title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: "Infinity War" went through numerous story iterations, and over the course of development Thanos' presence in the film grew. VFX Supervisor Dan Deleeuw noted "Thanos went from supporting villain to one of the main characters driving the plot". In one draft, the film was told directly from Thanos' perspective with him serving as narrator. Exploring more of Thanos' backstory via flashbacks was considered at one point, but only concept art was created and no scenes were filmed involving a younger Thanos. Despite leading the cast in screen time in "Infinity War" and being considered the main character of the film by many, Thanos had a secondary role in "" (2019). McFeely explained "we had to give ourselves permission to backseat the villain [...] You're rolling around in the loss and the time heist, and you think it's sort of Avengers against nature". Joe Russo stated that after Thanos was successful in "Infinity War", he is now "done. He did it. He's retired". Markus and McFeely had difficulty in factoring the older, post-"Infinity War", Thanos into the film due to the character already possessing the Infinity Stones, until executive producer Trinh Tran suggested that they kill Thanos in the film's first act. Markus explained that the character's early death "reinforced Thanos' agenda. He was done ... it was like, 'If I've got to die, I can die now'".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Archival footage of Thanos killing Loki in "Infinity War" is shown in a scene of the first episode of the Disney+ TV series "Loki" in a scene showing Loki what his future would have looked like.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: A major aspect of Thanos' comic book storyline is his attempts to woo the female manifestation of Death. This plot was omitted from the films, as the filmmakers instead chose to pair the character with Gamora and focus on their father-daughter relationship. McFeely explained this choice by noting that Thanos and Gamora had a lot of history that they wanted to explore, which would add layers to Thanos to avoid him becoming "the big mustache-twisting bad guy who wants ultimate power just to take over the world and sit on a throne." Avoiding the Death storyline moved away from the tease Whedon used in "The Avengers" with the character, where Thanos felt that by challenging the Avengers, he was courting death. Though the tease was purposely ambiguous, Whedon felt when he featured Thanos, he did not know what to do with him, feeling that he hung Thanos out to dry. Whedon added that "I love Thanos. I love his apocalyptic vision, his love affair with death. I love his power. But, I don't really understand it". Whedon enjoyed the approach the writers and Russos took in "Infinity War", giving Thanos "an actual perspective and [making] him feel righteous to himself", since the Death storyline would not necessarily translate well.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In "Avengers: Endgame", Thanos is shown to be a skilled physical fighter, and wields a double glaive in combat.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Digital Domain worked on creating Thanos for "Infinity War" and "Endgame", producing over 400 visual effects shots. The company created a new facial capture application called Masquerade, based on the concept of machine learning through computer algorithms, specifically for the film, beginning work on the system 3–4 months before filming began to develop and test it. They presented their results to Brolin, the Russos, and executives from Marvel ahead of filming to demonstrate the subtleties Brolin would be able to bring to the character, which helped inform Brolin on how to portray the character. Before the start of filming, Brolin's facial expressions were captured with ILM's Medusa system, which along with his motion capture data from set, were fed to Masquerade to "create a higher-resolution version of what Brolin did on set" so animators could apply that to the CGI character. Digital Design considered having "snap" briefly pop up on screen when Thanos snapped his fingers as a reference to how the snap occurred in the "Infinity Gauntlet" comic. Port said "as a fun aside, we explored the idea of lifting the actual graphic from the frame of the comic showing the snap, the little yellow action triangles for a single frame of the moment of the snap. They appreciated the idea but didn't ultimately go for it".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Thanos' design changed drastically between his first appearance in "The Avengers" and his larger role in "Infinity War". With Brolin's first appearance in "Guardians of the Galaxy", motion capture technology was used to capture Brolin's facial features, with Thanos' skin also being changed to a darker shade of purple than it was in "The Avengers". Advancements in CGI and motion capture technology allowed for the use of more of Brolin's features in "Infinity War" and "Endgame", while also once again changing the shade of purple for Thanos' skin with it becoming more of a lighter purple. In earlier appearances, Thanos had four scars on his cheeks and eleven lines on his chin, but the number of scars was reduced to three and the number of chin lines was reduced to nine with his "Infinity War" design update. Kelly Port, Digital Domain's VFX Supervisor, noted the design of Thanos took into account the versions that appeared in previous films but were adjusted more towards Brolin's features, which also helped with matching his performance to the digital character.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Brolin stated that he based his portrayal of Thanos by taking inspiration from Marlon Brando's performance as Colonel Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now" (1979), saying in an interview in October 2020; "I mentioned Brando in "Apocalypse Now." [Kurtz] who is very elusive and insane but what he is saying makes sense and is poetical". He also added; "I started seeing the parallel which I liked for me. I loved being able to resort to a film like "Apocalypse Now" when I was doing something like "Avengers"".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: The MCU's rendition of Thanos has received critical acclaim, being regarded as one of the best MCU villains to date, as well as one of the greatest film villains of all-time. In 2022, WatchMojo named Thanos the 10th greatest film villain of all-time. He has also been regarded as one of the best villains of the 2010s and the 21st century so far. Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" called Brolin's performance "supremely effective" and said, "Brolin infuses Thanos with his slit-eyed manipulative glower, so that the evil in this movie never feels less than personal". "The Hollywood Reporter"s Todd McCarthy echoed this sentiment, saying "Brolin's calm, considered reading of the character bestows this conquering beast with an unexpectedly resonant emotional dimension, making him much more than a thick stick figure of a supervillain". Writing for "IGN", Scott Collua pointed out that audiences "understand his perspective and believe his pain", making the antagonist surprisingly sympathetic. Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" praised both the character and Brolin: "[Thanos is] thunderously voiced by a dynamite Josh Brolin in a motion capture performance that radiates ferocity and unexpected feeling". "The Atlantic" called Thanos an "unexpectedly resonant monster, filled with sadness and even a perverse sense of honor".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Critics noted that Thanos was a significant improvement over previous antagonists in the franchise. According to "Screen Rant", the MCU struggled to create captivating antagonists throughout its first two phases. However, this changed in with well-received villains such as Killmonger and Vulture, culminating in Thanos, whose "repudiation of the MCU's narrative worship of its heroes creates a deep uncertainty in our expectation that follows through each encounter toward the inevitable, horrifying conclusion". George Marston attributed Thanos' success to "the weight behind his character. Like the best villains in media, Thanos sees himself as a hero. It's the power of Brolin's performance that begins to draw viewers into that maniacal goal over and over, almost making Thanos seem likable or perhaps even reasonable, before the utter horror of him actually accomplishing his goal kicks in". Similarly, "The Washington Post" declared Thanos Marvel's most compelling villain due to his "deep, reflective intelligence" as well as his "profound adherence to his belief system".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Some fans criticized Thanos' portrayal in "Endgame", feeling that the 2014 variant of him was more openly villainous compared to what was established in "Infinity War", saying that he ended up "swapping his unusual plan of balancing the population with a less evocative idea of destroying then reforming the galaxy". "Screen Rant" felt that once Thanos learned of the Avengers' plot to reverse what his older self had done, he "regresses by falling back upon a one-dimensional aim to just destroy the universe wholesale", which made him seem more like a "generic big bad" in the film. The site argued that his lack of history with the Avengers resulted in the nuances and connections being lost, which was most notable in his climatic battle with Maximoff as she still had Vision's death freshly on her mind, but Thanos dismisses her because at that point in his life he hadn't killed Vision.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In 2017, after comic book writer Jim Starlin expressed dissatisfaction with Marvel's pay for his "Guardians of the Galaxy" characters, including Thanos, Gamora, and Drax, Disney readjusted his agreement for Thanos' appearance in "Infinity War" and "Endgame".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Thanos and his "snap" spawned much audience enthusiasm. The website, "DidThanosKill.Me" was created for fans to see if they would have been spared by Thanos or not. The ending of "Infinity War" also spawned the creation of the Reddit subreddit, /r/thanosdidnothingwrong. A user within the subreddit suggested that half of the approximately 20,000 subscribers at the time be banned from the subreddit, in order to mimic the events of the film. After the community agreed to the measure, the moderators approached Reddit's administrators to see if the mass ban would be possible. Once the administrators agreed to the random ban of half the subscribers, it was set to occur on July 9, 2018. Notice of the impending ban made the subreddit's subscribers increase to over 700,000, including both of the Russo brothers. Ahead of the ban, Brolin posted a video saying "Here we go, Reddit users", and ending it with a snap. Over 60,000 people watched a live Twitch stream of the ban occurring, which lasted several hours. The ban of over 300,000 accounts, which included Anthony Russo, was the largest in Reddit's history. Those banned then gathered in the new subreddit, /r/inthesoulstone. One Reddit user who participated described the ban as embodying "the spirit of the Internet" with people "banding together, en masse, around something relatively meaningless but somehow decidedly awesome and hilarious". Andrew Tigani of "Screen Rant" said this showed "how impactful the film has already become to pop culture. It is also a testament to how valuable fan interaction can be via social media".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: A popular tongue-in-cheek fan theory regarding Thanos' defeat in "Endgame" before the film's release, jokingly referred to by the portmanteau "Thanus", claimed that Thanos would be killed by Ant-Man entering his anus and then expanding himself, blowing off Thanos' body. This theory became a widespread Internet meme. After the film was released and proved the theory wrong, Christopher Markus revealed that due to the strong nature of the Titans, Ant-Man would have been unable to expand himself and would simply be crushed against the walls of Thanos' rectum. In 2022, "The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed that a character introduced in season three, Termite, was a parody of Ant-Man, and his actions of killing people by shrinking to enter their bodies and expanding was partially inspired by the Internet memes about Ant-Man entering Thanos' rectum.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Following the premiere of "Endgame", Google included a clickable icon of the Infinity Gauntlet in Google Search results for "Thanos" or "Infinity Gauntlet" as an Easter egg. The icon, when clicked, made a finger-snapping motion before half of the search results disappeared, akin to the disappearance of characters following the Blip.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: During the 2020 United States presidential election campaign, a Twitter account affiliated with the 2020 Trump campaign posted an Internet meme of then-incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump superimposed on a clip of Thanos declaring himself "inevitable" in "Endgame", with the meme reposted by Trump's own Instagram account. Thanos creator Jim Starlin subsequently criticized Trump, saying he "actually enjoys comparing himself to a mass murderer". In August 2020 Starlin revealed a new villain for an issue of "Dreadstar Returns" named King Plunddo Tram that heavily resembled Trump, with Plunddo Tram being an anagram of Donald Trump. In the issue, Tram is beheaded, with Starlin saying "a certain politician using a character of mine in one of his political ads may have riled me a bit. I figured he was open game at that point".


