title: Shaun White

text: White appeared in the Nickelodeon TV series "Henry Danger" in 2018 in the episode "Toon in for Danger". In the episode White and Captain Man were struggling for a seat while watching the premiere of "The Adventures of Kid Danger".


title: Shaun White

text: White plays guitar in the electronic rock band Bad Things, which also features former Augustana bassist Jared Palomar. He got his first guitar as first prize in a snowboarding competition. The band played in one of the four Saturday headlining slots at the 2013 Lollapalooza festival, as a last-minute replacement for Death Grips. Their self-titled debut album was released in January 2014.


title: Shaun White

text: White was one of the few pro snowboarders to be a guest editor of "Snowboarder Magazine" (February 2008 issue).


title: Shaun White

text: White has appeared in several video games and has also launched his video game franchise. He appeared in 1999’s Cool Boarders 4 and 2001's "Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder". In 2008 he released his own video game, "Shaun White Snowboarding", developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. This was followed by a sequel, "", released in 2009. A skateboarding game, "Shaun White Skateboarding", was also released in 2010.


title: Shaun White

text: In early 2016 he purchased a minority stake in Mammoth Resorts and is now a part-owner of the Mammoth Mountain, Snow Summit, June Mountain, and Bear Mountain ski areas where he got his start in snowboarding.


title: Shaun White

text: White has helmed the Air + Style festival of music and snowboarding since 2014, when he took ownership and moved it from Austria to Los Angeles. The 2021 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Shaun White

text: White launched his own active lifestyle brand named 'Whitespace' in January 2022; he announced the name of the brand on his social media. The company will eventually release a line of outerwear, snowboard hard-goods, athletic equipment, and streetwear apparel.


title: Shaun White

text: White has had the longstanding nickname "The Flying Tomato", due to his red hair. In 2006, "Rolling Stone" wrote about the nickname, saying, "he used to embrace it, even wearing headbands with a flying-tomato logo, but he has grown tired of it." He has also been nicknamed "Animal", a reference to a character from "The Muppet Show".


title: Shaun White

text: On September 17, 2012, White was arrested near a hotel in Nashville for public intoxication and vandalism after attending the wedding party of the drummer of The Black Keys, Patrick Carney.


title: Shaun White

text: White, who underwent two open-heart surgeries as an infant, has granted 17 wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2008.


title: Shaun White

text: White was in a relationship with Sarah Barthel of the band Phantogram from 2013 to 2019. He started dating actress Nina Dobrev in 2019.


title: Shaun White

text: In 2016, Bad Things drummer Lena Zawaideh brought a lawsuit against White, claiming sexual harassment and breach of contract. White and Zawaideh reached an out-of-court settlement in May 2017; the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. At a press conference following White's win at the 2018 Winter Olympics, he was asked if he was concerned that the lawsuit and settlement would tarnish his image. In replying, he referred to the incident as gossip, a response that created widespread condemnation of White for minimizing sexual harassment. White later apologized for his choice of words.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus "Dioscorea" (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in many temperate and tropical regions, especially in West Africa, South America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Oceania. The tubers themselves, also called "yams", come in a variety of forms owing to numerous cultivars and related species.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams were independently domesticated on three different continents: Africa ("Dioscorea rotundata"), Asia ("Dioscorea alata"), and the Americas ("Dioscorea trifida").


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The name "yam" appears to derive from Portuguese "inhame" or Canarian (Spain) "ñame", which derived from West African languages during trade. However in both languages, this name commonly refers to the taro plant ("Colocasia esculenta") from the genus "Colocasia", as opposed to "Dioscorea".


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The main derivations borrow from verbs meaning "to eat". True yams have various common names across multiple world regions.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: A monocot related to lilies and grasses, yams are vigorous herbaceous vines providing an edible tuber. They are native to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Some yams are also invasive plants, often considered a "noxious weed" outside cultivated areas. Some 870 species of yams are known, and 95% of these crops are grown in Africa.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yam plants can grow up to in length and high. The tuber may grow into the soil up to deep. The plant disperses by seed.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The edible tuber has a rough skin that is difficult to peel but readily softened by heating. The skins vary in color from dark brown to light pink. The majority, or meat, of the vegetable is composed of a much softer substance ranging in color from white or yellow to purple or pink in mature yams.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yam crop begins when whole seed tubers or tuber portions are planted into mounds or ridges, at the beginning of the rainy season. The crop yield depends on how and where the sets are planted, sizes of mounds, interplant spacing, provision of stakes for the resultant plants, yam species, and tuber sizes desired at harvest. Small-scale farmers in West and Central Africa often intercrop yams with cereals and vegetables. The seed yams are perishable and bulky to transport. Farmers who do not buy new seed yams usually set aside up to 30% of their harvest for planting the next year. Yam crops face pressure from a range of insect pests and fungal and viral diseases, as well as nematode. Their growth and dormant phases correspond respectively to the wet season and the dry season. For maximum yield, the yams require a humid tropical environment, with an annual rainfall over 1500 mm distributed uniformly throughout the growing season. White, yellow, and water yams typically produce a single large tuber per year, generally weighing .


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Despite the high labor requirements and production costs, consumer demand for yam is high in certain subregions of Africa, making yam cultivation quite profitable to certain farmers.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Many cultivated species of "Dioscorea" yams are found throughout the humid tropics. The most economically important are discussed below.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Non-"Dioscorea" tubers that were historically important in Africa include "Plectranthus rotundifolius" (the Hausa potato) and "Plectranthus esculentus" (the Livingstone potato); these two tuber crops have now been largely displaced by the introduction of cassava.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "Dioscorea rotundata", the white yam, and "D. cayennensis", the yellow yam, are native to Africa. They are the most important cultivated yams. In the past, they were considered as two separate species, but most taxonomists now regard them as the same species. Over 200 varieties between them are cultivated.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: White yam tuber is roughly cylindrical in shape, the skin is smooth and brown, and the flesh is usually white and firm. Yellow yam has yellow flesh, caused by the presence of carotenoids. It looks similar to the white yam in outer appearance; its tuber skin is usually a bit firmer and less extensively grooved. The yellow yam has a longer period of vegetation and a shorter dormancy than white yam.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: They are large plants; the vines can be as long as . The tubers most often weigh about each, but can weigh as much as . After 7 to 12 months' growth, the tubers are harvested. In Africa, most are pounded into a paste to make the traditional dish of "pounded yam", known as Iyan.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "D. alata", called purple yam (not to be confused with the Okinawan purple "yam", which is a sweet potato), greater yam, ube, winged yam, water yam, and (ambiguously) white yam, was first cultivated in Southeast Asia. Although not grown in the same quantities as the African yams, it has the largest distribution worldwide of any cultivated yam, being grown in Asia, the Pacific islands, Africa, and the West Indies. Even in Africa, the popularity of water yam is second only to white yam. The tuber shape is generally cylindrical, but can vary. Tuber flesh is white and watery in texture.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "D. alata" and "D. esculenta" (lesser yam) were important staple crops to the seafaring Austronesian cultures. They were carried along with the Austronesian migrations as canoe plants, from Island Southeast Asia to as far as Madagascar and Polynesia.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "D. polystachya", Chinese yam, is native to China. The Chinese yam plant is somewhat smaller than the African, with the vines about long. It is tolerant to frost and can be grown in much cooler conditions than other yams. It is also grown in Korea and Japan.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: It was introduced to Europe in the 19th century, when the potato crop there was falling victim to disease, and is still grown in France for the Asian food market.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The tubers are harvested after about 6 months of growth. Some are eaten right after harvesting and some are used as ingredients for other dishes, including noodles, and for traditional medicines.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "D. bulbifera", the air potato, is found in both Africa and Asia, with slight differences between those found in each place. It is a large vine, or more in length. It produces tubers, but the bulbils which grow at the base of its leaves are the more important food product. They are about the size of potatoes (hence the name "air potato"), weighing from .


