text: Prior to the implementation of a new FIBA competition system in 2017, the U.S. team used different players depending on the circumstances. In 1992, 1999, 2003 and 2007, the Americans sent in NBA players as they needed to qualify for the Olympics. In 1989 and 2005, the U.S. also used the tournament for qualification purposes but sent in either college players (in 1989 NBA players weren't allowed) or NBA Development League, CBA and European leagues players (in 2005 the U.S. team didn't need to win gold in order to qualify for the World Championship). In 1993, 1997 and 2001, the U.S. team entered the tournament without any specific purpose and was represented by CBA players in 1993 and 1997, and by junior players in 2001. In 1980, 1984, 1988, 1995, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, the American team didn't enter the tournament. In 2017, the U.S. participated for the first time in ten years with a squad of NBA G League players and American professionals playing in European leagues, winning the gold medal.


title: United States men's national basketball team

text: Until 1992, there were few players who got the opportunity to compete in multiple Olympics. Unlike their seasoned and veteran counterparts from Europe, U.S. players usually participated in a single Olympics (with Bob Kurland, Bill Hougland, and Burdette Haldorson being lone exceptions) and after winning a medal turned pro. Consequently, prior to 1992, U.S. teams were assembled from scratch every four years. After the introduction of NBA players, U.S. teams became more cohesive, and players often chose to compete in more than one Olympic tournament.


title: The Descendants

text: The Descendants is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the main role, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller in her film debut, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Forster, and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in the United States on November 18, 2011, after being screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.


title: The Descendants

text: Tracing the journey of attorney and land baron Matt King, who struggles with unexpected occurrences in his monotonous life, "The Descendants" was a critical and financial success, grossing $177 million against a $20 million budget and receiving acclaim for the performances of Clooney and Woodley, Payne's direction and writing, and Kevin Tent's editing. The film was nominated for five Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Payne, and Best Actor for Clooney, winning one for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won two Golden Globe Awards; Best Picture – Drama and Best Actor – Drama for Clooney.


title: The Descendants

text: Matthew "Matt" King is a Honolulu-based attorney and the sole trustee of a family trust of of pristine land on Kauai. The land has great monetary value, but is also a family legacy. While Matt (like his father before) has ably managed his own finances, most of his cousins have squandered their inheritances. With the trust expiring in seven years due to the rule against perpetuities, the King clan is pressuring Matt to sell the land for hundreds of millions of dollars. Amidst these discussions, a boating accident has rendered Matt's wife, Elizabeth, comatose. With Elizabeth hospitalized, Matt is forced to cope with his two troubled daughters, 10-year-old Scottie, who seeks attention by bullying other children, and 17-year-old Alex with a history of substance abuse who is away at a private boarding school on the Big Island. Doctors determine that Elizabeth's coma is irreversible and her living will directs all life support to be discontinued. When Matt tells Alex, she reveals she learned Elizabeth was having an affair during her last visit, causing a major rift between mother and daughter.


title: The Descendants

text: Two close family friends, Kai and Mark Mitchell, tell Matt that Elizabeth was unhappy and loved Brian Speer, a real estate agent, and wanted a divorce. After Matt informs friends about Elizabeth's condition so they can say goodbye, he decides Brian should also have an opportunity to do the same. He and the girls, along with Alex's slacker friend Sid, travel to Kauai to find Brian. While there, Matt's cousin, Hugh, mentions that Brian is brother-in-law to Don Hollitzer, the developer to whom the majority of the family wants to sell the land. Brian stands to make a small fortune from the sales commission. Matt privately confronts Brian and informs him Elizabeth is dying, and offers him an opportunity to say goodbye. Brian says Elizabeth loved him, but he only loves his wife and children, then apologizes to Matt.


title: The Descendants

text: Frustrated and fragile from recent events, Matt asks Dr. Johnston to explain Elizabeth's inevitable death to Scottie. Elizabeth's father, Scott, admonishes Matt for failing to be a more generous and loving husband. Withholding his wife's affair, Matt agrees with him, but Sid and Alex unexpectedly defend Matt. At the King family meeting, Matt overrules the majority vote of his cousins, deciding instead to keep the land and look for a way around the rule against perpetuities. Shocked, Hugh tells Matt that the family will take legal action, but Matt is undeterred.


title: The Descendants

text: After learning about Brian's affair with Elizabeth, his wife, Julie, comes to the hospital. She tearfully tells a comatose Elizabeth that she wants to hate her for "trying to destroy" her family, but that she forgives her. Matt comes to terms with his wife's infidelity and impending death. He kisses her goodbye, followed by Alex and Scottie. They later scatter Elizabeth's ashes in the ocean off Waikiki.


title: The Descendants

text: The film began its on-location shoot in Hawaii on March 15, 2010. Most of the film was shot in Honolulu and around Hanalei Bay. The location used as Matt King's house lacked the banyan tree described in the book; the filmmakers solved the issue by transplanting a banyan. For the scene where the King family drives up to a ridge to look over their land, the film used a private cattle ranch on the south shore of Kauai, Kipu Ranch. Kaui Hart Hemmings, the author of the novel on which the movie was based, had a cameo as Matt King's secretary.


title: The Descendants

text: The private boarding school attended by Alex King was depicted as Mid-Pacific Institute, which is in Honolulu, Oahu. Kaui Hart Hemmings stated that Hawaii Preparatory Academy, which is located in Kamuela, Hawaii (the Big Island), was the inspiration for the private boarding school.


title: The Descendants

text: Postproduction began on June 14, and continued into February 2011. The film was screened at the Telluride, Toronto and New York film festivals and was originally scheduled to have a limited release on December 16, 2011, but was moved to November 23, 2011, and then November 18, 2011.


title: The Descendants

text: The soundtrack uses Hawaiian music, featuring artists including Gabby Pahinui, Ray Kane, Keola Beamer, Lena Machado, Sonny Chillingworth, Jeff Peterson, Makana, Dennis Kamakahi, and Danny Carvalho.


title: The Descendants

text: "The Descendants" opened in North America on November 16, 2011, in a limited release in 29 theaters, and grossed $1,190,096, averaging $41,038 per theater and ranking 10th at the box office. The film then had its wide release on December 9 in 876 theaters, and grossed $4,380,138, averaging $5,000 per theater and ranking seventh at the box office. The film was in cinemas for 156 days and its widest release in the United States was 2,038 theaters. The film ended up earning $82,584,160 domestically and $94,659,025 internationally for a total of $177,243,185.


title: The Descendants

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 268 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Funny, moving, and beautifully acted, "The Descendants" captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series developed by Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, and Marco Ramirez, based on the original 1959 television series created by Rod Serling. Peele serves as narrator, in addition to executive producing through Monkeypaw Productions. The weekly series premiered on April 1, 2019, on CBS All Access, and was renewed for a second season halfway through its first set of 10 episodes. The second season was released in its entirety on June 25, 2020. In February 2021, the producers announced the series would not return for additional seasons.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: As in the original series, each episode in this incarnation of "The Twilight Zone" deals with a different topic, addressing such subjects as supernatural occurrences, racism, social issues, misinformation in the press, alien invasions, and immigration, with an unusual and an unexpected twist in each program. Notable episodes include Sanaa Lathan as a woman who discovers that her camcorder can turn back time, Chris O'Dowd as an anthropologist who studies a strange gun, Morena Baccarin as a hotel manager who finds everyone around her standing still, and Damon Wayans Jr. as a church handyman who finds that he can change his town by manipulating a smaller model of it. John Larroquette, Donna Dixon, Eric Keenleyside, Kristin Lehman, Ryan Robbins, Peter Kelamis, Ethan Embry, Gil Bellows, and George Takei also worked in these two seasons of the "Twilight Zone".


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: In addition to increasing the altitude, "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" follows a path that is different from that of the iconic 1963 episode starring William Shatner, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". The 2019 episode "You Might Also Like" is connected with the classic episode "To Serve Man". "Blurryman" is a metafictional episode in which Mark Silverman reprises his impersonation of Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Disney attraction. Previous "Twilight Zone" series had episodes with metafictional elements, notably the original series episode "A World of His Own", where the main character interacts with Serling, and the 1980s revival series episode "Personal Demons", in which Martin Balsam portrays a fictional version of the episode's writer.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: In December 2012, it was announced that Bryan Singer had finalized a deal to develop, executive produce, and potentially direct a third revival of "The Twilight Zone" for CBS Television Studios. At the time of the announcement, the production had yet to hire a writer, begun being shopped to networks and was still finalizing a deal with the Serling estate. On March 7, 2013, it was reported that a writer was in negotiations to join the series. By 2016, Simon Kinberg and Craig Sweeny had joined the production and CBS was weighing whether to shop the project to other networks or streaming services or to place it on their own CBS All Access. Kinberg eventually left the project to write and direct the film "Dark Phoenix" and Singer and Sweeny soon dropped out as well.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: On November 2, 2017, it was announced that CBS was redeveloping the revival for their streaming service CBS All Access. Additionally, it was reported that Jordan Peele was in talks to executive produce the series through his production company Monkeypaw Productions and that Marco Ramirez was in talks to serve as showrunner. On December 6, 2017, it was announced that CBS had given the production a series order. Peele and Ramirez were confirmed to executive produce alongside Simon Kinberg, Win Rosenfeld, Audrey Chon, Carolyn Serling, and Rick Berg. Peele, Ramirez, and Kinberg were also set to collaborate on the series' premiere episode. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of CBS Television Studios, Monkeypaw Productions, and Genre Films.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: On August 6, 2018, it was confirmed that the first season would consist of ten episodes. Additionally, it was reported that the production had established a writers' room and completed concepts, outlines, and scripts for the first season in various stages of development. The series was not planned to have a formal showrunner but director Greg Yaitanes was set to be in charge of overseeing continuity among episodes. On September 20, 2018, it was announced that, in addition to executive producing, Peele would serve as the series' narrator and host. On October 2, 2018, it was announced via a promotional video for the series that Gerard McMurray was directing an episode with Mathias Herndl serving as his director of photography. On November 15, 2018, it was reported that Alex Rubens would write an episode of the series.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: On April 29, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season. In January 2020, CBS All Access revealed episode information on six of the ten episodes of the second season. In May 2020, information on the final four episodes of the season were revealed. On February 24, 2021, CBS All Access announced the series would be ending after two seasons; Peele and Kinberg's companies released a joint statement indicating that although All Access (rebranded as Paramount+) wanted the series to continue, it was "our decision" and that they had "told the stories that we wanted to tell".


