AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Sarria was born in San Francisco to Julio Sarria and Maria Dolores Maldonado on December 22, 1922. His parents did not marry. His father showed no interest in raising him. José's mother tried to raise him on her own. This became too difficult. She placed him with another couple. Both they and his mother indulged his early interest in wearing girls' clothing. Sarria had a talent for languages. This led to his first serious romance with another man. Sarria tutored Paul Kolish. Kolish was an Austrian baron who had fled from the Nazis. Sarria and Kolish fell in love. Their relationship lasted until Kolish and his son were killed in a car accident in 1947.
Sarria served in the United States Army during World War II. He studied to become a teacher after his discharge. He often went to the Black Cat Bar. He met waiter Jimmy Moore. Sarria describes Moore as "the love of [his] life". Sarria was hired as a cocktail waiter. He was convicted on a morals charge. He knew he could not become a certified teacher following his conviction. He began performing as a drag queen. He appeared regularly at the Black Cat. Sarria co-founded several organizations dedicated to gay interests. Sarria became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States. He ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961. In 1964 Sarria declared himself "Empress José I, The Widow Norton". He founded the Imperial Court System. The System grew to become an international association of charitable organizations.
The Black Cat closed in 1964. Sarria went to work with restaurant operator Pierre Parker. The two operated French restaurants at World's Fairs. Sarria was working at the 1964 New York World's Fair when he learned that Jimmy Moore had died. Sarria worked at several more Fairs before retiring in 1974. Sarria lived with Parker in Phoenix, Arizona for several years, then returned to San Francisco. He continued to reign over the Courts for 43 years. He abdicated in 2007. The city of San Francisco renamed a section of 16th Street in Sarria's honor for his lifetime of activism.
Sarria died on August 19, 2013 from natural causes in his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was 90 years old.
Kuch Toh Log Kahenge
Kuch Toh Log Kahenge is an Indian soap opera television program. It airs on Sony TV. It first appeared on TV on October 3, 2011. It is a remake of the Pakistani classical TV drama "Dhoop Kinare". "Kuch Toh Log Kahenge" is a love story between two people who have a substantial age gap.
At first, actors Kritika Kamra and Mohnish Behl played the two main characters. Sharad Kelcar was later replaced by .
"Kuch Toh Log Kahenge" takes places in a hospital in Lucknow.
"Kuch Toh Log Kahenge" is a love story between people from two different generations: a young, spirited Dr. Nidhi Verma (age 24) and a brooding and handsome Dr. Ashutosh (age 42). These two people do not know that they have a connection from their past.
KTLK's entire cast and crew won an award at the 18th Lion Gold Awards.
Natalie West
Natalie Marla West (born January 23, 1956) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Crystal Anderson Conner on the television series "Rosanne on ABC.
West has been in some movies. These include "Life Sentence" (2004) and "The Poker House" (2007).
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for her work in the movies "The Karate Kid", "Adventures in Babysitting", "Cocktail", "Back to the Future Parts II" and "III" and "Leaving Las Vegas".
Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware. Shue's mother was a descendant of Pilgrim religious leader William Brewster. Her father's family moved from Germany to Pennsylvania in the early 19th century. Shue's younger brother, Andrew, is also an actor.
Shue grew up in Bergen and Essex counties in New Jersey. Her parents divorced when she was young. Shue graduated from Columbia High School, in Maplewood, New Jersey. She later studied at Wellesley College and Harvard University. Shue left Harvard early because of her acting career. She returned to Harvard to finish her degree in Government in 2000.
While in high school, Shue acted in television commercials. She did ads for Burger King, DeBeers diamonds, and Hellman's mayonnaise.
Her first movie role was in 1984. She acted in "The Karate Kid". She played the girlfriend of Ralph Macchio. In 1986, she acted with Terrance Stamp in the British horror movie "Link". "Adventures in Babysitting" was her first acting job where she was the main character.
Shue is married to movie director Davis Guggenheim. Their son, Miles William, was born on November 11, 1997. She gave birth to her first daughter, Stella Street, on March 19, 2001. Her third child, Agnes Charles, was born on June 18, 2006. Her son's middle name is in honor of her second brother, William. This brother died in 1988 at the age of 26 in a swimming accident.
Yi See-young
Yi See-young (, 3 December 1868 - 19 April 1953) was a politician and independence activist, politicians and Neo-confucian scholars of South Korea. He was first Vice President of South Korea 1948 to 1952. His pen name was Seongjae (성재, 省齋), Seerimshanin(시림산인, 始林山人).
Alveolar approximant
The alveolar approximant is a consonant. We use it in some spoken languages. International Phonetic Alphabet represents the alveolar and postalveolar approximants as ⟨⟩. International Phonetic Alphabet represents it as a lowercase letter "r" rotated 180 degrees, or in broad transcription ⟨⟩; the X-SAMPA symbol of this is ⟨r\⟩.
