title: Levitating (song)

text: "Levitating" reached the summit of the chart in Bulgaria. On Australia's ARIA Singles Chart dated 26 October 2020, the original began being credited as the Blessed Madonna's remix was credited before then, and peaked at number four. In New Zealand, the original version debuted at number six on the NZ Hot Singles Chart dated 6 April 2020, and the 12 October 2020 chart saw DaBaby's remix debuting at number 14. On the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart dated 19 October 2020, the original version debuted at number 36, and the DaBaby Remix was later credited, reaching a peak of number five. The remix was awarded a quadruple platinum certification in the country by Recorded Music NZ for track-equivalent sales of 120,000 units.


title: Levitating (song)

text: DaBaby's remix of "Levitating" debuted at number 51 on the "Billboard" Global 200 chart dated 17 October 2020, and has peaked at number 2 on the chart. It has reached number one on the Canadian Hot 100, becoming Lipa's first and DaBaby's second number-one single in Canada. It topped the chart for three nonconsecutive weeks. "Levitating" became Lipa's biggest US chart hit. It debuted at number 73 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart dated 17 October 2020. On the chart dated 9 January 2021, it reached the chart's tenth position, becoming Lipa's third top 10 single following "Don't Start Now" and "New Rules" (2017). It peaked at number 2 on the chart (behind Silk Sonic's "Leave the Door Open"), tying "Don't Start Now" as Lipa's highest-charting US song, and it is Lipa's longest-running top-10 hit. On the issue dated 4 September 2021, in its 34th week in the top 10, "Levitating" surpassed “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B to become the longest-running top 10 single by a female artist. It has since become the second song to spend a total of 40 weeks in the top ten, as of the week ending 30 October 2021, after "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd. On the issue dated 19 March 2022, in its 70th week on the chart, "Levitating" surpassed "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes as the longest-charting hit on the Hot 100 by a female artist. The DaBaby remix of "Levitating" topped both the US Mainstream Top 40 chart, which monitors pop radio stations, and the US Adult Top 40, which monitors hot adult contemporary radio formats. It also reached number one on the Radio Songs chart after a 37-week climb, the longest climb to the top spot in the chart's 30-year history, surpassing the 35-week climb set by "I Hope" by Gabby Barrett in October 2020. In December 2021, the solo version of "Levitating" was named the best-performing single of the year on the Hot 100, becoming only the fourth single to achieve this without topping the weekly chart (after "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1965, "Breathe" by Faith Hill in 2000, and "Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse in 2001) and the first single by a female solo artist to top the year-end chart since 2011.


title: Levitating (song)

text: From 25 August 2020 to 31 August 2020, Lipa held a contest on social media platform TikTok for fans to create visualisers for "Levitating", including dance, animation, and makeup, for a chance to be featured in the video, later revealed to be the video for the remix featuring DaBaby. The challenge garnered 300,000,000 views and 150,000 video submissions, of which 16 creators were invited to be a part of the video. Three creators, Andrew Wilson, Ramana Borba, and Rikki Sandhu, helped as part of the crew. They animated Lipa's cosmic dance floor, helped with some of the dance routines, and designed the cosmic makeup on Lipa's dancers, respectively. For the video, Lipa had a mood board consisting of "Austin Powers", 1960s futurism and surrealism, Studio 54 and disco, thinking that "Levitating" was the perfect song to encapsulate these ideas.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The music video was directed by American director Warren Fu, and took over 16 and a half hours to shoot, with stylist Lorenzo Posocco being on Zoom for over 17 hours during it. While filming, Lipa quickly decided that she did not like her look moments before going on camera, and within five minutes hairstylist Chris Appleton flipped her wig and gave her a whole new look. TikTok users Dexter Mayfield and Olivia Wong prepared for being on camera by vibing off everyone's energy and staying calm, respectively. DaBaby was originally supposed to be dressed as an astronaut for his shots, but ultimately did not due to the video's "flow", so he could just party. The visual premiered on YouTube at 13:00 BST (12:00 UTC) on 2 October 2020. It was proceeded by the release of two teasers on TikTok, in which Lipa invites users to "The Levitating Experience" that takes one to an "intergalactic dance floor;" she also warns viewers not to mess with the system and informs them about how to get there, among other items.


title: Levitating (song)

text: An alternate animated music video was released on September 13, 2021, using the original version of the song without DaBaby. The music video was produced by Japanese animation group NOSTALOOK, in retro 1980s-1990s Japanese anime style, similar to "Sailor Moon" and "Creamy Mami".


title: Levitating (song)

text: The music video opens with Lipa lying on the hood of a classic car, watching the stars in the night sky. She sports blonde hair and glittering eye makeup, and wears a Misbhv sheer top, cargo trousers, and Puma trainers as well as a "sugarboo" necklace which Hudson and Coffee gave her for her birthday. A portal of white light then appears out of nowhere, and Lipa's clothes change into a custom Atelier Versace mini dress made out of Swarovski crystal mesh; she worked closely with the Versace to create a "disco dream" dress. Lipa's "sugarboo" necklace then levitates off her neck, and she goes up materializing stairs into the portal. The portal transports her to a futuristic, art deco, disco and "The Great Gatsby"-themed elevator, which has gold trimming and the TikTok logo as its arrow indicating what floor they are on. She dances in the elevator, accompanied by two girls dressed as bellhops.


title: Levitating (song)

text: Shortly after, the elevator reads "Approaching KRK-91", a reference to DaBaby's real name, Kirk, and his birth year, 1991. One of the bellhop girls then goes to the door, and swipes up on a screen next to it to an outline of DaBaby; she presses a button under it. The door opens and DaBaby enters the elevator, wearing a knitted multicolour monogram flower crewneck outfit from Louis Vuitton's FW20 collection, alongside silver jewels and a necklace that says "Kirk". DaBaby raps to the camera as Lipa casually dances behind him, where she blows a kiss and puts her arm around DaBaby. The elevator then reaches "Roller World", where girls on roller skates enter the elevator, in 1970s-inspired attire. They all dance together with large moves, and the elevator shines cherry red lights ever so often. The elevator reaches its final stop, and one of the bellhop girls swipes the screen to release. One of the passengers is launched into space before the dancers begin to appear dancing on a Milky Way-like illuminated circular belt. Lipa is seen dancing on a platform in the middle of the belt, sporting bangs, and wearing a Mugler dress with elbow-length gloves from Casey Cadwallader's autumn/winter 2020 show.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The staff of "DIY" labelled the "Levitating" music video "glitzy and glam", and noted its Studio 54 aesthetic. For the "Gay Times", Sam Damshenas praised Lipa's "intergalactic disco diva" role. Katrina Rees of "CelebMix" named the video "futuristic," while "Idolator"s Mike Wass pointed out its blockbuster production. In "Vogue", Susan Devaney compared Lipa's custom Versace dress to that of previous outfits worn by Paris Hilton and Kendall Jenner. The magazine later placed the video among the "Most-Stylish Music Videos of 2020" list. Writing for "Billboard", Heran Mamo called the video "luxe," while "Hypebeast"s Clara Malley viewed it as "a 'Great Gatsby'-meets-disco twist." In "Rolling Stone", Claire Shaffer noted the visual's Milky Way themes and imagery.


title: Levitating (song)

text: On 25 July 2021, DaBaby performed at Rolling Loud, in which he made controversial comments, saying, "If you didn't show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that'll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up." His remarks drew condemnation, and Kirk responded to the allegations with "What me and my fans do at the live show, it don't concern you niggas on the internet, or you bitter bitches on the internet." This caused Lipa's fans to ask that DaBaby be removed from the remix of "Levitating". On 27 July 2021, Lipa took to her Instagram story to denounce the remarks.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The controversy later prompted the removal of the "Levitating" remix across multiple radio stations and Apple Music playlists in various countries. It was simultaneously replaced with the original solo version of the song, which was initially released in March 2020 as part of the album. "Billboard" later reported that while US radio audience impressions for all versions of the song combined was only down 1% for the tracking week of 23 to 29 July 2021, the percentage of the song's radio plays being the DaBaby remix declined following his remarks (dropping from 71% of all radio plays on 25 July to 59% on 29 July (the last day of the tracking week)). On the week ending 28 August 2021, DaBaby's credit was removed on the "Billboard" Hot 100 as the chart's rules state that the version of the song that contributes to the greatest share of a song's performance on the chart is the one that is credited on the chart, indicating that the original solo version of the song had overtaken the DaBaby remix to have the greatest share of the song's overall performance that week.


