title: Jar Jar Binks

text: In response to the criticism surrounding Jar Jar, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas stated that he feels there is a section of the fanbase upset that "the movies are for children but they don't want to admit that... There is a small group of fans that do not like comic sidekicks. They want the films to be tough like "The Terminator", and they get very upset and opinionated about anything that has anything to do with being childlike."


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: In July 2018, Best said that the widespread criticism of his character had led to him considering suicide.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: In April 2019, during the annual "Star Wars" Celebration event ahead of the 20th anniversary panel for "The Phantom Menace", George Lucas named Jar Jar as his favorite "Star Wars" character.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" described the character as a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen." Patricia J. Williams suggested that many aspects of Jar Jar's character are highly reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed in blackface minstrelsy, while others have suggested the character is a "laid-back clown character" representing a black Caribbean stereotype. George Lucas has denied any racist implications. Ahmed Best also rejected the allegations, saying that "Jar Jar has nothing to do with the Caribbean".


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: In late October 2015, a Reddit user by the name of "Lumpawarroo" published a detailed theory speculating that Binks was originally written as a major antagonist of the series, a manipulative, prominent collaborator of Palpatine, before being written off from his major villain's role due to the character's negative reception. This theory was related to an earlier interview with actor Ahmed Best in /r/IAmA, where he claimed that Jar Jar had been displaced from the story's main focus due to the backlash, implying at the same time that the hate received by the character was not entirely unintentional.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: The post quickly became popular and received significant media coverage internationally by independent bloggers and major news outlets like "The Guardian", "The Washington Post", and "The New York Times", which included analysis of his actions in "The Phantom Menace" and gave him the nickname of "Darth Jar Jar". Journalist Andrew Street from "The Guardian" called it a "classic twist", comparing it to Yoda's role in "The Empire Strikes Back", while Matt Hickey from "Forbes" went to the extent of contacting George Lucas about the question, but received no answer.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: In response to the speculations, Best tweeted, "I will say this, it feels really good when the hidden meaning behind the work is seen. No matter how long it takes," apparently confirming the theory. Some months later, he expanded upon his tweet in a YouTube interview, stating, "there is a lot about [the theory] that is true, there are some things about it that are not true... Could Jar Jar have evolved into that? I think the answer is yes. Because of the backlash, and rightfully so, Lucasfilm backed off of Jar Jar a lot, but a lot of the influence that I put into the character mirrored a lot of what was already in the "Star Wars" universe." Best concluded only Lucas could unveil the actual role of Binks, yet he also claimed that a deleted scene from "Attack of the Clones" would have still shown Palpatine darkly confiding his plans about the Empire to Jar Jar.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: J. J. Abrams, who directed two installments of the franchise's sequel trilogy after its buyout by Disney, personally approved the theory about the villainous Jar Jar. He described Lumpawarroo's argumentation as an "unbelievably lengthy analysis, in a very seriously thought-out way, as to why it's obviously true he's [evil]."


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Howard the Duck, known in Europe as Howard: A New Breed of Hero, is a 1986 American superhero comedy film directed by Willard Huyck and starring Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, and Tim Robbins. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film was produced by Gloria Katz and written by Huyck and Katz, with George Lucas as executive producer. The screenplay was originally intended to be an animated film, but the film adaptation became live-action because of a contractual obligation. Although several TV adaptations of Marvel characters had aired during the preceding 21 years, this was the first attempt at a theatrical release since the "Captain America" serial of 1944.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Lucas proposed adapting the comic book following the production of "American Graffiti" (1973). After multiple production difficulties and mixed response to test screenings, "Howard the Duck" was released in theaters on August 1, 1986. Upon its release, the film was a critical and commercial failure and was criticized for its humor, performances, inconsistent tone, and appearance of the title character, though the effects and soundtrack were mostly praised. In the years since, it has been considered among the worst films ever made, but has also developed a cult following. It was nominated for seven Razzie Awards (winning four), and made about US$38 million (US$16.3 million domestically) compared to its US$30–37 million budget.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Howard the Duck is 27 years old and lives on Duckworld, a planet similar to Earth, but inhabited by anthropomorphic ducks and orbited by twin moons. As he is reading PlayDuck in his living room, his armchair suddenly propels him out of his apartment building and into outer space; Howard eventually lands on Earth, in Cleveland, Ohio. Upon arriving, Howard encounters a woman being attacked by thugs, whom he defeats using a unique style of martial arts. The woman introduces herself as Beverly Switzler, and decides to take Howard to her apartment and let him spend the night.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The following day, Beverly takes Howard to Phil Blumburtt, a scientist who Beverly hopes can help Howard return to his world. After Phil is revealed to be only a lab assistant, Howard resigns himself to life on Earth and rejects Beverly's aid. He soon applies for a job as a janitor at a local romance spa, but eventually quits and returns to Beverly, who plays in a band called Cherry Bomb. At the club where Cherry Bomb is performing, Howard comes across their manager and confronts him when he insults the band. A fight breaks out, in which Howard wins.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Howard rejoins Beverly backstage after the band's performance and accompanies her back to her apartment, where Beverly persuades him to be the band's new manager. The two begin to flirt, but they are interrupted by Blumburtt and two of his colleagues, who reveal that a laser spectroscope they were inventing was aimed at Howard's planet and transported him to Earth when it was activated. They theorize that Howard can be sent back to his world through a reversal of this same process.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Upon their arrival at the laboratory, the laser spectroscope malfunctions upon activation, raising the possibility of something else being transported to Earth. At this point, Dr. Walter Jenning is possessed by a life form from a distant region of space. When they visit a diner, the creature introduces itself as a "Dark Overlord of the Universe" and demonstrates its developing mental powers by destroying the table, utensils, and condiments. A fight ensues when a group of truckers in the diner begins to insult Howard. Howard is captured and is almost killed by the diner chef, but the Dark Overlord destroys the diner and escapes with Beverly.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Howard locates Phil, who is arrested for his presence at the laboratory with no security clearance. After they escape, they discover an ultralight aircraft, which they use to search for the Dark Overlord and Beverly. At the laboratory, the Dark Overlord plans to transfer another of his kind into Beverly's body with the dimension machine. Howard and Phil arrive and seemingly destroy the Dark Overlord with an experimental neutron disintegrator, but the creature is merely forced out of Jenning's body and now attacks them in his true form. Howard fires the neutron disintegrator at the hideous beast, obliterating him. He then destroys the laser spectroscope, preventing more Dark Overlords from arriving on Earth, but also ruining his only chance of returning to Duckworld. Howard then becomes Beverly's manager, hires Phil as an employee on her tour, and performs with her on stage.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: George Lucas attended film school with Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who later co-wrote "American Graffiti" with Lucas. After the film's production concluded, Lucas told Huyck and Katz about the comic book "Howard the Duck", primarily written by Steve Gerber, describing the series as being "very funny" and praising its elements of film noir and absurdism. In 1984, Lucas relinquished his presidency of Lucasfilm to focus on producing films. According to the documentary "A Look Back at Howard the Duck", Huyck, Katz and Lucas began to seriously consider adapting "Howard the Duck" as a film, and met with Gerber to discuss the project. Steve Gerber's account differs slightly; he recalls that at the time he was approached to discuss the film, Lucas was not yet involved with the project.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The film was optioned by Universal Studios after a partnership with Marvel Comics. According to Marvin Antonowsky, "Sidney [Sheinberg] lobbied very hard for "Howard the Duck"", because the studio had passed on previous projects in which Lucas was involved, which had been very successful. Sheinberg denied any involvement in "Howard the Duck", claiming that he never read the screenplay. Huyck and Katz strongly felt that the film should be animated. Because Universal needed a film for a summer release and thinking that animating the film would take too long or cost too much, Lucas suggested that the film could be produced in live-action, with special effects created by ILM.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Production designer Peter Jamison and director of photography Richard Kline were hired to give the film a look similar to that of a color comic book. Throughout the shoot, Huyck shot multiple segments establishing Duckworld, designed by Jamison. In the opening shot, the skyline displayed could easily be New York City but the two moons visible in the sky (at similar angles from one another as the two suns of Tatooine in the original "Star Wars" film). Howard's apartment is filled with detailed props, including books and magazines featuring duck-oriented puns. Because Lucas often worked with dwarf actors, he was able to hire a number of extras to work on these sequences.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Though Gerber's schedule generally prevented him from being present during the shooting, he chose to miss the deadline on the first issue of "The Spectre" so he could watch the final day.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Huyck and Katz began to develop ideas. Early on in production, it was decided that the personality of the character would be changed from that of the comics, in which Howard was rude and obnoxious, to make the character nicer. Gerber read over the script and offered his comments and suggestions. In addition, Huyck and Katz met with Gerber to discuss a horror sequence with which they were having difficulty.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: During the screenwriting process, a stronger emphasis was placed on special effects, rather than satire and story. Overall, the tone of the film is in diametric opposition to the comics. Whereas Katz declared, "It's a film about a duck from outer space... It's not supposed to be an existential experience... We're supposed to have fun with this concept, but for some reason, reviewers weren't able to get over that problem." Gerber declared that the comic-book series "was" an existential joke, stating, "'This is no joke!' There it is. The cosmic giggle. The funniest gag in the universe. Life's most serious moments and most incredibly dumb moments are often distinguishable only by a momentary point of view. Anyone who doesn't believe this probably cannot enjoy reading "Howard the Duck"." However, after shooting was finished, Gerber stated that he felt the film was faithful to both the spirit of the comic book and the characters of Howard and Beverly.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: An early proposed storyline involved the character being transported to Hawaii. Huyck states that this storyline was considered because "we thought it would be sort of fun to shoot there". According to Katz, they did not want to explain how Howard arrived on Earth initially, but later rewrote the screenplay so that the film would begin on Howard's homeworld. Huyck and Katz wanted to incorporate both lighter, humorous elements and darker, suspenseful elements. Katz states that some readers were confused by the sexual elements of the screenplay, as they were unsure as to whether the film was intended for adults or children. Huyck and Katz wrote the ending leaving the story open for a sequel, which was never produced.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The film was originally intended to be animated based on the character created by Steve Gerber and quoting scripts by Bill Mantlo. In particular, the "Duckworld" story of "Howard the Duck" magazine #6 was to serve as a basis for the script. A contractual obligation required Lucas to provide a distributor with a live-action film, so he decided to make the film using live actors and to use special effects for Howard. Katz said that an animated film "would have taken too much time and too much money."