Many times the symbol is written as ⟨⟩ instead of ⟨⟩ because typing ⟨⟩ is easier.
Mena Alexandra Suvari (born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. She began acting in guest roles on 1990s television programs such as "Boy Meets World" and "High Incident". She made her movie debut in the 1997 drama movie "Nowhere".
Her first major movie roles were in "American Beauty" and "American Pie". Both of these moves were in 1999. She was nominated for a BAFTA Award for "American Beauty". Next she was in "Loser" (2000), with her "American Pie" co-star, Jason Biggs. In 2001, she played the main character in the comedy movie "Sugar & Spice". She was in the 2002 drama "Spun" and the 2004 thriller "Trauma". She was also in the HBO's drama series "Six Feet Under" in 2004. While working on this series, she was nominated as a member of cast by the Screen Actors Guild for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series" in 2005. In 2008, she was cast in a many movies. These incude "Day of the Dead", "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh", and the movie version of "The Garden of Eden".
Suvari is a model for Lancôme cosmetics. She has been in many fashion blogs and magazines such as "Vogue". She is an activist for the African relief organization, the African Medical and Research Foundation. Feminist issues are also important to her. She works with charities whose cause is breast cancer, and "End Violence Against Women" campaign.
Suvari was born in Newport, Rhode Island. She is the daughter of Candice, a nurse, and Ando Süvari, a psychiatrist. Her mother is half Greek and her father is part Estonian. She has three older brothers.
Her family moved Charleston, South Carolina. Growing up, Mena wanted to be an archaeologist, astronaut or doctor. A modeling agency came to her all-girls school, Ashley Hall, to offer classes. By the time she started acting, she had been modeling for the New York-based Wilhelmina agency for five years.
After moving to the Los Angeles area, Suvari studied at Providence High School in Burbank. She graduated in 1997.
Suvari married German-born cinematographer Robert Brinkmann on March 4, 2000. Brinkmann was seventeen years older than her. They divorced in May 2005.
In 2007, Suvari began dating Italian-Canadian concert promoter Simone Sestito. She met him at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. They were married on June 26, 2010 in Rome. They chose Rome because most of Sestito's family lives near the city. On January 13, 2012, Suvari said she wanted a divorce from Sestito. The divorce became final in October 2012.
In late 2017, Suvari became a vegan for ethical reasons. Since then she only uses cruelty-free and environmentally friendly products.
In October 2018, she married her boyfriend Michael Hope.
Jo Sik
Jo Sik (or Cho Shik) (, 1501–1572) was a politician and Confucianist scholar of Korea. His nickname was Nammyung, rival of Twaegye Yi Hwang.
Crown group
A crown group is a group of living species and their ancestors back to the most recent common ancestor. It is a term in cladistics and phylogenetics. It is a clade with at least some members that have survived to the present day. How a crown group is defined depends on which living species are chosen. One definition stresses the need for members of the crown group to have the clade's characteristic synapomorphy.
The idea was developed by Willi Hennig, the founder of phylogenetic systematics, but he did not use this term. The terms "crown group" and "stem group" were invented by R.P.S. Jefferies in 1979. Though invented in the 1970s, the term was not often used until it was reintroduced in the 2000s.
One very simplified cladogram for birds is shown below:
"Archaeopteryx" and some other extinct groups are not included in the crown group Neornithes. They fall outside the clade, as they diverged earlier. Neoaves can also be considered a crown group, as can Paleognathae, the ratites clade, and Galloanserae, the ducks and chickens clade. Bigger crown groups can also be defined, such as the phylum Chordata.
The stem group of birds would be all the earlier Aves minus the crown group Neornithes.
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom
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Daniel Levy
Daniel Levy (born 8 February 1962 in Essex) is the current chairman of Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. He has been the chairman since 2001.
He is managing director of ENIC International Ltd., which is an investment company. He replaced Alan Sugar as chairman of Tottenham in February 2001. This happened after ENIC bought a controlling stake in the club. ENIC is controlled by Joseph Lewis. Levy was before this a director of the Scottish football club Rangers, in which ENIC held a significant stake. Before this, ENIC has also controlled many other European football clubs including AEK Athens, Slavia Prague and Vicenza. ENIC has also had power in non-football companies such as Warner Bros. and Autonomy.
He has changed many managers since becoming chairman, like (George Graham, Glenn Hoddle, David Pleat and Jacques Santini). When Martin Jol was manager, the team finished at 5th place in the Premier League and they qualified for the UEFA Cup also.
In summer of 2011, Chelsea tried to sign Tottenham's important player Luke Modric. But, Levy refused to sell Modric. After that, the club have started season 2011/12 very nicely and have won many matches in the Premier League.
Daniel Levy is married. He has four children- Joshua, Oliver, Chloe and Gabriella. He has a degree from Cambridge University in Land Economy.
