title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The rail yard was another area of Harrisburg that saw rapid and thorough change during the years of industrialization. This was a wide expanse of about two dozen railroad tracks that grew from the single track of the early 1850s. By the late 19th century, this area was the width of about two city blocks and formed what amounted to a barrier along the eastern edge of the city: passable only by bridge. Three large and ornately embellished passenger depots were built by as many rail lines. Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest rail line in Harrisburg. It built huge repair facilities and two large roundhouses in the 1860s and 1870s to handle its enormous freight and passenger traffic and to maintain its colossal infrastructure. Its rails ran the length of Harrisburg, along its eastern border. It had a succession of three passenger depots, each built on the site of the predecessor, and each of high style architecture, including a train shed to protect passengers from inclement weather. At its peak in 1904, it made 100 passenger stops per day. It extended westward to Pittsburgh; across the entire state. It also went eastward to Philadelphia, serving Steelton en route. The vital anthracite coal mines in the Allegheny Mountains were reached by the Northern Central Railroad. The Lebanon Valley Railroad extended eastward to Philadelphia with spurs to New York City. Another rail line was the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad which provided service to Philadelphia and other points east.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Allison Hill was Harrisburg's first "suburb". It was located east of the city on a prominent bluff, accessed by bridges across a wide swath of train tracks. It was developed in the late 19th century and offered affluent Harrisburgers the opportunity to live in the suburbs only a few hundred yards from their jobs in the city, and as the city expanded it included Allison Hill in its boundaries. In 1886 a single horse trolley line was established from the city to Allison Hill. Easy access was later achieved via the State Street Bridge leading east from the Capitol complex and the Market Street Bridge leading from the city's prominent business district. The most desirable section of Allison Hill at the time was Mount Pleasant, which was characterized by large Colonial Revival style houses with yards for the very wealthy and smaller but still well-built row houses lining the main street for the moderately wealthy. State Street, leading from the Capitol directly toward Allison Hill, was planned to provide a grand view of the Capitol dome for those approaching the city from Allison Hill. This trend towards outlying residential areas began slowly in the late 19th century and was largely confined to the trolley line, but the growth of automobile ownership quickened the trend and spread out the population.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: In the early 20th century, the city of Harrisburg was in need of change. Without proper sanitation, diseases such as typhoid began killing many citizens of Harrisburg. Seeing these necessary changes, several Harrisburg residents became involved in the City Beautiful movement. The project focused on providing better transportation, spaces for recreation, sanitation, landscaping, and parks for those living in cities, as research showed that a person with access to amenities would be a happier person. In December 1900, a reformer named Mira Lloyd Dock, who had recently encountered well-ordered urban centers on an international trip to Europe, gave a lecture on “The City Beautiful” to Harrisburg’s Board of Trade. Other prominent citizens of the city such as J. Horace McFarland and Vance McCormick advocated urban improvements which were influenced by European urban planning design and the World's Columbian Exposition. Warren Manning was hired to help bring about these changes. Specifically, their efforts greatly enlarged the Harrisburg park system, creating Riverfront Park, Reservoir Park, the Italian Lake and Wildwood Park. In addition, schemes were undertaken for new water filtration, burial of electric wires, the paving of roads, and the creation of a modern sanitary sewer system. The efforts to improve the city also paralleled the construction of an expanded monumental Capitol complex in 1906 which led, in turn, to the displacement of the Old Eighth Ward, one of the most ethnically and racially diverse communities in Harrisburg.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The decades between 1920 and 1970 were characterized by industrial decline and population shift from the city to the suburbs. Like most other cities which faced a loss of their industrial base, Harrisburg shifted to a service-oriented base, with industries such as health care and convention centers playing a big role. Harrisburg's greatest problem was a shrinking city population after 1950. This loss in population followed a national trend and was a delayed result of the decline of Harrisburg's steel industry. This decline began almost imperceptibly in the late 1880s, but did not become evident until the early 20th century.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: After being held in place for about 5 years by WWII armament production, the population peaked shortly after the war, but then took a long-overdue dive as people fled from the city. Hastening the white flight to the suburbs were the cheap and available houses being built away from the crime and deteriorating situation of the city. The reduction in city population coincided with the rise in population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area. The trend continued until the 1990s.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the United States, was first held in 1917 and has been held every January since then. The present location of the Show is the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, located at the corner of Maclay and Cameron streets.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, along the Susquehanna River located in Londonderry Township which is south of Harrisburg, suffered a partial meltdown. Although the meltdown was contained and radiation leakages were minimal, there were still worries that an evacuation would be necessary. Governor Dick Thornburgh, on the advice of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Joseph Hendrie, advised the evacuation "of pregnant women and pre-school age children ... within a five-mile radius of the Three Mile Island facility." Within days, 140,000 people had left the area.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Stephen R. Reed was elected mayor in 1981 and served until 2009, making him the city's longest-serving mayor. In an effort to end the city's long period of economic troubles, he initiated several projects to attract new business and tourism to the city. Several museums and hotels such as Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, the National Civil War Museum and the Hilton Harrisburg and Towers were built during his term, along with many office buildings and residential structures. Several minor league professional sports franchises, including the Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League, the Harrisburg Heat indoor soccer club, and Penn FC of the United Soccer League began operations in the city during his tenure as mayor. While praised for the vast number of economic improvements, Reed has also been criticized for population loss and mounting debt. For example, during a budget crisis the city was forced to sell $8 million worth of Western and American-Indian artifacts collected by Mayor Reed for a never-realized museum celebrating the American West.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: During the nearly 30-year tenure of former Mayor Stephen Reed from 1981 to 2009, city officials ignored legal restraints on the use of bond proceeds, as Reed spent the money pursuing interests including collecting Civil War and Wild West memorabilia – some of which was found in Reed's home after his arrest on corruption charges. Infrastructure was left unrepaired, and the heart of the city's financial woes was a trash-to-electricity plant, the Harrisburg incinerator, which was supposed to generate income but instead, because of increased borrowing, incurred a debt of $320 million.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Missing audits and convoluted transactions, including swap agreements, make it difficult to state how much debt the city owes. Some estimates put total debt over $1.5 billion, which would mean that every resident would owe $30,285. These numbers do not reflect the school system deficit, the school district's $437 million long-term debt, nor unfunded pension and healthcare obligations.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg was the first municipality ever in the history of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be charged with securities fraud, for misleading statements about its financial health. The city agreed to a plea bargain to settle the case.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: In October 2011, Harrisburg filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy when four members of the seven-member City Council voted to file a bankruptcy petition in order to prevent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from taking over the city's finances. Bankruptcy Judge Mary France dismissed the petition on the grounds that the City Council majority had filed it over the objection of Mayor Linda Thompson, reasoning that the filing not only required the mayor's approval but had circumvented state laws concerning financially distressed cities.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Instead, a state-appointed receiver took charge of the city's finances. Governor Tom Corbett appointed bond attorney David Unkovic as the city's receiver, but Unkovic resigned after only four months. Unkovic blamed disdain for legal restraints on contracts and debt for creating Harrisburg's intractable financial problem and said the corrupt influence of creditors and political cronies prevented fixing it.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: As creditors began to file lawsuits to seize and sell off city assets, a new receiver, William B. Lynch, was appointed. The City Council opposed the new receiver's plans for tax increases and advocated a stay of the creditor lawsuits with a bankruptcy filing, while Mayor Thompson continued to oppose bankruptcy. State legislators crafted a moratorium to prevent Harrisburg from declaring bankruptcy, and after the moratorium expired, the law stripped the city government of the authority to file for bankruptcy and conferred it on the state receiver.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: After two years of negotiations, in August 2013 Receiver Lynch revealed his comprehensive voluntary plan for resolving Harrisburg's fiscal problems. The complex plan called for creditors to write down or postpone some debt. To pay the remainder, Harrisburg sold the troubled incinerator, leased its parking garages for forty years, and was to briefly go further into debt by issuing new bonds. Receiver Lynch had also called for setting up nonprofit investment corporations to oversee infrastructure improvement (repairing the city's crumbling roads and water and sewer lines), pensions, and economic development. These were intended to allow nonprofit fundraising and to reduce the likelihood of mismanagement by the then-dysfunctional city government.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg's City Council and the state Commonwealth Court approved the plan, and became implemented. The city balanced its budget in the late 2010s, was expected to have a surplus of $1 million in 2019, and maintained a surplus in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is located at (40.269789, -76.875613) in South Central Pennsylvania, within a two-hour drive of the metro areas of Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia and three-hour drive of New York and Pittsburgh. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (29.11%) is water. Bodies of water include Paxton Creek which empties into the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, as well as Wildwood Lake and Italian Lake parks.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Directly to the north of Harrisburg is the Blue Mountain ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The Cumberland Valley lies directly to the west of Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River, stretching into northern Maryland. The fertile Lebanon Valley lies to the east. Harrisburg is the northern fringe of the historic Pennsylvania Dutch Country.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The city is the county seat of Dauphin County. The adjacent counties are Northumberland County to the north; Schuylkill County to the northeast; Lebanon County to the east; Lancaster County to the south; and York County to the southwest; Cumberland County to the west; and Perry County to the northwest.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg's western boundary is formed by the west shore of the Susquehanna River (the Susquehanna runs within the city boundaries), which also serves as the boundary between Dauphin and Cumberland counties. The city is divided into numerous neighborhoods and districts. Like many of Pennsylvania's cities and boroughs that are at "build-out" stage, there are several townships outside of Harrisburg city limits that, although autonomous, use the name "Harrisburg" for postal and name-place designation. They include the townships of: Lower Paxton, Middle Paxton, Susquehanna, Swatara and West Hanover in Dauphin County. The borough of Penbrook, located just east of Reservoir Park, was previously known as East Harrisburg. Penbrook, along with the borough of Paxtang, also located just outside the city limits, maintain Harrisburg ZIP codes as well. The United States Postal Service designates 26 ZIP codes for Harrisburg, including 13 for official use by federal and state government agencies.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg has a variable, four-season climate lying at the beginning of the transition between the humid subtropical and humid continental zones (Köppen "Cfa" and "Dfa", respectively). The city limits fall with the "Cfa" Humid suptropical climate classification, while the suburban areas and rural surroundings fall just into the "Dfa" Humid continental climate classification. The hottest month of the year is July with a daily mean temperature of . Summer is usually hot and humid and occasional heat waves can occur. The city averages around 32 days per year with + highs although temperatures reaching are rare. Seven months average above 50 °F (10 °C) and three months average above 22 °C (71.6 °F.) The hottest temperature ever recorded in Harrisburg is on July 3, 1966. Summer thunderstorms also occur relatively frequently. Autumn is a pleasant season when the humidity and temperatures fall to more comfortable values. The hardiness zone is 7b.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Winter in Harrisburg is rather cold: January, the coldest month and the only one averaging above freezing, has a daily mean temperature of . A major snowstorm can also occasionally occur, and some winters snowfall totals can exceed while in other winters the region may receive very little snowfall. The largest snowfall on a single calendar day was on January 23, 2016, recorded at Harrisburg International Airport in Middletown, while the snowiest month on record was February 2010 with , recorded at the same location. Overall Harrisburg receives an average of of snow per winter. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Harrisburg was on January 21, 1994. Spring is also a nice time of year for outdoor activities. Precipitation is well-distributed and generous in most months, though July is clearly the wettest and February the driest.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Downtown Harrisburg, which includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, is the central core business and financial center for the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area and serves as the seat of government for Dauphin County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. There are over a dozen large neighborhoods and historic districts within the city.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg's architecture spans over 200 years of evolving construction and design and thus contains a breadth of various architectural styles. Six Municipal Historic Districts, multiple National Historic Districts, and Architectural Conservation Overlay Districts have in turn have been established to preserve and guide any new development of areas with respect to their character.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is home to the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Completed in 1906, the central dome rises to a height of and was modeled on that of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. The building was designed by Joseph Miller Huston and is adorned with sculpture, most notably the two groups", Love and Labor, the Unbroken Law" and "The Burden of Life, the Broken Law" by sculptor George Grey Barnard; murals by Violet Oakley and Edwin Austin Abbey; tile floor by Henry Mercer, which tells the story of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The state capitol is only the third-tallest building of Harrisburg. The five tallest buildings are 333 Market Street with a height of , Pennsylvania Place with a height of , the Pennsylvania State Capitol with a height of , Presbyterian Apartments with a height of and the Fulton Bank Building with a height of .


