gloucester, MA, received a patent for a "Method of Preparing Consumer Packages" ("practiced most advantageously when it includes as one characteristic step the quick-freezing of the product"); August 12, 1930 - received a patent for a "Method of Preparing Food Products" ("treating food products by refrigerating same, preferably by "quick" freezing the product into a frozen block in which the pristine qualities and flavors of the product are retained for a substantial period after the block has been thawed"); packaged frozen food; assigned to Frosted Foods Company, Inc. (General Foods subsidiary); September 9, 1930 - received a patent for a "Method of Packaging Fruit Juices" ('without deterioration in flavor or composition...by freezing with sufficient rapidity to avoid such separation"); July 7, 1931 - Frosted Foods Company, Inc. registered "Birds Eye" trademark first used February 15, 1930 (frozen food products); November 3, 1952 - marketed first frozen peas in Chester, NY; 1961 - incorporated as producer, marketer of processed food products; 1983 - General Foods acquired by Philip Morris; 1993 - Birdseye acquired by Dean Foods Vegetable Company for about $140 million; 1998 - acquired by Agrilink Foods; February 10, 2003 - name changed to Birds Eye Foods Inc. to reflect company's largest brand. April 6, 1930 - Continental Baking Company executive Jimmy Dewar invented (Hostess) Twinkies; used machines for cream filled strawberry shortcake, idle after strawberry season, to make snack cake filled with banana filling, charged nickel for package of 2; came up with name when driving by a billboard that had an ad for shoes from the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Company", shortened name to ....Twinkies; June 20, 1961 - Continental Baking Company registered "Twinkie" trademark first used June 25, 1930 (cake); 1995 - acquired by Interstate Bakeries Corporation. April 28, 1931 - Automotive pioneer, industrialist, philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott (largest GM shareholder) acquired lands, sugar mill, other assets of bankrupt Southern Sugar Company in Florida; renamed United States Sugar Corporation; 1941 - Florida sugar industry profitable; early 1980s - largest sugar-producing state in country (U.S. Sugar Corporation largest sugar producer in state - internal transportation system, railroad with over 120 miles of track, 1100 railcars linking sugarcane fields with mills, extensive research facility); mid 1980s - employees became largest shareholders in Company through ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan); 2008 - one of country's largest privately held agricultural firms, farms nearly 187,858 acres of most productive farmland in United States, mills can process nearly 45,000 tons of sugarcane per day, produce over 700,000 tons of sugar per year. November 24, 1931 - General Mills, Inc. registered "Bisquick" trademark first used July 16, 1931 (biscuit flour). November 24, 1931 - Thomas Midgley, Jr., of Worthington, OH), Albert L. Henne (of Columbus, OH) and Robert R. McNary (of Dayton, OH) received a patent for "Heat Transfer" ("...to provide a process of refrigeration and, generically, a process of heat transfer in which...non-inflammability and non-toxicity are obtained in combination with the desired boiling points"); flurocarbon refrigeration (Freon). 1932 - Charles Elmer Doolin of San Antonio, TX, operator of the Highland Park Confectioner, purchased rights to unknown corn chip product to diversify his ice cream business; spent $100 for corn chip recipe, 19 retail accounts, manufacturing equipment (converted hand-operated potato ricer); established new business venture in his mother's kitchen; 1933 - increased Fritos production from 10 pounds to nearly 100 pounds an hour; August 29, 1933 - Daisy D. Doolin (dba FRITO Company) registered FRITOS trademark first used March 27, 1932 (cakes); 1939 - Herman W. Lay, former major distributor of Gardner's Potato Chips for Barrett Food Products Company, formed H.W. Lay Corporation in Atlanta, GA as a distributor of potato chips; 1944 - changed product name to Lay's Potato Chips; 1945 - first of  FRITOS franchises offered to The H.W. Lay Company of Atlanta, GA; 1950 - FRITOS sold in all 48 states; 1954 - Frito sales of $21 million; 1956 - H.W. Lay & Company & Company largest manufacturer of potato chips, snack foods in United States; more than 1,000 employees, plants in eight cities, branches or warehouses in thirteen others; LAY'S Potato Chips is America's favorite potato chip; January 12, 1971 - Frito-Lay Inc. registered "Lays" trademark first used May 1, 1938 ([snack foods-namely,] potato chips [and sticks, popcorn, nuts (shelled and unshelled), and cookie sandwiches]). Charles Elmer Doolin - Fritos (http://media.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2007/oct/frito/doolin_family200.jpg?t=1248631062) Herman W. Lay - Lay's Potato Chips (http://www.fritolay.com/assets/images/head/au-how-it-all-CEDoolin.gif) 1932 - Rosefield Packing Co. (Alamada, CA) introduced Skippy Peanut Butter (based on February 13, 1923 patented manufacturing process); first use of "Skippy" as trademark for peanut butter (apparently taken from Percy Crosby cartoon character of same name, invalidated in 1934); canceled exclusive licensing agreement with Swift & Co., makers of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, following a dispute; February 1, 1933 - began selling Skippy; introduced chunk-style peanut butter; December 21, 1948 - registered "Skippy" trademark first used February 1, 1933 (peanut butter); April 18, 1950 - Fitzhugh L. Avera, of Alameda, CA, received patent for a "Process of Manufacturing Stabilized Nut Butters" ("improved process of with hydrogenated stabilizers to afford end products substantially devoid of taste sensations of waxiness or unctuosity"); new type of cold-processed hydrogenated peanut oil; assigned to Rosefield Packing Co.; 1954 - company had nearly 25 percent of U.S. peanut butter market; 1955 - company acquired by BestFoods; June 6, 2000 - British-Dutch food giant Unilever NV agreed to buy BestFoods in deal worth $24.3 billion; April 5, 2004 - U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear trademark infringement suit by Joan Crosby Tibbetts, daughter of Percy Crosby, against Skippy's manufacturer, BestFoods division of multinational conglomerate Unilever; [may have] ended 39-year quest to invalidate Skippy trademark registered by CPC International. November 15, 1932 - MARS, Incorporated registered "3 MUSKETEERS" trademark first used May 1, 1932 (candy); third brand produced, manufactured by company; named for original design of product (three pieces, three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry). February 16, 1932 - James E. Markham, of Xenia, IL, received a patent for a "Peach" ("cross of the J. H. Hale peach and an unknown yellow variety of a strong and vigorous character, the object in view being by reproduction to combine and improve the good characteristics of the two varieties so as to obtain a better tree, large in size, bearing good quality fruit and possessing other characteristics which go to make a good commercial or marketable peach"); assigned to Stark Bro's Nurseries and Orchards Company of Louisiana, MS; first patent for fruit tree, seventh plant patent in U.S. July 12, 1932 - Otto Frederick Rohwedder, of Davenport, IA, received a patent for a "Machine for Slicing an Entire Loaf of Bread at a Single Operation"; first loaf-at-a-time bread-slicing machine with multiple cutting bands; 1928 - Chillicothe Baking Company (Chillicothe, MO) installed first machine; July 7, 1928 - first sliced bread produced ("Kleen Maid Sliced Bread"); 1929 - Rohwedder sold invention to Bettendorf (Iowa) Company (acquired by Micro-Westco., Inc. of Davenport); served as vice-president, sales manager of company for many years. Otto Frederick Rohwedder - invented sliced bread (http://www.albionmich.com/history/histor_notebook/images/sRohwedderOtto.jpg) 1933 - Harry and Pat Olivieri made first version of Philadelphia cheese steak in their corner hot dog stand nera the Italian market in South Philadelphia (Pat's King of Steaks); piled sliced, grilled beef with onions on rolls; decades later - Cheez Whiz added to steak and onions; provalone, American cheese, pizza sauce became options. November 13, 1933 - First sit-down strike in American history held by workers at packing plant of George A. Hormel and Company in Austin, MN. 1934 - Norton Simon started Val Vita Food Products; built business from annual sales of $45,000 to $9 million company in less than a decade; became something of star in California canning business; 1943 - merged Val Vita Food Products, formed new company, Hunt Foods, headed company. 1934 - O.D. and Ruth McKee bought small, three-employee bakery in downtown Chattanooga, TN; converted cookie shop into a 5-cent cake bakery; 1950s - named McKee Baking Company; 1960 - introduced "Little Debbie" snack cakes (his granddaughter’s name); first bakery to sell individually wrapped cakes in multipack carton; July 31, 1962 - McKee Baking Company registered "Little Debbie" trademark first used August 23, 1960 (oatmeal cream pie); 1963 - used bow-tie logo; 1991 - name changed to McKee Foods Corporation; 2010 - more than $1 billion in annual sales, more than 6,000 employees nationally. Little Debbie (serving samples) - Snack Cakes (http://media.timesfreepress.com/img/photos/2010/01/22/0123_web_lb_little_debbie_t305.jpg?ba7ba0dd8d7f1e464d5eb01fb9ba8c10bd9c61fe) October 2, 1934 - Dale W. McMillen founded, incorporated Central Soya Company in Decatur, IN (livestock feeds and soybeans); June 1985 - acquired by Shamrock Holdings Inc. (privately owned by Roy E. Disney family); October 1987 - acquired by Ferruzzi Finanziaria SpA in Ravenna, Italy; October 2002 - acquired by Bunge Limited. 1935 - Nabisco launched Ritz Crackers in US; January 5, 1937 - National Biscuit Company registered "Ritz" cracker trademark first used November 1, 1934 (bakery products-namely biscuit). 1936 - Joseph W. Luter, Sr. and his son, Joseph W. Luter, Jr., opened Smithfield Packing plant in Smithfield, VA; 1969 - acquired by Liberty Equities; 1981 - first major acquisition, Gwaltney of Smithfield, local rival and well-established pork products company; 1984 - acquired 80% of Patrick Cudahy for $27.5 million (100-year-old Wisconsin company that was losing money but famous for its sweet apple-wood smoked sausages, bacon and ham); 1995 - acquired John Morrell & Co., largest acquisition to date, allowed Smithfield Foods to expand throughout Midwestern United States; October 2003 - won Farmland Foods, sixth-largest U.S. pork processor, in court-supervised bankruptcy auction; 2006 - sales exceeded $11 billion, 24 percent average annual compounded rate of return to investors since 1975, world's largest pork processor and hog producer, largest turkey producer in U. S., fifth-largest U.S. beef processor. 1937 - Margaret Rudkin, Connecticut woman who began baking preservative-free bread for her son who had allergy to commercial breads with preservatives, artificial ingredients; began small business out of her kitchen, sold "Pepperidge Farm" bread to local grocers; named for family's farm in Fairfield, CT; September 20, 1938 - registered "Pepperidge Farm" trademark first used September 1, 1937 (bread and cereal food products, particularly breakfast cereals, cracked wheat flour and corn meal); July 4, 1947 - opening of company's first modern bakery in Norwalk, CT; 1955 - launched Distinctive line of European-style cookies (reached agreement with Delacre Company in Brussels); 1961 - acquired by Campbell Soup Company. Margaret Rudkin - Pepperidge Farm (http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/Images/photo-margaret5.jpg) 1937 - Necco introduced Sky Bars; first molded chocolate bar with 4 distinctly different centers (caramel, vanilla, peanut or fudge); first advertised to public in sky-writing campaign. January 1, 1937 - At a party at the Hormel Mansion in Minnesota, a guest won $100 for naming a new canned meat -- Spam (originally called HORMEL Spiced Ham); August 22, 1950 - Geo. A. Hormel & Co. registered "SPAM" trademark first used May 11, 1937 (canned meat product, consisting primarily of pork chopped and molded in loaf form in the can); 1959 - produced one-billionth can of SPAM Luncheon Meat. March 25, 1937 - Quaker Oats paid Babe Ruth $25,000 per year for ads. July 13, 1937 - Vernon Rudolph bought secret yeast-based doughnut recipe from French chef from New Orleans, rented building in Old Salem (Winston Salem), NC, began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts to grocery stores; March 13, 1951 - Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation registered "Krispy Kreme" trademark first used August 1934 (doughnuts and the mix for making same). 1938 - Abram, Ira, Philip, Joseph Shorin established Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. in Brooklyn, NY; 1947 - incorporated, developed Bazooka bubble gum; named after humorous 1930's musical instrument made from two gas pipes and a funnel by Bob Burns; 1951 - baseball cards introduced; 1953 - Bazooka Joe comics introduced; January 27, 1959 - registered "Bazooka Joe" trademark first used in August 1954 (comic strip in sheet form); 1972 - went public; 1984 - acquired in leveraged buyout led by Forstmann Little & Company; 1987 - went public again; September 19, 2007 - shareholders approved sale of company for $385.4 million to Tornante Co. investment firm (Michael Eisner), Madison Dearborn Partners LLC. 1938 - Samuel Isaac Greenberg, Jewish immigrant from Poland, began smoking turkeys, rubbed with spice mix attributed to his mother, Jennie Greenberg, over hickory logs in Tyler, TX; sold smoked kosher turkeys to Jews, non-Jews alike from metal shebang with sand-covered floor in back corner of milking barn; June 23, 1987 - Greenberg Smoked Turkeys, Inc. registered "Greenberg" trademark first used in october 1938 (smoked meat, namely, smoked turekey); 2010 - managed by Sam Greenberg (grandson); 20 brick-lined, hardwood-fired pit houses (not in use 9 months/per year) smoke more than 200,000 turkeys per year (about 20,000 turkeys sold to to walk-in customers during TYhanksgiving this season, priced at a little more than $4 a pound). 1938 - Lawrence Frank and Walter Van de Kamp opened Lawry's The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, restaurant with single entree, prime rib; introduced Lawry's Seasoned Salt (blend of salt, spice, herbs); shakers disappeared from tables; introduced to marketplace in response to popular demand; Lawry's Seasoned Salt rapidly became best-selling bottled spice blend in world (annual sales $150 million); September 4, 1962 - Lawry's Foods, Inc. registered "Lawry's" trademark first used August 8, 1939 (Powdered Dip Mixes, Seasoned Salt, Salt Substitute, Sauce Mixes, Seasoning Mixes, Dressing Mixes for Salads, Garlic Spread Concentrate, Salad Dressings, All Purpose Dressings, Bleu Cheese Dressings); dominates market for branded seasoned salt products; August 2008 - acquired, with Adolph's Meat Tenderizer, by McCormick for $605 million (forced by FTC to spin off Season-All line, with $18 million in sales, to Morton International Inc. for $15 million). Lawrence Frank - Lawry's Foods (http://www.lawrys.com.tw/images/lawryw_photo2c.jpg) 1939 - Nathan Cummings (43) acquired C.D. Kenny Company, small wholesale distributor of sugar, coffee and tea in Baltimore (net sales of $24 million); 1942 - acquired Sprague, Warner & Company; changed name to Sprague Warner-Kenny Corporation; 1954 - company's name changed to Consolidated Foods Corporation to emphasize its diversified role in food processing, packaging and distribution; 1956 - acquired Kitchens of Sara Lee (originally called Community Bake Shops, named for Sara Lee Lubin, daughter of entrepreneur Charles Lubin), entered retail food business by acquiring 34 Piggly Wiggly supermarkets; 1985 - changed name to Sara Lee Corporation to reflect consumer marketing orientation of company, high-quality, well-known branded products marketed around world. Nathan Cummings - Sara Lee (http://www.nathancummings.org/nathancummings.jpg) 1939 - Henry Blommer, Sr., Al, Bernard Blommer (brothers), founded Blommer Chocolate in Chicago, IL; 1948 - branched out nationally, added Blommer Chocolate Factory of California in Los Angeles; 1952 - acquired Boldemann Chocolate of San Francisco; 1970 - consolidated southern California, San Francisco operations; February 8, 2000 - Blommer Chocolate Company registered "Blommer" trademark first used in 1939 (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate liquor, chocolate liquor wafers, flavored confectioner coatings, etc.); largest processor of cocoa beans in country; one of largest chocolate manufacturers in North America. 1940 -Henry C. Kessler, of York Cone Company in York, PA, introduced York Peppermint Pattie; September 30, 1952 - York Cone Company registered "York" trademark first used January 28, 1922 (peppermint pattie mint); 1972 - acquired by Peter Paul Inc.; June 11, 1940 - Ada Walker (Wyoming, OH) registered "Butterball" trademark first used September 1, 1938 (live and dressed poultry); February 1951 - trademark acquired by Leo Peters; licensed name to Swift and Co.; 1960s - name acquired by Swift and Co.; 1989 - Swift acquired by ConAgra; October 2006 - Butterball branded turkey business acquired by Carolina Turkeys (North Carolina), renamed Butterball LLC. September 24, 1940 - French Sardine Company of California registered "Star-Kist" trademark first used April 30, 1940 (canned fish-namely canned tuna). 1941 - General Mills introduced Cheerioats as first read-to-eat oat cereal; 1942 - introduced Cheeri O'Leary, cereal's first mascot; 1945 - name changed to Cheerios in response to competitor lawsuit over use of "oats"; June 5, 1945 - registered "Cheerios" trademark first used on January 9, 1945 (read-to-eat cereal); 1954 - number one selling cold cereal at General Mills. 1941 - Frank Dulcich Sr., Dominic Dulcich (son) started Pacific Seafood, retail seafood shop, in Portland, OR; went from 18 employees to over 2,500 at 37 facilities; 2011 - Frank Dulcich (grandson) as CEO of seafood processing, distribution company. December 1, 1942 - Joseph A. Numero and Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for an "Air Conditioner for Vehicles" ("air conditioners for compartments of vehicle carriers...to provide...a means of conditioning the air within the compartment of sdaid carrier tempering, humidifying and circulating the air therein, which means shall be conveniently attachable to and removable from such carrier and which shall automatically effect the desired air conditioning within he compartment of the carrier"); first reliable system for refrigerating trucks; assigned to U. S. Thermo Control Company; became springboard for launching Thermo King Corporation. 1943 - John Tyson purchased first company-owned broiler farm, located in Springdale, AR; 1947 - incorporated Tyson Feed and Hatchery; provided three services: sale of baby chicks, sale of feed, transportation of chickens to market; 1950 - processed about 96,000 broilers a week; 1963 - changed name to Tyson's Foods; 1971 - name changed to Tyson Foods, Inc.; end of 1970s - produced 4.5 million birds per week (234 million per year), nation's largest hog producer; 1989 - acquired Holly Farms - doubled size of Tyson Foods, about 48,000 people employed, sales more than $2.5 billion. January 18, 1943 - Wartime ban on sale of pre-sliced bread in U.S. went into effect; aimed at reducing bakeries' demand for metal replacement parts. 1945 - Maxson Food Systems, Inc., introduced "Strato-Plates" (18 different individual three-part frozen meals on tray) for military, civilian airplane passengers; 1947 - left business after war, death of founder. 1945 - Robert E. Rich, Sr. discovered that soy beans could be frozen, thawed and whipped; immediately hailed as "the miracle cream from the soy bean," revolutionized food processing, opened new world of non-dairy products to the growing frozen food industry; founded Rich Products Corporation; became nation's largest ($1.7 billion in sales) family-owned frozen foods manufacturer. Robert E. Rich, Sr. - Rich Products (http://www. foodengineeringmag.com/FE/2003/09/ Files/Images/88275.jpg) 1945 - Phillip Sollomi opened "The Wishbone" restaurant in Kansas City, MO; 1948 - created "The Kansas City Wishbone Famous Italian Style Dressing". (based on his mother's Sicilian recipe; 1957 - acquired by Lipton. December 2, 1945 - Lorenzo Servitje, Jaime A. Sendra, Jose T. Mata, and Jaime Jorba opened first plant of Panificaci�n Bimbo, S.A. in Santa Mar�a Insurgentes area in Mexico City (one office area, one courtyard, warehouse, production room); offered Bimbo Bear Products (large bread, small bread, toast); January 1946 - bread production began; end of 1947 - introduced cupcake, pound cake; December 10, 2008 - acquired \Weston Foods Inc. subsidiary of George Weston Ltd. for $2.38 billion, became largest bakery company in USA; 2010 - markets more than 7,000 products, manufactured in 98 plants, distributed over 39,000 routes to more than 1,800,000 points of sale around world; world's largest bread manufacturing company; 2011 - acquired Sara Lee's North American Fresh Bakery business for $925 million; world's leading bread maker. May 22, 1946 - Frances Roth, Katharine Angell opened New Haven Restaurant Institute as vocational training school for World War II veterans; storefront cooking school with enrollment of 50 students, faculty consisting of a chef, a baker, a dietitian; offered 16-week program, featured instruction in 78 popular menus of the day; 1951 - name changed to The Culinary Institute of America; educational program expanded to two years, continuing education courses for industry professionals introduced; 1965 - 400 students enrolled, operated a $2 million facility; 1970 - acquired five-story, 150-room building, on 80 acres of land overlooking Hudson River in Hyde Park, NY for $1 million; 1972 - new school opened; 1981 - only school authorized to administer American Culinary Federation's (A.C.F.) master chef certification exam; 2006 - physical assets valued at $101 million, annual budget in excess of $86 million; more than 2,400 students enrolled in degree programs, more than 130 chef-instructors. and other faculty members representing 16 countries employed. 1948 - Lloyd E. Rigler and Lawrence E. Deutsch, partners in Rigler & Deutsch Food Brokers, bought recipe, name Adolph's Meat Tenderizer from Adolph Remp, Santa Barbara restaurant owner; 1950 - formed Adolph's Ltd.; February 26, 1974 - registered "Adolph's" trademark first used June 4, 1949 (meat tenderizer in solid form, consisting of salt, spices, dextrose, tri-calcium phosphate and vegetable enzyme made from the tropical papaya melon); 1974 - acquired by Chesebrough-Ponds (later part of Lever Brothers, Unilever Best Foods; 2007 - acquired, with Lawry's seasonings, by McCormick for $605 million. Lloyd E. Rigler - Adolph's Ltd. (http://www.classicartsshowcase.org/images/ler.jpg) 1948 - Momofuku Ando founded small family-run company producing salt; 1958 - changed name to Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd.; August 25, 1958 - perfected flash-frying method, invented instant noodle (chicken-both noodles in cellophane bags) market; 1964 - founded Instant Food Industry Association which set guidelines for fair competition, product quality, introduced several industry standards (inclusion of production dates on packaging); September 18, 1971 - developed "Cup Noodle", world's first cup-type instant noodle product; 2006 - company sold 46.3 billion packs and cups , generated $131 million in profits. March 9, 1948 - Gordon L. Harwell, Forrest E. Mars, of Converted Rice, Inc., registered "Uncle Ben's" trademark first used in 1937 (rice for food); named for Texas rice grower; January 19, 1954 - Converted Rice, Inc. (Houston, TX) registered "Uncle Ben's Converted" trademark first used on January 24, 1947 (rice); trademark consisted in part of picture of Frank C. Brown, of Chicago, IL, who consented to use of his picture. July 10, 1948 - Aaron "Bunny" Lapin, St. Louis, MO, put whipped cream in  spray can, called it "Reddi Wip" (had sold Sta-Whip, wartime substitute for whipping cream); sold through milkmen; turned dessert topping into symbol of postwar America's drive for convenience; July 1, 1952 - Reddi-Wip, Inc. registered "Reddi-Wip" trademark first used March 15, 1948 (cream containing vanilla, sugar, and stabilizer and in which cream whipping gas is dissolved under pressure, for use as a food topping); 1954 - national distribution; March 15, 1955 - received a patent for "Dispensing Valves for Gas Pressure Containers"; assigned to Reddi-Wip Corporation; established Clayton Corp. to make valves for cans; 1963 - lost control of company, post as president; acquired by Norton Simon, Inc.; 1985 - acquired by Beatrice Foods; 1990 - acquired ny ConAgra; 1998 - Time magazine listed Reddi-wip as one of century's 100 great things for consumers (along with pop-top can, Spam); now a brand of Con Agra's Beatrice Foods. Aaron "Bunny" Lapin - "Reddi-Wip" (http://www.todayinsci.com/L/Lapin_Aaron/LapinAaronThm.jpg) 1949 - Peggy and Lawton Wolf, owned luncheonette called The Sampler in Dedham Square, MA; fudge brownie recipe always sold out; established baked goods company; first Peggy Lawton shop opened at 252 Bussey Street in East Dedham (rent of $20 a month); February 27, 1979 - PEGGY LAWTON KITCHENS, INC.registered "PEGGY LAWTON"trademark cirst used in 1949 (bakery goods). October 11, 1949 - C.A. Swanson & Sons registered "Swanson" trademark first used in 1928. January 31, 1950 - Isaly Dairy Company registered "Klondike" trademark first used January 1, 1928 (chocolate covered ice cream slice). May 23, 1950 - Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for a "System for Controlling the Operation of Refrigeration Units" ("the circulation of refrigerant medium and air are simultaneously stopped at periodic intervals and definite steps are taken to improve the removal and disposal of accumulated frost or ice during the defrosting operation"). 1952 - Kellogg developed "Tony the Tiger" and three other characters as part of a contest for packages of Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes of Corn; proved to be most popular with consumers, all of other characters were removed from the packaging; 1953 - Kellogg's advertising agency developed first four-color ad with Tony the Tiger, published in August issue of Life Magazine; April 4, 1961 - Kellogg registered "Tony" trademark first used October 25, 1957 (Ready-to-Eat Cereal Foods). January 22, 1952 - Columbia River Packers Association, Inc., Astoria, OR, registered "Bumble Bee" trademark first used 1896 (canned, fresh and fresh frozen fish). 1953 - Jose Batista Sobrinho began operations at small slaughtering plant, in Anapolis (state of Goias), Brazil, with 5 head/ day capacity; 1968 - acquired first slaughtering plant in Planaltina (Distrito Federal); 1970 - slaughtering capacity increased to 500 head of cattle per day; 1981-2002- operations expanded, acquired slaughtering plants, fresh and processed beef production plants; slaughtering capacity reached 5.8 thousand head/day; 2005 - Grupo Friboi restructured, formed JBS S.A.; acquired Swift Armour S.A., Argentina's largest beef producer, exporter; 2006 - slaughtering capacity grew to 22.6 thousand head/day at total of 21 plants in Brazil, Argentina; April 2007 - went public; 2008 - acquired National Beef, Smithfield Beef, Australian company Tasman; world's largest beef producer (slaughtering capacity of 51.4 thousand head/day (not including National Beef, Smithfield Beef , Tasman group); largest beef exporter in world (operations in 22 countries). September 26, 1953 - Sugar rationing in Great Britain ended after almost 14 years. 1954 - Harry Brownstein established Acme Smoked Fish Corporation (name chosen to appear first in phone book) in Brooklyn, NY; became largest producer, distributor of smoked fish in U. S.; under fourth-generation management. June 15, 1954 - American Chicle Company (Long Island City, NY) registered "Trident" trademark first used August 26, 1953 (chewing Gum and candy lozenges); 1962 - Trident Original launched as first nationally distributed sugar-free product, first product promoted not to cause tooth decay. July 13, 1954 - Edwin Traisman, of Des Plaines, IL (leader of Kraft Foods processed-cheese group), and Wallce Kurtzhalts, of Wheeling, IL, received a patent for a "Process of Making Grated Cheese" ("method of making grated cheese of the high-fat type wherein all of the constituents are comminuted cheese particles, the finished grated cheese being resistant to caking or agglomeration under ordinary atmospheric conditions"); assigned to Kraft Foods Company. 1955 - Hawaii set pineapple production record at 1.5 million tons. 1955 - Procter & Gamble entered peanut butter business; acquired W.T. Young Foods (Lexington, KY), makers of Big Top Peanut Butter; 1956 - introduced Jif Peanut Butter; March 26, 1957 - registered "Jif" trademark first used January 24, 1956 (salted shelled nuts, candies nuts, and nut [butters] spreads); June 1, 2002 - acquired (with Crisco brand) by J.M Smucker Company for $1 billion. September 27, 1955 - Knott's Berry Farm Partnership registered "Mrs. Knott's" trademark first used July 1, 1940 (pancake flour, French dressing, and barbecue sauce); February 28, 1956 - registered "Knott's Berry Farm" trademark first used November 1, 1928 (bread, table syrups, jellies, jams, fruit and berry preserves, etc.). March 17, 1956 - James and William Conway founded Mr. Softee ice cream company; put a Sweden Freezer machine into a truck and drove it through Philadelphia, gave away green ice cream; went into business, at first as the Dairy Van; currently among the largest franchisers of ice cream trucks in the country, with more than 600 trucks in 15 states. 1957 - Burger King Corporation introduced the WHOPPER at first Burger King restaurant in Miami; nine special ingredients (sesame seed crown, beef patty, pickles, ketchup, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo and bun heel) and three optional ingredients (cheese, bacon and mustard); erected sign proclaiming the restaurant "HOME OF THE WHOPPER(R)"; January 5, 1965 - Burger King of Florida, Inc. registered "Home of the Whopper" trademark first used January 12, 1958 (drive-in restaurant services); mid-1970s - introduced "HAVE IT YOUR WAY" advertising tagline. 1957 - Francois Boursin, cheesemaker in Normandy, France, created Boursin cheese; first variety, Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs, inspired by long-standing traditional dish: fromage frais (fresh cheese) served with bowl of fine herbs (allowed each person to create his or her own personally seasoned cheese); first flavored fresh cheese sold throughout France; 1989 - acquired by Unilever. 1957 - Vincent DeDomenico, President of Golden Grain Macaroni Corporation (San Leandro, CA), introduced Rice-A-Roni 'kitchen helper', version of chicken broth (dried soup) mixed with rice and vermicelli; August 25, 1959 - Golden Grain Macaroni Corporation registered "Rice-A-Roni" trademark first used December 11, 1957 (prepared packaged ric and vermicelli dinner); 1986 - acquired by Quaker Oats for $250 million. February 12, 1957 - Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for a "Method and Means of Preserving Perishable Foodstuffs in Transit" ("construction of transport vehicles such as trucks and railway cars and a mode for controlling atmospheric conditions therein to preserve the natural body and flavors of fresh produce"). June 24, 1958 - E. J. McAleer & Co., Inc., Philadelphia, PA, registered "Mrs. Paul's" trademark first used April 1, 1946 (frozen foods-namely fish). August 4, 1958 - First potato-flake plant established in U.S. at Grand Fork, ND. 1959 - Reuben Mattus (45) created first national brand of premium ice cream (high butter-fat, all natural ingredients); manufactured at family's ice cream factory, Senator Frozen Products, in Bronx; 1961 - called new brand Danish-sounding Haagen-Dazs (appreciated Dane's treatment of Jews during WW II); conveyed aura of old-world traditions, craftsmanship; formed company of same name to distribute it; introduced three flavors - vanilla, coffee, chocolate packed in cartons with map of Scandinavia; September 4, 1962 - Rose Mattus registered Haagen-Dazs trademark first used October 24, 1960; 1976 - product took off; 1983 - acquired by The Pillsbury Company for more than $70 million. Reuben Mattus - Haagen Dazs ((http://www.journaldunet.com/management/0708/fondateurs-entreprises/images/4.jpg) February 23, 1960 - Frederick M. Jones, of Minneapolis, MN, received a patent for a "Thermostat and Temperature Control System" ("concerned with vehicles in which perishable products are transported and must be maintained at desirable temperatures throughout the extent of the journey by mechanical means capable of maintaining a substantially constant temperature, by either cooling or heating the space n which the products are stores"); assigned to Thermo King Corporation. July 22, 1960 - Cuba nationalized all U.S. owned sugar factories. June 20, 1961 - Continental Baking Company, Rye, NY, registered "Twinkies" trademark first used June 25, 1930 (cake). September 1961 - Frito Company merged with H. W. Lay & Company to form Frito-Lay, Inc., largest snack selling company in United States; June 8, 1965 - shareholders approved merger of Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola Company, new company called PepsiCo, Inc.; formed (Frito-Lay owned 46 manufacturing plants nationwide, more than 150 distribution centers across the United States); September 9, 1969 - FRITO-LAY, Inc. registered "FRITO LAY'S" trademark first used November 1967 (potato chips). August 21, 1962 - Edwin Traisman, of Madison, WI (McDonald's franchisee), received a patent for a "Method for Preparing Frozen French Fried Potatoes" ("a frozen French fried potato which can, on short notice, be quickly converted into a high quality hot French fried potato with a minimum of effort...which will compare favorably in body, flavor and eating quality to a freshly prepared French fried potato...which can be stored indefinitely to be available in quantity for quick use when wanted"); eliminated problem of soggy, non-uniform fries; 1972 - adopted system-wide by McDonald's. March 5, 1963 - Cherry-Levis Food Products Corporation registered "Slim Jim" trademark first used in December 1953 (sausage). 1964 - Frank Bellissimo, founder of Anchor Bar, on Main Street, Buffalo, NY, invented Buffalo chicken wings (had received delivery of chicken wings, instead of backs and necks that were ordinarily used in making spaghetti sauce; Teressa Bellissimo [wife] made some hors d’oeuvres for bar; chopped each wing in half, served two straight sections that regulars at bar could eat with their fingers; “deep-fried” them, applied some hot sauce, served them on plate that included some celery from Anchor Bar’s regular antipasto, some blue-cheese dressing normally used as house dressing for salads); immediate success, famous throughout Buffalo within weeks); July 29, 1977 - City of Buffalo proclaimed 'Chicken Wing Day' (“WHEREAS, the success of Mr. Bellissimo’s tasty experiment in 1964 has grown to the point where thousands of pounds of chicken wings are consumed by Buffalonians in restaurants and taverns throughout our city each week. . .”). 1964 - Louis Flores Ruiz and son, Fred, founded Ruiz Foods in warehouse in Tulare, CA; cooked his mother's Mexican food recipes in morning, sold enchiladas to local businesses in afternoon; largest Latino-owned manufacturing company in California (2005 revenue of $326 million); sells about 200 products, 'El Monterey' accounts for 4.30 of every dollar spent on frozen Mexican food. May 16, 1965 - Spaghetti-O's first sold; variously-sized rings of cooked pasta in a sweet tomato and cheese sauce, sold in cans. June 22, 1965 - Kellogg Company registered "Pop-Tarts", trademark first used July 14, 1964 (fruit preserve filled pastry bakery product). July 13, 1965 - MIitsubishi Shojikaisha, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, registered "Three Diamonds" trademark (frozen fish, shrimp, crab, and other shellfish). October 1965 - Pillsbury debuted 14-ounce, 8 3/4-inch Poppin' Fresh Doughboy character in a Crescent Roll commercial; actor Paul Frees performed original voice of the Doughboy ( (voice of Boris Badenov in "The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky"); conceived by Rudy Perz, copywriter at Leo Burnett advertising agency; August 4, 1970 - Pillsbury registered "Poppin' Fresh" trademark first used June 1966 (dolls); 1972 - named "Toy of the Year" by Playthings Magazine. 1968 - McDonald's introduced The Big Mac systemwide; created by Jim Delligatti, Pittsburgh-area McDonald's franchisee (one of Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees); added lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and most important, the "special sauce," to create one of world's best-known hamburgers in Uniontown, PA. 1968 - Hunt-Wesson Foods, Canada Dry Corporation, McCall Corporation consolidated, formed Norton Simon, Inc., $1 billion corporation; 1979 - Hunt-Wesson sales topped $1 billion; 1983 - Norton-Simon Inc. acquired by Chicago-based Esmark, Inc.; 1984 - Esmark acquired by Beatrice Companies, Inc.; 1985 - Beatrice went private in leveraged buyout by Kohlberg, Kravis, and Roberts (KKR); renamed BCI Holding Company. October 18, 1969 - Federal government banned artificial sweeteners known as cyclamates because of evidence they cause cancer in laboratory rats (non-caloric sweetener had been discovered in 1937; widely used as tabletop sweetener, in sugar-free beverages, in baked goods, other low-calorie foods, particularly in combination with saccharin); June 1985 - National Academy of Sciences affirmed the FDA's Cancer Assessment Committee's latest conclusion: "the totality of the evidence from studies in animals does not indicate that cyclamate or its major metabolite cyclohexylamine is carcinogenic by itself"; approved for use in more than 50 countries. August 4, 1970 - Cumberland Packing Corp. registered "Sweet'n Low" trademark first used June 1958; December 17, 1974 - Cumberland Packing Corp. registered 1,000,000th trademark, G clef and staff design used on "Sweet'n Low". 1972 - Ruth M. Siems, home economist on staff of General Foods, invented Stove Top stuffing (now owned by Kraft Foods); made stuffing without a turkey possible; about 60 million boxes sold at Thanksgiving; July 23, 1974 - General Foods registered "Stove Top" trademark (stuffing mix); March 11, 1975 - received a patent for an "Instant Stuffing Mix" ("prepared from dried yeast-leavened corn bread crumb or a mixture of dried yeast-leavened white bread crumb and a member selected from the group consisting of dried yeast-leavened whole wheat bread crumb, corn bread crumb and mixtures thereof"); assigned to General Foods Corporation. Ruth M. Siems - Stove Top Stuffing (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/11/23/national/siems_184.jpg) March 7, 1972 - Star-Kist Foods, Inc. registered "Charlie the Tuna" trademark first used November 1970 (canned fish). June 26, 1974 - first bar-code scanned in Troy, OH; Norman Joseph Woodland, one of inventors of Universal Product Code (UPC) symbol, got idea by scratching elongated Morse code symbols into sand on beach. October 22, 1976 - US Food and Drug Administration banned red dye #4 after discovery that it causes tumors in the bladders of dogs; still used in Canada. August 1977 - Debbi Fields, a young mother with no business experience, opened first cookie store in Palo Alto, CA; 1990 - began to sell franchises; 2007 - nearly 390 location in U.S., over 80 locations internationally. May 5, 1978 - With a $12,000 investment ($4,000 of it borrowed), Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream scoop shop in renovated gas station in downtown Burlington, VT; 1980 - began packing ice cream in pints to distribute to grocery, Mom & Pop stores along restaurant delivery routes Ben services from back of old VW Squareback wagon; 1981 - first Ben & Jerry's franchise opened in Shelburne, VT; 1984 - Haagen-Dazs tried to limit distribution of Ben & Jerry's in Boston; prompted Ben & Jerry's to file suit against parent company, Pillsbury, in famous "What's the Doughboy Afraid Of?" campaign; sales exceeded $4 million; 1987 - Haagen-Dazs again tried to enforce exclusive distribution, Ben & Jerry's filed second lawsuit against the Pillsbury Company; sales just under $32 million; 1988 - more than 80 Ben & Jerry's ice cream scoop shops open in 18 states; 1991 - introduced Low Fat Frozen Yogurt; 1996 - introduced Sorbets; September 1999 - Harris Interactive poll of the public's perceptions of corporate reputability Ben & Jerry's ranked #5 in 'Reputation Quotient' (responsibility, emotional appeal, innovation) out of top 30 Most Reputable US companies, earned #1 ranking in "Social Responsibility" category; net sales of $237,043,000; April 12, 2000 - acquired by Unilever for $326 million. April 21, 1981 - Swift & Company registered "Butterball" trademark first used in 1962 (Poultry and Poultry Parts Including Frozen Dressed Whole Turkey, Stuffed Turkey, and Frozen Turkey Breast). 1985 - Philip Morris acquired General Foods for $5.7 billion; became largest U.S. consumer products company; R. J. Reynolds acquired Nabisco Brands for $4.9 billion; name changed to RJR Nabisco. October 10, 1988 - CEO F. Ross Johnson offered $75 per share for a leveraged buyout of RJR/Nabisco (stock at $56 per share); November 30, 1998 - Special Committee recommended acceptance of $109 per share buyout ($25.07 billion) by Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. to board of directors. October 30, 1988 - Philip Morris paid $13.1 billion for Kraft foods; became world's single biggest producer of consumer goods. February 21, 1989 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Simplesse, low-calorie substitute for fat; February 28, 1989 - Nutrasweet Company registered "Simplesse" trademark first used January 20, 1988 (fat substitute). March 27, 1990 - Harold Osrow, Zvi Bleier received a patent for a "Portable Ice Cream Machine"; assigned to NEC Corporation. April 5, 1990 - Paul Newman won court victory over Julius Gold to keep giving all profits from Newman foods to charity. August 1990 - ConAgra Inc. completed $1.34 billion acquisition of BCI Holding Company (Beatrice Company). 1991 - Hawaii set record for highest sales of pineapples, $107.8 million. August 21, 1997 - Hudson Foods Co. closed plant in Nebraska, agreed to destroy some 25 million pounds of hamburger after largest meat recall in U.S. history. October 31, 2003 - The U.S. Food and Drug administration released summary of draft report concluding that cloned farm animals and their offspring posed little scientific risk to food supply. May 2005 - Jelly Belly Candy Company's factory tour in Fairfield, CA named "Best of America" by editors of Reader's Digest magazine; tours first offered in 1986 at request of local groups; more than 400,000 people tour facility annually. February 3, 2006 - Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. announced it would cease pineapple operation in two years, no longer economically feasible to grow pineapple in Hawaii because it can be produced for less elsewhere (increased planting of pineapple at lower costs in other parts of the world, "...cheaper for Del Monte to buy pineapples on the open market than for the company to grow, market and distribute Hawaiian pineapple"; Del Monte, called California Packing Corp., had begun pineapple operations in Hawaii in 1916; two remaining pineapple companies in Hawaii - Dole Food Hawaii, Maui Pineapple Co.; Hawaii produced 212,000 tons of pineapples in 2005 worth estimated $79 million; top pineapple producers - Thailand, Philippines, Brazil, China, India, Costa Rica [source: USDA]). March 15, 2011 - Consuming meat (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/03/15/science/15food_graphic/15food_graphic-popup.jpg)

i don't know

Usually made of wood or plastic, what is the name for the tool which billiard players use to organize their balls at the beginning of a game?

Billiard Billiard Billiard History Inset from School of Recreation, 1710. "We perceive from the engraving of the Billiards of the seventtenth [sic] century, that the game was altogether different from what it is now." [1] All cue sports are generally regarded to have evolved into indoor games from outdoor stick-and-ball lawn games [2] , and as such to be related to croquet and golf , and more distantly to the stickless bocce and bowling . The word "billiard" may have evolved from the French word billart, meaning "mace", an implement similar to a golf club , which was the forerunner to the modern cue. The term "cue sports" can be used to encompass the ancestral mace games, and even the modern cueless variants, such as finger pool , for historical reasons. Accordingly, in addition to the three general subdivisions listed earlier, a now rare obstacle category was prevalent in early times. The obstacle games (see illustration to the right, featuring a croquet-like variant), appear to have been the earliest,[ citation needed ] and include the obsolete bagatelle and pin pool among many other variations, some with elaborate structures (likely inspirational of miniature golf ), and yet others on a sloped table (the ancestors of pinball), up to the relatively recent bumper pool (popular in the 1970s in home game rooms ). The object of obstacle games varies from avoiding obstructions and traps, to hitting or passing through or into them on purpose to score, to using them strategically to score in some other way, such as by rebounding off them to reach a hole in the table or trapping opponents' balls.[ citation needed ] The early croquet-like games eventually led to the development of the carom or carambole billiards category – what most non-US and non-UK speakers mean by the word "billiards". These games, which once completely dominated the cue sports world but have declined markedly in most areas over the last few generations, are games played with three or sometimes four balls, on a table without holes (or obstructions in most cases, five-pins being an exception), in which the goal is generally to strike one object (target) ball with a cue ball , then have the cue ball rebound off of one or more of the cushions and strike a second ball. Variations include three-cushion, straight rail, balkline variants, cushion caroms , Italian five-pins, and four-ball , among others. Over time, a type of obstacle returned, originally as a hazard and later as a target, in the form of pockets , or holes partly cut into the table bed and partly into the cushions, leading to the rise of pocket billiards , especially "pool" games, popular around the world in forms such as eight-ball, nine-ball, straight pool and one-pocket amongst numerous others. The terms "pool" and "pocket billiards" are now virtually interchangeable, especially in the US. English billiards (what UK speakers almost invariably mean by the word "billiards") is a hybrid carom/pocket game, and as such is likely fairly close to the ancestral original pocket billiards outgrowth from 18th to early 19th century carom games. As a sport At least the games with regulated international professional competition have been referred to as "sports" or "sporting" events, not simply "games", since 1893 at the latest. [3] Quite a variety of particular games (i.e. sets of rules and equipment) are the subject of present-day competition, including many of those already mentioned, with competition being especially broad in nine-ball, snooker, three-cushion and eight-ball. Snooker, though technically a pocket billiards variant and closely related in its equipment and origin to the game of English billiards, is a professional sport organized at the international level, and its rules bear little resemblance to those of pool games. A "Billiards" category encompassing pool, snooker and carom was featured in the 2005 World Games , held in Duisburg , Germany , and the 2006 Asian Games also saw the introduction of a "Cue sports" category . Efforts have also been underway for many years to have cue sports become Olympic competitions.[ citation needed ] Equipment Billiard balls Pool balls Billiard balls vary from game to game, in size, design and number. Carom billiards balls are larger than pool balls, and come as a set of two cue balls (one colored or marked) and an object ball (or two object balls in the case of the game four-ball also known as yotsudama). American-style pool balls, used in any pool game and found throughout the world, come in sets of two suits of object balls, seven solids and seven stripes , an 8 ball and a cue ball ; the balls are racked differently for different games (some of which do not use the entire ball set). Blackball (English-style eight-ball) sets are similar, but have unmarked groups of red (or blue ) and yellow balls instead of solids and stripes, and are smaller than the American-style; they are used principally in Britain , Ireland , and some Commonwealth countries, though not exclusively, since they are unsuited for playing nine-ball. Snooker balls are also smaller than American-style pool balls, and come in sets of 22 (fifteen reds, 6 " colours ", and a cue ball). Other games also have custom ball sets, such as Russian pyramid and bumper pool . Billiard balls have been made from many different materials since the start of the game, including clay, bakelite, celluloid, crystalite, ivory, plastic, steel and wood. The dominant material from 1627 until the early 20th century was ivory. The search for a substitute for ivory use was not for environmental concerns but based on economic motivation and fear of danger for elephant hunters. It was in part spurred on by a New York billiard table manufacturer who announced a prize of $10,000 for a substitute material. The first viable substitute was celluloid , invented by John Wesley Hyatt in 1868, but the material was volatile, sometimes exploding during manufacture and was highly flammable. [4] [5] Pool table with equipment. Tables Carom billiards table in a Parisian café. There are many sizes and styles of pool and billiard tables . Generally, tables are rectangles twice as long as they are wide. Most pool tables are known as 7-, 8-, or 9-footers, referring to the length of the table's long side. Full-size snooker and English billiard tables are 12 feet (3.7 m) long on the longest side. Pool halls tend to have 9-foot (2.7 m) tables and cater to the serious pool player. Pubs will typically use 7-foot (2.1 m) tables which are often coin-operated. Formerly, 10-foot (3 m) tables were common, but such tables are now considered antique collectors items; a few, usually from the late 1800s, can be found in pool halls from time to time. Ten-foot tables remain the standard size for carom billiard games. The slates on modern carom tables are usually heated to stave off moisture and provide a consistent playing surface. The length of the pool table will typically be a function of space, with many homeowners purchasing an 8-foot (2.4 m) table as a compromise. High quality tables are mostly 4.5 by 9 ft (2.7 m). (interior dimensions), with a bed made of three pieces of thick slate to prevent warping and changes due to humidity. Smaller bar tables are most commonly made with a single piece of slate. Pocket billiards tables normally have six pockets, three on each side (four corner pockets, and two side pockets). Cloth Women playing on an elaborately decorated green-covered table in an early 1880s advertising poster. All types of tables are covered with billiard cloth (often called "felt", but actually a woven wool or wool/nylon blend called baize ). Cloth has been used to cover billiards tables since the 15th century. In fact, the predecessor company of the most famous maker of billiard cloth, Iwan Simonis , was formed in 1453. Bar or tavern tables, which get a lot of play, use "slower", more durable cloth. The cloth used in upscale pool (and snooker) halls and home billiard rooms is "faster" (i.e. provides less friction, allowing the balls to roll farther across the table bed ), and competition-quality pool cloth is made from 100 % worsted wool . Snooker cloth traditionally has a nap (consistent fiber directionality) and balls behave differently when rolling against versus along with the nap. The cloth of the billiard table has traditionally been green, reflecting its origin (originally the grass of ancestral lawn games), and has been so colored since the 16th century. [6] However, the color also serves a useful function, as non-color-blind human eyes have a higher sensitivity to green than to any other color. [7] Rack A rack is the name given to a frame (usually wood or plastic ) used to organize billiard balls at the beginning of a game. This is traditionally triangular in shape, but varies with the type of billiards played. There are two main types of racks; the more common triangular shape which is used for eight-ball and straight pool and the diamond shaped rack used for nine-ball. Cues Main article: Cue stick Billiards games are mostly played with a stick known as a cue. A cue is usually either a one piece tapered stick or a two piece stick divided in the middle by a joint of metal or phenolic resin. High quality cues are generally two pieces and are made of a hardwood, generally maple for billiards and ash for snooker. The "butt" end of the cue is of larger circumference and is intended to be gripped by a player's hand. The "shaft" of the cue is of smaller circumference, usually tapering to an 0.4 to 0.55 inch (11–14 mm) terminus called a ferrule, where a leather tip is affixed to make final contact with balls. The leather tip, in conjunction with chalk, can be used to impart spin to the cue ball when not being hit in its center. The size and shapes of the tips also vary. Cheap cues are generally one piece cues made of ramin or other low quality wood with inferior tips of various materials (usually plastic). A quality cue can be expensive and may be made of exotic woods and other expensive materials which are artfully inlaid in decorative patterns. Skilled players may use more than one cue during a game, including a separate generally heavier cue for the opening break shot and another, shorter cue with a special tip for jump shots. The mechanical bridge The mechanical bridge, sometimes called "the ladies aid", "rake", "bridge stick" or simply "bridge", and known as a "rest" in the UK, is used to extend a player's reach on a shot where the cue ball is too far away for normal hand bridging. It consists of a stick with a grooved metal or plastic head which the cue slides on. Many amateurs refuse to use the mechanical bridge based on the perception that to do so is unmanly. However, many aficionados and most professionals employ the bridge whenever the intended shot so requires. Some players, especially current or former snooker players, use a screw-on cue butt extension instead of or in addition to the mechanical bridge. Bridge head design is varied, and not all designs (especially those with cue shaft-enclosing rings, or wheels on the bottom of the head), are broadly tournament-approved. In Italy a longer, thicker cue is typically available for this kind of tricky shot. Chalk Billiard chalk Chalk is applied to the tip of the cue stick, ideally before every shot, to increase the tip's friction coefficient so that when it impacts the cue ball on a non-center hit, no miscue (unintentional slippage between the cue tip and the struck ball) occurs. Cue tip chalk is not actually the substance typically referred to as " chalk " (generally calcium carbonate , also known as calcite or carbonate of lime ), but any of several proprietary compounds, with a silicate base. "Chalk" may also refer to a cone of fine, white hand chalk ; like talc (talcum powder) it can be used to reduce friction between the cue and bridge hand during shooting, for a smoother stroke. Some brands of hand chalk actually are made of compressed talc. (Tip chalk is not used for this purpose because it is abrasive, hand-staining and difficult to apply.) Many players prefer a slick pool glove over hand chalk or talc because of the messiness of these powders; buildup of particles on the cloth will affect ball behavior and necessitate more-frequent cloth cleaning. Cue tip chalk (invented in its modern form by straight rail billiard pro William A. Spinks and chemist William Hoskins in 1897) [8] [9] is made by crushing silica and the abrasive substance corundum or aloxite [9] ( aluminum oxide ), [10] [11] into a powder [9] and using forced air[ clarify ][ citation needed ] to achieve the desired consistency. It is combined with dye (originally and most commonly green or blue-green, like traditional billiard cloth , but available today, like the cloth, in many colors) and a binder (glue). [9] Finally, a 15 ton-per-square-inch hydraulic press[ citation needed ] is used to compress the "chalk" into large cakes which are dried on a rack, and then cut into small cubes, dimpled on the top to receive the cue tip, and wrapped in paper sleeves. Each manufacturer's brand has different qualities, which can significantly affect play. High humidity can also impair the effectiveness of chalk. Harder, drier compounds are generally considered superior by most players. Major games (carom and pocket) There are two main varieties of billiard games: carom and pocket. The main carom billiards games are straight billiards, balkline and three cushion billiards. All are played on a pocketless table with three balls; two cue balls and one object ball. In all, players shoot a cue ball so that it makes contact with the opponent's cue ball as well as the object ball. The most popular of the large variety of pocket games are eight-ball , nine-ball , one-pocket , bank pool , snooker and, among the old guard, straight pool. In eight-ball and nine-ball the object is to sink object balls until one can legally pocket the winning eponymous " money ball ". Well-known but waning in popularity is straight pool, in which players seek to continue sinking balls, rack after rack if they can, to reach a pre-determined winning score (typically 150). Related to nine-ball, another well-known game is rotation , where the lowest-numbered object ball on the table must be struck first, although any object ball may be pocketed (i.e., combination shot). Each pocketed ball is worth its number, and the player with the highest score at the end of the rack is the winner. Since there are only 120 points available (1 + 2 + 3 ⋯ + 15 = 120), scoring 61 points leaves no opportunity for the opponent to catch up. In both one-pocket and bank pool, the players must sink a set number of balls; respectively, all in a particular pocket , or all by bank shots . In snooker, players score points by alternately potting red balls and various special " colour balls ". Man playing billiards with a cue and a woman with mace, from an illustration appearing in Michael Phelan 's 1859 book, The Game of Billiards. Straight rail or straight billiards In straight rail, a player scores a point and may continue shooting each time his cue ball makes contact with both other balls. Although a difficult and subtle game, some of the best players of straight billiards developed the skill to gather the balls in a corner or along the same rail for the purpose of playing a series of nurse shots to score a seemingly limitless number of points. The first straight rail professional tournament was held in 1879 where Jacob Schaefer, Sr. scored 690 points in a single turn [12] (that is, 690 separate strokes without a miss). With the balls repetitively hit and barely moving in endless "nursing", there was little for the fans to watch. Balkline In light of these phenomenal skill developments in straight rail, the game of balkline soon developed to make it impossible for a player to keep the balls gathered in one part of the table for long, greatly limiting the effectiveness of nurse shots. A balkline (not to be confused with baulk line , which pertains to the game of English billiards ) is a line parallel to one end of a billiards table. In the games of balkline – 18.1 and 18.2 (pronounced "eighteen-point-two") balkline, among other more obscure variations – the players have to drive at least one object ball past a balkline set at 18 inches from each rail, after one or two points have been scored, respectively. Three-cushion billiards A more elegant solution was three-cushion billiards, which requires a player to make contact with the other two balls on the table and contact three rail cushions in the process. This is difficult enough that even the best players can only manage to average one to two points per turn. English billiards Dating to approximately 1800, English billiards is a hybrid of carom and pocket billiards played on a 6-foot (1.8 m) by 12-foot (3.7 m) table. Like most carom games, it requires two cue balls and a red object ball . The object of the game is to score either a fixed number of points, or score the most points within a set time frame, determined at the start of the game. Points are awarded for: Two-ball Cannons : striking both the object ball and the other (opponent's) cue ball on the same shot (2 points) Winning hazards: potting the red ball (3 points); potting the other cue ball (2 points) Losing hazards (or "in-offs"): potting one's cue ball by cannoning off another ball (3 points if the red ball was hit first; 2 points if the other cue ball was hit first, or if the red and other cue ball were " split ", i.e. hit simultaneously). Snooker A pocket billiards game originated by British officers stationed in India during the 19th century. The name of the game became generalized to also describe one of its prime strategies: to "snooker" the opposing player by causing that player to foul or leave an opening to be exploited (see Glossary of cue sports terms - " Snooker "). In the United Kingdom, snooker is by far the most popular cue sport at the competitive level. It is played in many other countries as well. Snooker is far rarer in the U.S., where pool games such as eight-ball and nine-ball dominate. Eight-ball Eight-ball rack In the United States, the most commonly-played game is eight-ball. On the professional scene, eight-ball players who are on the International Pool Tour (IPT) are the highest paid players in the world[ citation needed ]. In the United Kingdom the game is commonly played in pubs, and it is competitively played in leagues on both sides of the Atlantic. The most prestigious tournaments including the World Open are sponsored and sanctioned by the International Pool Tour. Rules vary widely from place to place. Pool halls in North America are increasingly settling upon the International Standardized Rules . But tavern eight-ball, typically played on smaller, coin-operated tables and in a "winner controls the table" manner, can differ significantly even between two venues in the same city. The growth of local, regional and national amateur leagues may alleviate this confusion eventually. The goal of eight-ball, which is played with a full rack of fifteen balls and the cue ball, is to claim a suit (commonly stripes or solids in the US, and reds or yellows in the UK), pocket all of them, then legally pocket the 8 ball, while denying one's opponent opportunities to do the same with their suit, and without sinking the 8 ball early by accident. Nine-ball Nine-Ball is a rotation game where only the 1 through 9 balls and cue ball are used. The player at the table must make a legal shot on the lowest numbered ball on the table or a foul is called. The game is won by legally pocketing the nine ball (which can be done by striking the lowest numbered ball first and then driving the 9 into a pocket). Nine-ball is the predominant professional game. There are many local and regional tours and tournaments that are contested with nine-ball. There is no particular governing body of Nine-ball. Most places play with a version of "Texas Express", Billiard Congress of America (BCA) or World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) rules. The largest nine-ball tournaments are the independent US Open Nine-ball Championship and the WPA World Nine-ball Championship for men and women. Male professionals have a rather fragmented schedule of professional nine-ball tournaments. The United States Professional Pool Players Association (UPA) has been the most dominant association[ citation needed ] for the last few years. Female professionals have a steady professional circuit that is governed by the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA). Three-ball A variant using only three balls, generally played such that the player at turn continues shooting until all the balls are pocketed, and the player to do so in the fewest shots wins. The game can be played by two or more players. Dispenses with some fouls common to both nine- and eight-ball. One-pocket One-pocket is a strategic game for two players. Each player is assigned one of the corner pockets on the table. This is the only pocket into which he can legally pocket balls. The first player to pocket the majority of the balls (8) in his pocket wins the game. The game requires far more defensive strategy than offensive strategy, much unlike eight-ball, nine-ball, or straight pool. It has been said that if eight-ball is checkers , one-pocket is chess . This statement can be verified by watching a game of one pocket. Most times, accomplished players choose to position balls near their pocket instead of trying to actually pocket them. This allows them to control the game by forcing their opponent to be on defense instead of taking a low percentage shot that could result in a loss of game. These low percentage shots are known as "flyers" by one pocket aficionados. Bank pool Bank pool has been gaining popularity in recent years. Bank pool can be played with a full rack (can be a long game), but is more typically played with nine balls (frequently called "nine-ball bank"). The balls are racked in nine-ball formation, but in no particular order. The object of the game is simple: to be the first player to bank five balls in any order (eight balls when played with a full rack). Penalties and fouls are similar to one pocket in that the player committing the foul must spot a ball for each foul. This must be done before the incoming player shoots. Diposkan oleh

Rack

Officially designated the M9, what was the unofficial name of the shoulder fired rocket deployed by US soldiers during WWII?

Your Stories | Antiques Roadshow | PBS Antiques Roadshow Web Exclusives: Your Stories The unique stories people tell about their favorite heirlooms and yard-sale bargains are one of the best parts of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, and "Your Stories" gives you the chance to share your own antiquing adventure with the world. Each week we'll post a new treasure-hunting tale or lesson learned, e-mailed to us by fans like you! Featured Story: Saved from the Smash Posted 3.12.2012 In the early 1970s, my husband was a doctor in the Indian Health Service, a branch of the U.S. Public Health Service, stationed on the Navaho reservation in New Mexico. We became friendly with Larry, an Acoma Indian who was an x-ray technician at the hospital. One night after dinner in his apartment, Larry told us that his mother was cleaning house back home, smashing her Acoma pots on the floor and sweeping them out. Taken aback, I joked, "Tell her to give them to me!" Some months later, my husband mentioned to Larry that we would be spending Christmas week in Albuquerque. Larry was going home to nearby Acoma Pueblo for the holiday, and invited us to come and see the traditional Christmas dances. We went and after watching the dancers in the church, accompanied Larry to his mother's house for lunch. Sitting in the living room, we were talking and eating when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Larry's mother emerge from the kitchen with something in her hands. She made a beeline for me, proffering a large Acoma vase with a traditional white, ochre and black design, which she insisted I accept. I was speechless and, of course, delighted. My Acoma pot has become a cherished possession. I don't know its age and, as they say on the Roadshow, have never had it appraised and have no idea of its value. Someday, I promise myself, I will find out more. — Elizabeth Worth the Trip Posted 3.5.2012 One Sunday afternoon, I went to look through a pile of junk a friend told me about along a secondary road in West Virginia. Before I stopped my truck, I saw what I wanted. The kids said I was crazy. There was a small version of a washstand sort-of-thing. It had had a mirror, three drawers (one needed fixing), and a door (which needed to be put back on). I loaded it in my truck and took it to my friend to repair. He wire-brushed it, fixed everything, took it to Springfield, Ohio and sold it for $125.00 to a woman from California. I think it was worth the trip. — Marlene Big Kid on the Block Posted 2.27.2012 Every once in a while people get "lucky" and find what they consider to be "gems," and this is my story. If you've ever wondered whether or not there's any truth to the saying "One man's junk is another mans treasure," let me assure you, there is. This is what happened to me. One night, while heading home from a night out, I was wandering down the road (it happened to be trash night), when I passed a second-hand store and noticed the pile seemed to be unusually large. When I stopped to take a closer look at the pile, I spotted it — an original "Full Size" Radio-Flyer wagon. It was in good condition — not a spot of rust on it anywhere — and the only real problem was that the two front wheels were missing. Other than that, though, I was pleasantly surprised to see there were absolutely no dings or dents in it at all. Now I realize that monetarily speaking, I haven't found an item that's worth a huge amount of money, but that's not why I grabbed it in the first place. To me, it's the gem I'd been looking for, for years. It was the one gift I'd always wanted as a child, but never gotten — now I feel like the big kid on the block. — Bruce One Good Deed Posted 2.20.2012 In 1972, while I was in the service station business in Pennsylvania, a customer came in and needed gas, but he had no money. He said that if I would give him a couple of dollars worth of gas (at that time gas was 39 cents a gallon), he would give me a hand corn planter. I knew he needed the gas, so I filled his tank up, and a few days later he brought me an item that looked like a corn planter, but it only had one handle. I accepted it, and about a month later he came in with an item that he said went with it. This item looked like the bottom of a sweeper. I took this piece home and put in on, what I found out, was actually a vacuum cleaner, made in Warsaw, Indiana. I contacted the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce, and they wrote back and informed me that the company that made the vacuum went out of business in the late 1890s. Later, my wife was watching a history show on T.V. about the Wright Brothers Museum. They showed a hand-operated vacuum cleaner and said, "This cleaner is the only one of its kind that is know to still exist." Guess what, my sweeper is identical to the one that they showed. What it's worth, I don't know, but I do know that when you have a chance to help someone out you never know how God will repay you. — Harry That Hunter Won't Hunt Posted 2.13.2012 My grandfather lived next door to a well-known artist in Tulsa, OK — Mr. Frank von der Lancken. In the late 1930s, Mr. von der Lancken asked Grandpa to sit for a portrait that he titled, "The Hunter." Grandpa was a rabbit hunter and had a "string" of Beagles. The artist painted Gramps's hunting jacket with a pocket hanging open, and the plan was to have a rabbit hanging out of the pocket. However, my Grandfather and the artist never got together when Grampa had shot a rabbit, therefore the painting is still missing the rabbit. I now own the painting and treasure it. — Marianne Father of Invention Posted 2.6.2012 My grandfather was an inventor who held the most patents next to Edison. My mother gave me his original journal many years ago. I love that journal. My grandpa started it in the early 1900s, and it has drawings and pictures of his inventions, his laboratory, and even a blueprint. He invented the first speedometer, player piano, automatic gas gauge, and many other fantastic items. I moved to Mexico and took that journal with me. I had to come back to the U.S. due to a death, and I stayed in the U.S. for two years. When I returned to my home in Mexico and opened the door, everything I owned was gone. The only thing I wanted out of that house was his journal. I went upstairs from the outside and the door was open. You won't believe what was sitting on the window ledge ― my grandfather's journal. The rats had tasted it but didn't do too much damage. I could not believe it! I sat and read that journal, page by page, and it is fascinating. Now I have to figure out what to do with this priceless book. His name was Eugene T. Turney. —Djinnee Cracking Open a Chest of Secrets Posted 1.30.2012 When my father was a student in history, he studied for a year in Paris. At the famous flea market there, he bought a beautiful painted iron trunk. He took it to Holland and during World War II he tried to open it but did not succeed. Three years ago, both my parents passed away, and I had to come back to Holland after 12 years working and living in Greece. I got very ill and had to sell the trunk, and it turned out to be a little treasure. It is a money trunk from Nuremberg, Germany and dates back to 1750. I do not think my father knew that. It is a beautiful, dark green, painted iron trunk covered with little red and white painted roses. It is about 50 cm high and in perfect state. I live in a small house now; I am 63 years old; and I hope somebody can open this trunk to look inside. It has always been the secret of the family. Everyone, including my grandchildren, has tried to open that trunk, but nobody has been able to. Now a professional is trying, and everybody is holding his breath. What will be inside? The story will continue! —Marianne Historical Treasures Posted 1.23.2012 After my dad passed away I had to clean out his house in Spickard, MO. In one of his closets, I found a black leather folder containing approximately 125 civil war letters written from John Sanders to his wife Ritty Anne Sanders. They tell his whole story during the civil war — both good and bad. In them, he tells where they are going and gives the dates as well as what they have done. They are very interesting, sometimes gruesome. I don't know what, if anything, I will ever do with them, but they are a true treasure for me anyway. — Robert D'Orbigny Originals Posted 1.16.2012 I go to used-book dealers to find old books on natural history. Going to Witlocks in New Haven, CT, I made my usual request and was told there weren't any. I looked around, found a few sets, and was then told something had just come in. I was amazed when I saw that three volumes of a 16-volume set published in 1849 had over 300 hand-colored engravings by D'Orbigny, priced at $175, with a sale of 25% off. The books turned out to be quite rare and worth over $10,000. I can sell the individual prints at from$65-$95 each but did not have the heart to take the books apart for their prints and instead made beautiful computer prints. The set is supposed to be one of the most beautiful of all natural history books. — Harry Not Just the Ticket... Posted 1.9.2012 On a Braniff airlines flight from Dallas to Tulsa, on April 18, 1956, my mother sat next to a young man whom she described as well-mannered, shy, with brown hair and the sweetest smile she had ever seen. She was the only one on the airplane who recognized him as Elvis Presley. Being the wife of a musician, she conversed with him during the flight. Upon arrival in Tulsa, he carried her luggage from the plane and signed the orange jacket cover of her Braniff ticket, "Thanks, Elvis Presley." My mother was a beautiful young woman who, no doubt, had his attention! He appreciated her attention and the autograph was one of her most prized possessions. She wrote on an envelope containing the autograph to take care of it as it was very rare. — Toni Indestructible Collectibles Posted 1.2.2012 My family was burned out of their downtown home on the first day of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire disaster. They packed steamer trunks with essentials and dragged them through the city to safety. They never expected to return a week later to find that their china had survived, though they lost all else! As the building disintegrated, the china hutch had actually fallen two stories to the basement. Then the building caved in and burned on top of the hutch, burning the hutch as well. The only pieces lost were two saucers. Today, the collection includes about 60 pieces: the china settings, serving dishes, and several other vases and odd pieces of value to the family. All are scorched and the finish is bubbled, most are slightly warped and some are cracked, but we have kept all in tact and well preserved. — Laine An Accidental Collection Posted 12.19.11 My husband Neil and I, then engaged and decorating our first home together, went to a secondhand store in Akron, Ohio, while there visiting my parents. When we first walked in the door and rounded the corner, we were stunned to see two beautiful glass enamel pictures. Both of them depicted women with birds and flowers. We had to have them. We were shocked to see that they were only $30 apiece and even more shocked when we talked the store owner into selling both of them to us for $30. An information sheet on the artist, Irene Awret, was affixed to the back of one frame. We learned that she was a holocaust survivor who visually documented life in the Nazi's concentration camps. These particular pieces, made in Israel in the 1970s, meant to symbolize and promote peace. I took them to be appraised and was told they were worth between $2,000 and $3,000 each. I feel so lucky to have found them, and we love them so much, we'll never part with them. Incidentally, this began a rather accidental, but deeply loved, collection of Jewish artwork a few months later. My husband bought a Marc Chagall lithograph (stamped, but unsigned) from our favorite thrift store for $3. After doing some research, we estimate that it's worth about $1,000. — Kristen For Love of the Frame Posted 12.12.11 Several years ago, I was working in my husband's glass shop when a lady, who owned an antique store, brought in an old painting in a beautiful frame. She thought if we put glass in it for her, it might sell easier. I fell in love with the frame (not the painting) and instead of putting glass in it for her, I ended up buying it. After coming home around midnight from my second job, I decided to unwind by watching Antiques Roadshow. Just as I was about to doze off, I saw that painting, only it had been copied onto a ceramic plate or something of that nature. I brought the painting home from the office and put it in a spare room where the sunlight does not touch it. (Just in case!!) I believe it has something on the back (barely legible) that says 'Eaters of Bread' or 'Eaters of Fruit' and the name Muriella (also barely legible). I have not had any luck with research so far, so maybe someday I'll be able to get on the Antiques Roadshow and my mystery will be solved! Even if it is worthless, though, it will always have a story behind it for us. — Pennie Patience Pays Off Posted 12.5.11 About 5 years ago or so, my mother and I went to a flea market we usually venture to every month. Well on that beautiful Sunday morning in May, we went to the local antique store and saw this beautiful red dragon ashtray stand. It was an exact replica of one my great grandfather used to have, and which my uncle now proudly owns. The price at that time was $350, a little high for us, so we went home. We came back a year later and in the very same spot was the dragon — still too expensive for us, but it was funny that no one took it. Another year passed, and this time we didn't see it in its proud post but in the back behind many other trinkets. It was now $275 — we thought "If its here next year, it's ours." Sure enough, the next year, there it was, a hidden treasure. We got it for $225, and boy did it make us very happy. I said to my mother "When Antique Roadshow comes to Trenton I'm taking the dragons to be appraised." — Ed Cat and Mouse Game Posted 11.28.11 I often browse the thrift stores as I do my weekend errands. One Saturday morning, I snoozed a few extra minutes, made a phone call, and lingered over a second cup of coffee before beginning my rounds. I found a few things at my first stop and got in line at the cashier's behind a man holding a tarnished, nondescript copper tray. Only it wasn't, as I knew the instant I looked at it closely. But did he? "Excuse me," I said, "That's a nice tray." A flicker of a smile crossed his face. "Yes," was his noncommittal response. "Is it signed?" I pressed. "Yes," he replied softly. "By whom?" I demanded. Another faint smile. "Dirk Van Erp," he said, handing the cashier $1.99 for a tray worth $500 or more. Cat and mouse game over, I sighed over the cost of a few minutes' sleep, a second cup of coffee, and a phone call to I-can't-remember-whom. — Deborah Seeing Antiques in a Whole New Way Posted 11.21.11 About two-and-a-half years ago, my sister and I decided to visit an antique store that a friend of ours owned. On that particular day nothing really caught my eye, until I came upon a pile of old paintings and prints. Among them I found a really old sketch of daily life along a canal in Venice. It's simply done in ink with a title at the bottom of it and the name of the artist, which was T.M. Wendel. Despite the fact that the manager of the store would not sell me the sketch, the owner's niece gladly let me have it for only $40. On a hunch, I researched the name of the painter, and it turned out that there really was an American impressionist painter by that name. Who knows, I may truly have the work of a little-known American master hanging on my wall right now. A lot of clues point to this: the newspaper used at the back of the sketch in the framing has the date of 1886, which coincide with the date when my artist was still a working artist. $40 has certainly made me look at antiques in a more personal way. — Lisa History Locked in a Locket Posted 11.14.11 After my grandmother passed away, my family was searching for an antique locket that she had spoken about for years. I was in my early 20s at the time, and they hadn't asked me. It finally came up in conversation with my mother once, and I told her that I had the locket and that my grandmother had given it to me years earlier. The locket appears to be brass and has raised flowers of brass and is about two and one-half inches long. It opens up and can hold two pictures inside. The back side of the case looks like flowers also, but they are part of the back, as if they were pounded into the metal. At the time my asked me about the locket, she told me it was over 120 years old. I've had it for at least 30 years. — Donna Moving Antiques Posted 11.7.11 We just moved to Fordyce, Arkansas and were walking through downtown when we saw a little thrift store. What we found there shocked us. In the back of the store is a one of a kind marble Gary Safe Co. bank vault. It was bought back in the late 1800's or early 1900's by A.B. Banks & Co. Insurance. There are several thrift stores in downtown with great finds like this. — Jeanine Hidden Treasure Posted 10.31.11 When my dad passed away, I found a framed picture of a ship he was on in the basement. I took the picture out of the frame and found a poster of a navy plane behind it. It has two waves and three men, and it tells what rank they are, and it is signed by H. Charles McBarron. I was so happy I found it. I had it framed and when I look at it I think of my dad. — Jacqueline Good Will Posted 10.24.11 One night I dreamt that someone left me something to me in their will, because I stopped to help them out when no one else did. The next day a neighbor's daughter knocked at my door and said, "you know my mother died a few days ago, right?" I said, "yes," and then all of a sudden, she handed me a collector's plate and said, "my mom left this for you. " She went on to say that one day I had stopped to help her mother catch a cab when no one else did, and she wanted to thank me but never got the chance. Well when I opened the box I couldn't believe my eyes. It was the most beautiful plate I'd ever seen. — Lisa The "Original" House that Jack Built? Posted 10.17.11 While taking down plaster walls in our kitchen we found three books. One of them is a receipt book for someone selling trees in 1886. Another is Osgood's "American First Reader" and is kind of damaged. The one of interest, though, is a copy of "The House that Jack Built" published by Carlton & Porter. It's my understanding that "The House that Jack Built" had to be rewritten many times because no one could ever find a complete copy of the original, but I believe this may be an original! — Peter An Impression of Degas Posted 10.7.11 A signed Degas charcoal drawing with some pastel or other color has been in our family for about 60 years. It was purchased in a small art gallery off 5th Avenue in New York City during the early- to mid-1950s. Every time we look at the sketch or drawing, someone says it is a fake. However, my mother is a most skeptical person, and I am sure that she was careful to buy the real thing. So, although this sketch may have considerable value, it has been set aside and is mostly just ignored. It is signed in red ink on the lower left corner. The drawing is still owned by my mother who will be 98 years of age this year. — Jay All Dolled Up Posted 10.3.11 I have this very unique antique doll that actually gives people the spooks. She is very old and spent the last 70 years in an attic. I purchased her on craigslist, and I feel she may be worth a lot of money! She is 2 feet tall with brown real-looking hair and beady eyes. She has arms that are connected to the shoulders as if she were a marionette that had string to move the arms. She splits at the waist, where it looks like a small rod fit to make her turn at the waist. The shoulders, chest, and head look to be made of composition, and the bottom is carved wood with Dutch-looking shoes connected to legs. She has on a papier-mâché skirt and long red and white striped socks. She is very dirty from age and use. Her beautiful smile and eyes just have something about them that make you spiritually love her as a child. I take her to public places and get so many reactions! Some people say she is spooky and others say she is beautiful. While we are in the car, I have her sit looking out the window and get many laughs. Some ask, "what in the world is that?" She is a museum piece and truly one-of-a-kind. In fact people are asking me to bring her back to bingo so they can see her again! — Becky A Vital Violin Posted 9.26.11 In the 1970s I was given an old violin by a music teacher in Green Bay, WI, and it was marked as a Stradivarius. A few years later, I met a man who was a classical pianist in Madison, WI, and he took an interest in my violin. He was a recovering alcoholic, and I was very impressed with his violin skill, so I gave him the violin. At the time, I believe the man was in his 40s. People keep telling me that violins were routinely marked as Stradivarius violins when they were not actually that make, but what I have always wondered, is if the man recovered from his alcoholism and whether he kept the violin. When I read someone else's violin story online here, I decided to mention this. — Jay An Article of History Posted 9.26.11 I bought an antique rocking chair about 10 years ago. Last evening I was taking pictures of it and turned it over and glued to underneath the straw seat there was an article. Weird! This is the article: Du Pont Heir Faces Competency Battle — Philadelphia An heir to the Du Pont chemical fortune who was found mental incompetent after he gave money to political extremist Lyndon LaRouche goes to court this week seeking to prove he is fit to manage his own affairs. Lewis du Pont Smith, 33, heir to about $10 million, is due to appear Tuesday in Common Pleas Court before Chester county Judge Lawrence W. Wood. It will mark the latest development in a 5-year-old-squabble pitting Smith against his parents. On one side, the wealthy du Pont clan believes Smith is being influenced by LaRouche. On the other, Smith says the family is irked because they don't approve of his political beliefs. Someone wrote a name in ink along the right side of the article — Anne Jacobs. Wonder why anyone would glue this to the chair and put the name beside it? — Jackie Design Is In the Details Posted 9.12.11 While driving in my car past a very large estate, I noticed a very old antique love seat that was in the garbage awaiting pick up on the street. I sat in the seat and, liking its dimensions, I took the seat home and put a protective tarp on top of it and kept it in the back yard. The love seat was noticed by an antique auctioneer, who was shocked to see this piece of furniture outside the home and wanted to know all about it. The antique dealer asked to see the bottom of the seat. All she could repeat was, "Oh my God, Oh my God I can't believe this!" She noticed the nails were hand made and expressed that this was an original seat of very old age — more than 300 years old! —Marguerite A Small Touch-Up Posted 9.5.11 I inherited a painting from my father William James Condon by a French woman named Madeleine Lemair. I was told it is called "The Sleep of Manon." It is a beautiful painting with a magnificent gilded frame. I looked this painting up, and it does not look like exactly my painting, it is similar but not the same. My father, who passed away many years ago used to love to tell the story of the painting and did so every time a new guest came to the house. He would start with his Grandfather, Martin John Condon Sr., who bought the painting out of the original Waldorf Astoria lobby, which was torn down to build the Empire State Building. He brought it home to Nashville and hung it in the lobby of his hotel The Maxwell House. Supposedly, in its original state, the female figure in the painting was nude and sleeping on a bed of flowers. The story goes that one day my Great-Grandmother, Kathrine McMillan Condon, overheard my Great-Grandfather telling some friend that it was a painting of his girlfriend in New York. Hearing this story she immediately took the painting to an artist and had a black veil painted over the bottom half of the young lady so she would appear to be dead. My father would laugh and laugh every time he told the story. It was legend in our house. —Anna-Becky Home With A History Posted 8.29.11 While writing a story about a local trout farmer named Bill Bevan in Bellevue, Iowa, I was lucky enough to have Bill welcome me into his family home. With pride he showed me three stories of perfect antiques, rooms and rooms of beds, tapestries, handiwork, tables, wardrobes, mirrors, chairs, paintings, vanities, and all the makings of a complete home. The library on the third floor was in incredible condition, documenting his family history, which has major Iowa roots. The library includes a huge archive of maps, books, and photographs. The origins of nearly every item in the house are known. Bill is a dear man who is sitting on a treasure trove. He tells his family story with great pride, passion, and detail. His watery blue eyes, white hair, and soft voice make him a lovable and engaging narrator. One interesting note: His story is one of protecting a family legacy and not seeking riches from the collected treasures. Bill has never been interested selling these items and they are stored in a 200+ year-old house that is falling apart at the seams. It's holding on for now, but eventually this story might get washed away by the very fresh water stream that he farms trout from. — Katie A Poetic Piece Posted 8.22.11 My sister and I often go to various thrift stores in our area. Today, we stumbled upon a beautifully handwritten poem. The name of the poem is, "How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It's so amazing to see the excellent condition of a document that was handwritten in the mid-1800s. We would like to be able to compare the handwriting of the document with Elizabeth Barrett Browning's. Looking for antiques is a great challenge and so addictive. We both love doing it, and we never know what we may be bringing home at the end of the day. It's a great adventure! — Barbara A Young Girl and her Bird Posted 8.15.11 I have an Ezio Marzi, Firenza painting of a young girl with an empty birdcage. Bird food has spilled on the floor and the girl is gazing wide-eyed into the air after the bird. My mother rescued this from the trash years ago, and I have had it since. I cannot find any Ezio Marzi art like it, but it definitely has the characteristics of his other paintings. — Rebecca Delightful Dishes Posted 8.8.11 We have a set of dishes that we bought at an estate auction. For a few years we used them for everyday use. Finally, I decided to see when they were made. I checked the company and kept looking and looking for them. Eventually, I found out that they were made between 1890 and 1894 by New Warf, but they are not the normal blue pattern. They are, I guess, called the Madras-Green Nepmad. I have seen a similar plate on a site to order dishes, but they don't actually have any. I have been on their list for at least two years, and they still don't have any! Well, when I found out a couple of years ago that they were made only for approximately 4 years, I put them away very carefully! — Stan A Philadelphia Story Posted 8.1.11 My parents watch the program together, and every time my dad says, "I bet we have something!" Finally, my dad goes to the basement and digs out a box he found while working that was abandoned from an estate liquidation. Opening the box much later, they found documents dated 1784, referencing the Supreme Executive Council and Philadelphia belonging to a John Morris (related to Lewis and Robert Morris). Money is referred to in pounds rather than dollars and the writing was described as something out of the constitution. — Diana Connected through Collectibles Posted 7.25.11 My dad was recently cleaning out the garage and asked me if I'd like to come over and have a look at anything before he called goodwill. I went over and came across two pictures, one male and one female, that seemed to be made out of pounded copper with a balsa wood frame. The glass over the female frame is broken, but all the jewels and decor still seemed to be in place. The glass over the male is in tact, although both have slight water damage. I asked my dad about them and he said that when he was growing up in Modesto, it would have been around 1950 or so, my grandmother (GM for short) had bought them from an estate sale of a wealthy couple, who had also lived in Modesto. My grandmother had said that these were hand made especially for those people and were worth quite a bit of money and my dad remembers them hanging on her walls for years. I thought they were absolutely beautiful; so I brought them home, and I figure with a little TLC they will one day hang on my walls too. GM passed away in 2001 and shortly before she passed, she had broken her arm in a fall. I happened to work for a nursing home at the time so I ended up taking care of her for most of the summer. We really became close and it was the first time that we had actually ever connected as grandmother/granddaughter. After all this time, it's nice to be able to find something else we connect over too. — Trish Judging a Painting By Its Cover Posted 7.18.11 While walking my dog in Brooklyn one morning, I came across a very typical pile of old furniture and garden refuse neatly laid out on the edge of the sidewalk of my residential neighborhood waiting for the trash truck, which was only paces behind me. As I noticed the neat brown paper backing of the framed object nearest me, my mother's voice popped into my head saying, "if its professionally framed, its worth looking at." So I leaned the frame outward and took a peek to find one of the most enchanting images I have ever seen! I brought the painting back home with me, leaving it for further inspection that night. As I cleaned up the frame and glass I became more and more intrigued about the image and the artist. After doing a little research, I found that the artist was part of a watercolor movement that came out of California in the 20th century. Although I have yet to find any information on this particular piece, I have reason to believe it is an original. — Jennifer Under a Rock Posted 7.11.11 I was a plumber in my first life. I was called to a home here in Tucson to do some work. When I entered the home, I noticed some interesting rocks and minerals just inside the front door. When I had finished the repairs, I asked about the table's contents. She told me it was "stuff" she was going to sell in a yard sale the next weekend. I was very interested in one particular rock that had a face carved into it. The reason for my interest was that I had seen that face on a famous piece of art on t.v. or in a book somewhere, and it looked almost identical to what I had seen. She said she wanted thirty dollars for it. I told her I had only twenty in my pocket. The deal was done. The interesting part of this story is that she said she was standing in her back yard one day and felt as if she were being watched. She then began looking around and spotted this rock, half-buried in the yard, looking right at her. — Tex Stories of Adventure Posted 7.4.11 I was looking through a bin of my father and grandfather's old things, when I discovered two books. One of the books is entitled, Robinson Crusoe with Color Illustrations. On the side of the cover it reads, Words in One Syllable. I searched the internet but didn't find another book with the same illustrated cover. The second book is entitled, The Monkey Show and is a hard-back children's picture book. Both books are published by McLoughlin Brothers NY. Both are signed and gifted to Cambell Neil. The books are from two different people for Christmas 1888. One was gifted on December 21, 1888 (Crusoe) and the other on December 24, 1888. The books are amazingly illustrated. The Crusoe book is missing its back cover and is worn on the front edges. The other book is missing its edge binder. It was a very fun find! — Justin Musical Roots Posted 6.27.11 I was surprised that you mentioned the German instrument maker Gottlieb Dolling. My great-great-grandfather studied under him in Markneukirchen before he came to America. He and his brother came to America and opened a musical instrument store on Front St. in Baltimore in the late 1850s. Dolling's grandson came to Philadephia also. You can still find some of the instruments made by Kummer & Schetelich (his brother's brother-in-law) today. — Bonnie Cornered the Market Posted 6.20.11 When people ask me what sport I'm interested in, I always tell them my three favorites, which include: thrift stores, yard sales, and flea markets. My love affair with antiques has gone on since I was about ten years old. Several years back I visited a rather junky shop — I guess you'd call it a "junktique" shop, as it was a mixture of junk and antiques. In browsing around, I discovered, half-buried under a bunch of other stuff, a very unique couch. It seems to have been built to fit in a corner. The frame and legs, I believe, are mahogany, and it was originally stuffed with the old black horsehair — we've since had it restored. But what really makes this piece unique is that it has a small locking curio cabinet built right on the back, also shaped uniformly to fit in the corner. I've never seen anything like it before nor after in any magazines, books, or catalogues. — Randall Through the Eyes of a Child Posted 6.13.11 I recently inherited an oil painting from my late Uncle from South Africa. As a child of 3-4, I would stare at the child in the painting. She has an armful of oranges. I would ask who she was, and I was told it was my cousin Bernice. Of course, it was not, but as a young impressionable child, I believed it. Whenever I returned to South Africa for a visit, I would stare at the painting. I was fortunate to have my cousins bring it to the US for me last month. There is a tiny 1/4-inch tear in the canvas but not in a prominent place. The frame is a beautiful, ornate gold. I have loved it for the past 58 years. I have no idea how old it is, but my uncle traveled the world from the 1920s on and must have acquired the painting along his travels. He had exquisite taste. — Linda A Spoonful Posted 6.6.11 I have always loved anything that had a story attached to it. The best is a pewter spoon I found while cleaning out an old basement in a building that had been in my husband's family for ages. In an old cardboard box I found a pewter spoon. On the handle is "Surrender of Cornwallis." In the bowl of the spoon are raised images of soldiers, some on horseback carrying a flag. The back of the handle has "American Pewter Co." on it. How could I not have known about this incredible historic event? Thank you, old cardboard box, for a wonderful peek into the long ago past! — Linda Two-of-a-Kind Posted 5.23.11 I'm sharing this story written to me by my 91-year-old friend, LaVona of Rochester, New Hampshire. In the 1970s, I had a neighbor who gave me a beautiful antique table for my living room window (to put my lamp on). I really don't know exactly what the table is, but it has darker wood, is round and has a drawer in the front. It also has beautiful legs with capped feet. I used this table for many years and enjoyed it very much. It eventually cracked on top and so it was placed in my guest bedroom for eventual repair. For over a year now, I've had a volunteer come to my house to visit every Saturday. One Saturday, I asked her to go into my guest bedroom to search for something. When she came downstairs she was very excited and had discovered my antique table. She said that she had the same EXACT table in her house!! We laughed about that and discussed the history of each table. She had purchased hers through an antique auction in NH. This last Christmas, I was trying to think of the PERFECT gift to give my friend. I gave her the table so that she could have a matching pair. She said that I couldn't have given her a better present! I just really wanted to share this story as we were so amazed by the circumstances." — Karen Costumed as Costume Jewelry Posted 5.16.11 An appraiser friend of mine has many stories that peak the interest of treasure hunters, and this story is one of my favorites. While he is best known for assisting wealthy families by conducting professional estate sales, he also assists local families who prefer to hold the sales themselves by offering his appraisal services (for a reasonable fee) to help them price the items in their sale. He received a call from a family who had already set up and priced a garage sale for their grandmother's personal property. At the last minute they had doubts about their pricing and called him to come and give them a sanity check. He found many items they had priced "way under the money," but the treasure of the day was found on the costume jewelry table. One of the baggies marked $2 had eight rings in it. As he looked through the clear plastic, his professional eye spotted a 2.5 carat diamond in a platinum setting. The family commented that since they were unaware that Grandma had this ring and it was so large and unmarked, they were inclined to think it was costume. Eventually, the ring was sold for $15,000 and needless to say, the appraiser earned his fee and the "garage sale" ended up bringing them over five times what they'd hoped for. — Faith Ann Architectural Antiques Posted 5.9.11 I recently recovered a box of rare postcards and letters sent to and from Erich and Frieda Gugler. There is also one letter that Erich wrote to his father Julius Gugler, and a letter Julius wrote to his son circa 1915. The NY Times reporter Christopher Gray wrote an article, which mentioned Mr. Gugler's architecture back in 1999. After doing a little research on my own, I learned that Mr. Gugler was an architect for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and designed several rooms of the White House. I also learned that his sister Frieda was an artist. — Jamie Buy What You Love Posted 5.2.11 Years ago I purchased a small painting at an antique store for $10. I fell in love with the moonlit scene of Mt. Shasta. I grew up with a litho of a Robert Wood and recognized the name of the back of the painting. All these years later I was told that this was an early Wood painting and valued at $500! It is always good to buy what you love! — Becky Newsworthy Newspaper Posted 4.25.11 After my grandmother passed away, we were gathering her belongings, and I found an envelope that she had left for me. Inside the envelope was foreign currency from all over the world, but that is not where the excitement comes in. Behind the currency was a folded-up newspaper. It appeared to be quite old and to my surprise, it was the newspaper announcing that President Lincoln had been assassinated. I was so shocked to see it and could not believe my eyes. It is a true newspaper from that time period! — Jessica Curb-side Find Posted 4.15.11 After buying my first house in the summer of '08, I really wanted a vanity for my bedroom. I looked around but could not afford anything like I wanted. One day on my way home, I saw a vanity sitting on the curb kitty-corner from my house. I pulled over right away. It was perfect! I knocked on the owners' door and was told to just take it! They were unable to sell it at their garage sale. I brought it home, looked it over and was shocked to find the plaque intact inside the drawer — West Michigan Furniture Company. The furniture factory is out of Holland, Michigan. Most of their pieces like mine are sitting in museums! Great find! I have sent pictures around to lots of antique stores, and no one can match it up to the typical plaque they used. Still kinda neat! — Jessica String Lineage Posted 4.11.11 My father, an amateur ventriloquist and a professor of speech and drama, always told me that his ventriloquist's dummy, named Gakes, was made by the same craftsman who made the original Charlie McCarthy and that he had known Edgar Bergen personally. Now that I have inherited Gakes, my research confirms that my father was indeed at Northwestern University with Edgar Bergen in the mid 1920s and Gakes has the same type of construction as Charlie. I believe my father asked Edgar Bergen where he got his dummy and then had Theo Mack make a similar dummy for him. — Myra Instrument of History Posted 4.4.11 Last November, my mother's old Weymann Tenor 4-string banjo was returned to me by a grandson of her best friend. She probably gave it to him after she retired as a music teacher in 1980. According to a letter from Mom about all the instruments she owned during her music career, this banjo was given to her by the husband of her oldest sister, when Mom was in junior high in the late 1920s. Mom was born in 1915. Based on that and a serial number of 20268, I'm guessing that this banjo is close to 100 years old. I've replaced the strings, head, and bridge and it is now usable. What is also of historical value is the old, damaged, head. It includes three hand drawn sketches related to Mom's WWII service as a Women's Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). I also have a 1943 picture of Mom with the banjo while she was in training for her WASP service. — Andy Secret Signature Posted 3.28.11 Three years ago, we purchased a pile of old prints (all 19th-Century) with the intention of framing some and keeping them. It took time to get around to them, but on taking one apart (an old Italian Engraving from a painting commissioned by the King of Naples), we found on the engraving backing a signature and an address. The signature was H. Melville, and the address was 104 East 26th Street, NY, NY. The engraving is at least 160 years old. The signature sure looks like a dead copy of all of the Melville Signatures I have been able to find, and the address is Herman Melville's last address in NYC. I am meeting this week with the foremost authority on Melville's Art Collection — he was an avid print and reproduction collector — as he is presently writing a book on Melville's art. He wants to put the engraving in his catalog and try to determine how this one "escaped" from Melville's family and the Melville Association. I'm waiting on final authorization, but thought you would find it interesting that the signature stayed hidden behind framing backing paper for so long and just happened to be noticed by my wife when preparing to reframe it so many years later. It has to be "real" as no one at the time would have taken the time to duplicate a Melville signature and then hide it — he was simply not that famous at the time, and the value of his books did not really come into public recognition until long after he died. Fun stuff! We are keeping it and have it in a safe deposit box now based on some incredible values we have seen on the internet for a signature on a known collector's item. — Joe Hunting for Family Heirlooms Posted 3.21.11 My grandfather was a very prolific artist but very humble. Many of his works were in the World's Fairs and expositions. He painted in many genres, but his ceramics and porcelains were the most prominent. He also did watercolors, oils on wood, and canvas, and we have been told he made tapestries. He also made pigskin lampshades. I watch ANTIQUES ROADSHOW faithfully hoping one of his works will show up, as I know he has many pieces scattered all over the country. I search antique shops whenever possible, especially when we take road trips, which we have been doing a lot since my husband retired. My grandfather's name is Henry Otto Punsch, but he signs most of his works with H.O. Punsch. I am ever hopeful of coming across something done by him - it would mean a lot to me. An antique appraiser in Ohio told me that his works are equivalent to Franz Aulich. That is my antiquing story. — Nancy Family Photo with a Famous Cameo Posted 3.14.11 Back in the late 1940's, my father worked as a barber at the movie studios in Culver City, CA. Back in those days, they apparently employed barbers just to cut the stars' hair. I found an 8x10 glossy picture of Alfred Hitchcock among my dad's photos after he passed away. Mr. Hitchcock is sitting in a barber chair reading a magazine and my father is cutting his hair. The magazine is a Life Magazine with Betty Grable on the cover. It is signed, "To Dee Hendrick from Alfred Hitchcock". My daughter found it in the box one day and encouraged me to frame it. The photo now figures prominently among my family photos on the wall... a real conversation piece. — Paula Thrift Shop Payoff Posted 3.7.11 While visiting a local thrift shop, here in Shelby, N.C., I found an original painting by an artist from Columbia, S.C. The painting was from the early 1900s, so I bought it. When I went home and googled the artist's name — Alice Scott — I found that a gallery in S.C. sold one of her paintings for over $900. I scanned my painting and sent it in to their agent. Later, I heard back from them and was asked to send the painting for an appraisal. It was real, and the gallery put it up for auction in June 2009. It sold for over $1000! It really does pay to go to flea markets, yard sales, etc. Wow! — Mary A Ride to Remember Posted 2.28.11 A picture of a car featured in your San Antonio Tour Slideshow brings back fond memories... My father owned a Subaru Dealership from the late '60s-'80s, and I remember the car that is in your picture — it's a Subaru 360! I remember a very bumpy ride to the seashore in one as a kid. They were so small, and at a time when everyone was driving huge automobiles, they were hard to sell. My father would complain about how they could fit 10 on a transport truck (normally only 8 normal cars fit). He would drive them home at night and park them in the back yard. My Mom would then drive him to work the next morning so he could repeat the task again and again. He did this so it looked like they were selling off his lot! When 360's were discontinued, my brothers and I would make use of the old stock parts by using the 360's fiberglass roofs as snow sleds. I have never had another sled that went so fast! It was great to see the old car on your website. It brings back a flood of great old memories. — Janet Long-Lost Letter Posted 2.18.11 I collect early 1900s postcards. My greatest find (which I didn't know at the time) was at an antique show in Des Moines, in 2005. I came across a postcard with a cancellation date of June 6, 1910 that was addressed to someone in Quasqueton, IA. My grandparents lived close to that town when they were alive. It had a 1" x 1" picture glued on the front of the card. I bought it because of the town on the address. Months later I was going through my postcards and read the note on the back of this card. My grandmother had an unusual first name and that was the signature on the note. I went through pictures I had of my grandmother and discovered that it was her on the front of the postcard. I called my aunt and asked her if she knew the person that the card was sent to. It was my grandmother's best friend. My grandmother was 12 years old when she sent that postcard, and I came across it 95 years later. — Donna Burlington Folsom Prison Ship Posted 2.14.11 I stopped at a house one day that had all its garage items out in the driveway. It looked somewhat organized so I stopped to see how much they wanted for a ship I saw there. They informed me that it wasn't a sale and they were just cleaning their garage. I still tried to buy this wooden ship with sails. The owner said he bought it at an antique store about 50 years ago. His wife said why don't you sell it to her, you just keep it in the garage anyway. So I purchased this ship. I later discovered that it was made by a prisoner in Folsom State Prison. He carved his name and prisoner number on it. It is just beautiful. It looks like an old pirate ship with sails and everything. I still have it. — Jo Anne Saving Charleston Posted 2.7.11 About sixty years ago my parents steered their boat into magnificent Princess Louisa Inlet, a fjord on the British Columbia coast. The dock was full that day, and the courtesy among boaters is to allow late arrivals to raft up next to boats that are already docked. It soon became evident that the couple on the next boat were drunk and fighting. Soon a man appeared on the deck. He was carrying a large bear, about 3 feet tall, carved from greenish-black stone. He yelled something like, "I can't stand my wife's so-called taste in art. I'm going to throw this damn thing overboard!" Since Princess Louisa waters are about 2,000 feet deep, the object would have been lost forever. "Wait," Dad yelled, "don't throw it away! I'll give you $100 for it." Dad never said whether the man took any money for the bear, but he and Mom brought it safely home. The bear has both arms swung to one side and looks like he's ready to do the Charleston, so when I inherited him I named him after this dance. — Jan Christmas Ornament Posted 1.31.11 My mother gave my dad a musical ball ornament for Christmas the year I was born. The red ornament has a hook on the top and was always hung at the top of the doorframe between the kitchen and dining room. When I was little I used to have to ask someone to pull the ball down so I could listen to it play "Silent Night." When I got older I found out that my mother's sister also bought the same musical ornament. Before my aunt was placed into a nursing home she gave me her musical ornament. It was, and still is, wrapped in its original package and placed in a bigger box. My aunt is now 93 years old. The ornament was purchased in 1964 at a store call Hutzler's in Baltimore, Maryland, and a certificate in the box says the ornament was made in Germany. It's red and has a few little diamond-like stones on the surface. I have never seen another ornament quite like this one. — Cyndy Digging for Treasure Posted 1.24.11 I was doing some landscaping about six or seven years ago when I discovered an old pipe. It's the kind of pipe that's common to the French who settled here over 200 years ago. I also found a gold bracelet in the same place as the pipe, three and a half feet from the surface. I wonder if the bracelet is as old as the pipe. I was told it was solid white gold. I'm not sure if it's worth anything, but it could be worth a lot. — Jamie Little Book Nobody Wanted Posted 1.14.11 My mom was almost 92 when she died. Her five children divided up her books, jewelry, and other treasures. Because I live in Bakersfield, and so did Mom, I was left with a suitcase of things that no one wanted but I didn't want to get rid of. In this suitcase was a little old book written in German. No one, including me, paid much attention to it. Then, just recently, I looked through the suitcase again. I picked up the book and looked it over. It is written by H.G. Wells and was published in 1911 in Gutenberg. The inside cover is signed by Hilda Wells. It has a green leather cover and is in great shape. — Connie Civil War Cup Posted 1.10.11 I found this small antique shop with my mom when I was young. The old woman behind the counter was very nice and allowed me to purchase a Civil War-era drinking cup that she said belonged to General Lee. I wonder if this cup could be worth anything. I would feel bad in a way if it was, because the woman sold it to me for the coins in my change purse all those years ago. — Esther Refurbished Table Posted 12.27.10 When I was a child in the 1950s-1960s, my mother would buy old furniture to save money. She bought it at what she called "junk stores." Then she would completely refurbish the furniture by hand. Today she has a collection of very beautiful antiques. Recently, she asked me to take an end table that folds into a chair or vise versa. It is walnut and very beautiful. The only other chair/table I have ever seen like it was on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. Anyway, I believe the appraiser said that there were only three chair/tables like this known in existence, and it was valued at $75,000. This chair/table is only one of many fine pieces my mother has. — Chip Grandma's Table Posted 12.20.10 All of my 54 years I have had a fascination with a table owned by my grandmother. She had seven children and my grandfather was a coalminer who died of black lung disease. I was told that during the Depression she had worked as a domestic for the Oppenheimer family in New York City. I don't know if it's true, but I like to think so. The story has it that they were remodeling and gave my grandmother a table that was made by the Knoxville Table and Chair Company. It is an oval table about 36 inches long that sits on a base with two pedestals. It also has a drawer on one side. I have not been able to find out anything about the table. I now am the proud owner and sit at the table daily. — DonnaMarie Presidential Find Posted 12.13.10 While searching in an antique store I found an old and tattered engraving titled "George Washington" that was published on January 1, 1800, about two weeks after his death. I purchased it for a mere $10 and have used it to teach children a little more about our nation's first president. I have only found editions published February 1, 1800, with the title of "General Washington" instead of "George Washington" like mine. It was a great find and my most treasured and beautiful item. — JD A Good Deed Rewarded Posted 12.6.10 I was at a church rummage sale recently. I looked around the tables but didn't find anything of interest. Then just as I was getting ready to leave I found a pocketbook on the floor under one of the tables. It had a wallet and other personal items in it. I gave it to one of the women in charge of the sale and they found the owner. Well, you know the saying about when you do a good deed it comes back to you? Well, it came back really quick, because afterwards I noticed some open boxes toward the back of the room. There were about five boxes. There was another woman rummaging through them. I just picked one and started to rummage. It was mostly fabric pieces and odds and ends. I saw this black ribbon and pulled it up. As I am pulling it up all these brooches are on it. There are about 10 of them. I started to look at the brooches and one in particular caught my eye. I looked on the back and it was marked "Miriam Haskell!" I couldn't believe it! I bought the ribbon full of brooches for $5 (50 cents apiece) and brought them home to get a better look. There was only one Miriam Haskell brooch out of the whole bunch but it was worth the five dollars! It has rhinestones, pink and pearl beads, and purple and pink stones all over. I have seen her jewelry on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and have always wished to find such beautiful and collectible jewelry. I finally did! Yeah! — Vikki German "Log Box" Posted 11.29.10 We bought our house fully furnished in 1972. The former owner left a large, ornate wood box that was handmade by his grandfather and brought over from Germany. It has a hammered metal overlay that is three-dimensional with ornate Grecian figures filled with some type of plaster. It also has a filigree border around the scenes decorating the three sides of the box. They had used it as a log box but it is very ornate and formal to be used for that. No one knows anything about one nor have I ever seen one in the antique books. — Geraldine Santa Clara Pueblo Pottery Posted 11.22.10 My wife and I were with some friends in Ohio in August 2000 before we moved to Arizona a few years later. We had lunch at a restaurant in Clifton Mills. After lunch, we visited some of the antique shops. I saw this small black pot. I purchased it because we had just purchased land in Arizona and we both have had interest in Native American art of all kinds. We took the pot home and after looking at it we saw writing on the bottom. Parts were clear and other parts were hard to read. What was clear was Santa Clara pueblo, but we couldn't make out the three words at the top. They looked like A ace Medicine Flower. We are 99.9% certain that this pot is one of the earliest pieces made by Grace Medicine Flower as a child. There is a little more to the story, but the shop wanted $38 for the pot and I told them I would pay $35. With tax it was $36.73. — Doug Kid's Cup Posted 11.15.10 My father was in the jewelry business and in 1944 bought a cup at an estate auction. Our family home had a porch where all the kids congregated. We threw our crayons, playing cards, and the usual junk into the cup. After my parents died I took the cup with me as an afterthought, and have had it ever since. I recently did research and found that William Eley made the cup in 1784, and it was given to a J.L. Tuck, whom I have not traced. I was told by one auction house that they would put it in their "special" sale and would expect it to go for as much as $10,000. — Robert Gorges Book Posted 11.8.10 I went to an antique show at one of our local churches and they had this book, The Grandeur of the Gorges by Donald Mennie. All that is wrong with it is the cover, which looks like it got wet. All the 50 photos and stories inside were not harmed. I did some research and I know that there were only one thousand copies made and my copy is number 170. I found out that one of these books was worth $16.50 and it was number 500 or so. I paid $20 for my book. I do not know if it is worth any money but I have it. — Frances Willow Ware Posted 11.1.10 My 15-year-old son and I were searching in my mother-in-law's storage for 1976 7-Up soda cans that my husband had saved all this time. They were to be set up in a pyramid to create a picture of the Statue of Liberty. To my dismay we didn't find them; I don't recall seeing them in 1976 or any other time. Instead we found a cache of Willow Ware by Royal China. My mother-in-law gave the collection to us and I've researched them. The cups and bowls seem to be a bit different in style from any I can find online. I wonder how old these are, where they were made, what style collection they are, and their worth today. They make a lovely display -- but I don't have enough space to display all of them! — Annette Dish Discovery Posted 10.25.10 I was recently asked if I wanted some old dishes before they went to the dump. They are cup-and-saucer sets with "Republic of Germany" on them and an old platter with teapots dated 1792. I am guessing that these were brought over by early whalers to Canada's Western Arctic. Great, eh? — Julie One-of-a-Kind Knife Posted 10.18.10 My grandfather was in World War II and was stationed all over Europe. At some point he ventured to India, where he acquired a hand-carved knife or dagger with a wooden sheath and handle and a hand-forged blade. I have never seen anything like it. He passed away several years ago and it was recently handed down to me. It is certainly one of a kind. — Jason The Fork and the Spoon Posted 10.8.10 When I was about six years old, I started going to my great aunt and uncle's farm for the summer and did so for many years. They always had a wooden fork and spoon hanging on the wall. They had to sell the farm and my uncle passed away shortly after that. My aunt had the fork and spoon on the wall in her kitchen until she also passed away. I inherited them. They are now hanging in my kitchen on the wall. They are 40 inches tall. Before my grandmother passed away she told me that my aunt had gotten them from her brother, who brought them back from Hawaii when he was the military. She also said that they were hand carved by a native Hawaiian. I have always wondered about the history behind them. — Alan Family Firearm Posted 10.4.10 My grandfather's uncle gave him a shotgun, which my grandfather passed down to my father and my father passed down to me. Grandfather called his uncle "Uncle Doctor." The story goes that uncle was a doctor and he received this shotgun as payment from a patient. Another story is that a friend gave it to him as a gift. It's a custom-made double-barreled shotgun that has been in the family for at least 90 years and probably more than that. The name N. Lenhard Rzeszow is engraved on the barrel. The initials JB are engraved on the part where the firing pins are located and between the two hammers. There's a raised cheek piece on the stock and checkering on the handgrip. The screws and trigger guard are decoratively engraved, and the barrel has a design on it. It has two mounts for a sling. We believe this gun was made in Europe and brought to America by my great-great uncle. — Jim Thrift Store Painting Posted 9.27.10 I found this painting at a Goodwill thrift store and paid $89 for it. As soon I saw the painting I was very attracted to it — something was telling me that it worth a lot more than $89. I tried to negotiate the price but the manager said that it was worth a lot more. I decided to buy it anyway since I really liked it. It was painted by Clarence Thorpe. It is a picture of an Indian fisherman looking at his shadow in the water. It's like looking in the mirror. There's a canoe next to him. This is the best I can describe this painting. It was painted on a sort of velvety canvas. I feel like I have seen this painting before and it is very rare. Well, I hope it's worth more than I paid for it. I really like the painting and I have it on my bedroom wall so I can enjoy it. — Puree One Rainy Night Posted 9.20.10 I have a room divider made of four panels. Each panel has oil paintings of flowers on the upper third, and a collage of turn-of-the-century advertising posters on the lower section. There is no artist's signature. The artwork on the panels is framed with ornamental wood molding and the panels are crowned with wooden balls of different sizes. The frames are covered with red silky material and the reverse side is covered with an upholstery type of material. The four panels are connected with brass hinges that have sharp, curved corners. I wonder if this is a significant piece of artwork or just someone's garage project. It looks to me to be turn-of-the-century stuff from the 1900s. I hesitate to dust or clean anything lest I cut its value from $50,000 to $10. I found it in the street on a rainy night. There you have it. — Aram A Watercolor Wonder Posted 9.13.10 I frequent a local thrift store hoping to find my million-dollar treasure, and have found what I believe to be a genuine James Milton Sessions watercolor. I caught a gentleman in the store eyeing my cart and staring at the painting, and when I went up to pay, a woman asked if she could look at it. I said sure. She said she thought it was pretty special and I was lucky to have found it! — Suzanne You Never Know... Posted 8.30.10 About 40 years ago I made a trip with my mother and sister to a flea market where my mother purchased an old, junky looking violin case. My sister and I were around 11 and 13 years old, and so embarrassed by this old box that we told our mother we were going to walk behind her in case we came across someone we knew. When we got home my mother opened the case and inside was a violin with the Stradivarius label. My mother is German and when she went home for a visit her sister told her it could be a real one. My mother wrote down what was on the label, and it appears to be identical to what was on the original Stradivarius. My mother paid five dollars for the case and was happy to have just that, because my father had an old violin with no case. So this purchase was for him. I have done some research and found that more than likely it is not an original but you never know... This one looks identical to the original. — Carolann Stone Pitcher Posted 8.23.10 I found a pitcher at a Goodwill store. This amazing little pitcher is very old, very heavy, and carved completely out of stone. The outside has been buffed smooth, but it's not shiny. The inside has chisel marks that show how it was carved. The pitcher was carved out of beige stone with thin veins of gray and a small amount of rose. The pitcher and handle are all carved out of one piece. It stands about five inches tall and about five inches wide from the spout to the handle, and weighs about two pounds. I've searched the Internet and found nothing like it. It looks like something from early colonial days. I have several pieces of pottery made during the Civil War by my husband's great-grandfather, who was a potter in Virginia. This pitcher does not look like that pottery. Instead, it looks like it was carved out of a big stone. — Grace Buried Bracelet Posted 8.16.10 When I was 16 years old I used to visit southern California. I always dug in the ground or used my metal detector. One day I went out so far I could see for miles. My detector made a noise and so I started digging. I found a bag that fell apart as I picked it up. A beautiful bracelet fell out. It has a wedding-band design, with a hanging pendant that has a big red stone embedded in a heart. This doesn't look like any machine-made jewelry. It looks handmade. In the back of the heart is hair rolled over paper. It looks like maybe at one time there was a cover over it but not now. I'm 54 years old and still have this bracelet. — Doris An Heirloom on the Table Posted 8.9.10 I received a huge box from my parents. When I opened it, inside was the original box for a Haddon Hall lace tablecloth. It looks like the tablecloth has never been used or even taken out of the box. The original tissue paper and the photo of the tablecloth were inside. I know the tablecloth was my grandmother's. She got it for a wedding present in 1938! My mother-in-law couldn't believe it. — Kelly Antique Swords Posted 8.2.10 When my deceased husband, a long time sheriff, was searching for illegal corn whiskey stills in the northwestern part of the county back in the 1960s, he found some swords instead. I still have them today: a U.S. Army sword in excellent condition except for a rusted scabbard, and what I assume is a Confederate sword without a scabbard. It wasn't what he set out to find, but it was probably a more interesting treasure. — Madge Hidden Pistol Posted 7.26.10 I recently found the perfect little nightstand at a Goodwill thrift store for $4.99. I intended to sand and paint it "some day." After months of tripping over it in my crowded garage, I finally pulled it out yesterday to get started. As I lifted it up, a panel fell off the back of the table and a pistol in holster fell out! The table has a hidden panel behind a false back in the bottom drawer. Upon further inspection, I discovered that the gun was fully loaded and the safety was not engaged! The pistol is marked Bohmische Waffenfabrik A.G. Prag CZ Pistole Modell 27 and was made in 1942. It is still in pristine condition. — Karen This Ring's a Classic Posted 7.19.10 I am interested in antiques and want to share the story of one that is in my family. My grandfather is distantly related to the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The tradition in the family was to pass down a diamond ring to the oldest male, and this ring has ended up with my grandfather. It is known that this ring was once Bach's, and it is assumed that he was the one to buy it, although that is not certain. It has been appraised and confirmed to be from the proper time period to fit this story, which is a story that has been told through the family for generations. — Melissa An Antique That's Fit to Print Posted 7.12.10 My involvement in the advertising and printing field began in 1953 and continued through 2003. In the 1960s, the company I managed was cleaning out, which necessitated the disposal of several hundred old printing plates that were gathering dust since the early 1930s. One of these plates caught my eye. It showed Lou Gehrig, Miller Huggins, and Babe Ruth sitting together on the bench. At the time, I considered it an interesting paperweight. It was pushed around on my desk and then on a bookshelf for many years until I rediscovered it recently. It certainly is a rare bit of baseball memorabilia. — Bob Playful Prints Posted 7.2.10 I was on my way to the grocery store when I came across a yard sale that was at an end. I was not going to stop but I did. There wasn't much left because in my small village the good things go fast and the yard sales are not that big. The sale was at a home where the owners had died and their children were selling what they didn't want. I was drawn to some old picture frames. Some were empty and others were not worth a dime. I decided to take the time to look through them. I took two because they had large prints of elves racing on the backs of white geese. They are having great fun. The other one I took had elves riding on a sleigh pulled by two rabbits, with two laughing fox looking on. The prints are by Margaret W. Tarrant. One of them is called "The Race" and the other is "Water Sport." They are no longer in the frames but I keep them out of the light and they are still very bright. I love them. They have a lot of imagination for 25 cents. — Nancy Gifts from Grandmother Posted 6.28.10 Being an only child has its advantages. Through no plan of my own, I accumulated most of the furniture from my mother, father, and grandparents. My mother's mother had grown up on a 3800-acre plantation in southern Georgia. I grew up with my grandparents, and my grandmother used to tell me stories of her upbringing. She loved old furniture. As I grew up the genes of my grandmother sort of kicked in. My love of old stuff grew. My grandmother had a large wall clock that she wound regularly. The clock kept good time. I can still remember going to sleep hearing it tick. When my grandparents died my mother got the clock and some other things. When my mother died I got all of what she had inherited. I hauled these things all over the southeast in my working days, and had the clock cleaned by a local German watchmaker. I am now 67 and love to go to estate auctions. I was sitting in Books-a-Million one day looking at an antique book. I turned a page and there was my clock. It is a New Haven wall clock. What made it special was that it is a commemorative for Sauer's Extract. I could not believe it. The clock was listed at $3500. That really got me interested in the things my grandmother had left us. There was a rather ugly little wood table. I started researching it. Get this: the table is a William and Mary tavern table. Shock upon shock! — James Rocking Chair Posted 6.21.10 I bought an oak rocking chair at an estate sale for $15. It has a very high back, but is very simple and put together with wooden pegs. The seat has about one-inch cane, and between the cane were pages of The American Needle Woman magazine dated 1924 and 1925. This helped me to date the chair and suggests that it was probably made somewhere around Maine, which is where the magazine was printed. The chair is original and I love it. I really wish the Keno brothers could see it; I know they would love it. — Linda Mother's Tea Set Posted 6.14.10 My dad, who antiques, just handed me a possible Reed and Barton tea set to sell at my yard sale. "Maybe you can get a couple good dollars for it," he said. Well, before I hand something valuable to someone for a "couple good dollars" of course I'm doing research. The set is stamped 1799. It includes two tea pots, creamer, sugar bowl with lid, and something else that I don't recognize... maybe a fingertip bowl? What my dad didn't see because of his poor eyesight was an inscription on one of the teapots: "To Mother from Henry & Charley Dec. 25, 1856." Now I'm sure Henry and Charley shined lots of shoes to afford this beautiful gift for their mother. Every piece has their mother's three initials engraved onto it. — Karen Jewelry Box Posted 6.7.10 Some years ago my husband (who's now deceased) and I would often go to garage sales on Saturdays. One particular Saturday, I came across a large jewelry box filled with jewelry. I bought the entire box including the jewelry for $14. Most of it was Sarah Coventry or Tiffany, and the large, bulky, old-fashioned-looking jewelry was by Miriam Haskell. I researched the Haskell jewelry but I cannot find its value. Some of it looks like it was made from pewter. Well, that's my story. — Bobbie Class Picture Posted 5.28.10 My grandmother was visiting me in Arizona and I took her to an antique store. She loves to shop for antiques. She bought a picture there that she remembered being on the wall in her elementary school art classroom. When she returned to Alabama, she took it to a person that restores and cleans pictures. When the person took it apart, they found a newspaper from the early 1900s behind the picture. The individual told her that the glass had tiny little bubbles in it and she thought there was a big possibility of this picture being an original! My grandmother was so excited about finding this picture and we have researched it online. It is very meaningful. My grandmother still takes art classes today. — Melissa Tale of Two Tins Posted 5.24.10 My father retired after a heart attack and took a job working at a landfill. People would come to dump their trash and dad would make sure the place was kept neat. He brought home some things that my mother made him take back, but one day he brought home these octagon-shaped tins. One has a boy holding a dog on it and the other has a small girl with a bonnet. Dad got them from a man who said his wife had them for years and just got tired of them and threw them out. Dad received them in 1974. I don't know their value, but to me they are priceless because my dad loved them. He hung them in his bedroom until he died in 1989, and then I got them. I will pass them on to my oldest son and he to his oldest daughter. One man's trash did sure become another man's treasure. — Deborah Carved Bowl and Lid Posted 5.17.10 It was a very hot and sunny day. A friend and I decided to take refuge at a large indoor garage sale to cool off. I had no intention of going to any garage sales that day, so I brought only five dollars. We were just browsing and I came across a wooden bowl six inches in diameter with carved flowers dyed in a darker tone. It also came with a lid. I handed the bowl to my friend who refused to purchase it, so I placed it back on the table. As we were about to leave a woman announced that they were closing and any items were "mark your price." I asked my friend about that bowl and if she thought they would allow me to purchase it for five dollars. She replied, "It won't hurt to ask, or I can loan you the money for what it is worth." I thanked her and went to retrieve the bowl. I brought it up to the counter and handed the woman the five dollars. She gave me that kind of look, but did not say anything. She took the money and thanked me. We left. When I got home I wiped the bowl clean and noticed it was rather old and hand carved. It's been sitting on top of my counter since. A year later, I saw a similar bowl and lid without the carved flowers appraised on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. It was appraised for $10,000, I think. I could not believe what I was hearing. The bowl that I bought for five dollars may be worth even more, I thought. That would be a miraculous purchase. — Elaine A Grand Find Posted 5.10.10 I found a Woodward & Brown square grand piano with huge claw legs that might be mahogany. I found the piano by chance. We were looking at real estate in Cumberland, Maryland, and one of the houses the realtor showed us had this huge piano. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. The house was full of really old antiques. I had the realtor contact the person who was in charge of the estate to see if I could buy the piano. Well, the estate had it on eBay. So I bid on it and I won. This piano sat in a woman's living room for 50 years, just unbelievable. It took six men to move the piano to its next location, as this piano is really heavy. This is definitely a treasure. — Anita Charles Clewell Vase Posted 5.3.10 While at a garage sale two weeks ago I spotted a pretty vase that I thought would look good on my bathroom vanity. It was priced at $2. I looked it over, saw a label on the bottom that I didn't recognize, and set it back down. After looking over the rest of the items, I picked up the vase again and decided to buy it. Later, I looked up the name on the label and discovered I had bought an original bronze Clewell vase, dated to about 1906, and production number 51! After doing more research I also discovered that mine is one of the largest ones made, at 14 inches tall and 20 inches in diameter at the widest point. I have not been able to find an appraiser as of yet, but I do intend to have it officially appraised. Needless to say, I'm quite proud of my garage sale find! — Michelle A. Sulka and Company Robe Posted 4.26.10 Several years ago I came across a magnificent A. Sulka and Company full-length men's silk robe. Someone I know was putting it in the trash, and I retrieved it. I had no idea that it was worth anything, but I just knew it was too gorgeous to throw out. Recently I found a little information regarding this designer, and I think I may have a piece of clothing that is very valuable. This beautiful robe is 100% silk and hand sewn. The lining, cuffs, collar, and sash are a beautiful rust color and the contrasting outer layer is a beautiful Chinese-style print. It is absolutely magnificent. — Barbara Maxfield Parrish Print Posted 4.16.10 I love collecting antiques but I only buy what catches my eye. A few years ago I was at a flea market here in Grove when I saw an old print that was the most wonderful blue. I bought the print after staring at it for at least 20 minutes. When I got it home I found out that it is from 1910 and is "The Errant Pan" by Maxfield Parrish. The blue that caught my eye is the blue he was famous for. The print is almost 100 years old but is as vibrant as the day it was printed. It was the best 45 dollars I ever spent. — Tack How Sweet It Is Posted 4.12.10 I love old furniture and old things. I was at a local thrift store and ran upon a little old machine called "The Great American Jelly Bean Machine." It is made of dark brown wood and has a round red handle that you use to dispense the jellybeans. There is a red metal spout where the jellybeans roll out. An inscription on it reads: "The Great American Jellybean Machine." How about that, it works perfectly. — Felicka All for 89 Cents Posted 4.5.10 I'm retired and love to search the trash and trinket shops, always searching for that "Treasure." In a box of old stainless steel and plated flatware in a junk shop, I saw an old blackened spoon that was heavily engraved and looked like it had possibilities. I grudgingly handed over my 89 cents for it and took it home and polished it up. Underneath all the crud, it is very beautiful! I've been having a ball researching it on the Internet and other places. What I have is a sterling silver casserole spoon. It is 8 inches long with a scalloped bowl and is in almost new condition. It is stamped H.J. Howe on the back. I believe Howe was an officer in the Civil War and was in many of the great battles under Burnside. After the war, Howe started a very successful jewelry business in Syracuse, New York. What a bunch of research I did, all because of 89 cents. And still more to do. What fun! — Bill A True Friend Posted 3.29.10 I had been caring for a woman's home for 24 years when I moved her into my home at the end of her life. As I was moving her belongings I found a Japanese air map. It's World War II-era of the Philippine Islands. It comes with two letters from a previous owner dated October 1945. It is 21 inches by 16 inches and printed in red and green. It has no American writing on it. I have not shared it or contacted anyone due to my not knowing enough about it. I also have a Chinese lacquer wood table stand from this era. It's six sided with mother-of-pearl pictorial inlays and a protective pine cover. I have more small things from that era, too. This woman was a delight to care for through all those years, but she never related to her old life. Only after she was gone did I find that her life was filled to the brim with excitement. Yet she lived a life alone. She was a true friend who shared a lot of her wisdom. — Bavosika Beachcombing Discovery Posted 3.22.10 When I was five years old, I was beachcombing with my grandmother along Chiniak Beach on Kodiak Island. The tide was very far out when I noticed a light-colored rock wedged between two other rocks. I went to investigate and when I pulled the rock from its resting place and turned it over, it seemed to be a bowl. I ran up to my grandmother with this seven-pound rock and showed her what I had found. She then told me that I was so very lucky. I asked why, and she explained that I had found a seal-oil lamp. I have kept it all these years, only showing it to my family, and to this day I have never had it appraised. I wonder just what I uncovered in my childhood days. — Daniel World's Fair Tapestry Posted 3.15.10 I go thrift shopping and 25 years ago I bought this tapestry for around $10. I bought it because I loved its image of a plane flying over water. It's 25 by 41. After watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, I do believe the tapestry came from the 1933-1934 World's Fair in Chicago. Pretty neat. — Kay Thai Silver Posted 3.8.10 After losing both parents within 14 months, the time had come for all four children to clean out the family house and shed. My mother had accumulated a great number of flowerpots, all stored in the damp and dark dirt-floored shed. I found what I thought was a brass flowerpot. I liked it well enough to take it back to my home in Georgia and started polishing it. Lo and behold, it was silver. Pure silver. I took it to a jeweler and was told it is of Thai origin, handmade, and definitely pure silver. It appears that it dates back to the late 1800s to early 1900s. I can't even imagine how it was acquired or why my mom would have something like that. I do know both parents did a lot of flea marketing after my dad's retirement. I have no idea how much it's worth but would love to know more about its history and value. More than anything, could this possibly be an artifact the Thai people would like to have back? Several people, including the jeweler, have urged me to follow up on this most ornate and unusual item that I call a silver flowerpot. — Carol Oyster Art Posted 3.1.10 I was fishing around in my dad's attic after he died. He had been an antique dealer for years as well as a dentist. There were a few things left in his attic: clock parts, scouting stuff, paintings -- all his favorites. I found an old basket of seashells and wondered why an old oyster shell rated inclusion with some real beauties. But then I turned one over and found what appears to be a 17th- or early-18th-century quill drawing of a gentleman, with the blue blotch on the inside of the shell acting the part of his hair. It's a cartoon, if you will. It is clear the ink is ancient as I have seen and handled early documents and books with the same quality and patina of ink. Is this something they might have done a few miles away at an oyster house in Boston? Looks like something someone would do with your oyster to take home, only a couple of hundred years ago. I can't find anything similar anywhere. It's a real odd one, without a doubt. — Ken Grandpa's Pocket Watch Posted 2.22.10 Believe it or not, I may have inherited a legitimate 1872 model American-grade Waltham pocket watch. It was my Grandpa Roberts' watch. It doesn't work anymore, but it is outwardly near perfect (no broken face glass, just a couple of dings but nothing deforming). I'm not sure where to look for someone to get it functional again. I am not interested in selling it. It is more precious than money to me. I want it to work again so I can proudly carry it and remember Grandpa. — William Folks Go Gaga for This Tapestry Posted 2.15.10 I purchased a tapestry in North Wales in 1995 or so. After I brought it home, a friend suggested I contact the North Carolina State University textile department. I took it there and the folks went gaga over it. You have to see it to really understand. They suggested I have an air-free frame built for it, and on and on. The large tapestry takes up the entire area of a queen bed. The weight of it made the cost of having it framed prohibitive for me. It is a real find! I purchased it at a church that was being used as an antique market. — Dawn Dante Chair Posted 2.8.10 I found this chair out of a dream I had. I went to an estate sale in Orange, California, and in my dream the chair was in the garage. Sure enough, there it was for real, dusty and dirty. The leather was not in good shape and the back was missing. But I grabbed the chair and paid $102 for it. A man came up to me and said I was the smartest person he met today. He handed me a bag with the rest of the leather and hardware for the chair. The only thing that needs to be restored is the leather. I cleaned it up and I love this chair. Not sure what it is worth, just know that it's a Dante chair from the 14th to 18th century. It's also sometimes called a folding armchair or cross chair. I love my find and hope to take it to the show. I see very few online going for $2,000 to $3,000. — Mendy Napoleon Lamp Posted 2.1.10 My grandmother was an antique dealer in California in the 1940s. She had a beautiful Dresden lamp that graced our home for decades. It was blue and white, and the base was about 18 inches tall. The lamp was quite simple but elegant, with a figure of Napoleon in his hat standing at the front. It had a glass globe, which I do not think was the match for it as the globe was more of an aqua cast. The globe also had gold filigree in a pattern around it. The legend in the family is that the lamp was in the movie "Gone with the Wind," and that it might have been in an early World's Fair. I have since learned that "Gone with the Wind" refers to a particular style of lamp used to decorate the film set, so the movie connection may not be accurate, as we fail to see our lamp in the film! My mother wanted her brother to have the lamp; I have the globe since my aunt agreed that the globe's color was wrong. However it is a beautiful globe! I just think it is such an interesting piece! — Suzanne Original Robert Wood? Posted 1.25.10 I saw a segment on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW about a Robert Wood painting, and the next day I went to a local Goodwill store and found a Robert Wood painting. I paid $2.99 for it, and I still have to have it appraised. I looked on the artist's Web site and the signature there is exactly the way it's signed on my painting. It's from 1956. I'm excited to find out if it is indeed an original. — Geri He Sends His Congratulations Posted 1.15.10 My cousin passed away this past October. His mother and father, who had to have been born at the turn of the century, received a typed congratulations card that was hand signed by the author Zane Grey, because they named my cousin Zane after him. Mr. Grey thanked them for the namesake. We are curious about the worth but certainly wouldn't want to depart from the card and letter. — Sherri Prayer Rug Posted 1.11.10 I have a Chinese prayer rug that was given to me by an old cousin of my mother's. I had it in my home for several years with the children playing on it and the dogs and cats on it, too. The rug is oval, about four feet by two feet, hand-tied on the ends, wool, and flowered. I was going to throw it away because it was so dirty, but after a second glance called a shop in Portland, Oregon, where I lived. When I described the rug they said to bring it in, which I did, and they asked me where I got it. I told them that my mother's cousin had received it from her sister who was a missionary in China or Tibet. I have several other items from this dear lady. They cleaned the rug and I was astonished at how beautiful it is. They offered me $350 for it, which I declined as people around me shook their heads. I told them it is a family heirloom so it isn't for sale. — Wilda American Jewelry Posted 1.04.10 My aunt passed away over 25 years ago and I just inherited her jewelry. One piece is a round, clear dome that houses a picture of President Kennedy and rotates around to reveal Martin Luther King. It's set in a silver base and has beautiful silver etching around the dome. I believe it to be a valuable piece. I also have a large silver-plated eagle with clear stone around it, and a second eagle that is gold plated with clear stone. I believe all three pieces are election related. The eagles are approximately three or four inches in length and are heavy. The fourth piece is an Indian arrowhead that has been made into a beautiful necklace. My aunt was Cherokee and that is what this piece represents. — Rhonda Stradivarius Mystery Posted 12.23.09 My father's family is from Point Pelee in Canada and owned diamond mines. I heard my father tell stories about how his father's side of the family came from old money. Recently my father passed away and we found a violin that he never wanted to take out. It has markings, but I have not been able to find anything in my research to tell me if it's a fake. My father had many items that were handed down and his family was very musical. He also had an original 1954 Les Paul Gold Top with all the original parts, and yes, it works. When I had that guitar looked at I also told the appraiser about the violin, and he said that that could be the sleeper in my collection. I am so puzzled by this. I want to say the violin is an antique fake, but that has been hard to prove. — Christine The Heirloom That Wasn't Posted 12.21.09 My family are avid fans of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. We especially find the stories entertaining when a person discovers the price she was previously offered was a really lowball offer and her treasure is valued at hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars more! When ROADSHOW was in Dallas and my mother found out we had tickets, she insisted my husband take her valuable "Kley" brass figurine to have it appraised. Years ago she was offered $700 for it by a dealer in Houston. Imagine her surprise when my husband told her the figurine was a commemorative piece worth only about $100. So much for the heirloom she thought my siblings and I would be fighting over some day! — SJ An Unusual Jewel Posted 12.14.09 I bought this stove at a fairgrounds auction quite a few years ago. The gentlemen could not tell me anything about the item. It is called "The Jewel" fireless stove and was made by the Manson Campbell Company in Detroit, Michigan. I have searched the Internet and many antique shops and no one seems to be able to tell me anything about this beauty. — Mary Damaged Dresser Posted 12.07.09 My husband and I just received a piece of furniture that appears to have been in a fire. Overall the mahogany, four-drawer dresser only seems to have smoke damage and some missing hardware. When looking at the dresser we came across the following info: a logo for Johnson Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a stamp with the number 7440 on the back and the bottom of the drawers. I am not an antiques person, but feel this might be an antique. We did not want to do anything with it until I got some info. We would like to clean it up and use it, but if it is an antique I do not want to ruin the authentic look. — Sue 19th-Century Story Posted 11.30.09 I was helping my mother-in-law clean her basement and came upon a framed magazine story. It's titled "Seeking Santa Claus" and was printed in the December 1876 issue of Harper's Weekly. It appears to be on parchment paper. It can be fun cleaning out basements and finding oldies. — Sarah Family Scrapbooks Posted 11.23.09 For four generations my family has had a valuable scrapbook collection documenting famous world historical events and stories dating back to the 1700s. There are news clippings that are at least 100 years old about the burning of Chicago, the shooting of Martin Luther King, and many more. This collection has mind-blowing pictures and stories that will take you back in time. There are great stories of world-famous events that happened over 100 years ago, featuring many of our great presidents and famous crimes that were front-page news. These are original documents about these events and well preserved. — Conita Half-Price Painting Posted 11.16.09 I went to the local Goodwill store and found a beautiful painting of a woman and her daughter standing on the bank of a lake with sailboats on it. It is signed "T. Moran" in the lower-left corner in dark maroon paint. I did not buy the painting until the next morning because that was half-off day. I was the first person in line and I was able to buy the painting for $25. It was not until I got it home did I notice the signature. I am very lucky that it was still there. — Deborah Metal-Detecting Discovery Posted 11.09.09 While metal detecting in New Hampshire on an old logging road, we found an item about an inch in diameter that was about 18 inches underground. The back of the item seems to be lead but the front is gold or brass or copper with a Star of David with a circle around it and what look like sun rays. There is some writing on the circle that seems to be Hebrew in nature. We are very excited about this item, but no one can tell us what it is or where it came from. — Chris Unknown Utrillo Posted 11.02.09 This is interesting but it isn't antiquing. It is an inheritance, of sorts. There is a painting we have had in my family for over 50 years. My mom bought it from a family friend who bought it from someone on the street in Paris during the war (at least that is the story). She paid $25. As an artist and student of art, I always wanted the painting, and when my mother was making out her will she asked me what I wanted. I said I wanted that painting, real or not. She said, "That old thing?" and I now have it; however, getting it appraised and authenticated is something I haven't done yet, as my mother is still alive and I have siblings that definitely wouldn't care about the painting unless it was worth something. I read up on the French painter Maurice Utrillo, and found to my amazement things that point to the painting's possible authenticity. I know Utrillo produced several thousand paintings and some are out there unverified. At least 10 years ago a dealer told me that a large oil painting of Paris by Utrillo could be worth $800,000. Mine is a bit smaller, but still large. It is gouache on board and shows Saint-Denis outside Paris. I was told the painting would have to be dated by a paint sample, but the price of an appraisal would be quite costly for me. — Margery Home Is Where the Treasure Is Posted 10.26.09 My 84-year-old mother has many rare wonders in her home. She loved to collect things. My father died 12 years ago and now she would like to clear out the house. I've found Depression glass she collected and I know of many other collections in her home. My father built the house in the 1960s. He was told that no other house had been there, but when laying the foundation he found gas and water pipes and an old foundation. Their house is among many old homes in North Plainfield. Just thought I would share. — Tod Family Diaries Posted 10.19.09 My great-uncle Charlie, who was born in 1886 and died in 1963, never married or had any children. He lived a pretty interesting life, and my family has been able to read about it because he kept a diary. Now, by "diary" I don't mean little books with little keys; I mean nearly 30-pound books that he created himself. My father eventually made cedar boxes to protect them in. The diaries were handed down to my son when my mother passed away. They are truly a family treasure. Charlie was in World War II and kept his diary going throughout. He marched on the White House for veterans' benefits and wrote by candlelight while he camped outside. He wrote every day of his life — that alone makes these books very interesting — but he also collected baseball scores, stamps, news articles, and tickets and flyers from vaudeville shows. Charlie was also an artist with many drawings. He used brown paper bags and department store flyers for paper during the Depression years. There are five of these thick, heavy books. Amazement does not begin to explain the response of everyone who I've shared these books with. When I was much younger I took one book to show my history teacher, and again — amazement! — Joanne Priceless Painting Posted 10.09.09 I went to an auction with a friend 10 years ago and bough several items. One was a painting of beautiful yellow roses. The painting is simply signed "Blaine." It seemed no one wanted this large painting (it is 23 by 34) so I got it for $8. I just love and admire it. I decided to look up the artist and found it is probably the work of Paul Blaine Henrie. I still have no idea what it is worth, but I think it may be more than I gave for it. It has no markings except for "Blaine," which is how the artist signed his paintings before 1961. It's taken me 10 years to start researching, because I really don't want to sell it. But since I've been watching ROADSHOW my interest kind of got the best of me! It's priceless to me. — Vicki Soulful Violin Posted 10.05.09 I purchased my violin at a little music store outside of Washington, D.C. I was 14 and the instrument was a birthday gift from my dad. I tried out a number of new violins, but they all sounded the same. I asked if they had any used ones. I tried one after another and, though they sounded nice, they just didn't have that indescribable something I was looking for. Finally, I had all but given up when this old violin caught my eye. It wasn't very pretty, its finish worn and nearly gone in some spots, but there was just something that drew me to it. This violin looked like it had been played a lot over the years; its wear was from use, not from neglect. As soon as I drew the bow across the first string I knew I had found my violin. It had a soul as deep and murky as Baltimore's Harbor. I imagined how many loving hands it had passed through since it was made over 200 years ago. — Candice Civil War Quilt Posted 09.28.09 I was asked to show a quilt at school that was handed down to me by my great-great-great grandmother. I began my lesson by talking about how you should know your family's history, because if you don't important facts might be lost forever. Well, when I unfolded my Civil War-era quilt made of fine silks and velvet, teachers from around the school started peering in and couldn't believe the exquisite condition and uniqueness of it. I have never had the quilt appraised, but many people asked me of its value. I spoke only of its historical value, not its monetary value. Maybe someday someone will tell me what its worth. — Leeann M. Homecoming Posted 09.21.09 Growing up in Virginia, my grandmother Oma always had beautiful linens on her Thanksgiving table. She was born into a Lutheran family in 1919 in Windecken, Germany, a very small farming village. It was customary for young teenage girls to embroider their initials, in her case "A.D.", on the corner of napkins and tablecloths in preparation for their future marriage. These linens stitched in the early 1930s were given to me as a housewarming gift this year. As I lovingly washed and ironed them, I had to ask my grandmother why one of the tablecloths had the initials "P.M." on it. To whom did it belong and why did Oma have it all these years? "Oh, that's Paula's," she said. It was then that I heard the story of the M. family in Windecken. They were Jewish and having difficulty getting enough staple goods due to Nazi restrictions. Oma's mother, my great-grandmother, would sneak the family milk and eggs in the dead of night. As thanks, Mrs. M. gave her daughter Paula's gorgeous tablecloth away. 70 years later I was determined to find Paula's descendants, and that I did. Starting with a history of the Jews from Windecken, I learned that Paula's sons, Alfred and Julius, had escaped to South Africa. Using online resources, I found Julius's grave marker in Johannesburg, and the parks department gave me the address of his wife. I called her and was able to get the number of her brother-in-law Alfred's son, Leon. I called him immediately and when I told him I had his grandmother's tablecloth, he almost cried out for joy and explained, "Today is my birthday. This is the best gift I can imagine." I mailed the tablecloth to South Africa soon thereafter. It is now home. — Kristin Brilliant Brooch Posted 09.14.09 I own a diamond brooch that's approximately 60 years old and is an amazing piece of jewelry. It is about 3 inches tall and two inches wide, and comes from England. It has its own special tool that transforms the brooch into various pieces. The brooch can be split in half and worn on the shoulders, as was once the style. Additionally, the brooch comes with a set of rubies, sapphires, and pearls that can be mounted in the center of the pin using the special tool. I believe it is very valuable -- a very brilliant and special piece of jewelry. — Deborah Folk Art Find Posted 09.4.09 Twenty years ago my wife bought what she thought was an old wooden toolbox at an estate auction at an old farm near Philadelphia. She only paid $50.00 for it. She brought it home and I scraped off the top layers of paint to find 18th-century fraktur decorations all over the box, like those found in Pennsylvania German homes. It has the original strap, hand-forged hinges, and a till inside. I believe it is a bible box or small dowry chest. We have it displayed in our home now. — Brian Saved from Demolition Posted 08.17.09 We found an old, run-down building where a fellow was trying to sell antiques. He was having a difficult time with his failing health so he decided to sell, and we became the owners of everything inside. We have stumbled upon many treasures there, and we are continually discovering things that we cannot throw away. We are on a quest to find out of the worth of many of these items. The Internet is certainly helpful, but sometimes we cannot find the answers. We have paintings that are signed and dated from 1671. Shortly after all this happened the antique store was condemned and demolished. Certainly it was meant for us to acquire these things but for what reason? Hopefully we will find out someday. We love watching your show because it gives us reason to believe that there will be a treasure in our junk. — Deborah Gray Pay Station Telephone Posted 08.10.09 I have had a very rare antique pay phone for most of my life, without ever having any idea how rare it was until a few days ago. I had been looking for years for a similar one just to see what it was worth, but couldn't find one. Recently, I found a Web site with the e-mail addresses of some phone collectors. I contacted them and was told that I do indeed have a very rare find! It's a family heirloom and has been in my family for at least 80 years or more. The phone itself has a patent date of 1904, so it is at least a century old. — Melissa Kennedy Necktie Posted 08.03.09 In 1959 John F. Kennedy visited my hometown of Crowley, Louisiana. A local men's store created a necktie for that occasion. It was a thin black tie with JFK's profile surrounded by kicking donkeys. Years later his brother Edward would marry Victoria Reggie, a woman from Crowley. The tie was handed down to me from my father at his death. I have never seen another one like it. — Johnny Tea for Two Posted 07.27.09 After years of watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, I saw that it was finally coming to Dallas, and so for Father's Day I procured tickets for my husband. He was thrilled! As soon as people found out we were going, however, it seems everybody had a family heirloom they suggested we take. We narrowed the selection down to a small brass figurine that belongs to my mother and a lovely little teapot that belongs to my stepmother. On the day we went to pick up the teapot, it was sitting on the kitchen table with all the paperwork my stepmother had accumulated regarding it: a handwritten description from her grandmother (to whom it originally belonged); a picture from a catalog of a teapot that looked just like it; and an appraisal from 1982 stating that if the teapot was authentic its value was between $25,000 and $30,000. My husband and I freaked! Here was a potentially very valuable teapot that had come down through my stepmother's family and she was willing to just hand it over to us to take to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW! We respectfully declined. No way we could risk transporting such a delicate antique. Next time ANTIQUES ROADSHOW comes to Dallas, I will get tickets for my stepmother to bring it! — Stephanie Signed by The Master of Suspense Posted 07.20.09 My father sat next to Alfred Hitchcock on a plane in the 1960s and asked the director to sign his business card. My father's card has his own information on one side, and Mr. Hitchcock's signature on the back. The "A" in the signature is in the shape of Mr. Hitchcock's head, similar to the shape he would step into in the opening of his TV show. It's done in ink pen and very cool! My father had the card framed in glass and open to both sides. It had been thrown around in drawers for years and I felt it needed to be preserved. I have never heard of an Alfred Hitchcock signature like this. — Marley A Surprise from Dad's Past Posted 07.13.09 My father died years ago and my brother, who lived closest to him, kept most of his personal effects. He was cleaning out after a yard sale and gave me some old letters, an address book, voter registration receipts from the 1930s and a green-colored card dated 1935 with the words "Olympic Fields, Formerly Elysia" and silhouettes of unclothed people sketched on it. Upon viewing the silhouette of a topless woman, I thought, "Oh my, it's a nudist colony?" So I searched online for "Olympic Fields, Formerly Elysia" and it turns out there were not one but two films made featuring the members of a nudist colony by that name. My dad would have been 22 years old at the time of membership (long before I was born). There's a picture of some members at the gate of the colony for sale on eBay. This was considered a health thing in those days and improper behavior was allegedly prohibited. I am hoping that this rare bit of ephemera will fetch a pretty price. — Suzanne The One-Dollar Victrola Posted 07.06.09 My husband was working for a woman and saw an old Victrola with a wooden horn stored in her basement on the dirt floor! Of course it had condition issues, but he asked if she would sell it and she said she would take a dollar. Done deal. He took it to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW in Chattanooga, Tennessee in July 2008 and it was appraised for $800 to $1,200. A local collector purchased it from my husband for $900 in spite of the condition. He was happy, we were happy. We had a wonderful time at ROADSHOW and will certainly go again if we are lucky enough to get tickets. — Bella Royal Bayreuth Vase Posted 06.29.09 I was antiquing in western Massachusetts and found a small shop in the country. I spotted a vase that caught my eye immediately. It featured a landscape with a castle, a river and a full moon. It was porcelain and marked Royal Bayreuth in blue on the bottom. The seller had bought it in New York and kept it for nine years. She had marked it down to $199. I left the shop and went to the Brimfield Antique Show, where I spotted an identical vase on a table of Limoges vases. It was a Royal Bayreuth with the same marking on the bottom. It was selling for $500 and that was the least expensive item on the table. I raced back to the other town and bought the vase. I have since moved to California. While in Massachusetts I had the vase appraised for about $300. I think it's worth more because of the landscape, which is somewhat unusual for Royal Bayreuth. An appraiser in California told me the vase couldn't be very old because there was a small locomotive train within the landscape! He said the vase had to be from after the 1920s because of the train. Well I know there were trains in Europe way before that time! — Laura Berbice Chair Posted 06.22.09 My best friend and I go "yard sailing" every weekend. At one sale, I spied from quite a distance a white chair. It was set to the side, so I thought it had been sold. I walked over and saw that it was a Berbice chair (also called a planter's or plantation chair), although it did not have the swing-out arms that the sitter (often the plantation owner) would use as a footrest. I asked if it was sold, and was told that it wasn't very good because you couldn't lean back in it, and so the price was $1. However, the cane in it was perfect, and the only repair needed was two new wooden dowels to stabilize the arms. The chair was painted white, but was still a steal...and yes, I took it home! I've had my nose stuck in antiques books and magazines for years, and it always pays off! — Lynne Mysterious Rock Posted 06.15.09 I was at a church rummage sale, looking for costume jewelry and anything else that caught my eye. The latter runs the gamut from anything to everything. It was late in the day so the real dealers had already been through. I found some decent rings, and while I was at it I found a funny-looking square rock with a hole in it. It looked like some kid had scratched his initials into the side at some point, and it had concentric circles carved into the top. I almost put it back twice, but for some reason hung onto it. They wanted a whopping $2 for the rock, and being a classic pack rat's pack rat, I took it home. Some research turned up what it is: the ugly lump is a late 18th-century hand-carved soapstone inkwell from New England; these were apparently carved in several locations so the exact place is hard to pin down. In the words of the author of a book on inkwells, it's "rather rare." It's not so ugly anymore. — Ruth If Antiques Could Talk Posted 06.08.09 If tables and chairs could talk just how much would we hear? I have a whole set that I think is about 100 years old: six chairs, a table with slide-out leaves, and a buffet to match. I bought it from a family that had to clear out their mother's house in order to sell it. The daughter said I could buy the set if I promised not to split it up. Of course I bought it and have kept it in good condition. I have never refinished it, and all the rungs are in very good shape as are the backs and legs. I have owned it for 24 years now. If chairs and tables could talk it would be the story of a lifetime. — Mary Just Say No Posted 06.01.09 When a friend was downsizing prior to moving into a smaller house, he offered my husband an old pump organ for free. The wood appeared to be beautiful cherry, but the thing was not in very good working condition. My husband took it anyway. After tinkering with the internals, he got it in working condition, lemon oiled the cabinet to a fare-thee-well, then tried to sell it. Turns out, no one today is interested in having this particular parlor piece, so now it occupies a prominent place in our basement storage area. Lesson learned: just because something old is given to you doesn't make it worth your while to cart it home. — Amy W. Fan-Mail Writer Posted 05.22.09 When I was 16 years old I followed a suggestion from 16 Magazine called "How to Get a Letter from Your Favorite Star." Beatles fan that I was, I thought I'd go through the "back door," so to speak, and wrote Maureen Starkey, Ringo Starr's wife. She wrote to me twice: the first time I received a handwritten letter, the second time an autographed picture that was a postcard-sized, black-and-white glossy. Though I'm not sure if the autographs are authentic, the story is great and true and I do feel the letter is genuine. I'm still a Beatles fan today. — Angela M. I'll Take It Posted 05.18.09 My husband hauls scrap metal for a living. A man stopped him one day and asked if he wanted some old metal. My husband said, "Yes, I'll take it." The man was cleaning out a storage unit and it was full of boxes and other stuff. My husband kept one box that had brass and scrap metal, and in the bottom was a Radio Telegraph Transmitting Key made by Theodore R. McElroy. We have tried looking it up to find out when it was made and are having no luck. It is different than the pictures we are finding. Maybe one day we will find out. Always remember you never know what you will find when not looking for it. — Laura H. A Friend from the Past Posted 05.11.09 I was at an auction in Los Angeles, California in the late 1970s and purchased a statue of W.C. Fields. I love W.C. and used to get up early on Saturday mornings to watch his old movies. As I saw the unusual items being auctioned (like a section of wrought-iron fence from a movie star's home), I noticed a large, ugly-looking, doll-like object being carried to the stage in a man's outstretched arms. I immediately said to my aunt "My gosh, I can't believe some of the junk being auctioned off; do they think anyone will buy that?" However, as I was finishing my sentence, I heard the auctioneer ask how much would be offered for this statue of W.C. Fields! When I heard W.C., I didn't care what it was. I finished my sentence in a loud voice: "5.00." No one bid against me and I became (and still am) the proud owner of this W.C. memorabilia. — Nadine S. Tripping over Treasure Posted 05.04.09 My husband was playing in the forest somewhere in Germany when he was a young teenager. As he started to run, he tripped over something. He looked down to see what he had tripped over and noticed some kind of pottery sticking out of the ground. So Tom (my future husband) and his friends started digging. After lots of work they extracted a jug. We think it is a Bellarmine jug from 1676! — Jo Ann S. Diary of War Posted 04.27.09 My mother, who is passed now, loved books, so she went to this moving sale and bought a box. In this box was one book that grabbed my heart, because to read it was to go back in time; it was like you were there. I've kept the book in the shape it was in when I received it. Every few years I bring it out with my white gloves and read it. It is wonderful, full of names, phone numbers, ranks, and everywhere the writer went. It is amazing how the writer can bring you back to the very spot he stood in and tell things about the war that were probably classified. — Linda S. Antique Love Seat Posted 04.17.09 My Aunt Ree died several years ago at the age of 85. When she was still in her teens, she came home one day with an old and dirty love seat that she had transported on the back of a horse. Although I don't know what she paid for it, I do know her family was upset that she had paid an outrageous amount. She cleaned the piece up, recovered it and used it in her living room, where it remained until she died. I now have that love seat to remind me how much Aunt Ree loved antiques! — Sue H. Dallas, TX Letter from a Former First Lady Posted 04.13.09 This is the story of a box that was fixing to be dumped in a dumpster. I, being the curious one that I am, could never throw anything away like my brothers do. To make a long story short, as I sifted through this box, I found a letter from Jacqueline Kennedy to my grandmother. It was a poignant letter trimmed in black thanking my grandmother for her generous contributions to the JFK Presidential Library. The letter was dated 1964, when I was only 3 years old. It was in pristine condition. The moral to the story is never get in a hurry to throw out old boxes; you never know what may be hidden in them. — Leeann M. Harvesting History Posted 04.06.09 I was born and raised on a farm. 32 years later I left my wife and children for a year and rented a house in a town 150 miles away while I went back to school to pursue a new career as an electrical line worker. I rented from a wonderful couple and we gained respect for each other. They were antique collectors. One day the husband took me inside their garage and asked me to help him get an item down off the ceiling. Here it was – a wooden, four-fingered grain cradle from the 1860s and 1870s! These are so hard to find and this one was in just wonderful and fantastic condition. We got it down and he told me to take it before I left to go back to my family! Yes, they gave me this piece of rich history and it will forever be in my family's heart as the husband has passed away and his wife is now 77 years of age. The wife and I remain in constant contact and will continue to be as she asks about the grain cradle they gave our family. — Randy A. A Souvenir from a Watchman's Rounds Posted 03.30.09 This story begins with a trip to visit my grandfather. It was early in the evening when I arrived, and I was upset to find him in a delirious state. His blood pressure was high, his oxygen levels were very low and he was running a temperature of 103 degrees. I carefully explained to my disabled uncle that his dad needed to go to the hospital and we should call for an ambulance. My uncle Jim, who suffers from cerebral palsy, and I spent the night in the emergency room. When we saw our sedated grandfather in bed we felt scared for his health. Early the next day, we returned home to my grandfather's house and went to bed. When Jim and I woke up I cooked him dinner, cleaned up, and organized things around the house. While straightening up the bathroom, I noticed a round object in the back of the linen closet under an inch of dust. After I pulled it out and dusted it off, I was surprised to see a clock. An "Underwriter's Laboratories Time Detector" to be exact. This thing is in perfect condition; there is even the last paper record still inside the clock. The key-chain ornament reads "Chicago Watchclock Corporation 1526 S. Wabash Ave. Chicago Ill." This watchclock is an interesting piece of nostalgia. I'm keeping my thoughts hopeful that my grandfather may get better. But at the young age of 84, congestive heart failure is a scary problem. I'm returning tomorrow to tell him about my find. — Ryan B. Searching for an Answer Posted 03.23.09 My husband inherited a beautiful old violin and was intrigued by the "Klotz" name and 1794 date inscribed inside. Since it had come through his uncle's family to his father and then to him, he was convinced it was a genuine Josef Klotz. I researched the Klotz family of violinmakers online and wasn't so sure. It was a book-back violin (made from two pieces) and all the Klotz violins I found pictures of had solid backs. Secondly, the wood was matchstick-style maple and the finish was a rich orangey-red that was hardly scuffed or worn at all. It certainly seemed more contemporary that the 1700s in my non-professional opinion! When ANTIQUES ROADSHOW was in Dallas recently, I procured tickets for my husband. The violin debate would be settled once and for all. My husband called me from the show. "Well," he said, "the violin isn't a Josef Klotz. It's early 19th century like you suspected." Feeling vindicated after all my hours of research, I asked, "What gave it away -- the book-back or the wood?" "The neck," he replied. "The appraiser took one look at it and explained that high-end violins don't have any varnish on the necks." "Well, I never saw that coming," I replied, "so I guess I can't tell you 'I told you so!'" — Stephanie B. A Gift from Iceland Posted 03.16.09 My dad passed seven years ago. I was helping my mom go through his stuff when I saw a kayak figure that I always remembered sitting on top of his chest of drawers. I knew it was old, handmade, and meant a lot to my dad. Well, I asked my mom about it and she told me the story behind it. While my dad was in the Coast Guard in the 1940s his ship went to Reykjavik, Iceland. There, he talked with locals and one day my dad gave one local a pack of cigarettes. The man was thrilled. The next day he came back with a gift for my dad. It was a hand-carved whalebone kayak with a figure and paddles. My mom told me the man gave this gift because he was so happy and grateful. We think it has either whale skin or seal skin covering it. You can also see the hand stitching. The next day the same man came back again to thank my dad. My dad gave him a chocolate bar. "For your wife," he said, and the man smiled so much. My dad always remembered him and the bond they had created. I am now trying to find out how much this figure is worth. I know no amount of money could ever replace the memories of its origins, but my dad is gone and the memories will always be with us. — Liane M. Ring of Memories Posted 03.13.09 Many years ago, my great-grandfather was an orphan on the streets of New Orleans, where he sold candy to survive. At some point, he was given a lady's ring, which he kept his whole life. The ring has been passed down to the women in our family (his daughter, who was my grandmother, then to my mother). I am the fourth generation to have the ring that we know of. My great-grandfather's personal history is a mystery to us, since he only could remember being a tiny child on the streets, struggling to survive. We do not know how he came to have the ring. It is an oval brownish/golden stone with a small, carved gold flower in the middle. It is in a solid-gold solitaire setting and the stone is about 6 to 8 millimeters in size. The center of the flower is a tiny diamond. Since my great-grandfather was orphaned and had no family, we don't know if it had belonged to his mother, a sister, or if someone gave it to him out of sympathy. The ring had one broken prong on it and my mother had it reset in a gold setting (we have the original setting) about two years ago. She passed away from leukemia last year, and just prior to that she gave me the ring. I had seen a ring exactly like this in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan as a child during a family vacation. My mother was ecstatic at seeing "a ring just like Papa's!" I cannot find a jeweler who can tell me what kind of stone it is, but I know the ring is very old. I have looked all over the Internet for information on it, to no avail. The only ring I ever saw like mine was in the museum's jewelry case. I am now 56. I love the story of my great-grandfather having the ring as a poor child as much as I love the ring, because it meant so much to the women in the family who loved him so dearly. Somehow, later in life, he traveled from New Orleans to the Carolinas, and then to work and prosper in the old mills in south Mississippi, where our family resides today. Everyone who knew my great-grandfather dearly loved him because of his integrity, gentle nature, and kindness toward others – which was surely rooted deeply in his difficult beginnings. I loved the ring as a child, but love it more today and cherish the loving memories surrounding it. It will go to my daughter later and then to my granddaughter and on and on, as God allows. — Brenda F. An Unexpected Heirloom Posted 03.02.09 Several years ago, my daughter Somer gave me a complete set of Cathay dinnerware she picked up at an estate sale. She thought it was at least good enough to use for everyday dishes. I now own a complete service for eight including serving platters, sugar bowl with lid, creamer, casserole dish (also with lid), salt and pepper shakers, and not just the cups and saucers, but also the coffee mugs. Unlike my daughter, I immediately fell in love with this dinnerware — not only for the unique pattern, but also for the look. I have been using this dinnerware indiscriminately. At least I was, until finding out the dinner plates for the Monmouth stoneware my mother just bought at an estate sale are worth $35 apiece! Of course I did some searching on the Internet to find out if my daughter was as astute a shopper when she bought my dishes, and discovered the Cathay dinner plates sell for $13.99 each. The sugar bowl without the lid sells for $18.99 and the chop plate sells for $33.99. I figure I've got well over $500 worth of stoneware. My family may not have any other heirlooms of particular value, but we have some darn nice dishes! Maybe you have a set you're using for everyday dishes that you might want to set aside for someone to inherit someday. — SJ The Past Resurfaced Posted 02.16.09 Some years ago I rented a location in downtown San Antonio that had not been occupied for about 60 years. During cleanup, I found an old box with a bunch of metal and wooden objects that had obviously been used for some sort of printing process. I refrained from throwing them away and some years later examined them. I learned that they were letterpress cuts that had been used for advertising for the dress shop that occupied the space in the 1920s. The largest is 19 inches long and most of them are about 6 inches by 2 inches. The problem I have is that I have never found cuts of a similar size and the numerous enquiries I have sent out have yielded nothing. I watch eBay frequently and the only things I've noticed are dingbats. There are two dingbats in this "collection," but they are related to the rest. One of the cuts has a copyright date of 1928. I would imagine the shop failed during the depression and the cuts didn't suffer the fate of most of this sort of ephemera of the era by being consumed in the scrap metal drives of WWII. — Blake Attic Treasure Posted 02.09.09 I met a guy who knew my sister and knew I collected antiques. He was getting thrown out of the house he lived in all his life. He asked me if I wanted to buy any of his things, as he had to be out in the morning and had nowhere to go. I went to his house, which was large and totally a mess. It seemed an auction house had been there and took all the furniture and paintings, etc. I felt bad for him and gave him $100 and said I would root around. He left to go to the racetrack. After hours of looking, I found 3 suitcases of fine costume jewelry, a ton of 1950s and 1960s sports memorabilia, but in the attic, a turtle-back trunk. Dry rotted and smelling of mothballs, I tossed it out of my way and it rattled. There were 114 pieces of Steiff sterling flatware and 100 other pieces including some 16th- and 17th-century English sterling! I never saw him again or I would have gladly rewarded him. — Ken A Doll in Times of Sacrifice Posted 12.29.08 I was born during World War II in Germany. My birthday is November 29. In 1945 as the war ended my mom wanted to give me a doll for my birthday and also make that my Christmas present. There were no stores to buy a doll due to the bombings. There was also no money to buy one. She was told by someone there was a family that was hungry and needed food and they had a doll they where willing to give up for some food. So my mom got the doll for me as a birthday and Christmas gift combined using the food rationing stamps given at that time for purchasing food. She sacrificed the stamps for the doll and I received the doll as my gift. She knitted an outfit for it and I dressed it up at Christmas. In January she took my doll and put it up and told me I would get it back at my next birthday and Christmas. That was until I got married at 16 in 1956. She let me bring my doll with me to America. As I had my children I dressed up my doll with their baby clothes and I could not let them ever play with the doll. My mom had reminded me all the years I had it that they had to go hungry to get me that doll and to not let any of my children play with it in order to prevent it from breaking. There is no telling how old the doll was when my mom got it for me. — Sieglinde Folk Art Family History Posted 12.22.08 While in Macon, Georgia, for the world famous Cherry Blossom Festival my husband and I were browsing in an antiques store. We spotted an iron cutout figure which the clerk identified as "from up North." The price was $55, which my husband said was too much. I tried to change his mind, but he wouldn't budge. I had an appointment the next day and stopped in to buy the figure. The reason I wanted the figure is that it was actually made by my father-in-law. During his earlier years my father-in-law had made these cutouts to help support his large family. When compared to the cutout at my brother-in-law's house, ours is identical. It was not, however, "from up North." It was made in Macon, Georgia, in the late 1960s and it is priceless. — H. M. Bottom of the Box Posted 12.15.08 At an estate auction, in a 10-ream cardboard box filled with an attic and basement mish-mash of items, there was a glass canning jar rusted shut. Inside were some buttons, spools of thread, some nails, tacks, and a tightly wadded up paper bag with several rubber bands wrapped around. I tried, but could not loosen the lid. I had to see what was in the paper wad. Twenty minutes and a $2 bid later it was time to find out. Inside the bag were five Roosevelt for President pins, six Win with Wilkie pins, and six Walter Johnson (pitcher of the Ghost ball) for Congress pins. My love of the box lots will never die! — Thomas Ivy Ceramic Basket Posted 12.08.08 Years ago while antiquing at a flea market in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, I had only walked a few steps when my eyes spotted a white ceramic basket vase. Green ivy and a green handle to simulate a vine kicked my brain in gear — I knew I had seen this before. The price was $12, so I grabbed it. Upon returning home I phoned my father, who had antiques books for Hull, Roseville, and McCoy. After describing it to him we realized it was from the "Tuscany" collection of Hull. The "Moon Basket" made in 1959, described and pictured in a Hull collectors book published in 1992, purchased in mint condition in 1992 listed for $125. Fifteen years later, still in mint condition, I would say my $12 was put to good use! One person's junk can absolutely be a treasure! I just wish I really knew what it is worth now, even though to me it is priceless!! — Kimberly Symbolic Medallion Posted 12.01.08 My mother gave me her found treasure as a young girl. While riding her pony over 74 years ago she stopped to give her pony, Star, a rest. She told me she was kicking around old oyster shells in an old clay pit and found a token medallion. I have researched and read many articles about Florida Indians and early missions in Florida. I believe this to be a token given by very early missionaries in the teachings of Christianity to the Indians. It appears to be made of bronze and has a male Indian warrior with a tomahawk on one side and an Indian woman with a child in a papoose on the other side. I think it was symbolic of the relationship of man and woman in marriage. The man is the provider and the woman is the caregiver of children. After much research I believe it came from shell mounds on the east coast of Florida. There were missionaries near St. Augustine. — Vicki Howey in the Hills, Florida A Rare Find for a Card Collector Posted 11.24.08 I have been collecting baseball cards for about 25 years now and I was in an antiques shop in the Pacific Northwest when in a small box I noticed what looked like a baseball card tucked under some stuff. So, I bought this card and it was a 1909 baseball card. A rare find for a card collector, I thought. I took it to my father and showed him and he agreed with me. It looks like Honus Wagner. With all the hype about how much it is worth, I now keep it in a bank vault until I can get it authenticated. Collecting has been so much fun and never have I been so excited to be collecting baseball cards. — James On The Hunt Posted 11.17.08 I like to go to antiques shops to search for unusual and old books about dogs. I love the "hunt" and I love a good deal. About 10 years ago I was in this upscale type of antiques shop not really finding anything that interesting. I was about to give up when I spotted this book that was a true story about two of King Charles Spaniel dogs whose nurse owner dressed them up and took them to the Mayo Clinic hospitals to entertain patients and children. It was a vintage 40s book in good condition. I paid $25. It was more than I wanted to pay, but I bought it anyways. On the way home I looked it over more thoroughly and noticed this scribbled-looking signature on the front page. I thought it looked like a child's type of writing. I then started reading the preface. I was shocked to find that Helen Keller had written it. Entitled "Tribute to a Dog," the tribute was nice as Helen Keller knew the importance of dogs and in her world she depended upon them. Well anyways, at the end of her tribute, she signed it in print. I looked at that signature and turned the page back to the scribbled name I saw in the front of the book. It was the same signature! Ms. Keller's signature is not that uncommon, but it is very uncommon in books. I kept the book for a while and then sold it to a collector who said that she had that breed of dog and had a blind person in her family. You never know what you'll find in the "hunt." It was one of my favorite discoveries. — Susan Hoosier Cabinet Posted 11.07.08 Several years ago my mother talked me into taking my great-grandmother's Hoosier cabinet. Since we were remodeling our kitchen at the time, it really intrigued me to find out what life was like when the Hoosier was "state of the art" in kitchen convenience. I asked my grandmother if she knew when her mother bought it. She said she bought it in June 1933 (the month she graduated from high school) at the estate sale of another family member. So I found some Good Housekeeping and Better Homes and Gardens magazines from that time and set about re-creating the kitchen. I researched through eBay and found an advertisement with the exact stencils that matched my Hoosier. We found most of the original hardware and replaced the rest with originals. With a little paint and carpentry, the cabinet was restored as a display cabinet. My family has come up with many items that were original to the Hoosier and it has become the theme for my collection. I buy only things actually dated 1933 or which magazine ads and cook book photos in my collection date to that year. Naturally, I have more collectables than can be nicely displayed at one time, so I enjoy exchanging things by season. My Hoosier is in the corner of the dining room and it is a grand presence in our home. I have learned so much about Depression Era life through my researching and collecting. As a theme, it affords me a wide range of interesting items. I have collected magazines, cookbooks, food containers, canisters, utensils, and graniteware, displaying it all in the Hoosier. It has become a historic time capsule as well as a family heirloom and a glimpse of history that I can enjoy every day. — Brit Hellier Heaven Posted 10.31.08 We landed in Deming, New Mexico, and liked it and bought a place there. I went to a little second hand store and was looking for rare fiddles when I spotted what appeared to be an old Stradivarius Hellier made about 350 years ago. I talked the man down to $125 and purchased it. I looked in my best source book and it showed some with the exact same purfling, striations, and markings on the flamed back. And the tone is superb. The finish looks old and weathered. If it is not a Stradivarius, it is a very convincing replica. I call it my Hellier or at least my Strad. Markings on it are sparse. It has three neat letters inside: "E.R.S." Could this mean Exact Replica Stradivarius? Let me be wrong about that! — Elton Right Under My Nose Posted 10.27.08 When my dear friend died, her mother asked me to make sure that I kept her bench rather than sell or donate it. She indicated that it had some value. I put it in my living room and didn't give it much thought after that. When a friend who is knowledgeable about antiques visited, I asked her to look at it and she said it was not hand made and probably wasn't worth anything. About seven years later my friend finally decided to turn the bench over and look at it and found a label saying "Stickley." She also found a hand made nail. With these intriguing clues we researched online and believe it was made by Charles Stickley in New York! — Evelyn Sweet Dolls Posted 10.20.08 A few years back, a show was done in Austin and in it were little dolls portraying scenes. They were doing different things (some playing poker etc.). My grandmother who is still alive — she's 90 years old — and her mother made those dolls to get money for sugar during the war when she lived in Homer, Louisiana. I believe they were valued at around $10,000. We couldn't believe that something she had made to make cakes were worth so much money. We still have some in the family. — Camille Abe Lincoln's "Bed Quilt" Posted 10.10.08 Years ago my father obtained a land survey company, Greeley-Howard-Norlin, in the Chicago area. I, as a very young man, saw a copy of a drawing of the original Fort Dearborn prior to Chicago becoming a city, which was in the files of the company. A few years ago I recalled the moment and started to look for this drawing. The files were in disarray and stored in a warehouse of approximately 4,000 square feet, which made it difficult to find the Fort Dearborn drawing. However, I came across an exhibit drawing, which later proved to be the exhibit used in a court case against Illinois Central Railroad. The exhibit was prepared by Greeley-Howard-Norlin. Abe Lincoln, then a lawyer, referred to the drawing as the "Bed Quilt" in his response in court. I have yet to find an appraiser to set a value on the exhibit. Several offers have been made, but not enough for me to part with it. — Donald Antique Billiards Table Posted 10.06.08 I work for K and E Moving in Bellingham, Washington. One day while we were on a move a woman asked if I knew anyone who wanted a pool table. It was the woman's grandfather's, but they were tired of moving it from house to house. I said I would take it and see if I could find someone. It was very heavy and when I unwrapped the table I was blown away at the beauty of it. It came with lights, cues, balls, books, and even papers authenticating its originality. I looked it up online and found out it was a Geo. Wright & Co. billiard table from London. They were patentees and manufacturers of the Neoteric billiard and dining table combined. I found some quote where someone was selling a similar table for $3,500. — Willow Amelia Earhart Find Posted 09.29.08 While rummaging through boxes of books in the front yard of an estate sale, I happened to see The Fun Of It and remembered it was written by Amelia Earhart. Next to it was We by Charles Lindbergh. I bought both with other books for $2 each. Later that evening I began looking through the books and noticed that Earhart's book had something taped to the inside title page. It appears that the book owner had cut out the printed author's name and taped in its place an actual autograph of Amelia's. I have not been able to spend the time to authenticate it, but it's in ink and appears to match examples of her signature on noted sites. I love estate sales! — Glenda Jessie Arms Botke Painting Posted 09.19.08 I bought a painting from the Goodwill, of all places. I just fell in love with it. The piece is entitled "Tropical Pool" and the artist is named Jessie Arms Botke. There was a guy looking at it just as I walked up. He told me that he would have purchased it, but he had so many other works of art at home that he could not afford to purchase another one. He was just out looking. I examined it for a long time, left it, went back, and finally decided to get it. I paid $20 for it. After I got it home I noticed on the back was a label that read "Reofect Painting" (I can't find anything on the internet about this company) and then went on to describe the piece as though it had been part of a lot. Well, I thought nothing of it and it's been hanging on my wall over my fireplace (it looks lovely up there, too!) ever since. So, I guess what I am saying is purchase what YOU like, not what it's worth. — Donna That Does Compute Posted 09.15.08 I was at a local flea market just looking for something to catch my eye, when I happened upon a stack of old Popular Electronics magazines. Looking through the stack, I came across the January, 1975 issue with the headline "The World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models ... Altair 8800." I remembered hearing about this back in the 70s and I thought that this might be something. So, I asked the vender how much and she said 50 cents. What the heck, I bought it. A little checking that night on the Internet and I found copies selling for $200 or more. 40,000% profit, not bad. — Wayne Alaskan Moose Hide Posted 09.08.08 My husband's uncle, Jess Myers, helped with a cattle drive from Valdez to Fairbanks, Alaska, in the early 1900s. While in Fairbanks he was a barber and was paid in different ways. One payment was a moose hide that has a very beautiful moonlight scene of a moose and an old broken cabin in the snow all burned in by hot iron rods. The date on the left hand corner is 1914 and says "Reclamation" Fairbanks, Alaska. We found only a half hide in a museum in Fairbanks while on a trip in the 1980s. The curator said there were three artists in Alaska that did this type of work for a living at that time. This artist is Timme. It is truly a beautiful and well-done work of art. — Donna A Complete Collection Posted 08.29.08 I have a friend who has been collecting Nevil Shute hardcover books for many years. She needed only one more to complete her collection and I had been on the look-out. Well, I was at an antiques yard sale and rummaged through a musty box of miscellaneous magazines and books. Aha! I thought I recognized a title, yup, Nevil Shute. I asked, "How much?" She answered, "Oh, just take it. It's too musty, the library doesn't even want them." The book was worth at least $100 according to my research. My friend was thrilled to complete her collection. It had been published once in England and once in the United States. — Joyce Historical Diaries Posted 08.25.08 During the Springfield, Ohio, Flea Market one year, I walked all day, but saw nothing that I truly found fascinating. Just as I was about to leave, I passed one more booth with old books and quilts. A set of what looked like diaries caught my eye, and I picked one up and began to read. The history of a well-to-do family in Virginia, it read as a record of who came to visit on Sundays, births and deaths, and like a story, each day recorded for five years. The price was $1 for the set, so I bought them. When I returned home and began to settle in for a good read, I realized the diaries chronicled events from 1939 to 1943. Curious, I began to look for certain dates in history and landed on December 7th, Sunday, 1941. The entry read "Japanese attacks Hawaii and declares war with U.S. and Britain." Then, on Thursday, December 11th, 1941, "Declaration of war by Germany and Italy on U.S.A. 12:30 Declaration of war by President against Germany and Italy." I was flabbergasted. She recorded every speech, every boat that was sunk, and continued with her daily activities list. From 1940 to 1943 this wonderful woman had made 370 blankets to distribute to U.S. soldiers through the Salvation Army and Red Cross, lost her son, and buried many friends and relatives. Her last entry simply says "end of 1943." This diary is priceless to me and I only wish her further writings had been found. — Kimberly Wedding Gift Inkwells Posted 08.18.08 My husband's grandfather worked from the age of 11 in a glass house in Millville, New Jersey. When he was about to be wed, his co-workers fashioned two beautiful inkwells as a wedding gift for his bride. I understand these items were called "end-of-the-day" products. Several years ago these magnificent inkwells were passed down through the family to my husband. Our daughter recently visited the Smithsonian Institution and saw the same inkwells on display in the glass section! They are over 100 years old and I think of these gentle grandparents every time I look at their wedding gift. — Edith W.T. Richards Watercolor Posted 08.11.08 I am 85 years old and an incurable collector. When I lived in New York, I'd go antiquing on 6th Avenue and 26th Street at an open-air flea market. One Sunday, I bought a little watercolor of three trees along a river with schooners in the background. It was signed and dated, W. T. Richards 1870. I looked up his name and found out that he was one of the great Hudson River School artists and 1870 was his best year. I contacted a curator at the Brooklyn Museum and she came to see it at my home. She said it was authentic and a good find. When I first brought it home and told my wife I paid $120 for it she blew her stack, but when I sold it at auction for $4,200 she forgave me. — Edward A Pleasant Surprise Posted 08.04.08 About 25 years ago we bought an old armoire at a local Cocoa Village used furniture store for about $700. It needed a carving repair and a tassel door handle. We found an old furniture repairer in Melbourne, an old, old man himself. He told us the piece was called a triple wardrobe, was English, and dated from about 1870, probably early art modern. He said the wardrobe came apart. We hadn't known that. He lifted off the top. We lifted out the two boxes after unscrewing them and lifted them off the rack with legs. He repaired the carving and told us how to get a new tassel handle made from the existing one. It's been a conversation piece in our living room ever since. — Pete Winnie The Pooh Cells Posted 07.28.08 Back in 1982, I found two Winnie the Pooh film cells from the original Winnie the Pooh Disney production in a thrift store. I paid $8 for the pair. Both are from the dream sequence "Heffalumps and Woozles." One is a double cell. The front one shows Pooh in his nightshirt and the back one has the two jack-in-the-box characters surrounding him. The other is Pooh alone in his nightshirt and cap fast asleep. They both have certificates on them stating they were used in an original Disney production. In 1992, I went into the store in Disneyland where they had only Owl left from the original production at $350. On last checking in 2000, I was told I could probably get about $3,000 for both. Now there's a great deal! I'm still keeping them! — Nancy Watch For A Bargain Posted 07.21.08 In the late 70s one Saturday, we read an ad for a total estate auction at a house that morning in a town near us. The sale was due to start soon so we rushed over in time, only to do about 15 minutes of preview. I found three shoeboxes with jewelry in them. One had a bunch of broken up watches, some beads, and rings. I looked inside a ring and saw "14K." I thought I had a real find. When these boxes came up for bid, they were auctioned as choice. I took the box with that "gold" ring for $7.50. The ring turned out to be 14K RGP. I hadn't looked close enough to see it was only plated, but in with those watches were eight women's watches, some inset with diamonds, and a battered man's Rolex Oyster. Unemployed at the time, and needing money, I sold the women's watches for $8 each and the broken Rolex for $225. That event hooked me on auctions. — Philip The Hunter and the Bear Posted 07.14.08 My husband, Mike, and I were at a show in San Diego where we noticed a 15 3/4-inch bronze. We asked the price and the vendor wanted $2,500. We spoke about the piece for a while and walked away. We returned with an offer of $1,200 cash and it was accepted. The sculpture is marked by Nicholai Lieberich and is called "The Woodsman, Axe and Bear." It's from 19th-century Russia. Mike decided to look in my Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles price list for 2004 and found the piece under Bronze, Sculptures. It is valued in the book at $8,960. After many hours of research, we have found a treasure. It is truly beautiful. — Betty Ann Roadshow Riches Posted 07.07.08 Like any day out looking for a bargain, I found one, an old jug. I took it home and realized it had the words "Smithville, Tenn. Sept 12, 1907" on it. Years later I got to go to the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW in Tampa. I brought along my jug and had it appraised. The gentleman was very helpful and courteous and appraised it between $500 and $750. He also informed me that it might go for more in the area it was made. Well, I am pleased to let you know he was not wrong. I sold it today on an online auction for $910. It will be on display at the Tennessee State Museum for everyone to see. I can't wait to go back to one of your shows and bring another "Roadshow Riches" item! — Richard Kutani Urns Posted 06.30.08 While living in Japan during the early 1970s, I had many opportunities to see beautiful Kutani urns and other ceramic objects made by hand. I particularly loved one vase and purchased it even though it cost $150. We lived on an Army post and one night the lights went out. While searching for candles, my husband accidentally caused a wooden doll to fall and it landed on my beautiful vase taking two small bites out of the rim. So, we called the Kutani man who, with my husband, repaired my vase. My husband, knowing I was devastated, agreed to buy another. These large vases/urns measure about 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide and are hard to find as they require several firings and are subject to breakage in the kiln. After saying no to several urns over a six-month time, the Kutani man brought one I liked. He found it in the back of the storage area, he said, and really didn't know its story, but the clay was old style. When we moved back stateside in 1975, we had an appraiser look at the items and found the second urn had two marks on the bottom. The earlier mark was Chinese and the second fire mark was Japanese. Both items were appraised much higher then their purchase price. — Carolyn Thrift Store Find Posted 06.23.08 Several months ago I found a framed document in a thrift store and took it home for $10 because I thought the ink blotches made it look real. At that time I didn't even know what the Ordinance of Secession was. Now that I know, being Afro-American, I felt weird having it hang on my wall. But I thought, "What the heck, the matting matches the color of the wall," and I continued my research. The more I read, the more I realized how valuable this document was and why! I finally saw a picture and realized it was valued at $35,000. — Rosetta Graduate School Cider Mug Posted 06.16.08 I volunteered at a thrift shop in Cleveland for 14 years. Often we would receive small antiques from people breaking up homes. One day a Chinese export pitcher came in, which I learned was a cider mug after seeing one later at the Henry Ford Museum. The handle was damaged and the cover long gone. Our manager placed a $10 sticker on it and there it stood for two weeks, unsold. At that time we workers were allowed to bid on items, which had not sold. I bid $10 and was the winner. I had the handle restored by a museum retiree for $5 and enjoyed it for some years. Finally, when my oldest son decided to attend graduate school, money was tight. I sold the mug to a dealer for $500! What a treasure to be redeemed as I told a friend. She commented that the only thing you ever own is what you give away. I have never regretted selling the mug. — Patricia Limbert Arts and Crafts China Cabinet Posted 06.09.08 One Saturday evening my wife asked me to drive her to an antiques emporium in town. At first I complained, but agreed and drove to the place. I went my way and she went hers. I came upon a china cabinet that just wowed me. I normally inspect the pieces my wife is interested in buying, but this piece did catch my attention. I checked the condition and construction and I just loved it. I asked for the price and was told that it was $210 and that they would give me 10% off. I paid $189, not bad for an antique china cabinet. When I took it home I looked up information to find the approximate time it was made. I had guessed 1930s. While looking for information, I noticed a brand inside the drawer that said "Limbert Arts and Craft Furniture Company, Grand Rapids and Holland". I also noticed a number in the back of the cabinet and both shelves had the same number. I became curious and wanted more information. I went to a dealer and I showed him pictures of the piece. He confirmed that it was a Limbert and the value a lot more than what I paid. A week after I bought it I revived the finish and now the cabinet is displayed in the dinning room. And to think I did not want to go antiquing that evening! — Perfecto It All Comes Out in the Wash Posted 06.02.08 A friend of ours is what I call an "un-dumper" and is always bringing home treasures from the local dump. One day we saw that he had salvaged an old galvanized double washbasin up on legs and was using it as a planter on his patio. My husband and I took a liking to it and asked about it. He offered to give it to us, but we said we would research its value and make a fair offer for it. I did a little homework and saw several selling for $80 or $90 plus shipping. By the time we got back around to asking about it, he had sold it to a dealer. He felt bad that he hadn't known we really wanted it. A few months later, my husband came back from a day at a wonderful farm auction. He said he had brought me home a little present. In the back of his truck he had a beautiful example of a galvanized double laundry tub. The price this time? $7. Now we have a beautiful laundry tub, which is useful for many things, and we figure we saved a few bucks, too. Sometimes you have to wait a while for just the right treasure, but it all comes out in the wash! — Brit Let There Be Light Posted 05.23.08 I used to be a carpenter for the Hotel Del Coronado in California. Two of us were sent down to the old vault that had been turned into a place to store their important paper work in 1920. As he and I were tearing out the old shelving we came to a section that had a void behind it. Inside this void were several boxes and when we looked inside the boxes we found so many treasured pieces of handcrafted antiques. One was an old candelabra. It was very ornate pewter and silver that was made to hold two candles. In 1887 Thomas Edison and his original 10-member crew came out to the hotel and it was the first hotel in the world to be wired for electricity. He took many of these candelabras and wired them for electricity. These would be some of the oldest electric lamps in the world. There were so many other antiques as well. When we turned them in we were allowed to keep a couple of items as a reward. This was back in 1978. I chose the most ornate and beautiful lamps. The bottom plate is numbered, has Reed & Barton's name, and has the hotel's name and emblem. If you remove this plate, inside is the original wiring. The most remarkable thing is that it still works. So, I own a lamp that was one of the first electric lamps in the world and wired by the master and inventor of electricity himself, Thomas Edison. It is in mint condition and to me is a priceless treasure that nobody else has. The hotel put the remaining items on display. They have one lamp that was not wired and is still a candelabra with a price tag of $5,000. I am the only one that owns the lamp wired by Edison. It is a priceless and precious antique and a one-of-a-kind. — Michael Civil War Treasure Posted 05.19.08 I was approached by a man asking if I was the guy who collected swords. I answered with a resounding "YES!" He asked me to look at two swords he had in the trunk of his car. I did and he offered them both to me for half of the price of three appraisals I would have to get. I took them and had them appraised. Fortunately for me, in those days swords were not popular. They were written appraisals with the highest being $150. I took all three appraisals to the owner of the swords. He said "Oh heck, just give me $50 for the pair" and I did. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW came to Oklahoma and Mr. Mitchell confirmed I had a James Conning sword. They were rare. I was very happy to know I had this treasure and I was happy to learn all the research I had done was paying off. I have been appraising swords for local people here for over 15 years now. I have found information not found in any book and have compiled my own book of references. All this, thanks to the interests I have developed by watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. By the way, that sword turned out to be worth every penny I paid for it at $50. Mr. Mitchell agreed with me. It was worth $18,500 on a bad day because Confederate States swords are so rare. It is a beautiful piece of American history. — Bill Sitting Pretty Posted 05.12.08 While browsing through the many bays at a flea market, I came upon a child's rocking chair that caught my eye. I thought it would be perfect for my "Patti Playpal" doll, which had been my favorite childhood toy. I asked the proprietor the price and was delighted to learn he wanted only $5 for it! Imagine my surprise when my online research resulted in discovering the chair to be from the 1930s, with an estimated value of between $100 and $175. My doll will be sitting pretty from now on! — Peg Carousel Chandeliers Posted 05.05.08 I was in my favorite thrift store and saw two chandeliers sitting on the floor. They were very dusty and dirty. I saw them from across the room and thought they may be plastic. There was a man looking at them and I decided to wait until he was done and if he did not take them I would have a look. He walked away and I went over. The wires were cut at the top and they had old fixtures on them that read "Made in Taiwan." The fixtures did not match and I almost didn't buy them, but since they were only $4 each I realized I would only be out $8 if they did not work out. So I bought them. I took them to a stained glass shop where the shop owner saw the tag and said "Oh my goodness. Please don't tell me you only paid $4 each for these." She said the fixtures may be made in Taiwan, but the chandeliers are very well made of American stained glass. They are worth approximately $500 each. I cleaned them up, changed the fixtures, and they are the most beautiful chandeliers I've ever seen. The horses are approximately seven by nine inches in diameter of different colored stained glass — saddle, mane, hooves, etc. The colored carousel horses are set in a clear rainbow glass. Above and below the rainbow glass is a pattern of milk and blue stained glass — just beautiful. I am a horse person and I love them. — Jackie Kindness Returned with St. Nicholas Posted 04.28.08 Germ de Jong, a well-known 20th-century Dutch painter (born in 1886), used to come to my parents home in Amsterdam during the winter of hunger in 1944. The Germans had occupied Holland since 1940. In 1944, after the failed attempt by General Bernhart Montgomery to have the allied troops cross the Rhine River near the city of Arnhem ("a bridge too far!"), the Nazis refused to bring food to the major cities in the western part of Holland. As a result, many people died from hunger during that winter. My parents had somehow gotten a hold of a 50-pound bag of split peas. Mother made bowls of pea soup and that helped us to get through the winter. On a few occasions, Germ visited our home and Mother served him soup. He was very grateful to have his stomach filled and one day brought her a charcoal drawing of the St. Nicholas church in Amsterdam. Oil paints were no longer available, so Germ was forced to use charcoal, which I believe he made himself. The drawing shows the church set back behind a row of houses along the waterfront that used to be an open bay of the Zuider Zee. In the corner of the drawing one can see the Tower of Tears where the sailors' wives gathered to wave goodbye to their husbands as the ship sailed away. It was from this point that Henry Hudson sailed on his discovery trip to what is now known as the Hudson Bay. Of course, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Amsterdam and the December 5th St. Nicholas feast is named after him. Santa Claus bringing presents has roots in the St. Nicholas story. The 19"-by-22" drawing is signed, dated 1944, and is in my possession. A number of Dutch museums own and exhibit some of Germ de Jong's works. — Teade Hitching with Hadrian Posted 04.18.08 In 1982 I was hitchhiking from Edinburgh to London. I ended up stranded at the roadside just south of Newcastle on Tyne, the home of Emperor Hadrian's wall. At the time, there were many excavation sites around the city where Roman ruins were being unearthed. As I stood at the side of the road with my thumb out, for what seemed to be an eternity, I kicked the dirt and paced back and forth. Something caught my eye, and as I bent down to pick it up, I realized that I had unearthed what seemed to be a small Roman relic. It is a triangular-shaped stone sculpture with fluted lines emanating from a circle and hole through the top, almost like a sun amulet that would have been worn as part of armor or as part of a horse's bridle. When I arrived in London I took it to the British Museum and a curator in the antiquities department confirmed that I had indeed found a strange and wonderful Roman object, and encouraged me to donate it to the museum collection. I chose to bring it home with me where it resides quite happily to this day. — Carl Hopeful China Posted 04.14.08 When I was in high school, my mother purchased china from the local grocery store for my hope chest. I have had the china packed in storage for over 30 years in the original boxes. I have the complete set minus the butter dish and candlesticks. A couple of months ago, I pulled them out to use and my friend, being curious, contacted a local antiques dealer. His comment was that they were worth $1,000 to $2,000, and possibly more with the original boxes. Needless to say, what I had out was boxed back up and put back in storage. — Pat Why High School Pays Posted 04.07.08 I was shopping at an antiques market when I spotted a rare Wave Crest plaque, something that I thought would be beyond my buying power. Surprisingly, it was reasonably priced. The dealer was working on a crossword puzzle and asked his wife for a four-letter, Spanish word for house. She responded, "hacienda." I smiled, told him the word is "casa" and that I would like an additional $5 discount. He had already lowered the price, but gladly lowered it $5 more. I purchased the plaque and gave thanks for my high school Spanish class many years prior. — Kenny Rediscovered Beauty Posted 03.31.08 I have a little, oval rug given to me by an elderly cousin of my mother's in Portland, Oregon. The children used the rug in the attic. It was very dirty and I was going to throw it away until I looked at it and noticed the flowers under the dirt. The cat had also used it! I called a rug cleaner in Portland and they asked me if it was wool and I said I thought it was. They also asked me if it was tied on the ends and I said it was so they asked me to bring it in, which I did. They cleaned the rug and when I went to pick it up they unrolled it for me and I said, "What a beautiful, little rug!" It was all flowers, bright and lovely. The man there asked me where I got it and I really had to think. This cousin, Dr. Florence Brown, was a doctor in Portland for 40 years. She had a half sister who was a nurse, Gerty Brown, who went to China as a missionary and would sometimes send Florence things. Gerty never did come back to the U.S. She only had to come to the border of Manchuria and China to receive her inheritance when their father passed away. So, that's where I got the rug. The man told me the name of the family who made these rugs and that they actually quit making them in 1927. So, that's the approximate age of the rug. I have forgotten the name of the tribe who made these rugs, but the man slyly offered me $350 for it. That was about 20 years ago. Some people who were in the store at the same time shook their heads at me and I told the man it was a keepsake so I couldn't really sell. I have kept it, keeping the cats and children off it, and it has retained its beauty. — Wilda George Washington Etching Posted 03.21.08 My 84-year-old mother took a layer of newspaper out from the bottom of a very old chest of drawers that her mother had given to her 40 or 50 years ago. An artist's proof signed in pencil by "W. E. Marshall" in 1862 was also found face up in the chest. The pine wood grain from the bottom of the drawer was transferred onto the backing of this large etching. It is a proof of George Washington in the "dollar bill" pose. It must have been untouched for some time. My late grandmother did not know or just never mentioned this treasure in the bottom of the drawer. I took it to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and we compared it to theirs. They have a copy of the etching, but we have an original. Those folks were speechless. In Greensboro, I took it to Etherington Conservation and Don Etherington looked at it and said, "As clean as this is, it may be the first one done by William E. Marshall!" — Gordon What's In The Box Posted 03.17.08 While visiting a sister in Washington, D.C. last year, we strolled into a shop in the antiques mall. I found what I thought was an old wooden box of silver flatware. Upon opening it, I was saddened when I realized it was just some old gold tinted spoons and forks. However, I liked the old box and decided to buy it anyway. The owner sold it to me for $10. When I got back home to S.C., and unpacked it again to get a better look, I realized it was stamped "solid durilyte." Not knowing what that was, I went to my computer. The company is still in existence, so I sent them a picture of the set and they sent me a pricelist for replacements if needed. One butter knife was almost $100, and I have almost a complete set of the Empress pattern. And I bought it because I liked the old box! — Rosetta Perseverance Pays Off Posted 03.10.08 When I moved to sleepy, little Burkittsville, Maryland, in 1983, the first neighbor to welcome me was an antiques dealer who lived down the street. While taking me for a house tour I greatly admired a painted dower chest dated 1777 with the initials SF, and decided then and there that someday I would try to obtain it. She and her husband had found the chest locally and painted black, only to discover the original surface when they stripped the piece. Twenty years later that same neighbor bought a house from me and to sweeten the deal asked what antique of hers I wanted. I said, "The 1777 chest!" I recently married a woman whose last name is Scott. My last name is Fout. The chest is initialed SF! What luck! — Dan Follow Your Instincts Posted 03.03.08 My husband and I were visiting local antique stores looking for bargains. We both have an interest in swords and this particular store had two antique swords on display. These were supposedly antique Japanese katanas. One was stamped "factory made" from the World War II era. The other was in a brass combat officer's sheath, which my husband felt did not belong with that particular sword. I had many misgivings because of his feelings, and in the long run I talked him out of purchasing the sword for $200. We were leaving on our honeymoon (we had been married a week) and I convinced my husband it would still be there a week later when we returned. He claimed it would not. We returned from our honeymoon a day late, on Sunday instead of Saturday, a week later. We called the antique dealer to arrange to see the sword again. He had sold it late on Saturday to a gentleman from New York who was vacationing in our town. We kept in contact with the dealer, hoping he would have further swords. We stopped in to see him two weeks later and he told us he had heard from the buyer. The man had called him to thank him. The sword and sheath were appraised in New York and put up for auction. My husband was right. The sheath and sword were not supposed to be together. The sword was much older. The set sold at auction for $5,000 even though it was not actually a set! I have since learned to listen to my husband's instincts! — Barb Family "Flippie" Mug Posted 02.25.08 I was in Germany where I was in the military in the 1980s during the month of February. I was out with a German husband and wife and they asked me if I would like to come to their house for some drinks after going to a club. As I was getting ready to leave, I shook the guy's hand and hugged his wife. Before I walked out the door, the guy went into the cabin and gave me a "flippie" mug. On top it had a picture of a lady. The guy said that it had been passed down through his family and that they had no one else to give it to. I said he should keep it, but they didn't want to hear that so I took the mug and to this day I still have it. Even if it has no value, it has value to me and it will be passed on to my son. — Gerald Chessie Cat Lithograph Posted 02.15.08 My father was a teacher, and for years he chaperoned senior trips from Indiana to New York and Washington, D.C. in the 1940s. They traveled on the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad trains. He always brought back a deck of playing cards with the trademark "Chessie Cat" on the backs. Years later I came across a signed litho of the "Chessie Cat." The owner did not want the print, only the frame, and gave it to me. The backing board carried a label from Madsen, in Paris, on the Rue St. Honoré. I researched the artist's name (G. Gruenwald, a Viennese artist) and had a local printer confirm that I had a stone litho print. It was created to symbolize quiet restful air-conditioned travel, "Sleep like a kitten," for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1937. It's a great treasure from my childhood. Unfortunately, when I graduated, we traveled by bus on our senior trip. — Nan 1932 Babe Ruth Baseball Posted 02.11.08 My wife and I enjoy going to tag sales and one day I picked up a free cardboard box of plastic containers. I put the box in the garage and I didn't look it over until the following October when I was going to our landfill. I started tossing items that I didn't want into the trunk of my car when I picked up this old baseball that wasn't in very good condition. I was about to toss it with the other stuff when I saw the name "Babe Ruth." Well, I am not a baseball fan so I put the ball in my sock drawer and I forgot about it. In March, 2006, there was a story about the "Lost Treasures of Baseball" in the USA Weekend Magazine. The 1932 World Series "Called Shot" baseball that Babe Ruth hit off the Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root was one of the lost treasures. I had never looked at that old baseball I put away in my sock drawer several years ago. I couldn't see very much outside of the signature so I went to my workbench and looked at the ball using a light with a magnifying lens. WOW! There's a lot of stuff on this baseball. A partial "YA," "CUB," the date 1932, a small hole, and some of the stitching is ripped apart. And this is just some of what is there. The signature has not been authenticated, but my gut feeling is that this could be the "Called Shot" baseball. — Harold An Important Shelf Liner Posted 01.28.08 While cleaning out my parents' home I discovered a couple of flat pieces of cardboard lying on a shelf under some other items. As I was about to throw them away, I happened to slide them apart and inside was a nice looking print. Peering more closely, I realized that it was signed "Grant Wood, 1937." I consulted a friend who is an art professor and she verified that I had found "Tree Planting Group" by Grant Wood. It was also noted on the print in Mr. Wood's pencil that it was a gift to Mr. and Mrs. Hudson Stroud. I knew who Hudson was because he was a fairly famous author in the 1950s through the 1970s and professor of creative writing at the University of Alabama where my dad was an accounting professor and business school dean for many years. I also knew that Hudson was one of Dad's tax accounting clients and that they were good friends. The print must have been a gift to my parents from the Stroud's. I don't know why they never had it framed and left it in the closet but it is now framed, de-foxed, and happily hanging on my wall. Always look at what is lining the shelves! — Sarah A Real Find Posted 12.28.07 One day I spotted a ladder-back arm chair in a local shop in Washington D.C. At first I thought it was a reproduction, but when I noticed its beautiful patina I could see tiger maple, as well as wear on the arms and legs. I had a feeling it was an original, but not sure. I noticed another customer admiring it, so when he stepped away I, of course, grabbed it! I took it to the owner, a friend who was happy that I wanted it. She thought the chair was a reproduction, but I still thought it was original. I bought it for $120. As I was leaving the other customer approached me and said, "You have a real find." He said he was a fine antiques dealer and that the chair was authentic and was completely original. I was thrilled!! He believed it was made in the Tennessee-Kentucky valley area around 1790 and 1810. The owner, who overheard our conversation smiled and said, "Don't take that chair to the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and find out it's worth $1,000 or more." I replied smiling, "I just might do that." — Bill The Petty Family Archive Posted 12.21.07 One of the many things the Petty racing family was famous for was the "Petty Boneyard." Simply put it was a wooded area where the old race cars would be towed after their days on the track had come to a close. In 1987 I had the opportunity to spend some time with Richard and his father while working on a magazine article. We were given access to the "Boneyard" one afternoon. Talk about a NASCAR museum, the further we walked into the woods the further back in time we went. Eventually the numbers on the doors went from 43 (Richard's) to 42 (Lee's). We came to an old rusted 1957 Oldsmobile with the number 42 on the door. Only on this car the "2" had been hand-painted into a "3," giving us the impression that this was most likely Richard's first race car. Upon further exploration I came upon a piece of machined aluminum filling in a part of the dashboard area. On the aluminum was the name "Richard" written in pencil in a child's handwriting. I removed this piece and showed it to Richard later that day. He autographed it and it went home with me. Fast forward to 1992. On a return trip to Randleman, North Carolina, I asked to go back to the "Boneyard." Richard said that a few years prior the EPA had come in and either removed or buried all the vehicles. Consequently, I now have what I believe is the only piece of Richard's first car with not only his autograph as an adult but also as a child. In addition, I attended his last race and tribute concert in Atlanta and have a complete set of tickets and passes from that. Basically, I have the career bookends of one of auto racing's most famous drivers. — Paul Humbled by a Humble Sign Posted 12.17.07 Thirty years ago I bought a house from a man who had worked with my dad for Humble Oil Company. In the shed out in the back was a large enameled Humble Oil sign. I gave it to my dad thinking that he would want it. He kept it out in his backyard for about five years and then placed it in his sister's barn. When we returned to his sister's last year I asked my dad to find my old sign that had been in the barn for about 20-plus years. I took it home and decided to sell it since no one that I gave it to seemed to want it. I got an offer of $300 and then someone said "Why not try an online auction?" Well, after a week it sold for $1,825 to a dealer in New York City. My sign went from a Louisiana shed, to a backyard, to a barn, and then to downtown New York. Wow! What did I do with the money? I took my mom, dad, and daughter on a cruise. — Cheryl Who Knows Nutting? Posted 12.10.07 I live in a small town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, where an auction is held every month at the local hall. The local antiques market dealers, along with the local townsfolk flock there hoping to get a good deal on glass, pottery, and silver from estate sales. This auction is also known for its original works of art in oil and watercolor, and attracts many dealers knowledgeable in paintings. One night the paintings were being sold by lots; you could pick as many as you wanted for a specified price. I waited until the price went down to $10, and went up to take my pick. While I was poking around the tables, I noticed what appeared to be a print that had been colored in. To my surprise it was signed by Wallace Nutting and entitled "Grandmother's Sheffield." I bought it for $10 and after contacting several auctions houses I learned that it is worth as much as $300! So much for "knowledgeable art dealers!" — Pat Grandma's Four Golden Rules Posted 12.3.07 I owe my collecting hobby to my grandmother, who taught me some valuable lessons while I was at the tender age of eight. As we toured her "doll room," she would constantly remind me to 1) Narrow my collecting so that I became the expert, 2) Know your prices, 3) Pay attention to condition, and 4) Enjoy what you collect. She used her antique doll-collecting hobby to subsidize her family's earnings and many of her dolls commanded top dollar at many New York auctions. She was well known in the Chicago area as the "expert." Being a guy, my focus became cars and parts, with the parts actually becoming my specialty. I would travel from town to town buying old car dealer inventory and found that this part-time job paid for my entire college education through a Masters degree. I decided to start my first collection, following the lessons learned from my grandmother, and saved all of the car emblems found at the various dealers. These were all new-in-the-box Chevy, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Ford, Rambler, Nash, Studebaker, Chrysler, and Cadillac, era 1940 to 1980, which at the time, did not command very much money. To me, they were like jewelry and I marveled at the artistry that went into each of the individual designs. My collection got a bit out of hand and I stopped when I hit around 2,500 pieces. Luckily the collection did not take up much space and never became a burden on our household. Well, time has a way of making many things valuable and I now subsidize my family's income by selling on eBay. We've had individual emblems bring over $300 and our emblems have found their way onto top show cars from all over the world. The hardest part was actually selling my first emblem, as I had broken a rule by becoming emotionally attached to the collection (a lesson I must have missed). Having sold off around only part of our collection, we are well on our way to putting our daughter through college and paying off the mortgage on our house. We continue to collect, but have branched out into a different specialty: railroad collectibles. I continue to follow the rules set forth by my grandmother and have become one of the county's experts on railroad artwork, having recently spoken at the George Bush Library in College Park, Texas, worked as an appraiser, and have had many articles published in train magazines. Thank you, Grandma, for your valuable lessons, I paid attention. — Greg The Lady in the Mink Coat Posted 11.26.07 I lived down the street from an auction house in the early 1970s. I used to walk to it on Tuesdays before I went to work. One day there was a big turnout and one of the items for sale was a smoke stand that, although had interesting design, was black and looked as if it had been through a fire. The bidding began and as everyone else dropped out (at about $10) I knew I was bidding against only one other person. At $12 we both leaned into the crowd to see who we were bidding against. My heart sank when I saw the lady in the mink jacket. I, on the other hand, was in blue jeans and a T-shirt. As soon as she looked at me she dropped out of the bidding and I got the smoke stand for $12. Although it didn't clean up as nice as I hoped I did get it clean enough to tell that at one time it was brass. The blue crystal ashtray that was in the bowl (since broken) was why I wanted it. I still have it and love to tell the story about the lady in the mink. — Lesley A Quilt and a Western for a Kind Gesture Posted 11.19.07 While looking for clothes at the local Salvation Army store and not sure of what I could afford, I picked up a magnetic fish game that reminded me of one I had years ago. It also seemed the only thing I could afford at the moment. I then walked passed the nearly empty bookshelves and found a book by Harry Brown for 25 cents. I kept it, deciding that it would be a good read, and continued on to the linen table, happy with my two items. While pulling out a tangle of sheets, blankets, and a mixture of curtains I pulled on a quilt. It had a patchwork of panels made of different fabric scenes. I was so happy, but when I pulled it completely I noticed it had a slight smell, stains, fading on one panel, and a few seams had unraveled. I was going to put it back but decided not to. Then I noticed it had handmade stitching. And handmade stitching meant the quilt was not machine- or factory-made. With the condition it was in I didn't know what to do, until a woman clear across the table and near the clothes racks rushed over and suddenly started searching near me while eyeing the quilt. I decided to keep it. The woman followed me until I was near the cash register and gave up after realizing I was not going to let the quilt go. At the register, I really wanted the quilt and the other two items, but only had $9 on me, not enough for the quilt. A man standing in the line eyed the fish game and asked if I was buying it. I said yes, but after a moment, I asked if he had kids and he said yes. So I gave it to him. With that gesture, the Salvation Army cashier smiled at me and gave me the quilt for $3 and the book for free. I was so happy as I walked home. At home, I found out the book was a 1960 first edition Western by Harry Brown and although the quilt has no name, identification of who made it, or when it is still handmade and beautiful. I hope to care for and preserve it, and hopefully learn from it. — Norma R. Tourte Watercolors Posted 11.12.07 I lived in Texas for many years in the 1970s. One day my husband met a retired doctor, who had no spouse and no children. We invited him over to our house and he fitted right in with our family. We loved him for his gentleness, wisdom, and caring ways for our children that were at that time ages five, three, and one. My family adopted him as our children's grandfather and he adopted us as his family. Needless to say, he was at our home for dinner at least twice a week, every weekend, and at every family function including holidays. His photo was often in family pictures. For us he was the grandfather; my parents lived in New York and my husband's father had passed. When my husband decided to move to south Florida he appeared very sad and we were sad, as well, to leave him behind. However, due to his failing health he reassured us that he had made plans to live in an assisted living house and he had everything arranged. Upon our departure he gave me as a gift his collection of R. Tourte watercolors and the artist binder that had a collection of ink block prints. He said "I know that as an artist yourself you will appreciate it." I framed a few pieces and left the others in the binder. A few years after we left Texas he passed away. His wisdom and caring ways remain with us forever. — Margaret The Holy Grail of Movie Posters Posted 11.5.07 My next-door neighbors recently came over and asked my husband if he could help them move some rather heavy furniture out of a house that belonged to their daughter-in-law's deceased parents. After we finished helping, they offered us a bag of old movie posters and memorabilia that the parents had from owning an old movie theater. While burning trash we were hauling off from the house, we decided to go through the bag. My husband pulled out a poster that read "Metropolis." It had pictured at the bottom a very fake, scary-looking creature. Having five kids, my husband said, "I'm going to keep this to scare our kids." Laughing, I grabbed the poster and threw it on the fire. Later the same night I was watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW when they asked a collector of movie memorabilia what would be the Holy Grail find for him? He replied by saying, "I would like to find the US version movie poster of the movie Metropolis." He said it would be priceless to him! I looked at my husband staring at me and said, "Don't you say a word!" Needless to say, I cried the whole night. — Cynthia Souvenir of a Lifetime Posted 10.29.07 During the summer of 1959 I was on liberty from the USS Taconic AGC-17 in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. I had grown tired of sailors' haunts and wanted to see real French life. I walked past the waterfront after visiting little family-owned restaurants, etc., when the demolition of a boathouse caught my eye. I was able to poke about without being challenged and up toward the interior of the roof was, I thought, a cobweb-covered coat of arms. I asked a worker if he knew who owned the clump of dust; he said no one and that the boathouse was being destroyed and rebuilt. I asked if I could buy the clump from him and he eagerly said "Yes, five dollars American." This might be the souvenir of a lifetime, and I was eager to pay him to climb up to get it for me. When I was able to clean the dirt off the prize it turned out to be a large dark, wooden clock. It is spring-wound with a pendulum above a hooked door; the brass works is enclosed in an octagonal box with lead shielding behind the wooden clock face and Roman porcelain numbers. Its chime, a wound wire, is struck on the hour with a leather-covered wooden mallet. The clock is 25 inches tall and 18 inches wide with deeply carved and intricately detailed dark wood. It has a fox on one side and a hound opposite with grapes, vines, and birds in the center. The brass works has an outline image of a bell with the stamped words "EISERIN BREVETE SC" arched over and under the bell that is bordered on each side with the letters E and S. Underneath is stamped 1595, and below that are a random two separate 5s. Personal value? Priceless! Real value? Unknown. — Dennis Land Survey Equipment? Posted 10.22.07 About five years ago my younger brother was a garbage man. He found a wooden box with some type of measuring device inside of it. Well, I was at one time on a land survey crew and I love antiques as well. My brother, thinking it was something used for surveying land, brought it home for me. We usually only see each other on holidays and he rode around with this wooden box in the back of his pickup truck for about two months. Then on Christmas, when he was loading up his family to leave our mom's house, he spotted the box. He handed it to me and told me about finding it in the trash and that it was really old looking. He really thought it was land survey equipment. I did some research on my little wooden box and what was inside it. That's when I discovered that what my brother found in the trash was truly a treasure. Inside of that wooden box was a stadimeter. This is not just any stadimeter, either. I am the proud owner of Lt. Fiske's Stadimeter, Pat. Pending No. 7 from the 1890s. I have done hours of research looking for a stadimeter like mine. I have never found one, not even on eBay! However, I did find one very similar... at the Smithsonian! Mine is older and in much better condition than theirs! Wow, talk about a treasure. This was a type of survey equipment for sure, but it was used on the seas, not the land. — Paula Hidden Lithographs Posted 10.15.07 When we moved my mother's things up to our Alaskan home after she passed away, we inherited a wealth of art work that was hers and my fathers. My mother, Pamela Mason, was a well-known western artist and my father, Hubert Mason, was an engineer and commercial artist, more fondly remembered for his caricatures and humorous art. When we moved some of their "boxes" of materials out of our downstairs after an argument with the sewer line, I began to go through some of the materials that they had stored away. In one box there was a plastic bag holding a tissue-wrapped package of about 100 lithographs by H. M. Wall and others. These are beautiful original proofs and color originals for seed catalogues and children's book illustrations, such as the "One Syllable Series," which must have been popular at the turn of the last century. Wall was my mother's aunt's husband and apparently was a well-known New York lithographer who was active in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While I had seen a few of the flower illustrations, I was amazed at the package and number of originals casually wrapped and stored away. All are in excellent condition and the colors are like new! When I went onto the Internet I looked up "H. M. Wall lithographer" and was immediately directed to what turned out to be a Smithsonian Institute display on lithography. One of the displays showed a Child's catalog and a cover photograph of one of Wall's lithographs! Now my challenge is to find our how much they are worth and where I can auction or sell a portion of them — it would be a shame to put them back in the box! — Michael First Place Oars Posted 10.5.07 About 23 years ago my father bought an old apartment building in Medford, Massachusetts, which he renovated. When he was cleaning the basement he found a pair of black walnut oars that he used to prop up the basement windows. Then my brother noticed that the oars had engraved plates on each of them. One of the inscriptions read, "1st Prize Lake Winipiseogee August 3rd, 1852." The inscription on the other oar read, "Won at the Regatta between Harvard and Yale by the Harvard Club Oneida Class of '53." The regatta was the first intercollegiate sporting event in North America. The oars are the first place prize that was presented to the Harvard crew who won the regatta over Yale. Attending the regatta and presenting the oars to the Harvard crew was General Franklin Pierce, who was running for president of the United States of America, and who later became the 14th President of the United States of America in 1853. My father discovered that this event has much historical value. It was the beginning of all college sport competitions in North America. An abundance of history surrounds this race. He also learned that approximately one third of the courageous rowers who participated in this historic regatta went on to become officers in the Civil War. In addition, his research also revealed that a superintendent from the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad Company offered to pay for the expenses associated with the regatta, expecting that it would promote train travel to New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee region. Once Harvard and Yale agreed with the superintendent's offer, the first college rivalry in all of North America began. — Paul A Wave From Heaven Posted 10.1.07 A friend called the other night to ask if I'd seen the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW that just aired (Part 2 from Bismarck). She said a woman showed a framed Kodak advertisement she bought at my grandparent's Fortuna, North Dakota, shop. I recalled the item, thanked my friend for calling, and sat musing at the coincidence of that show airing the very week my late grandmother would have turned 99 years old. A few minutes later it hit me why that Kodak collectible was so familiar. Of all the antiques in my grandparents' shop, for some reason I have in my photo album a picture of me holding that very item. I was visiting Fortuna in 1982 and my grandmother wanted a photo of the advertisement to send to a prospective buyer. I agreed to hold the framed advertisement and have my picture taken. It was funny because Grandma always used an old Kodak box camera to take pictures, and the advertisement was a picture of a woman taking a photograph of a family group. The legend on the frame reads, "Keep a Kodak Story of the Children." I also took a picture of Grandma that day. I found both photographs in my album, side by side. Knowing how fastidious Grandma was about writing on the backs of photographs, I checked to see what she wrote on the backs of these. Mine simply had my name on it, but hers read "Grandma Martha Scheff, 75 years." That's when I remembered the reason I was in Fortuna that day, 24 years ago. It was grandma's 75th birthday! I can't help but feel the appearance of this Kodak advertisement on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is a little wave from heaven #8212; not to mention a scold to remember to do a better job of documenting my own family's memories! I would love to find the woman who owns that Kodak collectible now. I don't want to buy it, but I would like to share this story with her. It feels rather amazing to me. — Cecile An Austrian Hutch Posted 9.24.07 I met Chuck about 10 years ago. I always admired this beautiful hutch he had in his house. He had bought it 10 years previously at an estate sale in Los Angeles. When he decided to sell his house he sold all his furniture except the hutch. I couldn't possibly ever afford the hutch with four daughters and two grandchildren living at home. Accidentally I blurted out, "Well if you're just gonna leave the house for a realtor to sell, please don't leave the hutch!" never thinking I would ever own it. Well, lo and behold, he told me I could have it! It is my most treasured antique and I am so happy it came into my life! Now comes the impossible search to find out if it's really an 1870 Austrian hutch. Thank you, Chuck!!! — Linda Bidding on the Small Stuff Posted 9.17.07 My mother and I have a weekly hobby of going to a local Saturday night auction. One night the crowd was a little bigger than usual. The sale was from a local gentleman that most everyone knew. After most of the bigger items and furniture had been sold, the auctioneer moved onto the kitchen items and junk boxes. That is when most folks decided to visit the snack bar. But for the ones who stuck around... we hit GOLD! In one box there were programs from the University of North Carolina basketball games with a young Michael Jordan as one of the players. I missed out on those. My box, bought for $2 because it had a great pie taker and other kitchen items, held a small, brown vase. After taking it home, washing it off, and looking at the bottom, I found out that it was a McCoy Pottery vase and it has been appraised at $50. So the next time the auctioneer starts bidding on the small stuff just hang around! — Hope Time to Dust the Toys Posted 9.10.07 When my brothers and I were just little kids back in the 1930s in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, once every year my Aunt Marian would tell us that it was time to dust the toys in the cubby hole in the attic. Would we like to help her? We waited each year to hear her say that. The cubby hole was a trap door in the attic of my grandmother's house that contained toys that were my father's, uncle's, and aunt's, dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. As my aunt would take them out, we were allowed to hold them and look at them but never do anything that would hurt them. After the toys were dusted, they were put back in the cubby hole to await their next annual dusting. My aunt died in the 1990s and the toys from the cubby hole were given to my cousins, brothers, and me. My prize possession, a toy that I selected, is a metal wind-up toy with a boy, Patty, riding on the back of a pig. Patty has on the original tan material britches, cape, and knickers. The pig has a metal cape painted red and trimmed in gold. Patty has on a green top hat and is holding the reins to the pig. The saddle is light green. When you wind it up, Patty goes back and forth like he is riding a horse and his arms move up and down, pulling the reins. It still works. The lettering beneath the works says LEAMANN'S D. R. PATENTE ENGL.PATENTS. Made in Germany. U.ST.A Pat'd 12 MAY 1903. There is a marking on the saddle and underneath that resembles a bell hanging from a barbell. I don't think there is anything that I treasure more than Patty's Pig. I took it to Freeman's Auction House in Philadelphia to have it appraised and they were very impressed. — Robert A Presidential Discovery Posted 8.31.07 I tend to frequent coin and antiques shows. At one show I was intrigued by a box of old cancelled stock certificates, which I purchased as a group without really going through them. Weeks later, when I did have time to rummage through them, I found laying folded in the bottom of the box an old land grant for property near the old Fort Dodge in Iowa. It was a presidential land grant signed by President James Buchanan himself. I'd call that a presidential discovery! — C. Douglas Original Maija Painting Posted 8.27.07 While my husband and I were out garage-saling we went to an apartment where a lady was selling her mother's furniture and household items. My husband spotted a beautiful large painting of an Indian chief and purchased it for $20. He proudly took it home (I wasn't as enthused as he was) and hung it in the dining room. For one year it hung there when I decided to look at the name and check it on the internet to see if the painter was on there. And she was: It was an original painting by Maija. I sold it on eBay, with my husband's approval, for $500! — Corrine Buy What You Like Posted 8.20.07 I used to frequent an auction barn out in the country. I saw a piece of pottery in amber/ochre/green tones that I liked. I only saw it from a distance, but decided I wanted it, and requested it to go next. Sure enough, I got the piece for $15. There were no markings on it, but I liked it. Months later I was looking through a book on Ohio pottery at a local bookstore. And there it was! A jardiniere made by Roseville in a pattern called "Autumn." It was made before 1918 when pieces were identified only by paper stickers. The book indicated a value of $750. And there I was, alone in the middle of the bookstore, dying to say "Hey, someone, come here and look at this! I have this!!!" I can't say I like the piece any more than I did before I found it was worth $750, but I can attest: buy what you like! — Rita 1885 Crazy Quilt Posted 8.13.07 Recently we visited a friend in Florida. She knows that I'm a quilter and asked if I would like to see a quilt she had. When she put it out for me to see I got goose bumps. For 30 years she has had this beauty folded in the top of her closet. I, needless to say, went bananas!! When we met her the next day she said that she had finally made a decision about the quilt. She would not give it to me, but was willing to share it with me because of my reaction to its beauty. It is dated 1885, has spiders, shoes, a three-dimensional butterfly, an owl, a horse, stars, names, initials — too many things to mention! And the stitching around the patches is outstanding. Finally, it is trimmed in a red velvet border and ecru lace. It is a delight to behold. I had planned to hang it but was advised not to. Only one little spot has shown any real wear amazingly enough. It was appraised for $1,800. She gave me the appraisal. I was told to lay it against something if I wanted to show it, which I definitely do, changing its position once a week. I will never let it be hidden away again! Although she is not aware of all the history behind the patches, I'm sure there are many stories to be told. How lucky can you get to be sharing this beautiful piece of art? — Nancy

i don't know

Oct 20, 1977 saw a plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, Dean Kilpatrick and the pilot and co-pilot, ripping the heart out of what Southern band?