Municipalities in Japan
There are three main types of municipalities in Japan:
There is a fourth type of municipality — the 23 special wards of Tokyo.
In 1878, the national government enacted the "Municipalities Formation Law", the "Prefectural Assemblies Act", and the "Local Tax Ordinance". Japan was organized into three levels of government:
In 1889, the ""shikuchōson" was refined to create 39 cities and 15,820 towns and villages. The "Municipal Government Act" was a blend of Japanese customs and Prussia’s local government system.
After 1898, local officials were elected in municipal elections.
Since the 19th century, Japan has been divided into 47 prefectures; and each prefecture has many districts and municipalities.
In 1947, the "Local Autonomy Law" (LAL) further refined Japan's municipalities.
Sodom and Gomorrah are two ancient cities mentioned in the "Book of Genesis". Both cities were destroyed by fire from God because of their sexual wickednesses including rape, child sexual abuse, homosexuality and indecent assault. Some scholars believe that the cities were in Moab, east of the southern edge of the Dead Sea. The word "sodomy" (anal sex) is derived from Sodom. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah was made into a movie in 1963.
God tells Abraham He plans to destroy Sodom because of its wickedness. Abraham gets God to promise to spare it if ten good men can be found.
Lot, Abraham's relative, lives in Sodom. He is visited by three men who are angels. An interpretation by some scholars is that the men of Sodom want to have anal sex with these visitors. Lot refuses to allow this. He offers the Sodomites his two virgin daughters instead. The men decline the offer. They storm Lot's door. The angels rescue Lot. They tell Lot that God has sent them to destroy Sodom for its wickness. They order Lot to gather his family, and leave the city. They forbid Lot or any of his family to look upon the city during its destruction. Lot and his family flee. Lot's wife looks back at the city. She is turned into a pillar of salt.
Tradeston Bridge
Windsor Railway Bridge
Windsor Railway Bridge is a wrought iron 'tied arch' bridge in Windsor, Berkshire. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and carried Brunel's Great Western Railway (GWR) branch line from Slough to Windsor (Windsor and Eton Central station). It crosses the River Thames between Romney Lock and Boveney Lock.
The bridge is a single-span structure with three bowstring trusses which created two bays for the original two GWR tracks. The bridge is the world's oldest wrought iron bridge still in regular service. It is a forerunner for Brunel's last masterpiece, the Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash. The bridge was Grade II* listed in 1975.
The line opened in 1849. The construction of the line was delayed and could not be included in the original Parliamentary Act because of objections from the Provost of Eton College.
The brick viaduct was constructed between 1861–65 to replace the original wooden trestle viaduct.
Although the bridge was built to take two tracks, the track on the upstream side was removed when the line was rationalised in the 1960s. The trackbed on this side now carries a sewage or water main pipe.
Saint Sebastian is possibly the earliest gay icon. His strong and shirtless physique, symbolic arrow-pierced flesh, and rapturous look of pain combined have intrigued both gay and straight artists for centuries. This interest launched the first explicitly gay cult in the 19th century. Journalist Richard A. Kaye wrote, "contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a homoerotic ideal), and a prototypical portrait of tortured closet case." Because Saint Sebastian is a gay icon, Tennessee Williams chose to use that name for the martyred character Sebastian in his play, "Suddenly, Last Summer". The name was also used by Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde (as Sebastian Melmoth) when in exile after his release from prison. Wilde was about as "out of the closet" as was possible for the late 19th century. He is himself considered a gay icon.
Menace II Society, released May 26, 1993 by Warner Bros., is an American urban crime drama movie set in and around South Central Los Angeles. It is rated R by the MPAA for violence, intense language and drug use. Several different versions exist for this motion picture. The character Sharif was originally supposed to be played by Tupac Shakur, although Shakur was later fired due to a dispute in which he wanted to do play someone else, so Larenz Tate was his replacement. A prison riot scene was cut from this motion picture to avoid receiving an NC-17. "Menace II Society" received positive reviews by critics.
Aurelius and Natalia
Aurelius and Natalia (died 852) were Christian martyrs who were put to death during the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II, Emir of Córdoba. They are counted among the Martyrs of Córdoba. Aurelius and his wife Natalia were both the offspring of Muslim fathers. They were secretly Christians. Aurelius's cousin Felix and his wife Liliosa were also Christians. Under Sharia Law, all four of them were required to profess Islam. In time though all four began to openly profess the Christian faith. The two women would go about in public with their faces unveiled. They were all swiftly arrested as apostates from Islam. They were given four days to recant. They refused, and were beheaded. They were martyred with a local monk, George. He had openly spoken out against the Islamic prophet Mohammed. He had been offered a pardon as a foreigner. He chose instead to denounce Islam again and die with the others. They are considered saints in the Roman Catholic Church. Their feast day is July 27.
