title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Marc Brown's children, Tolon, Eliza, and Tucker, are referenced in the show several times, just as they are in the "Arthur" book series. For example, the town's moving company is called "Tolon Moving", and everyday items such as cups or pencil sharpeners have the word "Eliza" printed on them. References to Cookie Jar Entertainment and WGBH also appear often on the show. In one episode, Francine and Buster are shown playing a table hockey game in which one team's players wear shirts in the Montreal Canadiens' signature colors with Montreal-based Cinar's logo on them (Cinar was the predecessor to the Cookie Jar Entertainment) and the other team's players wear shirts in the Boston Bruins' colors with Boston-based WGBH's sting logo on them. Subsequent episodes that involve hockey also depict players wearing these sweater designs. Also, in the episode "The Big Blow-Up" in Season 2, a racecar driver wears a jersey with "Cinar" written on it and a car with "WGBH" written on it. In the episode "Prove It" in Season 4, Brain introduces D.W. to science while watching a live-action episode of "Nova", a science series also produced by WGBH. Brown's son Tolon, for whom Brown first invented the character of Arthur the Aardvark in a bedtime story, was the executive director of the show.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In October 1999, Cinar was investigated for tax fraud. It was revealed that both the chairman Micheline Charest and president Ronald Weinberg invested $122 million (US) into Bahamian bank accounts without the board members' approval. Cinar had also paid American screenwriters for work while continuing to accept Canadian federal grants for content. However, "Arthur" itself was not involved in the scandal as it was publicly known to be co-produced with an American company. Head writers Joe Fallon and Ken Scarborough left around that time, but not because of the scandal; Fallon left about a year before the investigation began. Following the departures of Charest and Weinberg, former CBC and YTV executive Peter Moss took over Cinar, assuming Charest's former position on the show as an executive producer alongside WGBH's Carol Greenwald. By season 7, Moss had left Cinar to join Nelvana as a development executive, and financial director Andrew Porporino took his place as executive producer. He was replaced by longtime producer Lesley Taylor in season 8.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In the Season 14, the series began producing and airing episodes in 1080i HD. However, until October 15, 2012, in the U.S., the episodes still aired in 4:3 aspect ratio, with the left and right sides cropped out. They have since begun airing in 16:9 on October 15, 2012. Season 12 also marks the switching of animation studios from "AKOM" to "ASHK". Starting with season 16, the series was produced by 9 Story Entertainment (now 9 Story Media Group) and airs in 16:9 aspect ratio. Alongside this change, 9 Story produced a re-mastered opening theme for the series in 16:9, and animation was moved in-house using Adobe Flash. Season 19 was the last season to be produced by 9 Story, with Montreal-based-Oasis Animation taking over starting in season 20.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In November 2018, Bruce Dinsmore (voice of Binky, Mr. Read, and Bailey) revealed that he has finished recording the final episodes in advance. Production of the final season was completed by the end of 2019. The series finale, "All Grown Up" featured Arthur's original voice actor, Michael Yarmush voicing his adult self.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: The TV show's reggae-style theme song, "Believe in Yourself", was written by Judy Henderson and Jerry de Villiers Jr. and was performed by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. A remixed techno version of the song has been officially released on the third album and a shortened version has been played during the closing credits for the sixth season. The Backstreet Boys covered the song with the original instrumentals for the ending credits of television special "Arthur: It's Only Rock 'n' Roll".


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In season 2, the song "Crazy Bus", written and performed by then-head writer Joe Fallon, was introduced. It served as the alternate anthem of the television series. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz composer Joshua Redman covered the song on the ending credits of the season 4 finale episode, "My Music Rules". When Joe Fallon left Arthur after season 4, the song was officially retired from the show. The show mentions to this on the TV special "Arthur: It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" when D.W. says, "Crazy Bus is for babies; I know a million better songs."


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Many celebrity guest stars have appeared on the show, each providing the voice for their anthropomorphic animal counterpart, except for Joan Rivers, who played as Francine's maternal grandmother. Lance Armstrong and Joan Rivers are the only guest stars to make more than one appearance on the series.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Arthur's immediate family is the focus of the series, with most episodes involving Arthur, his younger sister D.W., their parents David and Jane, Baby Kate, and their dog, Pal. Arthur's closest friends include Buster, Francine, Muffy, Binky, Brain, and Sue Ellen, along with others such as Fern, Prunella, Jenna, and George as frequent supporting characters.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: The adults in "Arthur" play important roles: Mr. and Mrs. Read display a significant amount of stress from parenting, Arthur's friends' parents are shown struggling in middle-class jobs, and Mr. Ratburn endures the demands and expectations of teaching elementary school. Even in difficult, adult situations, these grown ups maintain a cheerful attitude. Arthur, D.W., and Kate also visit their paternal grandmother, Thora Read, and maternal grandfather, Grandpa Dave.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Unlike most animated television series, "Arthur" showcases a wide range of voice actors. While the majority of the main supporting characters such as Jane, David, Buster, Francine and Binky have been voiced by the same set of actors since the beginning of the series, many of the young characters including Arthur, D.W., Brain, the Tibble Twins, and James have each been voiced by several actors throughout the seasons due to the producers' choice to employ young male actors for these parts.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Each episode of "Arthur" ran for half an hour. Episodes consisted of two completely self-contained 11-minute stories. The episodes usually start off with one of the characters (usually Arthur) speaking towards the audience about a situation within the story followed by the title card. The episodes were separated by a one-to-two-minute live action interstitial called "And Now a Word from Us Kids" (or, in some cases, a variation of that title more specific to its contents). The live action segments almost always featured children from elementary schools (generally in the Boston area) presenting subjects they are currently learning about or projects they have been working on in their classes (the subjects covered here relate to the first cartoon segment in the half-hour). This segment was seen exclusively on PBS telecasts of the show, filling space otherwise used for commercials, which are generally forbidden on PBS. There was also a segment that sometimes appears at the end of the second 11-minute episode called "And Now a Word from Marc Brown" where he shows the viewers how to draw various main characters from the show. In 2007, the show began encouraging viewers to send in "video postcards" (similar to those used in the spin-off show "Postcards from Buster"), which were shown in the interstitials of episodes until the middle of Season 12. Beginning with Episode 151, the show reverted back to "And Now a Word from Us Kids".


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Set in a realistic environment (as opposed to the more fantastical settings prominently featured in children's programming), certain stories (often in the second half of the episode) may not necessarily focus on the titular protagonist's point of view and may instead detail the experiences and viewpoints of surrounding characters, usually Arthur's classmates. Often such episodes covered those characters handling situations often faced by children in actuality as a means of guiding audiences through those situations, including bed-wetting, asthma, or dyslexia, and Arthur's character sometimes may see a reduced role (in some episodes, Arthur himself does not appear in the story at all). Stories in later seasons dealt with more serious issues or subjects, such as cancer, autism spectrum disorder, or even same-sex marriage, although numerous episodes simply addressed topics including childhood fears, trends, or fantasies. Occasionally, some episodes may not offer educational value. In spite of the realistically designed environment, the series showcased the fantasies or daydreams of a few characters on a number of occasions, and a few episodes feature supernatural elements such as ghosts or secret situations unknown to other characters such as Kate and Pal's friendship.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In May 2019, Alabama Public Television withheld the airing of "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone", where Arthur's teacher, Mr. Ratburn, married another man named Patrick. The station had also declined to broadcast a 2005 episode of the spin-off show, "Postcards from Buster", where a friend had two mothers.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In addition to the television series, the "Arthur" franchise has spawned seven hour-long films, some of which used to be often run on PBS during pledge drives. An additional movie, "Arthur's Missing Pal", was produced by Mainframe Entertainment and was the first animated "Arthur" project to make use of 3-D computer-generated imagery. "Arthur"s success has also led to the spin-off series "Postcards from Buster". "Postcards from Buster" premiered on October 11, 2004, with several returning characters, and aired its final three episodes in 2012.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: The program's official website has been given a rating of 5/5 stars at website "Common Sense Media", and has been advised for viewers 5 and up. The site described the show as being "one of the Internet's best offerings for kids". It also advised that "there are links to PBS sponsors but other than that, there is no commercial marketing to kids." The review added, "The games are actually teaching your kids something for example "The Music Box" combines music and learning, so much so that kids won't even realize that they're figuring out space relations, hand–eye coordination, and mousing skills as they jam along to upbeat tunes."


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: "Arthur" has released three music albums. The first album, "Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD", contained songs that were played throughout the TV show and original songs for the album. The second album, "Arthur's Perfect Christmas", contained songs that were played during the television film of the same title. The third album, "Arthur's Really Rockin' Music Mix", contained only original songs, including a remix of the theme song which was played on the credits of season 6 as a promotion for the album.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In 1998, both Arthur and D.W. were made into Microsoft ActiMates, refined toy dolls who could interact with children, with each other, with certain computer software and the "Arthur" website, and also with the "Arthur" television show and videos.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Microsoft discontinued the ActiMates line shortly before season 5 aired, most possibly due to a lawsuit pertaining to patent infringement and the fact that sales were dropping. It has been noted that post-season 4 episodes of "Arthur" have not included any ActiMates code. Newer videos and DVD releases of the show does not carry ActiMates code either. The enhancements on the website were removed when the site was redesigned in 2002 and thus the ActiMates would not interact with the website. Likewise, re-releases of the ActiMates software by Creative Wonders do not interact with the ActiMates because the library that controls the PC Pack has been replaced with a dummy library file.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Selected episodes were distributed on VHS and DVD by Random House. Each tape had two or three episodes dealing with similar subjects. WGBH Home Video also released two Region 1 "Arthur" season sets; they released Season 10 on March 25, 2008, and Season 11 was released on September 2, 2008. Seasons 10–19 are available to download on the iTunes Store and Amazon.com. The first three seasons were released over four collections (the second season was split into two volumes) on DVD in Europe only.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: "Arthur" became one of the highest-rated shows on PBS Kids for several years since its debut, averaging almost 10 million viewers weekly in the U.S. It is aired in a total of 83 countries, including on: PBS in the United States; Radio-Canada, Knowledge Network, TVOntario, KSPS-TV, and CBC in Canada; several ABC channels in Australia; and BBC One/CBBC/CBeebies in the UK and PBS Kids in South Africa.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: The series has been acknowledged with the George Foster Peabody Award and four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children's Animated Program. In 2002, "TV Guide" ranked Arthur Read No. 26 on its list of the "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time". The show has also won a BAFTA and was nominated for 17 Daytime Emmys.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Ostrov, Gentile, and Crick (2006) write that "our viewing of many educational programs such as "Arthur" suggests that relational aggression is modeled at a fairly high rate. For example, children may be shown excluding and ostracizing friends or peers on the playground as part of the TV show." (p. 622). They go on to theorize that preschoolers, due to their developmental stage, may have a hard time fully understanding conflict resolution, which typically occurs at the very end of a show. Shows like "Arthur" typically spend most of their time building up conflicts and this may impact the type of learning that is occurring while watching shows. Moreover, they cite research suggesting that the impacts of modeling relational aggression may be especially strong for girls. This research was elaborated on in the "New York Times" best-selling book on parenting "NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children" by Bronson and Merryman (2009). Their punch line is: "Essentially, Ostrov had just found that "Arthur" is more dangerous for children than "Power Rangers"" (p. 181).