the crash oct 20 1977 | SKYNYRD FRYNDS the crash oct 20 1977 Back to Top Post by blueridgemtnbird on Feb 11, 2013 18:51:43 GMT -5 I have recently been reading and listening to all recounts that i can possibly find and this is what I have ulitimatly came up with why the pilots crashed in the woods and not either the highway or the field in which Mr. Ron Eckerman talks about in so many interviews he has done on his book. what do you all think on this? Personally, after watching and reading for months on the crash, I have made my own assumption.I am going to agree with Cagey on this deal of why the pilots did not down the plane on either the highway or the field which was on either side of the strip of woods where the plane actually crashed.It is my understanding that this planes hydraulics were controlled and powered by a separate small engine or generator this is what powered its flaps ect. that actually steered the plane. that said, when the pilots cut all power switches they had no power to the steering mechanisms of the air-craft. Thus, they had no control accept what human strength the pilot and co-pilot had themselves and it was not enough to control the glide path of the plane. In Mark Franks interview he did recently, he stated that they did bank back in the direction of McComb airport to try desperately to go back but they were already out of gas and the engines were silent when they banked back in the direction of McComb the plane lost air speed very fast and they also lost control of the plane and could not turn it to either the highway ,which by the way Ron Eckerman stated it had no traffic on it at all, or to the field that was on the other side of the wooded lot that they crashed in. now if your a pilot and you can see an open field or a highway or woods what are you going to do? simple to me i,m going to try like heck to land in either the highway or the field no brainer right? In my opinion they could not do this because they had only their own human strength to guide the plane by this time and it was not enough to turn the plane. now i,ve thought about this question too, how in heck did they turn back to mccomb and the only answer is they still had enough power or they might have not turned the power master-switch to the off position at this time when they knew for sure they were going to become a crash landing then they turned off all power switches to conserve power or to prevent a fire upon crashing. in either case i believe they could have steered this craft if they would have not turned off the power master switch. this is my own opinion.In another explanation the generator which powered this hydraulic steering system of this plane could have ran on the same gas as did the planes main engines and it too would have ran out of gas as well. either way they could not steer this plane for some reason i do feel this is why they crashed in the woods. Now im sure there are others with opinion but to me this is a very very important part of the crash itself. when did the pilots lose all power was it after they banked back or was it during or? jmo thoughts?? long live the bird!! Last Edit: Feb 11, 2013 18:56:48 GMT -5 by blueridgemtnbird Back to Top Post by Cagey on Feb 13, 2013 17:31:34 GMT -5 The pilots banked the plane to go back to an airport they flew past and could have safely landed at. It was during the turn they lost power and started coming down. It was during the turn those pilots panicked and threw the electrical kill switch that removed electricity from the fuselage, but this should have been done at about 1000 feet elevation, not at say 4 to 7000 feet elevation. Those pilots may or may not have been aware that throwing that switch in a 27 year old plane was going to shut down power to the hydraulic pumps needed to steer that plane. They effectively took away their ability to glide steer that plane during the critical descent time they had between 9000 feet and 1000 feet. Another problem they had was too much physical weight was on that plane which prevented them from acheiving the initial 11 or 12,000 feet they were cleared to fly at, they could not develop enough power or thrust and speed to fly at that thinner air elevation. So the pilots had to ask for permission in flight to fly at around 9000 feet because they simply could not make that plane fly as they wanted. This points to too much weight in that plane. And when they ran it out of gas and lost power in those engines, and those pilots threw the electrical kill switch way too early at well above the 1000 foot height, not only could they not steer that plane to any clearings, but with all that weight they lost glide capaibility and essentially became like a brick falling from the sky. They were no longer flying. They were falling out of the sky. If you can steer and achieve glide flight you have a chance. They switched off their "power" steering way too early and had virtually no glide flight "lift" to steer with even if they could steer. To develop glide flight lift, those pilots would have to do some real daring flying to save their asses. They would have had to go nose down and pick up speed enough to give them lift under those wings and then before hitting the ground they would have to pull up the nose of that plane hard and fast to make use of the glide speed to try and land that plane on its belly. Only that plane was too close to the ground to be able to have done that manuever. When a commercial airliner stalls out they have to attempt this manuever to try and restart their engines, but they fly at 30 to 40,000 feet so they have a lot farther to nose a plane down before pulling up. Those Skynyrd pilots could only try and stand on those "un-powered" controls and white-knuckle that plane in nose first was about all they could manage. They were unable to steer it to clear land nearby. It is generally "believed" they came in just under 200 miles per hour. Artimus has stated publicly it was 180mph to zero in about 3 seconds. Commercial airliners fly around 600mph using jets. The Skynyrd plane used turbo-prop engines and the fastest recorded only achieved 540mph. If the Skynyrd plane could have flown faster it could have reached its cleared altitude but they failed to do so and both engines ran as long as they had fuel. Again, it all points to too much weight on that plane and like running out of fuel, throwing the electrical kill switch too soon, weight or overweight on that plane is also the pilots' responsibility. Those pilots made mistake after mistake after mistake and both paid for all of them with their lives. They never should have flown past McComb airport. They should have landed there instead of flying 9 miles past and then try to turn that plane back around when they realized they were out of fuel. Those pilots refused to declare an in flight fuel emergency which would have cost both of them their pilots licenses as soon as they landed. When they crashed that plane they went to their graves trying to keep their licenses and record clean and intact and died as a result of not wanting to admit their mistakes just before dying. It is now a matter of recorded history their last words to Houston Air Traffic Control as shown in the NTSB crash investigation report. Last Edit: Feb 14, 2013 7:43:23 GMT -5 by Cagey Back to Top Post by blueridgemtnbird on Feb 13, 2013 21:17:20 GMT -5 thank you Kent for telling this story. this is such at tragedy and it was like Mr, Eckerman has stated in his interviews on his book there were several cumulative errors that brought this plane down too much weight was one of them but if they had just added say 50 more gallons of gas they would have made it and if they had not sat on the tarmac for an hour running they would have also made it so it is what it is the pilots made several bad calls both before and during the flight and it took from us the very best song writer of rock history in my opinion Ronnie Van-Zant rip to all those who passed that day we have all been forever changed from it! Again thanks Kent this story form you is so good i read it 4 or 5 times!! i have studied it many hours trying to get all the phases and it really means allot to me as why Ronnie passed away too with so few visible injury,s. I do understand sometimes blunt-force head trauma usually leaves allot of dis-figuration tho. for example when i was a volunteer fireman and an E.M.T. I saw a guy get killed one day with a can of Campbell,s chicken noodle soup. he had been to the grocery store it was extremely cold outside and we had recently had a big snow and it was down around 10 degrees the following day around 4 pm the roads were a solid sheet of ice and he ran off the road and slid down an embankment approx 50 feet he was in a Subaru hatchback and his bags of grocery,s were in the very back as he went over the bank the can goods were catapulted and went air-born such like as the object that killed R.V.Z. we later found this can of soup it was caved in on the corner but it had hit this guy in the back oh his head just above his right ear. I lived only 5 minutes from the scene and i was first on scene i say the car as I rounded this steep curve. Ironically this curve is called dead mans curve! I drove past it to a pull-off and radioed to the sheriffs office we were going to need a large wrecker then i ran down the bank which was about 75 feel to a creek about the width of a car the guy had made it out of the car but he was siting Indian style in the edge of the creek and he was moaning i began to look at him all over knowing something was wrong because he was siting with his feet in the frigid creek!! After only a few seconds into my primary survey i found it a hole with blood about the size of a quarter right behind his ear. i knew the guy was in bad shape so i took off my coat and wrapped his feet in it knowing help would be on scene asap! as the other guys arrives we got him roped up out of the ravine in a stokes basket but to no avail he passed away that evening 4 hours later. that night i thought about how Ronnie Van-Zant passed away and wondered if he died similar but this man had a hole in his skull and he was only going a bit over 30 m.p.h and Ronnie was his with a flying object in a plane that was going 180 m.p.h.? and he had a bruise the size of a quarter?? just saying i thin k Gene was right maybe in fact Ronnie was knocked out and died of suffocation i don't know. all this does make me think allot about just how did r.v.z. leave this world tho it really does!! Last Edit: Feb 13, 2013 21:39:57 GMT -5 by blueridgemtnbird Back to Top Post by Cagey on Feb 14, 2013 8:31:39 GMT -5 Blue, there was no reason to ground that plane! Nothing was wrong with it! That's why it was not grounded. On the previous flight from Florida to Greenville band members reported seeing blue flames shooting out of the exhaust of the right engine. I have talked to mechanics and pilots- while at the Lakeland airport- and I was told that is normal believe it or not! The only problem those pilots had was they were not able to smooth out the right engine. It ran rough, but it ran. It produced enough power for flight. The left engine apparently was not giving them the trouble the right engine did. The pilots were not experienced on that particular plane. And so they were not fully aware of the peculiarities of that plane being so old at the time- 27 years old in 1977- they were more familiar with more modern planes at the time, and so what those pilots did was to run those engines in the "auto-rich" mode. Pilots usually control the air to fuel ratio themselves and trim it out differently at different altitudes. These pilots simply switched the engines into the auto-rich mode which basically allows the engines to self regulate the air to fuel ratio, but in the auto-rich mode it uses up more fuel like using cruise control in your car. It makes the engines run "rich" or fuel heavy and consumes a lot more fuel which was part of the pilots fuel calculation mistake out of Greenville as those engines ate up an additional 25 gallons of additional fuel per hour in flight. And with both engines running in auto-rich that meant for them an additional 50 gallons of fuel consumed per hour and Skynyrd plane was in the air about 2 hours out of Greenville approximately, so they ate up an additional possible 200 gallons of fuel they did not include in their pre-flight planning calculations and this is what cost them dearly. And since those pilots did not want to deal with trying to smooth out the engine themselves and they switched into the auto-rich mode to let the engine self regulate itself, the engine sucked down more fuel than it could burn as it flew from Lakeland to Greenville. This meant there would be unburned fuel exhausted out of the engines, especially the right engine which was not running smoothly probably due to a faulty magneto and or carburetor problems or adjustments. The unburned fuel did ignite in the vapor trail behind the right engine in flight between Lakeland and Greenville and given the circumstances of their situation, the experts have told me this is completely normal and did not indicate that there was a problem requiring the grounding of that plane. So the blue flames the band members reported seeing igniting in the vapor trail behind that right engine and possibly the left engine to a lesser extent was completely normal for that plane. This is what happens when you allow more fuel to go to and through an engine than it can burn while running with the available air to fuel mixture not adjusted to an ideal ratio. The pilots chose to run in auto-rich because of their lack of experience in flying that particular plane in the days before onboard computers did this job for pilots. The band members can holler all they want to about being scared of flying because of a rough running engine and seeing blue flames shooting out the back of the right engine, but the pilots and other mechanical experts on the ground at the Greenville airport all agreed the plane was flight worthy and found no reason to ground that plane in Greenville. And it was looked at by local mechanics at the Greenville airport who then reported to the pilots and the plane's charter company their findings which then caused them to decide to NOT send a mechanic to Greenville, but would send one to Baton Rouge to meet the band and plane there because it was flight worthy. It was in Greenville those pilots began making crucial mistakes that caused that crash beginning with the fact they did not fill the fuel tanks and only took on some 400 gallons of fuel, or just enough to fly to Baton Rouge under ideal circumstances overlooking the fact of the extra fuel consumption of the auto-rich mode which is what ran them dry in flight over McComb, Miss. And the fact those pilots allowed ignorant band members to overload that plane with cargo and humans not suppose to be on the plane. When you add it all up it spells disaster, but regardless, those pilots should have landed that plane at McComb and only reported to air traffic control they were having mechanical problems and their licenses would have been untouched, but when they panicked 9 miles out of McComb losing power and coming down they told air traffic control they had a visual indication on the fuel guages of being low on fuel and Houston asked those pilots several times if they wanted to declare an in flight fuel emergency and those pilots REFUSED and said it was just an indication of low fuel meaning they did not trust those antique fuel guages or how they read fuel levels and they probably thumped them a few times hoping the needle would jump back up showing some fuel. Today guages are digital. Those pilots told Houston because of the indication of low fuel, they needed a vector to the closest airport which was McComb, the airport they passed over 9 miles back behind them and they immediately began to turn that plane around desperately beginning to panic as those engines began to sputter and shut down, in the bank back around both engines went silent. And the pilots went radio silent too knowing they were going to crash land that plane and in those last minutes and seconds those pilots panicked and threw the electrical kill switch thousands of feet up in the air when they were suppose to do it at 1000 feet. The pilots and people in that plane may have been able to look out their windows and see open fields all around them, but that plane was locked into a bank with no thrust and no power steering and she dropped out of the sky. Houston reported losing the plane on radar. Serveral other planes in the area from small private planes to large commerical airliners all rushed in to provide to Houston air traffic control if they could get a physical visual on the Skynyrd plane going down and help to locate the plane manually and give aid to them if possible. Commercial airplanes loaded with passengers deviated from their flight path and dropped down in elevation and turned towards the Skynyrd plane as she was going down. Those professional pilots in large jets and small private planes all desperately changed their course of flight to rush to the last known location of the Skynyrd plane wanting to help but unable to do so. Coast Guard helicopters were already notified as soon as the Skynyrd plane went off radar. Local hospitals were then notified as well. Houston did what they could to aid the Skynyrd plane before she hit the ground. As the sun went down on another day, so too did the Skynyrd plane. They were on their own and none of those other pilots rushing in ever saw the plane as she went down. --------------------------------------------------------------- What I am about to say is just my opinion as is anything I say, but I think Ronnie was killed as Gene said he was. The plane crashed nose first because those pilots fought with her to come in that way. Everything in that plane was launched forward through the cabin. Ronnie was up front. Artimus thinks some of the Sony video equipment on shelves over his head is what might have hit Ronnie in the head, but this is just his opinion. Regardless, something did hit Ronnie and may have caused brain bleeding, but was it the cause of his death? Or, as Gene theorizes, was Ronnie simply knocked out and buried under a ton of bodies and seats, and cargo and literally crushed to death by suffocation not able to expand his lungs to breathe under all that weight? Ronnie was NOT outside the plane laying on the ground. He was inside that plane buried under a ton of bodies and debris as I understand it. Now, as for Steve Gaines, again, this is just my opinion, but some band members were sitting at a table playing poker. The table was mounted on the wall of the plane and fixed in place. It is my understanding Steve was sitting either in front of or behind that table at the time of the crash. If he was sitting behind it facing forward on impact his body would have crashed into that table and a ton of bodies and seats and debris would have hit him from behind adding to his impact. If he was sitting in front of the table facing the rear of the plane then the reverse would have happened. The bodies and seats and debris inside that plane launched forward would have hit that table and launched it into Steve if his seat had remained in position. Either way, I think Steve was hit in his chest about where his heart and lungs were by the edge of that table at a very extreme force and I want to believe he was killed instantly. Imagine the heart being like a water balloon. With an impact like that on his chest, it is my opinion Steve was killed instantly from a ruptured heart. He did not suffer in my opinion. Last Edit: Feb 14, 2013 8:37:00 GMT -5 by Cagey Back to Top Post by Cagey on Feb 14, 2013 9:50:40 GMT -5 I just read the full NTSB crash report and will have to revise some of what I said about the flight elevation information. The basics of what I posted above is truthful, but the situation with the plane and its ability to reach cleared altitude will have to be revised to match information in the crash report. From what I just read the pilots were not on top of their game while in flight which is probably what put investigators all over them after the crash seeking information and witness testimony as to whether or not those pilots were on drugs or affected by alcohol from BEFORE the flight. (And whether or not there was marijuana being smoked in flight which might have affected them and their judgement) Apparently there was some sort of a change of course which involved altitude adjustments with one reason being a military base and military operations that required overflights to fly at specific altitude and the pilots were apparently unaware and non-responsive to air traffic control at one point one pilot apologized for his lack of contact and communication claiming he had his radio on the wrong frequency and did not hear air traffic control. After reading this I have to wonder what the heck was going on in the cockpit during flight. What was distracting those pilots from their job? Was it band members going to and from the cockpit bothering those pilots? Were the pilots struggling with the plane and simply not informing air traffic control about their in flight problems and was this distracting them from normal contact with air traffic control? It appears the plane was able to reach the cleared altitude which was about 12,000 feet, but possibly not able to maintain it due to the rough running engine and pilots not able to smooth it out and they made the decision to drop down to a lower altitude so the engine would run better? I am afraid this report opens the door to many more unanswered questions than it answered and could only conclude pilot error based on their findings which are not fully answered or satisfied during the investigation. ------------------------------- As for Steve Gaines position within the plane, he was sitting in seat number 5 which was directly in front of the wall mounted poker table and he was facing the rear of the plane. I still think he was hit in the chest by the edge of that table and killed instantly. As of right now I can not make this 100 page report available to you, but I will transcribe some of the findings here soon. It is really interesting to read. But, I want to say the investigators did not find anything wrong or out of tolerance with the engines and to this day it is called an "undetermined malfunction of the right engine"- and their tests of the engine parts was exhaustive. Investigators could not find fault with the plane. They concluded the fault of the crash with the pilots. The fuel consumption report is also very very interesting... and well documented in this report. One thing I found interesting is that the investigators never mentioned the plane as being possibly overweight. This is something band members and Ron Eckerman and others have claimed without proof- all personal speculation- which the investigators did NOT address and I have to wonder why. Last Edit: Feb 14, 2013 9:51:46 GMT -5 by Cagey 23:56:33 - N251WW - OK, I've been listening, ah, one twenty one point five and I haven't heard anything (unintelligible) and we don't have all that much fuel to tell you the truth. END OF AIR COMMUNICATIONS IN REPORT. In this report are the eyewitness accounts. A Dr. who treated the pilots on the day before the plane crash and saw them again on the day of the plane crash issuing corrective glasses to the co-pilot. There are statements in this crash report concerning groupies who wanted to fly on the plane. There is info in this report that shows how some of these groupies "following the band" tried to get members of the band or crew to take them on the plane too! Also, there is a statement from a man, James E. Brace, who went down on the plane who said he had no knowledge the plane was going down until he woke up about 3 to 5 minutes before the crash and that no one had warned him or notified him in any way that they were about to crash. And no one suggested he strap himself in either! ------------------------------- One other thing... the crash report says the plane was manufactured in 1947 and was 30 years old, not 27 at the time of the crash. And another issue of contention is exactly where the Skynyrd plane was when they banked back around to McComb airport. Some say 9 to 10 miles out in a direct straight line, in this report it is said 17 miles, and 15 miles, and what is not known is whether or not the distance of the turn around is part of this conclusion, but Houston thought McComb was the closest airport and so directed the pilots who took that and ran with it and it may have been a factor in life and death in the crash. If those pilots had not banked back around desperate for the airport there is the possibility they could have used what little fuel and engine power they had left to fly that plane almost safely in a crash landing in a nearby field or road, but as it is, they chose to make a turn and race for McComb and simply ran out of gas as she turned back around. The last words from a pilot on the Skynyrd plane was: 23:45:49 - N55VM - We're at four point five. In other words, we are coming down and there is nothing we can do about it. End of transmission from the Skynyrd plane. It was probably sheer terror and panic during those last 4,500 feet to the ground. Last Edit: Feb 14, 2013 11:21:00 GMT -5 by Cagey Back to Top Post by BlueMonday on Feb 14, 2013 19:28:28 GMT -5 Is there any particular reason other than lack of time that you can't make the full report available Cagey? The reason I'm asking is that I also have a copy of the complete report (at least I think it is the complete thing, it has 102 pages). I wouldn't have the time to scan the whole thing either but I could scan some of the pages. Maybe the technical section at the end (I understand very little of it, mind you, since I know nothing about this kind of stuff). The pilot, Walter McCreary, had previously served as co-pilot on the summer tour, so he must have had *some* experience of flying this exact plane. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding what happened on that fateful flight and since neither pilot survived, it's unlikely we'll ever know for sure what happened. I hope it's OK to give the sitting arrangement and summary of injuries, taken from the report: Forward Passenger Compartment - Seats 1 through 6 Seat #1, 2 or 3: Allen Collins - Cervical spine injury Seat #1, 2 or 3: Ronnie Van Zant - Fatal injuries Seat #1, 2 or 3: Dean Kilpatrick - Fatal injuries Seat #4: Kevin Elson - Atelectosis and fractures of right leg and ankle, pelvis and left leg Seat #5: Steve Gaines - Fatal injuries Seat #6: Gary Rossington - Fractures of left and right arms, right leg, and pelvis Center Passenger Compartment - Seats 7 through 18 Seat #7: Billy Powell - Severe facial lacerations and a deep 12 cm laceration near the right knee Seat #8: Clayton Johnson - Fractured right clavicle and left elbow Seat #9: Paul Welsh - Unconscious for over 100 hours; extent of injuries unknown Seat #10: Leon Wilkeson - Chest wound, fractured left arm and leg, and multiple abrasions Seat #11: Leslie Hawkins - Severe facial lacerations and cervical spine injuries Seat #12: William Skyes - Compound fracture of the left humerus Seat #13: Cassie Gaines - Fatal injuries Seat #14: James Brace - Fractured left arm, chest wound and abrasions Seat #15: Kenneth Peden - Multiple contusions and abrasions Seat #16: Joe Osborne - Multiple facial lacerations, fractured ribs, and right clavicle Seat #17: Artimus Pyle - Multiple contusions and abrasions Seat #18: Don Krtzschman - Chest injury and abrasions Rear Passenger Compartment - Seats 19 through 24 Seat #19: Mark Howard - Fractured right clavicle and possible skull fracture Seat #20: Craig Reed - Chest wound, multiple lacerations and abrasions, and fractured right arm Seat #21: Ron Eckerman - Contusion of the chest, fractured ribs and left middle finger Seat #22: Steve Lawler - Contusion of the chest, severe bruising of left elbow, and lacerations of forehead and eyebrow Seat #23: Mark Frank - Multiple abrasions on face and arms Seat #24: Gene Odom - Eye injuries, deep scalp lacerations, facial bone fractures, and acid or chemical burn on the left lower arm. If it's OK to post scans, I'll scan the sketch of the interior of the plane, showing where the seats were in relation to one another. It clearly shows Gary and Steve sitting on each side of the poker table, with Steve closer to the front of the plane. Last Edit: Feb 14, 2013 19:31:17 GMT -5 by BlueMonday I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around

Lynyrd Skynyrd

What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound? A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows it's?

The Curse of Lynyrd Skynyrd - Guitar Tricks Forum The curse of lynyrd skynyrd Posts: 303 The Curse of Lynyrd Skynyrd In the 1940s and '50s, Southern rock was more a description of an artist's birthplace than a definitive musical style. Many of rock's earliest pioneers—artists like Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly—were identified more by their Southern roots than they were their musical themes, which were somewhat broader than the region. With the British Invasion and the rise of folk rock and psychedelic rock in the '60s, focus shifted away from the rural south for a time and onto large cities like Liverpool, London, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. But the South reclaimed its place in the spotlight with the dawn of the '70s, when a different wave of Southern rock emerged, one that infused music with a unique blend of rock, country, gospel and blues and a heaping measure of good old Southern attitude. The Deep South, looking to redefine its identity in the post-civil rights era, saw bands like the Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels, and Marshall Tucker rise to prominence and transform American music. Southern rock was on the map. Suddenly everyone wanted to be a redneck. One of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed groups to come out of this period was Lynyrd Skynyrd. With their signature triple-lead guitar, boogie rhythms, and lyrics that extolled the values, aspirations and excesses of the Southern working class, Skynyrd spearheaded a second wave of Southern rock that was a little grittier than their fellow Rebels. They dominated the genre with anthems like the enduring "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama," and were on course to realize their dream of playing at the level of their idols—groups like the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and The Beatles—when tragedy struck and decimated the band. The story of the ill-fated Southern rockers begins in 1964 on a baseball field in Jacksonville, Florida, where a twelve-year-old Gary Rossington and a thirteen-year-old Bob Burns were watching a little league game when Burns was hit in the head by a foul ball off the bat of a sixteen-year-old kid named Ronnie Van Zant. After Van Zant ran out to make sure the unconscious Burns was okay, the three boys became fast friends. They soon discovered they shared not only a love of baseball (Van Zant and Rossington both had dreams of pursuing a career in the major league), but of music as well. Soon enough the trio formed a band they called My Backyard with Ronnie on vocals, Gary on guitar, Bob on drums, and fellow Jacksonvillians and friends Allen Collins on guitar and Larry Junstrom on bass. The five teenagers practiced in the Burns' carport. Throughout high school, they learned what they could by watching other performers and by dissecting songs they heard on the radio. The band played their first gig when Ronnie's brother-in-law hired them as cheap entertainment for his company Christmas party. Over the next five years, the fledgling band would change their name many times—from My Backyard to The Noble Five to Conqueror Worm, Sons of Satan, the Wildcats, and the One Percent. Utilizing some creative vowel work, the group finally settled on Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1970, paying mock tribute to their high school gym teacher Leonard Skinner, the nemesis of all "longhairs" including Gary and Bob, whom he'd disciplined back in the '60s for letting their hair grow. Skynyrd started playing juke joints all over north Florida and Georgia and quickly established themselves as one hot jukin' band. They won the opening slot on several Southeast shows for the California-based psychedelic rock outfit Strawberry Alarm Clock, whose guitarist, Ed King, would join Skynyrd in 1972, briefly replacing Leon Wilkeson (who became Larry Junstrom's permanent replacement when Junstrom moved to Miami) on bass. When Wilkeson eventually rejoined the band, King stayed on with Skynyrd, switching to guitar as part of the group's distinctive triple-guitar sound along with Rossington and Collins. By now Lynyrd Skynyrd were being managed by Alan Walden. They secured some cheap studio time at Muscle Shoals in Alabama after session men Jimmy Johnson and Barry Beckett liked what they'd heard of Skynyrd's music. Walden shopped the demos around, but unbeknownst to him, somehow the tape got twisted on the reel so that it played on the wrong side, resulting in a muffled sound. Skynyrd were unceremoniously turned down by every record label Walden approached. The band's big break continued to elude them, and they returned to the grueling Southern bar circuit. During these lean years, minor personnel changes occurred from time to time, but the core of Allen, Gary and Ronnie, along with Ed King, Leon Wilkeson, and Billy Powell (who had served as Skynyrd's roadie for two years before being invited to join the group in 1972 on keyboards) held the band together. Things finally started to gel for Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1973 during a week-long stint at Funochios in Atlanta, Georgia. It was there that the band were discovered by musician and renowned producer Al Kooper (Dylan, Blood, Sweat & Tears), who had attended one of their shows while out scouting talent for his new label, Sounds of the South, a subsidiary of MCA Records. After signing with Kooper, Skynyrd went to work writing their first album. Holed up in tiny old cabin with a tin roof located in the woods on a farm in Green Cove Springs, Florida, the band wrote and rehearsed from 9 in the morning till dusk, everyday without fail, in 100-degree temperatures and 100% humidity, with alligators crawling up out of the creek and thieves coming down it by boat to steal their amps at night. Hell House, as it was called, was where Skynyrd wrote most of their first two albums. With Kooper at the helm, the band entered the recording studio. Skynyrd's debut album, (Pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nerd), was released in August 1973 and included Southern rock standards like "Gimme Three Steps," "Simple Man," and the incendiary, guitar-driven classic, "Free Bird." The beloved anthem earned Lynyrd Skynyrd national attention and became one of the most requested songs in the history of rock music. Following MCA's debut of the band, Skynyrd was chosen to be the opening act for the North American leg of The Who's 1973 Quadrophenia Tour. The success of (Pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nerd) led to almost constant touring, which only escalated after the release of the band's sophomore effort, Second Helping, in April 1974. That album included the monster single, "Sweet Home Alabama," which some consider to be the greatest Southern rock song ever written. As the pressures of the road increased, heavy partying began to take a toll. Bob Burns left Skynyrd, the band he helped found, due to being overwhelmed by life on the road and was replaced by drummer Artimus Pyle. When the time came for recording their third album, the band's creativity was at an all-time low. Skynyrd entered the studio with only "Saturday Night Special" written, and spent weeks trying to finish the Nuthin' Fancy album, released in March 1975, in between tour dates. The hectic schedule soon grew too much for guitarist Ed King, who slipped away in the dead of a Pittsburgh night in the middle of 1975s Torture Tour. By the time the band were ready to cut their fourth album, Skynyrd realized that things had to change if they were to keep themselves from completely self-destructing. They hired on a female backup vocal group called The Honkettes, which consisted of JoJo Billingsley, Cassie Gaines, and Leslie Hawkins, and made changes in management. Gimme Back My Bullets, released in February 1976, represented a conscious effort to improve both the band's sound and their tattered image. While the crowds were as big as ever, Skynyrd had lost some of their bite over the years. They decided to restore their trademark three-guitar lineup, and hopefully a lot of the Skynyrd spark, when they hired on guitarist Steve Gaines, brother of vocalist Cassie. Steve rounded out Skynyrd's sound and radiated an infectious enthusiasm that motivated everyone else in the group. Just a few weeks after Steve joined the band, Skynyrd recorded its first live album, One More From the Road. The excitement generated by the release of the two-record set in September 1976 carried over to the new concert tours and their next album, Street Survivors. Skynyrd's fifth studio record reflected a new maturity in songwriting and musicianship for the band. It featured the singles "What's Your Name" and "That Smell." Street Survivors, released on October 17, 1977, recaptured much of the raw power and freshness of Skynyrd's early albums. It sold a half million copies right out of the gate, and peaked at #5 on the Billboard chart, giving Skynyrd their first top 5 album. A lifelong dream of Ronnie Van Zant's was about to come true when Lynyrd Skynyrd were set to headline some of the most prestigious venues in the country, including Madison Square Garden. The band were on top of the world when, on October 20, 1977, at 6:42 PM, just three days after the release of Street Survivors and five dates into the celebrated tour, the pilot of Skynyrd's chartered Convair 240 airplane radioed that the craft was dangerously low on fuel. Less than ten minutes later, the plane plummeted into a densely wooded thicket in the middle of a Mississippi swamp. Ronnie Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, and road manager Dean Kilpatrick were all killed instantly, as were both pilots. The rest of the band and crew were seriously injured. The horror was graphic. In an interview with Uncut magazine, Artimus Pyle spoke of clambering through the shredded roof of the downed plane to find the co-pilot decapitated in a tree and Kilpatrick lying face down with the fuselage wedged in his back. “We were approaching the peak of our career,” Billy Powell said of that time. “Then all of a sudden, due to gross negligence and pilot error, we were down to nothing. We were very bitter about what happened. [The crash] had a major psychological effect on all of us.” Indeed, the disaster has haunted the survivors down the decades. Allen Collins lost his wife Kathy in 1980 when she died suddenly of a massive hemorrhage during a miscarriage of their third child. And then in January 1986, Collins crashed his new Ford Thunderbird in Jacksonville when he lost control and flipped the car, killing his girlfriend and paralyzing himself from the waist down and limiting the use of his arms and hands. Collins would never again play guitar on stage. He pled no contest to a DUI manslaughter charge but was spared a prison sentence since his injuries made it obvious he would never again be a threat to society. Four years after the crash, with his condition steadily deteriorating, Allen Collins died of pneumonia-related causes on January 23, 1990, at the age of 37. Bassist Leon Wilkeson served a three-month jail sentence for beating up his girlfriend in 1993. He died in a Florida hotel room in July 2001 of natural causes. He had apparently been suffering from chronic liver and lung disease. Wilkeson was 49 years old. In 1992 Artimus Pyle was arrested in Jacksonville Beach and charged with sexual battery against his daughters, aged 4 and 8. Facing a potential life sentence, Pyle arranged a plea bargain with prosecutors to spare the children a trial. He received eight years of probation and was entered into the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's "Sexual Offender" database. Pyle has always maintained that his longtime girlfriend and mother of their daughters had him arrested on bogus charges after he'd lost his rockstar status. Little was known of this incident until November 2007 when Pyle was arrested in St. Johns County, Florida, for failure to register as a sex offender. Artimus Pyle was acquitted of all charges after a jury trial. In September 1996, Billy Powell was charged with domestic violence after allegedly attacking his wife at their Jacksonville home after an argument over a cell phone. He, too, was cleared. Powell died of an apparent heart attack in January 2009 at the age of 56. With death, injury, illness, and lawsuits stalking their post-crash history, some have suggested Lynyrd Skynyrd are hexed. But this badass band from the Deep South were imbued with an indomitable spirit. The surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a tribute tour with Ronnie's brother Johnny as its heart. For the past 25 years now, Johnny Van Zant and guitarist Gary Rossington, the last man left standing of the legendary band's founding lineup, have been keeping the music of Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Bob Burns and company alive in a very reverent and respectable manner. The current incarnation of Skynyrd has just released a new album. Titled Last of a Dyin' Breed, it is the band’s first studio album since 2009s God & Guns. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Rossington says of their latest effort, which debuted at #14 on the Billboard Top 20, Skynyrd's highest chart debut since 1977s Street Survivor, "We're a band on the run and a dying breed; we feel like old bikers and touring bands of the Seventies and Sixties and Eighties. That's kind of a dying breed of bands. You don't see them around as much. It's more of single acts and dancing and hip-hop. Mostly just pop music." As the last link to the original spark that resulted in "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama," you might say likewise of Rossington the man. For more on Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Golden Age of Southern rock, check out the BBC documentary Sweet Home Alabama - The Southern Rock Saga. It's a fascinating look back on America in the wake of the civil rights movement and the music that came out of the American South during that period. There's some pretty cool early demo footage of "Freebird" too. #1 Joined: 10/22/11 Posts: 453 I remember the day I heard One More from The Road. I had heard Skynyrd on the radio, liked it. But when I dropped the cassette into the player. I was blown away, every song rocked and kicked so much jelled together azz that I would not let my friends play any other music. I listened to it 7 times in a row the first day and do not remember how many times the next day. I spent 4 years in school bands when I was younger and the last 1.5 years playing in a 5 man band. Always working to get it tight. So when I heard 3 guitar players playing as one I was amazed till I heard the dueling leads. Note for note, Bend for bend then the 3rd guitar player would add little licks behind and on top of the other two as they were playing screaming leads. They did it song after song LIVE for a Whole Double Album. I believe the music world lost as much when they died as when Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn or any other blow rocked it. Wildwoman1313 you did a great job on your article. Thank you for taking the time and doing the research to do it well. #4

i don't know

Sunday marks the anniversary of the introduction of the game-changing IPod. In what year was it introduced?

October 2010 World's smallest Full HD display unveiled by Ortustech When Apple introduced the fourth generation iPhone last June, Steve Jobs made a lot of hay about the 326 pixel-per-inch density of its 960 x 640 Retina display. To date, that's the highest pixel density found on any portable device, but it may not be for long. Casio and Toppan have a joint venture called Ortustech that has just announced a 4.8-inch diagonal display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. For the mathematically challenged among us, that works out to a massive 458 ppi density, meaning that no human (at least) is likely to be complaining about being able to see individual pixels. Now That's What I Call a Sexy Gadget Armor plated military underwear, resembling somewhat its medieval sister 'chastity-belt', is very economic in material yet does not fail to protect the very sensitive areas. The highly effective flexible straps assures her undies will remain in place while under the most stringent of conditions. Say Hello to the Fish; the Mouse is Dead! The mouse is dead! Long live the fish. For all the lazy bums who like to lie around on couches and bed and operate the computer lying down or lazing around, the fish is new hand held mouse that will revolutionaries the way we use our mouse. The fish handheld mouse has no complicated things to adhere to, it comes with a plug that can be plugged into any USB port and the fish is ready to be used It is hand held and hence you can lie down and surf the net, play games, design or do editing or any work on your computer. At times when you are in a flight or travelling somewhere and you don’t have enough space to place your mouse it becomes difficult to work. The fish handheld mouse overcomes all such worries, just hold it in your hand and operate. It doesn’t require a working area. The fish handheld mouse is ideal for use on your laptops or while travelling in trains or planes, and yes during presentation you don’t have to go to the table and click to keep changing the slides. Now presentations can be spontaneous as it is a very perfect controller for business presentations. -Latest Gadget News Gadgets Make Men Happier Men are more likely to rate technology as a necessity of life than women, a recent survey suggests. The UMR Research survey conducted in New Zealand indicated that men placed more importance on having a home computer, high-speed internet, a microwave and Sky TV than women. The research also showed that the younger people were more likely to view technology as something they could do without. The top four necessities for those aged 18-29 years were car at 74 per cent, mobile phone at 71 per cent, home computer at 63 per cent, and high-speed internet at 55 per cent. These were all rated lower than three of the top four necessities for those aged over 60 -- landline telephone, car and television. -World News Australia  The research showed that trends also played an important role. Technology that was more popular when respondents were younger was more likely to be viewed as a necessity of life. Older people were more likely to think a television and a landline was more important than an MP3 player or a mobile phone. About 750 people, aged 18 and over, were involved in the nationwide survey. Light Torch: a touch screen computer projector The gadget, Light Touch, uses holographic laser-projection technology to beam a 10in virtual touch-screen on to any surface. Infrared sensors detect the finger taps of the user, and allows them to type words, or open and close programs and applications. It runs Windows CE, a basic version of Microsoft's popular operating system, and users can use it to write a letter or watch a video. Sweeping a hand across the surface enables users to flick between photos or programs. "The opportunities for Light Touch extend beyond consumer electronics," said Chris Harris, chief executive of Light Blue Optics. "It could profoundly change the way people interact with multimedia content and the built environment." Firms such as Adobe, Microsoft and Toshiba are rumoured to be interested in the technology. "We believe that today's consumer is no longer a passive viewer of multimedia content," said Harris. "People expect to engage, interact and share content, and our prototype enables them to do that in new and exciting ways." Light Blue Optics, the Cambridge-based company behind the projector, is showcasing the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But the Light Touch is not being sold directly to consumers; instead, the company hopes to license the technology to other major electronics manufacturers to use in their products. -Telegraph Que Plastic Logic reader, a rival for iPad? OK, what is different about this Plastic Logic reader?  One: it is a potential rival for iPad. Part tablet computer, part e-book reader, it is aimed, according to its British based manufacturer, at businessmen rather than consumers, allowing them to view and edit documents, download newspapers, manage their schedule and read e-books on an entirely shatterproof gadget. Two: price: $649 price ($799 if you want lifetime data connectivity from AT&T). Three: a very thin and flat body with an 11.6-inch screen with touch capability, the bezel is entirely free of buttons except for “home,” just like an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad of course. Four: Plastic Logic has agreed partnerships with over 300 newspapers and magazines to have their content specially formatted for the device to preserve the print-like formatting – an important aspect of those publications that is largely lost on other e-readers. The End of Sony Cassette Walkman After 30 years, Sony has announced that they will stop manufacturing and selling the venerable cassette Walkman. In a poetic twist, the official death of the Walkman lands on the iPod's 9th anniversary. The Sony Walkman was introduced on July 1, 1979 in Japan and it was a major breakthrough in delivering a low-cost portable stereo. It wasn't an overnight hit though, it was largely panned by the media and only sold 3,000 units by the end of July. But Sony kept on pushing, targeting the Walkman toward the younger market and advertising it with younger pop stars. By the end of August, sales increased 10-fold and later in the early 80's it became the must-have item for everyone. Over its 30 year history of the Cassette Walkman, Sony sold 200 million units. A portable music player became a part of our lives, largely because of the Walkman. It's amazing to not think of the Walkman when it comes to portable music players but the introduction of the iPod and iTunes and the iPod's ensuing dominance has pretty much phased that idea out. The iPod was introduced on October 23, 2001 and though also originally ignored, the iPod has grown at a ridiculous rate and seamlessly moved on to various versions, different form factors and more power and capability. A portable music player couldn't just be a music player anymore, largely because of the iPod. In reality, the cassette Walkman died many years ago because of the CD player (or Discman), not the iPod. But the Walkman's dominance in the portable music player market died because of Sony's mistakes in betting on losing technology and not tying the portable experience with easy to use desktop software. Those missteps gave way for the iPod. So really, having the Walkman's officially die on the anniversary of the iPod's birth couldn't be any more perfect. -Gizmodo

two thousand and one

With a length of up to 10 feet, what name is given to the largest of concert pianos?

October 2010 World's smallest Full HD display unveiled by Ortustech When Apple introduced the fourth generation iPhone last June, Steve Jobs made a lot of hay about the 326 pixel-per-inch density of its 960 x 640 Retina display. To date, that's the highest pixel density found on any portable device, but it may not be for long. Casio and Toppan have a joint venture called Ortustech that has just announced a 4.8-inch diagonal display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. For the mathematically challenged among us, that works out to a massive 458 ppi density, meaning that no human (at least) is likely to be complaining about being able to see individual pixels. Now That's What I Call a Sexy Gadget Armor plated military underwear, resembling somewhat its medieval sister 'chastity-belt', is very economic in material yet does not fail to protect the very sensitive areas. The highly effective flexible straps assures her undies will remain in place while under the most stringent of conditions. Say Hello to the Fish; the Mouse is Dead! The mouse is dead! Long live the fish. For all the lazy bums who like to lie around on couches and bed and operate the computer lying down or lazing around, the fish is new hand held mouse that will revolutionaries the way we use our mouse. The fish handheld mouse has no complicated things to adhere to, it comes with a plug that can be plugged into any USB port and the fish is ready to be used It is hand held and hence you can lie down and surf the net, play games, design or do editing or any work on your computer. At times when you are in a flight or travelling somewhere and you don’t have enough space to place your mouse it becomes difficult to work. The fish handheld mouse overcomes all such worries, just hold it in your hand and operate. It doesn’t require a working area. The fish handheld mouse is ideal for use on your laptops or while travelling in trains or planes, and yes during presentation you don’t have to go to the table and click to keep changing the slides. Now presentations can be spontaneous as it is a very perfect controller for business presentations. -Latest Gadget News Gadgets Make Men Happier Men are more likely to rate technology as a necessity of life than women, a recent survey suggests. The UMR Research survey conducted in New Zealand indicated that men placed more importance on having a home computer, high-speed internet, a microwave and Sky TV than women. The research also showed that the younger people were more likely to view technology as something they could do without. The top four necessities for those aged 18-29 years were car at 74 per cent, mobile phone at 71 per cent, home computer at 63 per cent, and high-speed internet at 55 per cent. These were all rated lower than three of the top four necessities for those aged over 60 -- landline telephone, car and television. -World News Australia  The research showed that trends also played an important role. Technology that was more popular when respondents were younger was more likely to be viewed as a necessity of life. Older people were more likely to think a television and a landline was more important than an MP3 player or a mobile phone. About 750 people, aged 18 and over, were involved in the nationwide survey. Light Torch: a touch screen computer projector The gadget, Light Touch, uses holographic laser-projection technology to beam a 10in virtual touch-screen on to any surface. Infrared sensors detect the finger taps of the user, and allows them to type words, or open and close programs and applications. It runs Windows CE, a basic version of Microsoft's popular operating system, and users can use it to write a letter or watch a video. Sweeping a hand across the surface enables users to flick between photos or programs. "The opportunities for Light Touch extend beyond consumer electronics," said Chris Harris, chief executive of Light Blue Optics. "It could profoundly change the way people interact with multimedia content and the built environment." Firms such as Adobe, Microsoft and Toshiba are rumoured to be interested in the technology. "We believe that today's consumer is no longer a passive viewer of multimedia content," said Harris. "People expect to engage, interact and share content, and our prototype enables them to do that in new and exciting ways." Light Blue Optics, the Cambridge-based company behind the projector, is showcasing the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But the Light Touch is not being sold directly to consumers; instead, the company hopes to license the technology to other major electronics manufacturers to use in their products. -Telegraph Que Plastic Logic reader, a rival for iPad? OK, what is different about this Plastic Logic reader?  One: it is a potential rival for iPad. Part tablet computer, part e-book reader, it is aimed, according to its British based manufacturer, at businessmen rather than consumers, allowing them to view and edit documents, download newspapers, manage their schedule and read e-books on an entirely shatterproof gadget. Two: price: $649 price ($799 if you want lifetime data connectivity from AT&T). Three: a very thin and flat body with an 11.6-inch screen with touch capability, the bezel is entirely free of buttons except for “home,” just like an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad of course. Four: Plastic Logic has agreed partnerships with over 300 newspapers and magazines to have their content specially formatted for the device to preserve the print-like formatting – an important aspect of those publications that is largely lost on other e-readers. The End of Sony Cassette Walkman After 30 years, Sony has announced that they will stop manufacturing and selling the venerable cassette Walkman. In a poetic twist, the official death of the Walkman lands on the iPod's 9th anniversary. The Sony Walkman was introduced on July 1, 1979 in Japan and it was a major breakthrough in delivering a low-cost portable stereo. It wasn't an overnight hit though, it was largely panned by the media and only sold 3,000 units by the end of July. But Sony kept on pushing, targeting the Walkman toward the younger market and advertising it with younger pop stars. By the end of August, sales increased 10-fold and later in the early 80's it became the must-have item for everyone. Over its 30 year history of the Cassette Walkman, Sony sold 200 million units. A portable music player became a part of our lives, largely because of the Walkman. It's amazing to not think of the Walkman when it comes to portable music players but the introduction of the iPod and iTunes and the iPod's ensuing dominance has pretty much phased that idea out. The iPod was introduced on October 23, 2001 and though also originally ignored, the iPod has grown at a ridiculous rate and seamlessly moved on to various versions, different form factors and more power and capability. A portable music player couldn't just be a music player anymore, largely because of the iPod. In reality, the cassette Walkman died many years ago because of the CD player (or Discman), not the iPod. But the Walkman's dominance in the portable music player market died because of Sony's mistakes in betting on losing technology and not tying the portable experience with easy to use desktop software. Those missteps gave way for the iPod. So really, having the Walkman's officially die on the anniversary of the iPod's birth couldn't be any more perfect. -Gizmodo

i don't know

A viscous byproduct from its manufacture, what is the syrup drained from raw sugar called?

Is Maple Syrup Better than White Sugar – Food For Thought by blogfoodforthought 1 Comment This week at school I had a guest speaker in my nutrition class who talked about maple syrup. What he shared was really interesting so I thought I’d share it with you all! To start with, I think it is safe to say that Canada and maple syrup are pretty much synonymous. Maple syrup is one of the first things people think of when they think of Canada. The Canadian flag even boasts the leaf of the sugar maple, which is the main tree maple syrup comes from! This makes it no surprise that Canada is the major producer of maple syrup in the world, accounting for 85% of the world’s maple syrup production. Interestingly, this production comes from only four of the ten provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The other 15% of syrup production comes from the Northeastern part of the United States. History of Maple Syrup Maple syrup was discovered by the Native population, but there is no written history about its discovery so the belief is that it was probably discovered by accident. Today, the basic use of the tree sap is for maple syrup but back then they had no container to store such a thing, so they preserved food by either salting it or drying it. Native settlers took the tree sap, which is composed of 98% water and 2% sugar, and boiled it to remove all the water. The end product was a hard block of maple sugar. A piece could then be broken off and boiled in water to make syrup, or simply grated to make sugar. Making Maple Syrup Today Maple producers today tap anywhere from 5000 to 60,000 trees each! After a day of sap running (i.e. tapping), a truck comes and takes the sap to the sugar camp (building where sap is processed). The sap is boiled until it reaches the industry standard of at least 66% sugar, but no more than 68%, otherwise sugar crystals start to form and it is no longer “syrup”. When the product is finished (determined by temperature and gravity), the sap is drained, filtered and stored in stainless steel drums. These drums then wait to be purchased from companies who can bottle the syrup and sell it to customers! Grades of Maple Syrup If you have ever bought real maple syrup, you may have noticed that there were different colors. These different colors are called “grades.” At the beginning of the season the sap is very light, but darkens as the season continues. This means the chemistry of the sap is different every day of the season, and thus gives the different grades of syrup. The darker the syrup, the stronger the flavor. We got to taste three different grades of syrup: amber (dark), medium and light. Nothing like shots of maple syrup at 9am! Other Maple Products Turns out maple syrup is not the only thing “maple” that is made from maple sap. The guest speaker showed us a variety of other products including maple butter, maple sugar, maple coffee, and surprisingly maple wine, maple pepper and maple barbecue sauce! Health of Maple Syrup As noted in my Natural Sweeteners post, maple syrup is indeed a much healthier option than white refined sugar because it is a natural product. The downside, is that it is low in nutrients compared to the energy it provides, so it is basically just a flavoring and/or sweetener. There really is no nutritional value. Fun Facts There are over 75 varieties of maple trees but only 2-3 that can be used to make syrup – wow! Trees also have to be 50-75 years old before they can first be tapped, however once tapped, they can be tapped again and again for over 100 years! It has been proven that the long-term income is greater from tapping the tree, than if you were to cut it down for timber or firewood. Interesting! If you have never had real maple syrup, you better call your nearest Canadian friend and get them to send you some pronto! Its sweet taste has nothing on Mrs. Butterworth or Aunt Jemima! I am proud to call a country with such a divine delicacy my home! Share this: by blogfoodforthought 3 Comments Okay, so I’ve talked about both regular sugar and artificial sweeteners . Now it’s time to talk about natural sweeteners. Ah, it’s like music to my ears. “Natural.” These must be better for us than “refined” sugar and “artificial” sweeteners…right? What sweeteners are considered “natural”? Pure Coconut Palm Sugar This unique sugar is similar to white sugar with its granular texture and tastes similar to brown sugar but is slightly richer. It derived by extracting the sap of palm trees. Coconut sugar has a naturally low glycemic index, which makes it a viable sweetener for diabetics. The number of calories in coconut sugar is almost identical to those in white sugar. However, coconut sugar is notably higher in various micronutrients, including amino acids, potassium, magnesium and iron. Coconut sugar is an extremely popular sugar substitute because of 1:1 ratio for white sugar. Unlike other sweeteners where you might have to add more of this and less of that, you can substitute coconut sugar for the exact amount of white sugar a recipe calls for. Again, it is very similar to regular white sugar, but the manufacturing process is more natural, which is why it is called a “natural” sweetener. Stevia Stevia is actually an herb, native to South America and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. Although it is so much sweeter than sugar, it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels like white sugar does. Some say it tastes like licorice while others say it has an unpleasant bitter taste. The Japanese have used it widely for over a hundred years and promote it as a very healthful option. However, like just about everything, the jury is still out as to whether stevia really is a safe natural sweetener or not. Molasses Molasses is actually a byproduct of white sugar production. Because of the way traditional tabletop sugar is produced (heating the top layer which from the crystals you have in your bowl), many of the nutritional benefits are left in the molasses. Blackstrap molasses is the most beneficial and is a good source of iron and calcium. It is also full of copper, manganese, potassium and magnesium. Molasses is quite thick and is best used in baking. It is also sweeter than sugar, which means you’ll need less. 100% Pure Maple Syrup Maple syrup is a viscous amber liquid that has a sweet earthy taste. It is made from the sap of the sugar, black or red maple tree. The sap is clear and almost tasteless and very low in sugar content when it is first tapped. It is then boiled to evaporate the water producing syrup with the characteristic flavor and color of maple syrup and sugar content of about 60%. Maple syrup may be a popular sweetener choice for many due to its lower calories and higher concentration of minerals compared to honey, agave syrup and white sugar. If maple syrup is your natural sweetener of choice, it is important you get 100% PURE maple syrup. The “pure” means it is free of chemically modified and artificial ingredients and truly is all natural. Pure maple syrup contains nothing but maple syrup! Raw Honey The liquid honey sold in stores has been heavily processed and is really not much different than white sugar. This processing eliminates most, if not all, of the health benefits of honey. Looking at cultures that have been using honey for centuries as healing purposes, it has been found that they use RAW honey. Studies on raw honey have proven it to have antibiotic, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Many people also use raw honey topically on cuts and scrapes to help fight infection. With antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates and phytonutrients, raw honey is considered a “superfood” by many. Agave Syrup Agave syrup (pronounced AH-GAH-VAY) is similar in color and taste to honey, and is much sweeter than table sugar. Agave is a large, spikey plant that can be found in the volcanic soils of Southern Mexico. These plants are best known as the plant that tequila comes from! The leaves of the plant are harvested to reveal the core of the plant, where sap is extracted. Because it is heated at such a low temperature, it is said to be less processed and more natural. It is also a naturally occurring food, like honey and maple syrup. There is some controversy over agave syrup because of its high fructose (bad sugar) content, similar to that in high-fructose corn syrup. If you do use agave, it is recommended that you only buy certified organic and raw agave syrup for maximum purity and health benefits. Source: All About Agave So which one is the best? The straight truth is that NO sugar, regardless of where it comes from, will ever be optimal for regular human consumption. From the above natural sweeteners, blackstrap molasses and pure maple syrup are the most nutritious. Whatever sweetener you choose, make sure that you get the most organic, least processed, pure version of it! Alternatively, simply forgo the sugar/sweetener altogether. You might be surprised as to how good things can still be without all the sugar, especially in a lot of baking! A lot of the fresh juices I make call for two apples to sweeten them, when they taste just as good and sweet with only one! Read part one of this “sweet trilogy” – Sugar & Sugar Addiction Read part two of this “sweet trilogy”  – Artificial Sweeteners Be sure to follow me on Facebook for more frequent updates and extras!  Share this:

Molasses

Oct 24, 1964 saw Northern Rhodesia gained independence from the United Kingdom and promptly changed its' name. By what name do we now know it?

When Sugar Flows | Baking Business | Baking Industry News and Opinions September 1, 2007 - by Donna Berry Share This: Whether used as food for yeast to make select baked foods rise, as a sweetening agent or for browning, sugar is an important ingredient in many baked foods. Bakers often overlook the myriad of liquid sweeteners and syrups in the marketplace that possess additional, often subtle, benefits beyond these three primary reasons for adding sugar to a dough or batter. It is important to note that bakers cannot simply perform a 1:1 substitution of a liquid sweetener or syrup for sugar in a formulation. Each has different properties, and the formula may not bake the same way unless other ingredients or usage levels are adjusted. LIQUID ALLIES The most common liquid sugars are invert sugar, corn syrup, honey and molasses. Also, other viscous carbohydrate-based liquids provide unique flavor profiles as well as functional benefits. To understand how liquid sweeteners differ, it’s imperative to understand the chemical structure of sucrose, also known as granulated sugar. Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of two monosaccharides: glucose and fructose. Sucrose possesses a relative sweetness of 100, the base for comparing with other sweeteners. Through a process called inversion, sucrose can be split into its two component sugars, with the resulting product called invert sugar. Traditional invert sugar is a liquid product that contains equal amounts of glucose (relative sweetness about 70) and fructose (relative sweetness about 120). The difference in sweetness levels of the two component sugars results in invert sugar being sweeter than table sugar. Because commercial invert sugars are blends of sucrose and invert syrups, they are available in an array of sugar profiles and sweetness levels. Corn syrup is somewhat of a misnomer , because it refers to a group of sweeteners that differ in glucose concentration. In fact, commercial corn syrups may contain between 20 to 98% glucose. Corn syrups enriched with fructose are manufactured from syrups that have been treated to contain as much glucose as possible. Nearly all the glucose in these corn syrups is isomerized into fructose, making them exceptionally sweet. Such high-fructose corn syrups (HFCS) are blended with glucose syrups, resulting in syrups ranging from 42 to 95% fructose, by weight. The more fructose, the sweeter the syrup. HFCS is typically used for its sweetening power. Bakers turn to other corn syrups such as regular conversion corn syrup (relative sweetness about 30) and high-maltose corn syrup (relative sweetness about 34) for body, bulk and a bit of sweetness. Substituting any corn syrup for sugar can be beneficial to a formulation, because corn syrup contributes smoothness, moisture and chewiness to baked foods such as cakes, cookies and pies. It also makes an ideal glaze and can assist with toppings. Often characterized as being the most all-natural sweetener, honey happens to be the oldest sweetener known to man. The color and flavor of honey varies with the flower nectar gathered by bees who produce honey. In general, the darker the honey, the stronger its flavor. Composed primarily of glucose and fructose, honey is typically one to 1.5 times sweeter than sugar. About 95% of the carbohydrates in honey are fermentable, an advantage in bakery applications. Baked foods made with honey tend to be moist because the fructose in it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. Honey also helps extend shelf life because it releases moisture slowly and absorbs humidity. Bakers must keep in mind that too much honey in a recipe may cause the product to become too brown. Furthermore, honey cannot be directly substituted for sugar in a recipe. To replace 1,000 g of sugar, use 1,214 g of honey and reduce water by 214 g. Unless the formula includes sour cream or buttermilk, add baking soda to neutralize the acidity. Also, the high heat of baking turns honey brown faster than granulated sugar; thus, oven temperatures should be lowered. Molasses is a byproduct of the cane and beet sugar refining process. Cane or beet juice is boiled into a syrupy mixture before the sugar crystals are removed, and the color and flavor of the resulting molasses depends on how many times the sugar is extracted. The first extraction yields light molasses, the sweetest molasses. Dark molasses comes from the second extraction and is moderately sweet. Possessing a stronger flavor than light molasses, dark molasses is a mainstay in gingerbread making. The third extraction produces blackstrap molasses, a very dark and strong-tasting syrup that is hardly sweet and not suitable for baking. When substituting molasses for sugar, the suggested ratio is 1.3 parts molasses to one part sugar. To accommodate for the extra moisture from the additional molasses, decrease liquid ingredients by about one-third. Finally, because molasses is more acidic than sugar, it may require neutralizing through the addition of baking soda. A good ratio to follow is one part baking soda to 100 parts molasses. OTHER SYRUPY SOLUTIONS Maple syrup is the next most common liquid sweetener. Real maple syrup comes from certain parts of northeastern North America and is obtained by tapping trees, collecting sap and boiling. The heat concentrates the watery sap and caramelizes the natural sugars. The US Department of Agriculture assigns voluntary grades to maple syrup. Grade A Light Amber is very light in color and has a faint, delicate maple flavor. It is usually made earlier in the season when the weather is colder. Grade A Medium Amber is darker and has an easily discernable maple flavor. As its name implies, Grade A Dark Amber is very dark and has a strong maple flavor. Of all the Grade A varieties, Dark Amber is most often used in baked foods. Grade B, sometimes called cooking syrup, is extremely dark in color and has a strong maple taste with hints of caramel. Because of its strong flavor, this variety is predominantly used in baked foods. In general, when substituting maple syrup for granular sugar in baked foods, for every one part sugar use 1.5 parts maple syrup. Reduce other liquids in the formula by about one-half. The addition of baking soda is also often necessary to neutralize the system. Finally, oven temperatures should be decreased by about 25 F°. Golden syrup, which is especially popular in England, is made from evaporated cane juice. As its name implies, golden syrup has high clarity with a golden hue. It has the smooth consistency of corn syrup and a unique rich, toasty, butterscotch flavor. It readily substitutes for corn syrup in most baking applications, adding more character to products such as pecan pie and nut bars. Sorghum syrup is a natural sweetener made by processing juice squeezed from the stalks of sweet sorghum. Sweet sorghum is grown for syrup or forage, as compared to grain sorghums, which are grown for grain. Specialized milling equipment is necessary to extract the juice from sweet sorghum, and evaporative pans with heating units steam off excess water, leaving syrup. It requires about 8 gal of juice to make 1 gal of syrup. Sorghum syrup is used the same way as molasses. Sorghum molasses, a liquid sweetener, is a blend of sorghum syrup and sugarcane molasses. Grain sorghum is an underutilized human food crop. Recently, grain sorghum has been extracted and enzymatically converted to a nutritious, all-natural sweetener. This grainbased sorghum syrup is high in protein and amino acids and can substitute for malted barley extract, which is a sweetener or browning agent ingredient in many food products, including baked foods. Interestingly, this sorghum syrup is gluten-free and offers a solution to the challenge of browning cereals, crackers, snack foods, particulates, baked foods and other grain-based foods formulated to be gluten-free. It has the same reducing sugars and amino acids as malt extract that promote browning and flavor development. Sorghum syrup possesses other characteristics similar to malt extract including moderate- to longlasting sweetness, humectancy and medium viscosity. Use as a 1:1 malt extract substitute in existing formulations or 1 to 3% in new formulas. MALT AND MORE Malt extract, sometimes called malt syrup, is the result of mashing barley, converting the starches to sugars and rendering the proteins soluble by enzymes. Upon separation from the insoluble malt husks, the extract is concentrated into a thick syrup with a solids content of 78 to 82%. The color of malt extract ranges from a light amber to a deep brown and is controlled by the kilning or roasting temperature applied to the malt before it enters the mashing stage. Because processing preserves most of the natural characteristics of the whole barley grain, malt extracts are nutritious and healthy sweeteners. In baked foods, malt extracts bind ingredients, add bulk, act as a natural humectant and add malty flavor and color ranging from mild malty to caramel. Liquid forms are about 60% as sweet as sugar. For dry blending, malt extracts can be dried into a powdered ingredient. Such powdered malts are about 65% as sweet as sugar. ALthough its main use is in beer brewing, malt extracts and malt syrups in bakery formulations create a signature flavor and color profile. They work especially well in artisan breads as a source of food for yeast. Brown rice syrup has applications in baked foods and is becoming increasing popular in the natural-foods market. When fermented, the starch in brown rice converts to maltose, a disaccharide consisting of two units of glucose. It is about half as sweet as table sugar, so bakers need to either use more or combine it with other sweeteners. Brown rice syrup has the consistency of honey and readily substitutes for honey in most recipes. The unique caramel-like flavor of brown rice syrup can enhance a baked product’s taste. Baked foods made with rice syrup tend to be hard or very crisp; thus, the most common applications are granola bars and cookies. In general, substitute 1.3 parts brown rice syrup for one part granulated sugar. The formula’s liquid ingredients need to be replaced by 25% of the volume of brown rice syrup added. Similar to when other syrups are substituted for sugar in baked foods formulations, baking soda must be added. The newest arrival to the liquid sweetener category comes from the sap produced in the heart of the blue agave cactus. Different genuses of the agave plant enable the manufacture of an array of syrups with different flavor profiles, much like honey. The plant is crushed and put through a process that extracts the syrup in its raw form. It is then filtered and heated to a level that breaks down the raw sugar into fructose. At this stage, the syrup is either further refined to produce a pale, amber color or bottled as is, in its natural dark chestnut color. Containing about 25% water, agave nectar appears as a golden syrup and is composed of 90% fructose and 10% glucose, making it about 1.5 times sweeter than sucrose. Only recently has it come in use as a sweetener, with its popularity increasingly rapidly because of its lowglycemic quality. In most baked foods formulations, use about 25% less agave nectar when substituting it for sugar. For baking, agave nectar’s moistureretention properties are comparable to those of honey. Bakers also may notice a smoother texture in their foods and better definition of other natural flavors because agave nectar enhances flavors. Baking with agave nectar is relatively new, so expect some trial and error. You will need to reduce the amount of other liquids to compensate for the extra moisture of the agave, as well as reduce oven temperatures by 10 to 20 F°, because the fructose in the syrup burns quicker than sugar. Juice concentrates also often directly replace sugar in baked foods. These syrups are made by heating fruit juices to remove water, treating them with enzymes and filtering to strip all characteristic color and natural flavor from the original juice. Because of their initial bland color and flavor, grapes and pears are the primary sources of the juice concentrates used as sugar replacers. Liquid sweeteners provide baked foods with much more than a sweet flavor profile. These ingredients enable bakers to create a point of differentiation from the competition. 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Although debunked as an urban legend, what model of Chevrolet car supposedly would not sell in Spanish speaking countries because the name of the car means “won’t run” in Spanish?

Nova Don't Go : snopes.com - - Claim:   The Chevrolet Nova sold poorly in Spanish-speaking countries because its name translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish. FALSE Origins:   It's the classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign countries that can be found in hundreds (if not thousands) of books about marketing: General Motors introduced their Chevrolet Nova model of automobile into a Spanish-speaking market, then scratched their heads in puzzlement when it sold poorly. GM executives were baffled until someone finally pointed out to them that "nova" translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish. The embarrassed automobile giant changed the model name to the Caribe, and sales of the car took off. This anecdote is frequently used to illustrate the perils of failing to do adequate preparation and research before introducing a product into the international marketplace. It's a wicked irony, then, that the people who use this example are engaging in the very thing they're decrying, because a little preparation and research would have informed them that it isn't true. (The sources that repeat this little tale can't even agree on where the Nova supposedly sold poorly, variously listing locales such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, South America, or simply "Spanish-speaking countries.") This is another one of those tales that makes its point so well — just like the apocryphal one about George Washington and the cherry tree — that nobody wants to ruin it with a bunch of facts. Nonetheless, we're here to ruin it. The original Chevrolet Nova (initially the Chevy II) hit the U.S. market in 1962. (This car should not be confused with the smaller, front wheel drive vehicle which was produced in 1985 as a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota and also assigned the Nova name.) Between 1972 and 1978 the Chevrolet Nova was also sold in Mexico and several other Spanish-speaking countries, primarily Venezuela. Shortly afterwards the great "Nova" legend arose, a legend which a little linguistic analysis shows it to be improbable: First of all, the phrase "no va" (literally "doesn't go") and the word "nova" are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word "nova" as equivalent to the phrase "no va" and think "Hey, this car doesn't go!" is akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn't include a table. Although "no va" can be literally translated as "no go," it would be a curious locution for a speaker of Spanish to use in reference to a car. Just as an English speaker would describe a broken-down car by saying that it "doesn't run" rather than it "doesn't go," so a Spanish speaker would refer to a malfunctioning automobile by saying "no marcha" or "no funciona" or "no camina" rather than "no va." Pemex (the Mexican government-owned oil monopoly) sold (and still sells) gasoline in Mexico under the name "Nova." If Mexicans were going to associate anything with the Chevrolet Nova based on its name, it would probably be this gasoline. In any case, if Mexicans had no compunctions about filling the tanks of their cars with a type of gasoline whose name advertised that it "didn't go," why would they reject a similarly-named automobile? This legend assumes that a handful of General Motors executives launched a car into a foreign market and remained in blissful ignorance about a possible adverse translation of its name. Even if nobody in Detroit knew enough rudimentary Spanish to notice the coincidence, the Nova could not have been brought to market in Mexico and/or South America without the involvement of numerous Spanish speakers engaged to translate user manuals, prepare advertising and promotional materials, communicate with the network of Chevrolet dealers in the target countries, etc. In fact, GM was aware of the translation and opted to retain the model name "Nova" in Spanish-speaking markets anyway, because they (correctly) felt the matter to be unimportant. The truth is that the Chevrolet Nova's name didn't significantly affect its sales: it sold well in both its primary Spanish-language markets, Mexico and Venezuela. (Its Venezuelan sales figures actually surpassed GM's expectations.) The whole "Nova = "doesn't go" tale was merely another in a long line of automotive jokes, like the ones about "Ford" being an acronym for "Fix or repair daily" or "Found on road dead" or "Fiat" being an acronym for "Fix it again, Tony!" These humorous inventions might adequately reflect the tellers' feelings about the worthiness of various types of automobiles, but we don't really expect that anyone ever refrained from buying a Ford because he actually believed they needed to be repaired on a daily basis. The one bit of supporting evidence offered to back up this legend is spurious as well. General Motors, we're told, finally wised up and changed the model name of their automobile from Nova to Caribe, after which sales of the car "took off." One small problem with this claim: the Caribe sold in Mexico was manufactured by Volkswagen, not General Motors. (The Caribe was the model name used by VW in Mexico for the car more commonly known in the USA as the Volkswagen Golf.) The Nova's model name was never changed for the Spanish-speaking market. The Chevy Nova legend lives on in countless marketing textbooks, is repeated in numerous business seminars, and is a staple of newspaper and magazine columnists who need a pithy example of human folly. Perhaps someday this apocryphal tale will become what it should be: an illustration of how easily even "experts" can sometimes fall victim to the very same dangers they warn us about. Additional information:

Nova

After 21 years on the PBS, what wood working show, hosted by master craftsman Norm Abrams, is going off the air?