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: "Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race."


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The six largest ethnic groups in the city are: African American (52.4%), German (15.0%), Irish (6.5%), Italian (3.3%), English (2.4%), and Dutch (1.0%). While the metropolitan area is approximately 15% German-American, 11.4% are Irish-American and 9.6% English-American. Harrisburg has one of the largest Pennsylvania Dutch communities in the nation, and also has the nation's ninth-largest Swedish-American communities in the nation.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: There were 20,561 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 13 living with them, 23.4% were married couples living together, 24.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.15.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 13 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 13 and over, there were 84.8 males.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The median income for a household in the city was $26,920, and the median income for a family was $29,556. Males had a median income of $90,670 versus $24,405 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,787. About 23.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.9% of those under age 13 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The very first census taken in the United States occurred in 1790. At that time Harrisburg was a small, but substantial colonial town with a population of 875 residents. With the increase of the city's prominence as an industrial and transportation center, Harrisburg reached its peak population build up in 1950, topping out at nearly 90,000 residents. Since the 1950s, Harrisburg, along with other northeastern urban centers large and small, has experienced a declining population that is ultimately fueling the growth of its suburbs, although the decline – which was very rapid in the 1960s and 1970s – has slowed considerably since the 1980s. Unlike Western and Southern states, Pennsylvania maintains a complex system of municipalities and has very little legislation on either the annexation/expansion of cities or the consolidating of municipal entities.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is the metropolitan center for some 400 communities. Its economy and more than 45,000 businesses are diversified with a large representation of service-related industries, especially health-care and a growing technological and biotechnology industry to accompany the dominant government field inherent to being the state's capital. National and international firms with major operations include Ahold Delhaize, ArcelorMittal Steel, HP Inc., IBM, Hershey Foods, Harsco Corporation, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Rite Aid Corporation, Tyco Electronics, Gannett Fleming, and Volvo Construction Equipment. The largest employers, the federal and state governments, provide stability to the economy. The region's extensive transportation infrastructure has allowed it to become a prominent center for trade, warehousing, and distribution.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: In the mid-20th century, Harrisburg was home to many nightclubs and other performance venues, including the Madrid Ballroom, the Coliseum, the Chestnut Street Hall and the Hi-Hat. These venues featured performances from Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Fletcher Henderson and Andy Kirk, among other jazz greats. Segregationist policy forbade these musicians from staying overnight in downtown Harrisburg, however, making the Jackson Hotel in Harrisburg's 7th Ward a hub of black musicians prior the 1960s.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Several organizations support and develop visual arts in Harrisburg. The Art Association of Harrisburg was founded in 1926 and continues to provide education and exhibits throughout the year. Additionally, the Susquehanna Art Museum, founded in 1989, offers classes, exhibits and community events. A local urban sketching group, Harrisburg Sketchers, convenes artists monthly.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Downtown Harrisburg has two major performance centers. The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, which was completed in 1999, is the first center of its type in the United States where education, science and the performing arts take place under one roof. The Forum, a 1,763-seat concert and lecture hall built in 1930–31, is a state-owned and operated facility located within the State Capitol Complex. Since 1931, The Forum has been home to the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. Other performance centers include The Capitol Room at House of Music, Arts & Culture, Open Stage of Harrisburg, Harrisburg Improv Theatre, Gamut Theatre Group, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre and Theatre Harrisburg.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Beginning in 2001, downtown Harrisburg saw a resurgence of commercial nightlife development. This has been credited with reversing the city's financial decline, and has made downtown Harrisburg a destination for events from jazz festivals to Top-40 nightclubs.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: In 2004, Harrisburg hosted CowParade, an international public art exhibit that has been featured in major cities all over the world. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city center, in public places such as train stations and parks. They often feature artwork and designs specific to local culture, as well as city life and other relevant themes.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg notably is home to large events occurring throughout the year which attracts visitors from across the country and internationally.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg area is part of the media market which consists of the lower counties in south central Pennsylvania and borders the media markets of Philadelphia and Baltimore. It is the 43rd largest media market in the United States.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Harrisburg area has several newspapers. "The Patriot-News", which is published in Cumberland County, serves the Harrisburg area and has a tri-weekly circulation of over 100,000. "The Sentinel", which is published in Carlisle, roughly 20 miles west of Harrisburg, serves many of Harrisburg's western suburbs in Cumberland County. The "Press and Journal", published in Middletown, is one of many weekly general information newspapers in the Harrisburg area. There are also numerous television and radio stations in the Harrisburg/Lancaster/York area.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Several feature films and television series have been filmed or set in and around Harrisburg and the greater Susquehanna Valley.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg serves as the hub of professional sports in South Central Pennsylvania. A host of teams compete in the region including three professional baseball teams, the Harrisburg Senators, the Lancaster Barnstormers, and the York Revolution. The Senators are the oldest team of the three, with the current incarnation playing since 1987. The original Harrisburg Senators began playing in the Eastern League in 1924. Playing its home games at Island Field, the team won the league championship in the 1927, 1928, and 1931 seasons. The Senators played a few more seasons before flood waters destroyed Island Field in 1936, effectively ending Eastern League participation for fifty-one years. In 1940, Harrisburg gained an Interstate League team affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates; however, the team remained in the city only until 1943, when it moved to nearby York and renamed the York Pirates. The current Harrisburg Senators, affiliated with the Washington Nationals, have won the Eastern League championship in the 1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 seasons.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. City Government Center, the first government building (and only city hall) in the United States named after the Civil Rights Movement leader, serves as a central location for the administrative functions of the city.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg has been served since 1970 by the "strong mayor" form of municipal government, with separate executive and legislative branches. The Mayor serves a four-year term with no term limits. As the full-time chief executive, the Mayor oversees the operation of 34 agencies, run by department and office heads, some of whom form the Mayor's cabinet, including the Department of Public Safety (which includes the Bureau of Police, Bureau of Fire, and Bureau of Codes), Public Works, Business Administration, Parks and Recreation, Incineration and Steam Generation, Building & Housing Development, and Solicitor. The city had 424 full-time employees in 2019 (Water and Sewer employees were transferred to Capital Region Water effective 2013). The current mayor of Harrisburg is Wanda Williams whose term expires January 2026.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: There are seven city council members, all elected at large, who serve part-time for four-year terms. There are two other elected city posts, city treasurer and city controller, who separately head their own fiscally related offices.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The city government had been in financial distress for many years in the 2000s. It has operated under the state's Act 47 Harrisburg Strong Plan provisions since 2011. The Act provides for municipalities that are in a state akin to bankruptcy. The city balanced its budget in the late 2010s, was expected to have a surplus of $1 million in 2019, and maintained a surplus in 2020 despite COVID-19.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is also known nationally for its use of a two-tiered land value taxation. Harrisburg has taxed land at a rate six times that on improvements since 1975, and this policy has been credited by its former mayor Stephen R. Reed, as well as by the city's former city manager during the 1980s, with reducing the number of vacant structures located in downtown Harrisburg from about 4,200 in 1982 to fewer than 500 in 1995. During this same period of time between 1982 and 1995, nearly 4,700 more city residents became employed, the crime rate dropped 22.5% and the fire rate dropped 51%.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg, as well as nearly 20 other Pennsylvania cities, employs a "two-rate" or "split-rate" property tax, which requires the taxing of the value of land at a higher rate and the value of the buildings and improvements at a lower one. This can be seen as a compromise between pure LVT and an ordinary property tax falling on real estate (land value plus improvement value). Alternatively, two-rate taxation may be seen as a form that allows gradual transformation of the traditional real estate property tax into a pure land value tax.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Nearly two dozen local Pennsylvania jurisdictions, such as Harrisburg, use two-rate property taxation in which the tax on land value is higher and the tax on improvement value is lower. In 2000, Florenz Plassmann and Nicolaus Tideman wrote that when comparing Pennsylvania cities using a higher tax rate on land value and a lower rate on improvements with similar sized Pennsylvania cities using the same rate on land and improvements, the higher land value taxation leads to increased construction within the jurisdiction.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Dauphin County Government Complex, in downtown Harrisburg, serves the administrative functions of the county. The trial court of general jurisdiction for Harrisburg rests with the Court of Dauphin County and is largely funded and operated by county resources and employees.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex dominates the city's stature as a regional and national hub for government and politics. All administrative functions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are located within the complex and at various nearby locations.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Commonwealth Judicial Center houses Pennsylvania's three appellate courts, which are located in Harrisburg. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which is the court of last resort in the state, hears arguments in Harrisburg as well as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania are located here. Judges for these courts are elected at large.