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Some varieties can be eaten raw, while some require soaking or boiling for detoxification before eating. It is not grown much commercially since the flavor of other yams is preferred by most people. However, it is popular in home vegetable gardens because it produces a crop after only four months of growth and continues producing for the life of the vine, as long as two years. Also, the bulbils are easy to harvest and cook.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In 1905, the air potato was introduced to Florida and has since become an invasive species in much of the state. Its rapid growth crowds out native vegetation and it is very difficult to remove since it can grow back from the tubers, and new vines can grow from the bulbils even after being cut down or burned.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "D. esculenta", the lesser yam, was one of the first yam species cultivated. It is native to Southeast Asia and is the third-most commonly cultivated species there, although it is cultivated very little in other parts of the world. Its vines seldom reach more than in length and the tubers are fairly small in most varieties.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The tubers are eaten baked, boiled, or fried much like potatoes. Because of the small size of the tubers, mechanical cultivation is possible, which along with its easy preparation and good flavor, could help the lesser yam to become more popular in the future.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "D. dumetorum", the bitter yam, is popular as a vegetable in parts of West Africa, in part because their cultivation requires less labor than other yams. The wild forms are very toxic and are sometimes used to poison animals when mixed with bait. It is said that they have also been used for criminal purposes.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "D. trifida", the cush-cush yam, is native to the Guyana region of South America and is the most important cultivated New World yam. Since they originated in tropical rainforest conditions, their growth cycle is less related to seasonal changes than other yams. Because of their relative ease of cultivation and their good flavor, they are considered to have a great potential for increased production.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "Dioscorea hirtiflora" subsp. "pedicellata", lusala, busala or lwidi, is native to Tropical Africa. It is widely harvested and eaten in Southern Zambia where it grows in open forest areas. In Southern Zambia, it is an important addition to the March–September diets of almost all, and income of over half of rural households. Research on propagation of this subspecies to alleviate the threat from wild harvest has been successful.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Dioscorea japonica known as East Asian mountain yam, yamaimo, or Japanese mountain yam, is a type of yam (Dioscorea) native to Japan (including Ryukyu and Bonin Islands), Korea, China, Taiwan, and Assam.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Dioscorea japonica is used for food. Jinenjo, also called the wild yam, is a related variety of Japanese yam that is used as an ingredient in soba noodles.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams in West Africa are typically harvested by hand, using sticks, spades, or diggers. Wood-based tools are preferred to metallic tools as they are less likely to damage the fragile tubers; however, wood tools need frequent replacement. Yam harvesting is labor-intensive and physically demanding. Tuber harvesting involves standing, bending, squatting, and sometimes sitting on the ground depending on the size of mound, size of tuber, or depth of tuber penetration. Care must be taken to avoid damage to the tuber, because damaged tubers do not store well and spoil rapidly. Some farmers use staking and mixed cropping, a practice that complicates harvesting in some cases.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In forested areas, tubers grow in areas where other tree roots are present. Harvesting the tuber then involves the additional step of freeing them from other roots. This often causes tuber damage.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yields may improve and cost of yam production be lower if mechanization were to be developed and adopted. However, current crop production practices and species used pose considerable hurdles to successful mechanization of yam production, particularly for small-scale rural farmers. Extensive changes in traditional cultivation practices, such as mixed cropping, may be required. Modification of current tuber harvesting equipment is necessary given yam tuber architecture and its different physical properties.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In 2020, world production of yams was 75 million tonnes, led by Nigeria with 67% of the total (table).


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Roots and tubers such as yam are living organisms. When stored, they continue to respire, which results in the oxidation of the starch (a polymer of glucose) contained in the cells of the tuber, which converts it into water, carbon dioxide, and heat energy. During this transformation of the starch, the dry matter of the tuber is reduced.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Amongst the major roots and tubers, properly stored yam is considered to be the least perishable. Successful storage of yams requires:


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Storing yam at low temperature reduces the respiration rates. However, temperatures below cause damage through chilling, causing a breakdown of internal tissues, increasing water loss and yam's susceptibility to decay. The symptoms of chilling injury are not always obvious when the tubers are still in cold storage. The injury becomes noticeable as soon as the tubers are restored to ambient temperatures.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The best temperature to store yams is between , with high-technology-controlled humidity and climatic conditions, after a process of curing. Most countries that grow yams as a staple food are too poor to afford high-technology storage systems.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Sprouting rapidly increases a tuber's respiration rates, and accelerates the rate at which its food value decreases.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Certain cultivars of yams store better than others. The easier to store yams are those adapted to arid climate, where they tend to stay in a dormant low-respiration stage much longer than yam breeds adapted to humid tropical lands, where they do not need dormancy. Yellow yam and cush-cush yam, by nature, have much shorter dormancy periods than water yam, white yam, or lesser yam.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Storage losses for yams are very high in Africa, with insects alone causing over 25% harvest loss within five months.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Raw yam has only moderate nutrient density, with "appreciable content" (10% or more of the Daily Value, DV) limited to potassium, vitamin B6, manganese, thiamin, dietary fiber, and vitamin C (table). But raw yam has the highest potassium levels amongst the 10 major staple foods of the world (see nutritional chart). Yam supplies 118 calories per 100 grams. Yam generally has a lower glycemic index, about 54% of glucose per 150 gram serving, compared to potato products.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The protein content and quality of roots and tubers is lower than other food staples, with the content of yam and potato being around 2% on a fresh-weight basis. Yams, with cassava, provide a much greater proportion of the protein intake in Africa, ranging from 5.9% in East and South Africa to about 15.9% in humid West Africa.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: As a relatively low-protein food, yam is not a good source of essential amino acids. Experts emphasize the need to supplement a yam-dominant diet with more protein-rich foods to support healthy growth in children.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yam is an important dietary element for Nigerian and West African people. It contributes more than 200 calories per person per day for more than 150 million people in West Africa, and is an important source of income. Yam is an attractive crop in poor farms with limited resources. It is rich in starch, and can be prepared in many ways. It is available all year round, unlike other, unreliable, seasonal crops. These characteristics make yam a preferred food and a culturally important food security crop in some sub-Saharan African countries.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The following table shows the nutrient content of yam and major staple foods in a raw harvested form on a dry weight basis to account for their different water contents. Raw forms, however, are not edible and cannot be digested. These must be sprouted, or prepared and cooked for human consumption. In sprouted or cooked form, the relative nutritional and antinutritional contents of each of these staples is remarkably different from that of raw form of these staples.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The tubers of certain wild yams, including a variant of 'Kokoro' yam and other species of "Dioscorea", such as "Dioscorea nipponica", are a source for the extraction of diosgenin, a steroid sapogenin. The extracted diosgenin is used for the commercial synthesis of cortisone, pregnenolone, progesterone, and other steroid products. Such preparations were used in early combined oral contraceptive pills. The unmodified steroid has estrogenic activity.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams are consumed in a variety of preparations, such as flour or whole vegetable pieces across their range of distribution in Asia, Africa, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Oceania.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams of African species must be cooked to be safely eaten, because various natural substances in yams can cause illness if consumed raw. The most common cooking methods in Western and Central Africa are by boiling, frying or roasting.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Among the Akan of Ghana, boiled yam can be mashed with palm oil into "eto" in a similar manner to the plantain dish "matoke", and is served with eggs. The boiled yam can also be pounded with a traditional mortar and pestle to create a thick, starchy paste known as "iyan" (pounded yam) which is eaten with traditional sauces such as "egusi" and palm nut soup.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Another method of consumption is to leave the raw yam pieces to dry in the sun. When dry, the pieces turn a dark brown color. These are then milled to create a brown powder known in Nigeria as "elubo". The powder can be mixed with boiling water to create a thick starchy paste, a kind of pudding known as "amala", which is then eaten with local soups and sauces.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams are a staple agricultural commodity in West Africa with cultural significance, where over 95% of the world's yam crop is harvested. Yams are still important for survival in these regions. Some varieties of these tubers can be stored up to six months without refrigeration, which makes them a valuable resource for the yearly period of food scarcity at the beginning of the wet season. Yam cultivars are also cultivated in other humid tropical countries.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yam is the main staple crop of the Igbos in south eastern Nigeria where for centuries it played a dominant role in both their agricultural and cultural life. It is celebrated with annual yam festivals.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams are particularly consumed in the coastal area of the Northeast region, although they can be found in other parts of the country. In Pernambuco state, it is usually boiled and served cut in slices at breakfast, along with cheese spread or molasses.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In Colombia yam production has been specifically located in the Caribbean region, where it has become a key product in the diet of the population of this area. In 2010, Colombia was among the 12 countries with the highest yam production worldwide, and ranked first in yield of tons per hectare planted. Although its main use is for food, several studies have shown its usefulness in the pharmaceutical industry and the manufacture of bioplastics. However, in Colombia, there is no evidence of the use of this product, other than food.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In the Philippines, the purple "ube" species of yam ("Dioscorea alata"), is eaten as a sweetened dessert called "ube halaya", and is also used as an ingredient in another Filipino dessert, "halo-halo". It is also used as a popular ingredient for ice cream.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In Vietnam, the same purple yam is used for preparing a special type of soup "canh khoai mỡ" or fatty yam soup. This involves mashing the yam and cooking it until very well done. The yam root was traditionally used by peasants in Vietnam to dye cotton clothes throughout the Red River and Mekong delta regions as late as the mid-20th century, and is still used by others in the Sapa region of northern Vietnam.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In Indonesia, the same purple yam is used for preparing desserts. This involves mashing the yam and mixing it with coconut milk and sugar. White- and off-white-fleshed yams are cut in cubes, cooked, lightly fermented, and eaten as afternoon snacks.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: An exception to the cooking rule is the mountain yam ("Dioscorea polystachya"), known as "nagaimo" and can be further classified into "ichōimo" (lit. 'ginkgo-leaf yam'; kanji: 銀杏芋), or "yamatoimo" (lit. Yamato yam; kanji: 大和芋), depending on the root shape.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Mountain yam is eaten raw and grated, after only a relatively minimal preparation: the whole tubers are briefly soaked in a vinegar-water solution to neutralize irritant oxalate crystals found in their skin. The raw vegetable is starchy and bland, mucilaginous when grated, and may be eaten plain as a side dish, or added to noodles.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Another variety of yam, "jinenjo", is used in Japan as an ingredient in soba noodles. In Okinawa, purple yams ("Dioscorea alata") are grown. This purple yam is popular as lightly deep-fried tempura, as well as being grilled or boiled. Additionally, the purple yam is a common ingredient of yam ice cream with the signature purple color. Purple yam is also used in other types of traditional "wagashi" sweets, cakes, and candy.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: In central parts of India, the yam is prepared by being finely sliced, seasoned with spices, and deep fried. In Southern India, the vegetable is a popular accompaniment to rice dishes and curry. The purple yam, "D. alata", is also eaten in India, where it is also called the violet yam. Species may be called by the regional name "taradi", which can refer to "Dioscorea belophylla", "Dioscorea deltoidea", and "D. bulbifera". Digging and selling taradi is a major source of income in the region of Palampur.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: "Dioscorea "root is traditionally eaten on "Māgh Sankrānti" (a midwinter festival) in Nepal. It is usually steamed and then cooked with spices.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yam is, along with cassava and taro, a staple food, and is consumed boiled, roasted in a lovo, or steamed with fish or meat in curry sauce or coconut milk and served with rice. The cost of yam is higher due to the difficulty in farming and relatively low volume of production.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Because of their abundance and importance to survival, yams were highly regarded in Jamaican ceremonies and constitute part of many traditional West African ceremonies.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yam powder is available in the West from grocers specializing in African products, and may be used in a similar manner to instant mashed potato powder, although preparation is a little more difficult because of the tendency of the yam powder to form lumps. The powder is sprinkled onto a pan containing a small amount of boiling water and stirred vigorously. The resulting mixture is served with a heated sauce, such as tomato and chili, poured onto it.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Unlike cassava, most varieties of edible, mature, cultivated yam do not contain toxic compounds. However, there are exceptions. Bitter compounds tend to accumulate in immature tuber tissues of white and yellow yams. These may be polyphenols or tannin-like compounds.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Wild forms of bitter yams ("Dioscorea dumetorum") do contain some toxins, such as dihydrodioscorine, that taste bitter, hence are referred to as bitter yam. Bitter yams are not normally eaten except at times of desperation in poor countries and in times of local food scarcity. They are usually detoxified by soaking in a vessel of salt water, in cold or hot fresh water or in a stream. The bitter compounds in these yams are water-soluble alkaloids which, on ingestion, produce severe and distressing symptoms. Severe cases of alkaloid intoxication may prove fatal.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Aerial or potato yams ("D. bulbifera") have antinutritional factors. In Asia, detoxification methods, involving water extraction, fermentation, and roasting of the grated tuber, are used for bitter cultivars of this yam. The bitter compounds in yams also known locally as air potato include diosbulbin and possibly saponins, such as diosgenin. In Indonesia, an extract of air potato is used in the preparation of arrow poison.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Historical records in West Africa and of African yams in Europe date back to the 16th century. Yams were taken to the Americas through precolonial Portuguese and Spanish on the borders of Brazil and Guyana, followed by a dispersion through the Caribbean.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: Yams are used in Papua New Guinea, where they are called "kaukau". Their cultivation and harvesting is accompanied by complex rituals and taboos. The coming of the yams (one of the numerous versions from Maré) is described in Pene Nengone (Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia).