title: Levitating (song)

text: On 1 March 2022, reggae band Artikal Sound System filed a suit against Lipa and her label Warner Records alleging copyright infringement, asserting similarities between "Levitating" and their 2017 song "Live Your Life" (also alleging the producers have known the song before "Levitating" was in production). Less than a week later, a second suit by songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer claimed that "Levitating" infringed on their 1979 disco song "Wiggle and Giggle All Night".<ref name="Kreps_3/6/2022"></ref>


title: Levitating (song)

text: Following the release of "Future Nostalgia", Lipa enlisted the help of the Blessed Madonna to create a remix album that would later become "Club Future Nostalgia". The Blessed Madonna remixed two tracks on the record, "Levitating" and the previously-unreleased "Love Is Religion". For "Levitating", which had multiple versions, both Lipa and the Blessed Madonna had the vision of a "fun" club remix. The Blessed Madonna originally created it as if Lipa was the only person singing on it. After finishing the remix, Lipa thought that Madonna and Missy Elliott would sound amazing on it, so she reached out to both of them via email, with both responding saying they would be up for it. Madonna recorded her vocals in a separate studio, with her engineer Mike Dean sending them to the Blessed Madonna. Madonna did several variations, including breaking out into her 1983 single "Lucky Star" for a second. Elliott then sent her verse, which included an air horn. The Blessed Madonna then "frankensteined" the three parts together, before Madonna requested that Dean mix down the song. Dean ended up handing both the mastering and mix down. Both Madonna and Elliott are added as songwriters, while the Blessed Madonna is credited as the remixer and an additional producer.


title: Levitating (song)

text: On 30 June 2020, Lipa's manager Ben Mawson revealed in an interview with "Music Week" that Lipa's team was attempting to organise a collaboration between her and Madonna. "Future Nostalgia" was heavily influenced by Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor", both of which feature songs co-produced by Stuart Price, including "Levitating". On 27 July 2020, Lipa announced the single release of a remix of "Levitating" by the Blessed Madonna featuring Madonna and Missy Elliott. The song was later confirmed to be the lead single of "Club Future Nostalgia". The song premiered at 09:00 PT (16:00 UTC) on 13 August 2020, being released for digital download and streaming. The remix was serviced to contemporary hit radio formats in Italy the same day, and was also released on 12-inch vinyl on 21 August 2020 by We Still Believe, an independent label owned by the Blessed Madonna.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The Blessed Madonna's remix of "Levitating" is an EDM, electro-disco, electro house, future bass and techno track. It runs for 4 minutes and 10 seconds, and has a throwback disco and trance vibe. It increases the tempo of the original, with Lipa, Madonna and Elliott each contributing a verse. Lipa and Madonna harmonise with one and other, while trading verses and Elliott half-sings and half-raps. The remix has a dance-orientated house production, consisting of Daft Punk vocoder backing vocals, a pounding bass, nostalgic and futuristic synths, and house beats.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The Blessed Madonna's remix of "Levitating" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. In "Rolling Stone", Brittany Spanos viewed the Blessed Madonna "Levitating" remix as "tongue-twistingly," a "fast-paced romp," and "clubbier" than the original, while also labelling Elliott's verse "flirty" and "freaky." The staff of "Rap-Up" called it a "pulsing dance-floor bop," while Maia Kedem of Radio.com viewed Elliott's verse as "tastefully naughty." "Billboard"s Katie Bain noted the remix for being "darkly funky" and stated it brings the original to "new heights" while Heran Mamo of the same magazine stated it shows Lipa's "star power." Nick Romano of "Entertainment Weekly" said the remix is "what you need to turn any isolated apartment into the hottest club."


title: Levitating (song)

text: For "Slant Magazine", Alexa Camp praised Elliott's "versatility," and stated the Blessed Madonna's "Levitating" remix is worthy of Giorgio Moroder or Cerrone, while Madonna's vocal delivery to Jody Watley. Joe Price of "Complex" praised Elliott and Madonna's vocals complimenting Lipa's, and noted its further cementation of Lipa's crossover appeal. In a negative review from "Clash", Robin Murray stated it has a "truncated nature" feeling that does not "click into place," while also commenting that it "doesn't get the space to breathe properly." AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung agreed, writing it fails to hit "the highs that the crew targeted." For "The Line of Best Fit", Udit Mahalingam thought that it failed to live up to the original. "Pitchfork"s Owen Myers viewed the Elliott and Madonna features as deflating the remix. In "The Guardian", Michael Cragg rated the remix a 6 out of 10, and stated it is "another example of 2020's endless disappointments."


title: Levitating (song)

text: In Canada, the Blessed Madonna's remix reached number 16 on the Canadian Digital Song Sales, In the United States, the Blessed Madonna's remix debuted and peaked at number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart, while also reaching number 6 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, lasting one and seven weeks on each chart respectively. The Blessed Madonna's remix debuted at number nine on the NZ Hot Singles chart dated 22 August 2020, It also reached number 47 in Italy and number 10 on the Euro Digital Song Sales chart. Following the release of the DaBaby remix, the Blessed Madonna's remix debuted at number 35 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart dated 19 October 2020.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The music video for the Blessed Madonna's remix of "Levitating" was directed by Will Hooper and produced by production company Blink, led by producer Corin Taylor and executive producer Laura Northover. Due to lockdown restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the video concept was developed virtually, with many video calls with Lipa and her management team TAP. The crew ran into difficulties during the production due to several film industry services being closed or running at a reduced service. They made sure to run a safe set and follow the government's guidance toward the virus. The video includes appearances from Lipa, Elliott, and Lipa's then-boyfriend, Anwar Hadid, with both the Blessed Madonna and Madonna being absent. It draws inspiration from extraterrestrial life and science fiction. Rina Yang serves as the video's director of photography, and she creates a contemporary and inspired vision, somewhere in between fashion editorial and home video, with many blue and red hues.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The music video was filmed in June 2020 in London over the course of 4 days, while Elliott filmed her parts with her respective team in Atlanta, in conjunction with Lipa's UK team. It was one of the first large productions to shoot to APA guidelines after the lockdown restrictions. Due to social distancing protocols associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the production team decided to cast real couples, which led to Hadid's casting. The video's filming, which song was then unknown, was reported on 18 June 2020, along with Hadid's casting. The visual premiered at 05:00 PT (12:00 UTC) on 14 August 2020. Rania Aniftos of "Billboard" labelled the Blessed Madonna's "Levitating" remix video "colourful" and "dreamy." For "Consequence of Sound", Lake Schatz noted its "candy-coated, Miami glaze" lenses and praised its "mythical and celestial imagery." He concluded by stating the video is "snazzy" and like "a four-minute Ring Pop." Radio.com's Maia Kedem viewed the video as a mix of "Sailor Moon", "Euphoria", and "Twilight". In her review for "Vogue", Janelle Okwodu complimented its "trippy visuals, bright colors" and wardrobe that visualise "Future Nostalgia"s "retro rave theme."


title: Levitating (song)

text: The music video has a theme of "love conquers all," and consists of many scenes synthesising to depict many romantic moments, with each scene being woven in and out of the storyline. The storyline features numerous people getting obsessed with a maze-like symbol while under the influence of a mysterious glowing planet. Throughout the video, psychedelic shots of ghostly fields and gem-studded cars are shown. The video begins with a montage of some of the video's events before Lipa is seen looking at the planet out of a window from an apartment. Her hair is dyed hot pink and she wears Martine Rose logo print PJ pants and an e-girl python bodysuit. She begins to dance around the apartment where a vinyl is playing and is filled with analog recorders and buzzing televisions.


title: Levitating (song)

text: The next scene sees a blonde woman in a bedroom looking at herself in a mirror and holding a small item with the maze-like symbol that she hides under her pillow but later breaks it in half. She then looks through a telescope at a brunette girl reading a book. The brunette girl looks straight at the telescope, slightly scaring the blonde girl before the brunette eats the same item that the blonde girl put under her pillow. In the following scene, a bunch of people hang out in a skating park, drawing the maze-like symbol with chalk and skating, as well as a couple kissing. Next, two people are seen walking under a highway-like structure, which has graffiti of the maze-like symbol, with one holding a briefcase. They eventually get to a spot where they open a green-like crystal. Following, a man is seen in the middle of a field, spray-painting the symbol on a white sheet. Another man is seen driving his car to a point near the highway-like structure. He pulls a net out of his car and looks up into the sky. This scene ends with a moon appearing in his car before a woman takes its place.


title: Levitating (song)

text: Towards the end, Elliott makes her appearance for her verse. She wears a Versace palm print, with a lime green jacket and baseball cap alongside outsized hoop earrings and lengthy box braids. A woman in a shimmery disco ball dress is seen dancing in a field, appearing there from a shooting star. Lipa and Hadid are then seen lying in a field of flowers and driving a car into the planet, in which the two kiss. Lipa wears a white-striped navy sailor-inspired Miu Miu knit bodysuit with a Peter Pan collar, while Hadid sports a low-key t-shirt and jeans. The visual ends with Lipa and Hadid starring off at the planet.


title: Levitating (song)

text: "Levitating" appeared on the 2020 year-end lists by numerous publications, including being placed as the best song of the year by "Cosmopolitan" and the "Herald Sun". In "Billboard", the song placed on their "30 Best Pop Songs of 2020" list. "The Guardian" writers Laura Snapes, Lanre Bakare, and Hannah J Davies all included the song among their favourite songs of 2020. Steven Pearl of "Rolling Stone" ranked the DaBaby remix at number six on his year-end list "Atwood Magazine"s Anthony Kozlowski ranked the original version as 2020's second best song, while Official Charts Company operations executive Cat Smyth named it her favourite song of 2020. Former American president Barack Obama included the DaBaby Remix on his "Favorite Songs of 2020" list. "Time Out" ranked the solo version of "Levitating" as the thirty-fifth best song of all time.


