title: Prisoner of war

text: POWs were also transferred among the Allies, with for example 6,000 German officers transferred from Western Allied camps to the Soviets and subsequently imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, at the time one of the NKVD special camps. Although the Soviet Union had not signed the Geneva Convention, the U.S. chose to hand over several hundred thousand German prisoners to the Soviet Union in May 1945 as a "gesture of friendship". U.S. forces also refused to accept the surrender of German troops attempting to surrender to them in Saxony and Bohemia, and handed them over to the Soviet Union instead.


title: Prisoner of war

text: The United States handed over 740,000 German prisoners to France, which was a Geneva Convention signatory but which used them as forced labourers. Newspapers reported that the POWs were being mistreated; Judge Robert H. Jackson, chief US prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials, told US President Harry S Truman in October 1945 that the Allies themselves,


title: Prisoner of war

text: have done or are doing some of the very things we are prosecuting the Germans for. The French are so violating the Geneva Convention in the treatment of prisoners of war that our command is taking back prisoners sent to them. We are prosecuting plunder and our Allies are practising it.


title: Prisoner of war

text: Hungarians became POWs of the Western Allies. Some of these were, like the Germans, used as forced labour in France after the cessation of hostilities. After the war, Hungarian POWs were handed over to the Soviets and transported to the Soviet Union for forced labour. Such forced Hungarian labour by the USSR is often referred to as malenkij robot—little work. András Toma, a Hungarian soldier taken prisoner by the Red Army in 1944, was discovered in a Russian psychiatric hospital in 2000. It is likely that he was the last prisoner of war from World War II to be repatriated.


title: Prisoner of war

text: Although thousands of Japanese servicemembers were taken prisoner, most fought until they were killed or committed suicide. Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the Battle of Iwo Jima, over 20,000 were killed and only 216 were taken prisoner. Of the 30,000 Japanese troops that defended Saipan, fewer than 1,000 remained alive at battle's end. Japanese prisoners sent to camps fared well; however, some were killed when attempting to surrender or were massacred just after doing so (see Allied war crimes during World War II in the Pacific). In some instances, Japanese prisoners were tortured through a variety of methods. A method of torture used by the Chinese National Revolutionary Army (NRA) included suspending prisoners by the neck in wooden cages until they died. In very rare cases, some were beheaded by sword, and a severed head was once used as a football by Chinese National Revolutionary Army (NRA) soldiers.


title: Prisoner of war

text: After the war, many Japanese POWs were kept on as Japanese Surrendered Personnel until mid-1947 by the Allies. The JSP were used until 1947 for labour purposes, such as road maintenance, recovering corpses for reburial, cleaning, and preparing farmland. Early tasks also included repairing airfields damaged by Allied bombing during the war and maintaining law and order until the arrival of Allied forces in the region.


title: Prisoner of war

text: In 1943, Italy overthrew Mussolini and became an Allied co-belligerent. This did not change the status of many Italian POWs, retained in Australia, the UK and US due to labour shortages.


title: Prisoner of war

text: After Italy surrendered to the Allies and declared war on Germany, the United States initially made plans to send Italian POWs back to fight Germany. Ultimately though, the government decided instead to loosen POW work requirements prohibiting Italian prisoners from carrying out war-related work. About 34,000 Italian POWs were active in 1944 and 1945 on 66 US military installations, performing support roles such as quartermaster, repair, and engineering work as Italian Service Units.


title: Prisoner of war

text: On 11 February 1945, at the conclusion of the Yalta Conference, the United States and United Kingdom signed a Repatriation Agreement with the USSR. The interpretation of this agreement resulted in the forcible repatriation of all Soviets (Operation Keelhaul) regardless of their wishes. The forced repatriation operations took place in 1945–1947.


title: Prisoner of war

text: During the Korean War, the North Koreans developed a reputation for severely mistreating prisoners of war (see Treatment of POWs by North Korean and Chinese forces). Their POWs were housed in three camps, according to their potential usefulness to the North Korean army. Peace camps and reform camps were for POWs that were either sympathetic to the cause or who had valued skills that could be useful to the North Korean military; these enemy soldiers were indoctrinated and sometimes conscripted into the North Korean army. While POWs in peace camps were reportedly treated with more consideration, regular prisoners of war were usually treated very poorly.


title: Prisoner of war

text: The 1952 Inter-Camp POW Olympics were held from 15 to 27 November 1952 in Pyuktong, North Korea. The Chinese hoped to gain worldwide publicity, and while some prisoners refused to participate, some 500 POWs of eleven nationalities took part. They came from all the North Korean prison camps and competed in football, baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, track and field, soccer, gymnastics, and boxing. For the POWs, this was also an opportunity to meet with friends from other camps. The prisoners had their own photographers, announcers, and even reporters, who after each day's competition published a newspaper, the "Olympic Roundup".


title: Prisoner of war

text: At the end of the First Indochina War, of the 11,721 French soldiers taken prisoner after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and led by the Viet Minh on death marches to distant POW camps, only 3,290 were repatriated four months later.


title: Prisoner of war

text: During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army took many United States servicemembers as prisoners of war and subjected them to mistreatment and torture. Some American prisoners were held in the prison known to US POWs as the Hanoi Hilton. Communist Vietnamese held in custody by South Vietnamese and American forces were also tortured and badly treated. After the war, millions of South Vietnamese servicemen and government workers were sent to "re-education" camps, where many perished.


title: Prisoner of war

text: As in previous conflicts, speculation existed, without evidence, that a handful of American pilots captured during the Korean and Vietnam wars were transferred to the Soviet Union and never repatriated.


title: Prisoner of war

text: Regardless of regulations determining treatment of prisoners, violations of their rights continue to be reported. Many cases of POW massacres have been reported in recent times, including 13 October massacre in Lebanon by Syrian forces and June 1990 massacre in Sri Lanka.


title: Prisoner of war

text: Indian intervention in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 led to the third Indo-Pakistan war, which ended in Indian victory and over 90,000 Pakistani POWs.


title: Prisoner of war

text: In 1982, during the Falklands War, prisoners were well-treated in general by both sides, with military commanders dispatching enemy prisoners back to their homelands in record time.


title: Prisoner of war

text: In 1991, during the Gulf War, American, British, Italian, and Kuwaiti POWs (mostly crew members of downed aircraft and special forces) were tortured by the Iraqi secret police. An American military doctor, Major Rhonda Cornum, a 37-year-old flight surgeon captured when her Blackhawk UH-60 was shot down, was also subjected to sexual abuse.


title: Prisoner of war

text: During the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s, Serb paramilitary forces supported by JNA forces killed POWs at Vukovar and Škarbrnja, while Bosnian Serb forces killed POWs at Srebrenica. A large number of surviving Croatian or Bosnian POWs described the conditions in Serbian concentration camps as similar to those in Germany in World War II, including regular beatings, torture and random executions.


title: Prisoner of war

text: In 2001, reports emerged concerning two POWs that India had taken during the Sino-Indian War, Yang Chen and Shih Liang. The two were imprisoned as spies for three years before being interned in a mental asylum in Ranchi, where they spent the following 38 years under a special prisoner status.


title: Prisoner of war

text: This section lists nations with the highest number of POWs since the start of World War II and ranked by descending order. These are also the highest numbers in any war since the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War entered into force on 19 June 1931. The USSR had not signed the Geneva convention.


title: Athena Karkanis

text: Athena Karkanis (born September 7, 1981) is a Canadian television, film and voice actress. She is noted for her role as Grace Stone in the NBC/Netflix science fiction drama series "Manifest".


title: Athena Karkanis

text: Karkanis was born in Alberta and raised in Toronto. She is of Greek and Egyptian descent. In 2005, she made her screen debut in an episode of "1-800-Missing" and later had a number of guest-starring, recurring and regular roles on Canadian television shows. She also had regular voice roles in "Skyland", "MetaJets" and "". She has a regular voice role in "Wild Kratts" as Aviva Corcovado.


title: Athena Karkanis

text: Karkanis co-starred in several horror films, including "Saw IV" (2007), "Repo! The Genetic Opera" (2008), "Saw VI" (2009), "Survival of the Dead" (2009), and "The Barrens" (2012). She also appeared in direct-to-video action films "" (2008), and "Sacrifice" (2011). On television, she was a regular cast member in the first season of Canadian teen drama "The Best Years" in 2007, in "The Border" from 2008 to 2010, and in the short-lived comedy series "Almost Heroes" in 2011. She also had a recurring role in "Lost Girl" from 2011 to 2012.


title: Athena Karkanis

text: Karkanis starred in the AMC drama series "Low Winter Sun" in 2013. In 2014, she was cast as a series regular in the Lifetime post-apocalyptic drama series, "The Lottery". In 2015, she began playing the role of Octavia Muss on "The Expanse". In 2018, Karkanis started playing Grace Stone on the NBC TV series "Manifest".


title: Opal

text: Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO·"n"HO); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are considered minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt.


title: Opal

text: The name "opal" is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word (), which means 'jewel', and later the Greek derivative (), which means 'to see a change in color'.


title: Opal

text: There are two broad classes of opal: precious and common. Precious opal displays play-of-color (iridescence); common opal does not. Play-of-color is defined as "a pseudo chromatic optical effect resulting in flashes of colored light from certain minerals, as they are turned in white light." The internal structure of precious opal causes it to diffract light, resulting in play-of-color. Depending on the conditions in which it formed, opal may be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and the background color may be white, black, or nearly any color of the visual spectrum. Black opal is considered the rarest, while white, gray, and green opals are the most common.