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Several toys have been released since Thanos' "Guardians of the Galaxy" appearance. For the film, Hot Toys released a figure of Thanos with his throne, while Funko released two variants of a Funko Pop, including one that glows in the dark. The toy and merchandise gates burst open with the release of "Infinity War". Hot Toys released a figure of Thanos and a 1:1 scale Infinity Gauntlet, while Funko released a variety of Pops, including multiple variations of regular sized figures, as well as a 10 inch jumbo Pop. Pops after the film released included a set of six chrome figures each in the color of one of the Infinity Stones and movie moments featuring Thanos vs. Captain America and Thor respectively. Funko has also included a variety of Thanos items in their Marvel Collector Corps subscription boxes, including the "Infinity War" box, which included a Pop of Thanos in Sanctuary II, a keycap, and an Infinity Gauntlet mug. LEGO released a BrickHeadz and a traditional set featuring Iron Man, Star-Lord, and Gamora minifigs alongside a Thanos bigfig, while Hasbro released a five pack of Marvel Legends with Thanos and his children. Hot Toys released two figures of Thanos after "Endgame"; a regular version which came with the Infinity Gauntlet and a battle damaged version that came with the Nano Gauntlet. Like with the initial wave of figures for "Infinity War", Funko released both a regular sized and a 10 inch tall Thanos, while Pops after the film released included Thanos in his Garden attire. After the season one finale of "What If...?", Funko announced a Ravager Thanos Pop.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: A variety of Thanos related toys were released for both Marvel Studios' tenth anniversary and the "Infinity Saga". For the anniversary, Funko released an updated version of Thanos from "Guardians of the Galaxy", this time with him sitting on his throne. To celebrate the "Infinity Saga", Funko released a Thanos Pop using the colors of the Infinity Stones, while LEGO released multiple sets, including two sets for "Endgame"s final battle. One included Sanctuary II and the other was set at the Avengers' Compound. LEGO also released an Infinity Gauntlet with articulating fingers, allowing for builders to put it in a snapping pose, while Hasbro released a Marvel Legends two pack featuring a battle damaged Iron Man in his mark LXXXV armor and a battle damaged Thanos.


title: Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: "Entertainment Weekly" released an issue of their magazine for "Infinity War" featuring Thanos on the cover and a cover story interview with Brolin. "Empire" had two covers for each of "Infinity War" and "Endgame" featuring Thanos; one available to the general public and one that was exclusive to subscribers. Many posters were available for purchase including the theatrical posters for "Infinity War and Endgame" which both featured Thanos. Other posters included one exclusive to Odeon Cinemas and one featuring the children of Thanos. Limited edition posters were released for Marvel Studios' tenth anniversary, as well as to celebrate the "Infinity Saga" with posters for the four Avengers films. Two posters were released for the tenth anniversary, one including the heroes and one for Thanos and the other villains. For the Avengers posters, Thanos was prominently included on the "Infinity War" and "Endgame" versions. Other pieces of merchandise include Fatheads, apparel, accessories, art books, and a variety of Infinity Gauntlet items.


title: Peat

text: Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet, because peatland plants capture carbon dioxide (CO) naturally released from the peat, maintaining an equilibrium. In natural peatlands, the "annual rate of biomass production is greater than the rate of decomposition", but it takes "thousands of years for peatlands to develop the deposits of , which is the average depth of the boreal [northern] peatlands", which store around 415 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon (about 46 times 2019 global CO emissions). Globally, peat stores up to 550 Gt of carbon, 42% of all soil carbon, which exceeds the carbon stored in all other vegetation types, including the world's forests, although it covers just 3% of the land's surface.


title: Peat

text: "Sphagnum" moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat properties such as organic matter content and saturated hydraulic conductivity can exhibit high spatial heterogeneity.


title: Peat

text: although less common, other wetlands, including fens, pocosins, and peat swamp forests, also deposit peat. Landscapes covered in peat are home to specific kinds of plants including "Sphagnum" moss, ericaceous shrubs, and sedges. Because organic matter accumulates over thousands of years, peat deposits provide records of past vegetation and climate by preserving plant remains, such as pollen. This allows the reconstruction of past environments and the study of changes in land use.


title: Peat

text: Peat is used by gardeners and for horticulture in certain parts of the world, but this is being banned in some places. By volume, there are about 4 trillion cubic metres of peat in the world. Over time, the formation of peat is often the first step in the geological formation of fossil fuels such as coal, particularly low-grade coal such as lignite.


title: Peat

text: Peat is not a renewable source of energy, due to its extraction rate in industrialized countries far exceeding its slow regrowth rate of per year, and as it is also reported that peat regrowth takes place only in 30–40% of peatlands. Centuries of burning and draining of peat by humans has released a significant amount of into the atmosphere, and much peatland restoration is needed to help limit climate change.


title: Peat

text: Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions. It is composed mainly of wetland vegetation: principally bog plants including mosses, sedges, and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat holds water. This slowly creates wetter conditions that allow the area of wetland to expand. Peatland features can include ponds, ridges, and raised bogs. The characteristics of some bog plants actively promote bog formation. For example, sphagnum mosses actively secrete tannins, which preserve organic material. Sphagnum also have special water-retaining cells, known as hyaline cells, which can release water ensuring the bogland remains constantly wet which helps promote peat production.


title: Peat

text: Most modern peat bogs formed 12,000 years ago in high latitudes after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age. Peat usually accumulates slowly at the rate of about a millimetre per year. The estimated carbon content is (northern peatlands), (tropical peatlands) and (South America).


title: Peat

text: Peat material is either fibric, hemic, or sapric. Fibric peats are the least decomposed and consist of intact fibre. Hemic peats are partially decomposed and sapric are the most decomposed.


title: Peat

text: "Phragmites" peat are composed of reed grass, "Phragmites australis", and other grasses. It is denser than many other types of peat.


title: Peat

text: Engineers may describe a soil as peat which has a relatively high percentage of organic material. This soil is problematic because it exhibits poor consolidation properties – it cannot be easily compacted to serve as a stable foundation to support loads, such as roads or buildings.


title: Peat

text: In a widely cited article, Joosten and Clarke (2002) described peatlands or mires (which they claim are the same) asthe most widespread of all wetland types in the world, representing 50 to 70% of global wetlands. They cover over or 3% of the land and freshwater surface of the planet. In these ecosystems are found one third of the world's soil carbon and 10% of global freshwater resources. These ecosystems are characterized by the unique ability to accumulate and store dead organic matter from Sphagnum and many other non-moss species, as peat, under conditions of almost permanent water saturation. Peatlands are adapted to the extreme conditions of high water and low oxygen content, of toxic elements and low availability of plant nutrients. Their water chemistry varies from alkaline to acidic. Peatlands occur on all continents, from the tropical to boreal and Arctic zones from sea level to high alpine conditions.


title: Peat

text: A more recent estimate from an improved global peatland map, PEATMAP, based on a meta-analysis of geospatial information at global, regional and national levels puts global coverage slightly higher than earlier peatland inventories at 4.23 million square kilometres (1.63 million square miles) approximately 2.84% of the world land area. In Europe, peatlands extend to about . About 60% of the world's wetlands are made of peat.


title: Peat

text: Peat deposits are found in many places around the world, including northern Europe and North America. The North American peat deposits are principally found in Canada and the Northern United States. Some of the world's largest peatlands include the West Siberian Lowland, the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and the Mackenzie River Valley.


title: Peat

text: There is less peat in the Southern Hemisphere, in part because there is less land. That said, the vast Magellanic Moorland in South America (Southern Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego) is an extensive peat-dominated landscape. Peat can be found in New Zealand, Kerguelen, the Falkland Islands, and Indonesia (Kalimantan [Sungai Putri, Danau Siawan, Sungai Tolak], Rasau Jaya (West Kalimantan), and Sumatra). Indonesia has more tropical peatlands and mangrove forests than any other nation on earth, but Indonesia is losing wetlands by per year.


title: Peat

text: About 7% of all peatlands have been exploited for agriculture and forestry. Under certain conditions, peat will turn into lignite coal over geologic periods of time.


title: Peat

text: Traditionally peat is cut by hand and left to dry in the sun. But for industrial uses, companies may use pressure to extract water from the peat, which is soft and easily compressed, and once dry can be used as fuel. In many countries, including Ireland and Scotland, peat was traditionally stacked to dry in rural areas and used for cooking and domestic heating.