title: Levitating (song)

text: Lipa performed "Levitating" for the first time on "The Graham Norton Show" on 20 November 2020. Two days later she performed it at the American Music Awards of 2020. The ceremony took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, however Lipa's performance was filmed at London's Royal Albert Hall in a custom built set. At the end of the performance, she levitated towards the sky with the help of wires through a pulley system, which gained praise from Olivia Horn of "The New York Times" and "Vulture"s Justin Curto, who both viewed the performance as one of the ceremony's best moments. Horn also praised Lipa's dancing abilities. For Radio.com, Marty Rosenbaum ranked it as the night's eighth best moment and also praised the levitating bit.


title: Levitating (song)

text: Lipa performed "Levitating" as the second track on the setlist for her Studio 2054 live stream concert on 27 November 2020. She performed it during her NPR Tiny Desk Concert, released 4 December 2020. The following day, Lipa performed it as a medley with her single "Physical" (2020) at both the LOS40 Music Awards 2020 and the 2020 NRJ Music Awards; she also performed "Fever" (2020) with Angèle at the latter ceremony. On 10 December 2020, Lipa performed an acoustic set at the 2020 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball which included "Levitating" as well as "Don't Start Now" and a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", the latter of which was a virtual performance with a few of her fans for Capital One's Holiday Jam. During her 19 December 2020 "Saturday Night Live" appearance, she performed "Levitating", "Don't Start Now", and acted in a World War II-themed skit. Lipa performed the song as part of her 22 December 2020 Pandora livestream concert. On New Year's Eve 2020, she performed it during YouTube's "Hello 2021" virtual countdown special for the Indian, British and American shows.


title: Levitating (song)

text: On 14 March 2021, Lipa performed the remixed version with DaBaby for the first time at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, alongside a performance of "Don't Start Now".


title: Norsemen

text: The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the predecessor of the modern Germanic languages of Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a large-scale expansion in all directions, giving rise to the Viking Age. In English-language scholarship since the 19th century, Norse seafaring traders, settlers and warriors have commonly been referred to as Vikings. Historians of Anglo-Saxon England distinguish between Norse Vikings (Norsemen) from Norway who mainly invaded and occupied the islands north and north-west of Britain, Ireland and western Britain, and Danish Vikings, who principally invaded and occupied eastern Britain.


title: Norsemen

text: Modern descendants of Norsemen are the Danes, Icelanders, Faroe Islanders, Norwegians, and Swedes, who are now generally referred to as "Scandinavians" rather than Norsemen.


title: Norsemen

text: The word "Norseman" first appears in English during the early 19th century: the earliest attestation given in the third edition of the "Oxford English Dictionary" is from Walter Scott's 1817 "Harold the Dauntless". The word was coined using the adjective "norse", which was borrowed into English from Dutch during the 16th century with the sense 'Norwegian', and which by Scott's time had acquired the sense "of or relating to Scandinavia or its language, esp[ecially] in ancient or medieval times". As with modern use of the word "viking", therefore, the word "norseman" has no particular basis in medieval usage.


title: Norsemen

text: The term "Norseman" does echo terms meaning 'Northman', applied to Norse-speakers by the peoples they encountered during the Middle Ages. The Old Frankish word ("Northman") was Latinised as and was widely used in Latin texts. The Latin word then entered Old French as . From this word came the name of the Normans and of Normandy, which was settled by Norsemen in the tenth century.


title: Norsemen

text: The same word entered Hispanic languages and local varieties of Latin with forms beginning not only in "n-", but in "l-", such as (apparently reflecting nasal dissimilation in local Romance languages). This form may in turn have been borrowed into Arabic: the prominent early Arabic source al-Mas‘ūdī identified the 844 raiders on Seville not only as "Rūs" but also .


title: Norsemen

text: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written in Old English, distinguishes between the pagan Norwegian Norsemen ("Norðmenn") of Dublin and the Christian Danes ("Dene") of the Danelaw. In 942, it records the victory of King Edmund I over the Norse kings of York: "The Danes were previously subjected by force under the Norsemen, for a long time in bonds of captivity to the heathens".


title: Norsemen

text: In modern scholarship, "Vikings" is a common term for attacking Norsemen, especially in connection with raids and monastic plundering by Norsemen in the British Isles, but it was not used in this sense at the time. In Old Norse and Old English, the word simply meant 'pirate'.


title: Norsemen

text: The Norse were also known as , "ashmen", by the Germans, (Norse) by the Gaels and (Danes) by the Anglo-Saxons.


title: Norsemen

text: The Gaelic terms (Norwegian Viking or Norwegian), (Danish Viking or Danish) and (foreign Gaelic) were used for the people of Norse descent in Ireland and Scotland, who assimilated into the Gaelic culture. Dubliners called them Ostmen, or East-people, and the name Oxmanstown (an area in central Dublin; the name is still current) comes from one of their settlements; they were also known as , or Lake-people.


title: Norsemen

text: The Slavs, the Arabs and the Byzantines knew them as the "Rus'" or (), probably derived from various uses of , i.e. "related to rowing", or from the area of Roslagen in east-central Sweden, where most of the Northmen who visited the Eastern Slavic lands originated.


title: Norsemen

text: Archaeologists and historians of today believe that these Scandinavian settlements in the East Slavic lands formed the names of the countries of Russia and Belarus.


title: Norsemen

text: The Slavs and the Byzantines also called them "Varangians" (, meaning "sworn men"), and the Scandinavian bodyguards of the Byzantine emperors were known as the Varangian Guard.


title: Norsemen

text: Modern Scandinavian languages have a common word for Norsemen: the word (, , , or in the definite plural) is used for both ancient and modern people living in the Nordic countries and speaking one of the North Germanic languages.


title: Norsemen

text: The British conception of the Vikings' origins was inaccurate. Those who plundered Britain lived in what is today Denmark, Scania, the western coast of Sweden and Norway (up to almost the 70th parallel) and along the Swedish Baltic coast up to around the 60th latitude and Lake Mälaren. They also came from the island of Gotland, Sweden. The border between the Norsemen and more southerly Germanic tribes, the Danevirke, today is located about south of the Danish–German border. The southernmost living Vikings lived no further north than Newcastle upon Tyne, and travelled to Britain more from the east than from the north.


title: Norsemen

text: The Norse Scandinavians established polities and settlements in what are now Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), Ireland, Iceland, Russia, Belarus, France, Sicily, Belgium, Ukraine, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Greenland, Canada, and the Faroe Islands.


title: Antigen

text: In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule or molecular structure or any foreign particulate matter or a pollen grain that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. The term "antigen" originally referred to a substance that is an antibody generator. Antigens can be proteins, peptides (amino acid chains), polysaccharides (chains of monosaccharides/simple sugars), lipids, or nucleic acids.


title: Antigen

text: Antigens are recognized by antigen receptors, including antibodies and T-cell receptors. Diverse antigen receptors are made by cells of the immune system so that each cell has a specificity for a single antigen. Upon exposure to an antigen, only the lymphocytes that recognize that antigen are activated and expanded, a process known as clonal selection. In most cases, an antibody can only react to and bind one specific antigen; in some instances, however, antibodies may cross-react and bind more than one antigen.


title: Antigen

text: The antigen may originate from within the body ("self-protein") or from the external environment ("non-self"). The immune system identifies and attacks "non-self" external antigens and usually does not react to self-protein due to negative selection of T cells in the thymus and B cells in the bone marrow.


title: Antigen

text: Vaccines are examples of antigens in an immunogenic form, which are intentionally administered to a recipient to induce the memory function of the adaptive immune system towards antigens of the pathogen invading that recipient. The vaccine for seasonal influenza is a common example.


title: Antigen

text: Paul Ehrlich coined the term "antibody" () in his side-chain theory at the end of the 19th century. In 1899, Ladislas Deutsch (László Detre) named the hypothetical substances halfway between bacterial constituents and antibodies "antigenic or immunogenic substances" (). He originally believed those substances to be precursors of antibodies, just as zymogen is a precursor of an enzyme. But, by 1903, he understood that an antigen induces the production of immune bodies (antibodies) and wrote that the word "antigen" is a contraction of antisomatogen (). The "Oxford English Dictionary" indicates that the logical construction should be "anti(body)-gen".


title: Antigen

text: Antigen-presenting cells present antigens in the form of peptides on histocompatibility molecules. The T cells selectively recognize the antigens; depending on the antigen and the type of the histocompatibility molecule, different types of T cells will be activated. For T-cell receptor (TCR) recognition, the peptide must be processed into small fragments inside the cell and presented by a major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The antigen cannot elicit the immune response without the help of an immunologic adjuvant. Similarly, the adjuvant component of vaccines plays an essential role in the activation of the innate immune system.


title: Antigen

text: An immunogen is an antigen substance (or adduct) that is able to trigger a humoral (innate) or cell-mediated immune response. It first initiates an innate immune response, which then causes the activation of the adaptive immune response. An antigen binds the highly variable immunoreceptor products (B-cell receptor or T-cell receptor) once these have been generated. Immunogens are those antigens, termed immunogenic, capable of inducing an immune response.