Charlotte Corday (Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont, 27 July 1768 – 17 July 1793), was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was sent to the guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat. She blamed Marat for the more extreme course the Revolution had taken. He played a large role in the takedown of the Girondins. Corday believed in the Girondins' cause. In 1847, writer Alphonse de Lamartine gave Corday the nickname " (the Angel of Assassination).
Charlotte Corday was born in Saint-Saturnin-des-Ligneries, Orne in Normandy, France in 1768. Corday was from a family of minor aristocrats.
When Corday was a girl, her older sister and their mother, Charlotte Marie Jacqueline Gaultier de Mesnival died. Her father sent Corday and her younger sister to a convent in Caen. In the convent's library, Corday read the writing of Plutarch, Rousseau, and Voltaire After 1791, Corday lived in Caen with her cousin, Madame Le Coustellier de Bretteville-Gouville. They were very close. Corday was going to inherit her cousin's estate.
As the French Revolution became more and more extreme, Corday began to support the even more. She loved their speeches and liked many of the Girondins she met in Caen very much. She decided that she needed to do what the Girondins were doing. She thought that they were the party that would save France from the radicalism of the Jacobins. The Jacobins believed that France would be saved only by terrifying the people into obedience. They believed that violence was the only way. Corday and the Girondins did not agree with this approach. Corday decided to kill Marat, because she believed he was the most radical. She believed this because she blamed him for the September Massacres.
Jean-Paul Marat was a member of the radical Jacobin party that led the Reign of Terror. He wrote an important and widely read newspaper called " (the Friend of the People). Corday also blamed Marat for the civil war she thought would happen in France. She believed that Marat was bad for the future of France and that his death would stop the violence in France. She also believed that Louis XVI should not have been executed.
On July 9th, 1793, Corday left her cousin's estate and went to Paris, where she bought a knife. At her hotel, she wrote a letter to the French people. In the letter, she explained why she had killed Marat. She called it "" ("Address to the French people, friends of law and peace").
At first, she planned to assassinate Marat in front of the entire National Convention. However, Marat did not attend meetings anymore, because of a skin disease. She changed her plan and went to his home. The first time she came, Marat's wife, Simonne Evrard, did not let her come in. When she came back in the evening, Marat let her in. She gave him the names of Girondins in Caen, and he wrote them down. Then, she stabbed him with the knife she had bought. Marat called "" ("help me, my dear friend!") to his wife and died.
David, one of Marat's friends painted Marat's body. The painting became famous.
The moment was also painted by Baudry.
Corday said that she had planned to kill Marat alone. There was no evidence against this. Corday said that she "killed one man to save a hundred thousand" at her trial.
Four days after she killed Marat, Corday was execution via guillotine.
Corday's plan worked, but it also failed. The violence in France did not stop. Marat became a martyr.
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG (10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. He was politically ambitious, and a committed general. He was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599. In 1601 he led an abortive "coup d'état" against the government and was executed for treason. His story has been told in art and literature. Two well known examples are the opera "Roberto Devereux" by Gaetano Donizetti and the movie "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn.
Robert Devereux was one of Elizabeth I’s suitors, meaning he wanted to marry her.
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a 1939 historical movie. It is about the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. The movie stars Bette Davis and Errol Flynn. The movie was directed by Michael Curtiz. It was based on the Maxwell Anderson play, "Elizabeth the Queen".
The play had been a Broadway success with Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt in the lead roles. The supporting cast in the movie included Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Henry Daniell, Henry Stephenson, and Vincent Price. The score was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. He later used a theme from the movie in his "Symphony in F sharp major".
The Technicolor cinematography was by Sol Polito. The elaborate costumes were designed by Orry-Kelly. The movie was a Warner Brothers production. The movie was a hit. It received five Academy Award nominations including Best Color Cinematography. Bette Davis was expected to receive a nomination. She was nominated instead for "Dark Victory".
Batman Bridge
The Batman Bridge crosses the Tamar River in northern Tasmania, about 30 km north of Launceston. It was opened on 18 May 1968 by the Premier of Tasmania, Eric Reece. When it was built it was one of the first cable-stayed truss bridges in the world. It provides access between the north east and north west of Tasmania. It was named after John Batman, a Tasmanian pioneer and the founder of the city of Melbourne.
The bridge is held up by cables connected to a high A frame tower on the west bank. This tower is not straight, but leans out over the river. The bridge is in length. The main span over the river is and with a span on the western shore of . The eastern side is approached by four continuous viaduct spans. The bridge is above the high water level. The steel deck has room for two lanes of traffic and a walk way for people on both sides.