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: A yam festival is usually held in the beginning of August at the end of the rainy season. People offer yams to gods and ancestors first, before distributing them to the villagers. This is their way of giving thanks to the spirits above them.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The New Yam Festival celebrates the main agricultural crop of the Igbos, Idomas, and Tivs. The New Yam Festival, known as "Orureshi" in Owukpa in Idoma west and "Ima-Ji", "Iri-Ji" or "Iwa Ji" in Igbo land, is a celebration depicting the prominence of yam in social and cultural life. The festival is prominent among southeastern states and major tribes in Benue State, mainly around August.


title: Yam (vegetable)

text: The Igbo people accord special respect to yam to the extent that no one eats the newly harvested yam until the New Yam celebrations / feast is marked. It is called Iri ji ọhụrụ. People return to their various communities for the celebrations.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: Luuk de Jong (; born 27 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: De Jong previously played for DZC '68, De Graafschap, Twente, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Newcastle United, before joining PSV in 2014. He played over 200 games for the club, scoring over 100 goals, and helped them win the Eredivisie three times in his five-season stay. In 2019, he joined Sevilla, before going out on loan to Barcelona in 2021. He re-joined PSV in 2022.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 20 August 2011, de Jong scored his first Eredivisie goal of the 2011–12 season in a 5–1 demolition of Heerenveen. The following week, on de Jong's 21st birthday, he found the back of the net two more times as Twente smashed VVV Venlo 4–1.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: De Jong scored two goals against Waalwijk on 21 January 2012 – a tap in to an open goal and a penalty – as Twente ran out 5–0 winners. In Twente's following fixture against Groningen on 29 January, de Jong netted a hat-trick, each goal coming off an assist from Ola John, and provided an assist for Leroy Fer, as his side won 4–1 and climbed to second place in the league table. On 10 February, de Jong found the back of the net two more times, but Twente missed the chance to go top of the league table, as they lost 3–2 at home to Heracles. De Jong's two goals meant he had scored seven times in the past three Eredivisie fixtures.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 8 March, in a Europa League match against Schalke 04, de Jong was the protagonist of a controversial penalty decision that resulted in a red card for Schalke defender Joël Matip, and a penalty kick which he himself successfully converted, to ensure the win for his side by 1–0. However, Twente ended up falling out of the competition, losing 4–1 in the second leg in Germany, as de Jong's fellow Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar netted a hat-trick.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: De Jong scored twice in two minutes on 14 April to put his side 2–1 up away to Breda, but an injury-time strike from Nourdin Boukhari denied Twente the chance to close the gap on title rivals Ajax. He finished the season with 25 goals on a joint-second place, seven behind top-scorer Bas Dost.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: At the end of the 2011–12 season, De Jong announced his decision to leave the club. Having attracted the interest of several clubs around Europe, including Premier League side Newcastle United, de Jong accused the club's chairman Joop Munsterman of increasing the asking price for him. In response, the Munsterman and Steve McClaren expressed dismay over de Jong's comments.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 18 July 2012, de Jong signed for Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach on a five-year deal, with a fee of €15 million (£12.6m), having stated it was his dream to join. Eight months later after the move, de Jong stated the Bundesliga was "a great place to develop as a player".


title: Luuk de Jong

text: He made his debut with Mönchengladbach in a match against Munich 1860; his team ended up winning 4–2, however, de Jong was quite anonymous during his first match, failing to score or assist any goals. On 21 August, he started his first European game for Mönchengladbach and in the process scored an own goal from a free kick in a 3–1 defeat at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv during the Champions League Qualifiers. On 15 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 defeat to 1. Nürnberg, converting a tap in after a cross from Patrick Herrmann. However, later in the season, De Jong's first team opportunities soon faded after falling out with manager Lucien Favre, and only made 23 appearances, scoring six times. Towards the end of the season, De Jong reiterated he was confident he could prove himself as the best striker.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: However, in the 2013–14 season, De Jong's first team place remained limited, as his playing minutes significantly decreased and made 14 appearances in the first half of the season.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 29 January 2014, de Jong completed a loan signing with Premier League side Newcastle United until the end of the 2013–14 season. He made his debut on 1 February in the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland. In May 2014, it was announced that de Jong would be returning to Borussia Mönchengladbach after he failed to score in any of his twelve appearances for Newcastle.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 12 July 2014, de Jong signed a five-year deal with PSV for a fee of €5.5m. Following his move to PSV, De Jong said he felt he had made a mistake by moving to Germany.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: De Jong made his official debut for the club, where he scored in both legs, as PSV beat St. Pölten 4–2 on aggregate in the third round of Europa League. It took until 31 August 2014 for De Jong to score his first league goal for the club, in a 2–0 win over Vitesse Arnhem.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 17 December 2014, de Jong scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 4–3 home win over Feyenoord, and his second on 13 February 2015 in a 4–2 away win over AZ Alkmaar. He also scored twice on 18 April, as the team defeated Heerenveen 4–1 for their 22nd Eredivisie title and first since 2008.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 1 July 2019, de Jong signed a four-year contract with Spanish club Sevilla. On 16 August 2020, de Jong scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Manchester United in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. On 21 August, he scored twice in a 3–2 win over Inter Milan in the final, whilst being named the man of the match. With his performance in the Europa League, he subsequently was named in the Squad of the Season.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 28 October 2020, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Rennes in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 31 August 2021, de Jong joined Barcelona on a season-long loan until 30 June 2022. On 23 September, he made his debut in a goalless draw against Cádiz, starting and playing 67 minutes before being substituted for Philippe Coutinho. Three days later, he scored his first goal for the club, assisted by Sergiño Dest, in a 3–0 La Liga victory over Levante.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: De Jong received his first call-up for the Netherlands senior team for a friendly against Austria on 9 February 2011, making his debut in the same match, replacing Dirk Kuyt.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: He scored his first international goal on 6 September 2011, in a 2–0 win during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying game against Finland that secured the Netherlands qualification to the finals.