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: About.com gave the show a rating of 4.5 stars. The series described "Arthur" assets: The "Arthur" series has won several awards including the George Foster Peabody, and for good reason. "Arthur" presents issues and situations kids can relate to, and teaches positive behaviors and responses to these issues in a genuine and comical way. The series is fun and engaging to the target age group. Kids will relate to the storylines and characters, and will therefore give thought to the responses the characters demonstrate and outcome of those responses. Because "Arthur" presents real childhood issues, the show contains some imitative behavior such as name calling or bickering, much like children experience in their own lives. Kids might hear words like "sissy" or "stupid" and see Arthur and D.W. argue. Should children mimic some of these phrases or tactics, the show provides a good springboard for parents to talk about the issues with their children and point out the importance of considering others' feelings. The review continued by citing many ways in which children could extract more from the series, for example by encouraging kids to write stories based on their own families (in much the same way "Arthur" was first realised) or by Kim Brown, Marc Brown's sister, teaching kids to draw Arthur while on tour.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: Jillian Fabiano of "E! News" wrote that the show's ending "has taught kindness, empathy and inclusion for 25 years."


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: "Arthur" regularly incorporates parodies of and references to pop culture including (but not limited to) "South Park", "Jeopardy!", "The Waltons", "Dexter's Laboratory", "The Sopranos", "Beavis and Butt-Head", the Indiana Jones films, the James Bond films, "The Adventures of Tintin", "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist", "The Jerry Springer Show", "Oprah", "Law & Order", "Charlie Rose", "Antiques Roadshow", "Mystery!", "The Twilight Zone", Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds", "Macbeth", "Planet of the Apes", "The Matrix", "Star Wars", "Titanic", "The Wizard of Oz", "Jaws", "That '70s Show", "Harry Potter", "Keeping Up with the Kardashians", "This Old House", "The Happy Hollisters", "Percy Jackson & the Olympians", "High School Musical", "Pirates of the Caribbean", and "The Chronicles of Narnia".


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In July 2014, Chance the Rapper released his interpretation of the theme song of the series called "Wonderful Everyday: Arthur" with Wyclef Jean and Jessie Ware.


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In and leading up to July 2016, "Arthur" regained attention from users of Black Twitter, where stills from the series have become explicit and comedic internet memes, often using an image of Arthur's clenched fist from the episode "Arthur's Big Hit". WGBH said, "We appreciate the memes that have been created and shared in good fun, we are, however, disappointed by the few that are outside of good taste."


title: Arthur (TV series)

text: In July 2020, YouTuber Lilly Singh created a parody of the Arthur Theme Song called "Arthur Theme Song (2020 Version)", in which the lyrics satirise the nature of 2020.


title: Tia Mowry

text: Tia Mowry is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her starring role as Tia Landry in the sitcom "Sister, Sister" (1994–1999), opposite her twin sister Tamera Mowry. The sisters then starred together in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Twitches" (2005) and its sequel, "Twitches Too" (2007). The two also starred in the fantasy comedy film "Seventeen Again" (2000) and voiced the LaBelle sisters in the animated series "Detention" (1999–2000). They were featured in the reality series "Tia & Tamera" from 2011 to 2013.


title: Tia Mowry

text: Mowry voiced Sasha in the animated series "Bratz" (2005–2006). She starred as Melanie Barnett in the comedy-drama series "The Game" (2006–2015), Stephanie Phillips in the sitcom "Instant Mom" (2013–2015) and Cocoa McKellan in the sitcom "Family Reunion" (2019–present).


title: Tia Mowry

text: Mowry had starring roles in the teen comedy film "The Hot Chick" (2002), the musical comedy film "The Mistle-Tones" (2012), the romantic comedy film "Baggage Claim" (2013) and the drama film "Indivisible" (2018).


title: Tia Mowry

text: Mowry and her sister, Tamera, formed a singing group in the early 1990s called Voices. The group debuted their first single, "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!", in 1992 and it charted at No. 72 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Tia Mowry

text: Tia Mowry was born in Gelnhausen, West Germany, on July 6, 1978. Her mother, Darlene Renée Mowry (née Flowers), managed her children's careers when they were in the group Voices and also worked as a security guard. Her father, Timothy John Mowry, was in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department, when the family moved to California.


title: Tia Mowry

text: Her father is of English and Irish ancestry and her mother is of Afro-Bahamian descent. Her parents met in high school, in Miami, Florida. Both joined the U.S. Army and both would eventually reach the rank of Sergeant. Her family is "close-knit" and "very spiritual," as the sisters became born-again Christians when they were eight.


title: Tia Mowry

text: Tia is two minutes younger than her twin sister, Tamera. Tamera was born first, at 4:30pm, followed by Tia at 4:32pm. She also has two younger brothers, actor Tahj Mowry and musician Tavior Mowry, who played college football for University of California, Davis.


title: Tia Mowry

text: Mowry and her sister began entering pageants and talent shows while their family was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. At age 12, they convinced their mother to move to California with them so they could pursue acting. She agreed, on the condition that they land an acting job within the first month of their stay. In 1990, their family moved to California permanently, settling in Los Angeles, and she and her sister began appearing in commercials and small roles.


title: Tia Mowry

text: She is well known for playing Tia Landry, a twin separated at birth and reunited with her sister as a teenager in the show "Sister, Sister". The series was developed for them after a producer spotted them on the set of "Full House", a show on which their brother made regular appearances. "Sister, Sister" was initially on ABC but was cancelled by the network after two years and picked up by The WB, where it ran for another four years. During its run, they guest-starred on the "Sister, Sister" crossover episode of "The Jamie Foxx Show" and appeared on an episode of their brother Tahj Mowry's sitcom "Smart Guy" and did voice-over work for the Kids' WB series "Detention".


title: Tia Mowry

text: After the show ended, both Mowry and her sister studied psychology at Pepperdine University. She also went to Europe to study humanities and Italian for a period. Both she and her sister appeared in the Rob Schneider comedy film "The Hot Chick", playing cheerleaders. Mowry also did voice-overs for the 4KidsTV cartoon "Bratz" as the voice of Sasha. In 2005, Mowry and her sister both starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Twitches" and reprised their roles in its sequel, "Twitches Too" and before co-starred in the 2000 movie "Seventeen Again". Tia also appeared on an episode of her sister's television show, "Strong Medicine", in January 2006, playing the role of Keisha, the twin sister of Tamera Mowry's character, Dr. Kayla Thornton. Mowry has a starring role in the BET television series "The Game" as Melanie Barnett. Mowry has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award and a "NAACP Image Awards" for best actress in a comedy.


title: Tia Mowry

text: In the "Blue's Clues" episode "Blue's Birthday", Mowry and her sister make a cameo appearance as two of the celebrities wishing Blue a happy birthday. Their only line is said in unison: "Happy Birthday, Blue!"


title: Tia Mowry

text: Beginning in July 2011, the Style Network began airing "Tia & Tamera", a reality show which follows the day-to-day lives of the twins; Tia being pregnant and Tamera planning her wedding.


title: Tia Mowry

text: Mowry and her sister are both singers. They have showcased their vocal abilities on episodes of "Sister Sister", including covers of "You Can't Hurry Love", "Amazing Grace" and "I'm Going Down", which Tamera performed. They also sang the theme song during season five and six.


title: Tia Mowry

text: In May 2012, Mowry published her first book, "Oh, Baby: Pregnancy Tales and Advice from One Hot Mama to Another", about her pregnancy and being a working mother. In May 2012, Mowry revealed on Twitter that she would not be returning to "The Game", for a sixth season. From 2013 to 2015 she starred in the NickMom/Nick at Nite series "Instant Mom".


title: Tia Mowry

text: From 2015 to 2017, Mowry starred in her Cooking Channel series "Tia Mowry at Home", where she made everything from macaroni and cheese, cake, pie, curry chicken, collard greens, shakshuka, potato, galette and various types of cocktails. Some of her guest stars included her "The Game" co-stars Hosea Sanchez, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Brittany Daniel, Lilly Singh from YouTube and Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child.


title: Tia Mowry

text: In 2016, Mowry started a podcast on PodcastOne called "Mostly Mom with Tia Mowry". On April 29, 2016, she appeared with her twin sister on the daytime talk show "The Real", where she promoted her new book "Twintution". Since 2019, she has starred on the Netflix comedy series, "Family Reunion." The show has been nominated for Outstanding Children's Program three years in a row at the NAACP Image Awards, winning in 2020 and 2021.