#60 Toyota Prius | Stuff White People Like Stuff White People Like This blog is devoted to stuff that white people like Feeds: #60 Toyota Prius February 7, 2008 by clander Over the years, white people have gone through a number of official cars.  In the 1980s it was the Saab and the Volvo.  By the 1990s it was the Volkswagen Jetta or a Subaru 4WD stastion wagon.  But these days, there is only one car for white people.   One car that defines all that they love: the Toyota Prius. The Prius might be the most perfect white product ever.  It’s expensive, gives the idea that you are helping the environment, and requires no commitment/changes other than money. The Toyota Prius gets 45 miles per gallon.  That’s right, you can drive 45 miles and burn only one gallon of gasoline.  So somehow, through marketing or perception, the Prius lets people think that driving their car is GOOD for the environment. It’s a pretty sweet deal for white people.  You can buy a car, continue to drive to work and Barak Obama rallies and feel like you are helping the environment! Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move.  Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable! There are a few ways you can use this to your advantage.  If you are carpooling to an event or party you can always say “can we take your Prius? my car doesn’t get good mileage and I feel guilty driving it.”  And bam! Free ride! Also, if you see a white person in a Prius you can say “wow, that’s great to see that you’re doing something for the earth.”  The white person will feel very good about themselves and offer to drive you home, to Ikea, or drop you off at 80s night. Like this: Posted in Activities , Culture | 1,018 Comments 1,018 Responses Jim Hawk III Actually, I bought a Prius to get that sexy touch screen. It’s the ultimate nerd car. Daggone, that’s so totally white. Anyhow, I don’t want to save the environment. The environment can go screw itself as far as I’m concerned. I just want everything to have a sexy touch screen. Jeff (honky) Ahahahahaha! I hate Priuses. They’re almost universally driven by people who *should not drive*. They try to kill me regularly as I ride to work on my polluting, socially irresponsible motorcycle. Maybe they’re swerving because they’re trying to fiddle with their touchscreens… Or maybe they just traded in their fixie and haven’t driven in five years. *shrug* EPA 60 mpg / 51 mpg Wow, dp, you are super white. Nice! Jeff I gotta say…you’re really confusing white people with white liberals lately. White conservatives hate Prii, and don’t tend to recycle, or care about poor people, or use natural medicine. I also hate the Prius. I despise everything it stands for. Yeah, ok, you keep on driving your little one-notch-above-toy car and feeling “green, I’ll be over here doing burnouts in my Thunderbird and not kidding myself. And hey, Saabs were not the official white people car of the 80s. They only sould between 30k and 50k cars each year that decade. Also, I never see white people driving old Saabs, unless they’re my age and obviously got the car from their parents. I WISH they were the official white people car of the 80s, then maybe I could find a decent one I can afford. Though, we do all love irony, you certainly hit that one on the head. on February 15, 2008 at 4:23 am Sosueme I am a whitepeople wannabe (white but poor). I get my status thrills by driving a 1993 Geo Metro that makes better mileage (47mpg) than a Prius. I love it because it lets me sneer at Prius owners who pay $30K to get worse mileage thereby gaining status points for my poor white trash car as I try to put them down. My wife says I am crazy. She says the point isn’t getting good mileage, the point is to make sure everyone knows you have $30K to p!ss away on a Prius. on February 15, 2008 at 4:42 am Syllopsium Actually, at least in the UK, the reason people buy the Prius is because it isn’t horribly underpowered and you save on income tax and the London congestion charge.. If they say it’s about the environment, they’re lying. on February 15, 2008 at 1:35 pm OT is for Lovers These cars get stolen fairly often in Overtown down in Miami, maybe it’s all the hipster bars in the area that attract all these young urban white youth, then the crackheads mouths begin to water. Don’t drive these things near Martin Luther King Jr Drive ANYWHERE in America! on February 15, 2008 at 2:25 pm redgreen I saw some white dope driving one of these with a “4UEARTH” plate. Prius drivers confuse doing less damage with doing benefit. It’s like switching from beating your kid with a regular hammer to beating him with a rubber hammer and then thinking you’re doing the kid a helpful service. All you’re doing is slightly decreasing the massive and unnecessary damage you’re doing; this is not a meritorious behavior; you don’t deserve a pat on the back. on February 15, 2008 at 2:38 pm Bubba I hafta admit, I’m not really whiter than thou. I bought mine because I mistook the name for Priapus. My manhood took a nosedive, but I find I’m really hip at Sarah McLachlan concerts. on February 15, 2008 at 4:29 pm Hugh Jorgan Secretly, white people wish they could build such a fine vehicle, and hate that only yellow people have been able to swing it. C’mon, white people and black people and red people and… what other colors are there…? Let’s get our collective shit together! on February 16, 2008 at 7:03 am Marc The Prius, like other hybrids, are patriotic cars because they allow us to move one step closer away from dirty, foreign, insecure oil to the cleaner, domestic, more secure electrical grid. I have a Prius, and am pleased with the high mileage and low emissions. I’m even more pleased that Toyota is planning on offering a second NiMH pack & plug on the 2009 version (currently being tested in California & Japan) that will allow for an all electric drive of 7 miles after an overnight charge (@ approx 70mpg). I’ll be even more excited when GM comes out with the Volt, and Toyota comes out with the Prius III with a Li-Ion pack that allows for EV range from 20-40 miles. I just hope it is not too expensive. Prius drivers hate foreign oil and wonder why non-Prius drivers hate Prius drivers more than foreign oil. Yeah, we can be smug. But hey, we don’t slam airplanes into buildings. on February 16, 2008 at 7:47 am Mike I doubt that there is much “earth-saving” involved in owning a Prius. Yes, the mileage is very good in heavy traffic (the gasoline motor switches off for several miles at a time and it runs on the battery), which is good for my daily commute from eastern Long Island to the Bronx, but the manufacturing of the car , esp. the heavy battery (which may have to be replaced at around 100K miles, just when your $17,000 Hyundai or Corrolla is getting broken in) involves a lot of complicated and precision-built components not needed in your ordinary four-banger. It takes energy to do this. The real reason I bought one? The car is considered an energy-saver, so I , along with a lot of other White People, get to use the High Occupancy Vehicle lane on the Long Island Expressway. Every day, I pass miles of stopped traffic…I see the grim faces of these drivers, late for work, and like Bill Clinton, I smile and wave to them to show that I feel their pain. They do not wave back. on February 16, 2008 at 8:44 am Muke To the non-Prius people, the Prius drivers are saying “look at me, I’m so socially and environmentally conscious!” It’s the pretentiousness of it. Like my coworker who wants to buy a Hybrid. No one asks him this, he volunteers this info so people will know he cares sooo much about trees and birdies. The Duke of White People Marc, Anytime someone uses the term “Patriotic” to describe a person, place or thing…..BAM! You know they’re 190% White! You sir, are almost translucent. Sincerely, Mike Jeff: I am a white conservative, and I do not hate the Prius at all (although I have some misgivings, see my post above). And yes, I do wish that Ford or GM could have invented or licensed this technology. It might not be the wave of the future, but it is definitely the wave of the present. I am really tired of the way GM is letting Toyota and Honda eat its lunch every year. Sosueme: A Prius is not priced anywhere near $30,000. I paid $22,000 for mine last March. This came with a back-up camera (surprisingly handy) and lots of little electronic gizmos that I have not figured out how to use yet. on February 16, 2008 at 10:49 am Chris I love how Prius owners think their car is so environmentally friendly. This is a vehicle whose batteries are made in a factory in Canada that spews so much pollution environmentalists call it The Dead Zone. Then those batteries are shipped to Japan for assembly in the vehicles, and then the vehicles are shipped here. Real savers of the earth, Prius drivers. But hey, have fun driving in your EPA revised-down-to-45 mpg car–my Ford Escort gets nearly as good gas mileage, I spent about $10,000-15,000 less, and I don’t need a camera to help me back out of a parking space. on February 16, 2008 at 2:39 pm W. Kiernan Now $22,000 is expensive for a new car? Why don’t you climb up out of your little nest of tired talk-radio stereotypes and check out the Kelley Blue Book web site? A Prius costs $2,500 less than a new Hyundai Alera, $4,000 less than the cheapest V8 Mustang. A new Cadillac CTS is $33,000; so is the base model of the Ford Expedition. A BMW 335 is about $40,000; a new Corvette or the low-end Mercedes E-class costs about $50,000. I will never for the life of me understand the hostility this innocent little car arouses among so many Americans. You cranks can’t all be secretly on King Abdullah’s payroll, can you? If you don’t like the Prius, there are hundreds of other models to choose from. Danial Hybrids are garbage. Why not bring turbodiesels to the states? A Civic turbodiesel hatchback gets 50mpg and get this, it has TORQUE! Can’t say the same for the Prius. Too bad idiots in this administration can’t get the EPA to loosen up the diesel regulations. Give me a BMW 335d that gets 45mpg anyday of the week over a Prius. on February 17, 2008 at 11:01 am Sheeple Herder I beleive a list of “Stuff That Negroes Dig, Besides Fried Chicken and White Women” may be in order here. What do you say?? Coming soon. on February 17, 2008 at 11:15 am ***white boy*** based on a quick auto trader search one can buy a prius for $29,422-$7,950…and looking at toyotas website one can find a brand new one starting at $21,100 (MSRP). This doesn’t seem unreasonable for a car. I admit that I have never seen anyone but a white person driving one, even in the most liberal of states like Washington and California where just about every 3rd car is a prius. The better question might be why are only white people driving them? gheemaster38 Sheeple Herder I beleive a list of “Stuff That Negroes Dig, Besides Fried Chicken and White Women” may be in order here. What do you say?? Coming soon C’mon everybody loves fried chicken and hot sauce.. As for white women, well when the lights are out and bones are smacking I dont think color is the main factor of things… Penny #15 redgreen I saw some white dope driving one of these with a “4UEARTH” plate. Prius drivers confuse doing less damage with doing benefit. It’s like switching from beating your kid with a regular hammer to beating him with a rubber hammer and then thinking you’re doing the kid a helpful service. All you’re doing is slightly decreasing the massive and unnecessary damage you’re doing; this is not a meritorious behavior; you don’t deserve a pat on the back. THIS IS MY FAVORITE COMMENT SO FAR! I cannot stop laughing and I wish the bolded part could be on a billboard! on February 17, 2008 at 1:45 pm sherlock Are there any M1A1’s available at surplus yet, and if so can they be made street legal? Scratch the last question – irrelevant for my purposes. Plan: M1A1 + lot full of Piuses = Guiness book of records entry titled “Largest piece of tinfoil.” on February 17, 2008 at 2:24 pm JohnQAnonymous You guys and your ridiculous Prius hate. I don’t hang out at Prius parties or pat myself on the back for “healing” the envrionment. (and if you want to get all pissy about the “my car benefits the environment movement, look no further than that retarded Honda ad where the Civic goes by and the flowers bloom. Gag.) I knew I was going to have to drive a car to work, and so I bought the car that would be the coolest, while reducing the amount of damage I’d be doing. It also came with a pretty damn sweet federal tax credit, and it pays off double when I have to do work related travel and get reimbursed for my mileage. So don’t hate, the car’s pretty sweet. So some of the people who drive them aren’t. Same with the people who drive Mercedes, BMWs, and big-ass trucks. At least the asshole Prius drivers have the added upside of not damaging the environment while they’re bring smug jerks, as opposed to the other kinds. on February 17, 2008 at 2:55 pm G Andre 3000 and Mos Def are interchangable, and don’t forget the little dogs you can carry in a handbag. on February 17, 2008 at 4:53 pm Neena The Prius is not environmentally friendly. At least the production is not. A few others posted the same thing on here I noticed. Where you may have a cheaper vehicle that gets better gas mileage, it does more harm to the environment when mining for the metals used in the battery. And when the car has reached its last mile, where does that battery then go? What happens when the battery needs to be disposed of? More hazardous waste. Shipping the metals oversees, again, is a waste of energy. You get the point. The new GMC Yukon, I believe, is a hybrid vehicle, and is a better choice over the Prius (I wish I had the link to the article) for the aforementioned reasons. If you want something fuel efficient for now, get a smaller vehicle period. As for it being a car a “white” person would own, I’m not too sure🙂 Creative Loafing Atlanta » Fresh Loaf » Blog Archive » Stuff White People Like […] Stuff White People Like is a fantastic blog that pokes fun at the social and consumption habits of affluent, white yuppies and hipsters. Over the years, white people have gone through a number of official cars. In the 1980s it was the Saab and the Volvo. By the 1990s it was the Volkswagen Jetta or a Subaru 4WD station wagon. But these days, there is only one car for white people. One car that defines all that they love: the Toyota Prius. […] Forest Kat This stuff really is an extra groove! Wait ’til they get the bill for their replacement batteries! 🙂 Then we’ll probably see a different color, I’m gonna bet. Cheero! on February 18, 2008 at 7:59 pm Mike The batteries in a Prius are what make it expensive. Know why things are expensive? Because they use a lot of energy and resources. So, to offset that money, and the resources and energy it represents, you have to save enough gas to pay for those batteries. That should only take you 150,000 miles or so. You know what? All the oil in the ground is going to get burned, as fast as it can be pumped out. There’s a little country called China that doesn’t give a rat’s ass not only about oil depletion but about clean air either. I bet the environment is better off with Americans buying the gasoline up and burning it through a good catalytic converter than the alternative that it’ll get burned in China. Alternative energy/technology makes sense in only one situation: when it makes economic sense. Again, money represents energy and resources. If you paid more to do the same thing, you probably used more energy and resources to do it. That even applies to riding a bike (if there were no fitness benefit): it takes so much energy to produce human food, that it uses less resources for you to drive an efficient car than ride a bike. Of course, crap like this is about making white people feel good about themselves, it’s about having something to be pious and sanctomonious about if you are a bunch of high-c*nted evolutionary-dead-end puritanical Massholes, and you decide Jebus doesn’t exist anymore so you have to latch onto something else just as stupid like self-flagellation over fake global warming crap or being all pious about fossil fuel use when you’re just making it cheaper for billions of brown people scrambling for a modern life on the other side of the world. It adds up to nothing. Do me a favor: go to church. It’s retarded but at least those retards don’t try to tax me. BWAHAHAHAHA! I must tell my (white, Prius-owning) dad about this site! Love. It.🙂 Max imwhiteandi I’m white and I drive a ford escort. A white one. Wanna hang out with me? on February 19, 2008 at 1:45 pm jb cash I will take it upon myself to properly interpret every item on this blog which has been intentially written derisively so as to provide humor at the expense of white people (and does a damn good job at it) however nothing is more white then using analytical thinking and logical deduction to counter incorrect assumptions while arguing just for the sake of arguing! hence: any “white” infatuation with the prius (or any other automobile of this type) stems from the almost uniquely white habit of understanding the need for conservation of scarce resources, a habit developed and selected for amongst whites living through many generations in cold climates. virtually nowhere else among any other peoples on the planet is such care given to the environment ESPECIALLY because the tremendous rate of development of white societies caused initial heavy damage to local environments and that awareness is a healthy recognition that careful changes are necessary to avoid ecological catastrophe. this is not to say that this particular strategy will best deal with future ecological problems, but rather it is a sign that the awareness is there. As with the choices of the volvo and saab, cars that were believed (true or not) to be ‘safe’ and of high quality, shows that at a time when highway fatalities were at all time highs the prudent and rational choice was a selection of “safety”. choices such as the prius or volvo show that the white desire for cars that provided positive group benefits along with personal satisfaction should be lauded and encouraged. these automobile choices stand in stark contrast to the choices that other peoples make (at least sterotypically) as for example blacks and cadillacs, or hispanics and low riders. far from being considered a derisive group trait the smart automobile choices as lampooned above should be cheered. on February 19, 2008 at 4:13 pm audi Hm, I don’t give a shit about the environment most of the time, but more gas-mileage: less gas needing to be bought: the more driving I can do before hitting my gas budget for that pay period. And I love driving, so the answer here is obvious. Of course, I drive an ooold Audi so my mileage isn’t too good to begin with. on February 19, 2008 at 5:25 pm Nerdy White Guy So tell me if it is ok to drive a bunch of white Sierra club members to an Obama rally in a Prius? We will use our i-pods with a playlist consisting of totally 80’s music. Nah, we will just use Sirius Satellite radio that comes with the new versions because there is an 80’s channel. Having a Sense of Humor is Good Don’t forget the TerraPass sticker on the back. My guilt was totally overwhelming me, since I drive a Volvo for safety reasons (decision made while in the ICU after an accident), so I got a TerraPass. Ah, problem fixed!! on February 20, 2008 at 1:45 pm GaryGaetti Do 2.5″ headers and a double-pump Holley on the Chevy big block in my Prius still make me white? on February 20, 2008 at 2:00 pm Tom You might be a redneck if you haven’t replaced your air filter in your Prius for, like, 100,000 miles and your mpg has dipped to an all-time low of 49 mpg. on February 21, 2008 at 3:10 pm MWM So are you white or not? You’ve got to be kidding with your blogs?! Are you one of those white people that thinks by bashing your race, you are somewhat redeemed and cool? This sucks dude. get your research right…. on February 21, 2008 at 3:29 pm Ghengis Hahn Sweet mother of god this blog is AWESOME. I’ve yet to see a Prius without an Apple/Democrat/Hippy Bumper sticker on it. I’ve also never failed to see one pull in to anything other than a 3,000 square foot house. Comical. AJ Site should be, “stuff white yuppie liberals like. I drive a gas-guzzling SUV, cause the sooner we run out of oil, the sooner we’ll be forced to come up with a new fuel. on February 22, 2008 at 9:59 am Dean SUVs and minivans are much more typical of white people. Most of the Prius owners I know are Asian (although some are white). on February 22, 2008 at 10:03 am Dean Obama rallies? According to exit polls in primaries so far, 62% of Obama voters are white, compared to 69% for Clinton, 92% for McCain, and 97% for Huckabee. This seems to be the opposite of what white people like. on February 22, 2008 at 3:14 pm Zubear This blog would probably be more accurate if it was called “What Most Indie Kids/Hipsters of All Races Like” Hilarious « Bonobo Frugivores […] #60 Toyota Prius Over the years, white people have gone through a number of official cars.  In the 1980s it was the Saab and the Volvo.  By the 1990s it was the Volkswagen Jetta or a Subaru 4WD stastion wagon.  But these days, there is only one car for white people.   One car that defines all that they love: the Toyota Prius. […] on February 23, 2008 at 2:16 am Old As Dirt 180,000 miles ago when I bought my diesel pickup, I felt white, redneck (I live in SC for heaven’s sake), and proud of power. Now, still needing the power, I’m sick of middle east US deaths. Still a Republican, though now disaffected, I spend evenings converting WVO (waste vegetable oil from restaurants) into biodiesel. Less pollution, no petroleum. Truck and I run great together… that bump I felt yesterday may have been a speed bump or a Prius. My next small car for the kids. Diesel Accord (2010). Home brewed fuel doesn’t make me more or less white, redneck, or southern. If big oil, big auto industry, and big government is too slow or stupid to change, individuals can still make a small difference. Next project… how to solar power my home. on February 23, 2008 at 10:29 am Jorge The Prius blows and it has nothing to do with whiteness. It drives like a golf cart. And old ladies like golf-carts. (Don’t ask me why, but I used my research grant money to study this attraction.) So, whatever fantasies about white people you’ve got here, this one’s wrong. on February 23, 2008 at 10:49 am sam Why not take mass transportation? It’s less expensive than a Pruis, you are helping the environment and your community, and you develop friendships with other commuters. Support better transportation in los angeles. irvmiller Response to #96: It looks like some folks just didn’t get the memo. As you may already know, a popular television program called “Boston Legal” last night broadcast an episode that contained a speech by one of the actors that repeated a curious and incorrect piece of – well, folklore. This piece of folklore purports, quite incredibly, that a Hummer H2 is more “environmentally friendly” than a Prius. This curious hypothesis first made the rounds last year in a 458-page tome titled “Dust-to-Dust: The Energy Costs of New Vehicles from Concept to Disposal,” published by CNW Marketing Research. As thoughtful researchers have pointed out, it was wrong. It’s still wrong now. Its inclusion in the script of a television show doesn’t change that – no matter how deep the conviction with which the actor delivered the lines containing this fairy tale. Irv Miller posted a response to the CNW report on June 7. Click on the link to see it complete with reader comments – or you can just read on here to read the memo that the folks at “Boston Legal” apparently didn’t get. Mind you, we can’t blame the show’s writers for finding this a fascinating story angle. But it’s fiction. Just to set the record straight, to provide facts instead of fiction, here it is again. ~Jon F. Thompson, Corporate Communications We reported earlier this week that our Prius hybrid vehicle contributed significantly to our strong sales results for May with a record 24,009 Prius sold across the U.S. Which had us wondering about all of the potential energy savings that might have resulted had our competitor to the east of us sold 24,009 Hummers instead. Continue reading “IRV’S SHEET: Fact Vs. Folklore” » The entire story can be found at TOYOTA’s OPEN ROADS BLOG, Irv’s Sheet on February 24, 2008 at 1:23 pm Love.Pink Haha standing still at concerts. That’s so funny. I’m black myself and I like that white music, but I never understood standing still at concerts. The whole purpose of me going is to have a good time, why pay $39.50 for a concert ticket to go and stand still??? That’s no way to rock out. Steve Not all white people love this car. When visiting relatives in Texas, Prius were practically non-existant. I don’t think I am saving the planet by driving a Prius. I have to drive something. When everyone else gives up their cars, I’ll think about doing the same. Would you prefer if I drove some fucking huge SUV instead? The cost of a Prius is not much more than the equivalent non-hybrid from Toyata. The state and federal government give tax credits as well. I’m getting about 43 MPG, which is double the actual MPG of my last car. The Prius isn’t a compact economy box car, it is a fairly roomy 4 door hatch back. Don’t compare it to some midget euro car that gets 75 MPG. Comparisons to diesel are pointless. There isn’t enough used cooking oil to power all the cars in the US. Anyway companies could make diesel hybrids, giving the benefits of both technologies. The hatch cargo area is great, especially since the back seats fold down. I don’t care if you think it looks ugly. I loved my old Honda CRX too. The battery is under warranty for 7 years and 100,000 miles. I’m not too worried about the replacement cost, considering my last car started having engine problems at that stage. The issue of the alleged environmental devastation caused by making the batteries is bullshit, a previous poster linked to the article that debunks that. on February 25, 2008 at 10:09 am BigUglyWhiteTexan I bought a Prius the day a gal of regular passed $3 in Houston. My neighbors are pissed, we are the only folk on the block not in oil and/or gas in some fashion. I say screw em. I also flip off every gas station I pass. Today $3.35 a gal, you have to kidding me. The Prius is ust my way of stickin it to the man…Now, the truth is I am also still the man, I kept my Range Rover. From time to time, when I feel my whiteness, my Texas manhood start to shrivel, I go out and burn a 30 gals real fast, just to prove it up…it is very confusing being a white man in America today…. on February 25, 2008 at 10:36 am Cholly Fully AGREED. But what about Saturns? For some reason all my friends’ Whole Foods-shopping, democrat-voting parents all drove Saturns, like, 8 years ago. They were big enough to pack in their kids’ soccer friends and got good safety ratings without having to be a mini van. on February 25, 2008 at 12:48 pm femecovert uh, just to *drive* your point home, from 1995-2000 i had a jetta, from 2000-2006 a subaru outback, and now a prius with a lovely obama bumper sticker. on February 25, 2008 at 2:35 pm Bob Ahh this entry is too funny. I drive the Honda Civic hybrid because my primary goal was to save fuel and it looks like a normal car. But I suppose part of that rationale is that we all know an annoying, self-righteous Prius owner or two. on February 25, 2008 at 8:04 pm brock The lost commenter (Bob) said exactly what bothers me about Prius owners – while Prius sales are doing well, aren’t all other hybrids struggling to move units? And the problem seems to stem from the unique and noticeable body design. Why have a normal looking hybrid (like the Camry) when you can have an obvious hybrid to tool around in? And, as someone else noted earlier, if fuel economy were the #1 issue, the Geo Metro would have been moving more units all these years. However, after having driven a Prius a year or so ago, I’ll admit – this is a far superior car to the base model Ford Escorts and Geo Metros that got 40 mpg 15 years ago. But still – I would like to see strong sales of hybrids that look normal, like the Camry or Accord hybrids. on February 26, 2008 at 9:48 am SouthMountain The reason that I and most people I know out in Arizona bought a Prius is to get access to the HOV lanes. There is nothing like blowing by the other cars on the way to work! on February 26, 2008 at 11:40 am Stefan I do believe that some things are more white than others. But there are always exception to these rules. Driving cars is the best way to waste energy, FAST. I am a very good example for it. Coal fired power plants come right on it’s heels. Fact is, if we don’t get our butts up and do something about the incredible damage we do every day to this world, our kids surely will have a miserable time surviving the mess we left them. I am serious. read the book Plan B 3.0 and things become pretty clear, pretty fast. We need a mini revolution here in the USA and in the rest of this world to prevent this climate to go out of control. The Prius does a good starting effort in that. What about the Aptera which is getting 300MpG and will be released to production end of this year?? We need efforts like this and many more to get us out of the trouble we are in right now. Do not stick your head in the sand, it does not help us and gets your eyes and nose all clogged up. With a perspective to a unified effort. Stefan on February 26, 2008 at 12:19 pm aApe i’m white, and drive a beat nine year old honda civic. if i could afford a prius, i’d spend the money instead on a 69 camaro. yer blog isn’t that funny. it’s sort of like the onion, where the headline is the only thing worth reading. on February 26, 2008 at 3:26 pm jesse helms You’re not talking about white people, you’re talking about yankees and Jews. Ain’t no white folks in my state that would drive a goddamn Prius! on February 26, 2008 at 5:19 pm pri 3 The Prius is definitely a WPC (white people’s car). And Marin County, where I live, the [un]official Prius capitol of the universe. We have about one prius for every two residents, or so it seems. My husband and I once owned 3 Priui at the same time. At present we are 2 for 2. I wonder what the new models will look like? on February 26, 2008 at 5:38 pm Rafael The Prius is how I know I’m not white (even though I received a BA in English Lit from a top tier American universty). The Prius is the car God would make if God were a pussy. Thankfully, the Lord is more of a Ferrari kind of God. If I had to drive a Prius, I know my penis would shrink until I got out of the car, probably it would stay shrunk for a little while longer. So hopefully, I wouldn’t be one my way to the beach or to the local pool to swim with my kids, because then they would think, daddy’s pee pee is small. on February 26, 2008 at 6:45 pm Charles This one only applies to Democrats. Republicans wouldn’t been seen in a Prius, they enjoy their SUV’s way to much. on February 27, 2008 at 1:24 pm Cru Jones I bet not one of you f’ing Prius owners sent your existing car to the car shredder (or “metal recycler” as you would like to call it) when you bought your Prius. You either bought the Prius in addition to your current car, you sold your current car or traded it in. You’re not helping the environment. It’s called displacing the problem you idiots! But it makes you feel better so I guess it’s alright. My apologies. Go back to posting what great gas mileage you get in every internet forum you can find. on February 27, 2008 at 7:06 pm Adisa I can’t wait to see you counter-balance white people ‘like’ for Harley-Davidson motorcycles with their love for the Prius. Seriously! on February 27, 2008 at 8:51 pm Junkman Damn I’m brain dead tonight: the stuff Prius’es (Priusi?) leave behind is not smog but “smug” Frank R. What about a non-Prius hybrid? My Honda Civic Hybrid gets 40-45 mpg. I got it instead of the Prius because it came with stick shift. Priuses don’t. on February 28, 2008 at 2:08 am passerby from FRG OMG … the VW Jetta? Got to be kidding. That epitome of an utterly uncool, look-at-me-I-got-neither-money-nor-style-vehicle that nobody ever wanted to be seen dead in over here? I always wondered where those went … now you´re telling me they shipped that one over to `merica and they liked it? Crazy world. on February 28, 2008 at 10:11 am Dave S. “I will never for the life of me understand the hostility this innocent little car arouses among so many Americans. You cranks can’t all be secretly on King Abdullah’s payroll, can you?” So, your 25%-better-mileage-than-a-conventional-compact makes you King Abdullah’s mortal nemesis? THIS is why people hate the car. Its cluelessly smug owners. My Scion xA gets 40 mpg. Damn, if only I got 50 mpg, I could be a Saudi-independent maverick, too! on February 28, 2008 at 10:13 am Dave S. #58 – “you decide Jebus doesn’t exist anymore so you have to latch onto something else just as stupid like self-flagellation over fake global warming crap… Do me a favor: go to church. It’s retarded but at least those retards don’t try to tax me.” Best. Comment. EVER. on February 28, 2008 at 10:20 am Just a thought Just a thought here…but if you do not have the option to use public transport (ie, it’s limited to nonexistent) and need to travel, isn’t it better to use a more fuel efficient car? Obvioulsy, there are other status symbol cars that are far less fuel efficient. I don’t think environmental concern is necessarily fake; it’s just highly suspect in the holier-than-thou crowd. ;^D Amusingly, my brother has a (non-Prius) hybrid SUV that he bought for use as both a daily commuter and for camping trips with the scouts. He’s intensely irritated by being lumped in with the moral superiority brigade because he got the car for its practical value (going 45 miles on a gallon can be quite useful in the middle of nowhere). I drive an 06′ Prius. I’m also active-duty military, who lives 35 miles away from my installation. Concerned about emissions ? In love with the push-screen inside ? Hate foreign oil, and moving ‘greener’ via my choice of car ? Care more about ‘Gaia’ ? No. Laughing at the extended-cab, dual-axled pickups, and larger-than-a-house SUVs, lined up at the gas-station ? Not cringing when I fill up, the second or third time in a week, paying $3-plus per gallon ? YES. on February 29, 2008 at 1:49 am antne Gotta luv the prius wiggers going down the fast lane at 80+ mph with just the driver, no car pool blissed out in a holier than thou state of mind, biatch! on February 29, 2008 at 4:12 am Michael S. I agree with a couple other posters. Your blog is more directed toward liberal yuppies more than “whites”, but I can see where you are coming from. Most liberal yuppies are white, but not all whites are liberal yuppies. I love it. You are characterizing everything that annoys the eff out of me in this world. on March 1, 2008 at 4:47 am Anonymous This blog is absolutely hysterical…and totally on point. I live 3 blocks from Whole Foods and everything you say here about these liberal yuppies is true. So great. on March 1, 2008 at 9:47 am confusius I love that some here say the Prius is wasteful in its production…huh? ALL cars are wasteful in their production: they’re big f’ing hunks of metal…please. And to those listing gas engine cars that get 45 mpg or better: yea, but when you’re stuck in traffic for, like, two hours every day, going 3 miles an hour, a Prius (or other hybrid) engine shuts off and wastes no gas and produces no emissions: try to beat that with a BMW 335d. I love people spinning this stuff like there’s MORE negatives to driving a hybrid. Yea, let’s start shitting and pissing in the street, cause waste plumbing pollutes the environment anyway, so how is it better? Oh, who the f cares, anyway, I’ll drive what I want and you drive what you want, it’s the American way. on March 1, 2008 at 5:23 pm Dad Prius?? Fugly auto. And most of the people I know who have them either dont drive them properly , or overkill and are slow a a turtle with 1 leg. I say a good Honda Civic or Accord driven normally can [not lead foot though] can reap just about as good as the average Prius driver actually gets, not what they tell you they get. And besides, most white folk drive minivans or suvs. You just cant pack in all the things you buy at the big box discount clubs, 3 or more kids and the into a Prius. on March 3, 2008 at 3:51 pm White guy who hates the prius with a passion this was fuckin halarious….but i hate the whole concept of a prius. plus it looks like a scrunched aztec…which the only way that car could have gotten any uglier is if it was smaller. oops, such a car exists!! on March 4, 2008 at 12:36 am Ty I hate the Prius. It’s one of the most ugly cars ever. Epic fail on Toyota’s part in my opinion on March 5, 2008 at 9:00 am blanquita Priuses are worse for the environment than Hummers… too bad for everyone who’s bought into the lie. Anonymous Right on, blanquita…. It’s so funny that people pay $30K+ for their Prius, then at 100K miles they get hit with a $10,000 bill for a new battery, dumping the old one in a landfill and doing more damage than all the emissions they saved us commoners from. I’ll stick with my little 4-banger low-emission honda, thanks. on March 5, 2008 at 2:08 pm G-Spin2k1 I’m not white, but I want to buy a Prius. Why? cus it’s the only hybrid car that looks decent, still has an okay price, and is from a good company like Toyota. I don’t care much for the environment, but gas prices aren’t getting any cheaper. And Yes I know the extra price for a hybrid may offset whatever savings I may get from gas…but I can say f*ck one time knowing I spent an extra $2k on my car cus it’s a “hybrid” rather than say f*ck every two weeks when I have to gas my car now (which still gets 30 mpg, but I’d much rather get 40-50+) ~G on March 6, 2008 at 7:27 am tedt This goes way beyond cars. White people like buy anything that is significantly more expensive and marginally more efficient, especially appliances. haha tedt. who needs the environment anyway. ~G Heather I’m white. I drive a blue Prius. No Obama sticker, just a couple of Hawaiian stickers. I didn’t spend $30k for it. I spent $22K for it, cheaper than if I had replaced the old minivan with a new minivan. The minivan would have been $32K, so right off the bat I’m $10K better off. Now that gas is $3/gallon, I’m happy to drive something that gets 50mpg (the van got 20mpg on a really good day). My 3 kids, husband and dog fit into it just fine. I’m also not worried about the battery going out. I’ve got a 100,000 warranty on it and it doesn’t cost $10K. Considering the POS Dodge we used to drive only went 60K miles before needing a new transmission, I’m not worried at all. I don’t really care too much about saving the environment. I’m just cheap and don’t like paying $60/week for gas. on March 6, 2008 at 2:49 pm anonymous Most white people can’t afford a prius. On top of that you should have said. Nascar or does the white people who like nascar prone not to read this blog or apply to any of these ideas or not really white. on March 6, 2008 at 5:35 pm megatron I drive a Saturn hybrid, I can fit all my dogs in it, and I can listen to Belle and Sebastion, it rocks whitey style on March 6, 2008 at 5:43 pm Brownie #60 is one of the best yet on this site. Love it! I wish I had a Prius with a “Rockin with Barack” sticker but I am hispanic female. Hopefully that doesn’t make me a coconut. on March 6, 2008 at 7:31 pm JiveTurkey My friend summed it up best: “If I had to choose between driving the Prius for the rest of my life or driving the Oscar Myer wienermobile, I wouldn’t be able to choose.” on March 7, 2008 at 12:27 am Amber people hate the Prius cuz they’re poor and can’t afford one. even if it didnt get the best gas mileage it’s still the best car on Earth, beautiful, fast, huge inside, full of awesome gadgets and you get to sneak up on people. i’m a conservative and wouldnt drive anything else. it was about $35k though so i guess poor slobs who cant save up can pretend they dont want one when theyre soooo jealous. on March 7, 2008 at 5:25 am Jon whats wrong with being white? I’ve been white almost all of my life (I was born blue), and I’ve enjoyed it. (not to knock folks of other colors). I’m buying a prius, not because of the environment, but because I dont want to buy any more camel jockey oil than I have too. on March 7, 2008 at 8:47 am Anon. Just wanted to share my very white car. Late 80s volvo sedan with a vintage(!) apple logo on the back (came with the car), an ironic bumper sticker that just says “America” and another vintage “I *heart* skiing* sticker. Also a sticker proclaiming my small, white, liberal arts college I attended (where I majored in art AND Asian studies). Jesus. But I have spent hours in the engine and under the car making the thing run, in my drive way. White people don’t like to know how their car works, thats the wrong kind of white. It also leaks oil and is a general piece of shit. But my next car? Subaru. Fuck. Decidedly not white I am not white, only part white. Which means not white in America. I think Prii are great cars. But not because they help the environment. Helping the environment is not driving a gas powered vehicle of any sort. As for whitey loving Prii. Oh hell, yeah! But most of my white friends (I keep them as a buffer from non-white haters) who own Prii, do so because of the gas savings (inflated by whitey). Admittedly, these gas savings allow them to drink, eat, and consume more whitey things but at least it’s not gas. Currently, you can get an Obama sticker for less than a gallon of gas. Once that changes, well, revolution baby, revolution! Decidedly not white Oh, and one more thing (I love it when anyone starts with that phrase). Fuck Prius! Try VW Golf diesel-hybrid(2009). That’s right! Our friends from Germany and V-Dub (two super white things) have put Toyota and it’s capitalist Prius up against the wall with a new form of hybrid car. Costing $2500 more than the regular Golf, the new VW Diesel-hybrid claims a whopping 69mpg (and if you know engines, it can do it). Now, you can be seen as loving the environment but also as supporting the whitest country there has ever been. Sig Heil the environment! Ja! (German is my favorite kind of white, it’s so…white, with no excuses). So, I am waiting until 2010 to wear my half-whiteness like a friggin consumer product badge with my new diesel-hybrid car! on March 8, 2008 at 9:33 am Marlowe I was reading an article awhile back about the Prius being the favourite of Hollywood celebrities. It also mentioned that most of them charter private jets. The fuel used by a trip to LA from New York on one of these things is the equivalent of what a Hummer would use for a year. To George Clooney: you can quote a study to prove your prejudice Hey, #141 blanquita, that article also puts into doubt the CNW study: “This study has been completely contradicted by studies from MIT, Argonne National Labs and Carnegie Mellon’s Lifecycle Assessment Group. The reality is hybrids can significantly cut global warming pollution, reduce energy use, and save drivers thousands at the pump.” It makes me laugh that people get so enraged with hybrid hatred that they can even justify a f’in hummer as environmentally conscious…give me a motherf’ing break. Hey, whoever is writing this blog, start one up called “people suck”. on March 8, 2008 at 12:23 pm it also said this “CNW’s figures, for example, show that the Civic Hybrid can cost nearly $165,000 more over its lifetime, “dust to dust,” than the standard Civic, which is a difficult figure to swallow, even considering the extra development, materials, and disposal of the Hybrid variant. Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system is a mild hybrid system and many engineers have admired its elegant and simple design and function, considering the efficiency gains.” and this “Toyota concedes that there is more energy required in the materials production stage for its hybrids, but says that it is overwhelmingly made up by less energy used during its driving lifetime.” so if you’re going to talk about a big lie make sure you read the f’ing article first. on March 9, 2008 at 9:22 am kristen My roommate wants on when she graduates… I, personally, think that they are fugly. But that is my opinion. hahahhaa on March 10, 2008 at 7:50 am me wow. there are a bunch of goofs leaving comments, taking it WAY too seriously. this is the best blog i have ever read. so funny. great sense of humor!!! J Haynes Great site. It is funny and engaging and makes those of us with a smart ass sense of humor realize that our attempts to be helpful can be shown to be vacuous when viewed from a different viewpoint. The whole Prius phenomenon reminds me of the time I worked for a company in Austin Texas that pushed the employees to use the dozens of recycling bins that they placed throughout the office. Everybody felt great (clappy cheerleader happiness) about helping the environment but nobody bothered to tell the cleaning crews who just poured the contents in with the regular garbage. The Prius is just a car and right now it is as much of a fashion accessory/fad as a pair of Crocs. on March 10, 2008 at 10:47 am Brittany I think it’s funny that you say that white people and their prius’ are going to the Obama rally….when in reality, most black people are only voting for him because he’s half black. At least I know what he stands for and what his policies are…. on March 10, 2008 at 12:06 pm Another white chick I’m sure someone has mentioned this, but I’m too lazy to scroll through all responses. You were right — it’s 48/45 mpg after the new EPA testing. Awesome site, btw. on March 10, 2008 at 9:00 pm Jake I can’t stand fashion-statement cars. The Prius, the BMWs, the Mercedes. They may be very nice cars, but people always look like total jerk offs in those cars. You know they’re thinking that they’re better than you. Those smug, self-righteous asshats. They’re looking down at you like you’re nothing. I’ll take a good ‘ole Civic or a Focus any day. on March 11, 2008 at 8:44 am Come Let Us Reason Together When white people undertake graduate studies, they jettison the undergraduate expression,“helping the environment” in favor of the more scientifically hip, “reducing our carbon footprint.” Since the release of the blockbuster documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth” white people have suffered a form of mass hysteria called algorephobia – an excessive and irrational fear of global warming. Sales of the Toyota Prius have soared along with the rising fear that unless white people act now to cut carbon emissions they are in danger of leaving “our” children with a flooded and parched planet. White people are mortally terrified of this scenario because they envision a day when their bilingual children will come to hate them even more than they hate their own parents. Mandatory accessories for the Prius calculated to maximize envy and superiority will include a bumper sticker, “My Other Car is a Range Rover” and, if the white couple is retro-hip and fertile enough, a “Baby on Board” sign affixed to the rear window. At social gatherings, white people are known to work themselves into a lather over resolutions to send strong signals to incorrigible corporations about global warming. They flatter each other for supporting enlightened politicians who promise to express deep concern in stalled legislation that will come to the floor as early as next year. After imbibing one too many glasses of merlot at a wine and cheese party some irate white people will blubber that unless “something” is done in the next couple of years (or decades) they’ll be damned if they don’t pack the Range Rover to the gills and, with the Prius in tow, head for the Canadian border. Not to worry. It’s only the liquor speaking. Binky Boo Bear Jeff (honky) I TOTALLY hear that. Worst drivers around. Worse than any BMW driver (sorry, but it’s true: you guys are self-entitled cocklords) or rice-burner with 4 spoilers. on March 12, 2008 at 7:17 am Curt “Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move. Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable!” I take it by this statement that the author would prefer to see more Ford pickups with country music blaring on the FM radio and a Confederate flag proudly displayed in the rear window? (Also a shameless stereotype, I know–sorry). Let’s face it, your Prius driving, iPod listening, politically liberal white American is hardly the norm in this country. We get the joke, though. “Affluent white liberals are douche bags.” It’s very funny. Really. But I’d rather be surrounded by a thousand affluent white liberal douche bags than one close minded, hate mongering, right wing bigot. This site is pointless. on March 12, 2008 at 10:10 am Come Let Us Reason Together Curt, baby. Satire has no more to say about its target than a smart missile. Satire is conceived in sadism and born in hostility. It’s all about boom and burn upon impact. Think of it as a video game played with the vicious, subversive and witty weapons of intellect. on March 12, 2008 at 10:57 am Curt I’m not sure where you found your definition of “satire,” CLURT, but it seems to be fairly off the mark. If this site has nothing to say about its target, then it’s quite simply not satire. The great satirical works by writers such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jonathan Swift and George Orwell are politically and socially relevant in many ways… unlike this site. What is satire if it is not social or political commentary, coated with humor in an attempt to make it easier to swallow. “Stuff White People Like” is in no way satire, although it seems to try to be employing a satirical “voice.” There’s no actual substance behind it, though, which is why it fails on nearly every level. “Stuff White People Like” is lowest common-denominator entertainment, playing off of stereotypes and misconceptions. on March 12, 2008 at 5:34 pm Come Let Us Reason Together Not to be curt with you, my definition of satire is pragmatic and not metaphysical. I am not trying to settle once and for all what satire “really is” but rather trying to frame metaphors which try to convey a sense of how it functions. If the satirist, the Master of this blog for example, finds a receptive, affirmative (LOL) audience for his exaggerated, stereotypical and, yes, sometimes mean-spirited observations of (“white”) human pretension, vanity and dysfunction, then voila, there you will find satire at work. If you must have socio-political commentary then you may (or may not) be consoled by the urban legend that the Master delivers a “serious message” that whites belong to an ethnic group as much as any “minority.” You are not required under penalty of law to find anything on this blog either true or funny. Oddly enough I tend to agree with you on what you say about “great” satire though I am also inclined to believe that the quality of satirical masterpieces is far removed from the the intention of this blog. “White stuff” is humorously written but largely derivative fluff. For tuned-in white fans, it’s like taking a bath in Cool Whip. It is so cool and white and afterwards, giggling white folks can lick themselves off saying things like, “Yum, this is so totally ME! on March 12, 2008 at 5:48 pm Come Let Us Reason Together Not to be curt with you, but my “definition” of satire is pragmatic and not metaphysical. I am not trying to settle once and for all what satire “really is” but rather trying to frame metaphors which get at a sense of how it functions. If the satirist, the Master of this blog for example, finds a receptive, affirmative (LOL) audience for his exaggerated, stereotypical,sometimes mean-spirited and definitely contrived observations of “white” human pretension, vanity and dysfunction, then voila, there you will find satire at work. If you must have socio-political commentary then you may (or may not) be consoled by the urban legend that the Master delivers a “serious message” to the effect that whites belong to an ethnic group as much as any “minority.” You are not required under penalty of law to find anything on this blog either true or funny. Oddly enough I tend to agree with you on what you say about “great” satire though I am also inclined to believe that the quality of satirical masterpieces is far removed from the the intention of this blog. “White stuff” is humorously written but largely derivative fluff. For tuned-in white fans, it’s like taking a bath in Cool Whip. It is so cool and white and afterwards, white folks can lick themselves off giggling things like, “Yum, this is so totally ME! Come Let Us Reason Together Sorry for the repetition. System malfunction not pilot error. on March 12, 2008 at 9:24 pm barbarella okay okay, so i have the prius, the barack sticker, and the ipod… but i don’t have an apple sticker.. god i’m so white:) 😛 on March 13, 2008 at 11:37 am Sam Clemens Curt you’re a moron and need to get over yourself. Every post of yours indicates the kind of pretentiousness and self righteousness that makes this list both possible and funny. And your little bigoted, cliche-ridden diatribe also shows your huge hypocrisy in calling ANYONE “close minded” or “hate mongering”. But the fun is you can’t see past yourself to get it! And if the site is pointless and for lowest common denominator….what does that make YOU for posting numerous times on it?! Keep up the unintentional comedy! Another thing that WHITE PEOPLE like: CHEESE that is WHY the Toyota Prius is designed to look like a cheese wedge!!! on March 14, 2008 at 7:32 am Come Let Us Reason Together Sacramento: You will be surprised to learn that Laboratory experiments using mice, show that these creatures are also inexplicably attracted to the shape of the Prius. on March 14, 2008 at 10:47 am Oh the irony My financial advisor (yes, that makes me white) brags that he currently owns 4 Prii. I guess that makes him at least 4 times more environmentally friendly. Can anyone else appreciate the irony? I’ve been making and driving on biodiesel exclusively for the last 6 years. I drive about 10 miles per week. And I ride my bicycle to work. And I have an iPhone. That’s why I hate the Prius. “The better question might be why are only white people driving them?” I’m not white and I drive one. 42 hehe. lemme see: a new Prius is what $25,000. I can buy, say, a used Corolla or Civic, stick, 4cyl, that might get “only” 30mpg for $5000 or less. I can buy a small ocean of gas for the difference in price. people who pay a premium for hybrid or diesel under the delusion they’ll save money on fuel need to go back to 5th grade and re-do their math lessons so they can figure out that they’ll have to drive that greenwagen for 4-5-6 years before they break even on the cost over that of a non-hybrid/diesel version. of course the ones who buy these things out of concern for the environment 4UEARTH (snort) blah blah blah and not to save on fuel costs have too much money and need to give it to me. Come Let Us Reason Together Prius is an acronym for Prior-to-Us. What the fuck does that mean? Lori This post is true, so true and while “the truth shall set ye free”; it also hurts like hell which is why the Curts of the world are too bitter to acknowledge it, and seek, instead, to dissemble and deceive; themselves, mostly, since they are fooling no one else. This blog is humorous in the extreme, what subset of humor it can be categorized under is irrelevant. It just plain fun and I’m sorry I didn’t discover it sooner. BTW, I don’t drive at all; not because I am concerned with my carbon footprint but because I’m…. “a Native New Yorker….. New York City girl…..” (anybody old enough to remember that song?) I live in San Francisco now where the Prius is definitely a status symbol and I love the look of shock & disbelief on people’s faces when I say I have never driven, never considered driving and will never drive anything other than a golf ball off the tee. They of the carbon print-o-phobe set think I’m kidding them; they could never imagine actually walking somewhere or using public transportation. Too funny! on March 15, 2008 at 4:39 pm you do the math lemme see, a used Corolla or Civic was bought by somebody when it was new. A new Civic base model is $15,000 and even new it got 30 mpg: a new Prius base model is $21,500 and gets 45-50 mpg. In four or five years people will be able to buy a used Prius for the $5,000 you quoted above and still get 40-50 miles…plus not put out any emissions when they are in rush hour traffic going 3 or 4 mph. The little extra money is well worth it…and the next model Prius will probably get 60-70 mpg (or more) and probably have even less emissions, so you do the f’ing math when gas is $4 or more a gallon (which will be pretty soon). But if you enjoy using more gas, paying more $, and breathing in more shit, knock yourself out. on March 16, 2008 at 10:52 am nancy Well, I am trying to decide which fuel efficient car to buy. I am concidering a hybrid. The cost difference between a civic H and prius are not much different but the prius gets better mpg. I had rather have the normal looking car. The gas civic is not that much cheaper either and with even less mpg. I commute 100 miles round trip each day so saving at the pump is my biggest concern. I test drove a gas civic and a prius, the prius actually seemed to have more get up and go. I have also noticed that people some say the battery replacement is 12000-10000 dollars, it is only 2400. I know people who bought the first prius’s and have still not had to replace the batteries. I would like to know what is the predudice against the prius all about? They have had so far shown to be very dependable, great mileage, they are toyota (from Japan) just like Honda. So what is the problem? If any of the American companies had the same to offer I would definitly buy American. Besides my car I ride a Harley and we own a diesel Ford which we use only when needed. SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? “I would like to know what is the predudice against the prius all about?” some people are assholes… on March 16, 2008 at 8:52 pm controlling chaos Toyota was way off with the MPG. paying 25 grand+ for a car that has no design or style, not thanks. The Prius gets is around 44-45 MPG. Not 60 Diesel’s remain the best way to go. Hard to find but the VW Jetta TDI, Golf TDI, or Passat TDI is a great car. Wit ha manual one can easily get 50 – 55 MPG. [Diesel’s last a lot longer then typical gas engines] For the upper class people: Mercedes Diesel or Audi A6 or A8 Diesel cars are amazing on gas mileage and comfort. you're failing hey #193, seen the price of diesel fuel lately? and I love how people here just make up their own figures on the Prius to prove a point and they’re usually bullshit. As in: It’s NOT $25K plus: a base Prius averages $21,500 in this country. It gets 45-50 mpg, not 44-45: it varies on how you drive it and what time of year it is – more like 45 in the winter (I have one and know of a couple of people that also do, and they confirm the figure of 45-50 mpg). But, you know, in the blogoshpere, if you write it then it must be the truth. on March 19, 2008 at 1:49 am Mister White After reading this, I am definitely buying a Prius. That way I am that much farther from the ignorant and maladjusted wankers who are casting their judgements around like candy while feeling superior for wasting money that could be used better. Family money responsibilities? Who cares? That’s for white delusional chumps. At the same time I’m not supposed to notice the completely offensive and in your face Cadillac or large Chevy sedan bumping bass that can interupt any conversation within a quarter mile. Grow up, go home and face your kids, losers. on March 20, 2008 at 9:07 am Individual This whitey drives a 600hp diesel smoke belting Dodge 4×4 on 41×14.50-20’s (and yeah, I still get 20mpg). Prius’s are for liberal fags who like to pat themselves on the back. They say they do it for the environment, but anyone who knows can tell you the batteries in hybrids cause REAL enviro damage, not the fase CO2 damage that we hear about from the Church of Catastrophic Man Made Global Warming. Furthermore, if these liberal dipshits actually wanted to save the environment they would go buy a used car (already built so no added resources needed) like a geo or better yet a diesel Volkeswagon Rabbit or Jetta converted to veg oil. But your typical lib doesn’t know sh*t outside of their academic psuedo-intellectual world. It makes them feel good right? There is a reason you don’t meet many liberal engineers, construction workers, farmers, fabricators or any other profession that actually creates things. They’d rather create liberal policy to tell those of us that DO, how to DO it. “Those who can do, those who can’t teach.” DWL LOL But my Prius gets 50 (winter) and 57 (summer) mpg; and the only reason I would vote for Clinton is to participate in Rush Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos. But I do love Apple products. on March 20, 2008 at 5:00 pm Gary Swoggle This blog should called things white liberals like. Do the research a prius poisons the environment where it is built and costs more to run over 5 years than a Hummer H2. on March 20, 2008 at 5:58 pm white chick in a prius I got a Prius …..love it and fuck yes, it has a bumper sticker one that says 1.20.09 Bush’s last day… now that gas is about $3.25 per gallon all you Prius hating people can kiss my ass.. I can fill the thing for a lot less than what it costs you…..the higher the price of gas the smarter a Prius driver looks……. on March 20, 2008 at 6:17 pm YourejealousofmyPrius I have a Prius and a Tahoe, the best of both worlds! And I live in the Midwest, in a mixed neighborhood and in a small house. I listen to rap, alt rock, hard rock, 70s music, and jazz pretty much sucks along with 80s music. We all don’t fit into any one category. But this is about the funniest stuff I’ve read in a long long time, i was laughing so hard at work today, i started crying. I sent it to everyone I know, including my black friends. If I had any gay friends I woulda sent it to them too. If you are taking this all seriously, you need to go outside more. I doubt the whole battery on the Prius will go out at once, it is made of like 12 separate cells, and it is most likely only one cell will go bad at a time and can be replaced fairly cheaply. Praise God for Obama! on March 20, 2008 at 7:05 pm Éirinn go Brách I drive an XTerra because we get a lot of snow here in the foothills of the Rockies and I actually go offroad. If somebody wants to make one that gets 50 mpg i’ll be the first in line to get one but until then urban Prius commies stop telling me how big a carbon footprint i’m leaving because frankly I don’t give a damn. on March 20, 2008 at 10:20 pm demjeans I thought only white fags drove the prius. All the other white ppl drive Mustang gt’s or jacked up 4×4’s. I guess I might feel differantly about the high milage of the prius, But I’m a white guy and don’t really care how much gas costs. Heck, I saw a bus load of orfans crash into a prius the other day, Dang lil toyota crinckled up like a salted slug. Untill the fire started, the bus looked good to go. MAN that fire moved fast. Friendly orfans though, they kept waving to us as we drove by. on March 21, 2008 at 6:29 am Happy Prius Owner Ghengis Hahn, meet me. My Prius has no stickers (except my parking permit for work) and I live in a 1,000 square foot apartment. I bought a Prius because I freaking love how they look. I drove a crap car all through college, graduated, now I have my dream car. I LOVE my Prius! on March 21, 2008 at 7:40 am Bunch of Prius homos All you Prius people should move to San Francisco, bend over, blow a fart in your face and suck it all in, because that’s how ridiculous you are. Fuck the cost of gas and your stupid car. It is a soul-less Jap piece of shit; buy German! BTW, catch the new season of South Park (another Whitey show) on Comedy Central every Wednesday at 10/9C. This is not an ad. Sincerely, on March 21, 2008 at 7:45 am PJD Most Pirus owners then proceed to double their driving mileage, so they can be seen by al ltheir friends. But for me, when the weather cooperates I all my travelling on an electric version of a cheap plastic chinese motor scooter (often erroneously called a “moped”) , or i ride the bus – even the 86B to Home(slice)wood! Yes, I assure you, I am white. Needless to say, the white urban hipsters on their expensive Vespas avoid even looking at me. btw, thants Tony, for telling me about this site. I’ts hilarious, although I suspect it’s run by a friend of Clarence Thomas or Alan Keyes. on March 21, 2008 at 7:56 am Bull**** Except, Mr. Swoggle 211, that the reasearch that conclusion is based on is biased crap, as pointed out by others in this post…but you’ll continue to quote it. Let’s see, we (human beings, but mostly those in “developed” countries) have so far dumped shitloads of chemicals and metals in land and rivers; atomic waste where we can get away with it; landfills full of crap the size of small states; pouring tons and tons of crap into the air from coal burning power plants, factories, and millions of cars; the parts from the computer I’m typing this on and you’re reading it on will probably poison some poor guy in India or China; and I’m leaving out a bunch of other stuff……..but the batteries from the Prius are the most heinous damage we’ll ever do to the environment: give me a royal fucking break. Oh and if I buy a Prius, I’m supposed preaching to Hummer owners and they get all upset: yea, well, EAT ME. And as far as some people here saying that Prius owners should buy used cars: yea, we should buy used cars while you plunk down thousands of dollars for fucking hunk of crap Hummers, Explorers, and piece-of-shit Dodges….EAT ME twice. VW Jetta TDI cost $21,000 at base. You can get Civic DX 1.8L for $11,000 at base. There is no way to save enough gas to make up $10,000 difference. Yes, Prius is a lot of money for sub-compact four door car. Prius isn’t Hyundai Azera (not Alera). Azera is a Big Sedan and Prius isn’t. In fact, you could probably get Azera cheaper than Prius that’s better equipped and cost lower than owing Prius. You can get Civics/Corolla/Sentra/Elantra/Mazda3. If you really wanted to save gas, you start peddling your expensive bicycle. Whites already like bicycles anyway. So, car is unnecessary. And those who are all giddy over paying less for the gas.. listen up.. .You pre-paid for the gas, idiots! you paid premium to spend less money on gas. Fools. The gas price will go down to $2.50 in 1 year. Prius is very slow and annoying. I rented it when I traveled to san frainbow. It took forever to get up and go. I didn’t get 45mpgs. I got like 35mpg in the city. on March 21, 2008 at 10:33 am Mr 220 You should go to a website that doesn’t offend your white sensibilities. Take your Prius and shove it up your effete, sanctimonious asshole. My Hummer has a big American flag decal on it, I bet that makes your little Marxist goatee quiver. hahahahahahaha on March 21, 2008 at 10:55 am so? And what’s wrong with being a Marxist? Harpo was my favorite. And I’m a Lennonist too, liked him better than McCartney. on March 21, 2008 at 12:05 pm mincess I heard this somewhere and it’s so true: Ever notice liberals and celeb-types always pick the Prius as their eco-freindly car of choice even though there are tons of other hybrids out there to choose from. If you see a big grown-up 60’s hippie wanna-be out there in a hybrid it’s never a Ford escape or something like that…it’s a Prius. Why? Because the Prius shouts “Hey everybody!!!! Look at me! I drive a PRIUS! Look how much I help the earth. LOOK AT ME! Now go hate yourself in your stupid Hummer.” You just don’t get the same effect in the other hybrids. on March 21, 2008 at 2:05 pm lovethissite IMHO, Living in Cupertino, CA and having worked at the Apple Corp. campus as a temp, I guess it wouldn’t shock anyone about all the Priuses you’ll find in the parking lot. It was the first thing I noticed on my first day to work. I got such a laugh out of it. Also, not to knock Apple because I think they make OK products, they are the most NON-diverse company I’ve ever worked in. They all hire people like themselves, they all look like sixty’s hippy wannabes. This site is so damn funny. on March 21, 2008 at 3:43 pm duhhhhh hey, 226, it couldn’t be you’re seeing more Priuses because out of all the listed hybrids they get the best mileage, could it? see for yourself: (yea, I know it’s only 46mpg, but it’s still at the top of the list, and contrary to what people keep repeating here, not the most expensive) and that Toyota made it the first mass-produced hybrid that people actually like? “Because the Prius shouts “Hey everybody!!!! Look at me! I drive a PRIUS! Look how much I help the earth. LOOK AT ME! Now go hate yourself in your stupid Hummer.” ” Man, you must be hittin’ the bottle, cause I never heard a car talk. All this nonsense about if somebody drive a Prius then they’re saying this or that is utter bullshit. Simply stated: you don’t like the car I choose, choose another one, but leave me the fuck alone, asshole. on March 21, 2008 at 3:53 pm duhhhhh and on that website there’s only four hybrid sedans listed as being in production, and the Prius is the cheapest at an MSRP of $20,800, so maybe that’s why more people go with that one…….oh but wait, no, they’re trying to put other people down by buying it, I forgot…. eat me on March 22, 2008 at 2:32 pm andy “Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move. Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable!” HAHAHA I drove by a car matching this EXACT description today on March 23, 2008 at 6:00 pm NovaMike Prius? nope… i have my own hybrid though…i burn gas and rubber! i drive a 10 mpg 350hp Chevy Nova, and i can almost see the air being damaged as it meets the exhaust coming out my pipe…. =) Matthew 11 Jeff: “White conservatives hate Prii, and don’t tend to recycle, or care about poor people, or use natural medicine.” I’m actually a libertarian, but since you lefties tend to lump everybody not lefty together I’ll take a crack at this: 1. The Prius. Yeah, nothing says social responsibility and, “I love the environment more than you” quite like several hundred pounds of lead-acid battery pack. 2. Recycling. I recycle. I reuse my brass casing to make more cartridges and I sell my aluminum cans to a scrap yard. Rather than replacing my vehicles with a newer trendier model every 3-5 years, I drive a 30-year-old truck and a 32-year-old car. 3. “Natural Medicine.” I’m willing to use anything that works based on scientific results. “Natural medicine” is noticeably lacking in the scientifically-quantifiable results arena. Funny how folks who bash Christians for having “faith” in an invisibile, unknowable entity will so willfully buy snake oil masquerading as “medicine,” is it not? Hint: if it isn’t FDA-approved and the makers are unwilling to submit it for FDA testing it’s probably bullshit. bullshit, bullshit, and more bullshit From 234, “1. The Prius. Yeah, nothing says social responsibility and, “I love the environment more than you” quite like several hundred pounds of lead-acid battery pack.” Hybrid car batteries are NOT lead-acid type, they are “nickel metal hydride” batteries.. “The auto industry uses over one million metric tons of lead every year, with 90% going to conventional lead-acid vehicle batteries.” so how are hybrids the main problem? “While batteries like lead acid or nickel cadmium are incredibly bad for the environment, the toxicity levels and environmental impact of nickel metal hydride batteries—the type currently used in hybrids—are much lower.” and the companies have a plan for the end life of the batteries: “Toyota’s pays $200 to get a dead battery back and “every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled.” Honda collects the battery and transfers it to a preferred recycler to follow their prescribed process: disassembling and sorting the materials; shredding the plastic material; recovering and processing the metal; and neutralizing the alkaline material before sending it to a landfill.” Plus, the battery technology is still being developed: “Honda, Toyota and the entire auto industry are pumping millions of dollars into research regarding lithium ion batteries for tomorrow’s cars. Their primary motivation is to reduce the cost and increase the potency of hybrid batteries. Fortunately, supplanting lead and nickel batteries with rechargeable lithium batteries is also promising from an environmental perspective. Instead of clogging landfills with more toxic chemicals, hybrids—especially future hybrids powered by lithium ion batteries—may represent greener pastures for car batteries.” I mean, WTF, hybrids have been on the market for just a few years, they’re going to get better and better, no one is saying they have been perfected yet. on March 24, 2008 at 4:41 pm Come Let Us Reason Together On the one hand if you drive a Prius, you are the right kind of white person. On the other hand if paying $3.25 or even $4.00 a gallon really hurts you, you are the wrong kind of white person. Pep “Yum, this is so totally ME!” I never really felt like I was generally better than other people for driving my prius, but instead thought that I was being responsible to the global community by making personal choices regarding my consumerism and its impact on the environment (A NECESSITY FOR LIFE). Then, I read this blogs comments and after seeing some of the naysaying arguments, I do feel I am better than some. I see myself as more informed, better educated, and with strong character. I didn’t buy my prius for sex appeal but don’t get me wrong, I love sex. I can get that with my personality easily enough though. Regarding the many purported shriveling dicks after contact with compact and hybrid cars, good luck with that. But if you’re blaming your size on the car that you drive you are, probably, seriously delusional. I’d suggest penis pumps and lots of pornography, maybe even a shrink to discuss your inferiority complex of being offended by and hating the drivers of inanimate vehicles. If you don’t like the environment nobody is asking you to stay and enjoy its benefits. I love the blogs by the way, very funny. And I’ll have to admit that, “YUM, this is totally ME!” on March 25, 2008 at 9:32 am johnyboy One thing I’d like to say is that when a white person buys a new Prius, they don’t completely decommission their old car or ‘recycle’ it. They sell it to someone else who will drive it. Thus- one more car on the road. Most of the pollution that comes from a car is in mining the ore, transporting materials, manufacturing, and transporting the finished car. So, you should probably punch anyone in the face if they say that their car is good for the environment. Cars are a necessity in large part with today’s infrastructure. I mean, even if you are a traveling tramp, and have no more than the clothes on your back and a bag full of supplies, you still get rides from people who do have cars. I was bought a new car by my parents upon graduating from my liberal arts college. I had a ’91 Honda Accord that was really an incredible car. Now I have a 03 Subaru Forester, right up there with top white car contender status (at least it is not the LL Bean edition, but I make up with it with the kayak racks on top). Hopefully, I can drive it forever and some of the whiteness will eventually be smudged off, although I believe that a Subaru has a 50-year supply of whiteness somewhere in its horizontal engine that is periodically transmitted to all parts of the car. I didn’t really realize what sort of white person stereotypes I would be setting myself up for when I got the car. I just thought it was a good sturdy car with decent mileage and the most incredible transmission I have ever felt. Its good at getting me to the kayak launch or the rock climbing crag. I live down South in lower Alabama. Here, we have a somewhat confused white people culture. Conservative types try to maintain a palpable aura of ‘toughness’- I have heard of it referred to as ‘cool n’ tough.’ This involves giant F-250 King Ranch trucks, but they often can be found wearing high performance outdoor clothes. The difference is that instead of buying their stuff at REI they buy it at the BASS Pro Shop. They like to maintain the same state of white guy readiness for the outdoors, but they prefer to have more, and larger, motorized equipment at the ready. I do know that they have very little in common, other than that they like to use the same spaces. During the winter, the first type, my type-the ‘athletes’, feel grieved that some of their favorite outdoors spots are overrun by the second type, the ‘outdoorsmen.’ The outdoorsmen are in large part ridiculous, untrained poachers and trigger happy hunters, likely to blast you like you were a deer. There are some who can bridge the gap with a classy approach to multi-use lands and safe hunting practices. I am trying to become one of these. This way I can be a hunter- a hunter who rides his bicycle to the deerstand. I will have the cred on both sides of the Southern white person’s camp. on March 25, 2008 at 12:39 pm myspacecom15keys This is so true its not even funny……….. Hey if you want to really be white and listen to some indie folk check out http://www.myspace.com/15keys…. . Listen and enjoy the whiteness. on March 25, 2008 at 3:09 pm fill in name here “One thing I’d like to say is that when a white person buys a new Prius, they don’t completely decommission their old car or ‘recycle’ it. They sell it to someone else who will drive it. Thus- one more car on the road.” This is the dumbest argument of all against hybrids – or against anything. No shit hybrids still pollute: they have to be made and transported and still use gas. They just pollute a little LESS: and each generation of hybrids – or electric cars – should pollute less and be more efficient than the one before, that’s the whole idea of developing them. But by that logic of the above argument, we shouldn’t develop better or more efficient anything, because we should just use the old stuff. There’s a place where development of cars stopped in one era and people just do their best to fix the falling apart hunks that remain: it’s called Cuba. on March 25, 2008 at 4:27 pm tiffany mark- you’re my hero! I had to give up my muscle car when I got a “commuter car” but now I have a corvette to make up for it. AND a sequoia AND a ski boat AND an old Dodge Pick up AND on old Toyota pick up. YES, I am white and I HATE prii. 8o) on March 25, 2008 at 4:30 pm tiffany if it was available where I live I would! Currently I use a gallon each way for work daily. Hmm…. pretty soon my check will just go to the gas station and skip my account. on March 26, 2008 at 4:13 am DanPfleging “The Prius might be the most perfect white product ever. It’s expensive, gives the idea that you are helping the environment, and requires no commitment/changes other than money.” Wow! Sick burn. on March 26, 2008 at 7:59 am Tara I guess the Prius is pretty white but i bet alot of asian in california drive them as well. I think a distinction needs to be made betweeen “new whitness” and “old whiteness”. The Subaru is still the whitest car in the world, and there is no need to make a distinction between Forester – Outback – Legacy – Impreza or Brat, as you have had to do between Toyotas – You wouldn’t call the Camry a completely white car. Sidenote: Roofracks just look better on Subarus. The Subaru is the white persons car in its purest form! on March 26, 2008 at 2:09 pm Becky Didn’t anyone buy a Prius to save money? I’m saving a bundle at the gas pump with mine, and being a Toyota, it will probably last me 15 years and cost me very little in repairs. And I’m no yuppie – I’m an ostener (old small town educator nearing retirement). on March 26, 2008 at 3:52 pm read some of the posts apparently, becky, according to many people who posted here, no, you didn’t buy it to save some money at the pump or to spew slighly less exhaust into the air, or hell, just because it’s a free country and you can buy what you wish: no, you bought it to feel superior and look down people’s nose……god, the world is fucked. on March 26, 2008 at 6:18 pm WhiteBread Sorry, but you missed this one. The real choice car for white people is the Hybrid Honda Civic. My mother in law drives one, and she should know. She’s white, a member of the Sierra Club, a devout Democrat, and “An Inconvenient Truth” is her bible. on March 26, 2008 at 8:29 pm Treebeard I’m not going to lie I’m pretty down with getting good gas mileage and polluting less. I don’t see why it should be seen as negative to drive a prius. They do do something…. on March 27, 2008 at 10:20 am WhiteTexan I love the idea of a Prius, but unfortunately was born with improper genetics and have way to much testosterone. I am trying to institute my own form of gene therapy by converting my Jeep with 35 inch tires to a diesel so I can run BioDiesel I make at home from free McDonalds cooking oil and get 30 mpg. But knowing myself, I will most likely convert it to a HEMI instead or simply buy regular middle eastern originating Diesel because it’s so much less effort. Honestly, I just feel better now that I’ve posted this and may keep what I got, getting about 12 pmg. Really though, I think this should be a “white people from San Francisco” site. White people in Texas would be a very different list since we know our state would be better off as it’s own country. on March 27, 2008 at 2:19 pm D-Rock That’s funny…I thought this was a post about Seattle. You mean white people all over the US do this too?! on March 28, 2008 at 12:55 am Mark The Jetta and Prius are top Gay guy cars, while the Saab is a top Lez car. While that can fall in the white people category, it’s dominated by Gay guys Come Let Us Reason Together I saw a brand new Prius today in Ferrari red. It was striking. Imagine the thrill of a white people car made in Japan calling to you in fluent Italian. Cool. on March 28, 2008 at 10:27 pm EJJ The whole thing behind the Prius is that you can spend $6,000.00 less on a hybrid Civic that gets the same mileage, accelerates the same and handles much better. In fact, while hybrid sales have been flat for the last 5 years, only the Prius has shown growth. Why? Because it is the only hybrid-only platform. Civics and Altimas only have a little badge to distinguish the hybrid versions. Buy a Prius and spend six grand more just so that EVERYONE KNOWS YOU DRIVE A HYBRID. It’s the Liberal version of the POS H2 Hummer (which I might add was made with outdated and left over Chevy Suburban parts.) You want to help the environment? Carpool, take public transit, ride your bike… BTW, do you know how much toxicity lies within the Prius or any other hybrid’s battery systems? on March 28, 2008 at 10:46 pm EJJ Okay, I’ll compare your Prius to the VW Passat Diesel that I drove for 4 weeks in the UK where I got between 70 – 80mpg while bombing down the M at 90-95 (mph) and accelerating as fast as I could all of the time because, well, it was a rental and my company pays for the gas. I put about 4000 miles on that car so it’s not as if it’s some sort of fluke. Wish I could say the same for the BMW 135d I had in Switzerland, but… on March 28, 2008 at 11:23 pm EJJ This is either funny as hell, or else the only other things you’ve driven have been riding lawnmowers. In case it’s not a joke, well… I can’t sleep and I’m bored so… Fast?? Let’s see, what DOESN’T go faster than a Prius? Ooo, I know, 18 Wheelers… and… oh, golf carts… and… hmm… well… maybe a 26 foot box truck, unless you have a load and are driving it downhill. Per Road and Track Magazine (might be Motortrend, the magazines are at my other place right now.) Toyota Prius 0-60 10.2 seconds Nissan Altima Hybrid 0-60 6.8 seconds Per C & D GMC Yukon Denali (Chevy Tahoe) 0-60 6.2 seconds. And yeah, the rated mileage on the Altima is within 1 or 2 mpg. Oh, and a comparably equipped Altima costs about $3-4k less. I realize this site is a joke and some people are TRYING to be funny, but come on, the Prius is FAST? Wow. And of course I’m jealous because I’m poor. Yeah, well, let’s just say that I’m not and keep it at that. on March 29, 2008 at 1:11 pm yoikes! well, you summarized the several arguments made by myself and other posters here very well, but man, destroyer, you’re not going to gain many converts or change people’s minds about Prius drivers looking down their nose at others (which IS bullshit) with that last part of your post…pretty extreme. NCLawyer “White liberals have no sense of humor though” Then why is this site so popular with all of my white friends, most of whom are liberal? Most of the “conservatives” I personally know don’t have the cultural literacy required to get the jokes, thought it didn’t really seem necessary to point that out until now. I think it’s terribly moderate of y’all conservatives to even be reading this site … are you sure it’s ok with your party chiefs, religious leaders, big daddies, etc.? Someone should start a blog “stuffwhiteconservativeslike” — the first post could be “Calling anything you don’t like or understand ‘liberal’ in order to mask your fear of latent homosexual tendencies.” (You can take a little dig, right? Y’all are the ones with the senses of humor, after all.) I remember that the Saab was the white person’s dream car in the 80s (along with the Porsche, of course). There just weren’t that many white people who could afford them due to the long recession. Damn, it feels good to be a white liberal and so correct and enlightened. on April 1, 2008 at 7:33 pm NCLawyer “There are some who can bridge the gap with a classy approach to multi-use lands and safe hunting practices. I am trying to become one of these. This way I can be a hunter- a hunter who rides his bicycle to the deerstand. I will have the cred on both sides of the Southern white person’s camp.” To sum up: a real man doesn’t need a giant truck to prove that a) he has a dick and b) he could kill an animal if hungry. Rock on. I used to drive a primer grey `86 Oldsmobile Cutlass until it started to be an embarrassment to my clients … I donated it to public radio after the guys who mow my grass declined to buy it. I now drive a 96 Ford Taurus, which I guess counts as recycling. On the upside, it only cost me $3100, and I get stopped by the cops a lot less. I can’t begin to imagine spending $20,000+ on a car, even though I know that is what they cost… on April 2, 2008 at 11:32 am Bebop Where *else* but in USA can I get ridiculed for the kind of car I drive? So what, I drive a Prius. I ride a bike to work when there’s not snow on the road. The Prius sits at home. Pretty pathetic arguments to ridicule someone about. After 14 years of doing the ‘right thing’ and driving a POS American car, I wanted back to Japanese engineering. I chose Prius because I have had good luck with Toyotas in the past. I chose Prius because I can park free in my city. I don’t have to have a smog check. It costs me $25 to fill up the tank. I *fortunate* enough to still have a job in the US that pays well enough to afford me this one luxury. All you naysayers, go find something else to battle about … like torturing people or Imperialist violence for a lie. on April 2, 2008 at 11:59 am Anonymous OH, but you are still damaging the environment. I think that is what everyone here is saying. You’re only damaging the environment a teeny bit less than other people who drive normal cars with 25-30 mpg, and then when you factor in the environmental damage you’re doing with all the batteries in these things, your net environmental impact is only very very slightly less than a normal car that gets good gas mileage (if not equal or in some opinions slightly worse). Who I really hate are the dirty mullet-wearing, cousin-humping, cow-tipping, raised pick-up driving neanderthals who don’t comingle with urbanites and don’t know what a skyscraper looks like (but they sure is perty tull). on April 2, 2008 at 6:25 pm Maynardo I agree. You should see the look of horror I get from Prius drivers as I pull up to the next to them at the intersection in my Big, Bad, Mercury Marauder (think big cop car with a Mustang Cobra engine.) I swear, the icy gaze I get from those people can frost the windows on MY car, from the outside…! Which usually gets a vicious, forest-fire grade burnout from me in return. The Prius owners almost wanna crucify me to the Burning Man and set me on fire, but as I roll down the windows to try and scrape off some the frost, they hear me bumpin some Mos Def when he was a part of Blackstar (which white people tend not to know about.) They recognize Mos Def vocals, and in a flash I leave them in awe, as unbridled disgust turns into grudging respect. on April 3, 2008 at 10:51 am Not a Republican I am a true southern cracker who has a strong prefrence for american made vehicles that consume gas at the rate that Prius “dippy car” Owners consume starbucks lattes. I would have a Chrysler 500, Mustang, Charger or Magnum any day over a prius. Its not about white people snobbery, its snobbery in general, snobbery taken so far as to choose style over substance. I walk to work and spend less than $10 a week on gas! Prius owners- I’ll ice u in my monte carlo Still Waiting on my flex fuel corvette baby Support Detroit Auto workers!!!!!!!!!!!!Drive american on April 3, 2008 at 11:40 am Jupiter Jones Actually, if you could find a good circa 1981 VW Rabbit, manual transmission, you’d probably be getting even better mileage. Of course, the car is little more than an engine surrounded on four sides by compressed rust, but when you’re pimping something that only weighs as much as your Mac laptop, you’re going to get great returns (just don’t add weight by putting in a radio or air conditioning.). on April 3, 2008 at 11:44 am Jupiter Jones The media does, on occasion, get it wrong. Public perceptions can be hard to change though. Did you know that during each year of the Vietnam war, more people enlisted to fight than were drafted? Not something you’d think was true. on April 3, 2008 at 11:47 am Jupiter Jones With diesel at $4/gallon is it even worth it? As for Germany being that white, last time I was there (admittedly, that was ’92) it was probably a good 45% Turkish. on April 3, 2008 at 12:58 pm whiteconservativerepublican This is all true. I look at those people with pitty. Wasting their lives driving a tiny piece of crap. All for the big Al Core hoax. Its a “feel good” purchase for those jerks who think they will be noticed in a good way. Most of the smart, logcial, common sense people laugh their butts off at those idiots. All your doing is buying in to Al Gore’s angry “I lost the Presidency” stab at the world. Whatever I’m getting off on a tangent. Sorry. on April 3, 2008 at 1:00 pm joannawashere Yeah, I’m totally behind in the whole pretending to be green thing. I still have a Camry because of that irritating bit of logic that says that plugging in your car ALSO requires fossil fuels. I feel so unhip because of my ever-uncool intolerance for bullshit. I’m a white person with a prius, and you are the funniest person on earth! God! it’s brilliance! it’s so freaking true! Ha! I’m unbelievably white, I love Barak Obama, I’m pro-mac, and I’m super democrat in a democrat city, and I drive this brand new prius which is like this styrofoam car which handles llike a packing peanut and I’m totally listening to Sufjan Stevens (cause I coughed up just enough dough for the nice speaker system) and talking to my mom on the car bluetooth system (which is crap) while i drive from my apartment to my job where I work as a receptionist, which pays just barely enough to support this vehicle. And it doesn’t even stop there. my Prius is beige. God. it’s so true and funny. So much love for you, blogger guy. So much love for you. on April 3, 2008 at 5:20 pm Anonymous I think the update to this would be the ‘smart car’. My chiropractor is uber-white and she just got one. She’s very excited about it because it’s good for the environment (compact and gets great gas mileage). on April 3, 2008 at 5:46 pm Anonymous Unless of course you are a conservative who chooses to drive a Prius to decrease dependence on foreign oil. But, regardless, you are probably white. mycarlady I agree. The prius is not the most user friendly car out there and the Civic perfomrs better, is more user friendly and white or not, if you drive alot, it makes sense. BUT, the hybrid Tahoe, Yukon, Vue, Escape, HIghlander, Lexus, Altima and soon to be VOLT are all reasonable replacements for 15mpg. http://www.mycarlady.com on April 4, 2008 at 7:20 am y'all stupid It takes me twenty to fill my tank for two weeks which is great cause then I can buy more weed. on April 4, 2008 at 9:54 am do some research You might want to actually research how much electric power a fully battery powered electric car will use when plugged in to recharge as compared to the gallons of fossil fuel used by standard gas engines, before you talk about bullshit. It’s less by huge amounts. Again, what none of the bashers acknowledge is that NO ONE is saying that hybrids or electrics don’t pollute: they just pollute a lot less than gas cars, and isn’t that a step in the right direction? Alexander Newman I’m a college student. Drunk people busted out the windows in my 1997 Cadillac El Dorado. So, my white dad thought it was time for me to have a new car anyways knowing that my birthday was just around the corner. Being overprotective (a very white person characteristic) he wanted to buy a Hummer 3. “Dad,” I said, “that is not what I’m all about.” Instead, I encouraged the Prius. I have it now…I love it now…and girls really do dig the back up camera. The worst thing about the Prius is that its so damn ugly, i would never ever buy one, if someone gave me a Prius i would sell it really cheap just to get rid of it. Is it impossible to build a flexi-fuel car that looks good? probably yes. i will continue drive petrol powered cars until the oil sources of the world is empty or i die (what ever occurs first) 🙂 on April 5, 2008 at 2:30 pm Vir U-Turn, the gang leader on Weeds, outfitted his whole crew with Priuses because “they’re quiet so you can sneak up on bitches.” on April 5, 2008 at 5:27 pm tony g I love your stuff. I am white and some how u teaCH me About whIte peOple . ha ur obsessed bUt it’s funny !!! ToyOta Prius, white PPl Do like them huh.. I never tripped on this.. Ima get one i guess??? on April 6, 2008 at 8:26 pm lady this blog is hilarious! i can’t get enough, every white person with a prius and a mac that i know loves this stuff… hahhahaaa on April 7, 2008 at 9:14 am Renee Ryerson Nice! You’re the kind of person I want to take home and show to my white mom. I’m white and I take a bus to work. So take your Prius and shove it. on April 8, 2008 at 6:31 am joe schmo What? What’s an American car? I am pretty sure ALL AMERICAN car companies have factories in other countries, like Mexico. Furthermore, if they are assembled here, not all the parts are made here. Look at the details of your car. Where did the stereo come from? How about the interior? What about anything under the hood? Your mustang was probably made in Mexico. Quite with the ‘american’ made bull and try to understand that our companies are as much about the bottom line and the Benjamin as are any other multinational company. It’s great that you hate prius and walk to work, however. Prius is overrated as it is. This blog is very funny. The other dp I know who you are dp!!!! For I am also dp!!!! BTW… I don’t drive a prius & ya’ll have wayyyyyyy to much time on your hands… especially you dp for not calling the other dp. on April 9, 2008 at 7:43 am Foo Man Chu dude, this is funny and true. White folks (colorado) love the enviornment, outdoor stuff so much that they’ll do anything to protect it. And then drive in their trucks, SUVs, hybrid, 4wd to the (portected) mountains 3-4 times a week for biking, hiking, camping, etc. And if bears, foxes, racoons… raoming in their natural home happens to find campers’ trash and start diggin, chances are they will be shot dead- because they’re bothering the earth saving folks. on April 9, 2008 at 12:16 pm Hugh Jass well, i find prius people to be smug assholes. if they were really serious they’d ride bikes and work in the renewable energy industry. on April 11, 2008 at 10:39 am seriously Good post. I think soon you should step it up and mention car sharing. This excellent invention allows people-to-whom-your-blog-applies, like me, to drive a Prius, yet not take on the responsibility of owning one. We have advanced our guilt towards global warming, oil wars we don’t fight in, and urban parking, to the extreme that we like to be able to say, “Well, I don’t actually own a car, but when I really need one, I drive a Prius from Zipcar.” There’s even a suggested anti-corparate subtext in the idea of ‘sharing’. I’ll leave it to you to figure out how your readers can use this information to their advantage. Thanks for the laughs. Conservatives aren’t “culturally literate?” Try reading from Bill Buckley. Keep a dictionary handy. I actually considered a Prius, but the damned thing is too small for the occasions when I need more room, and once you add a bicycle rack to it, the mileage goes into the toilet. So I bought an ’08 WRX. 🙂 on April 12, 2008 at 8:03 am Good Reading Voice As surprising as it may be to some, you’re dead-on right about a small, fuel-efficient car being cheaper to operate (and requiring less energy) than a bicycle, once you account for the increased food intake of the bicyclist, tires, chains, cassettes, chainrings, brake pads, etc. I ran the numbers once: my bicycle against a Toyota Yaris. The Yaris won by a few pennies per mile. But then, I don’t ride my bike to save the environment. I ride my bike to be Walter Mitty, er, Lance Armstrong, er, a pushing-40 wannabe. Something like that. And yes, a decent turbodiesel makes so much more sense than a hybrid on so many levels. Thank you so much, California (and copycat states) for keeping them out of the U.S., and thank you so much, Bill Clinton, for the BTU tax that increased the price of road diesel by nearly 50%. on April 12, 2008 at 3:11 pm oldwhitegrouch This whole green thing is a just a way for Big Business to sell everybody new crap. And it’s working because many people love to think they’re doing something beneficial when buying consumer products. Green also has the benefit of channeling a worthwhile urge to improve the world into an area that makes Big Business money rather than into an area that threatens Big Business, you like, like single payer health care or trade unionism. I made bushel-baskets of dough from anti-pollution equipment, green has been very good to me. Long-green is the only goddam green I care about. Just a guy As a prius owner I laughed as well. The article is funny. However, so many of you miss the point on why we “white people” drive a prius. I drive one simply for the gas mileage based on how many miles I drive daily for kids/work/commute. At 4.00 a gallon gas prices, the Big Man is screwing me at the pump. I paid cash for my car, so I am still debt free and saving on gas. And I average about 42 miles a gallon. This single dad of two could not afford the gas companies screwing anymore. As for green…I prefer my green in the bank. on April 15, 2008 at 9:24 am Ryan EPA has ALWAYS used flawed methods of testing MPG and their estimates are ALWAYS off by about 10% their old method was even worse on Hybrids and gave ridiculous figures that the car could never achieve In reality the Prius gets up to 45 MPG all-around as for performance… well there isint any. hop in one find the longest onramp and try to get up to highway speed. you can’t the car is trash. Not to mention the fact your spending $21,000 (base) on a compact car that has an average lifespan of 100,000 miles. If you want a real car that gets awesome mileage buy a 1.4L TDI VW Polo it actually gets over 50MPG its also faster, safer, cheaper, better looking and more reliable than the Prius of course its only available in Europe right now. on April 15, 2008 at 9:30 am Ryan haha I drive a 1997 Infiniti I30 with a big V6 and a missing cat-converter and do a ‘fuel dump’ anytime I see a Prius. thats either revving my engine in Traffic, leaving a huge track of rubber across an intersection or a 65-100 on the interstate, of course blaring Lynyrd Skynyrd won’t get me the grudging respect but hey, I never wanted it in the 1st place on April 18, 2008 at 4:04 pm Nicolas Okay, for all yall who bought a Prius to ‘save the enviroment’, there’s a cheaper way. Go grow algae. No matter what foolish white tree-huggers tell you, algae is responsible for 90% of the world’s oxygen through photosynthesis. So instead of spending $21,100 on a Prius, fill a hole with water. Beats the hell out of buying another car. on April 21, 2008 at 5:47 am Anne Some of you folks are far too image conscious. (What will people think?…That I’m a sissy?…That I have a little… you know…That I’m…gasp… liberal… and have a little… you know) You need to be less emotional and more practical, and by practical, I also mean pay attention to your emissions. I need a new car. I drive 2 suburban miles to work, so I’m hoping to buy a hybrid. Let’s see…save money, pollute less, brag to my friends and family about when the last time was I had to fill up. It’s a no-brainer to me. I could care less about any false quick impressions someone makes about me based on the car I drive. If there wasn’t such a huge uphill climb on the way home I’d just ride my bike (we live in mountainous terrain and my knees suck). Love the idea about the algae. FYI, My experience with all my cars has been that when I measure highway miles my car gets far better than the estimate. I have asked the dealer why they underestimate mpgs (they do with Subarus, by a lot). He told me it’s so they don’t get the person mad who gets the ocassional car that doesn’t get the real mpg. So, the true mpg number should come from an owner who has measured it several times. TA As the owner of a Prius I can definitely say it is NOT overrated. If I were still driving my 4-runner I would be paying the same amount in gas every month that I now make in car payments, and I don’t have the repair issues. Definitely saves me a LOT of money. If Not A Republican had my job he would have to start very early in the morning to walk the 40 miles to work…and yes, most of what you call American is only put together here out of foreign parts. TA You obviously never owned a Prius. I drive 80 MPH to work and get up to speed far quicker than any other car I’ve ever owned. Most people don’t even realize that the electric engine assists the gas engine, which gives it extra power. Doesn’ t anyone do their research anymore? You guys sound so jealous! I can certainly understand why when I pull up to the pump and leave while you are still standing there pouring your paycheck into your tank. Really smart use of your money… TA I also had a car salesman try to feed me the line about how you can spend less on a Civic and get the same mileage. The Civic does not get 45 MPH, even on its best days (the Prius never gets less) and it couldn’t handle better because I’ve never had a car that handled as well as the Prius. on April 22, 2008 at 7:36 pm Sceptic But wouldn’t you be saving the environment and gas payments by moving closer than 40 miles to your job? And just think of all the raw materials used and the size of the carbon footprint in producing that dear Prius. Surely the extra gas mileage will offset that in the three years, after the lease is up. on April 23, 2008 at 2:49 pm Oh dear... “Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move. Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable!” Someone has visited Boulder recently…haha. Mom My Ride « Kirk and Jes […] by simply slipping behind the wheel you make a loud & clear statement that you are just a little bit better than everyone else because you drive a Prius. And you don’t have to say a word – that’s the beauty of it. After […] on April 25, 2008 at 11:07 am DS You’re so stupid!!!! American Cars!!!… The ford mustang has 65% American made whereas the Toytoa Sienna is 90% American made. Toytoa employees many, many Americans… Educate yourself, moron. BTW, I am a southern white person as well. on April 26, 2008 at 4:25 am Hartfrod I know a black guy who drives a prius, but if you were blind, you might not know the difference. He’s about as black as Brian Gumble. on April 26, 2008 at 2:45 pm Cranker I have an Obama sticker on the back of mine, right under the I take it in the ass sticker. on April 27, 2008 at 1:05 am Doc Ah yes, when I slip behind the wheel of my prius, it means I’m better than you, and thats what all this bullshit means to the no soul, wanna life experience white people. From coffee to the grad school, to Obama to gays, I’m better than you. Whites are some sad, suffering fools. Ian I only paid $21K for my ’08 Prius. I considered the Civic, but the Prius has more space for baby seats and can haul a lot if you put down the seats. It also sits up higher than sedans. on April 28, 2008 at 4:17 pm Big P Ah, the only thing sweeter than the 49 mpg I get in my Prius is my incredibly hot Japanese girlfriend. Talk about the White People Daily Double — dating a hot Asian babe while driving a fuel efficient MADE IN JAPAN car! I say: Buy a Prius and put a few more ignorant rednecks out of work. on May 14, 2008 at 2:07 pm UglyBetty Hey Mike.. Why don’t you put your mouth on the talipipe of that piece of shit you drive and inhale real hard. probably wouldn’t matter anyway. your’e already braindead… on May 14, 2008 at 2:40 pm Ria Around here most of the Prius’s I see are driven by people with higher amounts of melanin in their skin. I have a neighbor three houses down who is a damn good fellow who happens to be a retired Air Force officer who is supporting McCain. Sorry to dampen your stereotyping. Please keep in mind people that some of the Fox News and NPR insightful humor is neither insightful nor humorous. You are now free to denigrate people who drive F-150’s as being rednecks. on May 17, 2008 at 7:55 am Jude My young white male Doctor wants a Prius. Now, I’d like one but not at the price they sell for. Give me a break. If it costs more than 10,000. it’s highway robbery. The Gas is highway robbery, we won’t have a highway to drive on if no one can afford the gasoline anymore. on May 19, 2008 at 2:21 pm P I can’t wait to see the Pruis driver (whitey) throw a cigarette butt out the window. I know a Prius driver that doesn’t even recycle. What’s up with that? on May 20, 2008 at 1:12 pm Mike I think this is great. I love things that are sarcastic and it is so freaking true!!! BTW I am white and I own a Scion xB not a prius🙂 Just Nuke the Red States already About me: Young, definitely not gay, non-white (Indian), ex-Marine, Obama supporter living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Why do I drive the Prius? Cuz the trunk is big enough to hold my RPG-7!! Favorite thing to do? Watch as some tobacco-chewing, beef jerkey-eating, bud-drinking, cousin-humping, global-warming-denying, bible-thumping, hypocrite-flag-waving, conservative redneck-redstate soldier-wanna-be dipsh@*t try to run me off the road in his super-hemi-Powersmoke jacked-up F350 POS. Step 1: Speed up, pull over a mile ahead Step 2: Open Trunk, remove RPG-7 Step 3: Aim, pull trigger, and watch it go thru vehicle at supersonic speeds (sorry Sherlock – mine has the tandem warhead, so it’ll go through your M1A1 too!) Step 4: If said vehicle contains any of the following individuals: Jorge, on May 26, 2008 at 6:50 am Prudence Amazing what difference a few months and the price of gas make. The only color that matters now is green. Not being environmentally green, but having the bucks green. Make fun of the Prius all you want, but you’ll wish you had one and that the other car makers had the foresight Toyota did. on May 26, 2008 at 10:53 am grinder As someone who works 60 hours / week & commutes over 50 miles each way, I probably have a little more insight into this situation than most people… Those who buy foreign cars, yet still have the audacity to bitch & whine about our economy are complete morons… (Just like the last elections in ’04, if you didn’t vote, you have no right to bitch) I own a ’94 saturn sw2 with over 238,000 miles… Its an american car (GM product) that is very well made, helped the US economy at the time of purchase, AND STILL GETS 30MPG… by the way, the replacement parts for my car are less expensive, it will survive a crash better, will last longer, and will still smoke your gutless wonder prius in the quarter mile… If anyone wants to save money or help the environment (or our economy), buy something domestic (Ford, GM, or Chrysler). A toyota, honda, kia/hyundai, etc. that is “made in the USA” is still a foreign car because the money you’ve spent still goes to another country. Would you rather give some other country your money… or spend it where you live and work so that it may eventually make its way back to you? on May 26, 2008 at 1:51 pm Andy Weld I am sure showing people are wrong is something white people love, but you should know that you have to drive your Prius for over 10 years for it to be more efficient than a Hummer. The nickel-cadmium battery that makes the Prius so “fuel efficient” is so awful for the environment that the 5 mile radius around the factory contains no plant life, or other life for that matter. on May 27, 2008 at 5:55 pm D in NC No matter what color you are, the Prius is a smart car. It’s no more expensive than any other midsize car (if you don’t get all the toys on it) and mine gets 50 mpg on a daily basis without me trying. It’s comfy, roomy and good transportation. If it’s good for the environment.. that’s ok too I guess, but that’s not why I bought it. I’m a working musician (yes, I make a living at it and it’s work) and the only way I can pay the bills is to drive to gigs all over the place hauling equipment. This car is a great gigging car… I didn’t buy this car for any other reason but gas mileage. The car I traded in for it was a red Mazda 3 hatchback. SO CUTE!!! but only 28 mpg. I hated the Prius at first (dorky looking car) but I have learned to love it. Oh.. and I am white.. and you spell it STATION WAGON not stastion wagon. on May 27, 2008 at 11:07 pm Walker, Texas Ranger I love people who own Hummers. Actually, I love people who own Hummers and Escalades, especially older Hummers and Escalades bought from wholesale lots that have tons of shiny, aftermarket crap on them and booming stereos. Anyone tried to sell one of those POS’s recently? I imagine that it’s about like selling a house in Pheonix these days. Fucking impossible. Once gas is $1/gallon again, I guess the joke will be on those stupid Prius owners. Be strong, be cool, be upside down in your car payments, but whatever you do, don’t be white or liberal. White liberals are stoopid. on May 28, 2008 at 6:06 am Mary, Queen of Scots You forgot the fact that the Prius is a Japanese car — extra Asian points — but it’s built in America — extra labor movement points. Tom Tomlin Just on the lack of reasonable research, yes it runs clean but it seems the battery element of the wretched thing goes through (yes that’s how we spell it here) a 9 stage manufacturing process involving no fewer than 7 trips by those other ultra clean carbon efficient transpotation mechanisms, aeroplanes. Don’t know it to be true but it’s said while it’s the cleanest to run, it is, by a country mile the dirtiest to produce. Spewmonkey Rey, Eat an ass bitch boy!!! You don’t want us ‘Motorbike Motherfuckers’ as your enemy. We’ll anally rape your mother and make her beg us for more. I don’t care how cool I look while I’m splitting lanes in So-Cal while you stopped dead rush hour Cagers sweat it out with your touch screen distraction bullshit. on May 29, 2008 at 9:24 am Spewmonkey Does your mom know you’re a racist? Shit she probably raised you to be a bigot, racist, and a necrobeastial-sodomite. Don’t get me wrong a man’s hang up with road kill is his own business. on May 31, 2008 at 8:06 pm nilofc I’ll buy a Prius anytime…but I’ve been everywhere and none is available. Back-order and you have to wait for 8 weeks. This car is so popular right now. But if I have to wait8 weeks for a car that I like…then….it’s all worth it. on May 31, 2008 at 8:12 pm nilofc If the gas price comes down to $1 to a gallon again… Prius will still save money and the environment will still benefit. The joke will never be on the owners. I hope you get it. nski I agree with you. I have seen real black people and I think some other colors too in these cars….I don’t understand. my good friend drives a prius and bikes to work too… go figure! on June 1, 2008 at 5:59 pm nilofc Driving for Fun is different from driving to work and back home. Prius owners do not drive for fun, they drive prius to save money. If you want to drive for fun, go ride a bump car. on June 1, 2008 at 6:03 pm nilofc Disagree. I own a prius primarily because I want to save money on gas and not to let people know that I drive a hybrid. I can get a Civic Hybrid but I didn’t because I life the Prius better. It’s a matter of personal preference. If you drive something else, you don’t see people berating you for driving that kind of car…so why all the hate with Prius owners? on June 1, 2008 at 6:11 pm nilofc True. I think the worst kind of racist are the people who constantly think and bring about the issue of skin color. Racism is suppose to be over a long time ago. But if you keep on bringing it back then it will always be here. Nobody is trampling down on you because of your skin color. The reason why people stereotype is because of reality. You do that to yourselves. And you know who these people are? Some people have disdained Toyota Prius just because somebody termed it as something preferred by whites. Are you all Jeremiah Wrights???? Come on… you gotta rise above this and see how stupid this argument is. on June 1, 2008 at 6:16 pm nilofc Are you insinuating that people who do have a back up camera does not know how to back up? I wonder if you’d accept the same logic if you’re car came with a back up camera when you bought it. You see the fallacy in your logic? on June 3, 2008 at 3:28 am DJ I bought a 2008 Prius because…gas is expensive. It also looks cool, handles nicely (very little body roll, good acceleration at higher speeds, nimble steering, extreme braking ability), is extremely quiet, has lots of space, has amazing electronics inside (backup camera, push button start, touchscreen, drive-by-wire, etc.), has an excellent sound system, has good resale value (the waiting list is three months for a 2008 Prius!), is easy to manoeuver on downtown streets, has received many awards for engineering, popularity and reliability, comes with a very attractive warranty and the Canadian government offers a rebate of up to $4000 on it! The people who single out Prius owners (or any other car owner) are either jealous, idiotic, really enjoy buying fuel, or all of the above. on June 3, 2008 at 4:58 am Ken We drive a Prius during the week so we save enough $ in fuel costs to enjoy our Suburban on the week-ends and vacations towing a 7,000 lb. trailer.Republicans and loving our right to do what we want. Oh, that’s our Chevy’s White version of the Escalade…yo! on June 4, 2008 at 2:01 pm bowser Burn, toyota builds more vehicles in america then all of the american manufactures combined. now whos talkin about american made? Lee A prius is more “efficient” than a Hummer from day 1. If you are talking about recouping the cost, then yes, you have to have a prius for several years to offset the extra cost in fuel savings. What’s wrong with that? People should be taking care of their vehicles and making them last 8-10 years anyway. The battery comment is just nuts. First of all, the prius uses a nickel-metal hydride battery (not a NiCad) that doesn’t contain cadmium. This makes it much less toxic if some idiot just throws it in a ladfill. Second, NiMH batteries are about 100% recyclable, which is where mine will be going if it ever finally poops out (10+ years from now). A last comment for “Sceptic” Yes, it would be great if everybody lived a couple miles from work and we could bike there. So basially you want to regress society back to the middle ages where we didn’t ever leave our villages or travel more than 20 miles from our birth place? Be real. A car is just a tool of modern society. We can make it a lot better, the prius is just a (small) step it the right direction. But looking back, it a a giant leap forward from the gas-guzzling cars of the past. Lets not sneer at it simply because it is a transition piece and not the “answer” to all our problems. Oh, and just about everything it is made of can be recycled (plastic, steel, rubber). You just have to have an open mind. on June 5, 2008 at 9:11 pm Terry the Great White Pope Responsible white person……..I have a fixed rate mortgage, I never had Kids (love ribbed condoms thank you trojan man !) Never bought more car then I needed. I pay all my bills on time every time. I have a 780 Issac score (thats a credit rating for all the non white people) I Drive a 2003 Prius that gets 55 MPG ( ai also have a very nice 2003 P71 Crown Vic that I drive to vegas whenever I want because I can afford to (see comment #2 about never having kids that one saved me like 500 grand) I dont care what people think of the type of car I drive ( I also have a 1973 Charger SE 440 with a 4 speed. A 1958 Chevrolet BelAir and a 1969 Buick Electra convertible black on black) I choose any one of these cars to drive when I want to piss off the Non-Whites in their 60 Grand Escalades that are about to be Repo’d)…No one ever remembers those when they see Old White boy in his classic car, I sit on my fat ass (well not fat I bike 5 miles a dat and look Fab in my Zoot Suit when I go to Vegas whenever I want (no Kids lots of money and Fantastic Credit remember). Whats the Point of all this. No one cares about the “Look at Me Generation” because they are all busy losing their ass’s because of Stupid Choices made in the past 10 years of their young Lives….Foolish Spending just to have people look at them, Sad indeed…..Oh well time to go watch another episode of Will and Grace, Go suck on my wifes firm White Tits, Go swim naked in my Pool (I live in Arizona I can swim naked all day and night) and maybe later Ill drive my Prius to Starbucks for a Latte. (no one on the road nowadays because all the Non-Whites are like “Merry go Round Broke Down) Stay cool all you crazy Kids ! on June 5, 2008 at 9:32 pm Terry the Great White Pope sounds expensive wow wow wow how do you sleep at night knowing your pissing away more money every month than you care to share ? I drive my Prius about 800 miles a month, I fill the tank 1 1/2 times for a cost of about 100 dollars, You fill your tank maybe 4 times a month at about Im guessing ……………..500 dollars a month? Holy White man Batman ! If you bought a used Prius for say 18K and had Great Credit and got say 6% rate you would pay about 325 a month for 60 months, Hmmmm ? (this does not include your car payment of Im Guessing…….300 to 600 dollars a month, Lets See that would be a grand total of say (low ball) 800 bucks a month not including your Car Insurance for a landcruiser (lets say 200 dollars a month) so thats about a Grand a month X 60 months……Hmmm lets see that would be about 60 Thousand Dollars to drive your “Look at me Landcruiser” for 5 years. Wow Math reallly makes you want to go Load your Shotgun and buy a gallon of Vodka huh !!!!! See you in Hell Broke Boy (if you want to kick my ass im the White asshole in the Prius gettting 55 MPG listening to my Micheal Bolton CD while kicking back a 5 dollar Latte that I got for free from my best friends wife because I know shes been Porking the guy who drives the 15 MPG landcruiser and if she does not buy me a Starbucks every day Ill rat her Whore ass out and she will be sent back to her home on Whore Island (lets see 5 dollar Lattes every day for 30 days thats 150 dollars I save on my favorite White Persons Drink) Damn aint I a Shit ! Terry the Great White Pope dont be a hater because your Broke ! Terry the Great White Pope man suck one dick and buy a prius and your labled for life ! on June 5, 2008 at 9:47 pm Terry the Great White Pope You failed math huh, I fill my Prius 2 times a month at 4 bucks a gallon I pay roughly $85 bucks a month, The average American or Jap SUV costs about 4 times that amount. ( $340 american) X 12 =$4080 a year and thats at 4 bucks a gallon, It should cost about 6 bucks come next year or if another hurricane hits the gulf coast. I pay about $1200 a year for fuel, You spend almost 3 grand more than me. Holy bat shit Great White Pope thats about over $15,000 more in just Fuel in only 5 years ! Math sucks huh. ( at 6 dollars a gallon you will spend enough money to send a boy to disneyland 375 times) Thats quite a bit of Micky and goofy ( see how saving money and learning math can make people happy at the Happiest Place on Earth !) on June 5, 2008 at 9:49 pm Terry the Great White Pope Ill drive my prius under your hummer and get shade in the summer, at about 3 grand less in fuel a year. I love Summertime and all the Giant Hummers that give me shade for my Quivering Prius ! on June 5, 2008 at 9:51 pm Terry the Great White Pope Your right about the Nerds in the Prius’s at the computer place ! You know the old saying, Dont piss off a Geek because someday he will be your boss ! (ill take a Prius please and hold the hummer thanks ! on June 5, 2008 at 10:08 pm Terry the Great White Pope sounds expensive wow wow wow how do you sleep at night knowing your pissing away more money every month than you care to share ? I drive my Prius about 800 miles a month, I fill the tank 1 1/2 times for a cost of about 100 dollars, You fill your tank maybe 4 times a month at about Im guessing ……………..500 dollars a month? Holy White man Batman ! If you bought a used Prius for say 18K and had Great Credit and got say 6% rate you would pay about 325 a month for 60 months, Hmmmm ? (this does not include your car payment of Im Guessing…….300 to 600 dollars a month, Lets See that would be a grand total of say (low ball) 800 bucks a month not including your Car Insurance for a landcruiser (lets say 200 dollars a month) so thats about a Grand a month X 60 months……Hmmm lets see that would be about 60 Thousand Dollars to drive your “Look at me Landcruiser” for 5 years. Wow Math reallly makes you want to go Load your Shotgun and buy a gallon of Vodka huh !!!!! See you in Hell Broke Boy (if you want to kick my ass im the White asshole in the Prius gettting 55 MPG listening to my Micheal Bolton CD while kicking back a 5 dollar Latte that I got for free from my best friends wife because I know shes been Porking the guy who drives the 15 MPG landcruiser and if she does not buy me a Starbucks every day Ill rat her Whore ass out and she will be sent back to her home on Whore Island (lets see 5 dollar Lattes every day for 30 days thats 150 dollars I save on my favorite White Persons Drink) Damn aint I a Shit ! Malcolm Anyone who can name a site like this must be racially biased. I have friends around the world who are black(African and Amercian) and coloured: Indian, South African, Cypriot, Greek and Turk. Some are very rich and some are quite poor and could not afford a Prius but when I sent some of them the name of this site the comment was :Where is this person coming from has he never heard of racial bias??? Get real man this 2008 the 21C not 19C. on June 6, 2008 at 3:23 pm Peter I own a Prius and drive it because the mileage is great. Their being expensive is a myth. The base Prius is about $23,700 and has a backup camera, ipod jack, side airbags, stability control, digital climate control, and a smart key system with a pushbutton ignition. People foolishly compare its price to base compacts and subcompacts, while the Prius is an extremely well equipped roomy midsize car. Seriously its just a car. I truly dont think that most Prius buyers’ spines are tingling about how cool everyone else is gonna think they are. Get it right folks. I sell cars and gays and lesbians usually buy coupes because they don’t have to be bothered by kid space. Its crazy how many homophobic hybrid haters are out there. Its just butt-sex and its just a car. P.S. I’m a man married to a woman and have no stickers on my Prius. Hoorah for generalizations! P.P.S. Find something to love rather than hating everything. on June 6, 2008 at 7:47 pm Armorpiercer American-made? What is that anymore? A Chevrolet Equinox – assembled in Canada, with a Japanese engine, and a Chinese transmission. Go figure! on June 6, 2008 at 7:53 pm Armorpiercer If you are writing about a Prius, then 60mpg is a bit pretentious. It MIGHT have been that in ’07, but no longer in ’08. The method of figuring the mileage is now more life-like. For one thing, they actually drive the cars – no dyno like before. Wind resistance comes into play then. And they use the AC now too. And they drive more than 55mph, unlike before. The whole new method is more like the so-called real world. But who is going to care if gas is $5gal? I will park my Prius, and bike it. on June 17, 2008 at 5:10 pm Gary Atrocious Dang… were all the parts put in to making your daughter 100% American? Because I alone am made up of parts from four different countries. I’m much like robocop in many ways… Robocop and the Prius. I drive a Prius. I would still drive over it if I had a massive 4wd Pick me up truck (or Johnny Deere for that matter). But I don’t have a truck… and that’s a good thing because I’m chock fll of bad choices… on June 17, 2008 at 5:12 pm Gary Atrocious You is wrong. the things has som giddy-up… enough to get up to drivin speed on the ol’ highway with no problem… on June 17, 2008 at 5:33 pm Gary Atrocious well let’s all buy hummers so we can work on making the “death zone” that much bigger, perhaps let’s just make the earth a big shit box, or lets all drive a truck that we have to fill up every 200 miles (or less), for $80+ a tank, instead of a mere ~$36 bucks it costs me to fill this Toyotee out back once every two weeks OR every 500+ miles… I’d love to bike or walk to work… or public transportation would be fantastic… but I live in the sticks. and there isn’t one thing wrong with driving a car that financially makes this gas craziness not quite so hard on my wallet. the car wasn’t extremely expensive. it’s extremely comfortable though. so go on and put me down for how I decided to spend my money. by driving this car I’m not saying anything about the environment, flowers don’t grow when I drive down the street. but it’s definately not bad to drive. and that price i pay to fill it up makes me smile every time. not to mention the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode… it’s a great car damn it!!! on June 19, 2008 at 9:35 am fugggg-it LOL that battery pack aint gonna give you ten years. Try six if yer lucky. By the way the replacement cost on that battery is more expensive than a decent used econo box car that is six years old. I aint talking ford here either. Im talking honda and toyota used car. A prius is an econmic joke jsut like ethanol. Buy one if you got money to burn. I will take my little ole simple subaru imprezza with a 4 banger any day. fugggg-it on June 21, 2008 at 6:48 pm JAM Even funnier than the post itself are all the comments from Prius owners who are COMPLETELY OFFENDED that you would dare criticize their automobile! I’m particularly partial to the, “It’s just a car,” post that veers off into something about gay people and what is so great about Priuses. It’s almost like they missed the part about how Prius owners love to make themselves feel better by bragging about their car. Oh, and to the doofus who said that they’re cheap: $23,000+ is not cheap for a new car when Toyota makes several that get 30-35 mpg for much less. Face it: the Prius is a status symbol and an instrument of white guilt. on June 23, 2008 at 3:01 pm demian727 Ugh. I hate the Toyota Prius! It looks like the aborted baby between a Camry and a Saturn. I don’t care how good the gas mileage is or if it runs on sunshine and ferry dust – the thing is hideous. on June 23, 2008 at 3:02 pm demian727 The Prius is only a status symbol for people who can’t afford a Lexus. They make Hybrid cars too. on June 24, 2008 at 6:50 pm UglyBetty 2 months w/ my 08 Prius.. Love the car, hate that piece of shit package 6 JBL stereo system. Toyota and JBL should be ashamed of this sorry excuse for a stereo. I’d get better sound from a 40 dollar ghetto blaster sitting on the back seat!!! It’s like sticking your head in a fucking garbage can…….(with that new car smell of course.) If your considering a Prius, go for the base model and skip the extras. Thats where you’ll get burned… Better than Guitar Hero…. My new Prius is awesome. But the best is watching the Energy screen and learning how to drive it so you’re getting the 99.9 mpg show as much as possible. Told my daughter this was the best hands-on “video” game I’ve played since Guitar Hero. Even better, I get cash-back rewards for winning the game. yeah baby. on July 6, 2008 at 7:22 pm Ground Control to Major Tom It’s like driving a freakin’ spaceship. Totally futuristic. But then again, I’ve always liked things that were ahead of their time. Other cars have snouts… Drooling dogs… Lapping gas. HAHAHA What you talkin' about Willis? Or should I say: What you talkin’ about Betty? The Prius isn’t ugly. Unless, of course, you’re behind the times. Beam me up Scotty… this car has fashion-forward style that visionaries appreciate. Get it… or envy it. on July 6, 2008 at 8:37 pm Meanie Greenie Big business will sell you anything that makes them a buck, dear oldwhitegrouch. In fact, most Big Business crap is made in China for a buck-a-day wages. Big Business pays no insurance, no taxes, or affiliated USA payroll expenses. Since “green” is cool right now, they’re trying that too, it’s called Green-Washing by the way…. cashing-in on most consumers’ ignorance for what is truly “green”. As far as CARS go, there aren’t many that can beat the Prius, which I hope sets the standard for even better things to come. The almighty consumer BUCK is more powerful than any ballot vote. Send a message to the manufacturers with your spending power and they WILL change the way they make things… and that includes vehicles that get better mileage. If you do your research, most real “green” items offer a great ROI (return on investment). So those eco-green products produce extra green in your bank account. Even a fool should appreciate that. I pulled out... … and I’m a gal … in front of a big ol’ Hummer. I even showed him some tongue. He didn’t seem to mind. The satisfaction was divine. Being mischievous with a mission. You catch more flies with honey. Lovin’ my Prius and playing with the big guys ;-)~ on July 7, 2008 at 7:40 pm I'm white too... and sometimes I walk to work. But in the meantime, bend over baby, my Prius is comin’ in. We’re happy to oblige. Enjoy the ride! on July 7, 2008 at 7:46 pm Sell it to me, fool With the resale value I can make some serious money, while you, on the other hand, contribute to middle-east “petro” dependency. Ruff, ruff. on July 7, 2008 at 7:58 pm white blonde bitch I’m a smart, logical, common sense, blonde bitch (yeah baby sorry to disappoint you) and my Prius can probably get me hotter than your little white conservative republic mind could even imagine. Dream on. Get wet. And try to ride me. But…. I’m already there. =========================== I’m hot. I’m better than good. And I save the best for last. I’m a Prius…. and she loves me. on July 8, 2008 at 2:24 pm Greg I don’t own a car anymore (14 months and counting)but ride my bike or take the bus or bum a ride. How d’ya like THEM APPLES? p.s.- I have a lot more money now for hookers and cocaine! on July 9, 2008 at 12:12 pm uhhhh Uhhh…anyone ever heard of diesel? (I wouldn’t know if you did, because I am too self centered to read the other posts) Anyhoo, my ole Diesel Merc gets over 35mph (that’s an S-class bitches…which means it’s a tank) oh, and BTW I can run off veg oil. Take that Prius! on July 9, 2008 at 5:52 pm Would you like fries with that? I have a Prius. My hubby has the veggie oil diesel contraption (set up in our huge backyard shed). It’s totally cool and quite a turn-on that the car (hubby included) can be so independent. I just didn’t want to deal with the mess or the smell, so I went Prius and he went Veggie Oil. I’ll certainly “take that” as you say, however I don’t want to take it with fries. Man, I feel like a woman. And I want to smell like one too ;-)~ on July 9, 2008 at 6:17 pm Shady Baby Agree 100% . I love driving behind those obnoxious huge vehicles like Hummers. They are SO YESTERDAY🙂 Good for shading tho… I like that!! on July 9, 2008 at 6:26 pm I'm going to Disneyland Terry the Great White Pope… you are incredibly sexy simply because you know how to crunch your numbers. There’s nothing more sexy than a smart guy who drives a smart car, like the Prius. Actually, I’ve been to Disneyland already, so think I’ll plan a trip to Japan (or perhaps somewhere more exotic like Fiji) with the savings on my Prius. Wanna cum? on July 9, 2008 at 6:38 pm danke schön I’m American-German five times over — even married an “American German”. But guess what? I’m Japanese Prius all-the-way. Hamete chodai (Japanese) on July 10, 2008 at 10:39 am Jimi I am so happy for all of the lovely people who ride their bikes to work and where ever. They smell awesome when they get across town, and better yet they look great too! All pitted out with their underwear wedged so far up their crack they can barely walk. I wounder how they would do with three kids on a bike in a rain storm 40 mile an hour wind carrying a couple bags of groceries and some dry cleaning. I guess the smell would be washed away by the pounding rain. Shucks. on July 10, 2008 at 3:30 pm steffis cowboy I just bought a prius and I love it. The quasi-racist who wrote this article fails to recognize that a lot of us regardless of race, are concerned about reducing our expenses. It is past time for Americans to dump their big SUV’s and trucks and start being more responsible. How many times have you seen a big Ford F150 or an Escalade or a Yukon lumber around in traffic with only one person inside, the driver? Although I’m not ready to ride my bike to work, etc., if each one of us can reduce the amount of gas we consume every day, including diesel, we might just be able to bring down the high price of gasoline. Zack the Anglo Dude Obama is white on the inside. He’s a half-Brother and was raised by white folks. I drive a Prius because I like to drive around and I’d rather get 50MPG in the middle of nowhere than 20MPG. It is a good car, but I’m still driving too much. I’d rather drive to see my friends or different places than fly. Airlines and airports suck! The open road means freedom (at least as long as I can afford the gas–part of why I drive my hybrid jalopy…) Yeah, I’m white, but since I am from California that makes me an “Anglo dude”.., Spencer A friend of mine recently told me (and I haven’t actually seen this study, so he may have just been blowing smoke) that he read a study by the University of Michigan that did a dust-to-dust analysis of the Prius and the Hummer H3, and the energy cost of manufacture, transport to user location (I guess since the Prius has to cross the ocean), and de-manufacture/junking made the Prius’ carbon footprint three times the size of the Hummer. He said that both cars were analyzed to 200,000 miles of driving, and the actual driving was the only section of the analysis in which the Prius bested the Hummer. I guess the ‘yota has a lot of electrical and battery components that are pretty difficult to get rid of. And I can attest to the fact that a major problem with the soils around landfills is presented by battery leakages. Again, I can’t speak to the veracity of this study (or if it even exists) since a friend just mentioned it, but it is something to think about. Personally, I’ve always kind of chuckled at the notion that a car with better gas mileage is really doing something for the global greenhouse gas situation. The solution to the emissions problem is going to be driving less. NeoPrius First of all, we’re not “White”. We are European Americans. Don’t devalue your cultural identity by referring to yourselves using “quasi-racist” terms like “White”. We have a wonderful cultural heritage that needs to be preserved, or it will be lost. Second, we have a serious energy (oil) and environmental crisis (carbon dioxide) going on here – and it’s here to stay. Dump the SUV and go with the Prius, for your kid’s sake. Third, it’s sad, frustrating and angering that no US auto maker has even attempted a car like the Prius, other than a few “me-too” hybrid fakes. Agree First, I’m so glad to meet someone else that says: “European-American” When we have to fill out those dreaded forms (for health or the kid’s school or camp, whatever), we always cross out “Caucasian” or “White” and write “European-American”. Heck, if everyone else can be: “insert-race-American”, well then… so can I damn it”. Second, oversized trucks/SUVs are just plain obnoxious, ridiculous, and show that the driver is totally oblivious and uneducated on our energy crisis (agreeing with you). Third, if we send a message with our purchasing power — that is, our almighty BUCK — the auto makers WILL listen and they WILL begin to give us what we want. That’s one of the main reasons I bought a Prius. To send my message to change mileage consumption. They can do it. They just need to KNOW we DEMAND them to do it. Spencer The notion that you’re actually helping the global environment or combatting global climate change by buying a Prius might be just a little bit misguided. Aside from the gas mileage, do you know the impact the manufacture, transport/delivery, demanufacture processes have as compared with other cars? I definitely don’t know the numbers, but before you adopt the sanctimonious attitude poked fun at by the post, maybe you should check. It has been suggested that the Prius might actually be more harmful over the course of its life (dust-to-dust) than many SUVs. Couldn’t tell you for sure if that is so, but it makes you stop and think a little bit. The batteries that are in those cars are extremely difficult and expensive to dispose of properly. I’m working on a huge soils analysis project in south Florida right now and we’ve seen that a huge contributer to wildland-urban interface soil degradation is battery acid seepage from landfills and car cemeteries. I said this a few posts down, but really, until every car on the road is getting 50 mpg or better, the way to stay your emissions impact is to ride a bike or walk as much as possible (ultimately, bite the bullet and drive MUCH less). The 20 mpg better that your Priuses get over your buddies’ SUVs have a pretty negligible emissions decrease on a global scale. Cars aren’t the big emissions offenders, anyway. It is the process of manufacturing those cars that really dumps a lot into the air and water. NeoPrius Sounds like you have been successfully confused by mis-information put out by SUV manufacturers that have no product to compete with their fuel efficient competitors. Pound for pound, they probably take about the same resources to manufacture/recycle. But over it’s lifetime, a Prius/hybrid probably uses less. They are more reliable, use less fuel, have smaller tires, make less wear & tear on the roads. Unlike our brethren in Europe, our communities, transportation and industrial infrastructure have evolved around the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). So it is not always practical to just drop our cars and pick up a bicycle. Must be nice to live close enough to where you work to do that, and I would if I could. No doubt, as oil runs out, things will evolve the other way, but until then, a Prius like hybrid or non-ICE vehicles seem like a good bridge to the future. “battery acid seepage” you are concerned with is from lead acid batteries used by SUVs and other ICE cars. The type used in Prius and other hybrids are not lead acid. NeoPrius It’s just the first time I’ve run across this blog (searching for Prius info). Like others have, I feel compelled to comment on the title “stuffwhitepeoplelike”. It seems demeaning to people of European descent. More importantly, it (innocently) devalues an entire body of cultures. Some people of European descent tend to advocate for and promote other cultures, while devaluing (even hating) their own. It’s even being integrated into our children’s educational curricula. It’s time we stand up and be counted. Be “European American” and not “white”. Sorry about being off topic… on July 12, 2008 at 6:19 am Meg Actually, “we” ARE white. Leave it up to ethnocentric “Americans” to assume that they are the only white people reading this blog. PS. I love my Prius. NeoPrius Hmmm…. I wonder if all indigenous Europeans refer to themselves as “white”… Please forgive my political incorrectness, but you need to watch yours as well. I am not “white”, I am of European descent. White is a color, devoid of cultural identity. For the same reason people descended from African/Asian/Native American lines no longer wish to be referred to as black/yellow/red. “I” am offended.😉 Spencer First of all, the Prius has an internal combustion engine. The “hybrid synergy drive” moniker is a marketing scheme for an internal combustion engine that is supplemented by an electrical motor/generator. Second, please don’t pretend to know about the type of batteries our research is concerned with. There are four types of batteries which are rechargeable: other than lead acid, there is nickel-cadmium, lithium-ion, and nickel-metal hydride. I’m not sure what is in the Prius, but unless the car costs upwards of 60 or $70,000, I doubt it is lithium-ion. It doesn’t matter, anyway, since all of the electrolytes from those battery types are deadly to the microorganisms in soil and most organisms in general. I’m actually concerned with all types of battery seepage, since all rechargeable batteries contain chemicals that are harmful to carbon-containing life. Not to mention that hybrid cars contain whole banks of these batteries, where conventional vehicles have one or two. I’m glad that you think “Pound for pound, they probably take about the same resources to manufacture/recycle. But over it’s lifetime, a Prius/hybrid probably uses less. They are more reliable, use less fuel, have smaller tires, make less wear & tear on the roads.” I suggested that I had heard that manufacturing the Prius might be a more wasteful process than say, a Ford escape, but since you think I’m probably wrong, I guess we’ll listen to your obviously researched and documented opinion. The Prius came out what, 5 or 6 years ago? Who can make any comment on its reliability? I doubt those electrical systems are much fun to fix if they short out or get overloaded, either. What if that battery bank overheats? People complain about BMW’s… Oh, and finally, you might not realize it, but your Prius is actually made by an “SUV manufacturer.” Toyota has no less than 8 SUV or truck models for sale in the U.S. right now, and under the Lexus marque there are another 3 SUV’s (two of which are powered by ≥4 litre V8’s). The Land Cruiser is one of the best-selling trucks world wide. Car manufacturers are out to make money, and barring government sanctions, they’ll keep selling SUV’s, trucks, hybrids, sportscars and whatever else as long as there are enough consumers to make it profitable. Don’t lend morality to your machine. I believe that we need to all be thinking about this impending global crisis. We just don’t need to stop short at driving a hybrid and eating organic food. We need to critically examine ever notion we have to see if we can tune it to better serve our world and its constituent ecology. NeoPrius Sorry, I wasn’t meaning to offend you – I’m just cynical of “studies” which may be commissioned from universities by money grubbing corporations. Your original posting compared a Prius to a Hummer H3, not a Ford Escape. Also, you yourself stated you “haven’t actually seen this study”, so pound for pound, my opinion is as good as your hearsay. I only drew information based on your posts (“battery acid” – highly likely to be predominantly from lead acid batteries, since the newer ones are not as widespread or found in significant numbers in junk yards yet) – I have no idea about the extent of your research, or anything else you haven’t posted. The first Prius went on pubilc sale in 1997, first sold in the US in 2001 (roughly eight years ago). I read that customer satisfaction is generally very high, even with high mileage ones (I also know some people that have had them that long). Most reliability statistics (something we persons of European descent like :-)) for cars don’t extend beyond that duration. Looking at my 2008 Consumer Reports Buying Guide, the reliability track record of the Prius is impressive. Agreed. Maybe the Prius is a feel-good non-solution to the worlds energy/environmental problems. Hopefully it’s part of the evolution towards one though. on July 12, 2008 at 6:44 pm Meg I agree that “white” is devoid of cultural identity. That’s the point. It’s a racial identity that racially defines LOTS of people from different cultures: Europeans, Australians, South Africans, Americans, Scandinavians, Canadians… I am sure that if white Europeans are forced to identify their race, they would chose white or Caucasian and most likely not think twice about it because to them, it’s just their race not their ethnicity. Bigfoot How do you pick up a hooker on a bike? I’ve noticed that Prius owners don’t think they are saving the world. They think they own it. Look at the way they drive: They sit in front of Whole Foods, engine running, until the space right by the front door becomes vacant. on July 14, 2008 at 7:57 am Frank Redman Somebody please tell Bigfoot that the Prius Engine does not run while the car is sitting, in front of Whole Foods or elsewhere. Call me a proud Native American who loves his Prius, not to save the environment, not to make a statement, but to park the 5.7L pickup truck (yes, I drive it when I take the horses to the rodeo) and save a little gas. How anyone could get this worked up over a car is beyond me. I will say that there are two cars available today which make sense for the average driver: Toyota Prius & Ford Escape Hybrid. on July 14, 2008 at 1:09 pm Elliot The funniest thing about this string of comments is the extent to which you are all playing into the stereotypes detailed on this website. (i.e. being offended, speaking with authority on issues which you know very little about, etc.) I have to say, it’s quite amusing. Man, I’m native and drive a prius cause i save $$ at the pump. You people are unbelievable. NeoPrius Part of my interest is fuel economy, but some of it is the fact that (I was just a kid, but) I remember the fuel shortages of the 1970s and the long lines at the gas stations. With impending fuel supply problems due to world demand and limited oil production capabilities, my personal belief is that the writing is on the wall, the lines are coming back, and I want to sit in as few lines as possible. I’m willing to pay a premium for that, regardless of any long term investment return on the car. Investment return on a car… that’s an interesting concept… NeoPrius That article is so obviously slanted, it’s almost laughable. The origin of the information in this from a “non-technical” article written by a marketting company (CNW), based on unrealistic assumptions and faulty analysis techniques by incapable people with questionable credentials. I’ll tell you what, you go buy your Hummer. Your day’s never over, Your work’s never through! Though you’ve tamed most of the heathen and the barbarians too! ‘Massa, thanks for ‘lectricity and the (Ah So!) internet too! WHITEMAN, THE WHOLE WORLD’S DEPENDING ON YOU! They tried to say that ‘you can’t jump’. But, you made it to the moon without having to dunk. You might not have much rhythm, But you can (steal) carry a good tune, WHITEMAN, THE WHOLE WORLD’S DEPENDING ON YOU! You made it through civil rights and women’s lib too, You’ve been through a lot, good buddy, no wonder you can sing the blues! If the world’d open their eyes, they’d see that in the past you’re not really stuck, Even though you still fly a rebel flag, at least it’s on a Japanese pickup truck! Black may be beautiful, and tan may be grand, But white’s still the color of the BIG BOSS MAN! ’Ask not’ (J.F.K.) whether it’s true, WHITEMAN, THE WHOLE WORLD’S DEPENDING ON YOU! The world doesn’t understand your level of stress, Every minute’s a Malox moment, but that’s the price of success! You watch your laptop for the first sign of loss, Well, it’s time you paid the cost to be the boss! Don’t drop the ball now and lose the home court advantage, Or we’ll all have to say the pledge of allegiance in Spanish!(‘Press Uno for English’) Only you can straighten out the world’s condition, ‘Cause you were properly conceived in the missionary position! Stand up like a white man and do your white duty, Or we’ll all be blown to hell by sheik your booty! ASK NOT whether, Hillary or Obama can rule, WHITE MAN, THE WHOLE WORLD’S DEPENDING ON YOU! Sincerely, (The love-child of Uncle Sam & one Of his female slaves) In memory of Col. Paul Tibbets, Pilot of the Enola Gay, and all the faithful sidekicks of ‘Bwana’ …..(next page) Birmingham (Charlie Chan…A whiteman in disguise) Mingo (Daniel Boone) Rin-Tin-Tin (If Custer had had him, he might have won!) Rochester (Jack Benny) Timmy (Lassie, was a ‘white’ dog!) Uncle Ben/Aunt Jemima (Betty Crocker) Chester & Festus (Mat Dillion, a protégé’ of John Wayne, who didn’t need a sidekick!) Barnie Fife (Andy Griffin) on July 21, 2008 at 9:00 pm Faizi Yeah- this article bears the hallmark of BS. If many of the facts are true- it would be surprising considering how poorly they were explained or substantiated. As for the conclusions we are led to by the trail of facts? Little early for that don’t you think? Besides the poor quality writing, park a Prius next to a hummer- and tell anybody who will listen that the Prius is 50% more costly to drive and see if you find any one to believe you. Sorry but some things are just too ridiculous to even enter into a discussion over. [ Yes I’m white, no I do not own, nor do I intend to own a Prius. 🙂 If I had to choose between these two options- I’d go for the Prius- poorly written article not-withstanding ] on July 24, 2008 at 9:42 pm tylerbus Hey! im white! but i drive a jeep wrangler, and have never regretted it. Honestly though, i can see how some form of alternative fuel or a new engine design can be important someday, but i cant stand how people who drive these hybrids think they are so much better than everyone else. “I want to be a part of the solution?, not part of the problem?” just shut up! I’m getting 18 miles to the gallon with my jeep, and am more than happy to pay a little extra at the pump to not look like a pussy hippie. on July 24, 2008 at 9:58 pm tylerbus and whats with this NEOPRIUS guy? European American?? are you kidding me? NEOPRUIS is trying to call us white people european american! I thought caucasian was bad enough!!! whites are whites, blacks are blacks, mexicans are mexicans, and asians are asians. Heck i don’t even get offended when i hear cracker. i’ve never been a racist, and respect every race out there, but honestly, i’m not going to make an effort to make everyone who has sand up their chooches happy. Black and white might be old terms, but i really don’t see anything offensive in them, and they have been generally accepted terms for a long time!! some things really just don’t need to be “progressive” Who wants to make a bet that NEOPRIUS lives in San Francisco, drinks shiraz, and believes that every modern man should be in touch with his feminine side. on July 25, 2008 at 8:34 am E30M3speedy When detroit stops cranking out garbage, they will be more successful. BTW, my Subaru Outback was made in INDIANA. Quality, cool super white vehicle! Death to GM and Ford! on July 25, 2008 at 12:27 pm Dan Henry Peter, I couldn’t agree with your comments more! I too have a Prius and not at all subject to the stupid comments in the Prius article. I bought it to save gas! Period! And, I’ll tell you another myth. The up front additional cost comes back at trade-in time. There are many dealerships in the SE that will buy your 2006 or 2007 Prius back at what you paid for it! Thanks for your comments. Dan PS I’m a Republican and don’t plan on attending any Barrack events. (But I may actually vote for him) on July 28, 2008 at 6:01 pm Not a white girl Why is it European-American & not Irish-American or Polish-American or German-American, etc.? Do you not know exactly where your ancestors come from? Kinda sad… on July 28, 2008 at 6:04 pm Not a white girl The site is meant to be funny, a joke; why are people taking this so seriously? p.s. Europe is a huge place. Can you not narrow down your ethnicity? Is it Germany, Ireland, Sweden, what? Buckaroo I pooped in a Prius once, and I’ll poop in every one I get in to. 3/4 ton Dodge diesel Ram 6.7 — I love it — Only $160 a fill up. Poop on your Prius, in your Prius, and up your Prius. To quote Penn & Teller (okay, technically Penn Jillette): “It looks like a possum f**ked a dustbuster.” on August 1, 2008 at 10:27 pm dirty white boy You (and, from what I have read in other comments on this blog, many other people) are missing the point. It’s not about people who are white, but rather “white people”…kind of a left-handed way of saying “liberal”. There are many black and asian people here in the US who fit the “white people” profile. on August 2, 2008 at 5:40 am Just say no to Prius Did anyone ever consider the amount of pollution created and the raw materials used to build a Prius? Probably a lot more than would be emitted by simply driving your older car into the ground. Or why not buy a used Corolla rather than using precious raw materials to build a new Prius? Some organization should do a study on this. They’d probably find that you’re creating more pollution buying a new Prius than by continuing to drive your current vehicle. on August 2, 2008 at 10:46 am Will White people also really like the Subaru Legacy Outback. In forest green. It makes them look environmentally conscious while still getting bad gas mileage. on August 3, 2008 at 8:13 am Ugly Betty F/U Buckaroo – you don’t need to poop in your Arab loving 3/4 ton Dodge diesel Ram 6.7. It’s already a piece of shit!!! NeoPrius LOL!😀 You big burly brute you! how’d you guess? That “I call a spade a spade” B.S. followed by “I’ve never been a racist, and respect every race out there” just doesn’t cut it any more. No one believes it. Forget about all that. Stand up and be counted for who you are, or be dominated by those who do. on August 5, 2008 at 3:41 pm SCY Why do a study, you seem to have all the facts on your own. Perhaps when you assume full dictatorial control over the United States you can issue a decree declaring that no one can purchase a new car, they must drive their car for a minimum of 10 years. on August 6, 2008 at 10:02 am thk white people also like to keep up with their car maintenance so that they don’t break down on the highway. oh – white people also like to keep their cars ‘stock’ and not mess them up with spinny rims and tinted windows. Nic Stage Wow. Weird blog. Anyway… I agree about car companies marketing the angle that driving a hybrid is actually healing the environment, but you make just as convincing of an implication that cutting down on carbon emissions DOES hurt the environment. I guess if you replaced “white people” with “rich, ignorant people” and dropped the rhetoric, I would basically agree with you. Oh well… I gave up trying to understand racism like this years ago. Good luck with your complex!🙂 on August 7, 2008 at 8:11 am Buckaroo You can talk bad about me, but nobody speaks ill of my truck. Ugly, I’m a looking for you, and when I find you you’ll be covered with the poop of a thousand poopers. Take that Jap junk and try hitting me head on, dumb ass. I’d rather be save than sorry. Love those Arabs, who else is there for Bush and Chenny to have for a friend. Hang on, bitch, this oil (gas) price thing is another Enron shell game and gas will be cheap again. Hang on to that ugly Jap uneco piece of shit. Call me when it’s time for new batteries, I need a laugh. on August 8, 2008 at 4:12 pm atalley So just curious but if there was a “stuff black people like” blog that listed things like #10 eating watermelon, #203 bustin a cap in peoples asses or #1 expecting something for nothing ie reparations for slavery, free college educations, or favoritism in hiring because some company has to be an “equal-opportunity employer”…. how long would it take the ACLU and Al Sharpton to make it a public issue? Racism is discriminating against someone solely based on race and it works both ways. But I’m sure you’re the first one to get fired up when you feel slighted. Nice views buddy, do the sane people a favor and don’t reproduce. on August 9, 2008 at 10:19 am cvb Google on “peak oil” pooperoo. This time there ain’t no friggin arab oil reserve to save us. My neighbor just bought himself a big huge diesel truck like yours – what a stupid sh*t. Maybe you did the same thing, but you didn’t do your home work. You think the car companies are selling trucks cheap and cutting back big truck production because they think gas is going back down? All they wanna do is unload their worthless inventory on suckers like you before things really get bad. Forget about resale value, you’ll be driving that POS to the scrap metal yard in a few years. I can get rid of my truck fast enough. Got my Prius on order – taking delivery at the end of the month. We’ll see who has the last laugh! Sucker. on August 10, 2008 at 8:01 am Ryan Prius I DO NOT THINK SO. Me and my white friends (ranging from 19-32 yrs old male and female) do not like the Prius. Personally I will take my turbo charged Subaru WRX any day of the week. on August 12, 2008 at 8:42 am Buckaroo Tundra, jap crap, right in the same league as Prius. I know, there is an ad on TV with a deep voiced announcer bragging the merits of a Tundra, but it isn’t close to my Dodge. Go look for yourself and get your facts first hand. on August 12, 2008 at 8:49 am Buckaroo When I drive anywhere I drive in something that is fun. Why is it, not having fun to save gas is a goal of anyone? What the hell are you on this planet for? I enjoy myself in life and particularly when I’m driving. on August 12, 2008 at 9:04 am Buckaroo We aren’t going to run out of oil. There is evidence of oil for hundreds of years at the rate of increase we are now using it. It is so plentiful that the price should be at ten cents a gallon. The price is artificially maintained and these spikes in price are from greedy little bastards trying to make their life fortune in two months. Spell it Enron. There will be many more spikes in price and wars fought over oil but the truth is there is ample resource only a control on supply. Spell it Bush/Chenny on August 12, 2008 at 9:12 am Buckaroo You’re going at it all wrong. Nuke the arabs and take their oil. Now, we can drive nice big cars with no worry. Just like way back when we took the land from the indians and used it the right way for ourselves. NUKE the arabs. White is right! on August 12, 2008 at 9:19 am Buckaroo “Defensive” I get it, satire. You’re offensive to show me I’m defensive when I was being offensive. You gotta be a chick, and white, too. on August 12, 2008 at 9:31 am Buckaroo Okay, dumb ass, I was around in the seventies waiting in line to buy gas during the Arab oil embargo, and I was around in the eighties when gas prices spiked again. All the shit you talk about that is happening or going to happen happened back then. People talked up a storm and the world was all a flutter. Big deal, it all went away. The same will happen again after the big profits are taken and we dumb fucks pay. I love my Dodge diesel and I have the money to buy the fuel, screw you and the Prius you rode in on. A part of the ACLU’s missions statement The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of these protections and guarantees: – Your First Amendment rights – freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. — snip — on August 16, 2008 at 10:26 am cvb I was around in the 70s too. US Oil peaked in the 70’s and arab imports saved us, now they own our butts. Now that arab oil is peaking, who’s got the cheap, easy-to-get oil to save us now? Forget about drilling here, what’s left is just a drop in the bucket. Glad you have the money and the time to wait in line. You’ll need it. on August 17, 2008 at 10:30 am JR As a white 20 something… i laughed my ass off at this little posting. you forgot to mention, however, that most Prius owners of the post Baby Boomer era, likely have some type of SUV still parked on the other side of their two car garage. And usually the wife drives that SUV to work solo- while 5 other seats remain empty- and hubby drives the Prius on his 45 hour commute to the city office job. Hans Dan and Peter, You guys are right on the button! I just put a deposit on a new Prius. After checking out the car I had to swallow my “Eurocentric” pride and admit this is one hell of a car and easy on the pocketbook allowing me to keep my other “white” toys..Vespa GT, ’55 Porsche Spyder replica, Breitling Watches, wild gambling sprees here in Las Vegas etc. etc…. Alles beste on August 22, 2008 at 5:35 am McLean anyways…..I’m off to the store to get myself some “collard greens”, “watermelon” and some “fried chicken” lmao…. it would be different if this blog was doing this for laughs but it comes off as a serious…..Steroetypes……This blog is ridiculous. on August 22, 2008 at 8:15 am Buckaroo It is not racism in comedic situations, by definition it has to be intended cruelty; and the comedian is going in the opposite direction, making light of a bad situation. on August 23, 2008 at 1:41 am azuzuru Hehe, this blog is hitting close to the mark to get this poster all riled up like that! Keep it up, White People blogger. The satire is brilliant! on August 25, 2008 at 10:15 pm pablo cruise So getting good gas mileage doesnt help burn less fuel and pollute less? Maybe I should just get a 84 monte carlo all covered in primer spots and throw on a nice set of five thousand dollar rims that I get from rent a center, oh ya then I would be stylin, hey biatches check out my hoopti ya thats right I put earings on a pig. LOL all kidding aside have you watched the Olympics in China and wondered why you cant see the sun through the smog? Maybe its because a billion people are driving cars and the factories are burning toxic fossil fuels and they air is so stank that some of our athletes wouldnt even compete in fear of getting sick and harming their health. Stereo types are always fun, as long as you do it with a sense of humor, wheres the real humor here? Funny site, and great post. However, I think I should get crazy on yo’ ass for the following statement: “So somehow, through marketing or perception, the Prius lets people think that driving their car is GOOD for the environment.” I don’t need fools buying this logic. The car is far BETTER than the alternatives. While it’s not positively helping the environment, it’s a move in the right direction. It’s a transition car between shitty gas-guzzlers and vehicles that don’t harm the environment and economy at all (if that’s possible). (And gas-guzzlers do harm the economy.) Still–a funny post. on September 17, 2008 at 12:14 pm brian No, the Prius is a net negative for the environment because of the zinc batteries, which need replacing every few years. Plus the car overall has a shorter operational life than almost all other cars; a lot of this has to do with its being super complex. Another thing white people like: Believing cool marketing and not knowing a goddamn thing about how anything really works. on September 18, 2008 at 5:37 pm Tina I stumbled across this URL from a search. Interesting title, but offensive. The title was not what got my attention to explore your site. We are ready to purchase a newer cehicle and we are investigating which is the best, ecomomically (life of vehicle, cost of operations, MPG, etc.). We challenge; however, that just “white people” enjoy the Prius. Possible there is not response from other races due to the title…they aren’t interested in “Stuff White People Want”. Skimming through earlier posts, searching for informative comments, I am humored that one is sterotyped to being a middle class “white person”. who will vote for Obama. I pose to break that sterotype. Although I am a “white”, middle-class citizen, I will not vote for Obama (because of his stance…or non-stance on important economic, both foreign and domestic, issues). Yet, I am beguiled by the features of the Prius. My question to present and previous owners of the Prius: What are the pros and cons of this vehicle? on September 19, 2008 at 12:06 am Ogk You are incredibly stupid. First, Prius batteries have no zinc at all. Second, I know more than one taxi driver running their Prius more than 300,000 Kms without replacing batteries. And, in case of replacement was required it costs less than 3000$. Ogk BTW, I think running a car more than 300k Kms is not a short operational life. Moron… on September 25, 2008 at 1:28 pm Tom Slick Zinc batteries are the newest technology. They will be in hybrids very soon. You are very, very wrong. Regardless, what kind of idiot thinks proliferating any kind of batteries is good for the environment? $3000 is like replacing your car’s engine every 180,000. With normal care, it is not unusual for a regular car to run 3-4 times as long on the same engine. This does not even begin to include repair and maintenance on all the additional systems a hybrid has. We will spend more maintaining or repairing your hybrid as you would buying a regular car, running it until it dies, and buying a new one. Smart! The data on total energy usage to operate AND build AND maintain various cars came out two years ago, and hybrids were among the biggest energy users (measured in $ per mile). As expected, regular, dinky, efficient cars topped the list of using the least amount of energy. This will have changed with gas prices going up, but the manufacture and maintenance is what sunk them, and that has not changed. Most importantly, Priuses look faggy. Why make yourself miserable for nothing? Chock full of statistics, this was. on September 27, 2008 at 9:13 am Luv my Prius “No, the Prius is a net negative for the environment because of the zinc batteries, which need replacing every few years….” Yep, the ignorant are out… I bought my Prius in Feb, 2003. Over 100k miles on it now. Same battery. Original battery. Not a single problem with the mechanical or hybrid mechanical parts of this car. Have had to replace tires & windshield. My husband is Asian and has an NRA bumper sticker on his Prius – go figure. Comment on #60 Toyota Prius by Luv my Prius […] Luv my Prius wrote an interesting post today onComment on #60 Toyota Prius by Luv my PriusHere’s a quick excerpt“No, the Prius is a net negative for the environment because of the zinc batteries, which need replacing every few years….” Yep, the ignorant are out… I bought my Prius in Feb, 2003. Over 100k miles on it now. Same battery. b…/b […] on October 6, 2008 at 11:15 am sher Being offended at this website is a classic example of what white people like to do: be politically correct as much as possible and offended by anything that doesn’t take race too seriously. Hey, if the site offends you, exercise your American right–don’t visit it! Meantime, I’m a Prius driver and pretty smug about it. In fact, not long ago, some guy in a Dodge Ram pick up was tailgating me all the way down the road for no reason. When we got to the light, he pulled up and said, “Want to race?” and he laughed. I said, “Sure, we’ll just keep going until you run out of gas, which should be pretty soon.” I felt so self-satisfied! Did the guy know that I once owned a Dodge Ram pick up myself? Hell no! on October 7, 2008 at 2:17 pm Killer Ah, then you’re just about due! (6 years, and wait ’til you find out the cost). ENJOY! on October 11, 2008 at 7:56 pm John Neves Well… I’m white and I love cars. Therefore I hate the Prius. It’s like smugness on wheels. on October 12, 2008 at 9:51 am Han Thomas I hate people driving a Prius as a political statement. I could however see owning a Prius just to save money on gas. In that case however I’d make sure it had a McCain bumper sticker on the back just to show I’m not driving one as a political statement but because I’m cheap. I honestly think Toyota would sell a lot more of them if they offered some redneck regalia as options, such as a gun rack, or a confederate flag painted on the roof. “F*ck the oil sheiks, drive a Prius”. on October 19, 2008 at 12:13 pm chris buying a prius is a smart choice ,i think aits more about gas mileage than anything else in a world when gas is so expensive how can you be mad about 45 miles to the gallon. my girlfriend has a 07 prius , and i drive a 08 camry se , and yes im black. many today are buying them to fit in the tree hugging gronola head starbucks drinking set, but if you can get one buy it. on October 21, 2008 at 1:50 pm liberal hummer driver I hate prius’. I am very liberal and only drive cars from before 1980. Any true car lover knows that pre-1970’s were the best. It takes more energy to build this shit boxes and the parts to fix them after they break down every 10 miles. Driving older cars is actually better for the environment than driving new ones. I am white, but I thought jackass conservatives thought blacks supported Obama and women supported Palin. It only seems RIGHT to them. After all women and blacks don’t have brains, oh wait that’s right Obama’s ahead in the polls. I hate prius drivers. They are pompous jerks. They think they are the best and the hell with the rest. I will continue driving my old cars that are better for the environment and cheaper to run. With a new car you have emissions from building the car, shipping the car and burning the gas, cars are only built once. It also is less cost effective. You have to make payments on the new car and pay for gas and repairs. Used cars have NO payments. Thanks to drivers of new cars that suck there is true AMERICAN IRON left for me. You people all suck. on October 23, 2008 at 5:38 am wjs Can you mention one site that states driving older cars is better for the environment? I see how your “cheaper to run, cheaper to repair” logic works because you’re talking about “American iron”. But I’d be interested to see where it states that they’re better for the environment. Rachael I just bought a Yaris, which runs about 30K less than the Prius. I get 37 mpg. I doubt 8 miles more per gallon even over the life of the car will add up to the more than 30K (if you add in financing) that I saved on the vehicle itself. I hope not, anyway🙂 Oh, and Volvo’s are still mad cool- almost retro. 1. Racism only survives because black people won’t let it go. If you run across a white person that seems racist it’s only because the black people keep wanting that person to be. I guess the black people don’t want the freebies to go away. You know like being advanced in a job even though he/she is less experienced/qualified. Being able to pull the race card to keep from being rightfully fired. So stop this racist crap, grow up and less make this world a better place for all of us. 2. My nephew manages a Toyota dealer ship. There is a high mileage leasing company near by that leases out a fleet of Priuses. There average mileage is 300K to 400K miles and they’re still on the original batteries. They require less maintenance then an average car. Look at it this way GM pulled their electric car of the marker because it could potentially go a million miles with minimal maintenance. 3. The biggest problem with the Prius is that you might have to change the break pads say after 75+ thousand miles and maybe give it a set of new tires. 4. Oh one other thing the batteries are installed in cells so you will most likely only have to change one or two of the bad ones. Not the whole thing. 5. Prius batteries are 100% recyclable 6. To all of you Prius haters; Yes its ugly and it takes sales away from American care companies. (That’s only because American car companies put profits “part sales” over what our country needs to move forward in this world). The Hybrid and eventually fully electric cars and cars that run on renewable resources is the way to go. Last tidbit: I work in Detroit and I see more Black people driving Prius’s then White. I my self am looking into buying a Prius. If an American car company made a “reel” Hybrid that can compete with the Priuses quality, mileage and price I would prefer to buy it. Let racism go, let go of past gas guzzling and polluting technology and let this world move forward to a better future. It’s a good thing, Really! On the political side I will vote for Obama not because he’s black or because he’s a Democrat (I’m a Republican). I will vote for him because he’s a step in the right direction. Just remember this; if you vote for Obama because he’s black you’re a Racist; if you vote for Obama because you think he’s the right person for the job you’re an American. I’ll have to admit I don’t get his middle name ” Hussein” but I guess that’s because of all the Terrorism troubles of the world. White people driving a Prius? Your head is so far up your rear end that maybe you should be a HumVee. Meredith I beg to differ on your article and your statements…. I’m a young BLACK college student who is a big Prius fan. In fact, I’m in the process of trying to own a Prius myself. They get awesome gas mileage and its perfect for me given how much I drive each day between school, sports, church, scouts, and other activities. On Sundays I have to drive well over 50 miles from my house to church and the vehicle I’m driving now just doesn’t cut it for me. So if you have your head stuck up your behind so far to the point that you believe that things are only “black and white” if you will, then how can you appreciate all the work done by MLK, Malcolm X, and anyone else who fought for racial equality? on November 12, 2008 at 5:17 pm IOWN1 The ignorance of the Yaris comment finally set me over the top. I paid less than 30K for my prius, so where did you find someone to pay you to get a Yaris? Yes, I am white; No, I am not a liberal; and BTW I am a heavy-footed aggresive driver and still love my Prius. Slow? I know mine is governed at 109 mph; which is the only part that really pisses me off. I don’t really care about how much it saves the environment, I like the 45-50 mpg for a car that I can truly fit in at 6’3″ without having to cut off my kids’ legs to get them in the back seat. Not Civic, Yaris, Focus, or any other car that get mileage even close has this much room. I also have a 3/4 ton Ram and feel absolutely no guilt getting 6-7 mpg when I am towing my camper. Yes, there are some liberal faggots that drive Priuses to make a statement, usually en-route to fund raisers asking my to give them money for starving people in 3rd world nations while wearing outfits that cost more than my annual salary. Bottom line, some of us just drive the Prius because it is a really good daily driver that meets our needs for a reasonable investment. If you just need a commuter for yourself, go ahead and buy your favorite econobox go-cart; I’ll keep my Prius for my family and thoroughly enjoy all the creature comforts (and gadgets) it comes with. If you hate me for it, that sounds like a problem you need to deal with because I really don’t care. on November 12, 2008 at 5:25 pm IOWN1 This comparison works great, as long as you start with biased assumptions that have no merit. How many Subburbans/Hummers do you know of with 300K+ mileage? As far as replacing the batteries every 60-70K miles in the prius, I have almost 85K with no problems and know of at least 2 other Prius drivers pushing 90K and 1 over 150K that have not had any significant maintenance costs … not even battery replacement. BTW, I like Hummers too, and don’t see any reason to hate you for your choice of vehicle. Prius Haters … GET OVER IT! on November 17, 2008 at 6:40 am Hank I have a Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI and not only is it better looking, more powerful, and overall a much better car than the Prius, it is also extremely fuel efficient and quiet. The Prius is a joke! It has like 20 horses! Everyone should get diesels, especially Mercedes-Benz diesels because their awesome! My E320 CDI gets over 780 miles on one tank! The Prius can’t do that! Plus I can at least make it up a steep incline in my Mercedes (unlike with a Prius) Down with the Prius and down with Hybrids! on November 25, 2008 at 10:31 pm Buckaroo Well, Hank, I can top that. I drive 3/4 ton Dodge Ram pickup with a 6.7 liter diesel engine with enough power and torque to pull you and 100 more of those Maytag Meserschitts up Pikes Peak; all with your brakes on. Plus, it is what good looks are about. One more thing, safety. Who is the last driver to die? Prius, Meserschitt, or Dodge driver? on November 30, 2008 at 10:06 pm Kyle I have a prius, but I certainly didn’t get it to save the environment. Screw that. The battery in the prius will cause FAR more harm to the environment when it is recycled (or thrown away) than would have been caused by all the gas I will save. I got the prius to spite people like Hugo Chavez who think that capitalism is evil and that economic progress is evil. The prius represents a technological accomplishment that would (and has) only be made possible by free market capitalism. And I like that it gets great gas mileage; but I also have a Dodge that gets about 6 miles to the gallon. on November 30, 2008 at 10:09 pm Kyle “Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move. Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable!” LMFAO! I’ve seen TONS of those in my town. Pisses me the hell off. I’m thinking about putting a McCain sticker and a gun rack on my prius hahaha on November 30, 2008 at 10:24 pm Kyle In the words of Immortal Technique, “Universal truth is not measured in mass appeal.” Normality does not imply intelligence – quite the opposite, in fact. It is a fact that rational ignorance applies to all Americans. Just because there are millions of ignorant morons who jumped at the chance to vote for a black democrat while knowing absolutely nothing about him or about ANY of his foreign, public, or economic policies does not mean that he was good choice. Even most democrats (specifically those who worked on the Obama campaign) agree that, had people voted on issues, McCain would have blown Obama away. Ironically enough, although having a black president represents the utmost in freedom and equality, Obama is one of the most anti-liberal (especially with regard to the economy and public policy) Presidents this country has ever had. on December 2, 2008 at 12:39 am Buckaroo Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. What the hell are we going to do with you? Babble is normal. Why do you do it? on December 22, 2008 at 12:37 pm Joe Yeah…if they can make a Mercedes E63 get the fuel economy of a Prius, I’m in…otherwise, I’ll stick to burning copious amounts of premium. on December 22, 2008 at 12:39 pm Joe another black person, getting all bent out of shape over a website written from a satirical point of view…typical. Go read the article on “Being Offended” – I think that applies to more blacks than whites anyways. on December 22, 2008 at 1:43 pm YARIS RULES I have a Yaris too, which even after financing will be $18k total (and that’s including gap insurance on the financing — the car itself will be less than that). The Prius costs at least $22-25k, and that’s sticker price, before financing is taken into account! (I imagine a financed Prius runs at about $30-33k or so, lower if you have excellent credit.) My Yaris has more than enough space for luggage (as I don’t have children, thank God) , so we’ll always have the option to fold the seat down unless friends are with us, and we won’t need room for tons of luggage then, because we don’t go on week-long road trips with friends. It also has an aux port so I can plug in my mp3 player. Add in three cup holders and four bottle holders, which is more than enough, and you get the Yaris. How’s that for creature comforts? Oh, and by the way, my remote-entry locks and power windows won’t ever break because they don’t exist — everything’s manual, just the way I like it. Have fun, though, when your electronic/power “creature comforts” become “creature nightmares” after they stop working, just like they did on my mom’s power-everything Celica. 😛 I also get between 35-40 mpg, probably closer to 40 because I drive slow, and driving slower is a LOT more relaxing, and even funny sometimes, because I get to screw with the tree-hugger Prius drivers and everyone else behind me and raise their blood pressure that stems from their “gotta get there now” mentality that’s endemic in America. Not to mention that my Yaris’ gas mileage probably equals or beats your Prius on the highway because you drive 100 mph and I drive 60. And before you say, “Raise my blood pressure and I’ll ram you off the road!!!!11”, yeah, sure, go ahead… My Yaris also has dual airbags. I’ll survive, and I’ll see your ass in jail on my hospital room TV and laugh, laugh, laugh. 😄 on December 22, 2008 at 1:46 pm YARIS RULES “Us” refers to my girlfriend and I, which I accidentally deleted from the post earlier on. We hate kids, by the way. 😛 on December 23, 2008 at 8:31 am can't believe I care enough to respond harsh words from someone who cannot validate their response or provide feedback that challenges the other person to respond. on December 23, 2008 at 8:46 am We're all thinking it Prius?! A Prius?! Are you kidding me? Who the hell writes these articles? Sounds like a personal diary to me. Damn I would like nothing more than to pile all these hybrid, hippie, bunny-hugging, “progressive”, wannabe Euro-trash, neo-socialist, elitist, bigots in an enormous pit and light it ablaze so that I can enjoy the slow-burn of a bad era of world history. Then roast marshmellows over the flames and revel in the screams of thousands of men, women and children that have this warped sense of how the world should be. It’s a sick world and it’s made worse by this infestation of filth that has evolved over the years by solving one problem only to create many more. I’m sure this will get some insane comments, but hey, it’s just a blog. Death is always certain. on December 26, 2008 at 2:40 pm jibson you dont even know what your saying. do you even know what the words you are saying mean? nah ya dont. white people also love saying elitist. its the new cool word. and this is true: da blog i mean. on December 29, 2008 at 10:44 am Sean Strife You aren’t familiar with satire, are you? If you are, then you’re just a moron, because this blog is a blatant example of it. Goliath It’s a common misconception about Pruis drivers. A lot of us Prius drivers are not “hippie, bunny-hugging, “progressive”, wannabe Euro-trash, neo-socialist, elitist” yada yada yada. Yeah, you might fantasize about toasting some helpless middle aged woman driving a Prius full of little kids… like you say, “It’s a sick world”. But some of us aren’t helpless or weak. Tom Edwards I have a real grudge against Toyota. Eight years ago my wife bought an Echo for half the cost of a Prius. It gets almost the exact same gas mileage as the Prius, and it has more trunk space and has less gee-wiz techno crap to break. It has run like a top all these years and you know what? Toyota doesn’t make the Echo any more! It was competing with the Prius so they dropped the car that average people can afford to buy. AAAAAGH! I live in Evergreen, Colorado where the white folks feel good about themselves for driving their Prii and using the same ziplock bag seven times. Then they get on a plane and fly to Cabo to take the kids on a Disney cruise. Oh yeah… we all do what we can, don’t we? on January 14, 2009 at 12:21 pm pj 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night 80s night, 80s night, oh yeah 80s night, 80s night, bam! 80s night, 80s night, omigawd 80s night In conclusion, 80s night. on January 21, 2009 at 12:12 pm We're all thinking it I’m not saying ALL Prius drivers are, just stating my opinion about all these “yada yada yada” people that piss me off. That’s why we can post comments, to state our opinion. You have your’s I have mine. Most of all I was hoping to garner a few negative comments about mine as is so blatant by Mr. Sean Strife below: “You aren’t familiar with satire, are you? If you are, then you’re just a moron, because this blog is a blatant example of it.” Haw I can play people like that like a violin (and I don’t even have musical talent!). on January 21, 2009 at 12:20 pm We're all thinking it Sigh. So easy. So simple, yet you missed the very concept you attempted to point out to me. This is a blog. Anybody can say anything they want, however they want and yet you assume that my comment is not satirical either? Haw, joke’s on you! If you think anything posted on the web is worth the time it takes to read (other than for amusement) then you my friend are in for a terrible awakening. by the way thanks for making my above statement true: “I’m sure this will get some insane comments, but hey, it’s just a blog.” on January 21, 2009 at 12:37 pm We're all thinking it heh, hehe, ha HAHA AAAAHHHH HAAAAAHAAAA HAAAAAA! You need to read #107 Self Aware Hip Hop References. Tragic. You also assume I’m white. Well now that you’ve made an ass of yourself look up those words and give me a lamen’s translation. I’ll even help you out – Progressive: Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods. Neo: The Greek prefix denoting new. Socialist: Of, promoting, practicing, or characteristic of socialism. Def. Socialism: Any of various political philosophies that support social and economic equality, collective decision-making, and public control of productive capital and natural resources, as advocated by socialists. Bigot: one who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices. And your favorite – elitist: Of or relating to elitism. Def. Elitism: The superior attitude or behaviour associated with an elite. Now tell me that does all make sense in the context of my rant. Next time, THINK before you comment. john_john We got our Prius only so that people would look when we drive down the street, really. But I got tired of feeling smug, and now I feel so bad about how little money I spend on gas that I make it a point to slosh some gas around at the gas stations, and every now and then I fill-up my neighbor’s SUV. Oh, and I’m gonna toss my used battery into a creek, even though the shop will take the trade-in. Gee, just trying to fit in, john_john on January 28, 2009 at 9:45 am Cabalan ya know i made it a point to read through most of the posts and i rather enjoy how some get into a hilarious huff about the comments made. i found this to site be a wonderful way to get a laugh and make my day a little better, come on people smile! it increases you face value (oh yeah, i’m a BIG steel mag fan) besides my friend kel just bought a prius (she’s picking it up at lunch time) and i cant wait til she give me a ride to the local burgery for some tasty fries and a shake! oh and john john your post made me shoot diet coke through my nose!!! It was a kodaky kinda moment! on January 28, 2009 at 12:53 pm wjs Is this the first time you’ve ever heard of a car manufacturer updating older models for newer ones? The Echo is now the Yaris in Canada. Looks better too. Richerd Important Announcement I have been freed of the shackles of my whiteness – Yipeee!! – I sold our 2006 Prius yesterday and all I have now is a 7.2 litre 1973 Cadillac – God bless America! All I have to do now is try and stop my wife composting and go back to using plastic bags at the supermarket and I am FREE & presumambly no longer white? One question is does this make me black (including throwing out all humus in our fridge) and will my manhood get bigger?! eco-lover (yeah right...) You want to make a white person feel really awkward– Try explaining that a Toyota Prius actually has a greater carbon footprint than a Jeep Grand Cherokee because of the intense process of mining nickel, then shipping that nickel to Europe so it can be turned into what they use for the batteries, then shipping that to Japan where the batteries are assembled, then shipping that back to the US to be put into cars… Not to mention the super-lightweight alloys used in the body to give that car 45 mpg which are also incredibly bad for the environment to produce… …unless they plan on driving their Prius for 15 years they would actually be doing something better for the environment by driving a huge American SUV. Try that one on for size. DrPete I love it when these clearly hit some people a bit too close to home… If I had bought a Prius instead of my equally-equipped Honda Civic, the gas savings would’ve paid off the extra cost of the car in a mere 115,000 miles. You’re not saving the planet with a Prius. It’s pretty well-accepted that hybrids are a sham in terms of environmental consciousness, at least with current battery materials and manufacturing being what they are. You’re spending less on gas, sure, but there’s nothing “green” about it. Your complete lack of a sense of humor on the topic is evidence enough that you discovered this AFTER buying the car… Oopsie. on January 30, 2009 at 7:21 am Gary You missed the mark on this Prius owner. I am a republican, I did not buy my car to feel better about my carbon footprint or to fit into any group. I bought it because I like it. The gas milage is nice too. on January 30, 2009 at 12:10 pm Rob “…the white folks feel good about themselves for driving their Prii and using the same ziplock bag seven times. Then they get on a plane and fly to Cabo to take the kids on a Disney cruise….” Word! on January 30, 2009 at 7:27 pm battery man For many years now the president has been a puppet of big oil. Now that Obama is in office hopefully we will see more money going into alternative fuels. For example, he should provide government rebates to anyone that buys a hybrid vehicle like the Prius because they are helping the environment. The government could raise the money for this rebate by raising the federal tax Americans pay for gasoline. If anyone doesn’t like this plan, tell them they are causing global warming and then blame Exxon Mobil for the high cost of fuel. on January 30, 2009 at 9:50 pm tictac I’m not sure Dick; I couldn’t answer your question, but why don’t you go straight to the source? Ask one of your black friends if you can compare penis sizes. I’m sure he’ll be cool with it. donee Hi All, Being in the midwest, we did not have allot of Gen 2 Prius around here. I bought my Prius in February 2006, and I am white. But, in my hometown the first Gen 2 Prius I came across while driving my new Prius, was being driven by, you guesed it, an African American. Oh Dr. Pete you forgot about brake maintenance. But maybe you only drive highways and always coast down to a stop without using brakes? Its pretty well accepted in engineering and scientific circles that the Prius is well worth the extra energy of production. Standard cars only use 15 % of the total energy consumption in production, and the rest is fuel energy. Your saying the opposite is just so much marketing blah blah. The Prius has recovered the extra energy of production by approximately 30K miles or operation. The Toyota Hybrid system reduces the gear-train manufacturing costs, and the drive train motors are multifunctional, also providing starter and alternator functions. This is truely elegant, and BTW the original concept was invented by Americans at TRW. Allot of people bought the Prius for non-enviormental reasons too. Like 9-11 and doing something about fueling the terrorists’ economy with our fuel purchases. Why send money to the middle east, when one can support the american spirit of inovation present in the Toyota car? And since 2006 there have been two periods of gas more than $4/ga here, and much of the time it was above $3/ga. Only in the last three fillups has gas been below $2.50 here since I have owned my Prius. As to battery materials, there is more nickel in the average stainless-steel kitchen (including the stainless steel butter knifes and forks), than in a Prius battery. If one bought an enamelled dishwasher and stove and plastic lined refrigerator, that Nickel could be used in hybrid cars to save emissions. And certainly many cities benefit from the reduced brake dust alergen floating around too. on January 31, 2009 at 8:05 am Buckaroo You’re a regular friggen scientist. One problem, your facts are just your facts. Could we see some citations so I can see your ‘facts’. on February 1, 2009 at 8:45 am Buckaroo I actually know four Prius owners and all four have doctorates and teach at the college level. Not a damn one of them have seen a battery or could change a tire, but boy can they yack up a Prius. When I ask them about real gas milage they seem to want to change the subject. When I mention that all of the big three have models which do better than their Prius they want me gone. What’s the point? Hell, there are many, but certainly the Prius is a piece of shit and way over priced. Colt357_2000 I think I know some of those people. Career students we call em in Texas. I guess word hasn’t got out down here because the 4×4 truck, preferably diesel, preferably lifted, still seems to be king. Even in University Park Cadillac Escalades are a dime a dozen. Mercedes is still strong however. Austin on the other hand….. on February 1, 2009 at 12:19 pm RWP I will consider myself appropriately chastised. I bought the hype (thought I do like the gas mileage). If someone here will post a non-white person car I’d be happy to look at it. I fear, however, that whatever car I buy will be dubbed a “white person car” because, alas, I am a white person. Is that a bad thing? And if it is, what can I possibly do about that? on February 14, 2009 at 2:47 pm Boom The ugliest car ever..LMAO! Why did they have to make such an ugly car.. Every time I see one, I would like to crush them, Well – not literally, but they just look annoying and most prius drivers are worse than asians walking in chinatown.. No hate to asians as I am asian, but they just get in the way and act oblivious or something and prius drivers either do aggressive things or drive really slow and block you. It’s weird, maybe they put mind control devices in these cars, as I have seen prius drivers do some strange things.. They seem to have some go green environmental chip on their shoulders.. Strange behavior in most cases.. I am sure not everyone, but many are weird characters. Just goes to show how the media influences people – all this go green BS.. Give me a break! One ridiculous economic trend after another.. People just have to be part of some click in the world to have a purpose.. How sad:( But the prius is just as bad and stupid looking as the Plymouth Pacer back in the 70’s.. They really need to change the exterior design.. All prius cars look really stupid.. Just terrible – awful.. Eye sores at best.. Sorry folks, they are the most annoying since the Pacer..LOL! on February 14, 2009 at 2:58 pm Boom Global warming and going green is just an economic scam.. “Anyone who can think for themselves knows that industry trends have controlled planet earths commerce for decades. Sad but true. Buying a prius does nothing for the environment. It’s an invention, and the people making these vehicles will be the next billionaires as a result of mass brainwashing via the media once again. Wow, I should start a movement if people are that darn stupid.. Just creat a product and tell people they are saving the world…Wow, it works, just look at the ugly prius.. Most people must have about 3 braincells.. I am now seriously convinced.. on February 14, 2009 at 3:07 pm Boom They have got to stop making these cars. At least if they could change the style…Hec, if someone could design something so ugly, a 3 year old could make a stick drawing for production a probably make something much more appealing to the eye at least.. Damn.. That is the ugliest car in the world.. Ewwww! Praying for CHANGE! LOL! LOL! on February 14, 2009 at 3:13 pm Boom Is it just me – because I have noticed that many prius drivers act like the world is theirs when they are driving these ugly pieces of crap.. It’s funny how people’s behavior changes based on something the own or have.. Humanity is dispappointing sometimes.. Really pathetic too:( I feel bad for saying this, but those cars make me wish I could tranform into a giant with a huge foot and just step on those cars until they are twisted metal and then take them to the nearest scrap metal company for a cash refund.. That is how bad and ugly these cars look.. What a horrible design.. on February 15, 2009 at 6:16 pm Bobby This is funny especially the apple ipod sticker on the back because I actually saw this today everything described here i witnessed HILARIOUS Bow to my mighty ///M3 14/20 mpg, 0-60 in 4.1 sec, 12.5 sec 1/4 miles Environmentalists can kiss my shiny chromed tailpipes🙂 Sir Nose Devoid of Funk At least the Prius and the Element are good (reliable) cars. Saabs are just awful cars. I bought a new one on ’03 and managed to keep it for just two years. During that time, the car needed about a dozen repairs: leaky radiator, power windows (twice), battery, headlights, transmission, etc. All covered under warranty, but what a hassle!! There aren’t a lot of Saab dealers around either. The dealership I bought mine from was about 45 minutes from my house. I spent A LOT of time there duting those two years. Now I drive an ACCORD- no worries at all. I don’t agree that the Prius is ugly. The car is designed to be extremely fuel efficient. The aerodynamic design and those tiny narrow tires are designed to cheat the wind. Once when I was driving on the interstate, I noticed two vehicles quickly approaching in my rear view mirror. The second vehicle was riding the bumper of the vehicle in the lead at about 80 MPH. Probably road rage, I thought. The guy in front must have done something to piss off the guy in the second car. As they passed me on the left, I noticed that the second car was a PRIUS. I laughed out loud! Why? YOU JUST CAN’T ‘BREAK BAD’ IN A PRIUS! PRIUS drivers cannot be threatening under ANY circumstances. on March 5, 2009 at 11:11 am Tal Hazelden Black Prius. Beat that! With Democratic & rainbow Pride bumper stickers. But, also an In-n-Out Burger sticker just to piss off the vegetarians. Try to make myself look an approachable cool level of less-than-fully-leftist. I’m so lame! 🙂 on March 5, 2009 at 4:41 pm Greg Its ironic how liberals love Priuses because of their marginally improved gas mileage, but they have no qualms about buying a foreign car. Interesting how leftism has abandoned the labor movement in favor of environmentalism. In the midwest, especially Michigan, if you have a foreign car you are a pariah. on March 5, 2009 at 11:03 pm Ishtar Soooo true. A souped up Toyota Prius doesn’t look right. Can you see a Toyota Prius with some rims on it? Subwoofers in the trunk? No? I didn’t think so. Maybe this is why everytime I am in San Jose, Oakland, and Richmond there isn’t a single Prius in sight? As soon as I drive to San Francisco or Danville the place is cluttered with them. on March 6, 2009 at 6:14 am Chucky So very true. Classic liberal – do something to make you feel good instead of doing something that actually produces results. on March 6, 2009 at 7:26 am Milli We have a silver Prius, with HOPE Obama sticker, Women for Obama, Vote for Change, and Vote for Obama stickers! And we listen to NPR…and our son works for the GAP, daughter-in-law works for a NGO in San Francisco. My God, we have hit the jackpot! on March 8, 2009 at 1:43 pm Craig How about some classic liberal alternatives? US auto makers have to compete with car companies in countries that pay for worker’s health costs. Pensioners are the single largest liability for GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Its a myth that auto workers get paid $70 per hour. Also the environmentalists crippled the car companies with the CAFE standards, which actually exacerbated the problem because it made making fuel efficient cars unprofitable for the Big 3. They had to compensate by focusing on their highly profitable SUVs and Pickups. American consumers wanted these vehicles because gas prices were so low. If the government was serious about weening itself off foreign oil, they would instituted a gas tax to artificially inflate the cost of gas, thus making more fuel efficient cars more in demand. Well its too late now anyway. GM is going bankrupt and now even more people will lose their jobs and health insurance. Its all because the globalisation people thought they were so clever they believed they could make money without actually MAKING anything, just exchanging “information” in the “information” economy. What a fucking crock. The stock market has lost a decade of value. It was all a bunch hot air. on March 14, 2009 at 8:10 pm BlackdudeLMAO dont say liberals like this piece of shit car!!!! if i could i would put them all on a little island and bomb them all!!! same for PT cruisers!! btw im very liberal… but there are some cars that dont look right no matter how u look @ them…(my sis owns a PT cruiser and i h8 it… >.> but the 1999 chevy lumina is my fav of all time!) and no h8in on me cuz im a kid.. on March 16, 2009 at 4:09 am Milli You didn’t need to say you were a youngster; it was likely by your reply. As you age you’ll see that appearances matter very little, in all things. All through the gas prices rising, I could care less about looks. Just spending $20 a fill-up was worth it all. on March 30, 2009 at 9:21 am Mary Oh wow, I can’t believe this is a topic. I’m so excited because I HATE Prius’s and I’m a white person. I live in a central California coastal community and everyone here drives subarus, prius’s, and now even those horrible, unsafe tiny ‘smart’ cars. I stand out in the crowd in my small snobby town but I don’t care. I drive a Tahoe, an F250 4×4 truck, a ’67 Camaro and my husband has a big Ford van for his job. Until we are all forced to drive smaller cars, I will continue to drive a big vehicle simply due to safety and better visability. You wouldn’t catch me dead in one of those tin can death traps. I drove my mom’s Corolla the other day and couldn’t see a darn thing coming out of a simple store driveway. No ones pays my gas bill but me and if anyone complains, they should be riding a bike not driving a Prius – they still use gas. on April 9, 2009 at 6:07 pm Djaguilar I rather have a car that drives well, and ca handle anything you throw at it than an ugly piece of engineering failure. peter griffin NO SELF RESPECTING WHITE PERSON WOULD BE CAUGHT DEAD DRIVING THE PRIUS. THE PRIUS IS A FAG CAR,ONLY FAGS AND LIBERAL PUSSYS WHO TREMBLE AT THE SOUND OF AL WHORES VOICE DRIVE THIS SICK LITTLE TURD CAR. MEN….REAL MEN LIKE CLINT EASTWOOD DRIVE TRANS AM’S,CORVETTES,PORSCHES AND FERRARIS. I AM SICK OF THESE LITTLE FAGOTMOBILES WITH THEIR APPLE STICKERS AND OBAMA WORSHIP DECALS…PULL ALONGSIDE ONE AT A LIGHT AND YOU’LL BE GREETED BY THE MOST LIMP WRISTED QUEER BUTT PIRATES IMAGINABLE. THE BULL DYKES ALSO LOVE THE PRIUS,WHEN THE ARENT SHOVING THEIR FIST UP THEIR FLAT CHESTED GIRLFRIENDS CUNT,THEY CAN BE SEEN DRIVING THIER PRIUS TO THE NEAREST DYKE RALLY. “Prius” synonymous with “Politically correct” The mistaken belief that you can pick up a turd by the clean end. on April 18, 2009 at 10:01 am Chris Mancey Okay look whilst writing that seems ‘really’ funny what is real funny is that your gay bashing ‘red neck’ comment has done nothing but open a serious investigation, into the fact that you Father may well have been your brother. Plus the whilst the Prius is not great, it’s a good ‘white’ car, and on that note a fine replacement for the Saab. I have also noticed that you seem to be taking a keen interest in the car’s that the “MEN” in your town drive….. need I say more? on April 27, 2009 at 9:25 pm ellie It’s also important that white people refer to it only as “The Prius” and NEVER a “Toyoto”. on April 28, 2009 at 12:20 pm hollybee awwwww, its assholes like you who make me all the more happy that i’m a dyke! a cute 20 year old one too, not a bull dyke. Funny that you mention fisting, I’m just going to assume that your fixation means that you have always secretly wanted to be fisted by your [father/brother] as it has already been speculated. Happy Fisting! ps- Homophobia is usually only expressed by repressed gays themselves who are too weak to face themselves. Perhaps you should seek professional help. In fact, for the sake of humanity, please do [or else nobody will ever like you. ever] on May 26, 2009 at 3:29 am Alex Our company cars are Prius. I can honestly say that they are the most awful cars ever designed! What were Toyota thinking… Nonetheless, I never pass up a chance to drive it :b on May 29, 2009 at 9:02 am Atsta It’s funny that a car incites such hatred and loathing. How exactly does a driver act like the world is theirs? Are they issuing you tickets for driving on their world? Are Prius drivers scolding you for using more than twice as many fossil fuels per mile or something? The car’s looks are subjectively appealing to some, but certainly objectively quite aerodynamically efficient. Perhaps the problem isn’t this car, but your attitude, Boom? Atsta Actually, Boom, going green isn’t JUST an economic scam, even if it is in some cases. The reality is that if you drive a car that gets 50 miles to the gallon versus one that gets 20, you do in fact pollute the earth less than half as much. Your environmental impact is not negated, but it is significantly minimized. Nobody seriously thinks that driving a Prius means that they are emitting sunshine and daffodils out of the tailpipe. Your entire argument is what is called a Strawman by people with more that 3 braincells- it is a purposeful distortion of the actual beliefs or arguments of a certain party or parties (namely, hybrid owners). In fact, most of your comments seem to display a marked lack of critical reasoning and sound argumentation. The average 19 year-old college freshman should be able to see that. Lots of community colleges and local universities offer Logic or Critical Thinking classes, perhaps you’d be well-served to enroll! on May 29, 2009 at 9:10 am Atsta “Just goes to show how the media influences people – all this go green BS.. Give me a break! One ridiculous economic trend after another.. People just have to be part of some click in the world to have a purpose.. How sad:(” Fallacy of Tendentiousness, Hasty Generalization, Hasty Conclusion. Fallacy hunting is fun! on May 30, 2009 at 7:47 pm Micah Last year, I was a design student at an obscure art college. One of my instructors was this typical, fixie-riding, aging hipster. In one of our classes, we were talking about demographics, imagining the typical clients we were designing for. One of the characters we imagined was the typical cellphone-toting Yuppie, male, early 30’s, graduated with a business degree, lives in a snazzy part of town, and so on. Basically, the kind of guy that typical white hipsters would rather not be, because they’re too “creative”. Anyway, the discussion turned to, “WHAT KIND OF VEHICLE WOULD HE DRIVE?” Stupid me, thinking I could be candid enough with these people, said, “He probably drives a Prius. You know, the type of guy who makes a lot of money but fancies himself a liberal idealist type. He probably thinks, Oh by driving this car, I’m making a difference.” And then there was silence. My partner in this project, a white guy, was giving me the dirtiest look. The instructor was obviously irritated. “Actually,” he huffed, “Now that you mentioned he drives a Prius, that gives me an entirely different image of this guy. He probably wouldn’t have a business degree. No, this guy wouldn’t drive a Prius.” Then White Guy Classmate comes to the rescue. “He probably drives a sports car, like a Lambourghini. Ha ha ha.” “Yes,” says Instructor, “That’s more like it. Ha ha ha.” Then they go on to describe more stereotypes about The Yuppie, stereotypes that typical “creative” people like to fantasize and make fun of, being their complete opposite. “He’s probably a lawyer now. OR AN ACCOUNTANT. Ha ha ha.” After that day in class, my instructor was visibly cold towards me. Discussions now seemed to be solely between him and my partner, with me relegated to the background taking notes. Any comments or contributions I made to any discussion or brainstorming session were just met with empty stares. AND, despite being a consistent student throughout the semester, I was given an undeserved “C” for that class. I noticed that at the end of every post in this blog, there are tips, presumably for non-whites like me, on how to use their knowledge of Stuff White People Like to their advantage in building relationships with white people. There are also notes on what to NEVER say or do, lest I be alienated. I learned the hard way that these pieces of advice should be taken quite seriously. on June 30, 2009 at 2:51 pm SonicGTR Any time a white person brags to me about their Prius, I just tell them, “I drive a 1994 Geo Metro XFi which gets FIFTY-ONE miles per gallon and it’s carbon debt was paid off a long time ago. You’ll need to drive your Prius 46,000 miles just to pay off it’s own carbon debt and can never catch up to my Geo Metro.” on July 6, 2009 at 6:03 pm captn'sama “Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move. Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable!” *Dies laughing* You’ve just described the German teacher at my college to a perfect ‘T!’ I love this site!! Beg-a-thon begins I WANT A MILLION DOLLARS!!! Can one million RICH WHITE PEOPLE send me one dollar apiece, puh-lease???? I don’t want money from any Asians, or Blacks or Hispanics. You guys NEED your money. I only want one dollar apiece from RICH WHITE PEOPLE who seem to WASTE their money by purchasing a pretentious Toyota Prius. Waste it on me instead. Thanks so much! (First person who comments “You ARE a waste.” is a rotten egg. You thought it. I know you did. Stop lying. See? I knew it.) on July 9, 2009 at 5:31 am Thomas I think you need to add a new one to the list of what white people like “going off the grid”. While visiting my sister (in a VERY white vacation spot) she was talking on the phone to a friend and I heard her say. “No she won’t beable to make tennis, She’s having a bit of a crisis. She’s off the grid and her house was hit by lightening and now she has to wait for a repair person to fix her solar panels.” Vlad You probably don’t get it. Prius has the most modern UI. So if you are a professional computer user, it is only natural to use Prius; the UI of any other car, including all those mercedeses just sucks, really. I bought mine for the UI, not for gas saving (what you save, you give to Toyota anyway). Zach Thats not a car, thats a lunchbox with a computer in it. I proudly drive a Ford Expedtion with a Triton V8 with 450 horsepower and on good days 15MPG. But at least if I get into an accident my car wont be my grave, and the person in my way wont live to sue me. on July 14, 2009 at 12:25 pm Zach “Carbon debt” aside.. I drive a 1984 Mercedes Turbo Deisel. I get 30mpg, and I blow an assload of black smoke out if I gun the engine too much… but hey I look good (better than your souped up golf-cart) Someone at my college has all that and vanity plates that say “NO CO2.” Talk about trying too hard… on August 14, 2009 at 12:39 pm Michael To own a Prius doesn’t make one better than the other who drives a SUV to work and back home to his family, the Toyota Prius still requires a level of gas to operate and to be trendy having an electric car. If you do want to purchase and own an electric, good luck finding the rare electrical recharge station in your area: hardly can be found in the Palm Springs area, for instance…and electric car dealers can’t make money in the recession. Sure, to save fuel and the cost of gas per gallon is a trade-off, but in hard times, nobody is making a buck like they used to. + on August 14, 2009 at 12:43 pm Michael Sorry mike (forgot the “i”), you’re in the wrong place to find potential gay singles. Please go to a gay single web site and I’m American, therefore you have little rights compared to Gay men in Europe. My home state Cal. is notably liberal, except a majority of voters approved an anti-gay marriage bill. + on August 14, 2009 at 12:46 pm Michael I thought white people LOVE public transit, the urban areas are running with buses, trains and taxis. They expect poor or non-white people to take them or ride a bicycle (the new way to get around). Don’t live in Southern Cal. then, you’re gonna complain about how HOT and smoggy it is. + on August 14, 2009 at 12:50 pm Michael Same is true not to see a Mercedes in Indio/Coachella, but just about every second car is in Palm Desert and Indian Wells. The Prius fad is in Palm Springs, as well in downtown Cathedral city right by Rancho Mirage…and guess who fixes them in auto repair shops? Yeah, Hispanics and rednecks. Good money, and mechancis can buy/own a Ford F-150. + on August 14, 2009 at 12:52 pm Michael Classic conservative alternative: lay off the unionized worker, ship his job down to Mexico, China or wherever else, and hire those from the very countries to work (as in clean or mow lawns) in the corporate bosses’ mansions, second homes or condos. You thought liberalism, leftism and labor unions are the “evils” destroying the US economy (NOT), be thankful you have employer health insurance and retirement plans for now. + New version of a popular race joke on car ownership: A white man in a Toyota Prius – WHITE POWER. A black man in a Toyota Prius – BLACK POWER. A Mexican or Puerto Rican in a Toyota Prius – GRAND THEFT AUTO. And my little addition to relate with the Toyota company: Built by Chinese or Japanese people. NEW SUPERPOWER. + on August 14, 2009 at 12:57 pm Michael The Pontiac Aztec was so successful, they want to create a new model: the Chicano. The El Caminos from 1970 won’t last forever, but the Hispanic consumer base kept on low-riding them. “Nice and slow, in the barrio”. xD on August 14, 2009 at 1:00 pm Michael Luckily, we drive safer cars after the infamous ’59 Corvair deemed “unsafe in any speed” by a then-young lawyer turned consumer rights advocate Ralph Nader. Older cars made before 1980 has a whiplash risk, models built after have them and seat belts are a common feature, followed by airbags and Anti-lock brakes. Children growing up now aren’t too afraid of playing on a street by a car hitting them. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:04 pm Michael Whenever Indian car makers created cars everyone can afford in India, whenever China uses 5 times more gas per day than America and the last non-Japanese auto maker in Detroit shuts down…we’re all gonna go nuts for Prius the same way French cars (i.e. Peugeot, Renault and FIAT) aren’t used as often like motorbikes are in older towns made for walking or horse carriages many centuries ago. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:08 pm Michael Kyle (get ready for an Eric Cartman shtick), Obama has the best qualities for president compared to the other (McPain) candidate to carry on Bush’s economic disaster policies onto the next decade. Obama wasn’t elected by his race either and in the political party (Democrats) which done more to civil rights than Republicans. No wonder a high percentage of African-Americans registered to vote are Democrats. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:14 pm Michael On your last tidbit: It’s like the local police (Indio, Cal.) have more Hispanics in custody than whites, because over 70% of the population is Hispanic and the media’s claim of “racial profiling” of Hispanics by law enforcement are debunked. My Mom was in the police force as a dispatcher in the late 70s/early 80s, and she assumes there’s no way the cops purposely targeted Black people, because that would be wrong or illegal, as well a “fascistic/nazistic trait” for white cops to deliberately arrest/detain Black people or Hispanics solely due to skin color and perceived stereotypes of racial groups are more “criminal”. Police racial profiling came from the theory blacks and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes than whites, though I believe by age or gender: young males aged 14 to 29 are profiled and stopped more often. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:17 pm Michael LoL, Buck-aroo. You know you’re not white when someone calls you a buck, a racial slur directed at Blacks and Indians. The local Indian tribal casinos have priuses in a parking lot structure inside a 8-story hotel…and turns out to be the tribal council. I thought “maybe they are Arab oil sheiks” after Americans of all races are duped and gullible to pay $4-5 per gallon on our cars. The white men are having tough times, huh? Oprah must own more than a Prius. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:20 pm Michael Californians in the 1990s & 2000s got an extended “gas price spike” version, and one reason other than having a mental disability affecting focus on the road…is the high cost of car ownership, registration fees, auto insurance, etc. other than a walk into an used car lot for a “starter” may be my only car I ever own. No matter what your class, annual income and credit scores are, you’re gonna have a helluva problem paying for car ownership in this state. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:25 pm Michael You proved to us white people (or fellow Native Americans like me, despite I AM WHITE as well), they have cars and not ride in backs of pick-up trucks on reservation dirt roads. My Mom was 40 years ahead of the “I’m white but have an Injun princess” genealogy claim nonsense, and her father (my grandpa) had to get an official US government birth certificate to prove his citizenship (the 1925 American Indian citizenship act) when he joined the Marines right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. An American Indian moving in L.A. then would be mistaken for an east Asian, Mexican or a “light skinned Negro” in those days. Oh great, I sound like I’m Jewish…to move in an Irish, Italian or Polish section of N.Y. City, the ones who don’t go to sunday mass. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:29 pm Michael Neo-Prius (for racial unity, unlike neo-Nazis), you should invent a new term for your racial identity like Tiger Woods did to his college admission forms: CauBlaSian. He’s part-white and Choctaw Indian from what I heard on his father’s side, and his mother is Thai of Chinese descent, therefore Tiger Woods is the leading Asian-American in pro sports in addition to being claimed among the Black community. + on August 14, 2009 at 1:32 pm Michael The blogger is from Canada, though speaks well mostly to Americans of the “ugly” kind depicted throughout the world. StuffWhiteAmericanYankeeYuppiesofthebothCoastsLike? That would be cool, but alot of room taken up in the search engines to type in.+ on August 14, 2009 at 1:34 pm Michael One fry short of a happy meal…you should read this: There is a grease oil recycling facility in Coachella, Cal. where the used fast food grease is sent to and becomes motor oil in a form of diesel used for farm tractor equipment. Hopefully, the corn oil can be our version of ethanol (sugar beet fuel) in Brazil and other countries totally no longer dependent on foreign oil. + on August 20, 2009 at 6:33 am andrew its a sad day when i sit here to comment on a comment about a little anicdote some homo thought was fun enough to jarble. In this day of excess any effort to push the equation is welcomed by your senior, just a steward you watch with telephone eyes as the earth burns up around you, fuck you suv, fuck you me, cars, and cinder, ciggarettess and lcd screens only the primal will survive, we are all part of the problem, stop fooling your self, and suck a monkey Big Bri Hey bis… Not to mention that the battery used in the prius is made with Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal Halide), which to me leaves an even BIGGER impact on the environment. Talk about “make money now, forget our future”, Toyota has this down pat! Ni-MH batteries contain Mercury! Thats right folks, the same stuff everyone is worried about contaminating the environment and causing that “mad as a hatter” thing to come back, Toyota uses to load their batteries with. Lets do some math;… Each battery weighs in at a hefty 57 Kg, and each of the 240 cells containing as much as 24% MH, each prius battery pack that hits the ground contributes 13-14 Kg of MH to the environment. Hope this opens someones eyes. on August 22, 2009 at 6:44 am yeah uh huh Oh really? I knew about flourescent light bulbs are toxic and you need a hazmat team to remove them safely. The advocating of one “clean” thing that pollutes over another allegedly polluting element is … hypocritical. + on August 22, 2009 at 6:47 am yeah uh huh The richest nation on earth is Nauru, due to phosphate mining in an island 8 sq. miles wide and home to 9,000 inhabitants, smack at the equator in the western Pacific. Each adult in Nauru gets a $65,000 annual check from the government, but the phosphate deposits will run out in a few years, and the rising sea level promote relocation plans of the whole island-nation, most likely to purchase land in Australia. + on August 25, 2009 at 2:12 pm Ping Pong homesexuals, metrosexuals, and liberals love these “cars” they are trying to make the statement, and then they go back to their affluent lilly white neighborhoods whereby they overconsume, and drink wine, and fornicate since jim braski will go to work and penetrate. ag I’m sure you realize a Prius will blow your doors off like you’re standing still. on August 30, 2009 at 11:29 pm Paul Stillman You’ve obviously never owned a Prius. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned. And I can go over 500 miles on less than 10 gallons of gas. on September 1, 2009 at 12:49 pm John L As a conservative, I personally hate the earth and am Pro- Nuclear War. However, I recently bought a 2010 Toyota Prius. I didn’t do it for Gaia, but rather for the cost savings when Peak Oil kicks in and Gas hits $25/Gal. At which point my Prius will be sexier than a sports car. Prius = Money Saved + Sex Appeal =🙂 on September 2, 2009 at 9:30 pm Paul Stillman Actually, I’ve gotten as high as 56.7 mpg’s on my Prius. During spring and summer, I regularly get over 50 mpg’s. Plus my Prius is about as reliable a car as you can get and it’s packed with safety features like stability control, antilock brakes, etc. I’ll never buy anything but a Toyota or Honda in the future. Geo? Thanks, but no thanks. on September 2, 2009 at 9:40 pm Paul Stillman Actually, the weight of the car has little to do with it. On the dash of the Prius is a computer screen that lets you see how many mpg’s you’re getting at any given time. Before I had a Prius, I drove like everybody else and was oblivious to how much gas I was wasting by driving with a lead foot and making jackrabbit starts. With this screen, I began to change my habits. With each trip, I get progressively better at figuring out how to get the best mpg’s I could at any given moment. And you know what? I regularly beat the mpg estimates that the industry rates the Prius at. Not only that, you have to learn to have a delicate touch with the accelerator, because Toyota hybrids drive and ride differently than standard gasoline cars. If I’m in a rush and I revert to my old habits, I get in the mid 40’s and pay the price. But if I use the speed limit as a ceiling instead of as a floor, I get unbelievable gas mileage. Not only that, but I’m a safer driver to boot and I don’t have to worry about tickets or losing my good driver discount on my insurance. Finally, if the auto industry required all cars and trucks to have these computer screens installed, everyone would be getting better gas mileage because they would see first-hand how wasteful their driving habits are. You don’t have to drive a Prius to get better gas mileage. But you do have to own one if you want to go well over 500 miles on ten gallons of gas. on September 2, 2009 at 9:42 pm Paul Stillman The King of Saudi Arabia, the President of Iran, Hugo Chavez, and as Qaeda thank you for driving the way you do and are tickled pink that you look better than I do driving my Prius. on September 2, 2009 at 9:48 pm Paul Stillman Osama bin Laden thanks you, too. But the men and women fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan wish you would get a tune up and start driving differently. on September 9, 2009 at 9:05 pm mundotaku It is not that your Prius is great, is that you used to drive to terrible cars. Driving a hybrid compared to driving a normal car (let’s say one that gets over 25 mpg on the street and 30 on the highway) for “helping the enviroment” is like taking an aspirine to cure cancer. At the end, billions of gallons of oil is use for electric plants, the making of plastic materials and heating. Plus to make your “Prius” lot of gas is needed for extracting the metals that goes into your car’s batterie, plus of course the destruction that mining itself does to the eviroment. If you want to be a true eco-hero drive a used 1994 Geo Metro XFE that gets 42 MPG. You know, reduce, reuse, recycle. on September 11, 2009 at 2:53 pm Jim K You are exactly the person they are talking about in this. You just made my day a little better by taking this website seriously. on September 11, 2009 at 2:58 pm Jim K Except your Prius will last half as long as his car does. Oh wait your dealer didn’t tell you that did he? on October 13, 2009 at 9:49 pm AshleyB The Prius is actually better for the environment because its a low emissions vehicle meaning there is is about 4 times less pollution when driving any distance when compared to what would be produced by a normal 25 to 30 mpg vehicle when driven that same distance. This is because the electric system makes the 11.9 gallon tank last longer than even a 30 gallon tank and allows you to go further on less gas causing less pollution. So you not only fill up for cheaper but you fill up less often and therefore the emissions you produce are at a safer/lower level than any other car and even though it still produces the emissions its better for the environment than any other vehicle as well because as long as you have the car it will produce less emissions than other vehicle. “So somehow, through marketing or perception, the Prius lets people think that driving their car is GOOD for the environment.” I thought this comment was very clever, and very true. on October 24, 2009 at 4:36 pm julia by the time that happens, medicare will not exist to support your baby boomer senior citizen ass, youll be dead. no 20yr old ass for you grandpa! on October 29, 2009 at 10:39 pm BUCKAROO Bullshit. When the fucking Prius goes down the road at a snail’s pace holding back cars that non gays drive, the efficiency of those normal cars is decreased, and fuel is wasted many times over. Park the gay prius and let real people drive efficiently down the road. Any questions? on November 4, 2009 at 9:16 pm CJ it still takes 5 to 7 years of driving the car to make up for all the environmental damage the carbon footprint the battery leaves. on November 7, 2009 at 8:51 am Angela The prius in the END will be worse for the environment well all the prius owners have to dump their VERY toxic Nickle batteries into landfills therefore poisioning the earth all over again for what.. for the few years they thought they were saving the environment but really were killing it in the end because of their arrogance. on November 10, 2009 at 3:30 am Greg I don’t buy into all that global warming, hysterical enviromentalist crap. This whole green economy sham isn’t worth a damn either. All you have to do is look at the nutbags pushing that idiotic agenda to see that it doesn’t hold water. on November 10, 2009 at 2:57 pm Smart guy Actually, driving slower makes your car more efficient. It burns gas at a higher rate to drive at higher speeds, you ignorant boob. on November 10, 2009 at 7:40 pm julia i dont have a car at all. i take the bus everywhere. all those liberal yuppies feel guilty when i tell them that and then envious when i mention that my saved gas money is spent on pot… on November 24, 2009 at 3:59 pm Greg I wonder why the MSM isn’t reporting on the debunking of the Global warming myth? Where is the outrage from all the fruitcakes that bought into that, and paid good money for stupid bulbs, and hybrid cars? Ann I’m inclined to believe that the problem with global warming is that politics got involved. My understanding is that most scientists agree that climate change is occuring but at what level and what severity remains controversial. To unequivocally dismiss global warming as a fabrication is irresponsible and nonsensical. While I do believe the global warming conceptions can be ambiguous, I don’t think we can deny the potential subversive effects of climate change caused by both nature and people. on December 1, 2009 at 4:42 pm Greg I’m not a kid, and not prone to buy into any nonsense. Even as widely spread, and wildy publicized as the current batch of enviromental hysterical dogma. The Drudgereport.com has links to a lot of stories and news you might want to see. I don’t ever check any websites some fruitbats refer me too. I won’t blame you if you don’t either. I remember the comming Ice age, no more oil, and no more birds because of ddt in the 70’s. All hoaxes. I remember Oprah announcing Aids was going to kill 1 in 5 in the United states in the 90’s and many many more. All hoaxes. Just like this hysterical global warming conspiracy now, which is the biggest hoax every perpetrated on mankind. What is irresponsible and nonsensicle is to “lose” the data, so that peer review isn’t possible. Thats exactly what has happened and more, email’s from the very place everybody is using as their “source” for proof, show clear intention to misrepresent the data, and to cover it up by losing the “data”, making peer review impossible. Real science is verified by their peers, not a group of jokers calling themselves the “consensus”, and not even allowing a question to be asked, or a review of their “data”. I have found the moon to be made entirely cheese. Everybody on earth now has to send me 10% of your gross net earnings so that I can save the world and end world hunger, makes as much “scientific” sense as the global warming conspiracy. Greg Knock, knock………. is stoopid home? 20 year olds sell their ass to anybody on the internet all day long, everyday. By the way, its overrated. on December 6, 2009 at 7:23 pm Greg More than 2 weeks have passed since the ominous debunking of the global warming myth, and the Lame stream media has yet to report on it. on December 7, 2009 at 3:15 pm MJ Until we are all forced to drive the same size and style of vehicle, I for one will keep driving my full sized Ford F-250 pick-up and/or my Chevrolet Tahoe. I would not want to be in a Prius, a smart car, a Geo, a Civic, a Carolla or any other sub-compact type car and get into an accident with a large truck or SUV. The studies have been done and in the end, size does matter. I’ll gladly pay the extra money in gas to keep me and my family safe on the road. Plus, what do people do that have more than 4 or 5 people in their family? Leave someone at home? How do you bring a sheet of plywood home from Home Depot or a tree from the garden shop? Oh that’s right, people that drive the Prius probably don’t get their hands dirty and/or do any type of home improvement projects. I’m a woman and laugh hysterically when I see any man over the age of 30 driving one. They really are one of the ugliest vehicles on the road. on December 7, 2009 at 3:16 pm MJ You can drive a full sized vehicle at a slower pace if you want to save on fuel. The Prius is a death trap and ugly as hell. on December 7, 2009 at 3:18 pm MJ I’m glad you like your Prius. I sure wouldn’t want to be you in a car accident at 60+mph on the highway with a larger vehicle. on December 7, 2009 at 3:24 pm MJ Amen to that. Size does matter. Plus it’s not a practical car for a larger family or to carry anything in. If anything (and I hate the Prius with a passion), it may be practical to run simple errands where you won’t be getting on the freeway, but all those small cars just freak me out. Talk about death traps. Personally, I don’t think children should be allowed to ride in them on the freeway. I wouldn’t be caught dead in one. I actually cringe when I see them driving around my Central California Coastal town where every other person has one. I love driving my 4 wheel drive full-sized truck through town where they all try to get out of my way. on December 7, 2009 at 3:35 pm MJ I’m so glad that you love your car and saving gas. But design wise, they really are a very ugly vehicle and dangerous. They are so quiet many people have actually walked out in front of them and been hit. I’m sorry, I still would never be caught driving one or even riding in one. on December 7, 2009 at 3:39 pm MJ I’m a woman, a mother and a wife. I drive a full sized Ford F250 4×4 truck and a ’67 Chevrolet Camaro RS on the weekends, both with V-8’s and both American made. I don’t have a penis and I don’t have to show off for anyone. I drive what I like just like you do, but I’m just safer in my truck than in a Prius. It’s a personal choice and until you pay my gas bill then it shouldn’t matter to you. Why make a comment about a man’s appendage based on what he drives? Personally to me, it seems like a guy with a small penis would drive the extremely effeminate looking Prius. Just saying… on December 8, 2009 at 12:07 pm Mick Because global warming hasn’t been debunked at ALL, you f’ing moron. Stop reading what you think are science proofs at Fox News. Lilo Envious? I would say most liberals would be giving you a high five. Cyber five right here! on December 20, 2009 at 8:55 am Lindsey Brennan I hear that Lexus came out with some nice hybrids. Expensive, but they are quite nice. After the winter, gas prices will be going up substantially, so it will be nice to have a high-mpg car. I personally don’t believe anything about global warming, however, I do believe gas prices are going up and a Hybrid will be nice to have so I don’t have to keep filling up my tank. Wombat RE: Wat’s comment of Sept. 5: I laughed my ass off when I read this! You said it all in just a few words. The Prius is an ugly-ass (not a metaphor, REALLY) gay car. The front end is too small, as are the tires, and the rear is way to big, it’s unattractive from every angle. I would feel pity and no doubt some other negitive feelings to encounter a woman of similar proportions. Since the whole idea was to produce an energy-efficient vehicle, the question for me is “Why does it have to be so damn butt-ugly?” There are, after all, “hybrid” vehicles that cannot be identified as such unless you happen to see some kind of reference to “hybrid” on the rear of of the car. The clever Toyota people knew just what they were doing. They were able to figure out that there were people who would by a car that would be easily identifiable, and that would allow it’s owner to be able to think something like, “I care. I am doing my bit for the environment. I am sacrificing sex appeal and style for a greater cause than myself. When you see me on the road, you will see the depth of my commitment.” You may, if you know a Prius driver, get to hear them say all this, just in case you did not get the point or know that they own one. I DO know a guy like that, and have heard his “I’m saving the world” speech, several times. Ever seen the “South Park” episode about the self-satisfied hybrid owners, and the resulting cloud of environmentally-endangering “Smug” they caused? One character asked at the end, “Couldn’t we just drive the hybrids without the need to feel so smug about it?” Maybe, but then that would miss much of the point. Now what about the Scion box cars and the other similar vehicles that several other auto companies now offer? Standard engine, and really ugly………I don’t begin to understand any of that one. A true standard in comedy blogging. Another great site is http://www.SomethingYouShouldRead.com on January 9, 2010 at 8:15 pm Thomas This site needs a spam button. Bean here is pissing me off and it’s not for being a little Ender clone. on January 12, 2010 at 9:17 am Greg listen to this dipshit call somebody an “f’ing moron”. You might want to tune in to some fox news dumbass. It wouldn’t kill you to learn something. on January 12, 2010 at 9:24 am Greg I think you may have hit on something there. Fruitbats that never had any sex appeal suddenly get to feel superior to everybody else for their feeeelings about the environment. Far too seldom do I get the opportunity in life that I get on these boards to ridicule fascist leftwingnuts. Even though I live in a rainbow\sanctuary state. on January 12, 2010 at 9:33 am Greg If you think that’s a nice car, why don’t you mosey on down to the dealership and slip in behind the wheel of a pre ObaMao Chevy Silverado Z-71. I pull into the gas station and fill up with Iraqi oil that burns just fine, and drive away knowing I’m doing my part to support global warming. I can almost feel the gnashing of teeth and the pissing of pants of all the liberals around me, in my rainbow sanctuary state, as I ease onto the freeway without a single passenger. When I hear their wails of protest as I drive over the meridian to pass all the carpool butt buddies, I swear I get a chubby everytime. Andy LOL, nice ! I agree, go to fox news, that’s also one of my top comedy sites. Man the stuff they say is hilarious, and sometimes makes me shed a tear, I kid you not. Seriously, this is a great site, very funny. For real news I recommend reading the actual science reports, not watching news shows. If you truly understand the science, the huge amount of data, we can have a discussion about that, rather than about people’s opinion about the science. Deal? on January 20, 2010 at 6:19 am doodlydoo Amen to that! I am trying to read through some old posts and I start reading comments… “‘Great post, haha, I do this all the time’, ‘A true standar–‘ NOOO I’VE SEEN THIS TEN TIMES ALREADY” on January 20, 2010 at 11:18 am Todd White people also like maintaining their cars so they don’t break down on the road. White people also like to avoid stopping right in the middle of the road to let someone out. on January 21, 2010 at 3:19 pm Mary Hey genius, oh yeah I just “plow through” people and other cars on the road. What an idiot you are. I never said I’d be safer getting in an accident in the ’67 Camaro but it’s a heck of a lot cooler to drive than a Prius or a Corolla. To each his or her own. I happen to like my Ford truck. What can you haul in a Prius? 2 bags of groceries? I actually use my truck to haul things to work on my house and garden. You probably don’t own a house, live in a condo or worse, live with your mother still. Grow up. on January 21, 2010 at 3:25 pm Mary The Prius is a tiny tin can. I don’t care what the safety ratings say. I’ve read many articles that still state size does matter. There is NO WAY I’d want to be in a Prius and get in an accident with a large truck or suv – no way. So go ahead Prius owners; go ahead and drive your ugly little stupid cars and hope that you get in an accident with another Prius. That’s the only way you’ll survive. No real man would be caught dead in one. I could maybe see a woman driving one, although not this woman. They are just hideous beyond belief. on January 21, 2010 at 3:25 pm Mary Well a Republican just won the senate in Mass, so I guess times they are a changing. Ha ha. on January 22, 2010 at 4:44 pm Riddlin The site’s author doesn’t read comments, so they are unmoderated. Sadly, Bean’s stupid spam will likely be here forever😦 on January 26, 2010 at 4:31 pm Mary And it was recently voted one of the 10 ugliest cars ever made…I thought that was pretty accurate. on January 26, 2010 at 4:34 pm Mary Yeah Toyota makes the best cars…that’s why they are ceasing production of 8 cars as we speak. Yeah they are great….just fantastic. ha ha. What a joke. on January 26, 2010 at 4:38 pm MJ Well Toyota just suspended sales of 8 of it’s cars due to “safety issues”. Ummm. isn’t the Prius a Toyota? Oh yeah, it is. It’s still in production but it was recently voted one of the 10 ugliest cars of all time and I wouldn’t trust driving one if it was the last car on earth. I’m sure it’s next on the list of unsafe cars. I’m happy – I hate that disgusting little car. Ha ha. on January 31, 2010 at 7:12 am V8 Boi I drive a big ass gas guzzling, 13MPG highway, 130 MPH Crown Victoria with no catalytic converters and loud ass mufflers. I’m also black. on February 2, 2010 at 11:42 am Steve How funny that hardly anyone has posted after Mary noted (on 1/26) that Toyota has suspended production and sales of 8 of their models. Now they supposedly have a postage stamp sized “part” that will remedy the sticking accelerator pedal. I sure hope you Prius lovers don’t end up with that problem too. This is a huge embarrassment for Toyota and it’s also been noted that they knew about this problem for several years but didn’t want to admit it. Makes me glad I drive a big Ford truck. on February 4, 2010 at 7:18 am Mary Ha Ha Ha!! Now Toyota is saying that the Prius has brake problems!! Where are all of you fugly Prius lovers now?? Come out come out wherever you are!! Toyota is in deep shit now. This will affect that car company for years and possibly decades to come. Oh I’m so glad I drive my big Ford Truck, Chevrolet Tahoe and yes my ’67 Chevy Camaro. Where are you now “ag”? Wasn’t it you who a few posts ago dissed what I drove? Well I hate to “brake” the news to you but I’m feeling pretty great about what I drive. My brakes work great and my gas pedals don’t stick. Who’s safer now sucker???? Guess I won’t be “plowing through” you on the highway becasue your little faggy car will be either parked or at the shop in a long line waiting to get fixed. Seriously, I love this. No one could make this stuff up. Good luck Toyota lovers….ha ha on February 5, 2010 at 1:20 pm Mary Where are you guys?!?! This Prius post misses you. What, don’t you have anything to say about your cars?? It’s been well over a week since a Prius lover has posted. Don’t you love your Prius any longer?? Did the Toyota recall get your panties in a knot? I only say this because anyone who buys one of these hideous little cars is either a woman or very effeminate man who probably wears panties. You have to admit, for a large V8 driving gal like myself, I’m finding this very enjoyable. C’mon people, I miss you. It’s so boring without you toting the gas savings and how great these cars are, how you’re single handedly saving our planet. Wow, you sure give up quick. One little recall about sticking accelerators and brakes not working sends you running for the hills. Frankly I’m a little disappointed in you. I thought you’d still be standing strong behind Toyota. Now us American car and truck owners will always stand proud behind what we drive. We aren’t afraid and we aren’t traitors. Where’s your Prius now, huh??? Todd you’re not black! otherwise you would have spelled it “cadallidic converters”, sort of of like “cadillac”. on February 21, 2010 at 7:12 pm Greg You have to wonder how fascist leftwingnut envirowhacko’s can stand to look at themselves in the mirror after all the ridiculouse nonsense they have been forcing on us since the clinton/gore fiasco on February 21, 2010 at 7:44 pm Greg We need to start exporting fascist leftwingnut environutjobs, to China. With a communist government already in place, they are needed to stem the rising tide of capitalism and funding for worldwide terrorism. Why don’t they grasp the obviouse instead of the obtuse, in the causes they choose to freak out about? on February 22, 2010 at 7:44 pm WhiteWomenLoveMyChocolateBar it’s a known fact that all white women love big black cocks. they can’t get enough of these. it is the reason why white men have always been trying to hold the brothers down. white women paying for sex with black males: Mary Wow, all I can say is Toyota is so screwed right about now. You Prius owners have literally dropped off the face of the planet and this blog. I actually feel sorry for anyone that owns a Toyota now that it’s all coming out that the company only cared about profits and it’s been documented in letters investigators have found. It’s really time for the American car makers to finally step it up and have their day and make our country proud. Heck, China makes toys and other items that are poisoned with lead and other toxic ingredients and sends them to the U.S., why would Japan care about us? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m so glad I drive my big Ford F250 4×4 truck. I’ll survive an accident and my gas pedal works, my brakes work and my power steering works. You Prius owners trying to be green? Who the f&^% cares about being green if the car is going to kill you and the company who made it doesn’t care about your safety? Heaven help any of you that actually carry your children in those disgusting little pieces of unsafe crap. Time to come down off your tree-hugging high horse and face reality. YOUR CAR SUCKS!! on March 8, 2010 at 11:11 am JP What get’s me about enviromentalists is that they will stand around in malls telling you about rainforest being destroyed in the DRC instead of going there and doing something about it and if you can’t do anything about stop whinning on March 11, 2010 at 9:06 pm april Right here. I do drive a prius but it was never for the environmental crap. My family keeps cars until they are 20 so in the long run the savings on gas make it worthwhile. Find me proof that Global Warming is not happening. I live in Maryland. We normally get around 6 inches of snow in a year. This year we got around 3 feet. Climate change! When the earth is hotter there is more evaporation, then when it travels to areas where it is cooler because its winter, BAM, Huge freakin’ blizzards. Also, this past summer was the rainiest summer we had in a very very long time, again, climate change perhaps? Chris There ya go, “they’ve” changed it to suit “their” “needs” again… It’s now called “Climate Change” when will we the hardheaded get it into our collective hard heads. There ya go, give the same old BS a new name so you can let the elitists try to control more of our freedoms while making the treehuggers feel better about themselves… and by the way… I am white and I do NOT drive or ever want to drive a PRIUS. and power steering shuts off in a 20lbs car? dude, a 12 year old could safely navigate it to a stop! I used to drive an old 60’s car in my teens and twenties it was a TANK with the power steering BLOWN!!! Get it over 20mph and it’s cake to drive! itty bitty prius @ 90? Dude looks in his 50’s – he should know how to turn off the ignition. He also looked in pretty decent health – but – who am I to judge! I’m not psychic but I’m willing to bet that if you press both pedals at the same time – even a Prius will melt its own brakes… and I bet the onboard computer that monitors the complex charge/drain system can also tell when both pedals are floored…. … on March 17, 2010 at 2:02 pm Greg Malor Nice shout out to the Subaru. I was going to say that white people love Subarus nearly as much as Priuses, but I see it was mentioned in the text. Well done! on March 18, 2010 at 12:15 am B Funk I’d submit that Volvo is still very much in play for white people. And Jeep should at least get an honorable mention. The Toyota Prius is now passe. With the man-made global warming hoax being exposed, the status of cars like the Prius have become that much more of a fad. Frankly, the car is hideous, underpowered, and saturated in do-gooder backlash. I laugh at Prius drivers. on March 18, 2010 at 8:24 pm ethan Williams i believe that if the toyota priuse is the white flagship car, then whites all over need to up their game. you would think it would be a chevy, jeep, or at least a ford on April 14, 2010 at 6:02 am Mary YOU drive a Prius with all the stuff that’s happening with Toyota?! That right there is just nuts. So now not only is it an ugly car it’s been proven to be a piece of crap along with most of the other Toyota models. Didn’t you read that Toyota knew for a long time about all the problems with their cars and just didn’t want to say anything? How can you drive that thing?? on April 14, 2010 at 6:04 am Mary Subarus are definitely popular but I still drive a big Ford truck and I love it. Oh that’s right, I live in America, not somewhere in Asia. I have a ’67 Camaro too. Now is the time for American auto makers to really up their game. on May 5, 2010 at 2:28 am Greg Show me some “proof” global warming is happening ding dong. All the “proof” invented by al gore and like minded fruitcakes dependent on that myth for funding have been outed as liars?? Yet you are gonna stand here with your fingers in your ears, and pretend it hasn’t be debunked and dissmissed. How can you look at the REAL facts and still pretend they aren’t? I gave up trying to talk sense you fruitcakes drunk on stupid juice back during the clintoon/gore fiasco. You can believe the moon is made of cheese for all I care, just don’t think because you want it to be so bad, you are gonna convince me. Dipshit. on May 18, 2010 at 5:33 pm whats wrong with you?? @alexa: I think a lot of you have problems understanding these are just broad funny stereotypes that apply to the current (young 20-30′s) white population of the USA. OF COURSE black people, and Asian, and Latino people do some of these things. YOU DO NOT NEED TO SAY YOU ARE BLACK AND YOU DO THIS TOO (no one cares! these are just funny WHITE stereotypes). and Of course all white people don’t do all these things. These are just FUNNY STEREOTYPES that are oddly and recently very prevalent in American White culture. I am very guilty (and not guilty) of a lot of these. I think it is really funny. I live in Japan, have an Asian girlfriend, like mos def, used to make movies, wanted to be a writer, like to camp, etc, etc. No I don’t do yoga and don’t really like tea… and I am NOT going to be all defensive and complain that this list is stupid and I guess I am not white cause I don’t drink wine. Just enjoy this for what it is. BROAD STEREOTYPES. one more thing. Stop being so defensive. You don’t need to post on every thing that you DON’T do, “I don’t do …..” whatever. good for you. here is an idea for the next item. Stuff white people like: not having a sense of humor or being remotely opened minded. on May 18, 2010 at 5:35 pm whats wrong with you?? just FYI: You know all those Toyota lawsuits ( I think it is over 1000 now) and all the recalls in the USA. In japan they have had exactly zero cars recalled and zero lawsuits. The problem with the cars are only in the USA. In fact last year in Japan the Toyota Prius was the number 1 selling car. sillyniecy @alexa Ford sucks, big time. Get off your AMURICA horse and brush up on your communication skills. “not those stupid little economy cars” Are you for real? The thing about foreign vehicles is that they are built to last. In Europe or Japan they don’t have acres and acres and whole STATES of land that they can fill up with trash. If you buy a car, it better goddamn well last you! You can’t say the same for American made cars at all. What’s the problem with a small engine? If you’re not racing or hauling stuff all day an economy car might be a good idea. Putting that aside, if you are really that offended at this blog and the author’s posts, you might want to find something else to read. Find the humor in it, good luck. on May 27, 2010 at 12:42 pm New_Yorker I would have titled the Prius the car CHEAP People Like. 45 miles on only 1 gallon of gas I’d think every cheap SOB on the planet would want one. Besides they look like a huge Cheese Wedge instead of a car. White people like Big, Powerful, Flashy, Opulent Looking Cars, not tiny little weird looking ones that have no power. on May 30, 2010 at 2:35 pm J-Dub Driving up and down the 101 every day, I couldn’t tell you how many of these stupid things I see with their Obama/Biden, Co-Exist and Apple stickers. Do these people realize how trendy and lame they are? on June 1, 2010 at 5:54 am Greg with the obaMao take over of GM and the dismal failure of cash for clunkers sending Toyota sales through the roof….. With the lawsuits aimed at Toyota widely and wildly reported in the media here, fueling anti-Toyota propaganda…. Most of those lawsuits turning out to be little more than get rich quick schemes by ppl trying to cash in on the propaganda….. I’ve been very happy with my wifes Camry, and with my Current ’03’ Silverado being the last GM I’ll ever own. I may look at a ford before I buy a Tundra. on June 3, 2010 at 11:38 am Greg Even more *proof* that “global warming” isn’t when another of thier idiotic claims of evidence prove otherwise on July 2, 2010 at 2:44 pm Greg I’m wondering why producing, *good, clean, envirowhacko friendly energy*, has never proposed this as an obviouse solution to our dependence on foriegn oil….. large hamster wheels for ppl to run on, connected to a generator that charges the batteries in your electric car, house, appliances, ect… ect… ect…. With unemployment at record lvls, illigal immigration unabated, and human hamster wheels almost an entirely unregulated….. this IS the future of the green wave…. get entirely off the grid, or sell your extra energy back to the grid…. Its also the answer to the fat ass epidemic, and will dramatically reduce healthcare costs by guaranteeing energy demands are met with actual physical excercise…… or for the most green fruitcakes among us, they can get special cards allowing them to barter the extra energy they produce for the gov’t cheese they recieve!!!! *WIN WIN WIN* xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD on July 8, 2010 at 6:15 am Greg This one is for any of you fruitcakes left that are still genuflecting at the altar of ‘global warming’ XDDDDD on July 13, 2010 at 2:31 pm Greg What a shocker to nobody but libtard nut huggers, the facts disprove their ridiculouse assumptions yet again… XDDDD http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834604575364871534435744.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories the fascist leftwingnut propaganda designed to pretend success for one of that feckless, incompetent, in over his head negro, ass clown, squatting in the White House’s fruitcake policies, (cash for clunkers)….. delivers an epic fail… xDDDDD these fruitcakes that support that incompetent boob, still think just saying something stupid, makes it so… unfortunately the “facts” keep disproving everything they desperately wish to be true…XDDDDDD on July 15, 2010 at 4:03 pm Greg Now that they have stopped using “global warming” because, well…. its obviousely bullshit…. now they say “climate change” in order to draw attention to and make policy that determentally effects every tax paying person to explain this… on August 6, 2010 at 1:23 am Greg @ the douchebag calling himself Ironyisfunny… well fruitcake, I don’t take nor do I need medication… the irony of the blog isn’t lost on me and I was amused in the beggining as well. over time I’ve tried to engage in meaningful debates with far left loons that frequent this site who’s irony was totally lost in racism and every other ism their idiotic ideology demands of its ‘believers’… making them wet their collectivist panties with non-apologetic disdain for their politically correct craziness, humors me now.. xDDD on August 6, 2010 at 11:21 pm Greg Now here is a car that has some potential.. especially in heavily democratic area’s where shit for brains prevails… al Oh, good Lord, no! I realize most Priss (not a typo) owners are probably white tree huggers, but give this white boy a Chevrolet or a Ford Mustang any day. I enjoy cars and driving too much to force myself into one of Toyota’s mechanical abortions. on October 21, 2010 at 8:35 am Mr. Richard Parker I am a middle age white guy who sold his Dodge Durango for a Prius. I cut my gas bill from $300 to $80 a month. It’s actually kinda fun to drive and much easier to park than the old Dodge. on October 24, 2010 at 7:43 am kim CAR drivers are burning the ancient sunlight that has been stolen from the ARABS and the blood is still on the handle of the gas pump. on November 30, 2010 at 9:25 pm North Face Fan Are you fucking serious! This site is meant to be a joke and most comments are taken so seriously. You are the whitest motherfuckers on the planet! on December 2, 2010 at 2:11 pm Chris Japanese people make this car and use it a lot in Japan. You sound like a sorry loser who takes advantage of what the white people have given you, like democracy, science, medicine, technology, computers, you name it. But you are a no count useless complainer. Without white people you’d be eating bugs from your mate’s hair and dying at 23. Loser. an enigma Just by reading the comments that people leave on this post (and the rest of this blog), Lander has truly struck the narcissistic nerve which ‘white people’ deny they have. It’s kinda like wisdom teeth, everyone has em, but we don’t need em. And if you don’t get rid of your ‘wisdom teeth’ (this is ‘white people’ mentality which includes but is not limited to: being convinced you’re unique, vulgar display of ego boosting grandstanding, self-serving concern for the poor; to name a few), then you will miserably embarrass yourself because your crooked teeth (your speech, figuratively speaking) will clearly show you haven’t removed the narcissist nerve that we all suffer from. What Lander was getting across in this post is the ridiculous self-righteous pump-me-up feeling ‘white people’ get from doing something as ‘grand’ as buying/driving a dumb car. Do people really think that this ‘grand’ gesture is doing anyone any good? What is this world coming to….probably the only good the prius brought is less noise pollution, as it’s really quite, but then again pedestrians can’t hear the thing so it’s even more hazardous to humans because they can easily step in it’s path while crossing the street/parking lot, because they can’t hear it coming. Speaking of ‘better mileage’, the prius does not get that much more gas mileage than most oldies. My 1999 ford escort gets 34 mpg, just 11 miles shy of the prius….from 1999 to 2010 it took 11 years to get 11 more miles out of a gallon…that…is…sad….and the one who believes that this a superb development is…well…as Chris, who commented on this post put it, someone who “eat[s] bugs from your mate’s hair and dying at 23. Loser.” So, Christian Lander is not attacking the ‘good things’ that ‘white people have given you’, but rather, he is attacking their fickle and self-justifying mindset that dupes them into buying these overpriced not-that-much-more-environmentally-friendly trinkets. It appears you still have your ‘wisdom teeth’ as you did not see the essence of his blog. an enigma Just by reading the comments that people leave on this post (and the rest of this blog), Lander has truly struck the narcissistic nerve which ‘white people’ deny they have. It’s kinda like wisdom teeth, everyone has em, but we don’t need em. And if you don’t get rid of your ‘wisdom teeth’ (this is ‘white people’ mentality which includes but is not limited to: being convinced you’re unique, vulgar display of ego boosting grandstanding, self-serving concern for the poor; to name a few), then you will miserably embarrass yourself because your crooked teeth (your speech, figuratively speaking) will clearly show you haven’t removed the narcissist nerve that we all suffer from. What Lander was getting across in this post is the ridiculous self-righteous pump-me-up feeling ‘white people’ get from doing something as ‘grand’ as buying/driving a dumb car. Do people really think that this ‘grand’ gesture is doing anyone any good? What is this world coming to….probably the only good the prius brought is less noise pollution, as it’s really quite, but then again pedestrians can’t hear the thing so it’s even more hazardous to humans because they can easily step in it’s path while crossing the street/parking lot, because they can’t hear it coming. Speaking of ‘better mileage’, the prius does not get that much more gas mileage than most oldies. My 1999 ford escort gets 34 mpg, just 11 miles shy of the prius….from 1999 to 2010 it took 11 years to get 11 more miles out of a gallon…that…is…sad….and the one who believes that this a superb development is…well…as Chris, who commented on this post put it, someone who “eat[s] bugs from your mate’s hair and dying at 23. Loser.” So, Christian Lander is not attacking the ‘good things’ that ‘white people have given you’, but rather, he is attacking their fickle and self-justifying mindset that dupes them into buying these overpriced not-that-much-more-environmentally-friendly trinkets. It appears you still have your ‘wisdom teeth’ as you did not see the essence of his blog. @Gary Atrocious (Quote) lets all drive a truck that we have to fill up every 200 miles (or less), for $80+ a tank, instead of a mere ~$36 bucks it costs me to fill this Toyotee out back once every two weeks OR every 500+ miles. Sorry pal. But what you fail to realize is that while Trucks/SUV’s do infact cost more money to fill up…They also go greater distance’s. Most fullsize trucks and suvs come with a gas tank between the size’s of 25 and 35 gallons, ”About the size of your Hybrids backseating area” Yes 80-100$ fill ups are common…But most modern V8 engine Trucks can achive 700-800miles per tank. How? I’ve done it! Many times infact. People like you are just to ignorant to realize that your ”Prius” is nothing more than a feel good car. please. if people really wanted to help the environment they’d use the bus. ITS NOT THAT A BIG A DEAL, PEOPLE. BUSES ARE NOT MONSTERS. RIP Jetta « almost granola… […] Once we get Lemon Squad’s report on the Prius, we’ll make an official offer and head back up to Austin to buy the car and get the title switched over to us. Alex and I both feel much more at peace and confident about this car, but it’s not over ’til it’s over! In the meantime, please enjoy this uncannily accurate article from the “Stuff White People Like” blog: […] on June 4, 2011 at 6:22 pm the wrong kind of white person I’m white. I drive a 1990 Ford F250. It has a bumper sticker that says “Protected by 2nd Amendment Security” (see bumper sticker post). Oh, and I’m a girl.😛 on June 6, 2011 at 8:53 pm Gregalicious I haven’t ridden the bus anywhere since high school, just to avoid the dipshits that do ride them… somebody said once, “to find the who’s who in mental illness, all you have to do is ride the bus”, was absolutely correct. these days, especially if you have kids, riding a fucking bus with a bunch of mental midgets, is a time consuming, frustrating, expensive, pain in the ass… where I live it rains all the damn time so its extra aggravating and inconvenient.. If you are such a toad stool as to tailor your life around just going to work and going home, and cutting everything else out of your life, or are a shit for brains liberal, the bus ‘might’ make sense for you, otherwise, its just a tax payer subsidized, fascist leftwingnut pipe dream that doesn’t do shit for anybody but the dumbass who’s job it is to drive the damn thing. Gregalicious here is some really amusing stuff on how environmentally “friendly” recycled stuff, and electric cars really are… on October 12, 2011 at 6:55 am Morgan My husband just bought a TDI Passat & it gets over 40 mi/gal and the new VW plant is in TN. I guess I’m old-school white b/c I drive a Volvo xc-90 and I love it. On a sad note, Chevy reported that a full 13% of Chevy owners have NEVER been on the internet! on November 6, 2011 at 4:34 pm Chuck Well, I’m a WASP, a Lifetime member of the NRA, I have a concealed carry permit and I’m a pro-choice conservative. Not many of us pro-choice consrvatives, basically don’t care for Liberals, but I do like my Prius v. more bad news for obozo’s gov’t motors boondoggle the Chev. volt catches fire… so much for the flagship of obozo’s green energy economic recovery…. like obozo needed more attention to his collosal waste of tax payer money on his “green economy” bullshit… his solar energy boondoggle (solyndra) coupled with his natural gas boondoggle, and now his car company are all disasters of biblical proportions… gov’t takeovers of the private sector have always been and will always be fucking disasters because gov’t workers aren’t hired for their expertise or qualifications, they are hired per quota, and are always the most inefficient, over paid, under worked, poorest managed, and most ineffective workforce in the history of mankind. Especially under liberal leadership. Gregalicious get out your negro dialect translators again fruitcakes, you’re gonna need ‘em. xDDD thanks to obozo’s feckless incompetence by manipulating gas prices to their highest ever at this time of year in an effort to force you to buy a gov’t motors volt, one of the consequences of that stupidity is… higher inflation… that means the cost of everything has gone up, food prices are skyrocketing, peanut butter alone is up 36.6% over a year ago.. 36.6%!! in just one fucking year!! how is that helping out poor people? I suppose liberal politicians think its a 2fer because they are handling obozo’s wifes dillema on obesity at the same time… by making gas too expensive to buy, they make food to expensive to purchase healing the planet and conquering obesity at the same time??? some dumbasses think that a minimum wage should be a living wage? thats an oxymoron… everytime the minimum wage goes up the cost of everything goes up that much plus a bit more to implement it, making the need for another raise in the minimum wage to make up the difference causing the prices to go up again outpacing whatever they raise the minimum wage too. ppl too stupid to see the cycle and how it can’t possibly work in reality, keep voting for the next guy that promises something they don’t have only to find out it isn’t enough and can never be enough. The only answer is to enhance your own skill set and earn more than the minimum wage that will out pace the next fruitcakes push to raise it. In plain English this is called, chasing your tail. You keep running in circles doing the minimum expecting the maximum and never breaking even let alone getting ahead. Enter one feckless, incompetent, in over his head, queer hugging negro, ass clown deluded by illusions of granduer and you have a recipe for disaster. Spending more money than our GDP, while simultaneousely doing everything he can to lower our GDP puts in a position of fiscal collapse like Greece… No amount of liberal wishful thinking, and/or drug induced daydreaming can change reality one bit. liberal tax and spend policies don’t work, have never worked anywhere they’ve ever been tried and simply can’t… The sooner you dumbfucks stop sticking your hands out to gov’t to feed your dumbasses, and either put them to work or starve to death the better off all of us will be. on April 6, 2012 at 5:38 am EisenhowerforPresident Um, while I feel strongly that everyone should be free to comment on web fora like this one, and while I don’t think that being racist, homophobic and semi-literate should necessarily stop anyone commenting, I’d just like to ask – what does all that have to do with the Toyota Prius? Just asking… ; on April 24, 2012 at 10:09 am Fred Colin I kind of agree what Mike brought up, according to a recent report I read, the electricity that used by all hybrid vehicle, including the award winning Lexus CT hybrids, are actually causing more damages as well, but many people don’t realize it. on July 13, 2012 at 9:22 pm Jake Ugh, (pushes up thick-framed glasses) Priuses are so mainstream. i only dive around in my all electric Nissan Leaf. It produces 0 emissions. but in all seriousness, im a huge car buff and does anyone else think that the Prius looks like a scrotum. Also, the nissan leaf and its all electric kin can only squeeze about 80 miles per charge. so if you travel anywhere outside of town or more than an 30 min away, you are screwed. Unless you’re talking about the new Tesla Model S which with an 85 kw/hr battery pack can go 250 miles on a charge. my nissan frontier can barely do that, but it doesnt take 10+ hours to fill up. If y’all (yes im from AL) have read up on the Chevy Volt, that is a neat concept for saving gas! Or just tap into that trust fund your father gave you and buy a Bugatti. Whatever floats your yacht on July 13, 2012 at 9:26 pm Jake Amen, lets go to motor trend forums and chat. I honestly dont like them very much. they have their perks but they just dont work for me. i think the chevy volt is a lot cooler and its drive train, i think, is a more practical than all electric cars on July 21, 2012 at 11:06 am Jill Wait, you’re pro-choice, drive a Prius and identify as a conservative. I would take you’re conservative in finances, other than that the first two is liking putting a square peg into a round hole (the conservative). on August 2, 2012 at 8:18 am Gregalicious and just how would have letting Chevy go bankrupt and stay a private company and comming back re-organized been worse than the gov’t buyout that is going bankrupt anyway????? on August 28, 2012 at 11:21 am stephvelander I’m divorcing my husband, our children are within the right age range 7-10 and he left me the Toyota Prius. Not a huge fan of the vehicle but I’ll probably put a bumper sticker on the back of my car to let the world know how I obtained it. I’m not completely white; I’m half Hispanic with pretty pale skin. I know a lot about my culture have bangs and enjoy indie music. While half of me is amused, the other half is slightly offended. Now off to keeping my white side happy with Twitter and blogging. on November 19, 2013 at 8:50 am Nicole EXACTLY!!!! Thank you for writing this article! The obscure things that Caucasians like are very very ponderous to me! But Can you tell WHY they like these cars, ESPECIALLY the SUBARU? on November 19, 2013 at 9:11 am Nicole 1) Why do white people begin to post (anonymous) rants about Our PRESIDENT? When this article had morning to do with him? 2) To address the comment about Not Leaving Your Prius Parked On Any Street Named MLK, NO ONE IN LOS ANGELES CA. ON MLK BLVD WOULD TOUCH A PRIUS except for parking enforcement. 3) Black people can spell catalytic converter & not confuse it with Cadillac, btw, Cadillac is a very fine American Product.😉 gurjendersihe2012 Thanks for your great information, the contents are quiet interesting.I will be waiting for your next post. Definitely consider that that you stated. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the internet the easiest thing to take into accout of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while other folks think about concerns that they just do not know about. 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A touch, ass you are only viewiing 1-2 callers bbuy zynga poker chips prior to the flop, zynga texas holdem poker which facebook poker chips on the market can be described ass a little more reasonable depiction of tournamennt perform. on April 16, 2014 at 10:15 pm dcdscscsc I’m white and drive a 1970 lincoln with 34″ rims. I am the opposite of what you described on here. I also live in Englewood which is the ghetto of all ghettos in the windy city, so rims are a status symbol here * Submit your music to Upstream Radio and get played on our radio station. While movies are not free there are services like Netflix that provide them for a very low cost. The station includes live programming of some worship services and long-time radio veteran Peter Benson hosts the live call-in Christian talk show ABQ Connect weekdays from 1pm-2pm. Paulina Thank you for any other informative site. Where else may just I am getting that type of info written in such a perfect means? I have a challenge that I’m just now running on, and I’ve been at the look out for such info. An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but generally folks don’t speak about such topics. To the next! Best wishes!! on December 13, 2014 at 10:39 pm Hytdgoh The Prius is a fucking joke. Yeah, sure, it may help the environment in a small way (read: small) but that “small” bit isn’t worth paying thirty odd grand for a hatchback of all things. Save your money and go buy a decent car with better fuel economy. site This is also possible if they offer SEO as part of their service. A dedicated rented machine can be rented for operating complex web applications and for the multiple sites interconnected to your business. Japanese Gardens – Although the gardens are technically in Fort Worth, Texas, it is only a short drive. Boston Car Service Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! 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During WWII, General Douglas MacArthur famously declared “I shall” what, which he did on Oct 20, 1944?

Douglas MacArthur - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Douglas MacArthur’s Early Years Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880, at the Little Rock Barracks in Arkansas . MacArthur’s early childhood was spent on western frontier outposts where his Army officer father, Arthur MacArthur (1845-1912), was stationed. The younger MacArthur later said of the experience, “It was here I learned to ride and shoot even before I could read or write–indeed, almost before I could walk or talk.” Did You Know? One of General Douglas MacArthur's trademarks was his corncob pipe. The Missouri Meerschaum Company, in business in Washington, Missouri, since 1869, made MacArthur's pipes to his specifications. The company continues to produce a corncob pipe in his honor. In 1903, MacArthur graduated at the top of his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As a junior officer in the years leading up to World War I , he was stationed in the Philippines and around the United States, served as an aide to his father in the Far East and participated in the American occupation of Veracruz , Mexico, in 1914. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, MacArthur helped lead the 42nd “Rainbow” Division in France and was promoted to brigadier general. Between Battles From 1919 to 1922 Douglas MacArthur served as the superintendent of West Point and instituted a variety of reforms intended to modernize the school. In 1922 he wed socialite Louise Cromwell Brooks (c. 1890-1965). The two divorced in 1929, and in 1937 MacArthur married Jean Faircloth (1898-2000), with whom he had one child, Arthur MacArthur IV, the following year. In 1930 President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) named MacArthur chief of staff of the Army, with the rank of general. In this role, MacArthur sent Army troops to remove the so-called Bonus Army of unemployed World War I veterans from Washington , D.C., in 1932. The incident was a public relations disaster for MacArthur and the military. In 1935, after finishing his term as chief of staff, MacArthur was tasked with creating an armed force for the Philippines, which became a commonwealth of the United States that year (and gained independence in 1946). In 1937, upon learning he was scheduled to return for duty in the United States, MacArthur resigned from the military, stating that his mission wasn’t finished. He remained in the Philippines, where he served as a civilian advisor to President Manuel Quezon (1878-1944), who had appointed him field marshal of the Philippines. World War II In 1941, with expansionist Japan posing an increasing threat, Douglas MacArthur was recalled to active duty and named commander of U.S. Army forces in the Far East. On December 8, 1941, his air force was destroyed in a surprise attack by the Japanese, who soon invaded the Philippines. MacArthur’s forces retreated to the Bataan peninsula, where they struggled to survive. In March 1942, on orders from President Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945), MacArthur, his family and members of his staff fled Corregidor Island in PT boats and escaped to Australia. Shortly afterward, MacArthur promised, “I shall return.” U.S.-Philippine forces fell to Japan in May 1942. In April 1942, MacArthur was appointed supreme commander of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific and awarded the Medal of Honor for his defense of the Philippines. He spent the next two and a half years commanding an island-hopping campaign in the Pacific before famously returning to liberate the Philippines in October 1944. Wading ashore at Leyte, he announced, “I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil.” In December 1944, he was promoted to the rank of general of the Army and soon given command of all Army forces in the Pacific. On September 2, 1945, MacArthur officially accepted Japan’s surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. From 1945 to 1951, as Allied commander of the Japanese occupation, MacArthur oversaw the successful demobilization of Japan’s military forces as well as the restoration of the economy, the drafting of a new constitution and numerous other reforms. Korean War In June 1950, Communist forces from North Korea invaded the western-aligned Republic of South Korea, launching the Korean War . Douglas MacArthur was put in charge of the American-led coalition of United Nations troops. That fall, his troops repelled the North Koreans and eventually drove them back toward the Chinese border. MacArthur met with President Truman, who worried that the communist government of the People’s Republic of China might view the invasion as a hostile act and intervene in the conflict. The general assured him the chances of a Chinese intervention were slim. Then, in November and December 1950, a massive force of Chinese troops crossed into North Korea and flung themselves against the American lines, driving the U.S. troops back into South Korea. MacArthur asked for permission to bomb communist China and use Nationalist Chinese forces from Taiwan against the People’s Republic of China. Truman flatly refused these requests, and a public dispute broke out between the two men. On April 11, 1951, Truman removed MacArthur from his command for insubordination. In an address to Americans that day, the president stated, “I believe that we must try to limit the war to Korea for these vital reasons: To make sure that the precious lives of our fighting men are not wasted; to see that the security of our country and the free world is not needlessly jeopardized; and to prevent a third world war.” MacArthur had been fired, he said, “so that there would be no doubt or confusion as to the real purpose and aim of our policy.” MacArthur’s dismissal set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a “limited war.” Eventually, the American people began to understand that MacArthur’s policies and recommendations might have led to a massively expanded war in Asia. Douglas MacArthur’s Later Years In April 1951, Douglas MacArthur returned to the United States, where he was welcomed as a hero and honored with parades in various cities. On April 19, he gave a dramatic televised address before a joint session of Congress in which he criticized Truman’s Korean policy. The general ended with a quote from an old army song: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” MacArthur and his wife took up residence in a suite at New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. In 1952, there were calls for MacArthur to run for president as a Republican; however, the party ultimately chose Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969), who went on to win the general election. That same year, MacArthur became chairman of Remington Rand, a maker of electrical equipment and business machines. MacArthur died at age 84 on April 5, 1964, at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was buried at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia . Tags

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If a dish is described as ‘Mornay’ what is it served with?

Luzon LUZON 15 December 1944-4 July 1945 "The Philippine theater of operations is the locus of victory or defeat," argued General Douglas MacArthur, as Japanese planes strafed and bombed key installations around Manila on 8 December 1941. Although overwhelming Japanese strength ultimately forced the United States to relinquish the Philippines, MacArthur began planning his return almost immediately from bases in Australia. Throughout the long campaign to push the Japanese out of their Pacific bastions, these islands remained his crucial objective. "The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines...for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary object of which is the relief of the Philippines," MacArthur said when he took over as Allied commander in the Southwest Pacific. "I came through and I shall return." As the Pacific campaign dragged on, MacArthur never strayed far from that goal, and every move he made was aimed ultimately at recapturing the lost archipelago. Strategic Setting In March 1942 a Joint Chiefs of Staff directive established two U.S. military commands in the Pacific: the Southwest Pacific Area, headed by General MacArthur, and the Pacific Ocean Areas, under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. The decision clearly violated the principle of unity of command. However, with naval officers objecting to MacArthur, the senior officer in the region, as overall Pacific commander and with MacArthur unlikely to subordinate himself to another, the ensuing division of authority seemed a workable compromise. Given the size of the theater and the different national contingents involved, it may even have been a blessing. But it left no single authority in the Pacific to decide between conflicting plans or to coordinate between the two. Even MacArthur later wrote that "of all the faulty decisions of the war, perhaps the most unexplainable one was the failure to unify the command in the Pacific, [which]...resulted in divided effort; the waste, diffusion, and duplication of force; and the consequent extension of the war with added casualties and cost." From a strategic perspective, this divided command had a direct impact on decisions leading up to the invasion of the Philippines. 3 During the spring of 1944, the Joint Chiefs debated the merits of seizing Luzon or the Chinese island of Formosa as an initial point for direct operations against Japan. Admiral Ernest J. King, the Chief of Naval Operations, had long objected to landings in the Philippines, and by May 1944 he was joined by Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall and Army Air Force Chief of Staff General Henry H. Arnold. Marshall felt that MacArthur's Luzon plan would be "the slow way" and that it made more sense to "cut across" from the Mariana Islands to Formosa. MacArthur, on the other hand, argued that the Formosa route was militarily "unsound" and that the Philippine Islands provided a more sensible staging area for the final assault against the Japanese home islands. As commander of the Philippine defenses in 1941, MacArthur felt a strong moral responsibility to free the entire archipelago of the brutal Japanese occupation. Making the Philippines a major Pacific objective gave his Southwest Pacific command a key mission. By July 1944 most planners agreed that an invasion of Formosa was not logistically feasible in the near future. In September the Joint Chiefs thus approved a December starting date for MacArthur's invasion of Leyte Island in the central Philippines. The invasion would be followed by an assault on either Luzon, the large, northernmost Philippine island, on 20 February or Formosa on 1 March. But it was not until October that Admiral King finally agreed that Luzon was the better choice. From the Japanese perspective, control of the islands was vital. Loss of the Philippines would threaten Japan's overseas access to foodstuffs and critical raw materials, especially oil, from the East Indies and Southeast Asia. Thus, Tokyo's naval and army leaders vowed to make the defense of the Philippines their major war effort for 1943-44. For these purposes the commander of Japanese land forces in the Philippines, General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the former conqueror of British Malaya and Singapore, had some 430,000 troops stationed all across the islands, while Japanese naval leaders were prepared to commit the entire battle fleet. If the Americans could be stopped here, then perhaps the entire tide of the war could be changed or, at least, Japan's position greatly strengthened. MacArthur's return to the Philippines began on the island of Leyte in October 1944. Prior to the amphibious assault, the Japanese carrier force had been decimated in the battle of the Philippine Sea on 19-20 June of the same year. Moreover, the battle of Leyte Gulf in October saw most of the Japanese surface fleet destroyed with little to show for its sacrifice. Japan's once formidable air force was also decimated, leaving 4 the skies over the Philippines open to American air power. Yet the primary objective of assaulting Leyte was to provide a staging area for a much larger effort, the assault against the island of Luzon where most of the Japanese land defenses lay. The operations on Leyte in December gave the Americans little more than a foothold in the Philippines. Operations Before Luzon could be attacked, MacArthur needed a base of operations closer to his objective than Leyte. He picked Mindoro, an island with minimal Japanese defenses just south of Luzon. About half the size of New Jersey, Mindoro is blanketed by mountains, with a few narrow plains along the coast. The high peaks trap clouds moving up from the south, causing almost daily rains and high humidity and making the island a breeding ground for malaria and other tropical diseases. From MacArthur's point of view Mindoro was important only for its potential airfields, could supplement the unsatisfactory ones recently constructed on Leyte. Landing areas in the northeastern part of the island were best, but constant inclement weather and the airfields' proximity to what was left of Japanese air power on Luzon ruled them out. Instead, planners chose to secure beachhead and airfield sites near San Jose, in the southwest corner of the island. Although not ideal, the region lay near Mangarin Bay, Mindoro's best anchorage. This location would provide a base for the amphibious invasion fleet and allow land-based American aircraft to intensify their attacks against the Japanese on Luzon. MacArthur assigned the seizure of Mindoro to Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger's Sixth Army. Krueger, in turn, gave the task to Maj. Gen. Roscoe B. Woodruff, commander of the 24th Infantry Division, who was to employ one organic regiment, the.19th Infantry, and the separate 503d Parachute Regimental Combat Team. Although the airborne unit was originally scheduled to jump into the battle area, the limited capacity of the Leyte airfields dictated that they arrive by sea, alongside the infantry. In any case, naval support for the small landing was substantial, with 6 escort carriers, 3 battleships, 6 cruisers, and many small warships providing direct support. For the amphibious assault vessels and supporting warships, the main threat came from Japanese land-based kamikaze suicide planes. The Japanese had begun the practice as a desperate measure during the final stages of the Leyte Campaign, perfecting it during December. On the 13th, two days before the scheduled assault on Mindoro, the light 5 U.S. troops land and prepare for attack. (National Archives) cruiser Nashville was hit by a kamikaze, killing over 130 men and wounding another 190. Among the injured was Brig. Gen. William C. Dunkel, commander of the landing force. Later kamikaze attacks damaged two landing ships, tank (LSTs) and disabled several other ships. U.S. Army and Navy aviation did what they could during the first weeks of December. The Army claimed to have destroyed about 450 Japanese planes in the air and on the ground throughout the Philippines and the Navy 270 more. The invasion of Mindoro began on 15 December. Clear weather allowed full use of U.S. air and naval power against virtually no Japanese resistance. The ensuing landings were also unopposed. With only about 1,000 Japanese troops on the large island, plus some 200 survivors from ships sunk off Mindoro while on their way to Leyte, the defenders could do little. By the end of the first day, Army engineers were hard at work preparing airfields for the invasion of Luzon. The first was completed in five days; a second was ready in thirteen. Together the airfields allowed American aircraft to provide more direct 6 support for the planned Luzon beachhead, striking kamikaze airfields before aircraft could take off and harrying Japanese shipping between Luzon, Formosa, and southern Japan. From his headquarters in Manila, General Yamashita realized that he could expect little outside support. The Japanese naval and air arms had done their best in the preceding months but to no avail, and they had been largely destroyed in the process. Moreover, Yamashita's forces on Luzon, some 260,000 strong, were weak in artillery, transport, armor, and other modern equipment. They would be unable to face the well-equipped American Army units in open warfare. Thus Yamashita decided to fight a delaying action, keeping his army in the field as long as possible. During his 1941-42 defense of the Philippines, MacArthur had considered Manila, the central Luzon plains, and the Bataan Peninsula critical, with their harbors and airfields. The Japanese commander, however, had no intention of defending these sites. Instead, Yamashita planned to withdraw the bulk of his forces into three widely separated mountain strongholds and settle down for a long battle of attrition. Long before the American invasion began, General Yamashita divided his Luzon forces into three groups, each centered around a remote geographical region. The largest of these groups and under the direct command of Yamashita was Shobu Group, located in northern Luzon with about 152,000 troops. A much smaller force, Kembu Group, with approximately 30,000 troops, occupied the Clark Air Field complex as well as the Bataan Peninsula and Corridor. The third major force, Shimbu Group, consisted of some 80,000 soldiers occupying the southern sections of Luzon, an area that included the island's long Bicol Peninsula as well as the mountains immediately east of Manila. Most Shimbu units were in the latter area and controlled the vital reservoirs that provided most of the capital area's water supply. On the American side, General MacArthur intended to strike first at Lingayen Gulf, an area of sheltered beaches on the northwestern coast of Luzon. A landing there would place his troops close to the best roads and railways on the island, all of which ran through the central plains south to Manila, his main objective. Also, by landing that far north of the capital, MacArthur allowed himself maneuvering room for the large force he intended to use on Luzon. But once the beachhead was secure, his initial effort would focus on a southern drive to the Filipino capital. Possession of this central core, as well as Manila Bay, would allow his forces to dominate the island and make a further coordinated defense by the Japanese exceedingly difficult. Ultimately ten U.S. divisions and five independent regiments would see action on Luzon, making it the largest 7 Map: The Enemy on Luzon 8 campaign of the Pacific war and involving more troops than the United States had used in North Africa, Italy, or southern France. The weather on 9 January (called S-day) was ideal. A light overcast dappled the predawn sky, and gentle waves promised a smooth ride onto the beach. At 0700 the preassault bombardment began and was followed an hour later by the landings. With little initial Japanese opposition, General Krueger's Sixth Army landed almost 175,000 men along a twenty-mile beachhead within a few days. While the I Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. Innis P. Swift, protected the beachhead's flanks, Lt. Gen. Oscar W. Griswold's XIV Corps prepared to drive south, first to Clark Field and then to Manila. Only after the Manila area had been secured was Swift's I Corps to push north and east to seize the vital road junctions leading from the coast into the mountains of northern Luzon. Almost from the beginning there was friction between MacArthur and some of his subordinates. Krueger wanted the I Corps to secure the roads leading east into the mountains before the XIV Corps advanced south. Already, he pointed out, I Corps had encountered opposition on the beachhead's northern, or left, flank, while the XIV Corps had found little resistance to the south. Cautious, Krueger hesitated before committing his army to a narrow thrust directly toward Manila with his eastern flank open to a possible Japanese attack. MacArthur disagreed. He thought it unlikely that the Japanese were capable of mounting an attack in Sixth Army's rear or flank and directed Krueger to follow his prearranged plans, seizing Clark Air Field and the port facilities at Manila as soon as possible. So on 18 January Griswold's XIV Corps moved south with the 37th and 40th Infantry Divisions, leaving Sixth Army's eastern flank undefended as it proceeded from the beachhead area. But with Yamashita's Shobu Group relatively inactive, Krueger's concerns proved unwarranted. As at the beachhead, the Japanese put up little opposition to the drive south, having evacuated the central plains earlier. Only when Griswold's troops reached the outskirts of Clark Field on 23 January did they run up against determined resistance, and it came from the relatively weak Kembu Group. For more than a week the Japanese fought a stubborn battle against the advancing Americans, and it was not until the end of January that the airfield was in American hands. Leaving the 40th Division behind to occupy the area, Krueger regrouped the XIV Corps and on 2 February continued south toward the capital. From the beginning, MacArthur remained unhappy with the pace of the advance. He personally drove up and down the advancing line, 9 Map: Sixth Army Landings 10 inspecting units and making suggestions. On 30 January, after visiting the 37th Division as it advanced south from San Fernando toward Calumpit, MacArthur sent off a message to Krueger criticizing "the noticeable lack of drive and aggressive initiative." Later, while visiting the 1st Cavalry Division, which had just arrived in Luzon to reinforce the XIV Corps, he told the division commander, Maj. Gen. Verne D. Mudge, to "Go to Manila, go around the Nips, bounce off the Nips, but go to Manila." In response, Mudge formed a mechanized task force under the 1st Cavalry Brigade commander, Brig. Gen. William C. Chase, commanding two motorized cavalry squadrons reinforced with armor and motorized artillery and support units. This "flying column" rushed toward Manila while the rest of the division followed and mopped up. At the same time MacArthur added additional forces to the drive on the capital. On 15 January he launched Operation MIKE VI, a second amphibious assault some forty-five miles southwest of Manila. On 31 January, X-ray Day, two regiments of the 11th Airborne Division, under the command of Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Swing, landed unopposed. The paratroopers seized a nearby bridge before the surprised Japanese defenders had a chance to demolish it, and then the paratroopers turned toward Manila. The division's third regiment, the 511th Parachute, dropped in by air to join the advance, which by the following day was speeding north along the paved highway toward the capital to the cheers of throngs of grateful Filipino civilians along the way. Originally the 11th Airborne Division, one of Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger's Eighth Army units, had been slated to contain Japanese troops throughout southwestern Luzon. But acting on MacArthur's orders, Eichelberger pushed the division north. On 3 February one battalion of the 511th encountered determined Japanese resistance near the town of Imus, five miles south of Manila, where some fifty defenders clung to an old stone building despite a fierce bombardment by the battalion's 75-mm. howitzers. Observing that the artillery had had little effect, T. Sgt. Robert C. Steel climbed onto the building's roof, knocked a hole through it, poured in gasoline, and then threw in a phosphorous grenade. As the Japanese dashed out, Steel's men shot them down. Another three miles up the road lay the Las Pinas River bridge. It was set for demolition and guarded by a small detachment of Japanese who were dug in along the north bank. Despite the fierce firelight less than an hour before at Imus, the Japanese were surprised by the appearance of the Americans. The paratroopers secured the span before it could be blown. With one battalion guarding the bridge, another passed over on trucks toward Manila, hoping to enter the city from the south. 11 It was not to be. By dawn on 4 February the paratroopers ran into increasingly heavy and harassing fire from Japanese riflemen and machine gunners. At the Paranaque River, just south of the Manila city limits, the battalion halted at a badly damaged bridge only to be battered by Japanese artillery fire from Nichols Field. The 11th Airborne Division had reached the main Japanese defenses south of the capital and could go no further. The "race" for Manila was now between the 37th Division and the 1st Cavalry Division, with the cavalry in the lead. Since the operation had begun in late January, its units had been fortunate enough to find bridges and fordable crossings almost everywhere they went. On 2 February Chase's flying column was dashing toward Manila, sometimes at speeds of fifty miles per hour, with individual units competing for the honor of reaching the city first. The 37th Division, on the other hand, was slowed down by difficult crossings which forced it to either ferry its artillery and tanks across or wait for the engineers to build bridges. On 3 February elements of the 1st Cavalry Division pushed into the northern outskirts of Manila, with only the steep-sided Tuliahan River separating them from the city proper. A squadron of the 8th Cavalry reached the bridge just moments after Japanese soldiers had finished preparing it for demolition. As the two sides opened fire on one another, the Japanese lit the fuse leading to the carefully placed explosives. Without hesitation, Lt. James P. Sutton, a Navy demolitions expert attached to the division, dashed through the enemy fire and cut the burning fuse. The way to Manila was clear. That evening, the 8th Cavalry passed through the northern suburbs and into the city itself. The troopers had won the race to Manila. As the sun set over the ocean behind the advancing Americans, a single tank named "Battling Basic" crashed through the walls surrounding Santo Tomas University, the site of a camp holding almost 4,000 civilian prisoners. The Japanese guards put up little resistance, and soon the inmates, many of whom had been incarcerated for nearly two years, were liberated. Despite the initial American euphoria, much fighting remained. Although the approach to the city had been relatively easy, wresting the capital from the Japanese proved far more difficult. Manila, a city of 800,000, was one of the largest in Southeast Asia. While much of it consisted of ramshackle huts, the downtown section boasted massive reinforced concrete buildings built to withstand earthquakes and old Spanish stone fortresses of equal size and strength. Most were located south of the Pasig River which bisects the capital, requiring that the Americans cross over before closing 12 Sniper fire keeps infantrymen low as medium tanks advance. (National Archives) with the enemy. Even a half-hearted defense was bound to make Manila's recapture difficult. Regarding Manila as indefensible, General Yamashita had originally ordered the commander of Shimbu Group, General Yokoyama Shizuo, to destroy all bridges and other vital installations and evacuate the city as soon as strong American forces made their appearance. However, Rear Adm. Iwabachi Sanji, the naval commander for the Manila area, vowed to resist the Americans and countermanded the order. Determined to support the admiral as best he could, Yokoyama contributed three Army battalions to Iwabachi's 16,000man Manila Naval Defense Force and prepared for battle. The sailors knew little about infantry tactics or street fighting, but they were well armed and entrenched throughout the capital. Iwabachi resolved to fight to the last man. On 4 February 1945, General MacArthur announced the imminent recapture of the capital while his staff planned a victory parade. But the battle for Manila had barely begun. Almost at once the 1st Cavalry Division in the north and the 11th Airborne Division in the south reported stiffening Japanese resistance to further advances into the city. As one airborne company commander remarked in mock seriousness, "Tell Halsey to stop looking for the Jap Fleet; it's dying on Nichols Field." All thoughts of a parade had to be put aside. Following the initial American breakthrough on the fourth, fighting raged throughout the city for almost a month. The battle quickly came down to a series of bitter street-to-street and house-to-house struggles. In an attempt to protect the city and its civilians, MacArthur placed stringent restrictions on U.S. artillery and air support. But massive devastation to the urban area could not be avoided. In the north, General Griswold continued to push elements of the XIV Corps south from Santo Tomas University toward the Pasig River. Late on the afternoon of 4 February he ordered the 2d Squadron, 5th Cavalry, to seize Quezon Bridge, the only crossing over the Pasig that the Japanese had not destroyed. As the squadron approached the bridge, enemy heavy machine guns opened up from a formidable roadblock thrown up across Quezon Boulevard. The Japanese had pounded steel stakes into the pavement, sown the area with mines, and lined up old truck bodies across the road. Unable to advance farther, the cavalry withdrew after nightfall. As the Americans pulled back, the Japanese blew up the bridge. The next day, 5 February, went more smoothly. Once the 37th Division began to move into Manila, Griswold divided the northern section of the city into two sectors, with the 37th responsible for the 14 Map: The Capture of Manila western half and the 1st Cavalry responsible for the eastern part. By the afternoon of the 8th, 37th Division units had cleared most Japanese from their sector, although the damage done to the residential districts was extensive. The Japanese added to the destruction by demolishing buildings and military installations as they withdrew. But the division's costliest fighting occurred on Provisor Island, a small industrial center on the Pasig River. The Japanese garrison, probably less than a battalion, held off elements of the division until 11 February. The 1st Cavalry Division had an easier time, encountering little opposition in the suburbs east of Manila. Although the 7th and 8th Cavalry fought pitched battles near two water supply installations north of the city, by 10 February the cavalry had extended its control south of the river. That night, the XIV Corps established for the first time separate bridgeheads on both banks of the Pasig River. The final attack on the outer Japanese defenses came from the 11th Airborne Division, under the XIV Corps control since 10 February. The division had been halted at Nichols Field on the fourth and since then had been battling firmly entrenched Japanese naval 15 General MacArthur and members of his staffat a ceremony of the American flag being raised once again on the island of Corregidor. (National Archives) troops, backed up by heavy fire from concealed artillery. Only on 11 February did the airfield finally fall to the paratroopers, but the acquisition allowed the 11th Airborne Division to complete the American encirclement of Manila on the night of the twelfth. For the rest of the month the Americans and their Filipino allies mopped up enemy resistance throughout the city. Due to the state of Japanese communications, Yamashita did not learn of the efforts of his subordinates in defending Manila until about 17 February, after it was too late to countermand the order. The final weeks of fighting were thus bloody, but the results were inevitable. On 4 March, with the capture of the giant Finance Building in the city center, Griswold reported that enemy resistance had ceased. Manila was officially liberated. But it was a city no more. Some observers commented that the destruction was more complete than in Cologne, Hamburg, or even London. Amidst the devastation, Manila's residents tried to resume their lives. Just before the last fighting ended, MacArthur summoned a provisional assembly of prominent Filipinos to Malacanan Palace and in their presence declared the Commonwealth of the Philippines to be permanently reestablished. "My country kept the faith," he told the gathered assembly. "Your capital city, cruelly punished though it be, has regained its rightful place-citadel of democracy in the East." Bataan and Corregidor Securing Manila was significant for both military and psychological reasons, but from a logistical point of view the seizure of Manila Bay was especially crucial. The supply lines at Lingayen Bay, which had so ably supported the American advance south on the capital, were strained almost to the breaking point. Yet, despite the fact that Manila's world-class harbor was in American hands, it could not be used unless the Bataan Peninsula, which encompassed the bay's western shore, was secure. Even as XIV Corps forces drove on Manila, MacArthur had thus ordered Krueger's Sixth Army to seize Bataan, including Corregidor, the small island fortress at its southern tip. Since Griswold's troops were fully occupied, MacArthur supplemented Sixth Army with the XI Corps from Leyte, commanded by Maj. Gen. Charles P. Hall. With the 38th Infantry Division and the 24th Division's 34th Infantry, the XI Corps was to land on the Zambales coast some twenty-five miles northwest of Bataan and drive rapidly east across the base of the peninsula, and then sweep south, clearing the entire peninsula including its eastern coast. 18 Prior to the assault, American intelligence had badly overestimated enemy strength, predicting that the Japanese had nearly 13,000 soldiers on Bataan. However, having decided that the defense of Manila Bay was also beyond the capabilities of his forces, General Yamashita had the Kembu Group commander, Maj. Gen. Rikichi Tsukada, place fewer than 4,000 of his troops on the peninsula. The main defensive force was Nagayoshi Detachment, a regiment from the 10th Division under Col. Nagayoshi Sanenobu. On the morning of 29 January, nearly 35,000 U.S. troops landed just northwest of the peninsula. Elements of the 38th Division immediately dashed inland to take the San Marcelino airstrip, but found that Filipino guerrillas under the command of Capt. Ramon Magsaysay, later president of the Republic of the Philippines, had secured the field three days earlier. Elsewhere, surprise was complete. In fact, the only casualty on that first day was an American enlisted man, who was gored by an ornery bull. The next day Subic Bay and Olongapo were occupied. The Japanese chose to make a stand in the rugged Zambales mountains at the northern base of the peninsula, which Americans dubbed the "ZigZag Pass." Colonel Nagayoshi had plenty of supplies and ammunition for a long battle, but his main defensive line was a mere 2,000 yards long, leaving his position open to flanking maneuvers. On 31 January Hall's forces advanced east, seeking out both Japanese flanks. But unfavorable terrain and determined resistance by the Japanese made it difficult. During the next two weeks, elements of the 38th Division struggled to open the ZigZag Pass, and by 8 February they had overrun the main Japanese positions, killing more than 2,400 defenders. Colonel Nagayoshi and 300 of his men escaped farther south and joined other defenders who held out until the middle of February. But before then the vital shoreline of Manila Bay had been secured. Although Corregidor lacked the importance to the Japanese defense that it had held for the Americans in 1942, it merited a separate attack. MacArthur's plan involved a combined amphibious and airborne assault, the most difficult of all modern military maneuvers. The airborne attack was obviously risky. At just over five square miles, Corregidor made a small target for a parachute drop. To make matters more difficult, the paratroopers were required to land on a hill known as Topside, the dominant terrain feature on the island. On the other hand' there was little choice. From Topside the Japanese could dominate all possible amphibious landing sites. In addition, the Japanese would certainly not expect an airborne landing on such an unlikely target. 19 The planners were correct in their assumptions. On the morning of 16 February the 503d Parachute Regimental Combat Team floated down on the surprised defenders while a battalion of the 34th Infantry stormed ashore. During fierce fighting, the Japanese tried to regroup, and at one point, on the morning of 16 February, they threatened to drive a salient into the paratroopers' tenuous foothold on Topside. Pvt. Lloyd G. McCarter charged a key enemy position and destroyed a machine gun nest with hand grenades. For his bravery, McCarter was awarded the Medal of Honor. His actions and those of many other paratroopers and infantrymen during the nine days that followed helped defeat the Japanese on Corregidor. The island fell on 26 February, and, six days later, MacArthur returned to the fortress he had been forced to leave in disgrace three years before. Shimbu Group The battles for Manila, Bataan, and Corregidor were only the beginning of the Luzon Campaign. Both Shobu Group, securing northern Luzon, and the bulk of Shimbu Group, defending the south, remained intact. With about 50,000 men at his disposal, the Shimbu Group commander, General Yokoyama, had deployed some 30,000 of them immediately east and south of Manila, with the remainder arrayed along the narrow Bicol Peninsula to the southwest. The main Japanese defenses near the capital were built around the 8th and 105th Divisions, with the rest of the manpower drawn from a jumble of other units and provisional organizations. East of Manila, their positions were organized in considerable depth but lacked good lines of supply and reinforcement. Shimbu Group's eastern defenses obviously presented the most immediate threat to American control of the Manila area and would have to be dealt with first. By mid-February Krueger's Sixth Army staff had begun planning operations against those Shimbu Group forces closest to Manila. Although still concerned about Shobu Group troop concentrations in northern Luzon, both Krueger and MacArthur agreed that the Manila area, the potential logistical base for all American activities on Luzon, still had first priority. Nevertheless, MacArthur made Krueger's task more difficult in the coming weeks by continually detaching troop units from Sixth Army control and sending them to the southern and central Philippines, which had been bypassed earlier. These diversions greatly impaired Krueger's ability to deal with both Shobu and Shimbu Groups at the same time. 20 Men of the 122d Field Artillery Battalion, 33d Division, fire a105-mm. howitzer against a Japanese pocket in the hills ofLuzon. (National Archives) By 20 February Krueger had positioned the 6th and 43d Infantry Divisions, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team for an offensive in the rolling hills east of Manila. In addition, as soon as Manila was secured, he wanted the 11th Airborne Division to clear the area south of the capital, assisted by the indepen- 21 dent 158th Infantry. He hoped that the first effort could begin immediately and that the second would start by the first week in March. The main objective of XIV Corps' attack against Shimbu Group was to gain control of the Manila water supply, most of which came from dams along the Angat and Marikina Rivers some twenty miles northeast of the city. Here the coastal plains gave way to rolling mountains and plunging valleys carved by rivers flowing toward the sea. But two crucial errors affected the operation before it even began. First, the Americans did not realize that the Wawa Dam, thought to be one of Manila's sources of water, had been abandoned in 1938 in favor of the larger Ipo Dam in the Marikina Valley. The Wawa Dam could have been bypassed, but Krueger did not realize his error for almost two months. Second, intelligence badly underestimated Shimbu Group's strength, reckoning that there were fewer than 20,000 Japanese troops east of Manila when, in reality, there were about 30,000. Enemy defensive positions were strung out along a thin line about thirty miles long running from Ipo Dam in the north to the town of Antipolo in the south. The Japanese positions alone were of little strategic value, but together they commanded all the high ground east of Manila. On the afternoon of 20 February the XIV Corps launched its attack. Griswold assigned the 6th Division the task of capturing the dams in the north and ordered the 2d Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, to attack the southern half of the Japanese defenses and secure the town of Antipolo. Both units traversed the broad Marikina Valley unmolested but encountered fierce resistance as they moved into the hills and mountains forming the valley's eastern wall. There the Japanese had honeycombed the area with subterranean strongholds and machine gun positions covering all avenues of approach. Despite massive Allied air support, the cavalry advanced slowly, on some days measuring progress in mere yards: Not until 4 March did the troops reach Antipolo. But success was bittersweet. The brigade had lost nearly 60 men killed and 315 wounded, among them the 1st Cavalry Division commander, General Mudge. To the north the 6th Infantry Division fared only slightly better. Its initial objectives were Mount Pacawagan and Mount Mataba, two strategic high points crucial to capturing the Wawa Dam. Both mountains were defended by extensive Japanese artillery and infantry positions. By 4 March the infantry's southernmost elements had gained a precarious foothold on the crest of Mount Pacawagan, but they could go no farther. Just to the north the Japanese continued to deny the Americans any gains in the Mount Mataba area. Not until 8 March did 22 the infantry regain its momentum, gouging the Japanese defenders from their positions as they advanced. From his vantage point in the mountains, General Yokoyama was concerned by these advances that threatened to envelop both his flanks. Unwilling to abandon his excellent defensive positions on Mataba and Pacawagan, he decided instead to launch a counterattack aimed at the advancing 6th Division. His plans and their subsequent execution typified major Japanese tactical weaknesses throughout the war. Yokoyama scheduled a series of complicated maneuvers that required meticulous coordination in difficult terrain, necessitating sophisticated communications that Shimbu Group lacked. In addition, the Japanese artillery was neither strong enough nor suitably deployed to provide proper support. Still, the counterattack began on 12 March with three reserve battalions assaulting three widely dispersed positions along the American line. How Yokoyama expected these scattered attacks to succeed is unclear, but to make matters worse, they ran straight into another major offensive of the 6th Division. In fact, the counterattacks were so weak that the Americans had no idea they were even under attack. The entire effort demonstrated only that Shimbu Group was incapable of effective offensive action and that the original defensive strategy was the best course. But the Japanese were irretrievably weakened by the failed counterattack, and to Yokoyama the ultimate fate of Shimbu Group was a foregone conclusion. All he could do now was trade lives for terrain and time. For the next two days, 13-14 March, the Americans battered through Japanese positions, bolstered in the south by a regiment of the 43dDivision sent in as reserve for the 1st Cavalry Division. The 6th Division successfully cleaned out the extreme northern Japanese positions, securing a strong foothold on Mount Mataba. The cost, however, continued to be high. On the morning of 14 March a burst from a hidden Japanese machine gun position caught a group of officers bunched together at a regimental forward command post, mortally wounding the division commander, Maj. Gen. Edwin D. Patrick, and one of the regimental commanders. Still, the dual offensives had begun to cave in the Japanese defensive line at both the northern and southern flanks, killing an estimated 3,350 enemy troops. On the American side, the XIV Corps lost almost 300 dead and over 1,000 wounded in less than a month of fighting. On 14 March General Hall's XI Corps took over responsibility for operations against Shimbu Group. With the 38th and 43d Infantry Divisions, Hall decided to continue XIV Corps' strategy, although he intended to concentrate more heavily on destroying the Japanese left, 23 Map: The Seizure of Wawa Dam or southern, flank. On 15 March American forces resumed the attack, and by the twenty-second, to avoid complete encirclement, the Japanese had begun withdrawing to the northeast. But the Americans followed up quickly, and by 27 March they had penetrated the hasty Japanese defenses, completely destroying Shimbu Group's left flank. On 17 May the 43d Division, aided by guerrilla forces and air strikes that delivered the heaviest concentration of napalm ever used in the Southwest Pacific, captured the Ipo Dam intact and restored Manila's water supply. Wawa Dam was captured, also undamaged, on 28 May against comparatively light resistance. Continued pressure forced the Japanese to withdraw deep into the Sierra Madre mountains in eastern Luzon where starvation, disease, and guerrilla attacks gradually decimated their ranks during the remainder of the war. Shimbu Group's southern positions along the Bicol Peninsula fared no better. After the XI Corps had relieved the XIV Corps in mid-March, the latter concentrated on rooting the Japanese out of southern Luzon. On 15 March the 6th Division, with the 112th Regimental Combat Team attached, passed to the control of the XI Corps, and the 37th Division was placed in the Sixth Army reserve and given the mission of patrolling Manila. The XIV Corps now included the 1st Cavalry Division and the 11th Airborne Division with the 158th Regimental Combat Team attached. The corps held a line stretching from Laguna de Bay, a huge lake at the northern edge of the Bicol Peninsula, to Batangas Bay on the southern coast. Between the bays lay Lake Taal, a smaller body of water, and a crucial road junction at the town of Santo Tomas. On 19 March the 1st Cavalry Division on the northern edge of the line and the 11th Airborne Division on the south edge began a double enveloping drive around Japanese positions near Lake Taal. The purpose of the drive was to open the highway between Santo Tomas and Batangas, a move that was successfully completed by month's end. On 24 March the 158th Regimental Combat Team was taken from the 11th Airborne Division and ordered to prepare for an amphibious landing at Legaspi on the southeast coast of the Bicol Peninsula. By 19 April, the Americans had completed their encirclement and driven all the way to Luzon's east coast. The 11th Airborne Division cut all routes leading to the Bicol Peninsula, while the 1st Cavalry Division turned north into the Santa Maria Valley in a move intended to turn Shimbu Group's southeast flank and prevent the Japanese from using any of the small coastal towns as concentration or evacuation points. By 25 May, the cavalry, with substantial support from guerrilla units, had seized Infanta, the largest town along the coast. 25 The XIV Corps was now free to proceed with the liberation of the Bicol Peninsula. The campaign had actually begun on 1 April when the 158th Regimental Combat Team carried out its amphibious assault at Legaspi on the southeastern tip of Luzon. Resistance was light because the Japanese had transferred most of their troops to the northern Shimbu Group positions during January. Although the 158th Regimental Combat Team encountered many prepared defenses, the opposition consisted mainly of support troops and naval service troops, together with a few remnants that had escaped from Leyte. The Americans had little trouble handling this hodgepodge of Japanese defenders, and on 2 May they linked up with the 1st Cavalry Division, which had been advancing into the peninsula from the northwest. By 31 May, all of southern Luzon was cleared of major enemy units, and on 15 June the XIV Corps was relieved of tactical responsibility in southern Luzon and transferred north. Shobu Group Despite the hard fighting in Manila, the Bataan Peninsula, and throughout southern Luzon, the main Japanese force was in the northern part of the island. It was there that General Yamashita's Shobu Group occupied a large region resembling an inverted triangle, with northern Luzon's rugged geography as a shield. In the east rose the Sierra Madre mountain range, to the west the impressive hills of the Cordillera Central, and at the northern edge of the triangle, the Babuyan channel. In the center lay the Cagayan Valley, Luzon's rice bowl and a key supply area for the Japanese units. Yamashita had pieced together a defensive force made up of the 19th Division, the 23d Division, and elements of three others: the 103d and 10th Divisions and the 2d Tank Division. Its main purpose was to harass the Americans rather than to defeat them. Yamashita expected the main attack to come from the Manila area where American forces were consolidating their gains, particularly along the handful of roads winding north through Bambang and Baguio and into the Cagayan Valley. And there was always the possibility of amphibious landings along the northern coastline. In February, as American troops gradually pushed the enemy out of Manila, General Krueger alerted the I Corps for an offensive into northern Luzon against Shobu Group. Originally, Krueger had planned to use a total of six divisions to gradually push north through Bambang, but MacArthur's emphasis on securing the entire Manila area first made this impossible. Nevertheless, by the end of February, General Swift, the I Corps commander, had begun probing the area 26   "Trading Rations for Souvenirs" by Sidney Simon. Lingayen, Philippines, 1945. (Army Art Collection) north of the original beachhead with the 33d Division, which had replaced the battle-weary 43d Division and the 158th Regimental Combat Team on 13 February. Although Swift's forces were outnumbered two-to-one by the Japanese, the relative passivity of their foes encouraged the more aggressive Americans. In early March Swift ordered the 33d Division to push northeast along Route 11, the easiest road into the mountains, toward the town of Bambang. But the attackers quickly discovered that this avenue was heavily defended and made little progress. Meanwhile, other elements of the division operating along the coast directly north from the Lingayen Gulf landing beaches found little resistance. After taking some small towns farther up the coast and turning inland Maj. Gen. Percy W. Clarkson, the division commander, decided to dash along Route 9 and attack Baguio-the prewar summer capital of the Philippines and currently Yamashita's headquarters-from the northeast. To assist, Krueger added the 37th Infantry Division to the attack and with the aid of air strikes and guerrilla harassment, wore down the defenders until they were on the verge of starvation. A small garrison made a last stand at 28 Irisan Gorge, where the road crossed the Irisan River some three miles west of Baguio, but on 27 April the town fell to American troops. Shobu Group had lost one of the three legs of its defensive triangle, but the battle on northern Luzon was far from over. Until the end of the war, Sixth Army forces continued to push Yamashita's men farther into the mountains, taking heavy casualties in the process. The 32d Division, which had also seen heavy fighting on Leyte, was worn down to almost nothing, but the defenders suffered even heavier battle casualties as well as losses to starvation and disease. By the end of the war, the Japanese were still holding out in the rugged Asin Valley of the Sierra Madre in north-central Luzon, enduring the drenching summer monsoons. Nevertheless, General Yamashita and about 50,500 of his men surrendered only after the close of hostilities on 15 August. On 30 June 1945 Krueger's Sixth Army was relieved by the Eighth Army, whose task was to mop up scattered Japanese positions. By the end of March, however, the Allies controlled all of Luzon that had any strategic or economic significance. Analysis Technically, the battle for Luzon was still not over when Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945. On the northern part of the island Shobu Group remained the center of attention for the better part of three U.S. Army divisions. Altogether, almost 115,000 Japanese remained at large on Luzon and on some of the southern islands. For all practical purposes, however, the battle for control of Luzon had been over since March. MacArthur can be both lauded and criticized for the Luzon Campaign. On the one hand he had swiftly recaptured Manila and all areas deemed critical for further operations against the Japanese. On the other hand the enemy was not totally subdued and the Japanese troops still posed a serious threat even after several months of fighting. But many other Japanese garrisons had been left behind along the road to the Japanese heartland-just as in the European theater the Allied commanders had virtually ignored many German garrisons remaining along the French Atlantic coast and on the English Channel. After June, only a limited number of forces were needed to keep Shobu Group on the defensive. More significantly, Shobu Group, representing the largest Japanese troop concentration on the islands, contributed little to the defense of Luzon. In the end they appeared more concerned with their own pointless survival as a force in being than in interfering in any way with American designs. The Japanese decision to fight a 29 passive war of attrition set the tone for the entire campaign. Had Yamashita conducted a more active defense, one that did not meekly surrender the initiative to the Americans, the struggle might have been shorter but much sharper. In such a case, MacArthur's single-minded drive on Manila might have been judged a risky venture and the diversion of troops to liberate other minor islands a dangerous practice. And had the Americans suffered even minor reverses on the battlefield in the early days of January and February, the struggle might also have been prolonged until August at an even heavier cost in American lives. Taken altogether, MacArthur's offensive had contained or taken out of the war over 380,000 Japanese, rendering them unavailable for the defense of the homeland. In the final analysis, the fall of Luzon meant once and for all that the Japanese Empire was doomed. The battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf had left its fleet in tatters, and the ground campaigns that followed turned the once-proud Japanese Army into a shadow of its former self. Casualties on both sides were staggering. Except for those forces surrendering at the end of the war, the Japanese lost virtually all of the 230,000 military personnel on Luzon, in addition to some 70,000 casualties from the previous battle on Leyte Island. By the summer of 1945, the Americans had thus destroyed nine of Japan's best divisions and made another six combat-ineffective. Losses stemming from the battle so drastically reduced Japanese air power that the use of kamikaze operations was necessary throughout the rest of the war. American casualties were also high. Ground combat losses for the Sixth and Eighth Armies were almost 47,000, some 10,380 killed and 36,550 wounded. Nonbattle casualties were even heavier. From 9 January through 30 June 1945, the Sixth Army on Luzon suffered over 93,400 noncombat casualties, including 260 deaths, most of them from disease. Only a few campaigns had a higher casualty rate. For the first time during the Pacific war, American troops were deployed in field army strength, making for a sometimes unwieldy command structure. In earlier campaigns throughout the Pacific, the U.S. theater commanders had generally employed one or two divisions at a time to seize small islands or small portions of coastline. In contrast, the Luzon Campaign saw extended operations inland which demanded the deployment of multi-corps forces supported by greatly expanded logistical and communications systems. Fortunately for the Americans, all but one of the participating U.S. divisions had had previous experience in fighting the Japanese, particularly on Leyte only a few months before. In fact, except for the urban fighting in Manila, American units were in the enviable position of applying past lessons to the battlefield. The 30 Americans also had the advantage of superior weapons, equipment, and supplies and by January, control of both the local seas and air. Finally, the flat open plains of central Luzon were conducive to the Americans' advantage in maneuverability and firepower. During earlier battles on the Pacific's small jungle islands, the terrain often worked to the Japanese advantage; on Luzon, the reverse was so. But again, due to the scope of the battlefield, it was the American ability to perform effectively at the larger, operational level of war that was tested for the first time in the Pacific during the Luzon Campaign. Although the reconquest of Luzon was a severe blow to the Japanese and placed the Allies one step closer to total victory, Japan would not admit defeat. An invasion of the Japanese homeland still loomed large in American planning and expectations. But the battle for Luzon had steeled America's fighting men for the daunting task ahead. Their victory was not merely another stepping stone in MacArthur's island-hopping campaign. It marked the first time that the Japanese were driven from a strategic area that they had captured at the beginning of the war. And if American soldiers needed any other impetus, many of them received it when they saw the horror of Japanese prison camps. To many, it made the difficult battle of Luzon-and the specter of a possible invasion of the Japanese mainland-seem worthwhile. 31 Further Readings The most complete works on the Luzon Campaign are the official volumes produced by the Army and Navy, particularly Robert Ross Smith, Triumph in the Philippines (1963), and Samuel Eliot Morison, The Liberation of the Philippines (1963). The best account contained in a general work on the Pacific war is Ronald Spector, Eagle Against the Sun (1985). Other significant general studies include John Toland3 The Rising Sun (1970), and James L. Stokesbury, A Short History of World War II (1980). Various MacArthur biographies, such as Michael Schaller, Douglas MacArthur: Far Eastern General (1989), cover MacArthur's personal involvement in the campaign, but with the exception of D. Clayton James' excellent The Years of MacArthur: Volume II, 1941-1945 (1970), go into few operational details. CMH Pub 72-28

i don't know

What star of the NBC sitcom Cheers was later the focus of the Showtime TV series Fat Actress?

‘Cheers’ Reunion – Rhea Perlman To Co-Star In Kirstie Alley’s TV Land Comedy Pilot | Deadline ‘Cheers’ Reunion – Rhea Perlman To Co-Star In Kirstie Alley’s TV Land Comedy Pilot TV Land EXCLUSIVE: Cheers was once a staple on TV Land . Now the cable network, which has shifted its focus from classic sitcom reruns to original comedy series, is reuniting two of the stars of iconic the NBC series. Rhea Perlman is set to co-star opposite Kirstie Alley in the TV Land pilot Giant Baby . Created by Marco Pennette, the project revolves around Madison “Maddie” Banks (Alley), a Broadway star who finds her life turned upside down when Arlo, her long-lost son, turns up looking to connect after his adopted mother has died. Perlman will play Thelma, Maddie’s long-suffering assistant and best friend, who encourages her boss to form a relationship with her son. “We’ve hit the jackpot getting Kirstie and Rhea back together,” said Keith Cox, TV Land’s EVP Development and Original Programming. “It’s a dream to work with such talented comedic actors like these ladies and create a show for them that’s funny and has interesting characters — Giant Baby hits all of those notes.” Last year, Innovative Artists-repped Perlman joine d her friend Alley on another multi-camera pilot, ABC’s The Manzanis where she played her mother. Before The Manzanis, Perlman and Alley had appeared together only once since their six-season stint together on Cheers — when Perlman played herself in an episode of Alley’s Showtime docu-series Fat Actress. Giant Baby is exec produced by Pennette, Alley and Jason Weinberg.

Kirstie Alley

Oct 23 is the anniversary of the release of the first iPod from Apple. What year was it?

Kirstie Alley | Chickipedia Forgot password? Create account Kirstie Alley ==Introduction== The downward drift in Kirstie Alley’s career – some cynics would say, her physiognomy – was never more evident than when she starred in the cable TV series, “Fat Actress” (Showtime, 2005). The one-time sexy starlet, who had skyrocketed to fame by first playing Lt. DETAILS Add Kirstie Alley Introduction The downward drift in Kirstie Alley’s career – some cynics would say, her physiognomy – was never more evident than when she starred in the cable TV series, “Fat Actress” (Showtime, 2005). The one-time sexy starlet, who had skyrocketed to fame by first playing Lt. Saavik in the classic film “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982), followed by successfully replacing Shelley Long as the neurotic but sympathetic barkeeper Rebecca Howe on the long-running hit TV sitcom “Cheers” (NBC, 1982-1993), was now reduced to playing herself: an overweight, aging actress trying to revive her Hollywood career. It was a bold move on Alley’s part to put her all-too-obvious weaknesses on TV for the world to see. The problem was, nobody wanted to see it. “Fat Actress” was panned by critics and cancelled after just one season. To her credit Alley – a convert to the controversial religion of Scientology – did what she always did when faced with adversity – including drug addiction and divorce – she shrugged it off and prospered, signing a lucrative deal to be a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program. It was this reliability to the common woman – to say nothing of her incredible self-deprecating humor – which solidified her appeal to fans and a press which now forgave her anything. Kirstie Alley Life Kirstie Louise Alley was born Jan. 12, 1951, in Wichita, Kansas. She lived a typical Middle American childhood. Her father Robert owned a lumber company and her mother Lillian was a homemaker to her and her two siblings. After finding her niche as cheerleader while in high school, she tried college, dropping out of both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas before deciding what she really wanted to do was act. She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, working as an interior decorator, while at the same time, going out on auditions, albeit with little success. Her social life was another story. Alley ran with a fast Hollywood crowd and became addicted to cocaine. Sick and broke, she found salvation in the Church of Scientology, the cultish religion based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, a former science fiction author. Scientology was at this time becoming popular among a group of young Hollywood actors, eventually attracting movie stars like John Travolta and Tom Cruise to its fold. Alley would forever claim the religion got her off drugs and saved her life. Now clean, she just needed to become a movie star. Kirstie Alley Early Career Wanting to get noticed and hoping to raise extra cash, she auditioned for game shows. She appeared on “Match Game” (CBS, 1973-1982) in 1979 and “Password Plus” (NBC, 1979-1982) in 1980, impressing producers and the audience with her quick wit and dark girl-next-door good looks. Ironically, neither of these was put to good use when she got her first big break, playing Lieutenant Saavik in the feature film, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Makeup artists transformed Alley’s wholesome features into the pointy-eared, stone-faced visage of a half-Vulcan, half-Romulan alien, and the director encouraged her to affect the flat Vulcan line readings made famous by Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock. Nevertheless, the movie did well – to the point that Trekkies would consider it the best of the “Star Trek” films – and Kirstie Alley could now legitimately call herself a Hollywood actress. Following her promising break-out role as Saavik, Alley worked steadily in unspectacular projects through the mid-1980s. Besides her work in the acclaimed Civil War-era TV miniseries “North and South” (ABC, 1985), the highlight of this period was her marriage to actor Parker Stevenson in 1983. Stevenson was a handsome, Princeton-educated actor who had gained fame playing boy detective Frank Hardy in “The Hardy Boys/ Nancy Drew Mysteries” (ABC, 1977-79). Kirstie Alley Career Zenith If Alley’s career had not quite taken off, at least her personal life had. All that would change, however, when she was cast as the new bar owner and love interest in “Cheers,” following the departure of the beloved Shelley Long and her character, Diane Chambers. At the time Alley joined the show, “Cheers” was one of the best and most popular sitcoms in television history. The show centered around Sam Malone (Ted Danson), an alcoholic ex-Red Sox pitcher, and the eccentric patrons and staff at Cheers, the bar owned and run by Sam. The rocky romantic chemistry generated between Sam and one of his waitresses, Diane Chambers, drove the show to primetime supremacy and Long to leave for a career in movies. Replacing Long was, well, a long-shot, but the show did not miss a beat when Alley assumed the role of Rebecca Howe, the bar’s new owner and Sam’s eventual love interest. Alley actually appeared in more episodes than Long and helped keep the show a ratings champ and critical darling before it finally went off the air in 1993. She won an Emmy as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 1991 and won the Golden Globe as well that same year. The motto at Cheers was “Everybody knows your name” and now everybody knew who Kirstie Alley was, at long last. She used her TV success as a launching pad into features, starring in the comedy “Look Who’s Talking” (1989) with friend and fellow Scientologist John Travolta. The movie got middling reviews but grossed over $100 million, ensuring two sequels – “Look Who’s Talking Too” (1990) and “Look Who’s Talking Now” (1993). Alley did not abandon TV, however, and won another Emmy for her starring turn as the mother of an autistic boy in the made-for-TV movie, “David’s Mother” (CBS, 1994). She played a social worker in “It Takes Two” (1995), the movie debut of Ashley and Mary-Kate Olson, then moved on to more prestigious fare, earning excellent reviews as a psychiatrist married to Woody Allen’s writer character in the film “Deconstructing Harry” (1997). Kirstie Alley Private Life Alley’s career was at its zenith at this time. Unfortunately, her personal life was bottoming out. When Alley won the Emmy in 1991, she thanked her husband in her speech “for giving me the big one for the last eight years.” By 1997 he was giving her a divorce. Alley and Stevenson’s marriage crumbled under the pressure of her success and his lack of it. “Cheers” had made her rich, and they lived a luxurious lifestyle, complete with multiple homes, yachts, and high-performance cars. Alley allegedly paid Stevenson a settlement of $6 million and agreed to joint custody of their two adopted children. Not a bad deal for Stevenson, whose career highlight after “The Hardy Boys” was playing a beefcake lifeguard on the jiggle-fest beach-and-babes TV drama, “Baywatch” (NBC/ Syndicated 1989-2001). Alley’s physical appearance was changing along with her marital status. By the mid-1990s, she was putting on weight, due to many factors in her life, she would later admit. In an industry obsessed with borderline anorexic thinness, her curvy figure stood out as either a bold declaration of self or slovenly excess. In either case, it did not stop her from getting work initially. Kirstie Alley Career After slogging through a few unmemorable TV movies, she hooked up with the powerhouse producing team of Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the creators of the TV sitcom smash “Friends” (NBC, 1994-2004). The show they created for Alley was “Veronica’s Closet” (NBC, 1997-2000), in which the star played Veronica Chase, the divorced owner of a lingerie company called (surprise!) Veronica’s Closet. Just as she had with Rebecca Howe, Alley was once again playing a funny, neurotic career woman – albeit one 10 years older and 30 pounds heavier. “Veronica’s Closet” stayed open for business despite bad reviews, mediocre ratings and high production costs, but NBC finally shut the door and cancelled it after three seasons. As the star and a producer of “Veronica’s Closet,” Alley’s bank account afforded the star some pickiness when it came to new roles. She did a beauty pageant movie, “Drop Dead Gorgeous” (1999), then settled into a fallow period of undistinguished TV roles while her weight ballooned to well over 200 pounds. Kirstie Alley Her Weight At that time, Alley spent more time on the cover of the tabloids than on TV or movie screens. But while her weight gain made her the butt of late night talk show comics, the ever savvy Alley worked it to her advantage. She published her memoirs, How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life (2005), in which she chronicled how her depression over her miscarriages and infertility led to binge eating. She played herself in “Fat Actress,” which, while not a hit, won her new fans for its self-deprecating tone. And finally, she landed her well-paying spokeswoman gig for Jenny Craig. All this naked confessing kept Alley in the public eye, but it was not without controversy. In late 2006, she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (ABC, 1986- ), wearing a semi-bikini outfit and claiming she had lost 75 pounds thanks to Jenny Craig. The next day on “The View” (ABC, 1997- ), host Rosie O’Donnell – no stranger to weight problems herself – publicly called Alley a liar, claiming she had exaggerated her weight loss to keep herself on the Jenny Craig payroll. To most observers it looked like Alley was overstating the effectiveness of the diet program. But in an age where the media bombarded the public with images of insubstantial celebrity waifs, more women looked like Kirstie Alley, not Paris Hilton. She remained a sympathetic and resilient figure to her fans and women worldwide. Kirstie Alley Family

i don't know

Which NFL team plays its games in the newest stadium in the NFL, opening just this year?

NFL.com - Official Site of the National Football League Mike McCarthy has led the Packers to seven straight wins and a Divisional Round matchup against the Cowboys. Michael Silver looks at how the coach has quieted the critics after a 4-6 start. Read Name the Play Antonio Brown's mind-blowing speed made for one of Wild Card Weekend's best highlights. Name his touchdown, as well as big plays from Aaron Rodgers and Jadeveon Clowney. Read CFB 24/7: Path to the Draft Why Tide will win: Harper reflects on title matchup Saints safety Roman Harper reflects on his years at Alabama, and what he expects Monday night when the Crimson Tide goes for its second consecutive national title against Clemson. Read There is nothing easy about this game for our offense. We're going to have to go grind it out. We have to go get our mind right and we will.

The Cowboys

Due to his small stature and looks, 1930s murder and bank robber George Nelson was commonly known by what nickname?

2016 NFL schedule - Season predictions, analysis, regular season picks, games AFC Picks: East | West | North | South NFC EAST Dallas Cowboys : 10-6. The Cowboys will have a healthy Tony Romo , Dez Bryant and Orlando Scandrick , who played 13 of a combined 48 games a year ago because of injury. That is better than any free agent or draft additions made by other teams in the division. The road schedule is difficult but the Cowboys finally make it work at AT&T Stadium to win the NFC East and return to the playoffs. -- Todd Archer Analysis : Fast start to 2016 season is key | Game-by-game predictions New York Giants : 8-8. It may not be as much improvement as their fans or owners wanted to see, but it's still two games better than each of the past two seasons. The Giants make some hay against the likes of Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. And they get a break with the Green Bay game being scheduled early in the year. But they're still a couple of years away, and their two-game division road finish in Philadelphia and Washington doesn't go well enough to end the playoff drought. -- Dan Graziano Analysis : A rarity -- two straight road games | Game-by-game predictions Minnesota Vikings : 11-5. The Vikings' schedule gets off to a tricky start, with games against the Packers and Panthers in Weeks 2 and 3. But they'll have a chance to get on a roll in October and early November, and they get three of their final five at home. -- Ben Goessling Analysis : Two prime-time games to open new stadium | Game-by-game predictions NFC SOUTH Atlanta Falcons : 7-9. I don't see the Falcons overcoming a brutal schedule that is tied with the 49ers for the toughest in the league, based on last year's records. Playing two of the past three Super Bowls champions, Denver and Seattle, in consecutive road games during Weeks 5 and 6 is a tough task in itself and a lot to ask of a team still trying to find its identity. Throw in facing Carolina at home before those two road contests makes for murderer's row and possibly a three-game losing streak (or longer). At least fans can get hyped up about the final game at the Georgia Dome being against the rival Saints in Week 17. The Falcons will move into the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017. -- Vaughn McClure Analysis : Only two prime-time games on schedule | Game-by-game predictions Tampa Bay Buccaneers : 8-8. The NFL didn't do the Bucs any favors with a tough start with back-to-back road games at Atlanta and Arizona, a home game against defending Super Bowl champion Denver, and a Monday night game at Carolina in the first five weeks of the season. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Bucs go 1-4 during that stretch. The Bucs also have two West Coast trips (San Francisco and San Diego) and play host to Seattle the week before leaving for San Diego. They should have a good run in December before the season finale against Carolina. -- Mike DiRocco Analysis : Three playoff teams in first five games | Game-by-game predictions NFC WEST Arizona Cardinals : 13-3. The Cardinals have the talent to win 13 games, but will they have the legs to finish the season with five of seven games on the road? Their finish will determine their possible playoffs seed in the NFC. The Cardinals' back-to-back playoffs berths earned four prime-time games this season, including a Monday Night Football matchup against Todd Bowles and the New York Jets . -- Josh Weinfuss Analysis : Five of final seven games on road | Game-by-game predictions Los Angeles Rams : 8-8. The Rams' bold move to land a quarterback might pay off in due time but it probably won't be this year as they still lack the weapons in the passing game and on the offensive line to translate to immediate postseason success. Subtracting four starters on defense and the many moving parts of the first season in Los Angeles will make it difficult. But, the schedule lines up favorably and the Rams should be able to get to .500 for the first time since 2006 with promise for the future behind their new quarterback. -- Nick Wagoner Analysis : Heavy on division foes, early and late | Game-by-game predictions San Francisco 49ers : 4-12. The rebuilt 49ers figure they have more depth than last season and having the league's toughest strength of schedule will put that theory to the test, and early. A short week to start the season - opening at home on Monday Night Football against the Rams, followed by trips to Carolina and Seattle - could be an early-season killer, just like last year. Or, it could be a sign of improvement. But this seems to be a less-talented team than last year's 5-11 squad. -- Paul Gutierrez Analysis : Tough start ahead for Jets | Game-by-game predictions AFC NORTH Baltimore Ravens : 10-6. As long as the Ravens stay healthy, they are primed to be the seventh team since 2011 to go from double-digit losses to the playoffs the following season. Why? Last year, Baltimore went 2-6 against the tough AFC and NFC West divisions. This year, the Ravens should go 6-2 against the much easier AFC and NFC East. -- Jamison Hensley Analysis : One playoff team in first seven games | Game-by-game predictions Cincinnati Bengals : 11-5. Do the Bengals really have a fifth consecutive double-digit win total in them? It appears so. One year after boasting the league's second hardest schedule (based on 2014 winning percentages), they come into this season tied for the fourth easiest slate. Nine games away from Paul Brown Stadium -- one of them the Oct. 30 game in London against Washington -- definitely will be a challenge, as will the four prime-time games. -- Coley Harvey Analysis : Burfict to miss a meeting with Steelers | Game-by-game predictions Cleveland Browns : 1-15. Where will the wins come? Find them. There is no opponent on the schedule that says "Browns win." In fact, no other NFL nation reporter is picking their team to lose to the Browns. That puts 0-16 on the table. Yes, the draft is ahead, and the team has time to improve. But today, that's the view of the Browns. The only win is projected based on law of averages. They have to win one game, right?. -- Pat McManamon Analysis : Three of four on road to start | Game-by-game predictions Pittsburgh Steelers : 11-5. The Steelers' defense is not far off but still has enough questions to limit a team otherwise ready to contend for a Super Bowl. Last year, Pittsburgh won 10 games against one of the league's toughest schedules while dealing with injuries to several key starters. This year, the matchups are favorable on paper, with opponents combining for a .473 winning percentage in 2015. The toughest non-divisional opponents, New England and Kansas City, come to Pittsburgh this year. There's little reason to think the Steelers can't be one game better than they were a year ago, but they still must find capable starters at defensive tackle, cornerback and safety. -- Jeremy Fowler Analysis : Two toughest opponents are at home | Game-by-game predictions AFC SOUTH Houston Texans : 9-7. The Texans took advantage of Andrew Luck missing nine games to end Indianapolis' two-year reign atop the AFC South last season. Houston hopes it has found its franchise quarterback in Brock Osweiler , who signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the team, to complement J.J. Watt and the defense. The Texans appear to be better on offense, but they'll finish with the same record as last season because of tough nonconference road games at Denver, New England, Green Bay, Oakland and Minnesota. -- Mike Wells Analysis : Tough start, rough December stretch | Game-by-game predictions Tennessee Titans : 6-10. The Titans aren't very good, but their schedule doesn't look very tough. They did draw late-season games in frigid Chicago and Kansas City. They double last season's win total en route to semi-respectability, a path that includes a .500 record in the AFC South and a win in San Diego, but a 1-5 finish. -- Paul Kuharsky Analysis : Three in a row in Nashville in October | Game-by-game predictions AFC WEST Denver Broncos : 11-5. The Broncos put together a run that included four consecutive AFC West titles, two Super Bowl trips and a title in Super Bowl 50 with quarterback Peyton Manning. But there will be a Super Bowl hangover. The Broncos have enough talent to find their way into the postseason again and win another division title, but the opening three games against Carolina, Indianapolis and Cincinnati will be tough. They will also face Kansas City twice and New England in the final six weeks of the season. -- Jeff Legwold

i don't know

Citizens of Mexico know it as Rio Bravo del Norte. What do we call the 4th longest river system in the US?

United States-Mexico Border United States-Mexico Borderlands/Frontera . . .Border society is an abstract concept compounded of ideas about the sovereignty of nation-states, the intensification of commerce and social discourse, and strategies of cultural representation. . . . --Olivia Cadaval Introduction || People at the Border || Regions of the Border || The Border in History Borderlands have often been the locale of major folk cultural achievements, from the outlaw ballads of the Scottish-English border to the heroic "corridos" of south Texas. Energized by the lives of heroes and others, borderlands continue to spark themes of frontier lawlessness, national pride, rebellion against injustice, and a community hero's stand against all odds. What is it about a border that triggers these and other cultural forms, such as souvenirs, duty-free liquors, retaining walls made of automobile tires, and "maquiladora" assembly plants? Is the border a particular kind of region or social environment? If so, does the border tend to produce a particular kind of culture? And what is the relationship between this environment and its culture? A line drawn in various ways, a border marks the place where adjacent jurisdictions meet. This combined conjunction and separation of national laws and customs creates a zone in which movements of people and goods are greatly regulated, examined, discussed, and hidden. Commerce attains a higher importance in border society as does dialogue about the identities of its peoples. Smuggling, the myriad signs in border towns, legal and illegal immigration, and the use of unneighborly names between neighbors are parts of this picture of accentuated concern with the trade in goods and the flow of people. The border is an environment of opportunity. Individuals find work enforcing or avoiding the laws that regulate movement. Companies use national differences in labor and environmental regulations to pursue their advantage. Border society thrives on difference, and people and institutions come there to exploit niches in its environment. Borders are artifacts of history and are subject to change over time. When borders shift, lands and peoples are subjected to different sets of rules; this creates opportunities for exploitation, conditions of hardship, and motivations for revolt. An approach to describing a society constructed by difference is necessarily many-voiced. Rather than a central, authoritative perspective, we strive for a de-centered point of view, one with many authoritative speakers. Of course, this is more easily achieved in the Festival of American Folklife program, where citizens of the border region speak and perform for themselves and their communities. But even in this printed medium, through translation and transcription, a variety of authorities are represented. Border society is an abstract concept compounded of ideas about the sovereignty of nation-states, the intensification of commerce and social discourse, and strategies of cultural representation. The U.S.-Mexico border can be understood in those terms; and in this it is similar to borders like those between the United States and Canada, East and West Germany, or Kenya and Tanzania. But a particular history of the U.S.-Mexico border is expressed in the images, sounds, discourse genres, and social formations discussed within this and other essays. This particular historical development has made the border the planet's longest between a country characterized by economic practices and achievements sometimes known as "first-world" and a country whose economy is sometimes characterized as"'third-world." The growth of a capitalist world economy provided the context for the development not only of U.S.-Mexico border culture, but also of other types of cultural processes that incorporate difference: acculturation, creolization, and the growth of various cultural diasporas. Cultural processes which may be opaque and elusive elsewhere become clear at the border. This is the case, as Dr. Valenzuela points out, in the formation of cultural identity. The border offers a stark context of cultural difference, social inequality, and ever present reminders of governmental power to limit individual opportunity by ascribing national identity. The dominant discourse that assigns low social value to particular sectors of the population is answered by a creative flood of expressions of identity in music, graphic arts, poetry, and styles of clothing and self presentation. People speak passionately and often artistically about themselves and others; they regulate exchange and avoid regulation; they struggle to survive in an environment often shaped by the practices of nation-states and a global economy. These human acts are not unique to borders but they occur there with a clarity and an urgency that commands our concern. People at the Border The region between the Gulf of Mexico and Baja California has been inhabited by many Native American societies, which first settled and used the land. Spaniards took ownership of these lands in grants made by the Spanish crown according to a perceived divine right. Mestizos, whose practices, like their ancestry, combined Indian and Hispanic heritage, inhabited the region. And English-speaking citizens of the U.S., whose land-acquiring and -owning practices were informed by principles of commercial capital and manifest destiny, also settled here. The border region is usually thought of as composed of these principal groups of landowners, former landowners, and workers, but its environment of opportunity has attracted many others, whose successive arrivals continue to transform the sociocultural life of the region. On the Gulf coast, Jewish families from central Mexico sought refuge from religious persecution in the eighteenth century and established businesses in Matamoros and along the valley. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, a Mexican government concerned by U.S. expansionism encouraged settlement and in some cases granted land in the western region of the border to groups as diverse as Chinese, Mennonites, Molokan Russians, Black Seminoles, and Kickapoo Indians. Black Seminoles and Kickapoos were welcomed with the stipulation that they defend the territory against the Apache and Comanche raids. As Maricela Gonzalez describes in her article, Chinese managers and laborers established residence in the towns of Mexicali and Calexico at the beginning of the twentieth century. The damming of the Colorado River converted this area in the Imperial Valley into fertile agricultural land. Anglo landowners leased this land to Chinese entrepreneurs from California, who smuggled agricultural laborers into Mexico from China. The Bracero Program of 1942-64, first negotiated by the United States and Mexico as an emergency measure during World War II, encouraged large migrations of Mexican workers to the United States. Under the terms of the program, American agricultural enterprises could legally bring Mexican contract laborers for seasonal work. In the off-season, many did not return home and settled on the border, often selecting a place where people from their home state were already established. The Mixtecos are one of sixteen indigenous groups from Oaxaca who, for at least thirty years, have been migrating to urban and agricultural areas in Mexico and in the United States. As Francisco Moreno's article points out, they are not a monolithic group but have regional linguistic and cultural differences. For them, as for other indigenous migrants in Mexico, the sale of traditional and tourist crafts has been an economic mainstay. Today, some of the most popular tourist items sold throughout Mexico are the rag dolls dressed in archetypal peasant garb with no strong regional identity. Mixteco women vendors sell them in Tijuana. They formerly made the dolls but now buy them, along with other traditional crafts, from other migrants in Tijuana, who come from the western Mexican states of Jalisco and Guanajuato as well as from Guatemala. The traditional and tourist crafts displayed on a Mixteco vendor's cart represent the labor of many cultural groups on the border and the entrepreneurial skill of Mixtecos who make a living in this market created by short-distance tourism. Mexican immigrants continue to seek economic opportunities. Workers have been attracted to the border area by the 1961-65 Mexican National Border Economic Development Program followed in 1965 by the Industrialization Program of the Border, which introduced the maquiladora assembly plants to the region. In her article, Maria Eugenia de la O records testimonies of several maquila workers in Ciudad Juarez. From the 1980s onward, economic and political refugees from Central America have swelled populations at the border and migrations across it. Individuals, groups, and corporate bodies continue to be attracted to the border to exploit niches in an environment created by difference and marginality. What they have constructed, appropriated, abandoned, and reconstructed fill the social landscape of the border region. Regions of the Border While border cultures share an environment created by adjacent jurisdictions and socioeconomic marginality and difference, cultural expressions do vary from one border town or region to another. Older, established communities populate the string of small towns on both sides of the river along the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Valley to Laredo/Nuevo Laredo. Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras and Del Rio/Ciudad Acuna began as coal-mining towns in the 1800s. In Del Rio, the San Felipe spring feeds a network of canals, creating a lushness not otherwise seen in South Texas and inviting the establishment of Italian vineyards. Here regional cultural traditions are shaped by agriculture, cattle ranching, and mining as much as by the early conflicts between the Mexican land-grant settlements and the northern landgrabbers. Labor unions of Mexican farmers, service employees, and oil workers now organize maquila workers at the assembly plants that are replacing those older industries on the Mexican side. The border follows the river through the rough terrain of the Big Bend and through the once-busy trading posts of Presidio/Ojinaga and on to the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez twins established as the "Passage to the North" between the mountain ranges, "the border's fulcrum, where the river gives way to the fence and where North and South have been horse trading for centuries" (Weisman 1986). El Paso/Ciudad Juarez is a crucible of cultural identities, in which shared border personas are created, exported, re-imported, and transformed. Here the "pachuco," a Mexican American, neighborhood identity of the 1940s and '50s was reforged as that of the "cholo," Mexican and Mexican American youth of today. West of the river a series of straight lines, not the topography, define the boundary. Here the Sonoran Desert border is home to Yaqui and O'odham Indians. As noted by Dr. Griffith, there is in this region a unique cultural interdependence between Native Americans and Mexicans, exemplified by the shared celebration of the patron saint Francisco Xavier and of the missionary Francisco de Kino (often merged into a composite St. Francis along with St. Francis of Assisi). Members of those groups share each other's crafts and food at the feast in Magdalena, twenty miles south of Ambos Nogales (the Two Nogales). In this area, the socioeconomic struggle of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo region is not as dominant a feature of life. Whereas lower border corridos praise the valor of men who fight for their rights, corridos in this area celebrate famed horses that win epic races. The westernmost border area between the Californias is very different. The original Native American populations are surrounded and forgotten by the growing urbanization of the early twentieth century. Many have migrated to San Diego and Los Angeles, establishing large communities. A striking architectural feature in the Tijuana working-class neighborhoods that spread on the sloping canyons of the city is the use of tires in landscaping. Tires create stairs that lead up to hillside houses, and they are built into retaining walls that keep homes from sliding downhill. Architects have integrated the distinctive tire embankment motif into the cement retaining walls they design for affluent neighborhoods. In Nogales, street vendors reserve their space on a downtown street with bright yellow half tires lined up like croquet wickets to mark their territory and attract customers. In Laredo and throughout the valley, sculpted and painted tire flowerpots decorate the front yards and yard shrines. And as almost everywhere, border children swing on tires hung from trees in house yards or from metal scaffolds in public playgrounds. The Border in History The Mexican and U. S. governments settled the location of the border with the signing of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. But long before there was a border, Indian communities had settlements in the areas between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. In the seventeenth century, Spanish settlers established the same area as the northern frontier of New Spain and then of Mexico after its War of Independence in 1810. In the Spanish colonial period, this area was a frontier that attracted the most adventuresome explorers and dedicated missionaries. The eastern region of the border along the Rio Bravo (later called Rio Grande in the United States) was more hospitable and became a focus of regional life as towns grew up along its banks. As Dr. Ceballos points out, residents of these towns like Laredo felt a strong allegiance to a Mexican identity. El Paso del Norte, now known as El Paso, was the first and largest town built on the river in the early 1600s in the mountain corridor that was called "El Paso del Norte," the "Passage to the North." Many small towns established before the creation of the border still dot the Texas Valley. The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, a "symbol of separation" in Texas, constitutes more than half the length of the border. In the decades following the Mexican-American War (1850s), U.S. cattle barons and agricultural opportunists from the East and Midwest with substantial capital and extensive mercantile connections came to dominate U.S.-Mexican trade across this Texas river border. Shortly after their rise, these merchants began to acquire extensive tracts of land in Texas and to assert dominion over the earlier Spanish and Mexican settlers. This created an environment of cultural and economic conflict that characterizes the border to this day. During the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910, the border population increased significantly as many moved across the border seeking refuge. Migration patterns were established between particular states in Mexico and particular regions or towns on the border. For example, refugees from central Mexico who settled in the Texas valley were likely to be joined later by immigrants from their hometowns. Migrants from the northwestern states of Zacatecas, Durango, and Sinaloa regularly traveled to Ciudad Juarez/EI Paso. When economic recessions hit the United States, efforts mounted to push immigrants back to Mexico. In 1914-15, the U.S. side of the Rio Grande Valley experienced a winter of violence when hundreds of Mexicans, or "Mexicanos" in border usage, were persecuted and killed by the Texas border patrols. The Great Depression of the 1930s brought a new wave of deportations in which immigrants who had lived undisturbed in the U.S. for decades were repatriated. As people from different cultural regions of Mexico have settled on the border, they have evolved a complexly layered cultural and social environment that has been created by competition and adaptation for survival. In this struggle, border peoples have developed distinctive styles, social organizations, and local economies. An interesting example of this is the way Mixteco vendors in Tijuana appropriate the traditional and tourist handicrafts made by other Mexican migrants to create a market that helps to support not only their own cultural identity but also that of the other groups. Local economies that develop on the Mexican side capitalize not only on available skills but also on available, usually discarded, materials. Small businesses trade in secondhand clothes purchased by the pound and cardboard from the United States. Some items, like the used tires found everywhere along the border, are made into distinctive items that support local economies and define a border style. The extensive use of tires is evidence of economic difference and marginality and of the cultural inventiveness and resilience that exploits the border environment. But the visible presence of discarded materials is also a reminder of the pollution that is unfortunately also prevalent on the border. The poorly regulated industrialization, including that of agriculture, on both sides of the border increasingly contaminates the air, water, and land. While border residents can creatively reuse discarded tires, the unchecked and growing regional pollution, which seriously affects their health as well as the environment, is at present beyond their control. About the Author Olivia Cadaval is curator of the Festival's United States Alexiro Borderlands program. She has conducted research and collaborated in public programming with the Washington, D.C., Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean communities for more than a decade. She received her Ph.D. from George Washington University.