title: Peat

text: Peat can be a major fire hazard and is not extinguished by light rain. Peat fires may burn for great lengths of time, or smoulder underground and reignite after winter if an oxygen source is present. Because they are easily compressed under minimal weight, peat deposits pose major difficulties to builders of structures, roads, and railways. When the West Highland railway line was built across Rannoch Moor in western Scotland, its builders had to float the tracks on a multi-thousand-ton mattress of tree roots, brushwood, earth and ash.


title: Peat

text: Peatland can also be an important source of drinking water providing nearly 4% of all potable water stored in reservoirs. In the UK, 43% of the population receives drinking water sourced from peatlands, with the number climbing to 68% in Ireland. Catchments containing peatlands are the main source of water for large cities, including Dublin.


title: Peat

text: In the Bronze and Iron Ages, people used peat bogs for rituals to nature gods and spirits. Bodies of the victims of such sacrifices have been found in various places in Scotland, England, Ireland, and especially northern Germany and Denmark. They are almost perfectly preserved by the tanning properties of the acidic water (see Tollund Man for one of the most famous examples of a bog body). Peat wetlands also used to have a degree of metallurgical importance in the Early Middle Ages, being the primary source of bog iron used to create swords and armour. Many peat swamps along the coast of Malaysia serve as a natural means of flood mitigation, with any overflow being absorbed by the peat, provided forests are still present to prevent peat fires.


title: Peat

text: The climate, geography, and environment of Finland favours bog and peat bog formation. Thus, peat is available in considerable quantities. It is burned to produce heat and electricity. Peat provides around 4% of Finland's annual energy production.


title: Peat

text: Also, agricultural and forestry-drained peat bogs actively release more CO annually than is released in peat energy production in Finland. The average regrowth rate of a single peat bog, however, is indeed slow, from 1,000 up to 5,000 years. Furthermore, it is a common practice to forest used peat bogs instead of giving them a chance to renew. This leads to lower levels of CO storage than the original peat bog.


title: Peat

text: At 106 g CO/MJ, the carbon dioxide emissions of peat are higher than those of coal (at 94.6 g CO/MJ) and natural gas (at 56.1). According to one study, increasing the average amount of wood in the fuel mixture from the current 2.6% to 12.5% would take the emissions down to 93 g CO/MJ. That said, little effort is being made to achieve this.


title: Peat

text: The International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG) in 2006 urged the local and national governments of Finland to protect and conserve the remaining pristine peatland ecosystems. This includes the cessation of drainage and peat extraction in intact mire sites and the abandoning of current and planned groundwater extraction that may affect these sites. A proposal for a Finnish peatland management strategy was presented to the government in 2011, after a lengthy consultation phase.


title: Peat

text: In the Republic of Ireland, a state-owned company called was responsible for managing peat extraction. It processed the extracted peat into milled peat which was used in power stations and sold processed peat fuel in the form of peat briquettes which are used for domestic heating. These are oblong bars of densely compressed, dried, and shredded peat. Peat moss is a manufactured product for use in garden cultivation. Turf (dried out peat sods) is also commonly used in rural areas.


title: Peat

text: In January 2021 Bord na Móna announced that it had ceased all peat harvesting and cutting operations and would be moving its business to a climate solutions company.


title: Peat

text: In 2022 the sale of peat for burning was prohibited, but some people are still allowed to cut and burn it.


title: Peat

text: Use of peat for energy production was prominent in the Soviet Union, especially in 1965. In 1929, over 40% of the Soviet Union's electric energy came from peat, which dropped to 1% by 1980.


title: Peat

text: In the 1960s, larger sections of swamps and bogs in Western Russia were drained for agricultural and mining purposes.


title: Peat

text: 2,500 years ago, the area now named the Netherlands was largely covered with peat. Drainage, causing compaction and oxidation and excavation have reduced peatlands (> peat) to about or 10% of the land area, mostly used as meadows. Drainage and excavation have lowered the surface of the peatlands. In the west of the country dikes and mills were built, creating polders so that dwelling and economic activities could continue below sea level, the first polder probably in 1533 and the last one in 1968.


title: Peat

text: Harvesting of peat could continue in suitable locations as the lower peat layers below current sea level became exposed. This peat was deposited before the rise of the sea level in the Holocene. As a result, approximately 26% of the area and 21% of the population of the Netherlands are presently below sea level. The deepest point is in the Zuidplaspolder, below average sea level.


title: Peat

text: In 2020, the Netherlands imported 2,156 million kg of peat (5.39 million m3 (400 kg/m3 dry peat) ): 44.5% from Germany (2020), 9.5% from Estonia (2018), 9.2% from Latvia (2020), 7.2% from Ireland (2018), 8.0% from Sweden (2019), 6.5% from Lithuania (2020), 5.1% from Belgium (2019) and 1.7% from Denmark (2019)); 1,35 million kg was exported. Most is used in gardening and greenhouse horticulture.


title: Peat

text: Since the Netherlands did not have many trees to use as firewood or charcoal, one use the Dutch made of the available peat was to fire kilns to make pottery. During World War II, the Dutch Resistance came up with an unusual use for peat. Since peat was so available in the fields, resistance fighters sometimes stacked peat into human-sized piles and used the piles for target practice.


title: Peat

text: After oil shale in Estonia, peat is the second most mined natural resource. The peat production sector has a yearly revenue of around €100 million and it is mostly export-oriented. Peat is extracted from around .


title: Peat

text: The mountains of the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau contains pockets of high-altitude wetlands. Khecheopalri is one of the Sikkim's most famous and diverse peatlands in the eastern Indian territory of Sikkim, which includes 682 species representing 5 kingdoms, 196 families, and 453 genera.


title: Peat

text: England has around 1 million acres of peatland. Peatland in England store 584m tonnes of carbon in total but emit around 11m tonnes of every year due to degradation and draining. In 2021 only 124 people owned 60% of England's peat land.


title: Peat

text: The extraction of peat from the Somerset Levels began during the Roman times and has been carried out since the Levels were first drained. On Dartmoor, there were several commercial distillation plants formed and run by the British Patent Naphtha Company in 1844. These produced naphtha on a commercial scale from the high-quality local peat.


title: Peat

text: Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses is an element of a post-Ice Age peat bog that straddles the England–Wales border and contains many rare plant and animal species due to the acidic environment created by the peat. Only lightly hand-dug, it is now a national nature reserve and is being restored to its natural condition.


title: Peat

text: Industrial extraction of peat occurred at the Thorne Moor site, outside Doncaster near to the village of Hatfield. Government policy incentivised commercial removal to peat for agricultural use. This caused much destruction of the area during the 1980s. The removal of the peat resulted in later flooding further downstream at Goole due to the loss of water retaining peatlands. Recently regeneration of peatland has occurred as part of the Thorne Moors project, and at Fleet Moss, organised by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.


title: Peat

text: In Northern Ireland, there is small-scale domestic turf cutting in rural areas, but areas of bogs have been diminished because of changes in agriculture. In response, afforestation has seen the establishment of tentative steps towards conservation such as Peatlands Park, County Armagh which is an Area of Special Scientific Interest.


title: Peat

text: Some Scotch whisky distilleries, such as those on Islay, use peat fires to dry malted barley. The drying process takes about 30 hours. This gives the whiskies a distinctive smoky flavour, often called "peatiness".


title: Peat

text: The peatiness, or degree of peat flavour, of a whisky, is calculated in ppm of phenol. Normal Highland whiskies have a peat level of up to 30 ppm, and the whiskies on Islay usually have up to 50 ppm. In rare types like the Octomore, the whisky can have more than 100 ppm of phenol. Scotch Ales can also use peat roasted malt, imparting a similar smoked flavor.


title: Peat

text: Wales has over 70,000 hectares of peatlands. Most of it is blanket peat bog in the highlands, but there are a few hundred hectares of peatland in lowland areas. Some peatland areas in Wales are in poor condition. In 2020, the Welsh Government established a five-year peatland restoration initiative, which will be implemented by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).


title: Peat

text: Canada is the top exporter of peat by value. In 2021, top exporters of peat (including peat litter), whether or not agglomerated, were Canada ($580,591.39K, 1,643,950,000 kg), European Union ($445,304.42K, 2,362,280,000 kg), Latvia ($275,459.14K, 2,184,860,000 kg), Netherlands ($235,250.84K, 1,312,850,000 kg), Germany ($223,414.66K, 1,721,170,000 kg).


title: Peat

text: In Sweden, farmers use dried peat to absorb excrement from cattle that are wintered indoors. The most important property of peat is retaining moisture in container soil when it is dry while preventing the excess of water from killing roots when it is wet. Peat can store nutrients although it is not fertile itself – it is polyelectrolytic with a high ion-exchange capacity due to its oxidized lignin. Peat is discouraged as a soil amendment by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, since 2003. While bark-based peat-free potting soil mixes are on the rise, particularly in the UK, peat remains an important raw material for horticulture in some other European countries, Canada, as well as parts of the United States.


title: Peat

text: Peat is sometimes used in freshwater aquaria. It is seen most commonly in soft water or blackwater river systems such as those mimicking the Amazon River basin. In addition to being soft in texture and therefore suitable for demersal (bottom-dwelling) species such as "Corydoras" catfish, peat is reported to have a number of other beneficial functions in freshwater aquaria. It softens water by acting as an ion exchanger; it also contains substances that are beneficial for plants, and for the reproductive health of fishes. Peat can prevent algae growth and kill microorganisms. Peat often stains the water yellow or brown due to the leaching of tannins.