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The script significantly altered the personality of the title character, played the story straight instead of as a satire, removed the surrealist elements, and added supernatural elements that could highlight special effects work done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic. The filmmakers consulted with Disney's lawyers to make sure Howard didn't resemble the Disney character Donald Duck too closely. Howard's appearance was redesigned several times during the process, including his clothes and the shape of his bill.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The film's screenplay was adapted into comic book format by the writer Danny Fingeroth and artist Kyle Baker for Marvel Comics. The adaptation appeared in both "Marvel Super Special" #41 and in a three-issue limited series.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: After auditioning a number of actresses, singers, and models for the role of Beverly, Lea Thompson was cast due to her appearance in "Back to the Future". Thompson purchased clothing from thrift stores because she wanted to appear at the audition as "a cross between Madonna and Cyndi Lauper." During the shoot, Thompson complained that the filmmakers chose to shoot Howard's closeup before hers. Thompson also states that she regrets not wearing a wig, as her hairstyle took two hours a day to prepare. Jeffrey Jones was cast because of his performance in "Amadeus". Although Tim Robbins had no prior film experience, Huyck and Katz were confident that he was right for the part.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Robbins said in a later interview that he doesn't look back negatively at the film as he "got this big job that was paying a really decent salary and it was for George Lucas...so it was a huge deal at the time. And then it wound up going over its shooting schedule, and I ended up getting paid twice for that movie because of all the overtime." Robbins admitted that he thinks more about the money he made than the quality of the film.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: To play the physical role of Howard, Huyck and Katz held casting calls with dwarf actors, eventually casting child actor Jordan Prentice and hiring Ed Gale, who had been rejected because he was too tall for the role, to perform stunts and play the role during evening shoots. Prentice found the shooting conditions to be too difficult to handle, and the film's editors were unable to match day and evening sequences because of the difference in the two portrayals. Because Gale also served as an understudy, he took over the role.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Huyck and Katz auditioned a number of actors including John Cusack, Robin Williams, and Martin Short for Howard's voice. Williams worked for a week before quitting, stating: "I can't do this. It is insane. I can't get the rhythm of this. I am being confined. I am being handcuffed in order to match the flapping duck's bill." As a result, Chip Zien was cast because the filmmakers felt his nasal voice suited the part. Because Howard's voice was not cast until the film had begun editing, synchronization was extremely difficult.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Principal photography began on November 11, 1985, and wrapped on March 27, 1986. Jeffrey Jones altered his voice for Jenning after the character's possession by the Dark Overlord, which he demonstrated when interviewed by Dallas-Fort Worth reporter Bobbie Wygant.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The ultralight sequence was difficult, requiring intense coordination and actors Robbins and Gale to actually fly the plane. The location scout was stumped for a location for the sequence; after she described what she was looking for, a telephone repairman working in her office in San Francisco suggested Petaluma, California, for the scene. Because of the limited shooting time, a third unit was hired to speed up the process. The climax was shot in a naval installation in San Francisco, where conditions were cold throughout. The film cost an estimated US$30–36 million to produce.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Howard was initially intended to be a fully computerized character but these attempts proved unsuccessful. The idea of fully puppeteering Howard was explored, but the filmmakers determined they would need an actor in a suit to portray him for much of the film. Lucasfilm built animatronic suits, costumes and puppets. Because of the limited preparation time, varied "ducks" created for the film would explode or lose feathers, and multiple ducks were built with the wrong proportions. On the first day of shooting, the crew realized the poor quality when they found that the inside of the puppet's neck was visible when its mouth opened. Huyck repeatedly reshot scenes involving Howard as the animatronics were improved. Because multiple puppeteers were in charge of controlling different parts of the animatronic body, Huyck was unable to coordinate the shoot properly. The opening sequence where Howard's chair is propelled out of his apartment used wires that were later digitally erased by a computer. This was the first use of this technique, which soon became popular and was used in films such as "Back to the Future Part II", "" and "The Matrix". The effect of the feathers on Howard's head becoming erect during the love sequence took months to prepare.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The voice of Howard, Chip Zien, was not cast until after the shooting was completed. Because Gale's voice was difficult to hear through the suit, Huyck ordered Gale to perform his scenes without speaking any of the required dialogue, which was later synchronized during the editing process. Lead puppeteer Tim Rose was given a microphone attached to a small speaker, which would allow Rose to speak the dialogue to help the actors respond to Howard's dialogue. While wearing his suit, Gale could only see through Howard's mouth and had to sense his location without proper eyesight. Gale often had to walk backward before beginning rehearsals. In between takes, a hair dryer was stuffed in Howard's bill to keep Gale cool. Gale taped two of his fingers together to wear the three-fingered hands created for the Howard costume. A total of six actors gave physical performances as Howard.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Gerber was impressed by Howard's appearance, and commented, "It was very bizarre to meet it and ... realize not just that I created it - that would have been bizarre enough... you know, it was sort of like meeting a child I didn't know I had ..."


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Makeup artists Tom Burman and Bari Dreiband-Burman and actor Jones discussed the appearance of the Dark Overlord with Huyck and Katz and developed the character's progressing looks. When Katz's daughter visited during filming, she was terrified by Jones' appearance in makeup. The diner sequence combines practical effects, including squibs and air cannons, with visual effects created by ILM. Jones provided the altered voice of Jenning during his possession by the Dark Overlord "with a slight bit of enhancement every now and then" by sound designer Ben Burtt. Stop motion effects during the climax were designed by Phil Tippett, who began with a clay model before upgrading to more sophisticated pieces.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The film's score was written by John Barry, although some of it was replaced by material composed by Sylvester Levay (most notably the music for the scene where Howard and Phil fly the ultralight–Barry's original cue is heard on the soundtrack album). Thomas Dolby wrote the film's songs, and chose the members of Cherry Bomb. Actress Lea Thompson performed her own singing for the role, although she states that the filmmakers were unsure as to whether they would keep her vocals in the final film. Thompson was required to learn choreography with the band and record the songs so they could be synchronized during filming. The final sequence, in which Cherry Bomb performs the film's title song, was shot in front of a live audience at The Warfield in San Francisco. The song was co-written by Dolby and George Clinton. Gale was choreographed to dance and play guitar as Howard. Dolby built a special guitar for Gale to use for rehearsal and filming.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: In 2019, Intrada Records released a 3-disc expansion including the first compact disc release of the original soundtrack album, as well as John Barry's complete score for the film.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Huyck said that test screenings "went all right" and "people laughed", but Katz claimed she "tore up" negative response cards so that they could say, "Hey, we got a ninety-five percent on the screening!"


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of , making it the lowest-rated Lucasfilm production. The site's consensus states: "While it has its moments, "Howard the Duck" suffers from an uneven tone and mediocre performances." On Metacritic the film has a score of 28 out of 100, based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B−" on a scale of A to F.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave one star out of four, called it a "stupid film" and said, "the story has no center; the duck is not likable, and the...special effects...are less impressive than a sparkler on a birthday cake." On their television show, Siskel & Ebert complained that the movie was not enough of a comedy and that Howard should have been given either the Groucho Marx-like personality from his comic books or a fun Donald Duck-like persona. "Orange Coast" writer Marc Weinberg and Leonard Maltin criticized the decision to shoot the film in live action. Maltin described the film as "hopeless ... a gargantuan production which produces a gargantuan headache". "People" magazine seemed to agree: "Lucasfilm promised us "The Mallard Who Fell to Earth"; the result turned out to be more like "Xanaduck"...Who'd have imagined that Howard T. Duck, the same web-footed wiseacre who conquered the incredible Space Turnip and the horrible Hellcow, might be done in by something even more ridiculous: Hollywood?"