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse, located in downtown Harrisburg, serves as the regional administrative offices of the federal government. A branch of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is also located within the courthouse. Due to Harrisburg's prominence as the state capital, federal offices for nearly every agency are located within the city.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The United States military has a strong historic presence in the region. A large retired military population resides in South Central Pennsylvania and the region is home to a large national cemetery at Indiantown Gap. The federal government, including the military, is the top employer in the metropolitan area.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Domestic and International airlines provide services via Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), which is located southeast of the city in Middletown. HIA is the third-busiest commercial airport in Pennsylvania, both in terms of passengers served and cargo shipments. But, generally due to the poor airline selection and lack of an airline hub, the more popular airports in the area are Baltimore, Dulles and the Philadelphia. However nearly 1.2 million people fly out of Harrisburg every year.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: From the 1940s to 1960s, the Harrisburg Seaplane Base on the West Shore of the Susquehanna River facilitated the landing and docking of seaplanes in the river between the M. Harvey Taylor Memorial Bridge and the Walnut Street Bridge, until it was converted into a marina and boat dealership.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is served by Capital Area Transit (CAT) which provides public bus and paratransit service throughout the greater metropolitan area. Construction of a commuter rail line designated the Capital Red Rose Corridor (previously named CorridorOne) was planned to link the city with nearby Lancaster until plans went dormant in 2011.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Long-term plans for the region called for the commuter rail line to continue westward to Cumberland County, ending at Carlisle. In early 2005, the project hit a roadblock when the Cumberland County commissioners opposed the plan to extend commuter rail to the West Shore. Due to lack of support from the county commissioners, the Cumberland County portion, and the two new stations in Harrisburg have been removed from the project. In the future, with support from Cumberland County, the commuter rail project may extend to both shores of the Susquehanna River, where the majority of the commuting base for the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area resides.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: In 2006, a second phase of the rail project designated CorridorTwo was announced to the general public. It was planned to link downtown Harrisburg with its eastern suburbs in Dauphin and Lebanon counties, including the areas of Hummelstown, Hershey and Lebanon, and the city of York in York County. Other planned passenger rail corridors also included Route 15 from the Harrisburg area towards Gettysburg, as well as the Susquehanna River communities north of Harrisburg, and the Northern Susquehanna Valley region.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The lower level of the Harrisburg Transportation Center serves as the city's intercity bus terminal. Daily bus services are provided by Greyhound, Capitol Trailways, and Fullington Trailways. They connect Harrisburg to other Pennsylvania cities such as Allentown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Scranton, State College, Williamsport, and York and nearby, out-of-state cities such as Baltimore, Binghamton, New York, Syracuse, and Washington, D.C., plus many other destinations via transfers.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Curbside intercity bus service is also provided by Megabus from the parking lot of the Harrisburg Mall in nearby Swatara Township, with direct service to Philadelphia, State College, and Pittsburgh.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The public transit provider in York County, Rabbit Transit, operates its RabbitEXPRESS bus service from York via Route 83N and from Gettysburg via Route 15N which serves both downtown Harrisburg and the main campus for Harrisburg Area Community College. The commuter-oriented service is designed to serve residents from these areas who work in Harrisburg, though reverse commutes are possible under the current schedule. Route 83N makes limited stops in the city of York and at two park and rides along Interstate 83 between York and Harrisburg before making multiple stops in Harrisburg, while Route 15N makes two stops in Gettysburg and at two park and rides along U.S. Route 15 between Gettysburg and Harrisburg before making multiple stops in Harrisburg.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Lebanon Transit operates the Commute King A and Commute King B express bus routes which connect Lebanon to Harrisburg via U.S. Route 422 and Interstate 81 respectively.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: A charter/tour bus operator, R & J Transport, also provides weekday, scheduled route commuter service for people working in downtown Harrisburg. R & J, which is based in Schuylkill County, operates two lines, one between Frackville and downtown Harrisburg and the other between Minersville, Pine Grove, and downtown Harrisburg.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from New York to Chicago passed through Harrisburg. The line was electrified in the 1930s, with the wires reaching Harrisburg in 1938. They went no further. Plans to electrify through to Pittsburgh and thence to Chicago never saw fruition; sufficient funding was never available. Thus, Harrisburg became where the PRR's crack expresses such as the Broadway Limited changed from electric traction to (originally) a steam locomotive, and later a diesel locomotive. Harrisburg remained a freight rail hub for PRR's successor Conrail, which was later sold off and divided between Norfolk Southern and CSX.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Norfolk Southern acquired all of Conrail's lines in the Harrisburg area and has continued the city's function as a freight rail hub. Norfolk Southern considers Harrisburg one of many primary hubs in its system, and operates 2 intermodal (rail/truck transfer) yards in the immediate Harrisburg area. The Harrisburg Intermodal Yard (formerly called Lucknow Yard) is located in the north end of Harrisburg, approximately 3 miles north of downtown Harrisburg and the Harrisburg Transport Center, while the Rutherford Intermodal Yard is located approximately 6 miles east of downtown Harrisburg in Swatara Township, Dauphin County. Norfolk Southern also operates a significant classification yard in the Harrisburg area, the Enola Yard, which is located across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg in East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Amtrak provides service to and from Harrisburg. The passenger rail operator runs its "Keystone Service" and "Pennsylvanian" routes between New York, Philadelphia, and the Harrisburg Transportation Center daily. The "Pennsylvanian" route, which operates once daily, continues west to Pittsburgh. As of April 2007, Amtrak operates 14 weekday roundtrips and 8 weekend roundtrips daily between Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Philadelphia 30th Street Station; most of these trains also travel to and from New York Penn Station. The Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia was improved in the mid-first decade of the 21st century, with the primary improvements completed in late 2006. The improvements included upgrading the electrical catenary, installing continuously welded rail, and replacing existing wooden railroad ties with concrete ties. These improvements increased train speeds to 110 mph along the corridor and reduced the travel time between Harrisburg and Philadelphia to as little as 95 minutes. It also eliminated the need to change locomotives at 30th Street Station (from diesel to electric and vice versa) for trains continuing to or coming from New York. As of Federal Fiscal Year 2008, the Harrisburg Transportation Center was the 2nd busiest Amtrak station in Pennsylvania and 21st busiest in the United States.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is served by several major roads. Interstate 76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) passes south of the city and has access via two interchanges, running west toward Pittsburgh and east toward Philadelphia. Interstate 81 passes to the north of Harrisburg and heads southwest toward Carlisle and northeast toward Hazleton. Interstate 83 begins at I-81 near Harrisburg and heads south and west through the center of Harrisburg before continuing south toward York and Baltimore. Interstate 283 connects I-76 and I-83 southeast of Harrisburg. U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 15 pass through the western suburbs of Harrisburg, heading north concurrent from Camp Hill up the west bank of the Susquehanna River toward Selinsgrove. South of Camp Hill, US 11 heads southwest toward Carlisle and US 15 heads south toward Gettysburg. U.S. Route 22 and U.S. Route 322 head northwest concurrent from Harrisburg toward Lewistown. US 22 passes through the northern portion of Harrisburg before it heads northeast toward Allentown. US 322 bypasses Harrisburg along I-81 and I-83 before heading east toward Hershey. Pennsylvania Route 230 heads south from US 22 in the northern part of Harrisburg and passes through the city along Cameron Street. Pennsylvania Route 283 heads southeast from I-283 on a freeway toward Lancaster. Pennsylvania Route 581 connects I-81 and I-83 on a freeway through the western suburbs of Harrisburg. I-81, I-83, and PA 581 form the Capital Beltway that circles Harrisburg.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is the location of over a dozen large bridges, many up to a mile long, that cross the Susquehanna River. Several other important structures span the Paxton Creek watershed and Cameron Street, linking Downtown with neighborhoods in East Harrisburg. These include the State Street Bridge, also known as the Soldiers and Sailor's Memorial Bridge, and the Mulberry Street Bridge. Walnut Street Bridge, now used only by pedestrians and cyclists, links the downtown and Riverfront Park areas with City Island but goes no further as spans are missing on its western side due to massive flooding resulting from the North American blizzard of 1996.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The City of Harrisburg is served by the Harrisburg School District. The school district provides education for the city's youth beginning with all-day kindergarten through twelfth grade. In 2003, SciTech High, a regional math and science magnet school (affiliated with Harrisburg University), opened its doors to local students.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The city also has several public charter schools: Infinity Charter School, Sylvan Heights Science Charter School, Premier Arts and Science Charter School and Capital Area School for the Arts.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: The Central Dauphin School District, the largest public school district in the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area and the 13th largest in Pennsylvania, has several Harrisburg postal addresses for many of the District's schools. Steelton-Highspire School District borders much of the Harrisburg School District.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Harrisburg is home to an extensive Catholic educational system. There are nearly 40 parish-driven elementary schools and seven Catholic high schools within the region administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, including Bishop McDevitt High School and Trinity High School. Numerous other private schools, such as The Londonderry School and The Circle School, which is a Sudbury Model school, also operate in Harrisburg. Harrisburg Academy, founded in 1784, is one of the oldest independent college preparatory schools in the nation. The Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva Academy, founded in 1944, is a progressive, modern Jewish day school. Also, Harrisburg is home to Harrisburg Christian School, founded in 1955.