title: Antigen

text: At the molecular level, an antigen can be characterized by its ability to bind to an antibody's paratopes. Different antibodies have the potential to discriminate among specific epitopes present on the antigen surface. A hapten is a small molecule that can only induce an immune response when attached to a larger carrier molecule, such as a protein. Antigens can be proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids or other biomolecules. This includes parts (coats, capsules, cell walls, flagella, fimbriae, and toxins) of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. Non-microbial non-self antigens can include pollen, egg white, and proteins from transplanted tissues and organs or on the surface of transfused blood cells.


title: Antigen

text: Exogenous antigens are antigens that have entered the body from the outside, for example, by inhalation, ingestion or injection. The immune system's response to exogenous antigens is often subclinical. By endocytosis or phagocytosis, exogenous antigens are taken into the antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and processed into fragments. APCs then present the fragments to T helper cells (CD4) by the use of class II histocompatibility molecules on their surface. Some T cells are specific for the peptide:MHC complex. They become activated and start to secrete cytokines, substances that activate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), antibody-secreting B cells, macrophages and other particles.


title: Antigen

text: Some antigens start out as exogenous and later become endogenous (for example, intracellular viruses). Intracellular antigens can be returned to circulation upon the destruction of the infected cell.


title: Antigen

text: Endogenous antigens are generated within normal cells as a result of normal cell metabolism, or because of viral or intracellular bacterial infection. The fragments are then presented on the cell surface in the complex with MHC class I molecules. If activated cytotoxic CD8 T cells recognize them, the T cells secrete various toxins that cause the lysis or apoptosis of the infected cell. In order to keep the cytotoxic cells from killing cells just for presenting self-proteins, the cytotoxic cells (self-reactive T cells) are deleted as a result of tolerance (negative selection). Endogenous antigens include xenogenic (heterologous), autologous and idiotypic or allogenic (homologous) antigens. Sometimes antigens are part of the host itself in an autoimmune disease.


title: Antigen

text: An autoantigen is usually a self-protein or protein complex (and sometimes DNA or RNA) that is recognized by the immune system of patients with a specific autoimmune disease. Under normal conditions, these self-proteins should not be the target of the immune system, but in autoimmune diseases, their associated T cells are not deleted and instead attack.


title: Antigen

text: Neoantigens are those that are entirely absent from the normal human genome. As compared with nonmutated self-proteins, neoantigens are of relevance to tumor control, as the quality of the T cell pool that is available for these antigens is not affected by central T cell tolerance. Technology to systematically analyze T cell reactivity against neoantigens became available only recently. Neoantigens can be directly detected and quantified through a method called MANA-SRM developed by a molecular diagnostics company, Complete Omics Inc., through collaborating with a team in Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.


title: Antigen

text: For virus-associated tumors, such as cervical cancer and a subset of head and neck cancers, epitopes derived from viral open reading frames contribute to the pool of neoantigens.


title: Antigen

text: "Tumor antigens" are those antigens that are presented by MHC class I or MHC class II molecules on the surface of tumor cells. Antigens found only on such cells are called tumor-specific antigens (TSAs) and generally result from a tumor-specific mutation. More common are antigens that are presented by tumor cells and normal cells, called tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). Cytotoxic T lymphocytes that recognize these antigens may be able to destroy tumor cells.


title: Antigen

text: Tumor antigens can appear on the surface of the tumor in the form of, for example, a mutated receptor, in which case they are recognized by B cells.


title: Antigen

text: For human tumors without a viral etiology, novel peptides (neo-epitopes) are created by tumor-specific DNA alterations.


title: Antigen

text: A large fraction of human tumor mutations are effectively patient-specific. Therefore, neoantigens may also be based on individual tumor genomes. Deep-sequencing technologies can identify mutations within the protein-coding part of the genome (the exome) and predict potential neoantigens. In mice models, for all novel protein sequences, potential MHC-binding peptides were predicted. The resulting set of potential neoantigens was used to assess T cell reactivity. Exome–based analyses were exploited in a clinical setting, to assess reactivity in patients treated by either tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy or checkpoint blockade. Neoantigen identification was successful for multiple experimental model systems and human malignancies.


title: Antigen

text: The false-negative rate of cancer exome sequencing is low—i.e.: the majority of neoantigens occur within exonic sequence with sufficient coverage. However, the vast majority of mutations within expressed genes do not produce neoantigens that are recognized by autologous T cells.


title: Antigen

text: As of 2015 mass spectrometry resolution is insufficient to exclude many false positives from the pool of peptides that may be presented by MHC molecules. Instead, algorithms are used to identify the most likely candidates. These algorithms consider factors such as the likelihood of proteasomal processing, transport into the endoplasmic reticulum, affinity for the relevant MHC class I alleles and gene expression or protein translation levels.


title: Antigen

text: The majority of human neoantigens identified in unbiased screens display a high predicted MHC binding affinity. Minor histocompatibility antigens, a conceptually similar antigen class are also correctly identified by MHC binding algorithms. Another potential filter examines whether the mutation is expected to improve MHC binding. The nature of the central TCR-exposed residues of MHC-bound peptides is associated with peptide immunogenicity.


title: Antigen

text: A native antigen is an antigen that is not yet processed by an APC to smaller parts. T cells cannot bind native antigens, but require that they be processed by APCs, whereas B cells can be activated by native ones.


title: Antigen

text: Antigenic specificity is the ability of the host cells to recognize an antigen specifically as a unique molecular entity and distinguish it from another with exquisite precision. Antigen specificity is due primarily to the side-chain conformations of the antigen. It is measurable and need not be linear or of a rate-limited step or equation. Both T cells and B cells are cellular components of adaptive immunity.


title: Ian Dury

text: Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and before that of Kilburn and the High Roads.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury was born, and spent his early years, at his parents' home at 43 Weald Rise, Harrow Weald, Middlesex (though he often pretended that he had been born in Upminster, Essex, which all but one of his obituaries in the UK national press stated as fact). His father, William George Dury (born 23 September 1905, Southborough, Kent; died 25 February 1968), was a local bus driver and former boxer, while his mother Margaret (known as "Peggy", born Margaret Cuthbertson Walker, 17 April 1910, Rochdale, Lancashire; died January 1995) was a health visitor, the daughter of a Cornish doctor and the granddaughter of an Irish landowner.


title: Ian Dury

text: William Dury trained with Rolls-Royce to be a chauffeur, and was then absent for long periods, so Peggy Dury took Ian to stay with her parents in Cornwall. After the Second World War, the family moved to Switzerland, where his father chauffeured for a millionaire and the Western European Union. In 1946 Peggy brought Ian back to England and they stayed with her sister, Mary, a doctor in Cranham, a small village in Essex. Although he saw his father on visits, they never lived together again.


title: Ian Dury

text: At the age of seven, Dury contracted polio, most likely, he believed, from a swimming pool at Southend-on-Sea during the 1949 polio epidemic. After six weeks in a full plaster cast in the Royal Cornwall Infirmary, Truro, he was moved to Black Notley Hospital, Braintree, Essex, where he spent a year and a half before going to Chailey Heritage Craft School, East Sussex, in 1951. His illness resulted in the paralysis and withering of his left leg, shoulder and arm.


title: Ian Dury

text: Chailey was a school and hospital for disabled children, which believed in toughening them up, contributing to the observant and determined person Dury became. Chailey taught trades such as cobbling and printing, but Dury's mother wanted him to be more academic, so his aunt Moll arranged for him to enter the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, where he recounted being punished for misdemeanours by being made to learn long tracts of poetry until a housemaster found him sobbing and put a stop to it:


title: Ian Dury

text: From 1964 he studied art at the Royal College of Art under Peter Blake, and in 1967 took part in a group exhibition, "Fantasy and Figuration", alongside Pat Douthwaite, Herbert Kitchen and Stass Paraskos at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. From 1967 he taught art at various colleges in the south of England. He also painted commercial illustrations for "The Sunday Times" in the early 1970s.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury formed Kilburn and the High Roads (a reference to the road in North West London) in 1971, and they played their first gig at Croydon School of Art on 5 December 1971. Dury was vocalist and lyricist, co-writing with pianist Russell Hardy and later enrolling into the group a number of the students he was teaching at Canterbury College of Art (now the University for the Creative Arts), including guitarist Keith Lucas (who later became the guitarist for 999 under the name Nick Cash) and bassist Humphrey Ocean.


title: Ian Dury

text: Managed first by Charlie Gillett and Gordon Nelki and latterly by fashion entrepreneur Tommy Roberts, the Kilburns found favour on London's pub rock circuit and signed to Dawn Records in 1974 but, despite favourable press coverage and a tour opening for English rock band The Who, the group failed to rise above cult status and disbanded in 1975.


title: Ian Dury

text: Under the management of Andrew King and Peter Jenner, the original managers of Pink Floyd, Ian Dury and the Blockheads quickly gained a reputation as one of the top live acts of new wave music.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury's lyrics are a combination of lyrical poetry, word play, observation of British everyday life, character sketches, and sexual humour: "This is what we find ... Home improvement expert Harold Hill of Harold Hill, Of do-it-yourself dexterity and double-glazing skill, Came home to find another gentleman's kippers in the grill, So he sanded off his winkle with his Black & Decker drill". The song "Billericay Dickie" rhymes "I had a love affair with Nina, In the back of my Cortina" with "A seasoned-up hyena Could not have been more obscener".