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The appearance of Howard was criticized as being unconvincing due to his poorly functioning mouth and expressionless face. Reviewers also criticized the acting and humor and found the film boring. In "The Psychotronic Video Guide", Michael Weldon described the reactions to Howard as being inconsistent, and, "It was obviously made in LA and suffered from long, boring chase scenes", but praised the stop-motion special effects in the film's final sequences. "Common Sense Media" criticized the film for the pointless plot lines and the excessive use of sexual innuendo. The group set the appropriate age for the movie at 13+.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The film grossed US$16,295,774 in the United States and US$21,667,000 worldwide for a total of US$37,962,774. When the film was screened for Universal, Katz said that the studio's executives left without commenting on the film. Screenings for test audiences were met with mixed response. Rumors circulated that Universal production heads Frank Price and Sidney Sheinberg engaged in a fistfight after arguing over who was to blame for green-lighting the film. Both executives denied the rumors. News reports speculated that one or both would be fired by MCA chairman Lew Wasserman. Price soon left the studio and was succeeded by Tom Pollack. In an article titled "DUCK Cooks Price's Goose", the September 17, 1986 issue of "Variety" attributed his departure to the failure of the movie, although Price had not approved the film's production.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: In July 1986, Huyck and Katz stated that the film's ending left it open for a sequel, which they seemed interested in making. However, after the film bombed, talks of a sequel ceased. Following the box office failure, Huyck and Katz left for Hawaii and refused to read any reviews.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: "Howard the Duck" was released on VHS and Laserdisc in January 1987. It was released on DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on May 24, 2003. It was released on a Special Edition DVD by Universal Studios on March 10, 2009. The film was released on Blu-ray on March 8, 2016. It was also released on Collector's Edition Blu-ray on April 22, 2019. It was later released on 4K Blu-ray to commemorate the film's 35th Anniversary in 2021.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: The reaction to the film had a negative effect on the cast, who found themselves unable to work on other projects because of the film. The bad press right at the opening weekend had Lea Thompson accepting a role in "Some Kind of Wonderful", which she had refused previously, because, as she said, "I had to get on another movie, I wouldn't have done the movie if "Howard" wasn't such a bomb."


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: According to Ed Gale, he was hired to work on "Spaceballs" because Mel Brooks had said, "Anybody who's in "Howard the Duck" can be in my movie." Gale also said he receives more fan mail for his Howard the Duck portrayal than for his Chucky performances, the antagonist in the "Child's Play" horror film series. After the film's release, Huyck and Katz chose to work on more dramatic projects to separate themselves from "Howard the Duck". Katz said Lucas continued to support the film after its failure because he felt it would later be seen in a better light than it had been at the time of its release. Huyck said he later encountered fans and supporters of the film who felt that it had been unfairly treated by critics. Lea Thompson has stated that she had fun making the film and is happy to find fans "celebrating "Howard the Duck" in all its great silliness and blemishes." Jeffrey Jones also said he is happy with his role in the film. In retrospect, Huyck and Katz suggested that the film "could have had a more "Ted"-like tone" and "been edgier and dirtier," but that at the time "Universal wanted a family-friendly movie."


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: What can I say? It sucks. In retrospect, though, after eleven years that have brought us so many _worse_ films, it's not _quite_ as sucky as the reviews might have led you to believe.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Still, there are big problems with it -- chief among them, the duck costume and the duck's bland voice. I liked the performances by Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, and Lea Thompson, though. Lea wasn't playing "my" Beverly, but she did reasonably well with the role as it was written.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: In June 2012, the YouTube series "" featured an episode starring Howard the Duck complaining to Marvel that his movie was not given a special Blu-ray re-release to celebrate its 25th anniversary. He eventually gets Joe Quesada to try to appeal to, and bribe, George Lucas into supporting the re-release. In 2014, the "Los Angeles Times" listed the film as one of the costliest box-office flops of all time.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: Writer Chip Zdarsky, who took on Howard's comics in the 2010s, revealed he was a fan of the movie growing up and had the 2016 run of the title featuring metafictional references to the film. The plot had Lea Thompson hiring Howard and discovering the villain Mojo had hypnotized her into playing Beverly opposite an alien in a Howard costume.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: In a June 2018 interview, Lea Thompson said that she was going to pitch Marvel Studios a new "Howard the Duck" movie following the character's cameo appearances in "Guardians of the Galaxy" and its 2017 sequel, expressing hope at directing it herself. In 2021, following the release of a trailer for the Disney+ animated series "What If...?", which prominently featured Howard, Thompson once again indicated her interest in directing the film. She later revealed that she had pitched the film, following Howard stranded on Earth after the events of "", with Joe Quinones supplying artwork. While she received a positive response, Marvel Studios ultimately passed on it. However, she revealed that they do have future plans for the character.


title: Howard the Duck (film)

text: A video game based on the film, was released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Apple II in 1986 and for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1987, developed by Arnative Software and published by Activision. The game received generally negative reviews.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Khalil Delshon Mack (; born February 22, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack holds the all-time NCAA record for forced fumbles and is also tied for career tackles for loss in the NCAA. In 2015, he became the first player in NFL history to be selected first-team All-Pro at two different positions, defensive end and outside linebacker, in the same season. In 2018, Mack was traded to the Chicago Bears for two first-round draft picks and signed a six-year, 141 million extension, becoming the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history at the time. Mack was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack was raised by his parents: high school sweethearts Yolanda, a teacher, and Sandy Mack Sr., a program specialist, in Fort Pierce, Florida. He has two brothers, Sandy, Jr. and LeDarius. His father introduced him to sports at the age of five. Mack took an early liking to baseball and basketball although he played Pop Warner football.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack attended Fort Pierce Westwood High School in Fort Pierce. He had played quarterback and was nicknamed "Bombshell Man." However, throwing the ball short was a major struggle for Mack so he became a linebacker. For the rest of his athletic career, he had been relying on basketball to get him a college scholarship but his plans were dashed by a tear in his patella tendon before his sophomore season. After this injury, his high school football coach, Waides Ashmon, recruited him to the sport, promising Mack and his parents that it would earn him a scholarship.


title: Khalil Mack

text: In his only year of high school football, Mack had 140 tackles, including eight for a loss, and nine sacks. He was named third-team All-State in Florida, as well as first-team All-Area, and helped lead the Panthers to a district championship. Being a newcomer to the sport, he was rated as only a two-star recruit by "Rivals.com". He received a scholarship from the State University of New York at Buffalo to play Division I football.


title: Khalil Mack

text: After redshirting as a freshman in 2009, Mack broke into the starting lineup and was one of the most productive defenders in the MAC. He totaled 68 tackles, including for loss, sacks, ten pass breakups, eight quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles. He earned third-team all-conference honors. He chose to wear the uniform number 46 as a motivational reminder that his true potential was not being recognized – 46 was the overall rating assigned to him (out of a maximum of 99) in EA Sports' college football video game, "NCAA Football 11".


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack continued where he left off in 2010, with a dominant sophomore season. Mack led the team in sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles, on the way to being named first-team All-MAC. He recorded 64 total tackles, including for loss (third best in the nation), sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, thirteen quarterback hurries, and five forced fumbles. Despite being suspended for the first game of the season following an altercation with teammate wide receiver Fred Lee, Mack set career highs in tackles (94), tackles for loss (21 – fourth in the nation), and sacks (8). He also recorded two pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, and four forced fumbles. He earned first-team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Starting all 13 games, Mack recorded 100 tackles including 19 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, three interceptions, one which he returned for a touchdown, and forced five fumbles. He won the CFPA Linebacker Trophy for the 2013 season, and he was named the 2013 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Bull to win the award in Buffalo's history within the MAC (1999–present). He was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press. Mack finished tied for first for the NCAA in career tackles for loss with 75 and set a new record for forced fumbles with 16. Buffalo's independent student newspaper, "The Spectrum", also ranked Mack as the best Buffalo football player in the Division I history of the program.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Leading up to the 2014 NFL Draft, Mack was projected as a high first round pick in many mock drafts. He was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Oakland Raiders, making him the highest selected Buffalo player ever, and the first (and only) selected in the first round. Previously, the highest selected player from Buffalo was defensive tackle Gerry Philbin, who was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the New York Jets in 1964. Mack chose to switch from his college uniform number, 46, to 52 in order to comply with the NFL's numbering rules.


title: Khalil Mack

text: After signing a four-year contract worth $18.67 million guaranteed, Mack made his NFL debut in the season-opener against the New York Jets, recording six tackles during the 19–14 loss. During Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals, he recorded a season high 11 tackles during the 24–13 loss. During Week 11 against the San Diego Chargers, Mack recorded 5 tackles and his first career sack on Philip Rivers during the 13–6 loss. Three weeks later against the San Francisco 49ers, Mack sacked Colin Kaepernick twice during the 24–13 win. This was Mack's first game with multiple sacks in his career.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack finished his rookie year with 76 combined tackles (59 solo), four sacks, a forced fumble, and three pass deflections in 16 games and starts. By the end of his rookie season, Mack was considered a candidate for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Mack eventually finished in third place in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting behind defensive tackle Aaron Donald of the St. Louis Rams and linebacker C. J. Mosley of the Baltimore Ravens. He was, however, named the Defensive Rookie of the Year by analysts on ESPN's "NFL Live" and was one of three linebackers selected to USA Football's sixth annual All-Fundamentals Team (the others being All-Pro veterans Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers and Tamba Hali of the Kansas City Chiefs). He was ranked 49th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.