title: Luuk de Jong

text: On 7 May 2012, he was named in the provisional list of 36 players for UEFA Euro 2012 by Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk. He was one of the 23 players chosen to represent the team in the tournament, but did not make any appearances.


title: Butt plug

text: A butt plug is a sex toy that is designed to be inserted into the rectum for sexual pleasure. They are similar to a dildo in some ways but tend to be shorter and have a flanged end to prevent the device from being lost inside the rectum.


title: Butt plug

text: Rectal dilators were originally designed for therapeutic uses and later marketed with terms such as Dr. Young's Ideal Rectal Dilators, which were marketed as a cure for insanity and constipation. In the late 20th century, similar devices started to be marketed as sex toys.


title: Butt plug

text: Unlike the vagina, which is closed off by the cervix, the rectum leads to the sigmoid colon. Objects that are inserted into the rectum can therefore potentially travel up into the bowel; the flared end on a butt plug exists to prevent this. Some dildos lack a flared end, and thus it is ill-advised to use such dildos anally since they may get stuck; rectal foreign bodies may require medical extraction.


title: Butt plug

text: In addition, the lower bowel above the rectum is easily perforated. For this reason, butt plugs tend to be shorter than dildos, and their marked size generally indicates the circumference of the device rather than the length. They must also be very smooth to avoid damaging the rectum or bowel. In order to get them into the rectum, they most commonly have a general profile of a round-ended cone which then narrows to a "waist" which locates itself at the anal sphincter, with the flared part outside the body, preventing the butt plug from slipping further into the body. The sphincter muscle will hold the plug in place by the waist, preventing the plug from slipping out unintentionally.


title: Butt plug

text: Butt plugs can be moved in or out for pleasure, so as to simulate the rhythmic thrusting of penetrative sex, although some butt plugs are specifically designed for stimulation of the prostate.


title: Butt plug

text: As with other activities involving anal penetration, such as anal sex, large amounts of sexual lubricant and a slow gentle approach are needed to insert or remove a butt plug.


title: Butt plug

text: Butt plugs are sometimes covered by condoms for hygiene and to allow for the easy disposal of any feces with which they may come into contact. Nevertheless, they should not be shared with other people, due to the risk of transmitting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, from the transfer of body fluids from one person to another.


title: Butt plug

text: Butt plugs come in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and textures. Some are designed to look like penises, while some are ribbed or wavy. Many have a thin tip which is wider in the middle, a notch to hold it in place once it is inserted, and a flared base to prevent complete insertion into the rectum. Some plugs have an egg-shaped penetrative part. Some plugs are designed (long, flexible and curved) to penetrate the sigmoid colon.


title: Butt plug

text: Butt plugs are made of a variety of materials, the most common being latex. Other materials used include silicone, neoprene, wood, metal, glass, stone, and many other materials. Silicone is a particularly good material, as it can be disinfected in boiling water.


title: Butt plug

text: Fetish plugs are any kind of butt plugs that are designed in a way to be unusual, exciting, or unique in some way. A fetish plug is called such because it caters to sexual fetishes. One common type of fetish plug has a tail of long hair or synthetic fur attached to the non-insertable end so that, when inserted, the impression is given that the wearer has an animal's tail. Some plugs popular in animal roleplay have their tails molded from medical grade silicone as opposed to faux fur. The firmness of the silicone, when combined with bodily movements or rhythmic pelvic-floor muscle contractions, allow for a simulated tail "wag". There are also vibrating plugs and plugs which utilize erotic electro-stimulation.. Additional variations include plugs that can "ejaculate" by squirting water or other fluids such as lubricant, oil, etc., into the rectum, and inflatable plugs (intended to expand the rectum).


title: Butt plug

text: Sex toys that are used in the anus can easily get lost as rectal muscles contract and can suck an object up and up, potentially obstructing the colon; to prevent this from occurring, it is recommended that individuals use sex toys with a flared base or a string. However, the flared flange is not a foolproof method of preventing the plug from entering the rectum completely with the inability to retrieve it. This is uncomfortable and may require medical intervention. Butt plugs of excess diameter can, especially when inserted too rapidly and/or too forcefully, lead to sphincter tear, detachment or other rectal failure. Kegel exercises can help maintain normal, healthy sphincter function. When inserting a butt plug, one should be gentle, use plenty of lubrication, start with smaller sizes, and exercise patience. While medical data is sparse, some recommend not leaving a butt plug inserted for longer than two to three hours, though anecdotal evidence dictates some users wear their plugs for even longer; some committed practitioners only remove them so as to be able to pass stool.


title: Butt plug

text: The sculpture named "Santa Claus" or the "Buttplug Gnome" was erected in Rotterdam, Netherlands, by Paul McCarthy.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Fear Street Part One: 1994 (titled onscreen as Fear Street 1994) is a 2021 American supernatural slasher film directed by Leigh Janiak, with a script co-written by Phil Graziadei and Janiak, from an original story by Kyle Killen, Graziadei, and Janiak. Based on the book series of the same name by R. L. Stine, it is the first installment in the "Fear Street" trilogy and stars Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman, Darrell Britt-Gibson and Maya Hawke. The film follows a group of teenagers in Shadyside who are terrorized by an ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued the town for centuries.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Development of a film based on "Fear Street" began in 1997 when Hollywood Pictures acquired the rights to the series but the project never materialized. The project re-entered development at 20th Century Fox in 2015, with Janiak hired to direct and rewrite Killen's script with Graziadei in 2017. Produced by Chernin Entertainment, filming for the trilogy took place back-to-back from March to September 2019 in Georgia with the film set for a theatrical release in June 2020. However, the trilogy was pulled from the schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, Chernin Entertainment ended their distribution deal with 20th Century Studios and gave distribution rights to Netflix in August 2020.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: "Fear Street Part One: 1994" premiered at the Los Angeles State Historic Park on June 28, 2021, and was released on Netflix on July 2, 2021, with the other entries, "" and "", released weekly. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast, the horror elements and faithfulness to the source material.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: In 1994, Heather Watkins, a bookstore employee at Shadyside Mall, is stabbed by her friend, Ryan Torres. He murders her and several other mall employees before he is killed by Sheriff Nick Goode. The media reports the massacre as the norm for Shadyside, which they dub the murder capital of the United States. Meanwhile, the neighboring town of Sunnyvale is its polar opposite, as it is considered one of the richest and safest towns in the country. Many of the Shadyside teenagers believe that this is the result of the witch, Sarah Fier, who placed a curse on the town before being executed for witchcraft in 1666.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Deena Johnson does not believe in the Fier witch and has recently broken up with her closeted girlfriend Sam, who had moved to Sunnyvale. Josh, her brother, spends his time researching the town's history, and her friends Simon and Kate sell drugs in hopes of eventually leaving the town. Deena and Sam meet again at a vigil in Sunnyvale for the victims of the mall killings, where a brawl between the students of Shadyside and Sunnyvale breaks out. While returning home, Sam's boyfriend, Peter, begins tailgating the bus carrying the Shadyside students, leading Deena to almost throw a large cooler at the car in retaliation. A sudden nosebleed causes her to lose her grip on the cooler and Peter's car to crash. Sam survives and sees a vision of Sarah Fier before being taken to the hospital.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: The following night, Deena and her friends begin to be stalked by someone whom they initially believe to be Peter and his friends. However, when Deena and her friends visit Sam, Peter is killed by Skull Mask, who proceeds to murder several others in the hospital and is revealed to be Ryan. Sam and Deena seek help but fail to convince the police while Simon is attacked by Ruby Lane, one of Shadyside's past killers in 1965. The group realizes that the car accident involving Sam disturbed the grave of Sarah Fier and that Sam bled on her bones, resurrecting several Shadyside killers. Josh deduces that Fier's curse is the reason for Shadyside's history of killings which began following her execution. They attempt to offer her a proper reburial but are attacked by the Camp Nightwing Killer. Realizing that the killers only want Sam and are attracted to her blood, they set a trap at school in an attempt to destroy the killers by burning them, but the killers manage to reanimate.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Sam reluctantly agrees with the group to be sacrificed despite Deena's protests. They save her when it is discovered that C. Berman, a survivor of the Camp Nightwing massacre in 1978, died but was resuscitated. They attempt to call her but receive no answer. The group organizes a plan to kill and revive Sam using drugs from a supermarket pharmacy. There, Kate, Simon and Josh attempt to fend off the Shadyside killers but Kate and Simon are killed . Deena finally drowns Sam with her consent, causing the killers to disappear and revives her using a combination of EpiPens and CPR.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Afterward, the police decide to place the blame on Simon and Kate, as they were known for selling drugs. Sam and Deena reconcile and publicly come out as a couple. Later that night, while Sam is at her house, Deena receives a call from C. Berman who tells her that there is no escaping the witch. Sam, now possessed, attacks Deena but is subdued and tied up.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: In October 1997, Hollywood Pictures struck a deal to acquire the "Fear Street" series of books, which were set to be developed with Parachute Entertainment as a "Scream"-like feature franchise. Developments never materialized.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: On October 9, 2015, it was announced that a film based on R.L. Stine's "Fear Street" series was being developed by 20th Century Studios (then known as 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by Disney) and Chernin Entertainment. On February 13, 2017, Kyle Killen was hired as screenwriter. In July, the project was announced as a trilogy of films, set in different time periods, with Leigh Janiak, who had previously directed the 2014 horror film "Honeymoon", set to direct, as well as rewrite with her partner Phil Graziadei. "The Hollywood Reporter" stated that the trilogy would be shot back-to-back, with the films released one month apart.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: In February 2019, it was reported that Kiana Madeira and Olivia Welch would be starring in the film as lesbian teenagers "trying to navigate their rocky relationship when they're targeted by the crazy horrors of their small town, Shadyside." In March 2019, Benjamin Flores Jr., Ashley Zukerman, Fred Hechinger, Julia Rehwald, and Jeremy Ford joined the cast. In May, Darrell Britt-Gibson was announced as a cast member. Maya Hawke, Jordana Spiro, and Jordyn DiNatale also joined the cast.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: In March 2019, filming began in Atlanta and East Point, Georgia. Several vacant storefronts in the North DeKalb Mall in Georgia were renovated so that they could be used for filming. Casual Corner, Software Etc., B. Dalton Bookseller, Musicland, and Gadzooks were placed. Production also took place at Hard Labor Creek State Park in Rutledge in August 2019. Filming wrapped in September 2019.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: The film was scheduled to be released theatrically in June 2020, but it was pulled from the schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Chernin Entertainment ended their distribution deal with 20th Century Studios and made a multi-year first-look deal with Netflix. By August 2020, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the "Fear Street" trilogy. The film was released on July 2, 2021.