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: In October 2018, the production company announced that Sanaa Lathan and Adam Scott had been cast in episode-starring roles; Lathan would appear in an episode titled "Rewind" and Scott in an episode titled "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet", a remake of the original series episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". In November, Kumail Nanjiani was announced in an episode-starring role. In December, John Cho, Allison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay, Erica Tremblay, Steven Yeun, and Greg Kinnear were announced: Cho, Tolman, and the Tremblays for roles in an episode titled "The Wunderkind", and Yeun and Kinnear in "The Traveler" (broadcast as "A Traveler"). In January 2019, DeWanda Wise, Jessica Williams, Lucinda Dryzek, Jefferson White, Jonathan Whitesell, Taissa Farmiga, Rhea Seehorn, Luke Kirby, Ike Barinholtz, and Percy Hynes White were announced: Wise, Williams, Dryzek, White, and Whitesell would appear in one episode, while Farmiga, Seehorn, Kirby, Barinholtz, and Hynes-White would be featured in another. In February, Ginnifer Goodwin, James Frain, and Zabryna Guevara were announced as cast for "Point of Origin". The full trailer revealed that Tracy Morgan, Glenn Fleshler and Chris Diamantopoulos would make guest appearances. It was revealed through the official Twitter page that Seth Rogen would appear in an episode. In March, the casting of Zazie Beetz and Betty Gabriel for one episode was announced, while Chris O'Dowd and Amy Landecker would appear in "The Blue Scorpion". Damson Idris was then announced to appear in "Replay", the episode previously titled "Rewind".


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: In January 2020, several cast members for the second season were announced, which included: Morena Baccarin, Tony Hale, Billy Porter, Christopher Meloni, Joel McHale, Jimmi Simpson and Gillian Jacobs. In May 2020, another round of castings were revealed, which included: Topher Grace, Jurnee Smollett and Damon Wayans Jr.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: Principal photography for season one began on October 1, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and concluded on March 20, 2019. The producers chose to make the series in color instead of black and white. Executive producer Simon Kinberg stated that the team "wanted to do something to honor the essence and sensibility and style of the original without going so overboard that we were doing a karaoke version of the original." However, the series was also made available to watch in black and white. For the opening sequence, executive producer Simon Kinberg stated that imagery was chosen that reflected the original television series, something used in place of a black-and-white color scheme. Filming for the second season was scheduled to commence from October 6, 2019, to March 16, 2020, in Vancouver.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: On January 30, 2019, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual winter press tour that the series would premiere on April 1, 2019. A black-and-white version of the first season was released on May 30, 2019. The second season was released in its entirety on June 25, 2020.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: On February 3, 2019, a teaser trailer for the series aired during the telecast of Super Bowl LIII. The commercial played as though it was interrupting CBS' feed of the game and it featured host Jordan Peele standing in an empty Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Another trailer was released on February 21.


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 70% based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 7.39/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Twilight Zone" explores the strangeness of the modern world through Rod Serling's winning formula, creating a thought-provoking—if not always spine-tingling—showcase for Jordan Peele and his exceptional crop of collaborators." Metacritic assigned the first season a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: The BBC gave it a positive review and said: "It's possible that ... Rod Serling and Jordan Peele switched places. As co-creator and on-screen host of the new version, he [Peele] updates the series while capturing the original's essence." "The Week" was more mixed in its review, calling the first episodes "unforgivably long", but also saying that the series stays "true to the ethos of "The Twilight Zone"" and that "the episodes are free-standing and timeless". "The Verge" also gave it a mixed review, praising Peele as the narrator, but saying the series should try to step away from the original. "The Atlantic" was more critical, comparing it to the original series, stating, "[w]ith the exception of one superior episode, 'Replay', it's hard to conceive that an artist as prodigiously talented and thoughtful as Peele is creatively involved at all."


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: The second season—based on three episodes sent to critics ("Meet in the Middle", "The Who of You" and "You Might Also Like")—has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 63% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.39/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Twilight Zone" sophomore season shines when it dares to be bold, but long runtimes and predictable plotting hold it back from reaching its full potential." Metacritic assigned the second season a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: Kristen Lopez of "IndieWire" gave the three episodes a collective grade of "B−" and wrote, "These episodes certainly feel more strongly written than Season 1, and if the editing tightens up like it did before, these new entries could be amazing. It'll be hard for any other episode to be better than 'You Might Also Like', though, which is a pure masterpiece." Brian Tallerico of "RogerEbert.com" wrote that "every episode in this trio disappoints to varying degrees".


title: The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

text: At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, Kumail Nanjiani received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for "The Comedian", the first episode of season one.


The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program), more popularly known as Top Gun (stylized as TOPGUN), teaches fighter and strike tactics and techniques to selected naval aviators and naval flight officers, who return to their operating units as surrogate instructors. It began as the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, established on 3 March 1969, at the former Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. In 1996, the school was merged into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada.


title: United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program

text: An earlier U.S. Navy air-to-air combat training program, the U.S. Navy Fleet Air Gunnery Units, or FAGU, had provided air combat training for Naval Aviators from the early 1950s until 1960. In June 1956, Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific held "Navy Fleet Air Gunnery Meet" at NAAS El Centro. In April 1957, "Naval Air Weapons Meet 1957" was held at NAAS El Centro. In April 1958, "Naval Air Weapons Meet" was held at NAAS El Centro. From 30 November to 4 December 1959, the last "Naval Air Weapons Meet" was held at MCAAS Yuma.<ref name="google/books=DeAwAAAACAAJ"></ref> Signage called it "Top Gun".<ref name="google/books=D2RGAQAAMAAJ"></ref>


text: "Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific" and "Marine Training Groups" were closed, as an economy,<ref name="google/books=A8_V2OxM-b0C"></ref> and a doctrinal shift, brought on by advances in missile, radar, and fire control technology, contributing to the belief that the era of the classic dogfight was over, leading to their disestablishment and a serious decline in U.S air-to-air combat proficiency that became apparent during the Vietnam War. The pilots who were part of the initial cadre of instructors at Top Gun had experience as students from FAGU.


text: In 1968, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Thomas Hinman Moorer ordered Captain Frank Ault to research the failings of the U.S. air-to-air missiles used in combat in the skies over North Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder, which lasted from 2 March 1965 to 1 November 1968, ultimately saw almost 1,000 U.S. aircraft losses in about one million sorties. Rolling Thunder became the Rorschach test for the Navy and Air Force, which drew nearly opposite conclusions.


text: The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established on 3 March 1969, at Naval Air Station Miramar, California. Placed under the control of the VF-121 "Pacemakers," an F-4 Phantom–equipped Replacement Air Group (RAG) unit, the new school received relatively scant funding and resources. Its staff consisted of eight F-4 Phantom II instructors from VF-121 and one intelligence officer hand-picked by the school's first officer-in-charge, Lieutenant Commander Dan Pedersen, USN. Together, F-4 aviators Darrell Gary, Mel Holmes, Jim Laing, John Nash, Jim Ruliffson, Jerry Sawatzky, J. C. Smith, Steve Smith, as well as Wayne Hildebrand, a naval intelligence officer, built the Naval Fighter Weapons School syllabus from scratch. To support their operations, they borrowed aircraft from its parent unit and other Miramar-based units, such as composite squadron VC-7 and Fighter Squadron VF-126. The school's first headquarters at Miramar was in a stolen modular trailer.<ref name="navy.mil/dn-sn-84-09583"></ref>


text: According to the 1973 command history of the Navy Fighter Weapons School, the unit's purpose was to "train fighter air crews at the graduate level in all aspects of fighter weapons systems including tactics, techniques, procedures and doctrine. It serves to build a nucleus of eminently knowledgeable fighter crews to construct, guide, and enhance weapons training cycles and subsequent aircrew performance. This select group acts as the F-4 community’s most operationally orientated weapons specialists. Top Gun's efforts are dedicated to the Navy’s professional fighter crews, past, present and future."


text: Highly qualified instructors were an essential element of Top Gun's success. Mediocre instructors are unable to hold the attention of talented students. Top Gun instructors were knowledgeable fighter tacticians assigned to one or more specific fields of expertise, such as a particular weapon, threat, or tactic. Every instructor was required to become an expert in effective training techniques. All lectures were given without notes after being screened by a notorious "murder board" of evaluators who would point out ambiguities or flawed concepts in the draft presentation. The curriculum was in a constant state of flux based upon class critiques and integration of developing tactics to use new systems to combat emerging threats. Instructors often spent their first year on the staff learning to be an effective part of the training environment.


text: Top Gun initially operated the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and borrowed USAF Northrop T-38 Talons to simulate the flying characteristics of the MiG-17 and MiG-21, respectively. The school also used Marine-crewed Grumman A-6 Intruders and USAF Convair F-106 Delta Dart aircraft when available. Later adversary aircraft included the IAI Kfir and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon; and the T-38 was replaced by the Northrop F-5E and F-5F Tiger II.