title: Khalil Mack

text: In March 2015, the NFL amended the league's uniform numbering rules to allow linebackers to wear the numbers 40–49. As a result, Mack considered reverting from the number 52 to 46, the number he wore during his college career, but ultimately decided not to do so. In August 2015, Mack was named as the NFL's number one "making the leap" player. Before the start of the season, Mack shifted from linebacker to right defensive end, and played at both positions.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, Mack recorded his first two sacks of the season on Josh McCown in the 27–20 road victory. During Week 13 against the Detroit Lions, Mack sacked Matthew Stafford twice in the 18–13 road loss. In the next game against the Tennessee Titans, Mack recorded another two sacks on rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota during the 24–21 road victory.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During a Week 15 road matchup against the Denver Broncos, Mack sacked quarterback Brock Osweiler five times, tying a Raiders franchise record for sacks in a game previously set by defensive end Howie Long in 1983. This was Mack's third game in a row in which he recorded multiple sacks in a single game. The game, which the Raiders won 15–12, was the franchise's first over the Broncos since September 2011. The following week, Mack was announced to be going to the Pro Bowl, his first, along with teammates safety Charles Woodson and fullback Marcel Reece.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack finished the season with 77 combined tackles (57 solo), 15 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two pass deflections in 16 games and starts. After the conclusion of the season, he became the first player in NFL history to make the AP All-Pro First Team at two positions in the same year: right defensive end and outside linebacker. Mack was ranked 13th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens, Mack recorded his first sack of the season on Joe Flacco during the 28–27 road victory. During Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mack recorded a team high seven tackles and sacked Jameis Winston twice during the 30–24 overtime road victory. In the next game against the Denver Broncos, Mack sacked Trevor Siemian twice with one of them being a strip sack which he recovered as the Raiders won 30–20. He earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his effort against Denver.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During a Week 12 35–32 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Mack recorded his first career interception off of quarterback Cam Newton and returned it six yards for his first NFL touchdown. Mack also forced a fumble from Newton in the final minute of the game to seal the win for the Raiders. Mack finished the game with an interception, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a defensive touchdown, making him the first player since former Raiders' cornerback Charles Woodson, who was with the Green Bay Packers at the time, in 2009 to do so. Mack's performance earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12. He was also named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for November, registering four sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception. In the next game against the Buffalo Bills, Mack recorded a strip sack on Tyrod Taylor and recovered the football late in the fourth quarter to seal a 38–24 win.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack helped lead the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since the 2002 season and was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro. In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans, he recorded a team high 11 tackles during the 27–14 road loss. Mack was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2016 season. In the 2016 season, Mack recorded 73 combined tackles (54 solo), 11 sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three passes defended, and an interception returned for a touchdown. He was ranked 5th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 as the highest-ranked defensive lineman. He was also named the professional winner of the Butkus Award.


title: Khalil Mack

text: On April 20, 2017, the Raiders picked up the fifth-year option on Mack's contract. Heading into his fourth season, Mack had his eyes set on the single season sack record.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During Week 2 against the New York Jets, Mack recorded his first sack of the season on Josh McCown during the 45–20 win. In the next game against the Washington Redskins, Mack recorded a team high nine tackles and sacked Kirk Cousins once during the 27–10 road loss. The following week against the Denver Broncos, Mack sacked quarterback Trevor Siemian twice during the 16–10 road loss.


title: Khalil Mack

text: After a Week 10 bye, Mack registered at least one sack in five consecutive games from Week 11 to 15. During Week 13 against the New York Giants, Mack recorded a strip-sack on Geno Smith and recovered the football during the 24–17 victory. This was his first forced fumble and fumble recovery of the season. Two weeks later against the Dallas Cowboys, Mack sacked Dak Prescott twice during the 20–17 loss.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack fininished the 2017 season with 78 combined tackles (61 solo), 10.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three pass deflections in 16 games and starts. He was ranked 16th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.


title: Khalil Mack

text: On September 1, 2018, following Mack's holdout through the entire preseason, the Raiders traded him, a 2020 second-round pick (Cole Kmet), and a conditional fifth-round draft pick in 2020 (condition failed, turned into a 2020 seventh-round pick, Arlington Hambright) to the Chicago Bears for 2019 (24th overall, Josh Jacobs) and a 2020 first-round pick (19th overall, Damon Arnette), as well as a 2019 sixth-round pick and a 2020 third-round pick (Bryan Edwards). Shortly after the trade, Mack signed a six-year extension with the Bears worth $141 million featuring $90 million guaranteed, becoming the highest-paid defender in NFL history.


title: Khalil Mack

text: On September 9, 2018, Mack made his Bears debut on "Sunday Night Football" against the Green Bay Packers. In the second quarter of the game, he recorded a strip-sack on backup quarterback DeShone Kizer, who was playing in relief of Aaron Rodgers due to a knee injury. Later in the same quarter, he intercepted a pass from Kizer and returned it for a 27-yard touchdown. The Bears narrowly lost on the road 24–23. He became the first player since 1982 to record a sack, forced fumble, a fumble recovery, interception, and touchdown in one half. It was also his second time recording a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, interception and touchdown in a single game that dated back to Week 12 of the 2016 season. In his second game with the Bears, Mack had four tackles and a strip-sack of Russell Wilson during a 24–17 "Monday Night Football" victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Mack continued his excellent play in Week 3, recording five tackles and a strip-sack on Josh Rosen in a 16–14 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals, the first player to record strip-sacks in three straight games since Mack himself did it in 2016. In the next game, Mack recorded four tackles and another strip-sack in a 48–10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mack became the first player to record sacks and forced fumbles in four straight games since Colts outside linebacker Robert Mathis did so in 2005. Mack is also the first player to record forced fumbles in the first four games of a season since Jaguars defensive end Tony Brackens did so in 1999. On October 4, Mack was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September after recording 17 tackles, five sacks, four forced fumbles, two pass deflections, a fumble recovery, and an interception returned for a touchdown. Mack is the first Bears player to win this award since cornerback Charles Tillman in October 2012.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During a Week 6 31–28 overtime road loss to the Miami Dolphins, Mack recorded two tackles before suffering a right ankle injury that resulted in his missing the first game of his career two weeks later against the New York Jets. Despite his absence, the Bears limited the Jets to 207 total yards, including just 57 rushing, as Chicago won 24–10. Mack also missed the following week's 41–9 victory over the Buffalo Bills before returning in Week 10 against the Detroit Lions; in the latter's 34–22 Bears win, he recorded five tackles and sacked Matthew Stafford twice.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings, Mack recorded two tackles, sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins once, and forced a fumble from running back Dalvin Cook in the 25–20 win. Three weeks later, against the 11–1 Los Angeles Rams, he recorded three tackles and forced Jared Goff to fumble in a defensive effort that saw the Bears record four turnovers and win 15–6. In the next game against the Packers, Mack sacked Aaron Rodgers 2.5 times and had two tackles for losses. On his half-sack, Mack was turned around backward by offensive lineman Jason Spriggs; unable to see Rodgers, Mack helped Bilal Nichols bring Rodgers down for a sack by using his back. The Bears won the game 24–17 and finished atop the NFC North while eliminating the Packers from postseason contention.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack finished the regular season with 47 combined tackles (37 solo), 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, four pass deflections, and an interception returned for a touchdown in 14 games and 13 starts; the 12.5 sacks were the most by a Bears player since Richard Dent in 1993. In the Wild Card Round against the Philadelphia Eagles, he recorded six tackles in the narrow 16–15 loss. Mack was later selected to his fourth Pro Bowl and his third first-team All-Pro, though he did not participate in the former due to injury. Mack received an overall grade of 90.7 from Pro Football Focus in 2018, which ranked as the 2nd highest grade among all qualifying edge defenders. He finished second in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting. In June 2019, he received his second career pro Butkus Award. He was ranked third by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, Mack recorded a tackle and his first sack of the season on Joe Flacco in the 16–14 road victory. In the next game against the Washington Redskins, he recorded four tackles, two forced fumbles, and sacked Case Keenum twice in a 31–15 road victory. The following week against the Minnesota Vikings, Mack recorded two tackles, 1.5 times, and a forced fumble the ball once in the 16–6 victory. In the next game against his former team, the Oakland Raiders, Mack recorded three tackles and a fumble recovery during a 24–21 loss in London. Three weeks later against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded four tackles, two pass deflections, and his first sack in a month on Philip Rivers in the narrow 17–16 loss. In Week 12 against the New York Giants, Mack recorded three tackles and a strip sack on Daniel Jones which was recovered by teammate Nick Williams in the 19–14 victory. Two weeks later against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, Mack recorded two tackles and a diving sack on Dak Prescott during the 31–24 win. Two weeks later, Mack recorded four tackles and a sack on Patrick Mahomes in a 26–3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack finished the season with 47 combined tackles (40 solo), 8.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and four pass deflections in 16 games and starts. He was ranked 19th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decades Team for the 2010s.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During a Week 2 17–13 victory over the New York Giants, Mack recorded three tackles and his first sack of the season on Daniel Jones. He also recovered a strip-sack forced by teammate Robert Quinn on Jones. Three weeks later against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mack recorded three tackles and sacked Tom Brady twice during the narrow 20–19 victory.


title: Khalil Mack

text: During Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings, Mack recorded three tackles and his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Kirk Cousins and made a 33-yard return during the 19–13 loss. In Week 14 against the Houston Texans, Mack recorded two tackles and sacked Deshaun Watson in the endzone for a safety and forced a fumble on Duke Johnson that he also recovered during the 36–7 win. In the regular-season finale against the Green Bay Packers, Mack recorded four tackles and a sack on Aaron Rodgers, but the Bears lost 35–16. In the against the New Orleans Saints, he recorded two tackles and a pass deflection in the 21–9 road loss.


title: Khalil Mack

text: On December 21, Mack was named to the Pro Bowl for the sixth consecutive season. At the time of the announcement, he had eight sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and an interception. He was ranked 23rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.