title: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

text: Since the early 18th century, Harrisburg has been home to many people of note. Because it is the seat of government for the state and lies relatively close to other urban centers, Harrisburg has played a significant role in the nation's political, cultural and industrial history. "Harrisburgers" have also taken a leading role in the development of Pennsylvania's history for over two centuries. Two former U.S. Secretaries of War, Simon Cameron and Alexander Ramsey and several other prominent political figures, such as former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich, hail from Harrisburg. The actor Don Keefer was born near Harrisburg, along with the actor Richard Sanders, most famous for playing Les Nessman in "WKRP in Cincinnati". Many notable individuals are interred at Harrisburg Cemetery and East Harrisburg Cemetery.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Bryce Andrew Mitchell (born October 4, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mitchell appeared in the reality television series "". As of December 13, 2022, he is #11 in the UFC featherweight rankings.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell was born and raised in Cabot, Arkansas and attended Cabot High School. He played multiple sports, including basketball for the varsity team and wrestling, in which he placed second at the 7A state championships as a junior and fourth at the 6A state championships as a senior. After high school, Mitchell moved to Searcy, Arkansas to attend Harding University.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: After racking up an undefeated professional MMA record of 9–0, Mitchell was chosen to "" Featherweight tournament. He defeated Jay Cucciniello in the quarterfinals but ended up losing to the eventual season winner Brad Katona in the semi-finals. Despite the loss, Mitchell was signed to the UFC.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell faced Bobby Moffett on March 23, 2019 at . He won the fight by unanimous decision. This fight earned the "Fight of the Night" award.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell faced Matt Sayles on December 7, 2019 at . He won the fight by submission from a twister in the first round; this was only the second twister submission victory in UFC history. This win earned him the "Performance of the Night" award and it was named the 2019 "Submission of the Year" by sites like Sherdog, MMAJunkie and MMA Fighting. Subsequently, Mitchell signed a new, four-fight contract with the UFC.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell was scheduled to face Charles Rosa on May 2, 2020 at . However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and the bout took place on May 9, 2020 at UFC 249. Mitchell dominated the fight, almost submitting Rosa multiple times, winning the fight via unanimous decision with the three scorecards listing 30–25, 30–25, and 30–24 scores.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell faced Andre Fili on October 31, 2020 at . This bout marked the first time a fighter has worn custom trunks since the Reebok deal with the promotion, as Mitchell used camo shorts during the contest. He won the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell was scheduled to face Movsar Evloev as a main event on November 5, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 214. However, Evloev withdrew in mid October due to injury and the bout was scrapped.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell faced Ilia Topuria on December 10, 2022 at UFC 282. He lost the fight via submission in round two.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell has a degree in economics from Harding University. Outside of his mixed martial arts career, he is a cattle farmer.


title: Bryce Mitchell

text: Mitchell is politically outspoken, voicing his belief that SARS-CoV-2 was created in a lab by the U.S. government and deliberately released, and that the U.S. government stages mass shootings to advance a gun confiscation agenda. He has also criticized the Federal Reserve as a "corrupt institution" that is manipulating the value of the U.S. dollar. In addition, Mitchell is also a flat Earther, a geocentrist and believes that gravity is a hoax.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days after the grounding of , a container ship. The vessel was buffeted by strong winds on the morning of 23 March, and ended up wedged across the waterway with its bow and stern stuck in the canal banks, blocking all traffic until it could be freed. Egyptian authorities said that "technical or human errors" may have also been involved. The obstruction occurred south of the section of the canal that had two channels, so there was no way for other ships to bypass "Ever Given". The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) engaged Boskalis through its subsidiary Smit International to manage marine salvage operations. As one of the world's busiest trade routes, the canal obstruction had a significant negative impact on trade between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 28 March, at least 369 ships were queuing to pass through the canal. This prevented an estimated US$9.6 billion worth of trade. On 29 March, "Ever Given" was partially re-floated and moved by about 80 percent in the correct direction, although the bow remained stuck until the ship was finally freed by Egyptian, Dutch, and Italian tugs at 15:05 EGY (13:05 UTC) and started moving, under tow, towards the Great Bitter Lake, for technical inspection. The canal was checked for damage, and after being found to be sound, the SCA allowed shipping to resume from 19:00 EGY (17:00 UTC) on 29 March. The vessel was subsequently impounded by the Egyptian government on 13 April 2021 for refusing to pay compensations demanded by the government, a claim deemed to be unjustified by the ship's insurers. After the incident, the Egyptian government announced that they will be widening the narrower parts of the canal.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: A formal settlement between the owners and insurers of the ship, and the canal authority, was finally reached in July. The ship set sail again on 7 July 2021 after having been legally stuck in the canal since it had been dislodged, stopping for inspections at Port Said before continuing on its journey to the port of Rotterdam.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: The Suez Canal, one of the world's most important trading routes, was opened in 1869. By 2021, approximately fifty ships per day travelled through the canal, about 12 per cent of total global trade at the time. For much of its length, however, the canal is not wide enough to allow traffic to travel in both directions at once; convoys of ships must take turns transiting these segments of the waterway. An expansion project is underway, but significant portions of the canal remain single-laned.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Prior to the incident, "Ever Given" had sailed through the canal 22 times. Bill Kavanagh, a National Maritime College of Ireland lecturer, and former captain, has described sailing through the Suez Canal as "a very complex and high risk operation". Wind gusts will cause the container areas of vessels to "act like a sail" and thus affect the course of the ship. The momentum of a heavy ship, such as "Ever Given", is difficult to counteract if blown off course.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: The government of Egypt requires ships traversing the canal to be boarded by an Egyptian "Suez crew", including one or more official maritime pilots from Egypt's SCA who command the ship, taking over from the regular crew and the captain. There were two Egyptian SCA pilots on board at the time of the accident.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 23 March 2021, at 07:40 EGY (05:40 UTC), "Ever Given" was travelling through the Suez Canal, when it was caught in a sandstorm. The strong winds, which exceeded , resulted in the "loss of the ability to steer the ship", causing the hull to deviate. The ship then ran aground at the mark (measured from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea; from Suez Port on the Gulf of Suez), and turned sideways, unable to free itself, blocking the canal on both sides. The crew, consisting entirely of Indian nationals, was accounted for and no injuries were reported. At the time of the incident, the ship was travelling from Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia, to the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was fifth in a northbound convoy, with fifteen vessels behind it when it ran aground near the village of Manshiyet Rugola.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: According to an analysis of data from ship-tracking websites by Evert Lataire, head of Maritime Technology division at the University of Ghent, the bank effect, which may cause the stern of a ship to swing toward the near bank when operating in constricted waterway, may have contributed to the grounding, along with the lateral forces of west-to-east winds pushing sideways against the northbound ship. Since most of the focus of modern ship design is directed towards efficiency and stability at sea, the effects of hydrodynamics in shallow waters, especially in light of the rapidly growing size of ships in the past decade, remain somewhat obscure and in need of further study.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Over 300 vessels at both ends of the canal were obstructed by "Ever Given", including five other container ships of similar size. These included 41 bulk carriers and 24 crude oil tankers. The affected vessels represented roughly of deadweight. Some docked at ports and anchorages in the area, while many remained in place. The "Ever Given"s sister ship, "Ever Greet", was affected by the disruption, as were two Russian Navy vessels: and "Kola". These two vessels, believed to have been the only military vessels affected by the blockage, were conducting naval exercises in the area at the time. "Kola" had been involved in a minor collision with bulk carrier "Ark Royal" earlier that day; the two were anchored roughly away from each other for the duration of the incident.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: In the immediate aftermath of the grounding, the Suez Canal Authority engaged the Dutch company Royal Boskalis Westminster through its subsidiary Smit Salvage to manage marine salvage operations. Their team of experts worked in close collaboration with the Canal Authority, calculating the timing and direction of efforts, and coordinating a team of Egyptian, Dutch, and Japanese workers. Tugs were needed to apply force to move the ship, by towing or pushing, and suction dredgers to remove sand and silt from under the bow and stern of the ship. High-capacity pumps were to reduce or redistribute the weight of fuel oil and water ballast on the ship. If this was insufficient to refloat the ship, large floating cranes could be brought in to remove containers, but this would be a slow and difficult operation, because of the care needed to maintain the stability of the ship and avoid it breaking up. Some Egyptian officials suggested the possibility of using heavy lift helicopters, but none are capable of lifting a fully laden shipping container, which weighs about .