text: In addition to maneuvering skill, knowledge of weapons systems was recognized as important. Weapons system knowledge was determined as a common thread among the 4 percent of World War II pilots who accounted for 40 percent of the enemy aircraft destroyed. The complexity of modern weapons systems requires careful study to achieve design potential.


text: The British writer Rowland White claimed that the early school was influenced by a group of a dozen flying instructors from the British Fleet Air Arm who were assigned to Miramar as exchange pilots and served as instructors in VF-121. A British newspaper, "The Daily Telegraph", declared in a 2009 headline, "American Top Gun Fighter Pilot Academy Set Up by British." However, the British naval pilots mentioned in the article confirmed that the claim was false and that they had no role in creating the curriculum and no access to the classified programs that the Top Gun instructors participated in to refine it.


text: During the halt in the bombing campaign against North Vietnam (in force from 1968 until the early 1970s), Top Gun established itself as a center of excellence in fighter doctrine, tactics, and training. By the time aerial activity over the North resumed, most Navy squadrons had a Top Gun graduate. According to the USN, the results were dramatic. The Navy kill-to-loss ratio against the North Vietnamese Air Force (NVAF) MiGs soared from 2.42:1 to 12.5:1, while the Air Force, which had not implemented a similar training program, actually had its kill ratio worsen for a time after the resumption of bombing, according to Benjamin Lambeth's "The Transformation of American Airpower." On 28 March 1970, Lieutenant Jerry Beaulier, a graduate of Top Gun's first class, scored the first kill of a North Vietnamese MiG since September 1968.


text: In 1996, the transfer of NAS Miramar to the Marine Corps was coupled with the incorporation of Top Gun into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC) at NAS Fallon, Nevada. In 2016, NSAWC was rebranded as the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC), where Top Gun remains a department alongside graduate-level Weapons Schools for other Naval Aviation platforms.


text: In 2011, the Top Gun program was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.


text: The school was made famous by the 1986 film "Top Gun" and its sequel "", starring Tom Cruise. Referencing "Top Gun" while at the school incurs an immediate $5 cash fine, as it is seen as conflicting with the institute's atmosphere of professionalism.


title: Mochi

text: Mochi is a multicomponent food consisting of polysaccharides, lipids, protein, and water. Mochi has a heterogeneous structure of amylopectin gel, starch grains, and air bubbles. The rice used for mochi has a negligible amylose content and a high amylopectin level, producing a gel-like consistency. The protein content of the japonica rice used to make mochi is higher than that of standard short-grain rice.


title: Mochi

text: The process of steaming glutinous rice and making it into a paste is considered to have its origin in ancient China, and to have been introduced to Japan from Southeast Asia some time after rice cultivation was introduced to Japan at the end of the Jōmon period (). Red rice was the original variant used in the production of mochi.


title: Mochi

text: The cultural significance of mochi in Japan is unique, though it has elements in common with other auspicious foods in other Asian countries. According to archaeological research, the homemade production of mochi increased beginning in the 6th century (Kofun period), when earthenware steamers became popular in every household, mainly in eastern Japan.


title: Mochi

text: In the , compiled in the late 8th century in the Nara period, a legend concerning mochi was described. According to the book, when a rich man made a flat mochi from leftover rice and shot an arrow at it, the mochi transformed into a white bird and flew away, and after that, the man's rice field became desolate and barren. This legend shows that round white mochi was historically held to have spiritual power.


title: Mochi

text: In the Heian period (794–1185), mochi was often used in Shinto events to celebrate childbirth and marriage. According to the compiled in the 12th century, emperors and nobilities used to put mochi into the mouths of babies that were 50 days old. In this period, it became customary in the aristocratic society for the bride and groom to eat mochi together at the bride's house three days after the wedding.


title: Mochi

text: The first recorded accounts of mochi being used as a part of New Year's festivities are from the Heian period. The nobles of the Imperial court believed that long strands of freshly made mochi symbolized long life and well-being, while dried mochi helped strengthen one's teeth. Accounts of it can also be found in "The Tale of Genji".


title: Mochi

text: The custom of (mirror mochi) began among the samurai class during the Muromachi period. are composed of two spheres of mochi stacked on top of one another, topped with a bitter orange (). In welcoming the New Year, samurai decorated with Japanese armour and Japanese swords, and would place them in the (alcove in a traditional Japanese room where art or flowers are displayed) to pray for the prosperity of their families in the New Year. When people ate after the New Year period, they avoided cutting it with a (knife) so as not to violate the , and smashed it with a wooden hammer after it naturally dried and cracked.


title: Mochi

text: Mochi continues to be one of the traditional foods eaten around Japanese New Year, and is sold and consumed in abundance around this time. A is placed on family altars () on December 28 each year.


title: Mochi

text: The cherry blossom (sakura) is a symbol of Japan and signifies the onset of full-fledged spring. is a pink-coloured mochi surrounding sweet red bean paste and wrapped in an edible, salted cherry blossom leaf; this dish is usually made during the spring.


title: Mochi

text: Children's Day is celebrated in Japan on May 5. On this day, the Japanese promote the happiness and well-being of children. and are made especially for this celebration. is white mochi surrounding a sweet red bean paste filling with a oak leaf wrapped around it.


title: Mochi

text: is a ceremonial dessert presented as a ritual offering on the days leading up to , or "Girls' Day" in Japan, on March 3 every year. is rhomboid-shaped mochi with layers of red, green, and white. The three layers are coloured with jasmine flowers, water caltrop, and mugwort.


title: Mochi

text: Traditionally, mochi making is an important cultural event in Japan that involves members of a local community or family. Although less common today, the traditional process still exists in most rural areas, as well as in urban temples, shrines, and community spaces, especially in the days leading up to the new year. The traditional process of mochi-pounding (called ) involves whole rice as the only ingredient, and takes place in three basic steps:


title: Mochi

text: The modern preparation of mochi uses a sweet flour of sweet rice (). The flour is mixed with water and cooked on a stovetop or in the microwave until it forms a sticky, opaque, white mass. This process is performed twice, and the mass is stirred in between until it becomes malleable and slightly transparent.


title: Mochi

text: With modern equipment, mochi can be made at home, with the technology automating the laborious dough pounding. Household mochi appliances provide a suitable space where the environment of the dough can be controlled.


title: Mochi

text: Varieties of glutinous and waxy rice are produced as major raw material for mochi. The rice is chosen for tensile strength and compressibility. One study found that in rice 172 and BC3, amylopectin distribution varied and affected the hardness of mochi. rice produced harder, brittle, grainy textures, all undesirable qualities except for ease of cutting. For mass production, the rice variety should be chewy, but easy to separate.


title: Mochi

text: Generally, two types of machines are used for mochi production in an assembly line. One machine prepares the dough, while the other forms the dough into consistent shapes, unfilled or with filling. The first type of machine controls the temperature at which the rice gelatinizes. One study found that a temperature of corresponds to the gelatinization of mochi. When the temperature fell below this point, the hardening was too slow. It was concluded that a processing temperature below was unsuitable for dough preparation.


title: Mochi

text: Mochi is a variation of a low-calorie, low-fat rice cake. The cake has two essential raw materials, rice and water. Sticky rice (also called sweet rice, "Oryza sativa" var. "glutinosa", glutinous sticky rice, glutinous rice, waxy rice, botan rice, "biroin chal", mochi rice, pearl rice, and "pulut"), whether brown or white, is best for mochi-making, as long-grain varieties will not expand perfectly. Water is essential in the early stages of preparation. Other additives such as salt and other seasonings and flavourings are important in terms of nutritive value and taste. However, additives can cause breakage of the mass, so should not be added to the rice before the cake is formed. The cake must be steamed (rather than boiled) until it gains a smooth and elastic texture. The balls of rice are then flattened, cut into pieces, or shaped into rounds. The machines for mass production are a hugely expensive investment, and the product should have the proper moisture, to appeal to consumers.


title: Mochi

text: While mochi can be refrigerated for a short storage period, it can also "become hard and not usable". The recommended preservation method is by freezing. The best method for freezing involves wrapping each mochi cake tightly in a sealed plastic bag. Although mochi can be kept in a freezer for almost one year, the frozen mochi may lose flavor and softness or get freezer-burned. Food additives, such as modified tapioca starch, can also extend the shelf life of mochi.


title: Mochi

text: Mochi is relatively simple to make, as only a few ingredients are needed for plain mochi. The main ingredient is either or , Japanese sweet glutinous rice flours. Both and are made from , a type of glutinous short-grain rice. The difference between and comes from texture and processing methods. flour has been more refined and is a finer flour with a smoother, more elastic feel. is less refined and has a doughier texture.


title: Mochi

text: Other ingredients may include water, sugar, and cornstarch (to prevent sticking). Additional other ingredients can be added to create different variations/flavors.


title: Mochi

text: The caloric content of a matchbox-sized piece of mochi is comparable to that of a bowl of rice. Japanese farmers were known to consume mochi during the winter to increase their stamina, while samurai took mochi on their expeditions, as it was easy to carry and prepare. Mochi is gluten- and cholesterol-free, as it is made from rice flour.


title: Mochi

text: A single serving of has 96 calories (kilocalories), of fat, but no trans or saturated fat, of sodium, of carbohydrates, no dietary fiber, of sugar, and of protein.