title: Opal

text: Precious opal shows a variable interplay of internal colors, and though it is a mineraloid, it has an internal structure. At microscopic scales, precious opal is composed of silica spheres some in diameter in a hexagonal or cubic close-packed lattice. It was shown by J. V. Sanders in the mid-1960s that these ordered silica spheres produce the internal colors by causing the interference and diffraction of light passing through the microstructure of the opal. The regularity of the sizes and the packing of these spheres is a prime determinant of the quality of precious opal. Where the distance between the regularly packed planes of spheres is around half the wavelength of a component of visible light, the light of that wavelength may be subject to diffraction from the grating created by the stacked planes. The colors that are observed are determined by the spacing between the planes and the orientation of planes with respect to the incident light. The process can be described by Bragg's law of diffraction.


title: Opal

text: Visible light cannot pass through large thicknesses of the opal. This is the basis of the optical band gap in a photonic crystal. The notion that opals are photonic crystals for visible light was expressed in 1995 by Vasily Astratov's group. In addition, microfractures may be filled with secondary silica and form thin lamellae inside the opal during its formation. The term Opalescence is commonly used to describe this unique and beautiful phenomenon, which in gemology is termed play of color. In gemology, opalescence is applied to the hazy-milky-turbid sheen of common or potch opal which does not show a play of color. Opalescence is a form of adularescence.


title: Opal

text: For gemstone use, most opal is cut and polished to form a cabochon. "Natural" opal refers to polished stones consisting wholly of precious opal. Opals too thin to produce a "Natural" opal may be combined with other materials to form "composite" gems. An opal doublet consists of a relatively thin layer of precious opal, backed by a layer of dark-colored material, most commonly ironstone, dark or black common opal (potch), onyx, or obsidian. The darker backing emphasizes the play of color and results in a more attractive display than a lighter potch. An opal triplet is similar to a doublet but has a third layer, a domed cap of clear quartz or plastic on the top. The cap takes a high polish and acts as a protective layer for the opal. The top layer also acts as a magnifier, to emphasize the play of color of the opal beneath, which is often an inferior specimen or an extremely thin section of precious opal. Triplet opals tend to have a more artificial appearance and are not classed as precious gemstones, but rather "composite" gemstones. Jewelry applications of precious opal can be somewhat limited by opal's sensitivity to heat due primarily to its relatively high water content and predisposition to scratching. Combined with modern techniques of polishing, a doublet opal can produce a similar effect to Natural black or boulder opal at a fraction of the price. Doublet opal also has the added benefit of having genuine opal as the top visible and touchable layer, unlike triplet opals.


title: Opal

text: Besides the gemstone varieties that show a play of color, the other kinds of common opal include the milk opal, milky bluish to greenish (which can sometimes be of gemstone quality); resin opal, which is honey-yellow with a resinous luster; wood opal, which is caused by the replacement of the organic material in wood with opal; menilite, which is brown or grey; hyalite, a colorless glass-clear opal sometimes called Muller's glass; geyserite, also called siliceous sinter, deposited around hot springs or geysers; and diatomaceous earth, the accumulations of diatom shells or tests. Common opal often displays a hazy-milky-turbid sheen from within the stone. In gemology, this optical effect is strictly defined as opalescence which is a form of adularescence.


title: Opal

text: Fire opal is a transparent to translucent opal, with warm body colors of yellow to orange to red. Although it does not usually show any play of color, occasionally a stone will exhibit bright green flashes. The most famous source of fire opals is the state of Querétaro in Mexico; these opals are commonly called Mexican fire opals. Fire opals that do not show a play of color are sometimes referred to as jelly opals. Mexican opals are sometimes cut in their rhyolitic host material if it is hard enough to allow cutting and polishing. This type of Mexican opal is referred to as a Cantera opal. Another type of opal from Mexico, referred to as Mexican water opal, is a colorless opal that exhibits either a bluish or golden internal sheen.


title: Opal

text: Girasol opal is a term sometimes mistakenly and improperly used to refer to fire opals, as well as a type of transparent to semitransparent type milky quartz from Madagascar which displays an asterism, or star effect when cut properly. However, the true girasol opal is a type of hyalite opal that exhibits a bluish glow or sheen that follows the light source around. It is not a play of color as seen in precious opal, but rather an effect from microscopic inclusions. It is also sometimes referred to as water opal, too, when it is from Mexico. The two most notable locations of this type of opal are Oregon and Mexico.


title: Opal

text: Peruvian opal (also called blue opal) is a semi-opaque to opaque blue-green stone found in Peru, which is often cut to include the matrix in the more opaque stones. It does not display a play of color. Blue opal also comes from Oregon and Idaho in the Owyhee region, as well as from Nevada around the Virgin Valley.


title: Opal

text: Opal is also formed by diatoms. Diatoms are a form of algae that, when they die, often form layers at the bottoms of lakes, bays, or oceans. Their cell walls are made up of hydrated silicon dioxide which gives them structural coloration and therefore the appearance of tiny opals when viewed under a microscope. These cell walls or "tests" form the “grains” for the diatomaceous earth. This sedimentary rock is white, opaque, and chalky in texture. Diatomite has multiple industrial uses such as filtering or adsorbing since it has a fine particle size and very porous nature, and gardening to increase water absorption.


title: Opal

text: Opal was rare and very valuable in antiquity. In Europe, it was a gem prized by royalty. Until the opening of vast deposits in Australia in the 19th century the only known source was beyond the Roman frontier in Slovakia. Opal is the national gemstone of Australia.


title: Opal

text: The primary sources of opal are Australia and Ethiopia, but because of inconsistent and widely varying accountings of their respective levels of extraction, it is difficult to accurately state what proportion of the global supply of opal comes from either country.


title: Opal

text: Australian opal has been cited as accounting for 95–97% of the world's supply of precious opal, with the state of South Australia accounting for 80% of the world's supply. In 2012, Ethiopian opal production was estimated to be by the United States Geological Survey. USGS data from the same period (2012), reveals Australian opal production to be $41 million. Because of the units of measurement, it is not possible to directly compare Australian and Ethiopian opal production, but these data and others suggest that the traditional percentages given for Australian opal production may be overstated. Yet, the validity of data in the USGS report appears to conflict with that of Laurs et al. and Mesfin, who estimated the 2012 Ethiopian opal output (from Wegal Tena) to be only .


title: Opal

text: The town of Coober Pedy in South Australia is a major source of opal. The world's largest and most valuable gem opal "Olympic Australis" was found in August 1956 at the "Eight Mile" opal field in Coober Pedy. It weighs and is long, with a height of and a width of .


title: Opal

text: The Mintabie Opal Field in South Australia located about northwest of Coober Pedy has also produced large quantities of crystal opal and the rarer black opal. Over the years, it has been sold overseas incorrectly as Coober Pedy opal. The black opal is said to be some of the best examples found in Australia.


title: Opal

text: Andamooka in South Australia is also a major producer of matrix opal, crystal opal, and black opal. Another Australian town, Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, is the main source of black opal, opal containing a predominantly dark background (dark gray to blue-black displaying the play of color), collected from the Griman Creek Formation. Boulder opal consists of concretions and fracture fillings in a dark siliceous ironstone matrix. It is found sporadically in western Queensland, from Kynuna in the north, to Yowah and Koroit in the south. Its largest quantities are found around Jundah and Quilpie in South West Queensland. Australia also has opalized fossil remains, including dinosaur bones in New South Wales and South Australia, and marine creatures in South Australia.


title: Opal

text: It has been reported that Northern African opal was used to make tools as early as 4000 BC. The first published report of gem opal from Ethiopia appeared in 1994, with the discovery of precious opal in the Menz Gishe District, North Shewa Province. The opal, found mostly in the form of nodules, was of volcanic origin and was found predominantly within weathered layers of rhyolite. This Shewa Province opal was mostly dark brown in color and had a tendency to crack. These qualities made it unpopular in the gem trade. In 2008, a new opal deposit was found approximately 180 km north of Shewa Province, near the town of Wegel Tena, in Ethiopia's Wollo Province. The Wollo Province opal was different from the previous Ethiopian opal finds in that it more closely resembled the sedimentary opals of Australia and Brazil, with a light background and often vivid play-of-color. Wollo Province opal, more commonly referred to as "Welo" or "Wello" opal, has become the dominant Ethiopian opal in the gem trade.


title: Opal

text: The Virgin Valley opal fields of Humboldt County in northern Nevada produce a wide variety of precious black, crystal, white, fire, and lemon opal. The black fire opal is the official gemstone of Nevada. Most of the precious opal is partial wood replacement. The precious opal is hosted and found "in situ" within a subsurface horizon or zone of bentonite, which is considered a "lode" deposit. Opals which have weathered out of the "in situ" deposits are alluvial and considered placer deposits. Miocene-age opalised teeth, bones, fish, and a snake head have been found. Some of the opal has high water content and may desiccate and crack when dried. The largest producing mines of Virgin Valley have been the famous Rainbow Ridge, Royal Peacock, Bonanza, Opal Queen, and WRT Stonetree/Black Beauty mines. The largest unpolished black opal in the Smithsonian Institution, known as the "Roebling opal", came out of the tunneled portion of the Rainbow Ridge Mine in 1917, and weighs . The largest polished black opal in the Smithsonian Institution comes from the Royal Peacock opal mine in the Virgin Valley, weighing , known as the "Black Peacock".


title: Opal

text: Opal occurs in significant quantity and variety in central Mexico, where mining and production first originated in the state of Querétaro. In this region the opal deposits are located mainly in the mountain ranges of three municipalities: Colón, Tequisquiapan and Ezequiel Montes. During the 1960s through to the mid-1970s, the Querétaro mines were heavily mined. Today's opal miners report that it was much easier to find quality opals with a lot of fire and play of color back then, whereas today the gem-quality opals are very hard to come by and command hundreds of US dollars or more. They gave an orangey opaque lustre, which is called the "Mexican fire opal".


title: Opal

text: The oldest mine in Querétaro is Santa Maria del Iris. This mine was opened around 1870 and has been reopened at least 28 times since. At the moment there are about 100 mines in the regions around Querétaro, but most of them are now closed. The best quality of opals came from the mine Santa Maria del Iris, followed by La Hacienda la Esperanza, Fuentezuelas, La Carbonera, and La Trinidad. Important deposits in the state of Jalisco were not discovered until the late 1950s.