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, ""Fear Street Part One: 1994" kicks off the trilogy in promising fashion, honoring the source material with plenty of retro slasher appeal." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 20 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Alison Willmore, writing for "Vulture", described the film as "a nasty, effective slasher", and wrote: "Where "Get Out" or "The Babadook" used horror to explore the razor-toothed hunger of white liberal (supposed) allies and the terror of feeling unable to trust your own mental state, plenty of other titles end up just pinning themselves to larger concepts in ways that range from clumsily obvious to grossly cynical. But "1994" feels untethered from these obligations." She noted some similarities to the 2014 horror film "It Follows", but added: "Janiak’s film is saltier, soapier, and more pragmatic — it has sequels to dole out, after all."


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Lovia Gyarkye of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote: "While it probably won’t have you triple checking the locks on your door, it’s likely to keep you entertained enough to come back for more", and added: "Even if the conventions are familiar, the film manages to excite thanks to an impressive array of young talent, an appropriately suspenseful score and soundtrack, and a heavy dose of ’90s nostalgia." She concluded: ""Fear Street Part 1" is fun, and hits its marks with sufficient flair — I’m certainly motivated to see the next two installments — but sometimes the key to subversion is in the details."


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: A.A. Dowd of "The A.V. Club" was more critical of the film. In his review, he gave it a grade of C+, describing the killers as being "awfully generic, like the attractions of a slasher parody or one of the more forgettable "Halloween" knockoffs", and writing: "Slashers used to take a beating for their supposed puritanical politics, but the teens here are as clean and upstanding as they are "likable": A mid-film sex scene in a locker room might be the most wholesome in the history of this disreputable genre". He concluded: "Forget the middle-aged fans it might irk. Don’t today’s kids deserve some trash of their own, instead of a tasteful substitution?"


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: Barry Hertz of "The Globe and Mail" wrote: "while Janiak is able to easily tick off the hallmarks of the genre, and perhaps convince those actually alive in the nineties that the entire decade must have been backlit in aggressive neon, her film doesn’t quite scream (or "Scream") out for two more films’ worth of context", and criticized the film's story. However, he concluded that "given that theatres are still closed in Ontario and I find myself increasingly brain-drained come evening, I’m willing to walk down Janiak’s path. Even if "Fear Street" ends up becoming a dead end."


title: Fear Street Part One: 1994

text: The trilogy continues with "Part Two: 1978" and "Part Three: 1666", which were released on July 9, 2021, and July 16, 2021, respectively.


title: Pyramid

text: A pyramid (from "") is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or of any polygon shape. As such, a pyramid has at least three outer triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square pyramid, with a square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version.


title: Pyramid

text: A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground and with the pyramidion at the apex, means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. This distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures.


title: Pyramid

text: Civilizations in many parts of the world have built pyramids. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids—first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, both in Egypt—the latter is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining.


title: Pyramid

text: The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called "ziggurats". In ancient times, these were brightly painted in gold/bronze. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the fourth millennium BC. The earliest ziggurats began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period. The latest Mesopotamian ziggurats date from the 6th century BC.


title: Pyramid

text: Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the top, but there is no archaeological evidence for this and the only textual evidence is from Herodotus. Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit.


title: Pyramid

text: The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian ones — huge structures built of bricks or stones, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. They are shaped as a reference to the rays of the sun. Most pyramids had a polished, highly reflective white limestone surface, to give them a shining appearance when viewed from a distance. The capstone was usually made of hard stone – granite or basalt – and could be plated with gold, silver, or electrum and would also be highly reflective. The ancient Egyptians built pyramids from 2700 BC until around 1700 BC. The first pyramid was erected during the Third Dynasty by the Pharaoh Djoser and his architect Imhotep. This step pyramid consisted of six stacked mastabas. The largest Egyptian pyramids are those at the Giza pyramid complex.


title: Pyramid

text: The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575–2150 BC. Ancient Egyptian pyramids were in most cases placed west of the river Nile because the divine pharaoh's soul was meant to join with the sun during its descent before continuing with the sun in its eternal round. As of 2008, some 135 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. At 481 ft, it was the tallest building in the world until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in 1311 AD. The base is over in area. The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the only one to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone, containing great quantities of fossilized seashells. Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used for construction in Cairo.


title: Pyramid

text: Most pyramids are located near Cairo, with only one royal pyramid being located south of Cairo, at the Abydos temple complex. The pyramids at Abydos, Egypt were commissioned by Ahmose I who founded the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom. The building of pyramids began in the Third Dynasty with the reign of King Djoser. Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids, with subsequent kings adding to the number of pyramids until the end of the Middle Kingdom.


title: Pyramid

text: The last king to build royal pyramids was Ahmose, with later kings hiding their tombs in the hills, such as those in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's West Bank. In Medinat Habu, or Deir el-Medina, smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids with steeper sides were also built by the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the Late Period.


title: Pyramid

text: While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world.


title: Pyramid

text: Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 240 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than the Egyptian ones. Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as late as 200 AD.


title: Pyramid

text: One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.


title: Pyramid

text: Pausanias (2nd century AD) mentions two buildings resembling pyramids, one, 19 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the still standing structure at Hellenikon, a common tomb for soldiers who died in a legendary struggle for the throne of Argos and another which he was told was the tomb of Argives killed in a battle around 669/8 BC. Neither of these still survive and there is no evidence that they resembled Egyptian pyramids.


title: Pyramid

text: There are also at least two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Hellenikon and the other at Ligourio/Ligurio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. They do have inwardly sloping walls but other than those there is no obvious resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. They had large central rooms (unlike Egyptian pyramids) and the Hellenikon structure is rectangular rather than square, which means that the sides could not have met at a point. The stone used to build these structures was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza.


title: Pyramid

text: The dating of these structures has been made from the pot shards excavated from the floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been estimated around the 5th and 4th centuries. Normally this technique is used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try to date stone flakes from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not these structures are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena controversy.


title: Pyramid

text: Mary Lefkowitz has criticised this research. She suggests that some of the research was done not to determine the reliability of the dating method, as was suggested, but to back up an assumption of age and to make certain points about pyramids and Greek civilization. She notes that not only are the results not very precise, but that other structures mentioned in the research are not in fact pyramids, e.g. a tomb alleged to be the tomb of Amphion and Zethus near Thebes, a structure at Stylidha (Thessaly) which is just a long wall, etc. She also notes the possibility that the stones that were dated might have been recycled from earlier constructions. She also notes that earlier research from the 1930s, confirmed in the 1980s by Fracchia was ignored. She argues that they undertook their research using a novel and previously untested methodology in order to confirm a predetermined theory about the age of these structures.