title: Mochi

text: Amylose and amylopectin are both components of starch and polysaccharides made from D-glucose units. The big difference between the two is that amylose is linear because it only has αlpha-1,4-glycosidic bonds. Amylopectin, though, is a branched polysaccharide because it has αlpha-1,4-glycosidic bonds with occasional αlpha-1,6-glycosidic bonds around every 22 D-glucose units. Glutinous rice is nearly 100% composed of amylopectin and almost completely lacks its counterpart, amylose, in its starch granules. A nonglutinous rice grain contains amylose at about 10–30% weight by weight and amylopectin at about 70–90% weight by weight.


title: Mochi

text: Glutinous or waxy type of starches occur in maize, sorghum, wheat, and rice. An interesting characteristic of glutinous rice is that it stains red when iodine is added, whereas nonglutinous rice stains blue. This phenomenon occurs when iodine is mixed with iodide to form tri-iodide and penta-iodide. Penta-iodide intercalates between the starch molecules and stains amylose and amylopectin blue and red, respectively. The gelation and viscous texture of glutinous rice is due to amylopectin being more hygroscopic than amylose, thus water enters the starch granule, causing it to swell, while the amylose leaves the starch granule and becomes part of a colloidal solution. In other words, the higher the amylopectin content, the higher the swelling of the starch granule.


title: Mochi

text: Though the amylopectin content plays a major role in the defined characteristic of viscosity in glutinous rice, factors such as heat also play a very important role in the swelling, since it enhances the uptake of water into the starch granule significantly. The swelling increases at about 10% in volume per temperature increase.


title: Mochi

text: The high amylopectin content of waxy or glutinous starches is genetically controlled by the waxy or wax gene. Its quality of greater viscosity and gelation is dependent on the distribution of the amylopectin unit chains. Grains that have this gene are considered mutants, which explains why most of them are selectively bred to create a grain that is close to having or has a 0% amylose content. The table below summarizes the amylose and amylopectin content of different starches, waxy and nonwaxy:


title: Mochi

text: The soaking of the glutinous rice is an elemental step in the preparation of mochi, either traditionally or industrially. During this process, glutinous rice decreases in protein content as it is soaked in water. The chemicals that make up the flavour of plain or "natural" mochi are ethyl acetate, ethanol, 2-butanol, 2 methyl 1-propanol, 1-butanol, isoamyl alcohol, 1-pentanol and propane acid.


title: Mochi

text: Mochi is usually composed solely of glutinous rice, however, some variations may include the additions of salt, spices and flavourings such as cinnamon (cinnamaldehyde). Food additives such as sucrose, sorbitol or glycerol may be added to increase viscosity and therefore increase gelatinization. Additives that slow down retrogradation are not usually added since amylopectin has a very stable shelf life due to its high amylopectin content.


title: Mochi

text: Mochi's characteristic chewiness is due to the polysaccharides in it. The viscosity and elasticity that account for this chewiness are affected by many factors such as the starch concentration, configuration of the swollen starch granules, the conditions of heating (temperature, heating period and rate of heating) as well as the junction zones that interconnect each polymer chain. The more junction zones the substance has, the stronger the cohesiveness of the gel, thereby forming a more solid-like material. The perfect mochi has the perfect balance between viscosity and elasticity so that it is not inextensible and fragile but rather extensible yet firm.


title: Mochi

text: Many tests have been conducted on the factors that affect the viscoelastic properties of mochi. As puncture tests show, samples with a higher solid (polysaccharide) content show an increased resistance and thereby a stronger and tougher gel. This increased resistance to the puncture test indicate that an increase in solute concentration leads to a more rigid and harder gel with an increased cohesiveness, internal binding, elasticity and springiness which means a decrease in material flow or an increase in viscosity. These results can also be brought about by an increase in heating time.


title: Mochi

text: Sensory assessments of the hardness, stickiness and elasticity of mochi and their relationship with solute concentration and heating time were performed. Similar to the puncture test results, sensory tests determine that hardness and elasticity increase with increasing time of heating and solid concentration. However, stickiness of the samples increase with increasing time of heating and solid concentration until a certain level, above which the reverse is observed.


title: Mochi

text: These relationships are important because too hard or elastic a mochi is undesirable, as is one that is too sticky and will stick to walls of the container.


title: Mochi

text: Suffocation deaths are caused by mochi every year in Japan, especially among elderly people. In 2015, it was reported that according to the Tokyo Fire Department – which responds to choking cases – more than 100 people were hospitalised per year for choking on mochi in Tokyo alone. Also in Tokyo, between 2006 and 2009 there were 18 reported deaths resulting from choking on mochi. As a result of this risk, Japanese authorities put out yearly warnings, advising people to cut mochi into small pieces before consumption.


title: Mochi

text: Mochi may be eaten alone as a major component of a main meal, and is used as an ingredient in other prepared foods.


title: Mochi

text: Many types of traditional and (Japanese traditional sweets) are made with mochi. For example, is a soft round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, such as sweetened red bean paste () or white bean paste (). is a version containing a whole strawberry inside.


title: Mochi

text: Small balls of ice cream are wrapped inside a mochi covering to make mochi ice cream. In Japan, this is manufactured by the conglomerate Lotte under the name , "snow-viewing ".


title: Mochi

text: In Taiwan, a traditional Hakka and Hoklo pounded rice cake was called () and came in various styles and forms just like in Japan. Traditional Hakka is served as glutinous rice dough, covered with peanut or sesame powder. Not until the Japanese era was Japanese-style mochi introduced and gained popularity. Nowadays, Taiwanese mochi often comes with bean paste fillings.


title: Mochi

text: In China, is made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and is then cooked and served in boiling water. is typically filled with black sesame paste or peanut paste and served in the water that it was boiled in.


title: Mochi

text: In Hong Kong and other Cantonese regions, the traditional () is made of glutinous rice flour in the shape of a ball, with fillings such as crushed peanuts, coconut, red bean paste, and black sesame paste. It can come in a variety of modern flavors such as green tea, mango, taro, strawberry, and more.


title: Mochi

text: In Philippines, a traditional Filipino sweet snack similar to Japanese mochi is called (). There is also another delicacy called "espasol" with a taste similar to Japanese , though made with roasted rice flour (not , roasted soy flour). The Philippines also has several steamed rice snacks with very similar names to mochi, including , , and . These are small steamed rice balls with bean paste or peanut fillings. However they are not derived from the Japanese mochi, but are derivatives of the Chinese (called in the Philippines). They are also made with the native process, which mixes ground slightly fermented cooked glutinous rice with coconut milk.


title: Mochi

text: In Indonesia, is usually filled with sweet bean paste and covered with sesame seeds. comes from Sukabumi, West Java and Semarang, Central Java. Another Indonesian mochi is "yangko", a Yogyakarta mochi made from glutinuous rice.


title: Mochi

text: In Malaysia, is made from glutinous rice flour and filled with coconut filling and palm sugar. Another Chinese Malaysian variant, is made with same ingredients but their fillings are filled with crushed peanuts. There is also , which has similar ingredients and texture to mochi but larger in size. The snack is quite popular in the east coast of Malaysia.


title: Mochi

text: In Singapore, is made from glutinous rice flour and is usually coated with either crushed peanuts or black sesame seeds.


title: Mochi

text: In Hawaii, a dessert variety called "butter mochi" is made with mochiko, butter, sugar, coconut, and other ingredients then baked to make a sponge cake of sorts.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The Wicker Man is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel "Ritual", centres on the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise a form of Celtic paganism. Paul Giovanni composed the film score.


title: The Wicker Man

text: "The Wicker Man" is well-regarded by critics. Film magazine "Cinefantastique" described it as "The "Citizen Kane" of horror movies", and in 2004, "Total Film" magazine named "The Wicker Man" the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. The final scene was No. 45 on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments", and during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony it was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema. The film brought the wicker man into modern popular culture.


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 1989, Shaffer wrote a script treatment for "The Loathsome Lambton Worm", a direct sequel with fantasy elements. Hardy had no interest in the project, and it was never produced. In 2006, a poorly-received American remake was released, from which Hardy and others involved with the original have dissociated themselves. In 2011, a spiritual sequel directed by Hardy, "The Wicker Tree", was released and featured Lee in a cameo appearance. In 2013, the original U.S. theatrical version of "The Wicker Man" was digitally restored and released.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Police Sergeant Neil Howie journeys by seaplane to the remote Hebridean island Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, about whom he has received an anonymous letter. Howie, a devout Christian, is disturbed to find the Islanders paying homage to the pagan Celtic gods of their ancestors. They copulate openly in the fields, include children as part of the May Day celebrations, teach children of the phallic association of the maypole, and place toads in their mouths to cure sore throats. The islanders appear to be trying to thwart his investigation by claiming that Rowan never existed.


title: The Wicker Man

text: While staying at the Green Man Inn, Howie notices a series of photographs celebrating the annual harvest, each featuring a young girl as the May Queen. The photograph of the most recent celebration is missing; the landlord tells him it was broken. At the local school, Howie asks the students about Rowan but all deny her existence. He checks the school register and finds Rowan's name. He questions the schoolteacher, who directs him to Rowan's grave.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Howie meets the island's leader, Lord Summerisle, grandson of a Victorian agronomist, to get permission for an exhumation. Summerisle explains that his grandfather developed strains of fruit trees that would prosper in Scotland's climate and encouraged the belief that the old gods would use the new strains to bring prosperity to the island among the pagan population. Due to the bountiful harvests, the island's other inhabitants gradually embraced paganism.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Exhuming the grave, Howie finds that the coffin contains only the carcass of a hare. He also finds the missing harvest photograph, showing Rowan standing amidst empty boxes; the harvest had failed. His research reveals that a human sacrifice is offered to the gods in the event of crop failure. He concludes that Rowan is alive and will soon be sacrificed to ensure a successful harvest. Seeking assistance from the mainland, Howie returns to his seaplane to discover it no longer functions and its radio is damaged; he cannot leave or call for help. Later that day during the May Day celebration, Howie subdues the innkeeper and steals his costume and mask (that of Punch, the fool) to infiltrate the parade. Rowan is eventually revealed. Howie sets her free and flees with her into a cave. Exiting it, they are intercepted by the islanders, to whom Rowan happily returns.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Summerisle tells Howie that Rowan was never the intended sacrifice: Howie is. He fits their gods' four requirements: he came of his own free will, has "the power of a king" (by representing the Law), is a virgin, and is a "fool". Howie warns Summerisle and the islanders that the crops are failing due to the unsuitability of the climate and that the villagers will turn on Summerisle and sacrifice him next summer when the next harvest fails again but his pleas are ignored. The villagers force Howie inside a giant wicker man statue along with various animals, set it ablaze and surround it, singing the Middle English folk song "Sumer Is Icumen In". Inside the wicker man, Howie recites Psalm 23, and prays to God before cursing the islanders as he and the animals burn to death. The head of the wicker man collapses in flames, revealing the setting sun.