title: Opal

text: In 1957, Alfonso Ramirez (of Querétaro) accidentally discovered the first opal mine in Jalisco: La Unica, located on the outer area of the volcano of Tequila, near the Huitzicilapan farm in Magdalena. By 1960 there were around 500 known opal mines in this region alone. Other regions of the country that also produce opals (of lesser quality) are Guerrero, which produces an opaque opal similar to the opals from Australia (some of these opals are carefully treated with heat to improve their colors so high-quality opals from this area may be suspect). There are also some small opal mines in Morelos, Durango, Chihuahua, Baja California, Guanajuato, Puebla, Michoacán, and Estado de México.


title: Opal

text: Another source of white base opal or creamy opal in the United States is Spencer, Idaho. A high percentage of the opal found there occurs in thin layers.


title: Opal

text: Other significant deposits of precious opal around the world can be found in the Czech Republic, Canada, Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil (in Pedro II, Piauí), Honduras (more precisely in Erandique), Guatemala and Nicaragua.


title: Opal

text: Opals of all varieties have been synthesized experimentally and commercially. The discovery of the ordered sphere structure of precious opal led to its synthesis by Pierre Gilson in 1974. The resulting material is distinguishable from natural opal by its regularity; under magnification, the patches of color are seen to be arranged in a "lizard skin" or "chicken wire" pattern. Furthermore, synthetic opals do not fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Synthetics are also generally lower in density and are often highly porous.


title: Opal

text: Opals which have been created in a laboratory are often termed "lab-created opals", which, while classifiable as man-made and synthetic, are very different from their resin-based counterparts which are also considered man-made and synthetic. The term "synthetic" implies that a stone has been created to be chemically and structurally indistinguishable from a genuine one, and genuine opal contains no resins or polymers. The finest modern lab-created opals do not exhibit the lizard skin or columnar patterning of earlier lab-created varieties, and their patterns are non-directional. They can still be distinguished from genuine opals, however, by their lack of inclusions and the absence of any surrounding non-opal matrix. While many genuine opals are cut and polished without a matrix, the presence of irregularities in their play-of-color continues to mark them as distinct from even the best lab-created synthetics.


title: Opal

text: Other research in macroporous structures have yielded highly ordered materials that have similar optical properties to opals and have been used in cosmetics. Synthetic opals are also deeply investigated in photonics for sensing and light management purposes.


title: Opal

text: The lattice of spheres of opal that cause interference with light is several hundred times larger than the fundamental structure of crystalline silica. As a mineraloid, no unit cell describes the structure of opal. Nevertheless, opals can be roughly divided into those that show no signs of crystalline order (amorphous opal) and those that show signs of the beginning of crystalline order, commonly termed cryptocrystalline or microcrystalline opal. Dehydration experiments and infrared spectroscopy have shown that most of the HO in the formula of SiO·"n"HO of opals is present in the familiar form of clusters of molecular water. Isolated water molecules, and silanols, structures such as SiOH, generally form a lesser proportion of the total and can reside near the surface or in defects inside the opal.


title: Opal

text: The structure of low-pressure polymorphs of anhydrous silica consists of frameworks of fully corner bonded tetrahedra of SiO. The higher temperature polymorphs of silica cristobalite and tridymite are frequently the first to crystallize from amorphous anhydrous silica, and the local structures of microcrystalline opals also appear to be closer to that of cristobalite and tridymite than to quartz. The structures of tridymite and cristobalite are closely related and can be described as hexagonal and cubic close-packed layers. It is therefore possible to have intermediate structures in which the layers are not regularly stacked.


title: Opal

text: Microcrystalline opal or "Opal-CT" has been interpreted as consisting of clusters of stacked cristobalite and tridymite over very short length scales. The spheres of opal in microcrystalline opal are themselves made up of tiny nanocrystalline blades of cristobalite and tridymite. Microcrystalline opal has occasionally been further subdivided in the literature. Water content may be as high as 10 wt%. Opal-CT, also called "lussatine" or "lussatite", is interpreted as consisting of localized order of α-cristobalite with a lot of stacking disorder. Typical water content is about 1.5 wt%.


title: Opal

text: Two broad categories of noncrystalline opals, sometimes just referred to as "opal-A" ("A" stands for "amorphous"), have been proposed. The first of these is opal-AG consisting of aggregated spheres of silica, with water filling the space in between. Precious opal and potch opal are generally varieties of this, the difference being in the regularity of the sizes of the spheres and their packing. The second "opal-A" is opal-AN or water-containing amorphous silica-glass. Hyalite is another name for this.


title: Opal

text: Noncrystalline silica in siliceous sediments is reported to gradually transform to opal-CT and then opal-C as a result of diagenesis, due to the increasing overburden pressure in sedimentary rocks, as some of the stacking disorder is removed.


title: Opal

text: The surface of opal in contact with water is covered by siloxane bonds (≡Si–O–Si≡) and silanol groups (≡Si–OH). This makes the opal surface very hydrophilic and capable of forming numerous hydrogen bonds.


title: Opal

text: The word 'opal' is adapted from the Latin term . The origin of this word in turn is a matter of debate, but most modern references suggest it is adapted from the Sanskrit word .


title: Opal

text: References to the gem are made by Pliny the Elder. It is suggested to have been adapted from Ops, the wife of Saturn, and goddess of fertility. The portion of Saturnalia devoted to Ops was "Opalia", similar to .


title: Opal

text: Another common claim that the term is adapted from the Ancient Greek word, . This word has two meanings, one is related to "seeing" and forms the basis of the English words like "opaque"; the other is "other" as in "alias" and "alter". It is claimed that combined these uses, meaning "to see a change in color". However, historians have noted the first appearances of do not occur until after the Romans had taken over the Greek states in 180 BC and they had previously used the term .


title: Opal

text: However, the argument for the Sanskrit origin is strong. The term first appears in Roman references around 250 BC, at a time when the opal was valued above all other gems. The opals were supplied by traders from the Bosporus, who claimed the gems were being supplied from India. Before this, the stone was referred to by a variety of names, but these fell from use after 250 BC.


title: Opal

text: In the Middle Ages, opal was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in the color spectrum of the opal. It was also said to grant invisibility if wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and held in the hand. As a result, the opal was seen as the patron gemstone for thieves during the medieval period. Following the publication of Sir Walter Scott's "Anne of Geierstein" in 1829, opal acquired a less auspicious reputation. In Scott's novel, the Baroness of Arnheim wears an opal talisman with supernatural powers. When a drop of holy water falls on the talisman, the opal turns into a colorless stone and the Baroness dies soon thereafter. Due to the popularity of Scott's novel, people began to associate opals with bad luck and death. Within a year of the publishing of Scott's novel in April 1829, the sale of opals in Europe dropped by 50%, and remained low for the next 20 years or so.