title: Khalil Mack

text: On September 19, 2021, Mack recorded his first sack of the season on Joe Burrow, in a 20–17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The following week, on September 26, in a game against the Cleveland Browns, Mack recorded two sacks and two tackles in a 6–26 loss. On October 10, Mack recorded seven tackles and a sack in a 20–9 victory over his former team, the Las Vegas Raiders.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack played in seven games during the 2021 season before undergoing season-ending foot surgery. He was placed on injured reserve on November 19. Mack finished the season with 19 tackles and six sacks.


title: Khalil Mack

text: On March 16, 2022, the Bears traded Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft (Jaquan Brisker) and a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. This move reunited him with Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, who served as the outside linebackers coach in Mack's first year with the Chicago Bears.


title: Khalil Mack

text: In his Chargers debut against his former team the Raiders, Mack recorded three sacks and one forced fumble. The game marked his first three-plus-sack outing since Week 14 of the 2015 season, and he became only the fifth non-rookie to have three-plus sacks in a debut with a new team since individual sacks were first recorded in 1982.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack taught himself to play guitar as a freshman at the University at Buffalo. His reputation as a singer led his Raiders teammates to attempt to goad him into singing R. Kelly and Usher songs. He is a fan of musicians Tim McGraw and Hanson.


title: Khalil Mack

text: Mack is an active Christian and spent much of his youth attending a church where his father and mother both served as deacons.


title: Khalil Mack

text: In 2017, Mack's younger brother LeDarius joined his alma mater, the University at Buffalo, after two years at ASA College in Miami. LeDarius joined his brother on the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2020, and was later signed to the practice squad.


title: Nerium

text: Nerium oleander ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium, belonging to subfamily Apocynoideae of the dogbane family Apocynaceae. It is so widely cultivated that no precise region of origin has been identified, though it is usually associated with the Mediterranean Basin.


title: Nerium

text: Nerium grows to tall. It is most commonly grown in its natural shrub form, but can be trained into a small tree with a single trunk. It is tolerant to both drought and inundation, but not to prolonged frost. White, pink or red five-lobed flowers grow in clusters year-round, peaking during the summer. The fruit is a long narrow pair of follicles, which splits open at maturity to release numerous downy seeds.


title: Nerium

text: Nerium contains several toxic compounds, and it has historically been considered a poisonous plant. However, its bitterness renders it unpalatable to humans and most animals, so poisoning cases are rare and the general risk for human mortality is low. Ingestion of larger amounts may cause nausea, vomiting, excess salivation, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea and irregular heart rhythm. Prolonged contact with sap may cause skin irritation, eye inflammation and dermatitis.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander grows to tall, with erect stems that splay outward as they mature; first-year stems have a glaucous bloom, while mature stems have a grayish bark. The leaves are in pairs or whorls of three, thick and leathery, dark-green, narrow lanceolate, long and broad, and with an entire margin filled with minute reticulate venation web typical of eudicots. The leaves are light green and very glossy when young, maturing to a dull dark green.


title: Nerium

text: The flowers grow in clusters at the end of each branch; they are white, pink to red, diameter, with a deeply 5-lobed fringed corolla round the central corolla tube. They are often, but not always, sweet-scented. The fruit is a long narrow pair of follicles long, which splits open at maturity to release numerous downy seeds.


title: Nerium

text: "Nerium oleander" is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It belongs to (and gives its name to) the small tribe Nerieae of subfamily Apocynoideae of the dogbane family Apocynaceae. The genera most closely-related thus include the equally ornamental (and equally toxic) Adenium and Strophanthus - both of which contain (like Oleander) potent cardiac glycosides that have led to their use as arrow poisons in Africa. The three remaining genera "Alafia" , "Farquharia" and "Isonema" are less well-known in cultivation.


title: Nerium

text: The origins of the taxonomic name "Nerium oleander", first assigned by Linnaeus in 1753, are disputed. The genus name "Nerium" is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek name for the plant "nẽrion" (νήριον), which is in turn derived from the Greek for water, "nẽros" (νηρός), because of the natural habitat of the oleander along rivers and streams.


title: Nerium

text: The word "oleander" appears as far back as the first century AD, when the Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides cited it as one of the terms used by the Romans for the plant. Merriam-Webster believes the word is a Medieval Latin corruption of Late Latin names for the plant: "arodandrum" or "lorandrum", or more plausibly "rhododendron" (another Ancient Greek name for the plant), with the addition of "olea" because of the superficial resemblance to the olive tree ("Olea europea") Another theory posited is that "oleander" is the Latinized form of a Greek compound noun: "οllyo" (ὀλλύω) 'I kill', and the Greek noun for man, "aner", genitive "andros" (ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός). ascribed to oleander's toxicity to humans.


title: Nerium

text: The etymological association of "oleander" with the bay laurel has continued into the modern day: in France the plant is known as "laurier rose", while the Spanish term, "Adelfa", is the descendant of the original Ancient Greek name for both the bay laurel and the oleander, "daphne", which subsequently passed into Arabic usage and thence to Spain.


title: Nerium

text: The ancient city of Volubilis in Morocco may have taken its name from the Berber name "alili" or "oualilt" for the flower.


title: Nerium

text: "Nerium oleander" is either native or naturalized to a broad area spanning from Northwest Africa and Iberian peninsula eastward through the Mediterranean region, to the Arabian peninsula, southern Asia, and as far east as Yunnan in southern parts of China. It typically occurs around stream beds in river valleys, where it can alternatively tolerate long seasons of drought and inundation from winter rains. "Nerium oleander" is planted in many subtropical and tropical areas of the world.


title: Nerium

text: On the East Coast of the US, it grows as far north as Virginia Beach, Virginia, while in California and Texas miles of oleander shrubs are planted on median strips. There are estimated to be 25 million oleanders planted along highways and roadsides throughout the State of California. Because of its durability, oleander was planted prolifically on Galveston Island in Texas after the disastrous Hurricane of 1900. They are so prolific that Galveston is known as the 'Oleander City'; an annual oleander festival is hosted every spring. Moody Gardens in Galveston hosts the propagation program for the International Oleander Society, which promotes the cultivation of oleanders. New varieties are hybridized and grown on the Moody Gardens grounds, encompassing every named variety.


title: Nerium

text: Beyond the traditional Mediterranean and subtropical range of oleander, the plant can also be cultivated in mild oceanic climates with the appropriate precautions. It is grown without protection in warmer areas in Switzerland, southern and western Germany and southern England and can reach great sizes in London and to a lesser extent in Paris due to the urban heat island effect. This is also the case with North American cities in the Pacific Northwest like Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. Plants may suffer damage or die back in such marginal climates during severe winter cold but will rebound from the roots.


title: Nerium

text: Some invertebrates are known to be unaffected by oleander toxins, and feed on the plants. Caterpillars of the polka-dot wasp moth ("Syntomeida epilais") feed specifically on oleanders and survive by eating only the pulp surrounding the leaf-veins, avoiding the fibers. Larvae of the common crow butterfly ("Euploea core") and oleander hawk-moth ("Daphnis nerii") also feed on oleanders, and they retain or modify toxins, making them unpalatable to potential predators such as birds, but not to other invertebrates such as spiders and wasps.


title: Nerium

text: The flowers require insect visits to set seed, and seem to be pollinated through a deception mechanism. The showy corolla acts as a potent advertisement to attract pollinators from a distance, but the flowers are nectarless and offer no reward to their visitors. They therefore receive very few visits, as typical of many rewardless flower species. Fears of honey contamination with toxic oleander nectar are therefore unsubstantiated.


title: Nerium

text: A bacterial disease known as oleander leaf scorch has become an extremely serious threat to the shrub since it was first noticed in Palm Springs, California, in 1992. The disease has since decimated hundreds of thousands of shrubs mainly in Southern California, but also on a smaller scale in Arizona, Nevada and Texas. The culprit is a bacterium called "Xylella fastidiosa", which is spread via insects (the glassy-winged sharpshooter primarily) which feed on the tissue of oleanders and spread the bacteria. This inhibits the circulation of water in the tissue of the plant, causing individual branches to die until the entire plant is consumed.


title: Nerium

text: Symptoms of leaf scorch infection may be slow to manifest themselves, but it becomes evident when parts of otherwise healthy oleanders begin to yellow and wither, as if scorched by heat or fire. Die-back may cease during winter dormancy, but the disease flares up in summer heat while the shrub is actively growing, which allows the bacteria to spread through the xylem of the plant. As such it can be difficult to identify at first because gardeners may mistake the symptoms for those of drought stress or nutrient deficiency.


title: Nerium

text: Pruning out affected parts can slow the progression of the disease but not eliminate it. This malaise can continue for several years until the plant completely dies—there is no known cure. The best method for preventing further spread of the disease is to prune infected oleanders to the ground immediately after the infection is noticed.


title: Nerium

text: "Nerium oleander" has a history of cultivation going back millennia, especially amongst the great ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean Basin. Some scholars believe it to be the "rhodon" (rose), also called the 'Rose of Jericho', mentioned in apocryphal writings (Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 13) dating back to between 450 and 180 BC.


title: Nerium

text: The ancient Greeks had several names for the plant, including "rhododaphne", "nerion", "rhododendron" and "rhodon". Pliny confirmed that the Romans had no Latin word for the plant, but used the Greek terms instead. Pedanius Dioscorides states in his 1st century AD pharmacopeia "De Materia Medica" that the Romans used the Greek "rhododendron" but also the Latin "Oleander" and "Laurorosa". The Egyptians apparently called it "scinphe", the North Africans "rhodedaphane", and the Lucanians (a southern Italic people) "icmane".