title: The Wicker Man

text: In the early 1970s, Christopher Lee was a Hammer Horror regular, best known for his roles in a series of successful films, beginning with "The Curse of Frankenstein" (as the monster, 1957). Lee wanted to break free of this image and take on more interesting acting roles. The idea for "The Wicker Man" film began in 1971 when Lee met with screenwriter Anthony Shaffer, and they agreed to work together. Film director Robin Hardy and British Lion head Peter Snell became involved in the project. Shaffer had a series of conversations with Hardy, and the two decided that it would be fun to make a horror film centering on "old religion", in sharp contrast to the Hammer films they had both seen as horror film fans.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Shaffer read the David Pinner novel "Ritual", in which a devout Christian policeman is called to investigate what appears to be the ritual murder of a young girl in a rural village, and decided that it would serve well as the source material for the project. Pinner originally wrote "Ritual" as a film treatment for director Michael Winner, who had John Hurt in mind as a possible star. Winner eventually declined the project, so Pinner's agent persuaded him to write "Ritual" as a novel instead. Shaffer and Lee paid Pinner £15,000 for the rights to the novel, and Shaffer set to work on the screenplay. He soon decided that a direct adaptation would not work well and drafted a new story based only loosely on the story of the novel.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Shaffer wanted the film to be "a little more literate" than the average horror picture. He specifically wanted a film with a minimum of violence and gore. He was tired of seeing horror films that relied almost entirely on viscera to be scary. The focus of the film was crystallised when he "finally hit upon the abstract concept of sacrifice." The image of the wicker man, which gave the filmmakers their title, was taken from the description of the practice of human sacrifice by the Gauls in Julius Caesar's "Commentaries on the Gallic War": "Others have figures of vast size, the limbs of which formed of osiers they fill with living men, which being set on fire, the men perish enveloped in the flames." For Shaffer, this was "the most alarming and imposing image that I had ever seen." The idea of a confrontation between a modern Christian and a remote, pagan community continued to intrigue Shaffer, who performed painstaking research on paganism. Brainstorming with Hardy, they conceived the film as presenting the pagan elements objectively and accurately, accompanied by authentic music and a believable, contemporary setting. One of their main resources was "The Golden Bough", a study of mythology and religion written by Scottish anthropologist James Frazer.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Television actor Edward Woodward was cast in the role of Sergeant Neil Howie after the part was declined by both Michael York and David Hemmings. In Britain, Woodward was best known for the role of "Callan", which he played from 1967 to 1972. After "The Wicker Man", Woodward went on to receive international attention for his roles in the 1980 film "Breaker Morant" and the 1980s TV series "The Equalizer".


title: The Wicker Man

text: After Shaffer saw her on the stage, he lured Diane Cilento out of semi-retirement to play the town's schoolmistress. (They lived together in Queensland from 1975, and married in 1985). Ingrid Pitt, another British horror film veteran, was cast as the town librarian and registrar. The Swedish actress Britt Ekland was cast as the innkeeper's lascivious daughter, although two body doubles were used for her naked scenes below the waist. Ekland found out that she was three months pregnant with her son Nic, to Lou Adler two weeks into filming. Stuart Hopps (the film's choreographer) called upon Lorraine Peters, a nightclub dancer from Glasgow who gyrated at the doorway and against the wall of a bedroom in the fully nude "wall" scenes. Her speaking and singing voices were dubbed by Annie Ross and Rachel Verney respectively.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Local girl Jane Jackson was employed as Ekland's stand-in for camera setups. Jackson was blonde-haired and bore a resemblance to Britt Ekland but was otherwise not involved in any filming.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The film was produced at a time of crisis for the British film industry. The studio in charge of production, British Lion Films, was in financial trouble and was bought by wealthy businessman John Bentley. To convince the unions that he was not about to asset-strip the company, Bentley needed to get a film into production quickly. This meant that "The Wicker Man", a film set during spring, actually began filming in October 1972: artificial leaves and blossoms had to be glued to trees in many scenes. The production was kept on a small budget. Christopher Lee was extremely keen to get the film made; he and others worked on the production without pay. While filming took place, British Lion was bought by EMI Films.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The film was shot almost entirely in the small Scottish towns of Stranraer, Gatehouse of Fleet, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright, Anwoth and Creetown in Galloway as well as Plockton in Ross-shire. Some scenes were filmed in and around the Isle of Whithorn, where the owners of the castle, Elizabeth McAdam McLaughland and David Wheatley, plus several other local people, featured in various scenes. Culzean Castle in Ayrshire and its grounds and Floors Castle were also used for the shooting. Some of the opening flying shots feature the Isle of Skye, including the pinnacles of The Storr and the Quiraing. The cave scenes were filmed inside Wookey Hole in Somerset. The amphibious aircraft that carries Sergeant Howie was a Thurston Teal, owned and flown in the aerial sequences by Christopher Murphy. The climax of the film was shot on the clifftops at Burrow Head. According to Britt Ekland, some animals perished in the Wicker Man, whereas Robin Hardy said in an interview that great care was taken to ensure that the animals were in no danger of being hurt during this scene and that they were not inside the Wicker Man when it was set on fire.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Hush Heath Estate in Staplehurst, Kent, makes a brief appearance in the film, doubling as Lord Summerisle's orchard and gardens.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The film's soundtrack often forms a major component of the narrative, just as with other important arthouse films of the era such as Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg's "Performance". Songs accompany many important scenes, such as the plane's arrival, Willow's dancing, the maypole dance, the girls jumping through fire, the search of the houses, the procession, and the final burning scene. Indeed, according to Seamus Flannery in a subsequent documentary, director Robin Hardy surprised the cast by suddenly announcing midway through filming that they were making a "musical".


title: The Wicker Man

text: Composed, arranged, and recorded by Paul Giovanni, and performed by Magnet (in some versions of the film credited as "Lodestone"), the soundtrack contains 13 folk songs performed by characters in the film. Included are traditional songs, original compositions by Giovanni, and even a nursery rhyme, "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep".


title: The Wicker Man

text: "Willow's Song" has been covered or sampled by various rock music bands. It was first covered by the English musical project known as Nature and Organisation on their 1994 release "Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude". It was covered by Sneaker Pimps as "How Do", and is included on their 1996 release "Becoming X". "How Do" can be heard in the movie "Hostel" (2005); the song is incorrectly credited in the end titles as being composed by Sneaker Pimps. Additionally, the band has covered "Gently Johnny" as "Johnny"; it is featured as a B-side on their single "Roll On" (1996). It also was covered by Faith and the Muse on their 2003 album "The Burning Season", and The Mock Turtles on their album "Turtle Soup".


title: The Wicker Man

text: The songs on the soundtrack were composed or arranged by Giovanni under the direction of Hardy and Shaffer, whose research into the oral folk tradition in England and Scotland was based largely on the work of Cecil Sharp, a 'founding father' of the folk-revival movement of the early 20th century. Using Sharp's collections as a template, Shaffer noted to Giovanni which scenes were to have music, and in some cases provided lyrics which would be appropriate to spring pagan festivals. Other songs on the soundtrack come from a later folk tradition; for example, "Corn Riggs", by Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns, accompanies Howie's arrival on Summerisle. The lyrics of this song were taken directly from the Burns song "The Rigs of Barley", but Giovanni used a very different tune. Burns' tune was based on "Corn Riggs", and altered to match his lyrics. The song sung by the cultists of Summerisle at the end of the film, "Sumer Is Icumen In", is a mid-13th-century song about nature in spring.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The Wickerman Festival was an annual music festival held near Auchencairn in Galloway.  Dubbed "Scotland's Alternative Music festival" It began in 2001 when the festival's artistic director Sid Ambrose hit upon the idea of a local counter-culture based family-friendly festival due to the surrounding area being inextricably linked with various locations used within The Wicker Man. It was held annually until 2015 at East Kirkcarswell Farm, Dundrennan.


title: The Wicker Man

text: By the time of the film's completion the studio had been bought by EMI, and British Lion was managed by Michael Deeley. The DVD commentary track states that studio executives suggested a more "upbeat" ending to the film, in which a sudden rain puts the flames of the wicker man out and spares Howie's life, but this suggestion was refused. Hardy subsequently had to remove about 20 minutes of scenes on the mainland, early investigations, and (to Lee's disappointment) some of Lord Summerisle's initial meeting with Howie.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The first public theatrical release was a week of test screenings at the Metropole Cinema London on 6 December 1973 ahead of the official public release in January 1974. It runs 87 minutes.