title: Peat

text: Peat is widely used in balneotherapy (the use of bathing to treat disease). Many traditional spa treatments include peat as part of peloids. Such health treatments have an enduring tradition in European countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria. Some of these old spas date back to the 18th century and are still active today. The most common types of peat application in balneotherapy are peat muds, poultices, and suspension baths.


title: Peat

text: Authors Rydin and Jeglum in "Biology of Habitats" described the concept of peat archives, a phrase coined by influential peatland scientist Harry Godwin in 1981.


title: Peat

text: In "Quaternary Palaeoecology", first published in 1980, Birks and Birks described how paleoecological studies "of peat can be used to reveal what plant communities were present (locally and regionally), what time period each community occupied, how environmental conditions changed, and how the environment affected the ecosystem in that time and place."


title: Peat

text: Scientists continue to compare modern mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in bogs with historical natural-archives records in peat bogs and lake sediments to estimate the potential human impacts on the biogeochemical cycle of mercury, for example. Over the years, different dating models and technologies for measuring date sediments and peat profiles accumulated over the last 100–150 years, have been used, including the widely used vertical distribution of 210Pb, the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-SMS), and more recently the initial penetration (IP). In some cases, naturally mummified human bodies, often called "bog bodies", such as the Tollund Man in Denmark, having been discovered in 1950 and dated to have lived during the 4th century BC after being mistaken for a recent murder victim, have been discovered and exhumed for scientific purposes; prior to that, another "bog body", the Elling Woman, had been discovered in 1938 in the same bog about 60 m (200 ft) from the Tollund Man. She is believed to have lived during the late 3rd century BC and was ultimately a ritual sacrifice.


title: Peat

text: Peat "hags" are a form of erosion that occurs at the sides of gullies that cut into the peat or, sometimes, in isolation. Hags may result when flowing water cuts downwards into the peat and when fire or overgrazing exposes the peat surface. Once the peat is exposed in these ways, it is prone to further erosion by wind, water, and livestock. The result is overhanging vegetation and peat. Hags are too steep and unstable for vegetation to establish itself, so they continue to erode unless restorative action is taken.


title: Peat

text: The distinctive ecological conditions of peat wetlands provide a habitat for distinctive fauna and flora. For example, whooping cranes nest in North American peatlands, while Siberian cranes nest in the West Siberian peatland. Such habitats also have many species of wild orchids and carnivorous plants. It takes centuries for a peat bog to recover from disturbance. (For more on biological communities, see wetland, bog or fen.)


title: Peat

text: The world's largest peat bog is located in Western Siberia. It is the size of France and Germany combined. Recent studies show that it is thawing for the first time in 11,000 years. As the permafrost melts, it could release billions of tonnes of methane gas into the atmosphere. The world's peatlands are thought to contain 180 to 455 billion metric tonnes of sequestered carbon, and they release into the atmosphere of methane annually. The peatlands' contribution to long-term fluctuations in these atmospheric gases has been a matter of considerable debate.


title: Peat

text: One of the characteristics for peat is the bioaccumulations of metals often concentrated in the peat. Accumulated mercury is of significant environmental concern.


title: Peat

text: Large areas of organic wetland (peat) soils are currently drained for agriculture, forestry, and peat extraction (i.e. through canals). This process is taking place all over the world. This not only destroys the habitat of many species but also heavily fuels climate change. As a result of peat drainage, the organic carbon – which built over thousands of years and is normally underwater – is suddenly exposed to the air. It decomposes and turns into carbon dioxide (), which is released into the atmosphere. The global emissions from drained peatlands have increased from 1,058 Mton in 1990 to 1,298 Mton in 2008 (a 20% increase). This increase has particularly taken place in developing countries, of which Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea are the fastest-growing top emitters. This estimate excludes emissions from peat fires (conservative estimates amount to at least 4,000 Mton/-eq./yr for south-east Asia). With 174 Mton/-eq./yr the EU is after Indonesia (500 Mton) and before Russia (161 Mton) the world's second-largest emitter of drainage-related peatland (excl. extracted peat and fires). Total emissions from the worldwide 500,000 km of degraded peatland may exceed 2.0 Gtons (including emissions from peat fires) which is almost 6% of all global carbon emissions.


title: Peat

text: Peat has a high carbon content and can burn under low moisture conditions. Once ignited by the presence of a heat source (e.g., a wildfire penetrating the subsurface), it smoulders. These smouldering fires can burn undetected for very long periods of time (months, years, and even centuries) propagating in a creeping fashion through the underground peat layer.


title: Peat

text: Despite the damage that the burning of raw peat can cause, bogs are naturally subject to wildfires and depend on the wildfires to keep woody competition from lowering the water table and shading out many bog plants. Several families of plants including the carnivorous "Sarracenia" (trumpet pitcher), "Dionaea" (Venus flytrap), "Utricularia" (bladderworts) and non-carnivorous plants such as the sandhills lily, toothache grass and many species of orchid are now threatened and in some cases endangered from the combined forces of human drainage, negligence, and absence of fire.


title: Peat

text: The recent burning of peat bogs in Indonesia, with their large and deep growths containing more than of carbon, has contributed to increases in world carbon dioxide levels. Peat deposits in Southeast Asia could be destroyed by 2040.


title: Peat

text: It is estimated that in 1997, peat and forest fires in Indonesia released between of carbon; equivalent to 13–40 percent of the amount released by global fossil fuel burning, and greater than the carbon uptake of the world's biosphere. These fires may be responsible for the acceleration in the increase in carbon dioxide levels since 1998. More than 100 peat fires in Kalimantan and East Sumatra have continued to burn since 1997; each year, these peat fires ignite new forest fires above the ground.


title: Peat

text: In North America, peat fires can occur during severe droughts throughout their occurrence, from boreal forests in Canada to swamps and fens in the subtropical southern Florida Everglades. Once a fire has burnt through the area, hollows in the peat are burnt out, and hummocks are desiccated but can contribute to "Sphagnum" recolonization.


title: Peat

text: In the summer of 2010, an unusually high heat wave of up to ignited large deposits of peat in Central Russia, burning thousands of houses and covering the capital of Moscow with a toxic smoke blanket. The situation remained critical until the end of August 2010.


title: Peat

text: In June 2019, despite some forest fire prevention methods being put in place, peat fires in the Arctic emitted of CO, which is equal to Sweden's total annual emissions. The peat fires are linked to climate change, as they are much more likely to occur nowadays due to this effect.


title: Peat

text: In June 2002, the United Nations Development Programme launched the Wetlands Ecosystem and Tropical Peat Swamp Forest Rehabilitation Project. This project was targeted to last for 5 years, and brings together the efforts of various non-government organisations.


title: Peat

text: In November 2002, the International Peatland (formerly Peat) Society (IPS) and the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG) published guidelines on the "Wise Use of Mires and Peatlands – Backgrounds and Principles including a framework for decision-making". The aim of this publication is to develop mechanisms that can balance the conflicting demands on the global peatland heritage, to ensure its wise use to meet the needs of humankind.


title: Peat

text: In June 2008, the IPS published the book "Peatlands and Climate Change", summarising the currently available knowledge on the topic. In 2010, IPS presented a "Strategy for Responsible Peatland Management", which can be applied worldwide for decision-making.


title: Peat

text: The UNEP is supporting peatland restoration in Indonesia. Often, restoration is done by blocking drainage channels in the peatland, and allowing natural vegetation to recover.


title: Miss World

text: Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Earth, it is one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.


title: Miss World

text: The current Miss World is Karolina Bielawska of Poland, who was crowned by Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica on March 16, 2022, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.


title: Miss World

text: In 1951, Eric Morley organised a bikini contest as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations that he called the Festival Bikini Contest. The event was popular with the press, which dubbed it "Miss World". The swimsuit competition was intended as a promotion for the bikini, which had only recently been introduced to the market and was still widely regarded as immodest. When the 1951 Miss World pageant winner, Kerstin "Kiki" Hakansson from Sweden, was crowned in a bikini, it added to the controversy.


title: Miss World

text: The pageant was originally planned as a Pageant for the Festival of Britain, but Morley decided to make the Miss World pageant annual. He registered the "Miss World" name as a trademark, and all future pageants were held under that name. But because of the controversy arising from Håkansson's crowning in a bikini, countries with religious traditions threatened not to send delegates to future events, and the bikini was condemned by the Pope. Objection to the bikini led to its replacement in all future pageants with more modest swimwear, and from 1976 swimsuits were replaced by evening gowns for the crowning. Håkansson remains the only Miss World crowned in a bikini. In Miss World 2013 all participants wore a one-piece swimsuit plus a traditional sarong below the waist as a compromise with local culture.


title: Miss World

text: Morley announced the Miss World winners in the order No. 3, No. 2 and No. 1. This was intended to keep the tension up, and avoid the anticlimax if Nos. 2 and 3 are announced after the winner.


title: Miss World

text: In 1959, the BBC began to broadcast the pageant. Its popularity grew with the advent of television. During the 1960s and 1970s, Miss World was among the most watched programs of the year on British television. In 1970, the contest in London was disrupted by women's liberation protesters armed with flour bombs, stink bombs, and water pistols loaded with ink. The 1970 contest was also controversial when South Africa sent two contestants (one black and one white). Henceforth, South Africa was banned from the contest until apartheid was abolished. More than 18 million people watched the pageant at its peak during the late 1970s and early 1980s.