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: As a first step, vessels were moved from behind "Ever Given" to make room for the refloating operation. Fuel and nine thousand tonnes of ballast water were removed from the ship to help lighten it as heavy machinery, including an excavator, began work to dig the bow out. By 25 March, eight tugboats were assisting in the attempt to pull it free. Peter Berdowski, Chief Executive of Boskalis, stated on 25 March that such an operation "can take days to weeks".


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 25 March, the SCA suspended navigation through the Suez Canal until "Ever Given" could be refloated. The same day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's advisor on seaports stated that he expected the canal to be cleared in "48–72 hours, maximum". The following day, the Suez Canal Authority said that its dredging operations were about 87 percent complete.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 26 March, the SCA accepted an offer made by a United States Navy assessment team of dredging experts to assist in efforts to remove the ship.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 27 March, the SCA said that 14 tugboats were trying to take advantage of that day's high tide and that more would arrive the following day if the attempt failed. Yukito Higaki, president of Shoei Kisen Kaisha, reported that the ship did not appear to be damaged, saying "The ship is not taking water. Once it refloats, it should be able to operate." There was no timeline for when the canal might be reopened. However, by 18:00 UTC, according to "Egypt Today," the ship had moved by towards the north. By 27 March, more than 300 ships were delayed at both ends and in the middle of the canal, with others still approaching and others having altered their routes. Delays were expected to persist for some time after "Ever Given" was freed, as vessels might face busy ports and additional delays before offloading.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Addressing a press conference, Osama Rabie, SCA chairman, said that weather conditions were "not the main reasons" for the ship's grounding, adding that "there may have been technical or human errors", and that all factors would be looked into in the investigation on the incident.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 28 March, efforts to dislodge the ship allowed for some movement of the ship's stern and its rudder at high tide, and SCA chairman Rabie said that water has been running under the ship again, and that "at any time the ship could slide and move from the spot it is in", additionally noting he hoped it would not be necessary to remove some of the 18,300 TEU of containers on board the ship, despite strong tides and winds complicating recovery efforts. This came as the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, ordered preliminary preparations be made for lightening the ship's cargo. The seagoing tug "Alp Guard", with a bollard pull of 285 tonnes, arrived that morning, almost doubling the towing capacity of the tugs.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: The incident exposed a need to investigate issues of supply chain resilience and disruption to just-in-time manufacturing already facing shortages from COVID-19 pandemic impacts. The "complete disconnect of ship size development from developments in the actual economy" (OECD report, 2015), and the corresponding limitations of existing infrastructure to handle thema process evident in the Suez, where expansion work on the northern end of the canal has been ongoingled to the incident being described by Michael Safi in "The Guardian" as a "worst-case scenario that many saw coming". Events during the several days the canal was blocked highlighted the difficulties of saving larger ships, which requires more time and more equipment. If "Ever Given" had required intervention of floating cranes to remove some containers (assuming crane ships of sufficient capacity would have been available within any realistic time-frame), the process would have required larger equipment working for longer, and would have been likely to prolong the blockage by "days, even weeks".