title: The Wicker Man

text: A copy of a finished, 99-minute version was sent to American film producer Roger Corman in Hollywood to make a judgment of how to market the film in the US. Corman recommended an additional 13 minutes be cut from the film. (Corman did not acquire US release rights, and eventually Warner Bros. test-marketed the film in drive-ins.) In Britain, the film was ordered reduced to roughly 87 minutes, with some narrative restructuring, and released as the "B" picture on a double bill with "Don't Look Now". According to Lee, the cuts adversely affected the film's continuity.


title: The Wicker Man

text: During the mid-1970s, Hardy made inquiries about the film, hoping to restore it to his original vision. Along with Lee and Shaffer, Hardy searched for his original cut, or raw footage. Both of these appeared to have been lost. Director Alex Cox said in his "Moviedrome" introduction in 1988 that the negative had "ended up in the pylons that support the M4 motorway." Hardy recalled that a copy of the film made prior to Deeley's cuts was sent to Corman, who, it turned out, still had a copy, possibly the only existing print of Hardy's original cut. The US rights had been sold by Warner Bros. to a small firm called Abraxas, managed by film buff Stirling Smith and critic John Alan Simon. Stirling agreed to an American release of a reconstruction by Hardy. Hardy restored the narrative structure, some of the erotic elements which had been excised, and a very brief pre-title segment of Howie on the mainland (appearing at a church with his fiancée). A 96-minute restored version was released in January 1979, again to critical acclaim.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The original 99-minute version was available in the US on VHS home video from Media Home Entertainment (and later Magnum) during the 1980s and 1990s. This video includes additional early scenes set inside Howie's police station which Hardy had left out of the 1979 restoration. In 2001 a remaster of the 88 minute cut was released on VHS, labeled as the "Theatrical Version."


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 2001, the film's new world rights owners, Canal+, tried to release the full-length film. Corman's copy had been lost but a telecine transfer to 1-inch videotape existed. Missing elements were combined with film elements from the previous versions (in particular, additional scenes of Howie on the mainland were restored, showing him to be the object of gossip at his police station, establishing his devout religiosity). The extended DVD cut was released by Canal+ (Anchor Bay Entertainment handling US DVD distribution) in this 99-minute hybrid, considered the longest and closest version to Hardy's original 100-odd minute version. A two-disc limited edition set was sold with the shortened theatrical release, the new extended version and a documentary, "The Wicker Man Enigma". In 2005, "Inside The Wicker Man" author Allan Brown revealed he had discovered stills taken on the set showing sequences from the script that had never been seen; it had never been certain that the scenes had been filmed. They include scenes where Howie closes a mainland pub open after hours, encounters a prostitute, has a massage from Willow McGregor and sees a brutal confrontation between Oak and a villager in The Green Man, which were featured in a revised edition of "Inside The Wicker Man". Anchor Bay released a limited edition wooden box of "The Wicker Man". Fifty thousand two-disc sets were made, of which twenty were signed by Lee and Woodward, Shaffer, Snell and Hardy. In June 2007, Lee discussed the lost original cut, "I still believe it exists somewhere, in cans with no name. I still believe that. But nobody's ever seen it since, so we couldn't re-cut it, re-edit it, which was what I wanted to do. It would have been ten times as good".


title: The Wicker Man

text: European distributors of the film StudioCanal began a Facebook campaign in 2013 to find missing material, which culminated in the discovery of a 92-minute 35mm print at the Harvard Film Archive. This print had previously been known as the "Middle Version" and was itself assembled from a 35mm print of the original edit Robin Hardy had made in the United Kingdom in 1973, but which was never released. Robin Hardy believes that the original edit will probably never be found, saying, "Sadly, it seems as though this has been lost forever. However, I am delighted that a 1979 Abraxas print has been found as I also put together this cut myself, and it crucially restores the story order to that which I had originally intended."


title: The Wicker Man

text: Hardy reported in July 2013 that Studiocanal intended to restore and release the most complete version possible of the film. Rialto Pictures announced that they were to release the new digital restoration in North American cinemas on 27 September 2013. This new version was also released on DVD on 13 October 2013. It is 91 minutes long, shorter than the director's cut but longer than the theatrical cut, and is known as "The Wicker Man: The Final Cut".


title: The Wicker Man

text: "The Final Cut" (UK) Blu-ray (2013) features short documentaries "Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man", "Worshipping The Wicker Man", "The Music of The Wicker Man", interviews with director Robin Hardy and actor Christopher Lee, a restoration comparison, and the theatrical trailer. The second disc features both the UK 87-minute theatrical cut and the 95-minute 2013 director's cut, along with an audio commentary on the director's cut and a making-of for the commentary. The third disc is the soundtrack to the film.


title: The Wicker Man

text: David McGillivray of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" praised the film as "an immensely enjoyable piece of hokum, thoroughly well researched, performed and directed." "Variety" wrote that Anthony Shaffer's screenplay "for sheer imagination and near-terror, has seldom been equalled." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "a witty work of the macabre" with "the splendid performances typical of British films." Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" was more negative, calling it "handsomely photographed" with "good performances," but "something of a howl" even though "it seems to have been made in all seriousness."


title: The Wicker Man

text: "The Wicker Man" initially had moderate success and won the Golden Licorn for Best Film at the 1974 Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film, but largely slipped into obscurity. In 1977 the American film magazine "Cinefantastique" devoted a commemorative issue to the film, asserting that the film is "the "Citizen Kane" of horror movies" – an oft-quoted phrase attributed to this issue.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Decades after its release, the film still receives positive reviews from critics and is considered one of the best films of 1973. At the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "The Wicker Man" holds an 88% "Fresh" rating based on 57 reviews, with a weighted average score of 7.7/10 and the site's consensus: "This intelligent horror film is subtle in its thrills and chills, with an ending that is both shocking and truly memorable". In 2008, "The Wicker Man" was ranked by "Empire" at No. 485 of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Christopher Lee considered "The Wicker Man" his best film. Similarly, Edward Woodward said that "The Wicker Man" was one of his favourite films and that the character of Howie was the best part he ever played. In addition to Lee's admiration of the final shot of the film (of the collapsing Wicker man), Woodward said that it is the best final shot of any film ever made. In 2010 The Guardian newspaper ranked it as No 4 in its "25 best horror films of all time" listings.


title: The Wicker Man

text: In his 2010 BBC documentary series "A History of Horror", writer and actor Mark Gatiss referred to the film as a prime example of a short-lived subgenre he called "folk horror", grouping it with 1968's "Witchfinder General" and 1971's "The Blood on Satan's Claw". In 2003, the Crichton Campus of the University of Glasgow in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway hosted a three-day conference on "The Wicker Man". The conference led to two collections of articles about the film. In 2004, "The Wicker Man" ranked No, 45 on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments".


title: The Wicker Man

text: The film brought the wicker man into modern popular culture. In recent times, a wicker man has been burnt at festivals such as Burning Man in the United States, and the former Wickerman Festival in Scotland.


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 1998, Swedish black metal band Marduk (band) used a line from this film on the introduction to the track "Slay The Nazarene" from the Nightwing (album).


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 2000, British heavy metal band Iron Maiden released a single called "The Wicker Man" in tribute to the film. In 2016, British band Radiohead released the music video for the song "Burn the Witch", made in stop-motion animation and whose storyline greatly resembles that of "The Wicker Man".


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 2018, a rollercoaster inspired by the film opened at Alton Towers, England. Wicker Man is a wooden roller-coaster that features a six-storey wicker man structure which the train passes through three times as it bursts into flames.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Ewan McGregor is watching the final scene in the movie "Shallow Grave", representing the building sense of doom he's feeling within that story.


title: The Wicker Man

text: The creators of "The League of Gentlemen" television series often reference the film in their work, particularly in the "Inside No. 9" episode 'Mr. King'.


title: The Wicker Man

text: A novelisation, which expands on the story and bears the same title, was released in 1978. It was written by Hardy and Shaffer.


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 1989, Shaffer wrote a thirty-page film script treatment entitled "The Loathsome Lambton Worm", a direct sequel to "The Wicker Man", for producer Lance Reynolds. It would have been more fantastical in subject matter than the original film, and relied more heavily on special effects. In this continuation of the story, which begins immediately after the ending of the first film, Sergeant Neil Howie is rescued from the burning Wicker Man by a group of police officers from the mainland. Howie sets out to bring Lord Summerisle and his pagan followers to justice, but becomes embroiled in a series of challenges which pit the old gods against his own Christian faith. The script culminates in a climactic battle between Howie and a fire-breathing dragon – the titular Lambton Worm – and ends with a suicidal Howie plunging to his death from a cliff while tied to two large eagles. Shaffer's sequel was never produced, but his treatment, complete with illustrations, was eventually published in the companion book "Inside The Wicker Man".


title: The Wicker Man

text: Hardy was not asked to direct the sequel, and never read the script, as he did not like the idea of Howie surviving the sacrifice, or the fact that the actors would have aged by twenty to thirty years between the two films. In May 2010, Hardy discussed "The Loathsome Lambton Worm". "I know Tony did write that, but I don't think anyone particularly liked it, or it would have been made."


title: The Wicker Man

text: A fan-made full-cast audio drama adaptation of Shaffer's "The Loathsome Lambton Worm" treatment was eventually released in 2020.


title: The Wicker Man

text: An American remake of the same name, starring Nicolas Cage and Ellen Burstyn, and directed by Neil LaBute was released in 2006. Hardy expressed concern about the remake.


title: The Wicker Man

text: A stage adaptation was announced for the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was directed by Andrew Steggall. The production was based jointly upon Anthony Shaffer's original "The Wicker Man" script and David Pinner's novel "Ritual". Robin Hardy gave input on the project, and original songs and music from the film were supervised by Gary Carpenter, the original music director. Workshop rehearsals were held at The Drill Hall in London in March 2008, and a casting call was held in Glasgow in May 2009. After three weeks at the Pleasance in Edinburgh in August 2009, the production was to visit the Perth Rep, the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness, and then have a short run at Citizen's Theatre in Glasgow, with hopes for a run in London in 2010. However, in July 2009 it was announced that the production had been cancelled, three weeks before it had been due to preview.