title: Opal

text: Even as recently as the beginning of the 20th century, it was believed that when a Russian saw an opal among other goods offered for sale, he or she should not buy anything more, as the opal was believed to embody the evil eye.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film was first screened in Tokyo on more than 200 screens on December 16, 2000, with an R15+ rating, which is rarely used in Japan. It was the highest-grossing Japanese-language film for six weeks after its initial release, and it was later released in 22 countries worldwide, grossing over in ten countries. The film earned critical acclaim and, especially with its DVD releases, drew a large global cult following. It is often regarded as one of Fukasaku's best films, and one of the best films of the 2000s. In 2009, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino praised "Battle Royale" as his favorite film of the past two decades.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: "Battle Royale" was the last film to be directed by Fukasaku. He also started working on the sequel titled "", but died of prostate cancer on January 12, 2003, after shooting only one scene with Kitano. His son Kenta Fukasaku, who wrote the screenplay for both films, completed the film in 2003.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In the near-future, following a major recession, the Japanese government has passed the "BR ACT" to curb the nation's juvenile delinquency. Middle school student Shuya Nanahara copes with life after his father committed suicide. Their teacher, Kitano, resigns after being wounded by Yoshitoki Kuninobu, Shuya's best friend.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: One year later, Shuya's class takes a field trip, but they are gassed and taken to a remote island. Kitano reappears surrounded by JSDF soldiers, explaining that the class was chosen to participate in the annual Battle Royale as a result of the Act: they have three days to fight to the death until a victor emerges; explosive collars will kill uncooperative students or those within designated "danger zones". Each student is provided rations, a map, supplies, and a random weapon. Kitano kills two of the students for disobedience, one of them being Kuninobu.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The first six hours see twelve deaths, four by suicide. The psychotic Mitsuko Souma and psychopathic Kazuo Kiriyama become the most dangerous players to others in the game. Transfer student Shogo Kawada lets Shuya go after killing one student, while Shuya accidentally kills another student. Basketball player Shinji Mimura plots to hack into the computer system to disrupt the program.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Amid shifting loyalties and violent confrontations, Shuya promises to keep Noriko Nakagawa safe, feeling it a duty to his fallen friend, as Kuninobu secretly loved her. Kawada reveals to the pair that he won a previous Battle Royale at the cost of his girlfriend, whose death he seeks to avenge. Kiriyama attacks and Shuya is wounded by his Uzi. He is saved by Hiroki Sugimura, who had his best friend die in his arms.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Shuya awakens in the island's lighthouse, bandaged by Yukie Utsumi, who has a crush on him. Five other girls are also hiding in the building. One of them, Yuko, attempts to poison him out of fear of him killing them. However, Yuka accidentally eats the food, leading to a shootout between the girls. Yuko is the only survivor; horrified, she commits suicide. Shuya, Noriko and Kawada set out to find Mimura.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Kiriyama kills Mitsuko, making Noriko the last surviving girl. Mimura, with two others, infiltrates the JSDF's computer system. Kiriyama kills them, but not before Mimura uses his homemade bomb to blow up the base to hide all evidence. When the trio arrives at the burning base, Kawada kills Kiriyama, who had his eyes burned out by the explosion, but in turn is injured by his Uzi.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: On the final day, Kawada, aware of the collars' internal microphones, seemingly kills Shuya and Noriko by shooting them. Suspicious, Kitano ends the game, intent on personally killing the victor. He realizes that Kawada hacked the system months beforehand, and disabled Shuya and Noriko's tracking devices. The trio confronts Kitano in the control room, and he unveils a homemade painting of the massacred class depicting Noriko as the sole survivor. He reveals that he was unable to bear the hatred between him and his students, having been rejected by his own daughter, and confesses that he always thought of Noriko as a daughter. He asks her to kill him, but Shuya shoots him after he threatens her. Kitano's daughter calls him; after an argument, he dies of his wounds.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The trio leaves the island on a boat, but Kawada dies from his injuries, happy that he found friendship. Shuya and Noriko are declared fugitives, last seen on the run toward Shibuya Station. Noriko gives Shuya the Seto Dragon Claw butterfly knife Kuninobu used to injure Kitano at the beginning as they flee together.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Roughly 6,000 actors auditioned for the film, which was narrowed down to 800 potential cast members. These finalists were subjected to a 6-month period of physical fitness training under supervision of the director, Kinji Fukasaku, who eventually cast 42 out of the 800.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Despite the characters being middle school students, Aki Maeda, Yukihiro Kotani, Takayo Mimura, Yukari Kanasawa were the only four who were aged 15 to 16 years old. The other members of the cast had all graduated from secondary education, and Tarō Yamamoto and Masanobu Andō were the oldest among the actors, aged 25.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The actor–director–comedian Takeshi Kitano (also known as Beat Takeshi) was cast in the role of the teacher. His casting served several purposes. As one of the most successful Japanese celebrities of the last few decades, both domestically and internationally, he helped draw a large audience to the film. And more vividly, he was a real game show presenter, known for hosting popular Japanese game shows such as "Takeshi's Castle" (1986–1990), adding a sense of potential realism to the film's extreme game show concept.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Kinji Fukasaku stated that he decided to direct the film because the novel it was adapted from reminded him of his time as a 15-year-old munitions factory worker during World War II. At that time, his class was made to work in a munitions factory. In July 1945, the factory came under artillery fire from US navy warships. The children could not escape so they dived under each other for cover. The surviving members of the class had to dispose of the corpses. At that point, Fukasaku realised that the Japanese government was lying about World War II, and he developed a burning hatred of adults in general that he maintained for a long time afterwards.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Beat Takeshi told a documentary crew during filming that he believes "an actor's job is to satisfy the director ... I move the way I'm told to. I try to look the way I'm told to. I don't know much about the emotional side", before adding, "Mr. Fukasaku told me to play myself. I did not really understand, but he told me to play myself, as I ordinarily would be! I'm just trying to do what he tells me."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: When asked in an interview with "The Midnight Eye" if the film is "a warning or advice to the young", Kinji Fukasaku responded by describing the words "warning" and "advice" as "sounding very strong to me" as if they were actions which one tries to accomplish; therefore the film would not be "particularly a warning or advice." Fukasaku explained that the film, which he describes as "a fable", includes themes such as juvenile crime(s), which in Japan "are very much real modern issues." Fukasaku said that he did not have a lack of concern or a lack of interest; he used the themes as part of his fable. When the interviewer told Fukasaku that he asked the question specifically because of the word "run" in the concluding text, which the interviewer described as "very positive", Fukasaku explained that he developed the concept throughout the film. Fukasaku interpreted the interviewer's question as having "a stronger meaning" than "a simple message." He further explained that the film simply contains his "words to the next generation", so the viewer should decide whether to take the words as advice or as a warning.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film score of "Battle Royale" was composed, arranged and conducted by Masamichi Amano, performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and features several pieces of Western classical music along with Amano's original compositions. The choral movement used in the film's overture and original trailer is the "Dies Irae" from Giuseppe Verdi's "Requiem".


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The song used during the end credits, "Shizuka na Hibi no Kaidan o" by the rap rock band Dragon Ash, is not included in either the Japanese or French edition of the soundtrack.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Fukasaku originally opposed the R15+ rating given by the "Eiga Rinri Kanri Iinkai" (Eirin) because of Fukasaku's experiences as a teenager, the novel's use of 15-year-olds, and the fact that many of the actors were around fifteen years of age. After he submitted an appeal and before "Eiga Rinri Kanri Iinkai" could rule on the appeal, members of the National Diet said that the film harmed teenagers; the Diet members also criticised the film industry ratings, which were a part of self-regulation by the Japanese film industry. Fukasaku dropped the appeal to appease the Japanese Diet in hopes they would not pursue increasing film regulation further. Fukasaku criticized the ruling since the film was already blocked from people under 16 years of age.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film was labeled "crude and tasteless" by members of National Diet and other government officials after the film was screened for them before its general release. Fukasaku stated that the Diet members had preconceived biases, making them unable to understand the points of the film. The film created a debate over government action on media violence. At one point, director Kinji Fukasaku gave a press statement directed at the age group of the film's characters, saying "you can sneak in, and I encourage you to do so." Many conservative politicians used the film to blame popular culture for a youth crime wave. Ilya Garger of "Time" magazine said that "Battle Royale" received "free publicity" and received "box-office success usually reserved for cartoons and TV-drama spin-offs." The Japanese reaction to the film in the early 2000s has been compared to the British outrage over "A Clockwork Orange" in the early 1970s. Fukasaku stated that he felt discomfort with it even though publicity increased due to the controversy.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Critics note the relation of "Battle Royale" to the increasingly extreme trend in Asian cinema and its similarity to reality television.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: For eleven years, the film was never officially released in the United States or Canada, except for screenings at various film festivals. The film was screened to a test audience in the U.S. during the early 2000s, not long after the Columbine High School massacre, resulting in a negative reaction to the film's content. According to the book "Japanese Horror Cinema", "Conscious of the Columbine syndrome, which also influenced the reception of "The Matrix" (1999), much of the test audience for "Battle Royale" condemned the film for its 'mindless' and gratuitous violence in terms very reminiscent of the British attitude towards Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" (1971) on its initial release."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: No North American distribution agreement for the film had ever been reached due to myriad corporate and legal concerns on the parts of both the Japanese Toei Company and prospective North American studios, despite mutual interest. It was said in 2005 by a representative of a prospective U.S. distributor that Japanese executives from the Toei Company were advised by American lawyers who attended test screenings in the early 2000s that "they'd go to jail" had the film been mass-released in the United States at the time. In the company's best interests, Toei attached prohibitive rules, costs, and legal criteria to any possible North American distribution deal. Toei representative Hideyuki Baba stated that the reason for "withholding distribution" in North America was "due to the picture's contents and theme." A representative for a prospective US distributor criticised Toei for expecting a wide release rather than a limited art house run, noting that "in the US it will never get past the MPAA ratings board, and the major theater chains will never play it un-rated. If you cut it enough to get an R rating there'd be nothing left."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In April 2013, the film was banned in Germany, but subsequently the ban was lifted following an objection by the German distributor Capelight Pictures.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: "Battle Royale" was released on December 16, 2000, in Japan. Over the next two years, "Battle Royale" was distributed to cinemas in 22 countries, across Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America (in addition to Mexico), gaining early cult film followings in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and the Philippines. The first showing in the US was at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California, in 2002.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The original 113-minute version of the film began its first North American theatrical run at the Cinefamily Theater in Los Angeles on December 24, 2011 – 11 years after its original Japanese release. The planned 9-day run was extended another 6 days due to popular demand. Beginning in early 2012, the film has been publicly exhibited at screenings in many American universities, including those in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas and Massachusetts, with a New York City run at the IFC Center that began on May 25, 2012. As of June 2012, it has been regularly showing at the Projection Booth Theatre, site of the former Gerrard Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Cleveland Cinematheque also held a screening of the film on April 3, 2012.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: A special edition of the film was released after the original which has eight extra minutes of running time. Unusually, the extra material includes scenes newly filmed after the release of the original. Inserted scenes include (but are not limited to):


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film was released to theaters in 3D in Japan on November 20, 2010. Fukasaku's son and the film's screenwriter, Kenta Fukasaku, oversaw the conversion. The 3D version was also screened at the Glasgow Film Festival on 24 February 2011. Anchor Bay Entertainment planned to release the 3D version in the United States sometime in 2011, but the release was cancelled.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The creators of the sequel postponed the release of the DVD (originally scheduled for June 9, 2004) to later that year because of the Sasebo slashing, in which the killer had read "Battle Royale".


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Arrow Video released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in a limited edition version in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2010, as a three-disc collector's edition set, featuring both cuts of the film. The DVD version was limited to 5,000 copies. The Blu-ray version was initially being released as limited to 5,000 copies but due to the large volume of pre-orders was increased to 10,000 copies. The limited edition Blu-ray is region-free, meaning it can play on Blu-ray players worldwide. The DVD is also region-free.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In 2021, Arrow Video announced a new limited edition Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray boxset featuring both cuts of the film in a new 4K restoration, as well as both cuts of the sequel on Blu-ray.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: For a long time, Toei refused to sell the film to a United States distributor, because Toei worried that the film would get involved in legal troubles in the United States. Eventually, Toei agreed to sell the film's United States rights to Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2010.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: An official DVD and Blu-ray edition of the film (and its sequel) was released in North America on March 20, 2012, by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film is available in a standard edition featuring the two films and a 4-disc "Complete Collection" that features both the Special Edition (labelled the Director's Cut) and the theatrical version of the first film, the sequel, and a disc of behind-the-scenes material.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: During the first weekend, it grossed (). It went on to domestically gross (), making it the third highest-grossing Japanese film of 2001, after the anime films "Spirited Away" and "Pokémon 4Ever".


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In the United Kingdom, the film sold 56,758 tickets (including 56,182 tickets in 2001 and 576 tickets from later limited re-releases by 2017), equivalent to a box office gross revenue of approximately ().