title: Tia Mowry

text: In September 2021, Mowry released her second cookbook, "The Quick Fix Kitchen", published by Rodale Books. The book includes mealtime hacks, tips to bring joy and balance to the kitchen and easy, delicious and healthy recipes the entire family will love. In 2021, Tia partnered with Gibson to release an extensive homeware collection, "Spice! by Tia Mowry."


title: Tia Mowry

text: Mowry met actor Cory Hardrict on the set of their film, "Hollywood Horror". They dated for six years, then became engaged on Christmas Day 2006 and married in California on April 20, 2008. On January 11, 2011, "People" announced that Mowry and Hardrict were expecting their first child; Mowry made the announcement herself on "106 & Park". The pregnancy was documented on the show "Tia & Tamera" featuring her sister, Tamera Mowry, on the Style Network. She gave birth to a son in 2011. On November 8, 2017, Mowry announced that she was pregnant with her second child, a girl. Their daughter was born in 2018.


title: Tia Mowry

text: On October 4, 2022, Mowry announced via her Instagram account that she and Hardrict were separating after 14 years of marriage due to irreconcilable differences.


title: Wendy's

text: Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc Companies Inc., a publicly traded company and the parent company of Arby's. Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as the Wendy's Company.


title: Wendy's

text: As of December 31, 2018, there are a total of 6,711 Wendy's outlets, including 353 that are company-owned and 6,358 that are franchised; 92% of all the locations are in North America. While the company determines standards for each store's exterior appearance, food quality, and menu, the store owners have control over hours of operations, interior decor, pricing, staff uniforms, and wages.


title: Wendy's

text: The chain is known for its square hamburger patties served on circular buns, sea salt fries, and the Frosty, a form of soft-serve ice cream mixed with starches. Wendy's menu consists primarily of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, and beverages such as the Frosty. Since phasing out their Big Classic, the company does not have a signature sandwich, such as the Burger King Whopper or the McDonald's Big Mac.


title: Wendy's

text: Wendy's "old-fashioned" hamburgers were inspired by Dave Thomas's trips to Kewpee Hamburgers in his home town of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kewpee sold square hamburgers and thick malt shakes. Thomas founded Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969 and featured square patties with corners that stuck out from the sides of the circular bun, giving the impression of an abundance of good quality meat. The Columbus location later added a Tim Hortons and was closed on March 2, 2007, after 38 years of business, due to declining sales. Basketball star John Havlicek, an Ohio State University alumnus, was one of Thomas's earliest investors, which eventually gave Havlicek enough of an income stream to retire comfortably.


title: Wendy's

text: Thomas named the restaurant after his fourth child Melinda Lou "Wendy" Thomas. Photographs of her were on display at the original Wendy's restaurant until it closed. In his autobiography, Thomas wrote that he regretted naming the restaurant after his daughter because once it became a fast food empire she "lost some of her privacy" with many people assuming she was the official company spokesperson. In August 1972, the first Wendy's franchisee, L.S. Hartzog, signed an agreement for Indianapolis, Indiana. Also, in 1972, Wendy's aired its first TV commercials that were only broadcast locally in Ohio. This series of commercials was titled "C'mon to Wendy's" because they stressed Wendy's superiority through the "Quality Is Our Recipe" slogan and featured an animated Wendy similar to the one from the corporate logo along with dancing hamburgers.


title: Wendy's

text: The first Canadian restaurant opened in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1976. In December 1976, Wendy's opened its 500th restaurant, located in Toronto. In March 1978, Wendy's opened its 1000th restaurant in Springfield, Tennessee.


title: Wendy's

text: Wendy's founded the fried chicken chain Sisters Chicken & Biscuits in 1978 and sold it to its largest franchiser in 1987. In the 1970s Wendy's opened in Australia but by 1986 almost all of their Australian stores had been purchased by Hungry Jack's, the Australian franchisee of Burger King, but on May 13, 2021, Wendy's opened a pop-up store in The Rocks in Sydney's city centre for a day. In 1979, the first European Wendy's opened in Munich, West Germany. The same year, Wendy's became the first fast-food chain to introduce the salad bar. Wendy's entered the Asian market by opening its first restaurants in Japan in 1980, in Hong Kong in 1982, and in the Philippines and Singapore in 1983. In 1984, Wendy's opened its first restaurant in South Korea.


title: Wendy's

text: The chain opened locations in the former West Germany in the 1980s in cities like Mannheim, Heidelberg and Munich and other areas where the US maintained Army bases. When the troops were removed after German reunification in the early 1990s, these Wendy's stores were closed.


title: Wendy's

text: In response to a 1986 slowdown in the chain's performance, Wendy's restructured its cleanliness standards, menu, and other operational details to ensure that stores met the goals and standards of the parent company so that its franchises were competitive in the market. Wendy's closed all its outlets in Hong Kong in 1986 and in Singapore in the following year.


title: Wendy's

text: From 1988 to 1990, Wendy's expanded operations globally to Mexico, New Zealand, Indonesia, Greece, Turkey, Guatemala, as well as the U.S. Naval Base in Naples, Italy. In 1988, Wendy's expanded its bar to a full-blown buffet called the Superbar for $2.99. The Superbar had various stations: "Mexican Fiesta", the Italian "Pasta Pasta," and the "Garden Spot", salad and fruit. The Superbar was popular but difficult to maintain and thus was discontinued in 1998.


title: Wendy's

text: In 1989, Wendy's opened its first restaurant in Greece at Syntagma Square being the first foreign fast-food chain in the country. After opening 12 restaurants in 3 cities, the company abandoned the Greek market in 2002 due to differences with the local franchisee, although it was a very successful and profitable business at the time. In 1996, the chain expanded in Argentina by opening 18 local restaurants. However, all of them closed only four years later due to the economic crisis in the country. In 1998, Wendy's pulled out of South Korea by closing all its 15 restaurants and in 2000 exited from the UK, Argentina, and Hong Kong.


title: Wendy's

text: Garden Sensations salads were added in 2002. Wendy's signed a franchise agreement to re-enter the Singapore market in 2009, though that agreement was short-lived; in April 2015, Wendy's once again ceased operation in the country and closed all the restaurants.


title: Wendy's

text: In 2011, Wendy's returned to Japan and Argentina announcing a development agreement for 50 restaurants in the country. It also entered the Russian market for the first time with plans to open 180 restaurants over a 10-year period. However, only three years later, in 2014, Wendy's closed all its restaurants in the country.


title: Wendy's

text: In 2013, Wendy's opened the first restaurant in Georgia and made a deal to open 25 restaurants in Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. In September 2014, several pork-based products were introduced to be on sale until early November. These included a standard pulled pork sandwich with slaw and three sauce options, a BBQ Pulled Pork Cheeseburger and cheese fries with pulled pork, cheddar cheese sauce, onions, and barbecue sauce. In May 2015, Wendy's announced they would be expanding into India, with its first outlet located in Gurgaon.


title: Wendy's

text: In September 2016, JAE Restaurant Group acquired 97 Wendy's restaurants throughout the South Florida region. JAE Restaurant Group is one of the country's largest franchisee owners. The Group owns 177 Wendy's Restaurants. Wendy's Co. has been looking to remodel existing stores and upgrade the curb appeal of its locations. They have been doing this by adding fireplaces, more seating options, adding WiFi and flat-screen TVs, and digital menus.


title: Wendy's

text: In 2017, the company sold 540 of its restaurants. The divesture was the second step in a three-step action plan to improve the brand. Other steps include new openings and remodeling of existing stores. In 2015, the brand opened 80 new restaurants and remodeled 450 of its existing locations. The brand's goal is to remodel at least 60% of its North American locations by year-end 2020.


title: Wendy's

text: In October 2019, Wendy's announced that it was returning to the UK market, which it had served from 1980 to 1986, then again from 1992 to 2000. The first of 20 planned restaurants was due to open in 2020 in Stoke-on-Trent, but it was later announced that the first location would be Reading, Berkshire. The Reading restaurant opened on June 2, 2021.


title: Wendy's

text: In January 2021, Wendy's announced that after the bankruptcy of franchisee NPC Quality Burgers Inc., half of NPC's outlets would be bought by Flynn Restaurant.


title: Wendy's

text: Wendy's offers two different hamburger patties, a "Junior" patty and a "Single" patty. The 4-ounce patties are sold in single, double, and triple configurations, and the 1.78-ounce ones in single and double. The previous size of per junior patty was reduced in 2007 to save money. Originally, Wendy's had only two kinds of chicken sandwiches, fried and grilled. The spicy chicken sandwich started out as a promotion. It was later put on the menu full-time in 1996 because of its popularity and its ease of preparation; it used the same condiments as the standard fried chicken sandwich.


title: Wendy's

text: The Frescata line of sandwiches also went from being promotional items to main menu items; after going through several revisions, the Turkey and Swiss and the Ham and Swiss were put on the menu full-time. They were discontinued in mid-December 2007. Occasionally, some Wendy's restaurants offer a fried fish sandwich.


title: Wendy's

text: In 1988, Wendy's was the first fast-food chain to create a single-price-point "value menu" where all items listed on that menu were priced exclusively at 99¢. That menu was modified in 2007, with prices ranging from 99¢ to $2.00.


title: Wendy's

text: Wendy's served breakfast beginning in 1985, but that endeavor proved unsuccessful. In mid-2007, Wendy's started serving breakfast again in its U.S. and some Canadian locations. While approximately 12 Wendy's restaurants in the U.S. and its territories have been serving breakfast since 2006, Wendy's has not had a company-wide breakfast offering.


title: Wendy's

text: The 2007 breakfast menu is different from the ones featured in 1985, and is structured similarly to the lunch/dinner menu, with "value meals" and various sides like blended fruit. Menu items include several breakfast sandwiches served on biscuits, "frescuits", and Kaiser rolls, breakfast burritos, and side orders of hash browns, muffins, and cinnamon sticks. To avoid problems encountered with the 1985 breakfast, the 2007 menu was designed for ease of operation, lower cost, and reduced preparation time.