title: Miss World

text: In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan "Beauty With a Purpose", with added tests of intelligence and personality. In 1984, BBC1 controller Michael Grade announced that the corporation would cease to broadcast beauty pageants the next January, after it had shown Miss Great Britain, saying, "I believe these contests no longer merit national air time." He added, "They are an anachronism in this day and age of equality and verging on the offensive.<nowiki>"</nowiki> Thames Television broadcast Miss World between 1980 and 1988, when ITV dropped it.


title: Miss World

text: During the early 1990s, mainstream television broadcasts of the event declined in popularity after it became "increasingly unfashionable" in the late 1980s. The pageant returned on satellite channel Sky One in 1997, before moving to Channel 5 for three years (1998–2000).


title: Miss World

text: Eric Morley died in 2000, and his wife, Julia, succeeded him as chair of the Miss World organisation.


title: Miss World

text: The first black African Miss World winner, Agbani Darego of Nigeria, was crowned in 2001. As part of its marketing strategy, Miss World came up with a "Vote For Me" television special during that edition, featuring the delegates behind the scenes and on the beach, and allowing viewers to phone in or vote online for their favourites. It also sells broadcasters its Talent, Beach Beauty and Sports events as television specials. ITV broadcast the 2001 pageant from South Africa on digital channel ITV2, with the special airing a week earlier on the main ITV channel.


title: Miss World

text: In 2002, the pageant was slated to host its final in Abuja, Nigeria. This choice was controversial, as a northern Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal, was awaiting death by stoning for adultery under Sharia law there, but Miss World used the publicity surrounding its presence to bring greater global awareness and action to Lawal's plight. No British channel agreed to broadcast the event, and there were objections to the contest.


title: Miss World

text: Former Miss World Aishwarya Rai attended the Miss World 2014 ceremony with her husband Abhishek Bachchan, daughter Aaradhya and mother Brinda Rai. The pageant has been broadcast on local TV channel London Live since 2014.


title: Miss World

text: The Miss World Organization owns and manages the annual Miss World Finals, a competition that has grown into one of the world's biggest. Since its launch in 1951, the Miss World organisation has raised more than £1 billion for children's charities that help disabled and underprivileged children. Miss World is franchised in more than 100 countries.


title: Miss World

text: In the year leading up the finals in Nigeria, several European title holders lobbied their governments and the EU parliament to support Amina Lawal's cause. A number of contestants followed the lead of Kathrine Sørland of Norway in boycotting the contest (despite the controversy, Sørland became a semifinalist in both the Miss World and Miss Universe contests), while others, such as Costa Rica, were instructed by their national governments and parliaments not to attend. Among the other boycotting nations were Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Panama, Belgium and Kenya. There was further controversy over the possibly suspended participation of France and South Africa, which might or might not have been due to the boycott. Lawal asked that contestants not suspend their participation in the contest, saying that it was for the good of her country and that they could, as the representative of Sweden had earlier remarked, make a much stronger case for her on the ground in Nigeria.


title: Miss World

text: Despite the increasing international profile the boycott was garnering in the world press, the contest proceeded in Nigeria after being rescheduled to avoid taking place during Ramadan, with many prominent nations sending delegates. Osmel Sousa of Venezuela, one of the world's most influential national directors, said, "there is no question about it [the participation of Miss Venezuela in the contest]." But the trouble did not end there. A "ThisDay" (Lagos, Nigeria) newspaper editorial suggesting that Muhammad would probably have chosen one of his wives from among the contestants had he been alive to see it resulted in inter-religious riots that started on 22 November in which over 200 people were killed in the city of Kaduna and many houses of worship were burned by religious zealots. Because of these riots, the 2002 pageant was moved to London, following widely circulated reports that Canada's and Korea's representatives had withdrawn from the contest and returned to their respective countries out of safety concerns. A fatwa urging the beheading of the woman who wrote the offending words, Isioma Daniel, was issued in Nigeria, but was declared null and void by the relevant Saudi Arabian authorities. Upon the pageant's return to Britain, many of the boycotting contestants chose to attend, including Miss Norway, Kathrine Sørland, who was ironically tipped in the last few days as the favourite for the crown she had previously boycotted.


title: Miss World

text: The eventual winner of the pageant was Azra Akın of Turkey, the first predominantly Muslim country to hold the title since Egypt in 1954.


title: Miss World

text: In Miss World 2013, protests by Islamic groups began a few weeks before the contest began, resulting in the pageant's finale and all pre-pageant activities being isolated to Hindu-majority Bali.


title: Miss World

text: Anastasia Lin, Miss World Canada, was not given a visa to travel in China and hence missed the official deadline of 20 November 2015 for entry to the 2015 pageant, and was declared "persona non grata" by the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa for openly criticizing China's human rights violations. The Miss World Organization later allowed her to compete at Miss World 2016.


title: Miss World

text: After the 2019 pageant, the organization chose Thailand as the host country of Miss World 2020, to be held in Phuket. But due to the spread of COVID-19, most national organizations and the Miss World organization agreed to cancel the 2020 pageant to assure the delegates' safety.


title: Miss World

text: The edition was originally scheduled for the end of 2020 but postponed indefinitely due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. On March 8, 2021, the date was set for December 16, 2021. The threat of the Omicron variant had already been detected in some parts of the world during the pre-pageant activities, as the disease started swept across the island. On December 14, Miss World Indonesia Carla Yules tested positive for COVID-19. As a precaution, her roommate Miss World India Manasa Varanasi and five others were classified as suspected cases. Miss World Organization chair Julia Morley confirmed that the delegates were isolated and quarantined and would not be onstage for the final show if they did not produce a negative PCR test. On December 15, the Puerto Rico Department of Health confirmed 17 positive cases for COVID-19 related to the Miss World pageant activities, including contestants and technical personnel. On December 16, it was announced that Miss World Malaysia Lavanya Sivaji had tested positive for COVID-19. She was required to be isolated for 10 days and not permitted onstage during the finals. The finale, originally slated for December 16, was postponed. During a December 16 Puerto Rico Department of Health press conference, epidemiologist Melissa Marzán confirmed 15 staff and 23 contestant positive cases associated with Miss World. She added that pageant organizers, not the island's authorities, decided to postpone. The rescheduled 70th Miss World pageant took place on March 16, 2022, at Puerto Rico's José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum.


title: Miss World

text: The winners of the "fast-track" competitions automatically make it to the quarter- or semifinals. The fast-track categories are Miss World Beach Beauty, Beauty With a Purpose, Sports Challenge, Talent and Top Model. Miss World Beach Beauty, replacing Miss World Best in Swimsuit, and Miss World Sports were added in 2003. Miss World Top Model was added in 2004. Miss World Multimedia was added in 2012.


title: Miss World

text: The Beauty with a Purpose is an event established in 1972 that is celebrated before the Miss World pageant. It awards the contestant with the most relevant and important charity project in her nation. Since 2005 the winner automatically makes the quarterfinals. Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar is the first and only Beauty With a Purpose recipient to win Miss World.


title: Miss World

text: Miss World Talent is a talent or fast-track competition in which contestants show their abilities in singing, dancing, poetry, etc. Introduced in Miss World 1978, the winner of the event automatically makes it into the semifinals starting 2003. The award returned at Miss World 2001.


title: Miss World

text: The Miss World Top Model is a modeling fast-track competition. It was first held in 2004, but not in 2005–2006. It has been held since 2007; the winner of the competition automatically qualifies for the semifinals.


title: Miss World

text: Miss World Sports or Sportswoman is a title and award given to the winner of a sports event at Miss World. It is a fast-track or preliminary event, giving the winner automatic entry into the semifinals. In 2005, there was no Miss Sports winner because it was held as a continental team competition. Starting in 2006, the individual competition returned.


title: Miss World

text: Miss World Multimedia or Social Media Award is a title and award given to the winner of a Multimedia Challenge. It is a fast-track or preliminary event, giving the winner automatic entry into the semifinals. The score is based on the contestant's likes on Mobstar and Facebook.


title: Miss World

text: Miss World Beach Beauty was a swimsuit or fast-track competition. The Beach Beauty event started in 2003, when the Miss World Organization first held fast-track events to automatically give a semifinal spot to some of the delegates. This event allowed the Miss World delegates (over 100) to have a chance to be in the semifinals. The winner made the semifinals automatically. The Beach Beauty event showcased different swimsuits designed by Miss World 1975, Wilnelia Merced. In 2015, the organisation eliminated the swimsuit competition from the pageant.


title: Rick Beato

text: Richard John Beato (born April 24, 1962) is an American YouTube personality, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer and educator. Since the early 1980s, he has worked variously as a musician, songwriter, audio engineer, and record producer, and has lectured on music at several universities. Based in Black Dog Sound Studios in Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, he has produced for and worked with bands such as Needtobreathe, Parmalee, and Shinedown. He is now known for his YouTube channel, Everything Music, on which he not only covers different aspects of rock, jazz, and popular music, but also interviews well-known musicians and producers.


title: Rick Beato

text: Beato was born into a large family in Fairport, New York, a suburb east of Rochester. After graduating from Fairport High School in 1980, he studied at Ithaca College, obtaining a bachelor of arts degree in music. He earned a master's degree in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1987.


title: Rick Beato

text: Beato has been a session musician, university lecturer, songwriter, studio engineer, mixer, and record producer. He has lectured at several universities, including the University of Alabama and Berklee College of Music.


title: Rick Beato

text: Beato owns Black Dog Sound Studios in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and he began recording bands there in 1995. He ran the record label 10 Star Records with business partner Johnny Diamond.


title: Rick Beato

text: "Carolina", which he co-wrote with Parmalee in 2007, reached number one on "Billboard"s Country Airplay chart on December 20, 2013, and has sold a million copies.