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In seven other European countries, the film sold 156,676 tickets (including 113,220 tickets in France, and 43,456 tickets in six other European countries) between 2001 and 2017, equivalent to a box office gross revenue of approximately ().


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film also grossed $339,954 in South Korea, Chile, and Argentina, in addition to $26,099 in Taiwan. This brings the film's estimated worldwide gross revenue to approximately in these thirteen countries (equivalent to adjusted for inflation in 2018).


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim." Robert Koehler of "Variety" commented, "Given the most basic characters to work with, the mostly teen cast attacks the material with frightening gusto, and Fujiwara dutifully invokes the voice of inner moral conflict. Production is exceedingly handsome and vigorous, offering no sign that Fukasaku is slowing down." He stated that, "returning to his roots as Japan's maestro of mayhem, Kinji Fukasaku has delivered" one of "his most outrageous and timely films", comparing it to "the outrage over youth violence" that Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" "generated in early-'70s Britain" and featuring some of "the most startling scenes of mayhem since the movies of the wild and bloody '70s." Jason Korsner of BBC News gave "Battle Royale" four out of five stars, stating that it is "a heart-stopping action film, teaching us the worthy lessons of discipline, teamwork, and determination, but wrapping them up in a deliberately provocative, shockingly violent package." BBC users gave the film five out of five stars. Almar Haflidason of BBC also gave the film five out of five stars. In a review for "Empire", critic Kim Newman gave the film four stars out of five. He compared it to "Lord of the Flies" in how it makes audiences "wonder what they would do in the same situation", but wrote that "Battle Royale" gives "even harder choices for its school-uniformed characters." He concluded that, "Some will be uncomfortable or appalled, and the mix of humour and horror is uneasy, but this isn't a film you'll forget easily. And, seriously, what would you do?"


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: "The Guardian" critic Peter Bradshaw gave the film four stars in September 2001, choosing it as the best film of the week. He praised Takeshi Kitano's performance as the teacher and some of the scenes as "a stunningly proficient piece of action film-making, plunging us into a world of delirium and fear." He notes that, among "the hail of bullets and the queasy gouts of blood, troubling narratives of yearning and sadness are played out. It is as if the violence of "Battle Royale" is not a satire of society at all, but simply a metaphor for the anguish of adolescent existence." He concluded that, while some "will find the explicit violence of this movie repulsive", it "is a film put together with remarkable confidence and flair. Its steely candour, and weird, passionate urgency make it compelling." Bryant Frazer of Deep Focus gave it a B+ rating and called it "a vicious take-off on reality TV that turns a high-school milieu dominated by cliques and childish relationships into a war zone." British critic Jonathan Ross stated that "if you want to catch a wildly original and super-cool slice of entertainment before it gets remade and ruined by the Americans, then I suggest you try hard not to miss it" and concluded that "it's a wildly imaginative example of just what can be achieved in a teen movie." In 2009, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino praised "Battle Royale" as the best film he had seen in the past two decades, stating that, "If there's any movie that's been made since I've been making movies that I wish I had made, it's that one."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: There has been renewed interest in the film following its 2012 Blu-ray release in the United States. Chris Nashawaty of "Entertainment Weekly" rates the film as "A" grade, positing that examination of the students' different motives for survival or subversion of the Program is a "sick blast". A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" gave the film a positive review, stating "[the] expertly choreographed scenes of mayhem are at once comical and appalling, and [Fukasaku's] young cast embraces the melodramatic extremity of the story with impressive conviction", adding that "Battle Royale" "is in many ways a better movie [than "The Hunger Games"] and in any case a fascinating companion, drawn from a parallel cultural universe. It is a lot uglier and also, perversely, a lot more fun." Entertainment critic for the Cary Darling describes "Battle Royale" as "tense, tragic and timely ... a modern-day horror story imbued with an electric sense of drama and dread." Alexandra Cavallo of the "Boston Phoenix" writes, ""Battle Royale" is "The Hunger Games" not diluted for young audiences" while giving the film three stars out of four. Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, calling it a "gloriously sick and twisted story" and claiming that it is "endlessly entertaining, by turns gory and hilarious, disturbing and exciting." In the "Chicago Sun-Times", Roger Ebert's Australia correspondent Michael Mirasol praised "Battle Royale" for its "thoughtful characterisation" that is "lavished upon all the students" and concluded that it is an "intensely violent fable aimed at a young audience, but with true feeling, intelligence, and respect." Jake Mulligan of "The Suffolk Voice" gave it five out of five stars, stating that "the influence of ""Royale"" on works as disparate as ""Kill Bill"" and ""The Hunger Games"" cannot be measured" and describing "Battle Royale" as "Provocative, funny, violent, and aided by a script that somehow gives equal attention to most of the students while also displaying the well-thought out minutia behind the narrative."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: R.L. Shaffer of IGN gave the film a score of 8 out of 10, taking "a moment to thank "The Hunger Games" for reminding us how awesome "Battle Royale" really is" and concluding that "Battle Royale" is "a masterpiece of mayhem, violence and unfettered teen melodrama." J. Hurtado of Twitch Film noted that many "reviews of "Battle Royale" focus on the violence, which is extreme to be sure, and not so much on the humanity of the film." He stated that "cranking up that already elevated hormonal level of emotional hysteria by throwing these students into a real life-or-death situation is incredibly effective" and that "the story of "Battle Royale" is the story of those teenage years and just how wrong we all were about the extent of our emotional turmoil." DVD Talk gave the original theatrical cut of the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and 4 out of 5 for the Director's Cut, concluding that it gives "a glimpse into what might very well happen should the rules of society, such as they are, ever do crumble to the point where it's everyone for themselves. There's enough black humor here and enough tense action that the film never quite feels bleak or depressing (though it does come close) – but most importantly it makes you think." Devon Ashby of CraveOnline gave the film a score of 8.5 out of 10, referring to it as "Japanese legend Kinji Fukasaku's adolescent shooting spree opus" and "a compassionate and technically accomplished masterpiece." Brent McKnight of PopMatters gave the film a score of 9 out of 10, describing it as "savage, sharp, satirical, and brutally funny" and "a bleak commentary on humanity and society."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Film critics Robert Davis and Riccardo de los Rios praise the film's narrative structure. They comment that in adapting a story such as Battle Royale which requires a suspension of disbelief to go along with its "far-fetched" story Fukasaku instead turns conventional rules of screenwriting on its head. Instead of focusing on the detail of the premise of a near future where school kids kill one another "the filmmakers dispense with premise in a short series of title cards". As the last film to be fully directed by Fukasaku, the "Directory of World Cinema" refers to "Battle Royale" as "perhaps the finest cinematic swansong ever conceived."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: An interpretation of the film is that it represents Japanese generational attitudes that are creating social, political and economic divides between the young and old. Fukasaku himself has stated: "The children who have grown up and witnessed what happened to the adults, their anxiety became heightened as well. So I set Battle Royale within this context of children versus adults."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: At the 2001 Japanese Academy Awards, "Battle Royale "was nominated for nine awards, including Picture of the Year, and won three of them. The film was nominated for two awards from international film festivals but failed to win.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In 2009, Quentin Tarantino listed "Battle Royale" as his favorite film released since he began directing in 1992. That same year, Moviefone included it in the top three of its "50 Best Movies of the Decade" list. Jon Condit of Dread Central called it "one of the best movies [he's] ever seen." Bloody Disgusting ranked the film fifteenth in its list of the "Top-20 Horror Film of the Decade", with the article calling the film "a go-for-broke extravaganza: fun, provocative, ultra-violent, and bound to arouse controversy (which it did) ... the film [is] more than just an empty provocation – it builds character through action, a method all good filmmakers should seek to emulate." In 2010, "Empire" ranked "Battle Royale" #235 and #82 on their lists of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" and "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" respectively. "Time" magazine included the film in its list of Top 10 Ridiculously Violent Movies. In 2012, "The Independent" included it in its "10 best sports movies ever made" list. "Complex" magazine ranked it #47 in its list of The 50 Best Action Movies of All Time.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Kinji Fukasaku, who directed the first film, began work on a sequel, entitled "", but died of prostate cancer on January 12, 2003, after shooting only one scene with Takeshi Kitano. His son Kenta Fukasaku directed the rest of the film, which was released on May 18, 2003.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Unlike the first film, the sequel is not adapted from a novel, but was based on an original screenplay written by Kenta Fukasaku. The plot revolves around the survivor Shuya Nanahara leading a terrorist rebellion, but was controversial for its provocative anti-American sentiments and criticised for being inferior to the original.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In June 2006, "Variety" reported that New Line Cinema, with producers Neil Moritz and Roy Lee, intended to produce a new adaptation of "Battle Royale". Several Web sites echoed the news, including Ain't It Cool News, which claimed the remake would be "an extremely Hard R – serious-minded Americanisation of Battle Royale." New Line tentatively set a release date of 2008.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The next month, "The New York Times" reported on an Internet backlash against the remake. Through the article, Lee assured fans of his respect for the original work, claiming, "This is the one I'm going to be the most careful with." He stated that, despite earlier concerns, the film would not be toned down to PG or PG-13, the characters would remain young teenagers, and that it would draw elements equally from the novel, the original film, and the manga. The reporter noted "the hubbub ... was at least slightly premature [as] New Line hasn't yet purchased the remake rights."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Following the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007, Lee claimed that prospects for the remake had been "seriously shaken". While he remained willing to proceed, he stated, "we might be a little more sensitive to some of the issues." The reporting article noted that New Line still had not secured remake rights – its spokeswoman claimed "no news" when asked about progress on any deal.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: "Maclean's" pointed out that the 2008 novel "The Hunger Games", and its subsequent 2012 film adaptation, have similar themes. Although "Hunger Games" author Suzanne Collins maintains that she "had never heard of that book until [her] book was turned in", "The New York Times" reports that "the parallels are striking enough that Collins's work has been savaged on the blogosphere as a baldfaced ripoff" and that "there are enough possible sources for the plot line that the two authors might well have hit on the same basic setup independently." The 2012 film adaptation has also faced similar criticisms for similarities to "Battle Royale".