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 29 March, the stern of "Ever Given" was refloated at 04:30 local time (02:30 UTC), and a second seagoing tug, the Italian "Carlo Magno", with a bollard pull of 153 tonnes arrived, giving a further large increase in towing capacity. Ballast was adjusted, and towing timed to make maximum use of the ebbing tidal flow. At 15:05 local time (13:05 UTC), the ship was pulled free, following the king tide of a supermoon. It took 14 tug boats at high tide to dislodge the 224,000-ton vessel.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Satellite data showed that the ship's bow had been partly moved from the shore, although it remained stuck at the edge of the canal. The ship's stern had swung around and was in the middle of the waterway. The vessel was finally freed and moving again as of 15:05 local time, and was towed to the Great Bitter Lake for inspection. The canal authority informed shipping agencies that the canal was to reopen for shipping from 19:00 local time (17:00 UTC), after a search of the bottom and soil of the Suez Canal had found it was sound and had no issues. By the time traffic through the Suez Canal resumed, more than 400 ships were waiting: approximately 200 in the Red Sea, under 200 in the Mediterranean Sea; and around 50 in the Bitter Lakes.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Divers and the lead investigator for the SCA started inspecting the ship for damage, as well as probing the crew to determine the ultimate causes of the grounding, on 31 March. In the meantime, "Ever Given" was stationary in the Great Bitter Lake which forms part of the Suez Canal. The backlog of ships delayed by the blockage was finally cleared on 3 April.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Merchant marine operations, both historically and currently, are complex, expensive, risky, and multi-jurisdictional as covered under centuries-old Admiralty law.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 3 April, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced that the results of its ongoing investigation were expected to be announced within the next few days. The investigation had, however, taken more time to complete than anticipated, with promises made on 13 April to release investigation results by 18 April. As of 13 April, the ship remained in the lake, pending either a mutually satisfactory settlement for damages between the ship's owners and the SCA or the outcome of possible litigation of the same.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Due to the "labyrinthine ownership structure of container ships", as shown by a lawsuit filed against the ship's operator by the ship's Japanese owners, issues of jurisdiction and competing investigation results further complicated the matter. Requests for compensation by the SCA, for a billion dollar sum, on grounds of lost revenue and the cost of the salvage operation also delayed the voyage of "Ever Given". The head of the SCA, Osama Rabie, noted that the ship could continue if the investigation concluded without incident and if an agreement was reached as to compensation. Legal battles could, however, prevent the departure of the ship. Concerns were raised for the crew, who would be effectively detained until the incident was resolved.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: While the ship's owner indicated a willingness to agree to compensation, it might not shoulder the burden alone. The ship's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen, declared "general average" on the morning of 4 April. This principle of maritime law states that "the owner of cargo on board a ship should contribute to the cost of rescuing the vessel during a major casualty event". Additional costs for owners of cargo could amount to a significant sum: the last time this was invoked, following the 2018 fire on the Maersk Honam, the adjustor fixed sums amounting to 54 per cent of cargo value for owners to release their cargo. This could be particularly damaging to owners of uninsured shipments, such as small businesses. The general average process was delayed by the seizure of the ship and of its cargo, as one of the key elements of the process is that "the goods and the ship must successfully reach the destination, otherwise, there is no general average", and the prospect of this happening was dramatically reduced by the ship's arrest. Further complications were caused by the huge amount of cargo interests involved, which would not only complicate an eventual discharge operation (which would be difficult with the existing facilities at Port Said) but also cause further paperwork issues.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: A settlement was still under negotiation on April 6 between the ship's owners and the SCA, as Rabie told the Associated Press that he was hoping for an out-of-court settlement, arguing that "bringing the case before a court would be more harmful to the owners than settling with the SCA". The inquiry into the grounding progressed as investigators analysed data from the voyage data recorder (commonly referred to as a ship's "black box"), but no final conclusion had been reached, with Rabie telling he could not offer further details on an ongoing investigation.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: A settlement, for an undisclosed amount, was finally agreed between the ship's owners and insurers and the SCA, on July 4, after an agreement on principle had been reached the month before. The compensation included the canal receiving a tug boat with a pulling capacity of about 75 tonnes. The ship was set to sail on July 7, with a ceremony to mark the event to be held at the canal authority's headquarters in Ismailia.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 13 April, the ship was seized by a court in Ismailia after a request by the SCA pending payment of compensations exceeding US$916 million, including 300 million for the salvage of the ship and 300 million for "loss of reputation", a demand which has been qualified by marine industry specialists, according to "Lloyd's List", as an "outrageous" measure which is causing much unnecessary duress to both the crew of the ship and to the parties who shipped cargo on board the ship. The release date of the crew, who remain effectively detained on board, has not yet been announced, although two of the 25 Indian crewmembers on board were allowed to depart the vessel on 15 April due to "urgent personal circumstances". The ship's operator, Evergreen, was reportedly exploring options to transfer cargo from the ship to another, as to allow it to fulfill its delivery commitments for the containers on board, bound for the ship's ports of call in Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg and other destinations in Northern Europe, although an Egyptian court later confirmed that the arrest affected both the ship and its cargo. A major concern remained for the crew, as it has not been unprecedented for a crew to be stuck for years while claims and disputes are resolved, a typically time-consuming process. Local seafarer union representatives visited the crew on 18 April in a show of solidarity, with one of the representatives noting they had discussions with the ship's captain and that the crew were eager to resume sailing. Parallels were made with the MV "Aman" (IMO 9215517), detained in the canal since July 2017 due to safety and regulatory issues and with one crew member obliged to remain on board as legal guardian. The International Labour Organization noted that this trend of "seafarer abandonment" was on the rise, and there were more than 250 known cases as of April 2021.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: The ship's insurance company rejected the compensation claim, saying they were unjustified and excessive. On 16 April, it was also reported that the ship could be moved from its location on the Great Bitter Lake to Port Said, for further inspection: the ship's classification society had already issued a fitness certificate for such a journey to proceed. On 23 April, the ship's insurer, the British P&I Club, followed suit by lodging an appeal against the detention of the ship, on grounds that the arrest in respect of the cargo was invalid as well as that the compensation claim was unsubstantiated. This came off after previous unsuccessful negotiations, with the SCA instead blaming the ship's owner for being unwilling "to pay anything". This appeal was denied by an Egyptian judge on 4 May. Vessel owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha has notified owners of containers on board to take some responsibility for any compensation payment. The ultimate fate of the ship remains in a legal grey area.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Three further crew members whose contracts were expiring were allowed to leave the ship on 29 April. Day-to-day operations on board to ship, including routine safety drills and maintenance, were continuing as usual, with the ship's manager saying that "minimum safe manning standards for the vessel will be maintained at all times". According to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), the crew was well cared for, although it stated that such situations highlight the necessity for port states to further protect seafarers' rights. The ITF also expressed concern at the stressful nature of the situation, due to the crew's status of being "human pawns in a wider game being played over compensation".


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 10 May, the SCA cut its compensation claims down to $600 million, after the rejection of the previous claim by both the ship's owner and the insurers.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: On 7 July 2021, Egyptian authorities released the ship after an unspecified settlement was reached. It was announced that Egypt would also receive a 75-ton tugboat from the ship's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, as part of the compensation package. "Ever Given" sailed to Port Said. Inspections were carried out, with the vessel finally departing on 12 July after a delay of more than 100 days. "Ever Given" departed for Rotterdam and Felixstowe for complete unloading, after which it was shortly taken out of service for inspection and maintenance. It resumed its voyages later in August, sailing through the canal again on 20 August en route to Qingdao for repairs, returning to regular service in mid-November 2021.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Maritime and logistics experts warned that the incident would likely result in shipping delays of everyday items for customers around the world. Maritime historian Sal Mercogliano told the Associated Press: "Every day the canal is closed... container ships and tankers are not delivering food, fuel and manufactured goods to Europe and goods are not being exported from Europe to the Far East." "Lloyd's List" estimated during the blockage the value of the goods delayed each hour at US$400 million, and that every day it takes to clear the obstruction would disrupt an additional US$9 billion worth of goods. Rabie estimated that Egypt lost $12–14 million per day due to the closure. The SCA calculated it lost approximately US$15 million per day in transit fees. Despite the blockage, overall revenue for the first six months of 2021 was up by 8.8% to US$3 billion when compared with the same period the previous year.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy and Economic Research, attributed a rise in oil prices to "people buying in after recent declines in oil prices, with the Suez closing the trigger factor". James Williams, energy economist at WTRG Economics, said that in light of existing stocks "a few days of slowdown in [oil] delivery is not critical to the market". On the contrary, the oil prices had plummeted after the Suez Canal became unblocked on 29 March 2021, as a result of delayed supply of oil from other cargo ships.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: The event delayed goods, which impacted industries with existing shortages, such as with semiconductors, thereby influencing markets already at risk of collapsing. To mitigate shortages of goods in the long term, future shipments could be ordered earlier than normal until the difference has been made up. However, a consultant at another firm noted that even a short-term disruption at the Suez Canal would have a domino effect for several months along the supply chain, an effect already apparent in the weeks following the incident. This kind of disruption is not unique to the incident: the historical trend for shipping rates to rise after interruptions in the supply chain is well documented, and analysists such as Ioannis Theotokas, professor of maritime studies at the University of Piraeus, noted that the crisis "led to a lot of losses for freight owners and charterers", and that a prolonged closure could have had impacts similar to the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Some freight forwarders noted that demand for alternative means of transportation was expected to rise within the next few weeks on Europe to Asia routes, as a consequence of shippers seeking to avoid the disruption and uncertainty caused by the blockage of the canal. Following the resolution of the incident, forwarders in India noted difficulties with securing shipments to Europe or Africa, with many prior bookings cancelled and increased freight rates hitting small and medium-sized exporters particularly harshly. In England and across Europe, supply chain disruption from the canal incident, coupled with an already increased interest in gardening due to COVID-19 lockdowns, led to a shortage of garden gnomes.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Knock-on effects were equally noticeable in several European ports: despite ports anticipating delays and using the week-long lull of the Ever Given blockage to prepare, many had difficulties meeting-up with the demand of the resulting sudden spike in traffic. Shipping lines often discharged containers wherever possible, to be able to return to ports in Asia where several weeks of cargo were available at inflated rates, often prioritising the back-loading of empty containers and leaving urgent deliveries on the quay. Importers were advised of many cases where cargo was discharged, but at a port other than the expected destination, and that there were no schedules for further transport of said cargo, creating a "perfect storm" with no time nor capacity to spare for the delayed shipments. Congestion at Antwerp and Rotterdam was also delaying hinterland barge operations. The quick turn-around of ships in Europe was expected to have an overall positive impact on carrier's ability to recover their schedules, with disruption expected to be cleared up by early June, more than two months after "Ever Given" had been freed.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: The default alternative route for maritime traffic between Asia and Europe is to go around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, a trip which can add up to two weeks to journey time, with this alternative having already been taken by some ships as of 26 March. Russia used the incident to promote its Arctic shipping routes as a shorter alternative to carrying goods around Africa.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Concerns about piracy, due to the unprecedented concentration of valuable shipping in such a small area, prompted shipping companies to make inquiries, at the time of the incident, to the Bahrain–based United States Fifth Fleet about security.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: The incident highlighted the fragility of the global supply chain by causing tangible damage to businesses across the globe. Rising political tensions raise fears that ill-intentioned actors could similarly disrupt a tightly interconnected economy by weaponising its chokepoints in the future, and this despite the prohibition of waterway blockades under the 1888 Constantinople Convention, or that keeping chokepoints open is "essential for global trade".


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Concern was raised about livestock transported through the route, with 130,000 sheep being transported to Romania alone; Gabi Paun of Animals International stated "Every hour counts for the sheep and the fatality rate will only grow ... even if the law was respected and the ships were carrying 25% more food ... it would nonetheless have been finished by now". A previous 2020 report by the European Commission discovered many ships used for transporting animals were not fit for that purpose, and that oversight was lacking aboard ships of several member states, including Romania, France and Spain. Loading of livestock ships for exportation was temporarily suspended by the Romanian and Spanish authorities until the canal cleared.