title: Nerium

text: Both Pliny and Dioscorides stated that oleander was an effective antidote to venomous snake bites if mixed with rue and drunk. However, both rue and oleander are poisonous themselves, and consuming them after a venomous snake bite can accelerate the rate of mortality and increase fatalities.


title: Nerium

text: A 2014 article in the medical journal "Perspectives in Biology and Medicine" posited that oleander was the substance used to induce hallucinations in the Pythia, the female priestess of Apollo, also known as the Oracle of Delphi in Ancient Greece. According to this theory, the symptoms of the Pythia's trances ("enthusiasmos") correspond to either inhaling the smoke of or chewing small amounts of oleander leaves, often called by the generic term "laurel" in Ancient Greece, which led to confusion with the bay laurel that ancient authors cite.


title: Nerium

text: In his book "Enquiries into Plants" of circa 300 BC, Theophrastus described (among plants that affect the mind) a shrub he called "onotheras", which modern editors render oleander; "the root of "onotheras" [oleander] administered in wine", he alleges, "makes the temper gentler and more cheerful".


title: Nerium

text: The plant has a leaf like that of the almond, but smaller, and the flower is red like a rose. The plant itself (which loves hilly country) forms a large bush; the root is red and large, and, if this is dried, it gives off a fragrance like wine.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander was a very popular ornamental shrub in Roman peristyle gardens; it is one of the flora most frequently depicted on murals in Pompeii and elsewhere in Italy. These murals include the famous garden scene from the House of Livia at Prima Porta outside Rome, and those from the House of the Wedding of Alexander and the Marine Venus in Pompeii.


title: Nerium

text: Carbonized fragments of oleander wood have been identified at the Villa Poppaea in Oplontis, likewise buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. They were found to have been planted in a decorative arrangement with citron trees ("Citrus medica") alongside the villa's swimming pool.


title: Nerium

text: Herbaria of oleander varieties are compiled and held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander is a vigorous grower in warm subtropical regions, where it is extensively used as an ornamental plant in parks, along roadsides and in private gardens. It is most commonly grown in its natural shrub form, but can be trained into a small tree with a single trunk. Hardy versions like white, red and pink oleander will tolerate occasional light frost down to , though the leaves may be damaged. The toxicity of oleander renders it deer-resistant and its large size makes for a good windbreak – as such it is frequently planted as a hedge along property lines and in agricultural settings.


title: Nerium

text: The plant is tolerant of poor soils, intense heat, salt spray, and sustained drought – although it will flower and grow more vigorously with regular water. Although it does not require pruning to thrive and bloom, oleander can become unruly with age and older branches tend to become gangly, with new growth emerging from the base. For this reason gardeners are advised to prune mature shrubs in the autumn to shape and induce lush new growth and flowering for the following spring. Unless they wish to harvest the seeds, many gardeners choose to prune away the seedpods that form on spent flower clusters, which are a drain on energy. Propagation can be made from cuttings, where they can readily root after being placed in water or in rich organic potting material, like compost.


title: Nerium

text: In Mediterranean climates oleanders can be expected to bloom from April through October, with the heaviest bloom usually occurring between May and June. Free-flowering varieties like 'Petite Salmon' or 'Mont Blanc' require no period of rest and can flower continuously throughout the year if the weather remains warm.


title: Nerium

text: In cold winter climates, oleander is a popular summer potted plant readily available at most nurseries. They require frequent heavy watering and fertilizing as compared to being planted in the ground, but oleander is nonetheless an ideal flowering shrub for patios and other spaces with hot sunshine. During the winter they should be moved indoors, ideally into an unheated greenhouse or basement where they can be allowed to go dormant. Once they are dormant they require little light and only occasional watering. Placing them in a space with central heating and poor air flow can make them susceptible to a variety of pests – aphids, mealybugs, oleander scale, whitefly and spider mites.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander flowers are showy, profuse, and often fragrant, which makes them very attractive in many contexts. Over 400 cultivars have been named, with several additional flower colors not found in wild plants having been selected, including yellow, peach and salmon. Many cultivars, like 'Hawaii' or 'Turner's Carnival', are multi-colored, with brilliant striped corollas. The solid whites, reds and a variety of pinks are the most common. Double flowered cultivars like 'Mrs Isadore Dyer' (deep pink), 'Mathilde Ferrier' (yellow) or 'Mont Blanc' (white) are enjoyed for their large, rose-like blooms and strong fragrance. There is also a variegated form, 'Variegata', featuring leaves striped in yellow and white. Several dwarf cultivars have also been developed, offering a more compact form and size for small spaces. These include 'Little Red', 'Petite White', 'Petite Pink' and 'Petite Salmon', which grow to about at maturity.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander has historically been considered a poisonous plant because some of its compounds may exhibit toxicity, especially to animals, when consumed in large amounts. Among these compounds are oleandrin and oleandrigenin, known as cardiac glycosides, which are known to have a narrow therapeutic index and can be toxic when ingested.


title: Nerium

text: Toxicity studies of animals administered oleander extract concluded that birds and rodents were observed to be relatively insensitive to oleander cardiac glycosides. Other mammals, however, such as dogs and humans, are relatively sensitive to the effects of cardiac glycosides and the clinical manifestations of "glycoside intoxication".


title: Nerium

text: In reviewing oleander toxicity cases seen in-hospital, Lanford and Boor concluded that, except for children who might be at greater risk, "the human mortality associated with oleander ingestion is generally very low, even in cases of moderate intentional consumption (suicide attempts)." In 2000, a rare instance of death from oleander poisoning occurred when two toddlers adopted from an orphanage ate the leaves from a neighbor's shrub in El Segundo, California. A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's office stated that it was the first instance of death connected to oleander in the county, and a toxicologist from the California Poison Control Center said it was the first instance of death he had seen recorded. Because oleander is extremely bitter, officials speculated that the toddlers had developed a condition caused by malnutrition, pica, which causes people to eat otherwise inedible material.


title: Nerium

text: Ingestion of this plant can affect the gastrointestinal system, the heart, and the central nervous system. The gastrointestinal effects can consist of nausea and vomiting, excess salivation, abdominal pain, diarrhea that may contain blood, and especially in horses, colic. Cardiac reactions consist of irregular heart rate, sometimes characterized by a racing heart at first that then slows to below normal further along in the reaction. Extremities may become pale and cold due to poor or irregular circulation. The effect on the central nervous system may show itself in symptoms such as drowsiness, tremors or shaking of the muscles, seizures, collapse, and even coma that can lead to death.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander poisoning can also result in blurred vision, and vision disturbances, including halos appearing around objects.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander sap can cause skin irritations, severe eye inflammation and irritation, and allergic reactions characterized by dermatitis.


title: Nerium

text: Poisoning and reactions to oleander plants are evident quickly, requiring immediate medical care in suspected or known poisonings of both humans and animals. Induced vomiting and gastric lavage are protective measures to reduce absorption of the toxic compounds. Activated carbon may also be administered to help absorb any remaining toxins. Further medical attention may be required depending on the severity of the poisoning and symptoms. Temporary cardiac pacing will be required in many cases (usually for a few days) until the toxin is excreted.


title: Nerium

text: Digoxin immune fab is the best way to cure an oleander poisoning if inducing vomiting has no or minimal success, although it is usually used only for life-threatening conditions due to side effects.


title: Nerium

text: Drying of plant materials does not eliminate the toxins. It is also hazardous for animals such as sheep, horses, cattle, and other grazing animals, with as little as 100 g being enough to kill an adult horse. Plant clippings are especially dangerous to horses, as they are sweet. In July 2009, several horses were poisoned in this manner from the leaves of the plant. Symptoms of a poisoned horse include severe diarrhea and abnormal heartbeat. There is a wide range of toxins and secondary compounds within oleander, and care should be taken around this plant due to its toxic nature. Different names for oleander are used around the world in different locations, so, when encountering a plant with this appearance, regardless of the name used for it, one should exercise great care and caution to avoid ingestion of any part of the plant, including its sap and dried leaves or twigs. The dried or fresh branches should not be used for spearing food, for preparing a cooking fire, or as a food skewer. Many of the oleander relatives, such as the desert rose ("Adenium obesum") found in East Africa, have similar leaves and flowers and are equally toxic.


title: Nerium

text: Drugs derived from "N. oleander" have been investigated as a treatment for cancer, but have failed to demonstrate clinical utility. According to the American Cancer Society, the trials conducted so far have produced no evidence of benefit, while they did cause adverse side effects.


title: Nerium

text: In a research study done by Haralampos V. Harissis, he claims that the laurel the Pythia is commonly depicted with is actually an Oleander plant, and the poisonous plant and its subsequent hallucinations are the source of the oracle's mystical power and subsequent prophecies. Many of the symptoms that primary sources such as Plutarch and Democritus report align with results of Oleander poisoning. Harissis also provides evidence claiming that the word laurel may of been used to describe an Oleander leaf.


title: Nerium

text: The toxicity of the plant makes it the center of an urban legend documented on several continents and over more than a century. Often told as a true and local event, typically an entire family, or in other tellings a group of scouts, succumbs after consuming hot dogs or other food roasted over a campfire using oleander sticks. Some variants tell of this happening to Napoleon's or Alexander the Great's soldiers.