Rio Grande

Henry Wells and William Fargo, before they got into banking, made their mark on the world operating what service in the west in the 1850s?

Mrs. Casini-Steger Mrs. Casini-Steger       -becomes main form of river travel *Railroads 1830       -Slater builds 1st American factory from memory                >water power, then steam power *Factories                > all aspects of factory under one roof                >boarding houses for workers                >easy to fix broken factory machines *Cotton Gin 1793       -faster, easier way to de-seed cotton       -can grow and pick more cotton       -increases demand for more cotton, leads to bigger plantations *Reaper 1832       -easier and faster to reap wheat *Cast Steel Plow       -easier and faster to plow Vocab: Manufacturing – making things in big factories Agriculture – farming - connected East coast with West coast - made it: faster to move people and goods - Promontory, Utah - rXr need stronger tracks for heavier trains - steel is harder, and lasts longer > BUT more expensive than iron - Andrew Carnegie > sees Bessemer process for making steel in blast furnace > makes stronger steel > builds steel mills in PA, OH, WV > very successful, so builds more > then coal & iron mines > he can now make more steel, cheaper than anyone else - steel has greater demand now > skyscrapers - steel industry spreads along Great Lakes cities * Oil Industry - petroleum found in PA ponds - burns well -> increase in demand for petrol -> oil boom - oil towns spring up across PA (like gold rush towns) - John D. Rockefeller invests in oil refinery in OH > buys up other refineries and creates giant “Standard Oil Company” > builds own: barrels, pipelines, warehouses tank cars > cuts costs, more efficient > can now produce and distribute more oil, cheaper than anyone > other companies driven out of business > after automobiles come into use, demand even greater * Edison ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canada This week we will wrap up our unit on Canada. We'll review for the test on Thurs. Jan. 17. You will be given the study guide, so you will have 7 days to study for the test. - “Kanata” means village in the Huron - Iroquois language. It is from this word that Jacques Cartier named the country Canada. - First Nation’s People came to Canada around 25,000 years ago. - The first Europeans to come to Canada were the Vikings, over 1,000 years ago. - The second group of Europeans to make it to Canada were the French. - The English were the third group to come to Canada. - Samuel de Champlain created the first successful settlement in 1608, that became Quebec. - Slavery was abolished in Canada before it was abolished in the United States. Because of this, many runaway slaves followed the Underground Railroad, north to Canada and freedom. Government - The capital of Canada is Ottawa. - The Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau. - The Queen of Canada is Queen Elizabeth II. - The political party Bloc Quebecois, want Quebec to secede from the rest of Canada to form their own country. Daily Life - The school year in Canada is about the same as ours, starting in September and ending in June. - The climate is generally cold. - Canadian money comes in denominations of the nickel, dime and quarter. There is also a 50 cent piece and a one dollar coin called a loonie, after the bird the loon. Canada also has paper money just as we do, but it looks very different. - There is not a lot of crime in Canada. The RCMPs are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In their bright red uniforms, they patrol the borders and coastlines as well as police the country. - Canada is a bilingual country, meaning the people learn 2 languages: French and English. - July 1 is Canada Day, considered to be Canada’s birthday. It is celebrated with fireworks, parades and barbeques. - Thanksgiving is always the second Monday in October. It is to celebrate the harvest season. - The Quebec Winter Carnival is the biggest winter celebration. - The Cirque de Soleil is the Canadian circus. It employs only people, no animals. - Native Canadian arts include Totem Poles and Iroquois Face Masks. - Ice Hockey originated in Canada. Other popular sports include ice skating, Canadian football, baseball and dogsled racing. End Week 17 - 18 Bienvenue au Canada! Canada is the country that shares the northern border with us. It is a large country, with 10 provinces and 3 territories. It covers 6 time zones. The people of Canada are bilingual, speaking both French and English. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. The Canadian National, or CN Tower in Toronto is one of the world’s tallest free standing structures. The highest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan, at 19,520 feet. The longest river is the Mackenzie River. The national symbols of Canada are the maple leaf and the beaver. There are 6 geographical regions in Canada: 1. Atlantic Region - Home to 10% of Canada’s population. It is a maritime region, meaning on or near the sea. 2. Canadian Shield - One of the planet’s oldest landforms, this consists of bare rocks, thickforests, and freezing freshwater lakes. 3. St. Lawrence Lowlands - This is where the industrial heart of Canada is. 75% of Canada’s manufactured goods come from here, and almost 50% of Canada’s population live here. 4. Prairie Provinces - This is a flat area, great for farming and known as the “bread basket” of Canada. 5. Cordillera - This is a beautiful landscape framed by the Rocky Mountains. 6. Arctic - This cold area makes up 40% of Canada’s land. It is very barren and isolated. The Canadian national anthem is Oh, Canada. You will get 3 extra credit points if you memorize it and sing it to me, any time before the end of the unit. You can find many renditions of the song on YouTube. Here are the lyrics: O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love In all of us command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee! God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!                >Northern Indians fight back in wars - lost             >Southern Indians fight back in courts - win             >President Jackson ignores Supreme Court and removes Native                         Americans to Oklahoma (Indian Territory)       - Trail of Tears             >Native Americans forced to walk in a zig zag             >through many states Song: Indian Reservation by Paul Revere & the Raiders They took the whole Cherokee nation Put us on this reservation Took away our ways of life The tomahawk and the bow and knife Took away our native tongue And taught their English to our young And all the beads we made by hand Are nowadays made in Japan Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe So proud to live, so proud to die They took the whole Indian nation Locked us on this reservation Though I wear a shirt and tie I'm still part redman deep inside Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe So proud to live, so proud to die But maybe someday when they learn Cherokee nation will return, will return, will return, will return, will return Early Texas Manifest Destiny - the belief that the U.S. should stretch from sea to sea. *1820’s Spain owns Texas       - Moses and Stephen Austin want to start colony for Americans *Mexico gains independence from Spain       - Mexico owns Texas       - 1830 Mex. makes laws to keep Americans out       - Mex. raises taxes in Texas       - 1834 General Santa Anna becomes dictator of Mex                > sends troops to enforce laws             >people in Texas revolt against Mex.             > Texans fight Mex. army in San Antonio       - “Remember the Alamo” becomes battle cry             > Texas declares independence from Mex.                   = choose Pres. and set up army             > Texas wins and becomes it’s own country                   = Gen. Houston       - 1850’s Santa Fe Trail             > Missouri to N. Mex and Cali.       - 1830’s Oregon Trail       - 1840’s California had very few people.       - 1848 Gold found       - one nugget, 1/2 the size of a pea       - sets off “Gold Rush”             > sudden rush of new people to an area where gold is found       - within 1 year, 80,000 people come to CA.             > call themselves the “49ers” (1849)             > “Oh My Darlin’ Clementine”       - most people did not strike gold       - many stayed in CA.       - Over 100,000 people came to settle the Willamet Valley over 25 years.       - The first to go by wagon were the Whitmans who came to start a mission.       - Ox power was they way the settlers travelled out west, as these were the strongest animals for the job.       - It was a dirty and dusty ride that often took 6 months. End Week 13 - 15 ---------------------------------------------- We will begin studying the War of 1812 by learning the Star Spangled Banner. You must be able to write out all the words to our national anthem by Friday, for the test on it. The Star Spangled Banner lyrics by Francis Scott Key 1814 Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? War of 1812       - Impressment- British stealing our sailors and forcing them to work for the British       - War Hawks want war       - 1812 Congress declares war on Great Britain (Canada)             > in Dunkirk – first naval battle of the war       - 1813 Battle of Lake Erie             >US invades Canada       - 1814 British march to Washington DC             > burn it to the ground             > changed law – only stone or brick buildings in                         Washington DC             > Francis Scott Key writes Star Spangled                         Banner, which becomes the National                         Anthem in 1931       - 1815 Battle of New Orleans   Our Dunkirk Connection to the War of 1812 The very first Naval skirmish in the War of 1812 began on Lake Erie,  near the mouth of Canadaway Creek, on Temple Road in Dunkirk!  A small marker commemorating the event sits near the intersection of Rte. 5 & Temple Road. Other markers commemorating the war are on Rte. 5 by the Moose Club and by the Dunkirk lighthouse.   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trade Fair Nov. 22! This week, we will continue our unit on the Lewis & Clark Expedition & Sacajawea. We will be reading primary and secondary sources to learn about where they went, how they got there, and who they met along the way. You will need to bring your parfleche and a hilighter every day. MOST assignments will be classwork, not  homework. If you miss class, plan on staying 9th or 10th period to catch up because we don't have enough books to send home for you to work with. In 1803, the United States bought the land that became known as the Louisiana Purchase from France. Thomas Jefferson, the Great White Father, was the president at the time. He appointed Lewis and Clark to explore the new territory. The name of the Lewis and Clark expedition was the Corps of Discovery. Their main purpose was to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. They also discovered new plants and animals, kept journals and made maps. Sacajawea’s tribe was the Shoshoni. They were a nomadic tribe, and they traveled with the seasons to find their food. The men would hunt, and sometimes set snares, which are animal traps. The women stripped the hide from the buffalo and tanned it, turning it into leather. Her childhood name was Little Bird. When Little Bird was only 12 years old, her life changed forever. She was kidnapped by the Minataree and made a slave. After 3 years, she was sold to a fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau, and became his wife. He was not a nice man and often treated Sacajawea poorly. They had a baby boy named Pompey. Needing interpreters, Lewis and Clark decided to take Sacajawea, Charbonneau and a man named Drewyer along with them. Sacajawea not only interpreted for them, but she also showed them many foods to keep them from starving. Sacajawea had a beautiful blue beaded belt that she wore. Pompey was born during the trip. Clark came to love Pompey and offered to raise and educate him. Be able to name at least 3 contributions Sacajawea made to the Corps of Discovery. Be able to name several differences in the way of life between the Shoshoni and the Minataree. End of week 10 & 11 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This week, we will begin our unit on the Lewis & Clark Expedition & Sacajawea. End of week 9 All notes will be in your Election folder. You will need to bring a highlighter to SS every day. Check out the Extra Credit Options for this unit on the Homework page. Check out the new Election web pages on our links page! ************************************************* Day 17 Review for test tomorrow Day 18 Test  Day 14 Other Campaign Media Day 15 1/2 Day Test Next Thursday 10/27. See study guide below: Study Guide for Election Test Two of the oldest political parties are: Republican & Democratic To be eligible to vote, you must: 1. be at least 18 years old 2. have been born in U.S., or have lived here at least 5 years and passed citizenship test 3. register, or sign up to vote A person cannot vote if they : 1. are less than 18 years old 2. have been convicted of a felony 3. are severely disturbed In 1800, 4 out of 5 of adults were not eligible to vote. (4/5) The 15th Amendment gave black men the right to vote. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Was there a time in the USA’s history when no one had the right to vote? No Today in the U.S.A., we have indirect elections. Every year, Election Day is on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The Electoral College votes in the month of December. A candidate needs 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win the Presidency. The candidate that receives the most popular votes wins all the state’s electoral votes. This is called a Winner-Takes-All election. Today all states except Maine & Nebraska use this system. When the Electoral College was first set up, the electors voted for two candidates. The candidate with the highest number of votes would become President, and the candidate with the second highest number of votes became Vice President. To run for President, a person must be 1. at least 35 years old 2. a natural - born citizen of the U.S.A. 3. a U.S.A resident for 14 years The main jobs of the President include: 1. (As Chief Executive:) make sure laws are carried out; propose new laws to Congress. 2. (As Chief of State:) represent America to other countries around the world. 3. (As Commander in Chief:) in charge of America’s military forces. How many (four year) terms can a president get elected to ? 2 The TOTAL # of people who ran for President this year was 4. Most newspapers carry opinion articles about candidates on the Editorial pages. The name of the President’s airplane is Air Force One. The candidate for President on the Democratic ticket is Hillary Clinton. The candidate for Vice President on the Democratic ticket is Tim Kaine. The candidate for President on the Republican ticket is Donald Trump. The candidate for Vice President on the Republican ticket is Mike Pence. A donkey is the symbol of the Democratic Party. An elephant is the symbol of the Republican Party. Inauguration Day is always on January 20th . Make sure you know the following vocabulary: volunteer people who work for a candidate without pay war chest $ raised, and set aside, to help elect a party’s candidates concession statement speech made by a candidate, formally announcing that he or she has lost the election inauguration swearing in ceremony of the President debate a formal discussion between candidates to discuss issues poll tax a special tax, now illegal, that people in some states had to pay before they could vote slate a list of candidates to be considered for election rights free speech, free public education, live peacefully & safely in your home… are all examples of what? platform plan of action of political party’s views on important issues political party group of citizens who have similar views on how the government should work; work to elect theircandidate candidate a person who seeks or is nominated for office landslide win election, by a huge number of votes issues subjects talked about during the campaign mud-slinging make nasty, often untrue accusations; name-calling bandwagon enthusiastic support for candidate many think will win responsibilities things that citizens must do, and written as laws; some are also “should-do” whistle stop (early method of) campaigning by train Electoral College group of people, chosen by voters in each state, thatreally elects the President & Vice President Incumbent someone in office, trying to be re-elected to that office lame duck a politician, not re-elected, but serving out their term suffrage the right to vote ballot a piece of paper or other object used in voting electorate people who have the right to vote End of week 7 Day 7  History of Voting Day 8  Importance of Voting Day 9  Create posters to hang in the community Day 10  Electoral College Day 2  Who Can Be President? Day 3  What Does the President Do? Day 4  Meet the Candidates Day 5 & 6 Where Do the Candidates Stand on Issues:       - Education   ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This week we will wrap up the Constitution, Branches of Government, and the Bill of Rights. We will then learn about life in Colonial times in preparation for our field trip to Genessee Country Village on Friday. Next week, we will begin our Presidential Election Unit. Bill of Rights       - Constitution was approved by convention * Ratification       - states want Bill of Rights * Vote       - 1791 Bill of Rights added       - 10 Amendments 1. religion, speech, press, public meetings, petition gov't. 2. arms / weapons 3. do not need to quarter soldiers 4. search and seizure 5. - 8. public trial, trial by jury,dont have to testify against self, right to a lawyer, can't be tried 2X for the same crime, no cruel or unusual punishment 9. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness 10. gov't. must uphold the Constitution ratify - approve Preamble - the first paragraph of the Constitution 3 Branches of Government:       - Congress is made up of the House of             Representatives and the Senate       - lawmaking             > Born in the USA or have parents who                   are citizens             > Live in the USA for 14 years             > 4 year terms       - represent USA to other countries       - Commander in Chief of military * 3. Judicial Branch        - Supreme Court is the highest court             > 9 Justices (judges)             > Congress must approve the nominations             > Lifetime term             > 2/3 of each house can "over ride" a                veto       - Helps all 3 branches work together       - Keeps any 1 branch from becoming too                powerful Preamble We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, (We the people of the USA, in order to make the best country) Establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility (Have fairness, and peace) Provide for the common defense (Create an army so we can defend ourselves) Promote the general welfare and (Make the lives of our people better) Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity (Make sure that we are free, and all those who come after us as well) Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America (Do create this Constitution for the USA) +++++++++++++++++++++ I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America And to the republic for which it stands One nation, under God, indivisible, With liberty and justice for all. End of week 3 history- what happened in the past chronology - the order that events occur in empathy - understanding other's actions and feelings primary source - recorded by someone who lived or                wrote about an event when it                happened (diary, photo) secondary source - record written by someone who                was not there at the time                (textbooks, websites) economy - the way people use resources to meet                             their needs civics - the study of citizenship; how to be a good                         citizen government - system of rules & laws helping people                          live together culture - our way of life; foods, religions, dances,                            music, sports 5 Oceans - Arctic, Antarctic (as of 2000), Atlantic,                          Indian, Pacific The Land Renewable - something that can be made again and again                                             by nature or people Erosion - wearing away of the Earth’s surface, usually                                           by wind or rain Nonrenewable - a resource that can not be made again by                                             nature or people Natural Resource – something found in nature that people                                              can use       - soil       - water       - minerals etc. tide - the regular rise and fall of an ocean and                          bodies of water connected to it tributary - a stream or river that flows into a                          larger river; branches fall line - a place where the elevation of land                           drops sharply (Niagara Falls) climate - the weather of an area over a period of                      years humidity - the amount of moisture in the air drought - a long period with little or no rain tundra - a cold, dry region where trees can not                         grow Prairie – an area of flat land, mostly covered by                          grasses & wildflowers Savanna – a grassland with scattered trees &                             bushes End of week 2 Jan. New Years Day & MLK Jr. Birthday Feb. President’s Day Nov. Veteran’s Day & Thanksgiving Dec. Christmas Day history- what happened in the past chronology - the order that events occur in empathy - understanding other's actions and feelings primary source - recorded by someone who lived or wrote about an event when it happened (diary, photo) secondary source - record written by someone who was not there at the time (textbooks, websites) economy - the way people use resources to meet their needs civics - the study of citizenship; how to be a good citizen government - system of rules & laws helping people live together culture - our way of life; foods, religions, dances, music, sports 5 Oceans - Arctic, Antarctic (as of 2000), Atlantic, Indian, Pacific END OF WEEKS 1 & 2   > Germans better than all others > Jews caused all Germany's problems > leader of Nazi party > promised to make Germany powerful again > prisons & concentration camps > wants Germany to rule the world * Italy >wants Italy to regain power of Roman times * Spain *Japan, Italy & Germany (the Axis Powers) take over other countries *War Begins > by 1941, Germany took over most of Europe *Americans shocked, but didn't want to go to war - draft begins - Americans have jobs again because of war - Depression ends > more than 2,000 troops killed > 68 civilians killed >"Day that will live in infamy" > America enters the war ally - friend, someone who is on your side infamy - famous for being bad top-side - upper deck of a ship lickety-split - really fast President Roosevelt (FDR) - President of the USA Pearl Harbor - Naval base in the Pacific on Hawaii Dec. 7, 1941 - day of surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Dictator – all powerful ruler Tuesday is the test on Mexico! Mexico Review Know what the flag of Mexico looks like and be able to describe it. Using the map on the back of your Mexico folder, study the major features in and around Mexico. The two peninsulas in Mexico are the Yucatan and Baja California. The USA borders Mexico in the north, while Guatemala and Belize border Mexico in the south. What we call the Rio Grande, the Mexicans call Rio Bravo del Norte. The mountain range along the west coast is the Sierra Madre Occidental. The mountain range along the east coast is the Sierra Madre Oriental. Mexico’s largest city is Mexico City, which is also its capital. According to Aztec legend, a high priest told the people to build a city where they found an eagle, sitting on a cactus, eating a snake. The city they built was Tenochtitlan, which was destroyed by Hernan Cortes. It was later rebuilt and is now Mexico City. The capital of the Aztec Empire, in the middle of Mexico, wasTenochtitlan. Montezuma was the Aztec Emperor who was killed by the Spanish conquistadorHernan Cortes in the 1500s. The Mayan people of the Yucatan Peninsula, were known for their art, architecture, math and astronomical systems. They built amazing pyramids and their calendarwas very advanced. It divided 365 days into 18 months. Most Mexicans are mestizos, a mixture of Spanish and Indian ancestry. Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata are heroes of the Mexican revolution in the early 1900s. The President of Mexico today is Enrique Pena Nieto. The main religion in Mexico is Roman Catholic. The official language is Spanish, but there are many Native Indian languages also spoken throughout Mexico. Mexicans have many fiestas, or celebrations. The national sport of Mexico is bullfighting. A wide brimmed Mexican hat is a sombrero. A strolling band, often with guitars, trumpets and violins is a Mariachi band. Mexican money is called the peso. Some of the foods that Mexico gave us are chocolate, corn, tomatoes, papaya, pineapple, avocado and vanilla. END OF WEEK 30 This week we continue our unit on Mexico! The children will learn about the culture, geography, history and symbols of Mexico. Learn to sing the National Anthem of Mexico using YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIBPH1zy4c8&list=PLA6695D913E7167CD By Francisco Gonza'lez Bocanegra and Jaime Nuno'- Mexicanos, al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el bridon; y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. Cina -oh patria! tus sienes de olivo De la Paz el arcangel divino, Que en el cielo tu eterno destino Por el dedo de Dios se escribio. Mas si osare un extrano enemigo Profanar con su planta tu suelo, Piensa -oh patria querida! que el cielo Un soldado en cada hijo te dio. Un soldado en cada hijo te dio. Mexicanos, al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el bridon; y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. END OF WEEK 28 The following is the Study Guide for the Dust Bowl test on March 9: Dust Bowl Oakies headed westward for a better life, jobs, and to get away from the Dust Storms back in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska. When there was a dust storm, the entire sky would be red with dust, and so think it would block out the sun and be as dark as night. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Because these storms killed crops, buried houses and animals and sickened people, whole families packed up everything they could and headed west to California. The move was slow and difficult. Since they were poor to begin with, the Oakies had to sleep at the side of the road, sometimes starving, bathing in ditches. And once they arrived in California, they found there were too many workers and not enough jobs, leading to very low wages. Even in California, they lived desperately. This was called "Dead Times." No job, no food, no money. To make matters worse, Californians hated the Oakies and treated them terribly. They were not allowed in restaurants and stores, they were beaten, their camps burned down. Californians thought the Oakies were filthy and uneducated and would steal the Californians jobs. Weedpatch Camp was built to give safe shelter to the Oakies. They would have bathrooms, tents, schools, entertainment, food and were treated well. Leo Hart, the head man at the camp played with the children and talked to them to find out about their lives. He then rounded up money and supplies and built a school for them. They learned all the regular subjects, and also plumbing, engineering, airplane mechanics, carpentry and butchering, farming, and even how to make makeup. The Oakies loved Weedpatch school because it was all theirs. They felt pride in something for the first time. When Weedpatch school ended, an earthquake toppled the buildings and the Oakies had moved on. It was rebuilt as a school for all children later. END OF WEEK 26 Roaring 20’s - Good Times * Jazz - some immigrants taunted, denied jobs and schooling, attacked - Congress passes Chinese Exclusion Act > to limit immigration from China End week 19 Canada Review Sheet Canada is the country that shares the northern border with us. It is a large country, with 10 provinces and 3 territories. It covers 6 time zones. The people of Canada are bilingual, speaking both French and English. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. The Canadian National, or CN Tower in Toronto is one of the world’s tallest free standing structures. The highest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan, at 19,520 feet. The longest river is the Mackenzie River. The national symbols of Canada are the maple leaf and the beaver. There are 6 geographical regions in Canada: 1. Atlantic Region Home to 10% of Canada’s population. It is a maritime region, meaning on or near the sea. 2. Canadian Shield One of the planet’s oldest landforms, this consists of bare rocks, thick forests, and freezing freshwater lakes. 3. St. Lawrence Lowlands This is where the industrial heart of Canada is. ¾ of Canada’s manufactured goods come from here, and almost ½ of Canada’s population live here. 4. Prairie Provinces This is a flat area, great for farming and known as the “bread basket” of Canada. 5. Cordillera This is a beautiful landscape framed by the Rocky Mountains. 6. Arctic This cold area makes up 40% of Canada’s land. It is very barren and isolated. - “Kanata” means village in the Huron - Iroquois language. It is from this word that Jacques Cartier named the country Canada. - First Nation’s People came to Canada around 25,000 years ago. - The first Europeans to come to Canada were the Vikings, over 1,000 years ago. - The second group of Europeans to make it to Canada were the French. - The English were the third group to come to Canada. - Samuel de Champlain created the first successful settlement in 1608, that becameQuebec. - Slavery was abolished in Canada before it was abolished in the United States. Because of this, many runaway slaves followed the Underground Railroad, north to Canada and freedom. Government - The capital of Canada is Ottawa. - The Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau. - The Queen of Canada is Queen Elizabeth II. - The political party Bloc Quebecois, want Quebec to secede from the rest of Canada to form their own country. Daily Life - The school year in Canada is about the same as ours, starting in September and ending in June. - The climate is generally cold. - Canadian money comes in denominations of the penny, nickel, dime and quarter. There is also a 50 cent piece and a one dollar coin called a loonie, after the bird the loon. Canada also has paper money just as we do, but it looks very different. - There is not a lot of crime in Canada. The RCMPs are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In their bright red uniforms, they patrol the borders and coastlines as well as police the country. - Canada is a bilingual country, meaning the people learn 2 languages: French and English. - July 1 is Canada Day, considered to be Canada’s birthday. It is celebrated with fireworks, parades and barbeques. - Thanksgiving is always the second Monday in October. It is to celebrate the harvest season. - The Quebec Winter Carnival is the biggest winter celebration. - The Cirque de Soleil is the Canadian circus. It employs only people, no animals. - Native Canadian arts include Totem Poles and Iroquois Face Masks. - Ice Hockey originated in Canada. Other popular sports include ice skating, Canadian football, baseball and dogsled racing. End Week 16 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Kanata” means village in the Huron - Iroquois language. It is from this word that Jacques Cartier named the country Canada. - First Nation’s People came to Canada around 25,000 years ago. - The first Europeans to come to Canada were the Vikings, over 1,000 years ago. - The second group of Europeans to make it to Canada were the French. - The English were the third group to come to Canada. - Samuel de Champlain created the first successful settlement in 1608, that became Quebec. - Slavery was abolished in Canada before it was abolished in the United States. Because of this, many runaway slaves followed the Underground Railroad, north to Canada and freedom. Government - The capital of Canada is Ottawa. - The Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau. - The Queen of Canada is Queen Elizabeth II. - The political party Bloc Quebecois, want Quebec to secede from the rest of Canada to form their own country. Daily Life - The school year in Canada is about the same as ours, starting in September and ending in June. - The climate is generally cold. - Canadian money comes in denominations of the nickel, dime and quarter. There is also a 50 cent piece and a one dollar coin called a loonie, after the bird the loon. Canada also has paper money just as we do, but it looks very different. - There is not a lot of crime in Canada. The RCMPs are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In their bright red uniforms, they patrol the borders and coastlines as well as police the country. - Canada is a bilingual country, meaning the people learn 2 languages: French and English. - July 1 is Canada Day, considered to be Canada’s birthday. It is celebrated with fireworks, parades and barbeques. - Thanksgiving is always the second Monday in October. It is to celebrate the harvest season. - The Quebec Winter Carnival is the biggest winter celebration. - The Cirque de Soleil is the Canadian circus. It employs only people, no animals. - Native Canadian arts include Totem Poles and Iroquois Face Masks. - Ice Hockey originated in Canada. Other popular sports include ice skating, Canadian football, baseball and dogsled racing. This week we will wrap up our unit on Canada. We'll review for the test on Thurs. Dec. 17. You will be given the study guide on Friday, so you will have 7 days to study for the test. Week 2 & 3 - “Kanata” means village in the Huron - Iroquois language. It is from this word that Jacques Cartier named the country Canada. - First Nation’s People came to Canada around 25,000 years ago. - The first Europeans to come to Canada were the Vikings, over 1,000 years ago. - The second group of Europeans to make it to Canada were the French. - The English were the third group to come to Canada. - Samuel de Champlain created the first successful settlement in 1608, that becameQuebec. - Slavery was abolished in Canada before it was abolished in the United States. Because of this, many runaway slaves followed the Underground Railroad, north to Canada and freedom. Government - The capital of Canada is Ottawa. - The Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau. - The Queen of Canada is Queen Elizabeth II. - The political party Bloc Quebecois, want Quebec to secede from the rest of Canada to form their own country. Daily Life - The school year in Canada is about the same as ours, starting in September and ending in June. - The climate is generally cold. - Canadian money comes in denominations of the nickel, dime and quarter. There is also a 50 cent piece and a one dollar coin called a loonie, after the bird the loon. Canada also has paper money just as we do, but it looks very different. - There is not a lot of crime in Canada. The RCMPs are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In their bright red uniforms, they patrol the borders and coastlines as well as police the country. - Canada is a bilingual country, meaning the people learn 2 languages: French and English. - July 1 is Canada Day, considered to be Canada’s birthday. It is celebrated with fireworks, parades and barbeques. - Thanksgiving is always the second Monday in October. It is to celebrate the harvest season. - The Quebec Winter Carnival is the biggest winter celebration. - The Cirque de Soleil is the Canadian circus. It employs only people, no animals. - Native Canadian arts include Totem Poles and Iroquois Face Masks. - Ice Hockey originated in Canada. Other popular sports include ice skating, Canadian football, baseball and dogsled racing. End Week 15 Renewable - something that can be made again and again by nature or people Erosion - wearing away of the Earth’s surface, usually by wind or rain Nonrenewable - a resource that can not be made again by nature or people Natural Resource – something found in nature that people can use - soil - water - minerals etc. tide - the regular rise and fall of an ocean and bodies of water connected to it tributary - a stream or river that flows into a larger river; branches fall line - a place where the elevation of land drops sharply (Niagara Falls) climate - the weather of an area over a period of years humidity - the amount of moisture in the air drought - a long period with little or no rain tundra - a cold, dry region where trees can not grow Prairie – an area of flat land, mostly covered by grasses & wildflowers Savanna – a grassland with scattered trees & bushes End of week 3 Nov. Veteran’s Day & Thanksgiving Dec. Christmas Day history- what happened in the past chronology - the order that events occur in empathy - understanding other's actions and feelings primary source - recorded by someone who lived or wrote about an event when it happened (diary, photo) secondary source - record written by someone who was not there at the time (textbooks, websites) economy - the way people use resources to meet their needs civics - the study of citizenship; how to be a good citizen government - system of rules & laws helping people live together culture - our way of life; foods, religions, dances, music, sports 5 Oceans - Arctic, Antarctic (as of 2000), Atlantic, Indian, Pacific We will be reviewing for the SS Final on Wed. June 24. The students will be given a Study Guide, but a copy of the Study Guide is below as well: Study Guide for Social Studies 2015 FINAL EXAM 5th Grade: Casini-Steger / Forbes Reviewing the following information that was presented in class this year will prepare you for the final exam the last week of school. General Vocabulary: fact: statement that can be checked and proved to be true; recognize an example opinion: statement that tells what a person thinks/believes; recognize an example primary source: record of an event made by a person who saw or took part in it; recognize an example secondary source: record of an event written by someone who was not there at the time; recognize an example culture: a way of life; dress, food, ways of making things, art, literature, system of government race: group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution justice: fairness posterity: those who come after us twilight: time between full night & sunrise perilous: dangerous streaming: trail out at full length Map Skills compass rose/cardinal directions: a symbol showing directions on the map. Most compass roses show the four main directions: north, south, east, and west. It may look like a plus sign with arrows. The arrow pointing up usually shows the direction of north. 1 map scale: part of a map that compares a distance on the map to a distance in the real world map legend: explains the symbols, lines, and colors used on the map. latitude and longitude lines are both used to pinpoint map locations. latitude lines: lines that run across the globe from side to side are called lines of latitude; are like the steps on a ladder. longitude lines : run from top to bottom ; like long hair. Geography geography: study of climate, landforms, bodies of water & natural resources of a specific place continent: one of several (7) large landmasses on Earth . from largest in size to smallest: Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Australia . The continents of North America (where we live) & South America are in theWestern Hemisphere. (5) Great Lakes: collection of freshwater lakes located in NE North America , on the Canada – United States border ; hold 21% of the world's surface fresh water. Lakes: Huron , Ontario , Michigan , Erie , Superior North America’s countries, from North to South: Canada, USA, Mexico Oceans surrounding North America: Pacific (W); Atlantic (E), Arctic (N) 2 Government/ American Symbols government: system by which people of a community, state or nation use leaders and laws to help people live together mayor: political leader (local) of a village or small city government Fredonia’s current mayor: Mr. Stephen Keefe governor: political leader of a state government New York’s current governor: Mr. Andrew Cuomo president: political leader of a nation; elections every 4 years Our nation’s current president: President Barack Obama The three branches in America’s democratic government: Legislative: lawmaking Executive: carries out the laws Judicial: the court system Our national anthem: “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key, after watching a huge American flag wave after the battle at Fort McHenry in Baltimore (War of 1812) flag of the United States has thirteen stripes of red and white, they represent the original thirteen American colonies upper left corner: blue field with fifty white stars, one for each state. red = courage, white = purity and innocence, blue = justice. U.S. Constitution: The Constitution, written in 1787, is the highest law in our land and the most important document in our history. It formed a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It remains as relevant today as it was over two hundred years ago. Preamble: the introduction of the Constitution, explaining its purpose “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”   Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments (changes) to the Constitution. 3 Genesee Country Village Every fall 5th graders take a field trip to Genesee Country Village in Mumford, New York. You spend a day within a 19th century historic country village to see what life was like in the 1800’s. Some of the favorite places to visit are the tin smith’s shop, the cooper (barrel maker), the potter, the eight-sided Octagon house, and the baseball field. There is even an opera house there, just like Fredonia! The Dust Bowl Great Plains region that suffered from period of no rain, through the 1930s. It spread out over parts of Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma , New Mexico and Nebraska. “Okies” headed to California after they saw ads for jobs there. When they arrived in California, the available jobs paid low wages, because there were so many workers, not enough jobs, and because the Californians did not like the Okies. Mexico: USA’s Southern Neighbor 31 States Mexico’s current President: Mr. Enrique Pena Nieto Mexico's borders: North - United States of America (Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte forms part of the border) South – Guatemala & Belize Tenochtitlan was built where the Aztecs found an eagle, perched on a cactus, eating a snake. The 2 peninsulas of Mexico are the Yucatan & Baja California Hernan Cortes of Spain conquered the Aztecs in the 1500s. He took the Aztec leader, Montezuma, prisoner and eventually killed him. 4 Louisiana Purchase/ Lewis and Clark U.S. President Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana from France in 1803. He hired Meriwether Lewis & William Clark to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. They explored the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean. The Corps of Discovery is another name for Lewis and Clark’s Expedition. Canada: USA’s Northern Neighbor symbols: beaver & maple leaf national anthem: “O Canada” Canada’s current Prime Minister: Mr. Stephen Harper Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Canada bilingual: speak/understand 2 languages Canada’s main languages are French and English World War II U.S. President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (died April 12, 1945, just before end of war; replaced by Vice President Harry Truman) German ruler/dictator: Adolf Hitler Pearl Harbor: Japanese attacked US forces in Hawaii; US decides to enter the war after this. F.D.R.: “December 7, 1941- a date that will live in infamy.” Allied Powers: USA, Great Britain, USSR Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan General Dwight D. Eisenhower: led allied invasion of Europe in 1944; later elected 34th President , 1953-1961 Holocaust: mass murder of European Jews Latin America Latin America is made up of Central American, Caribbean & South Americancountries. Central America & the Caribbean Islands are north of the equator (so isNorth America). Most of South America is south of the equator. In the Caribbean, the island of Hispaniola is shared by the two countries ofHaiti & the Dominican Republic. The world’s largest river, the Amazon River, is in South America. It flows through the dense Amazon Rainforest. On a map of North America, you will need to identify where the following 10 locations are: 1 U.S.A. 2 Canada 3 Mexico 4 Fredonia, N.Y. 5 Washington, D.C. 6 Ottawa 7 Mexico City 8 Atlantic Ocean 9 Pacific Ocean 10 Gulf of Mexico PLUS a few general knowledge K-5 skills questions. End week 38 WASPS - Women Airforce Service Pilots WAVES - Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service Rosie the Riveter - represented American women who worked in the factories during WWII Big Band - the popular, swing, style of jazz music during the 1940's USO - United Service Organization; an organization of civilians created to serve the troops both on the warfront as well as at home Bob Hope - a Hollywood comedian and actor who became the "Face and heart of the USO" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- D-Day - the beginning of the end; Allied forces storm the beaches in Normandy, France and push through the country to win it back from the Nazis Dwight D. Eisenhower - the commanding Allied general on D-Day V-E Day - Victory in Europe day The Allies came from France in the West, the USSR in the East, and the Mediterranean in the South, and they surrounded the Axis Powers and squeezed. Hiroshima - where the first Atom bomb was dropped Nagasaki - where the second Atom bomb was dropped V-J Day - Victory in Japan day End week 33 There is a test on Mexico on Wednesday. On that day, Book Orders are also due. Here is the Review Sheet for the Mexico test. The students received this review on Monday, 10/6 so they have plenty of time to study. Mexico Review Know what the flag of Mexico looks like and be able to describe it. Using the map on the back of your Mexico folder, study the major features in and around Mexico. The two peninsulas in Mexico are the Yucatan and Baja California. The USA borders Mexico in the north, while Guatemala and Belizeborder Mexico in the south. What we call the Rio Grande, the Mexicans call Rio Bravo del Norte. The mountain range along the west coast is the Sierra Madre Occidental. The mountain range along the east coast is the Sierra Madre Oriental. Mexico’s largest city is Mexico City, which is also its capital. According to Aztec legend, a high priest told the people to build a city where they found an eagle, sitting on a cactus, eating a snake. The city they built was Tenochtitlan, which was destroyed by Hernan Cortes. It was later rebuilt and is now Mexico City. The capital of the Aztec Empire, in the middle of Mexico, wasTenochtitlan. Montezuma was the Aztec Emperor who was killed by the Spanish conquistadorHernan Cortes in the 1500s. The Mayan people of the Yucatan Peninsula, were known for their art, architecture, math and astronomical systems. They built amazingpyramidsand their calendar was very advanced. It divided 365 days into 18 months. Most Mexicans are mestizos, a mixture of Spanish and Indian ancestry. Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata are heroes of the Mexican revolution in the early 1900s. The President of Mexico today is Enrique Pena Nieto. The main religion in Mexico is Roman Catholic. The official language is Spanish. Mexicans have many fiestas, or celebrations. The national sport of Mexico is bullfighting. A wide brimmed Mexican hat is a sombrero. A strolling band, often with guitars, trumpets and violins is a Mariachiband. Mexican money is called the peso. Some of the foods that Mexico gave us are chocolate, corn, tomatoes, papaya, pineapple, avocado and vanilla. End of week 6 Earn 1 Extra Credit Point! Stay 10th period on Monday to listen to our Mexican Guest Speaker. This week we continue our unit on Mexico! The children will learn about the daily life of the people of Mexico. We will also be preparing the students for the field trip to Genesee Country Village by teaching them about pioneer life. Learn to sing the National Anthem of Mexico using YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIBPH1zy4c8&list=PLA6695D913E7167CD By Francisco Gonza'lez Bocanegra and Jaime Nuno'- Mexicanos, al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el bridon; y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. Cina -oh patria! tus sienes de olivo De la Paz el arcangel divino, Que en el cielo tu eterno destino Por el dedo de Dios se escribio. Mas si osare un extrano enemigo Profanar con su planta tu suelo, Piensa -oh patria querida! que el cielo Un soldado en cada hijo te dio. Un soldado en cada hijo te dio. Mexicanos, al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el bridon; y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del canon. End of week 5 This week we are beginning our review for the final. The review sheet is below: Study Guide for Social Studies 2014 FINAL EXAM Reviewing the following information that was presented in class this year will prepare you for the final exam on Tuesday, June 24. General Vocabulary: fact: statement that can be checked and proved to be true; recognize an example opinion: statement that tells what a person thinks/believes; recognize an example primary source: record of an event made by a person who saw or took part in it; recognize an example secondary source: record of an event written by someone who was not there at the time; recognize an example culture: a way of life; dress, food, ways of making things, art, literature, system of government race: group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution Map Skills compass rose/cardinal directions: a symbol showing directions on the map. Most compass roses show the four main directions: north, south, east, and west. It may look like a plus sign with arrows. The arrow pointing up usually shows the direction of north. map scale: part of a map that compares a distance on the map to a distance in the real world map legend: explains the symbols, lines, and colors used on the map. latitude and longitude lines are both used to pinpoint map locations. latitude lines: lines that run across the globe from side to side are called lines oflatitude; are like the steps on a ladder. longitude lines : run from top to bottom ; like the sides of a ladder. Geography geography: study of climate, landforms, bodies of water & natural resources of a specific place continent: one of several (7) large landmasses on Earth . (from largest in size to smallest): Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Australia . The continents of North America (where we live) & South America are in the Western hemisphere. (5) Great Lakes: collection of freshwater lakes located in NE North America , on the Canada – United States border ; hold 21% of the world's surface fresh water. Lakes: Huron , Ontario , Michigan , Erie , Superior North America’s countries, from North to South: Canada, USA, Mexico Oceans surrounding North America: Pacific (W); Atlantic (E), Arctic (N) Government & American Symbols government: system by which people of a community, state or nation use leaders and laws to help people live together mayor: political leader (local) of a village or small city government Fredonia’s current mayor: Mr. Stephen Keefe governor: political leader of a state government New York’s current governor: Mr. Andrew Cuomo president: political leader of a nation; elections every 4 years Our nation’s current president: Mr. Barack Obama The three branches in America’s democratic government : Legislative: lawmaking Executive: carries out the laws Judicial: the court system Our national anthem: “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key, after watching a huge American flag wave after the battle at Fort McHenry in Baltimore (War of 1812) flag of the United States : thirteen stripes of red and white, they represent theoriginal thirteen American colonies; upper left corner: blue field with fifty white stars, one for each state. red = courage, white = purity and innocence, blue = justice. U.S. Constitution: The Constitution, written in 1787, is the highest law in our land and the most important document in our history. It formed a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It remains as relevant today as it was over two hundred years ago. Preamble: the introduction of the Constitution, explaining its purpose   “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”   Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments (changes) to the Constitution. Genesee Country Village Every fall 5th graders take a field trip to Genesee Country Village in Mumford, New York. You spend a day within a 19th century historic country village to see what life was like in the 1800’s. Some of the favorite places to visit are the tin smith’s shop, the cooper (barrel maker), the potter, the eight-sided Octagon house, and the baseball field. There is even an opera house there, just like Fredonia! The Dust Bowl Great Plains region that suffered from period of no rain, through the 1930s. It spread out over parts of Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma , New Mexico and Nebraska. “Okies” headed to California after they saw ads for jobs there. When they arrived in California, the available jobs paid low wages, because there were so many workers, not enough jobs, and also because the Californians did not like the Okies. Mexico: USA’s Southern Neighbor 31 States Mexico’s current President: Mr. Enrique Pena Nieto Mexico's borders: North - United States of America (Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte forms part of the border) South – Guatemala & Belize Tenochtitlan was built where the Aztecs found an eagle, perched on a cactus, eating a snake. The 2 peninsulas of Mexico are the Yucatan & Baja, California Hernan Cortes of Spain conquered the Aztecs in the 1500s. He took the Aztec leader, Montezuma, prisoner, and eventually killed him. Louisiana Purchase/ Lewis and Clark U.S. President Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana from France in 1803. He hired Meriwether Lewis & William Clark to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. They explored the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean. TheCorps of Discovery is another name for Lewis and Clark’s Expedition. Olympics The ancient Greeks decicated the first Olympic games to the god Zeus, first held in776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece. The original Greek Olympic motto was “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, which means“Swifter, Higher, Stronger”. After a ban by a Byzantine Emperor in 394 A.D., in 1896 Pierre de Coubertin revivedthe (modern) Olympics to enourage amateur athletics and world peace. The games have been held every 4 years, EXCEPT in 1940 & 1944, when they were cancelled due to World War II. The Olympic flag has 5 interlocking rings, which stand for the 5 parts of the world that are joined together in the Olympic movement: Africa, the Americas, Asia,Australia and Europe. The colors are blue, black, red, yellow and green. The Olympic Flame symbolizes the death and rebirth of Greek heroes. For each Olympics, a new flame is started in the ancient Olympic stadium in Olympia, Greece using a parabolic mirror to focus the rays of the sun. At the modern Olympics, the winners medals are : Gold – 1st place, Silver – 2ndplace, Bronze – 3rd place. The 1980 Olympic Men’s Hockey gold medal was won by the underdog USA team after quite an exciting series of games! Canada: USA’s northern neighbor symbols: beaver & maple leaf national anthem: “O Canada” Canada’s current Prime Minister: Mr. Stephen Harper Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Canada bilingual: speak/understand 2 languages Canada’s main languages are French and English World War II U.S. President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (died April 12, 1945, just before end of war; replaced by Vice President Harry Truman) German ruler/dictator: Adolf Hitler Pearl Harbor: Japanese attacked US forces in Hawaii; US decides to enter war after this. F.D.R. : “December 7, 1941- a date that will live in infamy-” Allied Powers: USA, Great Britain, USSR Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan General Dwight D. Eisenhower: led allied invasion of Europe in 1944; later elected 34th President , 1953-1961 Holocaust: mass murder of European Jews Latin America Latin America is made up of Central American, Caribbean & South Americancountries. Central America & the Caribbean Islands are north of the equator (as well as North America). Most of South America is south of the equator. In the Caribbean, the island of Hispaniola is shared by the two countries of Haiti & the Dominican Republic. The world’s largest river, the Amazon River, is in South America. It flows through the dense Amazon Rainforest. On a map of North America, you will need to identify: U.S.A. Gulf of Mexico ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- We will continue learning about the Olympics! There will be a test on Thursday. Study guides have been passed out. In case you forgot yours at school, here it is: 2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics are in Sochi, Russia from Feb. 7 – 23. The Sochi Olympics motto is Hot. Cool. Yours. Opening Ceremonies are Friday, Feb. 7, while the Closing Ceremonies are on Sunday, Feb. 23. The Sochi mascots include the polar bear, the leopard and the hare. Ancient Olympics: Ancient Greeks dedicated the Olympic Games to the god Zeus. The original games were held on the plain of Olympia, Greece in 776BC. There was only 1 event, a sprint, and it was run by nude men. A wreath of olive branches was placed on the winner’s head. The olive tree was the sacred tree of Athens, Greece. Women were not allowed to compete or even watch the games. Modern Olympics: Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece to encourage amateur athletics and promote world peace. It was still all male, although they were no longer in the nude. The first Winter Olympics was in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The games have been held every 4 years, 1940 & 1944, when they were cancelled due to World War II. Symbols Flag of the Olympics: The Olympic flag has 5 interlocking rings, which stand for the 5 parts of the world that are joined together in the Olympic movement: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. The colors are blue, black, red, yellow and green. Olympic Flame: The Olympic Flame symbolizes the death and rebirth of Greek heroes. The first torch relay took place at the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany. For each Olympics, a new flame is started using a parabolic mirror to focus the rays of the sun. Olympic Torch: The flame is carried around Greece on special torches, then carried around the host country by people running, walking, riding horses and camels, scuba diving and even flying up into space on a rocket ship! The last runner uses the torch to light the large Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremonies, which burns throughout the games. The flame is then put out during the Closing Ceremony. A new torch is designed for each of the games. Motto: The Olympic motto is in Latin and it is “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” meaning faster, higher, stronger. 15 Events: Ice Hockey Figure Skating Speed Skating Snowboarding Luge Bobsleigh Free-Style Skiing Slalom Downhill Skiing Ski Jumping Nordic Combined Biathlon Medals:

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Athos, Porthos, and Aramis are collectively known as whom?

Athos (Character) - Biography biography The content of this page was created by users. It has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. Warning! This character biography may contain plot spoilers. Visit our Character Biography Help to learn more. Character Biography History Discuss Athos is the leader of the group known as The Three Musketeers from Alexandre Dumas Pere's novel LE TROIS MOUSQUETAIRES/THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1844). Like his fellow Musketeers Porthos and Aramis, Athos makes a dueling opponent with the young D'Artagnan (when the Gascon accidentally bumps into his wounded shoulder), but eventually becomes his friend. Athos had a past as a nobleman known by the title of Comte de le Fere. However, his past turned tragic when he learned the woman he loved and married was a criminal branded with the fluer-de-lis. The betrayal broke the Comte into forsaking his past life and nobility. Now a cynical realist fond of drinking, Athos is nevertheless loyal to his Musketeer comrades, especially D'Artagnan whom he loves like a son. Unlike Porthos and Aramis, Athos is given a major role in many of the film adaptations, with his association with his former wife- now Milady de Winter- a major dramatic plot point carried over from the novel. However, like Porthos and Aramis, he is given a small role in many film adaptations of THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. The 1921 United Artists/Douglas Fairbanks version and its sequel THE IRON MASK omit Athos' past and relationship with Milady. The 1935 RKO Radio Pictures version has Athos with a Hungarian accent. Unlike the depressed character of the novel, this Athos has a rather friendly and cuddly personality. His only dramatic nature concerns his former wife Milady de Winter, who was branded for murdering his brother. He is reunited with Milady when the woman stops at a tavern with a captive D'Artagnan. He captures her and reveals her history to D'Artagnan. Reaching his ancestral home, Athos is unable to keep Milady from making a suicidal jump into the river. The 1939 20th Century-Fox/Ritz Brothers version has Athos, Porthos, and Aramis quickly defeated and impersonated by the Three Lackeys. The 1948 MGM version gives major focus to his relationship with Milady, whom he refers here as Charlotte. His backstory with her is altered in that her branding occurs AFTER their marriage (by his consent). Athos' association with Milady is ambiguous: Seeing her as an evil woman, Athos can't help but still love her. When they meet again after many years, Athos feels the urge to kiss her (she responds by trying to stab him). When it is learned that Constance has been made jailer to Milady in England, Athos fears his former wife's machinations and follows D'Artagnan to England to rescue her. They are too late as Charlotte has murdered Constance. Consoling his grief-stricken friend, Athos convinces D'Artagnan to have revenge. They pinpoint the murderess' whereabouts to a chateau in Lille- her old home with Athos. They capture the woman and bring the Executioner of Lille to exact final justice. Charlotte begs mercy, but Athos cannot dare to forgive her evil self. He kisses her again, giving Charlotte strength to go to her fate. The 1974 Richard Lester version- THE THREE MUSKETEERS (THE QUEEN'S DIAMONDS) and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (THE REVENGE OF MILADY)- gives Athos a more brutal nature in his fights. His drinking is also given a source of humor. These traits are continued in the 1989 sequel THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS. The 1993 Disney version gives a different interpretation to Athos' relationship with Milady, here called Sabine. A happily married couple, Athos learns Sabine bears the fluer-de-lis brand on her shoulder- a mark for execution. He betrays her to the authorities. Believing her to be dead, Athos is surprised to cross paths with his former wife, now a minion of Cardinal Richelieu. He and the Musketeers capture her and learn that her brother-in-law Count de Winter wishes to condemn her for the death of his brother- her latest husband. Visiting her jail cell, Athos tries to gain from Sabine information about the Cardinal's plans but fails. The next morning the Musketeers, D'Artagnan, and Count de Winter witness Sabine's execution by beheading. At the last minute, Athos saves Sabine from the Executioner's sword, begging her forgiveness for betraying their love. Moved by this, Sabine tells everyone all she knows about the Cardinal's plans and commits suicide by jumping off a cliff. The 1998 version of THE MAN OF THE IRON MASK has Athos opposing his former friend D'Artagnan. The latter is loyal to the corrupt King Louis XIV, who had Athos' adopted son Raoul assigned to a violent battle area to be killed so the King can have his fiancee. Athos joins Porthos and Aramis in helping Louis' secret twin brother Philippe replace the King for the good of France. Page last updated by angmc43 , 5 years ago

The Three Musketeers

Everyone's favorite childhood book, Where the Wild Things Are, saw the movie version dominate the box office last weekend. What is the name of the main protagonist in the book?

Musketeers | Musketeers Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. D'Artgnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis as musketeers The musketeers were a junior unit of roughly company strength of the military branch of the Royal Household or Maison du Roi. They were created in 1622 when Louis XIII furnished a company of light cavalry (the "carabineers", created by Louis' father Henri IV) with muskets. Musketeers fought in battle both on foot (infantry) and on horseback (dragoons). As a junior unit in the Royal Guard, the Musketeers were not closely linked to the royal family. Traditional bodyguard duties were in fact performed by the Garde du Corps and the Gardes suisses. Because of its junior status, the Musketeers were open to the lower classes of French nobility or younger sons from noble families whose oldest son served in the more prestigious units. The Musketeers soon gained a reputation for boisterousness and fighting spirit as the only way for social and career advancement was excelling at their task as mounted light dragoons. Their high esprit de corps and can-do attitude gained them royal favour and they became a popular fixture at court and in Paris. Shortly after their creation, Cardinal Richelieu created a bodyguard unit for himself. So as not to offend the King with a perceived sense of self-importance, Richelieu did not name them Garde du Corps like the King's personal guards but rather Musketeers after the Kings' junior guard cavalry. This was the start of a bitter rivalry between both corps of Musketeers. At the cardinal's death in 1642, the company passed to his successor Cardinal Mazarin. At Mazarin's death in 1661, the cardinal's Musketeers passed to Louis XIV to the disgust of both the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Musketeers. The Musketeers were subsequently reorganized as a guard cavalry regiment of two companies. The King's Musketeers became the first company, popularly known as Grey Musketeers from the color of their horses while the Cardinal's Musketeers became the second company, known as Black Musketeers because they rode black horses. The Musketeers were the among the most popular of the military companies of the Ancien Régime. This popularity was due to the lower entrance requirements. The senior guard units were in effect closed to all but the most senior and wealthy of French nobles so for the vast majority of French nobles (many of whom lived in genteel poverty), service in the Musketeers was the only way to join a cavalry unit in the Royal Household and perhaps catch the King's eye. In 1776, the Musketeers were eliminated by Louis XVI. Reformed in 1789, they were eliminated shortly afterward. They were reformed on July 6, 1814, and definitively eliminated on January 1, 1816. Decades later, starting in 1844, this group was the subject of the now-famous serial publication The Three Musketeers.

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What famous TV family got their start with short vignettes on the variety show, The Tracey Ullman Show?

The Tracey Ullman Show - Show News, Reviews, Recaps and Photos - TV.com The Tracey Ullman Show EDIT A variety/sketch show brought to you by a British comedian Tracey Ullman. The show was one of the first programs on the then-new FOX Network in the U.S. in the mid 1980s. Tracey's show was a sketch comedy show including lots of singing and dancing. "The Simpsons" appeared as short, animated sketches, interspersed between the main, live-action sketches. The Tracey Ullman Show led to the creation of the hit FOX show, "The Simpsons." It began as short skits on Ullman's Show. Overall the Simpsons made appearances in 48 episodes in the show's first three seasons and one additional appearance in the fourth and final season. The Big Bang Theory The Romance Recalibration NEW The Great Indoors Mason Blows Up NEW More Info About This Show Categories Comedy Important: You must only upload images which you have created yourself or that you are expressly authorised or licensed to upload. By clicking "Publish", you are confirming that the image fully complies with TV.com’s Terms of Use and that you own all rights to the image or have authorization to upload it. Please read the following before uploading Do not upload anything which you do not own or are fully licensed to upload. The images should not contain any sexually explicit content, race hatred material or other offensive symbols or images. Remember: Abuse of the TV.com image system may result in you being banned from uploading images or from the entire site – so, play nice and respect the rules! Choose background:

The Simpsons

With Halifax as its capital, what Canadian provinces' name literally translates as New Scotland?

11 Spinoffs That Lasted As Long As (If Not Longer Than) the Shows They Spun off From << Movie & TV News and Interviews – Rotten Tomatoes by Beki Lane and Kerr Lordygan | March 24, 2015 | Comments Since Better Call Saul takes place six years before we ever meet Walter White, there’s no reason that Vince Gilligan’s prequel can’t last as long as Breaking Bad ‘s five seasons (and if these long-running spinoffs are any indication, Better Call Saul could go the full six). Here’s a look at some of TV’s most successful spinoffs which ran at least as long — if not longer — than their origin series. Maude / Good Times The origin show: Maude (1972-1978), 6 Seasons A spinoff itself (Maude was Edith Bunker’s cousin on All in the Family), Maude starred Bea Arthur as an upper-middle class liberal feminist living with her fourth husband. The spinoff: Good Times, (1974-1979): 6 Seasons The Evans family lived in the projects of inner city Chicago, “keeping their head above water.” How did it become a spinoff? Esther Rolle played Maude’s housekeeper, Mrs. Evans, and she proved to be such a popular character that she was given her own series. However, Maude never really addressed her departure and the two shows take place in different cities. What made it so successful? Jimmy’s catchphrase “Dy-no-mite!” became a pop culture phenomenon, changing the focus of the show from the struggles of Esther and her husband to the antics of the Evans children — and TV audiences followed right after them. Liquid Television / Beavis and Butt-Head The origin show: Liquid Television (1991-1994), 3 Seasons MTV’s showcase of animated shorts and music bites, Liquid TV was a cult fave in the ’90s. The spinoff: Beavis and Butt-head, (1993-1997, 2011): 6 Seasons Two cartoon high-school flunkies critiqued live-action music videos which generally were either “cool” or “sucked.” How did it become a spinoff? As part of Liquid TV‘s animated slate that also included Aeon Flux, Beavis and Butt-Head spun into its own series when MTV asked creator Mike Judge, who did both voices, to develop his rock-loving losers into a series of 25-minute episodes. What made it so successful? At the time, Beavis and Butt-Head was considered an edgy cartoon and although the two protagonists were a couple of idiots, the way in which Judge captured their idiocy was sharp and funny. Golden Girls / Empty Nest The origin show: The Golden Girls (1985-1992), 7 Seasons Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and her mother Sophia, all single after years of marriage, became housemates, sharing friendship, laughs, and the trials of single senior life. The spinoff: Empty Nest, (1988-1995): 7 Seasons Dr. Harry Weston was a pediatrician widower living in Miami with two of his three adult daughters who continually tried to find their life partners and leave home. How did it become a spinoff? The Westons were The Golden Girls‘ neighbors. Stars of The Golden Girls made various cameo appearances on the spinoff and, after the end of the origin show (and the end of additional spinoff The Golden Palace), Estelle Getty joined the permanent cast of Empty Nest. What made it so successful? The well-played comedic irony was that Richard Mulligan’s character should have been living in an empty nest, but his grown daughters wanted to find themselves a couple of men before they blew the coop. David Leisure, then of “Joe Isuzu” fame, was a fan favorite as smarmy neighbor Charley Dietz. Soap / Benson The origin show: Soap (1977-1981), 4 Seasons The trials and tribulations of sisters Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon) and their families were chronicled in a comedic sendup of the soap opera genre. The spinoff: Benson, (1979-1986): 7 Seasons Benson DuBois (Robert Guillaume) was hired to run the Governor’s mansion but may as well have been running the state itself. How did it become a spinoff? After season two, Benson left the Tates to work for Jessica’s cousin — who just happened to be the Governor. What made it so successful? Guillaume’s charm and ability to be the smartest guy in the room translated well to his own vehicle, and the ensemble cast came together to create a winning comedic combination. Diff’rent Strokes / The Facts of Life The origin show: Diff’rent Strokes (1978-1986), 8 Seasons Wealthy Manhattan widower Philip Drummond adopted the two sons of his deceased maid from Harlem. The spinoff: The Facts of Life, (1979-1988): 9 Seasons Boarding school housemother Edna Garrett tended to schoolgirls while they grew into young (and very funny) women. How did it become a spinoff? In the final episode of Diff’rent Strokes season one, the Drummond’s maid, Mrs. Garrett, did a stint sewing costumes for the school play at East Lake School for Girls, after which she was asked to work at the school permanently. What made it so successful? The personality clash between Jo Polniaczek (Nancy McKeon) and rich girl Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel) contributed greatly to the show’s success, along with its quippy, witty dialogue. And, though often doling out morality plots, the characters were always funny and likable (plus, having one of TV’s catchiest theme songs certainly didn’t hurt either). Perfect Strangers / Family Matters The origin show: Perfect Strangers (1986-1993), 8 Seasons The surprising arrival of Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot) from the island Mypos to his cousin’s bachelor pad (Mark Linn-Baker) infringes upon “coosin” Larry’s newfound privacy as the two bond and learn from each other’s cultures. The spinoff: Family Matters, (1989-1997): 9 Seasons The lives of police officer Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson) and his family are turned on their heads when they open their home to hip, street-smart Mother Winslow (Rosetta LeNoire), with frequent visitations by nerdy nuisance neighbor, Steve Urkel (Jaleel White). How did it become a spinoff? Harriette Winslow (JoMarie Payton) worked at the Chicago Chronicle newspaper where Larry and Balki went to work in 1987. Her husband, Carl, was a police officer who appeared in the Perfect Strangers episode, “Crimebusters.” (A bit of small trivia: Larry and Balki were originally planned to have appeared in the pilot episode of Family Matters before it was cut.) What made it so successful? Did somebody ask, “Did I do that?” The initial idea was for an African-American family comedy revolving around the Winslows. But ratings for the spinoff were nothing to write home about until the appearance of Jaleel White as the nerdy neighbor, Urkel. Cheers / Frasier The origin show: Cheers (1982-1993), 11 Seasons Former baseball pitcher and alcoholic Sam Malone (Ted Danson) took ownership of Cheers, a neighborhood Boston bar, working with and serving some of Boston’s funniest personalities. The spinoff: Frasier, (1993-2004): 11 Seasons Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) left Boston to go back to his hometown of Seattle, taking a job as a radio shrink. But Frasier’s hopes for enjoying his new life were impeded upon by his father (John Mahoney) who needed to move in with Crane due to his recent physical impairment. How did it become a spinoff? Frasier was among the regular barflies at Cheers, whose personal problems with his wife Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) often drove him to the bar — and eventually to Seattle after their divorce. What made it so successful? With Cheers ending its eleven season run, fans were thrilled to be able to follow one of their most beloved characters and to meet his father Martin, his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), and caretaker Daphne (Jane Leeves), all of whom became beloved sitcom stars as a result. All In the Family / The Jeffersons The origin show: All In the Family (1971-1979), 9 Seasons Focusing on the Bunker family and its bigoted patriarch, Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), All in the Family was groundbreaking television about an old-school hothead confronted by his new-school daughter (Sally Struthers) and son-in-law (Rob Reiner). The spinoff: The Jeffersons, (1975-1985): 11 Seasons George and Louise “Weezy” Jefferson move to an affluent high-rise apartment building, and find that success does not solve the problems of parenting, crazy neighbors and life in New York. How did it become a spinoff? The Jeffersons moved in next door to the Bunkers in season one, and lived there for the first five seasons of All In the Family. As George’s dry cleaning business became more successful, the Jeffersons “moved on up” out of Queens to the east side — and into their own hit show. What made it so successful? The idea that a wildly different collection of neighbors could come together to create a fairly traditional sitcom held great appeal with viewers. Love, American Style / Happy Days The origin show: Love, American Style (1969-1974), 5 Seasons A popular show that presented a collection of shorts about love in the good old US of A. The spinoff: Happy Days, (1974-1984): 11 Seasons Set in the 1950s, this sitcom centered around the Cunningham family and friends, including Fonzie, a loveable greaser renting the apartment over their garage. How did it become a spinoff? The short “Love and the Television Set” from Love, American Style was tapped to become its own TV show by producer Garry Marshall. What made it so successful? The Cunninghams, Fonzie, and all the regular characters on the show became extended members of our own families, visiting most American households every Friday evening, right after suppertime. Dallas / Knots Landing The origin show: Dallas (1978-1991), 14 Seasons Larry Hagman starred as oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, whose infinite schemes became a recurring touch point for multi-plot this CBS primetime saga. The spinoff: Knots Landing, (1993-1997, 2011): 14 Seasons Reformed alcoholic Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and his girlfriend (Joan Van Ark) were one of four couples living in a housing development known as Knots Landing. How did it become a spinoff? Gary, the younger brother of J.R. Ewing, knowing he could never live up to his father Jock Ewing’s unreasonable expectations, split from Texas to start anew on a southern California cul-de-sac. What made it so successful? Gary may have been looking to escape the drama of Dallas, but quickly found himself mired in soapy plots, labyrinthine sub-plots, and juicy cliffhangers that kept viewers hooked for 14 years. The Tracey Ullman Show / The Simpsons The origin show: The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-1990), 4 Seasons British comedian Tracey Ullman landed on American primetime with a variety show of sketch comedy, song-and-dance routines, and animated vignettes. The spinoff: The Simpsons, (1989-present): 26 Seasons A cartoon about a middle-class family in Springfield, The Simpsons follows a traditional sitcom format while simultaneously satirizing popular culture. How did it become a spinoff? Most people know that the Simpsons were featured in animated shorts (as in, short cartoons, not “eat my shorts”) on Fox’s The Tracey Ullman Show, but many don’t realize that there were 48 shorts in all. Wildly popular, Homer, Marge, Maggie, Lisa, and Bart moved into their own Fox series with the same voice actors. What made it so successful? In the early days of The Simpsons, the show focused on the dysfunction of the nuclear family (especially between Homer and Bart), a fresh perspective on TV in 1989 — especially in animation. But it’s the never-ending supply of pop culture jokes, inside references, and oddball Springfield residents that has kept the show going for over two decades.

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October 26th, 1881, was the famous shootout at the OK Corral. In what Arizona town was it located?

Shootout at the OK Corral - Oct 26, 1881 - HISTORY.com This Day in History: 10/26/1881 - Shootout at the OK Corral In this "This Day in History" video clip learn about different events that have occurred on October 26th. Some of the events include the last case of small pox and the first baboon to human heart transplant. Also, the Patriot Act was passed and the Earps had their showdown at the OK Corral. Lead Story Shootout at the OK Corral Share this: Shootout at the OK Corral Author Shootout at the OK Corral URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1881, the Earp brothers face off against the Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. After silver was discovered nearby in 1877, Tombstone quickly grew into one of the richest mining towns in the Southwest. Wyatt Earp, a former Kansas police officer working as a bank security guard, and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, the town marshal, represented “law and order” in Tombstone, though they also had reputations as being power-hungry and ruthless. The Clantons and McLaurys were cowboys who lived on a ranch outside of town and sidelined as cattle rustlers, thieves and murderers. In October 1881, the struggle between these two groups for control of Tombstone and Cochise County ended in a blaze of gunfire at the OK Corral. On the morning of October 25, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury came into Tombstone for supplies. Over the next 24 hours, the two men had several violent run-ins with the Earps and their friend Doc Holliday. Around 1:30 p.m. on October 26, Ike’s brother Billy rode into town to join them, along with Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne. The first person they met in the local saloon was Holliday, who was delighted to inform them that their brothers had both been pistol-whipped by the Earps. Frank and Billy immediately left the saloon, vowing revenge. Around 3 p.m., the Earps and Holliday spotted the five members of the Clanton-McLaury gang in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral, at the end of Fremont Street. The famous gunfight that ensued lasted all of 30 seconds, and around 30 shots were fired. Though it’s still debated who fired the first shot, most reports say that the shootout began when Virgil Earp pulled out his revolver and shot Billy Clanton point-blank in the chest, while Doc Holliday fired a shotgun blast at Tom McLaury’s chest. Though Wyatt Earp wounded Frank McLaury with a shot in the stomach, Frank managed to get off a few shots before collapsing, as did Billy Clanton. When the dust cleared, Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead, and Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were wounded. Ike Clanton and Claiborne had run for the hills. Sheriff John Behan of Cochise County, who witnessed the shootout, charged the Earps and Holliday with murder. A month later, however, a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty, ruling that they were “fully justified in committing these homicides.” The famous shootout has been immortalized in many movies, including Frontier Marshal (1939), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), Tombstone (1993) and Wyatt Earp (1994). Related Videos

Tombstone, Arizona

Which Peanuts character waits up every Halloween night for a visit from the Great Pumpkin?

The OK Corral, Tombstone, Arizona is located 70 miles from Tucson Arizona, a must see for old west history buffs. The site of the famous shootout, this old west town has much to do and see. Site of the infamous gun battle between Wyatt Earp and the Clanton's it is a fantastic place full of history. With five museums and daily gunfights, this old west town takes the visitor back to the 1880's and the life and times of Wyatt Earp and his lawmen companions. Life size figures of lawman Earp and Doc Holliday stand in the exact position they were in on October 26, 1881. With gunfights three times a day, a great place to get the feel of the old west. Also in Tombstone, is The Tombstone Epitaph newspaper office, oldest newspaper office in the west, with the original printing press there on display. The fantastic history comes to life here at the OK Corral. With Tombstone's humble beginnings as a silver mining town, one can see historic blacksmiths at work and enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides through town. With many old photographs of Geronimo, and a tour of Doc Holliday's hotel room, Tombstone has it all for one interested in the old west and the gunfight that made Wyatt Earp famous. When in Tucson, Arizona a great place to visit is the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Here in the town the old west comes alive, with daily shows every 30 minutes and exciting exhibits on display Search:

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Who penned the classic mystery novel And Then There Were None?

Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’: Morten Tyldum To Direct Fox Movie | Deadline Agatha Christie EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Fox has acquired the feature rights to Agatha Christie ’s classic mystery novel And Then There Were None , and the studio has set The Imitation Game‘s Morten Tyldum to direct. Eric Heisserer will adapt Christie’s 1939 novel, which has sold more than 100 million copies to establish itself as the all-time biggest-selling mystery novel. The film will be produced by 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen, along with Hilary Strong and the author’s estate, Agatha Christie Productions. Daria Cercek will oversee for Fox. Sony Engaging 'Imitation Game' Helmer Morten Tyldum For Space Saga 'Passengers' The novel follows 10 strangers who are tempted to come to Soldier Island for different reasons. They soon realize they were brought there under false pretenses and are trapped, and are being bumped off one by one for crimes we learn they committed but were never punished for. They begin to realize that the killer is one of the 10. Levy’s 21 Laps has been pursuing this for years; the production company has previously worked with Heisserer on the Ted Chiang short-story adaptations Story Of Your Life and Understand. They pitched a take that got the Christie estate excited. Tyldum is a big fan of the novel and he helped hone the pitch. Tyldum, whose The Imitation Game was a Best Picture Oscar nominee, is now in production on Passengers, the Jon Spaights-scripted science fiction film that stars Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt at Sony. The producers just wrapped the sci-fi thriller Story Of Your Life at Paramount. Pic’s directed by Sicario helmer Denis Villeneuve, and stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. 21 Laps also wrapped the Jeff Blitz-directed comedy Table 19 and are about to get underway with the Ice Cube-Charlie Day-starrer Fist Fight and the John Hamburg comedy Why Him? at Fox, along with the Netflix horror series Stranger Things. WME reps Tyldum, Heisserer, RLJ Productions and 21 Laps. Tyldum is managed by Anonymous Content, and Heisserer by Art/Work.

Agatha Christie

What is the main alcoholic ingredient in the cocktail known as a zombie?

“And Then There Were None” Trailer — Lifetime Miniseries based on Agatha Christie’s Classic Murder-Mystery Novel with Sam Neill, Toby Stephens, Charles Dance and more source:   mylifetime.com , youtube.com added: Thu, Mar 3rd '16 Ten strangers stuck on a secluded island. A mysterious host with a hidden and deadly agenda. Dinner, murder, and a creepy death poem. It's all part of a "cruel hoax," Charles Dance declares in the trailer for "And Then There Were None," Lifetime's upcoming two-night miniseries based on Agatha Christie's 1939 classic murder-mystery novel. The former "Game of Thrones" star is among the many British actors who shape the production's strong ensemble cast that includes Sam Neill, Toby Stephens, Miranda Richardson, Noah Taylor, Douglas Booth, Maeve Dermody, Burn Gorman, Anna Maxwell Martin, and Aidan Turner. Directed by British helmer Craig Viveiros (The Liability) and adapted by British writer Sarah Phelps (Dickensian, The Casual Vacancy, EastEnders), the two-part mystery thriller, which already aired in the UK in late December, will be making its American debut next week, premiering Sunday, March 13th on the Lifetime Network. synopsis: Set in 1939 while Europe teeters on the brink of war, "And Then There Were None" follows ten strangers with dubious pasts who are lured to Soldier Island, an isolated rock near the Devon coast in southern England. Cut off from the mainland, with their hosts mysteriously absent, they are each accused of a terrible crime, and when members of the party start to mysteriously die, they all realize they may be harboring a murderer among their number. Who will survive? And who is the killer?   directed by   Craig Viveiros starring   Sam Neill, Toby Stephens, Charles Dance, Miranda Richardson, Noah Taylor, Douglas Booth, Maeve Dermody, Burn Gorman, Anna Maxwell Martin, Aidan Turner release date   March 13, 2016 (U.S., on the Lifetime Network)  

i don't know

Who wrote the novel It, which sees Derry, Maine terrorized at 28 year intervals by a entity that calls itself "Pennywise the Dancing Clown?

It by Stephen King — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists See all 18 answers Lindsey Albright While I love the book, it's easily one of my favorites, if you aren't enjoying it, don't beat yourself up about not finishing it. Someone far more …more While I love the book, it's easily one of my favorites, if you aren't enjoying it, don't beat yourself up about not finishing it. Someone far more intelligent than I once told me that he didn't bother with a book if it didn't capture his interest by the first 50 pages. Life's too short to suffer through books you don't enjoy. If it's not for you, there's no shame in that. (less) See all 5 answers Julie I always thought the reason none of them were able to have children is because once we become parents (even as teenagers) we have to completely grow …more I always thought the reason none of them were able to have children is because once we become parents (even as teenagers) we have to completely grow up and become responsible for another life. Parents can no longer believe in the monster in the closet or under the bed because they will have to convince their child IT doesn't exist. Once we start telling "lies" enough, we start to believe them. If any of the Losers had had children, the "magic" they possessed as children would have been gone completely. They would have forgotten about IT and that part of their childhood forever. (less) Shelves: owned-books , horror , coming-of-age , favorites , own-in-paperback , own-in-hardcover , big-tomes , reviewed , classic-horror The most important things are the hardest things to say, because words diminish them... Some time ago the wise bald (or white) heads stationed at various universities came to an agreement that a literary form, commonly known as the novel, is dead - fewer and fewer works of any significance are written each year. Of course, one must understand the requirements the wise gentlemen expect of a novel of worth: it would be good if the writer would include some "aesthetic dignity" by including as much a The most important things are the hardest things to say, because words diminish them... Some time ago the wise bald (or white) heads stationed at various universities came to an agreement that a literary form, commonly known as the novel, is dead - fewer and fewer works of any significance are written each year. Of course, one must understand the requirements the wise gentlemen expect of a novel of worth: it would be good if the writer would include some "aesthetic dignity" by including as much allusions and connections to other previous works of literature - consciously, that is. The language must also be exquisite; preferably obsure and as incomprehensible as possible, drawing from earlier works of worth and including metaphors and allusions to them. If the author by any chance happens to include a plot in his work, there is a good percentage of possibility that his work will be deemed unworthy, and forever excluded by the adacemia. Or at least as long as these wise gentlemen live. Of course, the reader is not expected to understand, not to mention enjoy the work of worth - no one reads anymore, the wise men would say; people read rubbish like Danielle Steel when Bold & Beautiful is not on the TV. And, by God, no such novel of worth can ever be popular - after all, the intelligence level required to appreciate it is apparently not met by the 90% of world population. A literary figure who is as popular and appreciated like The Beatles? Whose work is admired by thousands of people? And the possibility that these people might learn something from it? That is simply not possible - the wise heads mutter in unison - that is simply not possible! Ask people who know! Ask us! History, as we know it, has a nasty habit of repeating itself - though in this case something good might actually come out of it. Writers have been criticized before - most notably Twain and Dickens - and yet, their work is still read and loved by whole generations of readers. Their fiction is taught in schools. Huckleberry Finn has been deemed as vulgar and impropable, much od Dickens's work was described as overtly sentimental, but it prevailed - which can't be said about those who concerned themselved with being the so-called "Arbiters of Literature". In the end, they couldn't grind the knives because they weren't theirs to wield. The bones of those who tried to define "literature" perished; the works they so often tried to banish did not. No one remembers (or cares) about those who tried to defy the power of Twain or Dickens; they are immortal through their works. People perish; books do not. No one cares about the boy's club of the literati, who cry out words of rage from the ivory tower, instead of helping people understand the joy of reading, understanding and believing. The main principle of art is to evoke; the problem is, not many of the educated seem to understand that even simple things can evoke great emotions. But they too will go down in history without leaving any mark on it, forgotten and alone; and I believe that there will be a lot of bodies turning in their graves when some titles enter the school curriculum. "IT" by all means, is not a simple novel. To classify it as a "horror" story is the same as saying that "Moby Dick" is a very long manual on whaling. To say that it is all about the monster is to say that the whale is the villain of the piece. We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God’s sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they’d allowed to wither in themselves. -Robert McCammon Although vulnerable and physically weak, two factors that make them perfect victims, children posess strenght that most adults had lost in the painful process of maturing - the strenght of imagination. A child feels and experiences emotions much more intensely than an adult, but their unique imaginative capacity allows it to cope with the seemingly impropable much more efficiently. Hence when in 'Salem's Lot an adult faces a vampire, he fells down dead from a heart attack. When a child faces one, he is able to go to sleep ten minutes later. As King puts it, "Such is the difference between men and boys". King has been depicting children throughout his whole career, and his child characters have subsequently grown older, along with his own children. "IT" is in my opinion his best novel with child protagonists; his most elaborate, complex one. It's also one of his longest, if not the longest. The lenght is appropriate, because of the theme: After all, it deals with childhood. Childhood defies Time; a day can last forever, and the summers are endless. And then we grow up, all these years pass, just like a blink. Kids are bent. They think around corners. But starting at roughly age eight, when childhood's second great era begins, the kinks begin to straighten out, one by one. The boundaries of thought and vision begin to close down to a tunnel as we gear up to get along. -Stephen King, Danse Macabre Children also posess another one of the invaluable assets that most adults strive to grasp, and it still seeps through their fingers, like sand: Time. Children experience the passing of time differently not because time actually slows down for them (that would be a neat thing indeed) but because they occupy a vastly different social position than that of an average adult. Most adults are forced to work and take care of their families, offspring included. Their imagination is dimmed by the countless hours spent on labor, and for most it never really comes back...the disilusions of experience push it farther abd farther down in the dungeons of the mind, until we finally forget that it was even there in the first place. Until we forget what we are possible of...what adventures we can create, what worlds and realms, completely out of the whole cloth. When you are a child the hours lazily pass by, the only important matter is to get home from school and after throwing the backpack in a corner going to get your friends and hanging out with them till dinner...and then go hang out with them some more. The imagination is an eye, a marvelous third eye that floats free. As children, that eye sees with 20/20 clarity. As we grow older, its vision begins to dim . . . and one day the guy at the door lets you into the bar without asking to see any ID and that's it for you, Cholly; your hat is over the windmill. It's in your eyes. Something in your eyes. Check them out in the mirror and tell me if I'm wrong. The job of the fantasy writer, or the horror writer, is to bust the walls of that tunnel vision wide for a little while; to provide a single powerful spectacle for that third eye. The job of the fantasy-horror writer is to make you, for a little while, a child again. Most children experience more during one summer vacation than some adults throughout their whole life; They have their precious innocence, they haven't been spoiled by work, by taxes, by bills and other things that each of us has to face at some point in life. There is always food in the fridge, and there is always roof over the head; and if there is not, there is always hope that there eventually will be, and friends that help to keep it. Children do more and see more because they can; when school ends, the day is theirs. Their schedule is not as strict as that of an adult; their duties not as responsible. Therefore, they do not have to trouble themselves with money and shelter, and even if they do they are easily able to push these matters away and concentrate completely on what they are doing right here and now. With little breaks for homework and chores children can spend the whole day playing make-believe with their precious friends, and sometimes the boundaries between the real and the imagined become thin, and sometimes they vanish altogether. Sometimes their thoughts take shapes...and sometimes their fears do too. Sometimes they joy is almost tangible...and sometimes the boogeymen come out of the closet. And sometimes they are real. "IT" is a story of a group of children who are not among the most popular, strongest or smartest; a tale about the group of seven friends living in Derry, Maine in 1958. They form the self-called "losers" club and encounter a horrible, awesome force lurking in their hometown...a force feeding on fear and devouring young children. A force that adults do not seem to see; a force that appears as a clown, holding a hand full of baloons. The seven children all have one thing in common: they encountered IT. They had all escaped...and that one summer of 58, the seven friends have confronted and defeated IT. Or so they had thought. 28 years later a young homosexual is thrown off a bridge in Derry...it seems like a classic, clear case of homophobia, but the testimony of one of the witnesses changes everything. He claims he has seen a clown under the bridge...a clown and a cloud of balloons. Mike Hanlon, the sole member of the losers who remained in Derry calls the others and reminds them of the promise they had made all these years ago...a promise sealed in blood. A vow to return if IT wasn't dead. If IT will come back. And apparently, IT has. Can they face IT again? Can they go back to the horror they have long forgotten? They faced the terror as children. It was their time to take action, and they managed to fight it. Now they are all grown-up...but it is their time,too. Will the monster be bested...or will IT FEED? "IT" is composed of two nonlinear narratives. The first is the story of 1958, where we meet the children and they first encounter IT; King effortlesly interleaves this timeline with the story of 1985, where the adults return to Derry to fight IT, basing on research that has been done on the subject and their returning memories. IT avoids the problems of most other lenghty books: plot threads that go nowhere. Each of them is important, and only adds to the suspense and builds up to the shattering climax. If there is a thing which places King above most other writers, it certainly is his great understandning of adolescence. Few others manage to write so vividly and convinclingly about childhood and coming of age. The unquestionably hard time of growing up - school, bullies, parents, first crushes - they are all here, and the reader feels as if he himself was experiencing them. King allowed me to re-live my past again; I wasn't around in 1958, but if I were I would undoubtedly be one of the boys. It is truly an impressive experience to read how King builds his characters and the world they live in. Which of course includes stormdrains...which might be empty, but then they might be not. IT also manages to adress important social topics: racism, prejudice, domestic abuse. But most importantly it is a story about friendship and childhood: How it irrevocably binds people together and affect their lives. About the power of memory and imagination; about the terror of the familiar world which hides many secrets around the corners and down in the sewers. It's a study of children facing the uncanny, and overcoming their greatest fear: the fear of being alone in fright. IT is a story of seven friends, each different, each indispensable and irreplaceable. stuttering Bill Denbrough, the unlikely group leader; Ben Hansocom, an overweight boy, with a talent for architecture; Riche Tozier, the brilliant witty boy of many voices; Mike Hanlon, the black kid who comes to the group to find acceptance and finds it; Eddie Kaspbrak, the asthmatic and fragile boy who finds within the group a thing he has never dreamed of - courage; Stan Uris, a sensible boy who brings understanding; and Beverly March, the sole girl in the group, an redhead who is both sweet and tough, and helps the boys in most dire of moments. King has proven himself earlier to be capable of producing an epic narrative (The Stand in 1978), but I think that IT is equal to - or even surpasses - the story of the plague. This is a brilliant novel, beautifully told in crisp, clear prose, with truly unforgettable characters and situations. It is the essence of good fiction; the truth inside the lie. King knows his way around the corners; and has that undefiniable look in the eye, the dreamy look of a child. His words are the best set of toys he ever had; and he's generous enough to share them with us. And when he's showing us how his trains travel along the tracks of his imagination and where they go to, we won't dare to blink because we could miss a minute of the experience...even when the carriage passes through some dark tunnels. And if it is the work of an "inadequate writer", a producer of "penny dreadfuls", without any "aesthetic value" or other high-flown pretentious gibberish babbled by people who would most likely want to cast Stephen King and his readers to hell for destroying the image of "Literary Reader"? Like Huck Finn, I'd shout loud "All right, then, I'll GO to hell!" Literary Heaven might have a better climate; but Literary Hell sure has better company. Oct 28, 2014 Khanh (the Grinch) rated it really liked it I'm not easily scared these days. As a grown woman, the only thing that brings the feeling of dread into my heart is the constant pinging of new work emails requiring my attention when I'm at home, but there was a time when I was a shy, delicate, sweet little girl who was scared of my own shadow. Proof: not exactly the terror you see haunting the hallowed halls of Goodreads handing out 1 stars like they're candy these days. It wasn't until I was around 20 that I outgrew my fear of scary creatures I'm not easily scared these days. As a grown woman, the only thing that brings the feeling of dread into my heart is the constant pinging of new work emails requiring my attention when I'm at home, but there was a time when I was a shy, delicate, sweet little girl who was scared of my own shadow. Proof: not exactly the terror you see haunting the hallowed halls of Goodreads handing out 1 stars like they're candy these days. It wasn't until I was around 20 that I outgrew my fear of scary creatures and things, and stopped tucking in my toes between the blankets, lest they get eaten by monsters, but before that happened...there was It. I can say with complete confidence that this goddamn book (and the movie) scarred me for life. A sentiment that I'm sure many of you who have read the book and seen the movie echoes. I remember the exact moment I saw this movie. It's not something one forgets. I was 16 years old. I was in Academic Decathlon competition in high school, and after studying for the competition, our little group decided on a movie night. The selection: Stephen King's It. From the moment that goddamn clown popped up on the screen from beneath the sewer, I knew this was a terrible, no-good, bad idea. I spent the rest of the movie hovering on the edge of my seat, crouched between my best friends, hands either over my eyes or clamped over my mouth to suppress my screams. I went home. I didn't sleep that night. Neither did I get much sleep for the next two weeks. A few months later, it was winter. Spirit of the season. Clowns can't haunt me when it's Christmas, right? I was brave enough to actually read the book this time. Bad idea. So in closing, damn you, Stephen King. Out of all your books, this one has scarred me most. These days, I maintain a terror of two things: mummies (long story), and clowns. I can no longer visit theme parks at Halloween. Thank you, Mr. King. You shouldn't have. No, you really shouldn't have. ...more You can't be clowning about IT!!! THOSE TERRIFYING CLOWNS It was easier to be brave when you were someone else. It's kinda..."funny" how such characters that they are supposed to make us laugh, you can find just too much examples of "evil clowns", many from fantasy but even at least one from horrific reality, that you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley...or any place at all!!! The Joker, Stitches, Homie from The Simpsons, Punchinello from Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy, The Killer Klowns from You can't be clowning about IT!!! THOSE TERRIFYING CLOWNS It was easier to be brave when you were someone else. It's kinda..."funny" how such characters that they are supposed to make us laugh, you can find just too much examples of "evil clowns", many from fantasy but even at least one from horrific reality, that you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley...or any place at all!!! The Joker, Stitches, Homie from The Simpsons, Punchinello from Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy, The Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Doctor Who's Robot Clowns, Spawn's Violator, Rob Zombie's Captain Spaulding, Fucko from the film Scary or Die, The Clown Doll from the film Amusement, also the quite recently Twisty from the Fourth Season of American Horror Story, and even John Wayne Gacy aka The Killer Clown. And those are only the examples that came easier to my mind and that I watched or read about at some point. So, why society is so inclined to accept and being really scared of a kind of character that was supposed to make us laugh? Of course, if they are chasing us with butcher knives, that helps to input the scary factor, but be honest, even in the first moment that you watch them, before they would do anything nasty, you are already scared with them. They look terrifying! Just like the one that it's breathing behind you right now... THE POWER OF LIES We lie best when we lie to ourselves. Sorry for the lie on the last line of the previous section. But it was just to introduce the most powerful element of this novel... the lies. I think that Stephen King, showed us how powerful can be the lies. The Losers Club were lying themselves pretending that nothing unusual happened on their childhoods. Even some of them were keep lying to themselves that their adult lives were okay. Lying in such powerful way that their memories are fractured. The people of Derry were lying themselves about the sexual preferences of some of their fellow neighbours. The town's Police officers are lying on their reports. Some moms were lying that their children had some illness. Pennywise is lying about ITs own appearance to everybody. Lies, lies, lies, some of us prefer to lie ourselves than facing our lives. The temptation of lying and creating false "realities" instead of dealing with the harsh truths. Lying ourselves instead of facing the monsters in our lives. Even sometimes, lying ourselves that we should deal with the monsters alone when there are people around us willing to help us, if we just tell the truth. ...more Shelves: own Some parts were truly creepy at first and initially, as often happens with King, I couldn't put it down. But then, as often happens with King, it hits a brick wall and becomes so over-long and has so many unnecessary elements that get in the way of the main story that it becomes a bloated, endless chore to finish. People often say they hate the ending of this book...I did not hate it or love it. I had checked out at that point and simply wanted it to be over no matter who lived or died or whethe Some parts were truly creepy at first and initially, as often happens with King, I couldn't put it down. But then, as often happens with King, it hits a brick wall and becomes so over-long and has so many unnecessary elements that get in the way of the main story that it becomes a bloated, endless chore to finish. People often say they hate the ending of this book...I did not hate it or love it. I had checked out at that point and simply wanted it to be over no matter who lived or died or whether they defeated It or not. This book is at least 300 pages too long and that is the least that could have been completely cut out without hurting the story in the slightest. Included in those 300+ pages are some particularly disturbing sequences and elements which were just sickening, unnecessary and, to me, actually took away from the main story. The events and elements that killed "It" for me: 1. A bizarre, out-of-nowhere scene portraying sex play between two male pre-teen, would-be murderous bullies--which had nothing to do with the story and led nowhere. 2. An extended description of animal torture/killing--which stemmed from the bully in the sex-play, which had nothing to do with the story and ultimately, again, was pointless and unnecessary. 3. A detailed description of a kid murdering a baby sibling. No point, nothing to do with the story. Again. 4. The use of the "N" word more in one place than I have ever read or heard in my life combined. Not necessary, nothing to do with the main part of the story. 5. And, the scene which blew me away and pretty much made me feel I had wasted time getting that far in: a gang-bang consisting of nothing but 11 and 12-year-olds. What the F***? And when I say "gang bang" I mean it--six boys banging the girl back-to-back. Only abnormal people do not raise an eyebrow at this scene and try to defend it as being "natural" and "normal." It's neither and most decent people would be bothered by this segment. So, aside from those main awful things the other annoying elements: the character of Richie. I skipped a lot of his dialogue. I wanted to punch him in the face just for being annoying. And every time he did his "Mexican" voice I just cringed and skipped the next couple lines. Never has a character in a BOOK annoyed me so, so much. I was hoping he would die. Their stupid inside joke of "Beep-beep, Richie." By the twelve thousandth time one of them said this I wanted to just throw the book across the room. Painful to read. In the end King took a super creepy story and concept which he could have effectively told in probably 500 pages and blew it up to over 1,000 with too much detail in certain parts, too much back story in others and too many subplots which didn't matter. All of which pretty much wiped out any fear or creepiness for me. By the time I got 700 or so pages in I simply was not scared, not creeped out, no longer interested and didn't care how it ended as long as it ended soon. I am aware that some people will feel that I "just don't get it" with my review and complaints. I am totally fine with that. I am totally fine not "getting it" when it comes to this type of thing. :) Too bad. Started off as five stars for me and crumbled onto itself into two stars. Shelves: favorites , books-everyone-should-read , scare-the-pants-off-ya , most-excellent-audio , hands-down-favorites , coming-of-age , like-a-meth-addiction , all-hail-the-crimson-king Let me take you all on a tour, kids. We’re going to everyone’s favorite place- Derry, Maine! We’re going to do some sight-seeing while I talk about the book that is my absolute hands-down #1 book of ALL TIME. And no, it is NOT Harry Potter! Shocking, I know! (That always surprises people.) Anyway, my name is Annie Wilkes Stepheny and I’ll be your tour guide! We’re going to go where it all begins- the most infamous storm drain in all the lands. This is the storm drain where Pennywise offers little Let me take you all on a tour, kids. We’re going to everyone’s favorite place- Derry, Maine! We’re going to do some sight-seeing while I talk about the book that is my absolute hands-down #1 book of ALL TIME. And no, it is NOT Harry Potter! Shocking, I know! (That always surprises people.) Anyway, my name is Annie Wilkes Stepheny and I’ll be your tour guide! We’re going to go where it all begins- the most infamous storm drain in all the lands. This is the storm drain where Pennywise offers little Georgie a balloon. “We all float down here, Georgie.” But trust me, kiddos, you don’t want to float. Our next stops will show you a few of the major landmarks in Derry. Ben Hanscomb, literary boyfriend #2, spent a good amount of his childhood at the library. Pennywise is also fond of that library. Next we will visit the Paul Bunyan statue. That tool in his hand is a good indicator that this is in Maine. It is the ONLY Paul Bunyan statue in the country where he is holding that tool. It was created in Maine and that is why he is displaying it here.(And no, I don't know what it's called, just that it is used to pick up and move logs.) Richie was resting on a bench after being chased by Henry Bowers and Co when he is “awoken” by this statue coming to life. Paul proceeds to chase Richie down the streets of Derry while swinging his ax! Was Richie dreaming or did it really happen? The Kissing Bridge where poor Adrian Mellon was thrown off for being a homosexual can be spotted in downtown Derry. The sad reality of this is that a teenage boy who was openly homosexual was actually thrown off of this canal in Bangor. The boy would have survived with only broken legs had the degenerates who threw him over gone down and turned him over. He was asthmatic and landed face down in mere inches of water. It was enough to seal his fate. He died and inspired two separate aspects of this story. Now we’ll stop by Bev’s house and see if she wants to go down to the Barrens with us. Hopefully she doesn’t have any more blood pouring out of her bathroom sink. Lord knows I don’t want to clean anymore of that up! Bev’s house is mentioned several times throughout the book and her status as “poor” is emphasized. This house, which is multiple apartments, is exactly how I had envisioned it. And no joke, there was a shady-looking-drug-dealer- type who came out of nowhere to add to the overall effect! Yikes! Moving right along, now! We’ll head on down to the Barrens now and see if we can catch up with the gang! Oh! I see Silver propped up against the same tree. Stuttering Bill, Eddie, Mike, Richie, Stan and Ben must be down here. We’ll drop Bevvie off and take a few pictures before moving on. Ah, the Barrens. When visiting them in April instead of high Summer, one will find a raging rapid resembling a river. But be not fooled my friends! For in the summer the water is almost nonexistent; it is a trickle if you’re lucky. When the Losers hang out down here there is some water, but not anything such as this. But, you can still see the allure of a place like this for kids. It is still a very popular hangout for them to this day.The place where the Losers enter into Pennywise’s lair can be seen in the bottom right hand picture. That is the exact spot King had in mind. *shudders* Our last stop is one of the most breath-taking spots. It is the highest point in all of Bangor Derry. It holds the Standpipe in all its beautiful glory. All of the woodwork is original and it stands proudly looking out over the city. Directly in front of it sits the bird observatory where Stan often came to do some birdwatching. And the bench that you can see me sitting on grinning like an idiot who just won the lottery? What is that bench you ask? Well, kids, that is THE bench…. *gulps* the bench that Stephen King sat to write IT. He sat out there on that very bench for hours with a legal pad*** and one leg resting casually over the other one while he worked on a masterpiece. I was overwhelmed when I sat there. Truly. When I try to articulate what it is this book means to me I find myself incapable of speech. I get frustrated with trying to explain so much at once; at trying to narrow down the vast meaning in this book. I get very upset when people refer to it as “the one with the serial killer clown”. It is so much more than that. And I mean that both ways- IT is more than just a clown in the book and IT the book is so much more than a book about a clown. It is about belief. The belief that your friends will be by your side through the worst part of your life. The belief* that they will share in the great times as well. The belief that magic is real and it is real because you believe it to be. It is about the belief you have in yourself that you are strong and capable of conquering anything that stands in your way. IT is about love, friendship and empowerment. All the proof of that I need is in the Apocalyptic Rock Fight. It’s about standing up to those who try to beat you down- whether physically, mentally or spiritually. It is about taking control of your life and your destiny. It’s about accepting responsibility even when you don’t want to. I love this book as it has become a part of me. It’s ingrained in me; a part of my very soul. Whenever I revisit it I am surprised to find I am crying at a different part. This time, (view spoiler) [ it was that they should forget…again. That all they did and accomplished together should be taken from them. Their memory of each other…gone. (hide spoiler) ]. That just broke my heart. I don’t recommend IT for everyone or just anyone. IT is one of my “special reserve recommendations” that get handed out to those I trust with it. I can’t bear to think someone could read this book and not see what I see or feel what I feel.** It hurts my heart too much to think of that. But, know if I have recommended it or suggested it to you that I believe you to be of a strong character; a fellow Loser. I do hope you have all enjoyed my tour. I suppose I should let you get back home now. If you’re walking- look out for those drains! Sweet dreams tonight, kids. It’s been fun! *Thanks, Delee! ;) **For all of the potential trolls- I know AND understand that people have varying opinions on books. I get it. I just mean that this book means too much to me to go handing it out willy-nilly to people who are going to read it without understanding it or even trying to. /rant ***pad not pen Shelves: favorites , stephen-king It (Eso) es una de mis obras favoritas de King. Y, para mí, la mejor. Tenemos a un grupo de amigos, los autodenominados Los Perdedores, integrado por William «Bill» Denbrough, Benjamin «Ben» Hanscom, Beverly «Bev» Marsh, Richard «Richie» Tozier, Edward «Eddie» Kaspbrak, Michael «Mike» Hanlon y Stanley «Stan» Uris. Son chicos marginados, víctimas del acoso escolar y de la xenofobia. Son amigos que por separado pueden parecer débiles, pero juntos forman una fortaleza inquebrantable. Así se enfrent It (Eso) es una de mis obras favoritas de King. Y, para mí, la mejor. Tenemos a un grupo de amigos, los autodenominados Los Perdedores, integrado por William «Bill» Denbrough, Benjamin «Ben» Hanscom, Beverly «Bev» Marsh, Richard «Richie» Tozier, Edward «Eddie» Kaspbrak, Michael «Mike» Hanlon y Stanley «Stan» Uris. Son chicos marginados, víctimas del acoso escolar y de la xenofobia. Son amigos que por separado pueden parecer débiles, pero juntos forman una fortaleza inquebrantable. Así se enfrentarán a los chicos que los hostigan por ser diferentes, liderados por los crueles Henry Bowers y Patrick Hockstetter. Simultaneamente, desafiaran a Eso. Eso es un ser que despierta, aproximadamente, cada 25 años para alimentarse. El primer tiempo transcurre en 1957/1958, años en los que despierta nuevamente cobrándose su primera víctima, George, el hermano menor de Bill. Y ahí es donde comienza la historia. Pennywise eligió un mal momento para regresar, ya que se va a tener que enfrentar a Los Perdedores, ese peculiar grupo de amigos que lo tratará de derrotar y así impedir que siga asesinando. El segundo tiempo transcurre en 1985, cuando los chicos ya son adultos y Mike Hanlon, por una promesa realizada en 1958, les escribe diciéndoles que Eso ha vuelto. Por lo tanto se ven obligados a volver a Derry, al lugar donde comenzó todo, para esta vez derrotarlo por siempre y evitar que siga haciendo más daño. El libro es una completa obra maestra. Resalta por ser una de las historias más terroríficas de Stephen King. Es una joya del género de terror y de la literatura en general. Su edición de bolsillo consta de 1504 páginas y ninguna tiene desperdicio. Los personajes están excelsamente desarrollados, lo que hace imposible no sentirlos como reales, lo que hace imposible separarse de ellos. En cuanto al ritmo narrativo, es lento y, en algunas partes, pesado. Esto no es un defecto, sino lo contrario: una muestra de un armado minucioso que absorberá en la historia hasta al más receloso lector. Con respecto al final tengo que decir que me dejó al borde de las lágrimas. King suele fallar con sus cierres, pero, en mi opinión, este es la excepción. «Tal vez no existen los buenos y los malos amigos; tal vez solo hay amigos, gente que nos apoya cuando sufrimos y que nos ayuda a no sentirnos tan solos. Tal vez siempre vale la pena sentir miedo por ellos, y esperanzas, y vivir por ellos. Tal vez también valga la pena morir por ellos, si así debe ser. No hay buenos amigos, no hay malos amigos. Solo hay personas con las que uno quiere estar, necesita estar; gente que construyó su casa en nuestro corazón». Los Perdedores es un grupo entrañable. Son chicos inseguros de sí mismos, llenos de problemas, de adversidades, de sufrimiento, y juntos logran encontrar una salida entre tanta injusticia. Unidos se sienten especiales, pero no en el mal sentido, juntos le encuentran otro significado a la palabra especial. Jamás me olvidaré de Bill, Ben, Stan, Bev, Eddie, Mike y Richie. Me enseñaron a cómo ver la vida. A enfrentarme a ella sin miedo, pero sabiendo bien mis límites. Que no es necesario compartir sangre para ser familia. Que no es necesario ser perfecto para ser feliz. Que estar rodeado de lo que te hace bien es la mejor manera de afrontar lo que te hace mal. Esos amigos me enseñaron que cualquiera puede ser un héroe, siempre y cuando se tenga el apoyo correcto. La vida es luz, y esa luz son todas las cosas que te hacen bien, el resto es oscuridad. Shelves: 2013 , lendable , kitten-squisher In 1958, seven kids took it upon themselves to rid the town of Derry of a child killer that took the form of a killer clown. In 1985, the clown is back and the kids return to Derry to finish what they started... Yeah, I'm a couple decades late to the party on this one. So what? Some friends were doing a group read and I decided it was time to tackle this kitten squisher. While it's a horror story, it's also about growing up and forgetting what it's like to be a kid. Stephen King does a great job a In 1958, seven kids took it upon themselves to rid the town of Derry of a child killer that took the form of a killer clown. In 1985, the clown is back and the kids return to Derry to finish what they started... Yeah, I'm a couple decades late to the party on this one. So what? Some friends were doing a group read and I decided it was time to tackle this kitten squisher. While it's a horror story, it's also about growing up and forgetting what it's like to be a kid. Stephen King does a great job at reminding me what it was like to hear noises in the night and fearing some monster is coming for you. In fact, It is the third Stephen King novel I've dreamed about while reading it, right up there with The Tommyknockers and the Dark Tower. The characters play well off each other and feel very real. It was all too easy to imagine playing in the barrens with the Losers or running from Henry Bowers and his gang. Having seen the mediocre TV miniseries from 1990, I was surprised by everything that was lost in translation. Lots more Pennywise in this, for one thing, and there was a lot more to the ending. As I've said in other reviews, even though I knew how things were going to turn out, King still had me on edge during some of the tense moments. In some ways, It felt like a trial run of some concepts that found their way into the Dark Tower. The kids were definitely a Ka-Tet and felt Gunslingerish. Also, the Turtle of amazing girth upon whose shell he holds the earth. My only gripe with the book was that I felt like it could have lost about 20% of the length and not lost a whole lot of story. There was a lot of extraneous crap. While some of it fleshed out Derry and made it feel real, some of it felt like no one had the guts to tell Sai King to cut it. In short, some places felt as bloated as a phone book left out in the rain. Was this the book where Stephen King went from "Stephen King, very successful author" to "Stephen King, no editor shall dare command me!"? This is either a high 3 or low 4. This King guy might have a future in this business. ...more Shelves: favorites , own , horror-etc , stephen-king 2017! Hello, welcome to Derry.. I'm Pennywise the Clown and at some point, especially if your a kid, I will eat your face off! Have a nice day! The first time I read this book was in the 6th grade and I had forgotten how good it was! I loved the movie as well, but the book is so much better! I love how Mr. King goes back and forth from when the friends were kids and to them as adults and what they do in life now, while they are on their way back to Derry. See, when they were young and all became f 2017! Hello, welcome to Derry.. I'm Pennywise the Clown and at some point, especially if your a kid, I will eat your face off! Have a nice day! The first time I read this book was in the 6th grade and I had forgotten how good it was! I loved the movie as well, but the book is so much better! I love how Mr. King goes back and forth from when the friends were kids and to them as adults and what they do in life now, while they are on their way back to Derry. See, when they were young and all became friends, they made a pact that if "IT" ever came back so would they. IT showed itself to them in many different creeptastic ways but "IT" showed itself more as Pennywise the Clown! Bill's little brother Georgie was the first one to be.. um.. eaten... by Pennywise. I'm sorry, I don't care how old I am, if I saw a creepy clown down in a drain-gutter thingy (leave me alone, I forgot the name!) I would have ran until I fell over! I mean..no..no...no.. and NO! Bill, Eddie, Ben, Richie, Stan, Beverly, and Mike are all friends. I love each of their separate stories and I love their friendship together. They are all picked on by the town bully/jerk named Henry Bowers, but when they are together Henry can just go on down the road when the little group gets their courage and attacks Henry and his gang. I love the camaraderie between the friends and how they believe each others stories of meeting Pennywise, even when he wasn't in clown form. They didn't ridicule each other, they watched out for each other the best they could. At one point they think they kill ole Pennywise, but after many years and the killing of kids starts happening again, Mike, who stayed in Derry at the library, calls everyone home. It's weird how they all forget anything that ever happened to them until they get that phone call. It's like they were made to forget. And there is sweet Pennywise to welcome them back! Uggggg, clowns!!!!!!!! I know there are some people out there that hasn't read the book so I won't give out any spoilers for them, but one of the group commits suicide before anything even gets started and another of the group gets killed before they kill Pennywise for good.. or is IT really dead? I think Mr. King should bring him back with a whole new set of peeps that have to take him out :) Yes, I'm not quite right in the head! This is a very long book to read, but you know good books like this one really doesn't matter the length, when they are written very well, it just doesn't seem like a tome. Well, with the exception of holding the book up if you have joint issues, just let it rest quietly on your lap tray while you read :) I didn't get bored not one time in this book, I did, however want to shoot a few people and of course Pennywise... but I digress. At the end Mr. King wrote: This book was begun in Bangor, Maine, on September 9th, 1981, and completed in Bangor, Maine, on December 28th, 1985. That's a good amount of time and would explain how freaking good the book was in all of the detail. The detail was just awesome! I'm going to leave you with one last thing........ THEY ALL FLOAT DOWN HERE..... Alligators in the sewers? Nope...much worse- a CLOWN! I never liked clowns- not even as a child- there was always something creepy about them to me- Stephen Kings IT convinced me even more- revisiting it as an adult- that clowns are baaaaaaaaad news and not to be trusted. October 1957- Derry, Maine- Six-year-old George Denbrough's brother- Bill is sick in bed- so George goes out alone on a rainy day to play with the paper boat Bill made for him. When the boat slides down a storm drain- George reac Alligators in the sewers? Nope...much worse- a CLOWN! I never liked clowns- not even as a child- there was always something creepy about them to me- Stephen Kings IT convinced me even more- revisiting it as an adult- that clowns are baaaaaaaaad news and not to be trusted. October 1957- Derry, Maine- Six-year-old George Denbrough's brother- Bill is sick in bed- so George goes out alone on a rainy day to play with the paper boat Bill made for him. When the boat slides down a storm drain- George reaches in to retrieve it and Pennywise the Clown offers to help him. It will be the last time anyone sees George alive- his death being the first of several child murders and disappearances in Derry. Several months later- a group of children are drawn together after being bullied by- Henry Bowers and his lackeys- to form the Losers Club: Bill Denbrough- The leader/planner Eddie Kaspbrak- The frail sickly one Ben Hanscom- The builder Stan Uris- The skeptic Mike Hanlon- The last to join ...and being bullied isn't the only thing this group of seven find they have in common- they have also had strange and frightening experiences that seem unbelievable -until they all come together and share their stories about "IT" with one another. IT must be stopped- and they will be the ones to do it. Swear to me. Swear to me that if IT isn't dead you'll all come back. July 1984- Derry, Maine- IT starts happening again and The Loser Club return to try to stop IT once and for all... 27 years ago I read IT for the first time...and even though I absolutely loved IT then- there was something about going back and reading IT now that I am old...er- that made IT seem more special- the friendships even more sweet and pure. ...and FYI- I swear I didn't plan out/or do the math- to read IT the second time at the 27 year mark- IT just happened that way by accident. Spooooooooooooky. Shelves: paperbacks , audio-books , 52-in-52-2015 , best-of-stephen-king WINNER: BEST RE-READ OF 2015! Upon finishing It, I always feel as if I've said goodbye to an old friend, one I only see every few years. I'm a bit sad, but mostly I'm happy that I got to spend what time I did with him (IT). He isn't perfect. He can be quite odd at times, but he's mostly fun to be around. I feel the need to defend him when people start downing on him, and to deride him when I catch him screwing up. I do not condone everything he does, but for the most part, he's a good dude, if a WINNER: BEST RE-READ OF 2015! Upon finishing It, I always feel as if I've said goodbye to an old friend, one I only see every few years. I'm a bit sad, but mostly I'm happy that I got to spend what time I did with him (IT). He isn't perfect. He can be quite odd at times, but he's mostly fun to be around. I feel the need to defend him when people start downing on him, and to deride him when I catch him screwing up. I do not condone everything he does, but for the most part, he's a good dude, if a little long winded. I can see why some people can't stand to be around him, yet he reminds me what it was like to be a kid, to be free, to wield that certain magic adults seem to forget how to use. So yes, until next time, I will miss my friend. (view spoiler) [ I understand why people become upset, and even enraged, at the scene which concludes the children's story of this book. Eleven years old is far too damn young for such activity. I agree. It's hard for even me to read. But, and this is a mighty large "but", I understand the necessity of Bev's actions. To break It's spell on them, the loser's club had to grow up, they had to "come of age" quickly, and the scene goes down the way it does. Like I said, I don't enjoy or condone the scene, but I understand it. Next, I'm honestly quite shocked that so many people believe that It's final form is a spider. It's stated over and over again that It's final form is actually the deadlights, that cold ball of orange light cast off at the edge of oblivion. The spider is only the form in which It has been caught in. Even in It's final chapter, It thinks about how stupid it was to trap itself in a physical form, and how that action would be its downfall. I don't think that half the people who have reviewed this book on Amazon and Goodreads actually finished the novel. I believe most of them watched the movie and called it enough. Now on to the last complaint most people have with this book. It ties directly into the Dark Tower series. You have mentions of the Beam and the Wheel, and, of course, you have the Turtle. If you have not read the Dark Tower series, all of this shit will go right over your head. I feel for ya, I do. King's a jerk (a talented jerk, mind you) for doing such. I think Stephen King firmly believes every person who reads his work will either eventually reread every novel, or read them in chronological order. Final bit of business; conspiracy theory time. As far as I know, no one else has come across these things, so I could be on to something, or completely fucking insane. Dig on this: Pennywise first introduces himself to Georgie as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, or, if you will, Mr. Bob Gray. The "grays" are King's aliens. The aliens in The Tommyknockers are not called Grays, but we're in the King verse and everything comes together eventually. The Grays are finally called as much in Dreamcatcher. In the chapter The Smokehouse in It, Ritchie and Mike see It crash land from somewhere. Not outer space, they feel, but somewhere else. In The Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher, King never tells us where the Grays came from. So here's my theory. The Grays are the Old Ones from the Dark Tower series. King never discusses the Old Ones other than to say that they were a technologically advanced race of beings. Once again, I may be wrong, but it's something worth considering. (hide spoiler) ] In summation: It was, is, and probably always will be my favorite Stephen King novel. No matter what problems it may have, it is a terrific accomplishment, and no amount of time will change that. Bill, Ben, Bev, Mike, Ritchie, Eddie, and even you Stan, I miss you already. Beep, beep, losers. Love, E. Shelves: reviewed , usa , rated-3-stars , own-paperback , horror , stephen-king , to-read-2016-priority , read-2016 , coming-of-age , expectations-were-high , the-cover-looks-amazing , friendship , will-be-a-classic-in-100-years , epic-saga , small-town-life , needed-two-attempts-to-get-through , rape-and-abuse , 1980s Three stars for this monstrous book which could easily be used as a murder weapon because of its enormous length. You may rub your eyes now and ask why the hell I gave this well-known and popular Stephen King classic with four- and five-star ratings everywhere only three stars, and you’d be completely correct to do so. Don’t rely on my rating, please (and even less on my review, as it consists mostly on piling up my random thoughts). A lot of people love this book more than I did, and while I app Three stars for this monstrous book which could easily be used as a murder weapon because of its enormous length. You may rub your eyes now and ask why the hell I gave this well-known and popular Stephen King classic with four- and five-star ratings everywhere only three stars, and you’d be completely correct to do so. Don’t rely on my rating, please (and even less on my review, as it consists mostly on piling up my random thoughts). A lot of people love this book more than I did, and while I appreciated a lot of its contents, they are doing so in a way which is completely justified. I could have loved it myself, if only there hadn’t been so many things which annoyed me. But first, let me explain why this book was even closer to two than four stars. In my past, I have never been scared by horror movies or books, and the reason for this is that I never watched horror movies and never read horror books. For me, clowns were just clowns, there was nothing that could have connected them to IT. I hadn’t even heard of most Stephen King novels until one or two years ago, and even until then, Pet Sematary was the only one I had at least some knowledge about. Last summer, I finally decided to give a Stephen King book a try, and it was Under the Dome which made me fall in love with his writing, his plots, his storylines, his characters. Carrie followed, and Different Seasons and Salem’s Lot and The Shining and The Dead Zone, and all of them were more or less good books. IT is even better, I can assure you. But liking all those books I have already read by Mr. King, the bar has been set high, and IT wasn’t able to compete with the other ones for me. There are three things Stephen King has done to me with this book: 1. I shiver whenever I hear the verb to float. This verb sounds horrifying to me after reading this novel, and I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. 2. In my childhood, I have always been afraid that one day I would turn on the shower and drops of blood would run out of it instead of water. Thank you, Mr. King, for bringing that fear back to me. 3. The biggest fear this book has plagued me with is not the fear of clowns, as it was the case with most readers of this. Nope, the biggest fear I have after reading this is the fear of reading more equally long King books. Out of the things which bothered me, the length was one of the most annoying parts. I don’t have anything against long books; in fact, I have never given a book with more than 800 pages less than three stars. But there is always an exception to the rule. If someone had asked me after the first 400 pages, this book would have received completely justified five stars. The premise was stunning, the characters were interesting, the twists shocking. If someone had asked me after the next 400 pages, this book would have received four stars, because even with all the awesomeness, it was still an exceptionally good book with a lot of intriguing moments. The third part of the story would have received a highly disappointed one star. There was too much unnecessary rambling going on, so much that something happened to me which I had never experienced before: I fell out of love with a book I had already fallen in love with during the first half. The last part of IT became better again, worthy of three stars, it offered decent conclusions and a lot of action, but it was too late for me to enjoy it anymore. And if you ask me now, 1400 pages after turning the first page of this book (and two months later, because that was how long I needed to get through this), what I do appreciate is the character development, the wonderful subject of friendship which has been explored in an enthralling way, and the fact that this book focuses on so many different plotlines and subjects still stuns me. The beginning made me want this book to go on forever. The story, which everyone of you should be familiar with in case you haven’t been living under a rock for years, was so intriguing that it was impossible to put this book down. I read the first 700 pages in the course of five days. For the last 700 pages, I needed more than fifty days. And here’s why: The characters always belong to King’s most successful accomplishments. Whenever I have opened a King book until now, I found some characters to root for and to be interested in (let’s ignore those huge disappointments called Rage and Firestarter). It is the same with his book. Here is who we have: → Ben Hanscom or The Guy Who Was Too Fat To Have Friends. Ben was my favorite character of this novel; he had some great layers. His scenes in the library were some of the most outstanding parts of the novel. And yet Stephen King managed to make him appear as a minor character, because for most parts of the novel, he was just there, and that was already all to him, unfortunately. → Bill Denbrough or The Stuttering Leader Of The Group. What bothered me was that throughout the entire novel, I had the feeling that King wanted to depict Bill as close as possible to himself, and while I cannot judge the character connections between the two of them, Bill never became a character I was able to connect to. → Richie Tozier or The Guy Who Creates Those Voices Nobody Understands. One of the most annoying characters I have ever had to encounter in any novel. It seemed impossible to understand what the intention of creating this character was apart from adding a seventh character to the Losers' Club. → Eddie Kaspbrak or The Guy With The Asthma. Seriously, his problems with his Asthma were the only aspects characterizing him. For most parts of the novel, Eddie appeared to be a caricature of someone not even Stephen King knew. It was only as the ending drew close that Eddie's character was allowed some depth, and by then, after 1200 pages it was already too late to care for him anymore. → Stan Uris or The Guy Who Was Just There. Was there ever anything important about Stan? I am surprised I even remember his name. A less one-dimensional character is definitely difficult to encounter. → Beverly Marsh or The Only Girl In The Group. Definitely one of the three more interesting characters next to Bill and Ben, yet after more than 1000 pages spent with her character, I am still asking myself who exactly Beverly was, because it was mostly her surroundings defining her rather than her own character. As she was the one I cared for most during the course of the novel, this can be forgiven, though. → Mike Hanlon or The Guy Who Only Appeared After Half Of The Book Was Over. Mike was definitely an interesting character, considering his foreign background and his intelligence. Too bad he didn’t appear for half of the book, and then it felt like his connection to the other kids was completely forced out of nowhere. Most of those characters would have been boring to read about on their own, but it was their friendship which became the major strength of the novel. Thinking about it now after having finished it, I don't consider IT to be a horror novel, it is a novel about friendship for me. Sadly, whenever those friends weren't together, I caught myself losing my patience with this huge book. Lastly, we also had Henry Bowers or The Guy Who Was Too Dumb To Think About Anything. The second antagonist next to the well-known Pennywise, and maybe the caricature of all caricatures. It is so easy to explain the behavior of bad people by their abusive parents, and Stephen King seems to have created this character thinking, „Why should I waste time to develop Henry into a multi-faceted character? Let’s just write him as onedimensional, stupid and evil through and through. Why should a character like him be given more than the brain of a grass stalk? It is enough if Henry can think far enough to find his single destination in beating the shit out of everyone.“ In addition, two other aspects weakened my reading experience, and without those two points I might even have rated it with four stars. First of all, Stephen King loves infodumping. I don't. The interludes were interesting in their contents, but pure torture to read. A book shouldn't switch between fictional storytelling and fictional history accounts. Secondly, (view spoiler) [this book included one important sex scene, one which was completely senseless, didn't add anything to the story and only disgusted and deterred me more than Pennywise was ever able to in this book. I can deal with repugnant scenes, as long as they can be logically explained, feel as if they developed naturally out of the story and add some layers to the plot. Nothing of those three aspects was the case here. The scene can be read in a symbolic way as the end of their childish innocence, and for Beverly as her reclaiming her power over her own character. However, King explained it as if the children had to be brought together to defeat IT, and can someone please enlighten me why this had to be done in the form a gang bang between 12-year-olds? (hide spoiler) ] It is enthralling that Stephen King was even able to write a book with so many pages which ended up being loved and hated by millions of people. IT - or Pennywise, depending on which name you prefer - has caused a lot of readers to be harassed by nightmares, and Tim Curry's portrayal of Pennywise will forever be connected with one of the modern horror novels (and movies). This book is good, there is no doubt about that. However, it is necessary to prepare for the length and never be unnerved by it, because that is part of why I had to struggle my way through the second half. Recommended if you have a lot of time on your hands, but I don't think it would be wise to go into this without being familiar with King's writing style. Pre-reading review: (16th March 2016) It probably belongs to those books most fans of the horror genre and Stephen King's writing in particular are in desperate need to read. Who has not heard of the clown scaring innocent kids to death? And even if indeed, by some surprising kind of living-under-a-rock (which I am usually the expert for) you did miss the story of "It", then you probably know this creature which made many people feel scared to enter their cellar alone by night: I have never been particularly scared by clowns, so let's see if this book might change my opinion. At the moment, the only thing I am scared of is the length. 1,376 pages? Seriously, Mr. King? ...more Shelves: stephen-king-read , favorites , own , horror-read , 2012-read It's 2:39 AM, and I finished IT about four or five minutes ago. As I try to think of the right words to formulate this review...I'm left with a feeling of, "Wow...." IT is a story which is not just based on the story, but it's characters. And honestly, I think they made the story so much more. When I think of their story, and the time I invested with them, reading their journey, I feel like I kind of became apart of them. I feel like I took the journey with them. It's amazing what King can do to It's 2:39 AM, and I finished IT about four or five minutes ago. As I try to think of the right words to formulate this review...I'm left with a feeling of, "Wow...." IT is a story which is not just based on the story, but it's characters. And honestly, I think they made the story so much more. When I think of their story, and the time I invested with them, reading their journey, I feel like I kind of became apart of them. I feel like I took the journey with them. It's amazing what King can do to the reader in regards to emotion, and evoking a sense of the same feelings the Losers felt in everything they went through. I felt like I had known versions of them in my life, and in some cases, I still do. Bill, Eddie, Beverly, Mike, Stan, Richie, and Ben were some of the most realistic characters I've ever read. I felt like I could picture them, their behaviors, and actions in my head with every page. The descriptions of the times which take place in IT, were also so very realistic. A few times, I had to remind myself it is 2012. Not 1958. King did something special with IT, and I'm not sure exactly what it is....It might just be the sum of the entire equation which makes IT such a fantastic novel. If you are thinking of reading IT, it is definitely worth the investment. I'm glad I took the time to read it, and not rush through it. This was my first read of IT, and I'm sure, in the future, I'll want to re-visit the Losers and Pennywise again. Some of you who are reading this, might be wondering, "So....did it scare her?" I've been, I guess, complaining or at least mentioning, I haven't read a book which really scared me. The Shining, also by King, had a few moments. But IT definitely surpassed The Shining on the scary factor. So, I guess you could say...it's official. IT is the scariest book I've ever read. Is the entire thing scary?...No. I actually thought it was going to be going into it, but I'm actually glad it wasn't. However, there are several very creepy and some pretty scary parts. And...some disturbing parts as well...heh. I think it is safe to say, I will never, EVER, look at a clown the same way again. ...more Shelves: macabre Holy crap this book was scary. I've always been a fan of horror novels, but very few have ever actually scared me. This book did the trick. It's the story of a group of friends who as children did a very, very brave and noble thing. A supernatural force lives under their hometown of Derry, Maine. This force hibernates in thirty year cycles and comes to the surface to feast upon its prey - human children. It thrives on their fear as well as their flesh, and typically disguises itself as the demoni Holy crap this book was scary. I've always been a fan of horror novels, but very few have ever actually scared me. This book did the trick. It's the story of a group of friends who as children did a very, very brave and noble thing. A supernatural force lives under their hometown of Derry, Maine. This force hibernates in thirty year cycles and comes to the surface to feast upon its prey - human children. It thrives on their fear as well as their flesh, and typically disguises itself as the demonic clown known as Pennywise. The children defeat the horror, but fail to kill it. They vow that should it rear its head again later in their lives, they will come back and finish what they started. They grow up, leave Derry, get lives, marry, pursue goals, but one day, It returns, and the friends are united again to destroy the eldritch force of evil beneath Derry. The story has an amazing cast of characters. The plot is well threaded and the premise alone is fantastic. It's a long read, but well worth it. Anyone who wants a good scare should pick up this book and give it a go. You'll be glad you did. ...more Shelves: favorites La presión casi tiránica que recibí de varias personas para leerme la novela de Stephen King, llegó a su fin cuando abrí y me sucumbí ante la historia ambientada en el frío y distante Derry. La novela de King, nos cuenta dos historias en diferentes tiempos; la primera es la de siete niños en sus principios de pubertad que se ven afectados por un macabro y difícil ambiente de discriminación y segregación por parte de padres y compañeros, mezclado con una amenaza constante de un violento ser lo cu La presión casi tiránica que recibí de varias personas para leerme la novela de Stephen King, llegó a su fin cuando abrí y me sucumbí ante la historia ambientada en el frío y distante Derry. La novela de King, nos cuenta dos historias en diferentes tiempos; la primera es la de siete niños en sus principios de pubertad que se ven afectados por un macabro y difícil ambiente de discriminación y segregación por parte de padres y compañeros, mezclado con una amenaza constante de un violento ser lo cual lo hacen llamar It (Eso). La segunda historia sigue a la mayoría de esos siete pre-adolescentes, 27 años después de una promesa, una promesa tan poderosa, que los hará dejar sus vidas personales atrás, para volver a Derry y abrir las heridas que dejaron en su niñez. La terrorífica y espeluznante historia por el escritor norteamericano cuenta con la presencia de increíbles y espléndidos personajes. Personajes de los cuales podrás sentirte totalmente identificado, y de los que también, podrás sacar una increíble moraleja. Por el otro lado, la historia cuenta con otros que sacarán lo peor del lector. Como el antagonista principal de esta novela tenemos a Pennywise, ese macabro y cruel payaso que tiene esa escalofriante sonrisa que te hará sentir indefenso y desprotegido. Con una personalidad llamativa y sucia, y con un gusto muy peculiar por los niños, Pennywise será parte de un gran número de tus pesadillas a medianoche. La parte humana de los personajes antagónicos se la lleva Henry Bowers y su tropa de matones. Los cuales obviamente no son los típicos matones escolares a los cuales muchos de nosotros nos vimos enfrentados. Bowers es un personaje con una enfermedad (o influencia) mental, tan profunda, que causará a veces náusea y otras rabia e impotencia en los lectores. En resumidas cuentas, It (Eso) es una de esas novelas que me marcaron de por vida. La ambientación, los personajes, la fantástica trama, los saltos en el tiempo y la superflua pluma de Stephen King, hacen que cada página de la de esta novela no solo valga la pena, sino que ponga a esta historia, en una las mejores lecturas y experiencias de mi vida. Con una dosis de terror y alegrías en partes iguales, lo hace un must y un clásico de la literatura de terror y contemporánea. “Maybe there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they're always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that's what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.” Shelves: horror , read-by-kindlelight , 2013-reads , whoa-thats-messed-up Much like the titular monster that lurks within its pages, this book is many things. It's terrifying, it's sweet, it's disturbing, it's sad. But most of all, It is amazing! The town of Derry is haunted by an evil with thousands of faces. With the entire town caught in the horrible creature's grasp, some of the residents are forced to confront their greatest nightmares, while others are forced to become the nightmares! Many years ago, a group of seven outcast children believed they had discovered Much like the titular monster that lurks within its pages, this book is many things. It's terrifying, it's sweet, it's disturbing, it's sad. But most of all, It is amazing! The town of Derry is haunted by an evil with thousands of faces. With the entire town caught in the horrible creature's grasp, some of the residents are forced to confront their greatest nightmares, while others are forced to become the nightmares! Many years ago, a group of seven outcast children believed they had discovered the secret to ridding Derry of the terrible monster they knew only as "It". But when the murders start again 28 years later, they realize they were wrong. Now, the former "Losers' Club" returns to Derry to finish what they started, but there's one major problem...this time, It's ready for them! This book has been on my "I've gotta check that out someday" list for years! I heard amazing things about it, but I wasn't sure if it had anything new to offer me, as I was under the impression that it was basically 1,000+ pages of people being terrorized by a clown. Let's fact it, If you've known me for more than five minutes, chances are you've already heard me talking about Batman, which means you know I've already read plenty about a certain scary clown... (NOTE: The term "clown" could also be used to describe whoever greenlit that god-awful George Clooney "Batman and Robin" travesty!) But I'm glad I finally gave this book a chance, because it's about more than just pop-culture phenomenon Pennywise the Clown. Soooooo much more! Yes, this book is primarily a horror novel, and Stephen King's imagination is at full force in this one. He never runs out of creative ways to make readers afraid to turn the page, yet also enthralled enough to brave forward. But there's also a lot of depth to this story, as well. I was very impressed with the amount of detail King explored in the lives of the 7 self-proclaimed "losers". Each of the seven is flawed but likeable. Each of them have their own distinct personalities and they have all had to cope with their own unique tragedies. The way King goes back and forth between childhood and adulthood, and the way all of them tell certain chapters through their own points of view, I was reminded of George R. R. Martin's masterful storytelling technique in his epic "A Song Of Ice And Fire" series. I was also impressed by how King explored so many themes throughout the novel. The flashback sequences really capture both the magic and horrors of childhood. The bond that quickly grows between the Losers' Club is very heart-warming, and there are many sweet and tender moments throughout. But they also have to cope with terrible things, like abuse, alienation and bullying. And the present-day sequences are very effective as well, as they illustrate how our childhoods often shape who we become as adults. And while there is certainly plenty of supernatural horror to be found in these pages, King is at his most effective when he explores real-life horror! Spousal abuse, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, all these things are present in the story, and they are much more disturbing than any of the ghosts or movie monsters that show up. King makes a powerful statement on how real-life people whose minds are poisoned by hatred and prejudice are far more terrifying than any book that sits on the horror shelves! Throughout most of this book, I only had one minor quibble, and that was in regards to how much detail King provided in the backstories. Yes, I understand how pacing works, and obviously, if scary things happen on every single page, they quickly lose their impact, so I could appreciate what King was going for. But I still felt too many segments dragged at parts. Mike Hanlon's sequences particularly suffer from this...one flashback involving him and his father driving together meandered so long, I was ready to scream, "They were close, Stephen, we get it!!!" But even though the pacing could be plodding at times, the book was still so good that I was ready to give it five stars... ...until I got to the climax! Okay, I get that after a thousand pages of build-up, it's going to be really hard for any kind of pay-off to fulfill expectations. But that doesn't change the fact that the final battle with It just felt silly and out of place. It's hard for me to get specific about why I was so disappointed with the climax without breaking my strict "no-spoilers" policy, so I'll just leave it at this...after 1,000 pages of true horror, the book suddenly changes gears towards the end, and at which point King seems to be trying to emulate Douglas Adams' "comical science-fiction" style of writing (and failing miserably). The final battle wasn't bad enough to ruin the book for me, but it did cause me to deduct a star. Still, even though it loses its way towards the end, this book is highly recommended for anyone who loves horror, as well as for anyone who is looking for a powerful, complex story and doesn't mind being terrified and disturbed throughout. Although I do have one other minor complaint about the book...really Stephen, did you HAVE to name an unlikable character "Koontz"?!? Be true, be brave, stand. I'm astonished, what a book! We all float... You want scary? Pennywise is here and he'll scare the be-Jesus out of you every other page. Pennywise made an entire generation scared of clowns when the film came out, kinda topical now that all these assholes are roaming the streets in clown outfits. Suffice to say I'm extra scared to go for a walk! Above all, the best thing about this book is that it's wonderful. King manages to capture the essence of childhood and what it me Be true, be brave, stand. I'm astonished, what a book! We all float... You want scary? Pennywise is here and he'll scare the be-Jesus out of you every other page. Pennywise made an entire generation scared of clowns when the film came out, kinda topical now that all these assholes are roaming the streets in clown outfits. Suffice to say I'm extra scared to go for a walk! Above all, the best thing about this book is that it's wonderful. King manages to capture the essence of childhood and what it means to have a close group of friends. It's quite similar to Boy's Life in that respect. I was a tad reluctant to read this having watched the film and due to the 1376 pages (which took me over a month to read!!) but it was absolutely worth it. The ending, I think is better and there is, naturally, more story. The way it's written also highlights how talented a writer King is. He seemlessly jumps from kids to adults throughout. I doubt anyone could have pulled this off as clearly and as beautifully as King does. Although genuinely horrifying, this book captures childhood wonder perfectly and receives all the stars. King at his very best, I know it's a bit of a doorstop but it's worth it, trust me! He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts ...more Shelves: horror , monsters , 2013-reread , uncle-stevie Only Stephen King could write an 1100 page book about the innocence and wonder of childhood, and then kick it off with a six-year-old boy getting his arm ripped off by a clown. Derry, Maine, in 1958 is a bad place to be if you’re a kid. Child disappearances and murders are occurring with astonishing regularity, and while the adults set curfews and hunt for maniacs, a group of 11-year-old outcasts know the truth. A supernatural entity has been terrorizing and killing the children of Derry. These Only Stephen King could write an 1100 page book about the innocence and wonder of childhood, and then kick it off with a six-year-old boy getting his arm ripped off by a clown. Derry, Maine, in 1958 is a bad place to be if you’re a kid. Child disappearances and murders are occurring with astonishing regularity, and while the adults set curfews and hunt for maniacs, a group of 11-year-old outcasts know the truth. A supernatural entity has been terrorizing and killing the children of Derry. These 7 kids eventually band together into a self-proclaimed Loser’s Club dedicated to destroy the evil they call It. In 1985 the members of the Losers are called together again in order to fulfill a childhood promise to return to Derry if It ever returned. However, now they’re adults who have only foggy memories of exactly what they did to stop It the first time. With the creation of It, King threw a kitchen sink full of monsters into this with the villain able to take the form of whatever will scare it’s latest victim the most. So the kids alternately face everything from werewolves, mummies, lepers, crawling eyes, giant birds and Frankenstein’s monster with It using the form of a demonic clown called Pennywise as the baseline. The concept that it’s the belief system of the kids that they use as their main weapon against It was a clever idea. So if it’s a werewolf and the kids believe it’s a werewolf, then they also believe that silver can be used against the creature, and It has to abide by those rules. Another of the more successful aspects of this book is how King creates 7 likeable kid characters and then writes them as adults so that they really seem like the same people. Another part of this that is particularly sharp is just how well he portrays the sheer terror that each character seems to feel at one time or another. While he presents all as being brave and stepping up when it’s Big-Damn-Hero time, they all also have moments where they’re pushed almost to their limits or beyond. However, I’ve never been as high on this one as a lot of King fans are. I originally read it when I was 5 years older than the age of the Losers in their 1958 story so I had just left the age of childhood fantasy behind and wasn’t particularly enthralled with revisiting the concept. On the flip side of that, this was adult King engaging in a bit of nostalgia porn, and I was far too young to understand the fleeting nature of youth. Now I’m 5 years older than the Loser’s were in the 1985 portion of the story so it’s like I’m traveling back to the time I should be nostalgic about to listen to an older person’s nostalgia of yet an earlier time. In short, I’m always out of sync with King’s rhythm when it comes to this one. It’s some of King’s best work at tapping into the minds of kids as well as the bittersweet nature of looking back at that time as an adult, but it’s also one where he gave in to his worst impulses in letting the book bloat far beyond what was needed to tell the story There’s a couple of other factors that keep this from being top shelf King for me, but they are filled with spoilers so don’t read any further if you don’t want to know. (view spoiler) [ * I hated this the first time I read It, and my opinion didn’t improve this time through. The idea that there’s an underage gang bang on poor Bev to reestablish the connection between the Losers when they’re lost in the sewers after facing It the first time is completely unnecessary and puts a layer of ‘Ewww!‘ all over the childhood relationships. * Poor Bev really gets the worst of it in a lot of ways in this book. Not only does she have sex with six guys to save them all, she’s the only one of the Losers to have an absolutely terrible life with her abusive husband as an adult. Granted, Eddie has a miserable marriage and Mike got stuck in Derry, but she’s the only one who gets used as a punching bag which seems odd considering that King indicates that they’re all under the spell/protection of the Turtle or whatever force of good made most of them rich but childless. ( Yeah, I know it relates back to her father, but it still seems grossly unfair.) * By the end, two of the Losers are dead, and the survivors won’t even get to remember each other or what they did. (I always wondered how Ben and Bev going off together as a couple at the end would work. Did they forget each other if one of them went to the store or something?) But they managed to kill It once and for all, right? That’s what we spent all that effort to find out, isn’t it? That the Losers suffered and don’t even get to celebrate their victory for long, but at least It is dead so the whole thing had to be worth it. Unless……. You read Dreamcatcher which features a brief scene where a character goes to Derry and sees a memorial placed there by the Loser’s Club for all the kids who died, but which has the ominous graffiti message of ‘Pennywise Lives!’ on it. First off, if the Losers can’t remember what happened or even each other, how did they put up a memorial? Secondly, the idea that I read this mammoth story only to have King retroactively throw a shadow over the ending by putting a line into another book severely pisses me off. After the unambiguous statement that It was dead at the end, an author shouldn’t play it cute and toss a line off for cheap thrills in something else that undermines the entire book. That is complete and utter bullshit of the highest order. (hide spoiler) ] ...more Shelves: paranormal , horror , books-i-own , 2015 "I don't want you to make a career out of running away... and what it all comes down to is that you have to be careful where you take your stand." Members of the Losers Club have been experiencing supernatural occurrences from Clowns and other weird things. They gang up and contemplated whether to either run away or fight the damn things. Aside from the creepy clowns though, they also have a group of teenagers who would stop at nothing to either beat them up or kill them. This is not King's bes "I don't want you to make a career out of running away... and what it all comes down to is that you have to be careful where you take your stand." Members of the Losers Club have been experiencing supernatural occurrences from Clowns and other weird things. They gang up and contemplated whether to either run away or fight the damn things. Aside from the creepy clowns though, they also have a group of teenagers who would stop at nothing to either beat them up or kill them. This is not King's best work, at least for me. I can't even describe the disappointment that I'm feeling right now. Almost all of the King fans kept recommending this, claiming that it is one of King's best work, ever. My expectations before reading this probably reached the moon, unfortunately sometimes expectations cause disappointment. I'm disappointed not because it was bad, but rather because I was expecting something else and a lot more from him. Why rate this a 4 then? Read on. The synopsis says that this book would be dealing with "the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a facade of traditional small-town values." Before reading this though, I honestly didn't notice or remember that part of the synopsis. I was expecting some crazy clowns murdering children, and other supernatural stuff going on. I didn't know that this was King's take on the magical thing called childhood. Childhood. When I was a kid all I wanted to happen was for me to grow up. Everything that the grownups were doing then felt more fun. Funny thing how I'm 19 now and I just want time to stop, or slow down. Time was way nicer to me when I was younger. I didn't really notice time then, but now everything seems to be calculated and planned. Everything also seems too realistic nowadays. Everything has to be thought out because adult decisions are very important. After reading this novel, all I wanted to happen was to become a child again. This novel was more or less 70% backstory, 25% present stuff, 5% interlude. If you will check my other reviews of King, you'd be reading about how I like character-centered novels. It was character centered in a way, but it tackled other things too. There are 7 main characters. Bill, Ben, Eddie, Richie, Beverly, Stan and Mike. The latter 2 were only added at some point. The first 5 composed the Losers club. Did I like all 7? Not really. I didn't like Stan and Mike. They weren't developed enough for me. Aside from that, the two of them will always feel like the outsiders. Stan could be considered as main member of the group, but latter events in the novel would question his membership in the group. Mike on the other hand felt like he was trying too hard. The other 5 though were really likable and well developed. Bill being the leader of the group managed to entertain me. Eddie and Richie never failed to make me laugh. While King wanted to exemplify that kids tend to be more courage because of their recklessness, in the end kids will be kids. They will chicken out because of their natural cowardice. I'm not going to talk about the clowns themselves because I've been spoiled about them before because of various goodreads members, and I don't want to spoil anyone. I despise spoilers, so I'm trying to make this review spoiler-free as possible. All you have to know is to always remember what your parents taught you, never talk to strangers. The plot was not straightforward, but it was good. The 70% backstory was not just for character development, but it was also for world building. Derry was very well written for me. It felt realistic, and it had the creepy vibe King wanted it to have. Really great writing from King, as usual. So the novel went back and forth between two dates, the infamous 1958 and 1985. I liked 1985 a lot more, because I liked the adult parts better. I know now that this was King's take on childhood, but ironically I liked the characters when they were adults. I contemplated more and realized that the only reason why I would like them better as adults would be because King gave them a great childhood story. All the bullying and sneaking were very entertaining. I would be honest and say that King could've made this novel a lot shorter. There were a few dull moments, especially during the childhood backstories that could've been excluded. The Stand was way longer than this, but this one felt longer while reading. I was always checking how much more I had to read. That's never a good sign, but in the end it was all worth it. The terrifying encounters of the kids were a mixture of great and dull moments. Some were creepier than the others. King highlighted the fact that kids have better imagination than adults. I completely I agree with him. If I read this a few years back, I'm sure that I would've been up for weeks, terrified. Now that I'm older though, I didn't find most of the creepy parts that scary. I have a fear of clowns, they suck like shit. I know most kids are enticed by clowns, but i'm not one of them. I hate them. They weren't that creepy in the novel, but fear is fear. I still felt a bit scared reading about them. Stupid clowns. The ending/conclusion of the novel was satisfying. I didn't like some things that happened, but it was good nonetheless. King gave justice to the novel. (view spoiler) [ Why did Eddie have to die. It could've been Mike. King was too mean to him, he broke his arm twice and then killed him in the end. Jokes aside, I liked the main 5 members of the group. While Stan's death in the near middle part was not that sad for me, Eddie's was a bit harder to accept. He was fully developed, so that meant I really liked him already. The revelation that "It" was a spider was not a shock to me, I've been spoiled numerous times all over the web, not just here. It was really annoying but I couldn't do anything about it. I'm pretty sure though that Ben didn't get to kill all the spider babies. I was expecting King to write in the ending that "It" was going to be back, but he didn't. He didn't do the "The Stand" ending on us. (hide spoiler) ] 3.5/5 stars, rounded up. I might be a Stephen King fanboy, but I'm still unbiased when it comes to my rating and review of his works. While I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to, I've still grown attached to the characters. Great plot plus great characters, but the dull moments were a bit annoying for me. I am recommending this, but be sure to know what this novel is really about. I was expecting horror, and horror alone. King incorporated a lot of life lessons here, and it's up to you guys to decipher them on your own. ...more Shelves: stephen-king , 5-worst This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Before I start...I know everyone will be upset to see me rate it so low. And some will be even more furious with the reasons that I give. Still, I'd appriciate it if you'd wait, and try to see that I'm not giving it one star for its content. (I give The Stand four stars, and its content could be argued to be just as bad.) It is certainly a horror novel. However, I found only a couple parts of it that were at all scary. The rest of it was more like the drama in "The Body". For me, these two aspect Before I start...I know everyone will be upset to see me rate it so low. And some will be even more furious with the reasons that I give. Still, I'd appriciate it if you'd wait, and try to see that I'm not giving it one star for its content. (I give The Stand four stars, and its content could be argued to be just as bad.) It is certainly a horror novel. However, I found only a couple parts of it that were at all scary. The rest of it was more like the drama in "The Body". For me, these two aspects did not fit together as well as they could have. The Stand did a much better job with this. The superflu put all the characters in an often terrifying situation even as they went through the drama of the story. The second problem was much worse. As the children try to leave the sewers near the end they get lost, and then go through some actions to calm themselves that, to put it lightly, were inappropriate. What truly took away the books value was the way that this destroyed the theme. The entire novel is centered around the theme of friendship, but this causes the idea of friendship in the novel to be distorted and perverse. The novel then ends with the characters forgetting much of what happened, as they did when they were younger. This took away even more from the theme, but it also made the characters in the ending feel like new characters we did not get to know yet. In the end this took away any strong care I felt for the characters, and it made the last few scenes feel as though they were a different story. The one thing about It that I could say makes it rewarding are the many connections it has to the Dark Tower series. In the end, if you care about the thematic elements in a novel truly having merritt, It is probably not for you (unless you have a perverted view of friendship). If you could care less about the content, and only want a story that draws you in at points and scares you every now and then, It could be worth taking a look at. ...more Shelves: horror-y-gótica , ciencia-ficción-y-fantasía Éste es un libro muy especial para mí. Lo escogí para leerlo justo cuando estoy cumpliendo treinta años. Es el libro que más vendió de acuerdo al NYT en el año en que nací. También porque es un libro que habla del dolor de crecer confrontado con la oscuridad de un mal cósmico. Como lógicamente juega con las incertidumbres propias de la edad adulta, qué mejor. Y para rematar, como niño de los noventa me sigue dando miedo pensar en Tim Curry vestido de payaso (cuando estén solos en su casa piensen Éste es un libro muy especial para mí. Lo escogí para leerlo justo cuando estoy cumpliendo treinta años. Es el libro que más vendió de acuerdo al NYT en el año en que nací. También porque es un libro que habla del dolor de crecer confrontado con la oscuridad de un mal cósmico. Como lógicamente juega con las incertidumbres propias de la edad adulta, qué mejor. Y para rematar, como niño de los noventa me sigue dando miedo pensar en Tim Curry vestido de payaso (cuando estén solos en su casa piensen en Tim Curry vestido de payaso saliendo de la regadera y me cuentan). No llevaba leídas ni cien páginas y ya estaba viendo con desconfianza las coladeras del estacionamiento de mi condominio, por las que se filtra algo de un riachuelo y todo el día y toda la noche suenan a agua corriente. A las quinientas páginas ya dormía con la puerta del clóset cerrada. He aprendido que los libros del maestro vienen como una escala de salsas en un restaurante de alitas picantes. Hay salsas agridulces, que no pican (El cuerpo, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile), hay salsas que pican poquito porque retratan una violencia que viene exclusivamente del hombre (casi todos los Bachman, Under the Dome), hay algunos que pican más o menos e involucran algo sobrenatural (Carrie, Cell, Duma Key) y están los que pican mucho (El Resplandor, Eso, Revival). En este caso, King le da una vuelta interesante al tema lovecraftiano del mal cósmico. En vez de que el ser humano sea sólo una externalidad entre el choque de fuerzas superiores, en este caso el monstruo se alimenta y a su vez alimenta lo que es, como dijo Shakespeare ‘el mal que hacen los hombres’. Lo que es un twist interesante y verdaderamente moderno es que estos males reflejan las preocupaciones eternas de un estadounidense de clase trabajadora pero más o menos ilustrado (como King, que es una combinación rara): el mal que hacen los hombres y que alimenta a Eso son los males endémicos de la sociedad estadounidense. El racismo eterno. El bullying eterno. La violencia que parece brotar de pulsiones enfrentadas al puritanismo de toda la vida. También he aprendido que el estilo de King se ha vuelto menos aventurado a través del tiempo. No sé si en drogas escribía con más brío, pero la estructura narrativa (que no la prosa) de Carrie, Resplandor o Eso es infinitamente superior a las de obras como Duma Key, Revival o Cell. Lo cual resulta una divertida ironía, pues en aquella época los críticos se lo comían como autor de fruslerías y hoy día, con su medalla nacional de las artes al cuello, King está ya más allá del bien y del mal. Bueno, quizá un poco más del lado del mal (guiño-guiño). No voy a repetir a muchos otros sobre lo grande de este libro. Si le digo a mi mamá que una novela de más de mil páginas que trata de una entidad que la hace de payaso y se dedica a comer niños es una historia de amor bellamente contada a la niñez, su inocencia y a lo incondicional que es una amistad infantil no me creería. Pero sé que el resto de aquellos que han leído este libro bien que lo harán. La pregunta es, sobre si la obra cumbre de King es Eso o El Resplandor. No nos metamos en debates (Carrie y Misery son contendientes. Las novelas cortas de Las Cuatro Estaciones son lo que mejor ha escrito, pero no son terror. De Apocalipsis y la Torre Oscura no sé, pero no las siento tan clavadas en la cultura popular) Me inclino por el momento por decir que según yo Eso es el epicentro de la titánica obra de King, alrededor de ella gira toda su prosa y el malhadado día en que este mago contador de historias nos sea arrebatado diremos: ‘Ha flotado. Todos flotaremos algún día’. ...more Shelves: love-love-love , leídos-en-inglés , reseñados , se-merecen-10-estrellas Esa soy yo teniendo resaca del libro en la clase de la mañana. Esto no será una reseña, será catársis. No me voy a extender a hablar sobre qué se trata el libro - ya todos lo hicieron, y ya todos expusieron todo lo que se podría decir de la historia mejor que yo. Sí puedo hablar de cómo me hizo sentir, de cómo las últimas cincuenta páginas las tuve que leer borrosamente a causa de las lágrimas, de cómo me esperaba una historia de terror pero lo que menos encontré fue miedo, sino que encontré am Esa soy yo teniendo resaca del libro en la clase de la mañana. Esto no será una reseña, será catársis. No me voy a extender a hablar sobre qué se trata el libro - ya todos lo hicieron, y ya todos expusieron todo lo que se podría decir de la historia mejor que yo. Sí puedo hablar de cómo me hizo sentir, de cómo las últimas cincuenta páginas las tuve que leer borrosamente a causa de las lágrimas, de cómo me esperaba una historia de terror pero lo que menos encontré fue miedo, sino que encontré amigos, niñez, esperanza, valentía, cursilerías que tal vez no se condicen con la sinopsis del libro ni con el payaso desagradable que todos conocemos, pero están ahí, eh, sí que están. Stephen King escribió el libro perfecto. Y se llama It. [...] he thinks that it is good to be a child, but it is also good to be a grownup and able to consider the mystery of childhood... its beliefs and desires. I will write about all of this one day, he thinks, and knows it's just a dawn thought, an after-dreaming thought. But it's nice to think that childhood has its own sweet secrets and confirms mortality, and that mortality defines all courage and love. To think that what has looked forward must also look back, and that each life makes its own imitation of mortality: a wheel. Hubo un grupo de amigos del que quise formar parte, hubo siete personajes que se metieron y se atrevieron a prestarme de sus cabezas para yo entenderlos mejor, tuvieron la rebeldía de anidarse entre mis manos y a través de las mil cien páginas del libro, y cuando por fin se terminó, yo no estaba dispuesta a dejarlos ir. Me pone triste que se termine, me pone triste confirmar que entre ellos no volverá a pasar nada, me pone triste el destino que tuvo la conclusión de esta historia. Nunca pensé encontrarme con una historia así. Por años fantaseé con leer It, es de esos libros que todos conocen pero que uno nunca se aventura a abrir. Siempre supe que se trataría de un grupo de amigos y de un payaso, pero jamás llegué a imaginar que me encontraría todo lo que encontré. El grupo de amigos y el payaso están, pero eso es solo la punta del iceberg. Pero entiendo que no es un libro para cualquiera. A mi mejor amiga que lee solo romántico y que no soporta un poco de sangre claramente este libro no es para ella. Es un libro sobre gente rota que busca completarse de alguna forma: buscan cobijo entre amigos, buscan la solución a conflictos que solo niños podrían resolver. El poder que tiene la niñez, el poder que tiene ese instinto sin cuidado que los chicos poseen, esa valentía innata que vamos perdiendo con los años. Estoy fascinada. Apenas pude dormir cuando lo terminaba. No paraba de pensar en los personajes y en sus futuros. Son de esos personajes de los que me gustaría saber qué fue de ellos después de que la novela cerrara sus puertas; necesito saber si vivieron felices, si murieron jóvenes, si se casaron y con quién, si pudieron formar familia, o si todo lo que quisieron les salió mal, necesito saberlo, necesito porque el autor hizo que me sintiera parte de sus vidas, y no se los abandona tan fácilmente. Sufrí por lo que sufrían, me alegré por lo que se alegraban, y lloré por el agridulce final, y no me van a leer decir ni una queja, porque cualquier molestia, cualquier cosa de más, se compensó con el círculo completo, con el cuadro entero que uno recibe al terminar de leer. Lejos uno de los mejores libros que leeré en el año, y quién sabe, tal vez en mi vida. Maybe there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they're always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that's what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart. Dreams You almost took libraries from me...but I will resist!!!! I never seen the movie as a kid, and all my family members watched this and told me how horrible it was and I refused...and I'm glad I did. This book has ruined everything to me. From what I remember of my childhood, to the friends I thought I had..did I have any friends?...to wanting to close my eyes at night. It is whatever you fear most in life times 20! I'm so glad there weren't wasp in this book because then I would REALLY need some help. Not only is this book about your worst fears but how these group of kids fought them. Its a story about overcoming those fears, but fuck that...I'm going to wait a good while to confront wasp. I'll just stay out of their way if they stay out of mine. This book is a tome, one of the longest I've read and yet it was a complete story filled with short stories that came to be this one epic journey. I really enjoyed that. I like how King took you into the world of each character and how they became to be who they are and eventually how they all came back to Derry. On top of that, the narrator was AMAZING! Oh gah, Pennywises voice I can still hear it at night. *Goosebumps* He made this book feel so real and I felt like I was in the sewers with the boys & Bev, experiencing the rock fights, and seeing Pennywise in action. I highly HIGHLY recommend the audio. It is 44 hours long, but I enjoyed every second. Shelves: horror , owned , politicalish , multi-dimensional , reviewed , fantasy , audiobook , highly-recommended , ebook_kindle , 2013 When I mentioned to a friend that I was re-reading IT, he replied with "Ehh, It's just Stand By Me with a monster. It's overrated." It should be noted that this friend is a movie person (if that wasn't apparent by his use of the movie's title, and not the story's title "The Body"), and I am a book person. It's like we're speaking different languages when we talk about King, because his books, in my personal opinion and with a few exceptions, do not good adaptations make. And since my friend is l When I mentioned to a friend that I was re-reading IT, he replied with "Ehh, It's just Stand By Me with a monster. It's overrated." It should be noted that this friend is a movie person (if that wasn't apparent by his use of the movie's title, and not the story's title "The Body"), and I am a book person. It's like we're speaking different languages when we talk about King, because his books, in my personal opinion and with a few exceptions, do not good adaptations make. And since my friend is likely basing his comment on the movie, well... then we're talking about two very different things. There are similarities between The Body/Stand By Me and IT - each has a group of kids inspired into action on behalf of a dead kid, and there's a bullying theme, as well as a main character that grows up to be a writer. Though I'd argue that these themes are not necessarily uncommon in King's writing in general. Writing about kids is something that King does remarkably well, especially kids who aren't necessarily strong or popular or conventionally "normal". He writes outcasts and kids who are different in one way or another, and where there are outcasts, there are bullies. But IT is more than just a story about some kids who fight a monster. It's a story of finding the people who complete you, your Ka-tet, if you will. It's a story of bravery and imagination and belief and sacrifice and resilience, of the loss of childhood's innocence, of the necessity at times to recapture the essence of childhood in adulthood. And IT's about a monster. What the monster is doesn't actually matter. It's like a boggart - it will be what you fear. The monster feeds on pure emotions, fear and chaos and anger and pain, and uses those things to create more. It's influence is a part of Derry, and Derry itself is monstrous in its indifference. There are many little stories related in Mike Hanlon's interludes about how Derry residents participated in (or sat by and watched, or just ignored) horrible events... beatings, arson, murders, child abuse. The adults in Derry are too far gone in their Grown Up Minds to imagine that there's a source behind this mass violence and indifference... and so it's up to some children to stop it. I loved watching these kids come together to form the Loser's Club. Honestly, it was a little heartbreaking for me at the same time, because I would have gladly been friends with every one of them, and it hurt me to see them so alone before they found each other. It hurt me to see Ben exclude himself automatically, on the assumption that the fat boy won't be wanted, in an attempt to prevent his own hurt in being excluded by others. It hurt me to see Bill's parents so horribly, selfishly excluding him from their grief and love and lives. They push him away at every turn, never once thinking that he might be hurting as well, never once thinking that he might be blaming himself or need help or support or just his parents. It hurt me to see Mike hurt and hated for simply being black. And Stan for being Jewish. And to see Eddie so cruelly limited and kept apart by his mother whose idea of love is wrapping the poor kid in bubble-wrap and never letting him experience anything at all. And Beverly, whose father's "worrying" leaves her black and blue... And Richie whose mouth runs away from him and gets him into trouble. There was a bit, toward the end of the book, when Stuttering Bill is standing against IT, that almost brought me to tears despite it being a simple throwaway line in the middle of a dozen empowering realizations: "[...]no more Losers, no more cowering in a hole in the ground and calling it a clubhouse". This was cushioned on each side with powerful emotional images, but THIS line stood out to me, because even though it was just a hole in the ground that they called a clubhouse, the fact that they were together to inhabit it actually made it one, and I was so proud of them for just the simple act of friendship and inclusion that made the place special and safe for them. And so it hurt me again when their friendship was a sacrifice. It just struck me as so unfair that these 7 kids who found comfort and safety with each other were not able to keep their memories of each other. That in itself is monstrous to me, because the friendship had meaning to them, even if they couldn't remember what they did with it, and for that to be taken was cruel. But IT, and life, I guess, just takes and takes. I really liked the way that this was written, as well. How the past and the present wound together toward a central point of impact, and the duality of the story, rather than being hard to follow, was perfectly done and made the story. I loved learning about the Losers' childhood experiences as their adult versions' memories returned in increments. I liked seeing how the characters ended up, and how their lives were influenced by their childhood experiences - both positively and negatively. I particularly respected Mike for his role as the one to man the lighthouse. Big Bill might be the leader, the one galvanized into action against the monster who murdered his brother, but Mike stayed and remembered and watched. And that takes a huge amount of courage in light of what he knew they were up against, and especially on faith that his now adult friends who have forgotten everything about IT will return to help him fight it again. What if they'd just said "Mike? Mike who? Got the wrong number, buddy." and hung up on him. Would he have tried to beat IT on his own? I think he'd have tried, because he alone knew that it would just keep killing kids, cycle after cycle, and that it meant to spread. I don't think that he could have lived with himself if he didn't do something, even if his effort was for nothing. I also really liked seeing a lot of the references to the Dark Tower series (though they may actually be IT referenced in the Dark Tower books), and some other books as well. It took me a little time to place some of them, like the sunflowers at the Neibolt Street house saying "Our boy?", and I feel like there are still others that I didn't recognize, but it was fun to stumble over these little Easter Eggs. I did find a few things a bit disappointing, though. I would have liked for there to have been more closure with Tom. I feel like he got off incredibly easily. And I thought that it was a little implausible that the spreading I mentioned would have taken as long as it did. Based on Richie and Mike's vision of IT's pre-historic arrival to the Derry valley, what took so long? But overall, I loved the book this time around - much more than the first time I read it. I think that the format had a lot to do with that. Steven Weber read the audiobook for this one, and it was fantastic. His reading of IT, the giggle, the gurgling chuckle, the evil good humor fading into menace, and then to a towering rage were all enough to give me goosebumps. His reading of Tom and Bev's father were fantastic as well. He did the voices, but in a subtle way that felt right and not cartoonish or over the top (except when that was called for). This is a book about children and a thing that lives in the sewers, so there were of course a fair few examples of toilet humor, but if you dig just the tiniest bit, there's a powerful story underneath. And I'm quite happy to say that I wholeheartedly recommend it. ...more Shelves: horror , 2015-books-read Another one completed on my Stephen King quest and what a book to start the year on, a relative monster at 1376 kindle pages taking me just under two weeks to read and another one that will stick in the dark recesses of my memory for quite some time. Pretty much everyone's read this book so this is potentially a spoiler laden trip encompassing the things I enjoyed most about this journey to Derry and a 'Look Through Hell’s Back Door'. Now IT is a cleverly laid out story in probably my favourite me Another one completed on my Stephen King quest and what a book to start the year on, a relative monster at 1376 kindle pages taking me just under two weeks to read and another one that will stick in the dark recesses of my memory for quite some time.   Pretty much everyone's read this book so this is potentially a spoiler laden trip encompassing the things I enjoyed most about this journey to Derry and a 'Look Through Hell’s Back Door'.   Now IT is a cleverly laid out story in probably my favourite method of literary craftsmanship, simply put, we follow two time lines 27 years apart that shadow an almost identical path fraught with a monstrous menace and a demon that prays on children.   Seven young friends come together in the late 50's and face a little more than the usual growing pains of childhood, a promise is made and years later they come back to Derry to face a horror all but forgotten. Yanked back by the, whatever that makes you wince the most, but this is a hell of a lot more than the story of six boys and one girl who stumbled into a nightmare one hot summer.   There's so much to love in this story, characters that you watch grow, characters you can't help but care deeply about and a gripping story that remains that way for the vast majority off it. Stuttering Bill, ‘beep beep’ Richie, Ben ‘haystack’ Hanscom and Beverly Marsh were my favourites and whenever the story cuts to the friends as adults, you just can't wait to get back to the stories of the youngsters. Their altercations with the bullies, Henry Bowers getting Bev’s boot right where it hurts the most, Eddie lying in that hospital bed and finally giving his mother what for. There's just so many stand out moments with these kids and the trials and tribulations they faced, it's just too much to mention them all.   Richie with the mouth that simply decided on its own to cut and run instead of stopping too think 'Richie could hold back no longer; his mouth simply fell open and then ran away like the gingerbread man, as it so often did'.   The Patrick Hockstetter chapter, a sociopathic kid that while not as disturbing as Shelley from The Troop, was just creepy as fuck. 'While he was beating frantically at it and watching the bloodstain spread above the place where it had taken its hold, another settled on his right eye. Patrick closed it, but that did no good; he felt a brief hot flare as the thing’s sucker poked through his eyelid and began to suck the fluid out of his eyeball. Patrick felt his eye collapse in its socket and he screamed again'. Just fucking Woah is all I can say.   Beverly a witness to it all, the sink and the blood, her escape from the manipulative partner and the belt. Ben chased by the clown at the bridge over the canal, it's all just fried within an inch of its life with the fattest side salad known to man, a delicacy in fine dining.   The kids going back into the basement of that house and Ben struggling through that little window 'He started to pull himself out and realized, horrified, that he could do it, but was very apt to yank his pants – and perhaps his underpants as well – down to his knees when he did. And there he would be, with his extremely large ass practically in his beloved’s face'.   Henry Bowers 'edging steadily out over some mental abyss, walking on a bridge that had grown relentlessly more and more narrow. On the day when he had allowed Patrick Hockstetter to caress him, that bridge had narrowed to a tightrope'.   Bill on his return to that sewer. 'I guess this is what we mean when we talk about the persistence of memory, this or something like this, something you see at the right time and from the right angle, image that kicks off emotion like a jet engine. You see it so clear that all the things which happened in between are gone. If desire is what closes the circle between world and want, then the circle has closed'.   And finally IT, a thing that changed and fed on your worst fears, a fuckdoer of pure evil. 'The fears of children were simpler and usually more powerful. The fears of children could often be summoned up in a single face … and if bait were needed, why, what child did not love a clown'.   So 'Stop now before I kill you all, A word to the wise from your friend Pennywise'.   Awesome, Awesome and yeah a little bit more Awesome to finish off.   Shelves: great-characterization , favourites , unique-story-lines , mind-fucked , worldbuilding-for-the-win , welcome-to-the-dark-side , childhood-nostalgia , stephen-king , messed-with-my-feelings , writing-i-would-love-to-imitate , bagful-of-laughs , blood-and-flying-entrails , lgbtqia Come to me, children, and see how we float down here . . . how we all FLOAT. This one didn't plant that seed of fear for clowns in me like I was expecting it will but I have a feeling, clowns will never look the same for me anymore. Stephen King really went on full force with this one. Not all the horrors in IT deal with the supernatural - there are many depiction of real life horror as well. I admit, at times it is very uncomfortable for me to continue reading because the book delved deep into to Come to me, children, and see how we float down here . . .  how we all FLOAT. This one didn't plant that seed of fear for clowns in me like I was expecting it will but I have a feeling, clowns will never look the same for me anymore. Stephen King really went on full force with this one. Not all the horrors in IT deal with the supernatural - there are many depiction of real life horror as well. I admit, at times it is very uncomfortable for me to continue reading because the book delved deep into touchy issues like homophobia, severe bullying, spouse abuse, rascism, misogyny and antisemitism. King has spreaded out many horrifying things across the pages and not once did he seem to hold back on the violence. I'm also VERY amused how he also went on sneaky mode in here - I have gleefully spotted some references to his magnum opus series The Dark Tower and even recognised one character from his infamous book, The Shining . (Hi, Dick Halorann!) Goodness knows how many of his other books references I've missed. Damn King, aren't you clever! Here's another thing with my reading process of IT . I worry. . . I WORRY A LOT. When I'm not worrying about my favourite characters getting hurt/killed, I'll be worrying about whether or not there will be a Happy Ever After in the end. Knowing King, he'll have nasty surprises hidden up his sleeves. IT proved to be a fantastic, horrific read despite the many switching of timelines (between 1958 to 1985), the multiple POVs and the backstories of people and events. I deemed them all to be legitimate! Okay... Yeah, this book took its slow, sweet time to get to the point and yeah, more than once the tension build up nearly gave me a coronary heart attack BUT DAMN IT, it's all worth it! I just gotta be armed with anticipation, enthusiasm and patience. However, to be blunt, I don't find the book to be morbidly terryfing but I did freak out at some points. It's hard not to feel chilled at times when there are SO MANY scare fests. The thing with IT is that it has more than one horror bundled up together in the form of a book. Every little kid's nightmares and phobias could be right in there. Some may scream that The Clown is the MOST TERRIFYING ONE, but oh good friends and neighbours - I'll tell you what. The Clown is only the icing. Can an entire city be haunted? Haunted as some houses are supposed to be haunted? The Evil that plagued Derry with bodies of dead children in its wake wears many forms but ITS favoured figure is Pennywise the Clown who mainly preys on young ones and would offer the victims balloons (red, blue, yellow, green) (they also FLOAT) before grabbing them and dragging their bodies down to the sewers where IT satiates ITS own hunger. That's a pretty unhygienic choice of place to have your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Honestly, I didn't thought about that before because all I can think about was that sewers are creepy as fuck. No one who dies in Derry really dies. You knew that before; believe it now. BELIEVE IT. You can pay me a thousand dollars upfront and I will still outright refuse to move in to Derry because a) crazy, fucked up shit happen there. b) Worse, the crazy fucked up shit gets covered up and the townsfolks move on from terrible events without so much as blinking twice. IT'S UNSETTLING. Something otherworldly is obviously pulling the strings in Derry, and no grown ups seem to sense this supernatural force but the children. Much like how King crafted his characters from scratch until they come close to real life people, he also build Derry the same way. Brick by brick. I think one must be very tolerant when King describes the geographies and histories of the fictional town in perfect miniscule details. While it is not a good place to spend your childhood or grow old in, Derry is fascinating, but it is the kind of fascination that leaves you horror-struck. Every 27 years, the death tolls will rise in Derry. Children and teenagers alike mysteriously went missing only to be found butchered the next few days later - some are not found at all. These murder cycles have been going on for hundreds of years (since the late 1700's) and IT has never been stopped before until IT made the biggest mistake of crossing The Losers's path. Welcome to the Losers Club! Meet Bill Denbrough, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon, Stan Uris, and Eddie Kapsbrak. Seven misfit outcasts with one big (almost impossible) goal to stop an ancient Evil. I have never been let down by the author when it comes to being inside a child's mind, body & soul. King really understands children inside out and it shows that much here. These misfits aren't branded as 'Losers' for nothing because each of these 7 kids have their own weaknesses and differences (and being different in the late 1950's is extremely tough back then): Ben is severely bullied for his obesity, Bill is laughed at for his stutterings, Stan for being a Jew, Mike is discriminated badly for simply being black, Eddie is asthmatic, Richie's mouth tend to run on its own and get him in big troubles, and Beverly is abused by her father and is shunned by the other girls for being poor. And like every other children, they each have their own individual fears,  doubts, and dreams. I have not thought about my childhood in a long, long time and reading this book made me want to sit down and recollect all those old memories. I am not a kid of 11 or 12 anymore but The Loser Club's has a way of making me long for the childhood experiences I never get to experience for myself. Over the course of the story, I've developed such an attachment to The Losers that everytime they went off to fight Pennywise or some other creatures, I'd get a mini anxiety attack over their safeties. I admire their fierce, unwavering loyalty to one another and of their acceptance that they're different. Maybe another reason why I grew attached to these kids is also because that in them, I saw bits and pieces of myself. They have power over me and that's a pretty nice thought. If someone declares that IT is purely Horror I may have to beg to differ because personally, I believe IT has proved itself as more than just a scare fest. It is also about the memory of CHILDHOOD, coming of age, conquering your own fears, and self-discovery. If you dig deeper enough, you'll see the underlying messages the book held. Overall, this was a long ass read but it was worth every moment. I'll miss The Loser's Club for sure. (view spoiler) [ I'm still quite upset that the sacrifice happened to be the break up of such a strong friendship. Ohmygod, King, WHY? (hide spoiler) ] If you want to read this - make sure you're really enthusiastic about the story because the slow pacing can drag you down, maybe even put you off and King's detailed writing can cause your brain to hemorrhage if you do not have that patience but I promise you, it'll be quite worth the journey. ...more Jul 26, 2016 Kostas Papadatos rated it it was ok  ·  review of another edition Eπιτέλους, τελείωσα το πιο ΦΛΥΑΡΟ, γεμάτο περιττές λεπτομέρειες και το πιο αργό σε δράση βιβλίο στην ιστορία των βιβλίων. Εντάξει, δε γνωρίζω ούτε έναν άνθρωπο που να το έχει διαβάσει και να το έχει τελειώσει μέσα σε ένα εύλογο χρονικό διάστημα. Στη δικιά μου περίπτωση, τον ενάμιση μήνα που κράτησε η ανάγνωση του, πρόλαβα ένα Brexit, ένα πραξικόπημα μούφα, δυο τρομοκρατικά χτυπήματα και τον Κιμ Γιονγκ Ουν τριάντα κιλά πιο ελαφρύ, γιατί? Γιατί ήταν ΒΑΡΕΤΟ διάολε, πιο βαρετό και από talkshow του Π Eπιτέλους, τελείωσα το πιο ΦΛΥΑΡΟ, γεμάτο περιττές λεπτομέρειες και το πιο αργό σε δράση βιβλίο στην ιστορία των βιβλίων. Εντάξει, δε γνωρίζω ούτε έναν άνθρωπο που να το έχει διαβάσει και να το έχει τελειώσει μέσα σε ένα εύλογο χρονικό διάστημα. Στη δικιά μου περίπτωση, τον ενάμιση μήνα που κράτησε η ανάγνωση του, πρόλαβα ένα Brexit, ένα πραξικόπημα μούφα, δυο τρομοκρατικά χτυπήματα και τον Κιμ Γιονγκ Ουν τριάντα κιλά πιο ελαφρύ, γιατί? Γιατί ήταν ΒΑΡΕΤΟ διάολε, πιο βαρετό και από talkshow του Πρετεντέρη. Φανταστείτε, το <<κακό>> (Το Αυτό δηλαδή) στο βιβλίο είναι τόσο άχρηστο, που δεν μπορεί να τα βγάλει πέρα με μια παρέα χεσμένων από το φόβο τους δωδεκάχρονων. Βιβλίο τρόμου σου λέει μετά, τρομακτική είναι μια βόλτα στην Ευριπίδου τα μεσάνυχτα, όχι το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο. Εντάξει, του δίνω την απίστευτη ανάπτυξη χαρακτήρων. Αυτό και μόνο όμως. Η ακατάσχετη φλυαρία του τα γκρέμιζε όλα. Χαρακτηριστικό παράδειγμα? Λίγο πριν το τέλος, εκεί όπου ξεκινούσε η τελική αναμέτρηση με το κακό, μας γειώνει κανονικά, με τη παντελώς αχρείαστη για την πλοκή πεντασέλιδη περιγραφή, περί φασολιών και πορδών (συγγνώμη αλλά αυτό ακριβώς περιγράφει). Στο χωριό μου λέμε πως με κλανιές δε βάφονται αβγά, γι΄αυτό King -περισσότερη ουσία, λιγότερες περιττές λεπτομέρειες-. Το μόνο θετικό που βγήκε από την ανάγνωση του βιβλίου, είναι το γεμάτο (πλέον) μυς δεξί μου χέρι (1039 σελίδες ήταν αυτές και σχεδόν ενάμιση κιλό). Αυτά. ...more Shelves: favorites , horror , stephen-king , audible This is only my third audio book, but it is definitely the most successful. I have to confess, I feel like Steven Weber and I are close, warm, personal friends after he has read this entire mammoth tome to me. In my mind, I could see him, Jack Torrance, sitting in the Overlook Hotel, reading the words to me with all the emotions of the characters, doing the different voices. Maybe we would be in front of the fire in the downstairs lodge area, or just sitting at a table in the Gold Ballroom, or h This is only my third audio book, but it is definitely the most successful. I have to confess, I feel like Steven Weber and I are close, warm, personal friends after he has read this entire mammoth tome to me. In my mind, I could see him, Jack Torrance, sitting in the Overlook Hotel, reading the words to me with all the emotions of the characters, doing the different voices. Maybe we would be in front of the fire in the downstairs lodge area, or just sitting at a table in the Gold Ballroom, or having ice cream at the stainless steel counters in the enormous kitchen. Okay, enough of my Stephen King fused-fantasies. But I did have Jack's voice in my ear for 44 hours--that's gotta mean something, right? Anyway, I've read this book before, many moons ago, and I've seen the mini-series countless times. Of course, I found I had forgotten many, many details, especially those not included in the mini-series. I am all agog to see the new movies that are being filmed right now. Like many others I've heard, I'm not sure that splitting apart the two halves that make up the whole (the children's experiences from the adult's experiences) is going to be successful, but I'm willing to believe. I really enjoyed the gradual revealing of the story by the alternating time frames, and I thought it really built up the suspense. For those of you who have never read this, it is the story of a group of young kids who name themselves The Losers Club in the small Maine town of Derry in 1958. Innocent young children in a sleepy little town in an innocent time in our history--what could be scary about that? Aah, but this sleepy little town has a decidedly dark side, a seedy underbelly that is not visible to the passer-by. And these children are not so innocent. They are all considered outsiders, outcasts by the other children for one reason or another. Some have experienced tragedy of some sort in their short lives, such as loss of a loved one, or abuse. They are all considered prey by the group of bullies led by Henry Bowers, a somewhat psychotic bigger kid. They come together, drawn by forces stronger than themselves, to confront the darkness that controls and is protected by the town. King does an amazing job of making these characters come alive on the page. He conveys the minds of these children with a purity and realism that is staggering. This ability to see the world through a child's eyes--convincingly--is one of King's particular talents. The town also comes alive--he creates an amazing backstory for it, and it takes on a life of its own. I was completely drawn into this world that he created. These children take on an evil entity that no adult would have dared face, and defeat it--or so they thought. Unfortunately, it is only wounded, and it reappears after twenty-seven dormant years. Mike Hanlon, the only one of the "losers" who remained in Derry, and consequently, the only one who actually remembered what happened all those years ago, contacts the other six and reminds them of the blood oath they swore: to come back and fight IT if IT every returned. And so their nightmare begins again. I am a die-hard King fan and love most of his work, but it is this one, and The Stand that rank as my favorites. I feel that his world-building in these two is at its peak. (I haven't finished the Dark Tower series yet, so I'm not counting those books). The characters are likable and well-developed and real, as is the setting. Then you have the sinister clown/shape-shifter--that is truly the stuff of nightmares. An evil entity is scary enough, but one that can unerringly choose the shape of whatever it is that you fear the most? I look back at this review and can only reflect on my own inadequacy to completely convey my powerful feelings for this book. I hope that if you haven't read it yet, that you give it a try. If you're daunted by the monstrous size (no pun intended), then consider the audio. Jack Torrance does a hell of a job conveying the horror of this story! ...more For my third re-read of this door-stopper, I decided to listen to the audio version-narrated by Steven Weber. I absolutely adored it! Weber's narration was SO perfect. Basically, nothing has changed regarding how I feel about this book. I still love it. I know it's too wordy, but I love all the words anyway. I love the interludes about Derry and all of its horrible history. I love every single one of the Loser's Club and I'm teary-eyed at the thought of leaving them behind once again. I think I For my third re-read of this door-stopper, I decided to listen to the audio version-narrated by Steven Weber. I absolutely adored it! Weber's narration was SO perfect. Basically, nothing has changed regarding how I feel about this book. I still love it. I know it's too wordy, but I love all the words anyway. I love the interludes about Derry and all of its horrible history. I love every single one of the Loser's Club and I'm teary-eyed at the thought of leaving them behind once again. I think I might even miss Pennywise. Just a little bit.

Stephen King

October 25, 1957 was the birthday of actress and comedian Nancy Cartwright. What TV character is she best know for?