title: Ian Dury

text: The Blockheads' sound drew from its members' diverse musical influences, which included jazz, rock and roll, funk, and reggae, and Dury's love of music hall. The band was formed after Dury began writing songs with pianist and guitarist Chaz Jankel (the brother of music video, TV, commercial and film director Annabel Jankel). Jankel took Dury's lyrics, fashioned a number of songs, and they began recording with members of Radio Caroline's Loving Awareness Band drummer Charley Charles (born Hugh Glenn Mortimer Charles, Guyana 1945), bassist Norman Watt-Roy, keyboard player Mick Gallagher, guitarist John Turnbull and former Kilburns saxophonist Davey Payne. An album was completed, but major record labels passed on the band. Next door to Dury's manager's office was the newly formed Stiff Records, a perfect home for Dury's maverick style.


title: Ian Dury

text: The single "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", released 26 August 1977, marked Dury's Stiff debut. Although it was banned by the BBC it was named Single of the Week by "NME" on its release. The single issue was soon followed, at the end of September, by the album "New Boots and Panties!!" which, although it did not include the single (neither on the track list, album cover or record label, it was nonetheless actually present as track 1 on side 2 of all the original pressings), achieved platinum status.


title: Ian Dury

text: In October 1977 Dury and his band started performing as Ian Dury & the Blockheads, when the band signed on for the Stiff "Live Stiffs Tour" alongside Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, and Larry Wallis. The tour was a success, and Stiff launched a concerted Ian Dury marketing campaign, resulting in the Top Ten hit "What a Waste" and the hit single "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick", which reached No. 1 in the UK at the beginning of 1979, selling just short of a million copies. Again, "Hit Me" was not included on the original release of the subsequent album "Do It Yourself". With their hit singles, the band built up a dedicated following in the UK and other countries and their next single "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3" made number three in the UK.


title: Ian Dury

text: The band's second album "Do It Yourself" was released in June 1979 in a Barney Bubbles-designed sleeve of which there were over a dozen variations, all based on samples from the Crown wallpaper catalogue. Bubbles also designed the Blockhead logo.


title: Ian Dury

text: Jankel left the band temporarily and relocated to the US after the release of "What a Waste" (his organ part on that single was overdubbed later) but he subsequently returned to the UK and began touring sporadically with the Blockheads, eventually returning to the group full-time for the recording of "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick"; according to Mickey Gallagher, the band recorded 28 takes of the song but eventually settled on the second take for the single release. Partly due to personality clashes with Dury, Jankel left the group again in 1980, after the recording of the "Do It Yourself" LP, and he returned to the US to concentrate on his solo career.


title: Ian Dury

text: The group worked solidly over the eighteen months between the release of "Rhythm Stick" and their next single, "Reasons to Be Cheerful", which returned them to the charts, making the UK Top 10. Jankel was replaced by former Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson, who also contributed to the next album "Laughter" (1980) and its two hit singles, although Gallagher recalls that the recording of the "Laughter" album was difficult and that Dury was drinking heavily in this period.


title: Ian Dury

text: In 1980–81 Dury and Jankel teamed up again with Sly and Robbie and the Compass Point All Stars to record "Lord Upminster" (1981). The Blockheads toured the UK and Europe throughout 1981, sometimes augmented by jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, ending the year with their only tour of Australia.


title: Ian Dury

text: The Blockheads disbanded in early 1982 after Dury secured a new recording deal with Polydor Records through A&R man Frank Neilson. Choosing to work with a group of young musicians which he named the Music Students, he recorded the album "Four Thousand Weeks' Holiday". This album marked a departure from his usual style and was not as well received by fans for its American jazz influence.


title: Ian Dury

text: The Blockheads briefly reformed in June 1987 to play a short tour of Japan, and then disbanded again. In September 1990, following the death from cancer of drummer Charley Charles, they reunited for two benefit concerts in aid of Charles' family, held at The Forum, Camden Town, with Steven Monti on drums. In December 1990, augmented by Merlin Rhys-Jones on guitar and Will Parnell on percussion, they recorded the live album "Warts & Audience" at the Brixton Academy.


title: Ian Dury

text: The Blockheads (minus Jankel, who returned to California) toured Spain in January 1991, then disbanded again until August 1992 when, following Jankel's return to England, they were invited to reform for the Madstock! Festival in Finsbury Park; this was followed by sporadic gigs in Europe, Ireland, the UK and Japan in late 1994 and 1995. In the early 1990s, Dury appeared with English band Curve on the benefit compilation album "Peace Together". Dury and Curve singer Toni Halliday shared vocals on a cover of the Blockheads' track "What a Waste".


title: Ian Dury

text: In March 1996 Dury was diagnosed with cancer and, after recovering from an operation, he set about writing another album. In late 1996 he reunited with the Blockheads to record the album "Mr. Love Pants" (1997). Ian Dury & the Blockheads resumed touring, with Dylan Howe replacing Steven Monti on drums. Davey Payne left the group permanently in August and was replaced by Gilad Atzmon; this line-up gigged throughout 1999, culminating in their last performance with Ian Dury on 6 February 2000 at the London Palladium. Dury died six weeks later on 27 March 2000.


title: Ian Dury

text: The Blockheads have continued after Dury's death, contributing to the tribute album "Brand New Boots And Panties", then "Where's The Party". The Blockheads currently comprise Jankel, Watt-Roy, Gallagher, Turnbull, John Roberts on drums, Gilad Atzmon and Dave Lewis on saxes. Derek The Draw (who was Dury's friend and minder) is now writing songs with Jankel as well as singing. Lee Harris is their 'aide-de-camp'.


title: Ian Dury

text: In 1984, Dury was featured in the music video for the minor hit single "Walking in My Sleep" by Roger Daltrey of The Who.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury's 1981 song "Spasticus Autisticus" written to show his disdain for that year's International Year of Disabled Persons, which he saw as patronising and counter-productive was banned by the BBC from being broadcast by the BBC before 6 p.m. The lyrics were uncompromising:


title: Ian Dury

text: The song's refrain, "I'm spasticus, autisticus", was inspired by the response of the rebellious Roman gladiators in the film "Spartacus", who, when instructed to identify their leader, all answered, "I am Spartacus", to protect him. According to Professor George McKay, in his 2009 article "Crippled with nerves" (an early Dury song title), for "Popular Music":


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury described the song as "a war cry" on "Desert Island Discs". The song was used at the opening of the London 2012 Paralympics.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury's confident and unusual demeanour caught the eyes of producers and directors of drama. His first important and extensive role was in Farrukh Dhondy's mini-series for the BBC "King of the Ghetto" (1986), a drama set in London's multi-racial Brick Lane area with a cast led by a young Tim Roth.


title: Ian Dury

text: "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover" (1989), as well as a cameo appearance in Roman Polanski's "Pirates" (1986). He also appeared in the Eduardo Guedes film " Rocinante" (1986), the German comedy "Brennende Betten" (Burning Beds) (1988), Alejandro Jodorowsky's "The Rainbow Thief" (1990), and the Sylvester Stallone science fiction film "Judge Dredd" (1995). His other film appearances included roles in "Number One" (1985) starring Bob Geldof, the Bob Hoskins film "The Raggedy Rawney" (1988), and "Split Second" (1992) starring Rutger Hauer and Kim Cattrall. He also appeared alongside fellow lyricists Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, respectively, in the movies "Hearts of Fire" (1987) and "Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale" (1990), also by Eduardo Guedes. His later films included the comedy "Different for Girls" (1996), and "" (1996), directed by Tim Pope, who had directed a few of Dury's music videos.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury also wrote a musical, "Apples", staged in London's Royal Court Theatre. In 1987 he appeared as the narrator (Scullery) in "Road", also at the Royal Court. Among the cast was actress and singer Jane Horrocks, who cohabited with Dury until late in 1988, although the relationship was kept discreet.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury wrote and performed the theme song "Profoundly in Love with Pandora" for the television series "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾" (1985), based on the book of the same name by Sue Townsend, as well as its follow-up, "The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole" (1987). Dury turned down an offer from Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the libretto for "Cats" (from which Richard Stilgoe reportedly earned millions). The reason, said Dury, "I can't stand his music."


title: Ian Dury

text: When AIDS first came to prominence in the mid-1980s, Dury was among celebrities who appeared on UK television to promote safe sex, demonstrating how to put on a condom using a model of an erect penis. In the 1990s, he became an ambassador for UNICEF, recruiting stars such as Robbie Williams to publicise the cause. The two visited Sri Lanka in this capacity to promote polio vaccination. Dury appeared with Curve on the "Peace Together" concert and CD (1993), performing "What a Waste", with benefits to the Youth of Northern Ireland. He also supported the charity Cancer BACUP.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury appeared in the "Classic Albums" episode that focused on Steely Dan's album "Aja". Dury commented that the album was one of the most "upful" he had ever heard, and that the album "lifted [his] spirits up" whenever he played it.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury also appeared at the end of the Carter USM track "Skywest & Crooked" narrating from the musical "Man of La Mancha".