title: Pyramid

text: Liritzis responded in a journal article published in 2011, stating that Lefkowitz failed to understand and misinterpreted the methodology.


title: Pyramid

text: The Pyramids of Güímar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of Güímar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The structures have been dated to the 19th century and their original function explained as a byproduct of contemporary agricultural techniques.


title: Pyramid

text: Autochthonous Guanche traditions as well as surviving images indicate that similar structures (also known as, "Morras", "Majanos", "Molleros", or "Paredones") could once have been found in many locations on the island. However, over time they have been dismantled and used as a cheap building material. In Güímar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.


title: Pyramid

text: The 27-metre-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the 1st century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named "Meta Romuli", standing in the "Ager Vaticanus" (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th century.


title: Pyramid

text: Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g. as the tower of Oviedo's Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador.


title: Pyramid

text: Andean cultures had used pyramids in various architectural structures such as the ones in Caral, Túcume and Chavín de Huantar.


title: Pyramid

text: A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid.


title: Pyramid

text: The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. Constructed from the 3rd century BC to the 9th century AD, this pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan is also located in Mexico. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the Xitle Volcano in the 1st century BC. There are several circular stepped pyramids called Guachimontones in Teuchitlán, Jalisco as well.


title: Pyramid

text: Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of human sacrifice. For the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, Where, according to Michael Harner, "one source states 20,000, another 72,344, and several give 80,400".


title: Pyramid

text: Many pre-Columbian Native American societies of ancient North America built large pyramidal earth structures known as platform mounds. Among the largest and best-known of these structures is Monks Mound at the site of Cahokia in what became Illinois, completed around 1100 AD, which has a base larger than that of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Many of the mounds underwent repeated episodes of mound construction at periodic intervals, some becoming quite large. They are believed to have played a central role in the mound-building peoples' religious life and documented uses include semi-public chief's house platforms, public temple platforms, mortuary platforms, charnel house platforms, earth lodge/town house platforms, residence platforms, square ground and rotunda platforms, and dance platforms. Cultures who built substructure mounds include the Troyville culture, Coles Creek culture, Plaquemine culture and Mississippian cultures.


title: Pyramid

text: There are many square flat-topped mound tombs in China. The First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (circa 221 BC, who unified the 7 pre-Imperial Kingdoms) was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped pyramidal earthworks.


title: Pyramid

text: Many giant granite temple pyramids were made in South India during the Chola Empire, many of which are still in religious use today. Examples of such pyramid temples include Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. However, temple pyramid the largest area is the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. The Thanjavur temple was built by Raja Raja Chola in the 11th century. The Brihadisvara Temple was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987; the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were added as extensions to the site in 2004.


title: Pyramid

text: Next to menhir, stone table, and stone statue; Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia also featured earth and stone step pyramid structures called "punden berundak" as discovered in Pangguyangan site near Cisolok and in Cipari near Kuningan. The construction of stone pyramids is based on the native beliefs that mountains and high places are the abode for the spirit of the ancestors.


title: Pyramid

text: The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java. However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid, and also stepped pyramids of Mount Penanggungan.


title: Pyramid

text: In east Asia, Buddhist stupas had been usually represented as tall Pagodas. However, some pyramidal stupas remain in limited areas. There is a theory that these pyramid were inspired by Borobudur monument through Sumatran and Javanese monks. Also, there is similar Buddhist monument in Vrang, Tajikistan. At least there are at least 9 Buddhist step pyramids in the world, 4 from former Gyeongsang Province of Korea, 3 from Japan, 1 from Indonesia (Borobudur) and 1 from Tajikistan.


title: Pyramid

text: With the Egyptian Revival movement in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, pyramids were becoming more common in funerary architecture. This style was especially popular with tycoons in the US. Hunt's Tomb in Phoenix, Arizona and Schoenhofen Pyramid Mausoleum in Chicago are some of the notable examples. Even today some people build pyramid tombs for themselves. Nicolas Cage bought a pyramid tomb for himself in a famed New Orleans graveyard.


title: American Song Contest

text: American Song Contest is an American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest. It sees all 50 U.S. states, five territories, and Washington, D.C. compete for the title of Best Original Song. The first and to date, only season of the show consisted of eight episodes airing between March 21 and May 9, 2022 on NBC. The show is hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson. The 56 entries were divided into five qualifying rounds with the top three songs determined by a public vote and top two determined by a jury panel from each round proceeding to one of two semi-finals. Two "redemption" picks were also sent to the semi-finals based on streams. Four public vote songs and one jury panel song from each semi-final were then sent to the ten participant final. The first season of the contest was won by Oklahoma with the song "Wonderland" performed by AleXa.


title: American Song Contest

text: Promotion for the series was organized by NBC and included a commercial during the Super Bowl and a sweepstakes for listeners on iHeartRadio stations. Reception for the first season was largely mixed, with many critics noting that it did not live up to its Eurovision origins.


title: American Song Contest

text: The "American Song Contest" puts artists head-to-head against other representatives in a series of qualiying rounds, leading to the semi-finals and the prime time final in a "March Madness" style. The winning act earns the title of Best Original Song. As initially announced in August 2020, the competition would feature professional musical artists such as solo singers, duos, or groups of up to six members from each of the 50 U.S. states. By May 2021, the format had been expanded to include all five populated U.S. territories and the nation's capital and federal district of Washington, D.C. The participating territories were American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Acts could consist of solo artists, duos, bands or a DJ.


title: American Song Contest

text: For the first season of the competition, each representative performed an original song in a live television program broadcast across the country. There were five episodes of qualifying rounds, followed by two episodes of semi-finals and one final. In each qualifying round, a 56-member jury of music industry professionals (one for each state and territory) selected one song to advance to the semi-finals, while three songs also advanced after a 35-hour viewer voting period, which consisted of a combination of jury and fan votes. After the qualifying rounds, the jury selected two "redemption songs" to join in the semi-finals, thus a total of 22 acts remained in the competition. The same selection process was facilitated in the semi-finals to determine the 10 acts that competed in the final. The final results were presented in Eurovision style, with each jury member awarding their maximum 12 points then adding in the viewers' points. The viewer votes were weighted, with each state and territory being worth 12 points much like in Eurovision, thus giving all regions equal voting power while preventing populous states like California and Texas from dominating the voting process.


title: American Song Contest

text: The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956, which features participants representing primarily European countries. It ranks among the world's most-watched non-sporting events every year, with hundreds of millions of viewers globally. The earliest known telecast of Eurovision in the continental U.S. was in . , the contest was telecast in Puerto Rico for the first time. The contest was later broadcast in both areas for the and contests. U.S. cable network Logo TV broadcast the finals from to , featuring commentary from Carson Kressley and Michelle Collins (2016); Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews (); and Mathews and Shangela (2018). Viewing figures were low, ranging from 52,000 viewers in 2016 to 74,000 viewers in 2018. WJFD-FM, a commercial radio station in New Bedford, Massachusetts, broadcast the and finals with English and Portuguese commentary.


title: American Song Contest

text: Netflix licensed the video-on-demand rights for the 2019 and contests. The OTT platform planned to release the musical comedy film "" together with the 2020 contest. However, because of the contest's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released a month later, on June 26. The film became the most-streamed content on Netflix in the U.S. on its first weekend. "The Story of Fire Saga" also introduced viewers to the Eurovision format and its popularity in Europe. A song from the film, "Husavik", was nominated for Best Original Song at the 93rd Academy Awards.


title: American Song Contest

text: There were plans to develop an US version of Eurovision as early as 2006, with Ben Silverman (then chairman of production company Reveille) developing the contest for NBC to challenge "American Idol". Silverman (currently co-CEO and chairman of production company Propagate) admitted in 2020 that he had been trying to pursue this project for 20 years, including when he was chairman of NBC.


title: American Song Contest

text: In an interview with "Billboard", Christer Björkman and Anders Lenhoff revealed that they discussed creating an American version of the Eurovision Song Contest after producing the in Kyiv, Ukraine. Lenhoff brought up the idea, to which Björkman was hesitant, saying: "Why would we do that and how would that work?" Despite the initial rejection, Lenhoff persisted with the concept, adding: "It sounds like a brilliant idea with states competing instead of countries. Americans love music. Americans love competition. Americans love where they come from. They have an awesome amount of pride for their home state, for their hometown." Lenhoff then contacted fellow Swedish producer Peter Settman, who crafted the business plan for potential sponsors and TV networks. After announcing in 2019 that they have acquired the rights from the EBU to produce an American version of Eurovision, Björkman and his team received a call from Silverman saying, "You are not doing this without me. Period. That's not going to happen."