Fantasy | Father Son Holy Gore Father Son Holy Gore A Time for Film and a Place for Horror Category Archives: Fantasy Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows. 2000. Directed by Joe Berlinger. Screenplay by Berlinger & Dick Beebe. Starring Jeffrey Donovan, Tristine Skyler, Erica Leerhsen, Kim Director, Lanny Flaherty, Lauren Husley, & Raynor Scheine. Artisan Entertainment/Haxan Films. Adventure/Fantasy/Horror ★★ You’d almost expect Joe Berlinger to have done more with the concept for this sequel to Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick’s groundbreaking horror,  The Blair Witch Project . By this point in 2000 he already did two of the HBO Paradise Lost documentaries, another great (and equally as tragic) doc called Brother’s Keeper. With the screenplay from him and co-writer Dick Beebe, I imagined Berlinger could spin his documentary style into an interesting sequel for the story Myrick and Sánchez began. That’s not the case, unfortunately. I’m sure that even this movie has its fans, a cult following. But whereas other cult films feel justified in their love, often due to the project released at the wrong moment in time, Book of Shadows stinks not only of a cash grab, it’s also one majorly wasted opportunity. Parts of what I feel Berlinger aimed at work. So much of it doesn’t, and falls into cheese; not even the good kind. You can watch this as a biting, murderous, supernatural satire re: diehard fans of the first film. Not well written. Although definitely, at least partly what Beebe and Berlinger tried to get across. It didn’t come too quickly after the original, that isn’t the reason this did poorly. Plain and simple, this falls well short of being a good movie. The dialogue is brutal, to the point of cringing in many a scene, then it gets far too expository to take seriously. If only the screenplay were tighter, the acting better, and most of all: if only it were found footage. That’s one of my biggest gripes. Beyond that Berlinger tried doing something that would’ve otherwise been good. Somehow he stumbled, fumbling just about every last drop of potential. There are a few genuinely unsettling images, I must admit. An early dream sees one of the women having a dream about drowning her unborn baby in a river, blood bubbling up from the water. It’s jarring because we enter the dream seamless, no indication, and then a nice smash cut out of this nightmarish image to see her lying in a tent. A great scene that always gets me. These gnarly moments are few and far between. One scene that particularly pisses me off is when the group first wake up to find all the paper essentially snowing down on them. I never judge people TOO much on the decisions they make because they don’t know they’re in a horror movie. But fuck, man. This one chaps my ass. When they’re rationally trying to figure out what’s gone on, they never once question WHY AND HOW THE HELL IS THE PAPER SNOWING DOWN ON US? It’s clearly dropping out of the sky, and they don’t make one reference to maybe looking in the trees to see if anyone is playing tricks on them, et cetera. I mean, I can forgive a lot of stupid stuff screenplay-wise in horror. I love the genre, though I know sometimes the writing isn’t perfect, even in movies I actually enjoy. This screenplay is chock full of garbage writing; glaring omission, poor and unbelievably character decisions, amongst more mistakes. Too bad because, as I mentioned, the concepts alive in the script die on the vine instead of blooming to make the sequel a worthy successor. I can’t help but be mad at the writing. And I do know that, against his will, the studio shot some scenes to make this more a straight-forward horror, whatever the hell that means. So part of this isn’t totally Berlinger’s doing, regardless of his co-writing the script. Maybe one day we’ll get a version that shows us what Berlinger originally wanted, which would be nice. Either way, this version ends up with bad writing choices dominating everything. So much wasted potential. Even down to Erica Leerhsen’s witch character and her worry about The Blair Witch Project reflecting negatively on actual witches, such as her and fellow Wiccans. This, along with the satirical eye towards die hard lovers of the first film insisting on the Blair Witch is real, wound up as fodder. And that’s the frustrating part. Berlinger could’ve made this into a horror containing social commentary, satirising modern film culture, fanaticism, and other big ideas. Instead of following the first film with a powerhouse, this falls just about entirely flat. The original worked because of its reality angle, the rawness and the gritty qualities of the mainly improvised script. This one should have been capable of improving, and yet with a fully formed script this never comes close to achieving any of the goals it lays out theme-wise. Maybe giving this two out of five stars is even too much. But there’s enough to keep me watching Book of Shadows, so I don’t feel too guilty; though a bit of guilt exists, all the same. Don’t get me wrong: this is a bad movie. Especially when you consider The Blair Witch Project and how great it was, in many ways. Berlinger deserves better, I’m sure there is a better cut of the movie somewhere in existence, or at least pieces of which that can be assembled into sequel worthy of what Sánchez and Myrick started. A handful of scenes, or more so moments, does not a movie make. When I compare this with Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s recent Blair Witch, it’s easy to see what works and what doesn’t, at all. This is a huge mess. It’s a good one to throw on when you’re bored, doing something else, or for a night when you want to watch something foolish with a group of friends. And if you’re all fans of the original, it’s even more fun to laugh as you watch. Nevertheless, you might find a couple things that appeal to you. Or, maybe it’s a total trash bin. I don’t disagree, no matter how you feel. I’m going to rally behind anyone who wants to see a Berlinger-approved cut. Behind the mess a Book of Shadows worth the time and worth carrying the Blair Witch name may exist. If the latest entry in the series spawns a sequel, themes from this failed sequel would be exciting to revisit, if they were better written and more extensively explored. Here’s to hope! Rate this: Livid. 2011. Directed/Written by Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury. Starring Chloé Coulloud, Félix Moati, Jérémy Kapone, Catherine Jacob, Béatrice Dalle, Chloé Marcq, Marie-Claude Pietragalla, & Sabine Londault. La Fabrique/SND Films/La Ferme! Productions. Not Rated. 92 minutes. Fantasy/Horror ★★★★ As part of what’s deemed the New French Extremity, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury have kept working in a macabre world since their debut in 2007, Inside. What they do so well with Livid is cross a bit of crime into horror, before finally descending into dark fantasy. The characters take us inside a Gothic mansion, where reality’s been keep at bay a long time, and something evil lurks. Honestly, when the characters lay siege quietly to the house of a comatose rich woman, it gave me a similar feel to when Belle sneaks around into the forbidden wing of the Beast’s castle. Only Bustillo and Maury’s castle is filled with far more gruesome treats. Here there is no romance, perhaps only romantic ideas – if not horribly twisted, as well. There are only the eerie images of a decaying, destroyed family with a spooky secret. Horror can be very effective when it makes the unlikely horrific, and that’s often one of Livid‘s best features. There are some flaws to the writing as the script wears on. Things feel rushed, messy in the end. Although I do enjoy the finale, it doesn’t feel as properly executed as everything before it. One of the few large flaws. Other than that, a few other moments ring slightly false, but aside from these I dig the writing. Because the dark fantasy/horror aspects of the plot are grim. In the best way we could hope. The unlikely terror comes in the form of creepy little ballet dancers, their skin pale and cracking. Some of the first, scariest bits of the movie for me are when these young, undead girls – like toys in a shop – come alive to murder one of the unknowing, would-be friends hoping to commit a robbery. Instead two thirds of them are murdered by the hidden family in the old woman’s mansion. Better than the writing is the atmosphere and the set design, the costumes, the makeup. These are elements Bustillo and Maury get spot on, bringing a team of more than capable artists with them to accomplish their goals. The dark fantasy portion of the story is like a Gothic tale set in modern times. Outside, the world is contemporary. Within the walls of the mansion it is an entirely other landscape filled with dreary, lavish rooms, and a living set of wind-up toys. The way it all looks physically is astonishing, the cinematography only makes everything look better; a rich, dark tone is set by the way everything is shot. Blood, blood, blood! While the movie isn’t loaded down, any fan of practical special effects will drool over a few of the horrible wounds the filmmakers put on film. Even just the makeup is rave-worthy. Such as the old woman, after all has been revealed; the way they make her look is akin to a bloodsucking mummy rising from the grave, equipped for some time with a clinical-looking gas mask to make it appear more ominous. But there are definitely a couple scenes with all out gore, as a few throats are slit. One favourite moment is when one of the intruders finds his friend return, a burlap sack on his head and blood seeping through: underneath, his head is nearly cut off, and it bounces on top of a sloppy, cut open neck that’s bleeding profusely. A hard, shocking bit of violence that works wonders. Truthfully, the few pieces of homage are what I enjoyed most because instead of trying to homage full scenes, events, kills (et cetera) of movies they admire, Bustillo and Maury opt to toss in a couple almost throwaway references. Only keen, diligent horror fans will recognise them. There’s a nice John Landis homage to The Slaughtered Lamb from his film An American Werewolf in London when the three hopeful robbers meet at a French pub named L’agneau abattu. A little later they encounter three children with masks reminiscent of those in  Halloween III: Season of the Witch , and one of the friends even sings the tune “Happy, Happy Halloween – Silver Shamrock!” And the best is that the old woman, later discovered to have been a ballet dancer and instructor, learned dance at Der Tanz Akademie, the same school featured in Dario Argento’s classic Suspiria. A few great influences that are shown through neat homage in the writing, rather than any scenes or kills being recreated. Lots of macabre goodness in this one. Perfect to throw on near Halloween, when the leaves are all gone, the night is long, and nobody’s around. When everything’s quiet. Livid touches on these dark fantasy and horror elements, but also works on the idea of motherhood, the female lead having to deal with this woman being a horrorshow of a mom while having lost her own tragically. So there isn’t only a supernatural-type plot involving everything from home invasion to vampirism, you can enjoy plenty of different things in the screenplay. Bustillo and Maury prove they’re willing to try something else other than the pre-approved Hollywood style of horror. Which is why I hope their outing into Leatherface territory is going to be something atypical from what we’ve seen since the original first two films. Who knows. I do know that this movie is a whopper of a horror, with its own world inside. Its imagery, the sounds, the atmosphere and tone; even with a wonky finale, Livid holds the goods. Dive in. Turn off the lights. See what happens. Rate this: Take a Baaad Trip, Man: 1986’s HOUSE Brings the Horror of Vietnam Back Home House. 1986. Directed by Steve Miner. Screenplay by Ethan Wiley, from a story by Fred Dekker. Starring William Katt, George Wendt, Richard Moll, Kay Lenz, Mary Stavin, Michael Ensign, Erik Silver, Mark Silver, & Susan French. New World Pictures/Sean S. Cunningham Films. Rated R. 93 minutes. Comedy/Fantasy/Horror ★★★1/2 For years I searched out a movie I knew I’d seen as a young boy, only to come up short. I looked through so many titles, watched so many trailers. To a point where the scenes I did remember felt akin to those of a dream just out of your reach; you know the images, you just can’t play them. Finally, it felt like I’d literally dreamed the whole movie up. Then I was flicking through George Wendt’s filmography and I came across the one I’d been looking for all these years: the Steve Miner-directed House. In the early ’90s, I was about 6 or 7 at the time, this 1986 horror-comedy came on television, late in the night. I wasn’t supposed to be up, but my mom and I lived with my grandparents, and my grandfather would watch whatever with me then eventually fall asleep. So here I am, House is on and Rated R, in my glee. What I saw, at the time, horrified me. It’s meant to be a comedy with horror involved, yet I found nothing funny. All the strange moments and scenes piled together in my mind. Years passed with odd images of a bloated female zombie, bright nails; a man wrestling a zombie dressed like a soldier; fleeting bits of Vietnam; among so many other little things that kept with me. Watching it now, House isn’t great. Nonetheless, a lot of fun. The goofiness is sort of endearing. Above anything, the horror is still there, plain as day. And though many people will watch, laughing from time to time, I’m into my thirties and Miner’s film still manages to make me feel uneasy. Something that makes the money more enjoyable as an adult, for me, is that Roger Cobb (William Katt) feels like an actual writer, a genuine person rather than a character. The way he tries to get writing, then goes off on tangent after tangent, is so true to life. As a writer, I know the feeling, and I know others who feel the exact same way. Writing an article or review is one thing. Writing fiction is an entirely other level of brainpower. So Cobb does his best to keep distracted, even if he wants to get the novel finished. That’s when something far more sinister than a break from work takes hold of him. The entire Vietnam subplot of Roger’s past is actually disturbing. Juxtaposed with the comedy, there’s an attempt to lighten the tone. Still keeps things spooky. Some of what lingered with me over 20 years is this whole part of the character. He is torn by regret, guilt. Another aspect is that his guilt gets exacerbated by the fact he’s seeing monsters in his aunt’s big, old house. He sees one, shoots it, then realises it was actually his estranged wife. While his predicament gets played for ghastly laughs awhile, until the finale we’re left with horrible assumptions, believing him to have killed his wife accidentally, trying to cover it up, and thinking his brain has utterly melted. This makes much of the movie fearfully tense under all that yuck-yuck comedy, sort of like being in hose shoes, right there with him the whole time. Something that horrified me as a boy, and does to this day, is the bloated female zombie, the corpse of Roger’s wife. The high pitched voice reminds me of Judge Doom when he devolves into his toon form . Disgustingly effective. The scene with this bloated corpse always made me feel strange and ran a chill up my spine. A little later there’s another unsettling image – the huge marlin mounted on the wall comes alive, moving creepily, the whole body writhing and the eyes moving. Not sure why, it’s hideous. Especially after Roger blows a hole in it and the big eye rolls around in its head. Yuck. When Roger has his first confrontation with the spider-like monster in the closet, that’s another moment which still kind of rocks me. Has a very John Carpenter’s  The Thing feel to the creature design. That’s one of the scenes I remembered for years. SPOILER ALERT: Here, There Be Spoilers It’s really the end I find worth your time. Maybe the rest will come off as too slapstick comedy for you to take any of it seriously. And, can’t forget, it’s meant to be comedy. I merely feel there’s more horror than people remember, or are willing to admit; genuine horror. Such as when Roger faces his final terror. A tentacle and an arm grasp him through the mirror – a great shot, well executed – and pulls him through, to the nightmarescape of his Vietnam memories. I love that moment because it follows through for all those cliched jump scare mirror moments across the genre, actually giving the mirror some horror qualities outside of scary reflections popping up behind characters. The finale is an intense, emotional struggle for Cobb. He’s left to fight Big Ben (Richard Moll), only Ben is dead, zombified. Scariest aspect is that, essentially, Roger must let go of his past, or else ultimately sacrifice his own son. Naturally, he manages to overcome and literally fights his demons to the death; a.k.a he beats Big Ben’s ass, like a champ. Add to that the Big Ben zombie makeup effects are the best of the film. Actually a formidable, intimidating, menacing creature – a skull and bones soldier, back from ‘Nam AND the grave. Makes the end, even with its cheesy final couple moments after, worth all the nonsense earlier. I like Steve Miner. He’s made a lot of stuff I couldn’t care less about, truthfully, yet he also has a few films under his belt for which I eternally admire him. I mean, he made one of the later Halloween films that didn’t totally suck. There’s Friday the 13th Part II and III. Recently he did a great episode for the series  Dead of Summer . What I’ll always remember fondly is House. There’s more inside than people think. Definitely the comedy detracts from its better, serious elements. That doesn’t matter to me. What works, really works. Any time I can thrown this on, but it’s always best saved for October, closer to Halloween the better. You’ll dig this for a group of friends. Throw it on, have a laugh. Don’t sleep on Miner, though. Under those chuckles you’ll also discover a bit of weirdness, something nasty, maybe even a legitimate fright or two. Rate this: NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE: Dark, Elegant Sadness Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht. (English title: Nosferatu the Vampyre). 1979. Directed & Written by Werner Herzog. Starring Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, Walter Ladengast, Dan van Husen, Jan Groth, Carsten Bodinus, & Martje Grohmann. Werner Herzog Filmproduktion/Gaumont/Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. Rated PG. 107 minutes. Drama/Fantasy/Horror ★★★★★ Today, many people complain about remakes. That’s partly because Hollywood has churned out remake after remake. Some movies need them, and some don’t. In 1979, Werner Herzog decided to do an update on F.W. Murnau’s  Nosferatu ; a film he considers the greatest of German cinema. While the 1922 Murnau picture is a classic, an amazing example of German Expressionism which went on the influence the entire horror genre, a filmmaker such as Herzog taking on this sort of material is intriguing. To say the least. The pairing of Herzog and mad actor Klaus Kinski produced a ton of excellent cinema over their time together as artists. Their first film,  Aguirre, the Wrath of God , is one of the truly perfect masterpieces. But it’s Nosferatu the Vampyre that’s always captivated me most out of their work. One of the greatest, if not the single greatest, vampire horrors out there. The cinematography is gorgeous, like a period piece dream. To me, this is the best instance of Kinski’s acting. Because of the role and its requirements he doesn’t let loose like the usual performance we expect from him. Herzog gets the best out of the actor as Count Dracula, as well as makes the typically interesting directorial choices that come to define his best films. More an homage than a remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre keeps the spirit of the original while simultaneously feeling decidedly Herzog-esque in the best kind of way. And it’s horror! Werner and the macabre makes for a great time. I’m a fan of Terrence Malick, for the most part – one thing I love, as do many, is how he presents the beauty and power of nature. In opposition, I’ve always liked the way Herzog depicts nature in his various films, whether documentary or otherwise. Because what he does is show nature as it is, not as we see it through a romantic lens. There are certain ideas of nature and order versus chaos and disorder at play in this vampire story. Early on, Herzog gives us these incredible wide shots of beaches, the sand stretching on forever past the horizon through a blanket of fog. As Jonathan Harker (Brunzo Ganz) travels on his journey to eventually meet Count Dracula (Kinski), we’re taken through several other majestic natural views, from waterfalls to green pastures, hills. Everything feels in its place, even the dreariness of Wismar and its foggy landscapes. After meeting the Count, particularly being visited in the night in his bedroom by Dracula, nature starts to change along with Harker. Disorder reigns. Once Dracula and his ship come to Wismar, the chaos of nature unleashes: rats swarm from the ship into the city, around people eating a fancy meal at a luxurious dining table out in the street; nearby in a square where people have been going crazy, pigs run free shitting in the street everywhere. So for all the beauty in nature, Herzog has a way of showing nature in all its glory, as well as its nastiness. Plus, it plays well into the theme of Dracula’s unnatural presence. Popol Vuh does the score for Herzog here, aside from the inclusion of Wagner’s Prelude to Das Rheingold. Their sound is hypnotic, foreign, magical at times. They’ve got a dreamy quality to their music. The score is, at times, akin to unsettling chamber music. Druidic sounding chants behind the instrumentation on Dracula’s sea voyage becomes perfectly ominous, swelling then getting quiet again, as the ship’s arrival feels more like a funeral procession. Popol Vuh gives the film a drastically different feel than any other Dracula flick out there. Part of why the cinematography’s noteworthy is due to the colour palette. Herzog has a lot of wonderful colour going on, keeping the costumes bright and colourful on most everyone in order to contrast well with Dracula’s black clothing, his pale face and hollow-looking eyes. Many of the interior scenes are caught in a blue-ish tinted lens, and we’re often led to believe we’re walking in a dream. As Harker travels towards Transylvania, the exteriors are bright and rich, vivid like one of Herzog’s documentaries. These scenes with Harker are breathtaking – the waterfall sequence leading to Harker sitting atop the rocks on the peak of a mountain, accompanied by Wagner, becomes something truly transcendent. Colour and lighting is one thing. The locations are a whole other piece of the atmosphere. Filming took place in the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, and the famous, morbid opening was filmed by Herzog himself in Guanajuato, Mexico at the Mummies of Guanajuato museum (the director actually had to manipulate the mummified corpses to have them where he wanted them). Kinski gives a career best performance as the infamous Count. He is subdued, emotive. His eyes alone convey the suffering of the ancient vampire, lost in the eternity of his affliction. The loneliness sears in the way he looks at everything, everyone around him, unsure of how to exist amongst the modern people of Wismar. Not to mention the way Herzog captures Kinski in all the gloriously hideous makeup. For instance, the initial scene with Harker at dinner is a perfect example, where shots of Dracula cloak him entirely in darkness except for his face, so that there’s a ghostly appearance of him solely as a disembodied head. In every way, Kinski’s Dracula is the most definitive to me. He gets the eeriness of the vampire, and totally nails the lonely heart of the undead Count. At once a true ghoul and a fading lover, to the level of Greek tragedy-like awe. If this isn’t a 5-star vampire flick, I don’t know what is, and I’m at a loss as to why anybody wouldn’t love this one. Herzog isn’t for everybody. His style absolutely comes across, tenfold, but all the same this is one of his films that doesn’t go too deep into that arena. Herzog opts to use his talents to make a wonderful homage to Murnau, using less of a German Expressionist style, and focusing more on a straight forward look at horror, infused with a better view into Count Dracula’s sadness. Technically a remake, Herzog pays respect to Murnau and also treads new ground of his own to make his Nosferatu the Vampyre interesting. Most of all, he allows his style to create the deep atmosphere and mood of the film so that the story and characters feel fresh in their own right. Kinski is the star, as is Herzog in his director’s seat. But you cannot forget Ganz, who does fine work and only gets finer as the film progresses, and certainly not the talented Isabelle Adjani as Lucy Harker – they’re both knockout additions to the cast. In a day and age when vampires haven’t been treated with the proper respect they deserve, on film and in literature, Nosferatu the Vampyre is a welcomed horror for any October-Halloween season. Don’t go for all the typical ones. Check out Herzog’s masterpiece of horror. And for those who don’t dig subtitles, this movie was simultaneously recorded in German and English, so you’re not missing too much nuance by watching it in English. Although I always recommend any film in its original language. One thing you’ll never forget about the English language version? Renfield’s horrendous laugh. Try sleeping after you watch this and not hear it. I dare you. Rate this: Rubbish Film of the Year: YOGA HOSERS Yoga Hosers. 2016. Directed & Written by Kevin Smith. Starring Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, Adam Brody, Harley Morenstein, Ashley Greene, Jack Depp, Austin Butler, Tyler Posey, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Justin Long, Tony Hale, Natasha Lyonne, Genesis Rodriguez, Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Conroy, Stan Lee, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Haley Joel Osment, & Johnny Depp. Abbolita Productions/Destro Films/Invincible Pictures. Comedy/Fantasy/Horror/Thriller ★ I was one of the few who actually enjoyed  Tusk , a ton. It was cheesy, but it was also fun, creepy, and totally wild. Before that, Kevin Smith brought me back into the fold of those that enjoy his films (he lost me for a few years) with Red State; I honestly fucking love that movie, endlessly. So when he announced Yoga Hosers, even the concept had me chuckling. Although I worried maybe the one note Canadian jokes from Tusk might not translate well into an entirely other whole movie. And worried I was, rightfully. Listen, when it comes to Smith, I do feel like he’s got a skill for quirky writing that doesn’t go overboard, keeping things silly enough while still staying hilarious. But sweet lord, does he ever shit all over the page on this one. I get that he feels like this was a labour of love, that it was sort of a film for him. Kudos. That doesn’t make the movie any good. Yoga Hosers has fun bits, although rare. The lead performances from Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith are the best part, their energy and charisma are some of the only things that make this movie even bearable. Most of all I worry about the next part of Smith’s True North trilogy, Moose Jaws, simply because he’s applied for funding. I mean, maybe if he were trying to make something else it’d be different. Tusk was a movie I loved; it wasn’t actually a great movie. Quality seems to have diminished wildly in this second instalment. Makes me curious what will happen next in the hard to tolerate adventures of the two Colleens. My biggest beef is the Canadian stuff. I thought the briefness of that material in Tusk was enough, even that pushed it. Coming from a brutally self-deprecating Canadian, a Newfoundlander at that, these jokes wear thin, mighty quick. I love when good jokes come across, and they do at times. I feel like Smith could’ve hit a lot better notes as a comedy writer. Maybe if he’s going solo on the next one, bring in a Canadian writer to give you a bit of help. I’ll admit, when Justin Long does the “Namaste, eh” line, I fucking cracked up. I don’t even like Long. Other than that, his character and accent are awful. Sounds like a cross of Irish and North Dakota. So many lines from him are awful, so many lines from EVERYONE, simply due to the fact no Canadian would ever say this shit. Ever. Ever. Ever. The constant repetition of “aboot” does not make me laugh, it only gets annoying. To the point I wished Smith would just give up. I dig the style of the film overall – the special effects during each character introduction, sound effects galore, those funny and eerie flashbacks to the French-Canadian Nazi Party. All that is enjoyable enough. It’s unpretentious, silly, which is what Smith was going for obviously. The only truly enjoyable part of the whole movie is that you can see Smith had fun shooting. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about silliness! At all. Problem is that there’s not enough smarts or real, genuine laughs to make the whole debacle worth it. The hockey stuff, the “aboot” over and over, how the accents don’t hold up across dialogue and certain characters, a couple terrible performances – including Ralph Garman, as well as the dialogue written for him that was excruciating – a whopping, terrible finale and final fight… this all adds up to a real turd. What I loved, as I mentioned before, are the two performances from Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith. They’re charming and awesome as the two convenience store girls, for the most part; they can’t help what Papa Smith wrote, they do their best. At least their energy is infectious enough to keep the viewer’s attention. Likewise, Johnny Depp’s return as Guy LaPointe is fucking riotous. His makeup, the entire attitude, that French-English accent, he’s drop dead funny. LaPointe’s one of my favourites of his characters. Sadly, one of the only very few aspects that are decent about Yoga Hosers. Definitely not enough to make the experience enjoyable. “This is what happens when you publish a poop” When people say they want to like a movie, and then don’t, I understand. This is one of those films for me. Yoga Hosers, I wanted to like. Desperately. I do like Smith, even if a few of his efforts are junk. Part of me was hoping he’d prove people wrong, make another weird yet actually enjoyable piece of work like Tusk (even if I’m in the minority here). Too bad. Guy LaPointe and the two Colleens make for the sole moments worth your time. Not near enough to love. I don’t know. Maybe someone out there digs this kind of thing. In my mind, Smith wasted his time, as well as his fans. Not even some of the die hard Smith lovers are going to find this any good. Striking in too many directions, suffering from poor writing, Yoga Hosers falls flat even in one of those so-bad-it’s-good ways. Please, Kevin: do something better with Moose Jaws. If not, don’t apply for funding. Especially if it’s Canadian. I know a bunch of filmmakers that could and would put the money to better use than “For my own enjoyment” projects like this is so clearly. And even then, no excuse for this kind of dreck. Rate this: Scrape the Bottom of Horror’s Barrel with OUIJA Ouija. 2014. Directed by Stiles White. Screenplay by White & Juliet Snowden. Starring Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff, Bianca A. Santos, Douglas Smith, Shelley Hennig, Sierra Heuermann, Sunny May Allison, Lin Shaye, & Claudia Katz Minnick. Blumhouse Productions/Universal Pictures/ Platinum Dunes/Hasbro Studios. Rated PG-13. 89 minutes. Fantasy/Horror/Thriller ★1/2 After seeing over 4,200 films and counting, a good third at least horror, I don’t find myself becoming less impressed. I find lots of movies that I consider really good to great. But no doubt, there are plenty of shitty flicks in the midst of all those solid ones. Ouija is up there with a nice few other modern horror movies, which try so hard to be their own thing while wallowing in the waters of mediocre to trash fare. Honestly, as soon as I saw Hasbro was actually producing this a huge red flag went up. It’s just like Battleship, and now there are other ridiculous movies being produced based on board games and things like Tetris. I mean, at least Clue was produced by Debra Hill ! And had John Landis co-writing the script. So, sure, Ouija‘s different because it has a horror angle, a bit of fantasy. Yet instead of trying to do something original this rehashes plot and scares that have been done before, and done much better. Mainly my biggest problem is that the whole film is so bland. Other than an appearance by Lin Shaye – not very long either, mind you – there’s nothing exciting about the acting. Unfortunate, since I love Olivia Cooke in her role on Bates Motel. Then with no real suspense or tension, tame and watered down horror in place of anything properly haunting, Ouija strikes out on almost all counts. If it weren’t for a few decent scenes and an okay finale there’d be nothing much at all to enjoy. Director Stiles White and his wife Juliet Snowden co-wrote this together. Before now I’d seen their previous writing efforts in the barely competent Nic Cage flick Knowing and  The Possession (another lukewarm story). Suffice to say their talent hasn’t gotten any better. Worse, in fact. Right from the start Ouija seems like some other movie. The opening is like part  The Ring and a warmed over version of so many other horror film opening sequences that everything begins on faulty ground. Does nothing to capture your attention uniquely, and it makes you feel like whispering under your breath: “Ahhh, this again.” I’ll give them this – the image of Debbie (Shelley Hennig) hanging herself with the string of lights is excellently macabre, the best part of the first ten minutes. There’s nothing overly amazing in terms of imagery, or even just the cinematography itself. Although I do dig the look, as it keeps things appropriately dark and doesn’t attack your eyes with hideously low lighting when there’s no need (as many crap modern horrors seem to do). The score is all right, but again it doesn’t jump out at me. Fairly generic. Disappointing and strange to me, seeing as how composer Anton Sanko did the music for  Strangeland and John Cameron Mitchell’s intense drama  Rabbit Hole . Sanko seems to have followed that interesting work with some junk horror movies – The Possession, Nurse 3D, Jessabelle. Too bad that earlier work didn’t translate into at least a few interesting compositions. The music is like the same old stuff you’ve heard a hundred times. There’s generally an overall lack of any genuine suspense or tension. The plot’s events are too predictable. There’s the board moving on its own, figures in the mirror. Typical horror plot from beginning to end. Ouija moves from one horror trope to the next, never copying anything outright to the point of plagiarist ridicule, yet also never doing anything remotely original with its concept.  Witchboard is a far better Ouija board-centric horror; that’s saying something. My biggest beef? The stitched floss mouth scene. First off, I love the floss sewing up the mouth. Creepy. But then after the girl is possessed, she starts floating off her feet. For the most part this movie doesn’t go for flying ghosts, so that part feels strange and doesn’t fit well. I also dig the gnarly addition of her forehead smashing off the sink; brutal horror-type stuff. I just don’t understand how this fits with the first death and how Debbie’s demise sets up the possessions. Very eerie to have the Ouija board spirit kill people off, but it needed to be better connected. Floss mouth was neat, however, including the head smash on the sink too seems like overkill, in the sense that there didn’t need to be any floating off the ground, magic-type stuff. The possession is enough! Could’ve just let her panic after the floss stitched her mouth shut, then have her slip on the water from the bathtub running over, and her head cracks open on the sink. Done. Rather than that this scene sticks out like a sore thumb, feeling mismatched and confused. There are a couple decent scenes, I have to admit. Particularly I love Lin Shaye’s few moments when we get more of the Ouija board’s backstory. She adds a tiny air of credibility to the whole thing. Plus, her last scene is super intense; great acting. Other than that the predictable, circular ending opening up a possible sequel is boring, played out. To my surprise, Mike Flanagan ( Absentia ,  Hush ,  Before I Wake ) and frequent writing collaborator Jeff Howard are in charge of the next film, a prequel called Ouija: Origin of Evil. Really don’t know how that’ll turn out, although I’m excited for anything Flanagan chooses to involve himself in. It’ll have to be better than this one. I would not recommend Ouija. Unless you’re looking for something to toss on around Halloween with a few friends, to pick apart and joke about. You’ll find a couple little chilly moments, but don’t count on many. Mostly this walks through a lot of familiar territory with half the enjoyment of another similar movie you’ve seen before. Rate this: THE SEVENTH SIGN’s Psychological Book of Revelations Horror The Seventh Sign. 1988. Directed by Carl Schultz. Screenplay by Clifford & Ellen Green (as George Kaplan & W.W. Wicket). Starring Demi Moore, Michael Biehn, Jürgen Prochnow, Peter Friedman, Manny Jacobs, John Taylor, Lee Garlington, Akosua Busia, Harry Basil, Michael Laskin, & Ian Buchanan. TriStar Pictures/Interscope Communications/ML Delphi Premier Productions. Rated R. 97 minutes. Drama/Fantasy/Horror/Thriller ★★★1/2 Admittedly, director Carl Schultz is someone I’m not familiar with, outside of his work on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Often I try to see more than one thing by a director, just so I can then gauge their abilities more appropriately. Far as I know,  The Seventh Sign is the only time Schultz has dipped into anything horror. Then there’s screenwriters Clifford and Ellen Green, credited here respectively as George Kaplan and W.W. Wicket, whose work I know from 2000’s Bless the Child – a mediocre film, but one that gets into ideas of good versus evil in a religious sense, though never gets into preaching territory. Much like their writing in this film. The Seventh Sign goes for a biblical horror, one that sees the Book of Revelations become terrifyingly real. It’s not amazing, it’s interesting. The horror is more psychological than anything action-oriented, making most of the movie a dramatic thriller about a woman who may be the only one with knowledge of an impending apocalypse. As far as Bible-oriented horror movies, this one is up there on the list of great titles. A few flaws aren’t enough to make this bad, not for me. I’m too busy watching Jesus bring back the wrath of God. And I’m not even a Christian, I just love an epic horror flick. Although I’m not a believer in God, I’ve at least taken the time to read the Bible. Full disclosure, I’ve also read the Satanic Bible, too. Fair is fair, right? Well anyway, the Book of Revelations is always a favourite of those wanting to talk about the madness you find in the Bible. Because the wrath of God is no joke, man. That’s why the opening of the film is excellently depicted. A very strange mood, as a man people seem to recognise even if they’re never seen him before walks through a seaside Haitian town. He reaches the ocean, stepping in slightly, before dead fish roll in by the dozens upon dozens (“ A third of the living creatures in the sea died ” Revelation 8:9). Already in those opening moments there’s an atmosphere of horrible anticipation, this dread like sweat clinging on. Very well executed to make the story ominous straight away, setting the tone from step one. What if the biblical apocalypse were literal? What if it weren’t just “poetry” and rather a literally translated description of the destruction involved in God’s ultimate wrath against mankind, for the world – the one he created with painstaking hope – swallowed whole by sin? Premonitions of the coming apocalypse plague Abby Quinn (Demi Moore). Her experience is what generates the psychological horror of the screenplay from the Greens. Their wonderful writing turns what could, in the hands of other writers and directors, end up as a big budget destruction movie into an apocalyptic drama with far reaching consequences. They bring out the horror in how Abby sees visions, so much so at one point she ends up in the bathtub with a razor against her wrists. Without spoiling too much about Abby’s character, she, Father Lucci (Peter Friedman), and David Bannon (Jürgen Prochnow) are all modern incarnations of biblical figures, each with their own purpose and journey, some more tragic than others. The story is terrifying in how much suffering these characters go through in their respective ways. “Will you die for him?” The vision Abby has is haunting. She sees only a glimpse of some ancient past, first seeing a ringed hand covered with blood, someone chained being beaten. Later, we see the more unnerving truth behind it – who was being beaten, who did the beating. There are lots of spot on moments of eeriness where Schultz teases us with brief flashes. Specifically, the torturous thoughts that burrow their way into Abby’s mind are given to us much like they come to her, in flashes of shocking terror. Meanwhile, watching Prochnow’s character sort of waltz through this world heavy with the air of an incoming apocalypse is quite enjoyable. My favourite is the scene where Abby tries to stab him and he laments: “I can‘t die again. I wish I could.” Prochnow is a major part of why The Seventh Sign works as a whole; he and Moore are equally good in their roles. But Prochnow, for someone who has been in amazing movies over the course of his storied career, has never been better. And that’s saying something! His entire demeanour, the casual speech, his measured tone, these traits makes the character feel at once supernatural and simultaneously all too human. Someone could well go over-the-top in a performance as this character. He keeps it right on the perfect note the entire time. Another aspect I love, perhaps more than anything about the film, is the score from Jack Nitzsche (who’s worked with The Rolling Stones & Neil Young, won on Oscar for his song “Up Where We Belong” from An Officer and a Gentleman, amongst other notable achievements). His compositions are genuinely strange, in a totally compelling, powerful way. It feels religions during many scenes, as if hearing the hymns of an ancient church from a long ago era. For a film based on the apocalypse from Revelations, the music fits will all types of sounds – some synthesizer, low and near guttural chants, spooky strings that make you feel like you’re being dragged into hell. The emotion behind these pieces is heavy, matching the epic scale of the film’s plot. Awesome score that I’d love to get my hands on. The Seventh Sign is a late ’80s thriller people don’t often talk about. It doesn’t have the greatest rating anywhere. But I feel like somehow it got lost at the end of a decade filled with all kinds of horror. Schultz breaks out of his usual genres to do something different, and with a competent cast of actors (can’t forget Friedman; he is solid as Father Lucci) he does just that, giving us bits of biblical fantasy and some glimpses into horror that are memorable. I’d recommend checking this out if you can track it down. There’s plenty of excitement to enjoy. Moore gives a nice central performance to match Prochnow’s magic; she plays the tough woman in distress at the heart of the apocalypse’s drama. This Halloween, find The Seventh Sign, and dig in for some chilling religious horror. Rate this: BEFORE I WAKE: Flanagan Heads Deep Into the Dark Power of Grief Before I Wake. 2016. Directed by Mike Flanagan. Screenplay by Flanagan & Jeff Howard. Starring Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Annabeth Gish, Jacob Tremblay, Dash Mihok, Scottie Thompson, Jay Karnes, Kyla Deaver, & Courtney Bell. Intrepid Pictures/Demarest Films/MICA Entertainment. Drama/Fantasy/Horror/Thriller ★★★★ Ever since I saw Absentia there’s always a twinkle in my horror loving eye when I hear that Mike Flanagan is directing something. Even when it’s a sequel to Ouija. I’ll watch whatever he makes, simply because he’s given horror enough in the past five years to in turn give him the benefit of the doubt. His recent horror-thriller  Hush is an exercise in tension that I enjoyed so damn much. So getting the chance to see Before I Wake this summer was a treat. Flanagan and Jeff Howard, co-writer of Oculus (another excellent little slice of horror) and Ouija: Origin of Evil, concoct a fairly impressive dark fantasy that is equal part psychological horror as it is an intense look at the drama of fractured families. At the root of this film are ideas about emotional trauma, how people choose to heal and move on, if they choose to even do so, as well as the power of our dreams (or nightmares as it were). Flanagan directs a wonderful cast of actors, each bringing their talents to the table in exciting ways, especially Kate Bosworth whose performance as a grieving mother is one of tragic beauty. Before I Wake is not as horror as some of Flanagan’s other titles. Nonetheless, it is creepy at times, just like it’s emotionally devastating at others and tender in moments. If you like dark fantasy, a mix of light horror and heavy drama, then you’ll definitely be interested. There’s a dichotomous perspective on pain and lingering trauma that parallels Jessie (Bosworth) and her adopted son Cody (Jacob Tremblay; a fine young actor after this and  Room ). The mother deals with her own flashback visions of her and Mark’s (Thomas Jane) son that died awhile ago. Once we start to figure out Cody has a strange power – or curse – then these flashbacks pale in comparison. At first the kid starts to conjure up butterflies. Mark and Jessie are fascinated, if not a bit weirded out. Things take a dark, tragic turn once Cody sees pictures of the dead boy, and starts manifesting his image. The couple teeters somewhere in a world between dream and reality. One minute their son returns, then the next, after Cody wakes up, he’s gone again like dust caught on the night air. This leads into a danger case of near abuse. Longing to see her son again, not having fully dealt with the trauma of losing him – while it seems her husband Mark, though hurt, is doing slightly better – Jessie starts to manipulate Cody in order to get a glimpse of that lost part of her life. This gets even more dangerous, as it not only prolongs her healing mentally further and further, but also severely exploits this little orphaned boy being bounced around from one family to the next. Worse than that, Cody is so damaged because of his own inner demons that nobody would ever know exactly how bad until it’s too late. Not respecting or paying attention to the power of Cody’s manifestations, Jessie inadvertently puts herself and everyone else in the way of a dark force. The Canker Man is an entity in Cody’s nightmares which kills people. Well, maybe not kills. He… takes people. They disappear. He’s very unsettling, from just the idea of him to his physical conception and how he attacks people, what he does to them. His mere reference by the boy is spine tingling. This film is horror, though more in line with the supernatural obviously. Like a dark fantasy vision of A Nightmare on Elm Street, less violent and more focused on the theme of repressed memories, the damage they can cause in many different forms. It’s a haunted house story set within the (vast) limitations of a dangerous child’s mind, a haunted house which follows Cody everywhere he goes. So many great visuals. The butterflies are interesting on their own, then they take the form of Christmas light butterflies; even the CGI feels genuine rather than jammed into the film to make up for a lack of anything. The implications of Cody’s dream creations are huge. So the way Flanagan and Co. tackle his nightmare visions is fitting. They don’t go too wide, but just wide enough. Then there are simpler moments, such as the coffee grounds bit when Cody tries his damnedest to stay awake, as long as possible – this again calls to mind the Wes Craven classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, almost more of the story which it inspired it. It’s the Canker Man whose apparition is dreadful, in the best sense. He is like a literal cankerous growth, a terrifying bit of nightmare oozing out of Cody’s mind. His mouth and eyes, or a lack thereof, is chilling. He is the best visual way of representing what grief, repressed memory, sorrow all do when wrapped up inside instead of being let out and dealt with properly. I’m not huge on the finale. Despite that, Before I Wake is absolutely a 4 out of 5 star film. It’s labelled as a horror when, in my mind, it ought to be promoted more as dark fantasy. In no way does that make it any less awesome. There’s so much good stuff here. A unique look into the way grief manifests itself dangerously, an allegory, like a warning never to try replacing a dead child with another one. There’s lots of good acting, particularly Bosworth and Tremblay; Jane gets his chances and delivers, too. You can hear that signature Danny Elfman sound in the score, joined by the Newton Brothers (Oculus,  Proxy ), which adds an entirely other dimension to the visuals we experience during Cody’s nightmares. The sounds are a large element to why the atmosphere feels so dreamy. With a few flaws, Flanagan makes an exciting piece of cinema once again. His abilities as a horror filmmaker are super impressive to me because he runs the gamut, going from slasher-type stuff with Hush, to his various trips into the supernatural from Oculus back to the fantastic indie Absentia which drew me to his work. Before I Wake is a fantastic addition to his body of work. Can’t wait to see what he does next. Rate this: Fear Will Eat You Alive in Stephen King’s IT Stephen King’s It. 1990. Part I – Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen. Part II – Directed & Written by Tommy Lee Wallace. Starring Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O’Toole, Tim Reid, Jonathan Brandis, Brandon Crane, John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Adam Faraizl, Tim Curry, Emily Perkins, Marlon Taylor, Seth Green, Ben Heller, Jarred Blancard, Tony Dakota, & Olivia Hussey. Green-Epstein Productions/Konisberg-Sanitsky Company/Lorimar Television. Drama/Fantasy/Horror/Mystery/Thriller ★★★★ No secret, Stephen King is one of my very favourite authors. Of all time. He is fantastic and tells a story like no other. His decidedly creepy aura is present in all his stories, no matter if it’s a straight up horror, or whether an intense personal drama. He always brings something with him that keeps things real, no matter how far out they get, and because of that his stories wind up all the more horrific. It is a wonderfully terrifying bit of fiction. A long novel, though worth every page. Tommy Lee Wallace (directed  Halloween III: Season of the Witch , wrote Amityville II: The Possession, played Michael Myers at one point in John Carpenter’s  Halloween ) adapts most of it fairly well into a two-part television movie. Of course it’s not as nasty as the book. Then again, not many writers are capable of getting to the dark heart of human beings quite as thoroughly as Mr. King. Plus, it was on TV. That being said, for its time It pushed the boundaries slightly in regards to what you can get away with re: television movies and mini-series violence (et cetera). The largest part of what Wallace does well is portray the portion of King’s work which deals with the kids. Part II is nowhere near as good as Part I, but for how scary the first half plays Wallace can rest easy knowing he terrified a generation of kids shitless. Ultimately, a flawed film and adaptation, yet one that still manages to bear its teeth in moments of outrageous horror, drawing on the childhood fears King does so expertly in his masterpiece of a novel. Certainly you can’t forget how well a clown can creep people out. Not to mention with Tim Curry behind the makeup giving it his absolute best. Our societal fear of clowns is likely based in how people feel uncomfortable with someone acting friendly, warm, yet being sinister underneath, hiding their true intentions. It’s why when people found out John Wayne Gacy was killing young men and hiding them in his crawlspace under the house, the fact he used to dress up as Pogo the Clown and do kids parties became the stuff of pure nightmare. Well, It doesn’t just come as a clown. However, to all the kids at once and to each of them in general when he shows up, he’s Pennywise. Because even as adults that lingering childhood fear still clings on hard. What Wallace uses is the brilliance and depth of Curry as an actor to make the Pennywise form of It feel the most chilling. Pennywise is a terror right from the opening scene. No time to feel as if he’s friendly. Curry starts out with a searing stare of evil eyes at the child in his path, which never fails to get me. When Georgie meets Pennywise at the sewer drain, there’s still a spooky feeling. Although Curry gives a more friendly introduction – problem is, we know what he’s up to, and that makes it brutally tense. The scene is much scarier this way, even after we know Pennywise is evil. He uses that clownish demeanour to lure poor Georgie. Just like the concept of the clown itself, this scene works by acting sweet on the outside, only to hold at its centre a rotten core. One thing I love that weaves through both the child and adult moments is how It’s tricks, from bloody sinks to balloons, are only visible to the characters from the Losers’ Club. Such as the earliest instance when Bill (Jonathan Brandis) sees his mother holding the photo album and blood seeps out of Georgie’s pictures all over her hands; a truly eerie moment. Later, we see Bev (Emily Perkins) and her father Al (Frank C. Turner) in the bathroom, as he looks for what she alerted him to in the drain: blood is everywhere, though he sees none of it. The sinking feeling of these scenes is perfectly ominous, like pages torn right from King’s book. One of It‘s flaws is that the novel was so big and packed in an immensely heavy load of characters and story, so in three hours it’s tough to pack the material of nearly 1,200 pages into maybe about 180, if that. There are certain King elements either toned down or entirely removed, such as the brutal attack of a young gay man who later meets his end at the hands of Pennywise, and different incarnations of It like a rotting leper pursuing young Eddie, among other creatures and forms. The violence is overall tame, as compared to the sometimes vicious writing in King’s book. For instance, Henry Bowers – in the book – witnesses a much more devastating, traumatic event which drives him crazy – a brutal decapitation at the hands of It, appearing to him as Frankenstein’s monster mauling his friends. All the same, there are great things in both parts. Mostly it’s Part I that I dig. The shower scene with Eddie (Adam Faraizl) is particularly unnerving, to me. Eddie’s situation preys on the vulnerability of having to be naked in the shower as a young man, which is bad enough. In addition, Pennywise shows up to torture him. He uses that fear and insecurity of many boys growing up experiencing such dread as the locker room and shower during junior high school. Wallace does a lot of fun things with the kids being haunted by It. Some of that crosses over into Part II. I’m always disturbed by when grownup Beverly (Annette O’Toole) goes to her dad’s place in Derry, only to find an old woman who It inhabits – she goes from a wretched crone to a dead version of Bev’s father with no eyes. Super scary. Love that. Aside from specific bits, there’s more often than not a palpable air of suspense, wondering what eeriness lies behind the next rock we turn over along with the Losers’ Club. The film has an exciting atmosphere in that dread-filled kind of sense, which makes up for the uneven bits in the screenplay. I feel like It, for 1990, is worth a 4-star rating. Wallace didn’t do all he could, but gave it his best and most creepy effort. You can’t deny there’s some good filmmaking in between the mistakes. When the kids have the picture and then Pennywise appears, this sequence is spectacular! Crossing from black-and-white into colour, Curry is deliciously bloodcurdling, as well as the fact the shot makes it feel as if Pennywise talks right to the viewer, putting us in the seat of the kids. A bunch of great moments like that make those flawed portions seem less worrisome. I’m excited to see the new version, I honestly think there’s going to be some enjoyable stuff. Forever I’ll find this one particularly spooky. Curry is unhinged throughout the performance, to a point even I can’t stand to look at his clown face; they don’t bother me as a rule. Yet that’s how good he is, he makes me feel gross about clowns. Not often does a villain stick out so well, especially in a film that has its fair share of misses. Above anything, Pennywise is fantastic horror. The writing in Part I sets up the best terror you can imagine, and though it’s squandered a bit in the second part Wallace does keep you hooked with a thick atmosphere along with good actors doing their best. Don’t expect perfection and you won’t be too disappointed. This is still a scary flick, doesn’t matter. Even if Part I were all we had there’s frightful horror to enjoy every step of the way. Rate this: Go Monster Hunting with Adam Green’s DIGGING UP THE MARROW Digging Up The Marrow. 2015. Directed & Written by Adam Green. Starring Ray Wise, Adam Green, Will Barratt, Josh Ethier, Rileah Vanderbilt, Kane Hodder, Sarah Elbert, Tom Holland, Mick Garris, & Alex Pardee. Ariescope Pictures. Drama/Fantasy/Horror ★★★★1/2 If I can be honest, I’m not a huge Adam Green fan as a rule. I do like him, in that I find his enthusiasm for old school horror charming. My favourites of his work are Spiral and Frozen, two great little movies and both quite different. The first Hatchet is fun, even if it’s not an awesome flick. One major reason why I’m into Digging Up the Marrow is because Green’s enthusiasm for monsters and horror is very evident throughout, and not only that he takes this metafictional trip into a world where all that can become real. Another of the biggest reasons for enjoying the movie is the art and the designs of Alex Pardee. I first came across him via his Facebook page. There’s always something new, weird, hilarious, frightening, or all rolled into one being posted; his mind is a wealth of terrifying creation. Together, Green and Pardee have created a weird and wild world in which the monsters of their dreams lurk just below the surface of the Earth, in a place called The Marrow. I can see why many people have brought up the idea of Nightbreed, the Clive Barker written and directed horror about a place called Midian, a world not unlike The Marrow where creatures dwell. No doubt Green and Pardee both were influenced by Barker. Still, Barker’s film involves an entirely other plot, and far as I can determine (outside of homage) their only link is the fact their monster worlds are similarly located in cemeteries. What makes Green’s movie interesting and uniquely its own is the monster design, courtesy of Pardee’s mind and sculpting by artist Greg Aronowitz, as well as a natural performance from Green himself, and the incomparable Ray Wise as an excitingly odd character whose revelations about The Marrow get scarier by the minute. The documentary style of the film is great. Instead of a full feature in found footage, the faux-documentary format breaks the sub-genre’s monotony. This gives Green the avenue to use the relationship he has with his fans as part of the plot. The story stems from receiving a package sent by a fan who claimed, with lots of supposed evidence, that his character from Hatchet, Victor Crowley, was real. Not wanting to engage with a potentially unstable fan (though it could’ve been someone having lots of fun with a director they admire; better safe than sorry), Green set it aside. When he and Pardee met, they discussed a similar sort of story, only using the monsters of the latter’s designs and various paintings. So Pardee, a fan, played part of the genesis, and obviously later came to help out a good deal. Combining reality and fiction with Green as a leader character grounds things in an interesting way, allowing the plot to feel more real. The director-writer adds authenticity, as Pardee takes us away to another world with his wildly unique monster designs. They’re perfect for the film because they aren’t exactly what you’d expect from typical monster movies, certainly not bigger budget productions. Part of why it’s an independent movie is because Green shopped it around and nobody wanted to tackle original monsters rather than something big budget, a remake of Frankenstein or who knows what else. Using the innovative look of the creatures from Pardee’s imagination and a mockumentary angle, Green does strong work; I might even say his best. Ray Wise as William Dekker ( Dr. Decker anyone ?) is a knockout. Personally, I love Wise. Although in certain roles he can verge on being hammy. Here, he’s creepy at times, sympathetic and worthy of our empathy during others. He’s compelling, mysterious, and the pain of the character’s inner life, his past, comes out of the subtle performance from Wise. Dekker comes to represent those people on the fringe of society who tell us things we ought to believe but don’t because we deem them crazy, mentally ill. This plays into the overall technique of Green throughout the film. Seeing Dekker’s drawings (Pardee’s art) early on and not actually seeing any monsters too closely, or well lit, until the finale makes for massive impact. Some complain there aren’t enough monsters, I feel that only allowing a few good glimpses of them, including the bunch in the finale, made their appearances all the more special and exciting. And those monsters! So, so wickedly good. The first real visible creature, the big-headed monster, is shocking and unsettles the viewer. At the same time this brings great excitement because at that point Adam has proof of monsters. Funny enough, Josh Ethier and Kane Hodder’s reactions to the initial contact are like a comment on how, as viewers, we’re jaded and at this point even a real monster doesn’t impress anymore because via effects it’s “all been done before” like people often say. It’s the thrilling, chilling finale which shows us more of the hidden monsters, such as Vance – the previously discussed monster Dekker showed Green and cameraman Will Barratt – the pumpkin-hooded Marrrow greeter, whose hood conceals more gruesome things beneath. Then there are those whose names we don’t know yet: a vampire-ish creature hidden underneath an almost child-like cartoon face; a gaping mouth on legs scurrying through the woods; and there are others, oh yes, indeed. The execution of the monsters is pretty damn perfect in my mind. While I could’ve used a few more glimpses of the monsters, Digging Up The Marrow is a creature feature treat. It’s innovative in the use of monsters, the creations of Pardee come alive so magically. The Marrow is something many of us horror hounds have thought about over the years, of course in our own ways and various incarnations. Those of us that love the genre and grew up as lost teenagers grasping onto these types of movies as a way of relating to the world can easily enjoy the enthusiasm and excitement of Green for the story. Mainly, the horror is a trip. The way Green delays our true look at the monsters for any length of time until the end is the best, to me. Certain reviews feel there weren’t enough monsters, not enough of the ones we saw. But it’s about the fear and uneasiness of feeling they’re all around us, just slightly hidden to the naked eye, that drives all the thrills we come to in the finale. Sit back, enjoy the movie. Green and Wise haul the viewer in, Pardee’s monsters make for the frightful madness. If you don’t take everything too seriously, you’ll enjoy it. At the very same time, don’t not take it seriously because though there are some chuckles, Digging Up The Marrow ends as a horrifying walk through a world parallel to our own, one that only the loneliest of minds (like Dekker) can actually see. Look harder and you might see it, too. But beware what lies inside The Marrow. Rate this: VALHALLA RISING: Revisionist Arthouse Viking History Valhalla Rising. 2009. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Screenplay by Refn & Roy Jacobsen; additional writing by Matthew Read. Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Alexander Morton, Stewart Porter, Maarten Stevenson, Matthew Zajac, Gordon Brown, Gary McCormack, Andrew Flanagan, James Ramsey, Gary Lewsi, Jamie Sives, Ewan Stewart, Rony Bridges, Robert Harrison, Andy Nicolson, & Douglas Russell. BBC Films/Belle Allee Productions. Adventure/Drama/Fantasy ★★★★★  Seven years on, and still I’m unsure of what Valhalla Rising is saying, if anything deeper than skin deep at all. What I do know is this: Nicolas Winding Refn is an auteur, a visionary filmmaker who knows exactly what he wants. Even through the darker periods of his financial days, Refn was able to keep churning out films that were impressively engaging. As time went on his style became more focused, he honed his craft. And then Drive blew the collective film-going mind, the world over. Before that there was Valhalla Rising, where more of that arthouse style for which he seems to aim started coming out, for the first time.  Bronson had part of it in all that story’s weird glory, even  Fear X  was more artistically conceived and framed than his earliest works. But this Viking fantasy contains the first real inklings in Refn’s catalogue as director where his full-blown sense of authorship is spellbinding, to the level of a completely epic journey; I hate to use that word, epic, yet it’s exactly what constitutes the scope of this story. What this film offers is twofold. We have a beautifully shot piece of cinema focused on a journey involving Vikings, Christians, Norse paganism, manifest destiny. Combine that with philosophical elements and an imagery-fuelled rumination on the nature of good v. evil, you’ve effectively described Valhalla Rising best advertisements.  Before I say anything else, I love, love, love Mads Mikkelsen. First just on a basic level he has one of those cinematic faces, an interesting one to be captured on camera. A striking look about him. Secondly, his acting ability’s outstanding. He has range to both be a hero and a villain, so interchangeably that it’s staggering at times. Look at how charmingly menacing his Hannibal Lecter was, how innocent and criminal Tonny in the  Pusher movies comes across, or his character from  The Hunt , a good man wrongfully accused of a devastating crime. Then compare any of those with his turn here as One-Eye, a hero in his own right if not a brutal one. What’s so powerful about this performance out of any of his is that there are no lines of dialogue. He is totally silent, barely even grunting. His silence transforms the character into an almost transcendent character – a metaphor. For what, I’m not entirely certain. Mikkelsen emotes so succinctly and vivid only through his face – and with one eye at that. Not many actors would be capable of the feat he accomplishes. I’ve always admired him, ever since his role in Pusher. With each passing film, Mikkelsen’s admirable qualities climb, as he proves his worth by falling into one magical character after another. Through his semi-mythic life and adventures, in addition to his physical power and boundless strength, One-Eye elevates to a superhuman level. Or, he becomes more than human; god-like. Makes sense, as his namesake comes from the Norse god Odin, the Wanderer. Part of how the movie’s story came about is, apparently, that Refn was inspired by some runes – not sure if it was the Kensington Runestone or not, but either way. So it’s only natural Odin might play some sort of part in the story, whether One-Eye is meant to be him or just a symbol standing in for him: Odin is associated with many things, the runic alphabet being one. Having screenwriting partner Roy Jacobsen on this picture ensured a degree of loyalty to Norse paganism and similar subjects, as he’s keen on viking culture and all sorts of stuff.  The journey on which the Christians and One-Eye go is part history, part fantasy; men fresh off The Crusades meet with a Norse warrior on the Scottish Highlands. It’s a mix of religions and mythology, from Norse paganism to Christianity to pieces of mythology all over the place. What I enjoy is how there’s a palpable feeling of being steeped in both history and fantasy. We’re engaged in these visceral, physical fights starting from the beginning before being thrust into an incredibly dreamy/nightmarish world. This is a slow process, as One-Eye begins to have these visions. These are the first moments of the nightmares to emerge. Then once the Christians along with the boy and One-Eye make their way through the water, there’s this foggy, otherworldly sense of being lost; figuratively and literally. Like being stranded at sea while also lost between the various beliefs, of the varied endgames; as if stuck in Limbo. After the men actually find their course off by a tragic amount they land in America. Only to them, it’s Hell. Or is it Hel from Norse mythology? Works well with the Norse version of Hel, as depictions have seen the dead left with items to see them into the next world; once they arrive on the shores of America and get into the forest, they see corpses wrapped, headdresses left and other things. However, it can go both ways, as the Christians could see this new land like a tomb, greeted only by death. Regardless, the concept of what Refn is, I assume, trying to get it remains the same. So what is that point? What’s Refn mean by all this? Ultimately, in my opinion, the whole essence of the film is about belief, faith, the foundations of what we think we know is true in terms of history, as well as the nature of the good and of evil respectively. Underneath everything else, like the final section’s subtitle, it is about sacrifice. In that Refn explores a fantastical vision of the men who came before us, who tread over each walk of land that’s now covered in concrete and asphalt. Some of those men were good, or tried to do good. Others succumbed to the evil and baser instincts of the human soul. Notice that those indulging in their worst selves – murder, rape, manifest destiny at any costs – these are men who believe in a god, or gods, and they follow a religion. Yet One-Eye is merely a man, he is without religion and in the end represents the best of humanity by sacrificing himself to allow the boy to live. One of the largest points that I took away personally is the idea that religion, of any sort, corrupts absolutely in many cases, that religion does not determine good or evil but rather the actions of man, the actual physical events shaped by the hands of men are what makes someone good or evil. One-Eye has shades of Odin, though also incorporates the ideals of Jesus Christ by giving himself up as a sacrifice in the end. This mixing of different religious entities within the one character seems to help support the idea of no religion having the answer, no one being good or evil, certainly not in the archaic terms of Crusaders coming across Native Americans in the woods. All I can say for certain is that Refn serves up an appetising feast of themes to dine on.  I’ve watched Valhalla Rising enough know that I can probably reel off a few theories. But this review contains what I hope are my best thoughts. Since 2009, I might have watched this over 20 times. Maybe more. Despite any of its vagueness or the fact it often defies concrete explanation, Refn has made a masterpiece; a flawless work of 5-star art. He challenges his own directorial abilities just as much as he offers a challenge to his audience. I do love a movie that has a nice plot, one you can follow from A to B to C. In opposition to that I forever dig a film if it keeps me guessing, even if it’s frustrating, as long as the quest towards truth is interesting. Not only is this interesting, the look Refn gives the film along with the rest of the crew from costume designers to location scouts to the cinematography by Morten Søborg (In a Better World, Bleeder, Pusher) is astonishing. Dream sequences, gorgeously captured Scottish Highlands. This has it all. Thank you, Mr. Refn. You are a fine auteur whose work is always offering something of substance for me to bite into. Many of us film fans are grateful for your willingness to be weird, to take chances, and to do the unexpected.

i don't know

Monster Charles Manson carved an X into his forehead for his trial in 1970. After getting bored with it, what did he transform it into?

Charles Manson Myth | Charles Manson Charles Manson Myth The Manson Myth1Table of ContentsPage 2: PrefacePage 5: What is Helter Skelter?Page 9: Why Helter Skelter Doesn’t F itPage 23: The Drug ConnectionPage 36: Who is Charles Watson?Page 71: False Witness Paul Watkins & Brooks Poston Page 117   Page 127: Demystifying Susan AtkinsPage 140: Stupid CupidPage 162: Bruce McGregor DavisPage 182: The BugPage 195: The Real Race WarPage 207: This Holy SwastikaPage 225: Charles Will Is M an’s Son Page 238: The DictatorPage 263: Krishna VentaPage 277: My InterpretationPage 290: WordsPage 311: Why Charles Manson is Entitled to a New TrialPage 315: Charles Manson’s Rap Sheet Page 319: Playacting with LiesPage 326: EpiloguePage 333: Sources “I didn’t do what they say I did. I know what I did. God knows w  hat I did.  And what makes me so mad about it is that I don’t have any god damnthought in that circle at all. That’s not me. I’m not this fucking clown that you guys play- acted in this god damn Helter Skelter shit.”    Charles Manson   The Manson Myth2Prefacehe name Charles Manson has become synonymous with evil andover the past 43 years the name Charles Manson still strikes fearand repulsion in the minds of many. It comes to no surprise that the name Charles Manson has been tagged “killer,” but more preciselythe “killer” of actress Sharon Tate.  In reality, Charles Manson was never actually convicted of physicallytaking any life. In fact Charles Manson was never proven to be at thescene of any of the murders when they were happening.The murders at 10050 Cielo Drive on August 9, 1969 and 3301 Waverly Drive on August 10, 1969 have been forever linked to a man who wasn’t even there. How did this happen? This essay will go inside of themotives as well of the myth of Charles Manson, which was partiallycreated by sc orned “Family” member Paul Watkins who wasn’t even apart of the “Family” at the time of the murders. In fact, Watson himself  has admitted that he did not find out about them until months later. T   The Manson Myth3PrefaceProsecuting attorney Vincent Bugliosi took that story from Watkinsand forced the defendants (mostly Charles Manson) to fit the motive hewanted: Helter Skelter. This book will use the words of the people whoparticipated in the murders, state witnesses, defendants, people in the “Family,” and other people involved in with the “Family” through interviews, parole hearings, articles, and other first-word accounts toprove my theory and to disprove the Helter Skelter motive. And in theend, to support the fact that the murders were committed as copycatmuders of the Gary Hinman slaying —

Swastika

What is the name of the scrawny, superstitious schoolmaster who is pursued by the Headless Horseman in the Washington Irving story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"?

Full text of "Riding On Your Fears" See other formats RIDING OK YOUR FTO A Manson Murders Essay A Labyrinth 13 Chapbook © Copyright © 2008-2014 by Curt Rowlett All rights reserved. All materials contained in this book are protected by United States copyright law, HOWEVER, I do give permission for the book to be distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, so long as you don't alter the text in any fashion, try to claim the work as your own, or try to sell it to anyone. Front cover & interior art Copyright © 2008-2014 by Chadwick St. John, www.inkshadows.com. Edited & formatted by Curt Rowlett and Melissa Plotsky. June 2014 Revised (and still free) Edition. RIDING OH YOUR PEARS A Manson Murders Essay A Labyrinth 13 Chapbook © Table of Contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 4 A Man Called Manson 9 The Roots of Manson's Philosophy 24 Rumor Has It 36 An Interesting Comparison Between Jesus Christ and Charles Manson 48 Revelation 9 49 The Summer of Love Breeds a Season of Hate: The Effects of the Manson Murders on Public Perceptions of the Hippie Lifestyle 51 Charles Manson, Son of Sam and the Process Church of the Final Judgment: Exploring the Alleged Connections 72 Footnotes & Appendixes 1 1 2 Acknowledgments A quick word of thanks goes to the following helpful human beings for their assistance in creating this work: John Aes-Nihil: For invaluable information concerning the many Manson rumors and related minutiae. Melissa Plotsky: For her help in proofreading, editing, and formatting this book. Chadwick St. John: For the exceptional cover art and interior images. Special thanks to: Brother Isaiah and Sister Angela of The Process Church of the Final Judgment, Michael Mountain and Barbara Williamson of Best Friends Animal Society, and to everyone who was kind enough to answer my many questions while engaged in research for this book. Charlie was always saying that fear was beautiful. I must have heard him tell the Family fifty times they ought to live in a constant state of fear. To Charlie, fear was the same thing as awareness. The more fear you had, the more awareness you had. The more awareness, the more love. You know what it's like? Its like when you're really all scared out. You know, and you come to Now. Well, when you're at Now, you're totally conscious. The more fear the better. Charlie said that death was beautiful because people fear death. Fear really turns Charlie on. Dialog from the 1976 television movie, Helter Skelter Have you ever seen the coyote in the desert? Watching, tuned in, completely aware. Christ on the cross, the coyote in the desert - it's the same thing, man. The coyote is beautiful. He moves through the desert delicately, aware of everything, looking around. He hears every sound, smells every smell, sees everything that moves. He's in a state of total paranoia, and total paranoia is total awareness. Quote from Charles Manson about "getting the fear," as published in the June 1970 issue of Rolling Stone magazine To save the people from themselves would take a greater fear than the earth has ever seen. Charles Manson What is these places, that hide behind faces, that act like I'm just a demon? Lyric from the Charles Manson song, Riding On Your Fears 2 3 Introduction There will never be another crime case quite like that of the Charles Manson murders. Other infamous murder cases, such as the unsolved Jack the Ripper, Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders, contain enough elements to keep armchair researchers guessing for many years to come; indeed, there are numerous websites and books devoted solely to all of those crimes. But it is my personal opinion that, due to the large number of unanswered questions, lingering mysteries, and unparalleled weirdness, the Manson murders tops them all. The reason why the Manson case continues to hold such great fascination after nearly 40 years has everything to do with the unique parameters in which those crimes occurred, that being the rise and proliferation of the whole Haight-Ashbury hippie phenomenon, which by itself alone, was one of the most singular events in human history. And it is precisely because the murders occurred in the midst of the hippie explosion that makes the Manson saga so exceptional in that the Manson family probably would not have flourished, nor had the same sort of impact if the murders had occurred in any other combination of factors. 1 And that observation is merely one element among many that makes this case such an exceptional moment in human history. I was only twelve years old when the Manson murders occurred. But I remember vividly the sensational and lurid press coverage, the horror and disbelief of my parents, neighbors and friends, the subsequent mistrustful looks and outright hostility aimed at anyone who even remotely looked like a hippie. But being young and fascinated with anything and everything connected with the hippie movement, I read all that I could get my young hands on about the Manson family. (Even at that young age, I had already begun to develop an interest in true crime and occult studies, an attraction that has not subsided to this day). My original, youthful enthrallment for the Manson case has never diminished. Since that time, I have read every book and magazine article, watched every movie and television special, visited every website, and talked to as many people as I have had access to about the Manson murders. Over the years, I have found myself returning time and time again to the story because, just when I think that I have heard everything there is to know about the case, something new and exciting will surface. Charles Manson remains quite an enigmatic person and though we know considerably more today about him as a person and the inner workings of the family as a group (thanks largely to independent researchers), there are still many major areas of uncertainty surrounding the case. 4 It is not within the scope of this essay to provide you, the reader, with all of the details surrounding the Manson family and the crimes that they committed, but rather to focus on those areas that either remain in obscurity or where unanswered questions linger. Accordingly, I am working under the assumption that readers already have a basic familiarity with the core elements of the case. In the event that this is not the situation with you, I would suggest reading the following books on the Manson murders in order to familiarize yourself with the basic elements of the case: • Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter - for the prosecutorial side of the case. Be forewarned that this book definitely has its flaws. The book is, in essence, an anti-counterculture morality play. Close scrutiny by independent researchers has revealed that some of its facts are either erroneous or slanted toward the theory that Manson committed the murders solely to ignite a black-white race war called "Helter Skelter." Many people believe that Helter Skelter was something that Manson truly believed in, but that it served primarily as a way for him to program and control his followers. Another theory is that the murders may have actually been committed as revenge for a drug deal gone bad between Tate homicide victims Voytek Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Jay Sebring on one side, and either Manson himself or his followers Charles "Tex" Watson and Linda Kasabian on the other. Yet another premise suggested is that both the Tate and LaBianca murders were committed as a way to free former Manson associate Bobby Beausoleil from jail by committing "copycat" murders similar to the Gary Hinman slaying that Beausoleil had been arrested for. Finally, there are those who believe (myself included) that the motive was a combination of all of the aforementioned factors. Those disclaimers aside, Helter Skelter is still very well written and remains as an important and often vital factual record of the Manson murders in many ways. Just be advised that this tome is very much not the first and final word on the Manson murders. • Nikolas Schreck's The Manson File - for the pro-Manson side of the case. This book is a bit outdated now, but still has interesting information relating to some of the more obscure angles in the Manson saga, including essays and quotations written by or attributed to Manson himself, sidebar issues of interest that include many strange coincidences and synchronicities, and discussions of noteworthy people who were on the scene at the time of the crimes. • Ed Sanders' The Family - for the ultra-conspiratorial side of the case. Although this book is a bit too wacky at times, it still has worth as a research guide, particularly for the background information that it supplies regarding Manson's early years prior to the murders. Just be prepared to take many things found in it with several large grains of salt, especially wherever the author attempts to make Satanic cult and other occult-type connections to the Manson crimes. (Look for the rare first edition copy with the chapter on the Process Church in it). 5 Other books and film that I recommend would include Paul Watkins' My Life With Charles Manson, Charles "Tex" Watson's Will You Die For Me? The Man Who Killed For Charles Manson Tells His Own Story, Karlene Faith's The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten, Jess Bravin's Squeaky: The Life and Times of Lynette Alice Fromme, the 1972 documentary film Manson by Laurence Merrick & Robert Hendrickson, and the television documentary A&E Biography, Charles Manson - Journey into Evil. Additionally, one should not forget to check the Internet for both historical and real-time information supplied by the various Manson websites, message boards and blogs. There are numerous good ones out there that are worth your time and any good Internet search engine will take you right to them. One thing that I want to make clear to the readers of this essay is that I do not consider myself to be either "pro-Manson" or "anti-Manson." To date, most of those who have written about the Manson case have taken either a pro or anti-Manson stance, with the majority weighted toward the "anti" side. This essay differs from those past efforts in that I strive to take a sort of "middle ground." I felt that I could not write this work using any other method and within these pages, I strive to remain as honest to that ideal as possible. To quote Virginia Woolfe, "If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people." Understandably, some readers may find this approach to be disconcerting, but I am at all times pro-truth. This "middle ground" approach of mine is, in essence, a willingness to give credit where credit is due. I am reminded here of yet another quote, this one from George Orwell, who wrote, "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." Why the middle ground? I have studied this case for years and have come to the realization that Manson is not the ultimate bogeyman that the media has made him out to be, nor is he the infallible, super mystically-attuned, guru of gurus as others would have you believe. The truth lies somewhere balanced in between those two extremes. Within these pages, I do at times place myself in the position where I play Devil's advocate (no pun intended) to Manson's ideas for argument's sake. There are also instances where it may appear that an admiration on my part is showing through where I am trying to convey to the reader how I think Manson's thought processes work. And I will admit there are aspects of Manson's philosophy that, at times, I actually agree with and occasionally, those beliefs even parallel my own. This is because I truly believe that anyone who undertakes a genuinely objective and dispassionate examination of Manson's beliefs will find that there are certain instances where his insight into things existential and metaphysical are actually quite remarkable. As noted above, I have studied this case closely over many years and know enough about the 6 same abstract ideas to be willing to admit when and where Manson's observations about society, life and philosophy are valid. To deny that validity does, in a very real sense, play directly into Manson's hands. Additionally, I also believe that, to some degree, the trial of Manson and his three female codefendants was as much for the murders they were accused of committing, as it was for the alternative lifestyle they engaged in and the anti-establishment stance that they held. (A full discussion of this topic can be found in the section of this book, titled, The Summer of Love Breeds a Season of Hate: The Effects of the Manson Murders on Public Perceptions of the Hippie Lifestyle). Finally, I cannot stress enough that I am strongly opposed to the use of violence, except in the most extreme circumstances or in self- defense, and that I abhor any forms of racism or misogyny. Basing my judgment on all of the evidence I have seen to date, those are all things that Manson appears to either believe in, indulge in, tolerate and/or has espoused in the past. It is precisely there that Manson and I part company. This essay seeks to explore some provocative, yet intriguing questions, specifically, could Manson be considered a true counter- culture revolutionary? Was he actually a well-intentioned, but ultimately misunderstood guru whose followers took it upon themselves to murder for him? Or was he, as the prosecutor at his murder trial portrayed him, simply a crazed cult leader and career criminal? It is my contention that Manson is a varied combination of all of those things. Just exactly where it all begins, converges, morphs, and ends is among the many enigmas of this case. What follows here are simply my musings on certain aspects of the case, a few interesting anecdotes, rumors, speculations, and urban legends about the Manson saga. 7 8 A Man Called Manson That Manson inspired and continues to inspire fear in the establishment is a given, and when one begins to seek to truly understand exactly what Manson's beliefs actually consist of, it becomes immediately apparent that inspiring and maintaining such fear is at that philosophy's core. Fear Turns Charlie On Manson believes fear is a beneficial thing. He preached to his followers that developing and maintaining a high level of fear was central to the effort of becoming a super-aware or "tuned-in" person. Manson talked often about "getting the fear," a state of being that he described as being in a condition of total paranoia because, in Manson's own words, "total paranoia is total awareness." Manson further described the person who is totally aware as having "Come to Now," a level of consciousness where - like the desert coyotes of Death Valley that he held in such high regard - one "hears every sound, smells every smell, sees everything that moves." Such a person who achieves that level of awareness is, as described by Manson, "in the thought." (It is important to understand that the condition of total awareness described by Manson as "Coming to Now," is in fact indistinguishable from the phenomenon of ego death and rebirth commonly experienced by both LSD users and certain Zen Buddhists, who have achieved the enlightenment that accompanies the egoless state of being. This concept is discussed in detail later in this essay). But it appears that Manson, a career criminal and sociopath, was not simply trying to lead his followers toward mere spiritual illumination; he was in fact, also conditioning them to become indifferent to inflicting pain and death. Manson family member Tex Watson, the chief killer in the Tate-LaBianca murders, describes the Manson process of ego death this way: "Charlie had made us see that once you die to your ego, once you strip yourself down to a perfect being - all body, like some monkey or a coyote free in the wild, not thinking, not willing — once you do that, fear doesn't exist anymore. You've already died, everything except that animal body of yours, so even death can't frighten you. You are free. Free to live, free to die. Free to kill." 2 It must be noted that Manson's personal moral code has deep roots in his adherence to the sort of social Darwinist, "law of the jungle" ethic that is the key to surviving in America's toughest prisons, where having a healthy fear can often make the difference between life and death. (In fact, one of the many keys to understanding what makes Manson tick is to recognize that he holds that prison "ethic" in very high 9 regard and considers that lesson to be one of the most important of his "fathers." Manson is fond of talking about how he grew up fatherless and as such, he looked for "fatherly" mentoring wherever he could find it. He has often been quoted as saying that certain male figures that he met in prison were "one of my fathers" or that anything that teaches an ultimate lesson, such as the horrors of war, is a "father"). Manson taught his followers that animals were perfect creatures that lived always in "Now" and he urged them to cultivate an animal-like amorality. (Amorality is generally described as the quality of having no concept of right or wrong, whether it is the result of a person's early development or because of some intrinsic quality, such as a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. For the purpose of this discussion, I am also including those who simply do not subscribe to any popular moral code. The latter scenario seems to be, at least in part, Manson's modus operandi, in that he consciously has chosen to nurture his strong individualistic inclinations, while simultaneously not seeking to be included into any commonly-accepted structure of ethical behavior). In Manson's view, animals were incapable of "sin" and that when an animal kills, it is something done in complete innocence or, simply as a manifestation of the perfection that is a characteristic of the natural order of the Universe. Messages in the Music The Beatles "White Album," which Manson felt had the greatest significance as far as the "messages" he claimed to be receiving are concerned, was released in December of 1968. According to Tex Watson, Manson first began talking about Helter Skelter in early January of 1969 and that subsequently, the Manson family began to make the first physical preparations for Helter Skelter that winter. That Manson claimed to hear "hidden messages" in the Beatles music is not quite the completely far-fetched notion or singular event that one might at first assume it to be. All popular music during the 1960's was, for the greater part, heavily censored by the music industry. In order to get around that censorship and insure radio play, artists often made oblique references to taboo subjects such as sex and drug use in their songs. But those in the hip drug culture of the times, the "tuned-in people," as Manson often referred to them, knew how to look for such references, most of which were not immediately obvious to "straight" society. Examples of these hidden messages in popular songs of the day include, Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul & Mary (alleged to be about marijuana smoking), Mellow Yellow by Donovan (which references a hippie joke about smoking banana peels to get high), White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane (a thinly-disguised reference to the psychedelic 10 experience), Dr. Robert, With a Little Help From My Friends, and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds by The Beatles (commonly thought to be references to amphetamine, marijuana, and LSD use respectively). Worth mentioning in this same discussion is the whole "Paul McCartney is Dead" phenomenon: Beginning around September or October of 1969 and lasting for a period of almost six weeks, many fans of Beatle music found themselves deeply immersed in the bizarre rumor that Paul was actually dead and had been secretly replaced by a mysterious double. This early example of a modern urban legend claimed that the Beatles had deliberately made references to Paul's "death" by recording "clues" about it directly into their songs and that there were other clues "hidden in plain sight" on the band's album covers and in their publicity photos. Fans of Beatles music spent hours listening to their records and studying the album covers looking for these "hidden messages" about Paul's alleged death. 3 The tale above also illustrates just how much of an overall impact the Beatles had on the hip youth culture of the times and that the influence they had on their fans should not be underestimated. The Beatles were also among the first rock and roll musicians to experiment with LSD and many of their songs were written about the experience. A sampling of LSD-inspired Beatles songs would include: She Said She Said, Tomorrow Never Knows (with lyrics directly inspired from LSD guru Timothy Leary's book The Psychedelic Experience), Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Within You Without You, Strawberry Fields Forever, All You Need Is Love, The Inner Light, Across The Universe, and Rain (a song with lyrics that were inspired after John Lennon read philosopher Alan Watts' account of his own LSD experiences). Although most of the LSD references in the songs listed above were rather indirect, people who had used LSD themselves were able to instantly recognize what the Beatles were alluding to, while those who were not "tuned in," i.e., who had not experienced the effects of LSD themselves, could not. That Manson found corroboration for his own LSD-inspired philosophy in the lyrics of the Beatles songs might explain why he was so willing to believe that there might be hidden references to other secrets there. The Beatles songs during that particular time period were full of lyrics that paid tribute to the hippie ideal of practicing peace and believing in love as an all-powerful tool for conquering adversity. Those songs also reflected the same hippie ideas about "dropping out" or more precisely, living free and conducting one's life in a manner that, although often directly at odds with the current establishment ideals of how to live, was seen as something both positive and progressive in nature. 11 Manson has often said that he is not to blame for what the Beatles music was "telling the kids" to do, in essence, implying that it was the message in the music that was the impetus behind the violence and not anything that he had personally said or done himself. But to make such a claim is really simplistic in the extreme as I find it hard to believe that such "radical" notions as expressed by true hippie idealism were actually, in any form, shape or fashion, responsible for the brutality that followed. The vast majority of young people from that era quite obviously never thought that the Beatles music was some call to violent action, nor was any other pop music of the time truly considered as such. But perhaps there is a precedent to that suggestion: one could possibly argue that the violent sixties radical group known as the Weather Underground might be a known exception to this idea, given the fact that their very name was taken from the lyric of the Bob Dylan song Subterranean Homesick Blues, although that is, admittedly, probably stretching things a bit. (The Weathermen also had an interesting use of LSD, in that they often required their members to take LSD during group sessions as a means to identify possible infiltrators into that group). 4 In the end, it seems more likely that there was something deep in the psyche of Manson himself that caused him to misconstrue and scramble any Beatles "messages" into such a weird scenario as Helter Skelter. The Mysterious Motive for Murder The exact formula or elements that upped the ante on fear and paranoia surrounding Manson and his followers and ultimately leading to the murders is not known to a 1 00% certainty. Just prior to the murders, Manson underwent a radical and very negative change, a fact that has never been fully explained, but which has been noted by many others who knew Manson at that time. It has been speculated that Manson, possibly out of his frustration at being a failed artist and/or because of a drug burn allegedly involving one of the Tate victims (a theory that is discussed in detail below), decided to drop the peace-loving hippie veneer and simply reverted back to his original criminal roots. Combined with his innate hatred for society fostered by years in the establishment's prisons, and his seemingly driving need for revenge, we are talking about a rather potent combination. This sudden change in Manson at that time is one of the lingering mysteries in the case. As some family members who broke free from Manson would later explain, Manson was not always the overly-paranoid person he was later to become. Indeed, former family members have described their own confusion and wonder about the negative changes that seemed to suddenly appear in Manson late in 1969, turning him from a person who was once truly about love, 12 understanding and unity, into a person who suddenly became completely obsessed with fear, death, and murder. Paul Watkins, a Manson follower who would later write a book about his experiences with Manson and the family, had this to say about Manson prior to the turn to violence: [T]he public has always known Charles Manson as a murderer. They did not meet him, as I did, on that evening in March 1968 in Topanga Canyon. When I met him, there was no violence in the Family, no talk of Helter Skelter; in fact, it was the complete opposite, Charlie's love then was real. It had some integrity. But the public met Charlie through the media only after the murders; by then, the whole story was tainted with blood. 5 And, while discussing the negative changes that later came over Manson with filmmakers Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick, Watkins would lament on camera how, "Everything that everything was for was always for fucking; that's what it was all for; that's what everything we did was for, until he [Manson] got on his Helter Skelter trip. Then everything seemed to change." 6 One part of the motive may have been Manson's desire to strike back at record producer Terry Melcher for his failure to come through on recording Manson's music for an album, an event that Manson allegedly felt would help to kick-start Helter Skelter. Paul Watkins also described the sudden changes that came over Manson just prior to, and immediately after Manson's trip to Los Angeles from their Barker Ranch residence in order to secure a record deal: One night during a rap, he [Manson] paused in the middle of a sentence and stared straight ahead, as though addressing a presence above our heads. 'I came to you,' he said softly, his face wearing a distracted expression, 'as a deer in the forest. I came to you with wonder in my eyes and love in my heart for you. For you were man and you were God and I could see it. I came to you with love. And you slaughtered me.' Though it didn't register consciously at the time, his statement was a prophetic one. It was the first sign that the flower child in Charlie Mansion was dying, wilting away in Death Valley by day, freezing by night. Maybe the scorpion had returned to the valley of death where he belonged. 13 Then, all at once, things changed dramatically. Charlie returned from L.A. and a meeting with Dennis Wilson and Greg Jakobson to discuss the chance of our recording an album. He appeared agitated, yet enthusiastic. He said there was more violence in the city; that the blacks were on the verge of full-scale revolution. 'It's just a matter of time,' he declared. 'The shit's gonna come down . . . it's gonna come down hard.' What was different, however, was Charlie's attitude. Instead of advocating passive resistance, instead of seeking to remain aloof from the impending conflict, he began speaking of the Family's role in it. 'What we need to do is program the young love to split; when the scene comes down, they're gonna need someplace to go. Well, we got that place. We're here, and we can show the young love where to come. And we can show them with music.'" 7 That record deal never materialized, and along with that failure, an integral part of Manson's master plan for launching Helter Skelter was thwarted. The final provocation that seemed to push everything over the edge can probably be traced to the shooting of a black man named Bernard "Lottsapoppa" Crow. According to former followers and researchers who have written about the case, Manson's fears became even more fixated on the black-white race war scenario in the aftermath of the Crowe shooting (a crime that Manson was directly involved with as he was the one who actually pulled the trigger). The Crowe shooting occurred on July 1, 1969; approximately three weeks later on July 27, the murder of musician and drug dealer Gary Hinman took place. And after Manson learned that Bobby Beausoleil had been arrested for the Hinman murder on August 8th, the Tate-LaBianca murders followed on August 9th and 10th. After the Crowe shooting, the entire scene suddenly became infused and guided by Manson's own personal paranoia and subsequently, he began to tell his followers that the End of the World/Final Apocalypse called Helter Skelter was at hand. The Tate-LaBianca murders hit Los Angeles like a bombshell and thanks to the high level of sensational and often lurid press coverage, the story also reverberated throughout all of America and the rest of the world. (In order to try to illustrate the impact that the Manson murders had on America at the time they occurred, try to imagine what it would be like if the same thing were to happen today, where the home of some prominent "A List" Hollywood figure was invaded and the 14 inhabitants brutally murdered by a group of killers who were members of some controversial modern youth subculture). Apocalypse Now in the Heart of Darkness Writers are fond of pointing out how Manson has become the world's numero uno icon of fear (perhaps even more so than modern terrorists such as Osama bin Laden) and no study of the case would be complete without an analysis and commentary on the subject. As Disinformation author and webmaster Ralph Metzger so succinctly puts it, "The continuing fascination with Manson is testament enough to his enduring iconic legacy as societal bogeyman." 8 Indeed, to society, Manson certainly represented, and still represents, the worst of all cultural fears possible: that of the amoral individual who is a renegade and no longer a "company man" or "team player"; one who operates beyond what society considers to be "decent restraint" and control; a person who lives by his own self-created rules. All of those are the same characteristics that are most notable in the madness/genius of the Kurtz characters in both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now (respectively, Joseph Conrad's classic novella and the film adaptation of the same by Francis Ford Coppola). Both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now convey the idea that every human soul inherently has a savage, evil side that remains repressed by "civilized" society and that atrocities are often easily committed when one culture comes into contact with another; that there are boundaries that civilized man should not cross without running the risk of becoming like their enemies in the end. In a vein quite similar to the Manson saga, the Kurtz figure in both stories is "worshipped like a god" by local indigenous people and lone individuals who come into contact with him praise Kurtz' genius for having "enlarged their minds"; where extreme brutality is admired for being "perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure" logic; where Kurtz' refusal to play by the rules of "normal" society is described as "totally beyond the pale of any acceptable human conduct." 9 Apocalypse Now is a film about the Vietnam War where an American Army Colonel named Kurtz has become dissatisfied with how the war is being fought. He forms his own army and goes deep into the jungles of Cambodia to fight the war his way and by his own rules. The subplot of the film closely examines the dark nether regions of the human psyche and poses important questions concerning the limits that "civilized" men will allow themselves to go to in order to combat "evil." In one of the movie's most memorable scenes, Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz relates the following story, one that could easily have been uttered by Charles Manson: 15 "I've seen horrors . . . horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that, but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies. I remember when I was with Special Forces. Seems a thousand centuries ago. We went into a camp to inoculate the children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for polio, and this old man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went back there and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms. And I remember, I ... I ... I cried. I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it. I never want to forget. And then I realized like I was shot . . . like I was shot with a diamond, a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought: My God, the genius of that. The genius. The will to do that. Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were stronger than we. Because they could understand that these were not monsters. These were men, trained cadres. These men who fought with their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with love, but they had the strength ... the strength to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling, without passion, without judgment . . . without judgment. Because it's judgment that defeats us." 10 Later in the film Colonel Kurtz is heard to say, "We must kill them. We must incinerate them. Pig after pig. Cow after cow. Village after village. Army after army . . . and they call me an assassin! Well what do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin?" 11 And one scene is eerily reminiscent of the many paeans uttered by Manson family members in praise of Charlie: a crazed follower of Colonel Kurtz - played to perfection by Dennis Hopper - speaks of Kurtz in a sort of awe, saying: "The man's enlarged my mind. He's a poet warrior in the classic sense. We are all his children. The man is clear in his mind, but his soul is mad." 12 16 And director Coppola seems to be acknowledging that the Manson case parallels the central theme of his film: In yet another scene from that movie, the character "Chef reads aloud about Charles Manson's role in the Sharon Tate murders from a newspaper clipping that he has received along with a letter from home that includes Manson's infamous Life magazine photo, saying aloud, "Charles Miller Manson [sic] ordered the slaughter of all in a home as a symbol of protest." f3 Many other writers have theorized along these same parallel lines. In an essay titled, The American Meaning of Charley Manson, author David R. Williams reflects Ralph Metzger's earlier supposition by making note of Manson's now iconic position in our culture, stating: "Why then is Charlie Manson, as Geraldo Rivera said, 'the stuff of a nation's nightmares?' Not for what he did, nor even for what he said. Others have killed more people more brutally. It is because, as [Joan] Didion foretold, we found in him an icon upon which to project our own latent fears. No one was surprised because everyone knew the potential was there, in each and all of us. So Manson became a living metaphor of Abaddon, the God of the bottomless pit. We, as a collective culture, looked into Manson's eyes and saw in those dark caves what we most feared within ourselves, the paranoia of what might happen if you go too far. He was the monster in the wilderness, the shadow in the night forest, the beast said to lurk in the Terra Incognita beyond the edges of the map. By projecting our monsters onto Manson, and then locking him up for life, we imagined we had put the beast back in its cage. 14 But it is not just Manson's radical ideas that make him unique in the annals of the outlaw or modern heretic. Rather, it is his willingness to continue to follow his version of the "truth," coupled with his steadfast refusal to repent that is of equal importance to the discussion here. Further along in the same essay cited above, Williams takes that observation deeper by addressing Manson's absolute refusal to acquiesce to society's demands: [W]hat makes [Manson] an antinomian [a person who refuses to accept established moral laws] rather than simply a lawless thug and 'mass murdering dog' is that his deeds and words are buttressed by an implicitly antinomian philosophy. He constructed a belief system and believed it and preached it. Another con-man could be easily ignored, but Manson has proven himself faithful to his beliefs. He is not faking them to get out; 17 instead, his refusal to abandon them keeps him locked up tightly in jail." 15 Williams also notes that Manson's "true crime" is the fact that he so thoroughly destroyed the existing paradigm by not just merely blurring reality, but by completely obliterating the line between what is real and what is purely of the mind, stating, "[H]e crossed over to the other side, completely outside society. [T]o some this is the meaning of insanity, to believe things outside the circle of what society allows. 'Crazy' becomes a label applied to those who don't agree with the consensus." 16 Another line from Coppola's Apocalypse Now, uttered by Martin Sheen as the character Captain Benjamin L. Willard, sums that sentiment up quite neatly: "Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right. Unless you were goin' all the way. Kurtz got off the boat. He split from the whole fuckin' program." There is no doubt that Manson now represents the Ultimate Rebel: he is a person who gleefully advocates the dissolution of all mental and moral boundaries; he is an unfettered and wild Dionysian spirit guided only by pure instinct; a person without adherence to consensus reason or institutional beliefs; a person who fully believes himself to be the spokesperson for "Ultimate Truth" in our society. As such, it seems that the writers are correct when they state that it is Manson's status as the ultimate icon of fear that continues to give the case its longevity and ability to linger forever in the public consciousness. X Marks the Alienated Spot Perhaps it can also be inferred that the Manson phenomenon is simply some sort of Nietzschean "will to power" in which Manson (who claims to have studied Nietzsche) has recognized his actions as being "beyond good and evil" and thusly, outside of standard moral interpretation. (According to prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, Manson himself has implied that this is the case). 18 It should be noted that while Manson is serving time in prison because he was convicted for his role in the conspiracy to commit the Tate-LaBianca and other murders, it may actually be Manson's total rejection of our rules and laws which constitute his greatest "crime." As noted in the documentary film, Charles Manson Superstar, it is Manson's complete denunciation of everything that our society consists of and stands for that may qualify him for the title of "the last true heretic of our 18 A heretic is defined as "one who dissents from an accepted belief or doctrine." In older times, heresy usually took the form of a rejection of the religious dogma of a particular civilization and was considered to be the ultimate transgression that is was possible for a human being to engage in. Such heretics were often literally burned at the stake. Manson is a heretic among heretics. His infamous "I have X'ed myself from your world" statement and action, in which he carved a bloody X into his forehead to demonstrate that the court at his murder trial had no jurisdiction over him (his followers later followed suit), made it quite clear that he believes himself to not be subject to "man's law," but rather to what he calls "God's law" or the "Ultimate Truth" (a spiritual concept that is very familiar to those who have experienced the visions imparted by the powerful effects of LSD). The full text of the "X'ed myself from your world" statement, issued as a street communique by Manson, is as follows: "I have X'ed myself from your world. You have created the monster. I am not of you, from you, nor do I condone your unjust attitude toward things, animals, and people that you do not try to understand. I stand opposed to what you do and have done in the past. You make fun of god and have murdered the world in the name of Jesus Christ. My faith in me is stronger than all of your armies, governments, gas chambers, or anything you may want to do to me. I know what I have done. Your courtroom is man's game. Love is my judge." 20 Manson also mocks what he sees as our society's hypocrisy in the romanticizing of the rebel and the outlaw, whose unbridled freedom we secretly envy on the one hand, while on the other, we seek to condemn those (such as Charles Manson) who have taken that idea to its ultimate, outer boundaries. The Legion of Charlies On a similar note, Manson has always enjoyed laying bare other obvious hypocrisies prevalent in our society, with one of the most blatant being that, while we as a society hold that killing in a war is not a crime, killing under virtually any other set of circumstances is. As pointed out to me by Manson researcher John Aes-Nihil, that same double standard is the central theme found in the rare underground comic book classic, The Legion of Charlies, 21 in which the Manson murders are compared to the brutal murders commonly known as the "My Lai Massacre." 22 19 The My Lai massacre is the true story of a vicious four-hour ordeal that occurred on March 16, 1968 during the Vietnam War. In this horrific incident, over 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians - primarily women, children and the elderly - were systematically raped, tortured and murdered by American soldiers near the tiny Vietnamese village of My Lai. The chief perpetrator in those horrific crimes was one Lieutenant William Calley, who had ordered the men in his platoon to carry out the killings. (The official military name of Calley's platoon was "Charlie Company," a detachment actively engaged in searching out the Viet Cong, or "Victor Charlie," as they were known in military parlance - minor facts that lend a real taste of irony to the discussion here). Calley was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for twenty- two counts of premeditated murder. He would claim at his trial that he was simply following orders from his captain when he ordered the deaths. The arrest, trial and conviction of Calley took place during virtually the same time frame as the Manson murder trial and raised moral and ethical issues of culpability that very closely paralleled that of the "Manson massacre." Only one day after having been sentenced to life in prison, President Richard Nixon would order Calley to be released from custody and would ultimately grant him a full pardon. 23 (As students of the Manson case will recall, Nixon was the same man who had declared Manson's guilt while the Tate-LaBianca trial was barely underway). 24 From an essay titled, An Introduction to the My Lai Courts- Martial comes the following graphic account of one of the more disturbing acts of brutality that occurred at My Lai: "Calley ordered the dozen or so platoon members there to push the people into the ditch, and three or four GIs did. Calley ordered his men to shoot into the ditch. Some refused, others obeyed. One who followed Calley's order was Paul Meadlo, who estimated that he killed about twenty-five civilians. (Later Meadlo was seen, head in hands, crying). Calley joined in the massacre. At one point, a two-year-old child who somehow survived the gunfire began running towards the hamlet. Calley grabbed the child, threw him back in the ditch, then shot him. On September 5, 1969, Calley was charged with premeditated murder in the deaths of over 100 Vietnamese civilians near the village of My Lai. On March 29, 1971, Calley was convicted for the premeditated murder of twenty-two of those civilians as part of his role in the massacre and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. Evidence presented at his trial showed that Calley had ordered the men in his platoon to shoot everyone in the village. During the 20 course of the trial, Calley underwent several psychological exams. Although it was not brought out during testimony, several of those mental health doctors confided that Calley told them that he 'thought of killing the Vietnamese people in the same way he thought of killing animals.' A portion of Calley's trial testimony gives yet another perspective on his state of mind: 'I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy. That was my job on that day. That was the mission I was given. I did not sit down and think in terms of men, women and children. They were all classified the same, and that was the classification that we dealt with, just as enemy soldiers.' Part of Calley's defense was the claim that he was merely following the orders of Capt. Ernest Medina, his commanding officer. On April 1, 1971, only three days after he was sentenced, President Nixon ordered that Calley be released from prison and eventually, granted him a full pardon. (Calley would serve only 3 1/2 years of his life sentence - not in prison, but while confined to his military living quarters while under house arrest)." 25 A psychiatric report indicated that Calley believed that he was not killing human beings but "rather that they were animals with whom one could not speak or reason." That sort of dehumanizing sentiment is a true glimpse into the very heart of darkness and very closely parallels that of Charlie Manson, who often referred to establishment figures as "pigs" or "plastic face mannequins." The noted contrast between these two crimes is, of course, how two incidents of such completely immoral and brutal acts of murder can be viewed in such different perspectives by our society: one is roundly condemned and its perpetrators sentenced to death, while the other appears to have been given official sanction and its perpetrators set free. The message that one gets is this: All violence not officially sanctioned by the government is labeled as either criminal or mentally ill behavior. As John Aes-Nihil stated to me in an email, "This whole thing (referring to the murders committed by both Manson and Calley) is really just a philosophical discourse and ultimately a game of semantics, with "reality" merely being that which occurs at any given moment in time, and as to why it occurs, just a bunch of conjecture." 26 Manson has always pointed out that it is easy for us to accept those aspects of the will to power that our cultural value system has labeled as "positive," while tending to de-emphasize that same concept's more unpleasant features. To again quote Ralph Metzger: 21 "[I] do see Manson's place in American society as an important one: because underneath it all, beyond the hype of 'the most evil man alive,' Charles Manson has a pivotal role in the cosmic play as a teller of unpleasant truths ... a warped witch doctor, a hillbilly exorcist, a white trash shaman." 27 The suggestion here is that Manson, like Nietzsche before him, merely points out that the concepts of "good" and "evil" are nothing more than a dominant culture's moral analysis applied to observable facts that he believes are a natural part of human existence. In a very real sense, I feel that Manson has transcended the ideals of "normal" society and has become something very much like Nietzsche's Ubermensch. (Whether that is a good or bad thing is left to you, the reader, to decide). Here is what I believe is a good summation of the same statement above, only in Manson's own words: "I don't break laws. I 28 make the laws. I am the lawmaker." 22 23 The Roots of Manson's Philosophy In the book The Manson File, editor Nikolas Schreck suggests that corporate media interests have always had a financial stake in creating and maintaining societal scarecrows, particularly where the creation of the whole Manson myth is concerned. Schreck points out that rather than openly discussing or trying to understand the nature of Manson's beliefs, such media interests dismiss the elements of Manson's raison d'etre (reason for being) and instead, pander almost exclusively to the public's "salacious" interests, while simultaneously engaging in "moralistic tongue-clucking." He writes: "Is it possible to peer behind the monumental edifice of the Manson myth, that fiction forever frozen in time by the famous Life magazine cover of December 19, 1969? What is the reality behind the provocative cliches of hypnotic powers, drug crazed teenage sex-slaves, brutally killed blonde starlets (the stuff that marketing executives' dreams are made of?) Let us make a bold speculation. Perhaps NBC, CBS, ABC, the Los Angeles Times, Vincent Bugliosi and most of the other supposed purveyors of truth had allowed interests more pecuniary than ethical to rule in their creation of the Manson mythos. We have all heard, for instance, that Manson possesses a "dangerous philosophy." Dangerous? In what way? And to whom? Of what, exactly, does the philosophy consist?" 29 Anyone who has read the book Helter Skelter has explored the theory that Manson based his philosophy on parts of the Christian Bible, the Beatles song lyrics, aspects of Scientology, such Eastern religious ideas as karma and reincarnation, and possibly even what can be loosely defined as "occult" practices. But whether or not those factors - in any amount and combination you choose to mix and match for your own theory - were the prime elements in Manson's beliefs is very much still open to debate. Manson On Acid One area that is often not subjected to the close scrutiny that it should be is Manson's philosophy as it is related to the use of LSD. It is my own opinion that the real key to understanding Manson's beliefs is primarily rooted in the LSD experience. LSD is an incredibly powerful drug. Mild to moderate effects can be felt with as little as 10-20 micrograms. A full-blown LSD experience is usually brought on by dosages in the 50-150 microgram range. (These days modern "blotter acid" contains anywhere from 30-100 micrograms). 24 It is important to note here that during the height of the hippie era and particularly in the Haight-Ashbury scene, the typical dosage of an LSD "hit" was much higher than it is today, with a typical tab of "Owsley" acid often containing as much as 500 to even 1000 micrograms. 30 One user described the extraordinarily powerful effects of the LSD that was commonly available in the 1960s with the sort of awe that the drug regularly invoked among its early users: If there was one thing LSD was not - and I do not refer to today's light mood enhancer - it was not just a drug. It has never ceased to amaze me that such a minute dosage, one appearing to pass completely from the somatic system long before the experience subsides, can produce such an effect. It has been called the psychological equivalent of the nuclear bomb. 31 According to my research, it was not uncommon for Manson family members to take multiple tabs of this high-octane LSD and doses that high can quite literally "blow your mind," to use the old descriptive phrase of psychedelic users from the 1 960s. Dr. Albert Hoffman first synthesized LSD in 1938. Working as a research chemist for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Basel, Switzerland, Hoffman was experimenting with preparations of ergot (a type of fungus that attacks rye grain) in the hope of creating a drug to use as a circulatory stimulant. His 25th synthesis of the compound produced LSD-25. He would shelve that particular project until the spring of 1943 when a "peculiar presentiment" concerning that 25th LSD synthesis overtook him. In Hoffman's own words: "I could not forget the relatively uninteresting LSD-25. A peculiar presentiment - the feeling that this substance could possess properties other than those established in the first investigations - induced me, five years after the first synthesis, to produce LSD-25 once again so that a sample could be given to the pharmacological department for further tests." 32 On April 16, 1943, Hoffman accidentally either inhaled or absorbed through his fingertips a very minute amount of the LSD. Feeling dizzy and thinking that he was coming down with a cold, Hoffman left work and began pedaling his bicycle home. In what students of psychedelic lore now refer to as the "Magic Bicycle Ride," Hoffman experienced the full effects of the first ever LSD "trip." Hoffman describes the incident: Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and 25 proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours, this condition faded away. 33 LSD invokes a common experience in its users in the form of the phenomenon known as "ego death." People who have undergone ego death will tell you that it can sometimes be an extremely frightening experience and one that is as close to what it feels like to actually "die" as it is possible to do without really dying. Common aspects of this "death" include the user feeling that he/she is losing one's grip on, or no longer has normal control of the ego; where the normal day to day personality has disappeared and the growing sensation that the "self no longer really exists or that it is slowly dissolving away into some nothingness. As a result, fear and panic can sometimes occur when a user feels the normal sense of "who they are" slipping away. (The ego seems to have a built-in mechanism for staying identified with what is "known." It is for that very reason that later advocates of the use of LSD, Timothy Leary in particular, stressed the importance of "set and setting" to minimize the sometimes overwhelming fear and subsequent psychic trauma involved with the LSD ego death experience). 34 However, once this ego death has passed, the user experiences a "rebirth" into what is often called "the Clear Light of the Void, "the "Ultimate Truth" and "Ultimate Reality." This "clear light" is a place and state of being that is of literally indescribable beauty and peace; where the person undergoing the experience feels that they have achieved the transcendence of all space-time dimensions, and have been freed entirely from the limitations of the ego. A person in this state often feels that for the very first time in their lives, they are part of some Grand Order of the Universe and are now "one" with everything in cosmic unity. (And it is not unusual for people who find themselves immersed in the Clear Light to report having a conversation with "God" or some supreme being). 3 ^ The ego death caused by LSD use is remarkably similar to what is termed as a "Near Death Experience," or NDE. A "typical" NDE experience can be triggered by clinical death during surgery, or as a result of medical trauma from which a person recovers, as well as from unusually intense dreams, extreme stress, some forms of meditation, seizures, and even during orgasm. 26 Manifestations of an NDE involve an experience where the person undergoing it feels that they have left their body (an "out of body experience" or OBE) and has passed over to the "other side." There the person often finds themselves traveling down a long tunnel that has a light at the end of it. Once the person emerges into the light, they often encounter dead relatives, alien beings, or unseen presences that they sense are god-like or divine beings. Persons who have experienced an NDE also report a deep sense of peace, mental alertness, and a feeling that they are at one with the Universe. The Beatles described both the ego death experience and the "Clear Light" phenomenon in many of their musical compositions: In the song She Said, She Said, John Lennon sings about an LSD trip he took with actor Peter Fonda, who kept babbling on to Lennon about how his first trip was so intense that "he knew what it was like to be dead." In the song, Lennon describes the fear he felt in hearing Fonda's words (just as he was beginning to experience the effects of some LSD he had taken and as his own ego was disintegrating) with the song lyric, "And you're making me feel like I've never been born." And Beatle George Harrison was describing the peak of the LSD experience in the song, Within You, Without You, when he wrote, "When you've seen beyond yourself, then you may find peace of mind is waiting there. And the time will come when you see we're all one and life goes on within you and without you." As discussed earlier, Manson's belief that he was "receiving messages" from the Beatles through their song lyrics is not as completely weird as it may seem at first glance - at least not in part. LSD use was not simply a driving force within the hippie movement; at times it actually served as the brick and mortar that held it together. One must keep in mind that the use of LSD was a very new thing at that time and taking LSD was, as Haight-Ashbury historian Charles Perry put it, like "being in a secret society," where only the most "tuned in" people shared the "forbidden knowledge" discovered by the use of LSD. This "silent conspiracy" was largely due to the illegal status of the drug; dropping acid was most certainly not something that users discussed in an open and casual forum, nor was LSD use even written about in the same way that other new "mind-expanding" drugs might be discussed today. 36 A perfect example of this sort of wink, wink, nod, nod cryptic acknowledgment of LSD use during that time is best illustrated in the Jimi Hendrix song Are You Experienced? I can tell you from my own personal experience that most "squares" and "straights" at that time had no clue just exactly what Jimi was talking about in that song and the majority thought that Hendrix's words were merely some vague sexual reference. But the "tuned in" people knew. Charles Perry also makes note of one of the most compelling features of a full-blown LSD trip, that being the attainment of 27 enlightenment, satori, or "instant Zen" that accompanies the death of the ego: "[The effects of LSD brings the user] right up to a featureless experience called the [Clear] Light, in which all details are equally important and all connections equally valid. In a sea of perpetually changing impressions, the meaning of anything can differ wildly from moment to moment. The exaltation of being stoned might be the dawn of birth, the moment of death or a mystical unity of the two. The world might be the play of eternal archetypes or nothing but the moment-to- moment flashing of spontaneous energy. A place might disclose its utter uniqueness, or it might reveal itself as being beyond time and space. This is what people mean when they speak of LSD hallucinations - not full- fledged visions of things that are not there, but extraordinary and uncontrollably shifting interpretations of things that are. But [the LSD experience is] more than an intellectual challenge. The exaltation of the high has no real parallel in ordinary life, either in intensity or duration. Since the high is bound up with the perception of real things, unlike, for example, the effects of heroin, people coming down from LSD often feel that they have been unfairly cast out of a state of mind that is their birthright, and hence they go questing for a way to recover that experience . . . LSD tends to form cabals of initiates." 37 In a nutshell, the psychedelic experience or "LSD equation" can be stated as this: ego death = emergence into the "Clear Light" (full awareness) = attainment of true enlightenment or Love/Understanding. (For the non-initiated, it should be pointed out that the egoless state is desirable because it gives the mind freedom from illusion. According to Buddhism, the attainment of the egoless state is also the precise moment a person realizes their own divine nature. This is where they experience a subsequent emergence into ultimate reality, absolute truth, or Nirvana, the highest spiritual plane that one can obtain, as it frees one from suffering and fear of death). 38 Manson described this same LSD-induced ego death in more basic terms, noting that the often highly magnified and intense fear that LSD users feel during that process eventually resulted in finally breaking free of that fear (surrendering to the "death") and the "Coming to Now," or the attainment of true awareness. And a person who had "Come to Now," was thus "In the Thought" or filled with the Love/Understanding of Ultimate Truth. 28 But perhaps from his own personal Heart of Darkness, Manson was said to have preached to his followers that the act of killing someone was actually an act of love based on how a person ultimately judge's him or herself. Manson believed that all people had the potential for both good and evil, i.e., that they carried both "Christ and Satan" within themselves and that each of us has the capacity to offer either life to another human being, in "Christ-like" wisdom, or to act on a "Satanic" impulse to kill them. In this extreme reasoning, both were seen as acts of love because both were judgments made within that same "Universal" understanding. Manson taught his followers that there was no such thing as a separation between life and death, that all things in life are linked to each other. Accordingly, a person who killed another was only killing a part of his or herself or simply striking out at their own reflection in the cosmic mirror. (The idea that all humans are part of one undivided totality is a bit of wisdom that obviously stems from the LSD-inspired "we are all one" revelation and egoless state commonly experienced by users of that psychedelic drug). Tex Watson, a male member of the Manson family who was the chief killer in the Tate-LaBianca murders, put it this way: "Love was always the key word: love as nothingness, love as death. Each night the Family would eat together, smoke a little grass or hash, often drop acid. Then after the meal we'd all sit in a circle to listen to Charlie sing his songs and preach to us. He called it deprogramming, that is, stripping away all the untruth and ego and confusion that our parents and our society had laid on us from the moment we were born, stripping it away to get back to a purity and nothingness that was ours when we first came into the world. [Everything was one, he said. The programming which our personal histories had built into us put barriers between us and the realization of that oneness, kept us broken in separate fragments torn from our connection with the Whole. We kept seeing "you" and "me," when in reality there was only "it," the one. The only way to break down those barriers between ourselves (or the fantasy of self) and true oneness, true unity, was love. [0]nce you were dead in the head, you could truly love because there was nothing left of you, nothing but the oneness which was love itself to fill the void. When you were one it no longer mattered if this or that part of the Whole died, if you died or if someone else died, because the Whole remained. As bizarre as Charlie's teaching might sound to an outsider, it was compelling to us. The more acid we took and the more we listened, the more obvious and inevitable it all 29 seemed. It was not just a matter of belief, either. We lived it, we experienced what Charlie talked about." 39 In the book Helter Skelter, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, while attempting to investigate the Tate-LaBianca murders, sought to interview as many people as possible concerning the core elements of Manson's philosophy. To that effort, he interviewed former Manson follower and close confidant of Manson's, Paul Watkins. Bugliosi writes: "One aspect of Manson's philosophy especially puzzled me: his strange attitude toward fear. He not only preached that fear was beautiful, he often told the Family that they should live in a constant state of fear. What did he mean by that? I asked Paul. To Charlie fear was the same thing as awareness, Watkins said. The more fear you have, the more awareness, hence the more love. When you're really afraid, you come to 'Now'. And when you are at Now, you are totally conscious. Manson claimed that children were more aware than adults, because they were naturally afraid. But animals were even more aware than people, he said, because they always live at Now. The coyote was the most aware creature there was, Manson maintained, because he was completely paranoid. Being frightened of everything he missed nothing. Charlie was always 'selling fear,' Watkins continued. He wanted people to be afraid, and the more afraid the better. Using this same logic, 'Charlie said that death was beautiful because people feared death.'" 40 As such, the "Manson LSD equation" can be stated as: Fear (ego death) = "Coming to Now" (full awareness) = Love/Understanding. A list of the core elements of Manson's philosophy that were most likely directly inspired by LSD includes: • A belief that we are all part of the same "Cosmic Whole." • A belief that time is only an illusion and is only really relevant to the moment that we live in. • A Utopian belief that everything belongs to everybody, so you can't steal what is already yours. (Manson believed that human beings have inherent rights to the fruits of the planet. Subsequently, he taught his 30 followers that you cannot steal what has been given to every living creature by birthright and what essentially belongs to us all). The ultimate "secret" that LSD imparts to the user is the knowledge that freedom on this planet is complete; that there really are no rules except those of basic survival; that the ones created by men are sometimes in direct opposition to human nature; that life is essentially a "blank check" that one can write in any way one chooses. And therein lies "the rub" and ultimately, the true measure of the character of the person who receives such knowledge: For what one does with such unlimited freedom is the purest of ethical tests and the true measure of what really lies inside your own soul. It should be pointed out that during the same time period, there were many other active "hippie" groups quite similar to the Manson family. Those groups also lived communally, took drugs, engaged in alternative sexual practices, and a few were even very, very angry at the "establishment." And quite often, those groups were led by a single charismatic individual in what could be described as the same sort of "personality cult" that the Manson family was. Author Jay Stevens, while describing the evolution of the hippie quest for meaningful spiritual paths, makes note that the Manson family represented an extreme exception to the accepted ideal: "Consumer choice, in the grand American tradition, had come to the private revolution. Following the Summer of Love, the hippie ethic . . . fractionated into a dozen different sects and cults, each with its own techniques for accessing the Other World. The deeper hippies, the ones who hadn't come to the Haight for a lark, began chanting and meditating; they sat down and finally read all those arcane Tibetan texts they'd bought at the Psychedelic Shop. A surprising number joined the Hare Krishnas, one of the most ascetic and dogmatic sects around. Others gravitated to various gurus (the Maharishi and Meher Baba were popular) or followed charismatic hippies, either good ones like Steve Gaskin, or tragic ones like Charlie Manson, whose little family would become a mocking paradigm of Leary's tribal vision." 41 To date, my own research has not uncovered any other hippie group that went so far astray from the "peace and love" ethic as the Manson family did, or who at any time, made the decision to immerse themselves so completely in crime or choose to strike out at the authorities in such a violent manner as the Manson family did. 31 That fact alone is the greatest indicator of just how singular an event the Manson murders were and that it was not the hippie lifestyle per se that was to blame, but rather Manson's manipulation and abuse of the trust and faith that his followers had placed in him. 42 The Post-Apocalyptic Manson One often hears the remark from people who have watched one of the many post-conviction interviews that Manson has given over the years to various media figures (such as Tom Snyder and Geraldo Rivera) that Manson must be completely crazy. Those people usually reach that instant conclusion after witnessing Manson either talk in his famous gibberish, or after hearing him utter lines in the middle of a straightforward dialogue that just seem to be completely off the wall. And they may be right to some extent, but personally, I think that Manson's "craziness" is in reality more inline with the old euphemism crazy like a fox, i.e., that Manson seeks to purposely confound, perplex, trick, and belittle certain interviewers and subsequently, the general public who tune in for the show. It is important to understand that one must view those particular antics of Manson's in the full context of the atmosphere in which the interview is being conducted. If one listens very closely to what Manson says and if one understands a great deal about what makes Manson tick, it will soon become obvious that Manson will often "play as crazy as needed" in direct relation to who the person conducting the interview is. This is especially true when it concerns how much respect or lack thereof Manson has for a particular interviewer. After having studied his "speeches" for some time, it is obvious to me that the less Manson likes an interviewer, the more often he will attempt to shine them on in that manner, or perhaps, simply treat them like square johns or children. But make no mistake, Manson is actually a fairly astute philosopher and understands highly complex and abstract ideas in a way that is often absolutely amazing to behold, and many people have attested to this. It is also worth noting that Manson attracted a great many highly intelligent people into his inner circle, some with advanced college degrees, people who were well-versed in spiritual and religious studies, or who possessed similar intellectual credentials. That is not something that a purely "crazy man" would have been able to do. Another thing that seems to be frequently misunderstood about Manson is the swastika that he has tattooed on his forehead and exactly what that symbol ultimately means to Manson. Manson has been quoted as saying that the swastika symbol is, "My father. It is the Second World War." What he seems to be alluding to is that the swastika/Second World War is where, as a child of that particular generation, he learned his "ultimate moral lesson," i.e., what our society judges to be an 32 acceptable line of behavior in dealing with one's enemies. Manson will often point out that the swastika/Second World War is the "father of his generation," just as the lessons of the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and so on, is to other generations. Since Manson believes that fear is the prime motivating force in the Universe, for him, the swastika represents not just Nazism, but also his generation's worst fear, all encased in one compact symbol. Manson also sees the swastika as the Universal Life symbol. The Hopi Indians - a race of people whom Manson held in high regard - used the swastika for just that purpose. (Remember that it was the Hopi Indian legend of an underground city in the desert that inspired Manson to look for the Devil's Hole or Bottomless Pit in Death Valley). The Hopi swastika is an ancient emblem that symbolized the Infinite, the beginning-less and endless motion of life, cycling periods of time, and spiraling cosmic forces, all that which awakens Universal life. The swastika is believed by some scholars to date back as far as 10,000 years (long prior to it being misappropriated and maligned by Hitler and the Nazis) and strangely, has served as an important religious symbol among many far-flung cultures that had absolutely no contact with each other. For example, the swastika has been found on ancient temples in China and Tibet and on Native American religious artifacts. Symbolically, the swastika is often associated with the sun and its power, with its intersecting arms signifying sudden flashes of inspiration on the path to self-realization. According to some Buddhist sects, the swastika symbolizes that which has no beginning or end and is suggestive of the infinite peace of a balanced and enlightened mind. Buddhists so honored the swastika that it is inscribed on the chest of images of the Buddha. The swastika is found frequently in Buddhist temples and on objects of art. It symbolizes the ceaseless activity of the universal life principle in the ever-evolving cosmos and represents the wheel of the law or teaching. Manson, often in his usual cryptic way, will sometimes tell an interviewer that his use of the swastika is his way of pointing out what he sees as society's willingness to project their ultimate worst fear onto a symbol. As noted above, he does this by declaring the swastika to be "a symbol of his father, the Second World War," in which the Nazis, led by Hitler, were defeated, but only by the violence fueled by society's fear. Manson believes that all wars are merely the final result of a dominator society's reaction to an ultimate fear. When asked by Geraldo Rivera about the swastika, Manson replied, "How do you have peace on Earth? How do you communicate to a whole group of people? You stand up and take the worst fear symbol there is and say, there, now I've got your fear. And your fear is your power and your power is your control. I'm your king of this whole planet." 43 33 34 Rumor Has It In my book, Labyrinth13, I discuss some of the interesting similarities between Manson's philosophy and the beliefs of the Process Church of the Final Judgment, as well as the rumors that there was some sort of working relationship between Manson and the Process. I essentially dismissed those connections as having been primarily of a coincidental nature, but it is always interesting to note such synchronicities and to explore them in-depth. 44 There have also been quite a few efforts by some researchers to link the Manson murders to larger conspiracies involving elements within the American spy and intelligence agencies. While most of this theorizing must be taken with several huge grains of salt, there are some factors, such as the idea of mind control, that make such speculation seem plausible. Certainly Manson himself proved that actual mind control is possible. Again in Labyrinth13, I discuss alleged secret government projects to create mind-controlled assassins and touch briefly on the Manson case there, theorizing how Manson was able to program his followers, and where he may have picked up such techniques. While such speculation can be an interesting intellectual exercise, I will admit that I included my musings about the Manson family and mind control in that discussion almost purely for the entertainment value. 45 Roman Polanski - husband of murder victim Sharon Tate - once commented to a Tate-LaBianca police investigator that, "If I'm looking for a motive, I'd look for something which doesn't fit your habitual standard with which you use to work as police - something much more far out." 46 That so many rumors - both fantastic and plausible - exist in such a high profile case as the Manson murders is to be expected. My only interest in the rumors below stems primarily from the fact that it tends to show that early investigators - including prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's factual information in Helter Skelter - may have purposely omitted or downplayed facts about the case that put either the witnesses or the victims in too bad of a light. By engaging in this discussion, in no way am I trying to imply that because of certain lifestyle choices, the victims brought anything upon themselves. Nor do I claim that any of the more fantastic rumors discussed are true, particularly where no evidence beyond mere conjecture is presented. Rather, I am simply providing this information because it offers much interesting fodder for speculation and/or shows where early investigators may possibly have attempted to "soft peddle" other motives in order to protect certain people from publicity. Below, I offer some of the more interesting rumors and innuendos that have always hovered in the background of the Manson 35 case, as well as brief discussions of alternate theories concerning motives for the murders. The Alleged Steven Parent/William Garretson Gay Liaison Since the day that the news of the Tate murders broke, there has always been considerable controversy surrounding William Garretson, the only person present at the scene of the bloody Tate murders to survive. Originally arrested by police as a suspect the same day that the murders were discovered, 19 year-old Garretson was later released after police questioning and having passed a polygraph test. To refresh memories, Garretson is the person that Tate murder victim Steve Parent had come to visit that night at the Tate residence, ostensibly, to try and interest Garretson in the purchase of a clock radio. Later, as Parent was attempting to leave in his car, he was confronted by Charles "Tex" Watson, who shot and stabbed him to death, making him the first of the five Tate victims to die that night. (The police found his body still slumped behind the wheel of his car). Garretson told police that he had met Parent while hitchhiking. Parent had picked him up and given him a ride to the Tate residence several weeks prior to the murders. Recounting his activities on the night of the murders to the police, Garretson said that Parent had showed up unannounced at his place that night, supposedly in an attempt to interest Garretson in purchasing a clock radio. (Garretson estimated the time of Parent's arrival at around 11:45 that evening and recalled that he stayed only half an hour, drinking a beer he had been given, and making a phone call. The time on the same clock radio found in Parent's car had stopped at 12:15 a.m.; a fact which the prosecution later speculated was due to Parent having set the time while demonstrating how the clock worked for Garretson). 47 At least that has always been the "official" story. However, independent researchers looking deeper into the Parent/Garretson relationship have revealed new information that has led many to suspect that Steve Parent was not simply visiting Garretson at the Tate residence that night in order just to sell a clock radio, but rather for a homosexual liaison. In the book Helter Skelter, one is given the impression that Parent was essentially your average, clean-cut high school kid and that his presence at the Tate residence that night was under the most innocent of circumstances. But upon closer scrutiny, a much different image emerges. It was later determined by other researchers that Parent had been arrested in the past for petty theft and as a result, served time in a youth correctional facility and was placed on probation 36 afterward. From the original crime investigation of the Tate murders we learn this about Parent: "Steven Earl Parent, male Caucasian, 18 years, 6-0, 175, red hair, brown eyes. He lived with his parents at 11214 East Bryant Road, El Monte. His main occupation was that of a delivery boy for Valley City Plumbing Supply Company in Rosemead, California. He also worked part time at night for Jonas Miller Stereo, 8719 Wilshire Boulevard. On Friday morning, 8-8-69, he told his mother to have a clean change of clothes for him when he came home for lunch from his job at the plumbing supply company. He told her he was going to work at his second job and didn't want to come home after work before going to Hollywood for his second job. Parent has an arrest record as a juvenile for burglary. The chief object of attack during the five burglaries he was caught at was electronic equipment. He served two years in the California Youth Authority program. He was described as having both sadistic and homosexual tendencies by a probation officer." (Italics supplied). 48 Garretson was a houseboy/groundskeeper/caretaker at the Tate residence who, at the time that the murders occurred, was living in the guesthouse located at the back of the property. Garretson had been hired by Rudi Altobelli, the owner of the property at 10050 Cielo Drive, to look after the guesthouse and to take care of Altobelli's three dogs. (Altobelli was also gay - flamboyantly so, according to some - so it would not be at all unusual for him to have hired a gay or bisexual houseboy). During his August 10, 1969 polygraph examination, Garretson was asked if he was gay or if he had ever had sex with any of the Tate victims, which he denied. However, he did admit to having engaged in gay sex in the past. (Garretson may have actually been bisexual). From the transcript of the polygraph interview: Q: Are you gay? A: No. Q: Huh? A: No. Q: Ever had sex with Steve? A: No. Q: Ever have sex with a man? A: Yes. Q: Who? A: Well, when I first came out here, you know, I was in the big city and everything, and, well, some guy named Rice or something like that - I don't know if I did or not. I was asleep when it happened, but the kid that I came out here with said that, you know, he did whatever he did. 37 Q: What was he supposed to have done? A: Well, what they usually do. Q: Well, they do a lot of things. A: Well, that was what he said. Q: Screwed you in the butt? A: No. Q: Made you suck him? A: No. Q: He sucked you? A: Yes. Q: And he gave you a head job? A: Yes, he said that. That's what he said. Q: But you don't know this? A: I, well, I don't know. He showed us a movie, and we rolled over and went to sleep, and there was a lot of people that crashed it and everything. I thought it was just a regular place where people slept. That was in Hollywood. Q: He was supposed to have given you a head job? A: Yes. Q: And you're supposed to sleep through this? A: Well, I was asleep. Well, I didn't know it until a couple of days later. That's what I heard. Q: You think somebody could give you a head job and you'd sleep through it? A: Probably. Q: You think so? A: Yes. Q: I find it hard to believe. A: Well, I was up for about two nights. That's when we first came out here. Q: Okay, unless you are high on downers or something like this. A: No, I wasn't on downers; that was when I first came out here. We hitchhiked all the way across from Ohio. Q:Uhhuh. A: And I was up for a few nights and . . . (Page 39 missing, narrative continues on page 40) A: . . . and I met this one kid - he was about 26 or 27, you know, and he said, well, asked where I was going, and I told him I was going to some movie. And he wanted, you know, he says, "Do you care if I come along?" and I says, "I don't care." You know, anyway delayed it, and I just, you know, I says, "Well, why don't you buy some beer, you know, and play monopoly or something?" Play monopoly, and we did, and we played monopoly and stuff, but I never had sex with him or anything. But I figured he might be gay, but I don't know. Because, you know, how they get around - he asked me if I ever had sex with anybody, you know, men; and I told him no. I just told him maybe one time before. Q: While you were at this residence where you are living now- A: Yes. 49 38 What does the revelation about a possible Parent/Garretson sexual tryst prove as far as the murders themselves are concerned? Absolutely nothing. But if it is true that Parent went to visit Garretson that night primarily for a quick sexual interlude, then it tends to show that the book Helter Skelter and others are not the definitive investigations into the Manson case that they purport to be. And in particular, that Bugliosi's portrayal of Steve Parent was inaccurate, i.e., that there was something more to the story than Parent simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as Bugliosi seems to want to imply, a scenario that really has never made proper sense. (As one researcher very succinctly pointed out on a Manson-related blog, "Steven Parent was not at the crime scene for reasons that make logical sense in the human experience. Just ask yourself when you last tried to sell a piece of electronics to an acquaintance at midnight?") 50 Since day one, police investigators and other researchers have always felt that Garretson has not told everything that he knows about the case and that he was lying about what he had seen and heard that night. Garretson was at home (in the Tate residence guest house) during the entire time that the murders occurred, but originally claimed to police investigators that he neither saw nor heard anything because he had stayed inside and had been listening to a stereo at a loud volume. Police who interrogated Garretson described his answers to their questions as "stuporous and non-responsive" and believed that he was under the influence or coming down from some drug. 51 Garretson admitted during his polygraph exam that the night before the murders occurred, he had slept very little, staying up late drinking beer, smoking pot, and taking Dexedrine (speed), which made him sick the next day. That night, when the murders occurred, he claimed that he had again stayed awake all night, writing letters and listening to the stereo "until just before dawn." 52 Garretson admitted to police that he had been "scared" that night because he noticed that the handle on the door had been turned down as if someone had tried to get inside. 53 (Manson girl Patricia Krenwinkel, one of the assassins sent to the Tate residence, would later state that she had approached the guesthouse and had tried the handle on the door. One also has to wonder whether or not Garretson's "fear" might have been, in part, speed-induced paranoia). Later Garretson would admit that he actually had both seen and heard "unusual" things the night of the murders. In a 1999 television interview, Garretson stated the following: • That he probably did hear Steven Parent being shot: 39 "It seemed like firecrackers. And I thought maybe it was, you know, his car backfiring. You know I had no idea. It didn't alarm me as much, I mean it just seemed, It made me angry because I thought he was throwing firecrackers out and I thought 'If he comes back up here again I'm going to give him hell.' And, you know, 'cause I thought he was going to be waking the people up next door or something." 54 • That he may have seen Manson killer Patricia Krenwinkel chasing murder victim Abigail Folger and heard her plea for her life while she was being stabbed to death: "I heard a scream. And the scream sounded like, you know, like somebody was getting ready to get thrown into the pool. And, you know, or something. I looked through the window and it seemed to me that there was a girl chasing a, uh, girl. I wondered 'What's going on?' And I didn't look anymore. You know, I don't wanna look like somebody looking at you know, looking out the window. I heard somebody saying, 'Stop. Stop. I'm already dead.' And it didn't make sense. How can somebody be saying, 'Stop, you know, I'm already dead.' How would they be talking if they were dead? It just doesn't make sense. • Hearing someone (later determined to be Patricia Krenwinkel) trying the lock on the guesthouse door: "It seemed like the handle was moved. Like someone, you know, wanted to come in. It seemed like a few seconds. Just a few seconds and all of a sudden I heard, like, someone running [away from the guesthouse door] in the direction of the main house. You know, 'What's going on?' And, you know, no idea. You know, I just said, 'Somebody's running away.' You know, why would they be running away? 6 While it seems fairly certain that Garretson was not involved in the murders himself, what we have been led to believe about his doings that night, and specifically, what he heard and saw, can most definitely be called into question. The Alleged Manson Sex Films In the voice-over commentary to his film, Manson Family Movies, director/producer John Aes-Nihil mentions that he once interviewed Paul 40 Krassner , who claims to have seen a film shot at the Tate residence that allegedly showed Abigail Folger, Voytek Frykowski, Charles Manson and Susan Atkins engaging in group sex while high on MDA. 58 Concerning this same incident, Paul Krassner, writing for a 1999 edition of Scope magazine, stated: "I'd always felt that Manson and his killers had some connection with their victims before the murders took place. When Hal Lipset, the renowned private investigator, informed me a few years ago that the Los Angeles Police Department seized pornographic films and videotapes found in Polanski's loft and, additionally, certain LAPD officers were selling the tapes, that seemed like a clue. One police source told Lipset that there was seven hours worth of Polanski's homemade porn, and that it was worth a quarter of a million dollars. Lipset gave me a litany of those private porn flicks. There was Greg Bautzer, an attorney for Howard Hughes, with Jane Wyman, the ex-wife of then-California Governor Ronald Reagan. There was Cass Elliot in an orgy with Yul Brynner, Peter Sellers, and Warren Beatty. This trio, along with John Phillips, had offered a $25,000 reward for the capture of the killers. There was Sharon Tate with Dean Martin. There was Sharon with Steve McQueen. And there she was with two black bisexual men. 'The cops weren't too happy about that one,' Lipset recalled. I eventually tracked down a reporter who told me that when she was hanging around with the LAPD, they showed her a porn video of Susan Atkins, one of Charlie's devils, with Voytek Frykowski, one of the victims. This contradicts the official story, which is that the executioners and the victims had never met until the night of the massacre. But apparently the reporter mentioned the wrong victim, because when I wrote to Charlie and asked directly, "Did Susan sleep with Frykowski?" he answered, "You are ill advised and misled. Sebring [one of the victims] done Susan's hair and I think he sucked one or two of her dicks. I'm not sure who she was walking out from her 41 stars and cages, that girl loves dick, you know what I mean, hon. Yul Brynner, Peter Sellers." 59 A similar rumor that is often bandied about on various Internet message boards portrays Voytek Frykowski as an active playboy with a penchant for picking up young hippie girls on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles and then taking them home to the Tate residence for drugs and sex. As such, it has been alleged that Manson family member (and later prosecution witness) Linda Kasabian was one of those females picked up by Frykowski and that she was videotaped doing drugs and engaging in sex with him at the Tate residence. Yet another rumor concerning the same Frykowski/Kasabian sexual liaison has Kasabian being forcibly raped by Frykowski. (This alleged rape is often noted as a motive for revenge on the part of the Manson family). The Alleged Drug Deal Burn Motive for the Murders According to the first Tate homicide report issued by the investigators, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski and Abigail Folger were "confirmed narcotics users on a daily basis" who "habitually associated" with "confirmed narcotics users and peddlers," a fact that was played down by a great many other mainstream researchers on the subject, but which tends to support the "drug burn" theory as a motive for the murders. 60 The police found plenty of illegal drugs at the Tate residence. At the murder trial, Sergeant Michael McGann of the Los Angeles Police Department testified that marijuana, hash, cocaine and MDA were all found on the premises. 61 In fact, Voytek Frykowski was high on MDA when the murders took place. And there is a persistent rumor that Frykowski was dealing MDA and had ripped people off in the past. It is also been alleged that Frykowski had burned either Manson or some of Manson's followers for a large sum of money in a past deal for the drug. The rumored scenario has Manson himself or some of his followers involved in a drug deal with Frykowski and his associates for MDA and that they ripped him off, either by delivering bad drugs or simply by not coming through with the promised goods and keeping the money. Subsequently, Manson is said to have sought revenge for being burned by them. It is known that Manson was involved in a lot that his followers knew nothing about and it is certainly within the realm of possibility that he might have used them as a "hit squad" over the bad drug deal, while leading them to believe that they were actually killing in order to ignite 42 Helter Skelter and for "love of brother," i.e., to free Bobby Beausoleil from jail. (Another possibility is that there was a three-fold motive for the murders: 1) revenge for the bad drug deal; 2) to free Bobby from jail by committing copycat murders similar to the Hinman slaying; and 3) to ignite Helter Skelter - which I am still convinced was something that Manson actually believed in). During the penalty phase of the Manson trial, Susan Atkins testified that Linda Kasabian "told me to get a knife and a change of clothes . . . she said these people in Beverly Hills had burned her for $1,000 for some new drug, MDA." (But in the interest of real objectivity, any such utterance that issued from the mouth of Susan Atkins must be viewed with a great deal of skepticism). 62 But if one continues to follow along that line, it is possible that the "people in Beverly Hills" may have been Harris Pickens "Pic" Dawson and Billy Doyle, two Canadian drug dealers that Voytek Frykowski and Jay Sebring were alleged to have been involved in drug deals with. Dawson dealt in both cocaine and MDA. Dawson at one time dated "Mama" Cass Elliot, who was also acquainted with Manson, as he and his followers were frequent visitors to Elliot's house. Cass Elliot was questioned thoroughly by police about her relationship with Dawson and Doyle, both who were initial suspects in the case. In the same conspiratorial vein, it is worth noting that Voytek Frykowski knew Cass Elliot, too. 63 In post-arrest interviews from prison, Manson has been quoted as saying that if the true story about the murders were ever known, there would be a scandal the likes of which Hollywood had never seen, hinting that what he was talking about involved "kiddie porn" (child pornography) and large-scale drug dealing by the Hollywood elite. (Many researchers into this case believe that the drugs and porn theory explains why prosecutor Bugliosi went with the more fantastic Helter Skelter motive to convict Manson because the real story involved way too many high- profile celebrities). Manson has also alluded to an $1 1 ,000 drug burn the he said implicated a "millionaire friend" of his. All of the foregoing is certainly no smoking gun. But when the known drug use of the victims and the celebrities connected to the case is taken into account, along with Roman Polanski's later conviction for the statutory rape of a 13 year-old child, it becomes considerably less easy to dismiss out of hand what other researchers and Manson himself hints at. Bodies Buried at Barker In March of 2008, the press began reporting about a new search for possible Manson family murder victims long rumored to have been 43 buried in the desert near Manson's old hideout at Barker Ranch in California's Death Valley. Barker Ranch was the Manson family's last known residence and the place that they fled to immediately following the Tate-LaBianca murders. It is located in Death Valley National Park, one of the most desolate places on the face of the earth. The theory of unknown murder victims at Barker Ranch stems from several sources, most notably, from a 1969 statement attributed to Manson family member Susan Atkins. Atkins, a notorious braggart, allegedly told a fellow inmate she was incarcerated with that not only was the Family responsible for killing Sharon Tate, but that they had also killed other people, saying "there's also three people out in the desert that they done in," supposedly referring to other possible victims of the Family during their spree of killings in the summer of 1969. 64 Additionally, Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi claims in his book Helter Skelter that one (unnamed ) source with close ties to the Manson family stated that he overheard how "there are supposed to be two boys and a girl buried about eight feet deep behind Barker Ranch." 65 It has also been theorized that the bodies may possibly be those of unknown drifters, hitchhikers, or some of the many young runaways who came into contact with the Family, only to end up being murdered and then buried in the vast, featureless desert behind Barker Ranch. One much bandied about scenario has a witness claiming to have seen Charles Manson and Manson follower/head hit-man Charles "Tex" Watson leave the ranch house at Barker to walk a young girl who had become disillusioned with the Family up through a desert pass. Supposedly, Manson and Watson came back an hour later without her and she was never seen again. If this eyewitness account is true, you either have a story of two men who were gallant enough to see a young girl on her way (implausible, knowing Manson's general attitude about women), or an evil scenario for a brutal murder. What would make the latter possibility seem the most likely (again, presuming that the rumor is true) is the fact that Barker Ranch lies well within Death Valley, many miles from the main highway and over some of the roughest road one can image. It is hard to picture a young girl leaving on her own to walk all the way back to civilization under such daunting conditions. Unless, perhaps, she knew something she was not supposed to know and/or she feared for her life. Tex Watson described the road conditions leading up to Barker Ranch like this: 44 "Charlie was especially attracted to two isolated ranches at the top of Golar Wash - Myers and Barker. The Wash, even by day, without LSD and a knife in your ribs, was hellish, unbelievably rugged. It could take a good half a day to work your way up on foot, and even the toughest jeep would have a hard time against the boulders and narrow turns." 66 Intrigued by the rumors, Sergeant Paul Dostie of the Mammoth Lakes Police department traveled to the Barker Ranch multiple times over the years during his off-duty hours. He would eventually lead an unofficial and informal team of forensic investigators to Barker Ranch where they used specially-trained cadaver dogs and other equipment in an attempt to locate these possible victims. Along for the trip and acting as a guide was prospector Emmett Harder, a local miner with a claim in the area, who was also a veteran of many meetings and run-ins with the Manson family back in the day. Harder was interviewed by the press about the search and related the tale of yet another incident that is often cited in order to give credence to the "bodies buried at Barker" rumor: In October of 1969, two teenager runaways, Stephanie Schram (a favored girlfriend of Manson's) and Kathryn "Kitty" Lutesinger (girlfriend of Bobby Beausoleil, the Manson follower who murdered Gary Hinman) fled in fear from the Barker Ranch during the night. These two were so terrified of the Manson clan that they made the trip in the dark, through the rugged mountain and desert terrain, all the way back to the main highway in their bare feet. Once there, they flagged down a California Highway Patrol vehicle. Placed in custody as runaways, they began to tell the police that Manson had threatened to kill them and also divulged details about the Hinman slaying and other murders. Acting on their story, the police traveled up the wash toward Barker. There, they arrested Manson family members Steve Grogan (a.k.a. Clem Tufts, the murderer of Donald "Shorty" Shea) and Hugh Rocky Todd and confiscated a shotgun the men were carrying. It has been alleged that Grogan and Todd were actually stalking Schram and Lutesinger with the intent to kill them as the two girls fled from Barker Ranch. The implication of this tale is, if these two barely managed to escape with their lives, how many more may not have been so lucky? 67 According to press reports, Sergeant Dostie's search team located three to five areas of interest at Barker Ranch. In May of 2008, over a three day period, a team of scientists and crime scene investigators conducted a detailed excavation of the suspected sites at Barker. Nothing of any interest was recovered. 68 45 46 An Interesting Comparison Between Jesus Christ and Charles Manson Below is a comparison between the original Christian sect that adhered to a belief in Jesus Christ as the new Messiah, and that of Charles Manson and his followers, who believed that Manson was actually the Second Coming of Christ. • Both Manson and Jesus' followers believed they were the prophesied "Son of God" and worshipped them accordingly. • Both had their twelve apostles (Manson, several times over). • Both were ultimately betrayed by one of these followers (Jesus by Judas and Manson by both Susan Atkins and Linda Kasabian). • Both had devoted female disciples and close confidantes named Mary (Jesus had Mary Magdalene and Manson had Mary Brunner). • Both lived in the desert and had tribulations of importance while there. • Both Manson's and Jesus' followers believed that they had "magical" powers. • Both were arrested, denounced for their "revolutionary" beliefs, and placed on trial. • Both were found guilty at a criminal trial and sentenced to death. 69 47 48 Revelation 9 According to the most popular theory, Manson truly believed that there were hidden messages in the Beatles songs foretelling of a coming Armageddon; that he also believed that the Beatles were actually divine messengers sent by God to reveal the secrets of this impending world destruction; and finally, that in order to kick start this Apocalypse, the Beatles were actively seeking to find Manson, as Jesus Christ reincarnated, to act as the final spark that would set everything into violent motion. Reprinted below is the full text of Revelation 9, part of the chapter found in the Christian Bible on which Manson based his Helter Skelter, "End of the World," Apocalyptic beliefs, in conjunction with the messages he heard from listening to the Beatles song, Revolution 9. 1. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 49 10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 1 1 . And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon (in Latin, Exterminans). 12. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. 13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God; 14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 19. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. 20. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21 . Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. 50 The Summer of Love Breeds a Season of Hate: The Effects of the Manson Murders on Public Perceptions of the Hippie Lifestyle "You play the game of money. As long as you can sell a newspaper, some sensationalism, and you can laugh at someone and joke at someone and look down at someone, you know. You just sell those newspapers for public opinion, just like you are all hung on public opinion, and none of you have any idea what you are doing. You are just doing what you are doing for the money, for a little bit of attention from someone. " Statement made by Charles Manson, while testifying at the Tate-LaBianca murder trial "This will be remembered as the first of the acid murders . . . we're on the brink of a whole new concept of violence . . . perpetrated against society by people who have reached a different plateau of reality through LSD." Statement made by Manson family attorney Paul Fitzgerald, while discussing the Tate-LaBianca murders with the press "Acid is groovy, kill the pigs. " Words allegedly chanted by hippie thrill killers during the 1970 bludgeoning and stabbing murders of the Jeffrey MacDonald family In much the same way as the "Satanic panic" hit in the 1980's, a wave of "hippie cult hysteria" flourished in the wake of the 1969 Manson murders. Subsequently, public perceptions of the hippies as a non- violent, peace-loving subculture began to shift dramatically. Many hippies who were involved in the original "counterculture" during that time period had stories to tell about negative fallout from a public who had begun to associate the hippie lifestyle with a series of horrifyingly violent, drug-induced crimes that occurred across America toward the end of the 1960's. As a result, the Manson murders, being only the first to be so publicized, later became linked to a greater cultural fear aided by numerous shocking and widely reported similar crimes. (Along with the Manson case, there were many other grisly and highly publicized murders and other crimes that had either been committed by or linked in the public mind to "hippie" elements or to so-called "drug crazed cultists" living in communal settings). These events, played for full sensational effect in the media, would occur within such short time frames from each other that for 51 awhile, the public was literally bombarded with a shocking portrait of the hippie community, one that shifted from the old view of hippies as the epitome of passive gentleness into a new, frighteningly savage image. The fallout was swift and all-encompassing. And in much the same vein, this media-constructed image of the drug-crazed, murderous hippie was no different than the way veterans returning from the Vietnam War would also be stereotyped in the mid-1 970's, both by the press and Hollywood. That exploitation included fostering the image of Vietnam vets as war-traumatized, unstable individuals, likely to snap and go on a violent rampage at any given moment. (I can recall only too well how many television programs and B-movies of that era exploited not only the image of Vietnam vets, but also by catering to public fears about such things as roving bands of "psychopathic" biker gangs, angry black power "militants" with guns, and of course, exploitation films about sex-crazed, blood-thirsty hippies living in spaced-out drug communes). In the book Helter Skelter, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi tells of this backlash against hippie-types in the aftermath of the Manson case where sensational press coverage laid the murders out in all their gory detail. Bugliosi writes: If the press and TV reports were correct, a majority of young people whom the media had lumped together under the label "hippies" disavowed Manson. Many stated that the things he espoused , such as violence, were directly contrary to their beliefs. And more than a few were bitter about the guilt by association. It was almost impossible to hitchhike anymore; one youth told a New York Times reporter, "If you're young, have a beard, or even long hair, motorists look at you as if you're a 'kill-crazy cultist' and jam the gas." 70 Immediately after the story of Susan Atkins' confession to the bloody Tate-LaBianca murders was splashed across the front page of the Los Angeles Times, the public perceptions of the flower children began to change. Author Jess Bravin wrote: The reaction came down hard on hippies. On page one, the San Francisco Chronicle summed it up in a story from Topanga, a place the Family loved: Manson Arrest Reaction: The War On The Longhairs.' 'A housewife sees a long-haired hitchhiker, hesitates, and drives by,' the story began. 'A bearded man walks into a store and the clerk asks, half in jest, 'Did you have anything to do with the murders.' Esquire later devoted an entire issue to what it called the 'New Evil,' sending writer Gay Talese to the Spahn Ranch and filling out the magazine with articles on witches in Hollywood, Satanic-themed 52 artwork, and musings on the future of California's latest trend. And Life, describing what it called Manson's 'blithe and gory crimes,' reported that the prime suspect had 'attuned his concepts of villainy to the childish yearnings of these hippie converts, to their weaknesses and catchwords, their fragmentary sense of religion and enchantment with drugs and idleness, and immersed them in his own ego and idiotic visions of the Apocalypse.' 71 The use of LSD, a drug that was firmly rooted in the public consciousness as being one of the prime motivating forces behind the hippie movement, had never been viewed as anything but dangerous. But following the Manson murders, LSD developed an even more ominous association. Bravin recounts the following comment from Manson family attorney Paul Fitzgerald: "This will be remembered as the first of the acid murders. [W]e're on the brink of a whole new concept of violence [p]erpetrated against society by people who have reached a different plateau of reality through LSD." However, one of the many ironies of the Manson trial was that the prosecution was put into the position of actually having to defend LSD use in order to combat defense assertions that LSD made people crazy and/or could turn ordinary people into killers. (The defense hoped to be able to show that the Manson defendants' use of LSD had affected their minds and as such, they were not responsible for their actions). The prosecution was forced to call expert witnesses who testified that people under the influence of LSD were not normally violent. 73 The Manson trial lasted for ten months and was a virtual media feeding frenzy almost from day one. That the press focused on the fact that the Manson family was comprised of mostly young hippie flower children who had turned to bloody murder fed the public's general fear of drugged-out hippie "thrill killers" high on LSD. (And as I noted in Chapter 10 of this book, Susan Atkins would later claim that the Manson murders had been committed in order to "instill fear into the establishment." It can now be argued that their strategy actually succeeded quite well). The December 12, 1969 issue of Life Magazine (titled "The Love and Terror Cult" and including the sub-headings, "The man who was their leader; the charge of multiple murder; the dark edge of hippie life") featured a full front cover photo of what was to become the most widely distributed photograph of Manson and his "hypnotic stare." At the time, Life Magazine had a huge distribution, a fact that ensured that the fear Manson inspired could gain entry into virtually every home in America. 74 53 Hippies on their way to the Woodstock music festival in August of 1969 recalled passing newsstands with blaring headlines about the bloody Tate murders that had occurred only days before. Later, when the killers were caught and identified as young hippies, the Woodstock generation faced a more hostile than usual public whose fear had been stoked by lurid stories of violence committed by wild-eyed, drugged-out longhairs. Karlene Faith, author of a book about former Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, would write how: [T]he Manson murders dominated the California media for over a year. When the accused were found to have come out of a hippie commune, the attention intensified. The media latched on to people's worst fears about hippies and the antiwar movement. By the end of the trial, Manson's murders were touted as a singular milestone in the annals of homicide. 75 Author Katherine Ramsland, commenting about a series of "hippie murders" that occurred during the 1969-1970 time period, noted how: There was already plenty of tension between ordinary people making a living and those who had "dropped out" to get high and find a more communal type of life by rebelling against established traditions. Each group eyed the other with suspicion. Now, people believed, some of those hippies were showing their stripes, their peace-loving slogans notwithstanding. 76 On December 6, 1969, a mere four months after the Manson murders, four people lost their lives at the Rolling Stones free concert held at the Altamont Speedway near San Francisco. Two of those people died after they were run over and crushed by vehicles while asleep in their sleeping bags and another person drowned; most shockingly of all, Meredith Hunter, an eighteen year old black man, was brutally beaten and stabbed to death by a group of Hell's Angels. The Hell's Angels, hired by the Rolling Stones to act as concert security in exchange for $500 worth of beer, had also allegedly been given access to multiple tabs of orange sunshine LSD. (As noted in Chapter 12 of my book, Labyrinth13, many of the Altamont concert attendants said later that this orange sunshine LSD seemed to be "contaminated" and produced a very negative vibe of violence and death). Medical reports from the show indicate that Altamont was dominated by numerous incidents of violence. Chief among these were altercations between concert goers and the Hell's Angels that occurred throughout the day. (Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane's lead singer, was 54 knocked unconscious by a Hell's Angel during a scuffle near the stage. Balin had tried to intervene while the Angels were beating a man with pool sticks. When band mate Paul Kantner told the audience what had happened, another Hell's Angel grabbed the microphone and began threatening him). Almost immediately after the Rolling Stones took the stage, another fight broke out, perhaps due to some sort of strange energy, as the band began playing their first song "Sympathy for the Devil." (The band halted the song when they became aware that some sort of violence was happening and Mick Jagger could be heard saying into the microphone, "Something very funny always happens when we start that number." It was near the end of the band's second song that the murder occurred). In the aftermath, the view held by many was that while the word "Woodstock" stood for all that was positive and good about the hippie subculture, "Altamont" was seen as all that could go wrong. In a very real sense, the event spelled the death knell for the innocence of "flower power," and for many people, Altamont was seen as a sort of "apocalyptic" ending to all of the 60's peace and love vibrations. As noted, the Manson case was not the only blow to the image of hippies as a peace-loving community as other murders, often dubbed by the press as "hippie cult murders," took place very close to the same time period: On February 17, 1970 in North Carolina, just six months after the Manson murders, Army officer Jeffrey MacDonald claimed to have been attacked in his home at the Fort Bragg military base by a group of four hippies who were high on LSD. MacDonald would later tell investigators that after being awakened by his wife's screams to find intruders in his house, he was stabbed and knocked unconscious and that three male members of a hippie cult then viscously murdered his pregnant wife and two young daughters. All of this allegedly occurred while a lone female hippie with long blond hair and carrying a lighted candle, stood by chanting, "Acid is groovy, kill the pigs." (The case had many striking parallels to the Manson murders, including alleged "crazed hippie" perpetrators; the savage amount of "overkill" inflicted on the victims; the writing of the word "pig" on the walls of the MacDonald home in the victim's own blood; and the fact that Colette MacDonald, like Manson murder victim Sharon Tate, was pregnant at the time she was murdered). Although years later MacDonald would be tried and convicted for the murders himself, in the mind of the public, these crimes remained linked to "drug-crazed hippie cult killers." 77 On July 13, 1970, a hippie hitchhiker named Stanley Dean Baker was arrested in California for the murder of a Montana man who had stopped to give him a ride. According to police, Baker admitted that he 55 had shot the man to death and then cannibalized the body. (In fact, Baker admitted to cutting out and eating the victim's heart and also had bones from the man's fingers in his pocket when apprehended). Baker was branded a "hippie Satanist" by the popular press because he had both a recipe for LSD and a copy of The Satanic Bible in his possession when he was arrested. While Baker would later tell both law enforcement officials and fellow inmates that he had participated in a "blood drinking cult" in Wyoming, he later confessed that his crimes were actually the result of his drug use and had nothing to do with any involvement with Satanism. 78 Three months later, on October 19, 1970, firemen in Santa Cruz, California, responding to a fire at an upscale home in the Soquel area of the city, found five bodies floating in the home's swimming pool, all dead from gunshot wounds to the back of the head. The victims included Dr. Victor Ohta, his wife and two sons, and Dr. Ohta's secretary. A note left by the killer on Dr. Ohta's car threatened death to any "persons who misuses the natural environment or destroys same" by the "People of the Free Universe." The note ended with a reference to the four knight cards of the tarot deck. Within days, police investigators began targeting suspects in the Santa Cruz hippie community and a major rift between the hippies and police developed. In a newspaper article, a relative of one of the victims suggested that the murders could only have been committed by a "Manson-type cult." Soon after that statement, a local hippie hangout received several bomb threats. A reporter for the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote that: The Soquel massacre, steeped in mysticism and stamped with a clear warning that other similar attacks might follow, has chilled the marrow of the established community . . . hippie-types, for their part, fear indiscriminate vigilante retaliation against innocent members of their culture. 79 What may not be as well known is the fact that members of the local hippie community actually led the police to John Linley Frazier, a paranoid hippie loner who used LSD and mescaline and who was apparently obsessed with both ecology and aspects of the occult. Frazier had been kicked out of several Santa Cruz area hippie communes for his bizarre behavior and was living alone in a small cabin near the Ohta home at the time of the murders. (He was tried and convicted of the murders and given the death penalty, a sentence that was later commuted to life in prison after the death penalty was ruled unconstitutional). 56 Almost simultaneously (beginning on October 13, 1972, in Felton, California), hippie-type Herbert Williams Mullin committed the first of thirteen murders, carried out in the belief that in doing so, he would save California from a cataclysmic earthquake. Mullin was a paranoid schizophrenic who had been in and out of mental hospitals all of his life, but who would later be judged legally sane at his murder trial. His history of mental illness notwithstanding, Mullin was depicted in the press as just another burned-out hippie whose mind had been fried by drug use, as Mullin was a known LSD user. (One hippie later recalled that while in his presence, Mullin had ingested a whopping ten hits of LSD all at once). The District Attorney assigned to prosecuting the case was quoted as saying, "This is the result of people flipping out, and people taking drugs, and people doing their own thing." Mullin's series of murders took place near Santa Cruz where many hippie communes flourished. The aftermath of the murders served to add more paranoia and mistrust towards hippies in the public mind, even though Mullin had actually killed several "hippie types" himself and would later claim to hate hippies. 80 Other lesser known horror stories about so-called "LSD murders" also began to take their toll on the image of the hippie movement. Tales of alleged LSD-fueled violence were sensationalized in virtually every newspaper and television screen in America, both directly and indirectly blaming psychedelic drugs and the hippie lifestyle for violence: sponsors of a New York state bill to increase the penalties for possession of LSD cited one newspaper story as an example of the LSD-fueled hippie menace. In this story, it was reported that Stephen Kessler, a thirty-two year old Harvard graduate student and ex-mental patient who had committed a brutal murder, claimed to have been "flying on LSD for three days" and that he could not remember anything about the homicide. Law enforcement officers promptly labeled this case an "LSD murder." (The newspaper headlines declared Kessler to be a "Mad LSD Slayer" and "LSD Killer"). At Kessler's trial, psychiatrists testified that he actually suffered from chronic paranoid schizophrenia. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity with the issue of his use of LSD never being raised or corrected in the public mind. (In fact, it was later disclosed that Kessler had not used LSD for a whole month prior to the murder). 81 Several urban legends have been spawned that further illustrate the fear that the public has of the drug-crazed hippie killer, one of which is the tale of the "Hippie Babysitter." According to the Snopes Urban Legend Reference Pages, the basic story goes like this: A couple leaves their infant in the charge of a teenage, hippie-type girl while they go out on the town for the evening. When the mother phones home a few hours later to check up on things, the babysitter informs her that everything is fine and that she has put the turkey in 57 the oven. A few moments later the couple recalls that they left no turkey at home; they rush home and find that the babysitter, high on LSD, has cooked their baby in the Other urban legends depicting the alleged sinister motives of hippies and the dangers of LSD use include the tales of "Blue Star Acid," where paper rub-on "tattoos" featuring cartoon characters laced with LSD were supposedly being handed out to school children by evil hippie drug dealers; (the drug is allegedly absorbed through the skin simply by handling the paper or pressing it onto wet skin). And then there is the infamous tale of two hippie youths who, after ingesting LSD, stare at the sun until they go blind. (The latter story actually appeared as serious reporting in a several national newspapers). From almost the beginning, Hollywood also got in on the action and produced a number of extremely lurid hippie exploitation films masquerading as cautionary public service announcements, but which were in fact aimed directly at feeding a morbid public appetite while pretending to take a moral stance. Often depicting drug-crazed hippies living and freaking out in "Manson family" style communes, such films as The Hallucination Generation (1967) and Riot on Sunset Strip (1967) depicted "hippie" youths running wild in an orgy of group sex, drugs, crime and even murder. The Manson murders were also the subject of several ultra-low budget movies that were quickly churned out in the wake of the murders in order to cash in on the "killer hippie cult" hysteria. A short list of those films would include: The Other Side of Madness (also known as The Helter Skelter Murders), a sleazy 1970 film produced in record time, appearing almost immediately after the arrest of the Manson family. The Helter Skelter Murders was a blatant attempt to cash in on all the lurid publicity while claiming to depict the "true story" of the Manson murders. (The movie was shot on several authentic locations and features a dramatization of Manson's "Helter Skelter" race war. Also includes one of Manson's own songs, "Mechanical Man" in the score); the 1971 film Snuff (later renamed Slaughter) in which a bearded and very creepy Manson-like cult leader uses hypnosis on young girls in order to orchestrate a series of murders; / Drink Your Blood, a 1971 film about a cult of homicidal, acid-dropping, devil-worshipping hippies whose Manson-esque leader utters the classic line, "Let it be known, sons and daughters, that Satan was an acid head." (From the press-book accompanying the release of / Drink Your Blood, we find the warning "Did you ever imagine what would happen if your community were invaded by hippies? You can now see what can happen to a town when hippies go wild!" This film has been humorously described by one reviewer as "the quintessential tale of a group of Satan-worshipping hippies who ingest meat pies contaminated by the blood of a rabid dog and go on a murder spree"). Finally, we have The Love Thrill Murders 58 (1 971 ), a soft-core porn film that features actor Troy Donahue as "Moon," a violence-obsessed, Manson-clone who is the leader of a murderous Jesus freak hippie cult in New York City's Greenwich Village. High marks for negative public influence would also have to go to both the 1972 documentary film Manson by Laurence Merrick and Robert Hendrickson and the 1976 made-for-television movie, Helter Skelter. While Merrick and Hendrickson's Manson was less exploitative than its fictional Hollywood counterpart, Helter Skelter, both managed to scare the hell out of the general public. (For a list of other notable hippie exploitation films and/or movies that contain themes directly inspired by the Manson murders, see the appendix section of this book, List of Hippie Exploitation and Manson-lnspired Films). In addition to the film exploitation of the Manson murders, many magazine articles and books about the case followed quickly on the heels of the actual events and would also fuel the general public fear. Most notable of these was the true crime novel Helter Skelter (first published in 1974) in which the murders were not only graphically detailed, but also where prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi seldom missed a chance to strongly moralize against the hippie lifestyle in general, to a large extent, blaming the excesses of the counter culture for producing the likes of Charles Manson and his family. Bugliosi's book (and the two television miniseries it would later spawn) would not only exploit the hippie image, but would also commercialize the fear that the Manson murders and similar crimes had spread. But the truth be known, many of the more gruesome "facts" presented by Bugliosi -- much of it drawn from the confessions and testimony of the killers themselves - would later prove to have been based on embellishments made by Manson family members who wanted to shock the general public as much as possible. (A few examples of this would include the supposed death list of Hollywood celebrities that members of the Manson family claimed they had plans to kill; the false assertion made by family member Steve Grogan that he had cut murder victim Donald "Shorty" Shea into nine pieces or the highly suspect claim made by a prison informer that Susan Atkins said she had actually tasted Sharon Tate's blood which later proved to be just another example of Atkins' propensity for braggadocio). Author Karlene Faith noted that: After successfully prosecuting four of the accused, Los Angeles District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi wrote a mass- market novel-like book (Helter Skelter) about the murders. At the time, its cover made the promise, "No matter how much you think you know about the Manson case, this incredible book will shock you." It was a best- seller, and is still in print today, replete with inaccuracies due to the defendants' false testimony in court and their own propagation of sensationalized myths. One reviewer describes this book as "a morality play of the highest order, with the crusading prosecutor battling a 59 demonic Manson on one hand and the bumbling of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on the other. One of Manson's messages, like St. Augustine's, was the he (and everyone) represented the perfect dialectic of God and Devil, life and death, good and evil, sacred and profane. The symbolism was perfectly geared to a Hollywood sensibility. Through the lenses of the prosecutor, a woefully tragic set of murders became mythic owing to their perversely formulaic entertainment value. Bugliosi went on to oversee the 1976 CBS-TV version of his story, and to make $2500 per speech (a large sum at the time) on the lecture circuit. 83 In part, public hysteria about the hippie movement had as much to do with the explosion of huge numbers of hippie youth communes as did films and books with their garish tales about sex orgies and rampant drug use. Although communal living has a long history in other countries, such living arrangements were a relatively new phenomenon in America and in the mid to late 60's, were to be found almost exclusively in the hippie subculture. During that time, the common public perception (again, due to media exploitation) was basically a belief that the hippie communes were all dens of rampant drug use, free love, and general immorality, but history shows a far more diverse picture than what the stereotype suggests. Many communes were founded on a religious basis or with an emphasis on spirituality and very disciplined lifestyles. Others were simply created in the search for a Utopian society. In 1970, the Manson family's own communal lifestyle was the subject of a detailed study conducted by Dr. David E. Smith, M.D. and Alan J. Rose of the Haight Asbury Free Clinic; members of the Manson group often visited the clinic in order to receive medical treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. 84 In this paper, the authors write that: [T]hrough the national media, the dominant culture in the United States has been made aware of a new style of commune which has evolved primarily in America's "hippie subculture." . . . These "hippie" communes can be categorized into six general types Crash Pad Type, Drug and Non-Drug Family Type, Drug and Non-Drug Marriage Type, and Self-Contained Rural Type . . . The common denominators in this type of commune are polygamous sexual practices involving all members of [the] group and cooperative child rearing. Following the preparation of this manuscript, the central figure in this report, Charles Manson, was arrested in connection with the Sharon Tate murders. However, it would be 60 impudent to comment on the murders until Manson's trial has been completed. The "group marriage" is not new, of course, and has been practiced by various societies throughout history. Middle class white American youth participating in a group marriage is relatively new, however, particularly in that it represents a direct affront to the dominant culture's expressed moral code. The authors also described Manson as "a "father figure" and "a 35-year-old white male with a past history of involvement with the law." They further noted that: Manson was thirty-five years of age, and had no college education. He was an extroverted, persuasive individual who served as absolute ruler of the group marriage commune. What he sanctioned was approved by the rest of the group, but what he disapproved was forbidden. 85 The media made much out of the fact that a group of hippie youths and flower children, mostly comprised of young women, had allowed themselves to became involved with such a "Mephistophelean guru," as prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi was to later label Manson, and that those same followers so fiercely defended Manson after his arrest, a fact that seemed to call into question all that everyone knew about the counterculture. A full study of the psychology behind such thinking on both sides of the issue is beyond the scope of this article, but my point is that, in the public mind, the Manson case (and others similar to it) was and still is, touted by detractors of the hippie movement as the ultimate "I told you so" moral to the story for those who had embraced the hippie lifestyle. However, such a perception is not quite the knockout punch it may appear to be as many residents of the Haight during that time period will tell you that Manson was only one of hundreds of such anti- establishment, LSD and mysticism philosophizers who frequented that scene. Many of these self-styled gurus were a welcomed part of the landscape and for the greater part, never betrayed any of the sometimes naive trust placed in them by idealistic young hippies, most who thirsted for the same intense spiritual awareness and truth experienced while under the influence of psychedelics. (My research has turned up no other example of hippie "street gurus" from that era whom exploited others in such a horrendous manner and the Manson case appears to be completely unique in that sense). The fact that Manson turned out to be a person who ultimately involved his followers in violence is the real tragedy. And it is important to note that Manson did not show up on that scene handing out tabs of acid and knives while preaching violence to young hippies; his philosophical rap pretty much matched that of other 61 street gurus at the time and the descent into an Apocalyptic vision of death and war only came along much later on. Many of the communes formed in the 60's were often lead by a charismatic leader, a fact that seemed to determine whether or not a particular commune would survive the tests of time. And you might be surprised to learn, as I eventually did, that quite a few communes from the 60's not only survived, but are still thriving today. And while many (perhaps most) of them did indeed eventually fall apart -- often due to the drug excesses of their members -- quite a few (numbering in the hundreds) were and still are highly successful, among them the Morningstar Ranch, The Hog Farm, the Twin Oaks Intentional Community, and one group known simply as "The Farm." The Farm, one of the most successful of the hippie communes, was started in the rugged wilds of Summertown, Tennessee. Founded in 1971, The Farm went on to become the largest hippie commune in North America, peaking out at around 1500 people in 1980. (As of this writing, its current population stood at about 200 folks). This group pioneered many aspects of the vegetarian diet, techniques for modern midwifery and home birth, and were very active in working towards methods for alternative energy. However, public perceptions about hippie communes during the 1960's (and even today) was that of groups of lazy, dirty hippies lying around smoking marijuana while collecting their welfare checks. I'm in my late 40's now and when I was a teenager, I spent the summer of 1972 living on a small hippie commune in the mountains of North Carolina and the rule of law there was that if you didn't work, you didn't eat. There were no welfare checks or Manson family-style "garbage runs" in that group, but there was plenty of hard work caring for a large vegetable garden (which naturally, included a substantial crop of marijuana) and splitting loads of firewood to sell. And members of the commune often pitched in to help other "non-hippie" farmers and neighbors when they were short-handed, eventually earning the sometimes-begrudging respect from those people. But to be completely honest, not all communes lived up to such noble standards and there were actually quite a few groups that were little more than blights on the communities that they inhabited. Or worse yet, communes that were weird beyond belief. A perfect example of the latter case was part of the subject of an article written by R. Stuart for a 2002 Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies newsletter. In an article titled Entheogenic Sects and Psychedelic Religions, Stuart discusses various psychedelic religions founded in the United States, including those that involved communal living arrangements and writes that: 62 In the late 1960s near Los Angeles, a group had the LSD-inspired belief that all life had equal value. They became fruitarians who ate only fruit that had fallen to the ground. Later, LSD visions revealed that God existed on Earth incarnate in dogs, and that all of humanity's problems were caused by the mistreatment of "man's best friend." Members of the Dog Commune herded dogs, raided animal shelters to liberate their canine deities, and were among the first animal rights groups in the United States to try to stop exploitation of dogs in scientific experiments. 86 One really needs no additional evidence that not all LSD-inspired visions are as profound as they may at first seem, especially if we assume that the "Dog Commune" was awed by the fact that "god" spelled backward is "dog" when reaching the spiritual conclusions that they did. And while the intentions of a hippie group such as the Dog Commune seems to have been mostly benign and benevolent enough, I can't help but try to imagine what it would have been like to be the up- tight, straight-laced, average-Joe citizens who were probably living next door to them. Another controversial hippie group was the "Lyman Family" which operated a successful commune in Boston, Massachusetts known as the Fort Hill community. This group was led by folk musician Mel Lyman, who supposedly, in a Manson-like fashion, had declared himself to be God. (In his book The Autobiography of a World Savior, Lyman claimed that he came from another planet and had been sent to Earth to restore humanity to its original balance). 87 In 1971, the Lyman Family would come under attack by one of the counter culture's very own voices: the fledgling music magazine Rolling Stone, usually a staid bastion of support for all things relating to hippie culture. Rolling Stone printed a scathing and highly critical two- part cover story written by David Felton about the Lyman Family commune. In that article, Felton charged that Mel Lyman was a Charles Manson-like leader who controlled his followers though psychedelic drugs, mind control and fear. (It has been observed that LSD can make the person under its influence vulnerable to the influence of a second party. In Felton's story - and later in a full-length book - he used the expression "acid fascism" to describe how psychedelic users were often so open to suggestion that they could be exploited by unprincipled persons, the Charles Manson case being the most classic example of this). 88 Another article about the Lyman Family that appeared in the Boston Phoenix newspaper also raised the specter of the Manson family, noting that: 63 Despite the obvious material gains of the communards -- or perhaps because of them -- they came under increasing attack. Only a couple of years earlier, the nation had been horrified by the ritual murders committed on the West Coast by communal disciples of Charles Manson. By 1971, a grim skepticism about alternative lifestyles had permeated America. Critics of Fort Hill life began to suggest that Lyman was the Manson-like center of a dangerous personality cult. 89 Members of the Lyman commune, like the Process Church before them, did little at the time to quash the sordid speculation: it was reported by several people that the group paid homage to Charles Manson by keeping a poster of him hung on the wall under which they placed a vase full of fresh flowers daily. And according to another source, Manson family member Lynnette "Squeaky" Fromme used to visit and occasionally stay with Lyman in a home he owned in Los Angeles and that Manson and Lyman corresponded with each other for a brief period. Jim Kweskin, a member of the Lyman family, who, upon learning that his group had been compared to Manson's, jokingly quipped that: "The Manson family preached peace and love and went around killing people. We don't preach peace and love." 90 And while most of the charges leveled at the Lyman Family would eventually prove to have been just so much hype -- even Rolling Stone would later admit later that Felton's story had been mostly an exaggeration -- the negative association with the Manson family would continue to haunt them for many years. As of 1997, the Lyman group was still together, having amassed quite a sizeable fortune through real estate holdings and a home remodeling business. (Mel Lyman died in 1978 under circumstances that still remain a mystery). 91 Another hippie phenomenon that arose out of the counterculture and which would also suffer from associations to "drug crazed cultists" was the so-called "Jesus freak" movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's. (The Jesus freak phenomenon was a cultural happening that I was able to observe up close and personal as I watched several of my own relatives and siblings, former hippies all, get sucked into the whole "hippies turned-on to Jesus" movement. The Jesus freak trend was at the forefront of what would later blossom into yet another major cultural icon of fear, that being the phalanx of insidious "brainwashing religious cults" that flourished from their beginnings in the early 1970's all the way into present times. Many hippies and other idealistic young people 64 seeking a new spirituality were lured into these groups, many of which were -- or later became -- genuinely dangerous). Known originally as "The Jesus Movement" or "The Jesus People," Jesus freaks described themselves as a "counter-counter- cultural movement." Jesus freaks were primarily hippies who had become disenchanted with certain aspects of the hippie value system and who sought to combine the peace and love of the hippie movement with old-time Christian evangelism. (While the name "Jesus freak" was originally coined as a derogatory label by other hippies - the term "freak" being a common hippie description of anyone obsessed with a certain type of mind trip - the moniker was soon proudly adopted by the Jesus People themselves). 92 Like a great many things related to the hippies, the roots of the Jesus freak movement had its genesis in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district where in 1967 Christian evangelical missions such as "The Living Room" were opened in small storefronts in the hippie business districts. Many of these "psychedelic evangelical" groups served as temporary shelters for the multitude of young hippies who had come to San Francisco and other major cities to join in the flower power vibe, only to find themselves homeless and living on the streets. 93 As noted, the Jesus freaks kept the same style, dress, and language of the hippies, but changed such hippie ideas as "free love" to "free love of God" and brotherly love of other people. (A famous Jesus freak motto was "One Way," a term that sought to remove focus away from the individual, as the original hippie movement tended to focus on, and instead shifted one's consciousness towards a love of Jesus). 94 Additionally, the birth of so-called "Christian rock," the combination of rock music and Christian gospel, was an original product of the Jesus freak movement. Major examples of this were those films and Broadway plays that featured Jesus freak soundtracks and themes, such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. (The music created within the Jesus freak movement has now morphed into what is the contemporary Christian music of today). 95 Many hippies who became Jesus freaks had sought out the Jesus movement after experiencing either bad drug freak-outs or in some cases, because they were seeking the same sort of positive mystical and religious experience that they had encountered under the influence of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD. In many cases, what they sought was to substitute their personal drug experiences for "getting high on Jesus." (It should be noted that while most of the Jesus freak groups chose to eschew the use of drugs, many did not and/or its members just continued to use drugs on the sly. Hippies who gravitated toward the Jesus freak movement also tended to remain somewhat anti- establishment to some degree). 65 The Jesus freak phenomenon began to receive major publicity in America beginning around 1970 with the press reporting such events as hippies being baptized in rivers or in the ocean, Jesus freaks acting as tuned-in counterculture street preachers, and the publishing of hippie Christian newsletters. (Those newsletters were laid out in the style of the counterculture's own "underground" newspapers, complete with psychedelic graphics and language. The use of elements of psychedelia to attract hippie followers and converts became a popular tactic practiced by many of the so-called "cults" that sprang up in the late 60's and early 70's, most notably, by the Hare Krishnas and to a lesser extent, Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church). 96 But the Jesus freak movement was not without controversy. Many of these groups would later become identified with Manson-like beliefs about a coming Apocalyptic doomsday, with a few of these groups espousing concepts that even rivaled the Process' belief in a "Final Judgment" and Manson's "Helter Skelter" for out-and-out unadulterated weirdness. One major strange influence on both the Jesus freak movement and fundamentalist Christianity was author Hal Lindsey's series of books about a coming Apocalypse and the rise of the Antichrist as prophesized in the Christian Bible. This series began with the 1970 book The Late Great Planet Earth, a tale that sought to meld "end of the world" Biblical prophecy with world political events current at the time the book was written. Lindsey, a conservative Christian fundamentalist, published The Late Great Planet Earth at the height of the Cold War, warning that Biblical prophecy pointed toward an invasion of Israel by the former Soviet Union, an act that he believed would trigger the Battle of Armageddon in the form of World War III, the last war on the face of the earth. The Late Great Planet Earth, written in a style that used common language and which read almost like an action novel, became the bestselling book of the decade, with over 15 million copies sold. It also launched an intense modern interest and belief among both Jesus freaks and fundamentalist Christians about a violent Apocalyptic end to the world, an event that Lindsey's book suggested was actually quite imminent. (In the book, Lindsey prophesizes that there will be a period of great tribulation with plagues, wars, and famines and that Jesus Christ will then appear for the promised "Rapture," lifting up to heaven all those who believe in him, leaving the rest of humanity to suffer through seven more years of tribulation under the rule of the Antichrist). 97 Lindsey next published Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth, a book that warned against "occult influences" present in the world. Lindsey (much like Ed Sanders before him) alleges that there were 66 active Satanic hippie communes afoot practicing such things as the ritual sacrifice of animals where the blood was drained and mixed with LSD in a cauldron to be used as a drink during occult rituals that involved "sexual deviation, pagan ceremonies, and rites which defy imagination." Lindsey also hinted that the practices of these alleged Satanic hippie cults might have also crossed into the realm of human sacrifice by trotting out the cases of Stanley Dean Baker and the Manson Family. That book also strongly implied that the Antichrist might be living among us now and that the triggering of Armageddon (perhaps in the form of a thermonuclear war with the former Soviet Union) was only awaiting the right series of events to be set into motion. 98 Lindsey found the basis for most of the information for his prophecies in the Christian Bible's book of Matthew and the book of Revelation. (And yes, if you are noticing the similarities between all of this and the philosophies espoused in both the Process Church's belief in a "Final Judgment" and the Manson family's assertion that Helter Skelter was only awaiting the right spark to ignite a final, bloody war, you are definitely paying attention). The subsequent formation of Jesus freak communes in some rural communities, many of them who embraced Apocalyptic beliefs similar to Hal Lindsey's, were not always as well received as one might imagine a group of young Christians might have been! The negative fallout from media images and stories of a bible-obsessed Manson family and a scripture-quoting "Satanist" Process Church had led to much public mistrust and fear. And that fear was in turn transferred straight to the Jesus freak communes by way of a generalized suspicion and mistrust of those in the Jesus freak movement who were, for the most part, very sincere in their Christian beliefs, but who also had the same outward appearances as any of the other "long haired drug cultists" that were being reported in the press." Adding fuel to this general fear and suspicion were such notorious Jesus freak groups as The Children of God, a weird group of hippie Christians who very closely fit the stereotyped image of a brainwashing cult (and who were also at times mistakenly believed to be comprised of remnants of the original Manson family, both by other hippies and by the general public). Formed in 1968 and led by a charismatic leader named David Berg (a.k.a. "Moses") the Children of God -- sometimes known as "The Family of Love" or simply as "The Family"-- in many ways epitomized the stereotypical image of hippie Jesus freaks, espousing a combination of Christian evangelism, the counterculture revolutionary ideal and sexual freedom. They also preached a doom-and-gloom Apocalyptic theology that included the belief that California would be devastated by a major earthquake, with the entire state sliding into the sea and later, that all of the United States would be destroyed by the comet Kohoutek in 1974. 67 The Children of God were often to be encountered during the early 1970's -- even by this author as a young hippie teenager -- encamped by their psychedelic school buses at outdoor rock concerts where they would hand out free food while seeking to recruit new members. Their reputation for being a "cult" was well established, even in the hippie communities I was associated with. (And I can recall quite vividly how I was strenuously warned by several hippie "elders" to stay away from them as they were considered to be a "Manson-type" group). By 1974, the Children of God were in trouble with the law and faced charges that included tax evasion, kidnapping and assault. They were also eventually embroiled in even more scandal when female members were accused of using sex to entice men who were not part of the movement in order to convert them into cult members (a form of religious recruitment that Berg called "flirty fishing"). 100 But this general attitude of mistrust by rural locals was by no means exclusive to hippie Jesus freak communes, but rather was extended to all communes in general, which in many cases, the local populace had been led to believe were nothing less than dens of iniquity and general wickedness, populated by dirty, crazy hippies on drugs. In the introduction to his book on the hippie communes of the 1960's, author Timothy Miller comments on the "out-of-this-world" publicity that seemed to dominate most of the media attention given to communal living in general during the 60's, writing that: Both scholars and reporters embodied in their work a great range of points of view, from favorable to severely hostile, with a great many somewhere in the bemused middle ("I can't quite believe all this!"). A good many of these works were sensationalistic, often focusing breathlessly on the casual nudity that frequently prevailed at the counter-cultural communities or on the use of psychedelics and other controlled substances that was so popular among communal and non-communal hippies alike. 101 And regarding the effects of the media hype on public perceptions of what actually went on inside a typical hippie commune, Miller also states that: Sensationalism, then as now, was the order of the day for any self-respecting news outlet; so much of the coverage focused on nudity and drug use, real or rumored, and thus helped to feed the local hostility toward communes that broke out so often. 102 68 It is important to understand that the true spirit that drove the counterculture to break free from the establishment's old ideas of how to live was based firmly in the desire among hippies to form their own societies with their own standards of living that more closely reflected the hippie value system. Communes were the most logical next step toward breaking free of an establishment that was viewed by many as having proved that it was corrupt, broken-down, and past its prime. And it is not surprising that to most of middle class, homogenized America of that period, the idea of hippies participating in such "exotic" experiments as communal living and group marriage was very much seen as a direct threat to their way of life, and as noted in the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic study cited earlier, this was primarily because such activity represented (and to a large degree, still represents) a form of "deviancy" that directly threatens middle class notions of "normalcy" and "morality." That certain aspects of the hippie lifestyle were so misunderstood and that the media sought to engage in such blatant fear- mongering at the hippies' expense can, to some degree, be seen almost as a normal reaction on the part of "straight" society. Author Rosemary Baer, whose husband was a juror during the Manson murder trial, would later write that: The Tate-LaBianca case, it has been said, is not so much a trial of four defendants accused of seven and a half murders, as [much as it is] a trial of the long-haired, loose-living, group-sex, drug-oriented, hippie subculture by the established culture of our society. And to further illustrate just how much the image of the "crazed hippie cultist" had colored the minds of "normal" society, consider the following from a 1996 interview with a former communard at Black Bear Ranch: Simple rumors and stereotypes greeted the communal pioneers in a great many places. At Black Bear Ranch the original settlers had little contact with the scattered local residents, but years later, when tensions had eased, an early communard asked a neighbor, "What did people think about us when we first came up there?" The two-word answer: "Charles Manson." 104 To be sure, the neighbors living near many of America's hippie communes were (at first) often less than happy to have them there, an attitude that stemmed from the obvious lifestyle differences as much as anything. And for the greater part, the hostility encountered by longhaired communards came in the form of dirty looks, unkind words, and police harassment with some businesses actually posting "Hippies Not Welcome" signs. But occasionally, situations did erupt into outright 69 violence. One of the worst examples of this sort of aggression happened to various inhabitants of the many hippie communes established in Taos, New Mexico (the place where Manson girl Linda Kasabian would flee to three days after the murders occurred). Beginning in the late 1960's, a huge hippie invasion of Taos had begun, much to the resentment of the entrenched locals. Author Timothy Miller writes: The following are just a few of the many instances of violence that occurred over a short span of time in 1969 and 1970: The Volkswagen van of a commune was dynamited by night; later a building on the property was burned to the ground. Hippies were brutally beaten up on the street on many occasions. A hitchhiking longhair was sentenced to jail for possession of a "concealed weapon" -- a tiny pocketknife. Vehicles were shot up in various situations. Anonymous phone calls threatened arson and murder. A hippie woman was gang-raped. A macrobiotic restaurant was destroyed. A sign appeared on a Taos building: "The only good hippie is a dead hippie. Kill." . . . The nadir of the conflict was the murder of Michael Press, a hip resident of the Kingdom of Heaven commune at Guadalupita, New Mexico on August 5, 1970, and, on that day and the next, the beating of three other members and [the] triple rape of yet another. 105 In the case of the murder noted above, the killers were only given light sentences on a reduced charge, further illustrating just how deep the negative emotions against the hippies living there ran. But the backlash against hippies in the wake of the Manson murders and the similar crimes and incidents noted above was by no means confined to such hippie bastions as California and New Mexico. Media sensationalism injected the new image of hippies as drugged-out murderers into the public consciousness with a powerful intensity. And the use of that image as a propaganda tool seemed to be in full force and effect all across America. Author Karlene Faith writes: [R]everbarations from the Manson murders affected the lives of counterculture people throughout California and beyond. Since Manson and his followers were reasonably perceived to be hippies, all hippies became suspect and ready targets for disdain and harassment. After the crime, anyone with long hair driving a Volkswagen bus, the hippie vehicle of choice, stood a good chance of being pulled over by the police . . . The "dirty hippie" stigma was radically intensified, as was adult contempt for youthful idealism . . . The fear and harassment of hippies that occurred after the crimes was 70 as destructive to healthy communes as it was to those already dysfunctional. It was as if the dominant culture, in cahoots with the media, had been waiting for the Manson "family" to happen so that they would have "proof that the hippie movement was no good. The antagonism between hippies and "straight" society was based on their antithetical values. In the context of social disruptions the Manson murders were a convenient excuse for a backlash. Parents were warning their hippie kids, "See what could happen to you?" 1 ^ In a 1 969 Time Magazine article about the Manson murders, a Dr. Lewis Yablonsky was quoted as saying that he "believes that there has been far more violence among the hippies than most people realize," stating further that: There has always been a potential for murder . . . [M]any hippies are socially almost dead inside. Some require massive emotions to feel anything at all. They need bizarre, intensive acts to feel alive -- sexual acts, acts of violence, nudity, every kind of Dionysian thrill. 107 The hippie movement today has mostly recovered from the liability left behind by groups like the Manson family and from once having been associated with such drug violence and other negative stereotypes. And the repeat of a similar "hippie" crime like the Manson murders, occurring during such a pivotal point in "hippie history," seems an unlikely event. But you can be assured that there are probably still a few people around who simply refuse to let go of the idea that experimenting with strange drugs, practicing free love and living freaky lifestyles were somehow to blame for such horrors. Hopefully, similar hysteria will be recognized for what it is the next time around. 71 KM Charles Manson, Son of Sam and the Process Church of the Final Judgment: Exploring the Alleged Connections Fear is at the root of man's destruction of himself. Without fear there is no blame. Without blame there is no conflict. Without conflict there is no destruction. But there is fear: deep within the core of every human being it lurks like a monster, dark and intangible. Its outward effects are unmistakable. Its source is hidden. Quote from the Process Church article On Fear Have you ever seen the coyote in the desert? Watching, tuned in, completely aware. Christ on the cross, the coyote in the desert - it's the same thing, man. The coyote is beautiful. He moves through the desert delicately, aware of everything, looking around. He hears every sound, smells every smell, sees everything that moves. He's in a state of total paranoia, and total paranoia is total awareness. Quote from Charles Manson about "getting the fear," as published in the June 1970 issue of Rolling Stone magazine Author's Note: Beginning in the 1980's, Americans - and later, many European countries - found themselves in the grip of a contemporary urban legend that was later dubbed the "Satanic Panic. " This modern day witch hunt included tales of so-called "Satanic ritual abuse, " stories of children being preyed upon by "occultists" and alleged plots by organized groups of Satanists who were allegedly bent on world domination through murder and every kind of crime and horror imaginable. Central to many of these theories were the purported ties between the infamous Charles Manson family, New York serial killer David Berkowitz (the so-called "Son of Sam") and the Process Church of the Final Judgment. Included in this chapter is a brief history of the Process Church (a group whose name has long been bandied about as a shadowy, sinister, Satanist group) and a close examination of the alleged "connections" between the Process and both the Manson and Son of Sam murders. But first, a little history. . . 72 Preface: A Pandora's Box If you listened to some people, you would have to believe that America and the rest of the world was in the grip of a Satanic plague of Biblical proportions. Some see Satanists lurking behind every tree and behind this alleged menace, a nefarious cabal of devil-worshiping murder junkies, bent on world destruction and either led or inspired by the shadowy, sinister, "Satanist" Process Church. (The Process Church of the Final Judgment, a strange and highly controversial religious group that "worshipped" both Christ and Satan, will be discussed at length further in this story). And incredibly, this idea had been given credence by the very people whom many of us had been taught to trust all of our lives, including law enforcement officials, politicians and religious leaders, some who had become self-styled "experts" on Satanism and alleged "occult" crimes. 108 So just where did it all begin? Flashback to 1980 when psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder published the book Michelle Remembers. This book, advertised as non-fiction, created the first tale of a "repressed memory" of "Satanic ritual abuse," centering on Pazder's "client" Michelle Smith (whom later evidence would show was actually his wife). In this book, Pazder claimed that when Michelle was a child, she had been sexually abused by Satanists and that her memory of the abuse had been repressed in her mind until she had undergone specialized therapy provided by Pazder. (Pazder is credited for being the person who originally coined the phrase "ritual abuse"). According to this story, Michelle had been abused by members of a "Satanic coven" headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia during the 1950's. Among the many ghoulish and extraordinary claims made in the narrative are tales of Michelle being placed in a car with a corpse which was then purposely crashed; being locked in a cage full of snakes while naked; and being taken to a cemetery where she was lowered into an open grave and then covered with dead cats. (Michelle also claimed to have a scar on her body that was caused by Satan wrapping his barbed tail around her neck!). Not surprisingly, the book became a best seller. However, a 1990 London newspaper that conducted an investigation into Smith's background revealed that the entire tale was a fraud. But the fact that the story had been exposed as fabrication did not stop Michelle Remembers from becoming the catalyst for a flurry of similar accusations aimed not only at "Satanists" and "witches," but at virtually all other occultists whose religious beliefs were viewed as being beyond the norm. 109 73 Following closely on the heels of Michelle Remembers, other sensational reports of so-called "repressed memories" soon began to surface, this time centered on women who allegedly had been forced to act as baby-breeders for organized Satanic groups, ostensibly so that their children could be murdered in ritualistic sacrifices to Satan. One of the most fantastic examples of this claim surfaced in the book Satan's Underground by Lauren Stratford and Johanna Michaelson, a conservative Christian author. 110 Stratford's book was subsequently exposed as an almost total sham by the non-fundamentalist Christian magazine Cornerstone. In an excellent commentary written by Cornerstone in order to debunk Stratford's claims, the authors note: A synopsis of the story told in Satan's Underground is very difficult to produce. The book is missing dates, places, outside events, and even the true names of the principal characters necessary for placing the story in an historical and geographical context. Stratford says, "In part this is for my own protection, but it also serves to remind you that what I've endured is not limited to one city or region. I have also changed names and descriptions of many key figures in order to protect the victims." The Cornerstone article goes on to comment that "Satan's Underground is one of the most sexually and violently graphic contemporary Christian books we know" and that as far as such sensational claims were concerned "one may believe them because 'they're too bizarre not to be true,' but they should never be substituted for careful, accurate, and truthful reporting." But the damage had already been done. Soon the daytime television talk shows and other forms of the tabloid press were awash with stories from other self-proclaimed "breeders," and the Cornerstone expose was practically ignored. 111 Another accusation to come along was one that was guaranteed to strike fear in the heart of any healthy human being: that groups of Satanists were preying upon children in the nation's day-care centers. This tale was first concocted by a woman named Judy Johnson (who would later be diagnosed as an acute paranoid schizophrenic). Johnson alleged that her child had been subjected to sexual abuse during Satanic rituals while at the McMartin Preschool in Los Angeles, California. A modern-day witch-hunt soon got underway, led by sincere, but misguided prosecutors, imposters calling themselves "ritual abuse therapists," and frightened parents. The case generated much sordid 74 and sensationalized press coverage and soon a flood of similar accusations began to spread across the United States and abroad. Ignored in the ensuing frenzy was the person who had made the original accusations: Judy Johnson was later found dead in her own home by police four months before the McMartin trial started in 1987, having succumbed to liver disease resulting from her chronic alcoholism. The subsequent trial would last for six years without a single conviction ever being obtained. The cost to taxpayers for the trial ran into the millions of dollars, ruined the reputations and lives of innocent people and needlessly traumatized children at the hands of quack therapists, all due to the accusations of a drunken, delusional person. 112 And the Charles Manson murder case has always been fertile ground for theories of a Satanic nature to grow in. Manson and his followers were convicted for nine murders, including the gory 1969 Tate- LaBianca slayings and were suspected by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi (and others) of possibly having committed as many as thirty-five murders. There have been a number of books and articles written since the 1969 Manson murders occurred that have attempted to create overly sinister, Satanic connections between Charles Manson and the Process Church of the Final Judgment and more recently, to the "Son of Sam" murders committed by serial killer David Berkowitz. But what I have discovered is that, with very few exceptions, the majority of these accusations are based primarily on either biased information sources or are the result of highly questionable speculation and theorizing on the part of some writers. When held up to close scrutiny, most of these alleged "connections" fall apart completely or evaporate into the same thin air from which they were pulled. I have found that this is often due to the fact that the sources for some of the more outlandish information were either non-existent to begin with or come from less-than credible individuals whom some researchers are all too willing to consider, especially if what the source has to say strengthens their case for a Satanic conspiracy. Additionally, it has also been my experience that when it comes to trying to pin down some of these incredible assertions, those making them will sometimes seek refuge in the claim (as noted previously in the case of Lauren Stratford, and further in this narrative) that their source's names cannot be revealed because doing so would "place their lives in danger," the most convenient of all cop-outs, to be sure. As you will see, there are some individuals for whom the Process Church/Manson/Son of Sam "connection" is the smoking gun that serves as the foundation for their evidence of a "global Satanic cult conspiracy," and for a few of these people, the old adage, "Where there's smoke, there's fire," serves them well enough to include the most tenuous links 75 in order to add punch to a favored conspiracy theory. But it is my opinion that perhaps these individuals would be better advised to remember the wise words of author/researcher John Keel, who once wrote: "Where there's smoke, there may be a smudge pot." (Later on in the narrative, I refer to those types of individuals as "Smoke Pumpers" because they have pumped so much smoke into the case through wild and unsubstantiated allegations that it has now become nearly impossible to be able to see clearly where the truth begins and ends at this point). This story will try to set some of the record straight. It will also show that the Process Church was not truly a Satanic religion, but rather a group of well-meaning, but perhaps misguided, "new age" Christians who made use of Satanic trappings and imagery that were sprinkled liberally into their philosophy. Ditto for Charles Manson and David Berkowitz. I come qualified to make that statement and to write an article that discusses Satanism and other alleged occult connections within conspiracy theories: I was a mid-level member of a certain high-profile occult religion established here in America and abroad for close to a decade and have been a serious occult scholar for over twenty five years. As such, I have not only researched topics such as this along with other interested and prominent occultists, but have had access to almost every source that relates to the occult via an extensive and privately maintained database. (I will not try to suggest that my opinions expressed here are the final words on this subject; indeed, I hope my comments will generate responses from other interested researchers who have additional information that I may not be aware of). This story begins in a small section of San Francisco known as the "Haight-Ashbury," so-named because that neighborhood stood at the intersection of those two (soon to be world famous) streets. In The Beginning, There Was Haight The decade of the 1960's marked one of the most influential periods in the history of America. It became an era for the "waking up" of humanity in the form of new social consciousness, human and civil rights, new religious thought and the exploration of altered states of reality and alternative lifestyles. And it was in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, California that this new awareness was exemplified in a most vivid manner. The Haight-Ashbury area in the 1960's was a true Mecca for the nation's disenchanted young people and, as if drawn by some great cosmic force, young people came by the thousands to participate in a great social experiment: a mass exercise in free will. 76 Radical politics, free love, new spiritual values, and an "anything goes" mentality were the standards of the day in the Haight and all seemed to be linked by a common thread: the desire to break away from the mental programming of commonly accepted belief systems of the preceding generations which seemed to have become useless and untrue. There appeared to be no middle ground regarding the hippie movement and the Haight phenomenon itself. To "ordinary" people, those involved with the hippie counterculture were either viewed with amusement or seen as frightening or insane. Accordingly, the attitudes of Americans regarding the "hippies" ranged from joyful support all the way to intense hatred. The Haight seemed to move on its own wings, creating its own styles of dress and grooming, original musical sounds, and even a community newspaper called The San Francisco Oracle. And in many of the Haight's stores, along with the posters, incense, beads, pipes, and other paraphernalia, were books that focused on Native American shamanism, the European occult and pagan philosophies, Eastern religion and metaphysics, with Zen Buddhism being the prevailing religious leaning of the hippie movement. Indeed, many aspects of the "occult" and other mystical schools of thought were being revived and studied by a whole new generation. 113 As such, the Haight was fertile ground for any new or slightly unusual religion to take root in and it was in 1967, during the so-called "Summer of Love," that the Process Church of the Final Judgment and Charles Manson showed up on the scene. The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together In March of 1967, Charles Manson had just been released from a long stretch in prison and quickly immersed himself in the hippie scene of the Haight. It was during this time period and later that Manson crossed paths with a large variety of people, including political types, movie stars, freaks, bikers, occultists, and members of many "alternative" religions. (People who lived in Haight-Ashbury during this time period and who later wrote about the experience, remember that the Process Church was only one of many "beyond the norm" groups that had taken up residence there). While living in the Haight, Manson attracted a sizeable number of hippie followers, most of them young girls, who would form the nucleus of what was to later become known as the "Manson family." On the evening of August 8, 1969, Charles Manson's "family" murdered actress Sharon Tate (wife of film director Roman Polanski) and four others at the Tate residence in the Benedict Canyon area of Los 77 Angeles. The next night, a wealthy couple named Rosemary and Leno LaBianca, who lived in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles near Griffith Park, were also murdered in their home by the same group. In both cases, the victims had been subjected to extremely violent and bloody "over-kill," having been viscously stabbed, shot and bludgeoned to death. Adding to this horror, cryptic messages, written in the victim's own blood, were left on the walls and other areas of the crime scenes and in the case of Leno LaBianca, the word "War" was even carved into his own flesh by one of the killers. Later to become known as the "Tate-LaBianca" murders, the crimes sent a shudder of fear through households all across mainstream America and the world. Following Manson's arrest three months after the crimes, both the tabloid and mainstream press issued many sensationalized accounts of the murders. Many of these early press stories portrayed the crimes as having been committed by wild-eyed hippie flower children armed with knives, who, while high on LSD, had killed the victims in a grisly "ritualistic" fashion, from the outset implying that the murders were occult-related in some way. For example, a December 2, 1969 story in the Los Angeles Times carried the headline, "Wild Cult Blamed In Tate Slayings," noting in the subtext how "an occult band of hippies, directed by a leader who calls himself 'Jesus,' committed the five killings." Yet another news story was headlined with "Wild-Bearded Hippie Chief Key Figure in Tate Murders Probe." (Italics supplied). 114 At the end of a sensational trial that lasted for ten months, Manson and three of his followers, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, were convicted for the Tate-LaBianca murders and sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment when the death penalty was held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court). That the Manson family was comprised of young hippies-turned- bloody-murderers would later result in a real backlash of hate and fear against those immersed in the "counterculture" (a frightening fact that is discussed in-depth later in this book). Indeed, Susan Atkins would be quoted as saying, "We wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, that the world would have to stand up and take notice" and would claim later that the Manson murders had been committed in order to "instill fear into the establishment." (Prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, would claim at trial that Manson's motive for the Tate-LaBianca murders was in order to ignite an apocalyptic race war called "Helter Skelter," as "prophesized" in a Beatles song of the same name). Manson, an ex-convict who had studied various occult doctrines and methods while in prison, seemed to possess what many of his followers (and later, even his prosecutor) described as "magical" and "hypnotic" powers. Possessed of a very strong force of will and a 78 commanding personal presence, Manson had in fact convinced many of his followers that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and many of them believed that he could actually read their minds. Manson often referred to himself as both Christ and the Devil, in part because of his identification with the Gnostic god Abraxas, a deity said to transcend both light and darkness and who could personify both "Christ" and "Devil" simultaneously. (Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi would later call Manson a "Mephistophelean guru" during his trial summation and even claimed that Manson's hypnotic stare once caused his normally reliable wristwatch to stop functioning). 115 Charles Manson's involvement in the Tate-LaBianca (and other) homicides soon gave rise to the accusation that he and his followers might have had connections with area occult groups, an assertion that has long been a staple for the conspiracy-minded when writing about the case. And while the Manson "occult connection" does have some basis in fact, no one has ever presented hard evidence that Manson or any of his inner-circle of followers had long-standing affiliations with organized occult or Satanic groups prior to or after the murders had occurred. In particular, it is Manson's alleged ties to the Process Church that has fueled much of this sort of speculation, beginning in 1971 with the publication of a book by Ed Sanders and more recently, with Maury Terry's 1987 book. (Sanders and Terry, authors of best-selling Manson SJiis "Universal Life" symbol books about the Manson and Son of Sam cases, are the most blatant advocates of a Process Church/Manson "connection" and both of their claims are examined closely further on in this narrative). That Manson and the Process would eventually cross paths now seems almost inevitable. Manson's history during this period is well documented in a number of other books and a full account is not necessary here. The evolution of the strange and mysterious Process Church of the Final Judgment, however, requires some background. As It Was: A History of the Process Church That the Process Church would be singled out as a major influence on Charles Manson and later, on other alleged "occult murders," is not surprising. The strange philosophies of the Process Church, with their proclamation that an Apocalyptic end of the world was at hand (an event they called "The Final Judgment") and especially the fact that the group advocated a doctrine of ultimate reconciliation and unity that called for loving both Christ and Satan, placed them in an almost perfect position for being misunderstood by the public and by other Christian groups. 79 This unification of the two opposing forces thought to be embodied by Christ and Satan in Process philosophy seems to be rooted firmly in the Zen Buddhist idea of seeking the reconciliation of opposites in order to remake them into harmonious wholes. What I have learned is that the beliefs of the Process involved a precise framework for explaining the very essence of life and as a means to bring their four identified -- and diametrically opposed -- "gods" (Jehovah, Lucifer, Satan, and Christ) together in order to establish a new sort of Universal harmony. As such, one could not follow the true path of the Process if they attempted to only focus on "Satan." Accordingly, it is important to note that such a notion has almost nothing to do with classic ideas about "Satan" as they are expressed in the practices of "traditional" Satanic groups. (My own study of Process philosophy indicated to me that all references to "Satan" were strictly in the metaphorical sense). However, the Process' cultivation of their own public image did little to dispel any of the Satanic rumors. Process worship sessions were usually held in a room that displayed both a Christian cross and a Goat of Mendes, a winged goat figure with a pentagram on its forehead often mistaken as a "Satanic" symbol, but which is in fact associated with "astral light" as its creator, Eliphas Levi, originally intended. (As such, it would seem that the Process' use of the Goat of Mendes to symbolize "Satan" was a misidentification on their part). The established uniform of Process street ministers consisted of dressing in all black clothing and wearing purple capes that were adorned with occult symbols. (The color black was considered by the Process to be symbolic of their mourning the fate of the human race in the coming Final Judgment). The men sported neatly trimmed beards and shoulder-length hair. That Process members, so adorned as they roamed about the streets of major cities, caused a few raised eyebrows goes without saying. The Process Church was formed in 1962 in the Mayfair district of London, England. Robert DeGrimston Moore and Mary Anne MacLean, the leaders of the Process, were at that time mid-level members in the London Scientology movement, founded by science-fiction writer and occultist L. Ron Hubbard. The core beliefs of Scientology are that each of us is neither mind nor body, but rather spiritual beings who can free ourselves from all inhibitions, repressive behaviors, and mental illnesses by removing negative mental imprints (referred to as "engrams," a sort of "psychic scar"). Hubbard was a former disciple of Aleister Crowley and also had ties to the American chapter of the Ordo Templi Orientis (Aleister Crowley's famous occult order) and, subsequently, to the O.T.O's American head, the enigmatic Jack Parsons. (Parsons' own highly unique story is discussed in detail in my book, Labyrinth13). 80 Scientology in 1963 was little more than a pseudo- psychoanalysis technique and it was during one of the so-called "E- Meter" sessions that Robert DeGrimston and Mary Anne MacLean first met. (Mary MacLean, a former prostitute, was allegedly embroiled in the infamous Christine Keeler-Profumo affair that rocked the English Parliament in the 1960's). This relationship between the couple soon led to marriage and the two left Scientology to form their own group, calling it "Compulsions Analysis." Their technique, or "process," differed little from that of Scientology but for one admirable exception: The Moores had left Hubbard's group because they felt that he (Hubbard) was basing too much of his philosophy on wild speculation that had no basis in fact. The Moores desired a more objective approach in their techniques and the ability to really achieve something with the system they were exploring. They soon attracted close to thirty adherents and the name "Compulsions Analysis" was changed to what they had been calling their technique all along: The Process. It was early 1966 that DeGrimston (he had dropped the last name Moore) began composing a semi-religious scripture called The Logics, which dealt mostly with aspects of the human personality and provided theoretical background for the process sessions. Also, the concept of multiple "gods" and a belief in a higher power began to emerge into their philosophy and were blended into the growing analysis techniques. Goat of Mcndcs The Process, which started out as a psychotherapy group, was now evolving into a genuine religion and would later become legally incorporated as a church, both in England and in America. The Process later identified four gods of the universe, Jehovah, Lucifer, Satan, and Christ, each believed to represent different elements and human capabilities and which were employed metaphorically to symbolize human archetypes. Each of these gods was thought to contain a necessary facet of the complete "process." The Process Church technique taught that an individual should try to identify that aspect of each god in his/herself and attempt to unify the opposing forces into one composite power, thereby creating a unified self who was at peace with his/her inner being, in harmony with the Universe and ready for the coming "Final Judgment." (One Process member explained to me that this "Final Judgment" was not considered to be an actual, apocalyptic world event, but rather was a metaphor for change based upon the single individual and that every day a man judges his own actions and can access whether or not what he has achieved will lead him to either salvation or damnation). 81 This idea of Universal harmony was reflected in many of the Process symbols, one of which shows four P's coming together to form an iron cross/swastika-like image. (It has been alleged, but never proven, that former members of the Process later formed an organization called the "Four P Movement," one of many supposed Process-splinter groups that would later be subjected to much unfounded and unsubstantiated speculation by authors such as Ed Sanders and Maury Terry. Process members that I interviewed claimed that the whole "Four P Movement" story was pure disinformation, possibly created and disseminated by rival members of the Church of Scientology). In the summer of 1963, the Process membership, led by DeGrimston and Mary Anne, pooled their funds and moved en masse to Nassau, Bahamas, and then, to an abandoned coconut plantation, located on a remote stretch of beach on the Yucatan peninsula in Xtul, Mexico. It was during the "Xtul period" that DeGrimston began to further formulate his philosophy in a series of "channeled" Process "Four' P" writings which would later become known as The Xtul Symbol Dialogues, essays that only top-ranking members would be allowed to read in later years. (My use of the term "channeling," refers to the technique where one acts as a medium through which a higher power allegedly expresses itself, much the same function as a spirit medium or priest would perform). The Xtul Dialogues were composed in the form of eight lectures between a student and a teacher. The only god specifically identified by name in The Xtul Dialogues is Jehovah, "god of strength, wrath, and nature." The complete pantheon of Process gods were not specified until a full year later, and specifically detailed in the aforementioned scripture The Logics. This fact disputes an outlandish claim made later by researcher Ed Sanders (author of The Family, one of the first books on the Manson case), that the Process began to worship Satan while at Xtul and to practice human sacrifice. 116 The Process lived at Xtul for close to a year and it became equivalent in meaning to them as did Christ's forty days in the desert. (Allegedly, it was while at Xtul that DeGrimston came to believe that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ). At this time they were involved in intensive studies of group telepathy and also delved heavily into the Old Testament of the Christian Bible (a book that was to influence the Process greatly in later years, such as the renaming of members with titles like "Father Moses" and "Brother Abraham"). The communal living at Xtul was soon brought to an end in 1966 by the destructive power of Hurricane Inez. 200 mile per hour winds battered the Mexican coast, destroying the plantation but sparing the 82 Processeans. Soon after, the majority of the group, including the DeGrimstons, moved back to London. They had come to Xtul as members of a psychotherapy sect and left as members of a cohesive community and founders of the newly religious Process Church of the Final Judgment. After the return to England, the group was to encounter their first bit of bad press from a negative London Sunday Telegraph article titled, The Mind Benders of Mayfair, instigated in part by the parents of some of the Process' underage members who feared that their children had been brainwashed by the group. While in London, the Process began publishing a magazine and developing rituals to add to the therapy sessions. Robert DeGrimston wrote another book called The Tide of the End, which has been described as being "emotional and poetic," "an apocalyptic condemnation of the world," and "a prophecy of the coming millennium." 117 The Tide of the End is actually a collection of thirteen short books delivered in seven "phases." One of the books, titled As It Is, was considered by the Process to be the most meaningful of the series and at the core of their philosophy. That book is essentially a warning to the reader to avoid "living a lie" and to "abandon ignorance and suppression within and embrace true reality-As It Is." This led to the use of a "Do What Thou Wilt," Aleister Crowley-like motto of "As it is-So be it" as a greeting or farewell among Process members. Soon after the book was written, the DeGrimstons embarked on a tour of Europe and Canada, eventually arriving in America at New Orleans, Louisiana, where the first American chapter of the Process Church was officially established. It was also in New Orleans that they formally adopted the name "Process Church of the Final Judgment," becoming a legally recognized religion. Upon the return to England from Xtul, the Process had also identified other gods beside Jehovah and now included Satan, Lucifer, and Christ in their rituals and publications. They must have been quite a startling sight in 1967 New Orleans as they paraded about with their long hair and beards (a practice that had been adopted at Xtul and which had Old Testament significance to them) wearing black turtlenecks and slacks, purple capes with a red Mendes Goat emblazoned on the back and a silver crucifix worn around the neck, handing out literature proclaiming that the end of the world was near. They had also begun to lead German Shepard dog around on chains, perhaps in emulation of the DeGrimstons, who owned several of 83 Image- from Process pamphlet the animals themselves. Maury Terry, author of The Ultimate Evil, a book about the Son of Sam murders and the alleged ties those crimes had to the Process, would later try to make much of the fact that the Process owned German Shepards and would claim that the group used these dogs for ritual sacrifice and blood-drinking rites. 118 William Bainbridge, who wrote one of the more objective and rational histories of the Process in a book called Satan's Power, tells a different story: that the Process considered animals to be perfect life forms to be held in the highest regard. In fact, Mary Ann DeGrimston was quite active in the anti-vivisectionist movement and Robert DeGrimston once wrote a searing anti-vivisection pamphlet, ironically (and perhaps prophetically) titled The Ultimate S/'n. 119 The New Orleans Process chapter attracted about a dozen new members. Interestingly enough, the Process claimed that they were not seeking to convert the masses, but were interested in locating only those people whom they considered to be "natural" Processeans. Robert DeGrimston had refined his theories about the end of the world and found much to base his philosophy on in the Book of Matthew and the Book of Revelation of the Christian Bible, including the number of the chosen people that would escape the coming holocaust: 144,000. He believed that this was the number of Processeans who would live through Armageddon, or "The Final Judgment." To the extent that the group felt they had a mission to the world, they believed that it was to present themselves publicly so that those people who were already Processeans without realizing it, could come forward and join. It was while they were in New Orleans that The Process developed their initiatory grade system. New members were called Messengers. They were also described as "Outside Processeans," or "O.P.'s" because it was assumed at first that they would never be able to join the inner core of the group because they had not shared in the Xtul experience. (However, several of the new Messengers rose to positions of higher rank and later the term O.P. was used to refer to members not yet admitted to the heart of Process society). Members who had been to Xtul and others later admitted to the inner circle were called "Inner Processeans" or "I.P.'s." The Initiatory grades consisted of the Omega, the highest title within the Process, and at the time, held only by Robert and Mary Anne DeGrimston. The Omega's lieutenants were called Masters and were in charge of the day-to-day decision-making. Next came the Priests, below them the Prophets, and finally the Messengers. The Process also began the practice of taking sacred names. As mentioned earlier, they adopted the practice of taking Biblical names while at Xtul and this became the standard practice and policy for all new members. Masters and Priests had names such as "Father Cain" or "Mother Isis," while Prophets and Messengers used the title "Brother" or "Sister." This new custom was much in tune with the collective family-like 84 relations within the Process; in fact, "The Family" was one of their affectionate names used to describe the entire congregation. The 144,000 Processeans were supposed to be marked with the "Seal of God" on their foreheads (as prophesized in the Book of Revelation) and as such, were thought to be instantly recognizable to the Mothers and Fathers. Another bit of evidence that suggests that the Process was not the bloodthirsty devil worshiping cult of those vivid imaginations that would come later is the fact that many potential members were turned away in New Orleans and elsewhere because the Process officers considered them to be merely "thrill seekers" and "dead beats." (It must be remembered that the original core membership of the Process came from London's upper class of society and the group continued throughout its existence to cull members of "high quality"). Admirably, The Process also set up several soup kitchens and ran programs to help feed and shelter homeless people. In December of 1967, one Father Cain and Father Moses journeyed to San Francisco as a result of a vision that was experienced by the group during a ritual in New Orleans. They began setting up a Process chapter house in the Haight that was in the form of a coffee house with "Sabbath Assemblies" gathered in an "alpha ritual room" and "telepathy developing circles" as they had practiced while in Xtul. (They unsuccessfully tried to form a union with Anton LaVey's Church of Satan, who dismissed them as "kooks"). Another effort was made to recruit members of California biker gangs, (as Charles Manson would later attempt to do) both for the instant notoriety and security that these groups could provide. The New Orleans chapter closed in February of 1968 and moved to San Francisco for about three months, later heading to Los Angeles, and then to Greenwich Village in New York City. (This move was prompted in part due to a rivalry between the Process and a Scientology group that was threatening to report certain Process members to local authorities for having expired visas). The Process eventually moved back to Europe with the original core membership, plus several American converts, leaving behind some 200 new Process members in the United States. This core group roamed about Europe for a while, even attempting to set up a world headquarters in Aleister Crowley's old Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu, Sicily. The American chapters in New York and Massachusetts remained active as late as 1974 before the Process splintered and eventually faded away. 85 Exploring the Manson/Process/Son of Sam "Connections" My background of the Process stops here. Now let's take a closer look at the alleged ties between the Process, Charles Manson, Son of Sam and the mythical "global Satanic cult conspiracy." The core philosophy of the Process involved the ultimate unification of opposites. One of the key doctrines of the Process Church was the reconciliation between Christ and Satan that the group believed would occur in time for the Apocalypse or "Final Judgment." The logic was simple and took Christ's teachings one step beyond good and evil. The following is reprinted from The Unity of Christ and Satan, a Process publication: "Christ said, 'Love thine enemies'. Christ's enemy was Satan and Satan's enemy was Christ. Through love enmity is destroyed. Through love Saint and Sinner destroy the enmity between them. Through love, Christ and Satan have destroyed their enmity and come together for the End. Christ to Judge, Satan to execute Judgment. The Judgment is wisdom, the execution of the Judgment is love." One of Manson's raps to his followers was in a similar vein in that he preached that the act of killing someone was actually an act of love based on how a person ultimately judge's him or herself. Manson believed that all people had the potential for both good and evil, i.e., that they carried both "Christ and Satan" within themselves and that each of us has the capacity to offer either life to another human being, in "Christ- like" wisdom, or to act on a "Satanic" impulse to kill them. In this extreme reasoning, both were seen as acts of love because both were judgments made within that same "Universal" understanding. Manson taught his followers that there was no such thing as a separation between life and death, that all things in life are linked to each other. Accordingly, a person who killed another was only killing a part of his or herself or simply striking out at their own reflection in the cosmic mirror. (The idea that all humans are part of one undivided totality is a bit of wisdom that obviously stems from the LSD-inspired "we are all one" revelation and ego-less state commonly experienced by users of that psychedelic drug). Tex Watson, a male member of the Manson family who was the chief killer in the Tate-LaBianca murders, put it this way: Charlie had made us see that once you die to your ego, once you strip yourself down to a perfect being - all body, like some monkey or a coyote free in the wild, not thinking, not willing — once you do that, fear doesn't exist 86 anymore. You've already died, everything except that animal body of yours, so even death can't frighten you. You are free. Free to live, free to die. Free to kill. 120 As the examples above demonstrate, those ideas of Manson's mimic DeGrimston's logic somewhat in The Unity of Christ and Satan, but they do so in a most extreme fashion that is well outside the boundaries of the original intent. DeGrimston's message in The Unity of Christ and Satan taught that a harmonious melding of those two opposing forces would bring about ultimate peace, noting quite logically how "You cannot create a battle with only one army." William Sims Bainbridge would comment on the overall concept in DeGrimston's Unity argument by noting how: The Unity of Christ and Satan had three aspects. First, it encouraged acceptance of one's darker, socially suppressed impulses, private and subconscious longings that a Freudian might call primary process phenomena connected with the id. Second, it was an attempt to bridge the gaps between people of very different needs and personalities, to achieve cooperation where hostility had reigned. Third, it was a structural theory of the origins of existence, part of an intellectual world . . . Again and again, popular writers have selectively quoted Processean scripture, for example, extracting the most horrendous passages from Satan on War and presented it as proof that members of the cult were murderers, or worse. But the cult's doctrines held that destructive impulses lurked within every one of us, not within members alone, and they used the imagery of Satan's "lower aspect" to analyze this part of human nature. The scriptures employed dynamic metaphors and emotional dramatizations of abstract concepts; it is a poor writer indeed who fails to recognize poetic symbolism when he or she reads it. 121 The Process Church wrote a lot of elegant, cryptic, and even frightening essays to explain their philosophies, but any references to killing or death -- as Bainbridge notes above -- were actually meant only in symbolic or spiritual terms, such as the "killing" of a negative aspect of one's personality through Process therapy. For example, Robert DeGrimston wrote a series of statements from Jehovah, Lucifer, and Satan in the 1968 War issue of the Process magazine, titled, The Gods on War. In these essays, each god gives a statement independently of the others, but it is obvious that the reader is expected to follow the Process technique of merging all three statements together in order to get the intended message. 87 Manson, on the other hand, apparently took many of the Process writings and scriptures literally and it is quite possible that the Tate- LaBianca and other murders are a result of his misinterpretation of them. In fact, Father Adam, once head of the Boston, Massachusetts chapter of the Process, told a reporter that, "Manson has obviously got hold of some of our ideas from somewhere and distorted them in a particular way. It is unfortunate. If we had had the opportunity to speak with him, we could have avoided that series of very brutal killings." 12 There is a body of strong circumstantial evidence that tends to show Manson was heavily influenced by the Process, but to blame the Process Church for the behavior of a person like Charles Manson would be like blaming the Pope for the People's Temple massacre in Jonestown. William Bainbridge commented that, "No real (Processeans) that I knew ever made the mistake of thinking these words (the Process scriptures) were commandments that required physical action." 123 And Process member Father Ely told a reporter, "Very Satanic members find it difficult to fit into the Church. They cannot function as Inside Processeans." In August of 1969, Manson and his followers committed the Tate-LaBianca murders. Soon after their capture and arrest, rumors began to spread that the Manson Family was a Process-splinter group. The DeGrimstons originally feared that Manson may have indeed been a renegade former member, but after seeing Manson's picture, neither they nor anyone else in their group could recall ever having seen or met him. As a precaution, they finally sent two leading Process members, Father John and Brother Matthew to interview Manson and to be interviewed by Vincent Bugliosi, the chief prosecutor in Manson's trial. Bugliosi, by virtue of a good prosecutor's nature, was not entirely convinced by Father John's and Brother Matthew's claim of innocence of any involvement with the Tate-LaBianca case, but lacking any tangible evidence, never brought any Process members into court during Manson's trial. Bugliosi, while interviewing Manson, asked him if he knew Robert Moore or Robert DeGrimston. Manson denied knowing anyone named DeGrimston, but said that he knew Robert Moore. According to Bugliosi, Manson said, "You're looking at him, Moore and I are one in the same." Bugliosi later wrote that he took Manson's statement to mean that Manson felt that he and Moore thought alike. It is possible that Manson had indeed met Moore in 1967 during an alleged visit that Moore/DeGrimston made to a house in Topanga Canyon known as the "spiral staircase," a sometime Manson Family hangout. It is more likely that Manson had simply heard about Moore, as Manson at one time lived only two blocks away from Process member Brother Ely on Cole Street in Haight-Ashbury. 88 The Death issue of the Process magazine in 1971 did contain a brief article written by Manson, titled Pseudo-profundity in Death, in which Manson describes death as "To fall off into endless dream, becoming the dream of total self. Death goes to where life comes from. Total awareness, closing the circle, bringing the soul to "Now." Ceasing to be, to become a world within yourself and "Death is peace from this world's madness and paradise in my own self . . . "Now" is and will be as it has always been --indestructible, indescribable. (Writings of such other "underground" notables as Marianne Faithful and Salvador Dali appeared in that same issue). But to feature a story by Manson after having tried to publicly disavow him earlier at least makes the Process guilty of one of the worst public relations moves in history! And by this time, public relations for the Process were extremely poor. Many other rumors were circulating that linked the Process to nefarious and baffling phenomenon appearing in other parts of the country. During the mid-1 970's, weird animal mutilations began to occur in parts of the Midwest and rumors started to spread that a sinister Satanic cult called the "Xtul Group" was responsible. This rumor, of course, had no real basis in fact, and was even challenged by animal pathologists who determined that most of the animals died of natural causes. (The myth of the Satanists-as-animal- mutilators persists to this day). This charge against the Process was particularly absurd in light of the known anti-vivisectionist stance that they held. Enter the Smoke Pumpers: Ed Sanders But perhaps the most fearsome assault on the Process was delivered by Ed Sanders, author of The Family, one of the first books to emerge about the Manson murders. Sanders, an outspoken member of New York's hippie community during the early 1960's, was an anti-war activist, poet and a musician with the former rock group The Fugs. (Sanders' face even appeared on the cover of the February 17, 1967 edition of Life Magazine for an article titled The Other Culture. In that article, Life refers to Sanders as the leader of New York's "other culture," referring to Sanders' outspokenness as a member of the hippie subculture in New York City during that time. It is interesting to note that Charles Manson himself would also later appear on the cover of the December 12, 1969 issue of /Jfe). 126 As the first member of the "underground press" to investigate the Manson case, Sanders' book was written in the sort of beatnik-inspired, hipster prose that has become quite common with many of today's authors. Apparently, Sanders was incensed to learn that the press was not only portraying Manson as a sort of "hippie Messiah," but was in fact using the Manson case in order to tarnish the image of the hippie 89 movement as a whole. According to one source, Sanders believed that rather than there being anything intrinsically wrong with the hippie lifestyle, it was Manson's (alleged) occult associations that were responsible for turning him and his group toward murder. Researching and writing The Family was Sanders' attempt to establish those occult connections and hopefully, clear the hippie name from any allegations of wrongdoing or associations with Manson (quite an honorable and commendable mission, to be sure). 127 But although The Family contains much factual information, Sanders' research becomes shaky when trying to pin down Manson's alleged occult activity. It appears he relied heavily on second and even third-hand testimony, whether it was through people claiming to have known Manson or through the infamous "friend of a friend," a particularly dubious source that virtually defines the classic definition of hearsay. Indeed, Sanders' own words in the introduction to The Family seems to bear this out as he recounts that during his investigation he "wrote down literally everything I heard or saw related to the so-called Manson family." Sanders also stated that he used many "anonymous" sources, implying heavily that he did so because people feared for their lives if identified (which becomes a rather curious sentiment when one considers that Sanders himself seems to have moved about in that very scene with impunity). 128 It is my opinion that Sanders' examples of "occult evidence" bear little resemblance to any legitimate occult practices, which leaves this author to closely question just what sort of "acid test" of credibility Sanders used to base his final analysis on. As such, it would appear that Sanders was apparently willing to listen to anyone who had a horror story to tell and simply reported everything as solid fact with virtually no attention paid to verifying details. (To this day, Sanders has never revealed the sources for most of his information). In his book's first edition, Sanders devoted an entire chapter to the Process and the alleged Manson connections, calling the Process "an English occult society dedicated to observing and aiding the end of the world by stirring up murder, violence and chaos, and dedicated to the proposition that they, the Process, shall survive the gore as the chosen people"; the "black-caped, black-garbed, death-worshiping Process Church"; "hooded snuffoids," and "yet another sleazo-input that warped the mind of Charles Manson." 129 Sanders didn't mince words and claimed outright that the Process was involved in human sacrifice, blood drinking, sex orgies and drugs. Sanders also attempted to link the Process to an occult group known as the Ordo Templi Orientis (Aleister Crowley's famous occult order) and to a series of alleged animal mutilations and ritual human sacrifices said to have taken place in California's Santa Cruz mountains, 90 claiming that those acts were committed by an alleged Process-splinter group called the "Four P Movement." (Again, no source for this information is provided and we are left to simply take Sanders at his word). As a result of all this, the Process filed a $1.5 million dollar libel suit against Sanders, and won, with the publishers settling with the Process out of court (and forced to issue an apology). 130 Accordingly, there was a temporary hold on the publishing of The Family, but it is back on the market now, only minus the chapter on the Process. Most recently, a third edition has been released, but any references to the Process are made as "an English Satanic society in the 1960's." (The first edition of Sanders' book is a collector's item these days). Enter the Smoke Pumpers II: Maury Terry But the Process myth is one that refuses to die quietly. The next attack on the group came from Maury Terry in his 1987 book The Ultimate Evil. It would appear that Terry was all too willing to listen to unsubstantiated hearsay while conducting his research for his book and may have even invented some stuff of his own. After interviewing Ed Sanders, Terry decided that not only were the Process, Manson and the Ordo Templi Orientis linked, so were the Son of Sam murders. In The Ultimate Evil, Terry attempts to paint a picture (with a very, very broad brush) of a super-secret, underground network of Satanic serial killers, rapists, drug dealers, child pornographers and "snuff film" makers running amok on the American landscape, including an "occult superstar" and "Satanic hit man" he calls "Manson II." Terry claims that a person he calls "Manson II" was brought in from Los Angeles to assist David Berkowitz (along with an alleged group of Satanic contract killers he calls "The Children") in the commission of the 1977 "Son of Sam" murders in New York City. (This "Manson II" was later tentatively identified as "Phil Benson" and finally, as William Molony Mentzer, a Vietnam veteran and Los Angeles hit man who was convicted in 1990 for the 1983 murder of would-be movie producer Roy Radin. Mentzer is currently serving life without parole for the Radin murder and concurrent life sentences for both the murder of a prostitute and yet another attempted murder). It has been strongly implied by Terry that Roy Radin was associated with "The Children," an alleged Process-splinter group, who Terry claimed had committed murders all over the United States and that Radin was murdered by either "Manson II" or members of "The Children." 91 (Terry also claimed that Radin was in possession of a videotaped "snuff film" he had purchased from the group that showed the murder of one of the Son of Sam victims, a notion that is discussed further below). However, the facts that emerged at Mentzer's trial, and in his subsequent appeal, show that Radin was actually murdered in relation to a movie deal gone bad and as revenge for the theft of ten kilos of cocaine and a large sum of money from a woman named Karen DeLayne Greenberger. Greenberger was one of the murder defendants at the Mentzer trial and the person who hired Mentzer and two others (Alex Lomota Marti and Robert Ulmer Lowe) to kill Radin. Radin was involved in the entertainment business in New York and was interested in producing the movie The Cotton Club. In 1983, Radin met Greenberger in Los Angeles. Greenberger, a cocaine dealer, expressed an interest in helping to produce The Cotton Club and introduced Radin to a Hollywood film producer for which she expected to be paid $50,000 as a referral fee. Evidence presented at the murder trial and in the appellate documents showed that the murder of Radin, quite horrible in nature, arose out of the botched deal for the movie and the drug and money burn. (Evidence was also presented that pointed to the fact that there may have even been a racial motivation for the murder, as Radin was Jewish and one of the killers had expressed a hatred for Jews). And as far as Terry's assertions that Mentzer was some sort of "occult superstar" who was deeply involved in Satanic ritual murder, one may take note that not a single shred of evidence pointing to that notion was ever uncovered by law enforcement officials that would verify Terry's claim; at no time at Mentzer's murder trial or in his subsequent legal appeal is any mention ever made by the judges, prosecutors or investigators of Charles Manson, the Process, "Manson II," "The Children," or any aspect of the Son of Sam murders. 131 It is more likely that Mentzer's alleged "connection" to the Son of Sam murders stems from a rumor that he knew both Abigail Folger (one of the Tate-LaBianca murder victims) and supposedly, Charles Manson himself, hence the moniker, "Manson II." And while those claims have been given a lot of mileage by other researchers looking for any sort of smoking gun or link that will lend weight to the Manson/Son of Sam/Process "connections," it is important to note that Mentzer is well-known for having made many fantastic assertions in the past, among which is his claim to have met the Zodiac killer (whom he described as a 240 pound black man) while incarcerated in a California prison. Terry also implies that "Manson II" was responsible for the 1974 death of Arlis Perry. Perry, a college student and evangelical Christian, 92 was found murdered in what Terry describes as a "ritualistic" fashion in a church on the Stanford University campus in California. In reality, the Perry murder, while still unsolved, has never been conclusively linked by any source other than Maury Terry to the Son of Sam murders. Most likely, the Perry murder was the tragic result of a horrifyingly violent, but all too ordinary sex crime and the investigating officers (the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department) rightly focused their search for a local sexual psychopath. 32 Also in The Ultimate Evil, Terry (like Ed Sanders before him) demonstrates his almost complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the occult. And like Ed Sanders' crusade to clear the hippie name by showing that it was occultism that should be blamed for the Manson family murders, Maury Terry attempts to pin almost every known vile human impulse on groups that engage in what he deems to be "occult" practices, a term that, as evidenced by his own words, he applies very loosely and liberally. Central to Terry's claim of a connection between the Process and the Son of Sam murders is his allegation that the Process splintered and went underground to form a bloodthirsty group of gore gangsters, a charge for which he offers no credible substantiation or where the evidence proffered is simply too absurd to be believable. (His "evidence" was seemingly interpreted, molded and influenced by his desire to make a case at any cost in order to sell his book). For example, he unearths the old "Satanic animal mutilation" rumor again simply because some dead German Shepard dogs were found in Untermyer Park (located in the New York City neighborhood of Yonkers and the supposed meeting place of "The Children") and where heavy metal/stoner-type graffiti, such as pentagrams and inverted crosses, had been spray-painted on walls. However, it should be noted that this type of vandalism was ail-too common during the late 1980's and early 1990's, a period that marked the pinnacle of the heavy metal music scene. During that time, spray-painted "Satanic" graffiti was a common sight in many towns all across America (including my own and probably in yours, too. In fact, I could have taken you to view similar graffiti in several areas right in my own neighborhood. In most cases, such graffiti is the work of bored teenagers who are into "black metal" or gothic-type music, and as such, should never be used to make overly- sinister connections to murder). For Terry, as in the preceding example, the most mundane things became overtly "Satanic," such as people wearing black leather bondage gear, the fact that in one of the Son of Sam letters sent to the police, the word "honor" was spelled "honour," the way the British spell it. (Get it? British spelling equal English Satanic society, bingo!). Such unprofessional and conspiratorial leaps in logic by Terry are numerous and almost the standard throughout his book. 93 Regarding Terry's claims linking the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) to the Manson/Son of Sam/Process "conspiracy," he apparently derived that theory in part from some rather flimsy evidence that Manson was at one time involved with the Solar Lodge of the O.T.O. , which during the 1960's was headed by a woman named Jean Brayton of California, along with her husband Richard Brayton, a philosophy professor at the University of Southern California. Terry either didn't know, or didn't care that this particular O.T.O. lodge was considered to be a renegade group and not officially sanctioned by any legitimate branch of the real Ordo Templi Orientis (meaning that this group had no blessing from the official O.T.O. hierarchy). The Solar Lodge, located in the Colorado desert, was formed in the early 1960's and was active before, during, and after the Manson murders. The history of the Solar Lodge shows that it certainly could not be considered to be free from controversy or to have been benevolent towards its own membership. Drug use, ritual magic and the absolute control of the lives of its lodge members by the Brayton's was the standard practice, including going so far as to control their sex lives and completely take away parental control of member's children. But the darkest rumor leveled at the Solar Lodge involved the alleged murder of a member who had supposedly crossed the group in some way, a tale that includes burying his body in the desert ala the Manson family. In late summer of 1969, a visitor to the lodge reported that a child whom Jean Brayton had punished was being held captive inside of a small crate in the searing desert heat (a case that would later come to be referred to as the "Boy in the Box" incident by the news media). As a result, several Solar Lodge members were charged with felony child abuse and the body of a lodge member who had died of a drug overdose was discovered buried nearby. The Brayton's had fled to Mexico to avoid the police raid, but eventually surrendered to the FBI. Upon being questioned by the FBI, the Brayton's denied any involvement or association with the Manson family. 133 As with the Process and Ed Sanders, a California branch of the O.T.O. filed a lawsuit against Terry and his publishers for defamation, which Terry lost. The New York Law Journal \or June 24, 1988, reported on the case, noting that: "Defendants, publisher and author of a book expounding the theory that a nationwide Satanic "cult" is responsible for numerous notorious murders in recent times, were sued for defamation by an organization the author 94 alleged was part of the Satanic network. The court refused to dismiss the action, finding that the allegations in the book, reiterated by the author in two television interviews, gave rise to a cause of action if plaintiff could substantiate the facts averred in its complaint." 134 Appealing all the way to the Supreme Court, the case was subsequently settled out of court in the O.T.O.'s favor with a cash settlement for an undisclosed amount and an agreement that all references to the O.T.O. would be excluded from future editions of The Ultimate Evil. But perhaps most laughable of all is Terry's portrayal of Robert DeGrimston as some sort of elusive and shadowy occult thug who virtually unleashed a Satanic poison upon the earth. In an essay called The Process: A Personal Reminiscence written by R.N. Taylor, the author noted how he discovered that Robert DeGrimston was living near a major American city, was listed in the white pages of the telephone book, and that DeGrimston was easily reached for an interview by simply picking up the telephone and calling him. (In that interview, DeGrimston denounced the sensationalism and characterized the negative portrayals of the Process as "unbearable" and "a pack of lies"). 135 What that proves is that sometimes the best approach in cases like this is just to go straight to the source. Indeed, my own interviews with former and current members of the Process yielded much valuable information about the group that one cannot find in books or by simply listening to hearsay. One is left wondering how any conscientious investigator seeking the truth about the Process (as Terry leads us to believe he is) could have dropped the ball so badly on this one. Another persistent rumor that Terry has helped along its way and/or which he may have even created from whole cloth, concerns the allegation that one of the Son of Sam murders was filmed, specifically, the murder of Stacy Moskowitz, Son of Sam's last known victim. It is Terry's contention that the alleged "snuff film" was shot by drug dealer/pornographer/photographer Ronald Sisman, who supposedly filmed the murder from a Volkswagen van parked near the victims, allegedly for movie financier and porn collector Roy Radin. However, there has never been any real evidence presented to back up this claim beyond information given to him by prison snitches and Terry's own asserted belief that it is in fact true. (A "snuff film" is, of course, a choreographed movie in which someone is intentionally murdered for the benefit of the camera; rumor holds that the term was originally coined by none other than Ed Sanders). The origin and history of alleged snuff films is an interesting one. In an article called Classic Snuff Films, author Rider McDowell writes: 95 According to LAPD Vice Squad Sergeant Don Smith, snuff films got their name during the 1969 investigation of the Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles . . . The present-day connotation, the idea of filming an unsuspecting actress's murder with the intent to distribute the film commercially, that was added later. Also known as "white heat" films and "the real thing," the snuff film myth lives on like Bigfoot, despite the fact that no law enforcement agency in America has publicly admitted to ever locating one . . . This sentiment is echoed by Ken Lanning, a cult expert at the FBI training academy at Quantico, Virginia. "I've not found one single documented case of a snuff film anywhere in the world. I've been searching for 20 years, talked to hundreds of people. There's plenty of once-removed sightings, but I've never found a credible personality who personally saw one." Yet the rumor of snuff persists . . . One of the most resilient snuff rumors concerns convicted "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz, who allegedly filmed the murders of some of his victims. Maury Terry, author of The Ultimate Evil, a book about Berkowitz and cult killings across America, tells me, "Its believed Berkowitz filmed his murders to circulate within the Church of Satan. On the night of the Stacy Moskowitz killing, there was a VW van parked across the street from the murder site under a bright sodium street lamp. Witnesses have confirmed this, although the van never appeared in the police report. Berkowitz or an accomplice filmed Moskowitz's murder, using the street lamp to light the subject as she sat in her car across the street." Terry says the film was apparently made for Roy Radin, the Long Island impresario and "wanna-be Cotton Club financier." "Radin was known for his huge porno collection and wanted to add a snuff film to it. I've heard there are ten copies of this film floating around, although I've never seen it." 136 As noted earlier, Terry also alleges that Sisman was later murdered by "The Children" because of his involvement with the filming of a Son of Sam snuff film. (Sisman and a woman named Elizabeth Plotzman were found murdered execution-style in Sisman's apartment on or near Halloween 1981. While Terry suspects that evil Satanists sent to retrieve a snuff film were the culprits, New York police believed that the murders were linked to Sisman's involvement in small-time drug trafficking, as he was known to have sold drugs on the side to supplement his income as a porn photographer). 137 96 But to give Maury Terry a bit of a break, he does explore a rather interesting theory in his book that Berkowitz may have not acted alone and that he might have actually had accomplices during that particular New York murder spree, believable enough for authorities to attempt to reopen the case in 1996. Specifically, Terry theorizes that the Carr brothers, Michael and John, may have also been Son of Sam shooters, acting in collusion with Berkowitz. The murder of Stacy Moskowitz, a twenty-year old Son of Sam victim who was shot and killed in 1977 and in which the shooter also partially blinded her date, Robert Violante, has provided many excellent witnesses and some of the most compelling evidence for multiple perpetrators in the Son of Sam case. A thorough investigation into this claim was the basis for a segment featured on the Unsolved Mysteries television show about the Son of Sam murders. That episode closely examined the Moskowitz shooting with detailed maps and a timeline provided by witnesses. According to one eyewitness, Berkowitz was not in close proximity to the site of the Moskowitz shooting at the time it occurred and Unsolved Mysteries theorized that he may have instead been acting as a lookout that night for another shooter. Anyone who has studied the numerous police composite drawings of the Son of Sam suspects will agree that both John and Michael Carr do seem to resemble several of the Son of Sam shooters as described by witnesses (in fact, the Carr brothers resemble most of the composites, while Berkowitz only resembles two of them; witness descriptions of the shooters varied widely, as did descriptions of the vehicles used by the gunmen). Terry also explores the theory that John Carr may have written several of the Son of Sam letters, in particular, the infamous "Borrelli" and "Breslin" letters, which allegedly matches the known writing style and penmanship abilities of John Carr. The Breslin letter (May 30,1977 Son of Sam letter sent to New York Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin) made reference to a known John Carr nickname, "Wheaties," with the inclusion of the line "John 'Wheaties,' Rapist and Suffocater of Young Girls." Within the Borrelli letter (April 17,1977 Son of Sam letter to Queens Detective Captain Joseph Borrelli) there are intimate details about Sam Carr (the Carr brothers' father), his health, and habits and it appears that whoever wrote the letters seemed to know fine points about the elder Carr's personal life. And Sam Carr (who was the same neighbor that owned the infamous barking dog that Berkowitz initially claimed to have received orders to commit murder from) was obviously the most logical inspiration for the name "Son of Sam," if we accept the Carr brothers-as-shooters hypothesis, as they were both quite literally, the "Sons of Sam." (The Unsolved Mysteries investigation cited above 97 and other evidence suggests the theory that the shooter in the Moskowitz murder may have actually been John Carr). Former Queens district attorney John Santucci was quoted as saying, "I believe David Berkowitz did not act alone, that in fact others did cooperate, aid and abet him in the commission of these crimes." (John Carr had allegedly been in Houston, Texas on June 12, 1976, the day Berkowitz is known to have purchased the .44 "Son of Sam" symbol caliber revolver later used in the Son of Sam drawn on lotto r i r . r-t | .. SO lit tO |30llCO murders there. Six months after Berkowitz was captured, John Carr allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a rifle in Minot, North Dakota. John Carr's suicide occurred under such mysterious circumstances that police have looked into his death as a possible murder. Michael Carr died in New York City on October 4, 1979, after crashing his car into a street lamp at 75 miles per hour. An autopsy found that Carr had a high blood-alcohol level, in spite of an alleged religious aversion to alcohol. (Michael Carr was a Scientologist). Following his death, the Son of Sam case was officially reopened. 138 However, notwithstanding the preceding concessions, three shooters would not a "global conspiracy" make and Terry's attempts at showing that the Son of Sam murders were part of a large criminal network of Satanic terrorists is not backed up by one shred of credible evidence beyond his own personal beliefs, unsubstantiated rumors and third-person hearsay. (And let me offer just one last thought concerning the "Carr brothers as Son of Sam shooters" theory: as intriguing as that notion is, it remains my opinion that no substantive investigative work - independent of the aforementioned Unsolved Mysteries segment - has ever been undertaken in that regard. As such, I would love to see someone with the time, energy, and financial ability undertake an unbiased and truly objective investigation into that area of the Son of Sam case. As it stands right now, the unfounded allegations of "occult connections" leveled at groups such as the Process Church and the Manson family have, in my opinion, significantly damaged this area of the case, perhaps even beyond rescue). But you can't keep a good Satanic rumor down! Maury Terry was soon back again with the same old song and dance, claiming in a Gear Magazine article that there were three factors that influenced a "rush to judgment" to convict Berkowitz as the sole killer: a) political pressure from mayor Ed Beame who was trailing in the polls and who badly wanted reelection; b) an "abominable cult that controlled Berkowitz and maintained connections in high places"; and c) a police force so bent on protecting the city's image that they ignored evidence that pointed to the involvement of others via a cover-up. 98 Terry has maintained contact with Berkowitz and it is quite apparent that he is still convinced that the "global Satanic cult conspiracy" exists. In his Gear Magazine article he writes: "His claims (Berkowitz's) are backed by a considerable volume of evidence and a new analysis by the Special Investigations Division of the Yonkers Police Department, which quietly opened an inquiry of the case two years ago. Its aims: to determine if Berkowitz was immersed in a plot hatched in that city's jurisdiction, to learn if any other related killings occurred, and to discover if the alleged group was still active locally." But once again, we are not offered one shred of real evidence beyond Terry's and Berkowitz's own assertions (a most biased and dubious source at best) that such evidence exists, while Terry leads us to believe that this is because the information is supposedly being withheld from the public by police investigators. According to Terry, he has learned from "official sources" (unnamed) that "the inquiry identified members of a 'British-originated Satanic cult,' 'the Process Church of the Final Judgment'" (here we go again!) as top suspects in the "Son of Sam cult conspiracy" and that the Yonkers Police have recommended that the Westchester County DA's office investigate with an eye towards convening a grand jury. Terry also states that at least five individuals "realizing that the net is closing in," have retained lawyers and begun seeking immunity and that a wealthy business man named "Moloch," now deceased, was the leader of the group responsible for the Son of Sam killings. Terry goes on further to say that the Process moved from its New York headquarters at the end of the Son of Sam murders and relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, and suggests a link to the Atlanta child murders! 139 I feel compelled at this juncture to ask a few of the most obvious questions: How, in an age where we are beset by an instant media that can uncover even the smallest details of the private lives of our most prominent citizens and publish this information on an almost minute to minute basis, could a vast conspiracy to commit murder as alleged by Terry and others, last for so long without the whole case being blown wide open on the national news and the supposed "cult members" identified, arrested, and sent to prison? Why would a group that was supposedly funded by rich benefactors and which allegedly wielded such major political influence waste its time by having a pathetic loser like David Berkowitz murder couples parked in lover's lanes in New York? Why do Terry's sources for his information -- like Ed Sanders before him -- always seem to be held in secret? (It should be noted that outside of 99 naming individuals in the "Acknowledgments" section of The Ultimate Evil, Maury Terry provided no footnotes, endnotes, or cited source material for the majority of his information). In an episode of the program A&E Biography that focused on the life of David Berkowitz, former FBI agent John Douglas, a criminologist who was instrumental in developing and perfecting the science of criminal profiling, discusses how he interviewed and studied Berkowitz while perfecting his theories about the criminal mind. While speaking on camera about Berkowitz for A&E, Douglas stated unequivocally that he believed that the Son of Sam/Satanic cult theory was simply a lie with absolutely no basis in fact and that Berkowitz was a classic psychopath who could not be believed. That same episode of Biography showed quite convincingly how Berkowitz was actually motivated by an intense hatred for his birth mother whom he viewed as being immoral for having conceived him out of wedlock and then "abandoning" him to his adoptive parents. Subsequently, Berkowitz' hatred for "loose women" would lead him to seek out and kill young girls he caught necking in lover's lanes. 140 Unfortunately, and perhaps not so surprisingly, David Berkowitz has now adopted Maury Terry's "global Satanic cult theory" as his own and now claims that he didn't take part in most of the shootings attributed to him (which as I noted above, is an interesting theory, but one that has never been fully explored or corroborated). A 1996 A&E program, Investigative Reports: Son of Sam Speaks: The Untold Story features Berkowitz speaking about his crimes and in which he (and the show's producers) gives an almost verbatim rehash of Terry's "global Satanic cult" story. Berkowitz, while being interviewed on camera, spoke of the activities of a "cult," and how it was "focused on the upcoming millennium, when they believe violence and chaos will trigger the end of the world." 141 In this same video, Berkowitz also talks about how two gunmen were brought to New York specifically for the Son of Sam rampage, but never reveals specific details of their activities and/or tangible evidence to back up his story. This is most likely because close scrutiny of these facts by law enforcement would certainly dispel the Satanic cult theory Berkowitz is so desperately clinging to in hopes of perhaps improving his future chances with a parole board. (Again, as noted above, I personally believe that multiple shooters may be an actual possibility and one that deserves to be investigated further. But I also tend to believe that any two additional gunmen, which circumstantial evidence seems to indicate, may have been John and Michael Carr, would have already been in New York). It becomes obvious to the objective viewer of this video that Berkowitz is being extremely evasive regarding specific questions put to him and is basically winging it through some of the tougher parts of the 100 A&E interview. He never names any names when he has the chance to and after more than twenty years behind bars, his religious conversion and the real possibility that he will never again be a free man, why should he have any qualms about doing so? In this author's letter correspondence with Berkowitz, I have found that it is now almost impossible to get anything even remotely close to the truth about his possible accomplices that does not include the Satanic cult angle. Berkowitz was extremely hard to work with as he insisted on discussing things with me only through a nearly impenetrable and exasperating veneer that includes a repeat of Maury Terry's Satanic cult theories, his own ultra-fundamentalist Christian beliefs, his new persona as "The Son of Hope" and seemingly as if I and everyone else is a potential member of his future parole board. (I corresponded with Berkowitz in 1998 and 1999 and pretty much reached the conclusion that Terry and Berkowitz seemed to have fed off each other's stories to the extent they both became totally immersed in the same spurious fantasy. It also became quite obvious to me that Berkowitz knows almost nothing about the "occult" as he claims and that he is in fact a liar of the first order). 142 Conclusions Anyone? As we have seen, there are some individuals for whom the Process Church of the Final Judgment serves as the foundation for evidence of a global conspiracy involving Satanic occultists. These same people, when interviewed, hint darkly that the evidence of the existence of this conspiracy is out there, but that it is being withheld to protect certain people. But the truth of the matter is, there is absolutely no evidence then or now that the Process Church of the Final Judgment or any of its alleged offshoots were ever involved in any illegal activity, nor is there any evidence that the Process was inherently violent. By far, the most rational and objective study of the Process is Satan's Power by William Sims Bainbridge (and the primary source for which my history of the Process Church leans heavily on). Dr. Bainbridge was an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Washington who studied and lived with the Process for three years before, during and after the Manson murders. He admits that the Process enjoyed projecting a wild and even sinister image, but denies that the group was ever involved in any organized violence or excessive anti-social behavior. Critics of Dr. Bainbridge have argued that he purposely whitewashed the group's image in his book because he was one of them! As the song says, paranoia indeed strikes deep. So what are my own conclusions at this point? I personally believe that Charles Manson did borrow heavily from the Process in 101 forming his own philosophy. His residence in Haight-Ashbury during the Process' stay there was in very close proximity to the group. In my opinion, Manson's curiosity could have drawn him to some of their meetings, which were always open to the public and at the very least, he probably would have had access to Process literature. Another important fact to consider is that Manson studied Scientology in great depth and the Process based much of their own beliefs on the same principles and methods in which Scientology is grounded. As such, it is no great revelation to note that both Manson's and the Process' philosophies are similar. But as Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi has noted, there are a number of interesting parallels between Manson's and the Process Church's philosophy. Here is his list, with a few additions of my own: • Both believed that a violent Armageddon was imminent that would destroy all but 144,000 of the "chosen people." The Process called this "The Final Judgment"; Manson called it "Judgment Day" or "Helter Skelter." • Both found their basis for this belief in the Christian Bible's Book of Revelation. • Both envisioned that motorcycle gangs would be the shock troops in the world's last days and both sought to recruit them into their folds. • Both Manson and the Process referred to their groups as "The Family." • Both acquired the roots of their philosophies from Scientology; the Process, as discussed earlier, was basically a splinter group from the Scientology movement in London; Manson studied Scientology and other occult systems extensively while in prison. Much of the jargon and catch phrases used by both groups came from or had roots in Scientology terminology (examples of this include Manson's use of the Scientology expressions, "cease to exist," and "coming to Now"). • Both held animals in high, almost worshipful, regard. • Both believed that they could recognize the "Seal of God" in the foreheads of their followers; in Manson's case, he and his followers carved X's into their foreheads, which were later altered into swastikas. • Both sought to live communally in extremely isolated parts of the world; the Process at Xtul, Mexico; the Manson Family in Death Valley, California. • Both preached of the unity of Christ and Satan. • Both used a swastika-like symbol. 102 • Both changed the names of their followers. • Manson talked often of the "bottomless pit"; Process literature spoke of the "bottomless void." • Both Manson and DeGrimston believed themselves to be reincarnations of Jesus Christ. • According to Bugliosi, both Manson and The Process "hoped to use the Negro as a whole to start some militant thing," a statement (which by Bugliosi's own admission came from a disgruntled former Process member) that suggests a Process link to Manson's alleged obsession with "Helter Skelter," an event that would supposedly ignite a black-white race war in America. 143 What all of the above shows is that there is good circumstantial evidence, in part, that demonstrates a Manson/Process "connection," but it should be kept in mind that those associations exist primarily in the philosophies of the two. It is my contention that there are no similarities in their respective modus operandi or in what each hoped to achieve as the ultimate end product of applying those philosophies. (And I hope that I have demonstrated clearly enough that Manson distorted the Process' beliefs in such a manner so as to suit his own particular needs and that it is at that juncture that the two part ways). The legal definition of circumstantial evidence, which I rely on while making my case here, makes it clear that it is not the same as direct evidence from a witness who saw or heard something, but rather, consists of reasonable facts that can be used to infer other facts. (Examples of circumstantial evidence include fingerprints or DNA found at a crime scene). While circumstantial evidence is generally admissible in a court of law, it can be excluded when the connection between the fact and the inference being made in regard to its existence is too weak to be of any help in deciding the outcome of a case or where the inferences are so extraordinary, unreasonable, or improbable that it would require the suspension of normal logic in order to support a conclusion. It is my contention that the latter circumstance holds true as far as the Manson/Son of Sam/Process "connections" are concerned. So regardless of how you look at it, the mere existence of circumstantial evidence does not entitle anyone to make the huge leaps in logic that have been made in this case. It is only the most paranoid or those with a predisposed agenda who have the greatest need to infer that the existing circumstantial evidence in this case points toward a world-wide Satanic conspiracy hell-bent on murder, rape, and every kind of horror imaginable. 103 I would like to point out that my reasons for wanting to debunk these fantastic claims does not stem from any huge admiration on my part for the Process Church. While I do see a lot in their core philosophy that I agree with, including much intelligence, poetry, and intriguing metaphysical concepts, it is my personal opinion that the foundation for the Process' beliefs are based on concepts that I have a fundamental spiritual and philosophical disagreement with. And I have never been able to take too seriously any group that was convinced that the end of the world was at hand. Rather, I wanted to take away part of the ammunition and a major propaganda tool from those self-styled "occult experts" and wild- eyed conspiracy researchers who constantly drag out the Process in support of their "global Satanic cult" conspiracy theories. My true quest in this narrative has been to perform as much of a microscopic examination of the allegations that the Process, Manson, and the Son of Sam are linked in acts of Satanic mayhem that was within my means and power to perform and without a starting point that included any preconceived theories that I had no evidence for. Accordingly, my conclusions follow from the facts and not the other way around. I have even been called a "Process apologist" in the past by a few conspiracy theorists who do not like the fact that the basis for their paranoid beliefs about dangerous "Satanic" cults goes right down the drain in the wake of my demythologization of the Process Church. But if you must apply a label to my ideas, then just call me a "Process realist." Because my research into the Process' background and history not only serves to debunk the rumors that they were a blood-thirsty Satanic cult out to destroy the world, but actually proved to me personally that the exact opposite about the group is true! Anyone who cares to dig deep enough will discover, as I did, that the Process was in fact quite caring and benevolent in nature, having (for the most part) the best interest in mind for its membership and that they were very active in serving their local community. The latter was done by providing free social services to the public, such as programs to feed and clothe the homeless, volunteering for hospital work, and working with senior citizens. None of the conspiracy theorists like to talk about or even acknowledge those sorts of things. But that sort of behavior is nothing new. There is also a tendency among people who have virtually no training or expertise in the occult sciences to lump all slightly unusual religions and practices together from a liberal use of the term "Satanism." In a 1989 report he prepared for the F.B.I., Special Agent Kenneth Lanning writes: "The words Satanic, occult, and ritualistic are often used interchangeably. It is difficult to precisely define Satanism (with a capital S) and no attempt will be made to do so here. However, it is important to realize how the word Satanism (with a small "s") is used by many 104 people. Simply put, for some people, Satanism is any religious belief system other than their own; the Ayatollah Khomeini referred to the United States as the "Great Satan." In the British Parliament, a Protestant leader called the Pope the Antichrist. In a book titled Prepare For War, the author Rebecca Brown, M.D., has a chapter titled Is Roman Catholicism Witchcraft? Dr. Brown also lists among the "doorways" to Satanic power and/or demon infestation the following: fortune tellers, horoscopes, fraternity oaths, vegetarianism, yoga, self- hypnosis, relaxation tapes, acupuncture, biofeedback, fantasy role-playing games, adultery, homosexuality, pornography, judo, karate, and rock music. Dr. Brown states that rock music "was a carefully masterminded plan by none other than Satan himself." The ideas expressed in this book may seem extreme and even humorous. This book, however, has been recommended as a serious reference in law enforcement training material on this topic." 144 It is important to understand that books such as Maury Terry's were published during the apex of what has become known as the great "Satanic Panic" here in America and abroad, a period of literal "witch hunting" and bigoted religious intolerance that continues to this day. During that time, myself and many other occultists were actively engaged in combating the lies and false accusations leveled at members of "occult" or "Satanic" styled religions by members of the press and the fundamentalist Christian right. I can state unequivocally that, with very, very few exceptions, the majority of the "evidence" alleged to be of a "Satanic" nature was purposely misread by people with an axe to grind (usually members of evangelical and fundamentalist Christian sects), reporters looking for a story at any cost, and those who misinterpreted the evidence because they simply did not understand what constitutes actual occultism. By early 1974, Robert DeGrimston's ideas about how to run the church had become a liability in the eyes of other top members who felt he had failed badly in the public relations department and pressure was being placed on him to resign. In the end, DeGrimston was simply removed and Mary Ann assumed leadership. DeGrimston left the group, taking several loyal members with him and returning to England. Mary Anne, now DeGrimston's estranged wife, stepped in as leader of the Process and she reorganized the group, giving it the name of "Foundation Church of the Millennium." She also completely changed the group's image, getting rid of the black clothes and occult references (focusing on Jehovah to the exclusion of all other Process gods) and adopting a theology that was virtually indistinguishable from any other form of mainstream Christianity. 105 Mary Anne later would found "The Best Friends Animal Society" in Kanab, Utah, a highly successful "no kill" sanctuary for animals that has become the model for other such pro-animal organizations. (Along with Mary Anne, many members of the Process were early pioneers in the ideas that would later evolve into the animal rights movement as we know it today). In 2003, Best Friends reportedly raised an impressive $20 million toward the cause of saving unwanted pets from destruction. (Best Friends also publishes a popular pet owner's magazine bearing the same name). 14 " Interestingly, a recent Rocky Mountain News article revealed that a series of corporate records links Best Friends to the same 1967 incorporation of The Process Church during the group's sojourn in New Orleans. In that article, Best Friends President Michael Mountain (formerly known as Process member Father Aaron) downplayed the image of the Process as "just a group of young people searching for spiritual truth in the crazy atmosphere of the late 1960's and early 1970's." Mountain was also quoted as saying that "the Satanic part of it all is a bad rap," noting that no one in The Process ever actually prayed to Satan. Mountain was also quoted as saying that he hopes Best Friends' openness about their past ties to the Process Church will dismiss all the rumors being spread by "conspiracy theorists," noting that one such vindictive person has been contacting Best Friends partners to inform them of the group's history. (The same Rocky Mountain News article reports that Best Friends was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1993, that all religious language has been removed from the corporate papers, and that the staff is religiously diverse, including Christians, Jews and Buddhists). 146 Robert Do Grim s ton with another version of 'Tour P" symbol My research into the current status of the Process Church today revealed that there are/were several groups who are claiming to be reincarnations of the original Process movement, including one group known as "The Society of Processeans" whose web presence now seems to be defunct. However, one website for the "Gnostic Liberation Front" hosts a web page for a Brother Thomas, a member of the Process who is attempting to reorganize the old membership and also return the group to its early core belief system. Under the banner headline "Calling All 106 Former Processeans," and with the greeting, "As It Is, the Process Church of the Final Judgment is Coming Back!, So Be It," the site contains a few "testimonials" from original Process members and copies of virtually every Process text ever written. (The site also hosts many great full-color reproductions of some of the original Process magazines). 147 In Brother Thomas' personal account on his website, he recalls how in 1973 he was given a copy of a Process magazine at a witchcraft store in New Haven, Connecticut. Seeing much that appealed to him in their literature, he traveled to New York City with "the ultimate intent of joining them" and states that he was disappointed when he discovered that the New York Process was none other than Mary Anne DeGrimston's new "Foundation Faith of the Millennium." Determined to locate the original Process Church, he placed an ad in the New York's alternative newspaper The Village Voice in 1979, in which he stated his desire to get into contact with former Process members who had not converted to the Foundation Faith, hoping instead to locate Processeans who had remained loyal to Robert DeGrimston and the original Process theology. (At the time of the initial publication of this work, Brother Thomas had succeeded in locating many former Processeans, including an original member named Brother Isaiah, with whom I was able to discuss many aspects of The Process religion. For the full text of that interview, see Appendix 1). What I have also learned from my research is that the various groups now calling themselves "The Process" have beliefs that differ significantly from group to group. Unlike Brother Thomas' group, whose core philosophy is pantheistic and has never involved anything even remotely akin to "the dark arts" (as emphasized to me by Brother Isaiah), another version of the Process seems to be trying to continue to "normalize" the Process' image by stating that their theology is based solidly in standard Christian beliefs, has nothing to do with "the occult," and focuses primarily on a singular belief in Jehovah. (They do, however, still hold the texts of Robert DeGrimston in high regard and considered those to be sacred and central to their philosophies). 48 As for Robert DeGrimston himself, he apparently now earns a living as a business consultant for a telecommunications company in New York. On first hearing of that information, I wondered if that could really be the case as I thought that DeGrimston must surely be well past retirement age by now. However, a database search of New York consulting firms revealed that a "Robert DeGrimston" does indeed work for a consulting firm in that state. (And I might add yet again how all of the foregoing information tends to demonstrate perfectly that if DeGrimston was actually the leader of a bloodthirsty and criminal Satanic cult as claimed, he rather oddly has chosen to "hide" in plain sight while living what appears to be a perfectly normal life. Go figure). 149 107 Robert DeGrimston, quite understandably, refuses to speak with reporters and writers these days, so I was not surprised when my own letter request to him for a personal interview went unheeded. One can only guess as to what his opinion of some of the more paranoid conspiracy theories that have grown up around the Process would be, but I suspect it would be along the lines of total disbelief and disgust. Even today, "Satanic cult" hysteria still occasionally raises its ugly head: In 1992, a case of "Satanic panic" occurred in Gilmer, Texas, beginning with the mysterious disappearance of a teenager named Kelly Wilson. Shortly afterward, multiple members of the Kerr family of Gilmer, Texas were arrested on charges that included child molestation, kidnapping, "Satanic ritual abuse," torture, cannibalism and murder. All of the charges were based primarily on the forced testimony of a six-year old boy who claimed that the Kerr's were members of a "Satanic cult" who had, among many other detailed and graphic horrors, allegedly raped, tortured, and ritually murdered Kelly Wilson in a Satanic ceremony in the woods. The case turned the entire town into a battleground as suspicious neighbors began to accuse each other of being members of a Satanic cult. Eventually, even one of the town's top police officers assigned to investigate the case would be accused of being a member of the Satanic cult and indicted for murder. A special prosecutor was appointed, aided by a team that included two fundamentalist Christian "occult crime experts" and two social workers, one whom was a true believer in "Satanic ritual abuse." Charges were eventually dismissed against all of the suspects at the request of the Texas State Attorney General's office after that office reached the conclusion that the case had been irreparably damaged by overzealous investigators who were bent on proving that a "Satanic cult" was operating in the area. The disappearance of Kelly Wilson remains unsolved. 150 In 2004, a Chicago woman -- whose identity has been protected by use of the pseudonym "Elizabeth Gale"-- won $7.35 million, the largest malpractice settlement ever awarded to a single person, for being placed into drug-induced hypnosis and then convinced by her psychiatrist, psychologist and therapists that she had been a "breeder" whose babies were used in ritual sacrifice by a Satanic cult. Hospitalized over eighteen times in the course of twelve years, Ms. Gale allegedly underwent a tubal ligation in order to prevent any more "cult pregnancies," a procedure that she said was performed with her doctor's approval. A judge approved the settlement in the lawsuit against her psychiatrist, two of his colleagues and two Chicago area hospitals. (One of her psychiatrists had previously had his medical license temporarily suspended in 1999 after a different woman had made similar accusations against him regarding his having convinced her that she also had been a member of a Satanic cult). 151 108 As for Maury Terry, he simply refuses to stop flogging the dead horse: three hours of the April 15, 2004 A Closer Look radio show, hosted by Michael Corbin, focused on a discussion of the Process Church, including the latest revelations concerning the Best Friends Animal Society's known ties to the group, and Terry's unflagging belief in the "global Satanic cult conspiracy." That edition of the A Closer Look show devoted a full two hours to an interview with Terry in which he demonstrated that he is still furiously banging away on the Process/Manson/Berkowitz-Satanic-murder-conspiracy drum, along with hinting heavily to listeners that the Best Friends Animal Society is possibly a front for a new, "undercover" version of the evil, murderous Process Church! (His accusations were along the lines of saying that Best Friends, while bringing in homeless kittens and puppies through the front door, is probably taking them out the back one to sacrifice them to Satan. But in what appeared to be Terry's recollection of lawsuits gone by, he was quite careful to use the word "allegedly" when discussing his accusations of "Satanic murder" and other crimes involving Best Friends). The depth that Terry's conspiratorial reasoning goes to in that radio interview is an absolutely amazing thing to experience. He basically states that everyone, from important politicians to writers such as yours truly, are all involved in a grand conspiracy to keep the "truth" about the "evil" Process Church from coming to light and anyone who tries to say anything different is, well, part of the conspiracy*. (And for your information, Terry also repeatedly warned about possible encounters one may have with "Process apologists" found both in books and on the Internet). 152 During the course of my research into the Best Friends angle of this story, I corresponded regularly with Barbara Williamson, the media relations manager for Best Friends Animal Society. Not only was she quite friendly and open while answering my many questions, but she also extended an invitation to me for a personal visit to the Best Friends compound in order to take a tour of the grounds and meet with Michael Mountain personally. With real regret, I had to decline that generous offer as other commitments would not allow me to travel at that time, but I was able to interview Michael Mountain by telephone. (See Appendix 2, Interview with Michael Mountain of Best Friends Animal Society). Overall, I was impressed by the group's openness and willingness to accommodate my request for information. (And I suppose that it might not have mattered much to the truly paranoid if I had actually visited the Best Friends sanctuary and reported that nothing was amiss as they would probably just argue that the "evil Satanists" had simply hidden all of the black robes, ritual daggers, sacrificed animals and virgins from my sight while I was there). My personal experiences with Best Friends have convinced me that they, like the original Process Church before them, have simply fallen victim to the same ignorance and intolerance of a few paranoid fear-mongers and that they are innocent of any sort of sordid or unlawful activity 3 109 In closing, it is important to note that while the "Satanic panic" phenomenon seems to have died down since it's not-so-humble beginnings in the 1980's, many people still fervently and enthusiastically believe in the legends and fallacies pointed out above. As such, it is not a matter of "if" all of this will resurface once again, but rather "when." You and I will be ready for them though. 110 About the Author Curt Rowlett is a researcher and writer with a penchant for the mystical, mysterious, and macabre. His work has appeared in the books Popular Paranoia, Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & Conspiracy, and the magazines Fortean Times, Strange Magazine, Paranoia, and Steamshovel Press. He is also: a serious student of the paranormal and the unexplained, a former merchant marine who has traveled all over the world, a rock musician, and a genuine southern gentleman. For more information, please visit: www.labyrinth13.com 111 Footnotes 1 On June 15, 2014, while reading through a Manson -related blog, I discovered a quote from an English artist named John Tottenham, who restates this observation in a similar, but more poetic manner: "Here was a unique confluence of circumstances - a crucible of chaos in which a bizarrely charismatic ex-con with a messianic complex attracted just the right group of vulnerable and manipulable young men and women on just the right/wrong combination of potent drugs in a climate that facilitated a horrific and previously unthinkable chain of events." See The Manson Family Blog at: http://www.mansonblog.com/2014/06/manson-relatet-art- exhibit-opens-today.html 2 See Will You Die for Me?: The Man Who Killed For Charles Manson Tells His Own Story, by Tex Watson, as told to Chaplain Ray, Fleming H. Revell Company, Chapter 1 , Sure Charlie, You Can Kill Me. 3 In a nutshell, the rumor stated that Paul McCartney of the Beatles was decapitated in a car crash at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 9, 1966. Fans looking for clues to Paul's death found them in surplus on the group's album covers, in the fan booklets that came with albums, and even embedded in the band's music. While it is true that some of the "Paul is Dead" clues are simply too preposterous to accept, a few actually remain unexplained, both as genuine mysteries, and as examples of unusually strong coincidences that cannot be quite so easily dismissed. See the books, Turn Me On, Dead Man: The Beatles and the "Paul Is Dead" Hoax, by Andru J. Reeve, and The Walrus Was Paul: The Great Beatle Death Clues, by R. Gary Patterson. 4 See The Brotherhood of Eternal Love, by Stewart Tendler and David May, Panther Books, Granada Publishing, 1984, p. 74 (of PDF version). 5 See My Life With Charles Manson, by Paul Watkins with Guillermo Soledad, Bantam Books, 1979, Part One: I Am You and You Are Me, Chapter 1 . 6 See the documentary film Manson, by Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick, 1973. 7 See My Life With Charles Manson, by Paul Watkins with Guillermo Soledad, Bantam Books, 1979, Chapter 12. 8 See Charlie Don't Surf, But He's Got His Own Website!, article by Richard Metzger. 9 See Apocalypse Now, 1979, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. See also, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, Hesperus Press, 2002. 10 See Apocalypse Now, 1 979, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 112 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 See essay title, The American Meaning of Charley Manson, by David R.Williams. 15 Ibid. 17 See Apocalypse Now, 1979, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 18 Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, First edition, 1 974, p. 641 ; see also, Society and the Individual in Nietzsche's The Will to Power, by Travis J. Denneson, Section II, The Will to Power. Denneson states, "A psychological presupposition of Nietzsche's is that humans are always attempting to inflict their wills upon others. Every action toward another individual stems from a deep-down desire to bring that person under one's power in one way or another. Whether a person is giving gifts, claiming to be in love with someone, giving someone praise, or physically harming someone, the psychological motive is the same: to exert one's will over others. This presupposition entails that all human beings are ultimately and exclusively egoistic by nature. Therefore, according to Nietzsche, there are no truly altruistic actions." 19 See the film, Charles Manson Superstar, by Nikolas Schreck. 20 See Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, First edition, 1974, p. 421 . 21 See The Legion of Charlies, 1st printing, 1971 , Last Gasp Eco- Funnies, by Tom Veitch and Greg Irons. 22 From correspondence between the author and Manson researcher and memorabilia collector, John Aes-Nihil. 23 See essay titled, An Introduction to the My Lai Courts-Martial, by Doug Linder. 24 See Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, First edition, 1974, p. 438-442. 113 See: The My Lai Massacre: A Case Study, by Major Tony Raimondo, JA, Human Rights Program, School of the Americas, Fort Benning, Georgia. 26 From correspondence between the author and John Aes-Nihil. 27 See Charlie Don't Surf, But He's Got His Own Website!; article by Richard Metzger. 28 From Manson's 1988 interview with Geraldo Rivera. 29 See The Manson Files, edited by Nikolas Schreck, Amok Press, 1988, p. 14. 30 See The Haight Ashbury: A History by Charles Perry, 1st Edition, Random House, 1984, pp. 3-4, 125. 31 See A Season in Heaven: True Tales from the Road to Kathmandu, by David Tomory, p. 115. 32 See LSD: My Problem Child; Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism, and Science, by Albert Hoffman, Putnam Publishing, p. 14. 33 Ibid, p. 15. 34 See The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Citadel Press, 1995. 35 See The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, by Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert, First Bardo: The Period of Ego-loss or Non-game Ecstasy (Chikhai Bardo). 36 See The Haight Ashbury: A History, by Charles Perry, 1st Edition, Random House, 1984, p. 7. 37 Ibid, pp. 254-255. 38 Definition supplied at: http://www.selfknowledge.com/109719.htm. "In Zen Buddhism, Nirvana is the realization of the true nature of the mind (consciousness), which is identical with the true nature of how human beings experience their world - the Buddha-nature . . . Nirvana frees one from suffering and fear of death. It is the highest, transcendent consciousness." 39 See Will You Die for Me?: The Man Who Killed For Charles Manson Tells His Own Story, by Tex Watson, as told to Chaplain Ray, Fleming H. Revell Company, Chapter 8, Magical Mystery Tour. 114 See Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, First edition, 1974, pp. 320- 321. 41 See Storming Heaven; LSD and the American Dream, by Jay Stevens, Grove Press; (October 1998), p. 347. 42 For a full account of my research into this area, see my first book, Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & Conspiracy, Chapter 1 1 , The Summer of Love Breeds a Season of Hate: The Effects of the Manson Murders on Public Perceptions of the Hippie Lifestyle. 43 From Manson's 1988 interview with Geraldo Rivera. 44 See Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & Conspiracy, Chapter 1 0, Charles Manson, Son of Sam and the Process Church of the Final Judgment: Exploring the Alleged Connections. 45 See Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & Conspiracy, Chapter 12, Project Mind Kontrol: Did the U.S. Government Actually Create Programmed Assassins? 46 See Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, First edition, 1974, p281. 47 Ibid, 1 974, p. 25. 48 See First Homicide Investigation Progress Report, DR 69-059 593, pp. 27-28. 49 From pages 37-40 of a tape-recorded polygraph examination of William Eston Garretson, conducted on August 10, 1969. 50 See message board for the Official Tate-LaBianca Murders Blog. 51 See Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, first edition, 1974, p. 30. 52 Ibid, p. 49. 53 Ibid, pp. 49-50. 54 Excerpted from an interview conducted with William Garretson. See transcript of the show, The Last Days of Sharon Tate, The El True Hollywood Story, original television broadcast, July 25, 1999. Ibid. 115 Ibid. Paul Krassner was the editor of The Realist magazine and a key figure in the 1960s counterculture. He was also a founder of the Youth International Party (the Yippies) and a member of Ken Kesey's famous hippie band, the Merry Pranksters. 58 See Manson Family Movies, written, directed and produced by John Aes-Nihil, 1984. (In order to hear the comment, one must have the director commentary activated on your DVD player). 59 See Movie stars, drug dealing, and the LAPD, article by Paul Krassner, published August 9, 1999 in Scope. 60 See First Homicide Investigation Progress Report, DR 69-059 593, p. 29. 61 See People v. Manson, 61 CA3d 102, Court of Appeals of California, 2nd App. District, Div. One, Aug., 13, 1976; Footnote 41. 62 See Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, first edition, 1974, p. 576. 63 See Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of Cass Elliot, by Eddi Fiegel, Chicago Review Press, 2007. 64 See Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, first edition, 1974, p. 642. 65 Ibid, p. 642. 66 See Will You Die for Me?: The Man Who Killed For Charles Manson Tells His Own Story, by Tex Watson, as told to Chaplain Ray, Fleming H. Revell Company, Chapter 1 , Sure Charlie, You Can Kill Me. 67 See Dig at Barker Ranch for Manson Victims - Forensic Investigators Hope to Find Clues to Clandestine Graves, Associated Press, March 23, 2008. 68 See Dig at Manson Ranch Ends; No Bodies Found, Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2008. 69 See also, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, First edition, 1974, p. 656. 116 Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, first edition, 1974, page 297. 71 Squeaky: The Life and Times of Lynette Alice Fromme by Jess Bravin, St. Martin's Press; (June 1997), page 107. 72 Squeaky: The Life and Times of Lynette Alice Fromme by Jess Bravin, St. Martin's Press; (June 1997), page 112. 73 Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, first edition, 1974, pp. 591- 597. 74 See Life Magazine, December 12, 1969; The Love and Terror Cult. 75 The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult, by Karlene Faith; Northeastern University Press; Chapter One; Getting Acquainted, p. 9.; see also My Acid Trip with Groucho, by Paul Krassner, High Times magazine, Feb 1 981 . 76 See John Linley Frazier, the Killer Prophet and Hippie Murderer, Chapter 1 , The Year of the Hippie Murders, by Katherine Ramsland archived at www.crimelibrary.com. 77 See Fatal Vision, by Joe McGinniss, New American Library; Reissue edition (March 1999). See also, Fatal Justice: Reinvestigating the MacDonald Murders, by Jerry Allen Potter and Fred Bost, W.W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (April 1997) in which the authors, after conducting a nine year investigation into MacDonald's claims of a hippie cult being responsible for the murders of his family, come to the conclusion that vital findings supporting MacDonald's version of events were never presented at his trial and that his story about a group of hippie murderers may have in fact, been true. 78 See Crimes and Punishment: The Illustrated Crime Encyclopedia; H S Stuttman Co; September 1994; see also Cannibalism: The Last Taboo by Brian Marriner; Arrow Books 1992; see also Minority Religions, Social Change, and Freedom of Conscience; The Satanic Bible: Quasi- Scripture/Counter-Scripture; James R. Lewis (Department of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point); from the 2002 CESNUR International Conference; Salt Lake City and Provo (Utah), June 20-23, 2002. 79 See Santa Cruz Sentinel article titled, The1970s; "Murder Capital of the World." 80 The Die Song: A Journey into the Mind of a Mass Murderer by Donald T. Lunde, Jefferson Morgan, W.W. Norton & Company; March 1980. 117 The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs, by Edward M. Brecher and the editors of Consumer Reports magazine, 1 972. 82 See Snopes Urban Legend Reference Pages at www.snopes.com. While doing research for this article, I discovered that there are a great many other myths associated with taking LSD, among them the belief that taking LSD seven times makes you legally insane (the estimated number of times varied depended on who was telling the tale, but it is usually some figure under ten; another variant on this same myth is that if you take LSD a certain number of times, you can't testify in court. Those particular rumors seem to have begun somewhere between 1967 and 1975). In the book Storming Heaven, author Jay Stevens noted several LSD rumors that fed the general hysteria that began to crop up in the mid-60's, noting that: "Police departments around the country opened their own files to reporters eager to get a local angle on a breaking national story [regarding the abuse of LSD]. [T]here was the heavy user who, believing LSD had trans-mutated him into an orange, refused all human contact for fear of being turned into orange juice [Author's note: possible urban legend]. [There were many reports of LSD use] which verged on the weird rather than the horrible. ..like the time the LAPD found two guys sitting on a suburban lawn eating the grass and nibbling on tree bark. Or the time they received a complaint that a young man was standing beside the Coast Highway making obscene gestures at the traffic. When the police arrived, the guy dashed into the ocean, fell to his knees and began to pray, all the while yelling "I love you! I love you!" Then there was the time someone reported screams in a downtown apartment building and the police found a boy and girl having sex in the hall and shouting "God" and "Life" at the top of their lungs... reading the Los Angeles newspapers, one would have thought that scarcely a day passed that LSD didn't contribute to some calamity, usually involving teenagers. Yet police files show that in the first four months of 1966, out of 543 juveniles arrested for narcotics, only four involved LSD." Other urban myths about LSD includes the tales of liquid LSD being painted onto the numbered key pads in pay telephone booths where unsuspecting people would come into contact with the drug (urban legend); that LSD could be extracted from Foster's beer due to the "fact" that Foster's is made from ergot-containing grains, ergot being the wheat mold that is the precursor to making LSD (urban legend); the infamous belief that some LSD was contaminated with the poison strychnine (unproven), and that LSD damages your chromosomes (untrue, in fact, you can get more chromosomal damage from drinking a cup of coffee). 83 The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult, by Karlene Faith; Northeastern University Press; Chapter One; Getting Acquainted, p. 9. 118 See The Group Marriage Commune: A Case Study, David E. Smith, M.D., Alan J. Rose, published in the Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 3(1): 115-119, September 1970. 85 The Group Marriage Commune: A Case Study, David E. Smith, M.D., Alan J. Rose, published in the Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 3(1 ):1 1 5- 119, September 1970. 86 From Entheogenic Sects and Psychedelic Religions by R. Stuart; MAPS, Vol. XIII, Number 1, Sex, Spirit, and Psychedelics, 2002, p. 17; see also Divine Smoke and God's Flesh: Psychedelics and Religion by Peter Gorman, Best of High Times #17, 1995; pp. 74-78. (Reprinted from High Times January 1990 issue). 87 Autobiography of a World Savior, by Mel Lyman; Jonas Press; 1 966. 88 The Lyman Family's Holy Siege of America, by David Felton; Rolling Stone, 1971 , Issue No. 98; see also Mindfuckers: A Source Book on the Rise of Acid Fascism in America Including material on Charles Manson, Mel Lyman, Victor Baranco and Their Followers by David Felton; pp. 1 49-1 53; Straight Arrow Books; 1 972. 89 The Boston Phoenix, Section Two, July 16, 1985; article by Michael Matza. 90 Apocalypse Culture; Mel Lyman: God's Own Story; Laura Whitcomb; material compiled by John Aes-Nihil; edited by Adam Parfrey; pp. 152- 158. 91 Once-Notorious '60s Commune Evolves Into Respectability; Los Angeles Times, August 4, 1985; Sunday, Home Edition; View; Part 6; p. 1 ; see also Roxbury Commune Survives on Fort Hill by Seth Cobin; Bay State Banner; June 19, 1997. 92 See Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_freak 93 From History of the Jesus Movement by David Di Sabatino, November 1997. 94 See Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_freak 95 History of the Jesus Movement by David Di Sabatino, November 1997. 96 The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond, by Timothy Miller, Syracuse University Press, 1999, Chapter 5: Searching for a Common Center: Religious and Spiritual Communes, pp. 93-102. 119 9/ The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey with C.C. Carlson, Zondervan Publishing Company, May 1970. Central to this book's ideas are the belief in the Second Coming of Christ, the time of Tribulation, and "the Rapture." The Tribulation is an event describes by Christians as a period of great suffering for the people on planet Earth under the rule of the Antichrist. This interpretation of Bible scripture states that the Tribulation will then lead to "the Rapture," an event that Christians believe will take place just before the battle of Armageddon -- the last war to be fought on the face of the earth -- has begun. The Rapture is described as an event where Jesus will return to lift the faithful up into heaven, and as some Christians believe, literally from out of moving cars, airplanes in flight, from the windows of tall buildings and through the ceilings of their own homes. The resurrection of the dead will also occur at the same time, leaving non-Christians behind to suffer through seven more years of pain and horror under the reign of the Antichrist. After the defeat of the Antichrist by an army sent by God, there will follow a time called "the Millennium," described as "a thousand years of peace and plenty and paradise on Earth." 98 Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey and Carole C. Carlson, Zondervan Publishing Company, December 1972; pp. 17-22. This book is an account of Lindsey's condemnation of such "occult" ideas as spiritualism, astrology and the rise of "new age" religions that he claims are the direct result of the Antichrist being in our midst. Lindsey writes that the modern rise of witchcraft and black magic constitutes the "false worship" that Bible scriptures point out as one indication that the Antichrist has arose and is exerting his influence on the world. Lindsey went on to publish a whole series of similar books with "end times" Apocalyptic themes, including The Terminal Generation (1976), The 1980's: Countdown to Armageddon (1980), Planet Earth: 2000 A.D.: Will Mankind Survive? (1 994), The Final Battle (1 995) and Apocalypse Code (1997). 99 The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond, by Timothy Miller, Syracuse University Press, 1999, Chapter 5: Searching for a Common Center: Religious and Spiritual Communes, pp. 93-102. 100 The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond, by Timothy Miller, Syracuse University Press, 1999, Chapter 5: Searching for a Common Center: Religious and Spiritual Communes, pp. 98-97; see also The Family (a.k.a. Children Of God, Family Of Love) at www.religioustolerance.org/fam_love.htm. 101 The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond, by Timothy Miller, Syracuse University Press, 1999, Introduction, p. xvi. 120 The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond, by Timothy Miller, Syracuse University Press, 1999, Chapter 1 : Set and Setting: The Roots of the 1960's-Era Communes, p. 15. 103 See Reflections on the Manson Trial: Journal of a Pseudo-Juror by Rosemary Baer; W Publishing Group; May 1972; pp. 58-59. Baer, whose husband was a juror during the Manson trial, wrote this book while imagining that it was she who had been a juror instead. Her musings are rooted in her Christian beliefs and her comments are geared toward how she might have applied her religious perspective to the many moral issues she felt were raised by the trial concerning the hippie lifestyle. 104 The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond, by Timothy Miller, Syracuse University Press, 1999, Chapter 9: Doing It: Daily Life in the Communes, pp. 218-219. 105 The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond, by Timothy Miller, Syracuse University Press, 1999, Chapter: 9, The Worst-Case Scenario: Violence at Taos, pp. 222-224. 106 The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult, by Karlene Faith; Northeastern University Press; Chapter Five; A New Trial, pp. 109-110. 107 The Demon in Death Valley; Time Magazine, December 12, 1969; "Hippies and Violence." 108 See Giving the Devil More than His Due by David Alexander from The Humanist magazine, March/April 1990. In this article, Alexander notes that many self-styled "occult experts" have "created a lucrative information industry selling what they claim are documented facts through books, seminars, lectures, and tapes. In reality, what they offer is little more than fundamentalist Christian dogma, the aberrations of mentally ill individuals, the misdirected grief of bereaved parents, and the fantasies of self-seeking opportunists disguised and promoted as scholarship and criminology." See also Satanism in America; a two- hundred-plus-page report detailing a three-year study by Berkeley physicist Shawn Carlson, Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER) in which the authors state that: "It is now abundantly clear that a small minority of ultra-right-wing fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, believing in both the reality of Satan as a personality and that the Tribulation is at hand, are responsible for the misinterpretation, the dissemination, and in some instances the outright fabrication of facts to support what is essentially a religious doctrine. These people are not researchers in pursuit of truth, but crusaders against the Antichrist whom they believe a priori is living now among us. We submit that people so deeply committed to this religious view can 121 hardly be counted upon to render skeptical and well -reasoned critiques about the dangers of Satanism or occultism in American society." 109 Michelle Remembers by Michelle Smith, Pocket Books; July 1981. See also Michelle Remembers: The Debunking of a Myth, by Denna Allen and Janet Midwinter; Why the original "ritual abuse" victim may have suffered only from her childhood fantasies; The Mail on Sunday, London, England, September 30, 1990, Page 41 ; The "Satanic Scare" of the 1980s, statement prepared for Witchcraft, Satanism & Occult Crime, by Michael A. Aquino, Ph.D., March, 1993. 110 Satan's Underground: The Extraordinary Story of One Woman's Escape by Lauren Stratford and Johanna Michaelson (1988). The publisher eventually withdrew this book after serious doubts surfaced about the author's truthfulness and credibility. (Johanna Michaelson is also the author of Like Lambs to the Slaughter, a book in which she claims that cartoons such as the Smurfs and the Carebears teach "black magic" rituals to children and that the practice of Yoga is Satanic. One Amazon.com reviewer of Like Lambs to the Slaughter wrote, "This book is hilarious. The author is paranoid beyond belief: the Carebears represent the seven chakras of eastern mysticism, Dungeons and Dragons supposedly provides textbook examples for summoning demons, and Yoda is part of a global plot to turn our children into communists. One chapter on Ouija boards actually cites The Weekly World News as factual proof that they're physically dangerous!). 111 See Satan's Sideshow: The True Lauren Stratford Story, by Bob & Gretchen Passantino and Jon Trott; Cornerstone magazine, Vol. 18, Issue 90 (1990), pp. 23-28; Additionally, Geraldo Rivera, formally one of the most visible and vocal spokespersons for the "global Satanic cult conspiracy" theory, later recanted and apologized on a December 12, 1995 edition of his show, saying, "I want to announce publicly that as a firm believer of the 'Believe The Children' movement of the 1980's, that started with the McMartin trials in California, but now I am convinced that I was terribly wrong . . . and many innocent people were convicted and went to prison as a result . . . and I am equally positive (that the) 'Repressed Memory Therapy Movement' is also a bunch of crap." 112 See The "Satanic Scare" of the 1980s, statement prepared for Witchcraft, Satanism & Occult Crime, by Michael A. Aquino, Ph.D., March, 1993. 113 The Haight Ashbury: A History by Charles Perry, 1st Edition, Random House, 1984. 114 See Wild Cult Blamed In Tate Slayings, December 2, 1969, Los Angeles Times; Wild-Bearded Hippie Chief Key Figure In Tate Murders Probe, December 4, 1969, Associated Press. Other examples of 122 sensational headlines include: Hippie Murders Blamed on Leader, December 3, 1969, Dallas News/UPI; Free Love, Blind Obedience to Manson Features of Cult, December 12, 1969, New York Times News Service; Hippie Informer in Murder Orgy Fears Manson Curse, December 7, 1969, United Press International; Hippie Cult Linked With Girls' Killings, December 18, 1969, United Press International. 115 Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, Bantam Books, First edition, 1974, p. 256; Bugliosi writes, "In Independence, Sandra Good had told me that once, in the desert, Charlie had picked up a dead bird, breathed on it, and the bird had flown away. Sure, Sandy, sure, I replied. Since then I'd heard a great deal about Manson's alleged "powers"; Susan Atkins, for example, felt he could see and hear everything she did or said. Midway through the arraignment I looked at my watch. It had stopped. Odd. It was the first time I could remember that happening. Then I noticed that Manson was staring at me, a slight grin on his face. It was, I told myself, simply a coincidence." Concerning this same event, Manson himself attempts to demythologize his own legend by saying, "The media, film directors and book authors took a molehill and made it into a mountain. The myth of Charles Manson has twisted more minds than I was ever accused of touching. Hell, in that book Bugliosi got rich on, he's got me so powerful that a look from me stopped his watch. In the movie, they had me making the hands of a clock spin by giving it a glance. The only way I ever stopped a watch is by stepping on it. But all the bullshit had people believing I hold some kind of magic." See Manson in His Own Words by Charles Manson and Nuel Emmons, Chapter Nine, Grove Press, July 1988. 116 See The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy Attack Battalion by Ed Sanders, First edition, 1 971 , E.P. Dutton and Co. 117 See Satan's Power by William Sims Bainbridge, 1978, by University of California Press, Chapters 1-4. (See also The Process by Stephen Sennitt (1989); NOX Press, 15 Oxford Street, Mexborough, S. Yorkshire S64 9RL, England). 118 See The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation of America's Most Dangerous Satanic Cult, With New Evidence Linking Charles Manson and Son of Sam, Doubleday Books, First edition, 1987, Chapter Nine, "The Process." 119 Satan's Power, The Manson Disaster; pp. 1 19-124. 120 See Will You Die for Me?: The Man Who Killed For Charles Manson Tells His Own Story, by Tex Watson, as told to Chaplain Ray, Fleming H. Revell Company, Chapter 1 , Sure Charlie, You Can Kill Me. 123 121 Social Construction from Within: Satan's Process by William Sims Bainbridge; pp. 297-310 of The Satanism Scare edited by James T. Richardson, Joel Best, and David G. Bromley; New York: Aldine de Gruyter; 1991. 122 Satan's Power, The Manson Disaster; pp. 1 19-124. 123 Satan's Power, The Manson Disaster; pp. 1 19-124. 124 Satan's Power, The Manson Disaster; pp. 1 19-124. 125 Helter Skelter, First edition, 1974, pp. 635-639. 126 See Life Magazine, February 17, 1967 issue, article titled The Other Culture; see also Life Magazine, December 12, 1969, titled The Love and Terror Cult. 127 See Literary Hoaxes, Scams & Spoofs; Ed Sanders' The Family; (author unknown). 128 See The Family, by Ed Sanders; Introduction, pp. 8-9; First edition, 1971, E.P. Dutton and Co. 129 The Family by Ed Sanders, Chapter Five, The Process, pp. 73-88; First edition, 1 971 , E.P. Dutton and Co. 130 See Velle Transcendental Research Association, Inc. and Richard M. Brayton, Plaintiffs, v. Ed Sanders, E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., and Avon Books, Defendants, 518 F. Supp. 512 (1981). 131 See Bad Company: Drugs, Hollywood, and the Cotton Club Murder by Steve Wick, Martin Blumenson; St. Martin's Press, 1991; see also People v. Greenberger, 58 Cal.App.4th 298 (1997) in which an appellate court found that Radin's murder had been committed simply for revenge, financial gain and possibly out of racial hatred. The prosecution presented evidence to support its theory that Greenberger hired Mentzer, Marti and Lowe to kidnap and murder Roy Radin because Radin had cut her out of a Hollywood movie deal and had been involved in the theft of cocaine and money from her house. The same appellate opinion mentions the fact that there may have even been a racial motive for the murder. A key prosecution witness (Raja Korban) testified that he went to a meeting at which the plan to murder Radin was discussed. During direct examination, Korban testified that both Marti and Mentzer made anti-Semitic statements, referring to Radin as the "fat big Jew" and that Marti had a huge oil portrait of Adolph Hitler and other Nazi memorabilia in his home. (Police investigators conducting a search of Marti's residence indeed found the Nazi memorabilia that Korban testified 124 about). Trial witness William Rider also testified that Marti told him that "he hated Jews and that he enjoyed killing the big fat Jew." 132 See A Review and Commentary on Maury Terry's Ultimate Evil by G.M. Kelly; originally published in The Newaeon Newsletter, Volume VI, Number 5, November 1989 E.V. In this commentary, the author writes that, "Had Arlis Perry been the victim of a 'killer cult,' one of Terry's favorite phrases in the book, or was there some more common motive for the killing? The Santa Clara Sheriff's Department 'directed a hunt for a local sexual psychopath' and Terry claims that they were ignoring the 'evidence' and so acting with negligence. In fact, throughout his book, Maury Terry claims that every police department involved in anything anywhere in the U.S. that he was investigating acted negligently, incompetently, refusing to admit to the 'evidence' of a single Satanic cult at work in all of these cases, and even covering up and burying 'facts' that proved that such a cult existed and was the cause of the various murders he had looked into." 133 See Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius, by Gary Lachman, The Disinformation Company, 2001 ; pp. 247-249; see also Velle Transcendental Research Association, Inc., v. Ed Sanders, E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., No. CV 74-2985-RJK; U.S.D.C, Central District Of California; 518 F. Supp. 512; May 27, 1981. The abuse of the child at the Solar Lodge would later be referred to by the news media as the "Boy in the Box" incident. In a legal brief written in the case of Velle Transcendental Research Association, Inc., v. Ed Sanders, the court, speaking about the press coverage, noted that: "These articles address the details of the abuse of six-year-old Anthony Saul Gibbons by the members of O.T.O., who were presently living at the ranch in Riverside County. The articles frequently mention Jean Brayton and Richard Brayton by name, and many mention that the group held for the boy's abuse belonged to a 'cult-like' group called the O.T.O. For example, the Daily News of Indio, California, states on October 23, 1969, that those under indictment 'were members of a 'group' known as OTO, which had headquarters at 2627 Menlo Ave., Los Angeles.' The article describes the group's alleged purpose of seeking spiritual development and identifies the leader of the group as Jean Brayton, plaintiff's wife. Similarly, articles which appeared in the Daily Enterprise, the Daily News, and the Daily News Palm Desert describe those individuals indicted as members of the O.T.O. 'cult.' They depict the practice of the group as consisting of various degrees of membership, and point out that members of the first degree wear a black robe, those of the second wear a dagger and triangle, and so on. While the local articles are the most elaborate in their description of the group's practice of initiation and ritual, almost all of the articles address the issue of the group's unusual way of life. Most of the articles mention the O.T.O. and Jean Brayton as being responsible for the boy's treatment." 125 See The New York Law Journal for June 24, 1988; see also Giving the Devil More than His Due by David Alexander from The Humanist magazine, March/April 1990. In this article, the author notes that "Obviously, Maury Terry has not been exposed to much training in logical thinking or rational investigative techniques. His theory [concerning the O.T.O./Son of Sam connections] is conspiracy 'reasoning' at its best." "The allegations against the Process church in Terry's book were copied virtually verbatim from a now-obscure book The Family published shortly after the Manson murders. The author of The Family lost a defamation suit brought against him by the Process church; part of the settlement included striking all reference to the Process church from future editions. So much of the book was based upon these false allegations that it wasn't possible to remove them all and still have a book. The Family subsequently went out of print. Terry has not been sued by the Process church because it no longer exists; thus, he is able to reprint with impunity material which has previously been judged inaccurate and libelous." Authors Note : The Family is back on the market now, only minus the chapter on the Process. In a third edition of the book, all references to the Process are made as "an English Satanic society in the 1960's." 135 See Apocalypse Culture, edited by Adam Parfrey; The Process: A Personal Reminiscence by R.N. Taylor, pp. 159-171. Mr. Taylor met members of the Process while performing as a musician in a Process coffee house in Chicago. He also created artwork for many of the Process publications. 136 Classic Snuff Films, 1994, by Rider McDowell (as reported for The San Francisco Chronicle). 137 See New York Times article dated November 3, 1 981 ; p. B7; Drug Link is Seen in Chelsea Killings. Excerpted text from the article reads: "Detectives investigating the slayings Saturday night of a photographer and a Smith College student in the photographer's Chelsea apartment said they believed the killings might have resulted from a "drug-oriented robbery." Both victims had been shot in the head. Detective Daniel O'Neill said the photographer, Ronald Sisman, 39 years old, of 207 West 22nd Street was believed to have sold drugs "on the side to supplement his income." The police said a small amount of a white powder, possibly cocaine, had been found in the apartment. The other victim, Elizabeth Platzman, 20, of Roslyn, Long Island, had met the photographer last summer through a relative, and, the detective said, had the "misfortune to be in the apartment at the wrong time." 138 Although there was indeed a clamor to have the case reopened in 1996, top police officials in the New York City Police Department apparently foiled the efforts to have files pulled from those precincts that were involved in the original Son of Sam investigation. That fact seemed 1 26 to lend fuel to the idea that a conspiracy to keep the case from being reopened was afoot. However, the N.Y.P.D. Deputy Commissioner for Public Information, Marilyn Mode, was quoted by a news reporter as saying that this was "totally untrue, nothing was quashed," and went on further to say that a conspiracy to prevent the truth from coming out was "ludicrous." She also noted that the people who now run the department had nothing to do with its operation at the time of the murders. 139 The Ghost of 77, by Maury Terry; Gear Magazine; Nov/Dec Issue; Volume I, Issue II. 140 A&E Biography - David Berkowitz; 2000. 141 Investigative Reports: Son of Sam Speaks: The Untold Story; A&E Home Video; 1996. 142 Written correspondence between David Berkowitz and the author. 143 See Helter Skelter, First edition, 1974, pp. 637-638. In fairness to the Process Church regarding the claim made in Helter Skelter that they, like Manson, had an interest in "[using] the Negro as a whole to begin some sort of militant thing," i.e. to start a black-white race war in America, it must be pointed out that Bugliosi himself notes that this information was simply the opinion of one disaffiliated/disgruntled Process member and as such, may not have represented that group's official position. I was not able to find a source that could verify this one way or the other. 144 Satanic, Occult, Ritualistic Crime: a Law Enforcement Perspective by Kenneth V. Lanning M.S., Supervisory Special Agent, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia, October 1989. 145 Friends Find Their Calling by Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News, February 28, 2004; see also www.bestfriends.org. 146 See Friends Find Their Calling by Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News, February 28, 2004. Not long after I began my research into "Best Friends" for this chapter, I was contacted by another researcher who is an assistant editor for a Boulder, Colorado daily newspaper who was also looking into the "Best Friends" angle regarding its past ties to the Process Church. We both ended up commiserating with each other about the general lack of reliable information and sources and also compared notes on the large number of "conspiracy theorists" and general paranoid types that one ultimately encounters when digging into this story. 147 See website located at www.gnosticliberationfront.org (now defunct). 127 From personal email correspondence between the author and Process member Brother Isaiah. 149 See Friends Find Their Calling by Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News, February 28, 2004; some additional information concerning the current status and whereabouts of Robert DeGrimston was excerpted from personal email correspondence between the author and Mark Turner, webmaster of the CharileManson.com website. 150 Dateline NBC special, A Touch of Evil; as reported by Dennis Murphy. 151 See Victim of Recovered Memory Psychologists Receives $7.5 Million Award by Brian Carnell, April 17, 2004; see also Bizarre Therapy Leads To $7.35M Malpractice Settlement; www.NBC5.com with The Associated Press, February 12, 2004. 152 A Closer Look broadcast for April 15, 2004; see also www.4acloserlook.com. 153 Personal email correspondence between the author and Barbara Williamson, Media Relations Manager, Best Friends Animal Society. Additional Sources & Recommended Reading Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & Conspiracy, by Curt Rowlett. America's Magic Cult of Ignorance, David O'Reilly, San Jose Mercury News, 1993-AUG-8, Page 1L. Satanic Panic, Jeffrey Victor, Open Court, Chicago, 1993. Rivera's 'Devil Worship' was TV at its Worst, Tom Shales, San Jose Mercury News, 1 988-OCT-31 , Page 1 1 B. Inside The 'Satan Scare' Industry: The Devil Makes Them Do It, by: Debbie Nathan, from In These Times, a weekly newspaper based in Chicago, at 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647. The Satanism Scare, University of Pennsylvania, by Gerry O'Sullivan, Postmodern Culture, v.1 n.2 (January, 1991). Satanism: Skeptics Abound, by John Johnson and Steve Padilla Los Angeles Times April 23, 1 991 , Page A-1 . The Seduction of the Gullible by John Martin, Procrustes Press, Box 134 West PDO, Nottingham, NG7 7BW, England (ISBN 0 9522 510 1 9). 128 The Gods of The Process In Six Books by William Sims Bainbridge. Barking Up the Wrong Tree, article debunking the Son of Sam "Satanic cult connections" by Curt Rowlett, Fortean Times issue # 163, page 49, October 2002. (Included as Appendix 4 in this book). Process Church of the Final Judgment v. Ed Sanders and E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 338 F. Supp. 1396 (1972). Sympathy for the Devil, investigative article on the Process Church by Gary Lachman, Fortean Times, issue # 134, May 2000. Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love and Its Quest to Spread Peace, Love, and Acid to the World, by Nicholas Schou. Appendix 1 Interview with the Process Church of the Final Judgment While researching the history and the beliefs of the Process Church for this book, I came into contact with several members of the Process, including two original members, Brother Isaiah and Sister Angela. After we had corresponded for a period of time, both of them agreed to be interviewed by me. What follows is a "Q & A" as excerpted from our correspondence. (Reprinted with permission). Q: Your group is made up of original members of The Process Church and you are attempting to reestablish the Process and return the group to its original core belief system. According to my research, there was another group claiming to be the original Process Church who referred to themselves as "The Processeans." Is that a correct term? And what official name is your group going by? A: The full name of our group is still "The Process Church of the Final Judgment" or "The Process" for short. However, all members are called "Processeans," in the same way that members of the Roman Catholic Church are called "Catholics." "Processeans" is a generic term encompassing all members. So yes, the congregation would be referred to as Processeans. Q: Is there more than one Process group? Are there other groups claiming to be the "real" Process at the same time as your group is? A: No, there is only one group that is the real Process and that is us. What happened previously was that members who were scattered 129 across the United States and Canada made separate attempts to try to restart "The Process." Unfortunately the result from this has been a sporadic reporting of small groups who were claiming to be the actual Process Church. Now that we have all finally combined our efforts, we are again united and with Brothers Isaiah, Thomas and Harmanus and Sister Angela as our central core, we now have a hierarchy in place that is able to lead the Church to the reformation. However, there are some groups that use some of "The Process" Teachings, such as Telesis, Processors and several self-help groups, but none of these adhere to all the Teachings as we do. Q: Where is your church presently located? A: A lot of the activities of the "Head Office" are currently being done electronically through the Internet; the location of our so-called "Main Chapter "is yet to be decided. It will naturally be located in a fairly large urban center; again New York is being considered as well as Toronto, Canada. Q: How many chapters of the Process Church are there today? And in which cities are they located? A: At present, we have four "Closed Chapters." A Closed Chapter is one in which all the activities are closed to the general public and is strictly for training, inside worship and internal structuring. Soon we are hoping to be able to change their status to "Open Chapters" where everyone will be welcome to enter and worship and enjoy all the activities that we will have in place. At present, the Chapters are in Albany, New York; San Antonio, Texas; Savannah, Georgia and Toronto, Canada, with plans to move some of the smaller ones to larger centers when the time permits. Q: Can you give me a brief synopsis that would explain the essence of Process philosophy today? A: We believe in the Unity of Christ and Satan and that one day all the innumerable parts of God will be brought back together. The reconciliation of opposites is our key. Our belief in the Universal Law, which states "As You Give, So Shall You Receive" is one of our paramount beliefs. This means that anything that we would do to anyone or anything is going to be given back to us in kind. In other words causing harm becomes tantamount to committing suicide and would be definitely not be in our best interests. Q: What drew you personally to the group? A: (Provided by Brother Isaiah). I personally was drawn to The Process over 30 years ago. It was in 1971 in Toronto, Canada. I had just gone through what I perceived to be some very traumatic events in my life and 1 30 I was in search of spiritual enlightenment. I had been involved in the "Jesus" movement and was actually considered a "Jesus Freak." During my time with the Jesus movement, I found that not all my questions were being answered. However, while trying to convert some Processeans (who were actually friends of mine from school) to "Christ," I found a very interesting thing was happening: the Processean Teachings were answering the questions that I had been asking, so upon further investigation and study I decided to be baptized into The Process Church in the Toronto Chapter. At first I was an Acolyte, which is basically your person off the street who is coming in to find out what "The Process" is all about, and getting into the very start of Process beliefs. After about six months of study, I decided to take it to the next step and was baptized as a Disciple. Again this is your basic member of the "congregation," if you will, but the Teachings are far more involved as is your level of participation and activity with the Church. At this point tithing is involved as is working within the Church in the social programs and helping maintain the church property and the atmosphere of the Church coffee houses. During my time as a Disciple, I traveled and visited what was then every Chapter that The Process had, including Miami, New Orleans, Boston, New York, Chicago and of course Toronto, where I had originally met The Process. During my travels in one of my visits to Chicago, Mother Hagar approached me and asked me to consider "going on line" and become a "Messenger of the Unity," which after some consideration I did. I was baptized as an O.P. Messenger and given the name Brother Isaiah. An O.P. Messenger is an "Outside Processean" Messenger. All that means is that you live in a Church-owned property that is not physically connected to the Church and is the beginning rank of the "Ministers" within the Church. Now all your time is spent learning Processean Teachings and working in and around the Church. Basically it is the start of a ministerial life, dedicated to serving the Gods and helping others. The only difference is that we were considered "abstract" to say the least. Now I use the name Brother Isaiah. There will come a time when the rank may be changed; I haven't fully made up my mind yet. It is actually a very large step to take and the undertaking is massive. Personally, I think the effort is well worth it to get "The Process" back up and running and get the name of "The Process" cleared once and for all. Sister Angela found "The Process" in New Orleans and she knew immediately that she was meant to be a part of us. Q: What, if any, social programs were the Process Church engaged in? A: The social programs that The Process was involved in were numerous. In every city that we were involved in, we had a free kitchen and clothing center for the homeless and poor. There was also a food 131 bank before food banks became commonplace. We also did counseling for people who were having problems or wanted to kick a drug or alcohol habit and a crisis hotline which fielded calls from police, hospitals, basically anywhere that we were needed. These few examples were only the tip of the programs that we ran. Each Chapter had their own visitation program that varied due to regulation differences from state to state; there were visitations to state hospitals, prisons, and old age homes. Work was also done with the Florida Special Olympics. Our musicians and groups performed and entertained all over. One thing that we have to keep in mind is that the work was not just done in the cities where we were located but we also traveled to other areas and had "Field Disciples" or people located in areas that are out of reach of the full chapter. The people who lived and worked these programs were just Acolytes or Disciples, but they knew that their services were needed and arranged them on their own, with the Chapters blessing, of course. Q: Did the original Process have the belief that an actual, physical Apocalyptic "end of the world" was at hand where all but 144,000 of the "chosen people" would be saved, similar to what many mainstream Christian groups believe about the battle of Armageddon? Or was that something that was expressed only in symbolic terms? A: (Provided by Sister Angela). The Process originally believed in an apocalyptic end to the world. We still do, but I personally believe that it is not going to happen for quite some time. We humans seem fixed on the idea of being either the first or the last. And we also believed that the number of those who would be part of the New Beginning would be 144,000. But by the early 70's there was less talk of this and perhaps this is the reason: In the beginning of The Process much of our beliefs came from Robert [DeGrimston] channeling the Gods; much of this was what you could call "Old Testament, Wrath of God" type stuff. What I have learned of channeling over the years is that initially we instinctively filter this channeling through our own religious, philosophical or cultural experience. As a result, the many of thousands who have channeled merely use this to expound and confirm their own belief system rather than entertain the possibility that "everything we know is wrong." Initially this is on a sub-conscious level but after one channels repeatedly it becomes clear that you are interpreting rather than just channeling. One notices a distinct difference between Robert's Teachings in the beginning and years later. The evolution of The Process appears connected to this change. From my own experiences with channeling, I believe that we have linked the Apocalypse on too close of a timeline with the New Beginning. They appear to be totally independent of each other but we , in our quest to boost our own ego, have placed them occurring almost concurrent. The error is, I believe, 132 that time is different from our perspective than from the source of our channeling. Imagine the situation where a child asks you when something will occur and you respond, "In a little while." The child thinks that means five minutes (or less) but the phrase means something different to you. It is about perspective. After all, aren't we just visually impaired children stumbling around in a forest? What the New Beginning entails is kind of like speculating what really happens after the instant of death. Perhaps everything just begins again like the Buddhist belief in order/chaos. A: (Same question, answer provided by Brother Isaiah). In the beginning it was indeed believed that Armageddon and the "end of the world" was coming, as did many other religions, Christianity included. Over time it has gradually taken its place as something that is still inevitable, but does not have the overpowering importance that was once placed upon it. Part of that was the times, I suppose... in the 1970's it seemed that the whole world was in shambles and that nothing short of Armageddon could solve the issues. Q: Did Robert DeGrimston ever actually believe himself to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ? Ed Sanders claims in his book "The Family" that while The Process lived at Xtul they were involved in intensive studies of their past lives and had delved heavily into the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. He claims that a revelation came to Robert and other Process members about their "past lives" and that Robert believed he was a reincarnation of Jesus. A: (Provided by Brother Isaiah). Robert never believed that he was the physical reincarnation of Christ. That was a story that started at the New Orleans Chapter, I believe. A visitor to the chapter remarked on how they thought that the resemblance in Robert's picture was amazing and the story took a life of its own. While in Xtul, extensive study of past lives and the Old Testament were done, and indeed several revelations occurred (but not that Robert was Christ reincarnate). Q: What are your opinions about the wild conspiracy theories that have grown up around the Process since its original inception and why? A: This is a question that I and others have had running through our minds for years now. The stories are so wide and varied that some seem to have taken on "urban legend" status. I think that originally the stories of Satan worship and ritual sacrifice arose out of fear of the unknown. The 70's were a strange time and things seemed to be falling apart and people were looking for scapegoats. The Process seemed to be the target of choice, particularly for the "right wing" activists. The mere mention of Satan would send them scurrying and naturally if Satan was involved, so were all the other ills attributed to him. 133 There were also the "seedier" elements that attended our coffee houses as well. In the beginning, people came in just because they heard we worshipped Satan, which of course is wrong. But they would not be persuaded otherwise and some left or were removed and were disgruntled and the strange stories of drug crazed orgies started to surface. Some of the other rumors that have surfaced are just plain crazy. It appears that some people have gotten hold of one or two pieces of our literature and taken everything out of context and started saying and doing all sorts of things using our name. Exactly where Ed Sanders and Maury Terry got there information from has always been suspect, but I would hazard a guess and say that some people will say anything if money was offered for their interview and obviously, the spicier the better. Absolutely none of the accusations that have been leveled at us have ever been proven or would stand up to close scrutiny. The conspiracy theories come in part from our keeping much about The Process private. For centuries the Christian religions have used Satan to evoke fear and hate in their own followers. (All those who disagree with church doctrine must be possessed of the devil and such). But The Process recognizes that both Christ and Satan are equal parts of God and their purpose is divine/God-given. We follow Christ's Teachings, but do not accept the "believe that Christ died for your sins and be saved" rhetoric which is considered to be essential by Christian doctrine. This could easily be construed by traditional Christians as a direct attack upon their entire belief system. And they follow the instinctive human reaction to a perceived attack: they counter-attack. I have seen Christian websites where the name "Process Church of the Final Judgment" is considered evil (like the word Satan). We humans judge by difference, but when we see a difference we immediately categorize this perceived difference as either better or worse, threatening or non-threatening, superior or inferior. And of course the natural assumption is to think that what you were "taught as a child by your loving parents" must be right and anything else is wrong/evil. Christians call us Satanists and Satanists call us Christians. Appendix 2 Interview with Michael Mountain of Best Friends Animal Society Below is a rewrite of a very informal telephone interview that I conducted on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2004 with Michael Mountain, president of Best Friends Animal Society. While speaking with Michael, it quickly became obvious to me that he was a forthright, charming, and highly intelligent individual who passionately believes in the work he is doing at Best Friends. 134 Please note that this is not a verbatim transcript of my interview with Michael and that all of the answers attributed to him below involve my paraphrasing of his words from those notes that I took during our conversation. (The full text of this appendix has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Mountain for publication in this book). During the course of our conversation, I asked Michael, what sort of public reaction Best Friends had seen after the publication of the February 28, 2004 Rocky Mountain News article {Friends Find Their Calling by Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News), a story that revealed how a series of corporate records linked Best Friends to the same 1967 incorporation of The Process Church of the Final Judgment. Michael's answer was that, with the exception of one local newspaper, no other media organizations had contacted Best Friends about the story. I also asked Michael to give an opinion about the wild conspiracy theories that have grown up around the original Process Church since its original inception in the 1960's and in a rather neat and quite fitting summation, he offered up a quote uttered by the character Rhett Butler at the end of the Gone With the Wind movie, specifically, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." He explained that his use of that quote meant that there is no point in chasing down unfounded rumors on the Internet, and that nothing anyone has to say about The Process Church applies to the work of Best Friends at all. I also discussed with Michael the April 15, 2004 radio interview on the program "A Closer Look," in which Maury Terry seemed to be implying that the Best Friends Animal Society could possibly be a front for a new, "undercover" version of the old Process Church and may be involved in criminal activity of a "Satanic" nature taking place behind closed doors at Best Friends. Michael's comment to that was that back in the 1970s the Process Church filed a libel suit when someone else made similar accusations, and that the publishers promptly offered a settlement that included an apology and the removal of all offending materials. He added that as far as he was concerned, people were free to say whatever they wanted to about the Process Church. But he said very clearly that if anyone were ever to accuse Best Friends of being involved in any criminal or illegal activity, they would have their lawyers step in immediately. Michael's final word on his involvement with the Process Church was in essence the same as he laid out in the Rocky Mountain News story, i.e., that the group had set out during the 60's to lead an exemplary lifestyle in what were very unusual and interesting times and that in many ways they accomplished their goals. The Process Church was rooted in the same spirit as what many other young people were doing at the time: searching for higher meanings and having a lot of fun along the way. 135 Appendix 3 List of Hippie Exploitation and Manson-lnspired Films "God is alive and well and living in a sugar cube." Line from the 1 968 hippie exploitation film Psych-Out. Assembled here is a list of hippie exploitation and Manson family-inspired films, spanning the years from 1967 to present. Most of the films involve fictional Hollywood plots, with a few masquerading as "documentaries," but which really amounted -- then and now -- to little more than anti-hippie propaganda. However, because most of these films were produced during the actual time of the hippie movement, shot on real locations and often employed bona-fide hippies as "extras," they serve as excellent time capsules for that period. Also included here for reference purposes are a few perhaps more "authentic" films produced during the hippie era (such as Woodstock and Gimme Sheltei) that depict the 1960's counter culture at its height. But could it be that these old films are much more than just a window into the past? It should be noted that Manson family victim Sharon Tate was an aspiring film actress in her own right. In the book The Manson Files, the editor notes how Sharon Tate's final movie appearance in The 13 Chairs (1969) ends with a scene that may have actually been eerily "prophetic" in nature: At the end of the movie, the "murdered" Tate is shown lying dead while the image of a laughing figure materializes over her that is a dead-ringer for a bearded, longhaired Charles Manson. (1) The Hallucination Generation (1 967) Riot on Sunset Strip (1 967) 1967-1969 Films The Love-Ins (1967) LA's First Love In (1967 Something's Happening (1 967) Psych-Out (1968) Mantis in Lace (1968) The Young Runaways (1 968) Easy Rider (1969) Cult of the Damned (1 969) The Trip (1 967) The Weird World of LSD (1 967) The Hippie Revolt (1 967) Blonde on a Bum Trip (1 968) Wild in the Streets (1 968) The Hooked Generation (1 968) Head (1968) Alice's Restaurant (1 969) 136 1970-1979 Films Woodstock (1970) The Love Commune (1 970) Gimme Shelter (1970) / Drink Your Blood (1971) Billy Jack (1971) The Night God Screamed (1971) Thumb Tripping (1 972) Bummer! (1973) Terror on fne Beach (1 973) Ha/r (1979) Jesus Crjr/sf Superstar (1 973) Snuff a.k.a. Slaughter (1975) Helter Skelter (1976) (original television mini-series) 7"r>e He/fer S/ce/fer Murders (1 970) Joe (1970) r/?e Psychedelic Priest a.k.a. {Electric Shades of Grey) (1 971 ) r/?e /.ove 777/7'// Murders (1 971 ) 77)e Manson Massacre (1 972) 777e Deathmaster (1 972) 1980-2004 Films Berkeley in the Sixties (1 990) Tne Doors (1 991 ) r/?e Manson Family (a.k.a. Charlie's The '60s (1 999) (original television Notes and Sources to Appendix 6 (1) The Manson Files; edited by Nikolas Schreck; Amok Press, 1988; p. 190. Appendix 4 Barking Up the Wrong Tree By Curt Rowlett The following is an original article debunking the Son of Sam "Satanic cult connections" as it appeared in Fortean Times issue # 163, page 49, October 2002. It was written in response to John Sanders' article / am the Son of Sam, from Fortean Times issue # 161 . It was with great anticipation that I began to read John Sanders' Fortean Times article Mr. Berkowitz's Neighborhood. I have been interested in the Son of Sam case since my early teen years and I have always had high hopes that someone would finally concentrate on one of the more intriguing aspects of the Son of Sam murders, i.e., that evidence may point to the possible involvement of at least three (and perhaps four) persons. Family) (1997) The Cockettes (2002) mini-series) Helter Skelter (2004) (remake of the 1976 television mini-series) 137 However, I was disappointed, but not surprised, that the focus of the article quickly shifted to the old unproven and, in my opinion, thoroughly discredited notion that a huge underground network of evil Satanists were actually behind the Son of Sam and other murders. While I applaud Mr. Sanders' efforts, after much careful consideration of that same argument, I have come to the conclusion that the only ones who seem to benefit in any way by that theory are one person with desires to sell a book and another person who hopes to influence a parole board. I lived on the East Coast during the height of the Son of Sam murders and have been a serious occult scholar for over 25 years. Shortly after reading Maury Terry's book The Ultimate Evil, I wrote a detailed article about the alleged "Satanic" aspects of the case. (See Charles Manson, Son of Sam and the Process Church of the Final Judgment: Exploring the Alleged Connections). In that article, I attempted to show that virtually all of Maury Terry's "smoking guns" were simply inaccurate interpretations of the facts; that there is no real evidence of a vast Satanic cult conspiracy responsible for multiple murders, drug dealing, rape, and an underground network of child pornography. I have learned that most of the persons who have written about alleged "Satanic" connections to this case and/or who tout themselves as "occult crime experts" have absolutely no concept of what does and does not constitute actual evidence of an occult or Satanic nature. As a result, the most mundane things are reported in a sinister light. For example, John Sanders reiterates Maury Terry's old observation about spray- painted "Satanic" graffiti in New York's Untermyer Park and the fact that some dead German Shepard dogs were once found there. While he does not overtly say so, he implies that this is the work of the Process Church, a notion that is contradicted by the fact that the Process was well known for their stance against animal abuse of any sort, a set of values that predates modern animal rights activism by more than forty years. And it should be noted that many, many public places have "Satanic" type graffiti spray-painted about. I could take you to several such areas right here in my own neighborhood. In most cases, this graffiti is the work of bored teenagers, who are into black metal and gothic music, and as such, should never be used to make overly-sinister connections to murder. Maury Terry's book was published during the apex of what has become known as the great "Satanic Panic" here in America and abroad - a period of literal "witch hunting" and bigoted religious intolerance that continues to this day. During that time, I and many other occultists were 138 actively engaged in combating the lies and false accusations leveled at members of "occult" or "Satanic" styled religions by members of the press and the fundamentalist Christian right. I can state unequivocally that, with very, very few exceptions, the majority of the "evidence" alleged to be of a "Satanic" nature was purposely misread by people with an axe to grind (quite often members of fundamentalist Christian sects), reporters looking for a story at any cost, and those who misinterpreted the evidence because they simply did not understand what real occultism is. There are some individuals for whom the Process Church of the Final Judgment serves as the foundation for evidence of a global conspiracy involving Satanic occultists. These same people, when interviewed, darkly hint that the evidence of the existence of this conspiracy is out there, but that it is being withheld to protect certain people. In fact, there is absolutely no evidence then or now that the Process Church of the Final Judgment or any of its alleged offshoots were ever involved in any illegal activity, nor is there any evidence that the group was inherently violent. What I discovered after reading the available books and literature, interviewing former Process Church members and closely examining the claims, is that the Process Church was not truly a Satanic religion, but rather a group of well-meaning and perhaps misguided, "New Age" style Christians who made use of a few Satanic trappings and imagery. Evidence for multiple perpetrators in the Son of Sam case seems to be there, but it is my opinion that no real work has been done in that regard. I would love to see someone with the time, energy, and financial ability undertake an unbiased and truly objective investigation into that area. As it stands right now, the allegations of occult connections have, in my opinion, significantly damaged this area of the case. For persons with no understanding of the nature of occult religions, it is very tempting and easy to lump all occult beliefs and practices together. It is my sincere hope that future researchers of the Son of Sam case will undertake the research necessary to keep facts separated from fantasy, and ultimately avoid the bigotry and bias perpetrated by authors whose world view is limited by their own religious beliefs. 190. Appendix 5 Two Personal Psychedelic Experiences Below are my recollections of two of the most intense and significant psychedelic experiences that I have had in the past, one via psilocybin mushrooms and the other via LSD. While I personally feel that these experiences were extremely beneficial to me, I urge you, the reader, to 139 not take my experiences as recounted here as any sort of endorsement for the general use of psychedelic drugs per se. Such experimentation can be dangerous - perhaps not in the classic government drug war paranoia/disinformation sort of way - but rather because psychedelics are very powerful, mind-altering substances and the uninitiated can get into real trouble, very quickly from their misuse. Caveat lector! A moment's moment can be an eternity. And all the while time has its flow. How many lifetimes can you have in infinity? It's all there for us to know. From the song, Is It That You Recall (Moments) by Brooks Poston & Paul Watkins / seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times, in life after life, in age after age, forever. Rabindranath Tagore Only after the great awakening will we realize that this is the great dream. And yet fools think they are awake, presuming to know that they are rulers or herdsmen. How dense! Zhuangzi A Mushroom Trip of Great Personal Significance I ingested approximately five grams of dried mushrooms of the psilocybe cubensis variety that I had grown myself. Unknown to me at that time was the fact that cultivated mushrooms are much more potent than the wild variety of mushrooms that I had picked and consumed in the past. As a result, the experience was much more intense than I had anticipated and stranger than anything I could have ever imagined. After eating the mushrooms, I turned out all of the lights and lay down on my bed with some soft music playing. As I began to come onto the experience, I was greeted by some very intense visuals and a growing nausea that felt like a very tight knot in my stomach. (This nausea eventually subsided and may have been in part due to a bit of nervousness on my part, as I have never quite gotten used to the tenseness one sometimes feels when first going up on psychedelics). Because I was starting to feel a bit uneasy and sensed that I needed some support and reassurance, I asked my wife to come into the room and she sat with me on the bed. After talking to her for a few 140 minutes, I realized that all I could really do was lie back, close my eyes and let the mushrooms take me wherever they would. For the next hour, I continued to go deeper and deeper into the effects and could feel my ego starting to dissolve into a sort of nothingness, i.e., a rather rapid dissolution of the boundaries between this reality and that of the fully psychedelicized mushroom state. All of a sudden, everything shifted dramatically, in that it seemed as if I suddenly "woke up" and became aware that the true nature of time and my personal being was that of an endless and infinite cycle. When I say "woke up," it felt as if I had just emerged from a long sleep where I had dreamed that the person I thought I was and the life that I thought I had been living was not really who and what I was at all and that this "new" waking reality was in fact my actual reality and always had been. (Reflecting on this part of the experience later, I was reminded of an old Zen poem that has a line that goes something like, "Am I a man who dreamed he was a butterfly, or am I a butterfly now dreaming he is a man?" that perfectly describes exactly what that experience was like for me). Stranger still, I felt as if I was suddenly caught up in the "winds of time" and was now being carried rapidly through different corridors of time, where I could view all of my past lives and existences. In this astonishing space, I felt that I had been and still was eternally cycling through countless numbers of previous and future lives, some that had been good, some that had been unpleasant, and some that were yet to be. In rapid succession, I saw how I had lived and died in each of these past lives (there seemed to be more than I could count) and understood that ultimately, I had little or no control over how and where I would reincarnate to next. (Let me also state here that, at the time I experienced this voyage, I did not hold any personal beliefs about the validity of reincarnation. I was fully aware that I was not actually dead at the moment, but rather my impression at the time was that the mushrooms had somehow flung me into the world of the dead while I was still living and that I was witnessing what happens to you after you have actually died. Speculating about this later, my overall impression of this part of the experience was that I felt as if I was an intruder in that space and that I was learning truths about what happens to people after they die that I wasn't really supposed to know; a sort of "spy" in the afterworld, if you will). Incredibly, my wife had suddenly taken on the look of a classic "alien being" or elf, and in my mind's eye, I flashed on the notion that she was in fact a sort of "guardian entity," a being who was always with me, but who usually remained out of the "normal" sight of my waking consciousness. It felt to me that I could now "remember" that as my guardian, he/she/it had been my guide throughout my entire existence 141 and had actually accompanied me as a guide, teacher, and protector through all of my past lives over vast eons of time. And then things got even weirder: I now flashed on the notion that this guardian entity and I were now in some sort of cosmic "way station." It seemed like I was suddenly "remembering" that this way station was a place that I returned to each time I was waiting to reincarnate into my next life as it now seemed that I had found myself in- between lives. (I perceived this "way station" to be somewhat similar in nature to what the Catholics believe about Purgatory where one's life is examined and judged on its merits prior to sending you off to your next incarnation). Again, as if waking from a dream, I suddenly "remembered" that each time I died, I came to this same "way station" where I would discuss the details of my previous life with my guardian, but that once I reincarnated, I would lose all memory of my guardian until the next time I returned to the way station. I had a deep sense of knowing that I had existed as a conscious being for a long, long time and that I always would. During all of this, it seemed to me that time had sped up and that whole days were passing by in seconds. After almost six hours, I began to come down and return back into consensus reality. This particular trip was one of my most intense with mushrooms and has really fed my interest in learning more about what is the true nature of time, what exactly is behind the idea of reincarnation, and the shamanic belief that it is possible to slip past the thin veil of "normal" reality, journey to universes that exist parallel to our own and return with important information. I have since learned that time themes and visions of past lives are a common theme of the psilocybin mushroom experience. (Worth noting here are my impressions of two other psilocybin experiences, where both had visions that seemed to be taking place "underground" or in tunnels or caverns. In one, I was moving along a series of tunnels, not unlike a circulatory system; in another, I was standing inside of a dimly-lighted cavern conversing telepathically about love with a giant moth that was glowing pink and purple!). My Most Intense LSD Trip Here is the story of an LSD voyage that I had many years ago that was one of the most intense altered states that I have ever experienced. This particular trip happened long after I had already become a veteran of numerous inner voyages with a variety of psychedelic substances. 142 Looking back, I can say now that I had become somewhat presumptuous about my ability to cope with the altered state, thinking that I would never lose the ability to deal with whatever a psychedelic drug handed to me. In part this had to do with the low dosage level of the average hit of blotter acid that was available at the time. (This trip took place in the late 80s). Most of the LSD that was around then probably only contained, on an average, about 50 micrograms or less. So it became a regular thing for me to take two and sometimes even three and four hits at a time and not have to worry about overdoing it. Or so I thought. . In those days, I usually took an acid or psilocybin trip every couple of months and I attribute much of my current spiritual beliefs to the things that I learned while visiting the psychedelic realm. So when I decided that it was time for another psychedelic adventure, I got in touch with a friend who usually had a steady supply or would know where to look for it. It was my practice then to purchase LSD in quantities of 25 to 50 hits at a time and I would keep these in the freezer and use them accordingly and/or share them with friends. I got in touch with my friend and although he didn't have any acid, he knew another guy who did. We hooked up with this person and he sold me a half-sheet of blotter. The hits were on plain white blotter paper with no markings and this friend of a friend told me that this batch was very, very strong and that I should only take one hit at a time, even if I was an experienced tripper. I thanked him and smiled to myself thinking that he was just being the typical good business man who was trying to pump up his product to some degree as just about everyone always said that their LSD was very potent, when it all usually turned out to be about the same: good, but with a low dosage level per hit as noted before. The following Saturday night (when I always took my psychedelic journeys) I took two hits, ignoring what the dealer had told me. I received my first indicator that this ride was going to be different when I started to feel the effects in only about a half hour. (Most of the LSD that I have used prior to then and afterward took about an hour or more before I begin to feel the first effects). The first sensations came in the form of a strong metallic taste on my tongue and a growing uneasiness that something was not quite right. When the LSD began to really come on, I began to feel as if I was being encased inside a timeless or "frozen" moment from which I could not escape. Time had suddenly stopped. I literally felt that all that made up the totality of "me" was beginning to shrink and disintegrate and my sense of Self was growing smaller and smaller by the second and that this Self would eventually fade completely away into a horrible nothingness from which there would be no return. 143 Before, I had always had the ability to know that I was on a powerful psychedelic drug and that I would eventually peak and start to mellow out into a smoother ride, even in some of the more intense trips that I had on prior occasions. But this time, I went up so fast that I had lost even that ability, in that I somehow could not recall, with any real precision, that I had taken a drug and became certain that I had entered into a place from which I would never leave and that my own psychological "death" was imminent. Almost panicking, I felt that I couldn't stay inside the house any longer and I went outside into my backyard (which was heavily wooded and which gave me privacy from my neighbors) and sat down in the grass. What followed was a complete and overwhelming consumption of my ego by LSD. I felt that my entire self, all of the "me" that made up my being, was continuing to dissolve away and that which made up the "I" of my personality was being sucked down into a final and horrible vortex of nothingness where my mind would become a blank slate from which everything had been erased and could never be retrieved. I remember thinking in horror that my friends and family would probably find me either catatonic or in a complete state of amnesia and that I would not even have conscious thoughts of my own being. I knew all about the phenomenon of ego-death that often accompanies some psychedelic sessions prior to this experience and thought that I had experienced this enough to where I could always revel in it, but this particular time was different, in part because it happened so fast and because I was not expecting the intensity and phenomenal acceleration of this trip. (I later determined that I had probably taken close to 500 or 750 mikes of very fresh and pure LSD; I have since taken this much LSD again, but I also had the luxury of being able to know what to expect and to "brace" myself for the ride!). I lay on my back in the grass for the next two hours struggling against my "death" until I finally became so worn out that I just gave up and surrendered to what seemed to be the inevitable. At that exact instant, the very moment that I let go and surrendered to this "death," my fear left me completely and I was suddenly in a place that was suspended in time and where I (or all that was left of "I" anyway) felt the most serene and encompassing peace that I had ever felt. Yes, my "slate" had been wiped clean, but what was left was pure perfection of self, unencumbered with all of the baggage that I had accumulated in my entire lifetime. To illustrate this further, for the rest of the trip, I found that I actually had to relearn or reprogram myself as to certain key concepts about everyday, mundane life, as if I was infant child, which, in the psychedelic sense, one could argue, / was. (And this may sound absurd, 144 but I even got out my driver's license to make sure I actually still remembered who I was or at least, who I used to be!). I went back into my house and after fumbling with the controls on my stereo system, managed to play some music. I marveled at the fact that such a thing of beauty as music could and had been created; I sat listening as I puzzled over hundreds of basic emotional ideas and dilemmas as if thinking of them for the very first time and as if these were alien concepts of human existence that I had never encountered before. After the experience of ego death and rebirth had subsided, I finally entered into a state of almost pure bliss, where I felt connected to everyone and everything, the sensation of being at "one" with all things, in body, mind, and spirit, aware of the true meaning of the universe. I'm pretty sure that this was a prime example of what is known as the "Clear Light" experience, as described by so many other psychedelic voyagers and Zen Buddhist practitioners. My life was never the same after this particular voyage, in that I retained complete lucid recall of the valuable lessons learned from the experience and have since used them to gauge my conduct and belief system accordingly. As with any death and rebirth experience, I don't take life as seriously as I used to in that I am not bothered as much by the day-to-day annoyances. I have managed not to allow too much baggage to accumulate and have simplified my life. And not too strangely, I no longer think of death in quite the same way, or fear it quite as much. All in all, while the initial ascent was a bit more than I had anticipated and is not necessarily something I would want to experience again in quite the same way, I do not feel that this was a "bad trip" in that I consider it as one of the great learning experiences of my life. 145