title: Rick Beato

text: In 2021, Gibson previewed a Rick Beato signature Gibson Les Paul Special Double Cut. The guitar is offered in a special TV Blue Mist finish with P-90 pickups and Beato's signature on the truss rod cover. This model is one of Gibson's few signature guitar models not associated with an artist or associated with a particular act.


title: Rick Beato

text: A YouTube video of his eldest child, Dylan, who has perfect pitch and is able to identify individual notes within complex chords after just one hearing, received three million views, causing Beato to decide to parlay this social-media fame into a full-fledged YouTube channel. , the YouTube channel has 3.2 million subscribers.


title: Rick Beato

text: Beato's channel is under his own name, although he introduces every video with the title "Everything Music". One series in the channel is called "What Makes This Song Great?", in which Beato deconstructs and discusses the elements of popular songs. The videos in the series regularly get over one million views.


title: Rick Beato

text: In one video, Beato enlists the help of Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X and virtuoso guitarist Eric Johnson to reinterpret the guitar solo on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". Beato and Phil X play the guitar solo in the styles of Peter Frampton and Eddie Van Halen, respectively, while Johnson plays it in his own style.


title: Rick Beato

text: Several of Beato's YouTube videos, including those about Radiohead and Fleetwood Mac, were issued take-down notices because of copyright claims. In July 2020, Beato testified about his experiences on YouTube before a United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reviewing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and considering limitations and exceptions such as fair use.


title: Rick Beato

text: Beato has been satirized by fellow YouTuber Pat Finnerty, most especially by his "What Makes This Song Stink" series of videos.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics which convey a quantitative description using measurable macroscopic physical quantities, but may be explained in terms of microscopic constituents by statistical mechanics. Thermodynamics applies to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering, especially physical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering, but also in other complex fields such as meteorology.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Historically, thermodynamics developed out of a desire to increase the efficiency of early steam engines, particularly through the work of French physicist Sadi Carnot (1824) who believed that engine efficiency was the key that could help France win the Napoleonic Wars. Scots-Irish physicist Lord Kelvin was the first to formulate a concise definition of thermodynamics in 1854 which stated, "Thermo-dynamics is the subject of the relation of heat to forces acting between contiguous parts of bodies, and the relation of heat to electrical agency." Rudolf Clausius restated Carnot's principle known as the Carnot cycle and gave so the theory of heat a truer and sounder basis. His most important paper, "On the Moving Force of Heat", published in 1850, first stated the second law of thermodynamics. In 1865 he introduced the concept of entropy. In 1870 he introduced the virial theorem, which applied to heat.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The initial application of thermodynamics to mechanical heat engines was quickly extended to the study of chemical compounds and chemical reactions. Chemical thermodynamics studies the nature of the role of entropy in the process of chemical reactions and has provided the bulk of expansion and knowledge of the field. Other formulations of thermodynamics emerged. Statistical thermodynamics, or statistical mechanics, concerns itself with statistical predictions of the collective motion of particles from their microscopic behavior. In 1909, Constantin Carathéodory presented a purely mathematical approach in an axiomatic formulation, a description often referred to as "geometrical thermodynamics".


title: Thermodynamics

text: A description of any thermodynamic system employs the four laws of thermodynamics that form an axiomatic basis. The first law specifies that energy can be transferred between physical systems as heat, as work, and with transfer of matter. The second law defines the existence of a quantity called entropy, that describes the direction, thermodynamically, that a system can evolve and quantifies the state of order of a system and that can be used to quantify the useful work that can be extracted from the system.


title: Thermodynamics

text: In thermodynamics, interactions between large ensembles of objects are studied and categorized. Central to this are the concepts of the thermodynamic "system" and its "surroundings". A system is composed of particles, whose average motions define its properties, and those properties are in turn related to one another through equations of state. Properties can be combined to express internal energy and thermodynamic potentials, which are useful for determining conditions for equilibrium and spontaneous processes.


title: Thermodynamics

text: With these tools, thermodynamics can be used to describe how systems respond to changes in their environment. This can be applied to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering, such as engines, phase transitions, chemical reactions, transport phenomena, and even black holes. The results of thermodynamics are essential for other fields of physics and for chemistry, chemical engineering, corrosion engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, cell biology, biomedical engineering, materials science, and economics, to name a few.


title: Thermodynamics

text: This article is focused mainly on classical thermodynamics which primarily studies systems in thermodynamic equilibrium. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics is often treated as an extension of the classical treatment, but statistical mechanics has brought many advances to that field.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The history of thermodynamics as a scientific discipline generally begins with Otto von Guericke who, in 1650, built and designed the world's first vacuum pump and demonstrated a vacuum using his Magdeburg hemispheres. Guericke was driven to make a vacuum in order to disprove Aristotle's long-held supposition that 'nature abhors a vacuum'. Shortly after Guericke, the Anglo-Irish physicist and chemist Robert Boyle had learned of Guericke's designs and, in 1656, in coordination with English scientist Robert Hooke, built an air pump. Using this pump, Boyle and Hooke noticed a correlation between pressure, temperature, and volume. In time, Boyle's Law was formulated, which states that pressure and volume are inversely proportional. Then, in 1679, based on these concepts, an associate of Boyle's named Denis Papin built a steam digester, which was a closed vessel with a tightly fitting lid that confined steam until a high pressure was generated.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Later designs implemented a steam release valve that kept the machine from exploding. By watching the valve rhythmically move up and down, Papin conceived of the idea of a piston and a cylinder engine. He did not, however, follow through with his design. Nevertheless, in 1697, based on Papin's designs, engineer Thomas Savery built the first engine, followed by Thomas Newcomen in 1712. Although these early engines were crude and inefficient, they attracted the attention of the leading scientists of the time.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The fundamental concepts of heat capacity and latent heat, which were necessary for the development of thermodynamics, were developed by Professor Joseph Black at the University of Glasgow, where James Watt was employed as an instrument maker. Black and Watt performed experiments together, but it was Watt who conceived the idea of the external condenser which resulted in a large increase in steam engine efficiency. Drawing on all the previous work led Sadi Carnot, the "father of thermodynamics", to publish "Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire" (1824), a discourse on heat, power, energy and engine efficiency. The book outlined the basic energetic relations between the Carnot engine, the Carnot cycle, and motive power. It marked the start of thermodynamics as a modern science.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The first thermodynamic textbook was written in 1859 by William Rankine, originally trained as a physicist and a civil and mechanical engineering professor at the University of Glasgow. The first and second laws of thermodynamics emerged simultaneously in the 1850s, primarily out of the works of William Rankine, Rudolf Clausius, and William Thomson (Lord Kelvin).


title: Thermodynamics

text: The foundations of statistical thermodynamics were set out by physicists such as James Clerk Maxwell, Ludwig Boltzmann, Max Planck, Rudolf Clausius and J. Willard Gibbs.


title: Thermodynamics

text: During the years 1873–76 the American mathematical physicist Josiah Willard Gibbs published a series of three papers, the most famous being "On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances", in which he showed how thermodynamic processes, including chemical reactions, could be graphically analyzed, by studying the energy, entropy, volume, temperature and pressure of the thermodynamic system in such a manner, one can determine if a process would occur spontaneously. Also Pierre Duhem in the 19th century wrote about chemical thermodynamics. During the early 20th century, chemists such as Gilbert N. Lewis, Merle Randall, and E. A. Guggenheim<ref name="Guggenheim 1949/1967">Guggenheim, E.A. (1949/1967). "Thermodynamics. An Advanced Treatment for Chemists and Physicists", 1st edition 1949, 5th edition 1967, North-Holland, Amsterdam.</ref> applied the mathematical methods of Gibbs to the analysis of chemical processes.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The etymology of "thermodynamics" has an intricate history. It was first spelled in a hyphenated form as an adjective ("thermo-dynamic") and from 1854 to 1868 as the noun "thermo-dynamics" to represent the science of generalized heat engines.


title: Thermodynamics

text: American biophysicist Donald Haynie claims that "thermodynamics" was coined in 1840 from the Greek root θέρμη "therme," meaning “heat”, and δύναμις "dynamis," meaning “power”.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Pierre Perrot claims that the term "thermodynamics" was coined by James Joule in 1858 to designate the science of relations between heat and power, however, Joule never used that term, but used instead the term "perfect thermo-dynamic engine" in reference to Thomson's 1849 phraseology.


title: Thermodynamics

text: By 1858, "thermo-dynamics", as a functional term, was used in William Thomson's paper "An Account of Carnot's Theory of the Motive Power of Heat."


title: Thermodynamics

text: The study of thermodynamical systems has developed into several related branches, each using a different fundamental model as a theoretical or experimental basis, or applying the principles to varying types of systems.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Classical thermodynamics is the description of the states of thermodynamic systems at near-equilibrium, that uses macroscopic, measurable properties. It is used to model exchanges of energy, work and heat based on the laws of thermodynamics. The qualifier "classical" reflects the fact that it represents the first level of understanding of the subject as it developed in the 19th century and describes the changes of a system in terms of macroscopic empirical (large scale, and measurable) parameters. A microscopic interpretation of these concepts was later provided by the development of "statistical mechanics".