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 2011, the National Theatre of Scotland produced "An Appointment with the Wicker Man" written by Greg Hemphill and Donald McCleary. The production has an amateur theatre company attempting to stage a "Wicker Man" musical.


title: The Wicker Man

text: In 2011, a spiritual successor entitled "The Wicker Tree" was released. It was directed by Hardy and featured an appearance by Lee. Hardy first published the story as a novel, under the name "Cowboys for Christ". First announced in April 2000, filming on the project began on 19 July 2009 according to IMDb. It follows two young American Christian evangelists who travel to Scotland; like Woodward's character in "The Wicker Man", the two Americans are virgins who encounter a pagan laird and his followers. The film received mixed reviews.


title: The Wicker Man

text: Those involved in the production of the film have given conflicting statements regarding the identity of Christopher Lee's character, referred to only as Old Gentleman in the credits. Writer–director Robin Hardy has stated that the ambiguity was intentional. Fans would immediately recognise Lee's character as Lord Summerisle. Lee himself has contradicted this, stating that the two are not meant to be the same character, and that "The Wicker Tree" is not a sequel in any way.


title: The Wicker Man

text: As a former artist, Hardy expressed great interest in the medium of comics, and planned a comic book which would retell the story of "The Wicker Man", based on his own storyboards for the film. Hardy was in talks with yet unnamed artists to work on the project, as he found it too difficult to make the characters look consistent from one panel to the next. Hardy was working on his next film, "The Wrath of the Gods", at the time of his death on 1 July 2016. He intended the graphic novel and the new film to be released at the same time in autumn 2013; however as of autumn 2014 neither had been released, and the film never started production.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs were restricted to East Asia, and Gutenberg's version was the first to spread across the world. His work led to an information revolution and the unprecedented mass-spread of literature throughout Europe. It also had a direct impact on the development of the Renaissance, Reformation and humanist movement.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: His many contributions to printing include the invention of a process for mass-producing movable type; the use of oil-based ink for printing books; adjustable molds; mechanical movable type; and the use of a wooden printing press similar to the agricultural screw presses of the period. Gutenberg's method for making type is traditionally considered to have included a type metal alloy and a hand mould for casting type. The alloy was a mixture of lead, tin, and antimony that melted at a relatively low temperature for faster and more economical casting, cast well, and created a durable type. His major work, the Gutenberg Bible, was the first printed version of the Bible and has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Described as the "man of the millennium", Gutenberg is often cited as among the most influential figures in human history. He has been commemorated around the world and is a frequent namesake. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of his death in 1900, the Gutenberg Museum was founded in his hometown of Mainz.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz (in modern-day Germany), a wealthy city along the Rhine, between the 14th and 15th centuries. His exact year of birth is unknown; on the basis of a later document indicating that he came of age by 1420, scholarly estimates have ranged from 1393 to 1406. The year 1400 is commonly assigned to Gutenberg, "for the sake of convenience". Tradition also holds his birthdate to be on the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, 24 June, since children of the time were often named after their birthday's patron saint. There is no verification for this assumption, since the name "Johannes"—and variants such as "Johann", "Henne", "Hengin" and "Henchen"—was widely popular at the time. In full, Johannes Gutenberg's name was 'Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg', with "Laden" and "Gutenberg" being adopted from the family's residences in Mainz. The latter refers to the "Hof zum Gutenberg", a large and now destroyed Gothic-style residence inherited by Gutenberg's father. Gutenberg probably spent his earliest years at the manor, which existed beside St. Christoph's.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: His father Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden was a patrician and merchant, likely in the cloth trade. Friele later served among the "master of the accounts" for the city and was a (), apart of the mint's companionship. In 1386 Friele married his second wife, Else Wyrich, the daughter of a shopkeeper; Johannes was probably the youngest of the couple's three children, after his brother Friele ( ) and sister Else ( ). Scholars commonly assume that the marriage of Friele to Else, who was not of patrician lineage, complicated Gutenberg's future. Because of his mother's commoner status, Gutenberg would never be able to succeed his father at the mint; according to the historian this disconnect may have disillusioned him from high society and encouraged his unusual career as an inventor.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: No documents survive concerning Gutenberg's childhood. The biographer remarked that "most books on Gutenberg pass over this period with the remark that not a single fact is known". As the son of a patrician, education in reading and arithmetic would have been expected. A knowledge of Latin—a prerequisite for universities—is also probable, though it is unknown whether he attended a Mainz parish school, was educated in Eltville or had a private tutor. Gutenberg may have initially pursued a religious career, as was common with the youngest sons of patricians, since the proximity of many churches and monasteries made it a safe prospect. It has been speculated that he attended the south of Mainz (near ), as he would later join their brotherhood. It was the site of a well-regarded school and his family had connections there, though his actual attendance remains speculative.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In 1411, there was an uprising in Mainz against the patricians, and more than a hundred families were forced to leave. As a result, the Gutenbergs are thought to have moved to Eltville am Rhein (Alta Villa), where his mother had an inherited estate. He is assumed to have studied at the University of Erfurt, where there is a record of the enrollment of a student called Johannes de Altavilla in 1418—Altavilla is the Latin form of Eltville am Rhein.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Nothing is now known of Gutenberg's life for the next fifteen years, but in March 1434, a letter by him indicates that he was living in Strasbourg, where he had some relatives on his mother's side. He also appears to have been a goldsmith member enrolled in the Strasbourg militia. In 1437, there is evidence that he was instructing a wealthy tradesman on polishing gems, but where he had acquired this knowledge is unknown. In 1436/37 his name also comes up in court in connection with a broken promise of marriage to a woman from Strasbourg, Ennelin. Whether the marriage actually took place is not recorded. Following his father's death in 1419, he is mentioned in the inheritance proceedings.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Around 1439, Gutenberg was involved in a financial misadventure making polished metal mirrors (which were believed to capture holy light from religious relics) for sale to pilgrims to Aachen: in 1439 the city was planning to exhibit its collection of relics from Emperor Charlemagne but the event was delayed by one year due to a severe flood and the capital already spent could not be repaid.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Until at least 1444 Gutenberg lived in Strasbourg, most likely in the St. Arbogast parish. It was in Strasbourg in 1440 that he is said to have perfected and unveiled the secret of printing based on his research, mysteriously entitled "Aventur und Kunst" (enterprise and art). It is not clear what work he was engaged in, or whether some early trials with printing from movable type were conducted there. After this, there is a gap of four years in the record. In 1448, he was back in Mainz, where he took out a loan from his brother-in-law Arnold Gelthus, quite possibly for a printing press or related paraphernalia. By this date, Gutenberg may have been familiar with intaglio printing; it is claimed that he had worked on copper engravings with an artist known as the Master of Playing Cards.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: By 1450, the press was in operation, and a German poem had been printed, possibly the first item to be printed there. Gutenberg was able to convince the wealthy moneylender Johann Fust for a loan of 800 guilders. Peter Schöffer, who became Fust's son-in-law, also joined the enterprise. Schöffer had worked as a scribe in Paris and is believed to have designed some of the first typefaces.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Gutenberg's workshop was set up at Humbrechthof, a property belonging to a distant relative. It is not clear when Gutenberg conceived the Bible project, but for this he borrowed another 800 guilders from Fust, and work commenced in 1452. At the same time, the press was also printing other, more lucrative texts (possibly Latin grammars). There is also some speculation that there were two presses: one for the pedestrian texts and one for the Bible. One of the profit-making enterprises of the new press was the printing of thousands of indulgences for the church, documented from 1454 to 1455.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In 1455 Gutenberg completed his "42-line Bible", known as the Gutenberg Bible. About 180 copies were printed on vellum.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Some time in 1456, there was a dispute between Gutenberg and Fust, and Fust demanded his money back, accusing Gutenberg of misusing the funds. Gutenberg's two rounds of financing from Fust, a total of 1,600 guilders at 6% interest, now amounted to 2,026 guilders. Fust sued at the archbishop's court. A November 1455 legal document records that there was a partnership for a "project of the books," the funds for which Gutenberg had used for other purposes, according to Fust. The court decided in favor of Fust, giving him control over the Bible printing workshop and half of all printed Bibles.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Thus Gutenberg was effectively bankrupt, but it appears he retained (or restarted) a small printing shop, and participated in the printing of a Bible in the town of Bamberg around 1459, for which he seems at least to have supplied the type. But since his printed books never carry his name or a date, it is difficult to be certain, and there is consequently a considerable scholarly debate on this subject. It is also possible that the large "Catholicon" dictionary, 300 copies of 754 pages, printed in Mainz in 1460, was executed in his workshop.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Meanwhile, the Fust–Schöffer shop was the first in Europe to bring out a book with the printer's name and date, the "Mainz Psalter" of August 1457, and while proudly proclaiming the mechanical process by which it had been produced, it made no mention of Gutenberg.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In 1462, during the devastating Mainz Diocesan Feud, Mainz was sacked by Archbishop Adolph von Nassau. On 18 January 1465, Gutenberg's achievements were recognized by Archbishop von Nassau. He was given the title "Hofmann" (gentleman of the court). This honor included a stipend and an annual court outfit, as well as 2,180 litres of grain and 2,000 litres of wine tax-free.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Gutenberg died in 1468 and was buried likely as a tertiary in the Franciscan church at Mainz. This church and the cemetery were later destroyed, and Gutenberg's grave is now lost.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In 1504, he was mentioned as the inventor of typography in a book by Professor Ivo Wittig. It was not until 1567 that the first portrait of Gutenberg, almost certainly an imaginary reconstruction, appeared in Heinrich Pantaleon's biography of famous Germans.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Between 1450 and 1455, Gutenberg printed several texts, some of which remain unidentified; his texts did not bear the printer's name or date, so attribution is possible only from typographical evidence and external references. Certainly several church documents including a papal letter and two indulgences were printed, one of which was issued in Mainz. In view of the value of printing in quantity, seven editions in two styles were ordered, resulting in several thousand copies being printed. Some printed editions of "Ars Minor", a schoolbook on Latin grammar by Aelius Donatus, may have been printed by Gutenberg; these have been dated either 1451–52 or 1455.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In 1455, Gutenberg completed copies of a beautifully executed folio Bible ("Biblia Sacra"), with 42 lines on each page. Copies sold for 30 florins each, which was roughly three years' wages for an average clerk. Nonetheless, it was much cheaper than a manuscript Bible that could take a single scribe over a year to prepare. After printing, some copies were rubricated or hand-illuminated in the same elegant way as manuscript Bibles from the same period.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: 48 substantially complete copies are known to survive, including two at the British Library that can be viewed and compared online. The text lacks modern features such as page numbers, indentations, and paragraph breaks.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: An undated 36-line edition of the Bible was printed, probably in Bamberg in 1458–60, possibly by Gutenberg. A large part of it was shown to have been set from a copy of Gutenberg's Bible, thus disproving earlier speculation that it was the earlier of the two.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Gutenberg's early printing process, and what texts he printed with movable type, are not known in great detail. His later Bibles were printed in such a way as to have required large quantities of type, some estimates suggesting as many as 100,000 individual sorts. Setting each page would take, perhaps, half a day, and considering all the work in loading the press, inking the type, pulling the impressions, hanging up the sheets, distributing the type, etc., it is thought that the Gutenberg–Fust shop might have employed as many as 25 craftsmen.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Gutenberg's technique of making movable type remains unclear. In the following decades, punches and copper matrices became standardized in the rapidly disseminating printing presses across Europe. Whether Gutenberg used this sophisticated technique or a somewhat primitive version has been the subject of considerable debate.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In the standard process of making type, a hard metal punch (made by punchcutting, with the letter carved back to front) is hammered into a softer copper bar, creating a "matrix". This is then placed into a hand-held mould and a piece of type, or "sort", is cast by filling the mould with molten type-metal; this cools almost at once, and the resulting piece of type can be removed from the mould. The matrix can be reused to create hundreds, or thousands, of identical sorts so that the same character appearing anywhere within the book will appear very uniform, giving rise, over time, to the development of distinct styles of typefaces or fonts. After casting, the sorts are arranged into type cases, and used to make up pages which are inked and printed, a procedure which can be repeated hundreds, or thousands, of times. The sorts can be reused in any combination, earning the process the name of "movable type".