title: American Song Contest

text: The European Broadcasting Union announced NBC had acquired the rights to broadcast the competition on May 14, 2021. NBC announced the American Song Contest would have a mid-season or summer premiere in 2022 after releasing their fall schedule for the upcoming 2021–22 network television season. The producers were able to get NBC on board mainly due to their experience working with music shows such as "The Voice" and "Songland". Silverman serves as executive producer for the program, while Audrey Morrissey is appointed as the showrunner. Propagate Content and Universal Television Alternative Studio serve as the production companies for the program. In a press statement, Silverman hoped that focusing on the mutual love and respect for music would unite a "fractional America." "Deadline Hollywood" reported that a corporation that centers around the competition has been founded, with former Propagate president Greg Lipstone appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer. The American Song Contest, Inc., aims to "develop and grow the Eurovision brand globally," which includes creating auxiliary businesses around the reality series, as well as expanding the franchise to countries that are not covered by Eurovision.


title: American Song Contest

text: NBC originally scheduled the premiere for February 21, 2022, but the premiere was postponed in favor of "" due to COVID-19-related concerns involving the Omicron variant. The first live show was then rescheduled to March 21, with the finale moved to May 9, the same week as the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.


title: American Song Contest

text: Rapper Snoop Dogg and pop singer Kelly Clarkson were introduced as presenters of the show. In a statement, Clarkson said: "I have been a fan and love the concept of Eurovision and am thrilled to bring the musical phenomenon to America. I'm so excited to work with Snoop and can't wait to see every state and territory represented by artists singing their own songs." Clarkson added during a virtual press conference: "We are so unfortunately divided... and having so many things going on – it's been a very hard couple of years and now it's getting more serious. Feeling like you are not isolated and that you are a part of something bigger than your everyday world is so important. That's what this show is going to do for people. Everyone is being represented. It's a really great concept in general but one that is very needed right now."


title: American Song Contest

text: An online submissions platform was launched in May 2021, allowing eligible artists aged 16 years and older to apply, with or without recording or publishing deals. Participants were required to list all states or territories with which they had "an authentic, deep connection" during the casting process, with the producers having the final say on which state or territory the artists would represent. The website stressed that submissions had to be original songs in any genre and could not have been released commercially. Songs that were released promotionally, such as on SoundCloud and on social media, could be submitted—given that all posts were to be deleted if selected. The producers teased the possibility of filming in Los Angeles or Atlanta between February and April 2022. However, filming was later confirmed to take place on the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. Previously, Björkman had stated during an interview in "The Euro Trip" podcast that Las Vegas, Tampa, and Orlando were also considered to be the first host city.


title: American Song Contest

text: NBC revealed the 56 competing artists on March 3, 2022, through an interactive map. Atlantic Records will serve as the exclusive music partner of the American Song Contest, with the original songs in the competition to be released in batches beginning March 21 at midnight Eastern Daylight Time.


title: American Song Contest

text: In each qualifying round, 11-12 songs competed for four spots in the semi-final with the outcome decided upon by the votes from a jury panel and a public televote. An automatic qualifier in each round was determined by the juries, while the remaining three spots will be decided by a combination of the jury and public votes. Moreover, two artists with the highest streams will return as redemption picks and will compete in the semi-finals.


title: American Song Contest

text: The first qualifier round was held on Monday, March 21. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Rhode Island to advance to the semi-final. On April 18, it was announced on The Kelly Clarkson Show that Wyoming had advanced to the semi-final, being the first redemption pick.


title: American Song Contest

text: The second qualifier round was held on Monday, March 28. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Kentucky to advance to the semi-final. During the first semi-final, it was announced that New York had advanced to the semi-final, being the second redemption pick.


title: American Song Contest

text: The third qualifier round was held on Monday, April 4. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Tennessee to advance to the semi-final. The final results of this qualifying round was announced on the fourth episode of the contest.


title: American Song Contest

text: The fourth qualifier round was held on Monday, April 11. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Washington to advance to the semi-final.


title: American Song Contest

text: The fifth qualifier round was held on Monday, April 18. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Michigan to advance to the semi-final.


title: American Song Contest

text: The twenty-two semi-finalists were split to compete in two heats on April 25 and May 2, respectively. Eleven semi-finalists will compete for five spots in the grand final with the outcome decided upon by the votes from a jury panel and a public televote. An automatic qualifier in each semi-final will be determined by the juries, while the remaining four spots will be decided by the public votes. Ten performers will advance in the grand final on May 9. On April 19, NBC has confirmed the first 11 semi-finalists who will compete on the first semi-final.


title: American Song Contest

text: The first semi-final was held on Monday, April 25. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Washington to advance to the final. The public qualifiers were announced at the beginning of the second semi-final, where Oklahoma, Colorado, Alabama, and Kentucky were announced as finalists.


title: American Song Contest

text: The second semi-final was held on Monday, May 2. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Tennessee to advance to the final. On Wednesday, May 4, it was announced on the E! Network that the public qualifiers were Connecticut, American Samoa, Texas, and North Dakota.


title: American Song Contest

text: The grand final took place on May 9. Ten states and territories participated in the grand final, composing of the two jury qualifiers and eight public vote qualifiers from the two semi-finals.


title: American Song Contest

text: The winner of the American Song Contest was partly determined by a 56-member "national jury," with one member representing each state and territory. Their duty was to evaluate each entry based on the live performance, together with its "artistic expression, hit potential, originality, and visual impression." They were then divided into ten regions, namely: Midwest, Upper South, New England, Plains, Mountains, Lower South, Mid-Atlantic, Southwest, Territories, and Pacific. Jurors include:


title: American Song Contest

text: All 56 juries were geographically divided in the grand final and selected the following spokespersons who announced the 12-point score from their respective regional juries chronologically:


title: American Song Contest

text: NBC News produced a report promoting the casting process of the American Song Contest, which was then distributed to its affiliate stations across the U.S. and its territories. It featured an interview with supervising casting producer Michelle McNulty, stating that they were "looking for the next big hit single, like those anthem songs... that just get in your head and can't get them out." The Italian rock band Måneskin, winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, performed during the Top 10 episode of "The Voice" season 21, in which host Carson Daly promoted the American Song Contest as "the U.S. version of Eurovision." NBC released a promotional video for the American Song Contest on their Twitter account on December 15, 2021, stating that it'll be "the biggest live music event America has ever seen", with songs from all genres competing. An advertisement that introduces Snoop Dogg and Clarkson as the show's presenters debuted before the Super Bowl LVI halftime show. Clarkson had previously performed a cover of "Arcade" by Dutch singer Duncan Laurence, the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, at her talk show. Radio stations affiliated with iHeartRadio have introduced sweepstakes in relation to the American Song Contest to listeners for a chance to win gift cards.


title: American Song Contest

text: The concept of producing a US version of Eurovision was initially met with lukewarm reactions. Andy Kryza of "Time Out" wrote that the American Song Contest's biggest challenge is "the relative homogeneity of the American musical landscape," that its pop stars need to be paired with colorful performers like drag queens, wrecking crews, clowns, gospel singers, and the like. Justin Kirkland of "Esquire" predicted that the contest will be "a colossal nightmare," adding that Americans "lack the self-deprecation, campiness, and selfless energy to pull this off." Chris Murphy of "Vulture.com" pointed out that the television landscape in the United States is saturated with singing and talent competitions, adding that "no one's gonna write a song as catchy as 'Husavik'."


title: American Song Contest

text: In an interview with "BBC Breakfast" in 2020, Cheryl Baker (member of the winning act in the ) opined that the competition will not translate well in the U.S., adding that the country "has got a long way to go to get the kitsch, the cheese, and the fun element" of the contest. Baker also suggested that the U.S. should bring a representative to Eurovision instead.


title: American Song Contest

text: When asked about the possibility of competing in the American Song Contest, Flo Rida explained that it would be "a dream come true." The Florida-based rapper performed "Adrenalina" along with 's representative Senhit at the .


title: American Song Contest

text: Writing for "The Guardian", Adam Gabbatt was excited about "the mouth-watering prospect of seeing how politically and culturally opposed states rate the musical output of their rivals." Gabbatt explained how conservative viewers in Texas and liberal audiences in New York could express their mutual dislike for one another, or how voters might turn against Florida due to the anti-mask and vaccine-skeptic crusade of the state's current governor. Fellow "The Guardian" columnist Stuart Heritage described the list of participants as "breathtakingly starry," referring to artists who "already have their own Wikipedia page," which he took as a sign that the producers are "taking this thing seriously."


title: American Song Contest

text: Reacting to the premiere episode, Kevin Fallon of "The Daily Beast" commented that it was a "big ole meh," while pointing out the performances of Oklahoma's AleXa and Puerto Rico's Christian Pagán as the highlights of the night. Fallon added that while Wyoming's entry "New Boot Goofin'" was "undeniably the worst song of the night," he predicted that its irresistibility would become the show's "greatest success story." Emily Yahr of "The Washington Post" also wrote praises about "New Boot Goofin'", adding that it "immediately stole the show's social media thunder" and it could be "the song of the summer." "Yahoo! Music's" editor-in-chief Lyndsey Parker wrote that the first episode of the American Song Contest "failed to live up to Eurovision's wacky promise or premise."