i don't know

October 30, 1938 saw Orson Wells induce widespread public panic with his radio broadcast of what HG Wells classic?

Radio's War of the Worlds Broadcast (1938) Review of Broadcast by the Federal Commission Possible SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON, Oct. 30.—Informed of the furor created tonight by the broadcasting of Wells drama, "War of the Worlds," officials of the Federal Communications Commission indicated that the commission might review the broadcast. The usual practice of the commission is not to investigate broadcasts unless formal demands for an inquiry are made, but the commission has the power, officials pointed out, to initiate proceedings where the public interest seems to warrant official action. Geologists at Princeton Hunt 'Meteor' in Vain SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES PRINCETON, N. J., Oct 30.—Scholastic calm deserted Princeton University briefly tonight following widespread misunderstanding of the WABC radio program announcing the arrival of Martians to subdue the earth. Dr. Arthur F. Buddington, chairman of the Department of Geology, and Dr. Harry Hess, Professor of Geology, received the first alarming reports in a form indicating that a meteor had fallen near Dutch Neck, some five miles away. They armed themselves with the necessary equipment and set out to find a specimen. All they found was a group of sightseers, searching like themselves for the meteor. At least a dozen students received telephone calls from their parents, alarmed by the broadcast. The Daily Princetonian, campus newspaper, received numerous calls from students and alumni. Mars Monsters Broadcast Will Not Be Repeated Perpetrators of the Innovation Regret Causing of Public Alarm WASHINGTON (AP) The radio industry viewed a hobgoblin more terrifying to it than any Halloween spook. The prospect of increasing federal control of broadcasts was discussed here as an aftermath of a radio presentation of an H. G. Wells' imaginative story which caused many listeners to believe that men from Mars had invaded the United States with death rays. When reports of terror that accompanied the fantastic drama reached the communications commission there was a growing feeling that "something should be done about it." Commission officials explained that the law conferred upon it no general regulatory power over broadcasts. Certain specific offenses, such as obscenity, are forbidden, and the commission has the right to refuse license renewal to any station which has not been operating "in the public interest." All station licenses must be renewed every six months. Within the commission there has developed strong opposition to using the public interest clause to impose restrictions upon programs. commissioner T. A. M. Craven has been particularly outspoken against anything resembling censorship and he repeated his warning that the commission should make no attempt at "censoring what shall or shall not be said over the radio." "The public does not want a spineless radio," he said. Objection to Terrorism. Commissioner George Henry Payne recalled that last November he had protested against broadcasts that "produced terrorism and nightmares among children" and said that for two years he had urged that there be a "standard of broadcasts." Saying that radio is an entirely different medium from the theater or lecture platform, Payne added: "People who have material broadcast into their homes without warnings have a right to protection. Too many broadcasters have insisted that they could broadcast anything they liked, contending that they were protected by the prohibition of censorship. Certainly when people are injured morally, physically, spiritually and psychically, they have just as much right to complain as if the laws against obscenity and indecency were violated." The commission called upon Columbia Broadcasting system, which presented the fantasy, to submit a transcript and electrical recording of it. None of the commissioners who could be reached for comment had heard the program. The broadcasters themselves were quick to give assurances that the technique used in the program would not be repeated. Orson Welles, who adapted "The War of the worlds," expressed his regrets. Told Story Imaginative. The Columbia network called attention to the fact that on Sunday night it assured its listeners the story was wholly imaginary, and W. B. Lewis, its vice president in charge of programs, said: "In order that this may not happen again, the program department hereafter will not use the technique of a stimulated news broadcast within a dramatization when the circumstances of the broadcast could cause immediate alarm to numbers of listeners." The National Association of Broadcasters, through its president, Neville Miller, expressed formal regret for the misinterpretation of the program. "This instance emphasizes the responsibility we assume in the use of radio and renews our determination to fulfill to the highest degree our obligation to the public," Miller said. "I know that the Columbia Broadcasting system and those of us in radio have only the most profound regret that the composure of many of our fellow citizens was disturbed by the vivid Orson Welles broadcast. The Columbia Broadcasting system has taken immediate steps to insure that such program technique will not be used again." Chairman Frank R. McNinch, of the communications commission, declaring that he would withhold judgment of the program until later, said: "The widespread public reaction to this broadcast, as indicated by the press, is another demonstration of the power and force of radio and points out again the serious responsibility of those who are licensed to operate stations." Demand Investigation. NEW YORK (AP). Urgent demands for federal investigation multiplied in the wake of the ultra-realistic radio drama that spread mass hysteria among listeners across the nation with its "news broadcast" fantasy of octopus-like monsters from Mars invading the United States and annihilating cities and populaces with a lethal "heat ray." While officials at the Harvard astronomical observatory calmed fears of such a conquest by space devouring hordes from another planet with the wry comment that there was no evidence of higher life existing on Mars—some 40,000,000 miles distant—local and federal officials acted to prevent a repetition of such a nightmarish episode. As for the 22 year old "man from Mars" himself, Orson Welles, youthful actor manager and theatrical prodigy, whose vivid dramatization of H. G. Wells' imaginative "The War of the Worlds" jumped the pulse beat of radio listeners, declared himself "just stunned" by the reaction. "Everything seems like a dream," he said. The Columbia Broadcasting system whose network sent the spine chilling dramatization into millions of homes issued a statement expressing "regrets" and announced that hereafter it would not use the "technique of a simulated news broadcast" which might "cause immediate alarm" among listeners. Military Lesson Taught. WASHINGTON (AP). Military experts here foresee, in time of war, radio loudspeakers in every public square in the United States and a system of voluntary self-regulation of radio. This is the lesson they draw from Sunday night's drama about an invasion by men from Mars armed with death rays. What struck the military listeners most about the radio play was its immediate emotional effect. Thousands of persons believed a real invasion had been unleashed. They exhibited all the symptoms of fear, panic, determination to resist, desperation, bravery, excitement or fatalism that real war would have produced. Military men declare that such widespread reactions shows the government will have to insist on the close co-operation of radio in any future war. The experts believe this could be accomplished by voluntary agreement among the radio stations to refrain from over-dramatizing war announcements which would react on the public like Sunday night's fictional announcement. They recall that the newspapers adopted voluntary self-regulation during the World war and worked in close co-operation with the government. Moreover, since radio admittedly has so immediate an effect, the experts believe every person in the United States will have to be given facilities for listening in if war ever comes. Consequently radios with loud speakers will have to be installed in all public squares, large and small. Persons not having radios in their homes can listen in through those. Canada to Take No Action. TORONTO (Canadian Press). Gordon Conant, attorney general of Ontario, said his department did not plan action over the broadcast of a realistic radio drama which, emanating from the United States and re-broadcast here, caused widespread alarm. "I don’t know of any action we could take," Conant said. "The difficulty is that only after these things happen can it be decided that they are not in the public interest. It is certainly not in the public interest that such broadcasts should be allowed." Radio Chain Heads Called Broadcast Problem Raised by the Welles Program. WASHINGTON (INS). Presidents of the nation's three major broadcasting chains were invited by Chairman Frank R. McNinch, of the federal communications commission, to a conference here late next week to discuss the use of the newspaper term "flash" on radio programs. McNinch issued the invitations to the presidents of the National Broadcasting company, the Columbia Broadcasting company and the Mutual Broadcasting system, he said, to discuss "especially the frequent and, at times, misleading use of the newspaper term 'flash.'" This step was taken by the FCC chairman in connection with last Sunday night's broadcast, "The War of the Worlds." The word "flash" was used in the broadcast to dramatize the H. G. Wells' imaginative story of an attack on this planet by "monsters from Mars." Many protests were received by the commission against the broadcast. The commission will meet in secret session next week to listen to a reproduction of the dramatization as recorded on discs. The conference with the radio chain chieftains will follow. In announcing the conference, McNinch said: "I have heard the opinion often expressed within the industry as well as outside that the practice of using 'flash,' as well as 'bulletin,' is overworked and results in misleading the public. It is hoped and believed that a discussion on this subject may lead to a clearer differentiation between bonafide news matter of first rank importance and that which is of only ordinary importance or which finds place in dramatics or advertising." Book Excerpts, by Prof. David L. Miller David L. Miller, a professor of sociology at Western Illinois University, has given me permission to include some excerpts from his recently published book, "Introduction to Collective Behavior and Collective Action" (Waveland Publishing, Inc. (2000), ISBN 1-57766-105-2). The book devotes several pages to a discussion of the War of the Worlds broadcast, which Miller says has been a "sociological hobby" of his for nearly 30 years. Miller believes (and says he is not original in this view) that "in the days following the broadcast, the print media greatly exaggerated the nationwide reaction. In part, this was because it was a darn good story, but also because the print media were greatly concerned with the degree to which radio was cutting into their preserve of reporting the news." CHAPTER 5 MASS HYSTERIA Hadley Cantril's (1966) study of the War of the Worlds broadcast and Donald M. Johnson's (1945) study of the Phantom Anesthetist are considered to be classic studies of mass hysteria. [...] Probably the most widely known event to be generally considered a mass hysteria occurred on Sunday evening, October 30, 1938. Orson Welles and his CBS Mercury Theater group presented an adaptation of one of H. G. Welles's then lesser-known short stories, "The War of the Worlds," which described a nineteenth-century Martian invasion of England. The Mercury Theater adaptation was set in the present (1938) and took place in the United States. Perhaps Welles's most consequential decision was to use an "open format" during the first half of the show. Instead of using the conventional dramatic format of background music, narration, and dialogue, the first announcements of the Martian invasion took the form of simulated news bulletins, interrupting a program of dance music. Welles's second most consequential decision was to use the names of actual New Jersey and New York towns, highways, streets, and buildings when describing the movements and attacks of the Martians. These two decisions, plus the fact that most listeners tuned in eight to twelve minutes late and therefore missed the Mercury Theater theme and introduction, set the stage for what was to follow. Thousands of people across the United States assumed they were listening to real news bulletins and public announcements. A substantial portion of these listeners became very frightened and attempted to call police, the National Guards, hospitals, newspapers, and radio stations for information. In addition, people tried to contact family members, friends, and neighbors. By the time Mercury Theater's first station break came, informing people they were listening to a CBS radio drama, most of the broadcast's damage had been done. The next day, newspapers across the country carried stories of terrorized people hiding in basements, panic flight from New Jersey and New York, stampedes in theaters, heart attacks, miscarriages, and even suicides. During the months that followed, these stories were shown to have little if any substance, yet today the myth of War of the Worlds stampedes and suicides persists as part of American folklore. One clear and certain result of the broadcast, however, was a number of Federal Communication Commission regulations, issued within weeks of the broadcast, prohibiting the use of the open format in radio drama. [...] Cantril's (1966) study of "The War of the Worlds" broadcast concludes that about 20 percent of those listening to all or part of the broadcast exhibited hysterical panic reactions. [...] Without question, listeners were frightened by the War of the Worlds broadcast; Mattoon residents were convinced their dizziness and nausea were caused by the phantom's gas; workers were hospitalized for days with rashes, rapid heart beat, and nausea during the June bug epidemic; and farmers were convinced their cattle had died in a mysterious manner. Those who studied these events from the standpoint of mass hysteria described these reactions as psychogenic or mass sociogenic illness. In other words, from the standpoint of mass hysteria, fear reactions to the War of the Worlds broadcast were abnormally severe, given the nature of the show. Likewise, it was concluded that the physical symptoms reported in the Riverside emergency room, during the Stairway of the Stars concert, and during the phantom anesthetist and June bug episodes had no organic cause. It was also concluded that the mysterious cattle mutilations were either totally imaginary or the work of scavengers combined with normal decomposition. [...] The weakness of the psychogenic explanation is perhaps most obvious when we consider the reactions to the War of the Worlds broadcast. Again, we should emphasize that the War of the Worlds was not an ordinary radio drama. As mentioned above, the first half of the show used an open format in which the entire story line was developed through the use of simulated news bulletins and on-the-scene reports. The second half of the show used a conventional dramatic format. Many discussions of the War of the Worlds read as if listeners panicked at the very beginning of the broadcast and remained terrorized throughout the show and much of the evening. In fact, a ten-minute segment in the first half of the broadcast caused most of the trouble. In the days following the show, newspaper columnists and public officials expressed dismay at the "incredible stupidity," "gullibility," and "hysteria" of listeners. Many popular accounts claim that the broadcast was interrupted several times for special announcements that a play was in progress. Listeners, however, had apparently been too panicked to notice them. These extreme psychogenic assumptions are, for the most part, unwarranted and inaccurate. For example, other than Mercury Theater's one-minute introduction (which most listeners missed), the station break at the middle of the broadcast, and the signoff, there were no announcements, special or otherwise, to indicate that a play was on the air. Further, Mercury Theater was being presented by CBS as a public service broadcast, and there were no commercials from which listeners might conclude that they were listening to a drama (Houseman 1948). Cantril (1966) and Houseman (1948) indicate that most listeners, and virtually all of those who became frightened, tuned in Mercury Theater about twelve minutes after it began. These listeners joined the broadcast during an on-the-scene news report from a farm near Grovers Mill, New Jersey-an actual town located between Princeton and Trenton-where a large meteor had landed. Welles's careful direction meticulously created all the character of a remote broadcast, including static and microphone feedback and background sounds of autos, sirens, and the voices of spectators and police. Twelve minutes from the beginning of Mercury Theater newscaster Carl Phillips (played by radio actor Frank Readick) was concluding a rather awkward interview with a Mr. Wilmuth, the owner of the farm where the meteor had landed. Phillips broke off his interview with the annoyingly inarticulate Mr. Wilmuth by providing listeners with a detailed description of the meteor. During this description, Phillips called the listeners' attention to mysterious sounds coming from the meteor, and fought to maintain his composure as he described the incredible and horrible creatures emerging from the pit where the meteor had landed. Background sounds of angry police and confused, frightened, and milling spectators provided a brilliant counterpoint to Phillips's stammering narration. At this point, Phillips signed off temporarily to "take up a safer position" from which to continue the broadcast. For what seemed a very long time, a studio piano played "Clair de Lune," filling in the empty airspace. Finally, an anonymous studio announcer broke in with, "We are bringing you an eyewitness account of what's happening on the Wilmuth farm, Grovers Mill, New Jersey." After more empty airspace, Carl Phillips returned. Apparently unsure of whether he was on the air, Phillips continued to describe the monsters. The tempo of his reporting increased until Phillips was almost incoherent. In the background, the sound of terrified voices, screams, and the monsters' strange fire weapon merged into a chaotic and hair-raising din. Then, abruptly, there was dead silence. After an unbearably long period of empty airspace, the studio announcer broke in with, "Ladies and gentlemen, due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to continue the broadcast from Grovers Mill. Evidently there is some difficulty in our field transmission" (Cantril 1966:17-18). This segment of the broadcast lasted less than five minutes, but, according to later interviews, it caused most of the fright. The technical brilliance of the broadcast aside, how could an event as seemingly unlikely as a Martian invasion be readily interpreted as real? Part of the answer to this question lies in the fact that the monsters were never clearly identified as Martians until several minutes after Carl Phillips's segment of the broadcast. It is likely that some people who became confused and frightened was Frank Readick's interpretation of an on-the-scene news reporter. Readick was inspired by the eyewitness description of the explosion of the zeppelin Hindenburg, which had occurred on May 6, 1937, at Lakehurst, New Jersey. In this world-famous broadcast, the reporter was describing the uneventful landing of the Hindenburg when it suddenly exploded with spectacular and deadly force. The reporter struggled to remain coherent, and his tearful, second-by-second description was heard by millions. The day of the War of the Worlds broadcast, Readick spent hours listening to the Hindenburg recording (Houseman 1948). His interpretation of the Martian attack created a sense of deja vu. The emotion, the stammering, and even the tempo of Carl Phillips's narration reminds one of the Hindenburg disaster. Frank Readick's blending of the real and imaginary must have been very disconcerting for those who had heard the Hindenburg broadcast eighteen months earlier. After Carl Phillips's "death" and until the first station break, the broadcast consisted of a collage of news bulletins, public announcements, and on-the-scene reports. Taken sequentially, these bulletins and reports seemed to describe the Martians' utter destruction of the New Jersey National Guard, a devastating Martian advance across New Jersey, and, by the end of the first half of the show, massive nerve gas attacks on New York City. Events of such magnitude could hardly occur in a period of less than fifteen minutes. About 25 percent of the listeners who had become frightened quickly concluded that they were listening to a radio drama because of this time distortion and other internal inconsistencies of the broadcast (Cantril 1966:106-107). Most of the frightened listeners did not perceive the impossibility of a fifteen-minute sweep of the East Coast by Martians. Cantril describes these people as experiencing the most severe symptoms of panic: their critical abilities had been so swept away that they continued to believe the impossible. Cantril's data, however, suggest an alternate interpretation of this group's behavior. Quite simply, many of Cantril's interviews suggest that listeners perceived the reported events as occurring simultaneously rather than sequentially. Nothing in the first part of the broadcast definitely stated that the Martians who had landed at Grovers Mill were the same Martians who, moments later, were reported to be marching across New Jersey or attacking New York City. Listeners who failed to perceive a time distortion in the broadcast had not necessarily lost their critical abilities. Rather, they were perceiving the news bulletins and on-the-scene reports as an understandably confusing and disordered collage of information pouring in simultaneously from all across the nation. The psychogenic, or hysteria, explanation of people's reactions to the War of the Worlds broadcast severely underplays the unique and unsettling character of the show. Cantril poses the question: "Why did this broadcast frighten some people when other fantastic broadcasts do not?" He provides a partial answer when he considers the realistic way in which the program was put together (Cantril 1966:67-76). Houseman (1948) provides even more insight when he discusses the "technical brilliance" of the show that emerged under Orson Welles's direction. If we take into account the unique character of the War of the Worlds broadcast, we needn’t speculate that psychogenic mechanisms caused people to lose their critical ability and then to panic. Rather, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater staff of excellent writers and actors not so innocently conspired to "scare the hell out of people" for Halloween. They succeeded in scaring the hell out of 20 percent of their listening audience. In summary, the quantitative mass hysteria studies fail to show that the unusual and unverified experiences are widespread. In some instances, these experiences are reported by a very small portion of an available population, and in no instance are they reported by a majority. The quantitative studies also fail to clearly substantiate the hysterical nature of unusual and unverified experiences. Some studies have relied almost totally on the judgment of law enforcement or medical authorities that the reported experiences are of a hysterical nature. Cantril, on the other hand, fails to take the unique features of the War of the Worlds broadcast into account when he concludes that the fear reactions were hysterical in nature. Mass hysteria studies generally fail to distinguish mobilization as a distinct element of the episodes that prompted the investigations. Cantril, for example, alleges that panic flight occurred during the War of the Worlds broadcast but does not systematically examine his data to determine the extent or characteristics of this flight. Cantril also notes that telephone switchboards at CBS, local radio stations, police, and hospitals were flooded with calls from hysterical people. Again he made no systematic attempts to ascertain the nature of these calls. Likewise, Johnson (1945) noted that Mattoon residents formed neighborhood patrols during the anesthetist incident, but he did not attempt to find out when these patrols occurred or determine their size, composition, and activities. Such types of mobilization are probably more burdensome to authorities and disruptive of social routines than are the unusual and unverified experiences. Even though the mass hysteria studies fail to systematically examine mobilization, they do present information that, when carefully considered, provides some insight into this process. Though Cantril's data does not document the claim that the War of the Worlds broadcast produced substantial amounts of panic flight, a few of his interviews suggest that some people started to pack belongings in preparation for movement before they found out the news bulletins were a play. In only one instance, however, does Cantril (1966:54) discuss a person attempting to get away from the Martian attack, without regard for future consequences. Cantril received a letter from a man who spent $3.25 of his meager savings to buy a ticket to "go away." After the man found out it was a play, the letter continued, he realized he no longer had enough money to buy a pair of workshoes. The last part of the letter contained a request for size 9B workshoes. Houseman (1948:82) reports that Mercury Theater received a similar request for size 9B workshoes which they sent in spite of their lawyers' misgivings. The story of the man who decided to forgo workshoes in order to escape the Martians has a decided ring of the apocryphal. Rick Keating Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:06:52 -0500 From: Rick Keating [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Speaking of War of the Worlds I've been meaning to bring this up since Oct. 30, but I've been busy. When I listened to "War of the Worlds" on Oct. 30, I decided to page through a book I own called The War of the Worlds: Mars' Invasion of Earth, inciting panic and inspiring terror from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles and Beyond by Sourcebooks MediaFusion. In doing so, I saw that the book, which I hadn’t looked at in some time, contained the script for the radio show. So I decided to follow along for a bit. And I noticed some differences between the script and the broadcast. The first instance I made note of sounds like there's a fault in the original transcription disc. It's the part where Professor Pierson says "I look down at my blackened hands, my torn shoes, my tattered clothes..." I own six copies of the "War of the Worlds" broadcast on both tape and CD, and a quick check of three of them, the Radio Reruns tape, the CD version that came with the book, and the CD in the collection "Radio Tune in the Golden Age: The Classic Collection", all had a "skip", if you will, after "blackened hands", jumping to "and I try to connect them with a professor who lives at Princeton." And I don’t remember ever hearing the lines about torn shoes and tattered clothes (whether hearing the show over the radio or on tape or CD), so I'm guessing my other three copies-- and all other copies-- of the episode are all missing those few words. Or does anyone have a copy that doesn’t skip over that small bit? The second instance I noted comes not long after, as Professor Pierson reflects on how strange it is to be back in his study, life returned to normal. After describing how strange it is to be writing this last chapter in his study, Pierson says, "Strange to see the University spires dim and blue through an April haze. Strange to watch children playing in the streets." The three copies I checked are all missing that first sentence, and there's no "skip", as there was in the earlier example. Nor do I remember ever hearing the line about the university spires. Does anyone have a copy of the broadcast with that sentence about the university spires? If not, then it could be that the Welles and/or the cast made some last minute edits to the script and cut that line before broadcast. On the other hand, if people do have copies of the broadcast with that sentence included, it suggests later edits done, perhaps, as someone suggested in an earlier digest, to make room for commercials when "The War of the Worlds" was aired on some station around Halloween. I'm pretty sure there's one or two earlier examples of the broadcast differing from the script, but I didn’t mark those pages in the book that day. In any event, as I said, I don’t recall ever hearing those missing bits I described above. But I was curious whether anyone had, in either case. In any event, it might tell me whether I have later generation recordings. While I've never listened to all six copies one after the other, I have heard the story so many times that if there were any major differences, I'd have noticed it at the time and made note of it in my Radioshows database. So I'm guessing that were I to undertake such a task, I'd only notice various degrees of surface noise, improvements in sound quality, etc. The other three copies I own, for the record, are included in the collections "Old Time Radio Science Fiction" (Smithsonian Collection) and "The Greatest Old Time Radio of the 20th Century" and a tape from "The World's Greatest Old Time Radio Shows." For what it's worth, I don’t believe there's a second version, and whenever I've heard the episode, whether over the radio or on tape or CD, it's always been Ramon Raquello, never anyone else. Rick Date: Sun, 31 Oct 1999 15:33:12 -0500 From: Michael Biel ([email protected]) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: War of the Worlds—Who Was First? While listening to the classic "War of the Worlds" tonight a question occurred to me: When was the first time this program was rebroadcast? This question is complicated because there are two ways this program can be "rebroadcast." One is by replaying the recording of the original, and the other is by doing a new broadcast of the original story. In the first instance—rebroadcasting the original recording—there are two necessary factors. One is having the recording itself, and the other is the interest in rebroadcasting OTR in general. Until an incomplete version was released on Audio Rarities LPA 2355 in 1955 by Sidney Frey of Dauntless International, a recording of the original broadcast was not generally available. And during those years of the decline of radio drama's popularity it was not yet "hip" to be nostalgic about the golden age of radio. That didn’t come until about ten years later, around 1965 and 1966. It is probable that a few stations might have played the recording during those years. I was listening to OTR on Sunday nights on WVNJ Newark, and Dave Golden was making occasional appearances on WBAI, New York. They might have done it. An obvious time would have been the 30th anniversary in 1968, but on that night something else happened. Rock station WKBW, Buffalo, New York did an altogether new version of the story in their top-40 radio style using their own DJs and news department personnel on Oct 30, 1968. It is one hell of a performance, and it beats the Orson Wells original hands down. It is far more convincing, and is more consistent with contemporary 1968 radio than the original had been to 1938 radio. And the ending is different—not altogether a conclusive finish nor a happy ending. The following year they rebroadcast the tape and in the preface they described what had happened the previous year. They had done a lot of promotion of the program and had sent press releases and info to all of the public service agencies that might be affected, such as police, fire, civil defense, etc. Yet some of these agencies reacted to the bulletins in spite of having been given prior notice of what was being done. And they even got calls from listeners LISTENING TO THE BROADCAST asking when the broadcast was going to begin. That is how smoothly the style of the broadcast blended in with the everyday style of the station. They played records, did commercials, played their jingles, and covered the story like they regularly covered stories. It is a masterpiece. On a similar note, back around 1950 a station in Caracas, Venezuela likewise did an updated localized version and it was so effective a mob burned the station down when they discovered it was a hoax. Some station personnel died. There is a well researched article about this on a web site. (Anybody have its URL? The author was on the other OTRlist.) Conversely, National Public Radio did a "public radio" version on the 50th anniversary in 1988 that in my opinion stinks to high heaven. With a script modified by the original author Howard Koch, and using a highly overrated cast and sound effects done by Lucas' Skywalker Ranch personnel led by Randy Thom, it is extraordinarily unconvincing and dull presentation. I don’t recall hearing anything about NPR making it available for rebroadcast ever since, and I hope that this sham remains buried. They made it available for a limited time as a cassette and a one-track CD. Those dunderheads didn’t even have the common sense to put in cue points for different scenes as tracks on the CD. (Unfortunately they are not the only idiots who put out CDs like that.) There's one other factor about rebroadcasting the original 1938 program. The complete recording that we now have was not circulated until around 1971. I had been given a tape of it—complete with surface noise during the station break—about a year before the LP first came out, so it was available to a select few, but I don’t recall hearing it on the air until after the Evolution LP was issued. Michael Biel Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:41:58 -0400 From: "MICHAEL BIEL" [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: War of the Worlds station break I've mentioned before that I have a tape of the original War of the Worlds discs that includes the full length of the mid-program station break. This was edited out of the recording when the LPs of it were released, but my tape, which I obtained a year or so before the LPs came out, includes the silence and the slight surface noise of the original disc. I came across the tape this evening, and here is the all-important piece of information. The station break was twenty seconds long. So, if you are concerned about the accuracy of the timing of the recording you have, add twenty seconds to it to determine what the total length of the program was. It should be around 59:00 to 59:15 I suppose. I am not sure of what the length of a CBS hourly station break was in 1938. Michael Biel [email protected] Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2007 14:48:14 -0500 From: "MICHAEL BIEL" [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: War of the Worlds recordings Chris Holm noted that someone had cast doubts on the WOTW recording, saying it was a re-creation done the following week. I doubt that because that would be evident in the cast call sheets for the following week, since there would have been some different members and effects people needed for the two different programs. There IS a possibility that it is the rehearsal recording because there have been statements that the rehearsals of Mercury Theatre were listened to before the final airings. But I tend to doubt even this possibility. What I CAN tell you is this: The recording we know was credited to Manheim Fox when it was first issued on LP in the late 60s. The year before that first LP issue of this version, I was given a tape of this recording that includes surface noise for thirty seconds after the ID break announcement and before the re-join announcement. There is silence for 30 seconds—only surface noise. Thus, this is a line check recording. No other recording of these discs includes that break. I doubt that a re-creation the week after would have kept in the break at 30 seconds length. While a rehearsal might have done so to keep the timing exact, I also think that a rehearsal might have broken for a time-out break at that point, to relax, go over notes, and to regroup. In the 1950s, Sydney Frey issued an incomplete recording on Audio Rarities. The opening, closing, ID break announcements, and one other section are missing. The sound quality and surface noise are quite different. However, there is no doubt whatsoever that it is of the same performance. Although I have been in touch with Frey's daughter, I do not know if the original discs are still in her files. I also have a story of how this set might have been come to have been recorded and how her father might have gotten them. No confirmation from her as she was too young then to be involved. In a recent newspaper article about the CBS News Archive, there is a photograph of the archivist holding a yellow-labeled 16-inch disc that the caption says is the WOTH. I can tell you that this was not in the disc collection of CBS News when I saw the collection in the early 70s. Its the first thing I looked for. The entertainment division had a different archive that I have never been able to crack, and the discs might have been there. I and another digest member had been offered a set of WOTW discs at separate times, and both of us noted that the discs were dated as being a 1948 dub. I seem to recall a scan of yellow labels. Maybe that is what CBS now has. In the 1970s I was told by a man who had later become a supervising engineer at CBS that when he was new at CBS he had actually been the one to cut the discs of the program at CBS and had been ordered to smuggle the discs out of CBS. He told me that they were later lost, I think, when his kid brought them in to school for show-and-tell. A few years earlier I was shown a set of 12-inch lacquers in the possession of a very famous collector of a genre other than OTR. Did he get them at school?? But on the other hand, I was specifically told by another long-time CBS engineer who used to be a digester member that CBS New York never had any disc cutting equipment, just like CBS Hollywood never had any either. Yet my other source said he was there when a pair of disc cutters was installed at 485 Madison Ave.in September 1938 in time for the Munich Crisis. Is this starting to read like The DaVinci Code? I have been asked to be on a WOTW panel for next years FOTR. It has been my intention to try to follow up these leads. Wish me luck. And by the way, does anybody have any contact with Manny Fox? Is he still alive? Can someone confirm that he is not Sonny Fox? Michael Biel [email protected] Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:02:21 -0400 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Martians land in upstate New York Bill Jaker reported that WSKG was going to do a live recreation of WOTW with an audience and live music. I found out this morning (also too late to listen) that Ball State University in Indiana also did a live production with an audience and live music Thursday night. And while Bill says there will be someone there who had heard the original, Ball State says there will be someone at their production who had been in the CBS Building at the time of the broadcast. Bill also said: There's been concern expressed here on the Digest and elsewhere about some re-enactments turning campy, shifting the scene out of New Jersey to the local area or just not getting it right." I suppose that we could put the 1988 NPR version in that category, since I don’t think it was very effective. Doing a "re-creation" of how it was done in 1938 will not have any effect, nor will just a minor update as NPR did in 1988. But it CAN be effective if the script is thrown out the window and a complete update to modern style is done. Last week I did a presentation at both FOTR and at the NYC branch of the Assoc for Recorded Sound Collections about WOTW and MacLiesh's "Air Raid" which had been broadcast by CBS three days before WOTW with some of the same cast members. In addition to playing some segments of "Air Raid" (one generation away from the original 78 discs) and playing the middle break of WOTW complete with the previously unheard 20 seconds of surface noise where a station ID would have been inserted, I also discussed four other later productions of WOTW which had updated and changed the location to that of their local area to great effect. They were Santiago, Chile in 1944, Braga, Spain on Oct 30, 1988, WKBW Buffalo NY on Oct 30, 1968, and Quito, Ecuador on Feb 12, 1949. While there were some fright and outrage in the first three of these, in Quito the outraged mob stormed the radio station and BURNED IT DOWN, killing between 6 and 20 people. You can look up info on the web on these, but I played some segments of the WKBW broadcast that are not on their website. I have an aircheck of the 1969 repeat which I am not sure they even know about. One of my students had recorded it off the air in New Jersey, so there is fading once in a while. Here the update to the 1968 sound of The Big KB is VERY effective, much more than any other I have heard. I had a lot of people ask me where the complete broadcast is available, and it isn’t yet until I can locate the tapes which got moved from my office in the past few months. I'll post here when I have found it and have it ready. Michael Biel [email protected] Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2002 09:30:06 +0000 From: Elizabeth McLeod [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: WOTW Competition I know this was brought up one or two years ago on the OTR Digest, but I have forgotten the answer. What were MBS and NBC Blue airing at 8pm EST on October 30th, 1938? Those Mutual stations that hadn’t sold the time period locally had the option of carrying a sustaining musical program presented by the WOR Symphony under the direction of Alfred Wallerstien. A major chunk of Mutual did not carry this broadcast—the Colonial Network in New England carried Father Coughlin's paid program instead. Blue stations were offered another sustaining program, "Out of the West," a musical feature from San Francisco with Ernest Gill and his Orchestra, which they could carry if they hadn’t sold the time locally. Given that the Chase & Sanborn Hour was, according to Hooper, the most popular program on the air during the fall of 1938, it's not surprising that the Sunday-night-at-8 timeslot was essentially a throwaway period for the other networks—or, in the case of CBS, a chance to turn unsalable time into a public-relations writeoff by positioning itself as a "Patron of the Arts." An hour-long drama series based primarily on public-domain works, cast with actors working for scale, was a low-budget way for the network to eat a timeslot no one wanted, and the fact that Welles happened at that time to be the darling of the New York Intellectual crowd enabled CBS to look good while doing it. Of course, no one was counting on the sort of publicity they ended up getting.... Elizabeth Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 17:18:03 -0400 From: Elizabeth McLeod [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: WOTW Sources Does anyone know what we're listening to as far as the original "War Of The Worlds" broadcast? Are they all copies of copies of copies? Is there a single original transcription disc? There are apparently several sets of copy discs extant, with at least one set known to have been dubbed at Radio Recorders in Hollywood in 1948—a set evidently dubbed onto 16" blanks from 12" 78rpm copy discs, making it probably third generation at best. Copy discs are not originals, do not sound like originals, and should not be considered originals—and certainly shouldn’t bring the price of originals. However, a set of WOTW discs was auctioned off last year by the estate of Ralph Murchow, a prominent collector of radios and radio equipment for $14,000—and while I've never seen any positive authentication for these discs, it appears from a picture online (http://www.estesauctions.com/muchowpictures.html) that these could be originals. The discs appear to be Presto Green Label "Q" lacquer blanks—and this was in fact a professional grade of blank disc that was widely used for broadcast recordings in 1938. There are no paper labels visible—either they've fallen off or were never applied, and it's impossible to read the inscription in the picture to see if it sheds any light on the origin of these discs. There have been a lot of stories over the years about "original discs"—someone approached me a couple of years ago about appraising a set of "original WOTW discs" for insurance purposes—but when they wouldn’t at least show me a scan of the discs I got very suspicious. There are plenty of stories in circulation about "friends of friends' fathers who had a set of discs"—but without expert authentication, I would take all such stories with a carload of salt. Even if these $14,000 discs are originals, though, the audio quality depends a lot on where along the network line they were recorded. The only way to get a studio-quality recording of WOTW is to find a set of discs recorded directly off the program amplifier—and CBS wasn’t doing this in 1938, instead using various contract studios when recordings of various programs were needed. The quality of any discs found would be limited by the quality of the line linking the network to the recording studio. A recording of WOTW made off the line in Hollywood will be inferior in sound quality to a recording made off the line in New York. I can still hear their "noise gates" (makes quiet portions of audio even quieter, like silences between words, etc) working on my best copies of WOTW, I think that today's processing equipment is more transparent - am I hoping for too much? I have heard some other audio cleanups that are like NIGHT and DAY, absolutely incredible. Can that be done to the original WOTW recording? Maybe it already has, the original sounds like garbage, and with cleanup sounds as good as it ever will, now. So far as my own ears are concerned, none of the "digitally restored" CD versions of WOTW are worth owning—they seem to all be bootlegged off the early 1970s LP issue, and attempt to mask the surface noise of that version with poorly-applied noise reduction. Until and unless a set of authenticated original discs shows up for a real remastering, a mint/near mint copy of the LP, properly transferred, is probably the best bet for decent audio quality. This LP is dirt common, and can still be had fairly cheaply on eBay, although sealed copies are harder to find. In addition to the original double-LP issue, Evolution 4001, this transfer was reissued on the Murray Hill label (44217) and—as a single disc—on Longines Symphonette (4001), with all versions using the same cover art depicting the front page of the New York Daily News from the morning after the broadcast, against a lurid red-orange background. Look for the "Released by arrangement with Manheim Fox Enterprises" credit line on the jacket and the disc label to ensure you're getting the right one. If I had to choose, an original Evolution pressing would probably sound best, but the Murray Hill or Longines versions will still be better than any modern CD issue. The source discs for the Manheim Fox-authorized issue remain a mystery, at least to me. They are clearly not the 1948 copy discs. Has anyone ever actually seen them? Might they be the same discs later owned by Ralph Murchow and just recently auctioned? Manheim Fox was a 1970s theatrical impresario who had some business connection to Howard Koch (his name also appears in connection with Koch's "Panic Broadcast" book) but that's as much as I know about him. There are other LP versions besides the authorized Manheim Fox releases—the first version issued came out on the Audio Rarities label in 1955, but was of very poor quality and was not complete. Avoid this one unless you're a manic WOTW collector—it's interesting to own as a curiosity, but it's really not worth listening to. Elizabeth Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 16:10:57 -0500 From: Elizabeth McLeod [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Another WOTW Question Hello. Recently, there has been a discussion of "War of the Worlds," so I thought I would ask my own question. I know that Charlie Mccarthy was on NBC, and the Mercury Theater was on CBS. But, what was on Mutual and the soon-to-be ABC network? I have not seen this discussed before. Most of Mutual's eastern and midwestern affiliates were carrying a program of classical music—part of a continuing series of Bach cantatas as performed by the WOR Symphony under the direction of Alfred Wallerstien. Not all MBS stations carried this, however—the Colonial network in New England broke away from Mutual to carry Father Coughlin, and it's likely that many other Mutual affiliates around the country did the same: Coughlin paid cash up front, and the Wallerstien musical show was an unsponsored sustainer. The NBC Blue network, meanwhile, was carrying "Out Of The West," a program of "narrated" dance music from San Francisco under the direction of Ernest Gill. This was also an unsponsored show. Of course, not all CBS stations carried the Mercury Theatre—the program was hard to hear in New England, where WEEI in Boston broke away from the network to carry a local public-affairs program in the eight-to-nine PM slot. Elizabeth Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 13:56:08 -0500 From: Elizabeth McLeod [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: WOTW Studio With the 62nd anniversary of "War of the World" approaching, exactly where was the New York studio where the broadcast originated? If the building is still standing, is the studio still in use? CBS headquarters from 1929 thru 1964 were located at 485 Madison Avenue, a 25-story office building at the corner of Madison and 52nd in Manhattan. CBS didn’t own the building—they merely leased several floors, including studios, offices, and technical facilities. When they first moved in, the network occupied the twentieth thru the twenty-fourth floors (some of the studios were two stories high) but gradually took more space until CBS finally occupied ten floors of the building. WOTW was broadcast from Studio One, on the 20th Floor, home to most of CBS-NY's large-scale non-audience dramatic shows thru the radio era. The studio was converted for television in the late forties, and its designation changed to Studio 71. The building still exists, although it's been totally remodeled several times since CBS left. There is still a broadcasting presence—station WADO, a Spanish-language news-talk outlet, has its offices and studios on the third floor, but there are no links to the old CBS facilities. For many years, Mad magazine's editorial offices were at 485 Madison, but most of the building now houses a faceless assortment of public relations and law firms, insurance companies, and charitable foundations. On the ground floor you'll find a number of retail establishments, including a Leonidas chocolate shop and a "Body Shop" cosmetics store. On the 20th floor, CBS's former space is now occupied by a venture capital firm called "Northwood Ventures," with nothing remaining from the old days. Elizabeth Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 18:51:21 -0400 From: Elizabeth McLeod [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: The "Nelson Eddy Tuneout" Myth It seems to be taken as an article of faith these days that a fair number of people who were taken in by the 1938 "War of the Worlds" broadcast were deceived because they started out the hour listening to Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy, started flipping around the dial during the first musical interlude (this was supposedly typical behavior for many of the Bergen's listeners, who found the musical portions of the show dull) There is substantial, documented support for the idea that many WOTW listeners joined the program late—a CBS poll conducted the week after the broadcast determined that 42 per cent of those who heard at least part of WOTW tuned in while the program was in progress, but I seriously question whether much of that late-tuning can be laid specifically at the feet of Nelson Eddy, the Chase and Sanborn Hour musical star who is usually mentioned as the cause of the dial twisting. This is, to my interpretation of the facts, one of radio's more popular myths. It was Hadley Cantril who first discussed what I call the "Nelson Eddy Tuneout" theory in his 1940 Princeton University study "The Invasion From Mars," but his reasoning, and the statistical support for it, are rarely quoted in full—and if you examine his findings closely, you'll see that what Cantril's research actually determined is not what most OTR histories portray. Cantril sent out a total of 846 survey cards to people known to have listened to WOTW at least in part, asking if they had at any time during the 8 to 9 pm hour listened to even a portion of the Chase and Sanborn Hour. 518 of these cards were returned, with eighteen per cent of those respondents indicating that they had heard part of the C&S Hour that evening—and sixty-two per cent of those listeners indicating that they had tuned out at the conclusion of Bergen's first routine. This sounds impressive until you do the math. Eighteen per cent of 518 respondents is approximately 93—and 62 per cent of that is 57. In other words, Fifty-seven listeners out of 518 surveyed—or a bit less than 12 per cent of the total WOTW listeners surveyed—spun the dial to Welles after the first Bergen routine. This is significant, but hardly a mass tune-out for the Chase and Sanborn Hour—and most importantly, it doesn’t include the vast majority of listeners who stayed tuned to the C&S Hour for the entire program: Cantril's survey involved only listeners who had heard at least some portion of WOTW, without a "control group" of listeners who had been listening to other programs, and that leaves the results open to easy misinterpretation - especially when you consider that the C&S Hour had a 10/30/38 Hooperrating of 34.7, compared to the Mercury Theatre's 3.6: or approximately 35 million listeners for C&S compared to about 4 million for Welles. And, of course, if 12 per cent of Cantril's WOTW sample listener group tuned in after Bergen completed his first routine, we are left with the simple truth that an overwhelming majority of 88 percent of WOTW listeners surveyed by Cantril did not. And, if eighteen per cent of WOTW listeners had tuned over at any point from the C&S hour (and this figure must also include those who tuned from WOTW to C&S), we are left with the stark reality that a whopping 82 per cent of Cantril's sample didn’t hear any part of the Chase and Sanborn Hour—not Bergen, not Eddy, not Ameche—none of it. They were instead tuning out on Father Coughlin, or Alfred Wallerstien and the WOR Symphony or Ernest Gill and his Orchestra, or some obscure local public affairs show. Seen in this light, the "Nelson Eddy Tuneout" recedes into insignificance. Cantril's sample was of necessity a small one—but it does offer a perspective on this story that is based on fact and not on legend. The way the "Nelson Eddy Tuneout" is often discussed when considering WOTW is, to me, a sign of how different audiences are today compared to those of 1938. The style of music with which Eddy is most often associated, operetta-type pieces done in that keening singing-mountie voice, isn’t something that most people today are familiar with. Many of us don’t like it, so we assume that most people in 1938 didn’t like it—and the "Nelson Eddy Tuneout" assumes a much greater importance in the WOTW story than it really should have. What's missed in these discussions is a consideration of just how popular Nelson Eddy really was! Eddy was, in fact, one of the most-loved figures on the air in 1938, and was billed and heavily promoted as one of the stars of the Chase and Sanborn Hour - not just an added attraction, but a full-scale star, receiving equal billing to Bergen and McCarthy. In Radio Guide's 1938 "Star Of Stars" poll, Eddy was the overwhelming choice as best male singer of classical songs—continuing a winning streak which began in 1936—and was even number two in the "Best Actor" voting, finishing behind only his C&S colleague Don Ameche. Such was Eddy's popularity, in fact, that when he left the C&S Hour in 1939, Radio Guide marked the occasion with a full-page tribute expressing the hope that he would soon return to the air. In other words, most OTR fans today may not care for Eddy's style (although I personally think his version of "Song Of The Vagabonds" is quite stirring!)—but we shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming that listeners in the OTR era itself felt the same way, and allowing that assumption to give us a bogus perspective on an important historical event. Elizabeth (who heartily recommends Snopes' website as the most valuable bull-shattering resource on the web.) Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 11:02:59 -0400 From: Elizabeth McLeod [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: The Eddy Tuneout, Again it's Nelson's first musical numbers that got people switching stations to hear the early news interruptions and simulations; The "Nelson Eddy Tuneout" is one of those things that everyone's read about—and it's a great story. But it didn’t quite happen that way if you step back and take a careful look at the evidence. I've discussed this issue before, but it's always worth summing up once again for those who may have tuned in late. In his post-broadcast research, Princeton University Professor Hadley Cantril sent out a total of 846 survey cards to people in the New York-New Jersey area known to have listened to WOTW at least in part, asking if they had at any time during the 8 to 9 pm hour listened to even a portion of the Chase and Sanborn Hour. 518 of these cards were returned, with eighteen per cent of those respondents indicating that they had heard part of the C&S Hour that evening—and sixty-two per cent of those listeners indicating that they had tuned out at the conclusion of Bergen's first routine—NOT at the beginning of Eddy's first song, which occurred at approximately 2:17 into the broadcast. (Charlie McCarthy has a few quick lines in the opening of the program, exchanging a quip or two with Judy Canova, but this is far from a "routine." Bergen-as-himself is not heard at all before Eddy's song.) Bergen's first routine ended at 14:56 and was immediately followed by the introduction to Dorothy Lamour's rendition of "Two Sleepy People." The song began at 15:18, and Cantril's research indicates that the majority of people who heard portions of both the C&S Hour and WOTW twisted the dial at approximately this time. The point is worth repeating: according to the only available scientific poll of the actual 10/30/38 audience, only eighteen per cent of the total audience for WOTW had joined the program after tuning out on the C&S Hour, and most of those that did so—twelve per cent of the total WOTW audience—did so after the first Bergen-McCarthy routine: at the start of Lamour's song, not Eddy's. Extrapolating from estimated audience figures for that evening, a reasonable approximation is that the total number of listeners dial-twisting from NBC to CBS at this point fell somewhere between 480,000 and 600,000 people. Considering that the total estimated audience for the C&S Hour that evening was in the area of 35,000,000 people, this tuneout is far from a mass defection. Nelson Eddy was one of the most popular performers on radio in 1938—he was the overwhelming choice for Best Male Singer of Classical Songs in that year's Radio Guide Star of Stars poll, and finished second in the "Best Actor" category. His following was huge, especially among women—many of whom considered him, and not Bergen, to be the true star of the Chase & Sanborn Hour. And as Cantril's research demonstrates, Eddy simply can’t be held responsible for any "mass tuneout." Elizabeth Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2007 13:51:18 -0500 From: Elizabeth McLeod

The War of the Worlds

What Rudyard Kipling story, later made into a movie staring Sean Connery and Michael Caine, tells the story of two British adventurers in India who set off to become the rules of Kafiristan?

October | 2013 | The Enchanted Manor The Enchanted Manor a lifestyle blog by Barbara Jones Main menu Reply One of my favorite holidays growing up as a kid was Halloween; I loved dressing up in the costumes, treat or treating in our neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and then bringing home a bag filled with candy!  Today, kids celebrate the holiday by going to spooky haunted houses, trick or treating at the local mall or going to a Halloween party. Part of the fun of Halloween was selecting the perfect costume.  Back in the 1960s, the children’s costumes were often made by their mothers or sometimes they just purchased Halloween face masks from their local stores.  Luckily my mother was very good with her sewing machine and she made most of our costumes. When I was little girl, she made a clown costume and I wore it for Halloween in 1963.  She saved that costume and when my son was about 3 years old he wore for his first Halloween.  Many years later, my daughter wore it as her Halloween costume, too.  What a lovely family tradition!  That clown costume is now almost 50 years old and I will carefully pack it away and save it for my future grandchild to wear on their first Halloween!!    The History of Halloween Halloween, sometimes known as All Hallows’ Eve, is celebrated on October 31st.  It is a festive time for trick or treating, carving pumpkins, attending costume parties and maybe bobbing for apples … but what is the origin of Halloween and the meaning behind some of those traditions and customs? Some historians say that the origins of Halloween are based in the Roman feast of Pomona or in the festival of Parentalia or the Celtic festival of Samhain.  Samhain was an old Irish celebration held at the end of summer and it was on or about October 31 or November 1.  The festival marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of preparing for the coming winter.  Centuries ago, the Samhain festival was believed to be a time when the souls of the dead came into our world and would visit the homes of their relatives, some people wore costumes to disguise themselves from the evil spirits.  The tradition of carving pumpkins may have come from the Samhain festival and the custom of carving turnip lanterns, these lanterns were used at night when the children would be lead door to door to collect food for the festival.  People would gather and light bonfires and play divination games as part of the festivities. Halloween is also influenced by the Christian holy days of All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day when the custom is to pray for the saints and the recently departed who have not yet reached Heaven.  Originally the days were celebrated in May but in the year 835 Pope Gregory IV changed the dates to November 1 and 2.  The custom known as “souling” is the tradition of baking soul cakes to honor those in purgatory, then the soul cakes are collected by the children as they go door to door.  It is believed that the souls of the departed wander our world until All Hallows’ Eve, a date which is their one last chance to seek vengeance on their enemies and this is the reason the people wore costumes to disguise themselves.  In Britain, these customs were deemed unacceptable by the Protestants during the Reformation.  So when Guy Fawkes Night, celebrated on November 5, gained popularity those traditions were incorporated into that holiday. It wasn’t until the late 18th and early 19th century that the Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their traditions and customs to the United States.  In the early 20th century, the holiday known as Halloween gained popularity and was celebrated nationwide regardless of people’s social, religious and racial backgrounds.       Halloween traditions and customs The turnip lanterns were traditionally used in Ireland and Scotland for the Celtic festival of Samhain and the immigrants brought those traditions to the United States but substituted the turnip for the North American native pumpkin.  Eventually the American tradition of carving pumpkins became popular nationwide and pumpkins were grown commercially and specifically marketed for Halloween. Turnip lanterns were hallowed out, carved with faces and light inside by a candle.  During the Celtic celebration of Samhain, people would set the lanterns out on their windowsills to confuse the evil spirits from entering their homes and haunting them.  For Catholic children, it was a tradition to carry jack-o-lanterns to honor the souls of the dead as they went door to door collecting the soul cakes during All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day. Trick or treating is usually the highlight of a children’s Halloween.  Dressed in costumes, the “treat” when the children go from house to house is asking for candy and the “trick” refers to the mischief that would happen if there was no treat!  Trick or treating became popular nationwide in the United States during the 1930s. In the late 1800s in Ireland and Scotland children went “guising”, the children would dress in costumes and carrying carved turnip lanterns as they would visit homes and receive cakes, fruit or money. In Medieval times there was a practice known as “mumming”.  People would wear costumes and go to door to door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for treats such as “soul cakes”. Halloween costumes were traditionally ghosts, skeletons, witches and devils.  In the United States, costumes became popular in the early 20th century and the first mass-produced costumes started selling in stores in the 1930s.  Today, Halloween costumes include popular characters from storybook and comic book heroes and villians, while other more adult costumes are based on movie and television characters or sometimes current celebrities and politicians. In Scotland there was a custom known as “dooking” or apple bobbing.  Apples were floated in a large basin of water and people would traditionally use their teeth to remove the apples from the basin without using their arms or hands. Since Halloween is celebrated during the fall harvest season there is an abundance of apples available and during October the grocery stores will sell candy apples or caramel apples.  (Caramel apples are one of my favorite fall treats, I like them with or without peanuts!) Haunted houses are a favorite Halloween entertainment activity and there are a larger number of local and national venues that offer mild to extremely scary haunted houses.  Sometimes at the venues, they will offer corn mazes and hayrides out to the pumpkin patch and at the night there can be the possibility of encountering the Headless Horseman! Telling ghost stories at Halloween parties and watching horror films on DVD in the weeks leading up to Halloween can be alot of fun.  Television series will have special Halloween themed episodes or the networks will show Halloween specials, like “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”.  (Watching the Peanuts special is one of our family’s holiday traditions.  We also like to watch the “Nightmare Before Christmas” every Halloween … for more information about the Tim Burton film, please check this month’s post, Nightmare Before Christmas the Movie ) Share: Reply Or The date was October 10, 1938, Halloween Eve and the United States was beginning to celebrate the holiday. Things were not going so great in the world as the country was in the fifth year of one of the worst depressions it had ever seen and unemployment in the US was estimated at 15%. The world was very unsettled politically, Japan was at war with China and Korea, Germany was building a large military force, had just annexed Austria and planning to take over Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union was looking for allies to assist them against Hitler, but the US and Great Britain refused.  Closer to home in the United States a hurricane killed 600 people on the east coast and a huge meteor exploded over Pennsylvania . It was against this backdrop of anxiety and tension that people turned to radio programs to escape the reality their lives and Orson Welles was getting ready to air his adaptation of the  H.G. Wells novel the “War of the Worlds” ( Original Audio Broadcast ).  The radio drama that night started as a series of news stories interspersed with music.  While there was an announcement at the beginning and the end of the program informing listeners that the events were not real, many people did not hear that part of the program.  Newspapers reported widespread panic and hundreds if not thousands of people called their local radio stations, fire and police departments. The plot of the story is told mostly from the viewpoint of a dedicated radio reporter (played by Orson Welles) who follows a space alien invasion from start to finish.  The radio program starts with various radio reports about the initial appearance of the Martians in a field in New Jersey, to a scene where a brash army colonel gets melted by the Martian heat wave, to a scene where bomber pilots are incinerated.  During the attack the Martians use poisonous black smoke to subdue the defenders.  At the beginning the music is interspersed between the reports, but as the situation becomes more dire the reporter records his tale for posterity, if they survive.  The story ends with the Martians being killed, not by the best of human military might, but by germs they picked up from the humans. The adaptation is very good.  Welles transferred the location from outside of London to New Jersey and updated the weapons used to damage the alien ships.  He kept the same tone and narrative style and captured all the plot points extremely well.  The production quality was top notch for the time as well. In addition to the excellent staging of the show, Orson Welles was very clever about it’s production.  Wells had worked for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in its early days and it had only about 1/6th the number of listeners of its main competitor, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).  The Mercury Theater on the Air, Orson’s program, was in a time slot up against NBC’s much more popular “The Chase and Sanborn Hour”.  He had one key advantage in that his program was a “sustaining program”, which means they didn’t have a sponsor and had no advertising.  Orson knew the listening habits of listeners at the time and the timing of his competitor’s show.  He timed his “news” broadcasts to coincide with the commercial breaks when many radio listeners would change to other channels, these people had missed the introduction and were fooled into thinking the reports were real. The reports of panic that were published in the newspapers the next day were most likely exaggerated.  This was the time that radio was starting to pull ad revenues away from the print publications.  In addition to the fact that big headlines sell papers better, it didn’t hurt the publisher’s feelings any to make radio look bad.     Before closing I think it is appropriate to talk a bit about the original work by H.G. Wells .  “The War of the Worlds” .  It was one of the first stories about wars with aliens.  The first person style where you never even know the names of the key characters makes it feel extremely personal.  His first book, which was a non-fiction biology textbook, provided a surprising twist to musings he and his brother had one day about what it would be like if aliens descended on the earth and declared war. The “War of the Worlds” has been in continuous print since it was published in 1898.  It has been made into numerous movies, radio dramas,  various comic book adaptations, a television series and spin off stories by other authors. In closing I want to thank Barbara again for letting me write another post.  Not only did I learn a lot researching this stuff, but I got to listen to the original broadcast again.  Quite fun and I would recommend it to all! Sincerely, Reply Traveling back and forth from the Midwest to the West Coast on our annual summer road trips, we have passed through St. Louis, MO and we have stopped several times to visit the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  The last time we visited, my husband, son and daughter took the tram ride to the top of the Gateway Arch.  (I passed on that experience, too claustrophobic!)  Inside the visitor center is the Museum of Westward Expansion, which showcases the Lewis and Clark Expedition in exhibits and displays. History of the Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is located on the west side of the Mississippi River near downtown St. Louis, MO.  The 630 feet high cantilever arch is the tallest man-made monument in the United States and has become an iconic symbol of the city of St. Louis. In 1933, a local St. Louis civic leader named Luther Ely Smith had a vision of a great memorial for the city and he sent a proposal to the mayor, Bernard Dickmann.  The idea was to create a permanent memorial to commemorate the great western expansion of the United States, which was inspired by President Thomas Jefferson and later achieved by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Eventually, with Smith as the chairman, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial Association was created to raise funds and build the memorial. Improvement to the riverfront area of St. Louis had been discussed many times over the previous years but with the Great Depression this particular riverfront project would provide 5,000 jobs for the local economy.  Eventually in June of 1934, both the Senate and the House passed bills in support of the project and later President Franklin Roosevelt signed the bills into law and additional funds were acquired to purchase 82-acres on the St. Louis riverfront located on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. The lands were acquired over the next several years and demolition of the dilapidated buildings and vacate warehouses along the riverfront began in 1939.  By 1944, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial Committee and the National Park service Director determined that a memorial design competition should be organized.  Finally in 1947, funds were raised and over a hundred applications were received for the competition and the committee narrowed down those entries and selected the five best designs for their review and then from those finalists the committee determined the winning design.  The winner of the memorial design competition was Eero Saarinen & associates which had submitted a very simple and modern design of a large arch to symbolize the gateway to the west with a surrounding landscape of trees and an expansive park area to act as a buffer from the nearby downtown area. In the following years, problems concerning the railroad soon developed and it took some time to resolve, the railroad tracks needed to be removed and redirected and a tunnel built near the riverfront.  In addition, re-grading of the proposed memorial site was changed from the original layout to improve the view of the memorial from the river.  New zoning regulations were also required near the area of the arch and it was determined initially that 275 feet was the maximum height for the buildings directly opposite the arch.       Finally, in 1959 there was a ground breaking ceremony for the memorial and in 1961 the foundation was laid.  Construction on the actual structure of the arch began on February 12, 1963 when the first triangular steel section of the exterior of structure was set in place, 142 equilateral sections measuring from 54 feet at the base and narrowing to 17 feet at the top of the arch.  From the base level to 300 feet, each stainless skin section covers two carbon steel sections with reinforced concrete poured between them.  The arch is hollow in the upper portion to accommodate the tram system that takes visitors to an observation deck which has small windows that provide amazing views of the city of St. Louis on one side and the Mississippi River on the other side.    During the building process, in order to keep the opposite sides stable, a temporary truss was placed between them and later removed.  Construction continued and over the next several years there were numerous delays due to safety concerns and lawsuits regarding union issues.  The memorial arch was finally completed and a dedication ceremony was scheduled for October 28, 1965.  Prior to the keystone being set into position there was concern that the legs would not align and meet properly, after several tense minutes and some minor adjustments the two sides were successfully joined together. The underground visitor center located directly below the arch was opened in June 10, 1967.  Inside the visitor center is the Museum of Westward Expansion, which opened on August 1977, has several hundred exhibits about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and displays about the 19th century United States expansion into the western territories.  Located to the left of the museum entrance are two theaters, one of the screens is four feet tall, that play movies pertaining to the building of the Gateway Arch.  On either side of the large waiting area within the visitor center are two separate entrances that access the north or south tram ride to the top of the arch, the tram ride opened July 22, 1967 shortly after the building of the memorial arch was completed. Things to know before visiting the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Tickets for the tram or movie can be purchased at the Visitor Center Ticket Counter; various combined ticket packages are also available and the cost of each ticket includes the National Park entrance fee to the memorial.  The spring and summer months are very busy and the weekends can be crowded.  Tickets can sell out and we would advise purchasing in advance online at www.ticketsforthearch.com or calling 877-982-1410. Currently all visitors to the Gateway Arch are required to pass through security.  If you have purchased tickets in advance, please arrive at least 30 minutes before your reservation time. There are many other sites to see or things to do near the Jefferson Expansion Memorial, such as: a riverboat cruise, a horse drawn carriage ride or a visit to the Old Courthouse which was the location for the famous Dred Scott case. For more information regarding hours, fees, etc for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and the Gateway Arch; please see the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov/jeff Share: Reply Our family has visited Sequoia National Park several times over the past years and we have enjoyed it every time.  The majestic giant sequoia trees that grow within the park boundaries are truly a wondrous sight to see!  My husband and son have also taken the Crystal Cave wild tour three times with a group of different friends each year and they truly enjoyed the experience of spelunking and being able to explore areas of the cave that the general public are never shown.  (please see the end of the post for more information about the wild cave tour) Located in central California, Sequoia National Park was established as a national park in 1890.  The park covers over 400,000 acres in the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range including the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney which has an elevation of 14,505 feet.  The Sierra Nevada mountain range was formed over 10 million years ago in a series of earth shifts and later over long periods of extreme cold weather glaciers developed and would move slowly over the granite rock to create deep valleys and ragged peaks.  These glacial forces also formed nearby Yosemite National Park. This area in the Sierra Nevada mountains was originally home to the Monochee Native Americans who lived in the foothills but during the summer months they would travel into the high country and go through the mountain passes to trade with the other Native American tribes in the East.  Throughout the park, the ancient Native Americans have left behind pictographs and at the Hospital Rock area there are bowl-shaped indentations carved into the rocks that they would use as mortars to grind acorns which were a main food supply for the Monochee. When the European settlers arrived in this area, a homesteader named Hale Tharp built a home in a fallen giant sequoia that he hollowed out and it can still be seen today on the Crescent Meadow trail.  Tharp became friends with John Muir , the naturalist and first president of the newly formed Sierra Club and together they saw the beauty in the giant sequoia trees and tried to preserve this region of California.  By the 1880s, the logging companies started cutting down the large sequoia trees but this proved to be an unsuccessful business venture when the lumber was determined to be unsuitable for building material. Then in 1890, Sequoia National Park was established and the giant sequoias fell under protection and all logging ceased within the boundaries of the newly formed park.  Over the years additional areas were added to the park as it increased in size.  The most recent expansion was back in 1978, when the Sierra Club succeeded in preventing the Walt Disney Company from purchasing property to create a ski resort.  This area in the southern portion of the park known as Mineral King and it is a popular place and starting point for back-country hikers. Most visitors enter Sequoia National Park by the southern entrance near the town of Three Rivers.  (Travel Note: Before proceeding into the park, stop and fill your vehicle with gas as there is very limited availability within the park)  Here in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range the scenery is mostly oak trees and yucca plants and as the road climbs through steep river valleys the scenery transitions into conifer forests of pine and fir trees.  Once visitors reach the higher elevation between 5,500 and 9,000 feet the giant sequoia trees start to appear and they are some of the largest living trees in the world, such as the General Sherman tree. After entering the park boundaries, the road becomes the General’s Highway.  (Of course as written in previous posts, our family always stops to take a photo of the National Park sign and these photos are framed and placed on our travel wall in our home)  The General’s Highway continues to climb higher and the curving mountain road can be a very challenging driving experience so take caution and observe the speed limits.  The first group of sequoias trees visitors will see once they are inside the park are the “Four Guardians”.  (Travel Note: We advise visitors to stop safely and pull completely off the road to see these massive trees up close; it is a humbling experience to stand among some of the largest trees on our planet!)   For more information about Sequoia National Park, please see their website at www.nps.gov/seki.htm Interesting sites to see in Sequoia National Park Moro Rock / Crescent Meadow Road Located in the southern portion of the park just off the General’s Highway is one of the most popular areas of the park and during the summer months it can be very congested so to avoid the crowds we advise going in the early morning hours.  The road is very narrow with limited clearance and it is not recommended for RVs or trailers. Moro Rock – This large granite dome is located at an altitude above 7,000 feet and the 400 steep climb to the top can be very strenuous.  Once at the top, the views of the Great Western Divide on one side and the Central Valley of California in the distance on the other side are truly breathtaking!  (Travel Note:  The climb to the top is very difficult and is not recommended for visitors with health issues or fear of heights due to the steep drop-offs ) Tunnel  Log and Auto Log –  The Tunnel Log is a fallen sequoia tree that crosses the road with a section cut out for cars to drive through that measures 17 feet wide and 8 feet high, for vehicles that do not meet these restrictions there is a bypass road.  (Travel Note: The Tunnel Log is a fun photo opportunity but please use caution when you exit the vehicle to take pictures and be courteous to other park visitors that are sharing the road with you)  Located nearby is the Auto Log which is another fallen sequoia that once allowed visitors the unique opportunity to drive their vehicles onto the tree.  The tree is still there but it is now closed because the increased decay of the tree has caused unstable conditions to hold the weight of vehicles safely. Crescent Meadow – This High Sierra meadow is a beautiful sight to see at any time of the year, but in the summer it is especially lovely and filled with wildflowers.  The Crescent Meadow trail is an easy 1.6 mile family-friendly hike, which takes visitors past Tharp’s Log and the Chimney Tree.  The Tharp’s Log was the home of Hale Tharp who lived inside this hollowed out fallen sequoia tree, be sure to take a look inside.  Located nearby is the Chimney Tree which is a burnt out sequoia tree, visitors can step into the tree for an unusual look inside a giant sequoia and it also makes a great photo opportunity.  (Travel Note: When we visited several years ago we encountered a bear in this area of the park, so please be aware of the danger and use extreme caution)    The Giant Forest Located near the center of the park is the Giant Forest area just off the General’s Highway.  The Giant Forest area and the Congress Trail is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to walk among several groves of giant sequoia trees.  It is truly an amazing experience to stand at the base and look up to realize just the massive size of these sequoia trees.  (Travel Note: The parking lot for the General Sherman tree and the Congress Trail can get very congested, especially during the summer months, so visit early in the day.  Also, please be aware that bears and other wild animals can be in this area of the park so use extreme caution) The General Sherman Tree – Within a short distance from the parking lot stands the General Sherman Tree which was officially named in 1879 for the Civil War General William Sherman.  This giant sequoia is approximately 2,500 years old and it is the world’s largest living tree when measured by volume and mass.  From the base, the tree rises to almost 275 feet and over 36 feet in diameter. The Congress Trail – The Congress Trail starts near the General Sherman Tree; look for signs that lead to the trailhead.  After the congestion in the parking lot and at the General Sherman Tree in just a few minutes this popular paved trail takes park visitors away from the crowds to enjoy a leisurely hike through a forest that contains some very large sequoia trees.  Notable sequoias along the trail are: The President Tree which was named in 1923 for President Warren Harding, The Senate Group which contains several sequoia trees that are over 1,000 years old and nearby several more sequoia trees called the House Group. Also along the trail visitors will notice signs of fire damage with several sequoia trees scarred by fires that occurred in this area over the years, a sequoia tree bark is very thick and contains tannic acids that is a natural fire retardant.  Sequoia trees also have a very shallow root system and along the trail is the Fallen Sequoia tree which shows visitors the exposed root system of a giant sequoia tree. Crystal Cave Crystal Cave Tour Information – Located in the southern portion of the park just off the General’s highway in a remote area is Crystal Cave.  It is approximately a 1½ hour drive from either the Foothill or Lodgepole Victor Centers. Guided cave tours are available from mid-May to November and visitors must purchase tickets at the Foothills or Lodgepole Visitor Centers.  (Travel Note: No tickets are available for purchase at the cave) Tours do sell out quickly, especially in the summer months of July and August.  It is advised to purchase tickets in advance, but there are certain times of the year when tickets are available only on a same day of tour basis.  Call ahead for information or additional questions.  (Travel note: Tour schedules are subject to change at any time of the year due to weather and road conditions or park closures) From the Crystal Cave parking lot to the cave entrance it is a strenuous ½ mile hike.  Please be advised that cave is not accessible by wheelchair or strollers and cave tours are not recommended for visitors with health concerns. Tours are recommended for school age children or older.  Smaller children or infants may be frightened by certain aspects of the tour.  Please be advised that during the cave tour, the guide will turn out all the lights and there will be a moment of complete darkness. Temperatures in the cave are a constant 48 degrees, bring a jacket.  Also, close toes shoes are recommended, no sandals or flip-flops. Due to the remote area of the cave location, bring water or snacks because visitors will be hungry or thirsty after their cave tour and strenuous hike.  Please be advised to keep food items in a bear-safe container when not in use. If you are looking for something a little bit more adventurous then the 45-minute cave tour, try the Wild Cave Tour.  As mentioned previously, my husband and son enjoyed this tour so much that they went three times over the course of a few years, always with a group of different friends and family.  I must advise, the Wild Cave Tour is very strenuous and should be limited to those participants that are in great physical condition and not fearful of tight spaces.  I am claustrophobic, so I have never gone on the wild cave tour, I know my limitations! (OK, please don’t call me a chicken!) Wild Cave Tour information – The Wild Cave Tour is a 4 to 6 hour tour limited to people 16 years or older and is only available on Saturdays from June through August.  Lead by experienced guides, the tour group is usually very small in size and it is an extremely popular tour that sells out very quickly.  For additional information and to register for the Wild Cave Tour experience, please call 559-565-425. Participants in the Wild Cave Tour will explore remote areas of Crystal Cave not open to the general public.  Experienced tour guides will explain the cave formations in detail and also teach correct caving techniques and they will also discuss current cave conservation issues.  Over the evening, participants will go into some of the most remote and rarely seen areas of Crystal Cave and at certain times during the tour they will experience total darkness and complete silence only broke by the sound of water dripping through the cave.  We would advised participants to wear old clothes and shoes because they will get very dirty exploring the cave, climbing and crawling through extremely tight and narrow passageways.  An extra change of clothes to wear after the cave tour is also advisable because nobody wants to ride back to their hotel in dirty, dusty or muddy clothes.  Water and a snack for after the cave tour would be a good idea, too. Share: Reply    I enjoyed watching Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show”, I thought his monologues had clever jokes about current topics, I liked when he performed the Carnac the Magnificent skits and of course I loved when his guest was Joan Embery from the San Diego Zoo and she would bring interesting animals to the show.  In my personal option Johnny Carson was a one of a kind late night talk show host and nobody on television today even comes close to his talent except maybe Jimmy Fallon. John “Johnny” William Carson (Born: October 23, 1925 Died: January 23, 2005) was an American talk show icon who hosted “The Tonight Show” from 1962 to 1992.  His casual manner and great conversational skills made him one of the most successful television hosts for thirty years.  During his long career Carson received six Emmy Awards and he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987.  In 1985 Carson received the Peabody Award, in 1992 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 1993 he received a Kennedy Center Honor. Carson was born in Corning, Iowa and his family moved to Norfolk, Nebraska when he was eight years old.  At the age of twelve years old he was inspired by a book of magic that he had read and sent away for a mail-order magician’s kit.  He practiced constantly and performed for his family and friends.  When he was fourteen years old he started performing a local events and county fairs. In 1943, after graduating from high school, Carson joined the U.S. Navy.  World War II was still being fought and after officer training Carson was assigned as an ensign aboard the USS Pennsylvania, he served as a communications officer in charge of decoding encrypted messages. After the war, Carson returned to Nebraska and continued his college education at the University of Nebraska.  He graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio & speech with a minor in physics. In 1950, Carson took a job in Omaha hosting a morning program at the local radio station.  He continued to perform his magic act in the evenings at local events.  A year later, Carson decided he wanted to move to California to find work in the new entertainment field of television.  He found a job at a local Los Angeles television, it was a CBC low budget comedy show called “Carson’ Cellar which ran from 1951 to 1953. In 1953, Red Skelton hired Carson to become a writer for his show.  A year later, just before show time Skelton had an accident and was unable to perform and Carson filled in for him and was a great success.  Then in 1955, Jack Benny invited Carson to appear on his show as a performer and was once again a huge success. Benny predicted that Carson would go on to have a great career as a comedian … I think he was right! Carson went on to host other shows based in California and he was a regular on the original “To Tell The Trust” game show until 1962.  He then moved to New York City to take a job hosting the game show “Who Do You Trust?”  At this time Carson met Ed McMahon on this show when McMahon was hired as the show’s announcer, their friendship lasted 46 years.  Carson worked on the game show for five years and it was the first time he was able to use his clever on-camera wit to ad lib and interview guests, the show was a great daytime television hit. In 1962, NBC invited Carson to fill in for the soon to be departing Jack Paar of “The Tonight Show”.  He originally declined the offer because he was fearful of the longer daily format.  Eventually he accepted the offer and he officially became the host on October 1, 1962.  The first year was very difficult as he tried to develop the show but the rating slowly began to improve.  Ed McMahon was brought in as the announcer and with his classic line, “Heeeer’s Johnny” he would introduce Carson who would open the show with a brief monologue filled with jokes and funny stories on the current topics of the day and he would always end the monologue with his icon golf swing as they would cut to the commercial.  After the commercial break, there would sometimes be a comedy sketch followed by guest interviews and sometimes a musical segment. In 1972, “The Tonight Show” was moved from New York City to “beautiful downtown” Burbank, California.  Carson had stopped doing the show five days a week by this time and for the Monday night show there would a guest host.  In the 1980s the show format changed from 90 minutes to an hour program.  Although Carson work schedule was shorter his salary at NBC continued to rise and by the 1970s he had become the highest paid person on television. “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” launched the many careers and the list of comedian that got their start on the show is very impressive: David Letterman, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Rosanne Barr, Ellen DeGenneres and Drew Carey.  It was always the highlight of a comedian’s career when Carson liked their stand-up routine and invited them over for a chat afterwards, allowing them extra time to show their stuff! Carson officially retired from show business and his final “Tonight Show” was May 22, 1992.  Prior to that final show and in the weeks leading up to the event, Carson invited some of his favorite guests from the last thirty years.  The night before the final show, his last two guests were Robin Williams and Bette Midler.  Williams gave one of his usual zany, high energy performances and Midler sang a few of Carson’s favorite songs.  The last song she sang was “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)” and everyone was very emotional, even Johnny Carson! The final show had no guests and it was a retrospective show with clips from some of his favorite moments over the last thirty years.  The studio audience that night was by invitation only and was “Tonight Show” family and friends.  More than fifty million people watched the finale and Johnny Carson ended the show with a heartfelt thank you to Ed McMahon, Doc Severinsen and the “Tonight Show” crew.  He also thanked the television viewers for inviting him into their homes and then he said good night. Post retirement, Carson made occasional appearances.  Two special ones were the 1993 Bob Hope NBC Special and in 1994 he made a guest appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman”.  He also was seen at the Wimbledon Tennis Competitions, at his home in Malibu or in Marina del Ray on his 130 foot yacht, the “Serengeti”. Throughout his life Carson was a very heavy smoker, in fact in the early days of the “Tonight Show” Carson would often smoke on camera.  In 1999, Carson suffered a severe heart attack and underwent a quadruple bypass surgery.  In 2002 it was publicly revealed that Carson had a terminal illness.  Carson died on January 23, 2005 from respiratory failure brought on from emphysema, he was 79 years old.  International tributes came from around the world but there was no public memorial service. Interesting information and facts about Johnny Carson Carson was married four times.  His first marriage was to Jody Wolcott, they married in 1948 and divorced in 1963.  In 1963, Carson married Joanne Copeland and they divorced in 1972.  In 1972, Carson married Joanna Holland and they divorced in 1983.  In 1987, Carson married Alexis Maas and they remained married until his death in 2005.  Carson always had a clever joke to say about his multiple marriages, divorces and high alimony payments. Carson had three sons from his first marriage, Christopher, Cory and Richard.  Sadly Richard died in 1991 in a car accident. In 1962, Carson replaced Jack Paar as the host of “The Tonight Show”.  Paar changed late night television when he always opened the show with a monologue about current events.  He hosted “The Tonight Show” from 1957 to 1962 and Hugh Downs was the show’s announcer.   Before Paar, Steve Allen hosted the show from 1954 to 1957. Paul Anka wrote the theme song of “The Tonight Show”, he later called it “Johnny’s Theme”.  When he took over “The Tonight Show” in 1962 Carson wrote lyrics for the song and as a result he was able to claim 50% of the song royalties.  Interestingly, the lyrics were rarely heard during those 30 years that Carson hosted the late night show. During Carson’s opening five minute monologue he made clever and funny jokes about politicians, celebrities and current events.  Occasionally, the monologue would bomb and the orchestra would start to play “Tea For Two” and Carson would do a little soft shoe dance. In 1966, Carson did a segment on “The Tonight Show” with Eva Gabor and they played the Milton Bradley’s game Twister, after the show aired the sales of the game skyrocketed. In 1973, Carson did a joke on “The Tonight Show” about an alleged shortage of toilet paper.  Afterwards, in a panic people began buying up large supplies of toilet paper, emptying the shelves of stores in the United States and causing a real shortage that lasted for weeks.  Stores and toilet paper manufacturers had to ration supplies until the panic ended; Carson later apologized for the incident. Carson played many different characters in comedy skits on the show, but his most popular was Carnac the Magnificent.  The character of Carnac could see the future and Carson would wear a large turban and cape.  Ed McMahon would give Carnac a sealed envelope with a question written inside.  Carnac would touch the envelope to his forehead and magically reveal the answer to the unknown question.  Then he would open the envelope to reveal the question.  Answer – “To the Cleaners” Question – “Where are Johnny Carson’s ex-wives taking him?”  If the audience did not laugh, Carnac would cast a humorous curse. Carson was an amateur astronomer and he owned several telescopes.  One of his close friends was famed writer and astronomer Carl Sagan, who was often a guest on “The Tonight Show”. Carson hated disloyalty among friends and professional colleagues.  When former “Tonight Show” guest host Joan Rivers got her own talk show in 1986, which was in direct competition with his show, Carson was angered by her betrayal and he never spoke to her again. Before Carson’s death, The New York Times published a story revealing that Carson, after his retirement from television, would occasionally send jokes to David Letterman, Carson enjoyed when Letterman used the jokes in his monologue.  Carson had always believed that Letterman, not Jay Leno, should have been the next host of “The Tonight Show”. PBS American Masters series, aired a two-hour documentary about his Carson’s life, “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night”, in 2012.  It is narrated by Kevin Spacey and features interviews with many of Carson’s family, television associates and other comedians. Share:

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According to legend, Henry Ford famously stated "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as" what?

Henry Ford - Wikiquote Henry Ford Jump to: navigation , search An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous. Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black. Henry Ford ( July 30 , 1863 – April 7 , 1947 ) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company . He was one of the first to apply assembly line manufacturing to the mass production of affordable automobiles. Contents Quotes[ edit ] 1910s I don’t know whether Napoleon did or did not try to get across there and I don’t care. I don’t know much about history, and I wouldn’t give a nickel for all the history in the world. It means nothing to me. History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's dam is the history we make today. Interview in Chicago Tribune (25 May 1916) An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous. Remarks from the witness stand, to a court in Mount Clemens, Michigan (July 1919), as quoted in Thesaurus of Epigrams: A New Classified Collection of Witty Remarks, Bon Mots and Toasts (1948) by Edmund Fuller, p. 162 International financiers are behind all war. They are what is called the international Jew: German-Jews, French-Jews, English-Jews, American-Jews … the Jew is the threat. Henry Ford, quoted in New York World, 1919, as cited in: Martin Allen (2002). Hidden Agenda: How the Duke of Windsor Betrayed the Allies. p. 55-56 1920s So, while the people are indeed supreme over the written Constitution, the spiritual constitution is supreme over them. The French Revolutionists wrote constitutions too—every drunken writer among them tossed off a constitution. Where are they? All vanished. Why? Because they were not in harmony with the constitution of the universe. The power of the Constitution is not dependent on any Government, but on its inherent rightness and practicability. Henry Ford (1922). Ford Ideals: Being a Selection from "Mr. Ford's Page" in The Dearborn Independent. p. 323; as cited in: William A. Levinson, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther. The Expanded and Annotated My Life and Work: Henry Ford's Universal Code for World-Class Success. CRC Press, 2013. p. xxix I've never made a flight in an airplane, and I don't know that I'm particularly anxious to. I would, though, like to take a trip in a dirigible . Bring one out here some time, won't you, Doctor Eckener , and give me a ride? Raymond J. Brown. " Henry Ford Says, 'There Is Always Room for More' ," in: Popular Science, Vol. 106, nr. 2 (Feb 1925), p. 37 I adopted the theory of Reincarnation when I was twenty six. Religion offered nothing to the point. Even work could not give me complete satisfaction. Work is futile if we cannot utilise the experience we collect in one life in the next. When I discovered Reincarnation it was as if I had found a universal plan. I realised that there was a chance to work out my ideas. Time was no longer limited. I was no longer a slave to the hands of the clock. Genius is experience. Some seem to think that it is a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience in many lives. Some are older souls than others, and so they know more. The discovery of Reincarnation put my mind at ease. If you preserve a record of this conversation, write it so that it puts men’s minds at ease. I would like to communicate to others the calmness that the long view of life gives to us. Interview in the San Francisco Examiner (26 August 1928) There's just one thing that's permanent in this world, and that's change . And when a man gets too old to change, why, then, he dies. And after that, who knows? Do we go on somewhere else? We'd all like to think so; it seems sometimes as though something inside us was telling us that we do. But if we do live on, then one thing is sure: The fellows who are afraid all the time that they may lose what they've got will lose out over there just the way they lose out here. And the big prizes will keep right on going to the fellows who do their duty and have faith. That's all there is to happiness , according to my way of thinking—just doing your duty and having faith . Interview with Bruce Barton, "It Would Be Fun To Start Over Again," The American Magazine , April 1921 Money doesn't change men. It merely unmasks them. If a man is naturally selfish , or arrogant, or greedy, the money brings it out; that's all. Interview with Bruce Barton, "It Would Be Fun To Start Over Again," The American Magazine, April 1921 1930s The provision of a whole new system of electric generation emancipated industry from the leather belt and line shaft, for it eventually became possible to provide each tool with its own electric motor. This may seem only a detail of minor importance. In fact, modern industry could not be carried out with the belt and line shaft for a number of reasons. The motor enabled machinery to be arranged in the order of the work, and that alone has probably doubled the efficiency of industry, for it has cut out a tremendous amount of useless handling and hauling. The belt and line shaft were also tremendously wasteful – so wasteful indeed that no factory could be really large, for even the longest line shaft was small according to modern requirements. Also high speed tools were impossible under the old conditions – neither the pulleys nor the belts could stand modern speeds. Without high speed tools and the finer steels which they brought about, there could be nothing of what we call modern industry. Henry Ford and Samuel Crowther (1930). Edison as I Know Him. Cosmopolitan Book Company. p. 15 Through all the years that I have been in business I have never yet found our business bad as a result of any outside force. It has always been due to some defect in our own company, and whenever we located and repaired that defect our business became good again - regardless of what anyone else might be doing. And it will always be found that this country has nationally bad business when business men are drifting, and that business is good when men take hold of their own affairs, put leadership into them, and push forward in spite of obstacles. Only disaster can result when the fundamental principles of business are disregarded and what looks like the easiest way is taken. These fundamentals, as I see them, are: (1) To make an ever increasingly large quantity of goods of the best possible quality, to make them in the best and most economical fashion, and to force them out onto the market. (2) To strive always for higher quality and lower prices as well as lower costs. (3) To raise wages gradually but continuously B and never to cut them. (4) To get the goods to the consumer in the most economical manner so that the benefits of low cost production may reach him. These fundamentals are all summed up in the single word 'service'... The service starts with discovering what people need and then supplying that need according to the principles that have just been given. Henry Ford in: Justus George Frederick (1930), A Philosophy of Production: A Symposium, p. 32; as cited in: Morgen Witzel (2003) Fifty Key Figures in Management. p. 196 The average man won't really do a day's work unless he is caught and cannot get out of it. There is plenty of work to do if people would do it. Quoted in The Zanesville Sunday Times-Signal [Zanesville, Ohio] (15 March 1931): On reasons for the Great Depression Let them fail; let everybody fail! I made my fortune when I had nothing to start with, by myself and my own ideas. Let other people do the same thing. If I lose everything in the collapse of our financial structure, I will start in at the beginning and build it up again. February 11, 1934; quoted in: Peter Collier, ‎David Horowitz (2001). The Fords: An American Epic. p. 108 Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it. As quoted in The High School Teacher, Vol. XI (1935), p. 60 What we need is some financial engineers . Saturday Evening Post , Feb. 11, 1936 My Life and Work (1922)[ edit ] Henry Ford and Samuel Crowther (1922), My Life and Work , Garden City Publishing Company, Inc. We have only started on our development of our country — we have not as yet, with all our talk of wonderful progress, done more than scratch the surface. The progress has been wonderful enough — but when we compare what we have done with what there is to do, then our past accomplishments are as nothing. When we consider that more power is used merely in ploughing the soil than is used in all the industrial establishments of the country put together, an inkling comes of how much opportunity there b ahead. And now, with so many countries of the world in ferment and with so much unrest everywhere, is an excellent time to suggest something of the things that may be done — in the light of what has been done. When one speaks of increasing power, machinery, and industry there comes up a picture of a cold, metallic sort of world in which great factories will drive away the trees, the flowers, the birds, and the green fields. And that then we shall have a world composed of metal machines and human machines. With all of that I do not agree. I think that unless we know more about machines and their use, unless we better understand the mechanical portion of life, we cannot have the time to enjoy the trees, and the birds, and the flowers, and the green fields. p. 1; as cited in: William A. Levinson, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther. The Expanded and Annotated My Life and Work: Henry Ford's Universal Code for World-Class Success. CRC Press, 2013. p. xxvii I am not a reformer . I think there is entirely too much attempt at reforming in the world and that we pay too much attention to reformers. We have two kinds of reformers. Both are nuisances. The man who calls himself a reformer wants to smash things. He is the sort of man who would tear up a whole shirt because the collar button did not fit the buttonhole. It would never occur to him to enlarge the buttonhole. This sort of reformer never under any circumstances knows what he is doing. Experience and reform do not go together. A reformer cannot keep his zeal at white heat in the presence of a fact. He must discard all facts. p. 2 The economic fundamental is labour . Labour is the human element which makes the fruitful seasons of the earth useful to men. It is men 's labour that makes the harvest what it is. That is the economic fundamental: every one of us is working with material which we did not and could not create, but which was presented to us by Nature. p. 9 As long as we look to legislation to cure poverty or to abolish special privilege we are going to see poverty spread and special privilege grow. p. 10 Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. There is no disgrace in honest failure; there is disgrace in fearing to fail. p. 19. Quotes in: Arch Wilkinson Shaw (1927). The Magazine of Business, Vol. 52, p. 182 Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black. p. 72. Chapter IV,  : Remark about the Model T in 1909; this has often been paraphrased, e.g.: "You can have any color as long as it's black." I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one — and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. p. 73. Chapter IV. Money is only a tool in business. It is just a part of the machinery. You might as well borrow 100,000 lathes as $100,000 if the trouble is inside your business. More lathes will not cure it; neither will more money. Only heavier doses of brains and thought and wise courage can cure. A business that misuses what it has will continue to misuse what it can get. p. 157 Attributed from posthumous publications[ edit ] You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do. As quoted in International Encyclopedia of Prose and Poetical Quotations (1951) by William S. Walsh A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. As quoted in News Journal [Mansfield, Ohio] (3 August 1965) When I see an Alfa Romeo go by, I tip my hat. As quoted in Alfa Romeo. I creatori della Leggenda (1990) by Griffith Borgeson You will find men who want to be carried on the shoulders of others, who think that the world owes them a living. They don't seem to see that we must all lift together and pull together. As quoted in Wisdom & Inspiration for the Spirit and Soul (2004) by Nancy Toussaint, p. 85 There's enough alcohol in one year's yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for one hundred years. As quoted in Biopolymers, Polyamides and Complex Proteinaceous Materials I (2003) by Stephen R. Fahnestock, Alexander Steinbüchel, p. 395 About Henry Ford[ edit ]

it is black

With over 491 billion sold, what is the best selling cookie in America?