title: Wendy's

text: In January 2016, Wendy's announced a transition plan to serve only cage-free eggs by 2020 in all U.S. and Canadian locations that serve breakfast.


title: Wendy's

text: In September 2019, Wendy's announced it would launch a nationwide breakfast menu in March 2020, including a breakfast version of its Baconator, a Frosty-inspired coffee drink, and a honey butter chicken biscuit. That menu includes 19 items.


title: Wendy's

text: In 2015, Wendy's had two food safety incidents involving foreign objects in food at their restaurants in Gurgaon, India.


title: Wendy's

text: In late August 2022, 97 persons reported getting sick after eating sandwiches containing romaine lettuce at Wendy's restaurants in the U.S. states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Kentucky. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention never could officially identify the specific source of the "E. coli" outbreak, but Wendy's removed romaine lettuce from the affected restaurants. In October 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the E. coli outbreak was over, stating that at least 109 people had been impacted. Of those cases, 52 people had been admitted to hospitals and 13 had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.


title: Wendy's

text: After successful early growth of the chain, sales flattened as the company struggled to achieve brand differentiation in the highly competitive fast-food market. This situation would turn around in the mid-1980s. Starting on January 9, 1984, elderly actress Clara Peller was featured in the successful "Where's the beef?" North American commercial campaign written by Cliff Freeman. Her famous line quickly entered the American pop culture (it was even used by Walter Mondale in a debate with Gary Hart in the Democratic primary election) and served to promote Wendy's hamburgers. Peller, age 83, was dropped from the campaign in 1985 because she performed in a commercial for Prego spaghetti sauce, saying "I found it, I really found it", a phrase alluding to the beef in the listener's mind.


title: Wendy's

text: Peller was soon after replaced by Wendy's founder Dave Thomas himself. Soft-spoken and bashful, the "Dave" ads generally focused on Thomas praising his products and offering a commitment to quality service, although there would occasionally be "wackier" ads as well. Thomas ultimately appeared in more than 800 commercials, more than any other company founder in television history.


title: Wendy's

text: After Dave Thomas' death in 2002, Wendy's struggled to find a new advertising campaign. After a round of conventional ads describing the food they serve, in 2004 they tried using a character they made called "Mr. Wendy" who claimed to be the unofficial spokesperson for the chain. These proved to be extremely unsuccessful. After seven months, Wendy's returned to an animated campaign focusing on the difference between Wendy's square hamburgers and the round hamburgers of competitors.


title: Wendy's

text: Wendy's marketing arm engages in product placement in films and television and is sometimes seen on ABC's reality show "", serving food to the more than 100 construction workers.


title: Wendy's

text: A 2007 Wendy's commercial featured the tune from the Violent Femmes song "Blister in the Sun." The inclusion of the song in the commercial provoked an internal conflict between members of the Violent Femmes, which resulted in a lawsuit between bassist Brian Ritchie and lead singer Gordon Gano that ultimately led to the band disbanding in 2009 (however, they would reunite in 2013).


title: Wendy's

text: With their "That's right" ad campaign, not a success, Wendy's unveiled a new ad campaign, featuring the animated version of their mascot voiced by Luci Christian highlighting certain menu items. The new ad campaign made its debut in late January 2008, with slogans: in the USA:


title: Wendy's

text: "It's waaaay better than fast food. It's Wendy's." and in Canada, "It's waaaay delicious. It's Wendy's." The company's slogan, "you know when it's real," was introduced in 2010.


title: Wendy's

text: In November 2010, a series of commercials aired featuring the company's namesake, Wendy Thomas, which marked the first time she had appeared in a Wendy's advertisement. In April 2012, Morgan Smith Goodwin began appearing as the redhead in ads with the slogan "Now that's better." In 2013, social media advertising featuring Nick Lachey directed at millennials promoted the Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger.


title: Wendy's

text: A 2014 campaign to promote the Tuscan Chicken on Ciabatta sandwich entitled L'Estrella de la Toscana (or "Star of Tuscany" in English) was launched on television and social media.


title: Wendy's

text: On March 23, 2018, Wendy's released an EP titled "We Beefin?", a reference to their 1984 slogan "Where's the beef?"


title: Wendy's

text: On October 3, 2019, Wendy's released a tabletop role-playing game titled "Feast of Legends: Rise From the Deep Freeze", in the style of "Dungeons & Dragons". A short multi-part adventure was included, pitting Wendy's kingdom against the Ice Jester, a parody of Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot of Wendy's competitor, McDonald's. Critical Role was sponsored for a special event live stream of the game.


title: Brass

text: Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure.


title: Brass

text: Brass is similar to bronze, another alloy containing copper that uses tin instead of zinc. Both bronze and brass also may include small proportions of a range of other elements including arsenic (As), lead (Pb), phosphorus (P), aluminium (Al), manganese (Mn), and silicon (Si). Historically, the distinction between the two alloys has been less consistent and clear, and modern practice in museums and archaeology increasingly avoids both terms for historical objects in favor of the more general "copper alloy".


title: Brass

text: Brass has long been a popular material for decoration due to its bright, gold-like appearance; being used for drawer pulls and doorknobs. It has also been widely used to make utensils due to properties such as having a low melting point, high workability (both with hand tools and with modern turning and milling machines), durability, and electrical and thermal conductivity.


title: Brass

text: Brass is still commonly used in applications where corrosion resistance and low friction are required, such as locks, hinges, gears, bearings, ammunition casings, zippers, plumbing, hose couplings, valves, and electrical plugs and sockets. It is used extensively for musical instruments such as horns and bells, and also used as a substitute for copper in making costume jewelry, fashion jewelry, and other imitation jewelry. The composition of brass, generally 66% copper and 34% zinc, makes it a favorable substitute for copper based jewelry, as it exhibits greater resistance to corrosion. Brass is not suitable for such items as boat propellers because the zinc reacts with minerals in salt water, leaving porous copper behind. The tin in bronze will not react with these minerals.


title: Brass

text: Brass is often used in situations in which it is important that sparks not be struck, such as in fittings and tools used near flammable or explosive materials.


title: Brass

text: Brass is more malleable than bronze or zinc. The relatively low melting point of brass (, depending on composition) and its flow characteristics make it a relatively easy material to cast. By varying the proportions of copper and zinc, the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses. The density of brass is .


title: Brass

text: Today, almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled. Because brass is not ferromagnetic, it can be separated from ferrous scrap by passing the scrap near a powerful magnet. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry, where it is melted and recast into billets. Billets are heated and extruded into the desired form and size. The general softness of brass means that it can often be machined without the use of cutting fluid, though there are exceptions to this.


title: Brass

text: Aluminium makes brass stronger and more corrosion-resistant. Aluminium also causes a highly beneficial hard layer of aluminium oxide (AlO) to be formed on the surface that is thin, transparent, and self-healing. Tin has a similar effect and finds its use especially in seawater applications (naval brasses). Combinations of iron, aluminium, silicon, and manganese make brass wear- and tear-resistant. The addition of as little as 1% iron to a brass alloy will result in an alloy with a noticeable magnetic attraction.


title: Brass

text: Brass will corrode in the presence of moisture, chlorides, acetates, ammonia, and certain acids. This often happens when the copper reacts with sulfur to form a brown and eventually black surface layer of copper sulfide which, if regularly exposed to slightly acidic water such as urban rainwater, can then oxidize in air to form a patina of green-blue copper sulfate. Depending on how the sulfide/sulfate layer was formed, this layer may protect the underlying brass from further damage.


title: Brass

text: Although copper and zinc have a large difference in electrical potential, the resulting brass alloy does not experience internalized galvanic corrosion because of the absence of a corrosive environment within the mixture. However, if brass is placed in contact with a more noble metal such as silver or gold in such an environment, the brass will corrode galvanically; conversely, if brass is in contact with a less-noble metal such as zinc or iron, the less noble metal will corrode and the brass will be protected.


title: Brass

text: To enhance the machinability of brass, lead is often added in concentrations of about 2%. Since lead has a lower melting point than the other constituents of the brass, it tends to migrate towards the grain boundaries in the form of globules as it cools from casting. The pattern the globules form on the surface of the brass increases the available lead surface area which, in turn, affects the degree of leaching. In addition, cutting operations can smear the lead globules over the surface. These effects can lead to significant lead leaching from brasses of comparatively low lead content.


title: Brass

text: In October 1999, the California State Attorney General sued 13 key manufacturers and distributors over lead content. In laboratory tests, state researchers found the average brass key, new or old, exceeded the California Proposition 65 limits by an average factor of 19, assuming handling twice a day. In April 2001 manufacturers agreed to reduce lead content to 1.5%, or face a requirement to warn consumers about lead content. Keys plated with other metals are not affected by the settlement, and may continue to use brass alloys with a higher percentage of lead content.


title: Brass

text: Also in California, lead-free materials must be used for "each component that comes into contact with the wetted surface of pipes and pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures". On 1 January 2010, the maximum amount of lead in "lead-free brass" in California was reduced from 4% to 0.25% lead.


title: Brass

text: Dezincification-resistant (DZR or DR) brasses, sometimes referred to as CR (corrosion resistant) brasses, are used where there is a large corrosion risk and where normal brasses do not meet the requirements. Applications with high water temperatures, chlorides present or deviating water qualities (soft water) play a role. DZR-brass is excellent in water boiler systems. This brass alloy must be produced with great care, with special attention placed on a balanced composition and proper production temperatures and parameters to avoid long-term failures.


title: Brass

text: An example of DZR brass is the C352 brass, with about 30% zinc, 61–63% copper, 1.7–2.8% lead, and 0.02–0.15% arsenic. The lead and arsenic significantly suppress the zinc loss.


title: Brass

text: "Red brasses", a family of alloys with high copper proportion and generally less than 15% zinc, are more resistant to zinc loss. One of the metals called "red brass" is 85% copper, 5% tin, 5% lead, and 5% zinc. Copper alloy C23000, which is also known as "red brass", contains 84–86% copper, 0.05% each iron and lead, with the balance being zinc.