title: Thermodynamics

text: Statistical mechanics, also known as statistical thermodynamics, emerged with the development of atomic and molecular theories in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and supplemented classical thermodynamics with an interpretation of the microscopic interactions between individual particles or quantum-mechanical states. This field relates the microscopic properties of individual atoms and molecules to the macroscopic, bulk properties of materials that can be observed on the human scale, thereby explaining classical thermodynamics as a natural result of statistics, classical mechanics, and quantum theory at the microscopic level.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of energy with chemical reactions or with a physical change of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. The primary objective of chemical thermodynamics is determining the spontaneity of a given transformation.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Equilibrium thermodynamics is the study of transfers of matter and energy in systems or bodies that, by agencies in their surroundings, can be driven from one state of thermodynamic equilibrium to another. The term 'thermodynamic equilibrium' indicates a state of balance, in which all macroscopic flows are zero; in the case of the simplest systems or bodies, their intensive properties are homogeneous, and their pressures are perpendicular to their boundaries. In an equilibrium state there are no unbalanced potentials, or driving forces, between macroscopically distinct parts of the system. A central aim in equilibrium thermodynamics is: given a system in a well-defined initial equilibrium state, and given its surroundings, and given its constitutive walls, to calculate what will be the final equilibrium state of the system after a specified thermodynamic operation has changed its walls or surroundings.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Non-equilibrium thermodynamics is a branch of thermodynamics that deals with systems that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium. Most systems found in nature are not in thermodynamic equilibrium because they are not in stationary states, and are continuously and discontinuously subject to flux of matter and energy to and from other systems. The thermodynamic study of non-equilibrium systems requires more general concepts than are dealt with by equilibrium thermodynamics. Many natural systems still today remain beyond the scope of currently known macroscopic thermodynamic methods.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Thermodynamics is principally based on a set of four laws which are universally valid when applied to systems that fall within the constraints implied by each. In the various theoretical descriptions of thermodynamics these laws may be expressed in seemingly differing forms, but the most prominent formulations are the following.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The zeroth law of thermodynamics states: "If two systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third, they are also in thermal equilibrium with each other."


title: Thermodynamics

text: This statement implies that thermal equilibrium is an equivalence relation on the set of thermodynamic systems under consideration. Systems are said to be in equilibrium if the small, random exchanges between them (e.g. Brownian motion) do not lead to a net change in energy. This law is tacitly assumed in every measurement of temperature. Thus, if one seeks to decide whether two bodies are at the same temperature, it is not necessary to bring them into contact and measure any changes of their observable properties in time. The law provides an empirical definition of temperature, and justification for the construction of practical thermometers.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The zeroth law was not initially recognized as a separate law of thermodynamics, as its basis in thermodynamical equilibrium was implied in the other laws. The first, second, and third laws had been explicitly stated already, and found common acceptance in the physics community before the importance of the zeroth law for the definition of temperature was realized. As it was impractical to renumber the other laws, it was named the "zeroth law".


title: Thermodynamics

text: The first law of thermodynamics states: "In a process without transfer of matter, the change in internal energy," formula_1", of a thermodynamic system is equal to the energy gained as heat," formula_2", less the thermodynamic work," formula_3", done by the system on its surroundings."


title: Thermodynamics

text: where formula_1 denotes the change in the internal energy of a closed system (for which heat or work through the system boundary are possible, but matter transfer is not possible), formula_2 denotes the quantity of energy supplied "to" the system as heat, and formula_3 denotes the amount of thermodynamic work done "by" the system "on" its surroundings. An equivalent statement is that perpetual motion machines of the first kind are impossible; work formula_3 done by a system on its surrounding requires that the system's internal energy formula_9 decrease or be consumed, so that the amount of internal energy lost by that work must be resupplied as heat formula_2 by an external energy source or as work by an external machine acting on the system (so that formula_9 is recovered) to make the system work continuously.


title: Thermodynamics

text: For processes that include transfer of matter, a further statement is needed: "With due account of the respective fiducial reference states of the systems, when two systems, which may be of different chemical compositions, initially separated only by an impermeable wall, and otherwise isolated, are combined into a new system by the thermodynamic operation of removal of the wall, then"


title: Thermodynamics

text: "where" "denotes the internal energy of the combined system, and" "and" "denote the internal energies of the respective separated systems."


title: Thermodynamics

text: Adapted for thermodynamics, this law is an expression of the principle of conservation of energy, which states that energy can be transformed (changed from one form to another), but cannot be created or destroyed.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Internal energy is a principal property of the thermodynamic state, while heat and work are modes of energy transfer by which a process may change this state. A change of internal energy of a system may be achieved by any combination of heat added or removed and work performed on or by the system. As a function of state, the internal energy does not depend on the manner, or on the path through intermediate steps, by which the system arrived at its state.


title: Thermodynamics

text: A traditional version of the second law of thermodynamics states: "Heat does not spontaneously flow from a colder body to a hotter body."


title: Thermodynamics

text: The second law refers to a system of matter and radiation, initially with inhomogeneities in temperature, pressure, chemical potential, and other intensive properties, that are due to internal 'constraints', or impermeable rigid walls, within it, or to externally imposed forces. The law observes that, when the system is isolated from the outside world and from those forces, there is a definite thermodynamic quantity, its entropy, that increases as the constraints are removed, eventually reaching a maximum value at thermodynamic equilibrium, when the inhomogeneities practically vanish. For systems that are initially far from thermodynamic equilibrium, though several have been proposed, there is known no general physical principle that determines the rates of approach to thermodynamic equilibrium, and thermodynamics does not deal with such rates. The many versions of the second law all express the irreversibility of such approach to thermodynamic equilibrium.


title: Thermodynamics

text: In macroscopic thermodynamics, the second law is a basic observation applicable to any actual thermodynamic process; in statistical thermodynamics, the second law is postulated to be a consequence of molecular chaos.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The third law of thermodynamics states: "As the temperature of a system approaches absolute zero, all processes cease and the entropy of the system approaches a minimum value."


title: Thermodynamics

text: This law of thermodynamics is a statistical law of nature regarding entropy and the impossibility of reaching absolute zero of temperature. This law provides an absolute reference point for the determination of entropy. The entropy determined relative to this point is the absolute entropy. Alternate definitions include "the entropy of all systems and of all states of a system is smallest at absolute zero," or equivalently "it is impossible to reach the absolute zero of temperature by any finite number of processes".


title: Thermodynamics

text: Absolute zero, at which all activity would stop if it were possible to achieve, is −273.15 °C (degrees Celsius), or −459.67 °F (degrees Fahrenheit), or 0 K (kelvin), or 0° R (degrees Rankine).


title: Thermodynamics

text: An important concept in thermodynamics is the thermodynamic system, which is a precisely defined region of the universe under study. Everything in the universe except the system is called the "surroundings". A system is separated from the remainder of the universe by a "boundary" which may be a physical or notional, but serve to confine the system to a finite volume. Segments of the "boundary" are often described as "walls"; they have respective defined 'permeabilities'. Transfers of energy as work, or as heat, or of matter, between the system and the surroundings, take place through the walls, according to their respective permeabilities.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Matter or energy that pass across the boundary so as to effect a change in the internal energy of the system need to be accounted for in the energy balance equation. The volume contained by the walls can be the region surrounding a single atom resonating energy, such as Max Planck defined in 1900; it can be a body of steam or air in a steam engine, such as Sadi Carnot defined in 1824. The system could also be just one nuclide (i.e. a system of quarks) as hypothesized in quantum thermodynamics. When a looser viewpoint is adopted, and the requirement of thermodynamic equilibrium is dropped, the system can be the body of a tropical cyclone, such as Kerry Emanuel theorized in 1986 in the field of atmospheric thermodynamics, or the event horizon of a black hole.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Boundaries are of four types: fixed, movable, real, and imaginary. For example, in an engine, a fixed boundary means the piston is locked at its position, within which a constant volume process might occur. If the piston is allowed to move that boundary is movable while the cylinder and cylinder head boundaries are fixed. For closed systems, boundaries are real while for open systems boundaries are often imaginary. In the case of a jet engine, a fixed imaginary boundary might be assumed at the intake of the engine, fixed boundaries along the surface of the case and a second fixed imaginary boundary across the exhaust nozzle.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Generally, thermodynamics distinguishes three classes of systems, defined in terms of what is allowed to cross their boundaries:


title: Thermodynamics

text: As time passes in an isolated system, internal differences of pressures, densities, and temperatures tend to even out. A system in which all equalizing processes have gone to completion is said to be in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Once in thermodynamic equilibrium, a system's properties are, by definition, unchanging in time. Systems in equilibrium are much simpler and easier to understand than are systems which are not in equilibrium. Often, when analysing a dynamic thermodynamic process, the simplifying assumption is made that each intermediate state in the process is at equilibrium, producing thermodynamic processes which develop so slowly as to allow each intermediate step to be an equilibrium state and are said to be reversible processes.


title: Thermodynamics

text: When a system is at equilibrium under a given set of conditions, it is said to be in a definite thermodynamic state. The state of the system can be described by a number of state quantities that do not depend on the process by which the system arrived at its state. They are called intensive variables or extensive variables according to how they change when the size of the system changes. The properties of the system can be described by an equation of state which specifies the relationship between these variables. State may be thought of as the instantaneous quantitative description of a system with a set number of variables held constant.


title: Thermodynamics

text: A thermodynamic process may be defined as the energetic evolution of a thermodynamic system proceeding from an initial state to a final state. It can be described by process quantities. Typically, each thermodynamic process is distinguished from other processes in energetic character according to what parameters, such as temperature, pressure, or volume, etc., are held fixed; Furthermore, it is useful to group these processes into pairs, in which each variable held constant is one member of a conjugate pair.