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In March 2012, Roy Lee reported that a remake of "Battle Royale" would no longer be possible due to the release of "The Hunger Games", stating, "Audiences would see it as just a copy of "Games" – most of them wouldn't know that "Battle Royale" came first. It's unfair, but that's reality." However, he stated that he might return to the film in ten years to "develop a ""Battle Royale" movie for the next generation."


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: During the summer of 2012, The CW had been in discussion with the Hollywood representatives about the possibility of turning "Battle Royale" into an American television show. According to a spokesperson, the talks were only preliminary, but if a deal could be reached, the network would acquire rights to Koushun Takami's underlying novel, then unpack and expand on it for an hour-long dramatic series. Joyce Jun, a Hollywood attorney representing U.S. rights to the title, stated that "there is no deal in place". A CW spokesman confirmed only there had been some discussion, but declined to comment further.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film, especially with its DVD releases, drew a large global cult following and became a cultural phenomenon. Quentin Tarantino considers "Battle Royale" to be one of the most influential films in recent decades. The film has been highly influential in global popular culture, inspiring numerous works of fiction in a number of different media across the world.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Since its release, the film has had an influence on filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, most notably his "Kill Bill" films; the character Gogo Yubari, played by Chiaki Kuriyama, resembles the character she plays in "Battle Royale", Takako Chigusa. "Battle Royale" has also been referenced in the 2004 zombie comedy film "Shaun of the Dead", where Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg made sure a big "Battle Royale" poster is prominently displayed in Shaun's living room. Despite not being officially released in the United States for a long time, "Battle Royale" has often been referenced in American pop culture, ranging from Tarantino's films to the rock band The Flaming Lips' use of footage from the film as a backdrop for its "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" tour, along with references in Hollywood films such as Jason Reitman's "Thank You for Smoking" (2005) and "Juno" (2007) and American television shows such as "Lost" and "Community". In "", one of the characters (Matthew Currie Holmes as Michael "M" Epstein) wears a Battle Royale Shirt.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Maggie Lee of Reuters describes "Battle Royale" as the "film that pioneered the concept of the teen death game", citing its influence on films such as "Kaiji" (2009) and Hideo Nakata's "The Incite Mill" (2010), both of which starred Tatsuya Fujiwara (who played "Battle Royale" protagonist Shuya Nanahara) in the leading roles. V.A. Musetto of the "New York Post" compared it to "The Condemned" (2007), which the critic called "a bad rip-off" of "Battle Royale" as well as "The Most Dangerous Game".


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: Critics have also noted the influence of "Battle Royale" on other films, such as the 2008 film "Kill Theory", the 2009 film "The Tournament", and "The Hunger Games" trilogy. "Battle Royale" has also drawn comparisons to films such as "Gamer" (2009), "Kick-Ass" (2010), and "The Belko Experiment" (2016). Other examples of "battle royale" films include "The Purge" series (2013), "Assassination Nation" (2018), "Ready or Not" (2019), and "The Hunt" (2020). The South Korean Netflix original series "Squid Game" (2021) was also influenced by "Battle Royale".


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: In Japan, the film established the battle royale genre of manga and anime, revolving around a similar narrative premise. Along with the "Battle Royale" manga (2000 debut), other examples of the genre include "Basilisk" (2003 debut), "Bokurano" (2003 debut), the "Fate/stay night" franchise (2004 debut), "Future Diary" (2006 debut), "Deadman Wonderland" (2007 debut), the "Danganronpa" franchise (2010 debut), "Magical Girl Raising Project" (2012 debut), and the "Death Parade" series (2013 debut). "Battle Royale" has also drawn comparisons to the "Gantz" franchise of manga (2000), anime (2004) and films (2011). "Btooom" (2009 debut) features a variation of the battle royale theme.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film has influenced the creation of the Marvel Comics series "Avengers Arena". The series' logo also mirrors that of the logo used in the "Battle Royale" movie.


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The genre of battle royale video games, in which players compete to be the last one standing in a shrinking battlefield, was inspired by and took its name from the film. The genre became popular in the late 2010s, and includes games such as "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds", "Fortnite Battle Royale", "ARMA 3", "", "Knives Out", "Rules of Survival", "Garena Free Fire", "Apex Legends", "Realm Royale", ""s "Blackout" game mode, and "".


title: Battle Royale (film)

text: The film's title also refers to the battle royale genre of visual novels, revolving around a similar narrative premise. Examples include the "Fate/stay night" series (2004 debut), "Dies irae" (2007), and the "Zero Escape" series (2009 debut). The "Danganronpa" series (2010 debut) is also notably influenced by the film, with its scenario writer Kazutaka Kodaka citing the film as an influence. "Battle Royale" has also drawn comparisons to Square Enix's "The World Ends with You" (2007).


title: Cash App

text: Cash App (formerly Square Cash) is a mobile payment service available in the United States and the United Kingdom that allows users to transfer money to one another (for a 1.5% fee for immediate transfer) using a mobile phone app. In September 2021, the service reported 70 million annual transacting users and US$1.8 billion in gross profit.


title: Cash App

text: Cash App was launched by Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc. at its launch) in October 15, 2013 under the name "Square Cash".


title: Cash App

text: In March 2015, Square introduced Square Cash for businesses. This allowed individuals, organizations, and business owners to create a unique username to send and receive money, known as a "$cashtag". Since then, the $cashtag has become the most popular method for users to transfer money.


title: Cash App

text: In November 2020, Square announced it was acquiring Credit Karma Tax, a free do-it-yourself tax-filing service, for $50 million and would make it a part of its Cash App unit.


title: Cash App

text: On November 3, 2021, Square opened Cash App to teenagers between 13 and 17. The app previously required its users to be at least 18 years old. Younger teens will need a parent or guardian to authorize their account and will not have access to cryptocurrency or stock trading until they turn 18.


title: Cash App

text: The service allows users to send, receive, and store money within the US and the UK (but not internationally). Users can transfer money out of Cash App to a bank account in their country. The Cash Card is a customizable debit card that allows users to spend their money at various retailers and withdraw cash from an ATM. When signing up for the Cash Card, users can customize it by selecting a color, adding stamps, drawing on it, and even making the card glow in the dark. Once your custom design is finalized, the card is sent to the user through the mail.


title: Cash App

text: Users can request money from and transfer to other Cash App accounts via phone number, email, or $cashtag. The $cashtag acts as a unique username for the user's account and can only be changed twice. When transferring money, users can optionally add a message to be sent to the counterparty. Cash App provides two options to transfer money into a third party bank account: wait 3-5 business days, or instantly withdraw with a 1.5% fee.


title: Cash App

text: Unverified accounts can only send up to $250 per week and receive $1,000 per month. To verify an account, a user must submit their legal name, date of birth, and, in the US, the last four digits of their social security number. Verification raises the weekly sending limit to $7,500 per week and removes the receiving limit.


title: Cash App

text: In 2018, the capability to buy and sell bitcoin was added to the app. Users can also send bitcoin to each other using their $cashtag, deposit bitcoin into the app from another source, and withdraw their bitcoin to an external wallet. Unlike other cryptocurrency exchanges, buying and selling bitcoin on Cash App is instant and does not require confirmation on the blockchain. Cash App only supports bitcoin and has not announced any plans to support other cryptocurrencies in the future. Bitcoin trading is not available to minors on Cash App.


title: Cash App

text: In 2020, the capability to trade stocks was added to the app for US residents only. Users can buy and sell fractional shares of most publicly traded companies with a minimum of $1. Stock trading follows standard market hours of 9:30 am – 4:00 pm EST and can be managed from the app’s investing section. Stock trading is not available to minors on Cash App.


title: Cash App

text: As of November 1, 2021, Square had a market capitalization of $117.4 billion. Its largest market competitor is Paypal, which owns Venmo. Other major competitors include Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Zelle.


title: Cash App

text: Cash App is free to download on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and other mobile store platforms. Because the app is initially free, it incentivizes more users to create an account and use its services. If users want additional services other than a standard money transfer, Cash App charges small percentage fees and initial fixed costs to generate revenue.


title: Cash App

text: Cash App's primary revenue stream comes from users withdrawing funds from the app to their linked bank accounts. Cash App provides two options to transfer money into a third party bank account: wait 3-5 business days, or instantly withdraw with a 1.5% fee.


title: Cash App

text: If users don’t have a direct deposit account with the app, they will be charged a $2 fee for withdrawing money from an ATM. Cash App also allows users to buy and sell bitcoin from their platform for a small service fee based on the current bitcoin market volatility. Businesses can also accept Cash App as a form of payment and charge a transaction cost of 2.75%.


title: Cash App

text: Like banks, Cash App can lend money deposited by users to various institutions, charging interest and thus generating revenue, known as money creation. Cash App is required to hold 10% of users' accounts liquidity as part of the fractional-reserve banking, to protect depositors in the event of a bank run.


title: Cash App

text: Cash App uses a combination of encryption and fraud detection technologies to help secure users' data and money. All data is encrypted and sent to Square’s secure servers regardless of the connection type (public and private WiFi and all forms of mobile data). If fraud is detected at any point during a transaction, Cash App will automatically cancel the transaction.


title: Cash App

text: To further increase security, upon signing into an account, a user is sent a one-time use login code by SMS or email.


title: Cash App

text: Cash App includes an option in its settings labeled Security Lock. This provides users an extra protection step as it requires them to enter their password before completing any transaction.


title: Cash App

text: There has been a reported history of scams via Cash App. Common scams include customer support impersonation, fake offers and programs, and the selling of fake expensive items. There is little buyer protection, making these scams hard to dispute unlike payment services such as PayPal.