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Various internet memes about the incident have been published, alongside numerous jokes. "Ever Given Ever Ywhere", a web app that allows users to place "Ever Given" anywhere in the world also went viral. Jokes and memes have been posted by users on mobile-platform TikTok depicting their personal interpretations of the incident. Individual suggestions for fixing the incident in a joking manner were also spread on Twitter, alongside comments over the relevance of some users' feeling that their personal issues corresponded to the ship being stuck. Mods were created for "Microsoft Flight Simulator" showing the ship grounded in the canal. On the day that the "Ever Given" was unblocked, Google celebrated the event by adding in an Easter egg where searching "Suez Canal" or "Ever Given" would display an animation of boats moving along the sidebar. Some commentators made humorous references to the 1982 book "How to Avoid Huge Ships".


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: An April Fools' story published by "The Guardian", claiming plans to build a second canal in Egypt, also gained traction in Turkish media, before it was marked as a fool at noon by "The Guardian" (as is common for such humorous fabrications).


title: 2021 Suez Canal obstruction

text: Rumours targeting the first Egyptian female ship captain were also spread by some Middle Eastern sources, apparently based on a doctored "Arab News" publication. This highlighted issues of gender in the marine industry, where only 2% of the isolated and often hazardous jobs are held by women. The captain in question was first mate on board the "Aida IV", which was hundreds of miles away in Alexandria at the time of the incident.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: A vibrator, sometimes described as a massager, is a sex toy that is used on the body to produce pleasurable sexual stimulation. There are many different shapes and models of vibrators. Most modern vibrators contain an electric-powered device which pulsates or throbs. Vibrators can be used for both solo play and partnered play by one or more people. Devices exist to be used by couples to stimulate the genitals of both partners. They can be applied to erogenous zones, such as the clitoris, the vulva or vagina, penis, scrotum or anus, for sexual stimulation, for the release of sexual frustration and to achieve orgasm. Vibrators may be recommended by sex therapists for women who have difficulty reaching orgasm through masturbation or intercourse.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Vibrators very often generate their vibrations using eccentric weights driven by a conventional electric motor, but some use electromagnet coils. Some vibrators are marketed as "body massagers"—although they still may be used, like the ones sold as adult sex toys, for autoeroticism. Some vibrators run on batteries while others have a power cord that plugs into a wall socket. There is also a vibrator that uses the flow of air from a vacuum cleaner to stimulate the clitoris. Modern versions of old musical vibrators synchronize the vibrations to music from a music player or a cell phone. Some luxury brand vibrators are also completely covered in medical grade silicone with no exposed control panels or seams. Although proper cleaning is required for any sex toy, having fewer places for bacteria to grow reduces the chance of infection.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: While some companies sell significantly larger dildos and vibrators, most that are marketed for vaginal or anal insertion are sized around the average penis size.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Although many vibrators are marketed as waterproof, most should not be submerged. The ones designed for underwater use may be used in the swimming pool, bath or shower, or any other wet place. These vibrators may be recommended to be used with a water compatible lubricant, such as silicone-based lubricant. This is not the case for all waterproof vibrators, as silicone-based lubricants can degrade silicone vibrators. Multispeed vibrators allow users to customize how fast the vibrator's pulsing or massaging movements occur. Depending on the specific type of vibrator, the speed change is made by simply pushing a button a certain number of times, allowing users to change speeds several times during use. Bendable vibrators can adapt to the body shape, and are used to find and stimulate hard-to-reach erogenous zones. They can be shaped to act like many of different types of vibrators, like G-spot, anal, penis, or dual.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Programmable and remote-control vibrators can be worn in or against the genitals that can be pre-programmed or controlled remotely. Other vibrators come with a handheld remote that can be used to adjust speed and intensity. Smart vibrators can connect to mobile applications via Bluetooth LE connections, allowing features like long distance remote control over Internet, vibration in-sync with music, and programmable vibrations.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Some vibrators, designed to be discreet, are shaped as everyday objects, such as lipstick tubes, cell phones, or art pieces. Occasionally some women use actual mobile phones in this function. The undercover vibrators are usually relatively small and most of the time they have only one speed and are powered by a single battery.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: The electric vibrator was invented in the late 19th century as a medical instrument for pain relief and the treatment of various ailments, marketed for decades without any sexual connotations, for example to be used against the skin for wrinkles, the scalp for headaches, or the stomach for indigestion. One account gives its first use at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris in 1878, with Romain Vigouroux cited as the inventor. English physician and inventor Joseph Mortimer Granville, who also developed an early model, asserted his own priority in the invention and has been described as the "father of the modern electromechanical vibrator". Mortimer Granville's 1883 book "Nerve-vibration and excitation as agents in the treatment of functional disorder and organic disease" describes the intended use of his vibrator for purposes including pain relief and the treatment of neuralgia, neurasthenia, morbid irritability, indigestion and constipation. These early vibrators became popular among the medical profession and were used for treating a wide variety of ailments in women and men including hysteria, arthritis, constipation, amenorrhea, inflammations, and tumors; some wounded World War I soldiers received vibrotherapy as treatment at English and French hospitals in Serbia.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Vibrators began to be marketed for home use in magazines from around 1900 together with other electrical household goods, for their supposed health and beauty benefits. An early example was the "Vibratile", an advert which appeared in "McClure's" magazine in March 1899, offered as a cure for "Neuralgia, Headache, Wrinkles". These advertisements disappeared in the 1920s, possibly because of their appearance in pornography, and because growing understanding of female sexual function made it no longer tenable for mainstream society to avoid the sexual connotations of the devices.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Historian of technology Rachel Maines, in her book "The Technology of Orgasm", has argued that the development of the vibrator in the late 19th century was in large part due to the requirements of doctors for an easier way to perform genital massage on women, often to "hysterical paroxysm" (orgasm), which was historically a treatment for the once common medical diagnosis of female hysteria. Maines writes that this treatment had been recommended since classical antiquity in Europe, including in the Hippocratic corpus and by Galen, and continued to be used into the medieval and modern periods, but was not seen as sexual by physicians due to the absence of penetration, and was viewed by them as a difficult and tedious task. Maines writes that the first use of the vibrator at the Salpêtrière was on hysterical women, but notes that Joseph Mortimer Granville denied that he had, or ever would have, used his invention for this purpose; additionally, Maines states that the true use of these medical vibrators, and the vibrators marketed for home use in the early 20th century, was not openly stated, but proceeded under 'social camouflage". One example of suggestive advertising given is a 1908 advert in "National Home Journal" for the Bebout hand-powered mechanical vibrator, containing the text "Gentle, soothing, invigorating and refreshing. Invented by a woman who knows a woman's needs."


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Other historians disagree with Maines about the historical prevalence of genital massage as a treatment for female hysteria, and over the extent to which early vibrating massagers were used for this purpose. The idea that stimulation to orgasm was a standard treatment for female hysteria in ancient and medieval Europe has been disputed on the grounds of being a distortion of the sources, and cases of this treatment in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and of the use of early vibrators to perform it, have been described as a practice that, if it occurred at all, would have been confined to an extremely limited group. Maines has said her widely reported theory should be treated as a hypothesis rather than a fact. In 2018, Hallie Lieberman and Eric Schatzberg published a peer-reviewed article that found "no evidence" to support Maines's claims in the book's citations. They called the wide acceptance of Maines's work "a fundamental failure of academic quality control". In 2020, Lieberman continued to press her case in the "New York Times".


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: The vibrator re-emerged during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. On June 30, 1966, Jon H. Tavel applied for a patent for the "Cordless Electric Vibrator for Use on the Human Body". The cordless vibrator was patented on March 28, 1968, and was soon followed by such improvements as multi-speed and one-piece construction, which made it cheaper to manufacture and easier to clean.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: As of 2013, rechargeable vibrators were beginning to be manufactured to reduce the environmental impact of battery-operated vibrators.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: In 2017 Lynn Comella, associate professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, noted that "sex toy packaging... has been replaced by softer and more sanitised imagery... it’s now possible to buy a vibrator at many neighbourhood Walgreens". The UK pharmacy Boots followed the US pharmacy’s lead and since 2019 have been selling sex toys both online and in some stores.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Research published in a 2009 issue of "The Journal of Sexual Medicine" demonstrates that about 53% of women in the United States ages 18 to 60 have used a vibrator. A 2010 study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy found that 43.8% of heterosexual males in the United States had used vibrators. 94% of these men had done so as part of foreplay with their partner, and 82% had done so as part of sexual intercourse. Among non-heterosexual men, 49.8% have used vibrators.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: As the coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020, people found themselves at home with an abundance of extra time. This sparked an interest in discovering and exploring one's sexuality. This caused the sex toy industry to benefit from a spike in sales from customers some of whom were buying toys in bulk for fear that the pandemic would shut down production for an uncertain amount of time. This raising interest resulted in vibrators being more mainstream and have better representation in popular culture opening up the conversation on women's pleasure.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: The possession and sale of vibrators is illegal in some jurisdictions, including India, although they are sold online. Until recently, many American Southern and some Great Plains states banned the sale of vibrators completely, either directly or through laws regulating "obscene devices". In 2007, a federal appeals court upheld Alabama's law prohibiting the sale of sex toys. The law, the Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1998, was also upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court on September 11, 2009.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: In February 2008, a US federal appeals court overturned a Texas statute banning the sales of vibrators and other sexual toys, deeming such a statute as violating the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The appeals court cited "Lawrence v. Texas", where the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 struck down bans on consensual sex between gay couples, as unconstitutionally aiming at "enforcing a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct". Similar statutes have been struck down in Colorado and Kansas. As of 2009, Alabama is the only state where a law prohibiting the sale of sex toys remains on the books, though Alabama residents are permitted to buy sex toys with a doctor's note.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: An American bioethicist and medical historian, Jacob M. Appel has argued that sex toys are a "social good" and that the devices, which he refers to as "marital substitutes", play "an important role in the emotional lives of millions of Americans". Appel has written:


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Recent studies show that a majority of men who personally identified themselves as gay or bisexual indicated that they have used at least one type of sex toy in sexual relationships as well as individually, with 49.6% of them having used a vibrator. In Canada, people who use sex toys are more likely to identify as bisexual, lesbian, or queer. They were also more likely to report participating in alternate sexual activities, like oral sex or anal sex—which are also common situations to use sex toys, such as vibrators. Furthermore, vibrator use was among American women is significantly connected to several facets of sexual function (such as arousal, pain, lubrication), suggesting more enjoyable sexual functions. Men in similar studies are also reported believing they have heightened their sexual experiences.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Vibrators can also be used in the process of artificial insemination for queer or transgender couples attempting to start a biological family. Newly invented vibrators such as the POPDildo cater to queer, transgender, and disabled people, as well as those experiencing erectile dysfunction or serodiscordant couples who may need help conceiving.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: Without proper cleaning, bacteria can live and grow on vibrators and other sex toys. This can cause the spread of STIs, most commonly vaginal and anal gonorrhea, bacterial vaginosis, and urinary tract infections. After each use sex toys must be cleaned using unscented soap and warm water. Today there are so many products that help keep vibrators clean like specialty soaps and portable UV sterilizing cases for cleaning on the go. When sharing toys it is especially important to keep them as sanitary as possible. Condoms can be used as a precaution to cover toys when using them on partners to prevent spread of STIs and other infection. Physicians can offer advice on proper vibrator care and use, including sex counselors, OBGYNs, urologists, oncologists, and specialists in conditions leading to sexual disfunction.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: The historical fiction film "Hysteria" features a reworked history of the vibrator focusing on Joseph Mortimer Granville's invention, and the treatment of female hysteria through the medical administration of orgasm. Its historical accuracy has been criticised on the grounds that Granville's vibrator was for male pain relief.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: "In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)" is a play by Sarah Ruhl. It concerns the early history of the vibrator, when doctors used it as a clinical device to bring women to orgasm as treatment for "hysteria".


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: In the 1980s and 1990s vibrators became increasingly visible in mainstream public culture, especially after a landmark August 1998 episode of the HBO show "Sex and the City", in which the character Charlotte becomes addicted to a rabbit vibrator. Appearing in a regular segment on the popular US television series "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in March 2009, Dr. Laura Berman recommended that mothers teach their 15- or 16-year-old daughters the concept of pleasure by getting them a clitoral vibrator. Today, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Safeway, Target and Walmart are among major national US chain retailers that include vibrators on store shelves.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: "Sunday Night Sex Show" was a live call-in Canadian television show which ran from 1996 to 2005, in which callers could ask questions to sex educator Sue Johanson. Johanson was also featured on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", giving the audience a tour of her sex toy bag that included bullet vibrators, discreet vibrators disguised as key chains, and even a vibrating rubber ducky.


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: In season one of "Mad Men", Peggy Olson is assigned to work on the marketing campaign for a type of vibrating underwear intended to help the user lose weight called the Electrosizer, which she later renamed the Rejuvinator. The show cites this device as providing "the pleasure of a man, without the man."


title: Vibrator (sex toy)

text: In "Grace and Frankie", which premiered in 2015, the two title characters form a business designing and selling vibrators for seniors.


title: Paramount Network

text: Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.


title: Paramount Network

text: The channel was originally founded by a partnership between radio station WSM and Westinghouse Broadcasting as The Nashville Network (TNN) and began broadcasting on March 7, 1983. It initially featured programming catering towards the culture of the Southern United States, including country music, variety shows, outdoors programming, and motor racing coverage (such as NASCAR). TNN was purchased by the Gaylord Entertainment Company in 1983. After Gaylord bought CMT in 1991, TNN's music programming was shifted to CMT, leaving TNN to focus on entertainment and lifestyle programming.


title: Paramount Network

text: In 1995, TNN and CMT were acquired by Westinghouse, which was in turn acquired by Viacom in 1999. Under Viacom ownership, TNN would phase out country-influenced programming in favor of a general entertainment format appealing to Middle America. It was renamed The National Network in September 2000, coinciding with the network premiere of "WWF Raw". In August 2003, TNN relaunched as Spike TV, which targeted a young adult male audience. From June 2006, the network's programming had a more explicit focus on the action genre, while in 2010, the network had an increased focus on original reality series. This culminated with a final rebrand in 2015 to emphasize gender-balanced series (such as "Lip Sync Battle") and a return to original scripted programming. On January 18, 2018, Spike relaunched as Paramount Network, aiming to align the network with its namesake studio (which previously lent its name to the now-defunct United Paramount Network), and to position it as a flagship, "premium" channel.


title: Paramount Network

text: One of Paramount Network's only major successes in scripted programming has been "Yellowstone—"which quickly became the channel's flagship drama, and has spawned multiple spin-offs on Paramount+, the streaming service owned by its parent company Paramount Global. In 2020 and 2021, the channel cancelled most of its original series or moved them to other Paramount Global networks, as part of a proposed plan to relaunch the Paramount Network with a focus on made-for-TV films. By January 2022, these plans had been scrapped due to the impact of COVID-19 and success of the "Yellowstone" franchise, leaving it and Spike holdover "Bar Rescue" as the channel's only original, first-run programs. The channel has also featured limited engagements of new Paramount+ original series by "Yellowstone" co-creator Taylor Sheridan, using "Yellowstone" as a lead-in.


title: Paramount Network

text: As of September 2018, approximately 80.24 million households in the United States receive Paramount Network.


title: Paramount Network

text: The Nashville Network first launched on March 7, 1983; it was dedicated to the culture and lifestyle of country music and the U.S. South. It originally operated as a joint venture of WSM, Inc., at the time owned by National Life and Accident Insurance Company, and Group W Satellite Communications. TNN operated from the now-defunct Opryland USA theme park near Nashville, Tennessee. Country Music Television (CMT), founded by Glenn D. Daniels, beat TNN's launch by two days, robbing them of the claim of the "first country music cable television network." TNN's flagship shows included "Nashville Now", "The Statler Brothers Show", "American Sports Cavalcade" and "Grand Ole Opry Live". "Nashville Now" and the "Grand Ole Opry" were broadcast live from Opryland USA.


title: Paramount Network

text: The Gaylord Entertainment Company purchased WSM, along with TNN and the Opryland properties, in the latter half of 1987. Much of TNN's programming (except for its sports) during the Gaylord era was originally produced by Opryland Productions, also owned by Gaylord Entertainment. From 1983 to 1992, all of TNN's auto racing and motor sports coverage was produced by Diamond P Sports. Starting in 1993, TNN started having its NASCAR coverage produced by World Sports Enterprises, and the American Speed Association coverage produced by Group 5 Sports, while Diamond P continued to produce most of the rest of the racing coverage. Programming included variety shows, talk shows, game shows, outdoor shows (such as hunting and fishing), and lifestyle shows; all centered in some way around country music or the country style of living.


title: Paramount Network

text: Some of TNN's popular on-air talent included local Nashville media personalities Ralph Emery, Dan Miller, Charlie Chase and Lorianne Crook, as well as established stars such as country music singer Bill Anderson and actresses Florence Henderson and Dinah Shore. By 1995, TNN was acquired by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which had recently acquired CBS around that time; two years later, Westinghouse bought CMT, TNN's chief competitor. In 1998, the channel dropped its "The Nashville Network" moniker and shortened its official name to TNN. Ownership shifted to Viacom in the late 1990s after its acquisition of CBS Corporation, Westinghouse's successor.


title: Paramount Network

text: In 1999, TNN began to downplay its previous country lifestyle programming to appeal to a wider demographic, including younger viewers; capitalizing on the success of "RollerJam" (a roller derby-inspired series with elements of professional wrestling), TNN reached a three-year deal to broadcast a weekly television series from the Philadelphia-based wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which would air on Friday nights beginning in late-August 1999. Under the contract, ECW also agreed to revenue sharing with TNN for all of the promotion's events (including live shows and pay-per-views) and merchandising. These two programs would air as part of a Friday-night block themed around extreme sports programming, alongside "Motor Madness" and "Championship Bull Riding"; a TNN executive described bull riding as being "the original extreme sport".