title: Nerium

text: There is an ancient account mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his "Natural History", who described a region in Pontus in Turkey where the honey was poisoned from bees having pollinated poisonous flowers, with the honey left as a poisonous trap for an invading army. The flowers have sometimes been mis-translated as Oleander, but Oleander flowers are nectarless and therefore cannot transmit any toxins via nectar. The actual flower referenced by Pliny was Azalea/Rhododendron, which is still used in Turkey to produce a hallucinogenic honey.


title: Nerium

text: Oleander is the official flower of the city of Hiroshima, having been the first to bloom following the atomic bombing of the city in 1945.


title: Chink

text: Chink is an English-language ethnic slur usually referring to a person of Chinese descent. The word is also sometimes indiscriminately used against people of East Asian and Southeast Asian appearance. The use of the term describing eyes with epicanthic fold ("Asiatic eyes") is considered extremely offensive and highly racist, with some sources equating the word "chink" as offensive as the word "nigger".


title: Chink

text: Various dictionaries provide different etymologies of the word "chink"; for example, that it originated from the Chinese courtesy "ching-ching", that it evolved from the word "China", or that it was an alteration of "Qing" ("Ch'ing"), as in the Qing dynasty.


title: Chink

text: Another possible origin is that "chink" evolved from the word for China in an Indo-Iranian language, ultimately deriving from the name of the Qing dynasty. That word is now pronounced similarly in various Indo-European languages.


title: Chink

text: The first recorded use of the word "chink" is from approximately 1880. As far as is ascertainable, its adjective form, "chinky," first appeared in print in 1878.


title: Chink

text: Around the turn of the 20th century, many White Americans in the Northern United States perceived Chinese immigration as a threat to their living standards. However, Chinese workers were still desired on the Western United States due to persistent labor shortages. Chinese butcher crews were held in such high esteem that when Edmund A. Smith patented his mechanized fish-butchering machine in 1905, he named it the "Iron Chink" which is seen by some as symbolic of anti-Chinese racism during the era. Usage of the word continued, such as with the story "The Chink and the Child", by Thomas Burke, which was later adapted to film by D. W. Griffith. Griffith altered the story to be more racially sensitive and renamed it "Broken Blossoms".


title: Chink

text: Although "chink" refers to those appearing to be of Chinese descent, the term has also been directed towards people of other East and Southeast Asian ethnicities. Literature and film about the Vietnam war contain examples of this usage, including the film "Platoon" (1986) and the play "Sticks and Bones" (1971, also later filmed).


title: Chink

text: The terms Chinaman and "chink" became intertwined, as some Australians used both with hostile intent when referring to members of the country's Chinese population, which had swelled significantly during the Gold Rush era of the 1850s and 1860s.


title: Chink

text: Assaults on Chinese miners and racially motivated riots and public disturbances were not infrequent occurrences in Australia's mining districts in the second half of the 19th century. There was some resentment, too, of the fact that Chinese miners and laborers tended to send their earnings back home to their families in China rather than spending them in Australia and supporting the local economy.


title: Chink

text: In the popular Sydney "Bulletin" magazine in 1887, one author wrote: "No nigger, no chink, no lascar, no kanaka (laborer from the South Pacific islands), no purveyor of cheap labour, is an Australian." Eventually, since-repealed federal government legislation was passed to restrict non-white immigration and thus protect the jobs of Anglo-Celtic Australian workers from "undesirable" competition.


title: Chink

text: On July 19, 2020, a man in Calgary was arrested after spitting on a woman of Asian descent and shouting "stupid chink" at her. The man, identified as Justin Riaz Williams, was a basketball manager at the University of Calgary who was fired from his job before the COVID-19 pandemic after staff found screenshots of him using homophobic and racial slurs on his phone. Jessica Lau, the victim, uploaded the video on her Instagram account and told Global News, "I've never experienced any kind of racism ... this is a thing that's happening in the world right now." The Calgary Police said that Williams was taken into custody and charged with three counts of assault and one count of possession of a weapon dangerous to the public.


title: Chink

text: In India, the ethnic slur "chinki" (or "chinky") is frequently directed against people with East Asian features, including people from Northeast India, and Nepal, who are often mistaken for Chinese, despite being closer to Tibetans and the Burmese than to Han Chinese peoples.


title: Chink

text: In 2012, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs recognized use of the term "chinki" to refer to a member of the Scheduled Tribes (especially in the North-East) as a criminal offense under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act with a penalty of up to five years in jail. The Ministry further warned that they would very seriously review any failure of the police to enforce this interpretation of the Act.


title: Chink

text: "Chinky" (or "chinky chonky") is a slur for a Chinese takeaway restaurant or Chinese food and Chinese people. In parts of northern England known as a "chinkies", always in the plural.


title: Chink

text: The 1969 top 3 UK hit single for Blue Mink, "Melting Pot", has the lyric: "take a pinch of white man/Wrap him up in black skin. [...] Mixed with yellow Chinkees. You know you lump it all together/And you got a recipe for a get-along scene/Oh what a beautiful dream/If it could only come true". The usage of the slur was and still is heavily overlooked due to the song being viewed as “racially inclusive”.


title: Chink

text: In 1999, an exam given to students in Scotland was criticized for containing a passage that students were told to interpret containing the word "chinky". This exam was taken by students all over Scotland, and Chinese groups expressed offence at the use of this passage. The examinations body apologized, calling the passage's inclusion "an error of judgement."


title: Chink

text: In 2002, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, after a complaint about the BBC One programme "The Vicar of Dibley", held that when used as the name of a type of restaurant or meal, rather than as an adjective applied to a person or group of people, the word still carries extreme racist connotation which causes offence particularly to those of East Asian origin.


title: Chink

text: In 2004, the commission's counterpart, the Radio Authority, apologised for the offence caused by an incident where a DJ on Heart 106.2 used the term.


title: Chink

text: In a 2005 document commissioned by Ofcom titled "Language and Sexual Imagery in Broadcasting: A Contextual Investigation" their definition of chink was "a term of racial offence/abuse. However, this is polarising. Older and mainly white groups tend to think this is not usually used in an abusive way—e.g., let's go to the Chinky—which is not seen as offensive by those who aren't of East Asian origin; Chinky usually refers to food not a culture or race however, younger people, East Asians, particularly people of Chinese racial background and other non-white ethnic minorities feel the word 'Chinky, Chinkies or Chinkie' to be as insulting as 'paki' or 'nigger'."


title: Chink

text: In 2006, after several campaigns by the Scottish Executive, more people in Scotland now acknowledge that this name is indirectly racist. , British broadcasting regulator Ofcom considers the word to be "Strongest language, highly unacceptable without strong contextualisation. Seen as derogatory to Chinese people. More mixed views regarding use of the term to mean 'Chinese takeaway'".


title: Chink

text: In 2014, the term gained renewed attention after a recording emerged of UKIP candidate Kerry Smith referring to a woman of Chinese background as a "chinky bird".


title: Chink

text: The Pekin Community High School District 303 teams in Pekin, Illinois were officially known as the "Pekin Chinks" until 1981, when the school administration changed the name to the "Pekin Dragons". The event received national attention.


title: Chink

text: During early 2000, University of California, Davis experienced a string of racial incidents and crimes between Asian and white students, mostly among fraternities. Several incidents included "chink" and other racial epithets being shouted among groups, including the slurs being used during a robbery and assault on an Asian fraternity by 15 white males. The incidents motivated a school-wide review and protest to get professional conflict resolution and culturally sensitive mediators.


title: Chink

text: Sarah Silverman appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in 2001, stirring up controversy when the word "chink" was used without the usual bleep appearing over ethnic slurs on network television. The controversy led Asian activist and community leader Guy Aoki to appear on the talk show "Politically Incorrect" along with Sarah Silverman. Guy Aoki alleged that Silverman did not believe that the term was offensive.


title: Chink

text: New York City radio station Hot 97 was criticized for airing the "Tsunami Song". Referring to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, in which over an estimated 200,000 people died, the song used the phrase "screaming chinks" along with other offensive lyrics. The radio station fired a co-host and producer, and indefinitely suspended radio personality Miss Jones, who was later reinstated. Members of the Asian American community said Miss Jones' reinstatement condoned hate speech.


title: Chink

text: A Philadelphia eatery, Chink's Steaks, created controversy, appearing in Philadelphia Daily News and other newspapers. The restaurant was asked by Asian community groups to change the name. The restaurant was named after the original Jewish-American owner's nickname, "Chink", derived from the ethnic slur due to his "slanty eyes". The restaurant was renamed Joe's in 2013.


title: Chink

text: In February 2012, ESPN fired one employee and suspended another for using the headline "Chink in the Armor" in reference to Jeremy Lin, an American basketball player of Taiwanese and Chinese descent. While the word "chink" also refers to a crack or fissure and "chink in the armor" is an idiom and common sports cliché, referring to a vulnerability, the "apparently intentional" double entendre of its use in reference to an Asian athlete was viewed as offensive.


title: Chink

text: In September 2019, after it was announced that Shane Gillis would be joining "Saturday Night Live" as a featured cast member, clips from Gillis' podcast in 2018 resurfaced, in which Gillis made anti-Asian jokes, including using the word "chink". The revelation sparked public outcry, with several outlets noting the disconnect of hiring Gillis along with Bowen Yang, the show's first Chinese American cast member. After Gillis issued what was characterized as a non-apology apology, a spokesperson for Lorne Michaels announced Gillis would be let go prior to his first episode due to the controversy.