title: Brass

text: Another such material is gunmetal, from the family of red brasses. Gunmetal alloys contain roughly 88% copper, 8-10% tin, and 2-4% zinc. Lead can be added for ease of machining or for bearing alloys.


title: Brass

text: "Naval brass", for use in seawater, contains 40% zinc but also 1% tin. The tin addition suppresses zinc leaching.


title: Brass

text: The NSF International requires brasses with more than 15% zinc, used in piping and plumbing fittings, to be dezincification-resistant.


title: Brass

text: The high malleability and workability, relatively good resistance to corrosion, and traditionally attributed acoustic properties of brass, have made it the usual metal of choice for construction of musical instruments whose acoustic resonators consist of long, relatively narrow tubing, often folded or coiled for compactness; silver and its alloys, and even gold, have been used for the same reasons, but brass is the most economical choice. Collectively known as brass instruments, these include the trombone, tuba, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, baritone horn, euphonium, tenor horn, and French horn, and many other "horns", many in variously-sized families, such as the saxhorns.


title: Brass

text: Other wind instruments may be constructed of brass or other metals, and indeed most modern student-model flutes and piccolos are made of some variety of brass, usually a cupronickel alloy similar to nickel silver (also known as German silver). Clarinets, especially low clarinets such as the contrabass and subcontrabass, are sometimes made of metal because of limited supplies of the dense, fine-grained tropical hardwoods traditionally preferred for smaller woodwinds. For the same reason, some low clarinets, bassoons and contrabassoons feature a hybrid construction, with long, straight sections of wood, and curved joints, neck, and/or bell of metal. The use of metal also avoids the risks of exposing wooden instruments to changes in temperature or humidity, which can cause sudden cracking. Even though the saxophones and sarrusophones are classified as woodwind instruments, they are normally made of brass for similar reasons, and because their wide, conical bores and thin-walled bodies are more easily and efficiently made by forming sheet metal than by machining wood.


title: Brass

text: The keywork of most modern woodwinds, including wooden-bodied instruments, is also usually made of an alloy such as nickel silver. Such alloys are stiffer and more durable than the brass used to construct the instrument bodies, but still workable with simple hand tools—a boon to quick repairs. The mouthpieces of both brass instruments and, less commonly, woodwind instruments are often made of brass among other metals as well.


title: Brass

text: Next to the brass instruments, the most notable use of brass in music is in various percussion instruments, most notably cymbals, gongs, and orchestral (tubular) bells (large "church" bells are normally made of bronze). Small handbells and "jingle bells" are also commonly made of brass.


title: Brass

text: The harmonica is a free reed aerophone, also often made from brass. In organ pipes of the reed family, brass strips (called tongues) are used as the reeds, which beat against the shallot (or beat "through" the shallot in the case of a "free" reed). Although not part of the brass section, snare drums are also sometimes made of brass. Some parts on electric guitars are also made from brass, especially inertia blocks on tremolo systems for its tonal properties, and for string nuts and saddles for both tonal properties and its low friction.


title: Brass

text: The bactericidal properties of brass have been observed for centuries, particularly in marine environments where it prevents biofouling. Depending upon the type and concentration of pathogens and the medium they are in, brass kills these microorganisms within a few minutes to hours of contact.


title: Brass

text: A large number of independent studies confirm this antimicrobial effect, even against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA and VRSA. The mechanisms of antimicrobial action by copper and its alloys, including brass, are a subject of intense and ongoing investigation.


title: Brass

text: Brass is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, especially from ammonia or substances containing or releasing ammonia. The problem is sometimes known as season cracking after it was first discovered in brass cartridges used for rifle ammunition during the 1920s in the British Indian Army. The problem was caused by high residual stresses from cold forming of the cases during manufacture, together with chemical attack from traces of ammonia in the atmosphere. The cartridges were stored in stables and the ammonia concentration rose during the hot summer months, thus initiating brittle cracks. The problem was resolved by annealing the cases, and storing the cartridges elsewhere.


title: Brass

text: Other phases than α, β and γ are ε, a hexagonal intermetallic CuZn, and η, a solid solution of copper in zinc.


title: Brass

text: Although forms of brass have been in use since prehistory, its true nature as a copper-zinc alloy was not understood until the post-medieval period because the zinc vapor which reacted with copper to make brass was not recognized as a metal. The King James Bible makes many references to "brass" to translate "nechosheth" (bronze or copper) from Hebrew to English. The earliest brasses may have been natural alloys made by smelting zinc-rich copper ores. By the Roman period brass was being deliberately produced from metallic copper and zinc minerals using the cementation process, the product of which was calamine brass, and variations on this method continued until the mid-19th century. It was eventually replaced by speltering, the direct alloying of copper and zinc metal which was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.


title: Brass

text: In West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean early copper-zinc alloys are now known in small numbers from a number of 3rd millennium BC sites in the Aegean, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kalmykia, Turkmenistan and Georgia and from 2nd millennium BC sites in West India, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Canaan. Isolated examples of copper-zinc alloys are known in China from the 1st century AD, long after bronze was widely used.


title: Brass

text: The compositions of these early "brass" objects are highly variable and most have zinc contents of between 5% and 15% wt which is lower than in brass produced by cementation. These may be "natural alloys" manufactured by smelting zinc rich copper ores in redox conditions. Many have similar tin contents to contemporary bronze artefacts and it is possible that some copper-zinc alloys were accidental and perhaps not even distinguished from copper. However the large number of copper-zinc alloys now known suggests that at least some were deliberately manufactured and many have zinc contents of more than 12% wt which would have resulted in a distinctive golden color.


title: Brass

text: By the 8th–7th century BC Assyrian cuneiform tablets mention the exploitation of the "copper of the mountains" and this may refer to "natural" brass. "Oreikhalkon" (mountain copper), the Ancient Greek translation of this term, was later adapted to the Latin "aurichalcum" meaning "golden copper" which became the standard term for brass. In the 4th century BC Plato knew "orichalkos" as rare and nearly as valuable as gold and Pliny describes how "aurichalcum" had come from Cypriot ore deposits which had been exhausted by the 1st century AD. X-ray fluorescence analysis of 39 orichalcum ingots recovered from a 2,600-year-old shipwreck off Sicily found them to be an alloy made with 75–80% copper, 15–20% zinc and small percentages of nickel, lead and iron.


title: Brass

text: During the later part of first millennium BC the use of brass spread across a wide geographical area from Britain and Spain in the west to Iran, and India in the east. This seems to have been encouraged by exports and influence from the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean where deliberate production of brass from metallic copper and zinc ores had been introduced. The 4th century BC writer Theopompus, quoted by Strabo, describes how heating earth from Andeira in Turkey produced "droplets of false silver", probably metallic zinc, which could be used to turn copper into oreichalkos. In the 1st century BC the Greek Dioscorides seems to have recognized a link between zinc minerals and brass describing how Cadmia (zinc oxide) was found on the walls of furnaces used to heat either zinc ore or copper and explaining that it can then be used to make brass.


title: Brass

text: By the first century BC brass was available in sufficient supply to use as coinage in Phrygia and Bithynia, and after the Augustan currency reform of 23 BC it was also used to make Roman "dupondii" and "sestertii". The uniform use of brass for coinage and military equipment across the Roman world may indicate a degree of state involvement in the industry, and brass even seems to have been deliberately boycotted by Jewish communities in Palestine because of its association with Roman authority.


title: Brass

text: Brass was produced by the cementation process where copper and zinc ore are heated together until zinc vapor is produced which reacts with the copper. There is good archaeological evidence for this process and crucibles used to produce brass by cementation have been found on Roman period sites including Xanten and Nidda in Germany, Lyon in France and at a number of sites in Britain. They vary in size from tiny acorn sized to large amphorae like vessels but all have elevated levels of zinc on the interior and are lidded. They show no signs of slag or metal prills suggesting that zinc minerals were heated to produce zinc vapor which reacted with metallic copper in a solid state reaction. The fabric of these crucibles is porous, probably designed to prevent a buildup of pressure, and many have small holes in the lids which may be designed to release pressure or to add additional zinc minerals near the end of the process. Dioscorides mentioned that zinc minerals were used for both the working and finishing of brass, perhaps suggesting secondary additions.


title: Brass

text: Brass made during the early Roman period seems to have varied between 20% and 28% wt zinc. The high content of zinc in coinage and brass objects declined after the first century AD and it has been suggested that this reflects zinc loss during recycling and thus an interruption in the production of new brass. However it is now thought this was probably a deliberate change in composition and overall the use of brass increases over this period making up around 40% of all copper alloys used in the Roman world by the 4th century AD.


title: Brass

text: Little is known about the production of brass during the centuries immediately after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Disruption in the trade of tin for bronze from Western Europe may have contributed to the increasing popularity of brass in the east and by the 6th–7th centuries AD over 90% of copper alloy artefacts from Egypt were made of brass. However other alloys such as low tin bronze were also used and they vary depending on local cultural attitudes, the purpose of the metal and access to zinc, especially between the Islamic and Byzantine world. Conversely the use of true brass seems to have declined in Western Europe during this period in favor of gunmetals and other mixed alloys but by about 1000 brass artefacts are found in Scandinavian graves in Scotland, brass was being used in the manufacture of coins in Northumbria and there is archaeological and historical evidence for the production of calamine brass in Germany and the Low Countries, areas rich in calamine ore.


title: Brass

text: These places would remain important centers of brass making throughout the medieval period, especially Dinant. Brass objects are still collectively known as "dinanderie" in French. The baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège in modern Belgium (before 1117) is an outstanding masterpiece of Romanesque brass casting, though also often described as bronze. The metal of the early 12th-century Gloucester Candlestick is unusual even by medieval standards in being a mixture of copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickel, iron, antimony and arsenic with an unusually large amount of silver, ranging from 22.5% in the base to 5.76% in the pan below the candle. The proportions of this mixture may suggest that the candlestick was made from a hoard of old coins, probably Late Roman. Latten is a term for decorative borders and similar objects cut from sheet metal, whether of brass or bronze. Aquamaniles were typically made in brass in both the European and Islamic worlds.