The bridge is built at the narrowest point on the Tamar River, at Whirlpool Reach. However, the east bank was found to be soft clay which would not support the bridge. The A frame tower on the west bank is built into the bedrock below the surface and supported by steel cables concreted into tunnels in the bedrock. The tower supports the whole weight of the river span of the bridge.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)
The 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the first version of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It was a suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Washington. The bridge was built over the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. It opened on July 1, 1940. The bridge collapsed into Puget Sound on November 7 of the same year. At that time, it was the third longest suspension bridge in the world in terms of main span length. The Golden Gate Bridge and the George Washington Bridge were the only bridges that were larger.
Construction of the bridge started in September 1938. After the deck was built, the wind caused it to move vertically. Because of this, the people building it gave it the nickname Galloping Gertie. The movement was seen even when the bridge opened to the public. Many things were tried to stop the bridge from moving. None of these things worked. The bridge's main span collapsed under winds on the morning of November 7, 1940.
Because of World War II, the bridge could not be built again at that time. The towers and cables of the bridge were still in place. These and the rest of the bridge were taken apart and sold as scrap metal. In 1950, a new Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in the same place. It used the first bridge's tower pedestals and cable anchorages. The parts of the bridge that fell into the water are now an artificial reef.
The bridge's collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering. In many physics books, it is used to show resonance. Its collapse also helped increase research in the field of bridge aerodynamics-aeroelastics. This has affected the designs of all the world's large long-span bridges built since 1940.
People wanted a bridge built between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula since the late 1800s. In 1889, the Northern Pacific Railway wanted to build a trestle there. The Tacoma Chamber of Commerce began working toward getting the money to build a bridge in 1923. Many well known bridge engineers were talked to about the bridge. These included Joseph B. Strauss and David B. Steinman. Later in time, Strauss was the main engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge and he designed the Mackinac Bridge. Steinman went to the area many times. He created a plan for the bridge in 1929. By 1931, the Chamber chose not to follow his plan because they thought Steinman was not doing enough to help get money to pay for the bridge. Another problem with paying for the bridge was buying out the ferry contract from a company that was running service on the Narrows at the time.
The Washington State legislature created the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority and gave $5,000 to study the request by Tacoma and Pierce County for a bridge.
From the start, getting money to pay for the bridge was a problem. Money earned from tolls on the bridge would not be enough to pay for the bridge's construction. There was support for the bridge from the U.S. Navy and Army. The Navy had a shipyard in Bremerton. The Army had McChord Field and Fort Lewis near Tacoma. The bridge would be useful to both the Army and Navy.
Clark Eldridge, an engineer working for the state, created a suspension bridge design. This design was similar to the design of many other suspension bridges. It was a design that had be shown to work very well at other places. The Washington Toll Bridge Authority asked for $11 million from the Federal Public Works Administration (PWA). Early construction plans by the Washington Department of Highways had a set of 25-foot-deep (7.6m) girders to sit beneath the roadway. These would make the roadway more stiff so it would not move easily.
Leon Moisseiff had other ideas about building the bridge. Moisseiff was a well known New York bridge engineer. He was the designer and consultant engineer for the Golden Gate Bridge. Moisseiff talked to the PWA and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) about building the bridge for less money. He suggested that they use shallower supports—girders that were only deep. His ideas meant the bridge would be slimmer but they reduced the construction costs. Moisseiff's design was chosen. The other design was said to cost too much. On June 23, 1938, the PWA approved nearly $6 million for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Tolls from the bridge would earn another $1.6 million pay for the estimated total $8 million cost.
Using Moisseiff's design, bridge construction began on September 27, 1938. Construction took only nineteen months. It cost $6.4 million. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge, with a main span of , was the third-longest suspension bridge in the world at that time. The two larger bridges were the George Washington Bridge between New Jersey and New York City, and the Golden Gate Bridge, just north of San Francisco.
Because the bridge was not expected to have large amounts of traffic, the bridge was designed with only two lanes. It was just wide. This was quite narrow given how long it was. With only the -deep girders to give it extra depth, the bridge's roadway was very shallow.
The shallow and narrow girders are what caused the bridge to collapse. With such small girders, the deck of the bridge was not rigid enough. It was easily moved by the winds. The bridge was well known for its movement. A small wind could make the center span move several feet during four- to five-second intervals. This was seen by the builders and workmen during construction. It caused some of the workers to name the bridge "Galloping Gertie." Even the public felt these motions on the day that the bridge opened on July 1, 1940.
Another reason the bridge swayed and then fell was its solid sides. This did not allow wind to pass through the bridge's deck. This design allowed the bridge to catch the wind and sway, which ultimately took it down.
Because the bridge moved so much while it was being built, many ideas were used to make it move less. They included
The Washington Toll Bridge Authority hired Professor Frederick Burt Farquharson to make tests of the bridge in a wind-tunnel. He was an engineering professor at the University of Washington. Professor Farquharson and his students built a 1:200-scale model of the bridge and a 1:20-scale model of a section of the deck. The first studies ended on November 2, 1940. This was five days before the bridge collapse on November 7. He found two ways to fix the problem:
The first option was not not liked because of if the changes were done, they could not be undone. The second option was the chosen one. It was not done because the bridge collapsed five days later.