title: Thermodynamics

text: There are two types of thermodynamic instruments, the meter and the reservoir. A thermodynamic meter is any device which measures any parameter of a thermodynamic system. In some cases, the thermodynamic parameter is actually defined in terms of an idealized measuring instrument. For example, the zeroth law states that if two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with a third body, they are also in thermal equilibrium with each other. This principle, as noted by James Maxwell in 1872, asserts that it is possible to measure temperature. An idealized thermometer is a sample of an ideal gas at constant pressure. From the ideal gas law "pV=nRT", the volume of such a sample can be used as an indicator of temperature; in this manner it defines temperature. Although pressure is defined mechanically, a pressure-measuring device, called a barometer may also be constructed from a sample of an ideal gas held at a constant temperature. A calorimeter is a device which is used to measure and define the internal energy of a system.


title: Thermodynamics

text: A thermodynamic reservoir is a system which is so large that its state parameters are not appreciably altered when it is brought into contact with the system of interest. When the reservoir is brought into contact with the system, the system is brought into equilibrium with the reservoir. For example, a pressure reservoir is a system at a particular pressure, which imposes that pressure upon the system to which it is mechanically connected. The Earth's atmosphere is often used as a pressure reservoir. The ocean can act as temperature reservoir when used to cool power plants.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The central concept of thermodynamics is that of energy, the ability to do work. By the First Law, the total energy of a system and its surroundings is conserved. Energy may be transferred into a system by heating, compression, or addition of matter, and extracted from a system by cooling, expansion, or extraction of matter. In mechanics, for example, energy transfer equals the product of the force applied to a body and the resulting displacement.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Conjugate variables are pairs of thermodynamic concepts, with the first being akin to a "force" applied to some thermodynamic system, the second being akin to the resulting "displacement," and the product of the two equaling the amount of energy transferred. The common conjugate variables are:


title: Thermodynamics

text: Thermodynamic potentials are different quantitative measures of the stored energy in a system. Potentials are used to measure the energy changes in systems as they evolve from an initial state to a final state. The potential used depends on the constraints of the system, such as constant temperature or pressure. For example, the Helmholtz and Gibbs energies are the energies available in a system to do useful work when the temperature and volume or the pressure and temperature are fixed, respectively.


title: Thermodynamics

text: where formula_13 is the temperature, formula_14 the entropy, formula_15 the pressure, formula_16 the volume, formula_17 the chemical potential, formula_18 the number of particles in the system, and formula_19 is the count of particles types in the system.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Thermodynamic potentials can be derived from the energy balance equation applied to a thermodynamic system. Other thermodynamic potentials can also be obtained through Legendre transformation.


title: Thermodynamics

text: Axiomatic thermodynamics is a mathematical discipline that aims to describe thermodynamics in terms of rigorous axioms, for example by finding a mathematically rigorous way to express the familiar laws of thermodynamics.


title: Thermodynamics

text: The first attempt at an axiomatic theory of thermodynamics was Constantin Carathéodory's 1909 work "Investigations on the Foundations of Thermodynamics", which made use of Pfaffian systems and the concept of adiabatic accessibility, a notion that was introduced by Carathéodory himself. In this formulation, thermodynamic concepts such as heat, entropy, and temperature are derived from quantities that are more directly measurable. Theories that came after, differed in the sense that they made assumptions regarding thermodynamic processes with arbitrary initial and final states, as opposed to considering only neighboring states.


title: Special forces

text: Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment".


title: Special forces

text: Special forces emerged in the early 20th century, with a significant growth in the field during the Second World War, when "every major army involved in the fighting" created formations devoted to special operations behind enemy lines. Depending on the country, special forces may perform functions including airborne operations, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, covert ops, direct action, hostage rescue, high-value targets/manhunt, intelligence operations, mobility operations, and unconventional warfare.


title: Special forces

text: In Russian-speaking countries, special forces of any country are typically called , an acronym for "special purpose". In the United States, the term "special forces" often refers specifically to the U.S. Army's Special Forces, while the term "special operations forces (SOF)" is used more broadly for these types of units.


title: Special forces

text: Other capabilities can include close personal protection; waterborne operations involving combat diving/combat swimming, maritime boarding and amphibious missions; as well as support of air force operations.


title: Special forces

text: Special forces have played an important role throughout the history of warfare, whenever the aim was to achieve disruption by "hit and run" and sabotage, rather than more traditional conventional combat. Other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from near or among the enemy and increasingly in combating irregular forces, their infrastructure and activities.


title: Special forces

text: Chinese strategist Jiang Ziya, in his "Six Secret Teachings", described recruiting talented and motivated men into specialized elite units with functions such as commanding heights and making rapid long-distance advances. Hamilcar Barca in Sicily (249 BC) had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day. In the late Roman or early Byzantine period, Roman fleets used small, fast, camouflaged ships crewed by selected men for scouting and commando missions. In the Middle Ages, special forces trained to conduct special operations were employed in several occasions. An example of this were the special forces of Gerald the Fearless, a Portuguese warrior and folk hero of the Reconquista. Muslim forces also had naval special operations units, including one that used camouflaged ships to gather intelligence and launch raids and another of soldiers who could pass for Crusaders who would use ruses to board enemy ships and then capture and destroy them. In Japan, ninjas were used for reconnaissance, espionage and as assassins, bodyguards or fortress guards, or otherwise fought alongside conventional soldiers. During the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units were formed that held specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing and were not committed to the formal battle lines.


title: Special forces

text: The British Indian Army deployed two special forces during their border wars: the Corps of Guides formed in 1846 and the Gurkha Scouts (a force that was formed in the 1890s and was first used as a detached unit during the 1897–1898 Tirah Campaign).


title: Special forces

text: During the Second Boer War (1899–1902) the British Army felt the need for more specialised units. Scouting units such as the Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment made up of exceptional woodsmen outfitted in ghillie suits and well practised in the arts of marksmanship, field craft, and military tactics filled this role. This unit was formed in 1900 by Lord Lovat and early on reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts. After the war, Lovat's Scouts went on to formally become the British Army's first sniper unit. Additionally, the Bushveldt Carbineers, formed in 1901, can be seen as an early unconventional warfare unit.


title: Special forces

text: The "Luna Sharpshooters", also known as the ""Marksmen of Death"" (Spanish: "Tiradores de la Muerte"), was an elite unit formed on 1899 by General Antonio Luna to serve under the Philippine Revolutionary Army. They became famous for fighting fiercer than the regular Filipino army soldiers. Most of the members of this unit came from the old Spanish Army filipino members which fought during the Philippine Revolution.


title: Special forces

text: The sharpshooters became famous for their fierce fighting and proved their worth by being the usual spearheading unit in every major battle in the Philippine–American War. In the Battle of Paye on December 19, 1899, Bonifacio Mariano, a sharpshooter under the command of General Licerio Gerónimo, killed General Henry Ware Lawton of the United States Army, making the latter the highest ranking casualty during the course of the war.


title: Special forces

text: The German Stormtroopers and the Italian Arditi were the first modern shock troops. They were both elite assault units trained to a much higher level than that of average troops and tasked to carry out daring attacks and bold raids against enemy defenses. Unlike Stormtroopers, Arditi were not units within infantry divisions, but were considered a separate combat arm.


title: Special forces

text: Modern special forces emerged during the Second World War. In 1940, the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchill's call for "specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast." A staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke, had already submitted such a proposal to General Sir John Dill, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Dill, aware of Churchill's intentions, approved Clarke's proposal and on 23 June 1940, the first Commando raid took place.


title: Special forces

text: By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered and in November 1940 these new units were organised into a Special Service Brigade consisting of four battalions under the command of Brigadier J. C. Haydon. The Special Service Brigade was quickly expanded to 12 units which became known as Commandos. Each Commando had a lieutenant colonel as the commanding officer and numbered around 450 men (divided into 75 man troops that were further divided into 15 man sections).


title: Special forces

text: In December 1940 a Middle East Commando depot was formed with the responsibility of training and supplying reinforcements for the Commando units in that theatre. In February 1942 the Commando training depot at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands was established by Brigadier Charles Haydon. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vaughan, the Commando depot was responsible for training complete units and individual replacements. The training regime was for the time innovative and physically demanding, and far in advance of normal British Army training. The depot staff were all hand picked, with the ability to outperform any of the volunteers.


title: Special forces

text: Training and assessment started immediately on arrival, with the volunteers having to complete an march with all their equipment from the Spean Bridge railway station to the commando depot. Exercises were conducted using live ammunition and explosives to make training as realistic as possible. Physical fitness was a prerequisite, with cross country runs and boxing matches to improve fitness. Speed and endurance marches were conducted up and down the nearby mountain ranges and over assault courses that included a zip-line over Loch Arkaig, all while carrying arms and full equipment. Training continued by day and night with river crossings, mountain climbing, weapons training, unarmed combat, map reading, and small boat operations on the syllabus.


title: Special forces

text: Reaching a wartime strength of over 30 individual units and four assault brigades, the Commandos served in all theatres of war from the Arctic Circle to Europe and from the Mediterranean and Middle East to South-East Asia. Their operations ranged from small groups of men landing from the sea or by parachute to a brigade of assault troops spearheading the Allied invasions of Europe and Asia. The first modern special forces units were established by men who had served with the Commandos, including the Parachute Regiment, Special Air Service, and Special Boat Service. The No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando organised by British of volunteers from occupied Europe led to French Commandos Marine, Dutch Korps Commandotroepen, Belgian Paracommando Brigade. The United States Army Rangers and United States Marine Raiders were all influenced to some degree by the British Commandos.