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury married Elizabeth "Betty" Rathmell (born 12 August 1942, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire), on 3 June 1967 and they had two children, Jemima (born 4 January 1969, Hounslow, Greater London) and Baxter (born 18 December 1971, Wingrave, Buckinghamshire, England). Dury divorced Rathmell in 1985, but remained on good terms. He had a one year long relationship (1986-87) with actor Jane Horrocks, who he met while they both performed a play, and they remained friends until his death. He cohabited with a young woman named Denise Roudette for six years after he moved to London, squatting at Oval Mansions in Kennington, which "The Guardian" referred to as "one of London's most notorious squatted buildings" and Dury himself dubbed "Catshit Mansions" while writing "most of his best songs there" according to "The Guardian". Dury had two children, Bill and Albert, with his wife, sculptor Sophy Tilson.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1996 and underwent surgery, but tumours were later found in his liver, and he was told that his condition was terminal. Upon learning of his illness, Dury and Sophy Tilson got married.


title: Ian Dury

text: In 1998, his death was incorrectly announced on XFM radio by Bob Geldof, possibly due to hoax information from a listener. In 1999, Dury collaborated with Madness on their first original album in fourteen years on the track "Drip Fed Fred". It was one of his last recordings, though he also performed again with the Blockheads in mid-1999 at Ronnie Scott's in Soho. This was a special performance recorded for LWT's "South Bank Show" and the audience were invited fans and friends of the band and crew. His deteriorating condition was evident and he had to take rests between takes and be helped on and off stage.


title: Ian Dury

text: Ian Dury & the Blockheads' last public performance was a charity concert in aid of Cancer BACUP on 6 February 2000 at the London Palladium, supported by Kirsty MacColl and Phill Jupitus. Dury was noticeably ill and again had to be helped on and off stage.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury died of metastatic colorectal cancer on 27 March 2000, aged 57. An obituary in "The Guardian" called him "one of few true originals of the English music scene". The lead singer of Madness, Suggs, called him "possibly the finest lyricist we've seen". The Ian Dury website opened an online book of condolence shortly after his death, which was signed by hundreds of fans. He was cremated after a humanist funeral at Golders Green Crematorium with 250 mourners at the service, including fellow musicians Suggs and Jools Holland and other "celebrity fans" such as Member of Parliament (MP) Mo Mowlam.


title: Ian Dury

text: Dury's son, Baxter Dury, is also a singer. He sang a few of his father's songs at the wake after the funeral, and has released six of his own albums, including "It's a Pleasure" (2014), "Prince of Tears" (2017) and "The Night Chancers" (2020).


title: Ian Dury

text: In 2002 a "musical bench" designed by Mil Stricevic was placed in a favoured viewing spot of Dury's near Poets' Corner, in the gardens of Pembroke Lodge, in Richmond Park, south-west London. The back of the bench is inscribed with the words "Reasons to be cheerful", the title of one of Dury's songs. This solar powered seat was intended to allow visitors to plug in and listen to eight of his songs as well as an interview.


title: Ian Dury

text: In 1999 the autobiographical documentary "On My Life", directed by Mike Connolly, was released. The film, in which Dury recalled his life and career, intercut with concert footage, included contributions from painter Peter Blake and members of the Blockheads. The programme was broadcast in August 2009 on BBC Four.


title: Ian Dury

text: Between 6 January and 14 February 2009 a musical about his life, entitled "Hit Me! The Life & Rhymes of Ian Dury", was premiered and ran at the Leicester Square Theatre in London.


title: Ian Dury

text: A biopic entitled "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" starring Andy Serkis as Dury was released on 8 January 2010, and was nominated for several awards. Ray Winstone and Naomie Harris also appeared. The title of the film is derived from Dury's 1977 7" single "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll". Also in 2010 music journalist Will Birch published "Ian Dury: The Definitive Biography" which was well received.


title: Ian Dury

text: A musical, "Reasons to be Cheerful", was produced by the Graeae Theatre Company in association with Theatre Royal Stratford East and New Wolsey Theatre. Set in 1979 the musical featured Dury classics in a "riotous coming-of-age tale". The 2010 production was supported by the Blockheads, while Sir Peter Blake donated a limited edition print of the "Reasons to be Cheerful" artwork.


title: Ian Dury

text: Interviewed by the "Evening Standard" in 2010, son Baxter said his father "was like a "Polaris missile"... "He would seek out someone's weakness in seconds, and then lock onto it. That's how he controlled his environment. It was very funny, in a gruesome kind of way ... if it wasn't you he was picking on. But it was a strange obsession, too. Like, why do you want to be like that? He was never really physically violent he was a small disabled guy but there was a lot of mental violence."


title: Ian Dury

text: Speaking to BBC Radio 2 in February 2021, English pop star Robbie Williams cited Dury as his biggest inspiration as a lyricist. Williams sings on the final track of the posthumously released album "Ten More Turnips from the Tip".


title: Tania Raymonde

text: Tania Raymonde Helen Katz, is an American actress and artist. Her career first caught traction when she played the recurring character of Cynthia Sanders on the Fox sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" between 2000 and 2002, followed by the role of Alex Rousseau in the ABC series "Lost" from 2006 to 2010. She has since played Carla Rinaldi on MTV's "Death Valley" (2011), starred in the horror film "Texas Chainsaw 3D" (2013), and portrayed Jodi Arias, the title role in the TV movie "" (2013). In April 2015, she joined the cast of the TNT series "The Last Ship". Since 2016 she has starred in the Amazon Prime Video series "Goliath".""


title: Tania Raymonde

text: Tania Raymonde Helen Katz was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents Anne-Marie and Jon Katz. Her father is a Jewish American of Polish-Jewish descent, and her mother is French, a Catholic from Corsica.


title: Tania Raymonde

text: Raymonde's first television role was as Alice/Young Syd in the "Syd in Wonderland" episode of the TV series "Providence". She subsequently appeared on other TV series, including "The Brothers Garcia", "The Nightmare Room", "That's So Raven", "The Guardian", "Lost", "Medium", "Malcolm in the Middle", and "NCIS".


title: Tania Raymonde

text: She starred in the film "Children on Their Birthdays" (2002), her first feature film role. In 2003 she played Lauren O'Keefe in the sitcom "The O'Keefes".


title: Tania Raymonde

text: She is most known for her work on the ABC drama "Lost", where she played Alex Rousseau, the adopted daughter of Benjamin Linus, played by Michael Emerson.


title: Tania Raymonde

text: She also appeared in the films "The Garage" (2006), "The Other Side of the Tracks" (2008), "Japan" (2008), "Chasing 3000" (2008), and "Elsewhere" (2009). She recurred opposite the late Dennis Hopper on the Starz series "Crash". Raymonde also had a recurring role as Frankie Rafferty, Danny Pino's love interest, on season 6 of "Cold Case".


title: Tania Raymonde

text: At age 17, she wrote, edited and directed the short film "Cell Division", which competed in film festivals around the country.


title: Tania Raymonde

text: In 2013, Raymonde was cast in "Chicago P.D.", a spin-off of the NBC series "Chicago Fire". She, along with co-star Scott Eastwood, left the show for creative reasons. Raymonde also portrayed the convicted murderer Jodi Arias in the Lifetime original movie "" (2013).


title: Tania Raymonde

text: Since 2016 she has starred on the Golden Globe-winning Amazon series "Goliath", alongside Billy Bob Thornton.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: The cayenne pepper is a type of "Capsicum annuum". It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25 cm long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with a curved tip and somewhat rippled skin, which hang from the bush as opposed to growing upright. Most varieties are generally rated at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: The fruits are generally dried and ground to make the powdered spice of the same name, although cayenne powder may be a blend of different types of peppers, quite often not containing cayenne peppers, and may or may not contain the seeds.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: Cayenne is used in cooking spicy dishes either as a powder or in its whole form. It is also used as an herbal supplement.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: The word 'cayenne' is thought to be a corruption of the word "kyynha", meaning "capsicum" in the Old Tupi language once spoken in Brazil. It is probable that the town Cayenne in French Guiana is related to the name, and the town may have been named for the pepper. Nicholas Culpeper used the phrase "cayenne pepper" in 1652, and the city was only renamed as such in 1777. It also is possibly named for the Cayenne River.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: The cayenne pepper is a type of "Capsicum annuum", as are bell peppers, jalapeños, pimientos, and many others. The genus "Capsicum" is in the nightshade family, (Solanaceae). Cayenne peppers are often said to belong to the "frutescens" variety, but "frutescens" peppers are now defined as peppers which have fruit which grow upright on the bush (such as tabasco peppers), thus what is known in English as cayenne peppers are by definition not "frutescens". Culpeper, in his "Complete Herbal" from 1653, mentions cayenne pepper as a synonym for what he calls "pepper (guinea)" By the end of the 19th century "Guinea pepper" had come to mean bird's eye chili or piri-piri, although he refers to "Capsicum" peppers in general in his entry.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: In the 19th century, modern cayenne peppers were classified as "C. longum", this name was later synonymised with "C. frutescens". Cayenne powder, however, has generally been made from the bird's eye peppers, in the 19th century classified as "C. minimum".