The collapse happened on November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time). It was caused by physical phenomenon known as aeroelastic flutter.
Leonard Coatsworth, a "Tacoma News Tribune" editor was the last person to drive on the bridge. He was driving with his dog, Tubby, over the bridge when the bridge started to vibrate very badly. Coatsworth had to leave his car:
No one died in the collapse of the bridge. Tubby, a black male cocker spaniel, was the only death of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster. The dog was lost along with Coatsworth's car. Professor Farquharson and a news photographer tried to save Tubby, but the dog was too scared to leave the car. He bit one of the people trying to save him. Tubby died when the bridge fell. Neither his body nor the car were ever recovered. Coatsworth had been driving Tubby back to his daughter. She was the owner of the dog. Coatsworth was payed US $450 for his car and $364.40 for what was in the car. This included Tubby.
Theodore von Kármán was one of the people who tried to learn what caused the collapse. He was the director of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory and a well known aerodynamicist. He said that the State of Washington could not get money from one of the insurance policies for the bridge. This was because its insurance agent had fraudulently taken the insurance pyments. The agent, Hallett R. French worked for the Merchant's Fire Assurance Company. He was charged with grand larceny for keeping the payments for $800,000 worth of insurance. The bridge was insured by many other policies. These covered 80% of the $5.2 million bridge's value. Most of these were payed without problems.
On November 28, 1940, the U.S. Navy's Hydrographic Office said that the parts of the bridge were at geographical coordinates , at a depth of 180 feet (55 meters).
The collapse of the bridge was recorded on movie by Barney Elliott. He was the owner of a local camera store. The movie shows Leonard Coatsworth leaving the bridge after exiting his car. In 1998, "The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse" was chosen for preservation in the United States National movie Registry by the Library of Congress. It was chosen because it was culturally, historically, or aesthetically important. This footage is still shown to engineering, architecture, and physics students as an example of what can go wrong. Elliot's movies of the construction and collapse of the bridge were shot on 16 mm Kodachrome movie. Most copies are in black and white. This is because newsreels of the day copied the movie onto 35 mm black-and-white stock.
A commission formed by the Federal Works Agency studied the collapse of the bridge. It included Othmar Ammann and Theodore von Kármán. They looked at three possible reasons for the collapse:
Efforts to save the bridge started after its collapse. They continued into May 1943. It was decided that the bridge could not be repaired. The entire bridge would have to be taken down. A new bridge would have to be built. At the time, the United States was dealing with World War II. This meant the steel that would be needed to built the bridge was needed for the war. Steel from the old bridge cables and the suspension span was sold melted down. It cost the state more to destroy the bridge than it earned by selling the materials. The state lost over $350,000.
The cable anchorages, tower pedestals and most of the substructure were not damaged badly in the collapse. They were used again during construction of the new bridge that opened in 1950. The towers were badly damaged. They were taken down. The steel in them was sold to be melted down.
The parts of the bridge that fell into the water below are now a large artificial reef. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places with reference number 92001068.
Othmar Ammann is a leading bridge designer. He is also a member of the Federal Works Agency Commission that looked at the causes of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. He wrote:
The Bronx Whitestone Bridge has a design that is much like the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It was reinforced after the collapse. Fourteen-foot-high (4.3 m) steel trusses were added on both sides of the deck in 1943. These add weight to the bridge and make it more stiff. This was done to reduce oscillation. In 2003, the trusses were removed. Aerodynamic fiberglass fairings were added along both sides of the road deck.
Because of materials and labor shortages caused by World War II, it took 10 years before a new bridge was opened. This bridge was opened to traffic on October 14, 1950. It is long — longer than Galloping Gertie. The new bridge carries 4 lanes compared to the other bridge built in 1940 which only carried 2 lanes.
Half a century later, the new bridge had more traffic than it could handle. A second, parallel suspension bridge was built to double the capacity and to carry eastbound traffic. The suspension bridge that was completed in 1950 was changed to only carry westbound traffic once the new suspension bridge opened. The new parallel bridge opened to traffic in July 2007.
West Gate Bridge
The Westgate Bridge crosses the Yarra River, near Melbourne, Victoria. It is the third longest bridge in Australia. The bridge's length, including the approaches is . Work began on the bridge on 22 April 1968, and the bridge was opened on 15 November 1978 at a cost of AU$202 million. It was the scene of Australia's worst industrial accident when part of the bridge collapsed in October 1970, killing 35 men and injuring 18 others.
The bridge is a box girder and cable stayed bridge. The bridge deck is above the water level to allow ships to pass underneath. The supporting pylons are high, and help support a span of . The bridge is wide and carries eight lanes of traffic. About 160,000 vehicles travel over the bridge each day.