title: Brass

text: The cementation process continued to be used but literary sources from both Europe and the Islamic world seem to describe variants of a higher temperature liquid process which took place in open-topped crucibles. Islamic cementation seems to have used zinc oxide known as "tutiya" or tutty rather than zinc ores for brass-making, resulting in a metal with lower iron impurities. A number of Islamic writers and the 13th century Italian Marco Polo describe how this was obtained by sublimation from zinc ores and condensed onto clay or iron bars, archaeological examples of which have been identified at Kush in Iran. It could then be used for brass making or medicinal purposes. In 10th century Yemen al-Hamdani described how spreading al-iglimiya, probably zinc oxide, onto the surface of molten copper produced tutiya vapor which then reacted with the metal. The 13th century Iranian writer al-Kashani describes a more complex process whereby "tutiya" was mixed with raisins and gently roasted before being added to the surface of the molten metal. A temporary lid was added at this point presumably to minimize the escape of zinc vapor.


title: Brass

text: In Europe a similar liquid process in open-topped crucibles took place which was probably less efficient than the Roman process and the use of the term tutty by Albertus Magnus in the 13th century suggests influence from Islamic technology. The 12th century German monk Theophilus described how preheated crucibles were one sixth filled with powdered calamine and charcoal then topped up with copper and charcoal before being melted, stirred then filled again. The final product was cast, then again melted with calamine. It has been suggested that this second melting may have taken place at a lower temperature to allow more zinc to be absorbed. Albertus Magnus noted that the "power" of both calamine and tutty could evaporate and described how the addition of powdered glass could create a film to bind it to the metal.


title: Brass

text: German brass making crucibles are known from Dortmund dating to the 10th century AD and from Soest and Schwerte in Westphalia dating to around the 13th century confirm Theophilus' account, as they are open-topped, although ceramic discs from Soest may have served as loose lids which may have been used to reduce zinc evaporation, and have slag on the interior resulting from a liquid process.


title: Brass

text: Some of the most famous objects in African art are the lost wax castings of West Africa, mostly from what is now Nigeria, produced first by the Kingdom of Ife and then the Benin Empire. Though normally described as "bronzes", the Benin Bronzes, now mostly in the British Museum and other Western collections, and the large portrait heads such as the Bronze Head from Ife of "heavily leaded zinc-brass" and the Bronze Head of Queen Idia, both also British Museum, are better described as brass, though of variable compositions. Work in brass or bronze continued to be important in Benin art and other West African traditions such as Akan goldweights, where the metal was regarded as a more valuable material than in Europe.


title: Brass

text: The Renaissance saw important changes to both the theory and practice of brassmaking in Europe. By the 15th century there is evidence for the renewed use of lidded cementation crucibles at Zwickau in Germany. These large crucibles were capable of producing c.20 kg of brass. There are traces of slag and pieces of metal on the interior. Their irregular composition suggests that this was a lower temperature, not entirely liquid, process. The crucible lids had small holes which were blocked with clay plugs near the end of the process presumably to maximize zinc absorption in the final stages. Triangular crucibles were then used to melt the brass for casting.


title: Brass

text: 16th-century technical writers such as Biringuccio, Ercker and Agricola described a variety of cementation brass making techniques and came closer to understanding the true nature of the process noting that copper became heavier as it changed to brass and that it became more golden as additional calamine was added. Zinc metal was also becoming more commonplace. By 1513 metallic zinc ingots from India and China were arriving in London and pellets of zinc condensed in furnace flues at the Rammelsberg in Germany were exploited for cementation brass making from around 1550.


title: Brass

text: Eventually it was discovered that metallic zinc could be alloyed with copper to make brass, a process known as speltering, and by 1657 the German chemist Johann Glauber had recognized that calamine was "nothing else but unmeltable zinc" and that zinc was a "half ripe metal". However some earlier high zinc, low iron brasses such as the 1530 Wightman brass memorial plaque from England may have been made by alloying copper with "zinc" and include traces of cadmium similar to those found in some zinc ingots from China.


title: Brass

text: However, the cementation process was not abandoned, and as late as the early 19th century there are descriptions of solid-state cementation in a domed furnace at around 900–950 °C and lasting up to 10 hours. The European brass industry continued to flourish into the post medieval period buoyed by innovations such as the 16th century introduction of water powered hammers for the production of wares such as pots. By 1559 the Germany city of Aachen alone was capable of producing 300,000 cwt of brass per year. After several false starts during the 16th and 17th centuries the brass industry was also established in England taking advantage of abundant supplies of cheap copper smelted in the new coal fired reverberatory furnace. In 1723 Bristol brass maker Nehemiah Champion patented the use of granulated copper, produced by pouring molten metal into cold water. This increased the surface area of the copper helping it react and zinc contents of up to 33% wt were reported using this new technique.


title: Brass

text: In 1738 Nehemiah's son William Champion patented a technique for the first industrial scale distillation of metallic zinc known as "distillation per descencum" or "the English process". This local zinc was used in speltering and allowed greater control over the zinc content of brass and the production of high-zinc copper alloys which would have been difficult or impossible to produce using cementation, for use in expensive objects such as scientific instruments, clocks, brass buttons and costume jewelry. However Champion continued to use the cheaper calamine cementation method to produce lower-zinc brass and the archaeological remains of bee-hive shaped cementation furnaces have been identified at his works at Warmley. By the mid-to-late 18th century developments in cheaper zinc distillation such as John-Jaques Dony's horizontal furnaces in Belgium and the reduction of tariffs on zinc as well as demand for corrosion-resistant high zinc alloys increased the popularity of speltering and as a result cementation was largely abandoned by the mid-19th century.


title: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 13)

text: The thirteenth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" premiered on January 1 and concluded on April 23, 2021. The cast was announced via Twitter on December 9, 2020. The competition is broadcast on VH1 in the United States and showcases 13 new queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". VH1 renewed both "RuPaul's Drag Race" and its spin-off "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" for a thirteenth and sixth season respectively on August 20, 2020. Casting calls for season 13 were opened in December 2019. In addition to airing on VH1, the premiere episode was simulcast across 5 other channels: Logo, MTV, MTV2, Pop, and The CW, becoming the most-watched episode in the franchise's history.


title: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 13)

text: After the season's first teaser trailer was accidentally leaked a day prior, the cast was officially revealed by season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall on December 9, 2020. The teaser revealed that the season's premiere would consist of six "Lip-Sync for Your Life" battles in a Lip-Sync Extravaganza, along with a new socially distanced stage and design. The season welcomed Gottmik, the show's first ever openly transgender male and assigned female at birth contestant since the series began in 2009.


title: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 13)

text: The season was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, relying on strict protocols, including isolation and testing of contestants, judges, and crew. On February 26, 2021, the series aired "Corona Can't Keep a Good Queen Down" detailing the season's production amid the pandemic, including unseen footage and reflections from the cast.


title: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 13)

text: The winner of the thirteenth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" was Symone, with Kandy Muse as the runner-up and LaLa Ri as Miss Congeniality.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Robert A. Riggle Jr. (born April 21, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and former United States Marine Officer. He is known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" from 2006 to 2008; as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" from 2004 to 2005; as the recurring character Gil Thorpe on the 20th Television sitcom "Modern Family" from 2013 to 2019; and for his comedic roles in films such as "" (2006), "The Hangover" (2009), "Furry Vengeance" (2010), "Larry Crowne" (2011), "Dumb and Dumber To" (2014), "Absolutely Anything" (2015) and "Night School" (2018). He has also co-starred in the Adult Swim comedy-action series "". In 2012, he replaced Frank Caliendo for the comedy skit and prognostication portions of "Fox NFL Sunday". Riggle currently co-hosts the miniature golf game show series "Holey Moley" with Joe Tessitore on ABC.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Sandra and Robert Allen Riggle, who worked in insurance. His family moved to Overland Park, Kansas when he was two. He attended Shawnee Mission South High School, where he was involved in the school's radio and TV stations. He was voted the most humorous in high school and graduated in 1988. He later attended the University of Kansas, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, attained his pilot's license, and graduated with a B.A. in Theater and Film in 1992. He went on to earn a Master of Public Administration degree from Webster University in 1997.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle joined the Marines in 1990 after getting his pilot's license, intending to become a naval aviator, but left flight school to pursue a comedy career. Riggle was a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve and often referred to his military experiences on "The Daily Show", including acting as the show's "military analyst" and joking that he could kill any other member of the show. In August 2007, he went to Iraq to report for "The Daily Show" and to entertain troops under the purview of the USO.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle was a public affairs officer with a New York City-based unit; he served in Liberia, Kosovo, Albania, and Afghanistan. He attained the rank of lieutenant colonel and received the Meritorious Service Medal (2); Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal; Joint Service Achievement Medal; Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2); Combat Action Ribbon (He earned it during his tour in Kosovo); National Defense Service Medal (2); Kosovo Campaign Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; and NATO Medal.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle has a long-standing comedic partnership with comedian Rob Huebel, with whom he frequently appears at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCBT) and in their former improvisational sketch comedy troupe Respecto Montalban. Perhaps the duo's best known creation was their long running two-man show "Kung Fu Grip" which they performed at UCBT and other comedy venues for many years, and in the 2004 HBO Comedy Arts Festival. Around this time, they began appearing together in several of Comedy Central and VH1's "talking head" commentary programs such as "Best Week Ever" and "A2Z". They also appeared in Bravo network's "100 Scariest Movie Moments" special in 2004. These appearances got the duo their first exposure to television viewers and made them favorites among VH1 viewers. Riggle, Huebel and most of their castmates from "Respecto Montalban" also performed in sketches on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" through the late 1990s and early 2000s.