title: Cayenne pepper

text: Cayenne peppers are long, tapering, long, generally skinny, mostly red colored peppers, often with a curved tip and somewhat rippled skin, which hang from the bush as opposed to growing upright.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: There are many specific cultivars, such as 'Cow-horn', 'Cayenne Sweet', 'Cayenne Buist's Yellow', 'Golden Cayenne', 'Cayenne Carolina', 'Cayenne Indonesian', 'Joe's Long', 'Cayenne Large Red Thick', 'Cayenne Long Thick Red', 'Ring of Fire', 'Cayenne Passion', 'Cayenne Thomas Jefferson', 'Cayenne Iberian', 'Cayenne Turkish', 'Egyptian Cayenne', 'Cayenne Violet' or 'Numex Las Cruces Cayenne'. Although most modern cayenne peppers are colored red, yellow and purple varieties exist, and in the 19th century yellow varieties were common. Most types are moderately hot, although a number of mild variants exist. Most varieties are generally rated at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units, although some are rated at 20,000 or less.


title: Cayenne pepper

text: Cayenne powder may be a blend of different types of chili peppers. It is used in its fresh form, or as dried powder on seafood, all types of egg dishes (devilled eggs, omelettes, soufflés), meats and stews, casseroles, cheese dishes, hot sauces, and curries. In North America, the primary cultivar in Crushed Red Pepper is Cayenne. They are also used in some varieties of hot sauce in North America, such as Franks RedHot, Texas Pete and Crystal.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Construction of a hydroelectric complex can have significant environmental impact, principally in loss of arable land and population displacement. They also disrupt the natural ecology of the river involved, affecting habitats and ecosystems, and siltation and erosion patterns. While dams can ameliorate the risks of flooding, dam failure can be catastrophic.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydroelectricity plays a leading role in countries like Brazil, Norway and China. but there are geographical limits and environmental issues. Tidal power can be used in coastal regions.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydropower has been used since ancient times to grind flour and perform other tasks. In the late 18th century hydraulic power provided the energy source needed for the start of the Industrial Revolution. In the mid-1770s, French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor published "Architecture Hydraulique", which described vertical- and horizontal-axis hydraulic machines, and in 1771 Richard Arkwright’s combination of water power, the water frame, and continuous production played a significant part in the development of the factory system, with modern employment practices. In the 1840s the hydraulic power network was developed to generate and transmit hydro power to end users.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: By the late 19th century, the electrical generator was developed and could now be coupled with hydraulics. The growing demand arising from the Industrial Revolution would drive development as well. In 1878, the world's first hydroelectric power scheme was developed at Cragside in Northumberland, England, by William Armstrong. It was used to power a single arc lamp in his art gallery. The old Schoelkopf Power Station No. 1, US, near Niagara Falls, began to produce electricity in 1881. The first Edison hydroelectric power station, the Vulcan Street Plant, began operating September 30, 1882, in Appleton, Wisconsin, with an output of about 12.5 kilowatts. By 1886 there were 45 hydroelectric power stations in the United States and Canada; and by 1889 there were 200 in the United States alone.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: At the beginning of the 20th century, many small hydroelectric power stations were being constructed by commercial companies in mountains near metropolitan areas. Grenoble, France held the International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism, with over one million visitors. By 1920, when 40% of the power produced in the United States was hydroelectric, the Federal Power Act was enacted into law. The Act created the Federal Power Commission to regulate hydroelectric power stations on federal land and water. As the power stations became larger, their associated dams developed additional purposes, including flood control, irrigation and navigation. Federal funding became necessary for large-scale development, and federally owned corporations, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (1933) and the Bonneville Power Administration (1937) were created. Additionally, the Bureau of Reclamation which had begun a series of western US irrigation projects in the early 20th century, was now constructing large hydroelectric projects such as the 1928 Hoover Dam. The United States Army Corps of Engineers was also involved in hydroelectric development, completing the Bonneville Dam in 1937 and being recognized by the Flood Control Act of 1936 as the premier federal flood control agency.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydroelectric power stations continued to become larger throughout the 20th century. Hydropower was referred to as "white coal". Hoover Dam's initial power station was the world's largest hydroelectric power station in 1936; it was eclipsed by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1942. The Itaipu Dam opened in 1984 in South America as the largest, producing , but was surpassed in 2008 by the Three Gorges Dam in China at . Hydroelectricity would eventually supply some countries, including Norway, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Paraguay and Brazil, with over 85% of their electricity.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: In 2021 the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that more efforts are needed to help limit climate change. Some countries have highly developed their hydropower potential and have very little room for growth: Switzerland produces 88% of its potential and Mexico 80%.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Most hydroelectric power comes from the potential energy of dammed water driving a water turbine and generator. The power extracted from the water depends on the volume and on the difference in height between the source and the water's outflow. This height difference is called the head. A large pipe (the "penstock") delivers water from the reservoir to the turbine.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: This method produces electricity to supply high peak demands by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. At times of low electrical demand, the excess generation capacity is used to pump water into the higher reservoir, thus providing demand side response. When the demand becomes greater, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine. In 2021 pumped-storage schemes provided almost 85% of the world's 190 GW of grid energy storage and improve the daily capacity factor of the generation system. Pumped storage is not an energy source, and appears as a negative number in listings.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Run-of-the-river hydroelectric stations are those with small or no reservoir capacity, so that only the water coming from upstream is available for generation at that moment, and any oversupply must pass unused. A constant supply of water from a lake or existing reservoir upstream is a significant advantage in choosing sites for run-of-the-river.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: A tidal power station makes use of the daily rise and fall of ocean water due to tides; such sources are highly predictable, and if conditions permit construction of reservoirs, can also be dispatchable to generate power during high demand periods. Less common types of hydro schemes use water's kinetic energy or undammed sources such as undershot water wheels. Tidal power is viable in a relatively small number of locations around the world.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: The largest power producers in the world are hydroelectric power stations, with some hydroelectric facilities capable of generating more than double the installed capacities of the current largest nuclear power stations.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Although no official definition exists for the capacity range of large hydroelectric power stations, facilities from over a few hundred megawatts are generally considered large hydroelectric facilities.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Small hydro is hydroelectric power on a scale serving a small community or industrial plant. The definition of a small hydro project varies but a generating capacity of up to 10 megawatts (MW) is generally accepted as the upper limit. This may be stretched to and in Canada and the United States.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Small hydro stations may be connected to conventional electrical distribution networks as a source of low-cost renewable energy. Alternatively, small hydro projects may be built in isolated areas that would be uneconomic to serve from a grid, or in areas where there is no national electrical distribution network. Since small hydro projects usually have minimal reservoirs and civil construction work, they are seen as having a relatively low environmental impact compared to large hydro. This decreased environmental impact depends strongly on the balance between stream flow and power production.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Micro hydro means hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to of power. These installations can provide power to an isolated home or small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power networks. There are many of these installations around the world, particularly in developing nations as they can provide an economical source of energy without purchase of fuel. Micro hydro systems complement photovoltaic solar energy systems because in many areas water flow, and thus available hydro power, is highest in the winter when solar energy is at a minimum.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Pico hydro is hydroelectric power generation of under . It is useful in small, remote communities that require only a small amount of electricity. For example, the 1.1 kW Intermediate Technology Development Group Pico Hydro Project in Kenya supplies 57 homes with very small electric loads (e.g., a couple of lights and a phone charger, or a small TV/radio). Even smaller turbines of 200-300 W may power a few homes in a developing country with a drop of only . A Pico-hydro setup is typically run-of-the-river, meaning that dams are not used, but rather pipes divert some of the flow, drop this down a gradient, and through the turbine before returning it to the stream.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: An underground power station is generally used at large facilities and makes use of a large natural height difference between two waterways, such as a waterfall or mountain lake. A tunnel is constructed to take water from the high reservoir to the generating hall built in a cavern near the lowest point of the water tunnel and a horizontal tailrace taking water away to the lower outlet waterway.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Efficiency is often higher (that is, closer to 1) with larger and more modern turbines. Annual electric energy production depends on the available water supply. In some installations, the water flow rate can vary by a factor of 10:1 over the course of a year.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydropower is a flexible source of electricity since stations can be ramped up and down very quickly to adapt to changing energy demands. Hydro turbines have a start-up time of the order of a few minutes. Although battery power is quicker its capacity is tiny compared to hydro. It takes less than 10 minutes to bring most hydro units from cold start-up to full load; this is quicker than nuclear and almost all fossil fuel power. Power generation can also be decreased quickly when there is a surplus power generation. Hence the limited capacity of hydropower units is not generally used to produce base power except for vacating the flood pool or meeting downstream needs. Instead, it can serve as backup for non-hydro generators.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: The major advantage of conventional hydroelectric dams with reservoirs is their ability to store water at low cost for dispatch later as high value clean electricity. In 2021 the IEA estimated that the "reservoirs of all existing conventional hydropower plants combined can store a total of 1 500 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electrical energy in one full cycle" which was "about 170 times more energy than the global fleet of pumped storage hydropower plants". Battery storage capacity is not expected to overtake pumped storage during the 2020s. When used as peak power to meet demand, hydroelectricity has a higher value than baseload power and a much higher value compared to intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydroelectric stations have long economic lives, with some plants still in service after 50–100 years. Operating labor cost is also usually low, as plants are automated and have few personnel on site during normal operation.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Where a dam serves multiple purposes, a hydroelectric station may be added with relatively low construction cost, providing a useful revenue stream to offset the costs of dam operation. It has been calculated that the sale of electricity from the Three Gorges Dam will cover the construction costs after 5 to 8 years of full generation. However, some data shows that in most countries large hydropower dams will be too costly and take too long to build to deliver a positive risk adjusted return, unless appropriate risk management measures are put in place.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: While many hydroelectric projects supply public electricity networks, some are created to serve specific industrial enterprises. Dedicated hydroelectric projects are often built to provide the substantial amounts of electricity needed for aluminium electrolytic plants, for example. The Grand Coulee Dam switched to support Alcoa aluminium in Bellingham, Washington, United States for American World War II airplanes before it was allowed to provide irrigation and power to citizens (in addition to aluminium power) after the war. In Suriname, the Brokopondo Reservoir was constructed to provide electricity for the Alcoa aluminium industry. New Zealand's Manapouri Power Station was constructed to supply electricity to the aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Since hydroelectric dams do not use fuel, power generation does not produce carbon dioxide. While carbon dioxide is initially produced during construction of the project, and some methane is given off annually by reservoirs, hydro has one of the lowest lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for electricity generation. The low greenhouse gas impact of hydroelectricity is found especially in temperate climates. Greater greenhouse gas emission impacts are found in the tropical regions because the reservoirs of power stations in tropical regions produce a larger amount of methane than those in temperate areas.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Like other non-fossil fuel sources, hydropower also has no emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, or other particulates.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Reservoirs created by hydroelectric schemes often provide facilities for water sports, and become tourist attractions themselves. In some countries, aquaculture in reservoirs is common. Multi-use dams installed for irrigation support agriculture with a relatively constant water supply. Large hydro dams can control floods, which would otherwise affect people living downstream of the project. Managing dams which are also used for other purposes, such as irrigation, is complicated.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: In 2021 the IEA called for "robust sustainability standards for all hydropower development with streamlined rules and regulations".