title: Cash App

text: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in use of payment apps, there has been a notable increase in reported scams. In one instance, a man was scammed out of $24,000 due to customer support impersonation. In another instance, a scammer used the public video of a female Waffle House worker holding a baby in a kitchen to fabricate an emotional story. The scammer used social media to share their Cash App information in hopes of receiving donations from unsuspecting victims who wanted to help out.


title: Cash App

text: Millennials frequently utilize payment platforms like Cash App and Venmo to pay for illegal drugs or gamble. In June 2021, police in West Baltimore arrested seven people for using Cash App to sell cocaine and heroin to nearby neighborhoods.


title: Cash App

text: In 2018, Cash App surpassed Venmo in total downloads (33.5 million cumulative), becoming one of the most popular peer-to-peer payment platforms.


title: Cash App

text: Cash App is mentioned by about 200 hip-hop artists in their song lyrics, leading some to assert that it is now "ingrained in hip-hop culture," with its popularity stemming from the Black community in Atlanta. Some cite the early adoption of cryptocurrencies among members of the rap community as another reason for Cash App's cultural cachet. The popularity of the app in hip-hop is reflected in Square's partnerships with prominent rappers, such as Travis Scott, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B.


title: Cash App

text: Social media influencers frequently use Cash App to request donations from their followers. Every Friday since 2017, Twitter users retweet posts from the official Cash App account with the #SuperCashAppFriday hashtag to potentially win $10,000 to $50,000. These posts often have a notable amount of engagement.


title: Curly Howard

text: Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and actor Larry Fine. In early shorts, he was billed as Curley. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges.


title: Curly Howard

text: He was well known for his high-pitched voice and vocal expressions ("nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!", "woob-woob-woob!", "soitenly!" [certainly], "I'm a victim of soikemstance", and barking like a dog), as well as his physical comedy (e.g., falling on the ground and pivoting on his shoulder as he "walked" in circular motion), improvisations, and athleticism. An untrained actor, Curly borrowed (and significantly exaggerated) the "woob woob" from "nervous" and soft-spoken comedian Hugh Herbert. Curly's unique version of "woob-woob-woob" was firmly established by the time of the Stooges' second Columbia film, "Punch Drunks" (1934).


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard had to leave the Three Stooges act in May 1946 when a massive stroke ended his show business career. He suffered serious health problems and several more strokes until his death in 1952 at age 48.


title: Curly Howard

text: Curly Howard was born Jerome Lester Horwitz in the Bensonhurst section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City, on October 22, 1903. Of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, he was the youngest of the five sons of Jennie (Gorovitz) and Solomon Horwitz. Because he was the youngest, his brothers called him "Babe" to tease him. The name "Babe" stuck with him all his life. However, when his elder brother Shemp Howard married Gertrude Frank, who was also nicknamed "Babe", the brothers called him "Curly" to avoid confusion. His full formal Hebrew name was "Yehudah Leib bar Shlomo Natan HaLevi".


title: Curly Howard

text: A quiet child, Howard rarely caused problems for his parents (something in which older brothers Moe and Shemp excelled). He was a mediocre student, but excelled as an athlete on the school basketball team. He did not graduate high school; instead, he kept himself busy with odd jobs and constantly following his older brothers, whom he idolized. He was also an accomplished ballroom dancer and singer and regularly turned up at the Triangle Ballroom in Brooklyn, occasionally bumping into actor George Raft.


title: Curly Howard

text: When Howard was 12, he accidentally shot himself in the left ankle while cleaning a rifle. Moe rushed him to the hospital, saving his life, but the wound resulted in a noticeably thinner left leg and a slight limp. Curly was so afraid of surgery that he never had the limp corrected. While with the Stooges, he developed his famous exaggerated walk to conceal the limp on screen.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard was interested in music and comedy and watched his brothers Shemp and Moe perform as stooges in Ted Healy's vaudeville act. He also liked to hang around backstage, although he never participated in any of the routines.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard married his first wife, Julia Rosenthal, on August 5, 1930, but the marriage was annulled shortly afterward.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard's first on-stage break was as a comedy musical conductor in 1928 for the Orville Knapp Band. Moe later recalled that his performances usually overshadowed those of the band. Though he enjoyed the gig, he watched as brothers Moe and Shemp with partner Larry Fine made it big as some of Ted Healy's "Stooges". Vaudeville star Healy had a very popular stage act, in which he would try to tell jokes or sing, only to have his stooges wander on stage and interrupt or heckle him and cause disturbances from the audience. Meanwhile, Healy and company appeared in their first feature film, Rube Goldberg's "Soup to Nuts" (1930).


title: Curly Howard

text: Shemp Howard, however, soon tired of Healy's abrasiveness, bad temper, and alcoholism. In 1932, he was offered a contract at the Vitaphone Studios in Brooklyn. With Shemp gone, Moe suggested that Curly fill the third stooge role, but Healy felt that with his thick, chestnut hair and elegant waxed mustache, he looked too good for the part. Howard left the room and returned minutes later with his head shaven (the mustache remained very briefly). In one of the few interviews Curly Howard gave in his lifetime, he complained about the loss of his hair: "I had to shave it off right down to the skin."


title: Curly Howard

text: In 1934, MGM was building Healy up as a solo comedian in feature films, and Healy dissolved the act to pursue his career. Like Shemp, the new team of Moe, Larry, and Curly were weary of Healy's drinking and abrasive personality. That same year, with "The Three Stooges" as the act's new name, they signed to appear in two-reel comedy short subjects for Columbia Pictures. The Stooges soon became the most popular short-subject attraction, with Curly playing an integral part in the trio's work.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard's childlike mannerisms and natural comedic charm made him a hit with audiences, particularly children. He was known in the act for having an "indestructible" head, which always won out by breaking anything that assaulted it, including saws (resulting in his characteristic quip, "Oh, look!"). Although Howard had no formal acting training, his comedic skills were exceptional. Often, directors let the camera roll freely and let Howard improvise. Jules White, in particular, left gaps in the Stooge scripts where he could improvise for several minutes. In later years, White commented: "If we wrote a scene and needed a little something extra, I'd say to Curly, 'Look, we've got a gap to fill this in with a "woob-woob" or some other bit of business', and he never disappointed us."


title: Curly Howard

text: By the time the Stooges hit their peak in the late 1930s, their films had almost become vehicles for Howard's unbridled comic performances. Classics such as "A Plumbing We Will Go" (1940), "We Want Our Mummy" (1938), "An Ache in Every Stake" (1941), "Cactus Makes Perfect" (1942), and their most violent short, "They Stooge to Conga" (1943), display his ability to take inanimate objects (food, tools, pipes, etc.) and turn them into ingenious comic props. Moe Howard later confirmed that when Curly forgot his lines, that merely allowed him to improvise on the spot so that the "take" could continue uninterrupted:


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard also developed a set of Brooklyn-accented reactions and expressions that the other Stooges would imitate long after he had left the act:


title: Curly Howard

text: On several occasions, Moe Howard was convinced that rising star Lou Costello (a close friend of Shemp's) was stealing material from his brother. Costello was known to acquire prints of the Stooges' films from Columbia Pictures on occasion, presumably to study him. Inevitably, Curly Howard's routines would appear in "Abbott and Costello" feature films, much to Moe's chagrin. (It did not help that Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn would not allow the Stooges to make feature-length films like contemporaries Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, and Abbott and Costello.)


title: Curly Howard

text: Curly was the only "third Stooge" who never made a series of his short films, without Moe or Larry, either before joining the Stooges or after leaving. Shemp and subsequent Stooges Joe Besser and Joe DeRita (referred to during his stint with the Stooges as "Curly Joe DeRita") each starred in their solo series of theatrical short subjects.


title: Curly Howard

text: By 1944, Howard's energy began to wane. Films such as "Idle Roomers" (1944) and "Booby Dupes" (1945) present a Curly whose voice was deeper and his actions slower. He may have suffered the first of many strokes between the filming of "Idiots Deluxe" (October 1944) and "If a Body Meets a Body" (March 1945). After the filming of the feature-length "Rockin' in the Rockies" (December 1944), he finally checked himself (at Moe Howard's insistence) into Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California, on January 23, 1945, and was diagnosed with extreme hypertension, a retinal hemorrhage, and obesity. His ill health imposed a rest, leading to only five shorts being released in 1945 (the normal output was six to eight per year).


title: Curly Howard

text: Moe Howard pleaded with Harry Cohn to allow his younger brother some time off upon discharge to regain his strength, but Cohn would not halt the production of his profitable Stooge shorts and flatly refused his request. The Stooges had five months off between August 1945 and January 1946. They used that time to book a two-month live performance commitment in New York City, working shows seven days a week. During their time on the East Coast, Howard met his third wife, Marion Buxbaum, whom he married on October 17, 1945, after a two-week courtship.


title: Curly Howard

text: Returning to Los Angeles in late November 1945, Howard was a shell of his former self. With two months' rest, the team's 1946 schedule at Columbia commenced in late January, but involved only 24 days' work from February to early May. Despite eight weeks off in that same period, Howard's condition continued to deteriorate.


title: Curly Howard

text: By early 1946, Howard's voice had become even more coarse than before, and remembering even the simplest dialogue was increasingly difficult. He had lost considerable weight, and lines had creased his face.


title: Curly Howard

text: "Half-Wits Holiday" (released 1947) was Howard's final appearance as an official member of the Stooges. During filming on May 6, 1946, he suffered a severe stroke while sitting in director Jules White's chair, waiting to film the last scene of the day. When called by the assistant director to take the stage, he did not answer. Moe looked for his brother; he found him with his head dropped to his chest. Moe later recalled that his mouth was distorted, and he was unable to speak, only able to cry. Moe immediately alerted White, leading the latter to rework the scene quickly, dividing the action between Moe and Larry while Curly was rushed to the hospital, where Moe joined him after the filming. Howard spent several weeks at the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills before returning home for further recovery.