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: The invention of the making of types with punch, matrix and mold has been widely attributed to Gutenberg. However, recent evidence suggests that Gutenberg's process was somewhat different. If he used the punch and matrix approach, all his letters should have been nearly identical, with some variation due to miscasting and inking. However, the type used in Gutenberg's earliest work shows other variations.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In 2001, the physicist Blaise Agüera y Arcas and Princeton librarian Paul Needham, used digital scans of a Papal bull in the Scheide Library, Princeton, to carefully compare the same letters (types) appearing in different parts of the printed text. The irregularities in Gutenberg's type, particularly in simple characters such as the hyphen, suggested that the variations could not have come either from ink smear or from wear and damage on the pieces of metal on the types themselves. Although some identical types are clearly used on other pages, other variations, subjected to detailed image analysis, suggested that they could not have been produced from the same matrix. Transmitted light pictures of the page also appeared to reveal substructures in the type that could not arise from traditional punchcutting techniques. They hypothesized that the method involved impressing simple shapes to create alphabets in "cuneiform" style in a matrix made of some soft material, perhaps sand. Casting the type would destroy the mould, and the matrix would need to be recreated to make each additional sort. This could explain the variations in the type, as well as the substructures observed in the printed images.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Thus, they speculated that "the decisive factor for the birth of typography", the use of reusable moulds for casting type, was a more progressive process than was previously thought. They suggested that the additional step of using the punch to create a mould that could be reused many times was not taken until twenty years later, in the 1470s. Others have not accepted some or all of their suggestions, and have interpreted the evidence in other ways, and the truth of the matter remains uncertain.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: A 1568 book "Batavia" by Hadrianus Junius from Holland claims that the idea of the movable type came to Gutenberg from Laurens Janszoon Coster via Fust, who was apprenticed to Coster in the 1430s and may have brought some of his equipment from Haarlem to Mainz. While Coster appears to have experimented with moulds and castable metal type, there is no evidence that he had actually printed anything with this technology. He was an inventor and a goldsmith. However, there is one indirect supporter of the claim that Coster might be the inventor. The author of the "Cologne Chronicle of 1499" quotes Ulrich Zell, the first printer of Cologne, that printing was performed in Mainz in 1450, but that some type of printing of lower quality had previously occurred in the Netherlands. However, the chronicle does not mention the name of Coster, while it actually credits Gutenberg as the "first inventor of printing" in the very same passage (fol. 312). The first securely dated book by Dutch printers is from 1471, and the Coster connection is today regarded as a mere legend.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: The 19th-century printer and typefounder Fournier Le Jeune suggested that Gutenberg was not using type cast with a reusable matrix, but wooden types that were carved individually. A similar suggestion was made by Nash in 2004. This remains possible, albeit entirely unproven.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Gutenberg's invention had an enormous impact on subsequent human history, both on cultural and social matters. His design directly impacted the mass spread of books across Europe, causing an information revolution. As a result, Venzke describes the inauguration of the Renaissance, Reformation and humanist movement as "unthinkable" without Gutenberg's influence. Described as "one of the most recognized names in the world", a team of US journalists voted Gutenberg as the "man of the millennium" in 1999. Similarly, in 1999 the A&E Network ranked Gutenberg the No. 1 most influential person of the second millennium on their "Biographies of the Millennium" countdown, while "Time–Life" magazine picked Gutenberg's invention as the most important of the second millennium in 1997. The scholar of paper history, Thomas Francis Carter, drew parallels between Cai Lun, the traditional inventor of paper during the Eastern Han dynasty, and Gutenberg, calling them "spiritual father and son" respectively. In his 1978 book, "", Michael H. Hart ranked him 8th, below Cai but above figures such as Christopher Columbus, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: The capital of printing in Europe shifted to Venice, where visionary printers like Aldus Manutius ensured widespread availability of the major Greek and Latin texts. The claims of an Italian origin for movable type have also focused on this rapid rise of Italy in movable-type printing. This may perhaps be explained by the prior eminence of Italy in the paper and printing trade. Additionally, Italy's economy was growing rapidly at the time, facilitating the spread of literacy. Christopher Columbus had a geography book (printed with movable type) bought by his father. That book is in a Spanish museum, the Biblioteca Colombina in Seville. Finally, the city of Mainz was sacked in 1462, driving many (including a number of printers and punch cutters) into exile.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: Printing was also a factor in the Reformation. Martin Luther's "Ninety-five Theses" were printed and circulated widely; subsequently he issued broadsheets outlining his anti-indulgences position (certificates of indulgences were one of the first items Gutenberg had printed). Due to this, Gutenberg would also be viewed as a proto Protestant. The broadsheet contributed to the development of the newspaper.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: There are many statues of Gutenberg in Germany, including the famous one by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1837) at Gutenbergplatz in Mainz, home to the eponymous Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and the Gutenberg Museum on the history of early printing. The latter publishes the "Gutenberg-Jahrbuch", the leading periodical in the field.


title: Johannes Gutenberg

text: In 1952, the United States Postal Service issued a five hundredth anniversary stamp commemorating Johannes Gutenberg invention of the movable-type printing press. In space, he is commemorated in the name of the asteroid 777 Gutemberga. Two operas based on Gutenberg are "G, Being the Confession and Last Testament of Johannes Gensfleisch, also known as Gutenberg, Master Printer, formerly of Strasbourg and Mainz", from 2001, with music by Gavin Bryars; and "La Nuit de Gutenberg", with music by Philippe Manoury, premiered in 2011 in Strasbourg. Project Gutenberg, the oldest digital library, commemorates Gutenberg's name. The Mainzer Johannisnacht commemorates the person Johannes Gutenberg in his native city since 1968.


title: Sponge

text: Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.


title: Sponge

text: Sponges have unspecialized cells that can transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes. Sponges were first to branch off the evolutionary tree from the last common ancestor of all animals, making them the sister group of all other animals.


title: Sponge

text: Sponges are similar to other animals in that they are multicellular, heterotrophic, lack cell walls and produce sperm cells. Unlike other animals, they lack true tissues and organs. Some of them are radially symmetrical, but most are asymmetrical. The shapes of their bodies are adapted for maximal efficiency of water flow through the central cavity, where the water deposits nutrients and then leaves through a hole called the osculum. Many sponges have internal skeletons of spicules (skeletal-like fragments of calcium carbonate or silicon dioxide), and/or spongin (a modified type of collagen protein). All adult sponges are sessile aquatic animals, meaning that they attach to an underwater surface and remain fixed in place (i.e., do not travel) while in larval stage of life they are motile . Although there are freshwater species, the great majority are marine (salt-water) species, ranging in habitat from tidal zones to depths exceeding .