title: Chink

text: In May 2021, Tony Hinchcliffe was videotaped insulting Peng Dang, an Asian American comedian who had introduced Hinchcliffe after performing the previous set at a comedy club in Austin, Texas, by referring to Dang as a "filthy little fucking chink". Dang posted the video on Twitter, resulting in heavy backlash against Hinchliffe, who was subsequently dropped by his agency and removed from several scheduled shows.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the second oldest of the five U.S. service academies and it educates midshipmen for service in the officer corps of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, east of Washington, D.C., and southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus, known colloquially as the Yard, is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that had served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845, when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: Candidates for admission generally must apply directly to the academy and apply separately for a nomination, usually from a member of Congress. Students are officers-in-training with the rank of midshipman. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,200 "plebes" (an abbreviation of the Ancient Roman word "plebeian") enter the academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer. About 1,000 midshipmen graduate. Graduates are commissioned as either ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps, but a small number can also be cross-commissioned as officers in other U.S. services, and the services of allied nations. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the country according to starting salary. The academic program grants a Bachelor of Science degree with a curriculum that grades midshipmen's performance upon a broad academic program, military leadership performance, and mandatory participation in competitive athletics. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academy's Honor Concept.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The Navy operates the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval War College separately. The Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS), in Newport, Rhode Island, is the official prep school for the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy Foundation provides post-graduate high school education for a year of preparatory school before entering the academy for a very limited number of applicants. There are several preparatory schools and junior colleges throughout the United States that host this program.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The first nautical school for officers was conceived by Commodore Arthur Sinclair in 1819 while in command of the Norfolk Navy Yard. Due to his zeal and perseverance, the "Nautical School" was opened on board the frigate Guerriere on 3 Dec 1821 with between 40 and 50 midshipmen attached to the ship. The curriculum was diversified with Naval Tactics, Astronomy, Geography, French, History, English Grammar, and International Relations. The school operated until 1828, when Guerriere was ordered to duty in the Pacific. It was from that small start that the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis grew.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The history of the academy can be divided into four eras: 1) use of original Fort Severn 1845–1861, 2) "Porter's Academy" 1865–1903, 3) "Flagg Academy" 1903–1941, 4) modern era 1941–present.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The academy's Latin motto is , which means 'Through Knowledge, Sea Power'. It appears on a design devised by the lawyer, writer, editor, encyclopedist and naval academy graduate (1867), Park Benjamin, Jr. It was adopted by the Navy Department in 1898 due to the efforts of another graduate (also 1867) and collaborator, Jacob W. Miller. Benjamin states:


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The seal or coat-of-arms of the Naval Academy has for its crest a hand grasping a trident, below which is a shield bearing an ancient galley coming into action, bows on, and below that an open book, indicative of education, and finally bears the motto, (From knowledge, sea power).


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The institution was founded as the Naval School on 10 October 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. The campus was established at Annapolis on the grounds of the former U.S. Army post Fort Severn. The school opened with 50 midshipman students and seven professors. The decision to establish an academy on land may have been in part a result of the Affair, an alleged mutiny involving the Secretary of War's son that resulted in his execution at sea. Commodore Matthew Perry had a considerable interest in naval education, supporting an apprentice system to train new seamen, and helped establish the curriculum for the United States Naval Academy. He was also a vocal proponent of modernization of the navy.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: Originally a course of study for five years was prescribed. Only the first and last were spent at the school with the other three being passed at sea. The present name was adopted when the school was reorganized in 1850 and placed under the supervision of the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography. Under the immediate charge of the superintendent, the course of study was extended to seven years with the first two and the last two to be spent at the school and the intervening three years at sea. The four years of study were made consecutive in 1851 and practice cruises were substituted for the three consecutive years at sea. The first class of naval academy students graduated on 10 June 1854. They were considered as passed midshipmen until 1912, when graduates were first sworn in as officers.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: In 1850, Edward Seager joined the faculty as the first instructor of drawing, and he also served as the first fencing instructor. He held the position of teacher of the art of defence from 1851 to 1859.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: In 1860, the Tripoli Monument was moved to the academy grounds. Later that year in August, the model of the USS "Somers" experiment was resurrected when , then 60 years old, was recommissioned as a school ship for the fourth-class midshipmen after a conversion and refitting begun in 1857. She was anchored at the yard, and the plebes lived on board the ship to immediately introduce them to shipboard life and experiences.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The American Civil War was disruptive to the Naval Academy. Southern sympathy ran high in Maryland. Although riots broke out, Maryland did not declare secession. The United States government was planning to move the school, when the sudden outbreak of hostilities forced a quick departure. Almost immediately the three upper classes were detached and ordered to sea, and the remaining elements of the academy were transported to Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island by the USS "Constitution" in April 1861, where the academy was set up in temporary facilities and opened in May. The Annapolis campus, meanwhile, was turned into a United States Army Hospital.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The United States Navy was stressed by the situation – 24% of its officers resigned to join the Confederate States Navy, including 95 graduates and 59 midshipmen, along with many key leaders who influenced USNA's founding. As the first superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory, Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury, who advocated for creating the United States Naval Academy also resigned his commission.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The first superintendent, Admiral Franklin Buchanan, joined the Confederate States Navy as its first and primary admiral. Captain Sidney Smith Lee, the second commandant of midshipmen, and older brother of Robert E. Lee, left Federal service in 1861 for the Confederate States Navy. Lieutenant William Harwar Parker, CSN, class of 1848, and instructor at USNA, joined the Virginia State Navy, and then went on to become the superintendent of the Confederate States Naval Academy.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: Lieutenant Charles "Savez" Read may have been "anchor man" (graduated last) in the class of 1860, but his later service to the Confederate States Navy included defending New Orleans, service on CSS "Arkansas" and CSS "Florida", and command of a series of captured Union ships that culminated in seizing the US Revenue Cutter "Caleb Cushing" in Portland, Maine. Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, CSN, a former instructor at the US Naval Academy, commanded the CSS "Shenandoah".


title: United States Naval Academy

text: Civil War hero Admiral David Dixon Porter became superintendent in 1865. He found the infrastructure at Annapolis a shambles, the result of ill military use during the War. Porter attempted to restore the facilities. He concentrated on recruiting naval officers as opposed to civilians, a change of philosophy. He recruited teachers Stephen B. Luce, future admirals Winfield Scott Schley, George Dewey, and William T. Sampson. The midshipman battalion consisted of four companies. These were bunked in a single wooden building containing 100 rooms, one company to a floor. They held dress parades every evening except Sunday. Students were termed "cadets", though sometimes "cadet midshipmen"; other appellations were used. Porter began organized athletics, usually intramural at the time.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: Antoine Joseph Corbesier, an immigrant from Belgium, was appointed to the position of Assistant Swordmaster in 1864, and then Swordmaster at USNA in October 1865. He coached Navy fencers in intercollegiate competition from 1896, when the Naval Academy joined the Intercollegiate Fencing Association, until 1914, when he retired. By special act of Congress, he was commissioned a 1st lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 4 March 1914. He died on 26 March 1915 and is buried on Hospital Point.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: In 1867, indoor plumbing and water was supplied to the family quarters. In 1868, the figurehead from , known as "Tecumseh" was erected in the yard. Class rings were first issued in 1869. Weekly dances were held. Wags called the school "Porter's Dancing Academy." President U.S. Grant distributed diplomas to the class of 1869. Porter ensured continued room for expansion by overseeing the purchase of across College Creek, later known as hospital point.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: In the 1870s, cuts in the military budget resulted in graduating much smaller classes. In 1872, 25 graduated. Eight of these made the Navy a career. The third class physically hazed the fourth class so ruthlessly that Congress passed an anti-hazing law in 1874. Hazing continued in more stealthy forms.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: John H. Conyers of South Carolina was the first African-American admitted on 21 September 1872. After his arrival, he was subject to severe, ongoing hazing, including verbal torment, and beatings. His classmates even attempted to drown him. Three cadets were dismissed as a result, but the abuse, including shunning, continued in more subtle forms and Conyers finally resigned in October 1873.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: In 1875, Albert A. Michelson, class of 1873, returned to teach. He began his experiments with optics and the physics of light, which resulted in the first accurate measure of the speed of light.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: In 1874, the curriculum was altered to study naval topics in the final two years at the academy. In 1878, the academy was awarded a gold medal for academics at the Universal Exposition in Paris.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: Many firsts for minorities occurred during this period. In 1877, Kiro Kunitomo, a Japanese citizen, graduated from the academy. And then in 1879, Robert F. Lopez was the first Hispanic-American to graduate from the academy.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: In the late 19th century, Congress required the academy to teach a formal course in hygiene, the only course required by Congress of any military academy. Tradition holds that a congressman was particularly disgusted by the appearance of a midshipman returned from cruise.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The Spanish–American War of 1898 greatly increased the academy's importance and the campus was almost wholly rebuilt and much enlarged between 1899 and 1906. The ground on which most of the academy sat was dredged from the surrounding bodies of water and consisted of silt. This was too fragile for the newer heavy stone buildings. Pilings were sunk from to deep. Some wooden with iron caps; modern ones of steel. Today's campus dates from that era. In 1905, Isherwood Hall, containing the Department of Marine Engineering, was constructed.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: Prior to that era, about 43 men entered annually. There were 114 joining the class of 1905, 201 with the class of 1908.


title: United States Naval Academy

text: The academy built a modern hospital in 1907, the fourth in sequence, on what is today called "Hospital Point."