title: Curly Howard

text: In January 1946, Shemp had been recruited to substitute for a resting Curly during live performances in New Orleans. After Curly's stroke, Shemp agreed to replace him in the Columbia shorts, but only until his younger brother was well enough to rejoin the act. An extant copy of the Stooges' 1947 Columbia Pictures contract was signed by all four Stooges and stipulated that Shemp's joining "in place and stead of Jerry Howard" would be only temporary until Curly recovered sufficiently to return to work full-time.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard, partially recovered and with his hair regrown, made a brief cameo appearance in January 1947 as a train passenger barking in his sleep in the third film after brother Shemp's return, "Hold That Lion!" (1947). It was the only film that featured Larry Fine and all three Howard brothers – Moe, Shemp, and Curly – simultaneously; director White later said he spontaneously staged the bit during Curly's impromptu visit to the soundstage:


title: Curly Howard

text: In June 1948, Howard filmed a second cameo as an angry chef for the short "Malice in the Palace" (1949), but due to his illness, his performance was not deemed good enough, and his scenes were cut. A lobby card for the short shows him with the other Stooges, although he never appeared in the final release.


title: Curly Howard

text: Still not fully recovered from his stroke, Howard met Valerie Newman and married her on July 31, 1947. A friend, Irma Leveton, later recalled, "Valerie was the only decent thing that happened to Curly and the only one that really cared about him." Although his health continued to decline after the marriage, Valerie gave birth to a daughter, Janie, in 1948.


title: Curly Howard

text: Later that year, Howard suffered a second massive stroke, which left him partially paralyzed. He used a wheelchair by 1950 and was fed boiled rice and apples as part of his diet to reduce his weight (and blood pressure). Valerie admitted him into the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital on August 29, 1950. He was released after several months of treatment and medical tests, although he would return periodically until his death.


title: Curly Howard

text: In February 1951, he was placed in a nursing home, where he suffered another stroke a month later. In April, he went to live at the North Hollywood Hospital and Sanitarium.


title: Curly Howard

text: In December 1951, the North Hollywood Hospital and Sanitarium supervisor told the Howard family that Curly was becoming a problem to the nursing staff at the facility because of his mental deterioration. They admitted they could no longer care for him and suggested he be placed in a mental hospital. Moe refused and relocated him to the Baldy View Sanitarium in San Gabriel, California.


title: Curly Howard

text: On January 7, 1952, Moe was contacted on the Columbia set while filming "He Cooked His Goose" to help move Curly for what would be the last time. This proved unsuccessful, and Curly died eleven days later, on January 18, 1952. He lived the shortest life of the Stooges, dying at the age of 48. He was given a Jewish funeral and was buried at the Western Jewish Institute section of Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles. His older brothers, Benjamin and Shemp (who died three years later), and parents Jennie and Solomon are all interred there, as well.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard's offscreen personality was the antithesis of his onscreen manic persona. He generally kept to himself and was an introvert, rarely socializing with people unless he had been drinking (a habit to which he would increasingly turn as the stresses of his career grew). Howard refrained from engaging in the antics for which he became famous unless he was with family, performing for an audience, or intoxicated. He was known for his kindness to stray dogs.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard's first marriage ended in divorce five months after the union occurred and before he achieved fame with the Stooges. Howard married his second wife, Elaine Ackerman, on June 7, 1937. Their union produced one child, Marilyn, the following year. The couple divorced in June 1940, after which he gained weight and developed hypertension. He was insecure about his shaved head, believing it made him unappealing to women. He increasingly drank to excess and caroused to cope with his feelings of inferiority. He took to wearing a hat in public to convey an image of masculinity, saying he felt like a little kid with his hair shaved off. Despite his low self-esteem, he was popular with women, particularly with those who wanted to take advantage of him.


title: Curly Howard

text: Moe's son-in-law Norman Maurer noted "he was a pushover for women. If a pretty girl went up to him and gave him a spiel, Curly would marry her. Then she would take his money and run off. It was the same when a real estate agent would come up and say 'I have a house for you'; Curly would sell his current home and buy another one."


title: Curly Howard

text: During World War II, for seven months each year, the trio's filming schedule went on hiatus, allowing them to make personal appearances. The Stooges entertained service members constantly, and the intense work schedule took its toll on Howard's health. He never drank while performing in film or on stage (Moe would not permit it), but after the work day had ended, he would head out to nightclubs where he ate, drank, and caroused to excess to cope with the stress of work. He was a profligate spender, especially on wine, food, women, and homes, and was often near bankruptcy. Moe eventually helped him manage his finances and even filled out his income tax returns.


title: Curly Howard

text: Howard found constant companionship in his dogs and often befriended strays whenever the Stooges traveled. He would pick up homeless dogs and take them with him from town to town until he found them a home somewhere else on the tour. When not performing, he usually had a few pet dogs waiting for him at home, as well.


title: Curly Howard

text: Moe urged Curly to find himself a wife, hoping it would persuade his brother to finally settle down and allow his health to improve somewhat. After a two-week courtship, he married Marion Buxbaum on October 17, 1945, a union that lasted nine months. The divorce proceeding was bitter, exacerbated by exploitative, sensationalist media coverage, which worsened his already fragile health. The divorce was finalized in July 1946, two months after he suffered his career-ending stroke.


title: Curly Howard

text: On July 31, 1947, he married Valerie Newman. They had one daughter, Janie (born in 1948), and remained married until his death.


title: Curly Howard

text: Curly Howard is considered by many fans and critics alike to be their favorite member of the Three Stooges. In a 1972 interview; Larry Fine recalled, "Personally, I thought Curly was the greatest because he was a natural comedian who had no formal training. Whatever he did, he made up on the spur of the moment. When we lost Curly, we took a hit." Curly's mannerisms, behavior, and personality along with his catchphrases of "n'yuk, n'yuk, n'yuk," "woob, woob, woob", and "soitenly!" have become a part of American popular culture. Steve Allen called him one of the "most original, yet seldom recognized comic geniuses."


title: Curly Howard

text: The Ted Okuda and Edward Watz's book "The Columbia Comedy Shorts" puts Howard's appeal and legacy in critical perspective:


title: Campari

text: Campari () is an Italian alcoholic liqueur, considered an apéritif (20.5%, 21%, 24%, 25%, or 28.5% ABV, depending on the country where it is sold), obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit (including chinotto and cascarilla) in alcohol and water. It is a type of bitters, characterised by its dark red colour.


title: Campari

text: Campari is often used in cocktails and is commonly served with soda water or citrus juice (most often pink grapefruit juice), often garnished with either blood orange or blood lime slice (mainly in Australia) or mixed with prosecco as a spritz. It is produced by the Davide Campari Group, a multinational company based in Italy.


title: Campari

text: Campari is an essential ingredient in the classic Negroni cocktail, the Garibaldi, the Americano (which was named at a time when few Americans were aware of Campari), and the spritz (an aperitif popular in northern Italy).


title: Campari

text: In the Italian market, Campari mixed with soda water is sold in individual bottles as Campari Soda (10% alcohol by volume). Campari Soda is packaged in a distinctive bottle that was designed by Fortunato Depero in 1932.


title: Campari

text: Campari was invented in 1860 by Gaspare Campari in Novara, Italy. It was originally coloured with carmine dye, derived from crushed cochineal insects, which gave the drink its distinctive red colour. Campari Group discontinued the use of carmine in 2006.


title: Campari

text: In 1904, Campari's first production plant was opened in Sesto San Giovanni, near Milan, Italy. Under the direction of Davide Campari, Gaspare's son, the company began to export the beverage, first to Nice in the heart of the French Riviera, then overseas.


title: Campari

text: The Campari brand is now distributed in over 190 countries. Campari is a registered trademark of Davide Campari Milano S.P.A., which is part of Gruppo Campari (Campari Group).


title: Campari

text: "Wine Enthusiast" has reviewed Campari on a number of occasions, giving it a score of "85-89/100" in 2007.


title: Marcos Alonso (footballer, born 1990)

text: Marcos Alonso Mendoza (born 28 December 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back or wing-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.


title: Marcos Alonso (footballer, born 1990)

text: Alonso started his career with Real Madrid but went on to make his name with Bolton Wanderers in England and later with Fiorentina in Italy. His success at the latter club led Chelsea to sign him for an estimated £24 million in 2016, going on to win multiple honours with the club including a Premier League and UEFA Champions League title.


title: Marcos Alonso (footballer, born 1990)

text: Born in Madrid, Alonso joined Real Madrid's youth academy as a child, going on to represent every youth side in the following years. In 2008, he reached Real Madrid Castilla which competed in Segunda División B, and first appeared for the reserve team on 22 February 2008, playing the entire match in a 1–0 home loss against AD Alcorcón.


title: Marcos Alonso (footballer, born 1990)

text: On 11 December 2009, Alonso was first summoned by the main squad – coached by Manuel Pellegrini – for a La Liga match at Valencia CF. Eventually, he did not make the final list of 18, and his debut arrived on 4 April of the following year as he came on as a substitute for Gonzalo Higuaín in the 90th minute of a 2–0 win away to Racing de Santander.


title: Marcos Alonso (footballer, born 1990)

text: Alonso joined Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League for an undisclosed fee, on 27 July 2010. He made his competitive debut for the club in a League Cup 1–0 away win against Southampton on 24 August; his first league appearance arrived on 1 January 2011, starting for suspended Paul Robinson in a 2–1 away loss to Liverpool at Anfield.


title: Marcos Alonso (footballer, born 1990)

text: Alonso scored his first goal for Bolton on 31 March 2012, netting the second in an eventual 3–2 success away to Wolverhampton Wanderers. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he was voted "The Bolton News" player of the year, winning 37% of the vote: Marc Iles wrote, "...this has been a break-out season for the former Real Madrid starlet. Alonso has grown in stature and become a consistent performer at full-back – chipping in with some important goals too."