Problems were first noticed on the West Gate Bridge in May 1970 when several steel girders did not fit into position by about . Engineers proposed putting ten concrete blocks, each weighing about 8 tons, onto the girders to bend them into the correct position. In September 1970 is was noticed that this had caused part of the girder to buckle. On 15 October the engineers began removing the bolts holding the buckled girders in place. This would allow the steel to unbuckle and new steel could be put up to support the damaged section. At 11.50am the damaged section collapsed. Workers both on and under the bridge were killed when the 2,000 ton section fell to the ground. The final death toll was 35 men killed and 18 injured.
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American independent supernatural horror movie. It was written and directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez and produced by the Haxan Films production company.
This movie was put together from amateur footage and relates the story of three student filmmakers (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams) who disappeared while hiking in the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch. The viewers are told the three were never seen or heard from again, although their video and sound equipment (along with most of the footage they shot) was discovered a year later. This "recovered footage" is presented as the viewer is watching the movie.
"The Blair Witch Project" was first shown at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. It was released by Artisan on 30 July 1999 after months of publicity, including a ground-breaking campaign by the studio to use the Internet and suggest that the film was a record of real events. The distribution strategy for "The Blair Witch Project" was created and implemented by Artisan studio executive Steven Rothenberg. The movie was positively received by critics and went on to gross over US$248 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time. The DVD was released in December 1999 and presented only in fullscreen.
In October 1994, movie students Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard set out to make a documentary about the fabled Blair Witch. They travel to Burkittsville, Maryland, which the town was used to be called Blair. They interview people living in the local area about the legend of the Blair Witch. The local people tell them of Rustin Parr, a hermit who kidnapped seven children in the 1940s and brought them to his house in the woods, where he tortured and killed them. Parr brought the children into his home's basement in pairs, forcing the first child to face the corner and listen to their companion's screams as he murdered the second child. Parr would then murder the first child. Eventually turning himself in to the police, Parr later pleaded insanity, saying that the spirit of Elly Kedward, a witch hanged in the 18th century, had been terrorizing him for some time and promised to leave him alone if he murdered the kids. The three students also interviews Mary Brown, a local eccentric who tells them that she had encountered the Blair Witch as a child.
The second day, the students begin to explore the woods in north Burkittsville to look for evidence of the Blair Witch. Along the way, a fisherman warns them that the woods are haunted, and recalls a time that he had seen strange mist rising from the water. The students hike to Coffin Rock, where five men were found ritualistically murdered in the 19th century, and then camp for the night. The next day they move deeper into the woods, despite being uncertain of their exact location on the map. They eventually locate what appears to be an old cemetery with seven small cairns. They set up camp nearby and then return to the cemetery after dark. They later hear crackling sounds in the darkness that seem to be coming from all directions and assume the noises are from animals or locals following them.
That same following day they attempt to return to their car, but cannot find their way; they try until it is night time, when they are forced to set camp. That night, they hear crackling noises again, but they cannot see anything. The next morning they find three cairns have been built around their tent during the night. As they continue trying to find their way out of the woods, Heather realizes that her map is missing, and Mike later reveals that he kicked it into a creek out of frustration the previous day. Josh and Heather get angry at Mike. They then realize they are now hopelessly lost, and decide to simply "head south". Soon, they discover a multitude of humanoid stick figures suspended from trees. That night, they hear more strange noises, including the sounds of children and bizarre "morphing" sounds. When an unknown force shakes the tent, they flee in a panic and hide in the woods until it is morning. Upon returning to their tent, they find that their possessions have been rifled through, and Josh's equipment is covered with slime, causing them to question why only his belongings were affected. As the day wears on, they pass a log over a stream that was identical to the one they had passed earlier, despite having traveled directly south all day, and again set camp, completely demoralized at having wasted the entire day seemingly going in circles, with Josh outside on guard duty.
Josh disappears the next morning. After a while of finding him, Mike and Heather eventually break camp and slowly move on. That night, they hear Josh screaming in the darkness, but are not able to find him. The next morning, Heather finds a bundle of sticks and fabric outside their tent. Later inspection reveals it contains blood-soaked scraps of Josh's shirt, as well as teeth and hair, but she does not mention this to Mike.
That night, Heather records herself apologizing to the co-producers of her project as well as her family, and starts to cry, finally admitting her fate. Later, they again hear Josh crying for help, but this time they follow them and discover an abandoned house in the woods. Hanging on the front of the house is the same human stick figure that they saw in the woods. Mike runs upstairs, following the voice, while Heather tries to follow. Mike then claims he hears Josh in the basement. He follows the sound and, after what seems to be a struggle, goes silent and drops to the floor. Heather runs down to the basement screaming for Mike, but she does not hear Mike. She then enters the basement looking for both men, and her camera catches a glimpse of Mike facing the wall. Heather then screams as she and her camera drop to the floor. There is only silence as the footage ends.