title: Rob Riggle

text: The duo's growing popularity landed them an audition on "Saturday Night Live" in the summer of 2004. They auditioned together, though only Riggle ended up making the cut. After spending one season on "Saturday Night Live" from 2004 to 2005, Riggle soon joined Huebel and many of his other "Respecto Montalban" castmates in Los Angeles to work on new projects. Soon after, the two landed a holding deal at NBC in early 2006 to develop a half-hour comedy program, though it never reached production.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In September 2006, Riggle joined "The Daily Show" as a regular correspondent. Around the same time, Huebel (along with "Respecto Montalban" member Paul Scheer and stand-up comic Aziz Ansari) started developing "Human Giant", a sketch show for MTV. Riggle often appeared in the show's sketches, and in its 24-hour live marathon which aired in May 2007. One of Riggle's most memorable appearances was as hired muscle Ham-Bone, who appeared alongside Aziz Ansari in the season one sketch "Clell Tickle: Indie Marketing Guru". Riggle and Huebel can also be seen on stage at the UCBT in Doug Benson's documentary "Super High Me".


title: Rob Riggle

text: A featured player during the 2004–2005 season, Riggle's first appearance as a "SNL" cast member was on the show's 30th-season premiere on October 2, 2004. He has portrayed Larry the Cable Guy, Howard Dean, Rick Sanchez, Mark McGwire, and Toby Keith. He had a one-shot character named Leviticus, a loud, violent street preacher who only appeared on a Weekend Update segment on the Christmas episode hosted by Robert De Niro (though another sketch featuring Leviticus scheduled to air on the episode hosted by Hilary Swank was cut after dress rehearsal).


title: Rob Riggle

text: Prior to becoming a cast member, Riggle appeared in a non-speaking role during season 29 in a pre-taped parody of "Fear Factor", where he played the father of one of the child contestants during the "Breakfast in Bed" challenge, in which a child must eat the maggots off a plate of Eggs Benedict with the understanding that failing to do so results in the divorce of his parents.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In September 2006, Riggle joined the cast of "The Daily Show" to replace the departing Rob Corddry, and his debut on September 20, 2006.


title: Rob Riggle

text: "TV Guide" cited Riggle's segment "Marines in Berkeley" where he donned hippie regalia to spoof University of California, Berkeley peace activists protesting a local Marines recruiting station.


title: Rob Riggle

text: During the 2008 Olympics, Riggle traveled to China to tape sketches for "The Daily Show", producing the four-part special feature "Rob Riggle: Chasing the Dragon".


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle left "The Daily Show" on December 10, 2008, in his words "to go fight crime"; however, he appeared at Bonnaroo 2009—with John Oliver and Rory Albanese, one of the show's executive producers—in a show entitled "An Evening (or Afternoon) with The Daily Show featuring John Oliver, Rob Riggle & Rory Albanese".


title: Rob Riggle

text: On August 3, 2010, Riggle made a surprise cameo on "The Daily Show" during an interview with Will Ferrell. While Ferrell and Stewart began discussing Riggle's "lack of talent" and making other disparaging remarks about him, Riggle suddenly walked onto the set to "surprise" them and asked if they were talking about him. His intimidating presence appeared to make Ferrell and Stewart visibly afraid, continuing the running joke that Stewart is afraid of Riggle.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Previously, Riggle's live comedy work was mostly improvisational and sketch-based, but beginning in 2006 he wanted to try something different and decided to create a stand-up act. After working on it in various comedy clubs in New York City, he toured colleges and other comedy clubs, often performing with John Oliver and other "Daily Show" writers. He credits John Oliver for encouraging him to try stand-up while they shared an office at "The Daily Show".


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle hosted an episode of Comedy Central's stand-up series "Live at Gotham" on December 4, 2009, and taped a "Comedy Central Presents" special that aired on March 5, 2010.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle played Eddie Reynolds in "", a 2004 film starring Rob Corddry, and featuring almost all of the Respecto Montalban group. Later that year Riggle was one of the "Flab Four" on the Comedy Central mini-series "Straight Plan for the Gay Man", a parody of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" that ran for three episodes.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In 2006, Riggle guest-starred as a boat captain named Captain Jack on the "Booze Cruise" episode of "The Office", and as an anti-euthanasia activist on "Arrested Development". He was also seen as a NASCAR announcer in the comedy film "Talladega Nights" with Will Ferrell.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In late 2007, Riggle began appearing as a spokesman in a series of Budweiser commercials. In 2008 he signed a talent holding contract with CBS and CBS Paramount Network TV, which included a development deal to create and star in a half-hour comedy series. He also gained a supporting role in "Step Brothers", where he plays a rude co-worker of Brennan's (Will Ferrell). He had memorable supporting roles in the 2009 films "The Hangover" and "," and supporting roles in the 2010 comedies "Going the Distance", "Killers", and "The Other Guys".


title: Rob Riggle

text: In 2009, Riggle started a recurring role on the CBS sitcom "Gary Unmarried," playing Mitch, Jay Mohr's brother from the Marines.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In 2010, Riggle and comedian Paul Scheer wrote and starred in "Designated Driver", a series of sketches for the first season of the HBO comedy show "Funny or Die Presents". Riggle, Scheer and Rob Huebel also wrote and starred in a series of sketches called "Death Hunt" in the show's second season in 2011.


title: Rob Riggle

text: For the 2010–2011 NFL football season, Riggle recorded a Monday Night Football introduction and several short comedy bits for the Kansas City Chiefs to be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. He played the lead in the 2011 CBS sitcom pilot "Home Game", executive produced by Mark Wahlberg.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle is seen in stadium monitors at Qwest Field during Seattle Seahawks games, encouraging fans to cheer.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In May 2011, Riggle appeared in a 2-minute short on funnyordie.com as the U.S. Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden. He plays a humble US Navy Lieutenant (though the insignia on his uniform displays three solid gold bands, indicating the O-5 rank of a USN commander) who, upon being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, pledges absolute discretion, then gets intoxicated at a local bar and boasts unreservedly to a large crowd that he was bin Laden's assassin.


title: Rob Riggle

text: From 2011 to 2013, Riggle has co-starred as "The President of the Navy" in the Adult Swim comedy-action series "". On July 11, 2012, he hosted the 2012 ESPY Awards.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In 2012, Riggle had a recurring role as "Kevin Jesquire" in season two of the FX comedy series "Wilfred". He also began the recurring role of Gil Thorpe, the real-estate rival of Phil Dunphy (played by Ty Burrell), on the hit comedy series Modern Family, which continued through the show's 11th and final season in 2020.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In October 2013, he played Satan in the music video for Steel Panther's "Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World".


title: Rob Riggle

text: In 2014, he was expected to star with Rob Lowe in the pilot for the single-camera comedy "The Pro" as Bobby Welch, a former professional tennis player. but the series was not picked up. Riggle appeared as Frank West in the 2015 film "".


title: Rob Riggle

text: From September 2016, Riggle took over the role of Colonel Sanders in the KFC ad campaigns, following other comedians including Norm Macdonald and Darrell Hammond.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle has been co-hosting on Stephen Curry's miniature golf game show Holey Moley in 2019 thru 2021 seasons with Joe Tessitore.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Beginning with the 19th-season premiere of the "Fox NFL Sunday" pre-game show on September 9, 2012, Riggle took over the comedy skit and prognosticator portions previously performed by Frank Caliendo from 2003 to 2011. Riggle did not return to the Fox NFL pre-game show in 2020.


title: Rob Riggle

text: Riggle married his wife Tiffany on April 13, 1999, and have two children. They filed for divorce in October 2020.


title: Rob Riggle

text: In June 2021, Riggle publicly claimed that his ex-wife had hacked his personal Apple account, stolen money from his home, and that she was somehow spying on him. Later that month, Riggle was granted a temporary restraining order against his ex-wife after finding a hidden camera, disguised as a smoke detector, in his home with more than 10,000 videos stored in it — some of which support his claims. A second hearing was scheduled for July 2021 at Riggle's request for a forensic expert to go through the footage obtained through the hidden camera.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: Dr. Romantic () is a South Korean television series starring Han Suk-kyu as the title character with Yoo Yeon-seok, Seo Hyun-jin in first season, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Joo-hun in second season. The first season aired on SBS TV from November 7, 2016, to January 16, 2017, every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST). The second season aired from January 6 to February 25, 2020, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:40 (KST).


title: Dr. Romantic

text: The first season received positive reception, recording over 20% in ratings. In addition, it also received positive reviews for its plot and Han Suk-kyu's performance.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: A story about Boo Yong-joo (Han Suk-kyu), a triple-board certified surgeon, who was once at the top of his field and used to work at Seoul's top medical center, Geosan University Hospital. After a traumatic incident, he disappears and changes his name to Kim Sa-bu. He begins working at a small hospital named Doldam, located in Gangwon Province. He guides Kang Dong-joo (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Yoon Seo-jeong (Seo Hyun-jin) to become great doctors by teaching them to fight against power and money for the sake of patients.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: Three years following the events of first season, Kim Sa-bu visits Geosan University Hospital to recruit a general surgeon. He finds Seo Woo-jin (Ahn Hyo-seop), a doctor with a troubled past who is ostracized by his fellow doctors, and offers him the job. In the meantime, Cha Eun-jae (Lee Sung-kyung) is suspended after making another mistake in the operation room and has no other choice but to follow the two doctors to Doldam Hospital.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: First script reading took place September 13, 2016, at SBS Ilsan Production Studios in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Filming started on September 23.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: The first script reading took place in September 2019 at SBS Ilsan Production Studios in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: Han Suk-kyu, Kim Hong-pa, Jin Kyung, Im Won-hee, Byun Woo-min, Kim Min-jae, Choi Jin-ho, Jang Hyuk-jin, Yang Se-jong, Lee Gyu-ho and Yoon Na-moo reprised their roles from the first season.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: In September 2021, it was reported that production for Season 3 would begin in late 2021, but filming had to be postponed due to the actor's schedule and the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Season 3 is scheduled to be filmed with the goal of broadcasting in the first half of 2023.