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 [O.S. 4 February 1747] – 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: Bentham defined as the "fundamental axiom" of his philosophy the principle that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism. He advocated individual and economic freedoms, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the right to divorce, and (in an unpublished essay) the decriminalising of homosexual acts. He called for the abolition of slavery, capital punishment and physical punishment, including that of children. He has also become known as an early advocate of animal rights. Though strongly in favour of the extension of individual legal rights, he opposed the idea of natural law and natural rights (both of which are considered "divine" or "God-given" in origin), calling them "nonsense upon stilts". Bentham was also a sharp critic of legal fictions.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: Bentham's students included his secretary and collaborator James Mill, the latter's son, John Stuart Mill, the legal philosopher John Austin and American writer and activist John Neal. He "had considerable influence on the reform of prisons, schools, poor laws, law courts, and Parliament itself."


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: On his death in 1832, Bentham left instructions for his body to be first dissected, and then to be permanently preserved as an "auto-icon" (or self-image), which would be his memorial. This was done, and the auto-icon is now on public display in the entrance of the Student Centre at University College London (UCL). Because of his arguments in favour of the general availability of education, he has been described as the "spiritual founder" of UCL. However, he played only a limited direct part in its foundation.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: Bentham was born on 15 February 1748 in Houndsditch, London, to a wealthy family that supported the Tory party. He was reportedly a child prodigy: he was found as a toddler sitting at his father's desk reading a multi-volume history of England, and he began to study Latin at the age of three. He learnt to play the violin, and at the age of seven Bentham would perform sonatas by Handel during dinner parties. He had one surviving sibling, Samuel Bentham (1757–1831), with whom he was close.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: He attended Westminster School; in 1760, at age 12, his father sent him to The Queen's College, Oxford, where he completed his bachelor's degree in 1764 and his MA in 1767. He trained as a lawyer and, though he never practised, was called to the bar in 1769. He became deeply frustrated with the complexity of English law, which he termed the "Demon of Chicane". When the American colonies published their Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the British government did not issue any official response but instead secretly commissioned London lawyer and pamphleteer John Lind to publish a rebuttal. His 130-page tract was distributed in the colonies and contained an essay titled "Short Review of the Declaration" written by Bentham, a friend of Lind, which attacked and mocked the Americans' political philosophy.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: In 1786 and 1787, Bentham travelled to Krichev in White Russia (modern Belarus) to visit his brother, Samuel, who was engaged in managing various industrial and other projects for Prince Potemkin. It was Samuel (as Jeremy later repeatedly acknowledged) who conceived the basic idea of a circular building at the hub of a larger compound as a means of allowing a small number of managers to oversee the activities of a large and unskilled workforce.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: Bentham began to develop this model, particularly as applicable to prisons, and outlined his ideas in a series of letters sent home to his father in England. He supplemented the supervisory principle with the idea of "contract management"; that is, an administration by contract as opposed to trust, where the director would have a pecuniary interest in lowering the average rate of mortality.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: The Panopticon was intended to be cheaper than the prisons of his time, as it required fewer staff; "Allow me to construct a prison on this model", Bentham requested to a Committee for the Reform of Criminal Law, "I will be the gaoler. You will see ... that the gaoler will have no salary—will cost nothing to the nation." As the watchmen cannot be seen, they need not be on duty at all times, effectively leaving the watching to the watched. According to Bentham's design, the prisoners would also be used as menial labour, walking on wheels to spin looms or run a water wheel. This would decrease the cost of the prison and give a possible source of income.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: The ultimately abortive proposal for a panopticon prison to be built in England was one among his many proposals for legal and social reform. But Bentham spent some sixteen years of his life developing and refining his ideas for the building and hoped that the government would adopt the plan for a National Penitentiary appointing him as contractor-governor. Although the prison was never built, the concept had an important influence on later generations of thinkers. Twentieth-century French philosopher Michel Foucault argued that the panopticon was paradigmatic of several 19th-century "disciplinary" institutions. Bentham remained bitter throughout his later life about the rejection of the panopticon scheme, convinced that it had been thwarted by the King and an aristocratic elite. It was largely because of his sense of injustice and frustration that he developed his ideas of "sinister interest"—that is, of the vested interests of the powerful conspiring against a wider public interest—which underpinned many of his broader arguments for reform.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: On his return to England from Russia, Bentham had commissioned drawings from an architect, Willey Reveley. In 1791, he published the material he had written as a book, although he continued to refine his proposals for many years to come. He had by now decided that he wanted to see the prison built: when finished, it would be managed by himself as contractor-governor, with the assistance of Samuel. After unsuccessful attempts to interest the authorities in Ireland and revolutionary France, he started trying to persuade the prime minister, William Pitt, to revive an earlier abandoned scheme for a National Penitentiary in England, this time to be built as a panopticon. He was eventually successful in winning over Pitt and his advisors, and in 1794 was paid £2,000 for preliminary work on the project.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: The intended site was one that had been authorised (under an act of 1779) for the earlier Penitentiary, at Battersea Rise; but the new proposals ran into technical legal problems and objections from the local landowner, Earl Spencer. Other sites were considered, including one at Hanging Wood, near Woolwich, but all proved unsatisfactory. Eventually Bentham turned to a site at Tothill Fields, near Westminster. Although this was common land, with no landowner, there were a number of parties with interests in it, including Earl Grosvenor, who owned a house on an adjacent site and objected to the idea of a prison overlooking it. Again, therefore, the scheme ground to a halt. At this point, however, it became clear that a nearby site at Millbank, adjoining the Thames, was available for sale, and this time things ran more smoothly. Using government money, Bentham bought the land on behalf of the Crown for £12,000 in November 1799.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: From his point of view, the site was far from ideal, being marshy, unhealthy, and too small. When he asked the government for more land and more money, however, the response was that he should build only a small-scale experimental prison—which he interpreted as meaning that there was little real commitment to the concept of the panopticon as a cornerstone of penal reform. Negotiations continued, but in 1801 Pitt resigned from office, and in 1803 the new Addington administration decided not to proceed with the project. Bentham was devastated: "They have murdered my best days."


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: Nevertheless, a few years later the government revived the idea of a National Penitentiary, and in 1811 and 1812 returned specifically to the idea of a panopticon. Bentham, now aged 63, was still willing to be governor. However, as it became clear that there was still no real commitment to the proposal, he abandoned hope, and instead turned his attentions to extracting financial compensation for his years of fruitless effort. His initial claim was for the enormous sum of nearly £700,000, but he eventually settled for the more modest (but still considerable) sum of £23,000. An Act of Parliament in 1812 transferred his title in the site to the Crown.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: More successful was his cooperation with Patrick Colquhoun in tackling the corruption in the Pool of London. This resulted in the Thames Police Bill of 1798, which was passed in 1800. The bill created the Thames River Police, which was the first preventive police force in the country and was a precedent for Robert Peel's reforms 30 years later.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: Bentham was in correspondence with many influential people. In the 1780s, for example, Bentham maintained a correspondence with the aging Adam Smith, in an unsuccessful attempt to convince Smith that interest rates should be allowed to freely float. As a result of his correspondence with Mirabeau and other leaders of the French Revolution, Bentham was declared an honorary citizen of France. He was an outspoken critic of the revolutionary discourse of natural rights and of the violence that arose after the Jacobins took power (1792). Between 1808 and 1810, he held a personal friendship with Latin American revolutionary Francisco de Miranda and paid visits to Miranda's Grafton Way house in London. He also developed links with José Cecilio del Valle.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: On 3 August 1831 the Committee of the National Colonization Society approved the printing of its proposal to establish a free colony on the south coast of Australia, funded by the sale of appropriated colonial lands, overseen by a joint-stock company, and which would be granted powers of self-government as soon as was practicable. Contrary to assumptions, Bentham had no hand in the preparation of the 'Proposal to His Majesty's Government for founding a colony on the Southern Coast of Australia, which was prepared under the auspices of Robert Gouger, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, and Anthony Bacon. Bentham did, however, in August 1831, draft an unpublished work entitled 'Colonization Company Proposal', which constitutes his commentary upon the National Colonization Society's 'Proposal'.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: In 1823, he co-founded "The Westminster Review" with James Mill as a journal for the "Philosophical Radicals"—a group of younger disciples through whom Bentham exerted considerable influence in British public life. One was John Bowring, to whom Bentham became devoted, describing their relationship as "son and father": he appointed Bowring political editor of "The Westminster Review" and eventually his literary executor. Another was Edwin Chadwick, who wrote on hygiene, sanitation and policing and was a major contributor to the Poor Law Amendment Act: Bentham employed Chadwick as a secretary and bequeathed him a large legacy.


title: Jeremy Bentham

text: A psychobiographical study by Philip Lucas and Anne Sheeran argues that he may have had Asperger's syndrome. Bentham was an atheist.