"The Blair Witch Project" was developed by the filmmakers. The script was written in 1988. It began with a 68-page outline, with the dialogue to be improvised. According to the directors of the movie, they advertised in "Back Stage" magazine for actors with strong improvisational abilities. There was a very informal improvisational audition process to narrow the total amount of 2,000 actors. In talks with investors of the movie, they presented an eight-minute documentary along with newspapers and news footage. This documentary, originally called "The Blair Witch Project: The Story of Black Hills Disappearances" was produced by Haxan Films. In the movie, the Blair Witch is, according to legend, the ghost of Elly Kedward, a woman banished from the Blair Township (latter-day Burkittsville) for witchcraft in 1785. The directors incorporated that part of the legend, along with allusions to the Salem Witch Trials and "The Crucible", to play on the themes of injustice done on those who were called witches. They were influenced by "The Shining", "Alien" and "The Omen." "Jaws" was an influence as well, presumably because the witch was hidden from the viewer for the entirety of the film, forcing suspense from the unknown.
The movie was shot for only eight days in October 1998. Most of the movie was filmed in the tiny Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, although a few scenes were filmed in the real town of Burkittsville. Some of the townspeople interviewed in the film were not actors, and some were planted actors, unknown to the main cast. Donahue had never operated a camera before, and spent two days in a "crash course". Donahue said she modeled her character after a director she once worked with, citing the character's self assuredness when everything went as planned, and confusion during crisis. The three actors filmed the whole movie with only two cameras. They recorded using Heather's video camera and a 16mm camera that can record video in black and white. The apparent use of handheld camera, and the coarse grained picture supports clearly the film's documentary feel. The strange recording method is also based on the actors who did not know the movie's story in detail. The three actors were dragged into the woods, and almost tortured with the cold weather, food shortages and spooky sounds.
During filming, the actors were given clues as to their next location through messages given in milk crates found with Global Positioning Satellite systems. They were given individual instructions that they would use to help improvise the action of the day. Teeth were obtained from a Maryland dentist for use as human remains in the film. Influenced by producer Gregg Hale's memories of his military training, in which "enemy soldiers" would hunt a trainee through wild terrain for three days, the directors moved the characters far during the day, harassing them by night and depriving them of food.
Almost 19 hours of usable recorded footage had to be edited down to 90 minutes. Editing took more than eight months. Originally it was hoped that the movie would make it on to cable television, and the filmmakers did not anticipate wide release. The initial investment by the three University of Central Florida filmmakers was about US$35,000. Artisan acquired the film for US$1.1 million but spent US$25 million to market it. The actors signed a "small" agreement to receive some of the profits from the film's release.
A list of production budget figures have circulated over the years, appearing as low as $20,000. Sánchez revealed in an interview that when principal photography first wrapped, approximately $20,000 to $25,000 had been spent. Other figures list a final budget ranging between $500,000 and $750,000.
"The Blair Witch Project" grossed $248,639,099 worldwide, compared to its final budget, which ranged between $20,000 and $750,000. The movie received critically positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes says that out of 133 reviews for the movie, 85% of these reviews were positive.
Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun Times" gave the movie four out of four stars. He called it "an extraordinarily effective horror film". It was listed on Filmcritic.com as the 50th best movie ending of all time. Critics praised Donahue's apology to the camera near the end of the movie, saying it would cause "nightmares for years to come"; Roger Ebert showed how much different this sequence to Robert Scott's final journal entries as he froze to death in the Antarctic. Donahue said that there was a considerable backlash against her because she was starring in the movie. Her claims led to her having threatening encounters and difficulty obtaining employment.
"The Blair Witch Project" is thought to be the first widely released film marketed primarily on the internet. The film's official website featured fake police reports and 'newsreel-style' interviews. Due to this, audiences and critics initially thought it was an actual documentary about the 'missing' teenagers. These augmented the film's convincing found footage style to spark heated debates across the internet over whether the film was a real-life documentary or a work of fiction.
"The Blair Witch Project" was given a Global Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay and won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. In 2008, "Entertainment Weekly" named "The Blair Witch Project" one of "the 100 best films from 1983 to 2008", ranking it at #99. In 2006, Chicago Film Critics Association listed it as one of the "Top 100 Scariest Movies", ranking it #12.
Despite its positive reviews, the movie was nominated for the 1999 Razzie Award for Worst Picture. Heather Donahue won a Razzie Award for Worst Actress. The movie also became controversial for it's shaky footage, especially the final sequence in which the camera operator is running down a set of stairs with the camera. Some viewers had gotten motion sickness and even vomited as a result.
A sequel, "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2", was released in the autumn of 2000, but was poorly received by most critics. A third installment was announced that same year but did not materialize. On September 2, 2009, it was announced that co-directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick were pitching the third film.