Ford Model T - Ford Wiki Ford Model T Not to be confused with T-Model Ford. Ford Model T Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil Buenos Aires, Argentina Full-size Ford , Economy car, SUV Car body style 2-door closed cab ton truck 2-door Coupé 177 Cubic inch (2.9 L) 20 hp Straight-4 Transmission (mechanics) 10 US gallons (38 L) Automotive design Henry Ford , Childe Harold Wills, Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas 1908 Ford Model T advertisement 1910 Model T, photographed in Salt Lake City The Ford Model T (Colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie, Flivver and Mrelm) was an Automobile produced by Henry Ford 's Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile came into popular usage. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that "put America on wheels"; some of this was because of Ford's innovations, including Assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting, as well as the concept of paying the workers a wage proportionate to the cost of the car, so that they would provide a ready made market. [1] The first production Model T was built on September 27, 1908, at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan. There were several cars produced or prototyped by Henry Ford from the founding of the company in 1903 until the Model T came along. Although he started with the Model A , there were not 19 production models (A through T); some were only prototypes. The production model immediately before the Model T was the Ford Model S , [2] an upgraded version of the company's largest success to that point, the Model N . The follow-up was the Ford Model A and not the Model U. Company publicity said this was because the new car was such a departure from the old that Henry wanted to start all over again with the letter A. As it happens, the first Plymouth (automobile) car (1928), built by competitor Chrysler Corporation, was named the Model U. The Ford Model T was named the world's most influential Car of the Century in an international poll. [3] Henry Ford said of the vehicle: I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one - and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. Contents 11 External links Characteristics The Ford Model T car was designed by Childe Harold Wills and two Hungary immigrants Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas [4] . Also, Harry Love, C. J. Smith, Gus Degner and Peter E. Martin were part of the team. [5] While production of the Model T began in 1908, [6] model years range from 1909 to 1927. Engine and means of starting Main article: Ford Model T engine The Model T had a front mounted, 177 in3 (2.9 L) Straight-4 en bloc motor (that is, all four in one block, as common now, rather than in individual castings, as common then) producing 20.2 hp (15 kW) for a top speed of 40-45 mph (64-72 km/h). The small four cylinder engine was known for its L heads. According to Ford Motor, the Model T had fuel economy on the order of 13 to 21 mpg (5 to 9 kilometres per litre or 11.1 to 18.7 litres per 100 km). [7] The engine was capable of running on gasoline or Ethanol, [8] [9] though the decreasing cost of gasoline and the later introduction of Prohibition in the United States made ethanol an impractical fuel. While Ford experimented with the idea of using ethanol in the Model T, there was never a production Model T sold that could have been operated on ethanol. Henry Ford is quoted as saying: “We have found that 160-proof alcohol works very well in the ordinary gas engine on our cars and tractors”. And “Using alcohol in an ordinary Ford car, we are able to get 15 per cent more power than with the present gasoline”. [10] This statement is often cited out of context as proof that Ford made a production Model T capable of operating on Ethanol, when in fact it was only an unsuccessful experiment that was conducted many years after the design of the engine. Henry Ford's experiments were an attempt to show that a farmer could raise corn, make ethanol from the corn to power his tractors and trucks, and still have enough remaining corn to sell at a profit. The experiment was not successful on an economic and practical basis. Spurious accounts of an Atchison, Kansas Ethanol plant being operated by Henry Ford are found on many web sites but there is no contemporary evidence that Ford or any entity of Ford Motor Company had any involvement. [11] 1926 engine A flywheel Magneto (electrical) (broadly equivalent to a modern Alternator (auto)) produced low voltage Alternating current to power a trembler coil, which created a high voltage current. This ignition pulse was passed to the timer (analogous to a Distributor in a modern vehicle) and redistributed to the firing cylinder. Ignition timing was adjusted manually by using the spark advance lever mounted on the steering column which rotated the timer. A battery could be used for starting current: at hand-cranking speed, the magneto did not always produce sufficient current. A certain amount of skill and experience was required to find the optimal timing for any speed and load. When electric headlights were introduced in 1915, the magneto was upgraded to supply power for the lights and horn. In keeping with the goal of ultimate reliability and simplicity, the trembler coil and magneto ignition system was retained even after the car became equipped with a generator and battery for electric starting and lighting. Most cars sold after 1919 were equipped with electric starting, which was engaged by a small round pedal on the floor in front of the driver's seat. Before starting a Model T with the Crank (mechanism), the spark had to be manually retarded or the engine might "kick back". The crank handle was cupped in the palm, rather than grabbed with the thumb over the top of the handle, so that if the engine did kick back, the rapid reverse motion of the crank would throw the hand away from the handle, rather than violently twisting the wrist or breaking the thumb. Most Model T Fords had the choke operated by a wire emerging from the bottom of the radiator where it could be operated with the left hand while cranking the engine with the right hand. The car's 10 gallon (38 litre) fuel tank was mounted to the frame beneath the front seat; one variant had the Carburetor (a Holley Performance Products Model G) modified to run on Ethanol fuel, to be made at home by the self-reliant farmer. Because fuel relied on gravity to flow forward from the fuel tank to the carburetor, a Model T could not climb a steep hill when the fuel level was low. The immediate solution was often to drive up steep hills in reverse. In 1926, the fuel tank was moved forward to under the cowl on most models. [12] Early on the engine blocks were to be produced by the Lakeside Foundry on St. Jean in Detroit. Ford cancelled the deal before many engine blocks were produced. While the first few hundred Model Ts had a water pump, its use was abandoned early in production. Ford opted for a cheaper and more reliable circulation system based on the thermo-syphon principle. Hot water, being less dense, would rise to the top of the engine and up into the top of the radiator, descending to the bottom as it cooled, and back into the engine. This was the direction of water flow in most makes of cars even when they did have water pumps, until the introduction of Radiator designs. Water pumps were also available as an aftermarket accessory for Model T. 1925 Ford "New Model" T Tudor Sedan Transmission and drivetrain The Model T was a Rear-wheel drive vehicle. Its transmission was a Planetary gear type billed as "three speed". By today's standards it would be considered a two speed, since one of the three speeds was actually reverse. The Model T's transmission was controlled with three foot pedals and a lever that was mounted to the road side of the driver's seat. The throttle was controlled with a lever on the steering wheel. The left pedal was used to engage the gear. When pressed and held forward the car entered low gear. When held in an intermediate position the car was in neutral, a state that could also be achieved by pulling the floor-mounted lever to an upright position. If the lever was pushed forward and the driver took his foot off the left pedal, the Model T entered high gear. The car could thus cruise without the driver having to press any of the pedals. There was no separate clutch pedal. The middle pedal was used to engage reverse gear, and the right pedal operated the engine brake. The floor lever also controlled the parking brake, which was activated by pulling the lever all the way back. This doubled as an emergency brake. Although it was extremely uncommon, the drive bands could fall out of adjustment, allowing the car to creep, particularly when cold, adding another hazard to attempting to start the car: a person cranking the engine could be forced backward while still holding the crank as the car crept forward even though it was nominally in neutral. Power reached the Differential through a single Universal joint attached to a Torque tube which drove the rear axle; some models (typically trucks) could be equipped with an optional two speed rear axle shifted by a floor mounted lever. All gears were Vanadium running in an oil bath. The suspension components of a Ford Model T. The coil-spring device is an aftermarket accessory, the "Hassler shock absorber." Suspension and wheels Model T suspension employed a transversely mounted semi-elliptical spring for each of the front and rear axles, which were "Live axle", i.e., not an Independent suspension. The front axle was Forging as a single piece of vanadium steel. Ford twisted many axles eight times and sent them to dealers to be put on display to demonstrate its superiority. The Model T did not have a modern service brake. The right foot pedal applied a band around a drum in the transmission, thus stopping the rear wheels from turning. The previously mentioned parking brake lever operated Band brake on the outside of the rear brake drums. Wheels were wooden Artillery wheel, with steel welded-spoke (not truly wire) wheels available in 1926 and 1927. Tires were Pneumatic tire 30 in (76 cm) in diameter, 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide in the rear, 2 in (5 cm) in the front. The old nomenclature for tire size changed from 30×3 to 21" (rim diameter) × 4.50 (tire width).[ clarification needed ] Wheelbase was 99 inches; while standard tread width was 56 in (142 cm), 60 in (152 cm) tread could be obtained on special order, "for Southern roads". Design changes There were few major changes throughout the life of this model; early ones had a brass radiator and headlights. The horn and numerous small parts were also brass. Many of the early cars were open-bodied Touring car and runabouts, these being cheaper to make than closed cars. Prior to the 1911 model year (when front doors were added to the touring model), U.S.-made open cars did not have an opening door for the driver. Later models included closed cars (introduced in 1915), [13] sedans, coupes and trucks. The chassis was available so trucks could be built to suit. Ford also developed some truck bodies for this chassis, designated the Model TT . The headlights were originally Acetylene lamps made of brass (commonly using Prest-O-Lite tanks), [14] but eventually the car gained electric lights. The Model T originally employed some advanced technology, for example, its use of vanadium steel. Its durability was phenomenal, and many Model Ts and their parts were still in use 80 years later. Colors Henry Ford is commonly reputed to have made the statement "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." Actually, Model Ts in different colors were produced from 1908 to 1914, and then again from 1926 to 1927. It is often stated that Ford chose black because the paint dried faster than other colored paints available at the time, and a faster drying paint would allow him to build cars faster since he would not have to wait as long for the paint to dry. Over thirty different types of black paint were used on various parts of the Model T. [15] These were formulated to satisfy the different means of applying the paint to the various parts, and they had distinct drying times, depending on the part, the paint, and the method of drying. Ford engineering documents suggest black was chosen because it was cheap and durable. Production An "exploded" Model T from the Highland Park Plant now at The Henry Ford . T-model Ford car parked outside Geelong Library at its launch in Australia in 1915 The Model T was the first automobile Mass production on assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts, marketed to the American middle class. When introduced, the T used the building methods typical at the time, assembly by hand, and production was small. Ford's Piquette plant could not keep up with demand for the Model T, and only 11 cars were built there during the first full month of production. In 1910, after assembling nearly 12,000 Model Ts, Henry Ford moved the company to the new Highland Park complex . The Assembly line was introduced to Ford by William C. Klann upon his return from visiting a slaughterhouse at Chicago's Union Stock Yards and viewing what was referred to as the "disassembly line" where animals were cut apart as they moved along a conveyor. The efficiency of one person removing the same piece over and over caught his attention. He reported the idea to Peter E. Martin , who was doubtful at the time, but encouraged him to proceed. Others at Ford have claimed to have put the idea forth to Henry Ford, but William "Pa" Klann's slaughterhouse revelation is well documented in the archives at the Henry Ford Museum and elsewhere, making him the father of the modern automated assembly line concept. The process was an evolution by trial and error of a team consisting primarily of Peter E. Martin, the factory superintendent; Charles E. Sorensen , Martin's assistant; Harold Wills, draftsman and toolmaker; Clarence W. Avery; and Charles Lewis. [16] [17] [18] When the first car was completed using the assembly line, in front of the media, onlookers and even Henry Ford, it was Pa Klann who drove it proudly off the line. As a result, Ford's cars came off the line in three minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, increasing production by eight to one (requiring 12.5 hours before, 93 minutes afterwards), while using less manpower. [19] By 1914, the Assembly process for the Model T had been so streamlined it took only 93 minutes to assemble a car. That year Ford produced more cars than all other automakers combined. The Model T was a great commercial success, and by the time Henry made his 10 millionth car, 100 out of 10 of all cars in the entire world were Fords. In fact, it was so successful that Ford did not purchase any advertising between 1917 and 1923; in total, more than 15 million Model Ts were manufactured, more than any other model of its day. Model T production was finally surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle on February 17, 1972. Henry Ford's eccentric approach to research and development meant few changes to the vehicle were made over its lifetime; he believed the Model T was all the car a person would, or could, ever need. As other companies offered comfort and styling advantages, at competitive prices, the Model T lost market share. Eventually, on May 26, 1927, Ford Motor Company ceased production and began the changeovers required to produce the Model A. [20] Model T engines continued to be produced until August 4, 1941. Almost 170,000 engines were built after car production stopped. Replacement engines were required to continue to service already produced vehicles. Racers and enthusiasts, forerunners of modern hot rodders, used the Model T's block to build popular and cheap racing engines, including Cragar, Navarro (hot rodder), and famously the Frontenac (racing car) ("Fronty Fords") of the Chevrolet brothers, among many others. Price The standard 4-seat open tourer of 1909 cost US$850 (about £180 at the time, equivalent to $NaN/£NaN today), [21] when competing cars often cost $2,000-$3,000 (equivalent to $NaN-$NaN today); in 1913, the price dropped to $550 (equivalent to $NaN today), and $440 in 1915 (equivalent to $NaN today). Sales were 69,762 in 1911, 170,211 in 1912, 202,667 in 1913, 308,162 in 1914, and 501,462 in 1915. [22] In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay. [19] By the 1920s, the price had fallen to $300 (equivalent to $NaN today) because of increasing efficiencies of assembly line technique and volume. Henry employed Vertical integration of the industries needed to create his cars. He specified how to make the wood crates that outside suppliers used to ship him parts. Then he disassembled the crates and used the preformed wood pieces in the bodies of his cars. He also used wood scraps to make charcoal and sold it under the brand name Kingsford (charcoal), still a leading brand of Charcoal. First world car The Ford Model T was the first automobile built by various countries simultaneously since they were being produced in Canada and in Manchester, England starting in 1911 and were later assembled in Germany , Argentina , [23] France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico and Japan. [24] Advertising, marketing, and packaging Ford created a massive publicity machine in Detroit to ensure every newspaper carried stories and ads about the new product. Ford's network of local dealers made the car ubiquitous in virtually every city in North America. As independent dealers, the franchises grew rich and publicized not just the Ford but the very concept of automobiling; local motor clubs sprang up to help new drivers and to explore the countryside. Ford was always eager to sell to farmers, who looked on the vehicle as a commercial device to help their business. Sales skyrocketed—several years posted 100% gains on the previous year. Always on the hunt for more efficiency and lower costs, in 1913 Ford introduced the moving assembly belts into his plants, which enabled an enormous increase in production. Although Henry Ford is often credited with the idea, contemporary sources indicate that the concept and its development came from employees Clarence Avery, Peter E. Martin , Charles E. Sorensen , and C. Harold Wills. (See Piquette Plant ) Ford Assembly Line, 1913 Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. By 1916, as the price dropped to $360 for the basic touring car, sales reached 472,000. [25] By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. However, it was a monolithic bloc; as Ford wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black". [26] Until the development of the assembly line, which mandated black because of its quicker drying time, Model Ts were available in other colors including red. The design was fervently promoted and defended by Ford, and production continued into 1927; the final total production was 15,007,034. This record was achieved in just 19 years from the introduction of the Model T and stood for the next 45 years. Summary Ford was launched in a converted factory in 1903 with $28,000 (equivalent to $NaN today) in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Elgin Dodge (who would later found Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company car company). During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at its factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies. Henry Ford was 40 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the world's largest and most profitable companies, as well as being one to survive the Great Depression. As one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world, the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years. Car clubs Cars built before 1919 are classed as Veteran car and later models as Vintage car. Today, two main clubs exist to support the preservation and restoration of these cars: The Model T Ford Club International and the Model T Ford Club of America . Many steel Model T parts are still manufactured today, and even Glass-reinforced plastic replicas of their distinctive bodies, which are popular for T-bucket style Hot rod (as immortalized in the Jan and Dean Surf music song "Bucket T," which was later recorded by The Who). An Australian Model T Ford Criticism In a Time article by automotive critic Dan Neil, the Model T is listed as one of the 50 worst cars of all time. Neil blames the consequences of mass-produced automobiles on the Model T, including heavy pollution and war in the Middle East. Specific criticisms for the Model T itself are "blacksmithed body panels and crude instruments" and Neil refers to it as, "The Yugo of its day." [27] Image gallery

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What color is the tip on a standard piece of candy corn?

How To Make Candy Corn - Food.com Step 2 Prepare Sugar Syrup In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/3 cup of light corn syrup, and 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of water. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Insert a candy thermometer and cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract. TIP Watch the sugar syrup's temperature closely. Not reaching 240 degrees makes the dough too soft, while going over 240 degrees causes a dry grainy texture. Step 3 Mix & Cool Dough Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture. Stir with a firm silicone or plastic spatula until well combined. Pour the mixture onto a parchment-lined jelly roll pan or baking sheet. Allow the mixture to stand until it’s cool enough to handle (about 10 minutes). Step 4 Color Dough Divide dough into three equal pieces. Set aside one piece to remain white. Make a well in the center of each remaining piece. Place 5 drops of yellow food coloring in the well of one piece to make yellow dough. In the other, place 7 drops of yellow food coloring and 2 drops of red food coloring to make orange dough. TIP Use gel or paste food colorings to create the brightest colors. You could also try making different colors for different occasions. Red, white and blue candy corn for the 4th of July, anyone? Advertisement Step 5 Knead Dough Use your hands or a dough scraper to knead the yellow and orange dough pieces until uniform in color. TIP Knead dough on a silicone mat or parchment paper to protect counter tops from the color. If kneading with your hands, wash hands immediately after kneading to remove color, or wear plastic gloves. Step 6 Roll Ropes Pinch off a small piece from each dough ball. With your hands, roll each piece into a rope about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick. Lay the ropes side-by-side to form a strip with yellow on the bottom, orange in the middle, and white on top. Gently press the ropes with your fingers so they stick together. TIP Flatten the top of the pressed-together ropes by lightly rolling with a rolling pin, smoothing out the curved edges. Step 7 Cut Triangles Use a sharp chef's knife, bench scraper, or pizza cutter to cut the dough strip into triangles. Alternate cutting angled to the left and then angled to the right as you work down the strip. Repeat rolling the ropes and cutting with the remaining dough. TIP If your dough becomes too stiff as it cools, hold a piece in your hands for several seconds to warm it. If this doesn't make it pliable, heat in the microwave for about 5 seconds. Advertisement Step 8 Dry Lay the cut candy corn on a parchment-lined baking pan in a single layer, separating to prevent sticking. Allow it to dry, uncovered, overnight. In an airtight container, store the candy corn in a single layer, placing parchment between each layer.   TIP The candy corn will stick together, even after drying. To prevent sticking, lightly dust it with cornstarch and gently rub onto the top surface of the corn with your fingers. Once the top surface is coated, gently toss the corn with your fingers to coat all sides. This will dull the colors slightly. Step 9

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What WWII fighter ace went on to become the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound when he piloted the Bell X-1, nicknamed Glamorous Glennis, past Mach 1?

Learn everything you need to know about Candy Corn Candy Corn History of Candy Corn Candy corn has been around for more than 100 years. According to oral history, George Renninger, an employee of the Wunderlee Candy Company, invented the popular confection in the 1880s and Wunderlee became the first to produce the candy. The Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly Candy Company) started producing the confection around the turn of the century and still produces the popular Halloween candy today. Candy corn first appeared when America was largely an agrarian society. The tri-color design was considered revolutionary and the public went crazy for it. We don’t know if the fact that so many Americans had farm experience at that time, if urban dwellers found it charming or if it was some combination of the two that made it so popular. Lack of machinery meant that candy corn was only made seasonally, probably gearing up in late August and continuing through the fall. It has remained unchanged for more than 100 years and is a favorite at Halloween. How is candy corn made? In 1900, it was the job of many men to produce candy corn several months of the year. Sugar, corn syrup and other ingredients were cooked into a slurry in large kettles. Fondant and marshmallow were added to give a smooth texture and bite. The 45 pounds of warm candy was poured into buckets called runners. Men dubbed stringers walked backwards pouring the candy into cornstarch trays imprinted with the kernel shape. It took three passes to make the white, yellow and orange colors. Originally, it was delivered by wagon in wooden boxes, tubs and cartons. Did you know there’s a right way to eat candy corn? Find out how! The process of making candy corn is very similar today, but now machines do much of the work. Manufacturers use a method called the corn starch molding process. Kernel-shaped depressions are made in a tray of corn starch. Candy corn is made from tip to tip in three-color passes. First, the depression is filled with partially set white candy, known as mellowcreme. Next, the orange mellowcreme is added. The mold is then finished by adding the yellow mellowcreme and is cooled. After is it has finished cooling, the trays are emptied and a confectioners glaze is added to make the kernels a little shiny. At last, the little candy corns are ready to be eaten. Fun facts about candy corn: October 30 is National Candy Corn Day. One serving of candy corn contains about 140 calories; a single piece is around 7 calories. Candy corn is not just for Halloween anymore. Candy makers have made Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter themed candy corn in recent years. They’ve also introduced several additional flavors of candy corn – from peppermint to pumpkin spice. © 2017 National Confectioners Association. All Rights Reserved.

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What product is advertised with the slogan When it rains, it pours?

Business Slogan 43: When It Rains, It Pours | Versa Creations Marketing & Advertising Blog Business Slogan 43: When It Rains, It Pours Posted on January 29, 2008 by Vivienne Quek Some of you might not have seen or heard of this slogan but it is well known within the salt industry and the advertising world. Number 9 in AdAge’s Top 10 Slogan of the 20th Century , this slogan lives on since 1914. That’s 93 years! The only slogan I knew that reigns longer than Morton Salt’s slogan is Maxwell’s “Good to the Last Drop” . The famous Morton Umbrella Girl and slogan, “When it rains, it pours”� first appear on the blue package of table salt and in a series of Good Housekeeping magazine advertisements. The slogan is adapted from an old proverb, “It never rains but it pours”. The official website of Morton Salt said: In 1911, Morton’s first advertising campaign for a series of ads in Good Housekeeping created the idea for the girl and her slogan, “When it Rains it Pours.” One of the concepts presented to Morton was an image of a little girl holding an umbrella in one hand to ward off falling rain and a package of salt in the other hand that was tilted back with the spout open and salt running out. Morton loved the picture that expressed the Morton message — that salt would run even in damp weather. But the copy that went with it, “Even in rainy weather, it flows freely,” was too long. Morton felt it needed to be shorter and snappier. So the advertising agency came up with: “Flows Freely,” “Runs Freely,” “Pours” and finally, an old proverb, “It never rains, but it pours.” The adage was rejected for being too negative. A more positive spin on it resulted in the now famous slogan, “When it Rains it Pours.” The rest as they said is history. Morton Salt became a household name and sales rocket. Morton Salt is the number one brand of salt in the US. For every two cans of salt sold in the US, one is a Morton Salt can. It can easily sells at a $0.20 price premium over other brands and private labels.

Morton Salt

The Treehouse of Horror episodes are the Halloween specials of what long-running TV series?

Brand New: New Logo for Morton Salt by Addison & Pause for Thought New Logo for Morton Salt by Addison & Pause for Thought filed under Consumer products and tagged with blue , character , illustration With roots as far back as 1848, Morton Salt (known as such since 1910) is the leader in salt products in North America, providing salt for “culinary, water softening, household and road deicing, food processing, chemical, pharmaceutical, and numerous industrial uses”. Delivered in an iconic, dark blue, cylindrical package for household use, Morton Salt is, like Coca-Cola, one of the most enduring American products and its Umbrella Girl , introduced in 1914, one of the most well-known and longest-lasting characters from the early days of advertising. Last week, as part of her 100th birthday celebration, Morton Salt announced a slight redesign to the Umbrella Girl and an upcoming introduction of a new packaging system to be rolled out in the next couple of months. Two New York, NY-based agencies were involved: Pause for Thought designed the new logo and packaging (not shown, yet) and Addison developed the masterbrand positioning and 100 anniversary branding. It was 1914 when the little girl with the umbrella was introduced on the familiar blue round package of Morton Salt and in a print ad in the October issue of Good Housekeeping. The Morton Salt Girl and “When It Rains It Pours®” slogan were created over a century ago for the company’s national advertising campaign to help illustrate that Morton Salt could flow freely even in damp weather, a major product innovation at the time. Morton Salt press release Evolution of the Morton Salt Girl. The Morton Salt logo is widely recognized for its bold “Morton Salt” word mark. The new logo now features a fresh and friendly font, while maintaining the leadership qualities of the original word mark, specifically the bold, all-caps type style. The letter “R” in the new “Morton” word mark also carries a slight kick to mimic the Morton Salt Girl’s step. Morton Salt press release New logo detail. To use Morton Salt’s own copyrighted slogan: “When it rains it pours” — which was created to communicate that even in humid and damp conditions Morton Salt’s salt would pour freely out of its container as opposed to other salts that would get all bunched up. That tagline is now used to express that many things have gone bad (or sometimes good) in quick and multiplied succession. Here it applies to yesterday’s Triumph Motorcycles post where we saw the same typographic update going on with Morton Salt: moving from a flared sans serif to a rounded-corner sans serif. The flared serifs are less obvious here, but they are there and, as is the case with this maneuver, whatever the new wordmark gained in friendliness it lost in uniqueness and flavor. It may resolve some of the tight spacing of the old typography but, other than the swoopy tail of the “R”, there isn’t anything memorable about the new wordmark. Too much subtle quirkiness has been sacrificed with little in return. In addition to the word mark, the company updated its Morton Salt Girl icon as part of its brand refresh — but in small, subtle ways. The new Morton Salt Girl has cleaner, simplified linework to fit better with the new “Morton Salt” word mark. Morton Salt press release Comparison of the girl. (Animated). The new Umbrella Girl has been updated for the better, removing some of the extraneous line work that muddied up the illustration when rendered small. Compared to the 1933 – 1941 and 1956 – 1968 updates, where new dresses and hairstyles were introduced, this is a very conservative update. With good reason. On the 100th anniversary of an icon, I don’t think anyone — client or designer — wants to be responsible for potentially ruining a very good thing. I’m not promoting aversion to change but, let’s face it, a drastic change to the Umbrella Girl, in the Huffington Post-era of logo journalism, would be catastrophic. Close-up photo of the new logo. 100th anniversary logo. There is not much else to see at the moment. When the packaging comes out, if it’s interesting, we will do a follow-up. In the meantime, let’s appreciate that the Umbrella Girl didn’t get a Barbie-like makeover.

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Shepard Faireys Barack Obama poster, which has been in the news of late because of copyright issues, began life sporting a word other than hope. What was it?

Milton Glaser weighs in on Shepard Fairey's Obama Hope poster / Boing Boing February 9, 2009 at 12:55 pm The photo is indeed the exact photo used for reference and that is abundantly clear. I don’t find that clear at all. If you’ve ever seen a president or a candidate at a photo op, then you know that what you’re really seeing is an idealized image carefully applied to the front of the head by a make-up artist. Obama’s face in that photo is a brand logo and not much more individually identifiable than a photo of a Nike swoosh. grimc says: February 9, 2009 at 12:51 pm @roboton Namely, don’t make art using someone else’s photograph (painting, sculpture, whatever) and claim it as your own. Which puts collage art…where? AGC says: Did anyone notice that one is a picture, the other has only three colors? AGC says: Shepard Fairey owes the USSR $2000. theawesomerobot says: February 9, 2009 at 12:55 pm @franko Shepard Fairey is NOT a street artist. He’s a commercial artist who may have been a street artist in the past, and is heavily influenced by street art – but would not qualify as a street artist because the bulk of his work is created for sheer profit. He’s not running around like Banksy, who often doesn’t even sign his work. He even profited from this Obama poster. This is not an arguable point. A political party is not a charitable organization, so he did not “donate to charity” as some will argue – the Democratic Party does not meet 501(c)(3) status standards. “The organization must refrain from undertaking a number of other activities such as participating in the political campaigns of candidates for local, state or federal office, and must ensure that its earnings do not benefit any individual.” So as a counter-point – I’ll have to argue that I don’t think Shepard Fairey understands street art’s motivation whatsoever. Antinous / Moderator says: I’ll have to argue that I don’t think Shepard Fairey understands street art’s motivation whatsoever. He’s in jail. Now. For graffiti. Hello? nerak says: February 9, 2009 at 12:55 pm @ #48 It’s obviously time to arrest the nation’s 5 year olds, as well as elementary school teachers for promoting such professional dishonesty. Anonymous says: What exactly did Glaser add to the Brooklyn Dodgers logo when he created the Brooklyn Lager logo? Suburbancowboy says: February 9, 2009 at 12:57 pm I think there is an inherent difference between Shepard Fairey, and other artists who “appropriate”. In most cases. the artist will reference a piece of pop culture that is widely recognized. No one thought that Duchamps was trying to pass off his Mona Lisa modification as his original work. He was referencing a piece of art that everyone should recognize. Fairey on the other hand often just plain steals obscure works of art in hopes that no one will catch him, and just slaps “obey” on it. (Which is taken from “They Live”). He never credits his source work unless he gets caught. A think the Hope poster is a less egregious offense than many of the others that Fairey has commited. AGC says: Shepard Fairey owes Obama’s makeup team $500. Captain Rotundo says: February 9, 2009 at 1:01 pm I have to point out that Mark hasn’t even been consistent with his views on these issues (see the postal service video/apple ad critique.) And that was by the same director, and the bands only complaint seemed to be that if their image was being sold they wanted to be the ones doing it. Either way in this “new” world of derivatives and youth that love to copy no one is really on the same page yet. justONEguy says: February 9, 2009 at 1:06 pm @56: “He’s in jail. Now. For graffiti. Hello?” We heard you the first time, Antonious. I think no one responded on your first post because we’ll just wait for all the press releases that he and the ICA in Boston are writing right now. What better move for a master marketer like Fairey than to play the martyr? theawesomerobot says: http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8228/apvfaireyyy1.gif Note that even the pupil highlight placement is exact (amongst other highlights and shadows) Now – please don’t continue disputing the use of the photo; it’s undeniable: the issue at hand is the derivative use. Antinous / Moderator says: February 9, 2009 at 1:26 pm theawesomerobot, Did you just stamp your foot and stick out your bottom lip? What universe do you live in where you pontificate on the absolute truth of your opinions and people don’t just laugh at you? I do not admit that the photo is the source of the artwork. It might be, but I see enough differences to make it questionable. TEKNA2007 says: February 9, 2009 at 1:10 pm It’s a poster, not the Mona Lisa — and a very good poster. It does an excellent job of doing what it’s supposed to do — namely, being a poster. It shouldn’t be critiqued by the standards of great art. It’s very good commercial art. theawesomerobot says: February 9, 2009 at 1:11 pm @Antinous / Moderator He’s basically in jail for illegally advertising. Street art typically has a message – a majority of Fairey’s art consists of promoting his own “Obey” brand. haveandare says: February 9, 2009 at 1:11 pm Honestly, I’m surprised that this is up for debate. This might be due to the fact that I was raised as an artist looking up to Liechtenstein and Warhol as my heros, but I don’t really see the issue that comes with basing work of off other works so long as there is a point to the final piece. For example, just the other day I took a mugshot of a popular figure, traced it onto an overhead, changed some angles and lines to tailor the expression on his face to suit my purposes, and projected and it onto a canvas to play around with. The look on his face, in my opinion, says a lot about his past as well as the past, present and future of our government. Is this not art because I didn’t draw him myself? I would say that if you borrow themes and even parts of images from old works, such as Shepard Fairey does on the website that was linked to earlier, so that you can make a point, that is fine by me. As far as the courts go, I couldn’t care less. That whole system is a mess of jargon and dated, misguided philosophy as far as I’m concerned. Art, to me, is about being able to convey emotion through visual images. As Bukowski said, “An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way.” Taking the infamous face from the Big Brother poster and tailoring it to fit the identity of the “Obey” brand is meaningful. To see this meaning, one should not have to look much further than the dictionary definition of “Obey” and any copy of 1984. Taking the poster of the guns pointed toward the air and painting roses in the barrels is meaningful. That image says something difficult in a simple way. That is art. Using an image of Obama and tailoring it as Shepard has is art. He is saying something difficult through a simple image and I not only approve of his work and ideology, but I embrace as well as praise it. darue says: February 9, 2009 at 1:13 pm ok, I’ve just played with it a bit in PS and I’ve gotta eat my words, it _is_ just tilted and scaled a bit, then re-shaded. So, he should have hired an illustrator and described the portrait he was looking to have drawn. but since the subject would be the same, would the end result of a completely fresh drawing of Obama looking up and to his left, really have come out very differently? If history teaches us anything, it is that whenever anyone decides to put normative definitions on art, along comes an artist who will defiantly cross those lines. Art becomes art when people perceive it as art. The buck stops there. martyingels says: February 9, 2009 at 1:16 pm I think Glaser is wrong in his assessment too. First, I think Fairey has more than made the image is own – put his stamp on it. I believe that most people who have seen Fairey’s Obey posters would immediately recognize the Obama poster as his work. Secondly, as to whether or not he’s changed the AP photo sufficiently, I believe that one has to merely look at the two images side by side and ask if they are of equal power – if they elicit the same feelings or emotions. For me, they don’t. When I look at the AP photo, it’s very neutral, in the sense that it I don’t respond to it strongly. It’s a good photo, but nothing memorable. However, the opposite is true of Fairey’s image. I believe if Fairey’s image didn’t resonate any more strongly than the AP photo, then Glaser would have an argument. But that’s not the case. Phikus says: February 9, 2009 at 1:22 pm Roboton: I too have been in many a juried art show, it what passes is always highly subjective. I have seen many works from photographs of famous persons which no one disqualifies. What you said @45 completely disagrees with your earlier assessment as well, because Warhol himself would have been tossed out of such shows, if this were true. Also, Warhol selected his subjects specifically because of the iconic power of their portraits. His point, just like Lichtenstein’s, was to elevate the mundane into art, by changing the context. Their power lies just as much in the subject matter as Fairey’s does, and Fairey is essentially doing the same thing, albeit to fit our time and context. You completely miss the point of his work to assert that Cheney’s image would have worked just as well with “HOPE” under it, although I’ll give you that it would have worked interchangeably with “OBEY”, or better yet “FUCK YOU”. The assertion that the same color scheme is used: Duh! Did you miss the point about it being a political propaganda poster? Ultimately, all art is derivative to a certain extent, and the amount that is passable is subjective to the viewer. All commentary to the effect that any work is “uninspired” and / or “trite” or just not your cup of tea is completely beside the point in this context. All that Brainspore and others who agree with me are trying to say (if I may take the liberty to restate) is that there has been sufficient precedent for this out in the world for over 40 years, so why the controversy now? And why over art that did not make any money for anyone? Who exactly was infringed here? (Or are you saying the Obama campaign should cut the AP greedmonger lawyers a check for what was essentially taken as a news photo?) I have a feeling it has more to do with political affiliations than artistic content. Btw, anybody seen the OBEY Diner ? ryuthrowsstuff says: February 9, 2009 at 1:24 pm It sounds to me like Glaser is referring to Fairey’s work in general. On that I would agree, but I think the Obama poster is one of the exceptions. It is significantly different from the original photo and it did add something. I think part of the problem is Fairey isn’t a good enough artist (on the technical side) to pull it off. He couldn’t actually draw Obama using the AP photo as reference so he traced. That fact doesn’t say much about Fairey but it also doesn’t mean this specific work is infringing or worthless. rp0806 says: February 9, 2009 at 1:24 pm Copyright protection extends to the original artistic and intellectual contributions of the creator. The aspects of the work that are not original are not protected. Here, the original AP photo has very little originality — it’s just a run of the mill head shot in front of a flag. AP would have a claim if Fairey had simply scanned it and started selling prints with almost no alteration, but the material from the photo that he used for his illustration was not contributed by the photographer, so AP has no claim. AP cannot claim a copyright in Obama’s likeness. Moreover, I find the claim that Fairey hasn’t contributed much to be way, way offbase. What gives his image its power is really his use of red and blue as shading. He’s stripped the image down to its bare essentials and used the two toned shading to give it an entirely new dimension and power. The colors and shading (and, of course, the use of the word “hope”) are the reasons the graphic is an icon but AP’s photo is not. Phikus says: February 9, 2009 at 1:29 pm I totally disagree with Glaser. Especially in this case, where Fairey may have used an image that was not intended as art or personal expression but rather for journalistic purposes. The “art” in Fairey’s work is his use of it, in choosing that particular image to convey a message (a message far different from that of the photographer, at least so it seams). From a taste perspective I think the photo is rather dull, but it is Fairey’s use and stylization of it that brings it to life. And the millions of people who identified with this poster are evidence of the power of Fairey’s work. Accusations of misappropriation are simply about money, not about art or expression and should have no impact on Fairey’s poster’s value or validity as a piece of art or effective political propaganda. It is these ridiculous arguments about intellectual property that work so forcibly against creative progress and the development of culture in our society. Purly says: February 9, 2009 at 1:30 pm The question of value can be argued thusly: Would the original photograph have experienced anywhere near as much popularity as the artwork, if not for the art? Would anyone pay for the photograph the way they might pay for the art? If you put each picture on a different t-shirt, which would be the more likely to be worn by the masses? Clearly, the art has added value to the original concept. justONEguy says: February 9, 2009 at 1:30 pm @63 The Bukowski quote is just lovely. Irrelevant, but lovely. Keep praising, brother! Fairey’s School of Empty Ideas and Expensive Sneakers needs people just like you to validate and intellectualize his nonsense. Talia says: So what was Fairey supposed to use as a model. Straight from his imagination? This is stupid, and it seems to me the AP is being ridiculously vindictive. Phikus says: February 9, 2009 at 1:33 pm Ryuthrowsstuff@86: In what universe is the ability to draw a qualification for being an artist? Could Warhol draw? Rothco? RP0806@69: “What gives his image its power is really his use of red and blue as shading. He’s stripped the image down to its bare essentials and used the two toned shading to give it an entirely new dimension and power. The colors and shading (and, of course, the use of the word “hope”) are the reasons the graphic is an icon but AP’s photo is not.” Well said, and I quote you here at the extreme risk of being called derivative. Please don’t sue! ;D cory says: February 9, 2009 at 1:34 pm This is a classic case of What have you done for me lately? Glaser is out of touch, and I cannot respect the opinion of anyone who thinks Fairey hasn’t added to the conversation here; seriously, what planet is he from? Does he seriously think the original photograph would have become something people put on their walls and showed to their friends? Does he not even remember the impact his own designs had? We might as well say “I <3 NY" doesn't add anything to the conversation because the original fonts and heart shape already existed. This is someone who has achieved some measure of success trying to push down on others trying to climb up, because he forgot how hard it was to climb up. Screw him. Phikus says: Justoneguy@74: …And your comments about Fairey’s work being uninspired and trite aren’t irrelevant? Phikus says: Purly@73: You rock in all kinds of ways. Cory@77: Another very good point. Brainspore says: @ Phikus #76: …In what universe is the ability to draw a qualification for being an artist? Could Warhol draw? Phikus: I agree with all your main points on this thread but I do feel compelled to point out that Warhol actually could draw very well, it’s just not what he became famous for. GregLondon says: February 9, 2009 at 1:42 pm OK, so, looking for Obama images where he’s looking off to one side and one shoulder is higher than the other was easier than I thought. I’m startign to wonder if Obama has a secret spinal disease that causes him to turn his neck or lift one shoulder higher than the other. Either way, here are a few hits: February 9, 2009 at 1:42 pm glaser sounds a bit jealous. the work is not a painting, it is a serigraph. done with a silkscreen. looking at the two together, how can anyone say they are the same image? there are similarities, but, one is a photographic portrait, and the other is a graphic propaganda poster done with a VERY limited color pallette! warhol would actually take the halftone print of the photo from the newspaper, and make a screen of it and print it on canvas. and he was lauded for it! art is what the artist says it is. if the people agree: $. don’t be hatin. FREE SHEPARD FAIREY! minTphresh says: also, one thing that hasn’t been addressed here is the fact that shepard made NO money on this project. any monies made were spent on the obama campain. so he definitely didn’t get rich on this project! Phikus says: February 9, 2009 at 1:47 pm Brainspore@80: Ok, I stand corrected. Please substitute the example of any other artist who did not use drawing as their primary or even secondary medium. There are many. He was just handy (albeit incorrect.) =D And I am not agreeing that Shephard Fairey cannot draw. I have not seen evidence this is the case. rp0806 says: Well said, and I quote you here at the extreme risk of being called derivative. Please don’t sue! ;D I’ll think about it. No promises. GregLondon says: February 9, 2009 at 1:49 pm While we’re on a witchhunt for derivatives we don’t like, Lucas should be hauled up on copyright violations for using “The Searchers” starring John Wayne as the entire basis for Star Wars episode 4,5, and 6. Seriously, it’s a one-for-one mapping between the two. ANd explains why Episodes 1, 2, and 3 are such horrible flops: He didn’t have anything to copy from. “derivative” obviously has two meanings: one is the legal, copyright meaning. THe other is simply used to insult stuff we don’t like. I don’t know anything about Shepard Fairey’s work. It doesn’t matter. Whether Fairey is a “hack” is irrelevant to the law. The law doesn’t give Lucas permission to create derivatives because we like his derivatives but allow the court of public opinion to convict Fairey on copyright violations simply because someone doesn’t like his work. If Andy Warhol can copy/paste/colorize three duplicates of a soup can and call it art, then Fairy’s work isn’t a copyright derivative. Phikus says: Minty: To the rescue! Another fine point of process. Egypt Urnash says: February 9, 2009 at 1:50 pm I feel that all of Fairey’s work is about doing the minimum amount of work needed to call his images “his”. Mostly by stamping the stylized eyes of Andrë the Giant all over them and filtering them through Communist propaganda posters. Appropriation and assemblage can create beautiful, personal work by combining bits from all over. But if you trace over a photo in the same mode you traced over the last twenty photos, it starts to look more like a human running a posterize filter than anything else. The fact that people argue over whether or not his stuff is *his* means that different people have a different idea of where the minimum amount of work is. I agree with Glaser that Fairey consistently falls beneath my bar for “minimum effort”, especially in this day and age of auto-trace. And the fact that Fairey’s success inspires young artists to imitate him is saddening; they’re robbing themselves of the chance to learn to speak in their own voice, choosing instead to speak in the voice of the brands they “borrow”. Keith says: February 9, 2009 at 1:53 pm Didn’t we already cover this issue with Andy Warhol and soup cans? The law found that Warhol had created new works. This is the same thing, only even more clear cut because Fairey isn’t handing out little autographed Obamas. minTphresh says: egypt urnash, i suppose they could be emulating this semi-famous artist: http://www.researchpubs.com/books/bobprod.php Phikus says: February 9, 2009 at 2:05 pm Egypt Urnash@88: “I feel that all of Fairey’s work is about doing the minimum amount of work needed to call his images “his”.” -And Warhol / Lichtenstein didn’t? Minimum of work is now a consideration for artistic merit? Since when? What about Rothco? Pollack? Mondrian? Picasso used to sign napkins and call them original masterpieces. Minty: My comment@87 referred to yours @82. @83: I have raised this issue several times above, though it’s nice to be echoed. =D Thalia says: February 9, 2009 at 2:07 pm This is closer to the Koons case than Warhol. Read up on Rogers v. Koons, 960 F.2d 301 (2d Cir. 1992), where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a judgment against Koons for his use of a photograph of puppies as the basis for a sculpture, String of Puppies. http://jerryandmartha.com/yourdailyart/images/koons2.jpg Reproducing an image in a different medium (e.g. photo to poster) is not sufficiently transformative. aaronsta says: February 9, 2009 at 2:11 pm (Artistic and fair-use issues aside…) @11 Since I first saw that poster, I’ve thought that it has a real Kim-Jong-Il cult-of-personality flavor. Unfortunately, it fits in very well with many other cult-like aspects of the entire Obama marketing phenomenon (related to what David Sirota has called presidentialism ). I write this as someone who supports many of Obama’s domestic initiatives, though I wish he would move further to the left. ryuthrowsstuff says: February 9, 2009 at 2:12 pm @ #76 Phikus as Brainspore already pointed out yes Warhol could and I’m willing to bet Rothco could as well. My point was that Fairey lacks a strong technical base. If look at some of his other works, especially ones that have been held up as plagiarism, you can see how amateurish his figuring and line work are. so essentially what he did here was manually rotoscope a single frame. Thats fine by me as I said. But its exactly whats getting him in trouble. bazzargh says: February 9, 2009 at 2:15 pm #86: “Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes just sits I do” – Yoda. Wow, you’re right! :) As for the rest of it – I read Glaser as referring to the body of work, and while some of them seem original, some of them don’t. I can’t really see much of a difference between this case and the Emily Strange/Nate is Great controversy, or more appositely, Todd Goldman: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/04/23/tshirt-makes-fun-of-.html while many of Goldman’s ripoffs were traced, some were completely redrawn versions of the original art (eg the squirrels in that article) – further from the original than Fairey’s. In both cases, what makes me least comfortable is the lack of attribution of a major portion of the work. I don’t think its clear cut though, and thats where the courts get involved. minTphresh says: February 9, 2009 at 2:18 pm thalia, the image is NOT reproduced! fairey has condensed the image to it’s most basic graphic-ness. it is no longer the same image! if he had reproduced the image EXACTLY, then your argument might hold a modicum of water, but i doubt it, as it would still be a halftoned image that would go thru a whole ‘nother process. as far as koons goes, i believe that case is still under appeal. i also feel that he will eventually win. phikus: gr8t to see ya back here! gotta keep schooling the philistines! buchino says: Honestly, the relevance of Glaser’s work and opinion on design have dwindled in recent years. It’s a shame; he’s more a relic than a representative of the current design community. Anonymous says: #49 Did anyone notice that one is a picture, the other has only three colors? Actually it has four colors. Red, white, blue, and darker blue. Personally speaking, I have a hard time telling if I think this is a rip-off because of this specific image, or because of what I know about Fairey’s history of rip-offs. While Fairey should have gotten permission or given compensation to the original photographer, this is a much less blatant copying than a lot of Fairey’s previous work. Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 2:28 pm I have never understood why Glaser gets credit for the I heart NY logo. Mary Wells Lawrence of Wells, Rich, and Greene pitched the id and the company hired him to execute it, and some people argue that it was pilfered from t-shirts already being sold in NY. If the man thinks that altering a typeface to an existing heart logo design is creating then he should have no problem with the addition of the word hope. Anonymous says: i guess warhol and lichtenstein are crap too. well, i actually do think lichtenstein is crap, but the art world doesnt. Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 2:34 pm “Gee whiz, I mean, I added swirly hair to a Bob Dylan silhouette; I’m original. Shepherd Fairy did a dichromatic rendering of an Obama photo and added the word hope. He’s a plagiarist.” There’s a reason why artists are not generally brought in to give their opinions on plagiarism, and this is it. What a bunch of garbage. Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 2:43 pm There seems to be a lot of tension on this posting between people who are thinking in artistic terms and people who are thinking in legal terms. What the people thinking in artistic terms are not getting is that it doesn’t matter, from a legal perspective, whether Fairey’s appropriation is “original” in the sense of being unique and creative. What matters is whether he changed the original image enough for it to constitute fair use. This is still subjective, but it is not a judgment on the “originality” of the piece in an absolute sense. In my opinion, it is clear that he added enough to the image – not just the word HOPE, but the colorization, as well – to constitute fair use. We’ll see what the courts have to say about the matter. jjasper says: February 9, 2009 at 2:44 pm There’s a lot of Fairey hate going on here. Yeesh, so the guy looked at a photo, and painted something from it? What’s the big deal? It’s inspiring, it references Soviet design, and it has a message. Yes, it also references his “Obey” design. So what? Rene Magritte referenced apples in plenty of his other paintings. Picasso used cubism for a long time. Lichtenstein put up giant direct copies of comic strips What, you want high art that’s unique, unreproducability, or it’s crap? Nonsense. It’s a good enough work of art for enough people to find inspiring. “Hope” deserves the same status as “Drowning Girl” Fairey’s critics are being elitist. Oh no, art students might try something similar This could mean the END of the WORLD! Except it didn’t, when Lichtenstein did the same thing. How’d that happen? Look, people, the world around us *is* branded as far as they eye can see. We’re saturated in corporate logos, ad images, hyped pop songs that music companies literally create out of whole cloth to match market demographics (Spice Girls, anyone?) Artists reflect what they see. If young artists are hip to what Fairey is doing, and going along with his groove, it’s because that’s what they see as worth talking about. The paternalistic “father knows best” of Glaser & those that agree with him are exactly what Glaser had to deal with in his art when it was new. You can say “oh, but that was different”, but it’s not really proving anything to define your own terms for what counts as different. bardfinn says: The question at the heart of the matter is this: Did Fairey produce a legitimate transformative use? “Transformative uses may include criticizing the quoted work, exposing the character of the original author, proving a fact, or summarizing an idea argued in the original in order to defend or rebut it.” The solarisation and choice of colours, removal of background details, and smoothing / hatching of regions transforms the detailed photo to an iconic image, from one of a continuous shading to a series of discrete (and non-continuous) regions. Not all the details are the same. His hairline is filled out, his brow smoothed, his shoulders and posture changed from someone who is leaning on a table, head-cocked to the right and turned to the left, looking up — to someone who is sitting or standing upright, looking ahead and up; Even the focus of his eyes is subtly changed from the photo original. Rather than Obama looking at a speaker in the same room as himself as in the original reference, Obama is transformed to someone of vision. All of these together produce an iconic image (in the same way political divisions and clades produce “the melting pot” that is America, and the diverse and not-always-‘compatible’ political backgrounds of his supporters). This graphic commentary, in and of itself, adds new information and expresses Fairey’s thoughts – it overlays his views on politics and the political process onto the face of Obama. Even without the caption – “HOPE” – I feel it is a fair-use transformative work. The caption is, in itself, transformative and part of Fairey’s commentary and original work. The AP’s original work was that of accurate reporting. Fairey’s transformative work was that of revealing the underlying emotions and conceptualisations, to parody (not all parody is derisive) Obama and turn him into OBAMA, to portray not the man but the ideal. Fairey has parodied the original work and the subject of the original work, including graphical allusions to the perceived nature of the political process, not to deride or satirise but to acclaim or illustrate the subject. It could also be argued that his work throws into subtle contrast the banality of the original photograph. Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 2:51 pm Here’s the crux, from wikipedia: A crucial factor in current legal analysis of derivative works is transformativeness, largely as a result of the Supreme Court’s 1994 decision in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. The Court’s opinion emphasized the importance of transformativeness in its fair use analysis of the parody of “Oh, Pretty Woman” involved in the Campbell case. In parody, as the Court explained, the transformativeness is the new insight that readers, listeners, or viewers gain from the parodic treatment of the original work. As the Court pointed out, the words of the parody “derisively demonstrat[e] how bland and banal the Orbison [Pretty Woman] song” is. The modern emphasis of transformativeness in fair use analysis stems from a 1990 article by Judge Pierre N. Leval in the Harvard Law Review, Toward a Fair Use Standard,[13] which the Court quoted and cited extensively in its Campbell opinion. In his article, Judge Leval explained the social importance of transformative use of another’s work and what justifies such a taking: I believe the answer to the question of justification turns primarily on whether, and to what extent, the challenged use is transformative. The use must be productive and must employ the quoted matter in a different manner or for a different purpose from the original. …[If] the secondary use adds value to the original–if the quoted matter is used as raw material, transformed in the creation of new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings–this is the very type of activity that the fair use doctrine intends to protect for the enrichment of society. Transformative uses may include criticizing the quoted work, exposing the character of the original author, proving a fact, or summarizing an idea argued in the original in order to defend or rebut it. They also may include parody, symbolism, aesthetic declarations, and innumerable other uses. The concept, as Judge Level and the Campbell Court described it, developed in relation to fair use of traditional works: literary works, musical works, and pictorial works. But recently courts have extended this rationale to Internet and computer-related works. In such cases, as illustrated by Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation[14] and Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc.,[15] the courts find a use (such as that of thumbnails in an image search engine, for indexing purposes) transformative because it provides an added benefit to the public, which was not previously available and might remain unavailable without the derivative or secondary use. The Ninth Circuit explained this in the Perfect 10 case: Google’s use of thumbnails is highly transformative. In Kelly we concluded that Arriba’s use of thumbnails was transformative because “Arriba’s use of the images served a different function than Kelly’s use — improving access to information on the Internet versus artistic expression.” Although an image may have been created originally to serve an entertainment, aesthetic, or informative function, a search engine transforms the image into a pointer directing a user to a source of information. Just as a “parody has an obvious claim to transformative value” because “it can provide social benefit, by shedding light on an earlier work, and, in the process, creating a new one,” a search engine provides social benefit by incorporating an original work into a new work, namely, an electronic reference tool. Indeed, a search engine may be more transformative than a parody because a search engine provides an entirely new use for the original work, while a parody typically has the same entertainment purpose as the original work. …In conducting our case-specific analysis of fair use in light of the purposes of copyright, we must weigh Google’s superseding and commercial uses of thumbnail images against Google’s significant transformative use, as well as the extent to which Google’s search engine promotes the purposes of copyright and serves the interests of the public. Although the district court acknowledged the “truism that search engines such as Google Image Search provide great value to the public,” the district court did not expressly consider whether this value outweighed the significance of Google’s superseding use or the commercial nature of Google’s use. The Supreme Court, however, has directed us to be mindful of the extent to which a use promotes the purposes of copyright and serves the interests of the public. …We conclude that the significantly transformative nature of Google’s search engine, particularly in light of its public benefit, outweighs Google’s superseding and commercial uses of the thumbnails in this case. … We are also mindful of the Supreme Court’s direction that “the more transformative the new work, the less will be the significance of other factors, like commercialism, that may weigh against a finding of fair use.” The Ninth Circuit’s treatment of transformativeness and fair use in the Arriba Soft and Perfect 10 cases illustrates different data points on the copyright infringement spectrum, at least with respect to transformativeness and fair use. Arriba Soft was a relatively polar case. The harm to Kelly, the copyright owner, was negligible; it was hardly more than hurt feelings.[citation needed] Thus, the Ninth Circuit said in its opinion that “Arriba’s creation and use of the thumbnails [the derivative work] does not harm the market for or value of Kelly’ s images.” On the other hand, the court found that Arriba’s use benefited the public: “Arriba’s use of the images serves a different function than Kelly’ s use — improving access to information on the internet versus artistic expression.” The balance thus tilted strongly in Arriba’s favor. This led the Ninth Circuit to be the first court to make the equation highly beneficial to public = transformative, and as the Supreme Court explained in Campbell, the more transformative a derivative use the more likely the use is to be a fair use. The Campbell Court recognized that the balance may not always be one-sided, as it was in Campbell itself and in Arriba Soft. In the Perfect 10 case the interests were more evenly balanced, for the first time in a derivative work case involving new information technology. Both Google and Perfect 10 had legitimate interests at stake and support for their respective positions. Thus, there was a finding that “Google’s wide-ranging use of thumbnails is highly transformative: their creation and display is designed to, and does, display visual search results quickly and efficiently to users of Google Image Search.” But Google’s use had some commercial aspects and was claimed to impair P10’s commercial interests. Yet, on balance the Ninth Circuit found that the transformativeness outweighed the other fair use factors because “Google has provided a significant benefit to the public” in facilitating image searches by means of thumbnail images. emmagoldman says: February 9, 2009 at 2:52 pm Am I the only one who is sick of SF and this “iconic” image? Move along, not much to see here…and I voted for BHO, but let’s be realistic- he’s just another POLITICIAN. He’s not Jesus or FDR or JFK. He’s just an elected official with a LOT to prove. — “Picasso used to sign napkins and call them original masterpieces.” So what? February 9, 2009 at 2:58 pm Ryuthrowsstuff@94: Yes, and I conceded the point that Warhol could draw, Bad example, as I said above. -But my point is that he still used a minimum of effort in making his distinction from those who originated many of the photographs he appropriated, even less so than Fairey does in many cases. To say one is a genius and the other a hack is a double standard. So you judge someone’s art on whether they have demonstrated a certain technical expertise in the past, and not on the merit of the work itself? This seems to me to be a hallmark of academic snob-ism to me. One one hand, detractors in this thread say he is not “street artist” enough, and on the other hand, you criticize his technical abilities. It seems to me there is much grasping at excuses to hang your dislike of his style upon. It would be far more honest to simply say you don’t like it. That I can accept, because it admits your subjectivity in basing your opinion, and there is nothing wrong with that (albeit slightly off-topic. To that I have to echo what has been said above: Obviously Fairey’s work has provoked controversy and inspired millions. What is a better watermark of artistic talent, even if his aesthetic is not your thing? Thalia says: February 9, 2009 at 3:03 pm @96 posted by minTphresh Re the Koons case: the case was upheld by the appeals court & the Supreme Court refused to hear it. Koons lost. Because just putting an image from a photo into a sculpture (or from a photo through the “poster shader” on Photoshop) is by definition derivative. Fairley should’ve just acknowledged that he copied a photo, and given credit. I think he should be permitted to copy, as long as he acknowledges the inspiration. But Fairley doesn’t do that. Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 3:03 pm In this case the “sampled” work is a photograph of a person. It is not even an original pose or composition, 3 quarter profile looking up. If the poster is no significantly different then I am sure there are 1000s of photographs out there that would fail the same standard. Anonymous says: #99 got it right. Even a casual look at the two images, side by side, should reveal a dozen “improvements” Fairey made that simply aren’t in the original photo at all. Anyone who calls himself an artist should be ashamed not to notice this. Glaser reminds me exactly of why punk was great and hippies were boring old farts, even 30 years ago. What’s next, art school students need to pay royalties every time they sit down and make a study of a famous piece of art? minTphresh says: February 9, 2009 at 3:11 pm emmagold, and yet you felt the need to take the time and effort to comment about it! the on hundred and second comment at that ! when i see artists here on boing2 like coleman or ryden, artists who can fuckin PAINT! there are usually 30-50 someodd comments. if even that many. and yet an artist as controversial as SF gets over a hundred and still going strong! and wheter or not you feel his work is “real art” or “not banksy”, 20 or so years down the road, one of the names in art history books of this time will be his. monitorhead says: February 9, 2009 at 3:18 pm Did they ever find the photographer? I mean saying it’s an AP photo, it’s like saying some random dude took the photo. Heard a little piece on npr’s Fresh Air with Fairey being interviewed, and claimed that a: he pulled it from the internet. And b: that the actual AP photographer has never stepped up to proclaim to be the one who took it. So how can one give credit if you have no clue who took it? minTphresh says: February 9, 2009 at 3:23 pm thalia, i heard an interview he did with ‘democracy now’ ( amy goodman) a few weeks ago and he totally admits not only that he used a photo as the basis for the work, he even talked about WHICH photo he used. so i guess i don’t understand what it is you are bitching about. again, HE MADE NO MONEY FROM THIS PROJECT. NONE. there would be nothing to kick back to said photog, as: he made no money from this project. zero. nada. zilch. bupkiss. nil. jack-squat. doodly. so if SF were to send the photog a check for …hmm, let’s say 50% of his profits for the poster, it would be a check for….ahh, you do the math. Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 3:23 pm i disagree with uncle milton. i tend to be ambivalent towards fairey’s work, but what he does tend to do (not necessarily with the obama poster, but one could argue…) is de- and recontextualize imagery. r. mutt comes to mind. emmagoldman says: …I dont comment on Ryden et al because I’m not sick of them (yet) classic01 says: February 9, 2009 at 3:32 pm Graphic designers are the DJs of the print. They re-mix and re-use and make things happen. Glasner used reference photos the exact same way. He must be a republican because this makes no sense on the world of graphic design. It is FAIR use and it has always been! gollux says: More than 20% change from the original, it’s new art. Thalia says: February 9, 2009 at 3:43 pm Donating your profits does not mean you didn’t make profits. Furthermore, legally speaking, the publicity alone is worth quite a lot of money. And Fairley got and used the publicity from his poster. So claiming he got nothing out of it is disingenuous at best. AP identifies the photographer below the photo. See for example: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8-DEMtAE9q4i4ySQ0eV_qZefmRQD96862FO0 AP licenses the images through http://www.ap.org/pages/product/photoservices.html grimc says: Furthermore, legally speaking, the publicity alone is worth quite a lot of money. How much more should the AP sue Fairey for, for all this additional publicity? Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 3:53 pm Hey, Fairey certainly adds to the image, in fact one of the points of this Obama design was a hope of integrating RED and BLUE in one face – an idea that Obama was not just out to slam former Bushies but usher an era of Bipartisanship. These two colors in the illustration seem to light his face as if from two different light sources. -jsf February 9, 2009 at 4:01 pm I’m disappointed how some commenters feel that a defense of Fairey’s work entails attacking Glaser and his work. Glaser tempers his negative opinion by cautioning that it is a subjective call: others may see it differently. Anyone aware of Milton Glaser’s writings and career before his recent comments on Fairey will probably also be aware of his writings on ethical practices in design as well as his advocacy of liberal causes (The Nation was one of the publications he redesigned in the past). Many of the attacks here on Glaser say more about the blind zeal to defend Fairey than Glaser’s credibility as a design authority, which may have diminished with the passage of the times: but not because of misguided and anonymous snarking. Ytzhaak says: February 9, 2009 at 4:04 pm After having read through all of the posts and gone back and reviewed Fairey’s work (even, and possible especially, on an anti-Fairey website), I’m now an even bigger fan of him than ever. This debate is proof of the provocative power of his images. Some say his works are overly-simple. I say that the skill of any artist lies in how large an impact they might make with as few brush strokes as possible. And I’m sorry, but all art is an imitation or re-creation of something that has come before it. Clearly, Fairey has a mastery of capturing peoples attention with clear messages usually intended to make them think. I can’t say that about most graphic designers working in the commercial world. How many car commercials or serial boxes inspire that kind of introspection or thought in people. Certainly the original photograph in question couldn’t achieve that without Fairey’s help. Are we so creatively bankrupt that we can only deem “art” acceptable that is licensed and sanctioned by some corporation or court. Fuck that! techbuzz says: February 9, 2009 at 4:14 pm #18 – Just read that link ( http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm ). I agree, Fairey certainly creates a lot of derivative work. A direct, line traced copy of a 1901 Moser work? Seems very sketchy. liberalart says: February 9, 2009 at 4:28 pm So would it be ok with all you FS lovers if I copied his art, changed the colors and the word “obey” to something trite and sold it online? Does anyone think Shepard Fairley the art-shilling corporation wouldn’t sue the pants off me? It seems to me folks are projecting feelings about Obama onto this image and missing the inherent hypocracy of a commercial artist’s endless rip-offs of other artists’ work. Check the article linked above . Frankly, he’s ripped off many other artists with no repercussions, but this time it’s finally bit him in the ass now that he’s stolen from an organization that can afford an attorney… Grrrrrrrr8 says: February 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm @ #52 ok, so i’m late getting back to this discussion, but i stand by what i said. banksy is also a great street artist (one of my favorite, to be honest), but that doesn’t make shepard fairey NOT a street artist. both are within the spectrum of valid street art. it’s well known that SF sells commercial versions of his pieces — but so does banksy. i know, because i’m on one of his galleries’ mailing lists. MrJM says: February 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm Would it be improper to note that the email address of Milton Glaser Inc. (and doesn’t “Artist + Inc.” just about say it all?) is [email protected] . Just in case anyone wants to discuss the nature of derivative but transformational art in the 21st century with Mr. Inc…. excuse me… with Mr. Glaser. — MrJM MRJM, it wouldn’t be inappropriate, but it would be irrelevant. Yes, Mr. Glaser makes money of his art work, just like Fairley does, and most artists hope to. Incorporation has nothing to do with artistic integrity. Marshall says: February 9, 2009 at 5:38 pm What a lot of folks are missing out on comparing Fairey’s Obama image to Warhol’s Marilyn is that Fairey’s image was created intentionally as advertising, to be distributed/sold in huge quantities, and Warhol’s images were created in limited quantities as art objects. Warhol’s Marilyn’s and most of his other silkscreened works were screened by hand at the Factory, either by Warhol himself or his assistants. They enjoy certain Fair Use protections as objects of “fine art”, but it’s certainly arguable that Fairey’s Obama doesn’t necessarily enjoy the same status. Even to defend his appropriation of the image as political speech is questionable – could then the people who produce commercials and print ads for Obama then just go around sampling other people’s creative efforts, tweak them a little, and then expect not to recompense the original creators? Takuan says: hope Fairey makes an icon of a glowering judge sneering magisterially from his lofty bench. Scott in Laguna says: February 9, 2009 at 5:41 pm This the perfect “artist” to do Obama’s campaign poster. He has made a career out of plagerizing communist and union propoganda poster art. A thief promotes an empty suit and mades a pile of money in the process. Milton Glaser is a real artist. He’s also smart enough to be careful talking about Obamaish stuff. Ask him if he’d hire the guy. grimc says: February 9, 2009 at 5:44 pm @marshall could then the people who produce commercials and print ads for Obama then just go around sampling other people’s creative efforts, tweak them a little, and then expect not to recompense the original creators? Based on Mastercard v. Nader, generally speaking: Yes. bprisk says: February 9, 2009 at 5:48 pm I struggle with what Mr. Fairey has done. 1. I think the AP photo is bland and uninteresting enough to have never been noticed in the first place and that given a decade or two, it may have become a statement applied to the individual. By itself, it’s not much of a statement about the art of photography or portraiture. It’s a suitable portrait of a man (who’s ambitions got it recorded in the first place). 2. I think Mr. Fairey’s efforts were simple and bold in their execution and made a much better statement than the original photograph. As an artist, I’m competitive and as a result I freely let others use my work and ideas. If they make them better, it was because I was unable to, and they deserve the praise, not me. The idea is the key. 3. If the subject of the photo and the action captured were more rare, I would side with AP. 4. I offer no slight to Mr. Glaser, he’s the man and the Dylan poster is awesome, yet if the ‘Hope’ poster were as artistic as that, I don’t think it would’ve been as embraced by the mainstream and I wouldn’t be typing this. 5. I liked the guy who commented that Fairey owed the U.S.S.R. 2000 dollars. rp0806 says: February 9, 2009 at 6:04 pm There seems to be a lot of tension on this posting between people who are thinking in artistic terms and people who are thinking in legal terms. What the people thinking in artistic terms are not getting is that it doesn’t matter, from a legal perspective, whether Fairey’s appropriation is “original” in the sense of being unique and creative. What matters is whether he changed the original image enough for it to constitute fair use. This is still subjective, but it is not a judgment on the “originality” of the piece in an absolute sense. That’s incorrect. “Originality” is a threshold legal issue, so the question of whether or not Fairey’s work is unique or creative is very significant. The question is whether Fairey copied the photographer’s “original” artistic or intellectual expression. I contend that he did not. AP owns the right to the creative aspects of the photo, not the image of Obama himself, and I don’t think Fairey copied any of the photographer’s creative expression. Also, this isn’t about fair use. Fair use is for parody, scholarship, and commentary. Fairey’s work pretty clearly does not fall into those categories. This is really a question of the scope of AP’s rights to the photo. The photo is not very creative, so I don’t think their rights are particularly extensive. mellon says: February 9, 2009 at 7:08 pm This really feels like an ideological argument cloaked in the vestments of a copyright argument. Consider this: suppose I watch Obama on TV in a debate. And based on what I see, I draw a picture. Someone ran the camera. Someone produced the TV show. Is my work a derivative of their work, or is it an original work? Does the fact that I saw it on TV make it a derivative? If I had been in the audience, and had drawn the original sketch there, would that have meant it was not derivative? This seems pretty clear-cut to me. In order for it to be original, the “artist” who created the TV show would have had to have added something significant to the production that was not present to someone who attended in person. And whatever it was that was added would have to appear in the “copy.” If you can’t pass these two tests, you don’t have a derivative work. I don’t know if the courts would agree with me, of course, but that’s my opinion as an interested bystander. I think it’s telling that the photographer doesn’t see what all the fuss is about – it’s AP, who own the photo, who thinks there’s a problem. mdh says: When the news (AP) is the news, that’s not news. Anonymous says: February 9, 2009 at 9:04 pm I’m sorry. I don’t want to come off as an ass, but anyone that really understands art will say that the work is derivative, and will move on. You know in your heart as a creator whether you’re standing on someone’s shoulders or not. Some people are ok with that, some aren’t. Others are ok with it, and are great at the art of marketing. That’s just the way it is. Warhol and Lichtenstein were great because they took something that most everyone took for trash, and elevated it to art. They were among the first to do so, and as such caused an entire society to look at their sources as something a little better than throwaway culture. That is what they added to the original work. Fairey’s work, while clever and pleasing to the eye, doesn’t quite measure up to that. It’s not telling us anything different than what the original image does (albeit with just a little thought on the part of the viewer). It merely recreates an image, and throws a word under it. Clever man, and I admire him – but more for his drive and marketing ability. The printmaking department at RISD at the time was full of this sort of work, and it pissed me off. The crits were essentially surveys of screenprinted reproductions of images that in many cases were found in what was called the ‘clipping file’ at the library not 100 yards down the street. Some people took the initiative to look elsewhere for source images, but in the end it amounted to three color reproductions of found pictures. Was it art? I didn’t think so… but I ain’t no Shep Fairey. If ‘HOPE’ is art at all, it’s because of the events surrounding its creation, and not because of the work itself – in the way that the flag flown from the rubble of the World Trade Center is special, and the one sold to a guy the day before is not. Of course, now I’m thinking of the forced comparison between the photo of the 9-11 flag raising and the iconic image shot by Joe Rosenthal. Sure, they are essentially the same thing (though with contrasting emotions), but the latter is sort of a sad reimagining of the original with chunky fat guys in t-shirts playing the part of anonymous boys on a hill thousands of miles from home. I guess in the end both can be considered art, but to me it just reminds me of how lazy we’ve become as critical thinkers. stratojoe says: n tht nt, hs nybdy dn Clntn ‘GRP’ pstr yt? stratojoe says: and strike latter for former, dammit. next time proofread, ya jackarse. Phikus says: February 9, 2009 at 9:41 pm Ok, I get that there are legal complexities here, but if I’m not allowed to make an artwork based on a straightforward news photo, then I just don’t understand anything about the world. If you’re going to engage at all with our media-drenched culture, you’re going to be sampling. If not, can I interest you in a Thomas Kinkade painting? Strangepork says: Shepard Fairey is a master of marketing and graphic design. I think it is a creative work, and doesn’t not have to be 100% from scratch to considered as such. rollerskater says: Glaser is a master at casting his intellectual irrelevance. to quote wiser men: sample it, loop it, fuck it and eat it. Tania says: February 10, 2009 at 1:12 am I agree—the HOPE poster is a substantially different image from the AP photo as is. That photo alone is just another news shot of a presidential candidate, but the poster transforms Obama’s pose with a change of angle that makes the difference between tilting the head puppy-style to hear something and facing upward to see a vision; the simplified red-white-blue color palette with navy substituted for black detailing is tremendously striking and nontrivial to do well; and basically, we would not even be talking about the AP photo were it not for the artist’s liberty in turning its flat reportage into meaningful, iconic, memorable imagery. bdubbs37 says: February 10, 2009 at 1:13 am its not OK for shepard fairey to use a photo and just color it in. He’s a boring, uninventive ripoff artist. anyone who is impressed by his work hasnt really looked into art on a deeper level. Artists that break new ground are exciting, those that steal so obviously are a bore. sure, there is something likable about it, like kitchy crappy souvenirs – like those mini statue of liberties you can buy in times square but in the slate of history, this man is no artist. Above all, i find it completely strange, and wonder why he doesn’t hold himself to a higher standard. Wouldn’t it be more fun, rewarding, meaningful to make it completely his own? I mean if you can, why not do it? maybe he cant draw? maybe someone close to him can explain why he wouldn’t WANT to make original art. Shanghai Slim says: February 10, 2009 at 1:49 am In my opinion, it’s pretty clearly a derivative work. And considering how easy it would have been for Fairey to seek useage rights, I don’t see much of an excuse. Photographers are artists, too, and deserved to be recognized and paid for their work like any other content creator. rodbod says: Why is it so difficult to draw the line between ripoff and referencing? Warhol was asking that question, and forty years later we still don’t have a good answer. My opinion, there’s nothing deriviative in Fairey’s poster. mirrormonkey says: Greglondon: doesn’t star wars owe more to Kurosawa’s hidden fortress than the searchers? snoid says: I always knew Fairey was a criminal with his so-called “graffiti art”, and yes graffiti is a criminal act, but it seems he’s a hack thief also. Anonymous says: yeah. the post-hippie-capitalist is speaking. just like paul mccartney et al. rp0806 says: In my opinion, it’s pretty clearly a derivative work. As a matter of law? I don’t that’s at all clear. padster123 says: February 10, 2009 at 6:38 am “Nothing substantial has been added” That’s just daft. One is a good, but fairly unremarkable press-style photo. The other is a snappy, iconic piece of graphic design. I smell sour grapes. This quote popped up on my igoogle gadget today: “Art is anything you can get away with. -Andy Warhol Emmagoldman@~106: You are free to quote me out of context I am free to have absolutely no respect for you or your comment. justONEguy says: The plot thickens… Fairey is suing the AP now , though from the sound of the legal experts quoted in this article he has a weak case: “That said, some individuals have suggested that Shepard Fairey is only interested in “fair use” when he is the one utilizing it– or if high profit is involved. Regardless of how the AP situation turns out the damage has already been done. In other words, the artist who says that people should “question everything” is being questioned about his ethics– when will he answer?” the Other michael says: February 10, 2009 at 7:15 am >And let’s not forget that Fairey didn’t make a cent off of this work. Who exactly is being damaged here to cause the outrage? so….. if a Hollywood studio films one of Cory’s novels, and the movie is a flop and the studio doesn’t make a cent off his work, does that mean they don’t owe him any money? Profit-motive should be immaterial. As has been pointed out, Fairy got an enormous amount of publicity out of this — his profile is even larger than before. I like the poster, but I think Fairey is being disingenuous is suing back the agency he denied “referencing” in the first place. He took the image and used it — but not for a highly transformative purpose. He used it as an image of Obama. The word “HOPE” significantly transformed the poster — but not the image, which was and remained an identifiable portayel of Barack Obama. GregLondon says: Greglondon: doesn’t star wars owe more to Kurosawa’s hidden fortress than the searchers? Have you seen “The Searchers”? a boy who doesn’t know who is parents are, living in a desert with a family of farmers. His “sister” kidnapped and held hostage by evil forces. “Uncle ben/Han Solo” retired from the war mounts a rescue mission. While they are away, the family farm is burned, the family killed. A visit to the Cantina. “Greedo” shoots first. Some characters use military sabers. A game of cat and mouse across vast spaces. Searching for the evil leader named “Scar” and his “Indian Camp” (“Darth Vader” and the “Death Star”). Both the Camp and the Death Star keep moving. It becomes apparent that Darth Vader/John Wayne intends to kill the “princess” after they’ve rescued her (Once you’ve gone indian, you never go back.) Luke is told he must kill his father to save the galaxy. “We’re too many and not enough” becomes a small rebel force infiltrating the Endor moon to shut down the shield station. The enemy camp/death star found, a massive attack is launched to destroy it. In the end, Scar/Darth Vader is killed. In the end, Darth Vader/John Wayne is redeemed. Wayne’s character doesn’t kill the “princess” but hugs her. Luke doesn’t kill Vader, but finds the human in him. When you watch the movie, the similarities boggle the mind. There is a scene where the people ride up on horseback to the farm and the camera angles are just like when Luke rides up in his landspeeder to the farm. The “cantina” actually has a sign on it that says “cantina”. THe one thing Lucas did was take John Wayne’s character and the character called “Scar” and split them into three characters: Ben Kenobi, Han Solo, and Darth Vader. But if you are really familiar with Star Wars Episode 4, 5, and 6, and then you sit down and watch “The Searchers”, you’ll be shaking your head by the time “luke” destroys the indian base, “vader” is killed, “Vader” is redeemed, and they live happily ever after. GregLondon says: February 10, 2009 at 8:03 am but not the image, which was and remained an identifiable portayel of Barack Obama. I’m pretty sure I can make out the brand of soup can that Warhol used in his art. February 10, 2009 at 8:05 am @phikus #154 “Emmagoldman@~106: You are free to quote me out of context I am free to have absolutely no respect for you or your comment.” So what? February 10, 2009 at 8:13 am I’m pretty sure I can make out the brand of soup can that Warhol used in his art. I’m thinking that’s like comparing a statue in a park to a photo of a statue in a park. (to a painting of a photo of a statue, in a park) Phikus says: February 10, 2009 at 8:18 am The Other Michael@156: The point is that SF donated the work to the O campaign from the onset. He did not attempt it as a moneymaking venture and fail. If you don’t believe this is an important distinction, ask the IRS. There is no legal mechanism for assessing the financial worth of publicity. If there were, Joe The Plumber would be much deeper in debt. GregLondon@157: And lets not forget The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, another Kurosawa rip off. Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Community Manager says: February 10, 2009 at 8:49 am Why, yes — the traced outline is all there is to an image. That’s why everyone who owns Photoshop or Illustrator is capable of taking an unremarkable news photo and turning it into a strikingly iconic two-color poster which goes viral all over the world and becomes the single most dominant image of a historically important election — it happens all the time! It naturally follows from this that Shepherd Fairey is nothing but a copyist, and can thus be dismissed by fearless, keen-eyed critics who see through all the hype. === Greg @86, good comment on copyright. Mirrormonkey @150, George Lucas swipes from everyone and resynthesizes it. There’s a lot of genetic material from Hidden Fortress and The Searchers in Star Wars, but there’s also Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces in it, and a number of WWII movies. To pull this back to the original subject, Lucas’s work is also full of visual swipes. The first time I saw the Millennium Falcon dive out of the sun in the first movie, I flashed on Rick Sternbach’s cover art. There’s Kelly Freas in the bar scene, Richard Powers lurking in the shots of the imperial probe droid hovering over the ice fields of Hoth, James Schoenherr in the landscapes of Tattooine, and rather too much James Gurney in The Phantom Menace — to name but a few. All artists do that, no matter what medium they work in. I’ve worked in an office full of professional comics artists. Two things you have to get used to are their encyclopedic visual memories, and their ability to spot visual borrowings right down to fine details like the shape of a character’s fingertips. They didn’t look down on swipes. (That’s “swipes” in the sense of “detectable visual references”.) They were clear on the difference between mechanical copying and transformational reuse. === Emmagoldman, “So what?” works best if you don’t say it too often — at most, once a month or so. Saying it twice in the same thread is excessive. Stratojoe @139, Bdubbs37 @147, you’ve both made flamebait ad hominem remarks that belittle your fellow commenters, and are inaccurate besides. Stratojoe: I’m sorry. I don’t want to come off as an ass, but anyone that really understands art will say that the work is derivative, and will move on. Bdubbs37: its not OK for shepard fairey to use a photo and just color it in. He’s a boring, uninventive ripoff artist. anyone who is impressed by his work hasnt really looked into art on a deeper level. Really? There are quite a few commenters in this entry and its thread who evidently have a solid grounding in art, yet disagree with you. Milton Glaser himself went no further than to say that Shepherd Fairey’s work makes him uncomfortable, and he labeled that a subjective reaction. I think it would be a good idea if in future you (and everyone else here) articulate your artistic opinions without help of the assertion that whomever disagrees with you is doing so because they lack your superior perception of objective artistic quality. GregLondon says: February 10, 2009 at 8:54 am GregLondon@157: And lets not forget The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, another Kurosawa rip off. the point being though that “rip off” is considered (1) legal and (2) potentially “good” in terms of art. Some people here don’t like Fairey and so are condemning him for his “rip offs”. But such “rip offs” are legally allowed. Which seems to be lost on people here and lost on Glaser when he says: But imitation we have some ambivalence about, especially because it involves property rights. I liked Star Wars Ep 4,5,6. When I saw “The Searchers”, it explained a lot about why Ep 1,2,3 tanked. Lucas didn’t have a story to borrow from. But does that diminish Ep 4,5,6? It’s up to you, but for me, it doesn’t. Legally speaking, Star Wars is not a derivative of “The Searchers”. End of story. Copyright law can be maddening. But it does have a concept called Fair Use. And if a use qualifies as Fair Use, then it’s legally sanctioned use. But the folks who are combining their Art Criticism of Fairey and rolling it together with Legal Arguments for Copyright Infringement, are rolling together two different things. Whether you like StarWars or The Magnificent Seven or whether you don’t like them, they’re not copyright infringement. If you don’t like Fairey’s work, that’s independent of whether his work infringes on someone else. Phikus says: February 10, 2009 at 8:54 am Emmagoldman@159: “So what?” What keen insights you bring to the table to enliven the discourse for all. The fact that you go to the trouble to comment, and yet use a blanket unthinking response speaks volumes about you. I applaud your professed nonchalance; see your “So What”; and raise you with a Meh… Can I get a Whatever? GregLondon says: February 10, 2009 at 9:10 am Greg: I agree with you. I was just adding another example. =D Emma: This is not Jeopardy. You do not have to phrase all of your snarky comments as a question. Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Community Manager says: The real Emma Goldman would never be so unimaginative, nor waste so much time. chunk says: February 10, 2009 at 10:06 am At this point, it doesn’t really matter. It’s out there, Fairey’s notoriety has more or less solidified (for the time being), and Obama is the president. The lawsuit only stands to bolster the artist’s “fame” exponentially by coupling relentless exposure with Fairey’s new status as the wounded babe of a nation of saps (for that sort of thing); from every college art student to every middle-aged housewife to rediscover the left. The way I see it, as far as right and wrong, shame on the Associated Press for missing the boat. Kicking yourself in the ass hurts. (I meant no offense with the “saps” remark, but let’s be real here.) justONEguy says: @162… ” Sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm… It naturally follows from this that Shepherd Fairey is nothing but a copyist, and can thus be dismissed by fearless, keen-eyed critics who see through all the hype.” Conversely, Sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm…. Even though the Shepard Fariey phenomenon is more an exercise in self-promotion for its own sake than of art, critics of his processes are cultural elitists who have not embraced the dogma that “everyone is an artist” and the more important one (at least within the blogosphere) that “everyone is an art expert”. grimc says: February 10, 2009 at 10:42 am @theothermichael I like the poster, but I think Fairey is being disingenuous is suing back the agency he denied “referencing” in the first place. It’s not disingenuous, it’s just lawyers being lawyers. It’s not unusual to fight one lawsuit with another lawsuit. Reminds me of pets.com v. Robert Smigel. The pets.com puppet was, obviously, a bad ripoff of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Smigel was being interviewed somewhere and asked about it; He said something half-jokingly about how he should sue pets.com. Pets.com responded by filing a lawsuit claiming Triumph’s behavior was damaging the pets.com puppet’s image. Smigel lawyered up. End result? Lawsuits dropped, but the real winner was pets.com, who used the threat of their own lawsuit to get Smigel to drop his, which in all likelihood he would’ve won. emmagoldman says: “Emma: This is not Jeopardy. You do not have to phrase all of your snarky comments as a question.” oh? you cut me to the quick mates and thx for weighing in Timewaster Theresa- I’m sure you really know what Emma Goldman would’ve done. What fun. I was never a fan of the Don Rickles approach. Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Community Manager says: February 10, 2009 at 12:05 pm Greg @164, I’ve long felt that way about a certain SF novel that bears some resemblance to Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and the sequels to said novel. Chunk @170, no matter what else you say in combination with it, “I mean no offense, but let’s be real here” seldom leads to an improved conversation. My own personal take on AP vs. Shepherd Fairey, for the record, is that they’re suing him over a specific image, not his overall reputation, and that that specific image is sufficiently transformational to qualify as a separate work. JustOneGuy @171, could you sort out your schema there a little more clearly? I can’t tell the sarcasm from the misattribution. Emma, is there some point you’re trying to make? Takuan says: isn’t the only reason to sue someone the fact that they have money to take away? Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Community Manager says: February 10, 2009 at 12:48 pm Takuan: Nah. There are lots of other reasons to do it, like getting them to shut up, or getting other people to shut up so that the same thing doesn’t happen to them, or making them spend months or years fretting about the case while they pay their lawyer money they don’t have to spare. Takuan says: gosh! That almost sounds dishonest! TheGorch says: February 10, 2009 at 1:24 pm Successful artists tend to grow, progress, and build a body of work that has an interesting landscape from piece to piece. Any good artist may have missteps here and there, but their work tends to have an arc that gets better the more work they put out. Line up every Fairey poster and you might be able to see how much better Adobe Illustrator features became, but it may not be clear that anything else is happening with the image-making. That’s just my opinion—his images do nothing for me. I just see adverts for SF and that’s all. To me, it’s a pretty hollow body of work. Takuan says: if you could speak directly to Fairey, what would you say to him to help him improve? TheGorch says: February 10, 2009 at 4:35 pm I’m sorry i made you feel belittled – you’re right – that wasn’t a very good thing to say. If I had a chance to rewrite it, I’d change that line into something more like this: The work is clearly derivative, but whether or not it is good art (or art at all) is up to the individual observer. The individual observer in this instance feels this way… on to rest of post. Then again, when making arguments, it’s best to use qualifiers like “I feel” as little as possible. Stating your opinion as a fact is better rhetorical craft.. or some crap i learned once. I can’t remember. Steampunk? :) February 10, 2009 at 5:52 pm the gorch, have you ever done serigraphy? the registration problems alone can drive you fukkin mad! you say:” draw something.”, i say, go where your vision takes you. if for u, that’s drawing, gorch, then draw. i remember the first time i saw an ‘obey’ sprayed on a wall in NYC in 1985! ( there on a gallery tour) it was another 15 years before i found out who did it, but when i saw the image again, i remembered it! u have anything like that out there? in his interview, shepard says he was never approached by any of obama’s people nor the DNC to do the image. he said he had seen the ap photo, and combined it with other images of BHO, along with some other graphic images, and then tried to distill the image into its most minimal detail while still being able to understand the image. he then experimented with different words and typefaces. he then ( using his own $ , time and supplies), made the separate silk screens, mixed the inks and printed the posters, then went out and put them up clandestinely around different cities. it was later, when the image BLEW THE FUCK UP, the obama team ( and allegedly BHO hissownself) started to try to buy it from him. in the interview he named the specific photographs he used as source material, so i don’t see what the hatin is all about. his imagery is ICONIC. it makes a lasting impression. that is why it is completely unimportant whether or not he could draw his way out of a wet paper sack. and that is true whether you like his images or not. artists use other artists work as source material since time immemorial. and whether or not it “made his reputation” thereby some how making him moolah, the lawsuit is frivolous, and will only serve to give shepard even more publicity so even more douches can tell us how sick and tired they are of him. stratojoe says: MINTYFRESH, It’s seri-O-graphy. And he should totally learn to draw. It would give him street cred and at least my artistic respect. I will say that many, many of the famous 60’s and 70’s concert posters were based on “borrowed” photos. I must be old and out of it. The interenet generation cribs and borrows anything they can get their hands on and calls it original art. Must have started with cheating on tests and writing papers in school. I guess you can talk yourself into whatever you want to believe. Scott in Laguna says: February 10, 2009 at 7:48 pm Stratojoe, Registration is when you have to line up each color in it’s place and order. Animators use holes punched into the cells and printers use the crosshair in a circle mark on acetate to get each color stacked perfectly where they want it. Some seriographs use 30 colors or more. One color off register can ruin the print. Honestly, my biggest problem with the Obama print is it helped get the man elected. For that I can never forgive the artist who made it. It may have even made the difference. Such is the power of art and propaganda. JoshuaTerrell says: February 10, 2009 at 8:11 pm To add my piece to the puzzle… In the artistic sense Fairey created a new derivative work, and in the legal sense Fairey created a derivative work. AP will fall flat. Yes he is a hack and a thief, but he has mastered the mediums he has chosen to reproduce these images in, and has improved upon the message the original images were trying to send. Somebody mention Warhol and “the medium is the message”. Fairey is using the old messages to tell his ideas. To call them “empty ideas” is unfair, he had an idea, he shared it, what makes it empty? But the debate is over. stratojoe says: February 11, 2009 at 1:32 am Scott- I know what registration is. I’ve done a few serigraph series myself. I never found it to be that much of a problem when you use some trace and some registration pins. I have done up to 15 or 18 colors on a print without too much hair-pulling.. and i can imagine the dropout rate when you get up to 30 is probably murder. I understand your point. I was just goofing because registration problems are just something that you learn to deal with in practicing the craft of screenprinting. To me, craftsmanship and art are two different things. Anyway it’s only three colors and it looks like he’s got a pretty wide margin for error on this piece. He’s an excellent craftsman, and makes good looking images. The beauty of art is that its validity -as art- can be debated. I find Fairey to be fascinating on a craft and marketing level. Art-wise, I’m not convinced.. but hey.. good for him. Something bothers me about the defending comments though. One of my most memorable experiences at school was when a professor told us to bring in a picture of someone we loved, and then jab a tack through both eyes. Personally I thought the guy was an ass, but he made a great point – don’t be afraid of images. Just because I’m attacking an image of our president doesn’t mean I disagree with him. It’s only an image. I get the feeling that a lot of folks feel that any assault on ‘hope’ is an assault on Obama. That shouldn’t be the case, and we should all be old enough to know better. now about that stimulus package. .. stratojoe says: February 11, 2009 at 1:40 am And Scott -I agree with a lot of what you are saying. Times change, and attitudes with them. Maybe someday appropriation will mature into its own respected art field just as photography did. With any luck I’ll be dead by then and won’t have to wring my old-fashioned unhip hands worrying about it. hmm.. I really need to get one of those carbon monoxide detectors. Phikus says: Scott In Laguna @186 / The Gorch @181 / Other naysayers: Can you prove that SF cannot draw? If not, you should STFU. And SIL: Let it go, dude. You lost. Thanks for qualifying your bias, however. minTphresh says: February 11, 2009 at 5:21 pm stratojoe, bigtime cangrats on your serigraphy. 13-18 colors, eh? oh-tay! the comment i was answering ( and the reason i come to SF or any maligned artist’s defence) is that most people do not understand art history. your comments about “appropriated art” are about a hundred years too fucking late! picasso began it about the turn of the 20th century, duchamp used it to illustrate the absurdity of life in his time, and andy warhol perfected it ( or began taking it to the extreme that artists like fairey , etc… are taking it). whether or not the man can ‘draw’ is about as important as how well a photographer could draw, doesn’t matter one iota. the Other michael says: February 11, 2009 at 5:46 pm When Warhol appropriated soup-cans and brillo-boxes and other iconography one of the main points was appropriation. when Fairey appropriated this photo, appropriation was not one of the issues at all. and so, unlike Cindy Shermans photos of photos, the act of appropriation itself is not the transformative element. Anonymous says: Glaser is right and you Fairey supporters are idiots. TheGorch says: February 13, 2009 at 5:53 am it’s funny, my screen-printing professor always scoffed at the use of “seriography,” she would go on and on about the need for screen printers to have validation within the fine-arts back in the 60’s when the practice was considered merely commercial art. I’ve done my share of screen-printing. With the right equipment, registration is a pretty easy obstacle to overcome. Heck, most commercial shops have automated presses doing the job. As an aside, I consider Gilbert and George the best screen-print artists around. Despite what he said on NPR, I really don’t think that the start of his process has anything to do with printing as much as with adobe tools. That’s totally fine. I use adobe tools every day and they are very powerful. I respect them. However, as a graphic designer and artist, I believe (as marshall arisman said it) that hand drawing is the lingua franca of an artist. I really don’t know if he can’t draw or not, just saying that I would be way way more impressed with his work if i saw a background in drawing, not a background in “appropriation” from other artists who I know can draw. BTW—i’m assuming that he probably can draw given that he went to RISD for illustration, though I see no evidence that he can come up with imagery purely from his own imagination. Seems like a blank visual cortex. I agree with stratojoe—SF is clearly a good graphic designer, plagiarized work or not. He’s a good craftsman and the end result is generally nice. I don’t find him edgy in any way like a lot of people do. Edgy to me is Dino and Jake. As far as his “absurdist propaganda” and his pedantic obsession with using Heidegger’s theories, I’m not convinced. I get it, you saw an Obey sticker and it stuck with you. The theme song for Julia Louis Dreyfuss’s 1-season flop of a TV show in the 80’s (Day By Day) stuck with me all these years, and I don’t consider that art. My point is that if that’s the metric by which you rate whether artwork is good or not, we’re in a pretty bad state. His early sticker campaign work is a somewhat interesting concept, yet it seems that the image is secondary and his brand is first. The feeling that i’m most often left with after seeing his work is “seen one, seen them all,” and I owe that to the branding that he uses. Course, I feel that way with a lot of “propaganda” artists that use words heavily in their work, like Barbara Kruger or Jenny Holzer. In the end, I feel that SF is partly responsible for the army of bad “street artists” that steal craploads of postal service stickers, draw crappy looking robots on them, and then stick them on every newspaper box in the city. Oh, and Mintyphresh, just because suckers like you buy into his “absurdist propaganda” bullshit and I don’t doesn’t make me a “douche.” It makes me someone who has taste beyond artists who have a line of toys for sale in every boutique juxtapoz-y store out there. Maybe you can’t recognize the sameness of artists like Kukula, Amy Sol, and Audrey Kawasaki, but I can and frankly i’m tired of it. The US painting scene has been in a lowly state for a while with (albeit with many, many unsung exceptions). Currin, Schumann, and Saul are a few big(ish) names who I really admire. I tend to go to China and Germany for inspiration with painting since that work is ten times more interesting than anything I’ve seen in the US. Again, opinions are like assholes… For what it’s worth I support Obama, and am glad as hell that this poster helped him get elected. minTphresh says: February 14, 2009 at 5:45 pm gorch, it’s “serigraphy” , fuckin look it up. i still don’t get yer point, i guess. apparently his work inspires an assload of passion in u, in order to write me such a lengthy rant on how much he doesn’t inspire you. to be honest with you, his work leaves me cold, for the most part. doesn’t make it any less important in the eyes of an art historian. see, if fairey says,” this is art.” then, by definition, it’s art. whether or not it’s “Art”, is for the art historians of future generations to decide. one criteria they use: how much passion does this artist’s/group of artists’ work inspire? how many people do you think “liked” the impressionists when they first started showing? the abstract expressionists? whether or not we feel his work is “good” or not means doodly. also, i’ve seen pix of his studio, it’s pretty primitive. and having done my fair share of screen printing, it impressed me. lblob says: February 16, 2009 at 7:54 pm THANK GOD! Finally! Someone spoke up about fairey and his derivative “art” works. You should really read the article at printmag.com and pay attention to the example Glaser points out in his article. Way too often Fairey takes past works by other artists and simply reproduces them without imbuing any concept at all. I completely agree that in this Hope poster, Fairey added nothing to the original photograph. Colorizing a photo and putting a word below it does not add to it. What’s the strongest point about the poster is the gaze in Obama’s face. The gaze, the angle etc. that the photographer captured, not Fairey. I think it’s a fine poster and if Fairey actually collaborated with the photographer I would have no problems. But this mess that he’s now in is because he is so used to this practice of simply ripping off imagery verbatim without a care or thought. I think this line by Glaser is very poignant: “it’s important for students to understand that any idea can be exploited, but NOT simply reproduced.” lblob says: February 16, 2009 at 9:58 pm Maybe someday appropriation will mature into its own respected art field just as photography did. Uhm, appropriation is already a respected mode of conceptual thought in art. But “copying” artwork isn’t. At least not yet anyway and hopefully not until I’m six feet under. lblob says: February 16, 2009 at 10:24 pm There’s a lot of Fairey hate going on here. You could also say there are a lot of blind followers here. Just because someone speaks up about something that they think is wrong doesn’t mean they’re some maniacal “hater.” Ridiculous. Yeesh, so the guy looked at a photo, and painted something from it? What’s the big deal? What’s the big deal? Seriously? Lol, the copyright owner thinks it’s a big enough deal. And he didn’t just “paint from it” The image matches up exactly, it’s a direct copy. It’s inspiring, it references Soviet design, and it has a message. If you say so. But still, does that validate someone stealing an image? Rene Magritte referenced apples in plenty of his other paintings. Wow, what Magritte did with an apple was conceptual. Unlike hope. Magritte wanted to paint an apple so he went and painted an apple, he chose how he would paint it, from what angle, what position, what conceptual meaning behind it, etc. He didn’t take a photo of an apple and posterize it. (thank god) He put meaning into the apple himself. Lichtenstein put up giant direct copies of comic strips Please don’t even compare Lichtenstein to Fairey. What, you want high art that’s unique, unreproducability, or it’s crap? Nonsense. “Hope” deserves the same status as “Drowning Girl” Oh god, the conceptual thought behind drowning girl is miles apart from hope. Fairey’s critics are being elitist. Right, we’re “elitist” yeah right, why not call us racists, classists, anything else you want to add? Oh no, art students might try something similar This could mean the END of the WORLD! Sarcasm aside it’s disappointing to see such unconceptual, unoriginal and uninspired work being championed. when Lichtenstein did the same thing. How’d that happen? You really need to take a lesson in art history. Pop artists challenged the notion of “what is art.” Stealing an image of Obama isn’t challenging anything about art. He simply needed a stock image of Obama and went and took it. The paternalistic “father knows best” of Glaser & those that agree with him are exactly what Glaser had to deal with in his art when it was new. Oh my god, now here comes the personal attack, the brushing off of a very well respected figure as being out of touch and old fashioned I guess if you aren’t down with Fairey and stealing images from google then I guess you’re just …old? You can say “oh, but that was different”, but it’s not really proving anything to define your own terms for what counts as different. Take a look at what Glaser did, he was “influenced” by Duchamp’s profile he didn’t simply colorize it and pass it off as his own without giving any recognition. He used it as a point of inspiration. infikitsune says: February 18, 2009 at 3:22 pm I dare anyone to draw an accurate portrait of Obama that doesn’t resemble a photograph of Obama. Maybe artists should only be able to depict famous figures if they photograph them themselves, that’s eminently practical. lblob says: I dare anyone to draw an accurate portrait of Obama that doesn’t resemble a photograph of Obama. I could show you several portraits of Obama that look nothing like a photograph. Maybe artists should only depict famous figures if they photograph them themselves No, they should just collaborate, ask permission and give credit where credit is due. That’s all. February 19, 2009 at 2:16 pm lblah, you act as though all he did was “copy” the picture of obama. when in fact they are two completely separate images! one is a photograph, featuring all the tonal values and nuances of color etc… that entails. fairy’s image is a serigraph( silkscreen) print, teh image has many similarities, but IT IS NOT THE SAME IMAGE. people said the same tired crap about how picasso was ripping off the writers of the newsprint he used in his collages, or how “the fountain” by r.mutt ( marcel duchamp) was an affront to artists, or that impressionism wasn’t “art”, or how the critic’s “5 yr. old” could paint anything as good as a jackson pollock, or how lichtenstein should be sued for plagerism, or how warhol was a hack for “copying” newpaper pix and brillo boxes. and yet if you read any art history of the period, there are their names. in his interview with amy goodman, SF claimed to have three sources for the portrait, the ap pic being one of them. i guess i just don’t see what exactly it is that u r whining about. lblob says: February 19, 2009 at 6:14 pm Haha, good one mint. Yes, forgive my “whining.” So sorry. But actually it is the same image, it’s just been posterized (turned into a high contrast two color photograph completely derived from the original. Now take a look at Fairey’s newest print, Dilla, or whatever it’s called, it’s the same exact thing, it’s a photo that’s been posterized. But Fairey had the decency to credit (and compensate) the photographer this time. Photographers are artists too and deserve credit. That’s all I ask. And I don’t think you’ve read a word that anyone has said on here. There is a world of difference in the conceptual artists you mention elevating non art to “high art.” The unauthorized use of a stock photo of Obama is not even in the same league as what Duchamp, Pollock and Warhol did. It should be a crime to even compare the two. Anonymous says: February 24, 2009 at 2:40 am To be fair, I think everybody has got wrapped up in thinking that Glaser is referring to just the Obama poster. If you actually read what he’s saying, he says that Fairey’s BODY of work makes him uncomfortable because of it’s borderline plagiarism. It’s a very valid point when you look at SF’s work in its entirity. Anonymous says: January 5, 2010 at 2:31 pm Is everybody, writing these articles, missing the point of SF’s work? I see more and more discussions on SF, and his “plagiarism”… What he is doing, sure he uses old propaganda, as his source – but changing the message, hence the art. The Yellowstone flyer is a perfect example – he is pointing out the contrast between a U.S. national vacation resort, and the fact that american soldiers has invaded Iraq, which is a burning contrast to the flyers original message. So is his “One Big Union” hand, made into “Obey Propaganda”, sending a message to be careful not to fall into the message of propaganda without thinking for yourself, also sending the message not to take his own work too literally. Above is not the entire Milton article, and the rest of it addresses the same lack of ability to see the art being the changing of the message. I think people claiming SF’s work to be plagiarism is sadly missing the entire point of his work.

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We know (and love) Shrek from his many movies. What type of mythical creature is he?

Posters and Election Propaganda: Tagged as election - Communication Management and Design - Ithaca College Communication Management and Design A blog dedicated to the examination of communications in election campaigns, with a focus on posters Tagged as “election” Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:01AM   |   Add a comment Tuxedo Party Poster, Halifax, Canada, 2012 Poster for Tuxedo Stan, a cat running as a write-in candidate for Mayor of Halifax, Canada, under the banner of the Tuxedo Party. According to its Facebook page, "The Tuxedo Party is a political movement aimed to improve the welfare of felines in HRM [Halifax Regional Municipality] 'because neglect isn't working'." Click here for more on the campaign. The Tuxedo Party's Facebook page has more than 4,800 "Likes" as of today.   Posted by Steven Seidman at 8:50AM   |   Add a comment Currier & Ives Print (1864). Lincoln College. The 1864 U.S. presidential election campaign—which was held the year after Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg—was an important one. As was the case in 1860, the North was divided. Judging by the dominant themes in campaign broadsides, this time the conflict was about the emancipation of the slaves, the prosecution of the Civil War, and the way to deal with the Confederate states. Abraham Lincoln was up for reelection, but doubted that he could win again, due to high casualties and military defeats. His opponent was the man whom he had removed as the general-in-chief during the war, George McClellan. Lincoln was the candidate of the National Union Party, formed by pro-Lincoln Republicans and War Democrats, with the very effective slogan, "Don't change horses in the middle of a stream." McClellan positioned himself as a moderate who could end the war, with Lincoln depicted as too "extreme," since the president was for emancipation of the slaves in the South. The Currier & Ives print on the right shows McClellan calling for the preservation of the Union, while grabbing both Lincoln (saying "No peace without Abolition!") and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, with frayed pants (saying "No peace without Separation!"). One huge problem for McClellan, however, was that he had to run against his party's platform, which called for a "cessation of hostilities, with a view of an ultimate convention of the States" to restore the Union. McClellan wanted to continue the war, but Lincoln's campaign focussed on the danger of the Confederate States of America becoming an independent country, if the Democrats won. Many states allowed Union soldiers to vote, and it was estimated that Lincoln won almost 80% of that segment. Three new states (West Virginia, Nevada, and Kansas) voted for the first time, and Lincoln won all three. Although McClellan won 45% of the popular vote, he was crushed in the Electoral College, winning only Kentucky, Delaware, and New Jersey. He almost won New York though—losing by less than 7,000 votes—when many immigrants were naturalized before the election and with fraud occurring in New York City. More than 70,000 soldiers from the state cast absentee ballots, which put Lincoln over the top. McClellan’s cause was somewhat damaged by his party’s platform and his battlefield record, but his defeat has been attributed mainly to the Union capture of Atlanta two months before the election. The importance of the election of 1864 was obvious to Lincoln—he believed that the Democratic Party platform would lead to a McClellan administration negotiating an armistice, followed by the permanent breakup of the United States of America. Instead, Lincoln won reelection on a platform demanding that an amendment to the Constitution to abolish slavery be passed, and that the war would be pursued until the South was defeated and the Union preserved.   Posted by Steven Seidman at 9:30AM   |   Add a comment Opening Sequence from "Peace, Little Girl" (1964) The most famous political TV ad of all time—the so-called "Daisy Spot"—was only run once. But it made quite an impression. The 1964 presidential election campaign—pitting President Lyndon B. Johnson (or LBJ, as he was commonly called), the Democratic nominee, against Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee—was marked by increased media expenditures for TV spots, and audience attentiveness to them. According to Larry Sabato, ten thousand TV spots were aired in the largest seventy-five media markets during the campaign. Advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) developed the memorable spot for Johnson, calling it “Peace, Little Girl.” A DDB media specialist, Tony Schwartz, conceived the spot, after doing commercials that included children for Ivory Snow®, Johnson’s® Baby Powder, Polaroid cameras, and other corporate products. Schwartz believed that by combining the right images, words, music, and sound effects, an ad could strike an emotional “responsive chord” in a consumer. The “Daisy Spot” opened with a young girl picking a daisy, and a narrator counting down from “ten.” The girl plucks off the petals as the countdown continues, the camera simultaneously zooming in to an extreme close-up of the girl’s eye. An atomic explosion erupts, and Lyndon Johnson is heard saying, “These are the stakes—to make a world in which all of God’s children can live, or go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die.” Although the Republicans tried to counter the tactics manifested in this commercial with their own spots—the theme of which was “we are the party of peace through strength” and which were highly critical of the Democratic administration’s “failures at the ‘wall of shame in Berlin,’ the Bay of Pigs in Cuba and in Vietnam”—Goldwater’s already hawkish image had become so negative for so many people that the deleterious consequences of the Democratic propaganda could not be undone. Even though the “Daisy Spot” ran only once, an estimated fifty million viewers saw it, and after the Republicans protested its airing, many more read and heard about it. While it is likely that, without the efforts of the advertising firm, Johnson would have won the U.S. presidency in 1964, his margin were probably increased substantially by the advertising campaign.   DDB’s propaganda campaign (which included the "Daisy Spot") did two significant things: (1) it created a convincing image of Goldwater as an “extremist” “product” and (2) it softened the image of Johnson as a “crass wheeler-dealer,” making him seem almost avuncular—virtually a “peace and love” advocate of the 1960s—in comparison to his “bellicose” opponent.   To see the "Daisy Spot" ad, click on: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1964/peace-little-girl-daisy   Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:40PM   |   Add a comment Julius Kessler, The Lost Bet (1893). Parade with banner showing portraits of Grover Cleveland, Adlai Stevenson, and John Altgeld (Library of Congress) Banner for Democratic Candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932) (Photo: GeorgiaInfo). Political banners have been used for a couple of centuries in the United States. At first, they were printed on cloth, and much later on vinyl for outdoor use. Many of these banners were (and still are) locally made, simple, and featured block lettering. Banners have been commonplace at rallies and parades. The Whigs introduced two unique ideas to election campaigns: one was to use a potent symbol—the log cabin (often combined with soldiers and a jug of hard cider)—for their aristocratic candidate William Henry Harrison, the party's candidate for president in 1840, depicted as a rough-and-ready, common farmer; the other was the creation of silk flag banners, which added a portrait of Harrison and the phrases “Old Tip” and “The Hero of Tippecanoe” to the American flag. Some of the Whig rallies, with banners unfurled, drew an estimated one hundred thousand people, perhaps attracted by the seemingly endless supplies of hard cider. A variety of banners were produced, some with an eagle holding a scroll with the Whig candidates’ designations “Tip” and “Ty” (for Harrison's vice-presidential candidate, John Tyler) in its beak and the slogan “Our Country is safe, in such Hands.” One observer counted one thousand banners in a Baltimore parade for Harrison. Most cloth banners continued to be relatively simple in design: one for the Republican national ticket in 1884 imparted only the last names of the candidates on a cloth with three stripes (one red, one white, and one blue), and a row of stars. Banners with candidate portraits soon were widely deployed. A print (shown on the right) of a parade in Chicago for the 1892 Democratic Party national ticket shows a large cloth banner overhead, portraying candidates Grover Cleveland and Adlai Stevenson, as well as the Illinois governor, John Peter Algeld. About this time, flag banners were dying out, and flag desecration laws (passed at the beginning of the twentieth century) ended the practice of printing candidates’ names, symbols, and slogans on flag backgrounds. By 1912, banners seemed to be omnipresent at election time. In that year, the New Jersey Republican League issued a report on its primary campaign to defeat President William Howard Taft for the party’s nomination, stating, “Banners are swung across the streets in every city and town of importance, extolling the candidates." Several companies printed campaign banners (for which only a few standard designs were available) on cloth, and some of the candidates’ portraits were painted by hand. At the end of the nineteenth century, one could order a thirty-by-forty-foot banner with portraits at a cost of between $112 and $140; without portraits, they could be purchased for $80. Taft generally stayed in the White House, with his banners proclaiming “Better be safe than sorry.” By 1928, banners were draped on automobiles for Democratic presidential candidate Al Smith. Small cloth banners (typically colored in red, white, and blue) were popular campaign items in the 1930s and 1940s, displaying mottos and slogans, such as “God Bless America,” as well as drawn portraits of the candidates. One of these (shown on the right) exemplifies a patriotic banner from this period (from the 1932 campaign), depicting FDR, with flags and an eagle, "blessed by God."  In later elections, plastic banners were evident. One, in 1968, for example, proclaimed “Nixon’s the One!” Another, seen at the Republican convention in 2004, included most of the defining words from George W. Bush's acceptance speech, “We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America.”   Posted by Steven Seidman at 4:18PM   |   3 comments Malachi Cleary as Warren G. Harding on "Boardwalk Empire" Howard Chandler Christy, �America First!� (1920) (Ohio Historical Society) Warren G. Harding, the presidential candidate of the Republican Party in the United States in 1920, is portrayed by actor Malachi Cleary in the HBO television series, "Boardwalk Empire." In fact, the title of the finale of the show's first season, "A Return to Normalcy," was one of Harding's campaign slogans. And a large Harding poster can be seen in the background during the Republican National Convention scene (as David Ettlin—a reader of this blog—points out). Harding, a silver-haired, adulterous, corrupt minor senator from Ohio, secured his party's nomination at the convention, with the help of several party bosses in a "smoke-filled room." On the TV show, Harding's campaign manager, Harry Daugherty is helped by “Nucky” Thompson (played by Steve Buscemi), who calls the candidate an "imbecile" while dealmaking to benefit both Harding and himself. "Nucky" also agrees to hide Harding's mistress, Nan Britton, in New Jersey during the presidential campaign.  During the 1920 campaign, the Republicans spent an incredible amount of money to elect Harding (who won by the huge margin of 26 percentage points). It was reported in The New York Times that five million posters that included portraits of Harding and his vice-presidential candidate, Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge, were printed, along with fifteen million buttons of Harding alone. Although Daugherty was quite influential in the campaign, another figure, advertising executive Albert Lasker, loomed large. Lasker coordinated public relations and advertising, and posters and billboards were a fundamental part of the campaign. Lasker’s style of advertising, which often advocated the purchase of one product over another, worked very well in politics, with newspaper and billboard ads promoting politicians rather than products. It was a small leap for him to come up with another slogan for Harding, “Let’s be done with wiggle and wobble” (a reference to a Democratic policy that seemed first to have been isolationist, then interventionist), after concocting such slogans as “Keep that Schoolgirl Complexion” and “A Cow in Every Pantry” for products. Lasker’s slogan was seen on billboards across the country at a cost of four hundred thousand dollars (while the Democrats spent little on this medium)—and that was only 7.5 percent of the Republican National Committee’s total expenditures. The “wiggle and wobble” slogan strategy contrasted Lasker’s candidate with the outgoing president: Harding was depicted as a solid, steady leader with small-town values, who would return the country to “normalcy”; the outgoing Democratic president, Woodrow Wilson, on the other hand, had promised to keep the country out of the Great War, and then had led it into the conflict. The visual images that were sometimes fashioned for the posters and billboards in the Harding campaing were imposing: a good example is Howard Chandler Christy’s idealized rendition of Harding with the candidate dramatically raising one hand and appearing to hold an American flag with the other. There were only two words accompanying the image: “America First!” (yet another slogan). This was the same slogan that was used in the Wilson poster in the previous election campaign, and, amazingly, the slogan that was included in some Democratic posters in 1920. Posted by Steven Seidman at 6:20PM   |   Add a comment McKinley Campaign Poster (1896/1900) (Library of Congress Reproduction No. LC-USZC2-201) In its May auction, Heritage Auction Galleries sold a copy of what it called "Perhaps the Most Sought After of All Color Political Lithography from This 'Golden Era'." The period referred to went from the last decade of the nineteenth century through the first decade of the twentieth, and the poster was issued in 1896 and/or 1900 in support of Republican presidential candidate William McKinley. Heritage stated: "Here graphic appeal combines with rarity, as there are surely fewer than ten examples of this poster known in the organized hobby, and several of those exhibit condition issues. This example is in superb condition and is assuredly unimprovable."   The poster sold for almost $18,000. McKinley, the governor of Ohio, was largely in favor of retaining the gold standard. In addition, he was the author of the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890, which was largely protectionist. His campaign manager, Mark Hanna, a wealthy businessperson who applied the principles of business of that period to political campaigns, raised millions of dollars, outspending the Democrats by anywhere from seven to thirty-two times. Hanna packaged his candidate, creating the image of him as a leader who had a simple and clear message (encapsulated in the slogan on the poster, "Prosperity at Home, Prestige Abroad"). Overall, the Republican campaign theme in 1896 was that a McKinley administration could pull the country out of a depression and return it to prosperity, which did actually happen by 1900. This theme is illustrated in the poster, with the Republican presidential candidate holding a flag while literally standing on a platform of “sound money” (i.e., paper currency backed by gold), held up by businessmen and laborers. In the background are ships and factories, to symbolize "commerce" and "civilization," respectively. There are also rays of sunshine—used in the political posters of many countries to convey optimism. Hanna’s tactics with which he associated his candidate and the Republican Party with the icon of the American flag, helped build support twenty years later to declare Flag Day an official national holiday. Voters Favor California Marijuana Legalization Proposition Posted by Steven Seidman at 7:35AM   |   2 comments California voters next month could approve a proposition to permit anyone 21 years or older to possess, cultivate, or transport marijuana for personal use. Right now, the polls show voters in favor of the proposition by six points. Proposition 19 would also allow local governments to regulate and tax the commercial production and sale of marijuana, but prohibit possession on school grounds and other public places, as well as smoking it in the presence of minors or providing it to anyone under 21 years old. Laws against the use of marijuana while driving would continue to be in force. There are lots of posters for and against the initiative. Two of them are presented here. The use of the Sun in posters is common in political propaganda, with the goal to stimulate positive feelings about an issue or candidate. It is also present on a Web site put up by Prop 19 supporters: http://yeson19.com/ . Here is a Web site in opposition: http://www.noonproposition19.com .   Posted by Steven Seidman at 3:15PM   |   Add a comment Law and Justice Logo (Poland) The first round of Poland's presidential election will take place on June 20. If no candidate garners more than 50% of the vote, a second round will be needed, which will occur on July 4. Acting Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski, who called the election, is also a candidate for president, representing the ruling centrist Civic Platform party (PO). Komorowski became president after President Lech Kaczyński of the rightist Law and Justice party (PiS), his wife, and many Polish officials died in a plane crash in Russia earlier this month. Opinion polls have Komorowski in the lead for president, whose duties are mainly ceremonial, but who can veto legislation (although a veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in the parliament) and participate in foreign-policy discussions. In one poll , Komorowski is at 55 percent and Jaroslaw Kaczyński (Lech's twin brother) is at 32%, although the latter figure has not announced that he will be a candidate. Other parties, such as the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL), are also putting up candidates. The logo of Law and Justice features a stylized white eagle with a crown, which associates the party with the same symbols on the national coat of arms. The first posters for the upcoming election have not appeared yet, but they will. All parties produce many posters, as well as banners, TV spots, radio programs, bumper stickers, buttons, leaflets, and newspapers, for the country's political campaigns. Such campaigns have taken place for a long time in Poland. Beginning in 1573, the gentry (even those who were impoverished) elected the king after much debate, wining, and dining. Members of the parliament also were elected. Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:46PM   |   Add a comment Bernhard Gillam, "Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal� (Puck, 1884) James Blaine (Republican candidate for U.S. president in 1884) was shown covered with tattoos in cartoons that ran during the election campaign that year (even though he didn't have any tattoos, according to Skin&Ink magazine, supplied by Joe Philips). Bernhard Gillam attacked Blaine in a series of cartoons that were published in Puck, a weekly magazine. Each tattoo represented a scandal in which Blaine was allegedly involved. These cartoons might well have been the difference in a very close contest between Blaine and the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland, who won despite exposure, during the campaign, of his premarital affair that had resulted in the birth of a child, and paying a substitute to serve in his place when conscripted for military service in the Civil War. The election results: Cleveland 48.85%; Blaine 48.28%; John St. John (Prohibition Party) 1.5%; Benjamin Butler (Greenback Party) 1.33%. The difference in New York State, in which these cartoons were widely disseminated, was only one-tenth of 1%, or about 1,100 votes out of over one million cast, according to the excellent Atlas of U.S Presidential Elections  (which also supplied the national percentages). Which politicians actually did have tattoos? Apparently, Barry Goldwater had a crescent-shaped, snake-bite pattern tattoo on his wrist, and Sarah Palin may have a Big Dipper on her ankle and a lipstick liner tattooed on her, as well, according to Celebrity Tattos . Posted by Steven Seidman at 3:00PM   |   Add a comment Mumsnet Logo The influential parenting Web site in Britain, Mumsnet.com , is being used by the political parties to get across their messages to "mommy bloggers." The May election in the U.K. is now being called the "Mumsnet Election," according to Emma Hall in AdAge.com . In fact, the Web site has a section with exactly that title, with links to an article, a survey, a discussion board, leader biographies, and Web chats. Just as "soccer moms" were a key targeted group for Bill Clinton's 1996 U.S. campaign, middle-class, college-educated mothers are being targeted in this year's British campaign, as Rachel Sylvester points out in the TImes . According to Sylvester, "Labour is planning manifesto pledges to increase paternity leave, allow greater flexibility at work and give more help to those caring for elderly parents. The Tories are also preparing to pitch to the Mumsnet vote with an increase in parental leave...." Both the Conservative and Labour Parties have developed ads for the Web site and their leaders have participated in online chat sessions with some of the site's users. One Labour ad says, "Are you earning more than 42,000 pounds? Say hello to David [Cameron, the Conservative Party's leader]. And goodbye to your child tax credits. Vote Tory and you'll get less than you bargained for." The Conservative Party's ad exclaims, however, that the party favors child tax credits for people who earn under 78,000 pounds. Posted by Steven Seidman at 2:00PM   |   Add a comment BIllboard for Tomasz Nalecz (Social Democratic Party, Poland, 2010) (Globalpost) SDPL Facebook Group Page SDPL Facebook Group Page Poland will elect its next president in October by direct vote to serve a five-year term, and the campaign has already begun. Although the president does not have much power, he or she can veto legislation. Poland's election campaigns are much influenced by American political marketing practices and by its consultants. For example, Tomasz Nalecz of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDPL), erected billboards that featured not only his portrait but also that of Barack Obama. Nalecz was placed in front of the country's presidential palace with its equestrian statue of Prince Józef Poniatowski, and Obama has the U.S. Capitol behind him. Both look out at the voters, smiling. According to Jan Cienski , the billboard is controversial because permission to use Obama's photograph was not obtained. Nalecz's campaign maintains, however, that the photo is in the public domain. American political techniques have influenced parties of the right, as well. In 2006, for instance, the Law and Justice party, was known for the “spin-doktorzy” practices by its strategists, Adam Bielan and Michal Kaminski, who also copied ads from the Reagan campaign, according to Cienski. Other American campaign strategies, such as using social-networking sites, have also been used. The SDPL, for example, has a Facebook group . Posters have been used extensively in Polish political campaigns, including by Solidarity, which displayed large posters (some of which were torn down by police, according to the party), as well as banners, TV spots, radio programs, bumper stickers, buttons, leaflets, and newspapers in its campaigns. In a special Solidarity poster for the 1989 campaign, Gary Cooper (as the American sheriff in the film High Noon) was shown with a ballot in one hand, instead of a pistol, along with the message “It’s high noon, June 4, 1989.” Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln�A Great U.S. President and Campaigner! Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:50AM   |   1 comment �Hon. Abraham Lincoln� (Currier & Ives, 1860) (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, reproduction number LC-USZC62-2594) �The Union Must and Shall be Preserved� (W. H. Rease) (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, reproduction number LC-USZC4-7996) “The Union Must and Shall be Preserved” (W. H. Rease, 1860) (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, reproduction number LC-USZC4-7996) This Friday is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Lincoln, who was born 201 years ago in Kentucky, was ranked recently as the greatest U.S. president (albeit in a poll conducted by the Times of London). In 1860, with the nation divided, the Republican Party promoted its candidate, Lincoln, as a common man of integrity and worth—the rail-splitting frontiersman. A poster for the ticket of Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin that year, titled “The Union Must and Shall be Preserved,” included a rail fence and it took care to show laborers on either side of a shield that declared “Protection to American Industry,” as well as the customary eagle, cornucopias, and flags. The motto “Free Speech, Free Homes, Free Territory” referred to the party’s platform positions on the elimination of slavery in federal territories, support of the Homestead Act, and freedom to voice anti-slavery views. The overriding issue was slavery expansion, which had finally reached the crisis stage, after decades of agitation by abolitionists and pro-slavery expansionists. The parades, rallies, campaign newspapers and songs, and free food and drink that had been used in the past continued to be employed by all parties, of which there were four: (1) the Republicans, headed by Lincoln; (2) the regular Democrats, whose presidential nominee was Stephen Douglas; (3) the National Democrats, headed by John Breckenridge, who supported the federal government’s protection of slavery in the territories; and (4) the Constitutional Union Party, which nominated Bell and, as its paper banner proclaimed, was in favor of “The Union, the Constitution and the Enforcement of the Laws.” Placards and posters, as well as refreshments (such as barbecued meats, crackers, and bread), were essential ingredients at the rallies—attended by as many as 30,000 people. Lincoln’s supporters published two weekly newspapers, both called the Rail Splitter, which not only propagated his stands on issues, but also raised funds. Numerous portrait prints of the candidates were produced for rallies and parades, or simply distributed to potential voters—a practice that had occurred for some time. Many copies of Mathew Brady’s photographs of Lincoln were distributed, as were lithographic portrait posters of Lincoln, Bell, and Douglas. Lithographic portraits of Lincoln by Currier & Ives, idealized from Brady photographs, were sold for twenty cents each. Some of the lithographic prints were hand-colored: a portrait of Lincoln, for example, used during his first presidential campaign, had only red added to his lips and the background curtains. In 1860, the Republicans’ presidential ticket was not even on the ballot in ten states in the South, but Lincoln won the election overwhelmingly in the North and West, with a popular vote north of the 41st parallel greater than 60 percent (for an easy electoral victory), and garnered about 40 percent overall. Despite Lincoln’s attempts to reassure the South, his election led to its secession and the bitter Civil War that ensued. For more on the momentous 1860 campaign—as well as an account of the 1864 campaign to re-elect Lincoln—and the printed propaganda used, see my book, Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History . Posted by Steven Seidman at 3:28PM   |   Add a comment Sebastián Piñera campaign poster (2010) (http://www.rnw.nl) Sebastián Piñera, a conservative billionaire, won Chile's presidential election in a runoff yesterday. It was the first victory for a conservative in more than 50 years. Early returns showed Piñera defeating former president Eduardo Frei, a Christian Democrat, by a 4% margin, according to BBC News . Piñera's platform included investment incentives, lowering taxes on small businesses, job creation, law-and-order policies, and steamlining government. World Audit now ranks Chile the 21st most "democratic" country in the world (with 36 considered "fully democratic"), two decades after the military rule of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (1973-1990) ended. Political parties in Chile use posters more than those in many other countries, since they are allocated limited time on public television and not even allowed to purchase commercial broadcast time. Disputed Honduran Election Next Month Posted by Steven Seidman at 12:15PM   |   2 comments Supporters of President Manuel Zelaya shout and hold posters bearing pictures of Zelaya, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, July 3, 2009 (REUTERS/Henry Romero) President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the Honduran military in a June 28th coup, after he planned to have a vote on a non-binding resolution on constitutional change. If voters had approved such change, a referendum authorizing a commission to change the country's constitution to allow presidents (including Zelaya) to serve more than one term, could have been held this November. However, Zelaya denied that he intended to stand for re-election. In any case, the Supreme Court and the Congress voted that the change was illegal, and that Zelaya could not fire the head of the armed forces, Romeo Vásquez (who had opposed his plan). When Zelaya did not accept the rulings by the Supreme Court and Congress (as well as the county's human-rights ombudsman), they voted to remove him from office. It was feared by many that Zelaya (allied with Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Cuba's Fidel Castro) was working to seize power. Protests and sanctions by other governments have wracked Honduras since his ouster. The United States and many other countries (as well as the Organization of American States) have said that the crisis concerning Zelaya must be resolved or the upcoming November 28 election will be considered to be illegitimate. Polls indicate that Zelaya has the support of about one-fourth of Hondurans. Zelaya is now being protected by Brazil, in its embassy in Honduras. Interim President Roberto Micheletti (a member of Zelaya's Liberal Party) has stated that Zelaya can leave the embassy "either through political asylum or by obeying the courts." And last week, Micheletti suspended civil liberties and banned protests. Meanwhile, six candidates for the Honduran presidency are now campaigning, but without the typical rallies. The campaign posters that are put up are almost immediately destroyed and/or taken down, but TV spots have continued to be aired. Elvin Santos (the Liberal Party candidate) is trying to be get elected by being friendly with both Zelaya and Micheletti. "We may have profound political differences," Santos declared. "But that doesn't mean I can't hug any Honduran I want, as I did when I greeted President Micheletti, when I greeted President Zelaya." Porfirio Lobo Sosa (candidate of the conservative National Party) has stated that there is no "constitutional crisis," but rather a regular scheduled election to be held. Lobo is ahead in the polls. He has condemned the suspension of civil liberties. Honduras is a tiny nation, which has a population of only about 7.5 million people. It has held fairly democratic elections since the late 1980s, after two decades of military repression and political intervention. The history of Honduras—a country with an unemployment rate of almost 30%—is filled with civil wars (which took the lives of an estimated thirteen thousand citizens between 1892 and 1924) and elections often marked by fraud and military force, frequently followed by presidential dictatorship and domination of Congress. The derogatory name “The Banana Republic” was given to Honduras in the early twentieth century, after the United Fruit Company bought the country’s banana company, and began to exercise undue influence. Honduras became the world’s sole country whose primary export was bananas. To learn more about the political history of Honduras, see my book, Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History . Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:15PM   |   Add a comment An official election poster display board in Japan (2009) (http://www.peterpayne.net) Japan Labor-Farmer Party, "Guarantee Land to Working Farmers! Give Food and Work to the Laborers! Give Freedom to All!" (1928) (Ohara Institute for Social Research, Hosei University) On Sunday, the voters of Japan overwhelmingly sent a message: we want change! The more conservative party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power for almost the entire post-World-War-II period, was sent packing, and the reformist Democratic Party of Japan (JDP) will take over. The JDP was created only in 1998, by defectors from the LDP and some of the opposition parties. Dissatisfaction with the ruling party was rampant this year, with the Japanese economy continuing to show weakness. According to Tomoko Hosaka, writing in the Associated Press , unemployment is a record 5.7 percent and wages have fallen. The Democratic Party's platform calls for less aid to corporations and more to families, including cash being given to farmers, a boost in the minimum wage, and tax cuts, writes Hosaka. For decades, parties of the left have appealed to farmers and workers, as evidenced by a 1928 poster shown at the right side of this blog entry. The enormity of the JDP's victory was shocking. According to the Associated Press , the number of seats in the lower house of parliament won by the party increased from 112 to 308. The opposite effect occurred for the LDP, which went from holding 300 seats to a mere 119. JDP leader Yukio Hatoyama will become the country's next prime minister, and he is less pro-American than his predecessor, Taro Aso, with the former politician calling for closer links with Asian nations and less close ones with the United States. Posted by Steven Seidman at 2:10PM   |   Add a comment Mannix Flynn Poster (2009) (www.greenapplemedia.ie) Several Irish commentators are opining that an election poster in support of one Mannix Flynn is an interesting one—at least in Dublin. Ann Marie Hourihane, writing in the Irish Times , wrote that the Flynn poster stands out in a sea of mediocre designs: "Mannix Flynn is standing for the local elections, and his poster was recommended to me by a visually literate friend as a work of art. Its background is an acid yellow-green. It has a little lettering in shocking pink. The background to the candidate’s name is a dirty turquoise and the words Mannix Flynn are rendered in a dark burgundy. It looks sharp. It is retro, but it looks new. I know of one young woman who is going to vote for Mannix Flynn on the basis that his poster is cool. In the land of the disembodied and grinning heads something new, and very good, can be done with a format which is staggering with weariness." Flynn is a writer and actor, who ran for the Dublin City Council in the June 5th elections, and won as an independent. You can check out Flynn's Web site , which has a music video supporting him, among other things. Posted by Steven Seidman at 4:40PM   |   Add a comment Web Banner, Congress Party (India) (http://www.congress.org.in) Elections for the lower house of the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha, concluded on May 16. The voters gave the ruling moderate-left Congress Party, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a great victory over the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress Party coalition won 262 seats in the 534-seat parliamentary body; the BJP-led coalition only won 157. (Click here for the results.) According to Rama Lakshmi, writing in The Washington Post : "For the first time since 1996, India will have a coalition government that is not fragile and unwieldy and that has a relatively strong center. The outgoing coalition government...was sustained by a handful of communist parties that eventually withdrew support over a controversial civilian nuclear agreement concluded last year between India and the United States." $3 billion was spent on the campaign—about $600 million more than was spent during last year's presidential campaign in the United States, reported The New York Times . Of course, much was expended on TV spots and newspaper ads, but text messages were also sent to many of the 400 million cell-phone users, and priests were even hired to perform rituals in support of candidates and parties. One medium that was used less than in the past was posters, since India's election commission issued a ban on their display in public, if permission has not been granted to put them up, according to The Times. Web sites were also evident—with the BJP emulating Barack Obama's online example. Previously, posters were rated as the fifth most important medium in campaigns by Indian campaign managers, behind rallies and daily newspapers, public television, and radio, but ahead of private television, direct mail, and magazines. For more on Indian politics and posters, see a previous blog entry and the book, Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History . Posted by Steven Seidman at 2:38PM   |   Add a comment National Equal Rights Party, Belva Lockwood (1884) [Wilson article] Photograph of Victoria Woodhull (http://tdaait.wordpress.com) Photograph of Victoria Woodhull (http://tdaait.wordpress.com) In 1872, Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to run for the presidency of the United States. A one-time actress, spiritualist, prostitute, and free-love advocate, she was a member of the Marxist International Workingmen's Association. She was also 76-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt's lover, and (with his advice) did quite well in investing. She and her sister soon became the first women to establish a banking and brokerage company on Wall Street. By 1870, the two sisters had the means to publish Woodhull and Claflin's Weekly, which covered such topics as women's suffrage and labor-management issues. Also in 1870, Woodhull announced her intention to run for president—even though women did not have the right to vote (and would not gain it until 1920). In early 1871, she testified before the House Judiciary Committee on behalf of women suffrage. Her speech impressed several leaders of the suffrage movement, including Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Woodhull soon rose to a leadership position. In January 1872, the National Women Suffrage Association nominated Woodhull to run for president. Her campaign platform supported a woman's right to vote, free love, nationalization of land, fair wages, and much more. Woodhull ran under the banner of the new Equal Rights Party, but her name was not printed on ballots and write-in votes for her were not counted, as Ulysses S. Grant won a second term. The next women to run for president was Belva Lockwood in 1884. A lawyer, as well as a leader in the women's suffrage movement, Lockwood also ran as a candidate of the Equal Rights Party. Her platform not only called for women to be given the right to vote, but also advocated for civil service reform, Native Americans, African Americans, immigrants,  protection of public lands, and temperance. She ran an energetic campaign, but the mainstream candidates—Grover Cleveland and James Blaine—refused to debate her. Lockwood garnered 4,149 votes (in the six states that allowed her name on ballots), as Cleveland won. Anthony and Stanton supported Blaine. Lockwood also ran four years later, with her vote total unknown. After the results were announced in 1884, Lockwood declared that most men hang on to "old ideas, developed in the days of chivalry," but that "equality of rights and privileges is but simple justice." The campaign itself witnessed much Lockwood paraphernalia, including stickpins, mechanical paper cards, ribbons, tickets, tobacco cards, and magazine cartoons. Sources: Women in History: Victoria Woodhull—  http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/wood-vic.htm ; Ballot Access News: http://www.ballotaccess.org/2007/01/22/women-running-for-president-in-the-general-election/ ; Jill Norgren, Belva Lockwood Blazing the Trail for Women in Law: http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/spring/belva-lockwood-1.html ; Jack Wilson (2008, Summer/Fall/Winter), "Belva Lockwood for President," The Keynoter. Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:05AM   |   Add a comment Social Democratic Radical Party (Chile), Logo Nattino, “Mujer avanza con la bandera dela patria” (“Women Advance with the Flag of the Motherland”) (1970). la Unidad Popular (Popular Unity), Chile. Courtesy of Centro de Documentación Salvador Allende. Elections are scheduled this year in five countries in Latin America, namely Chile, Panama, Uruguay, El Salvador, and Honduras. World Audit rates the first three countries as "fully democratic," and the other two as "qualified democracies," meaning that there are some flaws. In much of Latin America, “street poster art” is an influential political medium, and during election campaigns, posters are omnipresent. This is true even as the influences of television and the Internet have become greater. The standard practice is to maximize the impact of a poster’s message by pasting many copies of the same poster in rows or columns. This repetition attracts attention. During the 2005 Chilean presidential election,  “one [could not] seem to leave the house without being subject to posters lined up on every street,” according to one report. That posters are essential in Latin America is not surprising, considering a recent survey found that almost 80 percent of the region’s campaign managers believed the image of a candidate was the most important factor in a political campaign. Furthermore, 24 percent of these political professionals indicated that street posters were of “exceptional importance” in campaign advertising strategy, a percentage almost as high as for daily newspapers (29 percent) and private television (30 percent). In 1970, Chile witnessed a momentous election campaign, which culminated in the election of Salvador Allende Gossens, a Socialist, as president. Supporters of Allende were excited and hopeful for change, with other voters fearful of what would happen in the country if he won. Some in Allende’s Socialist Party called for seizing power, if he was not elected. Three years later, Allende was found dead, after a military takeover, the presidential palace bombed beyond repair, and General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was declared the dictatorial leader. It was apparent that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, under President Richard Nixon, had worked to prevent Allende’s election, and—after he had won—helped to destabilize the regime. The details are supplied in my book, Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History , along with sections on other nations in the region. Free elections occurred again in Chile only in 1990. In 2005, Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria, the candidate of Allende's Socialist Party (which is part of a coalition, Concert of Parties for Democracy or CPD), was elected president of Chile—the first woman to hold the office—winning a runoff election  with 53.5% of the vote. At the right is the logo of the Social Democratic Radical Party of Chile (another member of the CPD), with the rose as its symbol—like many Socialist Parties around the world, including those in Brazil, Romania, Switzerland, Spain, Serbia, Ukraine, France, and the British Labour Party. Also at the right is a poster, which targeted feminists, from the 1970 Allende campaign. Israeli Election This Tuesday Posted by Steven Seidman at 2:05PM   |   2 comments "At The Moment of Truth," Defaced Poster of Livni, with Barak [center] and Netanyahu [right] (2009) [Photo: EPA] Israel's parliamentary election is this Tuesday, with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party slightly favored to regain power. Since the Israeli incursion into Gaza last month, polls indicate an increase in popularity for the conservatives of Likud, whose main opposition is the ruling Kadima Party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is perceived as more moderate than Netanyahu. To the right of Netanyahu and his party is Soviet-born Avigdor Lieberman, whose Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) Party is also doing well in the polls. It appears as though the hardliners toward the Palestinians may gain power. One consequence is that Netanyahu, if elected, will not stop building settlements in "occupied" territories. [See article in Reuters for more information on the campaign and U.S.-Israeli relations] However, there has been a late shift back to the Kadima Party in the polls. Right now, according to the latest data, Likud will gain 27 seats and Kadima 25—out of 120 seats in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament). Yisrael Beiteinu will win 14 seats. The Labour Party, led by Ehud Barak (another former prime minister), trails badly. The leader of the party with a plurality will then attempt to put together a coalition government. According to Jason Koutsoukis of Fairfax Digital Network , even if Livni's party wins the most seats, it will be difficult for her to form a coalition, since Lieberman's party has similar stands to those of Likud. As for the campaign, many Israelis are uncharacteristically lacking in enthusiasm for the candidates and their positions, according to David Blair of Britain's Weekly Telegraph . Of course, campaign posters continue to be seen on the streets, but fewer rallies have been held. One group—suspected to be Orthodox extremists—defaced posters of Livni in Jerusalem. It probably had less to do with her centrist positions, and more to do with opposition to images of women being seen in public, wrote Shelly Paz of The Jerusalem Post . Tags: Campaign , election , images of women , Israel , Knesset , political , poster , propaganda Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Posted by Steven Seidman at 5:05PM   |   1 comment Hillary Clinton 2008 Campaign, "3 A.M." Hillary Clinton’s “3 a.m." advertisement (released in March) was named the “Best TV Spot” of the 2008 election, chosen by a large margin in a poll of Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine subscribers (many of whom are political professionals). Here are the complete results for the question in the poll: Which of the following political advertisements would you say was the “Best TV spot” of the 2008 election?    Hillary Clinton – “3 A.M.”    31% Barack Obama – “The Moment”    24% John McCain – “Celebrity”    11% Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:15AM   |   1 comment National Portrait Gallery, Shepard Fairey's "Hope" Poster, 2009 Shepard Fairey's "Hope" poster, which became the most famous icon of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, DC, on January 17. Fairey is a guerrilla artist, who previously was best known for his  "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" street-art posters and stickers, which promoted the huge wrestler in the late 1980s. The National Portrait Gallery's blog stated: "Early in 2008, Fairey produced his first Obama portrait, with a stenciled face, visionary upward glance, and the caption 'Progress.' In this second version, Fairey repeated the heroic pose and patriotic color scheme, substituting the slogan 'Hope' .... The campaign sold 50,000 official posters; a San Francisco streetwear company produced T-shirts; grassroots organizations disseminated hundreds of thousands of stickers; and a free downloadable version generated countless repetitions." Posted by Steven Seidman at 12:10PM   |   Add a comment Saad Khalaf, Campaign Poster, Iraq (2009) (Los Angeles Times) Iraq's provincial election will take place at the end of January. Campaign posters are ubiquitous, especially in Baghdad, but they are often defaced or ripped down soon after they go up (as occurs in many countries)! Accordingly, political parties and individual candidates have been admonished by the head of the country's Independent High Electoral Commission about defacing posters, as well as placing them on government buildings and security checkpoints. The penalties assessed can range from $90 to $44,500 (U.S.) A party's election slate number is usually displayed prominently on the poster. One poster, for example, states: "Madaniyoon list number 460: Our objective is to make sterilized water reach every house," according to the Los Angeles Times . Posted by Steven Seidman at 12:05PM   |   Add a comment Sol Sender (http//www.vsapartners.com) The design team that developed the Obama ’08 campaign logo team started its work at the end of 2006. Led by Sol Sender, the team of designers generated many different logos in two weeks, including the one chosen, which became perhaps the most famous political logo ever: an "O" with a rising sun and red-white-and-blue fields. The Obama logo debuted in February 2007, when the Illinois senator announced his candidacy. Here's a video piece that features Sender discussing the development of the logo. Also included are designs that were not selected. Of the three finalists, the one selected was by far the best, I feel! What do you think?   Sender now works for VSA Partners , a design agency that creates brand strategies, visual identities, marketing communications, and more. [Thanks to Cathy Michael for calling my attention to this information.] Posted by Steven Seidman at 4:53PM   |   2 comments Daddy Lumba Music Video for Nana Akufo-Addo, 2008 The presidential campaign in Ghana just ended, with the voting on Sunday resulting in a virtual tie between the two candidates. According to Reuters , Nana Akufo-Addo (a former minister of foreign affairs) of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is slightly ahead in the count with about 49 percent of the vote so far, but almost 4 of 10 constituencies have not been tallied as yet. John Atta Mills (who has run for president, and lost, twice previously) of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has garnered almost 48 percent. If neither candidate's total hits 50 percent, there will be a run-off on December 28. Both men are moderates, and favor investment in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Ghana is a stable democracy of more than 20 million people—rated #35 in the world, by World Audit (one of only two "fully democratic" countries in Africa, the other being Mauritius). Ghana has a fairly healthy economy, which grew almost 7 percent in 2007. It is a major producer of cocoa and gold, and is developing offshore oil discoveries. Poverty still exists, however, and literacy (in 2000) was under 60 percent. The campaign had the usual "mud slinging," but "there was a carnival atmosphere and friendly exchanges among rival supporters," said Will Ross, a BBC correspondent . Posters, billboards, and t-shirts for Akufo-Addo called him “The Best Man for Ghana.” Those for Mills termed him a man “you can trust” and “a better man for Ghana”. Here is a music video, performed by Daddy Lumba, for Nana: Posted by Steven Seidman at 2:10PM   |   Add a comment Obama Campaign Web Ad, 2008 Kennedy T-Shirt, 1960 (Smithsonian Institution) As far as I can tell, the Obama campaign was the first ever to sell t-shirts with the candidate's portrait on it. And there were a lot of different designs that featured his image, often sold independently. Presidential campaign t-shirts have been around since 1960, when John F. Kennedy's image as a war hero was promoted by a t-shirt design with a PT-boat on it to celebrate the Democratic candidate's valor during World War II, when a Japanese destroyer sank his vessel. But Kennedy's portrait was not displayed.   Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:34PM   |   Add a comment John Key Poster, National Party Web site, 2008 "Immigration's Up," New Zealand First Party, 2008 (www.flickr.com/photos/irish-guy) "Immigration's Up," New Zealand First Party, 2005 (www.flickr.com/photos/irish-guy) In 1853, New Zealand held its first parliamentary elections. The country conducted its most recent elections on Saturday, November 8. Voting always occurs on a Saturday, so that most people can vote on a day off from work (a very good idea!). The National Party, a center-right party under the leadership of  John Key, won the most votes (and therefore seats), and will form a coalition government. It gained 45% of the vote, compared to the ruling Labour Party's 34% and the Green Party's 6%. New Zealand is in a recession, and the center-left Labourites in power (since 1999, with Helen Clark the prime minister) were blamed for it—similar to the situation in the U.S., except that the conservatives were voted in. New Zealand claims to be the first self-governing country to have all women vote in parliamentary elections. This occurred in 1893. It was not until 1920 that women in the United States gained this right in national elections. The New Zealand First Party, which was represented in the country's House of  Representatives for over fifteen years, did not win enough votes to be awarded any seats this time (it gained under 5%, which is the threshold). Its leader, Winston Peters, who is part Maori, heads a party that is opposed to immigration, in general (see the billboard to the right). The history and posters of New Zealand are quite interesting. For more information, see New Zealand History online . Posted by Steven Seidman at 4:31PM   |   Add a comment MoveOn.org, "Yes We Did," 2008 MoveOn.org just announced that it is selling a "Yes We Did" poster. It features the now-famous Shepard Fairey image of Barack Obama and the Obama-for President-logo, with flowing red-and-white stripes added, as well as a crowd of supporters in the background. It also added the phrases "United We Progress Toward a More Perfect Union," "Together We Made History," and "People Powered." The posters are 24" x 36" and cost $20 for one copy. The money will fund the organization's future campaigns. MoveOn.org has 4.2 million members. Posted by Steven Seidman at 12:20PM   |   1 comment USA Today, Political Spending (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics) This year has seen yet another record for campaign expenditures in the U.S. The projected total amount for the presidential and congressional campaigns is $5.3 billion, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. This money has been spent mainly on political marketing—including TV, radio, and Internet spot ads, and direct mail—but also for the conventions, canvassing, polling, and telephone calls. Almost one-half of the above amount—a record $2.4 billion—has been spent on the presidential race. But, as USA Today's Fredreka Schouten noted, this "is less than the $2.6 billion Coca-Cola spent on advertising in 2006." Of course, it is also 50% more than the $1.6 billion expended on the presidential race four years ago. It also should be mentioned that the Democrats raised almost 60% of the total this year, whereas fundraising by the two major U.S. political parties was approximately the same in 2004. Over 90% of Barack Obama's $639 billion has come from individual contributors, according to the Center, whereas only a bit more than 50% of John McCain's $360 billion has been given by individuals (23% are federal funds; 22% are "Other"). The minor parties? Well, independent Ralph Nader obtained only $4 million (of which 22% were from federal funds); Libertarian Bob Barr had about $1.25 million (with no federal funds); Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin raised $239,000 (with no federal funds); Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney had a mere $188,000 (with only about $5,000 from the federal government). Interesting, independent "527 groups" devoted to federal races have raised less money this year: $424 million (a decrease of 12% from 2004), reports Ms. Schouten. How much does all this spending help candidates? There is some research to indicate that it does help somewhat. For instance, money spent on campaign advertising in British elections has been found to be generally effective, particularly for out-of-power parties against incumbent ones. This may prove to be the case in this year's U.S. presidential election. Posted by Steven Seidman at 4:15PM   |   Add a comment AFL-CIO, "Straight Answers," 2008 (http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com) The final "surge" is on in the last four days of the election campaign! Labor unions almost always work to elect Democratic presidential candidates in the U.S., and this year is no exception. The AFL-CIO, for example put together a huge campaign for the final four days—the largest in its political history—with more than 100,000 workers in 21 "battleground" states calling on almost 4 million union households, dialing 5.5 million telephone numbers, and disseminating over 2 million leaflets at workplaces in support of Barack Obama, wrote Jonathan Martin ( http://www.politico.com ). This summer, the AFL-CIO sent cards (see the illustration on the right) to 600,000 union members in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with their purpose to counter "myths and rumors about Sen. Obama,"  according to union spokesperson Steve Smith. The questions included the following about Obama (with all of the answers "Yes"): Does he wear a flag pin on his lapel? Is he a Christian? Posted by Steven Seidman at 2:00PM   |   Add a comment Seymour Chwast, "No McBush," 2008 (http://www.30reasons.org) Seymour Chwast, "End Bad Breath," 1968-69 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkponk/2269936193) Seymour Chwast, "End Bad Breath," 1968-69 (http://www.flickr.com/ photos/pinkponk/2269936193) Graphic designer Seymour Chwast has just displayed a pro-Obama poster design on the interesting Website known as 30 Reasons, which is putting up a different poster for each of the thirty days leading up to the election. Chwast is a commercial artist, who has designed everything from food packages to posters. He was active during the Vietnam War creating protest posters, including one that showed Uncle Sam with warplanes dropping bombs inside his mouth.   Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:25PM   |   Add a comment "America First," 1916 (in Michael Beschloss, Ed., American Heritage Illustrated History of The Presidents) Howard Chandler Christy, "America First!" 1920 (Ohio Historical Society) Howard Chandler Christy, "America First!" 1920 (Ohio Historical Society) Before "Country First" (one of John McCain's slogans in this year's campaign), there was "America First." Interestingly, this slogan was used in two different years, by two different political parties, in the early twentieth century, and again in 1992 (in a primary campaign). In 1916, Democrat Woodrow Wilson's campaign employed it in the U.S. presidential campaign. In that election, the slogan was a reference to the Wilson administration having kept the country out of the war in Europe; and the slogan “Wilson, That’s All!” had been employed previously in advertisements for a brand of whiskey (according to Michael Beschloss in his American Heritage Illustrated History of The Presidents). Wilson's opponent, Republican Charles Evans Hughes, blamed the concerted “He Kept Us Out of War”/“America First” propaganda effort that so heavily used vivid pictorial posters and billboards for his defeat. In 1920, it was the Republican campaign for Warren G. Harding that used this slogan, exploiting the public's disillusionment with World War I and its aftermath. One can see the "America First" slogan in Howard Chandler Christy’s idealized rendition of Harding with the candidate dramatically making the "V" sign with one hand and holding an American flag with the other. Patrick Buchanan, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1992, also used the theme "America First." According to Ron Faucheux , "Buchanan's enemies drew unflattering comparisons between his slogan and the same one that had been used a half-century earlier by the 'America First' committee, an isolationist group that opposed U.S. entry into World War II." The "America First" committee's goal had been to prevent the U.S. from entering World War II.  McCain's "Country First" slogan does not imply any isolationism. In the present campaign, McCain is trying to say that the Republican candidate puts the "country" before any political considerations. For example, McCain called for the "surge" in Iraq when this was an unpopular strategy, even among members of his own party. Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:30PM   |   Add a comment "One Heartbeat Away," National Nurses Organizing Committee, 2008 According to The Spot (a blog about political ads by the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a division of TNS Media Intelligence), special interest groups are girding up to release TV spots in targeted states. These 527 and PAC groups may "prove to be a significant force, largely because they are more willing than candidates to include incendiary information and images in their ads," states the blog. In the last week, these groups distributed ads that focused on abortion, rape, Obama's association with Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers, McCain's bouts with cancer, and more. Planned Parenthood, the Committee for Truth in Politics, the California Nurses Association, and the Judicial Confirmation Network sponsored ads that ran over 1,000 times during the week—costing almost $375,000. Here are two of the ads: Posted by Steven Seidman at 2:40PM   |   Add a comment Frame from "Better Off" Video, McCain-Palin Campaign, 2008 "Need Education" Video, Obama-Biden Campaign, 2008 Frame from "Need Education" Video, Obama-Biden Campaign, 2008 Along with Apple, Coors, Nike, and Zappos, the Obama and McCain campaigns have been nominated as finalists for Advertising Age's "Marketer of the Year" Award, 2008.   Obama's campaign used innovative marketing techniques to brand the Democratic candidate as the agent of "hope" and "change," and mobilized young people to support him.   McCain's campaign reinforced the Republican's brand as a "maverick" and a "hero," and partially grabbed "the mantle of change" from his opponent, according to Advertising Age.    Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:06PM   |   1 comment Frame from Brave New PAC's "A Fellow POW on John McCain," 2008 From Our Country Deserves Better PAC's "Patriotism Problems," 2008 Frame from Our Country Deserves Better PAC's "Patriotism Problems," 2008 In early nineteenth-century America, negative advertising and distortion of candidate records were all practiced in politics—in partisan newspapers, broadsides, and posters. Today, this is mainly conducted on the Internet and with TV spot ads. Vinny Minchillo (Chief Creative Officer, Scott Howell & Company) says that presidential advertising is like auto advertising. Here are the similarities, according to him (in Advertising Age, September 19, 2008): "Both decisions come with a commitment of two, four or six years" "Potential customers are engaged for a short period of time" "People actually do their homework before committing" "People want us to believe they decide based on facts, when it's really an emotional decision" "There's plenty of negative advertising" The key for shoppers—for presidents and cars—writes Minchillo, is to "make a connection to the brand that is both logical and emotional." There are a number of important questions asked by these shoppers, but perhaps the most important ones are "How will this car make me look?" and "What will my friends say when I reveal my candidate choice?" Minchillo states that Obama—"a stunning orator and tremendous narrator"— is a "Ferrari"; McCain—"with tons of experience and decent qualifications"—is a "Toyota Camry." Then there is the "comparative advertising" between "products." Although surveys have indicated that many voters dislike negative political ads, researchers have shown that they are often effective. Two of the most successful were the Willie Horton spots in 1988 and those by the Swift Boat Veterans in 2004. The most malicious video spots are not even shown on television; rather they are posted online. Both TV and online spots have been financed by so-called "527 groups." These groups can raise unlimited funds independent of the authorized groups supporting candidates and parties, but must disclose donors. One 527 group, calling itself the "Brave New PAC" targeted John McCain with a spot attempting to tarnish his "hero" image as a Vietnam POW. Here it is: An anti-Obama spot, posted by "Our Country PAC," called into question the Democrat's "patriotism." Here it is: These are just two. You can find many more out there. Posted by Steven Seidman at 5:37PM   |   Add a comment 2008 Yard Signs Yard signs hold a prominent position in twenty-first-century election campaign packages, although not much is said about them. Both the Obama and McCain campaigns are selling these signs (also called "lawn signs") on their Web sites. Both sides have added the names of the vice-presidential candidates to them in the past month or so. Yard signs are often similar to the posters and bumper stickers produced. They are part of coordinated campaign packages, with their components (magnets, tee shirts, etc.) exhibiting the same logo-type design. They have much in common with TV political spots and product commercials: their messages have almost always been reduced to a few, carefully selected, pretested words and images that encapsulate why people should vote for a candidate or party, as well as—after much repetition—building “brand familiarity.” Frequently a slogan or logo is included, which can further motivate voters to support a candidate. These play on emotions—an advertising practice, along with repetition, that works. Successful brand management for a candidate is characterized by simple slogans and logos that resonate with voters. The Obama campaign's logo, for example, is designed to get voters' attention and to make them feel good about the candidate, with its imagery evoking feelings of patriotism, the "heartland," and optimism.   Yard signs establish the presence of a candidate in a community and are mainly aimed at supporters— to increase their sense of urgency to work for the ticket and get other partisans to do so. In nineteenth-century American campaigns, parades with banners helped gain attention for candidates and stir supporters; today, yard signs help to accomplish this. Since the 1950s, antilitter legislation in the United States has been a key factor in the heavy use of election yard signs, while limiting the display of posters and billboards in public places. The display of yard signs often continues after the voting has occurred. This might reinforce citizens’ identification with parties and help them in the next round of elections. Researchers have found that a “basking-in-reflected-glory” effect can occur for posters and homeowners’ lawn signs. This phenomenon lasted for one week after the 1999 general elections in three urban areas of Flanders: a significant relationship was found to exist between the performance of the winning or losing party and the exhibition of those parties’ printed material. Homeowners were more likely to display the posters and lawn signs that favored the victors and to remove those for the defeated parties. Posted by Steven Seidman at 7:15AM   |   Add a comment Campaign Slogan, Democratic Party, 1964 (morningagaininamerica.com/ home/?page_id=29) �We Need a Strong France,� Union for French Democracy, 1981 (Poster FR 1230, Poster Collection, Hoover Institution Archives) “We Need a Strong France,” Union for French Democracy, 1981 (Poster FR 1230, Poster Collection, Hoover Institution Archives) Slogans, ranging from “I Like Ike” (Republicans, U.S., 1952) to “Labour Isn’t Working” (Conservatives, Britain, 1978), have summarized entire political campaigns with a few, memorable words. Repetitions of slogans and playing on emotions are key practices of advertising. Advertising is, of course, a form of propaganda. Sometimes ads for products, such as “Wilson, That’s All!”—which was employed originally in advertisements for a brand of whiskey—are used for candidates, in this instance Woodrow Wilson. Slogans are carefully devised, with each word calculated to appeal to one or more target audiences, with focus groups used to help determine the slogan, as well as to test it out. Obama's "Yes We Can" is a good example: it is positive, inclusive, and implies "change." Some successful U.S. campaign slogans follow: “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” (Whigs, 1840) celebrated William Henry Harrison, the hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and his running mate, John Tyler "Don't swap horses in midstream" (Republicans, 1864, for Abraham Lincoln) "He Kept Us Out of War" (Democrats, 1916, for Wilson, who then had the U.S. enter World War I) “Let’s be done with wiggle and wobble” (Republicans, 1920)—a reference to a Democratic policy that seemed first to have been isolationist, then interventionist "A chicken in every pot. A car in every garage. A duck in every bathtub" (Republicans, 1928, for Herbert Hoover) "A New Deal" (Democrats, 1932, for Franklin D. Roosevelt)  "All the Way with LBJ" (Democrats, 1964, for Lyndon B. Johnson) “A Stronger America” (Democrats, 2004, for John Kerry) One slogan that has been forgotten by most Americans was devised by the Democratic Party in the mid-nineteenth century: "We Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce you in 1852." It honored James Polk and Franklin Pierce. And in the past, slogans were often negative. For example, in 1884, the Democrats created “Soap! Soap! Blaine’s only Hope!” to help defeat James Blaine. The slogan was an allusion to Blaine's alleged corrupt practices. Slogans are evident in many other countries' election campaigns, as well. Here are a few: “Bread, Justice, Freedom” (Japan Labor-Farmer Party, 1928) “The Socialists will be Liberal with your money!” (Conservatives, Britain, 1929) "One People, One Country, One Leader" (Nazis, Germany, 1938) "We Shall Overcome" (Popular Unity, Chile, 1970) “We Need a Strong France” (Union for French Democracy, 1981) “A Better Life for All” (African National Congress, South Africa, 1994) "Enough Already!" (National Action Party, Mexico, 2000) The "I Like Ike" slogan was used in a television commercial. It was an effective slogan, since it enhanced General Dwight D. Eisenhower's already positive image. The posters that were produced further reinforced the image of a confident, smiling presidential candidate who was ready to face all problems, and above petty party concerns. Here's the 1952 TV spot:   Posted by Steven Seidman at 12:34PM   |   Add a comment Abraham Obama Tour, August 2008 Ron English, "Abraham Obama" Poster, 2008 Ron English, "Abraham Obama" Poster, 2008 Guerrilla pop-artist Ron English has produced illegal billboards ("Phatfood," "The Cancer Kid," and "Fox News. We Deceive. You Believe."), as well as posters that have been exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Paris and the Whitney Museum in New York. English claims to have "pirated" numerous billboards over the last two decades, substituting his "subvertisements" for the existing advertisements. He is also the author of the 2004 book, Popaganda, The Art and Subversion of Ron English. For this year's U.S. presidential campaign, he created the "Abraham Obama" poster—a fusion of the faces of Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama. He then made a nationwide tour, putting up "Abrama" murals in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and finally in Denver, the site of the Democratic National Convention. Some have found English's creation to be "awesome"; others have thought it to be "offensive," favoring "symbolism over substance." What do you think? Posted by Steven Seidman at 3:03PM   |   4 comments Poster of Sonia Gandhi as the Hindu Goddess Durga (detail), Congress Party, India, 2007 (http://www.timesonline.co.uk) Political poster on private house in India (http://xgeronimo.wordpress.com) Political poster on private house in India (http://xgeronimo.wordpress.com) Posters are widely used in election campaigns in India, even though the country is rapidly modernizing, and other media are becoming more common. Recently, a city court ordered the political parties of New Delhi not to put up posters, leaving them without a viable means of propagandizing in the city's assembly elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Vijay Goel stated: "Before implementing the law, an alternative should be suggested. One cannot go for advertising alternatively, because it is very expensive."  Some citizens were happy about the court's decision, since they consider posters to be an eyesore. One resident said, for instance: "It is so annoying to see these posters all over the city. They even paste the posters on houses in residential colonies. In Patel Nagar, they covered a public toilet fully in posters, so much that it was beyond recognition. This is not the way a civilised society lives." Such advertising is evident all over India, with billboards promoting films dotting roads, and posters tacked on walls, taxis, and buses, making these media logical choices to promote candidates during election periods. One solution for the political parties is to display posters mainly in stores and homes. In fact, party headquarters distribute posters, banners, flags, handbills, and stickers to localities to give to owners of private establishments to put in wi. Posters have been prominent in marches and rallies in India, helping gain attention from onlookers, advertising meetings, and attracting media coverage. Some posters draw attention, but damage the party and its leaders' standing with a segment of the population. Last year, the Congress Party issued a poster that showed Sonia Gandhi as a Hindu goddess. This poster was criticized because the party is secular and some perceived the imagery as insulting to Hinduism. While candidates are usually featured on posters, sometimes issues are highlighted. The BJP, in 2004, for example, printed posters that included the image of a burning train, in which fifty-nine people died because of terrorism. Many Indian political consultants have reported that there has been a recent increase in emotionalism and negative campaign tactics in the country’s election campaigns. The street poster is a medium to which many Indian campaign managers turn, so it will be problematic if their use is curtailed by the courts.  A survey found that 25 percent of managers rated posters as “exceptionally important” as a political advertising medium, behind rallies and daily newspapers (both 50 percent), public television (45 percent), and radio (41 percent). Private television (17 percent), direct mail (3 percent), and magazines (0 percent) trailed badly. Posted by Steven Seidman at 12:12PM   |   1 comment Conservative Party Poster, Great Britain, 1909 Labour Party Poster, Great Britain, 2001 Labour Party Poster, Great Britain, 2001 British election posters (unlike those in the U.S.—at least the authorized ones) are often striking in design and/or visually outrageous. Not only are they generally more negative, but also more issue-oriented. One poster, issued by the Conservative Party in 1997, titled “New Labour, New Danger,” depicted Tony Blair with demonic, red eyes; others in the campaign included “New Labour, New Taxes” (which had a purse with red eyes) and “New Labour, No Britain” (featuring a white flag). Another poster, this time distributed by the Labour Party in 2001, caricatured opposition leader William Hague sporting Margaret Thatcher’s hairdo. Such practices go way back. In the early nineteenth century, all the British parties distributed millions of full-color posters that ridiculed their opponents and their policies. At the right is one, issued by the Conservatives in 1909, which illustrates "socialism" as a demon (i.e., the Liberals, primarily) choking Britannia, wearing the belt of "prosperity" and stomping on the nation's shield. By the 1920s, Tory posters (directed now at the Labour Party) employed “bewhiskered, blood-stained Bolsheviki of the usual caricature type,” according to The New York Times; one poster, featuring a “Red” returning to Russia with bundles of banknotes, turned out the lyrics “Bolshevik, Bolshevik, where have you been? Over to England, where the ‘Reds’ are still green?” In Great Britain, where television time for political parties and candidates is limited, and no advertisements are allowed on either television or radio, there are no legal limitations on expenditures for posters and billboards. Consequently, posters in British election campaigns have a more significant role than in the United States. There is some evidence to indicate that these poster campaigns have an effect on voters. One focus group study, for example, showed that posters influenced young British swing voters during the 1996 election campaign. The modern billboard and poster attacks on Blair, Hague, and other leaders—and their positions— were a continuation of a tradition in British politics, begun over one hundred years ago with the negative printed advertisements against Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone, and Lloyd George, and their parties. Posted by Steven Seidman at 9:42AM   |   3 comments Studio Number One, Shepard Fairey and One of His Obama Posters, 2008 Gerald Ford Poster, Democratic Party, 1976 Gerald Ford Poster, Republican Party, 1976 Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" street-art posters and stickers, which promoted the huge wrestler in the late 1980s, designed a poster for the Obama campaign that was both patriotic (it's red-white-and-blue, albeit more subtle than the usual election posters) and iconic. The imagery, according to Fairey, is meant to convey "noble confidence,... a suggestion of looking into the future." The word "Obey" (in the Andre poster) has been replaced by "Change" in the Obama design (He also produced two others with "Hope" and "Progress). I would agree that Fairey's imagery helps promote the Obama brand: he appears to be fresh, cool, and progressive. The artist has the Democratic candidate gazing upwards, a technique used in many propaganda posters, including one for President Gerald Ford in 1976, for example. Fairey has stated that his Obama designs were influenced, stylistically, by Soviet posters, in fact. Of course, almost all advertising and political marketing are propagandistic. Fairey's "Change" poster was available on Obama's Web site, and has sold out. It was featured on the front page of The New York Times, and has also been seen on bumper stickers and billboards. His Andre posters and stickers (and others he created) were often used in guerrilla-marketing campaigns, meaning they were put up illegally in a variety of places. And before his poster was distributed officially by the Obama campaign, it reportedly authorized Fairey to do so in a guerrilla campaign. Since his creation was posted online, it also spread virally.   Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:59PM   |   Add a comment Kip Overton, ''Liberty Leading the People,'' Montana Citizens for Liberty, Inc., 1984 Now that John McCain has selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be on his ticket, let's look at a poster that was produced in support of the only other woman to run for vice president. In 1984, Democrat Walter Mondale picked New York Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro to be his running mate. That year, the Montana Citizens for Liberty produced a poster that featured Ferraro as Liberty (based on the Eugène Delacroix painting "Liberty at the Barricades," done after the Paris Revolution of 1830) and advocated passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (Mondale is shown holding an ERA banner). The Delacroix work depicted a bare-breasted Liberty. Of course, the later version had Ferraro covered. At least 70,000 copies of the 1984 poster were printed. The illustration gained attention and helped raise money for democratic candidates. It now sells for about $70. A Hillary Clinton pin based on the Delacroix's work sold at auction for more than $1,000. Women gained the right to vote in the United States in 1920. In Great Britain, they obtained full voting rights in 1928; in France, females first exercised their suffrage rights in 1946 (even though Liberty or Marianne had been illustrated as a woman in that country in the eighteenth century); Switzerland did not accomplish this until 1971. Election campaign posters in many countries targeted women, particularly in the period right after their enfranchisement. For example, a British poster in the 1930s showed a woman holding a child, with the appeal “Mothers—Vote Labour.” Suffragettes in the early nineteenth century pasted posters on walls: one large lithograph featured babies marching under the title “Give Mother The Vote: We Need It”; others showed professional women, some of whom wore caps and gowns decrying their lack of suffrage (one poster was titled “Convicts, Lunatics, and Women! Have No Vote for Parliament”). Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:46PM   |   2 comments �Col. John C. Fremont,� Republican Party, 1856 �General Harrison. The Washington of the West,� Whig Party, 1840 [excerpt] “General Harrison. The Washington of the West,” Whig Party, 1840 [excerpt] The first Republican National Convention that nominated candidates was held in 1856 in Philadelphia, and John Frémont was chosen to run for the U.S. presidency. Frémont, running on a platform that opposed slavery (as well as polygamy in Mormon areas), was one of the many military heroes nominated by the political parties (John Kerry and John McCain being the last two). At this convention, Abraham Lincoln lost in the balloting for the vice-presidential nomination to William Dayton, who had been a U.S. senator from New Jersey. During the Mexican-American War, Frémont captured Santa Barbara, California, and later served as a senator of California, after it became a state. One campaign poster depicted the Republican candidate on horseback [illustrated in the upper-right box]—a common image-management technique, which had been used in previous U.S. campaigns for candidates with military backgrounds, including Andrew Jackson. Frémont looks almost Napoleonic here (second only to William Henry Harrison sixteen years earlier [shown in the lower-right box]), but his regalia are those of a frontiersman—to appeal to a large segment of the American electorate then. Frémont lost to James Buchanan, the nominee of the Democratic Party, by a 12% margin, with ex-President Millard Fillmore, of the anti-immigrant American (or "Know-Nothing") Party, trailing by almost 24 points.    Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:19AM   |   5 comments Obama Berlin Poster-July, 2008 (www.oberholtzer-creative.com) Nico Schrier, “The Reds Call to Comrades. Vote Red,” S.D.A.P., The Netherlands, 1933 In July, Barack Obama’s visit to Germany was promoted with a poster that highlighted his speech in Berlin. The design is obviously similar to those produced in the 1920s and 1930s by the Bauhaus movement, which boasted strong sans-serif typefaces and used diagonal lines and lettering to increase the dynamism of the composition. After World War I, the ideas of the Bauhaus school influenced a generation of graphic designers, including those in the political domain. An example of such a poster is one by Nico Schrier (in the lower-right box) in which a man is calling his “comrades” to “vote Red” (the color of The Netherlands' Social Democratic Workers’ Party) in the 1933 election. Typography was taught at the Bauhaus as early as 1923, and instructor László Moholy-Nagy stated that type "must be communication in its most intense form. The emphasis must be on absolute clarity." This is evident in the sans-serif lettering in the two posters shown here. Both posters also featured one dominant image. This works to focus the viewer's attention on a key visual, limiting competing elements, which could distract.    Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:20AM   |   1 comment John Binns, "Coffin Handbill," 1824/1828 [detail] (Library of Congress) [another detail from the "Coffin Handbill"] The 2008 Democratic National Convention begins today. The party's first convention was held in 1832 in Baltimore. The Democratic-Republican Party (as the party was then called) nominated President Andrew Jackson for a second term. Jackson had run for the office in 1824 and 1828, winning in the latter election.  Elections back then (as now) were hotly contested, with the facts often slanted. Broadsides (early, crude posters) were circulated both for and against Jackson. John Binns, editor of the Philadelphia Democratic Press, printed an anti-Jackson broadside that depicted six coffins containing militiamen, who, “an eye witness” alleged, had been executed wrongfully, on General Jackson’s orders during the War of 1812. In addition, it showed another dozen coffins, representing regular soldiers and “Indians” who were put to death under Jackson’s command. There was also was a drawing of Jackson on a city street, running his sword through a man’s back.  After this "Coffin Handbill" first appeared, Jackson had his “Nashville Committee” of supporters answer the charges, stating that those executed had been guilty of mutiny, theft, arson, and desertion. Just like today, campaigns needed to have response teams in place to counter the political ads of the opposition. Posted by Steven Seidman at 1:30PM   |   Add a comment Obama Logo, 2008 (www.barackobama.com) Luigi Castiglioni, �Wybory �91� (1991). Independent Self-governing Trade Union �Solidarity," Poland Luigi Castiglioni, “Wybory ‘91,” Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarity," Poland (Cornell University Library) In recent American elections, all parties have usually employed stylized designs that are often little more than giant corporate-type logos, devoid of photographic portraits and issues. Successful brand management for a candidate or a political party, as manifested in posters and other media, is characterized by simple visual imagery that is both powerful and appealing along with simple slogans and logos that resonate with the voters and their emotions. The Obama campaign's logo is distinctive and designed to strike an emotional cord with his supporters. The Blue "O" stands for the candidate, and with the red stripes symbolizes the flag and patriotism. The red-and-white stripes further represent farmland, identifying the Illinois senator with the "heartland" of America. The white center of the "O," rising over the horizon of the stripes, appears to be a sunrise, denoting “a better tomorrow.”  The Sun has been used in many election posters in a number of countries, including France, Germany, Great Britain, Iran, Italy, Japan, Poland, and Taiwan. For example, a 1932 Republican poster in the U.S. election contest between Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt displayed a large cartoon of an elephant pushing a truck labeled “US & Co.” toward the rising sun, while the Democratic donkey was illustrated running away. A 1972 poster for Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern showed the sun breaking through the clouds, along with the slogan “A little light in a cold world.” British Liberal posters in the latter part of the nineteenth century depicted past prosperity, when their party was in power, as rays of sunshine, in contrast to the gloomy economic situation under the Conservatives. A 1991 Solidarity poster featured a flower with the sun in its center, along with Solidarity's famous logo, symbolizing a new beginning and oneness with everyone and everything. Posted by Steven Seidman at 10:48AM   |   Add a comment Byron, McCain Poster, 2008 (http://www.johnmccain.com) Dave Kilmer, Reagan�Bush Poster, 1984 Dave Kilmer, Reagan–Bush Poster, 1984 (Library of Congress) The winner of the McCain Poster Contest was announced this week. The design by Byron of Mesa, Arizona won the most votes in the competition on the Republican candidate for president's Web site. Let's take a look at the design. It features a determined-looking McCain thoughtfully gazing to the side. This pose seems appropriate, considering the serious times that the senator says we are in. (Posters for Carter, Nixon, and Ford also used this approach.) Alongside the candidate is a flag, with an eagle ornament above it. Both symbols have been used repeatedly by the major parties in U.S. election campaigns. Finally the slogan, "Integrity We Can Trust," reinforces the theme that the Republican campaign has developed: "McCain is a man of honor, who will put his country first." The McCain design is relatively conventional. Unlike some of Obama's posters, it is not very artistic or "cutting edge." It uses design techniques that have been employed dozens of times before, probably because they are thought to be effective. In 1984, for example, idealized drawings of President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush, against an American flag backdrop, and the fa�ade of the White House, were seen in a poster. In 1840, Whig banners were produced, some with an eagle holding a scroll with the designations “Tip” and “Ty” (for the ticket of William Henry “Old Tippecanoe” Harrison and John Tyler) in its beak and the slogan “Our Country is safe, in such Hands." Patriotic slogans and symbols are propagandistic because they appeal to voters' emotions, and are always evident in election campaign material. This year is no different.  

i don't know

According to the classic poem The Raven, what is the name of the lost love that the unnamed narrator is trying to forget?

A Summary & Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven": Stanza by Stanza Summary of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" written by: Trent Lorcher • edited by: SForsyth • updated: 10/17/2014 Poe's "The Raven" is not only an American classic, it's a favorite of high school students around the world, as well as their teachers. That being said, it's still poetry and therefore can be difficult to understand. Read this summary to review the contents and get a better understanding. slide 1 of 7 Stanzas: 1-2 Make everyone in class think you're really smart when you bust out everything you've learned in this summary. Stanza 1: It's late. The poem's speaker is tired and weak, reading an old collection of folklore (note that Ravens are prevalent in folklore). As he's about to fall asleep, he hears something tapping at his door. The speaker, somewhat startled, consoles himself by muttering "tis some visitor" and "nothing more." Analysis: The ambiguity of the narrator's mental state is introduced in the first stanza and becomes a topic of debate throughout the entire poem. Keep in mind that it's late and the narrator is extremely tired. It's quite possible he dreams the entire episode. Stanza 2: We are told this incident takes place in December and that the narrator had been reading in order to forget about his lost love, Lenore. Analysis: Stanza 2 provides background information. The incident takes place in December and the narrator suffers from depression. He is searching desperately to end his sorrow. The mood, somewhat established in Stanza 1 with "midnight dreary" and "forgotten lore," becomes entrenched as Poe includes details such as "bleak December," dying ember," "ghost upon the floor," sorrow," and a bevvy of alliterative phrases and words with Anglo-Saxon roots. slide 2 of 7 Stanzas: 3-5 Stanza 3: To combat the fear caused by the wind blown curtains, the narrator repeats that the commotion is merely a visitor at the door. Analysis: The opening line of the stanza contains the greatest example of consonance, alliteration, and internal rhyme in the history of poetry. Why the speaker is so frightened by the curtains fluttering in the wind is unclear. It could be a demonic movement of the curtains, which would cause even the most stalwart individual to mutter to himself, or the speaker could be crazy. Stanza 4: The narrator musters the courage to speak to the "visitor" at his door. Nobody answers. He opens the door and sees only darkness. Analysis: Things are getting stranger by the stanza. Poe builds suspense by delaying the unveiling of the "visitor." Stanza 5: The narrator stares into the darkness. He stares. He stares some more. He starts dreaming about the impossible and finally whispers "Lenore." "Lenore" is echoed back. Analysis: We begin to sense the heartbreak experienced by the narrator. He so longs for his lost love that he begins whispering her name, desperately hoping for a response. Does he actually hear a response or is he hallucinating? slide 3 of 7 Stanzas: 6-9 Stanza 6: The narrator returns to his chamber and soon hears a louder tapping, this time at his window. He decides to explore the noise, telling himself it is merely the wind. Analysis: Like the narrator, you're probably wondering when something's going to happen. The narrator is in denial. He knows something is there, but refuses to acknowledge it. Stanza 7: The narrator opens the shutter and a raven flies in. He ignores the occupant and perches himself on a statue of Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. Analysis: The mystery has been solved. It's just a bird! Something tells me this bird is no ordinary feathered friend. Stanza 8: The narrator is relieved and somewhat amused by the bird's appearance. He asks the raven its name and he replies, "Nevermore." Analysis: We are presented with symbols of night and death in stanza 8: the "ebony" bird; "grave and stern decorum"; "nightly shore"; "Night's Plutonian (the Roman underworld) shore." Stanza 9: The narrator marvels at this strange bird who has entered his room. Analysis: Our bewildered narrator has no idea what to make of this bird, much like I'm not sure what to say about this stanza. slide 4 of 7 Stanzas: 10-12 Stanza 10: The Raven just sits there and says "nevermore." The narrator, a little spooked by the entire episode mutters the bird will probably just leave tomorrow. Analysis: There is something in the word "nevermore" that brings despair to the narrator. He believes the raven is pouring out his soul with each utterance of the word, similar to the pouring out of the narrator's soul as he longs for the return of Lenore. Stanza 11: The narrator rationalizes that the raven's repetition of "nevermore" has nothing to do with his own hopeless state, and that the word is the only one the bird knows. He creates a plausible story about the bird probably having escaped from his master who met an ill fate at sea. Analysis: The narrator experiences the paranoia/denial cycle. He unreasonably believes the raven is some bad omen, which it then becomes, omens being nothing more than a negative psychological interpretation of an otherwise neutral event, followed by a complete negation with an implausible explanation. The narrator is nuts. Stanza 12: The narrator wheels his chair around, stares at the bird, and attempts to figure out what this all means. Analysis: Although the narrator draws no explicit conclusion, descriptive words such as "grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt" displays the narrator's negative attitude toward the strange visitor. slide 5 of 7 Stanzas: 13-15 Stanza 13: The narrator stares at the bird, whose eyes appear to be on fire and burn the narrator's heart. He ponders how he will nevermore see his lost Lenore. Analysis: There's a raven in the living room with fiery eyes staring at the narrator and all he can think about is some girl! Stanza 14: The narrator senses the arrival of angels who burn incense. He suspects the raven's purpose is to help the narrator forget about his sorrows. He asks to drink a magic potion for that purpose. The raven replies, "nevermore." Analysis: Angels arrive. The narrator hopes that he will be spared despair and sorrow. He's wrong. Key words in this stanza: quaff means to drink; nepenthe is a drug used in ancient times to make people forget their sorrows. Stanza 15: The narrator asks the raven if he is evil. He then asks the raven if he has brought healing. The raven replies, "nevermore." Analysis: Despite several declarations by the raven himself that he is not there for good, the narrator holds on to the slim hope that the raven can help him forget his sorrows. The allusion to "balm in Gilead" in line 89 is an allusion to the Jeremiah in the Old Testament. Jeremiah asks "Is there no balm in Gilead?" while lamenting the plight of his people who need healing. slide 6 of 7 Stanzas: 16-18 Stanza 16: The narrator asks the raven if he will ever see Lenore in heaven. The raven answers, "nevermore." Analysis: The narrator isn't the smartest guy alive. He again asks the raven if he will be relieved of his suffering and at least be able to see Lenore in paradise. The raven answered "nevermore." At this point I'm getting really annoyed with the narrator. He's wallowing in self pity and enjoying every second of it. He knows what the raven's answer will be, yet he purposely asks questions that will justify him feeling sorry for himself. It's time to move on. Stanza 17: The narrator commands the bird to leave. The bird says, "nevermore." Analysis: The narrator is once again surprised by the raven's negative response. I'm not. Stanza 18: The raven remains sitting. He overshadows the narrator, whose soul will never see happiness again. Analysis: Boo! Hoo! Get a gun and shoot that freaking bird already! The raven's shadow most likely symbolizes sadness. It covers the narrator's soul, symbolic of the narrator never being happy again. Some claim the last stanza relates the narrator's death. They're wrong. The shadow remains on the floor and It's the narrator's soul that will never climb out from under the shadow of sadness. If your teacher tells you he died, tell him he's wrong. If he disagrees, ask him how a dead man can narrate a poem. slide 7 of 7 What did you think of the poem? Do you have a different interpretation of what happened? ◄ ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ► Read the full text of the poem here: http://www.heise.de/ix/raven/Literature/Lore/TheRaven.html   The Edgar Allan Poe Poetry Study Guide Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered how in the world I was going to finish my Edgar Allan Poe poetry assignment, I came across this great study guide.

Lenore

October 26, 1972, saw the death of Igor Sikorsky, the man responsible for what mode of transport?

The Raven Symbol Free Essays The Raven Symbol Symbols and allusions in the raven By Edger Allan Poe Introduction • An allusion is a reference in a literary work that shows... something without mentioning it directly. • Symbolism is a figure of speech that uses an object, person, situation, or word to represent something else like an idea. Symbols • Lenore symbolizes idealized love, beauty, truth, or hope in a better world. Being rare and radiant represents heaven. • The raven’s darkness and the way it enters the room imperiously symbolizes... Edgar Allan Poe, Figure of speech, Lenore 420  Words | 9  Pages The Raven THE RAVEN BY EDGAR ALLAN POE THE RAVEN - SETTING The chamber of a house at midnight. Poe uses the word chamber rather than... bedroom apparently because chamber has a dark and mysterious connotation.       THE RAVEN - NARRATION First-Person Narrator (Persona) A man who has lost his beloved, a woman named Lenore. He is depressed, lonely,   and possibly mentally unstable  as a result of his  bereavement.  THE RAVEN - SOURCE INSPIRATION OF The raven in Charles Dickens' 1841 novel, Barnaby Rudge... Barnaby Rudge, Edgar Allan Poe, Internal rhyme 744  Words | 14  Pages The Raven Death. A strong topic, frequently but solemnly discussed. However, when I read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, I was immediately captivated by... the new angle brought to my attention regarding death. While the topic of death is usually associated with either sympathy or horror, Poe succeeded in portraying a feeling caught between the two; and at the same time bringing forth new feelings I would never thought to consider regarding death. These feelings reflect a sorrow so deep it morphs into a psychological... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1223  Words | 3  Pages The use of Symbols and Allegory in Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven’ MERGEFORMAT �1� The use of Symbols and Allegory in Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven' The word "gothic" evokes feelings of doom,... depression, death and decay. It suggests old extravagant cathedrals and falling down buildings. "Gothic" also suggests doomed relationships and lost loved ones. Gothic literature is meant to scare readers as well as to remind readers of their own darkness, of the darkness that they are capable of being. In the gothic poem 'The Raven,' Edgar Allen Poe uses symbols and allusions to other... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Gothic fiction 1216  Words | 4  Pages The Raven Bohannon October 23, 2012 The Raven Edgar Allan Poe was born January 19, 1809 and became a famous American author and poet. He is most... known for his mysterious and gruesome horror stories but one of his most famous is The Raven. First published in January 1845, the poem is known for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. The story is about a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. The Raven was first credited to Poe... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1068  Words | 3  Pages The Raven annotatedThe Raven  By Edgar Allan Poe  Published on January 29, 1847  Complete Text With Annotation and Endnotes by Michael J. Cummings... Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,............[meditated, studied]  Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,....................[archaic, old] [book of knowledge or myths]  While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,...............[example of alliteration]  As of some one gently rapping, rapping... Edgar Allan Poe, Graham's Magazine, Internal rhyme 1409  Words | 4  Pages The Raven Darker Look at “The Raven” Guilt and regret are two emotions that have transcended time and have constantly been used as literary... topics for countless years and countless works. Literature captures the essence of humanity and expresses it in ways that most cannot do, therefore we look to literature as a way to relate and guide us through whatever it is we are trying to deal with, whether it be positive or negative. In this essay I will be exploring Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” to demonstrate... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Emotion 2465  Words | 6  Pages raven The Raven... Edgar Allan Poe Poe wrote the poem as a narrative that tells us of a story of a talking raven and a distraught lover. The main theme of the poem is one of undying devotion. The unnamed narrator experiences a conflict between the desire to forget and the desire to remember. There is a touch of melancholy and mystery in the poem. The speaker... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1154  Words | 3  Pages The Raven notes The Raven Symbolism The narrator never gives his name. He is a mournful man after his love's death. He hides away in his chamber, not... wishing to speak to anyone. Instead, he reads his books, showing that he is a scholarly man. He admits he "sought to borrow / From [his] books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore," but he is unable to forget her (line 9-10). This is why he starts to see the bird. He cannot move on. When the narrator meets the bird, he does not think it unusual that... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Emotion 970  Words | 4  Pages Meanings of the Raven The Meanings of the Raven Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" employs a raven itself as a symbol of... the torture, mainly the self-inflicted torture, of the narrator over his lost love, Lenore. The raven, it can be argued, is possibly a figment of the imagination of the narrator, obviously distraught over the death of Lenore. The narrator claims in the first stanza that he is weak and weary (731). He is almost napping as he hears the rapping at the door, which could quite possibly make the sound... Edgar Allan Poe, Lenore, Question 1336  Words | 4  Pages symbols  This symbol reminds those handling the package to keep out of the rain and not to store it in damp conditions. It is normally found... on card based packages which would be damaged if placed in contact with water. The broken wine glass suggests that the product inside the packaging could be easily damaged if dropped or handled without care and attention. The contents are fragile! The two hands holding or protecting the package is another reminder that the contents should be handled... Package, Plastic, Recycling 722  Words | 3  Pages Symbol Symbol | Meaning | Example | | delete | | | close up | | | delete and close up | | | caret | | | insert a space | | |... space evenly | | | let stand | | | transpose | | | used to separate two or more marks and often as a concluding stroke at the end of an insertion |   | | set farther to the left | | | set farther to the right | | | set as ligature (such as ) | | | align horizontally | | | align vertically | | | broken character | | |... 1973 oil crisis, 1980s oil glut, Oil reserves 770  Words | 3  Pages Symbolism in The Raven by Edgar Allen P Symbolism in The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe primarily occurs in the image of the raven itself, the room, the month of December,... the time of night, the statue and perhaps less obviously, the cushion, the window and the door. From the very beginning of the poem, the mood and tone, which is set to prepare us for the symbols is sombre and gloomy. The phrase 'once upon a' prepares us for the fact that we are about to hear a story, but fast on the heels of the phrase we learn that this is not going to be... Edgar Allan Poe, Graham's Magazine, Lenore 1008  Words | 2  Pages Ravens Symbolic Meaning to the Inuit Deeper Look into Ravens Symbolic Meaning to the Inuit: Contextual Analysis of Indigenous Mythology Raven was an incredible... animal to the Native North American Inuit culture; he was extremely symbolic in many ways. One of the most important things Raven could do was transform; he was the barrier of magic to many, being able to transform could bring happiness to everyone. The Inuit culture believed that Raven could heal many due to his magic and great level of intelligence. Raven is the keeper of... Anthropology, Cultural anthropology, Culture 2212  Words | 6  Pages The Raven Gothic Elements. “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is a perfect example of the Gothic genre. In fact there may not be a more potent, and certainly not a more... famous model of the Gothic Poetry in action. Edgar Allan Poe followed it up with an essay called “The Philosophy of Composition” in which he revealed how he wrote it. Gothic literature is defined as emphasising elements such as grotesqueness, mysteriousness and desolation; generally, it is a marriage between the Horror and Romance genres. The genre shows a dark... Edgar Allan Poe, Gothic fiction, Graham's Magazine 1338  Words | 4  Pages The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Beatriz Castro Professor Gary Smith English 1302 10/31/2012 Symbolism in “The Raven” Edgar Allan Poe was highly criticized throughout... his life whether it was for his high achievements or his downfalls; he always seemed to be talked about. Poe was born in January 19, 1809; his mother died shortly after being abandoned by his father leaving him and his brothers’ orphans at an early age. Poe was taken by John and Francis Allan. With the help of his foster parents he was later able to attend... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1334  Words | 4  Pages The Aspects of a Raven & a Loved Onean Analysis of “the Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe The Aspects of a Raven & a Loved One An Analysis of “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe How would you feel if you were thinking... about your lost love and a raven appears and starts to talk to you, only saying nevermore? Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. When Edgar Allan Poe was only “2 years old, his mother passed away and he was adopted by the Allan’s” (Giordano 1). Throughout Poe’s life, John Allan was always helping out Edgar because John was a successful merchant... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1289  Words | 3  Pages Edgar Allen Poe: the Raven Creating the Melancholic Tone in "The Raven" Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," representing Poe's own introverted crisis of hell, is... unusually moving and attractive to the reader. In his essay entitled "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe reveals his purpose in writing "The Raven" and also describes the work of composing the poem as being carefully calculated in all aspects. Of all melancholy topics, Poe wished to use the one that was universally understood, death; specifically death involving a beautiful... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1151  Words | 3  Pages The Raven: Creating the Melancholic Tone The Raven: Creating the Melancholic Tone Edgar Poe’s “The Raven”, representing Poe’s own introverted crisis of... hell, is unusually moving and attractive to the reader. In his essay entitled “The Philosophy of Composition,” Poe reveals his purpose in writing “The Raven” and also describes the work of composing the poem as being carefully calculated in all aspects. Of all melancholy topics, Poe use the one that is universally understood, death, which specifically involves a beautiful woman... Edgar Allan Poe, Graham's Magazine, Lenore 1032  Words | 3  Pages The Raven Literary Analysis Gaby Escobedo Creative Writing Period 6 5/7/12 The Raven Literary Analysis “The Raven” is an exploration into the... loneliness, despair, and insanity associated with the loss of a loved one. Through the clever use of structure, repetition and symbolism Edgar Allan Poe manages to draw us into this feeling of morbid despair and with every use of the haunting refrain “nevermore” upon which the chilling cadence of this poem is built Poe transforms a story steeped in sorrow into a tale of... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1196  Words | 3  Pages Analysis of the Raven and the Cask of Amontillado Symbolic Deaths Edgar Allan Poe wrote multiple pieces of work that were phenomenal. Two of his greatest works of literature were “The Raven”... and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Despite one of these being a poem and the other a short story, they both have similarities in their uses of imagery and intense symbolizations. The symbolism, in both pieces, takes one on a journey to dark, lonely places. One is allowed to feel the mood and intentions of each work through its extremely isolated settings in dark... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1763  Words | 5  Pages The Raven E.A. Poe Zachary A. R. Professor Aguilar English Composition 1302.017 02 March 2013 “The Raven,” by E.A. Poe In this research paper I will be... analyzing the poem titled, “The Raven” written by Edgar Allan Poe. I will be examining the history surrounding the development of the poem and how major events may have influenced Poe. I will be exploring the roles and development of the characters within the poem and how Poe uses symbolism to evolve them and create depth in the characters throughout the... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1974  Words | 5  Pages Edgar Allen Poe the Raven from his lesser-known stories to his most famous poem, "The Raven." This great man's life has been analyzed to death (no pun intended) to find... keys to unlock the maze of his apparent creativity. Here, the reader will find only an in depth look at "The Raven", information on the author's life and lifestyle, a brief look at other Poe works, criticism on his writings, and some unusual ways his fame has been Honored. To begin with, "The Raven" holds a dark sense of elegance, which has been appealing to... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 2112  Words | 6  Pages Analysis of the Raven 1 The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often... noted for its musicality, stylized language, andsupernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant... Barnaby Rudge, Edgar Allan Poe, Graham's Magazine 1928  Words | 6  Pages The Raven Alejandro Zuniga “The Raven” In “The Raven,” the narrator is sitting in his room pondering his lost lover, Lenore. All of a... sudden, he hears a knock at his door. He opens his door but sees no one. Soon, he hears the knock again, louder. He flings open his door, and in walks a raven that promptly perches itself on a statue of Pallas. At first, the narrator is perplexed with the raven, for it answers “nevermore” to any of his questions. Later, he thinks the raven is a message about or from... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 490  Words | 2  Pages the raven edgar allen poe Edgar Allen Poe died in the same year of 1849. Raven, cultural depiction If the raven comes to someone’s house, there was... someone who died in that house. In this poem, Poe uses raven as a metaphor of death and a long deep passing of grief. --> death motif Greek mythology, ravens are associated with Apollo, the god of prophecy. They are said to be a symbol of good luck, and were the god's messengers in the mortal world. In the Talmud, the raven is described as having been only one of three beings... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 700  Words | 3  Pages Edgar Allen Poe, "The Raven" analysis Jessica Tavernier Dr. Liz Ann Baez Aguilar English 1302 20 March 2015 “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe represents a major... figure in the world of literature solely based on his profound short stories, poems and theories. He demonstrates control of language and technique, while incorporating his inspirational and original imagination. Poe’s poetry and short stories greatly influenced the French Symbolists of the late nineteenth century, who in return altered the direction of modern... Edgar Allan Poe, Graham's Magazine, Internal rhyme 830  Words | 3  Pages Edgar Allan Poe (the Raven) Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" Poe's "The Raven" is not only an American classic, it's a favorite of high school students around... the world, as well as their teachers. That being said, it's still poetry and therefore can be difficult to understand. Read this summary to review the contents and get a better understanding. * Stanzas: 1-2 Make everyone in class think you're really smart when you bust out everything you've learned in this summary: Stanza 1: It's late. The poem's speaker is tired... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1488  Words | 4  Pages The Raven "The most obvious symbol is the Raven its self. Poe uses the non-reasoning raven because he wants to make us... wondering why he had chosen the raven from all the other birds., and frustrate us by wondering why the raven is repeating the word nevermore. He is surprised to hear the bird speak and he thinks that no living human has ever had a bird just sit there and talk to him, and with such a name as Nevermore. This might be the point where he realises that he is dying. It is also important... Bird, Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe 525  Words | 2  Pages "Poe's Life Reflected in the Raven "Poe's Life Reflected in The Raven" Edgar Allen Poe is a well known writer and poet. He wrotemany tales of mystery and macabre. I once read his... book, 'The Masqueof the Red Death'. The story was so heavy and dark that I felt scaredwhile reading the book. When I was about to read his poem 'TheRaven', the title already gave me the similar image of 'The Masque ofthe Red Death'. Individuals may have different ideas about raven.Some have a positive images on raven because it is considered to bringgood... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1137  Words | 3  Pages the raven Poe’s “The Raven” Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven has various symbols that set the depressing tone for the poem.... One of the most important symbols within this poem is Lenore, the woman whom the narrator is completely distraught about. She symbolizes beauty and deep, unconditional love. Because Lenore represents those things, she brings a sense of purity and helplessness to the tone of the poem “The Raven.” Although we do not know much about how she looks, Lenore symbolizes beauty which brings... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 684  Words | 2  Pages Edgar Allen Poe's the Raven In his poems and stories, Edgar Allen Poe often returns to the same themes: loneliness, lost love, insanity, and depression. In his poem, “The... Raven”, his theme is grief, which is also related to the string of themes he usually incorporates into his works. However, for this specific poem, Poe uses an abundant amount of literary devices to expand on his theme of grief and describe it in a way that readers will be able to understand his feelings throughout this poem. There are many literary devices... Alliteration, Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe 1191  Words | 3  Pages Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven: A Review 1) Do some research on ravens. What symbolic meanings, both positive and negative, do ravens have in various cultures? The... Raven is symbolized as a sign of death or despair in poems and stories in many cultures. 2) How is "The Raven" an example of Gothic poetry?  Do some research to support this. Provide a thorough explanation, and include the URL from where you gathered your information. Example of gothic elements are the supernatural, ghosts, incest, haunted houses, the baleful influence of... Alliteration, Edgar Allan Poe, Internal rhyme 788  Words | 3  Pages The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Analysis The Raven “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is undoubtedly the dark poet’s most acclaimed work, and subsequently one of the most... famous poems ever written. These facts come as no surprise once one reads this enigmatic narrative poem and examines the themes and symbolism that Poe so precisely exudes through his text. “The Raven” tells the story of an unnamed narrator who is mourning the loss of his love Lenore when a mysterious talking raven visits him. The narrator’s conversation with the raven slowly... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 951  Words | 3  Pages Raven vs Legend of Sleepy Hollow Argumentitive Essay legend vs The Raven The “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and the “The Raven” are both captivating pieces of literature because they... capture the imagination and illuminate the mind, while creating darkness. Meanwhile decades later, both stories continue to captivate readers all over the world earning the reputation of being two of the best American folklore stories. Although Washington Irving and Edgar Allen Poe in their respective works “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Raven” use protagonists... Edgar Allan Poe, Headless Horseman, Ichabod Crane 1188  Words | 3  Pages The Raven - Analysis The Raven – Horror themes The Raven is a narrative poem written by the renowned American writer Edgar Allan Poe in 1845.... Greatly celebrated for its melody and musical tune and rhythm, the poem is still recognized as being one of the most notable and popular poems of all time. The poem has a dark, sinister and depressive atmosphere that also supports the gothic themed writing style, which was popular in the period in which he lived. Although the poem received worldwide acknowledgement, he didn’t... Edgar Allan Poe, Internal rhyme, Lenore 812  Words | 3  Pages The Bells and The Raven “The Bells” and “The Raven” English 1 Mr. McDermott 6/7/2010 “The Bells” and “The Raven” “The Bells” and “The... Raven” are both poems by Edgar Allen Poe. They are two of the best poems I have ever read. Poe was one of the best poets in his fans eyes. He put hard work and dedication into all of his poems. Edgar liked to use historic words in poems. In the poem “The Raven” the bird was on the window representing something but you don’t know what it is. The poem “The Bells” made... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1413  Words | 4  Pages The Theme of The Raven The Theme of “The Raven”: Truth Will Come “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe has a hidden theme in the poem. The story is about... a melancholic man who was visited by a raven called Nevermore. When the man heard the raven knocking on his door, he was nervous and anxious. However, he could not overcome his curiosity and opened the door. When the raven came in, the man started asking questions to it. The same answer of the raven to the man’s several questions about his beloved was hardly acceptable... 2000 albums, Edgar Allan Poe, Emotion 912  Words | 3  Pages The Raven Tpcastt “The Raven” TPCASTT Title This poem could be about a multitude of things with the title Poe chose, but one thing that is clear is that it is... about a Raven. Judging from Poe's other works, it is likely about some kind of a rabid/demonic raven. Also, it is very likely that this Raven will torture someone in some unimaginable way that will destroy the person more so psychologically than physically. Paraphrase I was laying in my bedroom pondering life when I heard a knocking at my door. Maybe... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 943  Words | 3  Pages Raven Analysis The Raven” Poetic Devices “The Raven” written by the infamous Edgar Allan Poe has been impacting the industry of poetic pieces... since it was published in 1845. The craftsmanship behind the structure and material is beyond prodigious; several different poetic devices were used in such a smooth fashion. A virtuoso of poetry is what Poe was, for having mastered such a unique style of cliché poetic standards combined with non-uniformed syllables and literary patterns. Edgar Allan Poe uses a range of... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1013  Words | 3  Pages Edgar Allen Poe's the Raven as a Gothic Literature Piece Callie Graham English 3H p2 Detailed Outline I. Thesis – why and how Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven is a vital literary piece to the start... of the era of gothic literature, and how it embodies the traits of basic gothic literature II. The basic elements of gothic literature a. Intricate plot i. Includes complex and complicated narratives, plots within plots, episodic nature, strange/fragmented writing, all aimed at producing the effect of a dreamlike quality b. Chaos... Edgar Allan Poe, Graham's Magazine, Lenore 1497  Words | 5  Pages The Raven Human Obsession and Insanity Human obsession is a major part in Edgar Allan Poe’s works. In “The Raven,” the obsessions are about a woman,... Lenore, and death. The character’s obsession with Lenore and death are illustrated with the use of drugs and also with insanity. The obsession with Lenore also leads to the insanity of the narrator. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” the narrating character is obsessed about his past love that he is “weak and weary” (Poe 1). “From my books surcease of sorrow... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 679  Words | 2  Pages The use of symbols September 2013 The Use of Symbols Symbols have been a form of communication throughout all ages of the world. Some people may... interpret it the same while others may perceive it as a totally different thing while also displaying a lack of interest towards it, simply because they do not understand it. The misinterpretation of symbols can cause some problems within a homogenous or heterogeneous community because different values can be placed on different things. Symbols can be defined as a thing... Human, Language interpretation, Linguistics 769  Words | 3  Pages Short Analysis for "The Raven" and “What Troubled Poe’s Raven” “The Raven” I feel the title suggests that the poem might entail a story about a raven. Ravens are often... associated with death, due to their dark, eerie features, as well as with trickery, thus the title clues that the story will most likely be shadier. The speaker of the poem is a man who is troubled by the memories of his lost love, Lenore, and of his impending death. “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted—nevermore!” (106, 107) indicates the speaker... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 2262  Words | 6  Pages Christian Symbols CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS Christian Symbols... Nathan T. Payne Grand Canyon University UNV 200 Professor Diffey June 04, 2011 Christian Symbols Communication of thoughts and ideas are not always verbal they can come in different forms such as written languages, sign languages, and even artistic expression via the concept of art and drawings that are often illustrations an artist may hold in their heart and... Christian cross, Christian symbols, Christian terms 1115  Words | 3  Pages 1984 symbols through the figurative language of symbols. Because Orwell uses so many different symbols like: the red-armed prole woman, the... paperweight and St. Clements Church, and Emanuel Goldstein, the readers have an easier time connecting his messages he is trying to send together. Symbolisms within common items or characters in the book allow Orwell to convey images of how threatening a Totalitarian government can be directly to the minds of the readers. These symbols also allow the readers to get closer... George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Symbol 1348  Words | 4  Pages Peace: A Symbol represented by a multitude of symbols. The most commonly used symbol in this day and age for the word peace is a simple circle... bisected vertically. Two smaller lines extend downward from the bottom third of the central line at approximately 60 degree angles and connect to the circle. The symbol is occasionally referred by Christian evangelists as a broken upside down cross inside a circle. This symbol is recognized worldwide but how many people know the history of this symbol or know how it came to be... Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Nuclear disarmament, Nuclear weapon 1147  Words | 3  Pages What Is A Symbol vs. Individual Thought: Discussing the Categories of Understanding When discussing the use of symbols in both Durkheim and Strauss’ works, it... is important for us to look at how both thinkers talk about the categories of understanding. In Elementary Forms, Durkheim believes the categories of understanding are grounded in the social, using Australian totemism to explain how the primitive mind used symbols derived from collective thought to create the ways in which we categorize ideas in society today... Cognition, Human, Mind 1811  Words | 6  Pages Misinterpretation of Symbols Misinterpretation of symbols Now days people tend to have a fashion use for certain symbols such as the heart, cross, peace... sign, etc. without taking in consideration that it might offend others. Symbols are used worldwide to represent many things like religion and emotions, but we have to keep in mind that some symbols look or are the same in many cultures but they do not always have the same meaning. Many societies have forgotten the original meaning of a symbol, replacing it with a more modern... Adolf Hitler, Linguistics, Meaning of life 1055  Words | 4  Pages Symbols & Ironi Symbols and Ironies The authors use irony in their writings because it creates a great closeness to a text and a feeling of satisfaction when... the irony is recognized and understood, “- a little like a shared understanding between the writer and the reader - a kind of knowing wink!” (Englishbiz 1). On the other hand the symbols in the literature are used by the writers to improve their writing. Also, the symbols give more color, make it more rich writing and enhance the meaning to doing it deeper... A Good Thing, Always Will Be, Black box 1048  Words | 3  Pages Symbol Table SYMBOL TABLES A compiler uses a symbol table to keep track of scope and binding information about names. The... symbol table is searched every time a name is encountered in the source text. Changes to the symbol table occur if a new name or new information about an existing name is discovered. A symbol table mechanism must allow us to add new entries and find existing entries. The two symbol table mechanisms are linear lists and hash tables. Each scheme is evaluated on the basis... Bloom filter, Cuckoo hashing, Data structure 1792  Words | 5  Pages Symbol Project Period 2 October 16, 2014 Symbol Project My symbol is a drawing of a basketball, with an assortment of colors and images,... and even some writing. My symbol is very straightforward and describes me very well. I chose a basketball because it’s my favorite sport and it’s my passion. These pictures and quotes in my symbol, show that I’m an athlete, due to the basketball, the Damian Lillard quote, and the motivational quotes. These characteristics in my symbol help identify what kind of person... 0, Basketball, High school 809  Words | 2  Pages Macbeth - Symbols Throughout Shakespeare's Macbeth, numerous symbols are used. Many of these depict characters' actions and appearances, emotions, and events... that have happened previously in the play. Although there are many symbols used all through the play, there are three important groups of symbols that are used most regularly. These are blood, sleep and animals, which all have different representations. <br> <br>Blood is an important symbol that is used continuously in the play. In the beginning of the play,... Homicide, Macbeth, Murder 986  Words | 3  Pages The Raven essay (E. A. Poe) brings can ruin a person's life forever. Poe elaborated this poem using abstract language, connotations, tones and allusions. The function of picture,... color and sound is extremely important for creating shock effect in this poem. While reading "The Raven" we immediately think of a dark and murky room (with dark and horror there is also claustrophobia because the room is very small). The poet says that he has been reading ancient opuses late at night. It's usually very silent at that time. During creepy... Denotation, Edgar Allan Poe, Internal rhyme 940  Words | 3  Pages "The Raven" - Edgar Allan Poe's View About His Own Fate. "The Raven" - Edgar Allan Poe's view about his own fate. Yordan G. Georgiev Shumen University Edgar Allan... Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He is one of the most significant writers in the American history. Well known for its mystery and horror stories he is considered part of the Romantic movement in US and the inventor of detective fiction genre. On January 29, 1845 he publishes his poem "The Raven" in the "Evening Mirror" which granted... Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza Poe, Graham's Magazine 1285  Words | 4  Pages Relegious Symbols Afterlife was very important for some civilizations. Symbols are representation of something unique and important and are being used since... prehistoric times. I chose “symbols in religion” as my topic, unique symbols are used by different civilizations Stonehenge from Neolithic, hippopotamus from Egyptian civilization and most famous Stonehenge from pre historic times are the references I took. “The term Symbolism means the systematic use of symbols or pictorial conventions to express an allegorical... Ancient Egypt, Avebury, Neolithic 1171  Words | 4  Pages raise ravens by carlos saura Through a detailed analysis of one of the films viewed in this subject, discuss the particular historical and/or political conditions that gave rise to the... film and film movement in question. In the movie, Rasie Ravens (1976) by Carlos Saura, there were a number of different particular political conditions that were posed upon Saura. The first stand out political condition was that he created the film under a dictatorship, which lead to a great difficulty when directing the film. There are a... Canary Islands, Film, Film director 1803  Words | 5  Pages Symbol for Advertising Symbol for Advertising In communicating, advertisers have a thought to share with their audiences. The exact thought or message can only be... shared if oneness of thought is achieved. The difficulty is that thought cannot simply be picked up and placed in another person's head. Thus, a communicator must select some symbols or sign that both sender and receiver can understand the same thing. Businesses, groups and individuals use trademarks, logos and symbols to generate brand awareness in public forums... Bill Bowerman, Carolyn Davidson, Converse 1393  Words | 4  Pages Symbol of peace Content Name page no. 1. Introduction 2. Subject... 3. Object 4. Design &sculpture- Form (Sarmin Sultana -1020861) Color ... Design, Euclidean geometry, Graphic design 1182  Words | 14  Pages Signs and Symbols Signs and Symbols What made the boy decide not to live anymore? The story “Signs and Symbols” by Vladimir Nabokov discusses... the complications of life. After moving to America, escaping Europe during the holocaust, their son is stuck in a hospital where he constantly try’s to “tear a hole in his world and escape” (Nabokov 2) causing his parents to feel its all their fault. The story discusses symbolism, setting, and structure as three major elements. There are certain symbols in the text such... Family, Saint Petersburg, Son 904  Words | 3  Pages

i don't know

What religious holiday immediately follows Halloween?