title: Dr. Romantic

text: Han Suk-kyu, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Sung-kyung, Byun Woo-min, Jung Ji-an, Im Won-hee, Jin Kyung, So Joo-yeon, Yoon Na-moo, Kim Min-jae, Shin Dong-wook, Yoon Bora, Lee Shin-young and Lee Hong-nae has confirmed the casting for season 3.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker and captains for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States women's national soccer team.


title: Alex Morgan

text: She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe from 2018 to 2020.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Shortly after graduating early from the University of California, Berkeley, where she played for the California Golden Bears, Morgan was drafted number one overall in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Western New York Flash. There, she made her professional debut and helped the team win the league championship. Morgan, who was 22 at the time, was the youngest player on the national team at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the team was runner-up. At the 2012 London Olympics, she scored the match-winning goal in the 123rd minute of the semi-final match against Canada. She finished 2012 with 28 goals and 21 assists, joining Mia Hamm as the only American woman to score 20 goals and provide 20 assists in the same calendar year and making her the sixth and youngest U.S. player to score 20 goals in a single season. She was subsequently named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year and was a FIFA World Player of the Year finalist. Morgan also helped the United States win their titles at the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cups, where she was named to the Dream Team for both tournaments, while she won the Silver Boot in 2019.


title: Alex Morgan

text: In 2013, the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League, Morgan joined Portland Thorns FC and helped the team win the league title that year. Morgan played for the Thorns through the 2015 season, after which she was traded to first-year franchise Orlando Pride. In 2017, Morgan signed with French team Lyon, where she won the continental European treble, which included the UEFA Women's Champions League.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Off the field, Morgan teamed with Simon & Schuster to write a middle-grade book series about four soccer players: "The Kicks". The first book in the series, "Saving the Team", debuted at number seven on "The New York Times" Best Seller list in May 2013. Additionally, a film starring Morgan in her acting debut, "Alex & Me", was released in June 2018 where she plays a fictionalized version of herself.


title: Alex Morgan

text: In 2015, Morgan was ranked by "Time" as the top-paid American women's soccer player, largely due to her numerous endorsement deals. Morgan, along with Canada's Christine Sinclair and Australia's Steph Catley, became the first women's soccer players to appear on the cover of FIFA video games in 2015 – Morgan appeared alongside Lionel Messi on covers of FIFA 16 sold in the United States. She was named one of "Time"'s 100 Most Influential People of 2019 and 2022.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Born to Pamela and Michael Morgan in the Los Angeles County suburb of San Dimas, California, Morgan was raised with her two older sisters, Jeni and Jeri, in the nearby suburb of Diamond Bar. She was a multi-sport athlete growing up and began playing soccer at an early age with AYSO, and her father was among her first coaches. However, she did not begin playing club soccer until age 14 when she joined Cypress Elite. With the club team, she won the Coast Soccer League (CSL) under-16 championship and placed third at the under-19 level.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Morgan attended Diamond Bar High School, where she was a three-time all-league pick and was named All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). At the school, she was known for her speed and sprinting ability. Morgan played for Olympic Development Program (ODP) regional and state teams as well. She later credited the program as an integral part of her development as a soccer player: "... programs like ODP helped me especially because I did come into the club scene late and it was important for me to play as much as possible, play with the best players and learn from the best coaches. That, for me, was crucial to my development."


title: Alex Morgan

text: At age 17, Morgan was called up to the United States under-20 women's national soccer team. While playing in a scrimmage against the men's junior national team, she sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and did not play for the team again until April 2008.


title: Alex Morgan

text: She led the Cal Bears in scoring during her first season with the team. During a match against Stanford in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, Morgan scored an equalizer with less than two minutes left in regulation time, resulting in a 1–1 draw. The team was ultimately defeated during penalty kicks. Despite continued absences due to U.S. national team commitments throughout her collegiate career, Morgan led Cal in scoring and helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament four years in a row, advancing to the second round twice.


title: Alex Morgan

text: After being named a candidate for the Hermann Trophy during her junior year, Morgan became the first Golden Bear to be one of the top three finalists for the award. She was one of four finalists for the Honda Sports Award, given to the best overall candidate in each sport.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Morgan finished her collegiate career ranked third all-time in goals scored (45) and points (106) for Cal. She graduated from Berkeley one semester early, with a degree in Political Economy.


title: Alex Morgan

text: On January 14, 2011, Morgan was the first overall pick in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Western New York Flash. She was the first Cal player to be drafted in the first round of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). Morgan scored her first goal for the Flash during the team's home opener—a 3–0 win over the Atlanta Beat on May 1, 2011. Throughout the 2011 season, she played in 14 matches and scored four goals. The club won the regular season title and the WPS Championship title the same year.


title: Alex Morgan

text: After the WPS later suspended operations in early 2012 due to legal and financial difficulties, Morgan joined her national teammates Hope Solo, Sydney Leroux, Megan Rapinoe and Stephanie Cox on the Seattle Sounders Women for the 2012 season. Of her signing, Morgan said, "I am excited to play in a city that is so passionate about soccer. The Sounders have been one of, if not the best fan support in MLS. I can only imagine how Seattle fans would respond to having a full professional women's team in the future."


title: Alex Morgan

text: Due to her national team commitments and preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Morgan made three regular season appearances for the club. She scored two goals and served two assist in her 253 minutes on the pitch. With the national teammates' presence on the team, the Sounders sold out nine of their ten home matches at the 4,500 capacity Starfire Stadium. Average attendance during the 2012 season for the Sounders Women was four times higher than the next closest team.


title: Alex Morgan

text: On January 11, 2013, Morgan was one of three U.S. national team players to join the Portland Thorns FC for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League via the NWSL Player Allocation. She scored her first goal for the Thorns during the team's home-opener at Jeld-Wen Field in front of 16,479 spectators helping her team defeat the Seattle Reign FC 2–1. She finished the regular season as the team's point leader, and joint scoring leader (with Christine Sinclair), with eight goals and five assists (21 points). The club finished third during the regular season led by head coach Cindy Parlow Cone. On August 31, 2013, Portland captured the league's inaugural championship title after defeating regular season champions Western New York Flash 2–0; Morgan assisted on the second goal. Morgan was named to the NWSL Second XI on August 28.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Morgan returned to the Thorns for the 2014 season led by new head coach Paul Riley. She scored six goals in her 15 appearances for the club. The Thorns finished third during the regular season with a record and advanced to the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The team was defeated by eventual champions FC Kansas City 2–0.


title: Alex Morgan

text: During the 2015 season, Morgan made four appearances for the Thorns due to her national team commitments at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored one goal during a 3–3 draw against the Washington Spirit on August 31. The Thorns finished in sixth place during the regular season with a record.


title: Alex Morgan

text: On October 26, 2015, it was announced that the Thorns had traded Morgan, along with teammate Kaylyn Kyle, to an expansion team Orlando Pride in exchange for the Pride's number one picks in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft and 2016 NWSL College Draft as well as an international roster spot for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Morgan scored four goals in her 15 appearances for the Pride. The club finished in ninth place during the regular season with a record led by head coach Tom Sermanni.


title: Alex Morgan

text: On January 5, 2017, Morgan signed with French champions Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) for a reported $33,000 per month. The six-month contracted included a mutual option for an additional season.


title: Alex Morgan

text: She made her 2016–17 Division 1 Féminine debut on January 14 during a 3–0 win against En Avant de Guingamp and recorded two assists. During a match against ASPTT Albi on March 17, she scored a brace in the second half to help lift the team to a 5–0 win. On May 7, she scored a brace during the team's 9–0 win over ASJ Soyaux after which the club was named league champions for the ninth consecutive season. She scored five goals in her eight appearances during the regular season.


title: Alex Morgan

text: On March 12, Morgan scored a hat-trick against Rodez to lead Lyon to a 6–0 win and advance to the semi-finals of the French Cup. She scored four goals and recorded two assists during the semi-final against Hénin-Beaumont (three of the four occurred within a ten-minute span). Lyon won the Cup after a penalty shootout on May 19. Morgan did not play during the French Cup final due to a lingering hamstring injury suffered during a match against Paris Saint-Germain.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Morgan made her 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League debut in the first leg of the quarterfinals on March 23 during the team's 2–0 win over VfL Wolfsburg. On June 1, she started in the 2017 UEFA Women's Champions League Final but subbed off after 23 minutes due to the hamstring injury. Lyon won the match after a penalty shootout.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Following the Champions League Final, the Pride announced Morgan's addition to their 2017 active roster on June 21, 2017, waiving Christina Burkenroad to make room on the 20-player roster. After recovering from the hamstring injury she suffered in the final, Morgan made her competitive return for Orlando on July 1 against the Chicago Red Stars. Morgan scored nine goals in fourteen games for Orlando in 2017, and the team achieved an record. On October 7, Morgan played the entirety of the Pride's first ever NWSL playoff match, a 4–1 loss to the eventual champions Portland Thorns FC. Following the season's end, Morgan was named to the league's 2017 Second XI.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Although her contract with Lyon included an option for a return in 2018, Morgan announced in September 2017 that she would terminate the contract and instead return to Orlando for the start of the] 2018 season. The team failed to match the success of its 2017 campaign, finishing seventh out of nine teams in the league with a record of . Morgan played in nineteen games for the Pride, contributing five goals over the course of the season.


title: Alex Morgan

text: Morgan spent most of the 2019 season on international duty, including the World Cup, before ending the season injured. She only featured in six games for Orlando and failed to score, the first time she ended a Pride season scoreless.


title: Alex Morgan

text: In October 2019 she announced she was pregnant, eventually giving birth in May 2020. Morgan missed the early-summer 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup tournament held following the disruption of the season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She returned to training with the Pride in early September ahead of the Fall Series, the September–October slate of games scheduled for the end of the season.