What Does the Bible Say About Halloween? What Does the Bible Say About Halloween? Cavan Images / Getty Images By Mary Fairchild Updated September 02, 2016. Each year when the temperature starts to cool, this controversial question comes up: "Should Christians celebrate Halloween?" With no direct references to Halloween in the Bible , resolving the debate can be a challenge. How should Christians approach Halloween and is there a biblical way to observe this secular holiday? The dilemma over Halloween may fall under the category of a Romans 14 issue , or a "disputable matter." These are matters that lack clear and specific direction from the Bible. Ultimately, Christians must decide for themselves and follow their own convictions regarding the observance of Halloween. Together we will explore what the Bible says about Halloween, providing food for thought as you decide for yourself on the issue. Christians and Halloween: Treat or Retreat? Christian perspectives on the observance of Halloween are strongly divided. Some believers feel complete freedom to observe the holiday, others run and hide from it, many boycott or ignore it, a number celebrate it through more positive and imaginative observances or Christian alternatives to Halloween , and still others choose to take advantage of Halloween's evangelistic opportunities. Some of today's popular celebrations associated with Halloween have pagan roots stemming from the ancient Celtic festival, Samhain . This harvest festival of the Druids ushered in the New Year, beginning on the evening of October 31, with the lighting of bonfires and the offering of sacrifices. As the Druids danced around the fires, they celebrated the ending of the summer season and the beginning of the season of darkness. It was also believed that at this time of year the invisible "gates" between the natural world and the spirit world would open, allowing free movement between the two worlds. During the 8th century in the diocese of Rome, Pope Gregory III moved All Saints Day to November 1, officially making October 31 "All Hallows Eve," some say, as a way of claiming the celebration for Christians . However, this feast commemorating the martyrdom of the saints had already been celebrated by Christians for many centuries before this time. Pope Gregory IV broadened the feast to include the entire Church. Inevitably, some of the pagan practices associated with the season persisted and have mixed into modern celebrations of Halloween. What Does the Bible Say About Halloween? Ephesians 5:7-12 Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. (NLT) Many Christians believe that participating in Halloween is a form of involvement in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness. However, many consider the modern-day Halloween activities of most to be harmless fun. Are some Christians trying to remove themselves from the world? Ignoring Halloween or celebrating it with believers only is not exactly an evangelical approach. Aren't we supposed to "become all things to all men so that by all possible means" we might save some? (1 Corinthians 9:22) Deuteronomy 18:10-12 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord. (NLT) These verses are clear on what a Christian should not do. But how many Christians are sacrificing their sons and daughters as a burnt offering on Halloween? How many are calling forth the spirits of the dead ? The verse does not say that "trick or treating" disgusts the Lord. However, what if you came to the Christian faith from a background in the occult? What if, before you became a Christian, you did practice some of these deeds associated with witchcraft and sorcery? Perhaps refraining from Halloween and its activities is the safest and most appropriate response for you as an individual. Rethinking the Issue of Halloween There are many other Bible verses similar to these two, but nothing that specifically warns against observing Halloween. Rather than providing an answer, the purpose of this article is to cause you to ask yourself questions and think about your convictions on this issue. As Christians, why are we here in this world? Are we here to live in a safe and protected environment, guarded against the evils of the world, or are we called to reach out to a world filled with dangers and be the light of Christ? Halloween brings people of the world to our doorstep. Halloween brings our neighbors out into the streets. I can think of various creative ways to seize this opportunity for developing new relationships and sharing my faith . Is it possible that our negativity toward Halloween only alienates the people we seek to reach? Can we be in the world, but not of the world? Resolving the Question of Halloween I close with a recommendation to give serious thought to the appropriateness of judging another Christian for observing or not observing Halloween. We do not know why another person participates in the holiday or why they do not. We cannot accurately judge the motivations and intentions of another person's heart. I believe the most appropriate Christian response to Halloween is to study the matter for yourself and follow the convictions of your own heart. Let others do the same without condemnation from you. Perhaps the answer to the Halloween dilemma is ... there is no right or wrong answer! I believe one's unique convictions about Halloween must be individually sought, independently found, and personally followed.

All Saints' Day

On Oct 28, 1919, the United States Congress shat upon the American people by passing the Volstead Act, which lead the way to what 14 year period of darkness and despair?

ESL Holiday Lessons.com: Halloween Halloween features LISTENING GAP FILL Halloween is celebrated on October the 31st every year. It _________________ pagan holiday and the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day. The name Halloween is _________________ of All Hallows’ Eve. Today, it is more of a fun day for children and has largely lost its religious roots. Halloween is _________________ in the U.S.A. Irish immigrants took it to America in the mid-1600s and it _________________ the country. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world although many _________________ it. Some Christians are not so happy that people celebrate Halloween. They believe the holiday is un-Christian because _________________ pagan "festival of the dead." Halloween has many easily identifiable symbols. The colours orange and black _________________. In particular, orange pumpkins and fires and black witches, cats and costumes are _________________ this day. One of the biggest Halloween activities is trick-or-treating. This is when children _________________ and ask for a small gift. If they don’t get anything, they’ll play a trick on the person who opens the door. Food also _________________ of Halloween. Toffee apples are very popular and so is anything made from pumpkin. Halloween is also a popular topic for Hollywood. Many horror movies have _________________. Because of this, Halloween is now known in many countries that _________________ it. WHILE READING / LISTENING GAP FILL Put the words into the gaps in the text. Halloween is celebrated on October the 31st every year. It ____________ from a pagan holiday and the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day. The ____________ Halloween is a shortened ____________ of All Hallows’ Eve. Today, it is more of a fun day for children and has largely lost its religious roots. Halloween is probably ____________ famous in the U.S.A. Irish immigrants took it to America in the mid-1600s and it slowly ____________ across the country. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world although many people ____________ about it. Some Christians are not so ____________ that people celebrate Halloween. They believe the holiday is un-Christian because of its origin as a pagan "festival of the ____________."   CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD Delete the wrong word in each of the pairs of italics. Halloween is celebrated on October the 31st every / all year. It originated from a pagan holiday and the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day. The name Halloween is a shortened vision / version of All Hallows’ Eve. Today, it is more of a fan / fun day for children and has largely lost its religious roots. Halloween is probably most famous in the U.S.A. Irish immigration / immigrants took it to America in the mid-1600s and it slowly spread / spreads across the country. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world although many people known / know about it. Some Christians are not so happy that people celebrate Halloween. They belief / believe the holiday is un-Christian because of its origin / original as a pagan "festival of the dead." Halloween has many easy / easily identifiable symbols. The colours orange and black are widely used. In peculiar / particular, orange pumpkins and fires and black witches, cats and costumes are common features / futures of this day. One of the biggest Halloween activities is trick-or-treating. This is when children knocking / knock on doors and ask for a small gift. If they don’t get anything, they’ll play a trick on the person / people who opens the door. Food also plays a big part of Halloween. Toffee apples are very popularity / popular and so is anything made from pumpkin. Halloween is also a popular topic / topical for Hollywood. Many horror movies have been made about it. Because of this, Halloween is now known in many countries that never actually / actual celebrate it. MULTIPLE CHOICE Halloween is celebrated on October the 31st (1) ____ year. It originated from a pagan holiday and the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day. The name Halloween is a (2) ____ version of All Hallows’ Eve. Today, it is more of a fun day for children and has (3) ____ lost its religious roots. Halloween is probably most famous in the U.S.A. Irish immigrants took it to America in the mid-1600s and it (4) ____ spread across the country. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world (5) ____ many people know about it. Some Christians are not so happy that people celebrate Halloween. They believe the holiday is un-Christian because of its (6) ____ as a pagan "festival of the dead." Halloween has many (7) ____ identifiable symbols. The colours orange and black are widely used. In particular, orange pumpkins and fires and black witches, cats and costumes are common (8) ____ of this day. One of the biggest Halloween activities is trick-or-treating. This is when children knock on doors and ask for a small gift. If they don’t get (9) ____, they’ll play a trick on the person who opens the door. Food also plays a big part of Halloween. Toffee apples are very popular and (10) ____ is anything made from pumpkin. Halloween is also a popular (11) ____ for Hollywood. Many horror movies have been made about it. Because of this, Halloween is now known in many countries that never actually (12) ____ it. Put the correct words from this table into the article. 1. ______________________________________________________________________________ HOMEWORK 1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word. 2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about Halloween . Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson. 3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about Halloween . Write about what happens around the world. Include two imaginary interviews with people who did something on this day. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles. 4. POSTER: Make your own poster about Halloween . Write about what will happen on this day around the world. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

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What is the only venomous lizard native to the United States?

Venombyte.com - Venomous Lizards of the United States Venomous Links VENOMOUS LIZARDS OF THE UNITED STATES Let me start by saying that I am not a herpetologist. This page is designed to list the venomous lizards of the United States, but should in no way be considered an authoritative list. This page was compiled from information in the public domain, and has not been reviewed by a herpetologist. There is only one species of venomous lizard that is native to the United States, which is the species Heloderma suspectum, commonly referred to as the Gila Monster. There are two subspecies that exist: Reticulated Gila Monster - Heloderma suspectum suspectum The Gila Monster is a protected species. It is named after the Gila Basin in Arizona. There are many myths about the Gila Monster, but there are just as many interesting and unique facts about them as well. Myths: The Gila Monster is immortal The breath of the Gila Monster is toxic The Gila Monster can leap several feet into the air If bitten by a Gila Monster, it will not let go until the sun sets or until it hears thunder The Gila Monster has no anus, and it's digestive waste is secreted via it's mouth, which is what makes the Gila Monster venomous The Gila Monster is the only lizard with a forked tongue. Facts: The Gila Monster is the United State's only species of venomous lizard, and is one of only two species of venomous lizards in the world. The Gila Monster is the slowest lizard in the United States, although it can strike quickly. The Gila Monster is the largest lizard native to the United States. The Gila Monster does not inject venom with fangs like a snake. For more information on the Gila Monster, please visit the sites below.

Gila monster

Played by Lee Majors, Steve Austin, astronaut, A man barely alive, becomes who?

Endangered Species: Mountain-Prairie Region: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mountain-Prairie Region GILA MONSTER Species Description: The Gila monster is the largest native species of lizard in the United States.  Adults typically have a body length of 12-14 inches.  The tail is an additional 6-7 inches long.  It has rounded beadlike bony deposits on the back of its head, limbs, body, and tail; and a distinctive color pattern of black bands on a pale yellow or orange background on the body and tail. It has a massive skull, venom glands in the lower jaw, and a dark, forked tongue. The Gila monster is one of only a few known species of venomous lizard, out of approximately 4,000 species of lizards worldwide.  It does not appear to inject venom into prey; instead, it most likely uses its venomous bite as a defense mechanism.  There are no documented cases of human mortality due to its bite.  Several components found in the venom of Gila monsters have valuable research and pharmacological applications including the treatment of Type 2 diabetes and possibly memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. They are slow-moving lizards that depend almost solely on vertebrate eggs and young in nests for food.  They can ingest large quantities of prey (up to one-third of their body weight) during a single feeding, and three large meals can supply the yearly energy demands of an adult.  The Gila monster is found in portions of the Mohave Desert in southwestern Utah, southeastern Nevada, southeastern California, and northwestern Arizona; in the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico; and in small portions of the Chihuahuan Desert in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.  In Utah, it is found only in the southern portion of Washington County, which comprises less than one percent of the species’ total range. The Gila monster favors rocky slopes, washes, and sandy valleys, with sites available for protection from weather extremes and predators.  It typically spends more than 95 percent of its time in underground shelters. Recent Actions: June 2011:  The Service determined that a petition seeking to protect the Utah population of the Gila monster under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) does not contain substantial scientific information to indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted, because the population does not constitute a distinct population segment (DPS) as defined by the ESA.  Therefore, we will not conduct an in-depth review to consider whether the Gila monster should receive Federal protection under the ESA. Despite this announcement that the species will not receive further consideration for listing under the ESA at this time, we will continue to work with our partners to conserve and protect the Gila monster throughout the species’ range.

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In the Star Wars universe, what rank falls between Padawan and Jedi Master?

Jedi Master: What the Ranks Entail for Young Trainees Youngling A Youngling or Jedi Initiate is a Force-sensitive child raised in the Jedi Temple who receives basic instruction in the Force. The Force being a metaphysical entity, requires the practice of meditation and learning how to use the Force from early on in childhood. Jedi younglings undergo the Gathering on Ilum, where they find the kyber crystals needed to build their lightsabers.  Younglings who pass the Initiate Trials continue their training as Padawans. The rank of Youngling only existed from about 1,000 BBY to 19 BBY. The practice of taking Force-sensitive children as infants was intended to keep Jedi away from attachments, which would prevent them from falling to the dark side of the Force .  More » continue reading below our video Great Singers Gone too Soon Padawan A Padawan or Jedi Apprentice is a young Jedi in training with a Jedi Knight or Master. In eras where the Youngling rank did not exist, Jedi trainees began at the rank of Apprentice. When the Jedi Order was centralized, between 4,000 BBY and 19 BBY, the Master/Padawan relationship was formalized and had strict guidelines. Before and after, the process of training a Jedi was more informal; Jedi Knights and Masters had a greater choice in who they could train, could train more than one Padawan at a time, and declared their own students Knights when they were ready. Padawan trainees would grow or wear a Padawan braid and train in a classroom setting with multiple other students and a teacher. After reaching a certain age, and being apprenticed to a Jedi Knight or Jedi Master to begin one-on-one training, Padawan apprentices went on missions to strengthen their skills in the ways of the Force. The Padawan braid is then cut off with a lightsaber when promoted to the rank of Knight. More » Jedi Knight A Jedi Knight has completed training as a Padawan and passed the Jedi Trials, or similarly proven his worthiness to become a Knight. Most Jedi are Knights and remain so the rest of their lives. Jedi Knights serve the Jedi Order by going on missions and by training new apprentices to Knighthood. Unlike the ranks of Padawan and Youngling, the rank of Knight kept its name and meaning throughout the history of the Jedi Order. More » Jedi Master A Jedi Master is the highest formal rank in the Jedi Order. It is given to the most skilled Jedi after great accomplishments as a Jedi Knight, such as training several apprentices to Knighthood or performing a great service for the Republic.  Reserved for those who show exceptional devotion, skill, and balance in the ways of the Force (not to mention often combat), only those holding this rank and title may sit on the Jedi High Council (with the exception of Anakin Skywalker and a select few others) or any of the three other councils. Because the title of Master was so prestigious, some Jedi Knights — particularly in the early Jedi Order — declared themselves Jedi Masters. This was discouraged, as wisdom in the Force, not just success in battle, is necessary to become a Jedi Master. More » Non-Ranking Jedi Jedi in the Service Corps branches, such as the Agricultural Corps , are generally Jedi trainees who failed one of their trials. Although Jedi Knights or Masters could work with the Service Corps, most of their members did not have one of the four Jedi ranks.

Jedi Knight

21 October, 1833 saw the birth of Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, who amassed his considerable fortune following his invention of what?

Jedi | Wookieepedia | Fandom powered by Wikia A Jedi was a Force-sensitive individual, most often a member of the Jedi Order , who studied, served, and used the mystical energies of the Force ; usually, the light side of the Force . [8] The weapon of a Jedi was the lightsaber , a blade made of pure energy which have different colours. Jedi fought for peace and justice in the Galactic Republic , usually against their mortal enemy: the Sith , who studied the dark side of the Force . [1] The Jedi were of ancient origins, having been present in the galaxy for over one thousand generations. [8] There were ten thousand Jedi in the galaxy before the Clone Wars . [13] At the end of the war, however, they were all but destroyed by the Sith during and after the execution of Order 66 , leaving very few Jedi survivors until there was only one known living Jedi, Luke Skywalker , at the end of the Galactic Civil War . Skywalker rebuilt the order in the years after the Galactic Civil War, but his nephew and apprentice Ben Solo , later dubbed Kylo Ren, massacred all of its members, leaving Skywalker once again as the last remaining Jedi. [2] This article is a stub . You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it . Contents [ show ] Jedi ranks Jedi youngling : A young child who was Force-sensitive would be identified at birth and taken to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi. They were to be put into classes of other Jedi younglings and trained together before being taken as an apprentice by a Jedi Knight . Younglings were not to be trained once they had reached a certain age, with the sole exception to this rule being Anakin Skywalker . Younglings would participate in the Gathering , which was the pilgrimage to the Ilum Temple to gain a kyber crystal for their lightsaber . Padawan : A youngling who had been chosen by a Jedi Knight or Jedi Master to train under their tutelage personally into becoming a fully fledged Jedi Knight. Their readiness was decided by the Initiate Trials . Padawans wore a braid . Jedi Knight : Once a Padawan has successfully passed the Jedi trials , they were be granted the rank of Jedi Knight and went out on missions of their own, no longer under the tutelage of a master. Jedi Master : A Jedi Knight was granted the rank of Jedi Master and offered a seat on the Jedi High Council when they had shown great skill, wisdom and devotion to the Force. When a Jedi Knight successfully led a Padawan to becoming a Jedi Knight themselves, they would also be granted the rank of Master. Grand Master : The leader of the Jedi High Council , the position of Grand Master was given to the oldest and considered to be the wisest member of the Jedi Order. Jedi occupations Some Jedi had specific jobs or titles: Master of the Order : This position was assumed by the leader of the Jedi Order. He or she had to be voted unanimously into the position by the Jedi High Council. Jedi Commander : This title was given to Jedi Padawans under the leadership of Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters with their roles as Jedi Generals in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars.

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Used in place of a net, what is the name for the pole with a sharp hook on the end of it used to boat large fish?

How to Fish for Alligator Gar: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow How to Fish for Alligator Gar Three Parts: Finding Alligator Gar Fishing for Gar Fighting the Gar Community Q&A The Alligator Gar is one serious fish. If you're interested in testing your mettle against a 100 pound, prehistoric-looking creature, and have access to the turbid slow moving waters of the lower Mississippi River drainage area, the Alligator Gar may be just the fish for you. Here are some tips for trying this toothy giant on for size. Steps Finding Alligator Gar 1 Head to the American South. The gar thrives in the Mississippi river basin, from Southern Ohio and Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly found in the freshwater bodies of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas, the alligator gar is a distinctively Southern fish. As with many things, the biggest are generally found in Texas. The Henderson Swamp west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans, are populated with Alligator Gars. So are the Pearl and Pascagoula River in Mississippi, the Mobile, Tensaw, Tennessee, and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama, and the Escambia, Choctawhatchee, and Apalachicola Rivers in the Florida panhandle. Texas rivers such as the Colorado, Trinity, Guadalupe, Sabine, and other main channels are most frequented and have the largest record gars to date, as well as the largest known populations of alligator gar. 2 Find a slough or backwater. A "dead lake" is a lake that is inundated by an adjacent river when the water is high, but is landlocked when the river is at normal level, and this is the perfect kind of place to fish for gar. Secure permission to fish this water, and whatever licenses are required in the jurisdiction you are fishing in. You will need to have access to fish your choice of locations, so if there is no bank access, you may have to secure a boat. 3 Learn to spot the 'gator gar. The alligator gar is just one species of gar, a long-nosed, sharp-toothed, distinctively prehistoric fish. They can weigh over 250 lbs and can survive up to two hours above water. The gator is the largest species of gar, and is the largest exclusively freshwater fish in North America. It can be as long as eight to ten feet, and the current world record for the largest alligator gar caught on rod and reel is 279lb 0oz. The largest taken by Bowfishing is 365lb. [1] If the gar's snout is more than twice the length of its head, and is no more than a few inches wide, it's probably a longnose gar. Florida gars and spotted gars have shorter snouts and are covered with distinctive, brownish spots. The alligator gar--your target--is the largest of these fish. It has a broader nose than the long nose, with two rows of teeth where the other gar have one. It can be quite large. 4 Know when and where to look. The gar spawns in brackish waters in spring, around April, but the best time for hunting them is in late summer, when it is hot and dry. In July and August, alligator gar can be found in deep river bends adjacent to relatively shallow pools. The deep water is where the gar congregate, and the shallow water will allow you to spot them more easily when they come up to feed. Part 2 Fishing for Gar 1 Make sure your rig is up to the task. If you're going to try to hook a fish that weighs up to 250 pounds and has dozens of sharp, needle-like teeth, you're going to want more than a branch and bobber. Bring a stiff composite rod with strong test line. This is the kind of fish you'll want to bring up to the surface, so using a bobber for your bait is appropriate. It's best to have a large open-faced or spinning reel capable of hold 150–200 yards (137.2–182.9 m) of 30-100 pound test mono-filament line. A stiff-actioned graphite or composite rod, six or eight feet long is appropriate for this size of fish. 2 For line, you'll want two-three feet of steel leader, and 40-80 pound test line. Hook bait onto a 6/0 treble hook and use a 1/4 oz. slip sinker, with split shot sinker to keep it above the hook. [2] Plastic or cork bobber (float), capable of keeping your bait and rig suspended near the water's surface. 3 Bring a good-sized live bait. Some people in the lower delta waters near the Gulf Coast prefer 10–12 inch (25.4–30.5 cm) mullet, and often suggest removing the scales before using them, but any legal baitfish, such as shiners, shad, or suckers are on the gar's menu. Carp, buffalo, and large perch are also commonly used. 4 Watch for schooling baitfish, like shad, shiners, or freshwater mullet. When you spot a school of fish breaking the water as if they are being herded by a hungry carnivore, you are probably in gar country. Rig your bait, and cast. 5 Cast into the deep part of the channel. Leave the spool open to allow the gar to take the bait and run with it for a few clicks. Keep your eye on the float. When it begins to torpedo across the top of the water, or when it dives towards the depths, you know you've got a gar on the line. Lower your rod toward it, and wait at least seven seconds after the line pulls tight. The gar swims with its food before attempting to eat it. If you try to set the hook to early, you'll risk jostling it loose or hooking the gar in a less-than-optimum spot. 6 Set the hook. The alligator gar has a hard, bony plate in its mouth, which is the reason fishermen prefer treble hooks, and considerable force is needed to penetrate it. To ensure that you set the hook in the soft, secure part of the gar's mouth, you may have to set it a few times. Since you've let as much as a few hundred yards of line spool out, this may take considerable strength and a few pulls. When you've got your hook set, it's time to settle in for a big wrestling match. Part 3 Fighting the Gar 1 Assess the fish when you feel the tension on your line. Very large fish will require a substantial fight to land, and you may find it necessary to adjust your drag to wear it down. Try to keep the fish steered away from logs, brush, or other snags to keep him from becoming tangled, where you will almost certainly lose him. 2 Fight your fish until it is exhausted. Bring it in a bit at a time, letting the gar wear itself out. Don't expend more energy than necessary bringing it in quickly. Never try to force even a smaller gar into the boat while it still has fight left in it. The alligator gar has been known to bite aggressively in self defense. For very large gar, it may be best to gill gaff them, so that the head (and teeth) can be steered away from occupants of the boat before bringing it aboard. A gill gaff is basically a pole with a sharp hook on the end, for snaring large fish beside the boat. Generally, a partner will hook the fish through the gills and under the backbone, probably wounding the fish mortally. If you want to hook a gar and release it, don't do this. 3 Be extremely careful if you choose to release your catch. Generally, fishermen don't recommend fishing for gar unless you intend to kill them. Bringing a live gar into the boat, or onto the shore, is extremely dangerous. Removing a treble hook from a mouth full of needle like teeth requires a very long-nosed pair of pliers. Make sure the fish is beyond exhausted, and that you're wearing protective arm and hand gear if you attempt this. Cutting the line will leave the treble hook embedded in the fish's mouth, leaving it little chance of survival. The alligator gar and many other freshwater predators are increasingly endangered. The best preservation policy with these fish is catch and release, so at least be aware of the difficulties of doing so if you want to hunt gar responsibly. 4 Consider creative alternatives. Many southerners will tell you the preferred method of fishing for alligator gars is actually bowfishing, using a compound hunting bow and fishing arrows. Bow-fishing is much more exciting to many, as it combines fishing and hunting. Some fishermen will likewise bring along a .22 to finish off the gar when it gets close to the boat. Be extremely careful and make sure that you're licensed if you're going to fish with hunting gear. 5 Consider taking your gar home for dinner. Generally, the gar is a trophy fish, given its size and fierce look. It is an edible (some say tasty) fish, but quite difficult to clean. The scales are armor-like and all come off together, though, so it comes off with the right technique. Nail the gar's head to a blank and work a knife from the tail up the backbone, loosening the scales. Cut the head and tail off, and then work your knife down the sides of the fish. The scales should come up like a crust around the flesh underneath. Gut the fish as you would any other. Community Q&A If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know. Video Tips When bringing the gar into a boat or on land, do not grab the gar by his snout because his teeth stick out the side of his mouth, so that if he thrashes he can easily cut your hand. Give serious consideration to hiring a guide for your first trip fishing for these fish. The time a guide will save, as well as the safety considerations should make your trip much more enjoyable. There are stories (somewhat substantiated) of Alligator Gars biting feet that are dangled in the water off of piers and riverbanks. Warnings Respect the teeth of this fish, never stick a hand, even with leather gloves, into its mouth. Things You'll Need

Gaff

As part of a purification ritual, what is it that sumo wrestlers throw in the ring before they engage in combat?

How To Catch Blue Fish - New Jersey Blue Fishing New Jersey Blue Fishing Links How to Catch Blue Fish Aboard Party Boat NJ you will either jig for the fish, or fish with bait on a hook. Jigging This method of blue fishing works best when there is a large school of blues. Often you will spot the fish chasing bait fish near the surface of the water. The captain looks for birds flying in groups near the water’s surface. This is often a sure sign of a large school of blues. The captain will stop the boat and drift over where the fish are swimming. Your fishing rod will have a diamond head jig tipped with a green tube and the hook. No bait is used. The deckhand will show you how to drop your line, with the attached jig, to the bottom and reel as fast as you can until the jig is just at the surface of the water. If you do not hook up with a blue on the first try, you drop your line again and reel as fast as you can until the jig is at the surface. This process repeats until you hook up. Then, be prepared for the battle. Once a fish is hooked, it is most important to keep your fishing line straight out in front of you. For example, you hook up with the blue and see your line at the back of the boat, but you are at the front of the boat. The crew will yell for you to walk to your fish. As you walk toward the back of the boat, watch all the lines form the rods you pass. It is important not to have your line cross other lines. This means you may walk in front of some people and behind others on your way to your hooked fish. The crew will follow and coach. If you do get caught in other lines (called a tangle), the crew will quickly work to get you out of that tangle and you proceed to our fish and continue to reel it in. Sometimes the fish will keep swimming away and bring you around the entire boat. The best way to win the battle is to keep following the fish. When you see the fish just near the surface, be carefully that the fish stays in the water until the deckhand puts a gaff ( a pole with a sharp hook on it) in it and brings it on the boat. Do not reel anymore. Leave the fish on the top in the water while you wait for the gaff. Yay! Now you caught a fish. Get that line and toss it in the deep blue sea again and reel, reel, reel as fast as you can and catch another, and another. Bait fishing When large schools of blue fish are not easily spotted, the captain will travel to a spot where the blues are known to migrate and he will anchor up. Once the anchor is set the horn signals the start of fishing. Your fishing rod will have a hook attached to the end of the line. The crew will show you the best way to put the bait that we provide, on the hook. He will instruct you how to pull the line out one count at a time. The line will move a distance away from the boat based on the number of pulls you take. Many times 35 to 55 pulls works for me. I will let the first 20 pulls out somewhat quickly. Then I count very slow pulls. When a fish bites, let it run some and then set the hook. Start reeling and the battle begins. Always remember to keep your thumb on the spool when letting line out. If your thumb is not on the spool when the fish bites, it will pull the line out so quickly you will tangle up into what we call a bird’s nest and it will be difficult to win the battle. Once you set the hook you don't need your thumb there anymore as you reel in your fish. Once hooked, it is MOST IMPORTANT to keep your fishing line straight out in front of you. For example, you hook up with the blue and see your line at the back of the boat, but you are at the front of the boat. The crew will yell for you to walk to your fish. As you walk toward the back of the boat, watch all the lines form the rods you pass. It is important not to have your line cross other lines. This means you may walk in front of some people and behind others on your way to your hooked fish. The crew will follow and coach. If you do get caught in other lines (called a tangle), the crew will quickly work to get you out of that tangle and you proceed to our fish and continue to reel it in. Sometimes the fish will keep swimming away and bring you around the entire boat. The best way to win the battle is to keep following the fish. When you see the fish just near the surface, be carefully that the fish stays in the water until the deckhand puts a gaff ( a pole with a sharp hook on it) in it and brings it on the boat. Do not reel anymore. Leave the fish on the top in the water while you wait for the gaff. Yay! Now put another bait on the hook drop in your line, count those pulls and catch another and another and another © 2014, PartyBoatNJ.com. All Rights Reserved.

i don't know

What was the name of the Scottish clan featured in the TV show and movies Highlander?

Highlander (1986) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponent, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize". Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 25 titles created 30 Aug 2011 a list of 28 titles created 01 Apr 2012 a list of 24 titles created 13 Nov 2012 a list of 24 titles created 03 Mar 2015 a list of 39 titles created 5 months ago Search for " Highlander " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. In the future, Highlander Connor MacLeod must prevent the destruction of Earth under an anti-ozone shield. Director: Russell Mulcahy Deceived that he had won the Prize, Connor MacLeod awakens from a peaceful life when an entombed immortal magician comes seeking the Highlander. Director: Andrew Morahan Immortals Connor and Duncan MacLeod must join forces against Kell, an evil immortal who has become too strong for anyone to face alone. Director: Douglas Aarniokoski Duncan MacLeod is Immortal, and must live in modern society, concealing his true nature while fighting other Immortals. Stars: Adrian Paul, Stan Kirsch, Jim Byrnes A vengeful barbarian warrior sets off to avenge his tribe and his parents whom were slain by an evil sorcerer and his warriors when he was a boy. Director: John Milius When Robin and his Moorish companion come to England and the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham, he decides to fight back as an outlaw. Director: Kevin Reynolds Edit Storyline In New York, the owner of a sophisticated antique shop Russell Edwin Nash is challenged to a sword fight in the parking lot of the Madison Square Garden by a man called Iman Fasil that is beheaded by Russell. He hides his sword and is arrested by the police while leaving the stadium. Russell recalls his life in the Sixteenth Century in Scotland, when he is Connor MacLeod and is deadly wounded in a battle against another Clan. However he surprisingly survives and his Clan believes he has a pact with the devil and expels him from their lands. Then he meets Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez that explains that he is immortal unless he is beheaded. Further, the immortals dispute a game killing each other and in the end only one survives receiving a price with the power of the other immortals. Russell is released by the police, but the snoopy forensic agent Brenda J. Wyatt is attracted by the case since she founds fragments of an ancient Katana and follows Russell. But the also immortal ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil There can be only one. See more  » Genres: Rated R for strong action violence, a scene of sexuality and some language | See all certifications  » Parents Guide: 7 March 1986 (USA) See more  » Also Known As: Did You Know? Trivia The low flying aircraft in the final scene was a Sepecat Jaguar T2 belonging to 226 Operational Conversion Unit based at R.A.F. Lossiemouth. This unit is incorrectly listed in the final credits as the "Jaguar Fighter Wing, R.A.F. Lossiemouth." The Jaguar is actually a ground attack aircraft and not a fighter. 226 O.C.U. was a training unit used to train pilots to fly the Jaguar. See more » Goofs When the Kurgan and Brenda look at the Silvercup building from the bridge, the sign says "Silvercup Studios." When MacLeod and the Kurgan fight on top of the building, the sign simply says "Silvercup." See more » Quotes Ramirez : Greetings. [Connor and Heather look baffled] Ramirez : I am Juan Sánchez Villalobos Ramírez, Chief metallurgist to King Charles V of Spain. And I'm at your service. (Chicago, IL) – See all my reviews The first time I saw this movie I knew it was going to be a lifelong favorite. With all the years that have gone by since then, and the repeated viewings I have given it, The Highlander still remains one of the best pieces of film I have ever seen. There are enough fight scenes to satisfy the most adamant of action movie fans, and there is an incredibly touching scene with Lambert and Beatie Edney (Heather) when she is dying of old age, Connor is still youthful in appearance, and the Queen song "Who Wants To Live Forever" is playing in the background. It still brings tears to my eyes when I see Connor in modern day New York lighting a candle for her on her birthday. The swordplay is extremely well choreographed and the sets are remarkable. To be fair, the special effects are not what I would consider up to the standards of the day, however the writing and acting is more than enough to make up for it. If you want to see a movie that doesn't NEED special effects to make it worth watching, this is one for you. 48 of 66 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? Yes

MacLeod

Oct 26, 1881 saw the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which pitted the Earps and Doc Holliday against the Clanton and McLaury brothers, in what famous Old West town?

TV SHOW - 1992-1998 Highlander FULL EPISODES, COMPLETE SERIES - YouTube 159,241 views Last updated on Jul 14, 2016 Highlander: The Series is a fantasy science fiction action-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the eponymous "Highlander". A slight retcon of the 1986 feature film of the same name, it features a storyline in which the protagonist of the film (Connor MacLeod, a member of a race of "Immortals") did not win "the Prize" sought by all Immortals, who still exist post-1985. Christopher Lambert reprised his role as Connor in the pilot episode, which introduced series protagonist Duncan MacLeod, an Immortal who was taken in by the same clan of Scottish Highlanders who had found and raised Connor generations before. The series was an international hit and was nominated three times for the Gemini Awards and once for a Saturn Award in 1998. less Highlander: The Series is a fantasy science fiction action-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the eponymous "Highlander". A slight retcon of the 1986 feature film of the sa... more

i don't know

Having originated in Germany, what is the name of the dog breed that competes in the eponymous wiener dog races?

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Play Misty for Me Fill in the blank for the name of the film: In a Lonely ________. Place Which actor played the role of Harry Burns in the 1989 movie, When Harry Met Sally? Billy Crystal The Monkees' hit song, "I'm A Believer", was written by: Neil Diamond The album C.M.B. containing the 90s hit "All 4 Love", is by which artist(s)? Color Me Badd Which of these vocal ranges is lowest? Baritone What kind of animal is George from Curious George? A monkey Chic sang which of the following songs? "Good Times" What serial killer film stars Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington? The Bone Collector Who stars in Lost In Translation? Bill Murray What band dedicated "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to Saddam Hussein at a 1996 Democratic Party fundraiser held in Los Angeles? The Eagles What was the 1983 hit by Dexy's Midnight Runners: "_______ On Eileen"? Come Who did Johnny Depp play on the TV show 21 Jump Street? Tom Hanson According to the animator, Disney's "Aladdin" character was drawn to resemble: Michael J. Fox What did Disney's Seven Dwarfs sing before "off to work we go"? "Heigh ho, heigh ho" Robin Williams played a doctor in: Awakenings Which actress released her first record So Real when she was 15? Mandy Moore Randy Travis promised: "I'm gonna love you forever, forever and ever, ___." Amen Whose number was "867-5309"? Jenny Fountains of Wayne sing: "Stacy's Mom" What former Brat Packer had small roles in Wayne's World and Austin Powers II? Rob Lowe Who produced Raiders of the Lost Ark? George Lucas Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Wed 4/28 On today's Lingo, one of the contestants shares a first name with what legendary stand-up comedian? Lenny Bruce With her hand already in the hopper at the end of Bonus Lingo, contestant Sally stops, looks up and asks Chuck what? "There are no red balls in here, right?" Family Feud contestant Travis tells Richard Karn that sometimes he doesn't bother to take off his what before bed? Tacos What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Earth What "F word" does Deal or No Deal contestant Jason not like saying? Fiancee Before hearing the Deal or No Deal Banker's $162,000 offer, contestant Jason runs from the podium to do what? Knock on wood Question of the Day - The founder of what Italian car company was born on this day in 1916? Ferruccio Lamborghini Brenda Lee had a hit with what holiday favorite? "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" What film stars Will Ferrell as the coach of a kids soccer team? Kicking & Screaming Who said: "I've been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War"? Al Capone The song "Give It to You", by Jordan Knight, was on which of these albums? Give It to You Who won a 1998 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a duo or group with "One Headlight"? Wallflowers In the late 1960s, who went into prisons to record At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin? Johnny Cash Which guitarist did NOT play with The Yardbirds? Pete Townsend What sport is featured in The Benchwarmers? Baseball Name the 1997 movie starring John Voight, Ice Cube, and Jennifer Lopez. Anaconda In what movie would you find "Smile", Charlie Chaplin's most famous song? Modern Times Which talk show host co-starred with Eddie Murphy in "Coming to America"? Arsenio Hall What star, who wasn't in 2001's Ocean's Eleven, appeared in Ocean's Twelve? Catherine Zeta-Jones Clint Eastwood directed and starred in: Space _____." Cowboys Vince Vaughn played Trent, a smooth-talking, retro-hipster in what movie? Swingers Matthew Modine and Adam Baldwin starred in Full Metal _______. Jacket Who played Bill in the Kill Bill films? David Carradine What pop/ R&B singer performed the song "Opposites Attract"? Paula Abdul What 1980s movie starred Lou Gossett, Richard Gere and Debra Winger? An Officer and a Gentleman What kind of animal is Pumbaa in The Lion King? Warthog Where are the band members in the heavy metal band "Sepultura" originally from? Brazil Who played the daughter in the 2003 version of Freaky Friday? Lindsay Lohan Leonard Marx, of the sibling comedic team, The Marx Brothers, was better known as: Chico Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson starred in Alice Doesn't _______. Live Here Anymore In As Good as It Gets, what did Jack Nicholson's character not want to step on? Sidewalk cracks What Oscar-winning actress was a Bond girl in Die Another Day? Halle Berry Kate Beckinsale is the daughter of which late British actor? Richard Beckinsale Bruce Willis stared in Die ________. Hard Early in his career, Tupac Shakur was briefly a member of what rap group? Digital Underground Question of the Day - What U.S. President and Civil War leader was born on this day in 1822? Ulysses S. Grant Which actor from the film Titanic also starred in the TV series Alias? Victor Garber Who played quarterback in The Replacements? Keanu Reeves What does the word blitzkreig in "Blitzkreig Bop" literally mean? Lightning war What actress plays Lara Croft? Angelina Jolie Who played super-groupie, Penny Lane, in Almost Famous? Kate Hudson Which actor plays "The Ugly" in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly? Eli Wallach Who said: "Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act"? Truman Capote Which of these songs was an early 90s dance hit by EMF, on the album Schubert Dip? "Unbelieveable" What rocker played a rapidly-aging vampire in The Hunger? David Bowie Fill in the blank for the name of the film: The ________ Mile. Green Who said: "A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of"? Burt Bacharach Laura Ingalls Wilder was a famous: Author The Rolling Stones' song "Angie" was inspired by: David Bowie's wife Who played Felix Ungar in two film versions of The Odd Couple? Jack Lemmon "Smells Like Teen Spirit" appeared on this Nirvana album: Nevermind Meg Ryan played Capt. Karen Walden in Courage Under ______________. Fire Stradivarius was a builder of: Violins In what year did Unforgiven win the Best Picture Oscar? 1992 In what film does Will Smith play a "date doctor"? Hitch Who played Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws? Roy Scheider Who directed Walk the Line? James Mangold Which actor plays the villain in River Wild? Kevin Bacon If I got off a plane at LaGuardia Airport what city am I in? New York In 1933, where was the first police radio system connecting headquarters to cars, and cars to one another? New York Which of the following stars has gone in person to accept a "Razzie" award? Halle Berry According to the Andrews Sisters, where shouldn't you sit with anyone else but me? Under the apple tree Which of these actresses guest-starred in episodes of Star Trek, until 2007? Ashley Judd Who played Morpheus in The Matrix? Laurence Fishburne Tom Cruise stars with _____ in Risky Business. Kevin Anderson Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Mon 4/26 On today's special "Identical Twin" episode of Lingo, what are the names of the female contestants? Toi-San and Toia Though he hopes for a promotion, Lingo contestant Eric tells Chuck that right now he is paid to watch what? Baseball Family Feud's Richard Karn comments that nobody minds being disturbed while doing what activity? Studying What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Air Deal or No Deal contestant Toni tells Howie that she kept what in her bra for one year and three months? Her cell phone The Deal or No Deal Banker pays contestant Toni $100 to cut what? A strange man's back hair Question of the Day - News reporter Maria Shriver married what bodybuilder turned actor on this day in 1986? Arnold Schwarzenegger After Moe and Larry, how many different actors played the "third stooge"? Four Perry King and Sylvester Stallone starred in The Lords of _______. 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Michelle Pfeiffer Steve Guttenberg and Paul Reiser starred in this movie Diner Who said, "I do not know the American gentleman; God forgive me for putting two such words together"? Charles Dickens Ozzy Osbourne has how many children? Six Soccer legend Pele unsuccessfully attempted a comeback at the age of 46. False Which was an early Tom Petty band? All the answers are correct Ron Howard starred in which television series? Happy Days In E.T., what snack or candy was the extra-terrestrial particularly fond of? Reese's Pieces The Knack sang "Good Girls ___". Don't Tears for Fears had a #1 hit with: "Shout" What is Dr. Evil's son's name from the Austin Powers movies? Scott In which movie does a basketball coach bench his undefeated team for bad grades? Coach Carter Richard Gere starred in this movie: Breathless Question of the Day - What breed, often called wiener dogs, was the toy featured as one of Woody's closest friends in Toy Story? Dachshund The song "Like a Rolling Stone" was written by: Bob Dylan Which actor played the title character in Ben-Hur? Charlton Heston In which 2001 movie did John Goodman play Sulley? "Monsters, Inc." What kind of birds are John, Paul, George and Ringo in The Jungle Book? Vultures What movie is about a day in the life of a South Side Chicago barbershop? Barbershop Celine Dion's musical genre is which of these? Pop/ Adult Contemporary Who directed The Game, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn? David Fincher Al Green sang: "Tired of Being ______". Alone From nationwide surveys, what is the most popular response when asked to name something country songs are about? Love The movie Rain Man grossed over $170,000,000. What year was it released? 1988 Who is the actress daughter of the late Sir John Mills? Hayley Mills In which 2000 movie did Johnny Depp play the character named Roux? Chocolat The American Film Institute voted which film the best ever? Citizen Cane Pierce Brosnan stars as a millionaire art thief in which film? The Thomas Crown Affair Which movie did George Clooney win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor? Syriana Who wrote the screenplay for The Da Vinci Code? Akiva Goldsman In his documentary Roger and Me, Michael Moore traces the decline of what industry in Flint, Michigan? Auto Garth Brooks sings: "If _____ Never Comes". Tomorrow The 2002 hip-hop hit "Hot in Herre" was done by Nelly Who of the following was not a member of Soundgarden? James Iha The Oscar-nominated film about the Russian royal family was called: Nicholas and Alexandra When were the Beatles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? 1988 The lyrics of Elvis Costello's song "A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety" were written by: William Butler Yeats Who chewed 263 packs of gum as a police chief in In the Heat of the Night? Rod Steiger Jodie Foster starred in: Contact From which English city did The Beatles hail? Liverpool Who played Olive Oyl in 1980's Popeye? Shelley Duvall Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. What band played at Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration? Fleetwood Mac Which James Bond film starred Pierce Brosnan? Tomorrow Never Dies Question of the Day - The Beagle, known for its keen sense of smell, is also the inspiration for what fun-loving cartoon dog? Snoopy Who is Vincent Furnier best known as? Alice Cooper George Lucas directed all six Star Wars movies. False This author wrote A Brief History of Time. What's the missing first letter in his last name? Stephen _awking H Woody Allen and Diane Keaton starred in: Manhattan What entertainer was in the 1966 motion picture The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? Eli Wallach Who plays Mel Gibson's partner in the Lethal Weapon series? Danny Glover Liza Minelli is the daughter of this deceased actress: Judy Garland As Gerry Marsden and his Pacemakers would know, the Royal Daffodil has ferried people across what river? Mersey Fill in the blank: Who ________ Roger Rabbit? Framed Amy Heckerling's 1990s film, Clueless, was loosely based on what Victorian novel? Emma In the 1941 movie The Maltese Falcon, the characters in the movie are trying to: Obtain a bird statue Fill in the blank for the name of the film: Finding ________. Nemo From 1876 actress Sarah Bernhardt was thought to be the first woman to wear what article of clothing? Trousers Name Rooster Cogburn's cat in the John Wayne movie True Grit. General Sterling Price Who played serial killer, Buddy Noone, in the Clint Eastwood movie Blood Work? Jeff Daniels Who sampled Dido's "Thank You" on his hit song, "Stan", about an obsessed fan? Eminem Jessica Tandy originated the role of Alma Finley, a woman in a retirement home, in: Cocoon In 2002, Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Productions helped launch the career of what person? Dr. Phil McGraw Jada Pinkett Smith starred in Jason's _______. Lyric Fill in the missing lyrics: "You spin me right round baby, right round, like a _____". Record baby Which director wrote the screenplay for Scarface? Oliver Stone Which band released more than one eponymous album? Boston The Nobel Prize is not awarded for accomplishments in this field: Mathematics What rocker dressed up as a nun for Frank Zappa's 200 Motels? Keith Moon "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day" is the first line of this song: "My Girl" Which character is associated with the catch phrase, "To infinity and beyond"? Buzz Lightyear Tom Selleck starred in: Quigley Down Under In Back to the Future, the car needed this fuel to go back in time: Plutonium What is the name of Tyra Banks' talk show? The Tyra Banks Show Question of the Day - The term "Yorkie" is the abbreviated nickname for what type of playful pup? Yorkshire Terrier Michael Jackson's most successful album is: Thriller Typically film critics rate movies using what symbols? Stars Frankie Muniz stars in which film about a terrier in Mississippi? My Dog Skip Who is Joe Black? A Brad Pitt character Hulk Hogan played a cameo role in this film, starring Sylvester Stallone: Rocky III Fill in the blank for the name of the film: Groundhog ______. Day Who starred in Saved!? Mandy Moore The horror in 2006's Pulse is unleashed by a malicious: Computer virus Devon Sawa has a vision of his friends crashing in a plane in this movie: Final Destination "California Girls" was a hit by this band: The Beach Boys Earth, Wind & Fire are well-known musicians from which country? U.S. This actress was engaged to Brad Pitt: Gwyneth Paltrow What film featured Whitney Houston as a pop star whose life is threatened? The Bodyguard Name the restaurant in Fried Green Tomatoes. The Whistle Stop Cafe In the movie Monsters, Inc. what does the company Monsters, Inc. do? Generates electricity The 1967 Disney film Jungle Book is based on fiction by which author? 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Guns of Navarone Gary Cooper got how many thousands of dollars for 1952's High Noon? 60 The album Fever by Kylie Minogue contains which of the following songs? "Can't Get You Out of My Head" Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Thurs 4/22 After picking winning Lingo ball 13, contestant Lindsay asks Chuck what? "Do we keep picking for more?" Contestant Tye was told he could not do what on the Lingo set? Wear pieces from his own apparel line What was the tie-breaking question on today's first Family Feud? Name a pro sport women don't play What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Globe After rejecting a $40,000 offer, Deal or No Deal contestant Allison takes a break to dance with a troop of what? Zulus In a rare personal admission, Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel says he is a big fan of which gentleman's magazine? FHM Question of the Day - What type of diminutive dog does Reese Witherspoon carry throughout the movie "Legally Blonde"? Chihuahua Who was Doctor Zhivago's great love, played by Julie Christie? Lara You can get anything you want, if you know who was inspired by Alice Brock's restaurant in Stockbridge, Massachusetts? Arlo Guthrie Loretta Lynn was the subject of this film: Coal Miner's Daughter The movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in what year? 1937 John Lennon's first wife was named: Cynthia What year was the catastrophic sci-fi film The Day After Tomorrow released? 2004 Interview with a Vampire stars which actor as Lestat? Tom Cruise The movie Home Alone grossed over $280,000,000. What year was it released? 1990 What is the name of Ozzy Osbourne's son? Jack What band had four of its members killed in the same plane crash with Otis Redding? Bar-Kays Who won the Oscar for Best Director for the movie, Platoon? Oliver Stone Who's Melanie Griffith's mother? Tippi Hedren Pamela Anderson was married to the drummer from which rock band? Motley Crue Who played Alec Baldwin's partner in crime - and in love - in 1994's The Getaway? Kim Basinger What was the Beatles' final movie? Let It Be Neil Diamond sang "Love on the Rocks" in which movie? The Jazz Singer Who plays Angelina Jolie's father in Tomb Raider? Jon Voight Whose garage did Frank Zappa sing about? Joe's Which actress was raised in Reading, England? Kate Winslet Richie Sambora is best known as the guitarist for what band? Bon Jovi In 1970, who announced he was leaving the Monkees? Davy Derek and the Dominos were: One of Eric Clapton's bands "This is ground control to _______." Who is the astronaut in David Bowie's "Space Oddity"? Major Tom Who did Mel Gibson play in the Lethal Weapon films? Riggs Of these, who hasn't been lead singer of Van Halen? Jason Scheff Huey Lewis and the News sang: "It's Hip to be ______". Square ronically, Marvin Lee Aday became a vegetarian. What is his stage name? Meat Loaf According to the Barry Manilow song, who came and gave without taking? Mandy Which Aerosmith album cover shows a cow's udder? Get a Grip Which Danny De Vito comedy is a loose remake of Strangers on a Train? Throw Momma from the Train Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Wed 4/21 Lingo contestant Nicole recently graduated from what institution also attended by President Obama? Occidental College At the end of the game, Lingo's Chuck Woolery expresses surprise that contestants Kapil and Bryan have what? Only one Lingo During Fast Money on Family Feud, contestant Nicole admits to Richard Karn that she eats what "all the time"? String cheese What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Saturday Contestant Letia tells Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel that her dream is to be the female version of which fitness guru? Billy Blanks The Deal or No Deal Banker gives what fashion accessories to contestant Letia's husband? Glasses and a pocket protector Question of the Day - The term "Sheltie" might mean "best friend" for some, but it stands for what type of herding dog? Shetland Sheepdog His real name is Nicholas Coppola, but what's his stage name? Nicolas Cage Naguib Mahfouz, winner of 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature, hailed from Egypt. True What is Clint Eastwood's nickname in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? Blondie Vernon Presley, Elvis Presley's father, was a: Truck driver Nena's 1980s hit "99 Luftballons" was sung in this language: German What NBC reality show did Martha Stewart host? The Apprentice Who recorded the song "All Star", on the album Astro Lounge? Smash Mouth What was the Searchers hit, "Needles and _______"? Pins Which actor directed Mel Gibson in Braveheart? Mel Gibson Amy Grant sang "Stay for a _____." While In what movie did Ron Silver play real-life lawyer Alan Dershowitz? Reversal of Fortune "Stone Face" is a label given to which silent comedian? Buster Keaton In which movie does a sheepdog named Fly become a foster parent to a pig? Babe Who is "Mr. Bigglesworth", appearing in the Austin Powers films? Dr. Evil's cat What book was Mark Chapman carrying when he shot John Lennon? The Catcher In the Rye Lewis and Clark explored Mexico. False The song "Ms. Jackson", by OutKast, was on which of these albums? Stankonia Christopher Walken won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in which film? The Deer Hunter What Bruce Willis film is about a boy who sees dead people? The Sixth Sense What movie is about sisters who live in post-Civil War America? Little Women Barry White's musical genre is which of these? R&B/ Soul/ Disco What Kill Bill star's mother was once married to '60s icon Timothy Leary? Uma Thurman In which 2000 movie did David Keith play the character Major Matthew Coonan? U-571 What U.S. President made his own clothes, as well as his cabinet's? Andrew Johnson Telly Savalas played the villain Blofeld in a Bond film called: On Her ___. Majesty's Secret Service Stevie Wonder sang about a "Higher ________". Ground Who is not a member of the Monkees group? Micky Smith Which of these golden titles is not the title of a James Bond movie? Fool's Gold Gene Hackman plays "Popeye Doyle" in what 1970s crime classic? The French Connection Whose original members were Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, and Nikki Sixx? Motley Crue Lingo contestant Michelle describes herself as a mother and a part-time what? Longshore worker At the beginning of Lingo, Chuck Woolery expresses surprise that all the contestants hail from where? Massachusetts Family Feud host Richard Karn urges contestant Amy to pray for what answer to appear on the big board? Priest What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Crackerjack Who did Deal or No Deal contestant Joe say he met on April 12? His girlfriend, Laura On Deal or No Deal, Howie jokes that you don't want to open a case packed by a third party in what place? In Iraq QOD & Trivia Tues 4/20 Question of the Day - What type of dog was prominently featured in Taco Bell ads from 1997-2000? Chihuahua Who named his son after a character he played in the film Castle of the Living Dead? Donald Sutherland Children lock their parents in the basement in House _____. Arrest Joe Don Baker plays a real-life sheriff in which vigilante series from the 1970s? Walking Tall "Be My Baby" is a song performed by what 1960s girl group? The Ronnetes Which state has the most registered cars? CA The Ridolfi Plot was an attempt to assassinate Elizabeth I. True The Dune series of science fiction books were written by: Frank Herbert Who does Johnny Depp pursue in the film From Hell? Jack the Ripper What kind of fish is Nemo from Finding Nemo? Clown Fish What actress shares her name with Shakespeare's wife? Anne Hathaway Which former X-rated movie actress had a hit with "More, More, More" ? Andrea True In 1979, what rock group was named "Canadian Ambassadors of Music" by the Canadian government? Rush The movie Schindler's List took place during: World War II Screenwriter and director, Marcel Achard, died of: Diabetes Billy Joel sang a song called: "Honesty" Which of the following singing duos sang, "I Got You, Babe" Sonny and Cher Who is Helen Folasade Adu better known as? Sade Bearded rockers ZZ Top performed the guitar-heavy hit: "Tush" Who played the lead role in Pretty in Pink? Molly Ringwald Tarantino's first film concerned a group of diamond thieves. What was it called? Reservoir Dogs What film, directed by Baz Luhrmann, starred Jim Broadbent and Ewan McGregor? Moulin Rouge! This/these artist(s) had the song "Cold Rock a Party", on the album Bad As I Wanna B. MC Lyte This actor was the star of In & Out: Kevin Kline This great film was called: Rebel Without a __________. Cause Who was the 1994 Grammy Award winner for Best Rock Vocal-Female for "Come To My Window"? Melissa Etheridge In The Shaggy Dog, what does Dave Douglas turn into? A dog In the movie The Astronaut Farmer, which was Charles Farmer's early career? Astronaut Josh Hartnett starred in Lucky Number _____. Slevin When did Hank Snow make his Grand Old Opry debut? 1950 Erasure sang about "_____of Love". Chains Super-competitive contestants Ann and Tico set what goal before starting the Bonus Round on Lingo? At least 8 Lingos in the Bonus Round When not writing screenplays, contestant Denise tells Chuck she designs what? Greeting cards Which world leader is not among the top five responses in the Family Feud survey: "Name any dictator"? Joseph Stalin What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Honeymoon Contestant Brandy tells Deal or No Deal host Howie that her hair is a tribute to what? The 1980's According to Deal or No Deal contestant Brandy, who was responsible for the fire that ravaged her home? Brandy QOD & Trivia Mon 4/19 Question of the Day - The lovable Lassie was what type of Scottish dog breed? Collie With The Buena Vista Social Club, Ry Cooder reintroduced the world to the music of what country? Cuba Who wrote the "think music" for the final round of Jeopardy? Merv Griffin Who sang "Lover Boy"? Billy Ocean In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Hal is the name of what? A computer Which actress was turned down for the leading role in Indecent Proposal? Halle Berry Name the prep school in Dead Poets Society: Welton Academy What composer wrote Don Giovanni in a short time during 1787? Mozart Napoleon Bonaparte was often referred to as "The Corsican Ogre". True Which celebrity chef is famous for saying the phrase, "Kick it up a notch"? Emeril Lagasse What was The Proclaimers' biggest hit? "I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)" Where would one find, "Parsley, sage, rosemary, & thyme"? Scarborough Fair Which actress plays secret agent Sydney Bristow in Alias? Jennifer Garner What kind of animal is Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia? Lion "Jigsaw" is the bad guy in this movie: Saw Who played Bruce "Die Hard" Willis' on-screen wife? Bonnie Bedelia an Michael-Vincent played Stringfellow Hawke on: Airwolf Jack Nicholson played Jack Torrance in this movie: The Shining In Over the Hedge, the animals find the hedge after waking up from what? Hibernation In 1804, what "father of aerodynamics" is credited with building the first successful glider? George Cayley What actor was cast in both Death Becomes Her and The First Wives Club? Goldie Hawn Air Supply played: "Even the ____ are Better". Nights Who plays God in Dogma? Alanis Morrisette Who directed the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Carrie? Brian De Palma What was the first Stephen King book to be turned into a film? Carrie Zorba the Greek was written by: Nikos Kazantzakis What revolutionary was awarded the title of "El libertador"? Simon Bolivar In which movie does Harrison Ford take on a role David Janssen played on TV? The Fugitive What composer did Gary Oldman portray in Immortal Beloved? Beethoven What designer's sister, Donatella, took the reigns of his empire after he was murdered by Andrew Cunanan in Miami Beach? Gianni Versace The early 90s love ballad "Bed of Roses" was done by: Bon Jovi Question of the Day - On this day in 1775, what Bostonian set out on horseback to warn that the British were coming? Paul Revere A beloved song from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is: "Someday My Prince Will Come" Which teen queen's first album is titled Metamorphosis? Hillary Duff Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman are members of this band: The Rolling Stones New York Dolls had a song called "_________ Crisis". Personality Hank Azaria starred in this movie: Cradle Will Rock Who said: "Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday"? Woody Allen Which movie did not feature Anthony Hopkins? The Godfather Who runs a pirate station in Pump Up the Volume? Christian Slater What phrase does Jack Nicholson write endlessly on his typewriter in The Shining? "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Whose 1996 album, Justus, included all four original members from the 1960s? The Monkees Who turned down the male lead in Gone with the Wind? Gary Cooper Which movie introduced the song "Hakuna Matata"? The Lion King What guitarist recorded the album, Neck and Neck, with Mark Knopfler in 1991? Chet Atkins The song "White Christmas" was written by: Irving Berlin Who's the famous dad of Jacob, a member of the musical group The Wallflowers? Bob Dylan Which actor plays the vampire killer Blade? Wesley Snipes Margaret Truman, daughter of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, is best known for: Writing murder mysteries Dwight Yoakam appeared in the film: Wedding Crashers Which star was killed off early in Scream? Drew Barrymore In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, whose autograph does Indiana Jones accidentally get? Adolph Hitler's Elizabeth Taylor did not marry: Howard Hughes Fill in the blank for the name of the film: _______ Velvet. Blue Where does Home Alone 2 take place? New York In The Return of Oz, who plays Dorothy? Fairuza Balk The song "Hold on My Heart" was performed by: Genesis Which movie featuring Billy Crudup and Kate Hudson was released in 2000? Almost Famous This actor played Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen, in Star Wars: Phil Brown There is a hip-hop group called "De La ______". Soul What is the film Million Dollar Baby about? Boxing "Reunited" was sung by: Peaches and Herb Question of the Day - What high HORSE-power sports car was unveiled on this day 1964? Mustang Morgan Freeman played Hoke Colburn in this movie: Driving Miss Daisy Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo starred in: ____ Guys. Wise Matt Dillon played Rusty James in this movie: Rumble Fish What was the first feature film to include talking sequences? Jazz Singer Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy starred in this movie: Class In the U.S., how many album copies have to be sold for it to be platinum? 1 Million Olivia Newton-John sang this song: "Magic" In 1998, Gus Van Zant made a shot-for-shot remake of what Alfred Hitchcock movie? Psycho According to Jan and Dean, where would you find two girls to every boy? Surf City The name of what Argentine dance also appears in the title of a controversial 1973 Bernardo Bertolucci film? Tango In this movie Woody Allen wakes up 200 years in the future. Sleeper Jesse Bradford starred in Twenty _____. Questions Which actor played James Bond? All answers are correct What was the name of the Volkswagen in Disney's The Love Bug? Herbie How old was Old Rose supposed to be in the film Titanic? 101 In Kill Bill, the bride comes to possess a Hattori Hanzo Katana. What is this? A sword Madonna's real first name is: Madonna In which movie does Russell Crowe order his men to "unleash hell"? Gladiator The first full-length movie to star Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy was a take-off on what classic? The Three Musketeers In which film does Sean Penn sell government secrets to the Soviet Union? Falcon and the Snowman Which contemporary Christian artist enjoyed huge crossover success with "Baby, Baby" and "Every Heartbeat"? Amy Grant Who romanced Jessica Lange's character in the 1976 version of King Kong? Jeff Bridges This U.S. President was never elected to a government office before his election: Ulysses S. Grant Who said: "The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work"? Richard Bach Which of the following movies has not been made into a Broadway show? Star Wars Patsy Cline's #1 hit, "Crazy", was written by: Willie Nelson What was the only Stanley Kubrick film to feature Nicole Kidman? Eyes Wide Shut What's Palmer's first name of Emerson, Lake and Palmer fame? Carl Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway starred in: Little Big Man In Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, who co-starred with Orlando Bloom? Sean Astin Problems with GSN's Website?? Hey everyone, I just received this email about a possible virus coming from GSN's website. This blog is scanned regularly by Blogger.com, so there is no sign of one on here or I would have been notified, Hello, Over the past two days I have run into a Trojan Horse virus when running my virus scan that would appear to have come from GSN, more specifically from playing Solitaire. Have you run into this problem or heard from anyone else having this happen? Just to be sure as I could that it came from GSN, I ran my virus scan after only going to GSN and your web site and the virus appeared again. Thanks for Oodles of Fun and all your hard work. p.s. I'm running AVG as my Anti-Virus program. If anyone else is having this problem or if you have notified GSN about it, please let us know. I know I had some issues with the site running slow this morning when I did the trivia questions, but my virus scanner didn't warn of any viruses coming from it. I'll run it manually again just to make certain. Thanks. Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Fri 4/16 Why does contestant Sarah say she is unfit to draw the Lingo ball for the Jamaican vacation? Earlier, she misspelled two words At the top of today's Lingo, contestant John introduces himself as a "suffering but successful" what? Insurance salesman According to Family Feuder Jimmy, what goes very fast? Money What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Haiku What model on the Philippine franchise of Deal or No Deal is considered unlucky in her native country? Charmel Before rejecting a $166,000 offer, Deal or No Deal contestant Mike tells Howie he's learned that the Filipino people are what? Intelligent Changes to Oodletunities Hello all, In case you haven't noticed yet, there is a new game (Purex Follow the Leader) that gives you an opportunity to earn a spin on the Wonder Wheel along with Straws and Mahjonng Dimensions. Also, I noticed this morning that there is no longer a trivia question on the Newlywed Game. I'm not sure what they are doing. I know the new season starts on Monday. Maybe they are doing something to prepare for that. Happy Oodling! NEW: You can now play against the banker 5 times a day on Deal or No Deal (don't know how long that will last). Thanks to Wendy for letting me know. OK...I stand corrected.  You can play once for free, but you can play up to 4 more rounds by risking 60 Oodles per round. Question of the Day - What hoodie-wearing, Super Bowl winning head coach of the New England Patriots turns 58 today? Bill Belichick What color is Freddy Krueger's blood? Green "Deja vu" was a song by this female singer: Dionne Warwick Seabiscuit was a: Horse Jazz legend Edward Ellington inspired what 1970s hit? "Sir Duke" Who taught us all how to spell "respect" in 1967? Aretha Franklin According to the song, what goes the weasel? Pop The title character of Private Benjamin was a/an: Female Who stars in the movie Remember the Titans? Denzel Washington In Erin Brokovich, the title character is investigating what? Chemicals in water Whose original members included Chad Allan, Bob Ashley, Randy Bachman, Jim Kale, and Garry Peterson? Guess Who The national anthem of the United States of America is: "The Star-Spangled Banner" What was Chuck Berry's #1 hit of 1972? "My Ding-a-Ling" Which of the following is not a song by The Rolling Stones? "Let It Be" Three Kings is set during which war? Gulf War What were Albert, Harry, Sam, and Jack better known as? The Warner Brothers What horror movie from 1958 featured a young Steve McQueen? The Blob Which of the following films was NOT directed by John Hughes? Clueless Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman starred in which auto racing film? Days of Thunder Ryan O'Neal played Bobby Fine in this film: So Fine In the movie Borat! Cultural Learnings of America, what is Borat's occupation? Journalist What was Dustin Hoffman fighting in the movie Outbreak? Airborne viruses Guns N' Roses had a huge hit with "Sweet _____ o' Mine." Child Who plays Michael Corleone's daughter in The Godfather Part III? Sofia Coppola What was the second film to star Paul Newman and Robert Redford? The Sting What band went water-skiing for their music video, "Vacation"? The Go-Gos The song "You've Got a Friend in Me" is from what popular Disney movie? Toy Story U2 played "All I Want is _____". You Whitney Houston played Julia Biggs in The ______ Wife. Preacher's Which was the first country in the world to elect a woman as prime minister? Sri Lanka What kind of vehicle is Lightning McQueen in Cars? Racing car Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Thurs 4/15 According to Lingo contestant Kelly, what is "absolutely mandatory" for Minnesotans like herself? Watching hockey After giving away the grand prize on today's Lingo, Chuck Woolery sarcastically cracks he's happy to help whom? "A couple of struggling lawyers" A master of impersonation, even Family Feud host Richard Karn admits he "can't quite do" what cartoon character? Roger Rabbit What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Audit Why does Deal or No Deal contestant Adam's wife not like the numbers 1 and 26? Doesn't like 'crusty edges' What does Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel call his special knot? Double-Over-Flip-Howie Question of the Day - On this day in 1947, what ballplayer became the first African-American in Major League Baseball? Jackie Robinson Who starred as the spooked Karen Davis in 2004's The Grudge? Sarah Michelle Gellar Why does Ben Stiller go on a cross-country trip in Flirting with Disaster? To find his real parents Who was originally chosen to play Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now? Harvey Keitel What causes Peter Parker's suit to turn black in Spider-Man 3? An alien substance What kid-friendly TV show featured a young Alanis Morrisette? You Can't Do That on Television What was the Beatles hit: "_______ Rigby"? Eleanor What is the name of Steven Spielberg's production company? Amblin Entertainment The band Mr. Children, formed by Kazutoshi Sakurai is from what country? Japan Sidney Poitier won an Academy Award for which movie? Lilies of the Field Oprah Winfrey is the CEO of Harpo, Inc. True Fill in the blank for the name of the novel by Truman Capote: In Cold ________. Blood Which of these movies was about real-life DJ Adrian Cronauer? "Good Morning, Vietnam" "Desire" is a song by this prolific rock band: U2 Who costarred with Julia Roberts in America's Sweethearts? Catherine Zeta Jones Who played the vacationer who dies in Deliverance? Ronny Cox Who was originally selected to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz? Shirley Temple Leonardo da Vinci was a lifelong vegetarian. True The Life of David Gale stars which actor as an anti-death penalty activist? Kevin Spacey Eric Clapton wrote the song "Tears in Heaven" in memory of: His 4-year-old son Who was the first living artist to have his work shown at the Louvre? Georges Braque Pierce Brosnan starred in The Thomas _______ Affair. Crown Fill in the blank for the name of this thriller: ____ Confidential. L.A. Who said: "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody"? Bill Cosby The tagline "Snake Is Back" comes from which 1996 movie? Escape from L.A. This person directed Traffic: Steven Soderbergh Who appeared in the 1948 movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre? Humphrey Bogart What does the Italian musical term adagio mean? Slow In the suburb of which capital city was actor Russell Crowe born? Wellington "Layla" was originally performed by this band: Derek and the Dominos Sarah Jessica Parker starred in The Family _____. Stone Which actor stars in the series The Rockford Files? James Garner Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Wed 4/14 Chuck Woolery is amazed that Lingo contestant Sara's daily commute to school is how long? 200 Miles What was the subject of the Mark Twain quote Chuck Woolery slips into today's Lingo? Cold summers in San Francisco At the end of Family Feud, what does Richard Karn jokingly say he must have in order to do his job? Pretty girls What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Snap Deal or No Deal contestant Elaine chooses case #14 because, as a 14 year old, she did what? Worked her first job The Deal or No Deal Banker will "double" the size of contestant Elaine's $91,000 offer if she eats what Estonian delicacy? Blood sausage Question of the Day - Best known for her roles in Signs and Little Miss Sunshine, what child actress turns 14 today? Abigail Breslin Which Beatles hit only stayed #1 for one week ? "All You Need Is Love" Which George Gershwin opera featured the fictional Catfish Row, inspired by real-life Cabbage Row in Charleston, SC? Porgy and Bess Tsar Nicholas II of Russia: All the answers are correct The Oscar is a man standing on a reel of film. What is he holding? A sword Adam Sandler played Michael Newman in this movie: Click Who played The Illusionist in the 2006 mystery? Edward Norton What convicted killer had earlier tried to write songs for The Beach Boys? Charles Manson What rock band had the hit "Yellow"? Coldplay Which movie villain wore a black dress and long coat of Dalmatian-spotted fur? Cruella de Vil Whose theme song was "My Time Is Your Time"? Rudy Vallee In 1971, who was the first rock group to appear at New York's Carnegie Hall? Chicago Led Zeppelin performed a song about what hotly contested region on the Pakistan-India border? Kashmir In Gone with the Wind, which university expelled the Tarleton twins? University of Georgia Who won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love and a Tony for Amy's View? Judi Dench Who directed the 1996 thriller, Scream? Wes Craven In which country is The Secret of Roan Inish set? Ireland In Puccini's opera, Suor Angelica, the leading lady dies by: Drinking a poisonous tea In 1977, which country singer married her producer, Brian Ahern, in Novia Scotia, Canada? Emmylou Harris In the film U-Turn, what game does Billy Bob Thornton's character play by himself? Twister Actress Jada Pinkett married which celebrity in 1997? Will Smith "A violent gang member becomes a government experiment," describes which film? A Clockwork Orange This classic film was named: A Night at the ______. Opera Key signature is a/an: Indication of pitch In the film Billy Madison, the title character's love interest is portrayed by: Bridgette Wilson Gloria Estefan sang, "Come on shake your body baby do the ______." Conga Which early actor was an expert gymnast? Douglas Fairbanks A.J. Michalka is a/an: Singer/Songwriter In the film industry, Robert McKee is a famous: Script-writing guru Who was Jerry Lee Lewis' 13-year-old singing cousin that he married? Myra Gale Brown Who did Christian Slater interview in Interview with the Vampire? Tom Cruise (Actually it was Brad Pitt, but GSN has the answer wrong---AGAIN!) What was Daryl Hannah's character in Splash? Madison Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Tues 4/13 How small is Lingo contestant Aulani's hometown in northern Michigan? It has only two stoplights Though it turned out to be "dumpy," Chuck Woolery thought for sure this Lingo was what nonsense word? Dumby Family Feud contestant Lee says what food is good on a hot day? BBQ What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? White Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel stalks the streets of Tallinn, Estonia trying to get people to recognize a photo of whom? Howie Mandel While visiting Estonia's Deal or No Deal, Howie buys the 26 Estonian models what? 13 scarves Question of the Day - 13 years ago today, what prolific golfer won the first 14 major championships? Tiger Woods What was the first animated film to win an Oscar? Spirited Away Who adopted Nicole Richie? Lionel Richie Who produced Michael Jackson's smash LP, Thriller? Quincy Jones Who played the character Catherine Tramell in the movie Basic Instinct? Sharon Stone Which Jaws actor says, "You're gonna need a bigger boat"? Roy Scheider In "Hotel California" what did they do in the master's chambers? Gathered for the feast Who's the record holder for most #1 hits ? The Beatles Haris Alexiou is: A popular Greek singer At the age of 20, Tyra Banks signed with what makeup company? CoverGirl Which of the Seven Dwarfs wears glasses? Doc Which of the following was not a remake of a previous British film? Vanilla Sky Johannes Brahms is known for being which one of the following? Composer What director named the THX sound system after his first movie, THX 1138? George Lucas What Henry Fonda film depicts an accidental nuclear war? Fail-Safe Which author was an uncredited writer on the screenplay for Gone with the Wind: F. Scott Fitzgerald What kind of pet does Barbossa have in Pirates of the Caribbean? Monkey Fill in the missing word in the Charlie Chaplin movie title: City _________. Lights Who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars? Mark Hamill Who had a hit song with "How You Remind Me"? Nickelback Which event brought Mirit and Smadar closer together in Close to Home? An explosion In which cartoon is "Someday My Prince Will Come" sung? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs The song "Ignition" was performed by what scandalized R&B star? R. Kelly Which Audrey Hepburn film features a kiss in the rain, and a wet cat? Breakfast at Tiffany's Where did the Red Hot Chili Peppers form? Los Angeles Fill in the missing lyrics to the 1959 hit: "There Goes My _____". Baby Who's best known for singing the song beginning, "Shot through the heart..."? Jon Bon Jovi Who said: "If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead"? Johnny Carson In which movie do two dogs and a cat attempt to find their way home? Homeward Bound Fill in the blank for the name of the film: I Am a Fugitive from a Chain _______. Gang Who said: "There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls"? George Carlin Which sea goddess do they try to free in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End? Calypso At the end of the Bonus Round, Lingo contestant Alicia is still ignorant of what key piece of information? How much she is playing for Lingo contestant Lenny objects to his girlfriend Kate's characterization of their dog as a what? "Mutt" At the beginning of Family Feud, contestant Juliette astounds Richard by telling him she is the youngest of how many? 27 What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Protege Contestant Kate comes onto the Deal or No Deal stage sporting what special footwear? Ballet slippers What burly gang of do-gooders destroy the Deal or No Deal Banker's car in today's episode? The American Gladiators Question of the Day - On this day in 1633, what Italian physicist was put on trial for saying Earth was not at the Universe's center? Galileo What star of Jaws played the villainous Red Grant in From Russia with Love? Robert Shaw Sigmund Freud was diagnosed as being schizophrenic. False Which of these sisterly acts reunited without LaVerne for a 1974 Broadway show called Over There? The Andrews Sisters What famous old song has the words, "Doodah, Doodah"? "Camptown Races" Elton John sang Circle of Life for which Disney movie? The Lion King What MTV show did Tyrese host? MTV Jams Countdown Who plays the victimized wife in Gaslight (1944)? Ingrid Bergman Who was besieged by Jim Carrey's character in Cable Guy? Matthew Broderick Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh starred in this movie: The Anniversary Party Fill in the name of this Radiohead album: Hail to the _____. Thief Harry Houdini was a: Magician Fill in the blank for the name of the film: Miracle on _________. 34th Street Robert Frost is known for being which one of the following? Poet Who directed the 1992 baseball movie, A League of Their Own? Penny Marshall Whose real name was Streckfus Persons? Truman Capote Where do Stallone and others get trapped in Daylight? In a tunnel In Thelma and Louise, who played Thelma? Geena Davis "Father of the Declaration of Independence" is a nickname for which U.S. President? Thomas Jefferson What bus-centered film did Sandra Bullock participate in? Speed Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia were the same nation under Ivan IV. False This Martin Scorsese film is called: Good_______. Fellas In the movie Titanic the ship is hit and damaged by what? An iceberg Who authored the work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism? Max Weber According to the classic film, what city will Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund always have? Paris What was the subtitle of the first of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films? The Fellowship of the Ring B.J. Thomas' musical genre is which of these? Country What singer and actress played the female lead in the film Arthur? Liza Minnelli Sigourney Weaver interacts with a spaceship computer named MOTHER in this film: Alien Who founded the Egg Pictures production company? Jodie Foster Who starred in six Roger Corman horror movies based on works by Edgar Allan Poe? Vincent Price How many years, in total, were Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn married? Zero Question of the Day - Apollo 13 launched to the moon 40 years ago today. Who starred as the mission commander in the 1995 movie? Tom Hanks Saving Private Ryan is set during: World War II Who did Nicole Kidman play in The Hours? Virginia Woolf What gangster film stars Christopher Walken and Benicio del Toro? The Funeral Lou Gramm and Mick Jones were a part of this band: Foreigner Of these, who starred with Jack Nicholson in the movie Hoffa? Danny DeVito Which teen actress did Jamie Lee Curtis star opposite in Freaky Friday? Lindsay Lohan Fiona Apple sang which of the following songs? "Criminal" The 1998 hit song "Hands" was performed by: Jewel Called the heir to Billie Holiday, who debuted in 1997 with Baduizm? Erykah Badu Susan Weaver took her stage name from what minor character in The Great Gatsby? Sigourney Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney starred in Big ____. Fish Spike Jonze, the director of Being John Malkovich, was once married to: Sophia Coppola On the sci-fi series The Invaders, what's the job of main character David Vincent? Architect The star of The Guns of Navarone was: All the answers are correct This author wrote The Kite Runner. What's the missing first letter in his last name? Khaled _osseini H What star of The Ten Commandments was born as Emanuel Goldenberg? Edward G. Robinson Steve McQueen made a brief comeback after a 4-year hiatus, beginning with: An Enemy of the People Who was the first leading actress to appear nude? Audrey Munson How many problems did Jay-Z have in his 2004 hip-hop hit? Ninety-nine Which movie featured Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, yet never in the same scene? The Godfather: Part II Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and _______ played the amigos in Three Amigos!. Martin Short Lech Walesa, the former President of Poland, won the Noble Peace Prize. True Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie starred in Girl, ____: Interrupted Ozzy Osbourne famously urinated on a monument to what historic event? Battle of the Alamo Who or what is known as the "Oracle of Omaha"? Warren Buffett Liv Tyler's dad is the frontman for which legendary rock band? Aerosmith What film features Jane Fonda as a reporter at a nuclear plant accident? The China Syndrome What comedian had a feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler? Andy Kaufman What role did David Arquette have in Scream? Deputy sheriff What 1979 film gave Steve Martin his first starring role? The Jerk Antonio Banderas played this character: Zorro Question of the Day - What hat-wearing, cane-toting silent film star received an honorary Oscar on this day in 1972? Charlie Chaplin What pet gets killed and cooked in Fatal Attraction? A rabbit Who did Gregory Peck play in To Kill a Mockingbird? Atticus Finch Sherlock Holmes had an older brother named Mycroft. True Arnold Schwarzenegger was the ______ Action Hero. Last Fill in the blank: "Soylent Green is ______!" People "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by: Guns N' Roses Who stars in Beverly Hills Cop? Eddie Murphy David Byrne, singer of Talking Heads, was born in: Scotland In what film does Mia Farrow give birth to Satan's son? Rosemary's Baby In which movie did James Dean play the role of Jim Stark? Rebel Without a Cause For which 1981 film did Henry Fonda win an Oscar? On Golden Pond What Pushing Tin co-star did Angelina Jolie marry in 2000? Billy Bob Thornton Scenes from which other movie appear during the end credits of Blade Runner? The Shining To which actor is Sarah Jessica Parker married? Matthew Broderick Besides her smile, what feature was Marie Osmond best known for in the 1970s? Haircut Anwar Sadat was Egypt's President at the time of the Suez-Sinai War. False Which drug-addled actor was buried in a vampire's cape he had worn on stage? Bela Lugosi This great film was called: Raging ________. Bull Who co-starred with Patrick Stewart in the film X2? Halle Berry Paula Prentiss is an American actress well known for her role in the film: The Stepford Wives In Disney's movie, Mary Poppins, how does she arrive at the children's house? Using an umbrella to fly In what musical would one hear the song "I Feel Pretty"? West Side Story In what decade did the Grateful Dead have a chart hit? 1980s How many movies did Elvis Presley star in between 1956 and 1972? 33 What 1981 film is about the claustrophobic world of a WWII German U-boat? Das Boot With which group would you most associate Freddie Mercury? Queen Fill in the blank: Breakfast at ________. Tiffany's Who said that he called his 1971 film Bananas because there are no bananas in it? Woody Allen Who composed the theme songs for TV sitcoms The Addams Family and Green Acres? Vic Mizzy What studio produced Looney Tunes? Warner Brothers Which was not a Tony Curtis movie? All Fall Down What screen legend does the voice of Doc Hudson in the animated movie Cars? Paul Newman QOD & Trivia Fri 4/9 Question of the Day - What general surrendered to the Union Army on this day in 1865? (Hint: "Dukes of Hazzard" car) Robert E. Lee Do you know which of these songs by Melissa Etheridge was on the album Your Little Secret? "I Want to Come Over" Whose first U.S. album was Hunky Dory in 1971? David Bowie What's the real first name of Cher? Cherilyn Which actor was in both Witness and Regarding Henry? Harrison Ford What's considered the most difficult of all woodwind instruments to play? Oboe What artists teamed up to record the song "Hey Lover"? L.L. Cool J. & Boyz II Men The song "Cry Me a River", by Justin Timberlake, was on which of these albums? Justified "Stella! Hey, Stella!" is yelled in which movie? A Streetcar Named Desire Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston starred in a movie called: The Break-Up What was the real name of The Elephant Man? John Merrick The song "Rescue Me" was performed by: Fontella Bass Which album is not a Beatles project? Sticky Fingers Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino collaborated on which of the following films? All answers are correct Jake Gyllenhaal made his big screen debut in the following film: City Slickers Which director's first feature film was 1969's Take the Money and Run? Woody Allen Queen Mary was the queen of this country: England Which Quentin Tarrantino film is the only one to be based on a book? Jackie Brown Who did Mark Wahlberg play in Boogie Nights? Dirk Diggler What rocker tried his hand at acting with 1984's Give My Regards to Broad Street? Paul McCartney Composer and pianist Franz Liszt was born in: Hungary In the film Dennis the Menace, what is the name of Dennis' dog? Gnasher If you are driving a car in Australia, what side of the road are you on? Left Who directed Toby Maguire in the movie, Spider-Man? Sam Raimi What type of plane does Tom Cruise's character fly in Top Gun? F-14 Which actor appeared in the 1977 film Annie Hall? Woody Allen "Fast" Eddie Parker inspired The Hustler, a movie about what activity? Playing pool What King appeared in both The Lion in Winter and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves? Richard I Who said: "No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along"? Dr. Joyce Brothers Who broke out his Bogart impression in Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective? Peter Falk Mariah Carey debuted on this TV show. The Arsenio Hall Show In The Little Mermaid, Ariel's two best friends are what kinds of sea creatures? A crab and a fish Anne Hathaway was: Ella Enchanted Question of the Day - 36 years ago today, Hank Aaron broke what baseball player's legendary homerun record? Babe Ruth The band Foreigner sang which of these songs? "Hot Blooded" Who developed the vaccine for polio? Jonas Salk Debbie Reynolds played The Unsinkable _________. Molly Brown Who starred as Lara Croft in the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie? Angelina Jolie Which British director made 28 Days Later? Danny Boyle Which actor has not played the American President? Al Pacino Fill in the missing lyrics: "_______ is a place on Earth". Heaven Which comedy starring Bette Midler told the story of twins mixed up at birth? Big Business This actress starred opposite Patrick Swayze in the movie Dirty Dancing: Jennifer Grey Who of the following was President of the United States: Jimmy Carter What was the name of Dire straits' debut album? Dire Straits In which movie would one hear, "We've always believed we weren't alone. On July 4th, we'll wish we were."? Independence Day Which Wilson brother plays a washed-up tennis player in The Royal Tenenbaums? Luke Wilson What was Frank Sinatra's middle name? Albert No Angel was the debut album of this singer: Dido What musical's songs include "Maria", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Do-Re-Mi" and "Edelweiss"? Sound of Music Luke Wilson began dating Drew Barrymore after working with her in which film? Home Fries A movie, starring Radha Mitchell, was based on this video game: Silent Hill Bruce Willis played an oil driller named Harry Stamper in Armageddon. True Who said: "Sadness is a cold hot dog and a warm Coke"? Charlie Brown Hank Azaria was married to this actress: Helen Hunt Rock and R&B great Fats Domino was known as: The Fat Man Who played one of Billy's immature friends in Billy Madison? Norm Macdonald What rock group was the documentary The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle about? Sex Pistols What is Garfunkel's first name? Art What actor was in the 1965 flick For a Few Dollars More? Clint Eastwood Who plays Goose's wife in Top Gun? Meg Ryan Who played characters Jack Wyatt and Darrin in the 2005 Bewitched movie? Will Ferrell Which member of The Beatles married a woman whose name means "ocean child" in Japanese? John Lennon Who played the "unsinkable" Molly Brown in 1997's Titanic? Kathy Bates Usher's album Confessions featured one of these songs. Which one? "Burn" What director edits his movies so they have 106-minute running times? M. Night Shyamalan Dummyville and Multiple Accounts UPDATED: Here is the response I received today (finally) from GSN. Everyone in your house can have their own separate account. Also, you can't use the same email address for more than one account. One person may not have more than one account. If a person has more than one account it's considered fraud and they can lose any winnings or Oodles they accumulate in the Oodles program. Hopefully, this clears up the issue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey everyone! I just received this comment from someone who has had accounts closed when trying to redeem for prizes: Anonymous said... Listen up all! I signed up and played Dummyville. On my account, I listed my friends and family (some of which live at the same address). Now, every time any of us try to redeem a prize, they close our account with no warning or explanation. When I contact them, they claim it is a duplicate account and therefore it has been closed and any prize redeemed, lost. What the?!??? Some of these accounts have close to 180,000 Oodles and another 50 spins saved up. Lots of work down the drain. It's just not fair! Anyone else having this problem? PS I don't know if you are willing or even want to, but you might make a seperate post for people to notice this. I'm concerned it could be a problem for many out there and would like to know if I am alone. Here is what the Official Rules say: You cannot have more than one Account. GSN may, at any time, require you to verify your name and address by means of faxing or mailing to GSN a copy of your driver's license, passport or other form of identification approved by GSN, in addition to providing GSN with a signed statement of legitimacy; and GSN may automatically require such verification in the case of multiple accounts from the same address, household, computer or IP address. If you attempt to obtain more than one Account, all Oodles in your Account may be forfeited, and GSN may, at its sole discretion, terminate your membership and permanently ban you from using the Website and/or any other GSN service. Additional or different eligibility criteria may apply to certain opportunities to earn Oodles and other invitations made by the Program Entities or their business partners. Limit one (1) Account per person. The Program is provided to individuals only. Corporations, associations, or other groups may not participate in the Program. It is fraudulent for any individual, company, club, association or group to use or to direct, encourage, or allow other persons to use a single Account for the purpose of accumulating or aggregating Oodles for combined use, unless such use is expressly permitted by GSN. I sent GSN an email today to clarify their position. I used the example of my roommate and me (even though he no longer participates). We'll see what they say. Question of the Day - Nicknamed the "Duke," what actor won his only Academy Award on this day in 1970? John Wayne Who starred as the title character in the 1960 Walt Disney film Pollyanna? Hayley Mills In which town does Buffy the Vampire Slayer take place? Sunnydale In 1954, the very female Mary Martin won an Emmy and a Tony for playing a male role in what production? Peter Pan "It's Gonna Be a Cold Cold Christmas" was a 1975 hit for which recent Irish presidential candidate? Dana What's the name of the family in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Griswold Who played Dustin Hoffman's sardonic roommate in Tootsie? Bill Murray In Midnight Cowboy, what was the nickname of Enrico Salvatore Rizzo? Ratso What film has the line, "Blessed are the cheesemakers."? Life of Brian What pop duo was George Michael a part of before he went solo? Wham! Who sang "Evil Woman"? Black Sabbath On Knight Rider, "KITT" was a: Car In which film does Keanu Reeves work at the Devil's law firm? Devil's Advocate What was Chicago's first #1 single? "If You Leave Me Now" Bruce Willis starred in this movie: The Kid In 1990, who bought one of Buddy Holly's guitars at auction for $242,000? Gary Busey In Escape from New York, what has Manhattan been turned into in the future? A prison Storms of _______ was Randy Travis' platinum album of 1986. Life What Jackson 5 #1 hit from 1970 became a #1 hit for Mariah Carey in 1992? "I'll Be There" R&B group Blackstreet teamed up with Dr. Dre on which of the following songs? "No Diggity" Which of the following bands plays most of their songs with their guitars tuned half a tone down? Alice in Chains Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight co-starred in: Deliverance In The Shaggy Dog, who does Dave live with? His wife and kids Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz starred in this 2005 film: The Constant Gardener Andrew Lloyd _______ , composer, lists Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar to his credit. Webber Who was nominated for Oscars twice in the same year, both times for playing 1950s housewives? Julianne Moore Groucho Marx played Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff in _______ Feathers. Horse In which famous tunnel does the spectacular finale of Mission: Impossible take place? Channel Tunnel For what 1999 movie did Kevin Spacey win the Best Actor Oscar? American Beauty What is the title of the Bond film that is based on a conversation Sean Connery had about his experience as 007? Never Say Never Again A lovesick Bobby Goldsboro recorded this hit song: "Honey" This metal band had the song "Silent Lucidity", on the album Empire. Queensryche This/these artist(s) had the song "Show Me the Way", on the album Edge of the Century. Styx Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Tues 4/6 How does Lingo's Chuck Woolery define the made-up word "spraa"? "A bra that breaks" After stumbling on "leach," Lingo contestant Brian is told by his partner Lindsay to do what? "Stop spelling!" During Fast Money, Family Feud contestant Michelle associates what commercial product with Ireland? Irish Spring Soap What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Pigeons Contestant Brad tells Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel he would like to bulldoze what? His own house How does Deal or No Deal contestant Brian first translate Chewbacca's throaty moaning? "Go for the money!" Question of the Day - The first modern Olympics were held on this day in 1896. In what Greek city did they take place? Athens Marlon Brando appeared in Last Tango in ______. Paris What swimmer played Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Tarzan in movies? Buster Crabbe She was one of The Eurythmics. Annie Lennox Sean Connery plays a soviet submarine captain in which film? Hunt for Red October "Chickadee" was a term often used by what classic comedian? W.C. Fields Which German film dealt specifically with the changes in Germany after the fall of the Berlin wall? Goodbye Lenin What comedian often joked about his old Maxwell car? Jack Benny Who played Willy Loman in the 1984 television revival of Death of a Salesman? Dustin Hoffman In Gone with the Wind, Scarlett does not marry which of the following men? Ashley Wilkes This 1980 film is called: Atlantic ________. City In the movie Sideways, the main character loved this wine: Pinot Noir In which film did Eddie Murphy play "Prince Akeem of Zamunda"? Coming to America Who directed the 1991 movie Hook? Steven Spielberg Who was the king of England when the American Revolution began? George III Fill in the blank for the name of the German film: Run _____ Run. Lola Which movie does Meg Ryan allude to in Sleepless in Seattle? An Affair to Remember What was the film sequel to Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta? Staying Alive Which of the Three Tenors was born in Barcelona? Jose Carreras For which comedy Western did Lee Marvin win an Oscar, for playing twin brothers? Cat Ballou What team does Jimmy Fallon root for in 2005's Fever Pitch? Red Sox How old was Loretta Lynn when she became a grandmother the first time? 29 What was the copacetic nickname of ice-cream-loving Bill Robinson? Bojangles Who was married to Jack Nicholson in The Shining? Shelley Duvall What 1978 movie musical did Bee Gees member Barry Gibb write the theme song for? Grease In Batman Returns, Michelle Pfeiffer modifies a neon sign to say "Hell Here." What did it say originally? Hello There Tom Cruise played a young stock car driver in what 1990 flick? Days of Thunder This classic film was named: How Green Was My ______. Valley His real name was William Henry Pratt, but what was his stage name? Boris Karloff Renee Zellweger's co-star in Nurse Betty was: Greg Kinnear Where is there a monument of musician Frank Zappa's head balanced on a pole? Lithuania Who's the Australian rock group whose 1985 hit album was TNT? AC/DC In which 2001 movie did Bernie Mac play the character Frank Catton? Ocean's Eleven Question of the Day - Known by many for his role as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, what actor was born on this day in 1916? Gregory Peck This Jodie Foster film finds a "wild child" alone on an island. Nell Who directed The Game, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn? David Fincher Who of the following is not a member of the original lineup of KISS? Pete Doherty What was supposedly the first rock 'n' roll song to use a string section? "There Goes My Baby" Jennifer Aniston and Vin Diesel supplied their voices for this animated feature: The Iron Giant This early king is known as "the man who made England": Alfred the Great What was the name of the 1984 sequel to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan the Barbarian? Conan the Destroyer Carole Lombard says, "Stand still, Godfrey, it'll all be over in a minute," in: My Man Godfrey Which well-known band did Dave Navarro play in before The Red Hot Chili Peppers? Jane's Addiction Who starred in Coma? Michael Douglas Which musical term means a musical introduction to a composition or drama? Prelude Bill Murray starred in: Scrooged In 1972, who became Sports Illustrated's first female Sportsman of the Year? Billie Jean King Copernicus was a scientist. True "We're caught in a trap" is the first line from this Elvis Presley song: "Suspicious Minds" The tagline, "Get Ready to Jam," comes from what 1996 movie? Space Jam Which actor plays "El Mariachi" in Desperado? Antonio Banderas Who said, "Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes"? Robert Altman In which film is Robin Williams first seen with a tiger? Jumanji Who said, "I want to be alone," in Grand Hotel? Greta Garbo Which actor traded faces with Nicolas Cage in Face/Off? John Travolta Chuck Norris made a series of Rambo-style films in the '80s called: Missing in Action Which of the following actors hasn't played Batman on the big screen? Liam Neeson What was Pierce Brosnan's last film as James Bond? Die Another Day Teri Hatcher and Danny Aiello were in the dark comedy, _______ in the Valley. Two Days Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of Argentina. False What was the original title of the Pixar movie Cars? Route 66 Assault on Precinct 13 was remade with which actor in the lead? Ethan Hawke In 2004, Mel Gibson directed, produced and co-wrote what controversial movie? Passion of the Christ Casablanca starred: Humphrey Bogart For what 1998 film did Roberto Benigni take home the Oscar for Best Actor? Life Is Beautiful Jane Fonda and Jeff Bridges starred in this movie: The Morning After

Dachshund

What large hospitality chain owns and operates the mid-priced Courtyard hotel chain?

Oodles Of Fun: April 2010 Oodles Of Fun Are You Using Your nOodle? Pages Question of the Day - On this day in 1931, what 102-story, 1,046-foot building was dedicated in New York City? Empire State Building Bon Jovi sang "You Give Love a ____ Name". Bad Bing Crosby's real name was: Harry Which is the only Marx Brothers film to feature on the AFI's top 100? Duck Soup The Broadway show Movin' Out featured the songs of: Billy Joel The tagline "Die Harder" comes from which 1990 movie? Die Hard 2 Which film has the line, "I can't have a baby, because I have a 12:30 lunch meeting"? Baby Boom In An Affair to Remember, where did the lovers decide to meet six months later? New York Where do the scientists first find a mysterious monolith, in 2001: A Space Odyssey? The Moon Which actress stars in the film Mean Girls? Lindsay Lohan This horror classic is called: Invasion of the Body ________. Snatchers Whose real name is Eric Bishop? Jamie Foxx Who said: "Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done"? George W. Bush Bruce Springsteen says "Everybody's got ________". A hungry heart Who had the 1976 hit: "Play That Funky Music"? Wild Cherry Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey starred in: Two for the Money In the "Rock DJ" video, what former Take That singer literally sheds layers of clothes and layers of flesh? Robbie Williams Which film is a love story between the King of Siam and a British schoolteacher? Anna and the King What former star of Broadway's Annie married Matthew Broderick, who starred in The Producers? Sarah Jessica Parker What was the last Beatles' album to be recorded before the band's split? Abbey Road Which actress' father is well-known actor Jon Voight? Angelina Jolie What was the name of Herman's wife on The Munsters? Lily On the TV series Heroes, the character Hiro Nakamura is able to: Stop time The music to the U.S. Navy song "Anchors Aweigh" was written by: Charles Zimmerman Talk show host Rosie O'Donnell changed hats to play which narrating character in "Seussical the Musical"? The Cat in the Hat All members of The Monkees have what same color of eyes? Brown The tagline, "Resistance is Futile", comes from which 1996 movie? Star Trek: First Contact One of the longest movie song titles, as sung by Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins, was: "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" Who played Truman Capote in Capote? Philip Seymour Hoffman Which Scottish actor voiced a dragon called Draco in the movie Dragon Heart? Sean Connery Question of the Day - Willie Nelson turns 77 today. What is NOT one of his songs? Hit the Road, Jack Which character sings "Over the Rainbow" in The Wizard of Oz? Dorothy Finish this line from The Godfather: "Leave the gun. Take _________". The cannoli Name the ship commanded by Russell Crowe in Master and Commander. HMS Surprise In which of the Rocky movies was the statue of Rocky unveiled? Rocky III Where was the character Elijah Prince, aka "Mr. Glass", from Unbreakable born? A department store Who sang "When You Wish upon a Star" in the 1940 Walt Disney film Pinocchio? Jiminy Cricket What was the name of the woman Dustin Hoffman played in Tootsie? Dorothy Michaels What comedian actress shared Steve Martin's body in All of Me? Lily Tomlin Who played Starsky in the film Starsky and Hutch? Ben Stiller In 1995, what Irish New Age musician released the album The Memory of Trees? Enya Which best describes Kiefer Sutherland? Agent Jack Bauer on 24 Which Beatle sang "My Sweet Lord"? George Harrison In which movie does Kevin Bacon discover the secret of invisibility? Hollow Man Antonin Dvorak's most famous symphony is known as Z Noveho Sveta in his native language. What do we call it? From the New World Which actor played the monster in the original film of Frankenstein? Boris Karloff The movies Courage Under Fire and A Soldier's Story featured which actor? Denzel Washington Angela Lansbury was in which movie? Bedknobs and Broomsticks What film is showing at the Bedford Falls theater at the end of It's A Wonderful Life? The Bells of St. Mary's What sport is played in the movie Bull Durham? Baseball In what film does Jack Nicholson become a werewolf? Wolf Where was the Beatles' first concert tour, backing singer Johnny Gentle? Scotland Which movie was Marlon Brando not in? The Pink Panther How did Pierre de Fredy change sports in 1896? Organized the first modern Olympics in Athens Who excused her questionable treatment of her son, Sean Preston, in a TV interview by saying she was "just country"? Britney Spears Where did Matthew Broderick battle Godzilla in the 1998 remake? New York In the 1960 film The Apartment, what did Jack Lemmon use to strain spaghetti? Tennis racquet What color is Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch? Green Maximilian Hecker is a singer/songwriter from this country: Germany Who starred opposite Cary Grant in His Girl Friday? Rosalind Russell Question of the Day - What actor, known for playing Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans, turns 53 today? Daniel Day-Lewis The film Double _________ was based on a novel by James M. Cain. Indemnity Keira Knightley played "Elizabeth Bennet" in: Pride and Prejudice Who played My Super Ex-Girlfriend in 2006? Uma Thurman Which director's first feature film was 1985's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? Tim Burton What is the shared theme in Radio, Any Given Sunday and Little Giants? Football What Cyndi Lauper song was actually a cover of a tune written and performed in 1979 by Robert Hazard? "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" Ben Stiller starred in Flirting with _______. Disaster In what movie does Clint Eastwood play a DJ with a stalker? Play Misty for Me Fill in the blank for the name of the film: In a Lonely ________. Place Which actor played the role of Harry Burns in the 1989 movie, When Harry Met Sally? Billy Crystal The Monkees' hit song, "I'm A Believer", was written by: Neil Diamond The album C.M.B. containing the 90s hit "All 4 Love", is by which artist(s)? Color Me Badd Which of these vocal ranges is lowest? Baritone What kind of animal is George from Curious George? A monkey Chic sang which of the following songs? "Good Times" What serial killer film stars Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington? The Bone Collector Who stars in Lost In Translation? Bill Murray What band dedicated "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to Saddam Hussein at a 1996 Democratic Party fundraiser held in Los Angeles? The Eagles What was the 1983 hit by Dexy's Midnight Runners: "_______ On Eileen"? Come Who did Johnny Depp play on the TV show 21 Jump Street? Tom Hanson According to the animator, Disney's "Aladdin" character was drawn to resemble: Michael J. Fox What did Disney's Seven Dwarfs sing before "off to work we go"? "Heigh ho, heigh ho" Robin Williams played a doctor in: Awakenings Which actress released her first record So Real when she was 15? Mandy Moore Randy Travis promised: "I'm gonna love you forever, forever and ever, ___." Amen Whose number was "867-5309"? Jenny Fountains of Wayne sing: "Stacy's Mom" What former Brat Packer had small roles in Wayne's World and Austin Powers II? Rob Lowe Who produced Raiders of the Lost Ark? George Lucas Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Wed 4/28 On today's Lingo, one of the contestants shares a first name with what legendary stand-up comedian? Lenny Bruce With her hand already in the hopper at the end of Bonus Lingo, contestant Sally stops, looks up and asks Chuck what? "There are no red balls in here, right?" Family Feud contestant Travis tells Richard Karn that sometimes he doesn't bother to take off his what before bed? Tacos What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Earth What "F word" does Deal or No Deal contestant Jason not like saying? Fiancee Before hearing the Deal or No Deal Banker's $162,000 offer, contestant Jason runs from the podium to do what? Knock on wood Question of the Day - The founder of what Italian car company was born on this day in 1916? Ferruccio Lamborghini Brenda Lee had a hit with what holiday favorite? "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" What film stars Will Ferrell as the coach of a kids soccer team? Kicking & Screaming Who said: "I've been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War"? Al Capone The song "Give It to You", by Jordan Knight, was on which of these albums? Give It to You Who won a 1998 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a duo or group with "One Headlight"? Wallflowers In the late 1960s, who went into prisons to record At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin? Johnny Cash Which guitarist did NOT play with The Yardbirds? Pete Townsend What sport is featured in The Benchwarmers? Baseball Name the 1997 movie starring John Voight, Ice Cube, and Jennifer Lopez. Anaconda In what movie would you find "Smile", Charlie Chaplin's most famous song? Modern Times Which talk show host co-starred with Eddie Murphy in "Coming to America"? Arsenio Hall What star, who wasn't in 2001's Ocean's Eleven, appeared in Ocean's Twelve? Catherine Zeta-Jones Clint Eastwood directed and starred in: Space _____." Cowboys Vince Vaughn played Trent, a smooth-talking, retro-hipster in what movie? Swingers Matthew Modine and Adam Baldwin starred in Full Metal _______. Jacket Who played Bill in the Kill Bill films? David Carradine What pop/ R&B singer performed the song "Opposites Attract"? Paula Abdul What 1980s movie starred Lou Gossett, Richard Gere and Debra Winger? An Officer and a Gentleman What kind of animal is Pumbaa in The Lion King? Warthog Where are the band members in the heavy metal band "Sepultura" originally from? Brazil Who played the daughter in the 2003 version of Freaky Friday? Lindsay Lohan Leonard Marx, of the sibling comedic team, The Marx Brothers, was better known as: Chico Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson starred in Alice Doesn't _______. Live Here Anymore In As Good as It Gets, what did Jack Nicholson's character not want to step on? Sidewalk cracks What Oscar-winning actress was a Bond girl in Die Another Day? Halle Berry Kate Beckinsale is the daughter of which late British actor? Richard Beckinsale Bruce Willis stared in Die ________. Hard Early in his career, Tupac Shakur was briefly a member of what rap group? Digital Underground Question of the Day - What U.S. President and Civil War leader was born on this day in 1822? Ulysses S. Grant Which actor from the film Titanic also starred in the TV series Alias? Victor Garber Who played quarterback in The Replacements? Keanu Reeves What does the word blitzkreig in "Blitzkreig Bop" literally mean? Lightning war What actress plays Lara Croft? Angelina Jolie Who played super-groupie, Penny Lane, in Almost Famous? Kate Hudson Which actor plays "The Ugly" in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly? Eli Wallach Who said: "Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act"? Truman Capote Which of these songs was an early 90s dance hit by EMF, on the album Schubert Dip? "Unbelieveable" What rocker played a rapidly-aging vampire in The Hunger? David Bowie Fill in the blank for the name of the film: The ________ Mile. Green Who said: "A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of"? Burt Bacharach Laura Ingalls Wilder was a famous: Author The Rolling Stones' song "Angie" was inspired by: David Bowie's wife Who played Felix Ungar in two film versions of The Odd Couple? Jack Lemmon "Smells Like Teen Spirit" appeared on this Nirvana album: Nevermind Meg Ryan played Capt. Karen Walden in Courage Under ______________. Fire Stradivarius was a builder of: Violins In what year did Unforgiven win the Best Picture Oscar? 1992 In what film does Will Smith play a "date doctor"? Hitch Who played Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws? Roy Scheider Who directed Walk the Line? James Mangold Which actor plays the villain in River Wild? Kevin Bacon If I got off a plane at LaGuardia Airport what city am I in? New York In 1933, where was the first police radio system connecting headquarters to cars, and cars to one another? New York Which of the following stars has gone in person to accept a "Razzie" award? Halle Berry According to the Andrews Sisters, where shouldn't you sit with anyone else but me? Under the apple tree Which of these actresses guest-starred in episodes of Star Trek, until 2007? Ashley Judd Who played Morpheus in The Matrix? Laurence Fishburne Tom Cruise stars with _____ in Risky Business. Kevin Anderson Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Mon 4/26 On today's special "Identical Twin" episode of Lingo, what are the names of the female contestants? Toi-San and Toia Though he hopes for a promotion, Lingo contestant Eric tells Chuck that right now he is paid to watch what? Baseball Family Feud's Richard Karn comments that nobody minds being disturbed while doing what activity? Studying What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Air Deal or No Deal contestant Toni tells Howie that she kept what in her bra for one year and three months? Her cell phone The Deal or No Deal Banker pays contestant Toni $100 to cut what? A strange man's back hair Question of the Day - News reporter Maria Shriver married what bodybuilder turned actor on this day in 1986? Arnold Schwarzenegger After Moe and Larry, how many different actors played the "third stooge"? Four Perry King and Sylvester Stallone starred in The Lords of _______. Flatbush Aimee Mann is a: Singer/Songwriter The 2003 movie Freaky Friday was a remake of what 1977 movie? Freaky Friday Who said: "A man in the house is worth two in the street"? Mae West Fill in the missing word of this movie title: Welcome to the ______ House. Doll Cameron Diaz first appeared in which film? The Mask On Sanford and Son, the title characters sold: Junk Chariots of Fire was about which country's Olympic team? England Who played a fallen angel alongside Ben Affleck in Kevin Smith's religious satire Dogma? Matt Damon What 1980s movie featured a young Nicolas Cage? Valley Girl Which actor played Baretta? Robert Blake Name the actress mother of Mia Farrow who starred in several Tarzan movies. Maureen O'Sullivan Who has hosted the most Academy Award shows as of 2006? Bob Hope Which major film of 2000 starred Hugh Jackman? X-Men U2's Bono co-wrote this award-winning film. The Million Dollar Hotel Who stars in One Fine Day, Dangerous Liaisons, and Batman Returns? Michelle Pfeiffer Steve Guttenberg and Paul Reiser starred in this movie Diner Who said, "I do not know the American gentleman; God forgive me for putting two such words together"? Charles Dickens Ozzy Osbourne has how many children? Six Soccer legend Pele unsuccessfully attempted a comeback at the age of 46. False Which was an early Tom Petty band? All the answers are correct Ron Howard starred in which television series? Happy Days In E.T., what snack or candy was the extra-terrestrial particularly fond of? Reese's Pieces The Knack sang "Good Girls ___". Don't Tears for Fears had a #1 hit with: "Shout" What is Dr. Evil's son's name from the Austin Powers movies? Scott In which movie does a basketball coach bench his undefeated team for bad grades? Coach Carter Richard Gere starred in this movie: Breathless Question of the Day - What breed, often called wiener dogs, was the toy featured as one of Woody's closest friends in Toy Story? Dachshund The song "Like a Rolling Stone" was written by: Bob Dylan Which actor played the title character in Ben-Hur? Charlton Heston In which 2001 movie did John Goodman play Sulley? "Monsters, Inc." What kind of birds are John, Paul, George and Ringo in The Jungle Book? Vultures What movie is about a day in the life of a South Side Chicago barbershop? Barbershop Celine Dion's musical genre is which of these? Pop/ Adult Contemporary Who directed The Game, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn? David Fincher Al Green sang: "Tired of Being ______". Alone From nationwide surveys, what is the most popular response when asked to name something country songs are about? Love The movie Rain Man grossed over $170,000,000. What year was it released? 1988 Who is the actress daughter of the late Sir John Mills? Hayley Mills In which 2000 movie did Johnny Depp play the character named Roux? Chocolat The American Film Institute voted which film the best ever? Citizen Cane Pierce Brosnan stars as a millionaire art thief in which film? The Thomas Crown Affair Which movie did George Clooney win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor? Syriana Who wrote the screenplay for The Da Vinci Code? Akiva Goldsman In his documentary Roger and Me, Michael Moore traces the decline of what industry in Flint, Michigan? Auto Garth Brooks sings: "If _____ Never Comes". Tomorrow The 2002 hip-hop hit "Hot in Herre" was done by Nelly Who of the following was not a member of Soundgarden? James Iha The Oscar-nominated film about the Russian royal family was called: Nicholas and Alexandra When were the Beatles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? 1988 The lyrics of Elvis Costello's song "A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety" were written by: William Butler Yeats Who chewed 263 packs of gum as a police chief in In the Heat of the Night? Rod Steiger Jodie Foster starred in: Contact From which English city did The Beatles hail? Liverpool Who played Olive Oyl in 1980's Popeye? Shelley Duvall Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. What band played at Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration? Fleetwood Mac Which James Bond film starred Pierce Brosnan? Tomorrow Never Dies Question of the Day - The Beagle, known for its keen sense of smell, is also the inspiration for what fun-loving cartoon dog? Snoopy Who is Vincent Furnier best known as? Alice Cooper George Lucas directed all six Star Wars movies. False This author wrote A Brief History of Time. What's the missing first letter in his last name? Stephen _awking H Woody Allen and Diane Keaton starred in: Manhattan What entertainer was in the 1966 motion picture The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? Eli Wallach Who plays Mel Gibson's partner in the Lethal Weapon series? Danny Glover Liza Minelli is the daughter of this deceased actress: Judy Garland As Gerry Marsden and his Pacemakers would know, the Royal Daffodil has ferried people across what river? Mersey Fill in the blank: Who ________ Roger Rabbit? Framed Amy Heckerling's 1990s film, Clueless, was loosely based on what Victorian novel? Emma In the 1941 movie The Maltese Falcon, the characters in the movie are trying to: Obtain a bird statue Fill in the blank for the name of the film: Finding ________. Nemo From 1876 actress Sarah Bernhardt was thought to be the first woman to wear what article of clothing? Trousers Name Rooster Cogburn's cat in the John Wayne movie True Grit. General Sterling Price Who played serial killer, Buddy Noone, in the Clint Eastwood movie Blood Work? Jeff Daniels Who sampled Dido's "Thank You" on his hit song, "Stan", about an obsessed fan? Eminem Jessica Tandy originated the role of Alma Finley, a woman in a retirement home, in: Cocoon In 2002, Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Productions helped launch the career of what person? Dr. Phil McGraw Jada Pinkett Smith starred in Jason's _______. Lyric Fill in the missing lyrics: "You spin me right round baby, right round, like a _____". Record baby Which director wrote the screenplay for Scarface? Oliver Stone Which band released more than one eponymous album? Boston The Nobel Prize is not awarded for accomplishments in this field: Mathematics What rocker dressed up as a nun for Frank Zappa's 200 Motels? Keith Moon "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day" is the first line of this song: "My Girl" Which character is associated with the catch phrase, "To infinity and beyond"? Buzz Lightyear Tom Selleck starred in: Quigley Down Under In Back to the Future, the car needed this fuel to go back in time: Plutonium What is the name of Tyra Banks' talk show? The Tyra Banks Show Question of the Day - The term "Yorkie" is the abbreviated nickname for what type of playful pup? Yorkshire Terrier Michael Jackson's most successful album is: Thriller Typically film critics rate movies using what symbols? Stars Frankie Muniz stars in which film about a terrier in Mississippi? My Dog Skip Who is Joe Black? A Brad Pitt character Hulk Hogan played a cameo role in this film, starring Sylvester Stallone: Rocky III Fill in the blank for the name of the film: Groundhog ______. Day Who starred in Saved!? Mandy Moore The horror in 2006's Pulse is unleashed by a malicious: Computer virus Devon Sawa has a vision of his friends crashing in a plane in this movie: Final Destination "California Girls" was a hit by this band: The Beach Boys Earth, Wind & Fire are well-known musicians from which country? U.S. This actress was engaged to Brad Pitt: Gwyneth Paltrow What film featured Whitney Houston as a pop star whose life is threatened? The Bodyguard Name the restaurant in Fried Green Tomatoes. The Whistle Stop Cafe In the movie Monsters, Inc. what does the company Monsters, Inc. do? Generates electricity The 1967 Disney film Jungle Book is based on fiction by which author? Rudyard Kipling Which band did Malcolm McClaren manage before The Sex Pistols? New York Dolls Who is the star of the action film xXx? Vin Diesel The R. Kelly hit, "I Believe I Can Fly", was from which movie? Space Jam The song "One Last Cry", by Brian McKnight, is on which album? Brian McKnight The song "Believe", that appears on the album Made in England, was done by: Elton John What kind of creature is Shrek, in the movie of the same name? An ogre On SNL, who played Cirroc, The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer? Phil Hartman Frank Sinatra's middle name is: Albert What Steven Spielberg film featured Oprah Winfrey as "Sofia"? The Color Purple Stadium Arcadium is a 2006 album by what band, led by singer Anthony Kiedis? Red Hot Chili Peppers In the film Coffee and Cigarettes how does Bill Murray drink his coffee? From the pot In which film do Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn plot to blow up a Nazi base? Guns of Navarone Gary Cooper got how many thousands of dollars for 1952's High Noon? 60 The album Fever by Kylie Minogue contains which of the following songs? "Can't Get You Out of My Head" Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Thurs 4/22 After picking winning Lingo ball 13, contestant Lindsay asks Chuck what? "Do we keep picking for more?" Contestant Tye was told he could not do what on the Lingo set? Wear pieces from his own apparel line What was the tie-breaking question on today's first Family Feud? Name a pro sport women don't play What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Globe After rejecting a $40,000 offer, Deal or No Deal contestant Allison takes a break to dance with a troop of what? Zulus In a rare personal admission, Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel says he is a big fan of which gentleman's magazine? FHM Question of the Day - What type of diminutive dog does Reese Witherspoon carry throughout the movie "Legally Blonde"? Chihuahua Who was Doctor Zhivago's great love, played by Julie Christie? Lara You can get anything you want, if you know who was inspired by Alice Brock's restaurant in Stockbridge, Massachusetts? Arlo Guthrie Loretta Lynn was the subject of this film: Coal Miner's Daughter The movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in what year? 1937 John Lennon's first wife was named: Cynthia What year was the catastrophic sci-fi film The Day After Tomorrow released? 2004 Interview with a Vampire stars which actor as Lestat? Tom Cruise The movie Home Alone grossed over $280,000,000. What year was it released? 1990 What is the name of Ozzy Osbourne's son? Jack What band had four of its members killed in the same plane crash with Otis Redding? Bar-Kays Who won the Oscar for Best Director for the movie, Platoon? Oliver Stone Who's Melanie Griffith's mother? Tippi Hedren Pamela Anderson was married to the drummer from which rock band? Motley Crue Who played Alec Baldwin's partner in crime - and in love - in 1994's The Getaway? Kim Basinger What was the Beatles' final movie? Let It Be Neil Diamond sang "Love on the Rocks" in which movie? The Jazz Singer Who plays Angelina Jolie's father in Tomb Raider? Jon Voight Whose garage did Frank Zappa sing about? Joe's Which actress was raised in Reading, England? Kate Winslet Richie Sambora is best known as the guitarist for what band? Bon Jovi In 1970, who announced he was leaving the Monkees? Davy Derek and the Dominos were: One of Eric Clapton's bands "This is ground control to _______." Who is the astronaut in David Bowie's "Space Oddity"? Major Tom Who did Mel Gibson play in the Lethal Weapon films? Riggs Of these, who hasn't been lead singer of Van Halen? Jason Scheff Huey Lewis and the News sang: "It's Hip to be ______". Square ronically, Marvin Lee Aday became a vegetarian. What is his stage name? Meat Loaf According to the Barry Manilow song, who came and gave without taking? Mandy Which Aerosmith album cover shows a cow's udder? Get a Grip Which Danny De Vito comedy is a loose remake of Strangers on a Train? Throw Momma from the Train Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Wed 4/21 Lingo contestant Nicole recently graduated from what institution also attended by President Obama? Occidental College At the end of the game, Lingo's Chuck Woolery expresses surprise that contestants Kapil and Bryan have what? Only one Lingo During Fast Money on Family Feud, contestant Nicole admits to Richard Karn that she eats what "all the time"? String cheese What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Saturday Contestant Letia tells Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel that her dream is to be the female version of which fitness guru? Billy Blanks The Deal or No Deal Banker gives what fashion accessories to contestant Letia's husband? Glasses and a pocket protector Question of the Day - The term "Sheltie" might mean "best friend" for some, but it stands for what type of herding dog? Shetland Sheepdog His real name is Nicholas Coppola, but what's his stage name? Nicolas Cage Naguib Mahfouz, winner of 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature, hailed from Egypt. True What is Clint Eastwood's nickname in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? Blondie Vernon Presley, Elvis Presley's father, was a: Truck driver Nena's 1980s hit "99 Luftballons" was sung in this language: German What NBC reality show did Martha Stewart host? The Apprentice Who recorded the song "All Star", on the album Astro Lounge? Smash Mouth What was the Searchers hit, "Needles and _______"? Pins Which actor directed Mel Gibson in Braveheart? Mel Gibson Amy Grant sang "Stay for a _____." While In what movie did Ron Silver play real-life lawyer Alan Dershowitz? Reversal of Fortune "Stone Face" is a label given to which silent comedian? Buster Keaton In which movie does a sheepdog named Fly become a foster parent to a pig? Babe Who is "Mr. Bigglesworth", appearing in the Austin Powers films? Dr. Evil's cat What book was Mark Chapman carrying when he shot John Lennon? The Catcher In the Rye Lewis and Clark explored Mexico. False The song "Ms. Jackson", by OutKast, was on which of these albums? Stankonia Christopher Walken won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in which film? The Deer Hunter What Bruce Willis film is about a boy who sees dead people? The Sixth Sense What movie is about sisters who live in post-Civil War America? Little Women Barry White's musical genre is which of these? R&B/ Soul/ Disco What Kill Bill star's mother was once married to '60s icon Timothy Leary? Uma Thurman In which 2000 movie did David Keith play the character Major Matthew Coonan? U-571 What U.S. President made his own clothes, as well as his cabinet's? Andrew Johnson Telly Savalas played the villain Blofeld in a Bond film called: On Her ___. Majesty's Secret Service Stevie Wonder sang about a "Higher ________". Ground Who is not a member of the Monkees group? Micky Smith Which of these golden titles is not the title of a James Bond movie? Fool's Gold Gene Hackman plays "Popeye Doyle" in what 1970s crime classic? The French Connection Whose original members were Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, and Nikki Sixx? Motley Crue Lingo contestant Michelle describes herself as a mother and a part-time what? Longshore worker At the beginning of Lingo, Chuck Woolery expresses surprise that all the contestants hail from where? Massachusetts Family Feud host Richard Karn urges contestant Amy to pray for what answer to appear on the big board? Priest What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Crackerjack Who did Deal or No Deal contestant Joe say he met on April 12? His girlfriend, Laura On Deal or No Deal, Howie jokes that you don't want to open a case packed by a third party in what place? In Iraq QOD & Trivia Tues 4/20 Question of the Day - What type of dog was prominently featured in Taco Bell ads from 1997-2000? Chihuahua Who named his son after a character he played in the film Castle of the Living Dead? Donald Sutherland Children lock their parents in the basement in House _____. Arrest Joe Don Baker plays a real-life sheriff in which vigilante series from the 1970s? Walking Tall "Be My Baby" is a song performed by what 1960s girl group? The Ronnetes Which state has the most registered cars? CA The Ridolfi Plot was an attempt to assassinate Elizabeth I. True The Dune series of science fiction books were written by: Frank Herbert Who does Johnny Depp pursue in the film From Hell? Jack the Ripper What kind of fish is Nemo from Finding Nemo? Clown Fish What actress shares her name with Shakespeare's wife? Anne Hathaway Which former X-rated movie actress had a hit with "More, More, More" ? Andrea True In 1979, what rock group was named "Canadian Ambassadors of Music" by the Canadian government? Rush The movie Schindler's List took place during: World War II Screenwriter and director, Marcel Achard, died of: Diabetes Billy Joel sang a song called: "Honesty" Which of the following singing duos sang, "I Got You, Babe" Sonny and Cher Who is Helen Folasade Adu better known as? Sade Bearded rockers ZZ Top performed the guitar-heavy hit: "Tush" Who played the lead role in Pretty in Pink? Molly Ringwald Tarantino's first film concerned a group of diamond thieves. What was it called? Reservoir Dogs What film, directed by Baz Luhrmann, starred Jim Broadbent and Ewan McGregor? Moulin Rouge! This/these artist(s) had the song "Cold Rock a Party", on the album Bad As I Wanna B. MC Lyte This actor was the star of In & Out: Kevin Kline This great film was called: Rebel Without a __________. Cause Who was the 1994 Grammy Award winner for Best Rock Vocal-Female for "Come To My Window"? Melissa Etheridge In The Shaggy Dog, what does Dave Douglas turn into? A dog In the movie The Astronaut Farmer, which was Charles Farmer's early career? Astronaut Josh Hartnett starred in Lucky Number _____. Slevin When did Hank Snow make his Grand Old Opry debut? 1950 Erasure sang about "_____of Love". Chains Super-competitive contestants Ann and Tico set what goal before starting the Bonus Round on Lingo? At least 8 Lingos in the Bonus Round When not writing screenplays, contestant Denise tells Chuck she designs what? Greeting cards Which world leader is not among the top five responses in the Family Feud survey: "Name any dictator"? Joseph Stalin What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Honeymoon Contestant Brandy tells Deal or No Deal host Howie that her hair is a tribute to what? The 1980's According to Deal or No Deal contestant Brandy, who was responsible for the fire that ravaged her home? Brandy QOD & Trivia Mon 4/19 Question of the Day - The lovable Lassie was what type of Scottish dog breed? Collie With The Buena Vista Social Club, Ry Cooder reintroduced the world to the music of what country? Cuba Who wrote the "think music" for the final round of Jeopardy? Merv Griffin Who sang "Lover Boy"? Billy Ocean In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Hal is the name of what? A computer Which actress was turned down for the leading role in Indecent Proposal? Halle Berry Name the prep school in Dead Poets Society: Welton Academy What composer wrote Don Giovanni in a short time during 1787? Mozart Napoleon Bonaparte was often referred to as "The Corsican Ogre". True Which celebrity chef is famous for saying the phrase, "Kick it up a notch"? Emeril Lagasse What was The Proclaimers' biggest hit? "I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)" Where would one find, "Parsley, sage, rosemary, & thyme"? Scarborough Fair Which actress plays secret agent Sydney Bristow in Alias? Jennifer Garner What kind of animal is Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia? Lion "Jigsaw" is the bad guy in this movie: Saw Who played Bruce "Die Hard" Willis' on-screen wife? Bonnie Bedelia an Michael-Vincent played Stringfellow Hawke on: Airwolf Jack Nicholson played Jack Torrance in this movie: The Shining In Over the Hedge, the animals find the hedge after waking up from what? Hibernation In 1804, what "father of aerodynamics" is credited with building the first successful glider? George Cayley What actor was cast in both Death Becomes Her and The First Wives Club? Goldie Hawn Air Supply played: "Even the ____ are Better". Nights Who plays God in Dogma? Alanis Morrisette Who directed the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Carrie? Brian De Palma What was the first Stephen King book to be turned into a film? Carrie Zorba the Greek was written by: Nikos Kazantzakis What revolutionary was awarded the title of "El libertador"? Simon Bolivar In which movie does Harrison Ford take on a role David Janssen played on TV? The Fugitive What composer did Gary Oldman portray in Immortal Beloved? Beethoven What designer's sister, Donatella, took the reigns of his empire after he was murdered by Andrew Cunanan in Miami Beach? Gianni Versace The early 90s love ballad "Bed of Roses" was done by: Bon Jovi Question of the Day - On this day in 1775, what Bostonian set out on horseback to warn that the British were coming? Paul Revere A beloved song from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is: "Someday My Prince Will Come" Which teen queen's first album is titled Metamorphosis? Hillary Duff Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman are members of this band: The Rolling Stones New York Dolls had a song called "_________ Crisis". Personality Hank Azaria starred in this movie: Cradle Will Rock Who said: "Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday"? Woody Allen Which movie did not feature Anthony Hopkins? The Godfather Who runs a pirate station in Pump Up the Volume? Christian Slater What phrase does Jack Nicholson write endlessly on his typewriter in The Shining? "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Whose 1996 album, Justus, included all four original members from the 1960s? The Monkees Who turned down the male lead in Gone with the Wind? Gary Cooper Which movie introduced the song "Hakuna Matata"? The Lion King What guitarist recorded the album, Neck and Neck, with Mark Knopfler in 1991? Chet Atkins The song "White Christmas" was written by: Irving Berlin Who's the famous dad of Jacob, a member of the musical group The Wallflowers? Bob Dylan Which actor plays the vampire killer Blade? Wesley Snipes Margaret Truman, daughter of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, is best known for: Writing murder mysteries Dwight Yoakam appeared in the film: Wedding Crashers Which star was killed off early in Scream? Drew Barrymore In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, whose autograph does Indiana Jones accidentally get? Adolph Hitler's Elizabeth Taylor did not marry: Howard Hughes Fill in the blank for the name of the film: _______ Velvet. Blue Where does Home Alone 2 take place? New York In The Return of Oz, who plays Dorothy? Fairuza Balk The song "Hold on My Heart" was performed by: Genesis Which movie featuring Billy Crudup and Kate Hudson was released in 2000? Almost Famous This actor played Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen, in Star Wars: Phil Brown There is a hip-hop group called "De La ______". Soul What is the film Million Dollar Baby about? Boxing "Reunited" was sung by: Peaches and Herb Question of the Day - What high HORSE-power sports car was unveiled on this day 1964? Mustang Morgan Freeman played Hoke Colburn in this movie: Driving Miss Daisy Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo starred in: ____ Guys. Wise Matt Dillon played Rusty James in this movie: Rumble Fish What was the first feature film to include talking sequences? Jazz Singer Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy starred in this movie: Class In the U.S., how many album copies have to be sold for it to be platinum? 1 Million Olivia Newton-John sang this song: "Magic" In 1998, Gus Van Zant made a shot-for-shot remake of what Alfred Hitchcock movie? Psycho According to Jan and Dean, where would you find two girls to every boy? Surf City The name of what Argentine dance also appears in the title of a controversial 1973 Bernardo Bertolucci film? Tango In this movie Woody Allen wakes up 200 years in the future. Sleeper Jesse Bradford starred in Twenty _____. Questions Which actor played James Bond? All answers are correct What was the name of the Volkswagen in Disney's The Love Bug? Herbie How old was Old Rose supposed to be in the film Titanic? 101 In Kill Bill, the bride comes to possess a Hattori Hanzo Katana. What is this? A sword Madonna's real first name is: Madonna In which movie does Russell Crowe order his men to "unleash hell"? Gladiator The first full-length movie to star Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy was a take-off on what classic? The Three Musketeers In which film does Sean Penn sell government secrets to the Soviet Union? Falcon and the Snowman Which contemporary Christian artist enjoyed huge crossover success with "Baby, Baby" and "Every Heartbeat"? Amy Grant Who romanced Jessica Lange's character in the 1976 version of King Kong? Jeff Bridges This U.S. President was never elected to a government office before his election: Ulysses S. Grant Who said: "The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work"? Richard Bach Which of the following movies has not been made into a Broadway show? Star Wars Patsy Cline's #1 hit, "Crazy", was written by: Willie Nelson What was the only Stanley Kubrick film to feature Nicole Kidman? Eyes Wide Shut What's Palmer's first name of Emerson, Lake and Palmer fame? Carl Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway starred in: Little Big Man In Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, who co-starred with Orlando Bloom? Sean Astin Problems with GSN's Website?? Hey everyone, I just received this email about a possible virus coming from GSN's website. This blog is scanned regularly by Blogger.com, so there is no sign of one on here or I would have been notified, Hello, Over the past two days I have run into a Trojan Horse virus when running my virus scan that would appear to have come from GSN, more specifically from playing Solitaire. Have you run into this problem or heard from anyone else having this happen? Just to be sure as I could that it came from GSN, I ran my virus scan after only going to GSN and your web site and the virus appeared again. Thanks for Oodles of Fun and all your hard work. p.s. I'm running AVG as my Anti-Virus program. If anyone else is having this problem or if you have notified GSN about it, please let us know. I know I had some issues with the site running slow this morning when I did the trivia questions, but my virus scanner didn't warn of any viruses coming from it. I'll run it manually again just to make certain. Thanks. Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Fri 4/16 Why does contestant Sarah say she is unfit to draw the Lingo ball for the Jamaican vacation? Earlier, she misspelled two words At the top of today's Lingo, contestant John introduces himself as a "suffering but successful" what? Insurance salesman According to Family Feuder Jimmy, what goes very fast? Money What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Haiku What model on the Philippine franchise of Deal or No Deal is considered unlucky in her native country? Charmel Before rejecting a $166,000 offer, Deal or No Deal contestant Mike tells Howie he's learned that the Filipino people are what? Intelligent Changes to Oodletunities Hello all, In case you haven't noticed yet, there is a new game (Purex Follow the Leader) that gives you an opportunity to earn a spin on the Wonder Wheel along with Straws and Mahjonng Dimensions. Also, I noticed this morning that there is no longer a trivia question on the Newlywed Game. I'm not sure what they are doing. I know the new season starts on Monday. Maybe they are doing something to prepare for that. Happy Oodling! NEW: You can now play against the banker 5 times a day on Deal or No Deal (don't know how long that will last). Thanks to Wendy for letting me know. OK...I stand corrected.  You can play once for free, but you can play up to 4 more rounds by risking 60 Oodles per round. Question of the Day - What hoodie-wearing, Super Bowl winning head coach of the New England Patriots turns 58 today? Bill Belichick What color is Freddy Krueger's blood? Green "Deja vu" was a song by this female singer: Dionne Warwick Seabiscuit was a: Horse Jazz legend Edward Ellington inspired what 1970s hit? "Sir Duke" Who taught us all how to spell "respect" in 1967? Aretha Franklin According to the song, what goes the weasel? Pop The title character of Private Benjamin was a/an: Female Who stars in the movie Remember the Titans? Denzel Washington In Erin Brokovich, the title character is investigating what? Chemicals in water Whose original members included Chad Allan, Bob Ashley, Randy Bachman, Jim Kale, and Garry Peterson? Guess Who The national anthem of the United States of America is: "The Star-Spangled Banner" What was Chuck Berry's #1 hit of 1972? "My Ding-a-Ling" Which of the following is not a song by The Rolling Stones? "Let It Be" Three Kings is set during which war? Gulf War What were Albert, Harry, Sam, and Jack better known as? The Warner Brothers What horror movie from 1958 featured a young Steve McQueen? The Blob Which of the following films was NOT directed by John Hughes? Clueless Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman starred in which auto racing film? Days of Thunder Ryan O'Neal played Bobby Fine in this film: So Fine In the movie Borat! Cultural Learnings of America, what is Borat's occupation? Journalist What was Dustin Hoffman fighting in the movie Outbreak? Airborne viruses Guns N' Roses had a huge hit with "Sweet _____ o' Mine." Child Who plays Michael Corleone's daughter in The Godfather Part III? Sofia Coppola What was the second film to star Paul Newman and Robert Redford? The Sting What band went water-skiing for their music video, "Vacation"? The Go-Gos The song "You've Got a Friend in Me" is from what popular Disney movie? Toy Story U2 played "All I Want is _____". You Whitney Houston played Julia Biggs in The ______ Wife. Preacher's Which was the first country in the world to elect a woman as prime minister? Sri Lanka What kind of vehicle is Lightning McQueen in Cars? Racing car Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Thurs 4/15 According to Lingo contestant Kelly, what is "absolutely mandatory" for Minnesotans like herself? Watching hockey After giving away the grand prize on today's Lingo, Chuck Woolery sarcastically cracks he's happy to help whom? "A couple of struggling lawyers" A master of impersonation, even Family Feud host Richard Karn admits he "can't quite do" what cartoon character? Roger Rabbit What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Audit Why does Deal or No Deal contestant Adam's wife not like the numbers 1 and 26? Doesn't like 'crusty edges' What does Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel call his special knot? Double-Over-Flip-Howie Question of the Day - On this day in 1947, what ballplayer became the first African-American in Major League Baseball? Jackie Robinson Who starred as the spooked Karen Davis in 2004's The Grudge? Sarah Michelle Gellar Why does Ben Stiller go on a cross-country trip in Flirting with Disaster? To find his real parents Who was originally chosen to play Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now? Harvey Keitel What causes Peter Parker's suit to turn black in Spider-Man 3? An alien substance What kid-friendly TV show featured a young Alanis Morrisette? You Can't Do That on Television What was the Beatles hit: "_______ Rigby"? Eleanor What is the name of Steven Spielberg's production company? Amblin Entertainment The band Mr. Children, formed by Kazutoshi Sakurai is from what country? Japan Sidney Poitier won an Academy Award for which movie? Lilies of the Field Oprah Winfrey is the CEO of Harpo, Inc. True Fill in the blank for the name of the novel by Truman Capote: In Cold ________. Blood Which of these movies was about real-life DJ Adrian Cronauer? "Good Morning, Vietnam" "Desire" is a song by this prolific rock band: U2 Who costarred with Julia Roberts in America's Sweethearts? Catherine Zeta Jones Who played the vacationer who dies in Deliverance? Ronny Cox Who was originally selected to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz? Shirley Temple Leonardo da Vinci was a lifelong vegetarian. True The Life of David Gale stars which actor as an anti-death penalty activist? Kevin Spacey Eric Clapton wrote the song "Tears in Heaven" in memory of: His 4-year-old son Who was the first living artist to have his work shown at the Louvre? Georges Braque Pierce Brosnan starred in The Thomas _______ Affair. Crown Fill in the blank for the name of this thriller: ____ Confidential. L.A. Who said: "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody"? Bill Cosby The tagline "Snake Is Back" comes from which 1996 movie? Escape from L.A. This person directed Traffic: Steven Soderbergh Who appeared in the 1948 movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre? Humphrey Bogart What does the Italian musical term adagio mean? Slow In the suburb of which capital city was actor Russell Crowe born? Wellington "Layla" was originally performed by this band: Derek and the Dominos Sarah Jessica Parker starred in The Family _____. Stone Which actor stars in the series The Rockford Files? James Garner Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Wed 4/14 Chuck Woolery is amazed that Lingo contestant Sara's daily commute to school is how long? 200 Miles What was the subject of the Mark Twain quote Chuck Woolery slips into today's Lingo? Cold summers in San Francisco At the end of Family Feud, what does Richard Karn jokingly say he must have in order to do his job? Pretty girls What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Snap Deal or No Deal contestant Elaine chooses case #14 because, as a 14 year old, she did what? Worked her first job The Deal or No Deal Banker will "double" the size of contestant Elaine's $91,000 offer if she eats what Estonian delicacy? Blood sausage Question of the Day - Best known for her roles in Signs and Little Miss Sunshine, what child actress turns 14 today? Abigail Breslin Which Beatles hit only stayed #1 for one week ? "All You Need Is Love" Which George Gershwin opera featured the fictional Catfish Row, inspired by real-life Cabbage Row in Charleston, SC? Porgy and Bess Tsar Nicholas II of Russia: All the answers are correct The Oscar is a man standing on a reel of film. What is he holding? A sword Adam Sandler played Michael Newman in this movie: Click Who played The Illusionist in the 2006 mystery? Edward Norton What convicted killer had earlier tried to write songs for The Beach Boys? Charles Manson What rock band had the hit "Yellow"? Coldplay Which movie villain wore a black dress and long coat of Dalmatian-spotted fur? Cruella de Vil Whose theme song was "My Time Is Your Time"? Rudy Vallee In 1971, who was the first rock group to appear at New York's Carnegie Hall? Chicago Led Zeppelin performed a song about what hotly contested region on the Pakistan-India border? Kashmir In Gone with the Wind, which university expelled the Tarleton twins? University of Georgia Who won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love and a Tony for Amy's View? Judi Dench Who directed the 1996 thriller, Scream? Wes Craven In which country is The Secret of Roan Inish set? Ireland In Puccini's opera, Suor Angelica, the leading lady dies by: Drinking a poisonous tea In 1977, which country singer married her producer, Brian Ahern, in Novia Scotia, Canada? Emmylou Harris In the film U-Turn, what game does Billy Bob Thornton's character play by himself? Twister Actress Jada Pinkett married which celebrity in 1997? Will Smith "A violent gang member becomes a government experiment," describes which film? A Clockwork Orange This classic film was named: A Night at the ______. Opera Key signature is a/an: Indication of pitch In the film Billy Madison, the title character's love interest is portrayed by: Bridgette Wilson Gloria Estefan sang, "Come on shake your body baby do the ______." Conga Which early actor was an expert gymnast? Douglas Fairbanks A.J. Michalka is a/an: Singer/Songwriter In the film industry, Robert McKee is a famous: Script-writing guru Who was Jerry Lee Lewis' 13-year-old singing cousin that he married? Myra Gale Brown Who did Christian Slater interview in Interview with the Vampire? Tom Cruise (Actually it was Brad Pitt, but GSN has the answer wrong---AGAIN!) What was Daryl Hannah's character in Splash? Madison Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Tues 4/13 How small is Lingo contestant Aulani's hometown in northern Michigan? It has only two stoplights Though it turned out to be "dumpy," Chuck Woolery thought for sure this Lingo was what nonsense word? Dumby Family Feud contestant Lee says what food is good on a hot day? BBQ What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? White Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel stalks the streets of Tallinn, Estonia trying to get people to recognize a photo of whom? Howie Mandel While visiting Estonia's Deal or No Deal, Howie buys the 26 Estonian models what? 13 scarves Question of the Day - 13 years ago today, what prolific golfer won the first 14 major championships? Tiger Woods What was the first animated film to win an Oscar? Spirited Away Who adopted Nicole Richie? Lionel Richie Who produced Michael Jackson's smash LP, Thriller? Quincy Jones Who played the character Catherine Tramell in the movie Basic Instinct? Sharon Stone Which Jaws actor says, "You're gonna need a bigger boat"? Roy Scheider In "Hotel California" what did they do in the master's chambers? Gathered for the feast Who's the record holder for most #1 hits ? The Beatles Haris Alexiou is: A popular Greek singer At the age of 20, Tyra Banks signed with what makeup company? CoverGirl Which of the Seven Dwarfs wears glasses? Doc Which of the following was not a remake of a previous British film? Vanilla Sky Johannes Brahms is known for being which one of the following? Composer What director named the THX sound system after his first movie, THX 1138? George Lucas What Henry Fonda film depicts an accidental nuclear war? Fail-Safe Which author was an uncredited writer on the screenplay for Gone with the Wind: F. Scott Fitzgerald What kind of pet does Barbossa have in Pirates of the Caribbean? Monkey Fill in the missing word in the Charlie Chaplin movie title: City _________. Lights Who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars? Mark Hamill Who had a hit song with "How You Remind Me"? Nickelback Which event brought Mirit and Smadar closer together in Close to Home? An explosion In which cartoon is "Someday My Prince Will Come" sung? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs The song "Ignition" was performed by what scandalized R&B star? R. Kelly Which Audrey Hepburn film features a kiss in the rain, and a wet cat? Breakfast at Tiffany's Where did the Red Hot Chili Peppers form? Los Angeles Fill in the missing lyrics to the 1959 hit: "There Goes My _____". Baby Who's best known for singing the song beginning, "Shot through the heart..."? Jon Bon Jovi Who said: "If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead"? Johnny Carson In which movie do two dogs and a cat attempt to find their way home? Homeward Bound Fill in the blank for the name of the film: I Am a Fugitive from a Chain _______. Gang Who said: "There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls"? George Carlin Which sea goddess do they try to free in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End? Calypso At the end of the Bonus Round, Lingo contestant Alicia is still ignorant of what key piece of information? How much she is playing for Lingo contestant Lenny objects to his girlfriend Kate's characterization of their dog as a what? "Mutt" At the beginning of Family Feud, contestant Juliette astounds Richard by telling him she is the youngest of how many? 27 What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Protege Contestant Kate comes onto the Deal or No Deal stage sporting what special footwear? Ballet slippers What burly gang of do-gooders destroy the Deal or No Deal Banker's car in today's episode? The American Gladiators Question of the Day - On this day in 1633, what Italian physicist was put on trial for saying Earth was not at the Universe's center? Galileo What star of Jaws played the villainous Red Grant in From Russia with Love? Robert Shaw Sigmund Freud was diagnosed as being schizophrenic. False Which of these sisterly acts reunited without LaVerne for a 1974 Broadway show called Over There? The Andrews Sisters What famous old song has the words, "Doodah, Doodah"? "Camptown Races" Elton John sang Circle of Life for which Disney movie? The Lion King What MTV show did Tyrese host? MTV Jams Countdown Who plays the victimized wife in Gaslight (1944)? Ingrid Bergman Who was besieged by Jim Carrey's character in Cable Guy? Matthew Broderick Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh starred in this movie: The Anniversary Party Fill in the name of this Radiohead album: Hail to the _____. Thief Harry Houdini was a: Magician Fill in the blank for the name of the film: Miracle on _________. 34th Street Robert Frost is known for being which one of the following? Poet Who directed the 1992 baseball movie, A League of Their Own? Penny Marshall Whose real name was Streckfus Persons? Truman Capote Where do Stallone and others get trapped in Daylight? In a tunnel In Thelma and Louise, who played Thelma? Geena Davis "Father of the Declaration of Independence" is a nickname for which U.S. President? Thomas Jefferson What bus-centered film did Sandra Bullock participate in? Speed Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia were the same nation under Ivan IV. False This Martin Scorsese film is called: Good_______. Fellas In the movie Titanic the ship is hit and damaged by what? An iceberg Who authored the work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism? Max Weber According to the classic film, what city will Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund always have? Paris What was the subtitle of the first of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films? The Fellowship of the Ring B.J. Thomas' musical genre is which of these? Country What singer and actress played the female lead in the film Arthur? Liza Minnelli Sigourney Weaver interacts with a spaceship computer named MOTHER in this film: Alien Who founded the Egg Pictures production company? Jodie Foster Who starred in six Roger Corman horror movies based on works by Edgar Allan Poe? Vincent Price How many years, in total, were Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn married? Zero Question of the Day - Apollo 13 launched to the moon 40 years ago today. Who starred as the mission commander in the 1995 movie? Tom Hanks Saving Private Ryan is set during: World War II Who did Nicole Kidman play in The Hours? Virginia Woolf What gangster film stars Christopher Walken and Benicio del Toro? The Funeral Lou Gramm and Mick Jones were a part of this band: Foreigner Of these, who starred with Jack Nicholson in the movie Hoffa? Danny DeVito Which teen actress did Jamie Lee Curtis star opposite in Freaky Friday? Lindsay Lohan Fiona Apple sang which of the following songs? "Criminal" The 1998 hit song "Hands" was performed by: Jewel Called the heir to Billie Holiday, who debuted in 1997 with Baduizm? Erykah Badu Susan Weaver took her stage name from what minor character in The Great Gatsby? Sigourney Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney starred in Big ____. Fish Spike Jonze, the director of Being John Malkovich, was once married to: Sophia Coppola On the sci-fi series The Invaders, what's the job of main character David Vincent? Architect The star of The Guns of Navarone was: All the answers are correct This author wrote The Kite Runner. What's the missing first letter in his last name? Khaled _osseini H What star of The Ten Commandments was born as Emanuel Goldenberg? Edward G. Robinson Steve McQueen made a brief comeback after a 4-year hiatus, beginning with: An Enemy of the People Who was the first leading actress to appear nude? Audrey Munson How many problems did Jay-Z have in his 2004 hip-hop hit? Ninety-nine Which movie featured Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, yet never in the same scene? The Godfather: Part II Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and _______ played the amigos in Three Amigos!. Martin Short Lech Walesa, the former President of Poland, won the Noble Peace Prize. True Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie starred in Girl, ____: Interrupted Ozzy Osbourne famously urinated on a monument to what historic event? Battle of the Alamo Who or what is known as the "Oracle of Omaha"? Warren Buffett Liv Tyler's dad is the frontman for which legendary rock band? Aerosmith What film features Jane Fonda as a reporter at a nuclear plant accident? The China Syndrome What comedian had a feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler? Andy Kaufman What role did David Arquette have in Scream? Deputy sheriff What 1979 film gave Steve Martin his first starring role? The Jerk Antonio Banderas played this character: Zorro Question of the Day - What hat-wearing, cane-toting silent film star received an honorary Oscar on this day in 1972? Charlie Chaplin What pet gets killed and cooked in Fatal Attraction? A rabbit Who did Gregory Peck play in To Kill a Mockingbird? Atticus Finch Sherlock Holmes had an older brother named Mycroft. True Arnold Schwarzenegger was the ______ Action Hero. Last Fill in the blank: "Soylent Green is ______!" People "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by: Guns N' Roses Who stars in Beverly Hills Cop? Eddie Murphy David Byrne, singer of Talking Heads, was born in: Scotland In what film does Mia Farrow give birth to Satan's son? Rosemary's Baby In which movie did James Dean play the role of Jim Stark? Rebel Without a Cause For which 1981 film did Henry Fonda win an Oscar? On Golden Pond What Pushing Tin co-star did Angelina Jolie marry in 2000? Billy Bob Thornton Scenes from which other movie appear during the end credits of Blade Runner? The Shining To which actor is Sarah Jessica Parker married? Matthew Broderick Besides her smile, what feature was Marie Osmond best known for in the 1970s? Haircut Anwar Sadat was Egypt's President at the time of the Suez-Sinai War. False Which drug-addled actor was buried in a vampire's cape he had worn on stage? Bela Lugosi This great film was called: Raging ________. Bull Who co-starred with Patrick Stewart in the film X2? Halle Berry Paula Prentiss is an American actress well known for her role in the film: The Stepford Wives In Disney's movie, Mary Poppins, how does she arrive at the children's house? Using an umbrella to fly In what musical would one hear the song "I Feel Pretty"? West Side Story In what decade did the Grateful Dead have a chart hit? 1980s How many movies did Elvis Presley star in between 1956 and 1972? 33 What 1981 film is about the claustrophobic world of a WWII German U-boat? Das Boot With which group would you most associate Freddie Mercury? Queen Fill in the blank: Breakfast at ________. Tiffany's Who said that he called his 1971 film Bananas because there are no bananas in it? Woody Allen Who composed the theme songs for TV sitcoms The Addams Family and Green Acres? Vic Mizzy What studio produced Looney Tunes? Warner Brothers Which was not a Tony Curtis movie? All Fall Down What screen legend does the voice of Doc Hudson in the animated movie Cars? Paul Newman QOD & Trivia Fri 4/9 Question of the Day - What general surrendered to the Union Army on this day in 1865? (Hint: "Dukes of Hazzard" car) Robert E. Lee Do you know which of these songs by Melissa Etheridge was on the album Your Little Secret? "I Want to Come Over" Whose first U.S. album was Hunky Dory in 1971? David Bowie What's the real first name of Cher? Cherilyn Which actor was in both Witness and Regarding Henry? Harrison Ford What's considered the most difficult of all woodwind instruments to play? Oboe What artists teamed up to record the song "Hey Lover"? L.L. Cool J. & Boyz II Men The song "Cry Me a River", by Justin Timberlake, was on which of these albums? Justified "Stella! Hey, Stella!" is yelled in which movie? A Streetcar Named Desire Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston starred in a movie called: The Break-Up What was the real name of The Elephant Man? John Merrick The song "Rescue Me" was performed by: Fontella Bass Which album is not a Beatles project? Sticky Fingers Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino collaborated on which of the following films? All answers are correct Jake Gyllenhaal made his big screen debut in the following film: City Slickers Which director's first feature film was 1969's Take the Money and Run? Woody Allen Queen Mary was the queen of this country: England Which Quentin Tarrantino film is the only one to be based on a book? Jackie Brown Who did Mark Wahlberg play in Boogie Nights? Dirk Diggler What rocker tried his hand at acting with 1984's Give My Regards to Broad Street? Paul McCartney Composer and pianist Franz Liszt was born in: Hungary In the film Dennis the Menace, what is the name of Dennis' dog? Gnasher If you are driving a car in Australia, what side of the road are you on? Left Who directed Toby Maguire in the movie, Spider-Man? Sam Raimi What type of plane does Tom Cruise's character fly in Top Gun? F-14 Which actor appeared in the 1977 film Annie Hall? Woody Allen "Fast" Eddie Parker inspired The Hustler, a movie about what activity? Playing pool What King appeared in both The Lion in Winter and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves? Richard I Who said: "No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along"? Dr. Joyce Brothers Who broke out his Bogart impression in Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective? Peter Falk Mariah Carey debuted on this TV show. The Arsenio Hall Show In The Little Mermaid, Ariel's two best friends are what kinds of sea creatures? A crab and a fish Anne Hathaway was: Ella Enchanted Question of the Day - 36 years ago today, Hank Aaron broke what baseball player's legendary homerun record? Babe Ruth The band Foreigner sang which of these songs? "Hot Blooded" Who developed the vaccine for polio? Jonas Salk Debbie Reynolds played The Unsinkable _________. Molly Brown Who starred as Lara Croft in the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie? Angelina Jolie Which British director made 28 Days Later? Danny Boyle Which actor has not played the American President? Al Pacino Fill in the missing lyrics: "_______ is a place on Earth". Heaven Which comedy starring Bette Midler told the story of twins mixed up at birth? Big Business This actress starred opposite Patrick Swayze in the movie Dirty Dancing: Jennifer Grey Who of the following was President of the United States: Jimmy Carter What was the name of Dire straits' debut album? Dire Straits In which movie would one hear, "We've always believed we weren't alone. On July 4th, we'll wish we were."? Independence Day Which Wilson brother plays a washed-up tennis player in The Royal Tenenbaums? Luke Wilson What was Frank Sinatra's middle name? Albert No Angel was the debut album of this singer: Dido What musical's songs include "Maria", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Do-Re-Mi" and "Edelweiss"? Sound of Music Luke Wilson began dating Drew Barrymore after working with her in which film? Home Fries A movie, starring Radha Mitchell, was based on this video game: Silent Hill Bruce Willis played an oil driller named Harry Stamper in Armageddon. True Who said: "Sadness is a cold hot dog and a warm Coke"? Charlie Brown Hank Azaria was married to this actress: Helen Hunt Rock and R&B great Fats Domino was known as: The Fat Man Who played one of Billy's immature friends in Billy Madison? Norm Macdonald What rock group was the documentary The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle about? Sex Pistols What is Garfunkel's first name? Art What actor was in the 1965 flick For a Few Dollars More? Clint Eastwood Who plays Goose's wife in Top Gun? Meg Ryan Who played characters Jack Wyatt and Darrin in the 2005 Bewitched movie? Will Ferrell Which member of The Beatles married a woman whose name means "ocean child" in Japanese? John Lennon Who played the "unsinkable" Molly Brown in 1997's Titanic? Kathy Bates Usher's album Confessions featured one of these songs. Which one? "Burn" What director edits his movies so they have 106-minute running times? M. Night Shyamalan Dummyville and Multiple Accounts UPDATED: Here is the response I received today (finally) from GSN. Everyone in your house can have their own separate account. Also, you can't use the same email address for more than one account. One person may not have more than one account. If a person has more than one account it's considered fraud and they can lose any winnings or Oodles they accumulate in the Oodles program. Hopefully, this clears up the issue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey everyone! I just received this comment from someone who has had accounts closed when trying to redeem for prizes: Anonymous said... Listen up all! I signed up and played Dummyville. On my account, I listed my friends and family (some of which live at the same address). Now, every time any of us try to redeem a prize, they close our account with no warning or explanation. When I contact them, they claim it is a duplicate account and therefore it has been closed and any prize redeemed, lost. What the?!??? Some of these accounts have close to 180,000 Oodles and another 50 spins saved up. Lots of work down the drain. It's just not fair! Anyone else having this problem? PS I don't know if you are willing or even want to, but you might make a seperate post for people to notice this. I'm concerned it could be a problem for many out there and would like to know if I am alone. Here is what the Official Rules say: You cannot have more than one Account. GSN may, at any time, require you to verify your name and address by means of faxing or mailing to GSN a copy of your driver's license, passport or other form of identification approved by GSN, in addition to providing GSN with a signed statement of legitimacy; and GSN may automatically require such verification in the case of multiple accounts from the same address, household, computer or IP address. If you attempt to obtain more than one Account, all Oodles in your Account may be forfeited, and GSN may, at its sole discretion, terminate your membership and permanently ban you from using the Website and/or any other GSN service. Additional or different eligibility criteria may apply to certain opportunities to earn Oodles and other invitations made by the Program Entities or their business partners. Limit one (1) Account per person. The Program is provided to individuals only. Corporations, associations, or other groups may not participate in the Program. It is fraudulent for any individual, company, club, association or group to use or to direct, encourage, or allow other persons to use a single Account for the purpose of accumulating or aggregating Oodles for combined use, unless such use is expressly permitted by GSN. I sent GSN an email today to clarify their position. I used the example of my roommate and me (even though he no longer participates). We'll see what they say. Question of the Day - Nicknamed the "Duke," what actor won his only Academy Award on this day in 1970? John Wayne Who starred as the title character in the 1960 Walt Disney film Pollyanna? Hayley Mills In which town does Buffy the Vampire Slayer take place? Sunnydale In 1954, the very female Mary Martin won an Emmy and a Tony for playing a male role in what production? Peter Pan "It's Gonna Be a Cold Cold Christmas" was a 1975 hit for which recent Irish presidential candidate? Dana What's the name of the family in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Griswold Who played Dustin Hoffman's sardonic roommate in Tootsie? Bill Murray In Midnight Cowboy, what was the nickname of Enrico Salvatore Rizzo? Ratso What film has the line, "Blessed are the cheesemakers."? Life of Brian What pop duo was George Michael a part of before he went solo? Wham! Who sang "Evil Woman"? Black Sabbath On Knight Rider, "KITT" was a: Car In which film does Keanu Reeves work at the Devil's law firm? Devil's Advocate What was Chicago's first #1 single? "If You Leave Me Now" Bruce Willis starred in this movie: The Kid In 1990, who bought one of Buddy Holly's guitars at auction for $242,000? Gary Busey In Escape from New York, what has Manhattan been turned into in the future? A prison Storms of _______ was Randy Travis' platinum album of 1986. Life What Jackson 5 #1 hit from 1970 became a #1 hit for Mariah Carey in 1992? "I'll Be There" R&B group Blackstreet teamed up with Dr. Dre on which of the following songs? "No Diggity" Which of the following bands plays most of their songs with their guitars tuned half a tone down? Alice in Chains Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight co-starred in: Deliverance In The Shaggy Dog, who does Dave live with? His wife and kids Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz starred in this 2005 film: The Constant Gardener Andrew Lloyd _______ , composer, lists Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar to his credit. Webber Who was nominated for Oscars twice in the same year, both times for playing 1950s housewives? Julianne Moore Groucho Marx played Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff in _______ Feathers. Horse In which famous tunnel does the spectacular finale of Mission: Impossible take place? Channel Tunnel For what 1999 movie did Kevin Spacey win the Best Actor Oscar? American Beauty What is the title of the Bond film that is based on a conversation Sean Connery had about his experience as 007? Never Say Never Again A lovesick Bobby Goldsboro recorded this hit song: "Honey" This metal band had the song "Silent Lucidity", on the album Empire. Queensryche This/these artist(s) had the song "Show Me the Way", on the album Edge of the Century. Styx Today's GSN Live Oodles Results - Tues 4/6 How does Lingo's Chuck Woolery define the made-up word "spraa"? "A bra that breaks" After stumbling on "leach," Lingo contestant Brian is told by his partner Lindsay to do what? "Stop spelling!" During Fast Money, Family Feud contestant Michelle associates what commercial product with Ireland? Irish Spring Soap What was today's Secret Word on GSN Live? Pigeons Contestant Brad tells Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel he would like to bulldoze what? His own house How does Deal or No Deal contestant Brian first translate Chewbacca's throaty moaning? "Go for the money!" Question of the Day - The first modern Olympics were held on this day in 1896. In what Greek city did they take place? Athens Marlon Brando appeared in Last Tango in ______. Paris What swimmer played Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Tarzan in movies? Buster Crabbe She was one of The Eurythmics. Annie Lennox Sean Connery plays a soviet submarine captain in which film? Hunt for Red October "Chickadee" was a term often used by what classic comedian? W.C. Fields Which German film dealt specifically with the changes in Germany after the fall of the Berlin wall? Goodbye Lenin What comedian often joked about his old Maxwell car? Jack Benny Who played Willy Loman in the 1984 television revival of Death of a Salesman? Dustin Hoffman In Gone with the Wind, Scarlett does not marry which of the following men? Ashley Wilkes This 1980 film is called: Atlantic ________. City In the movie Sideways, the main character loved this wine: Pinot Noir In which film did Eddie Murphy play "Prince Akeem of Zamunda"? Coming to America Who directed the 1991 movie Hook? Steven Spielberg Who was the king of England when the American Revolution began? George III Fill in the blank for the name of the German film: Run _____ Run. Lola Which movie does Meg Ryan allude to in Sleepless in Seattle? An Affair to Remember What was the film sequel to Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta? Staying Alive Which of the Three Tenors was born in Barcelona? Jose Carreras For which comedy Western did Lee Marvin win an Oscar, for playing twin brothers? Cat Ballou What team does Jimmy Fallon root for in 2005's Fever Pitch? Red Sox How old was Loretta Lynn when she became a grandmother the first time? 29 What was the copacetic nickname of ice-cream-loving Bill Robinson? Bojangles Who was married to Jack Nicholson in The Shining? Shelley Duvall What 1978 movie musical did Bee Gees member Barry Gibb write the theme song for? Grease In Batman Returns, Michelle Pfeiffer modifies a neon sign to say "Hell Here." What did it say originally? Hello There Tom Cruise played a young stock car driver in what 1990 flick? Days of Thunder This classic film was named: How Green Was My ______. Valley His real name was William Henry Pratt, but what was his stage name? Boris Karloff Renee Zellweger's co-star in Nurse Betty was: Greg Kinnear Where is there a monument of musician Frank Zappa's head balanced on a pole? Lithuania Who's the Australian rock group whose 1985 hit album was TNT? AC/DC In which 2001 movie did Bernie Mac play the character Frank Catton? Ocean's Eleven Question of the Day - Known by many for his role as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, what actor was born on this day in 1916? Gregory Peck This Jodie Foster film finds a "wild child" alone on an island. Nell Who directed The Game, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn? David Fincher Who of the following is not a member of the original lineup of KISS? Pete Doherty What was supposedly the first rock 'n' roll song to use a string section? "There Goes My Baby" Jennifer Aniston and Vin Diesel supplied their voices for this animated feature: The Iron Giant This early king is known as "the man who made England": Alfred the Great What was the name of the 1984 sequel to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan the Barbarian? Conan the Destroyer Carole Lombard says, "Stand still, Godfrey, it'll all be over in a minute," in: My Man Godfrey Which well-known band did Dave Navarro play in before The Red Hot Chili Peppers? Jane's Addiction Who starred in Coma? Michael Douglas Which musical term means a musical introduction to a composition or drama? Prelude Bill Murray starred in: Scrooged In 1972, who became Sports Illustrated's first female Sportsman of the Year? Billie Jean King Copernicus was a scientist. True "We're caught in a trap" is the first line from this Elvis Presley song: "Suspicious Minds" The tagline, "Get Ready to Jam," comes from what 1996 movie? Space Jam Which actor plays "El Mariachi" in Desperado? Antonio Banderas Who said, "Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes"? Robert Altman In which film is Robin Williams first seen with a tiger? Jumanji Who said, "I want to be alone," in Grand Hotel? Greta Garbo Which actor traded faces with Nicolas Cage in Face/Off? John Travolta Chuck Norris made a series of Rambo-style films in the '80s called: Missing in Action Which of the following actors hasn't played Batman on the big screen? Liam Neeson What was Pierce Brosnan's last film as James Bond? Die Another Day Teri Hatcher and Danny Aiello were in the dark comedy, _______ in the Valley. Two Days Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of Argentina. False What was the original title of the Pixar movie Cars? Route 66 Assault on Precinct 13 was remade with which actor in the lead? Ethan Hawke In 2004, Mel Gibson directed, produced and co-wrote what controversial movie? Passion of the Christ Casablanca starred: Humphrey Bogart For what 1998 film did Roberto Benigni take home the Oscar for Best Actor? Life Is Beautiful Jane Fonda and Jeff Bridges starred in this movie: The Morning After

i don't know

Name the 2004 movie from its’ IMDB plot summary: “A hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer.”

Million Dollar Baby Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb Hide Spoilers: Page 7 of 112: 13 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Coping with Elevated Expectations Author: jryan-4 29 January 2005 It's always difficult to be objective about a film like Million Dollar Baby. It's winning all the awards and getting lots of tens. When I walk into a theater to see something like this, the flick is already competing with Citizen Kane and Gone With the wind (or in this case Raging Bull and Somebody Up There Likes Me) rather than Kangaroo Jack or the Ghosts of Edendale. I tend to become hyper-critical on such occasions which negatively affects my ability to sustain disbelief. Since I am a boxing historian, this tendency particularly pervades my perception of boxing movies all of which seem way too fake and over-simplified as compared to the sport itself. One time I was covering a fight for Ring magazine and I walked into the dressing room where a manager was trying to force his fighter's fists into a pair of thumb-less gloves.A ruling had recently been passed in New York that preliminary fighters must wear thumb-less gloves as a measure to reduce eye injuries. This fighter had never even seen a pair of thumb-less gloves until five minutes before he was supposed to go into the ring against a local betting favorite. The scene in that dressing room ( "I ain't wearing those f------ things") was far more dramatic than anything I've ever seen in a boxing film and these guys weren't even in the ring yet. So boxing films can best be viewed as metaphors and as metaphors they can not be taken literally. Only in movies do fighters score one punch first round knockouts over and over again. Only in movies do fighters foul as obviously and flagrantly as do the heavies in the movies. On an on and on. So I'm sitting in the theater, aware of the maudlin, manipulating nature of the metaphor. I'm sort of rolling my eyes at the phoniness of it all, the clichés, the straight from Of Mice and Men story about Axel the Dog and the foreshadowing implicit within the tale. The too familiar technique of Morgan Freeman voice over. Certainly, our nation's critics couldn't be falling for this crap could they? And then, somehow, I too began to fall for it. I gave up the resistance which was futile anyway. I started pulling for Swank, the actress and Eastwood the director.Let's face it, Eastwood passed John Wayne as the the most iconic of American actors about five years ago and now he takes his place with Scorcese amongst our best directors and here he is playing an old man with no intention of getting the girl. At this point, I'm rooting for Clint more than ever and I've always been on his side ever since the days of Rowdy Yates in Rawhide. Freeman, yeah, we've sen this before too but ya know what? The reason we see it so often is because it works. I don't know what the thing with "Danger" was all about but even that worked sorta. And Swank. Top of her game.I'll be a fan forever. By the end, I forgot about the thumb-less gloves and the career of Clint and Glory and Insomnia and everything else except that I was sitting in a movie theater watching a great movie with my wife and daughter and all three of us were getting something from the film, something different for each of us, something we won't be able to articulate but may come back someday and provide us with courage and resilience in the clutch when we're on the ropes. Was the above review useful to you? 15 out of 26 people found the following review useful: very very moving 8 March 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** My congratulations to Mr. Eastwood for sharing this very moving story with me, and the rest of the world really. Its is a very much talked about issue, deciding to end the suffering of a patient in much pain. I don't know if I could do it, you know, help someone to end it. Although I totally understand that she made this derision. I'm from the Netherlands so excuse my poor English. I wish I could say it in Dutch I would sound a lot wiser lol. But next to the PERFECT performances of the three main actors, I have to say something in favor of the Dutch lady who worked real hard on this film as well. Lucia Rijker, she trained miss Swank, and she played the part of the not so much loved Billie "the blue bear", yep the one who messed up Maggie's life. She did play Billie good, for starters, and she did an amazing job on miss Swank. I'm so proud of her. Very well done Lucia Rijker, I'm super-proud of you, you earned the Oscar as well. I see and agree with all the congrats to Mr. Eastwood and Miss Swank and Mr. Freeman. I just had to congratulate Miss Rijker as well. I loved the emotional side that Mr. Eastwood showed, he done it before I know, but I just love it when he does that. My dad loves his work as well, and I will tell my dad to go see Million dollar Baby with my mom. They will be moved just like I am. Was the above review useful to you? 16 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Hollywood Failure from Australia 2 July 2006 What a waste of talent, This movie did not only make me sick to the gut with its pathetic story line, it also bored me to endless tears to see two talented actors in such a dreary and unfufilling movie. My advice is for anyone that hasn't seen this movie and is thinking of watching it Don't BOTHER. This movie is not worth the film that is printed on. I would recommend If you decide to watch it that you have either a shotgun, so ounce the movie is finished, you can blow your brains out because after seeing a movie like this you will realise that Hollywood has finally come to a dreary end and they are making movies worse and worse every day. Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Superb! from India 21 August 2010 Clint Eastwood is a legendary film personality. I am a great fan of his. As an actor, I had my reservations with him, but as a storyteller, I have truly inhaled him. 'Million Dollar Baby' is amongst his finest films, a superb film, that almost reaches a Landmark level! About a hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. 'Million Dollar Baby' begins with some humor, then it improves itself into becoming a motivational punch, but ends as a dry and depressing saga. I adored almost everything about the film, except the final 20-25 minutes. The culmination is very depressing. In fact, one just doesn't imagine it would have to end this way! But in all fairness, this one is a winner! Eastwood's understanding to the subject is objective and that's biggest plus point. Tom Stern's Cinematography is splendid. Joel Cox's editing is razor-sharp. In the acting department, Hilary Swank delivers a Knock-out performance. She is the life of the show. Morgan Freeman is wonderfully restrained. Eastwood's performance, is a pure of example, of apt multi-tasking. Jay Baruchel as Danger, is flawless. Anthony Mackie is his usual self. Brian F. O'Byrne is passable. On the whole, the list of accolades this 2004 flick received is truly unprecedented. It's got a legendary tag. From this writer, Thumbs Up! Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Great Drama! from United States 27 March 2009 Million Dollar Baby is a great, moving story. This is a movie that sort of deserved the Best Picture award. Nearly all the actors did a fantastic job especially Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood stars as a grumpy boxing trainer. He trained some of the best over his long career. Then he meets a poor girl with ambition of winning boxing fights. But, Frankie is reluctant to train the girl, Maggie. He eventually gives in and things happen that are destined to change lives. As I said before, the acting is superb. Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank all gave great performances. The story is a moving one. You do not have to be into sports to see and understand the intense drama. You should expect to have a few tears during this film. Overall, Clint Eastwood did a great job. He had a wonderful career acting and directing films. I rate this film 9/10. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Fighting in and out of the ring 26 February 2007 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Clint Eastwood is really making his mark as a director. In fact, I'd say that he's an even better director than he is (and was) an actor. He took a seemingly slow, passive, uneventful tale of a woman boxer and made it into something deeply moving and mesmerizing. I was easily wrapped into the main characters as they were intriguing and the actors did such a great job. There are rarely fairytale endings in real life, and the writers should be credited for being courageous enough to explore and present a dark ending. We were swept from the joyous emergence of a promising young female boxer who was beating every opponent, to her sudden and tragic fall into the fight of her life on her death bed and the battle with the decision of euthanasia. This movie was so excellent because it could have just as easily been poorly done. With the wrong actors, or wrong director, or wrong writers, this could have been a long sappy drawn out tragedy. I extend my compliments to a movie that made a person that dreads dramas and romance actually stay locked in. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Million Dollar Baby (Top notch) 20 April 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** First let's start with the undeniable respect for Mr. Clint Eastwood. Producing, directing, and starring in a film is a lot on anyone's plate but Eastwood shows effortless masterwork. Clint Eastwood gives the performance of his career even better than his other Oscar nominated performance in "Unforgiven." His voice hasn't been raspier and we've never seen him so bare in character. His scene that proves the worthiness of the performance is his scene when he's in the church crying. There's no performance in 2004 that shows more nakedness and more emotion than that of Eastwood's. Hilary Swank also gives a performance worth remembering. Her character of Maggie is entirely lovable and believable at all times throughout the film. You love her from the very second you get your eyes on her. The real triumph of her performance is the entire last 1/3 of the film. From the moment of her being paralyzed you feel every bit of pain she feels and every tear she sheds you shed with her. She completely embodied herself into the character. Despite the breathtaking performance I still wouldn't give her the Oscar for the 2nd time. The nomination nonetheless was very well deserved. Morgan Freeman was one of the most overdue actors working today prior to "Million Dollar Baby." The performance was very good but not one of his best. His win was a celebration of all his fantastic films that went unnoticed by the Academy. (The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy, Street Smart) He is a very talented man showing many ranges in his impressive career from drama to comedy and back to drama again. You can't help but love "Scrap." Every line Freeman delivers in the film either gets a laugh or just utterly scene stealing from his co-stars Eastwood and Swank. If it wasn't for his overdue status going into the Oscars I wouldn't of gave him the Oscar. If were going on solely performance Clive Owen from "Closer" definitely out-did him. Nonetheless Freeman's impressive career made him the prime candidate of winning his long overdue Oscar. Clint Eastwood directs this film to utter perfection. Its dark lighting gave the exact mood of each scene and beautiful musical score is remarkable. He is truly one of the most gifted people in Hollywood. One underrated performance of the film goes to Jay Baruchel who plays Danger Barch, the wannabe boxer. His character is like the others likable and I feel he was the true breakthrough of the film just like Thomas Guiry was last year in Eastwood's nominated "Mystic River." "Million Dollar Baby was a pleasant experience and if it doesn't beat on your heart's door than there's no heart in there at all. (Million Dollar Baby Awards Worthiness: Best Picture Best Actor-Clint Eastwood Best Actress-Hilary Swank Best Supporting Actor-Morgan Freeman Best Director-Clint Eastwood Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography Grade: A Post-Oscars Ceremony) Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Clint Eastwood Displays His Talent Again 12 April 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I really consider Clint Eastwood as one of the most charismatic persons of the film industry. While starting up with macho roles in movies like "Dirty Hurry" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", he completely changed course later on and started doing very sophisticated, and even art, films, such as "Mystic River" and "Bird". "Million Dollar Baby" is a prime example of Clistwood's genius. The story is about Maggie (Swank), a female boxer, who has nothing else in her life than her boxing talent. Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) is a tired, old coach, whom she approaches and he grudgingly decides to take her after Eddie "Scrup-Iron" (Freeman), his assistant and pal, persuades him to. The girl proves to be a very promising athlete, and she climbs the ladder of success very swiftly. Frankie starts to feel very close with her, as she reminds him of his long-gone daughter. Things however get very nasty when Maggie suffers from a serious accident, and everything now gets turned upside down... All the Oscars in this film (nominations and winnings), are well deserved: Eastwood provides us with an A-class direction, as he portrays us a dark world of losers where boxing is their only way for them to feel they have a purpose in life. The leading trio (Eastwood, Swank, Freeman) are so superb in their roles, that it is almost impossible for me to distinguish among them. All in all, the film describes a sad story, very well told, which cannot leave you untouched. 9/10. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Great Movie from Portland, USA 26 March 2005 I could write a review of this movie and point to all the reason why I liked it... but I would rather talk about something else. We all have different views on things. Film is art and art is subjective. I find more and more on the IMDb people make their posts as if their view the absolute truth. many arm chair film critics and wannabe film bluffs add their two cents with righteousness than is offensive. Reading the various posts about this movie only makes my point. One person "FreddyShoop" says, "It is not the best film of the year, but probably in the top ten." He then proceeds to vote it as a one. Now he is certainly entitled to his opinion, but their are so many contradictions in the voting that I no longer have any faith in the voting totals. Personally I cannot see how anyone could vote this movie a one. The acting is good. The look of the film in brilliant. Not your cup of tea? Okay... but a one. No better than Police Academy 5 or Battlefield Earth? I'm not talking total votes... I'm just pointing out that people gave those films a one... In fact if you go to the highest rated film on the entire IMDb, "The Godafather" you will see that 119,493 people voted for it (as of this writing) and that out of those 7,229 people gave it a one! Incredible! Now I am not saying the people who gave it a one are not entitled to their opinion (even though I cannot understand how anyone could ever reach that conclusion) what I am saying is that I find the voting system to be misused. People seem to either vote in 10's and 1's. More thought should be given to make the votes more reliable. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: why the title? 11 March 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I'm still puzzled as to why it is called "Million Dollar Baby"? There seems to be no reference to it either in the film. What i gathered, however, was that Hillary's character was in a way a baby? to Frankie since his child has abandoned him or vice versa. And the million dollar would come from the money that she had made out of her unfortunately shortened career. I don't know. These are just my reflections. Or did i miss something? I hope someone can offer something concrete because the title is in a way fascinating and somehow odd i felt.on another note, i felt that this film was really an experience for me with its roller coaster of emotions. At the end of it, i was just in awe of it. Was the above review useful to you? Page 7 of 112:

Million Dollar Baby

The Pips where the backing singers for what “Empress of Soul”?

Million Dollar Baby Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb Hide Spoilers: Page 7 of 112: 13 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Coping with Elevated Expectations Author: jryan-4 29 January 2005 It's always difficult to be objective about a film like Million Dollar Baby. It's winning all the awards and getting lots of tens. When I walk into a theater to see something like this, the flick is already competing with Citizen Kane and Gone With the wind (or in this case Raging Bull and Somebody Up There Likes Me) rather than Kangaroo Jack or the Ghosts of Edendale. I tend to become hyper-critical on such occasions which negatively affects my ability to sustain disbelief. Since I am a boxing historian, this tendency particularly pervades my perception of boxing movies all of which seem way too fake and over-simplified as compared to the sport itself. One time I was covering a fight for Ring magazine and I walked into the dressing room where a manager was trying to force his fighter's fists into a pair of thumb-less gloves.A ruling had recently been passed in New York that preliminary fighters must wear thumb-less gloves as a measure to reduce eye injuries. This fighter had never even seen a pair of thumb-less gloves until five minutes before he was supposed to go into the ring against a local betting favorite. The scene in that dressing room ( "I ain't wearing those f------ things") was far more dramatic than anything I've ever seen in a boxing film and these guys weren't even in the ring yet. So boxing films can best be viewed as metaphors and as metaphors they can not be taken literally. Only in movies do fighters score one punch first round knockouts over and over again. Only in movies do fighters foul as obviously and flagrantly as do the heavies in the movies. On an on and on. So I'm sitting in the theater, aware of the maudlin, manipulating nature of the metaphor. I'm sort of rolling my eyes at the phoniness of it all, the clichés, the straight from Of Mice and Men story about Axel the Dog and the foreshadowing implicit within the tale. The too familiar technique of Morgan Freeman voice over. Certainly, our nation's critics couldn't be falling for this crap could they? And then, somehow, I too began to fall for it. I gave up the resistance which was futile anyway. I started pulling for Swank, the actress and Eastwood the director.Let's face it, Eastwood passed John Wayne as the the most iconic of American actors about five years ago and now he takes his place with Scorcese amongst our best directors and here he is playing an old man with no intention of getting the girl. At this point, I'm rooting for Clint more than ever and I've always been on his side ever since the days of Rowdy Yates in Rawhide. Freeman, yeah, we've sen this before too but ya know what? The reason we see it so often is because it works. I don't know what the thing with "Danger" was all about but even that worked sorta. And Swank. Top of her game.I'll be a fan forever. By the end, I forgot about the thumb-less gloves and the career of Clint and Glory and Insomnia and everything else except that I was sitting in a movie theater watching a great movie with my wife and daughter and all three of us were getting something from the film, something different for each of us, something we won't be able to articulate but may come back someday and provide us with courage and resilience in the clutch when we're on the ropes. Was the above review useful to you? 15 out of 26 people found the following review useful: very very moving 8 March 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** My congratulations to Mr. Eastwood for sharing this very moving story with me, and the rest of the world really. Its is a very much talked about issue, deciding to end the suffering of a patient in much pain. I don't know if I could do it, you know, help someone to end it. Although I totally understand that she made this derision. I'm from the Netherlands so excuse my poor English. I wish I could say it in Dutch I would sound a lot wiser lol. But next to the PERFECT performances of the three main actors, I have to say something in favor of the Dutch lady who worked real hard on this film as well. Lucia Rijker, she trained miss Swank, and she played the part of the not so much loved Billie "the blue bear", yep the one who messed up Maggie's life. She did play Billie good, for starters, and she did an amazing job on miss Swank. I'm so proud of her. Very well done Lucia Rijker, I'm super-proud of you, you earned the Oscar as well. I see and agree with all the congrats to Mr. Eastwood and Miss Swank and Mr. Freeman. I just had to congratulate Miss Rijker as well. I loved the emotional side that Mr. Eastwood showed, he done it before I know, but I just love it when he does that. My dad loves his work as well, and I will tell my dad to go see Million dollar Baby with my mom. They will be moved just like I am. Was the above review useful to you? 16 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Hollywood Failure from Australia 2 July 2006 What a waste of talent, This movie did not only make me sick to the gut with its pathetic story line, it also bored me to endless tears to see two talented actors in such a dreary and unfufilling movie. My advice is for anyone that hasn't seen this movie and is thinking of watching it Don't BOTHER. This movie is not worth the film that is printed on. I would recommend If you decide to watch it that you have either a shotgun, so ounce the movie is finished, you can blow your brains out because after seeing a movie like this you will realise that Hollywood has finally come to a dreary end and they are making movies worse and worse every day. Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Superb! from India 21 August 2010 Clint Eastwood is a legendary film personality. I am a great fan of his. As an actor, I had my reservations with him, but as a storyteller, I have truly inhaled him. 'Million Dollar Baby' is amongst his finest films, a superb film, that almost reaches a Landmark level! About a hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. 'Million Dollar Baby' begins with some humor, then it improves itself into becoming a motivational punch, but ends as a dry and depressing saga. I adored almost everything about the film, except the final 20-25 minutes. The culmination is very depressing. In fact, one just doesn't imagine it would have to end this way! But in all fairness, this one is a winner! Eastwood's understanding to the subject is objective and that's biggest plus point. Tom Stern's Cinematography is splendid. Joel Cox's editing is razor-sharp. In the acting department, Hilary Swank delivers a Knock-out performance. She is the life of the show. Morgan Freeman is wonderfully restrained. Eastwood's performance, is a pure of example, of apt multi-tasking. Jay Baruchel as Danger, is flawless. Anthony Mackie is his usual self. Brian F. O'Byrne is passable. On the whole, the list of accolades this 2004 flick received is truly unprecedented. It's got a legendary tag. From this writer, Thumbs Up! Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Great Drama! from United States 27 March 2009 Million Dollar Baby is a great, moving story. This is a movie that sort of deserved the Best Picture award. Nearly all the actors did a fantastic job especially Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood stars as a grumpy boxing trainer. He trained some of the best over his long career. Then he meets a poor girl with ambition of winning boxing fights. But, Frankie is reluctant to train the girl, Maggie. He eventually gives in and things happen that are destined to change lives. As I said before, the acting is superb. Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank all gave great performances. The story is a moving one. You do not have to be into sports to see and understand the intense drama. You should expect to have a few tears during this film. Overall, Clint Eastwood did a great job. He had a wonderful career acting and directing films. I rate this film 9/10. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Fighting in and out of the ring 26 February 2007 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Clint Eastwood is really making his mark as a director. In fact, I'd say that he's an even better director than he is (and was) an actor. He took a seemingly slow, passive, uneventful tale of a woman boxer and made it into something deeply moving and mesmerizing. I was easily wrapped into the main characters as they were intriguing and the actors did such a great job. There are rarely fairytale endings in real life, and the writers should be credited for being courageous enough to explore and present a dark ending. We were swept from the joyous emergence of a promising young female boxer who was beating every opponent, to her sudden and tragic fall into the fight of her life on her death bed and the battle with the decision of euthanasia. This movie was so excellent because it could have just as easily been poorly done. With the wrong actors, or wrong director, or wrong writers, this could have been a long sappy drawn out tragedy. I extend my compliments to a movie that made a person that dreads dramas and romance actually stay locked in. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Million Dollar Baby (Top notch) 20 April 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** First let's start with the undeniable respect for Mr. Clint Eastwood. Producing, directing, and starring in a film is a lot on anyone's plate but Eastwood shows effortless masterwork. Clint Eastwood gives the performance of his career even better than his other Oscar nominated performance in "Unforgiven." His voice hasn't been raspier and we've never seen him so bare in character. His scene that proves the worthiness of the performance is his scene when he's in the church crying. There's no performance in 2004 that shows more nakedness and more emotion than that of Eastwood's. Hilary Swank also gives a performance worth remembering. Her character of Maggie is entirely lovable and believable at all times throughout the film. You love her from the very second you get your eyes on her. The real triumph of her performance is the entire last 1/3 of the film. From the moment of her being paralyzed you feel every bit of pain she feels and every tear she sheds you shed with her. She completely embodied herself into the character. Despite the breathtaking performance I still wouldn't give her the Oscar for the 2nd time. The nomination nonetheless was very well deserved. Morgan Freeman was one of the most overdue actors working today prior to "Million Dollar Baby." The performance was very good but not one of his best. His win was a celebration of all his fantastic films that went unnoticed by the Academy. (The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy, Street Smart) He is a very talented man showing many ranges in his impressive career from drama to comedy and back to drama again. You can't help but love "Scrap." Every line Freeman delivers in the film either gets a laugh or just utterly scene stealing from his co-stars Eastwood and Swank. If it wasn't for his overdue status going into the Oscars I wouldn't of gave him the Oscar. If were going on solely performance Clive Owen from "Closer" definitely out-did him. Nonetheless Freeman's impressive career made him the prime candidate of winning his long overdue Oscar. Clint Eastwood directs this film to utter perfection. Its dark lighting gave the exact mood of each scene and beautiful musical score is remarkable. He is truly one of the most gifted people in Hollywood. One underrated performance of the film goes to Jay Baruchel who plays Danger Barch, the wannabe boxer. His character is like the others likable and I feel he was the true breakthrough of the film just like Thomas Guiry was last year in Eastwood's nominated "Mystic River." "Million Dollar Baby was a pleasant experience and if it doesn't beat on your heart's door than there's no heart in there at all. (Million Dollar Baby Awards Worthiness: Best Picture Best Actor-Clint Eastwood Best Actress-Hilary Swank Best Supporting Actor-Morgan Freeman Best Director-Clint Eastwood Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography Grade: A Post-Oscars Ceremony) Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Clint Eastwood Displays His Talent Again 12 April 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I really consider Clint Eastwood as one of the most charismatic persons of the film industry. While starting up with macho roles in movies like "Dirty Hurry" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", he completely changed course later on and started doing very sophisticated, and even art, films, such as "Mystic River" and "Bird". "Million Dollar Baby" is a prime example of Clistwood's genius. The story is about Maggie (Swank), a female boxer, who has nothing else in her life than her boxing talent. Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) is a tired, old coach, whom she approaches and he grudgingly decides to take her after Eddie "Scrup-Iron" (Freeman), his assistant and pal, persuades him to. The girl proves to be a very promising athlete, and she climbs the ladder of success very swiftly. Frankie starts to feel very close with her, as she reminds him of his long-gone daughter. Things however get very nasty when Maggie suffers from a serious accident, and everything now gets turned upside down... All the Oscars in this film (nominations and winnings), are well deserved: Eastwood provides us with an A-class direction, as he portrays us a dark world of losers where boxing is their only way for them to feel they have a purpose in life. The leading trio (Eastwood, Swank, Freeman) are so superb in their roles, that it is almost impossible for me to distinguish among them. All in all, the film describes a sad story, very well told, which cannot leave you untouched. 9/10. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Great Movie from Portland, USA 26 March 2005 I could write a review of this movie and point to all the reason why I liked it... but I would rather talk about something else. We all have different views on things. Film is art and art is subjective. I find more and more on the IMDb people make their posts as if their view the absolute truth. many arm chair film critics and wannabe film bluffs add their two cents with righteousness than is offensive. Reading the various posts about this movie only makes my point. One person "FreddyShoop" says, "It is not the best film of the year, but probably in the top ten." He then proceeds to vote it as a one. Now he is certainly entitled to his opinion, but their are so many contradictions in the voting that I no longer have any faith in the voting totals. Personally I cannot see how anyone could vote this movie a one. The acting is good. The look of the film in brilliant. Not your cup of tea? Okay... but a one. No better than Police Academy 5 or Battlefield Earth? I'm not talking total votes... I'm just pointing out that people gave those films a one... In fact if you go to the highest rated film on the entire IMDb, "The Godafather" you will see that 119,493 people voted for it (as of this writing) and that out of those 7,229 people gave it a one! Incredible! Now I am not saying the people who gave it a one are not entitled to their opinion (even though I cannot understand how anyone could ever reach that conclusion) what I am saying is that I find the voting system to be misused. People seem to either vote in 10's and 1's. More thought should be given to make the votes more reliable. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: why the title? 11 March 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I'm still puzzled as to why it is called "Million Dollar Baby"? There seems to be no reference to it either in the film. What i gathered, however, was that Hillary's character was in a way a baby? to Frankie since his child has abandoned him or vice versa. And the million dollar would come from the money that she had made out of her unfortunately shortened career. I don't know. These are just my reflections. Or did i miss something? I hope someone can offer something concrete because the title is in a way fascinating and somehow odd i felt.on another note, i felt that this film was really an experience for me with its roller coaster of emotions. At the end of it, i was just in awe of it. Was the above review useful to you? Page 7 of 112:

i don't know