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Large reservoirs associated with traditional hydroelectric power stations result in submersion of extensive areas upstream of the dams, sometimes destroying biologically rich and productive lowland and riverine valley forests, marshland and grasslands. Damming interrupts the flow of rivers and can harm local ecosystems, and building large dams and reservoirs often involves displacing people and wildlife. The loss of land is often exacerbated by habitat fragmentation of surrounding areas caused by the reservoir.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydroelectric projects can be disruptive to surrounding aquatic ecosystems both upstream and downstream of the plant site. Generation of hydroelectric power changes the downstream river environment. Water exiting a turbine usually contains very little suspended sediment, which can lead to scouring of river beds and loss of riverbanks. Since turbine gates are often opened intermittently, rapid or even daily fluctuations in river flow are observed.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Drought and seasonal changes in rainfall can severely limit hydropower. Water may also be lost by evaporation.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: When water flows it has the ability to transport particles heavier than itself downstream. This has a negative effect on dams and subsequently their power stations, particularly those on rivers or within catchment areas with high siltation. Siltation can fill a reservoir and reduce its capacity to control floods along with causing additional horizontal pressure on the upstream portion of the dam. Eventually, some reservoirs can become full of sediment and useless or over-top during a flood and fail.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Changes in the amount of river flow will correlate with the amount of energy produced by a dam. Lower river flows will reduce the amount of live storage in a reservoir therefore reducing the amount of water that can be used for hydroelectricity. The result of diminished river flow can be power shortages in areas that depend heavily on hydroelectric power. The risk of flow shortage may increase as a result of climate change. One study from the Colorado River in the United States suggest that modest climate changes, such as an increase in temperature in 2 degree Celsius resulting in a 10% decline in precipitation, might reduce river run-off by up to 40%. Brazil in particular is vulnerable due to its heavy reliance on hydroelectricity, as increasing temperatures, lower water flow and alterations in the rainfall regime, could reduce total energy production by 7% annually by the end of the century.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Lower positive impacts are found in the tropical regions. In lowland rainforest areas, where inundation of a part of the forest is necessary, it has been noted that the reservoirs of power plants produce substantial amounts of methane. This is due to plant material in flooded areas decaying in an anaerobic environment and forming methane, a greenhouse gas. According to the World Commission on Dams report, where the reservoir is large compared to the generating capacity (less than 100 watts per square metre of surface area) and no clearing of the forests in the area was undertaken prior to impoundment of the reservoir, greenhouse gas emissions from the reservoir may be higher than those of a conventional oil-fired thermal generation plant.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: In boreal reservoirs of Canada and Northern Europe, however, greenhouse gas emissions are typically only 2% to 8% of any kind of conventional fossil-fuel thermal generation. A new class of underwater logging operation that targets drowned forests can mitigate the effect of forest decay.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Another disadvantage of hydroelectric dams is the need to relocate the people living where the reservoirs are planned. In 2000, the World Commission on Dams estimated that dams had physically displaced 40-80 million people worldwide.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Because large conventional dammed-hydro facilities hold back large volumes of water, a failure due to poor construction, natural disasters or sabotage can be catastrophic to downriver settlements and infrastructure.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: During Typhoon Nina in 1975 Banqiao Dam in Southern China failed when more than a year's worth of rain fell within 24 hours (see 1975 Banqiao Dam failure). The resulting flood resulted in the deaths of 26,000 people, and another 145,000 from epidemics. Millions were left homeless.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: The creation of a dam in a geologically inappropriate location may cause disasters such as 1963 disaster at Vajont Dam in Italy, where almost 2,000 people died.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: The Malpasset Dam failure in Fréjus on the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), southern France, collapsed on December 2, 1959, killing 423 people in the resulting flood.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Smaller dams and micro hydro facilities create less risk, but can form continuing hazards even after being decommissioned. For example, the small earthen embankment Kelly Barnes Dam failed in 1977, twenty years after its power station was decommissioned, causing 39 deaths.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydroelectricity eliminates the flue gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion, including pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, dust, and mercury in the coal. Hydroelectricity also avoids the hazards of coal mining and the indirect health effects of coal emissions. In 2021 the IEA said that government energy policy should "price in the value of the multiple public benefits provided by hydropower plants".


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Nuclear power is relatively inflexible; although it can reduce its output reasonably quickly. Since the cost of nuclear power is dominated by its high infrastructure costs, the cost per unit energy goes up significantly with low production. Because of this, nuclear power is mostly used for baseload. By way of contrast, hydroelectricity can supply peak power at much lower cost. Hydroelectricity is thus often used to complement nuclear or other sources for load following. Country examples where they are paired in a close to 50/50 share include the electric grid in Switzerland, the Electricity sector in Sweden and to a lesser extent, Ukraine and the Electricity sector in Finland.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Wind power goes through predictable variation by season, but is intermittent on a daily basis. Maximum wind generation has little relationship to peak daily electricity consumption, the wind may peak at night when power isn't needed or be still during the day when electrical demand is highest. Occasionally weather patterns can result in low wind for days or weeks at a time, a hydroelectric reservoir capable of storing weeks of output is useful to balance generation on the grid. Peak wind power can be offset by minimum hydropower and minimum wind can be offset with maximum hydropower. In this way the easily regulated character of hydroelectricity is used to compensate for the intermittent nature of wind power. Conversely, in some cases wind power can be used to spare water for later use in dry seasons.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: An example of this is Norway's trading with Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. Norway is 98% hydropower, while its flatland neighbors have wind power. In areas that do not have hydropower, pumped storage serves a similar role, but at a much higher cost and 20% lower efficiency.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: The ranking of hydroelectric capacity is either by actual annual energy production or by installed capacity power rating. In 2015 hydropower generated 16.6% of the worlds total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generated 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 721 terawatt-hours of production in 2010, representing around 17 percent of domestic electricity use. Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Austria, Switzerland, Venezuela and several other countries have a majority of the internal electric energy production from hydroelectric power. Paraguay produces 100% of its electricity from hydroelectric dams and exports 90% of its production to Brazil and to Argentina. Norway produces 96% of its electricity from hydroelectric sources. Large plants tend to be built by governments, so most capacity (70%) is publicly owned, even though most plants (nearly 70%) are owned and operated by the private sector, as of 2021.


title: Hydroelectricity

text: A hydroelectric station rarely operates at its full power rating over a full year; the ratio between annual average power and installed capacity rating is the capacity factor. The installed capacity is the sum of all generator nameplate power ratings.


title: Reticulated python

text: The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and is among the three heaviest. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution. In several countries in its range, it is hunted for its skin, for use in traditional medicine, and for sale as pets.


title: Reticulated python

text: It is an excellent swimmer, has been reported far out at sea, and has colonized many small islands within its range.


title: Reticulated python

text: Like all pythons, it is a non-venomous constrictor. Adult humans have been killed (and in at least two reported cases, eaten) by reticulated pythons.


title: Reticulated python

text: The reticulated python was first described in 1801 by German naturalist Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider, who described two zoological specimens held by the Göttingen Museum in 1801 that differed slightly in colour and pattern as separate species—"Boa reticulata" and "Boa rhombeata". The specific name, "reticulatus", is Latin meaning "net-like", or , and is a reference to the complex color pattern. The generic name "Python" was proposed by French naturalist François Marie Daudin in 1803. American zoologist Arnold G. Kluge performed a cladistics analysis on morphological characters and recovered the reticulated python lineage as sister to the genus "Python", hence not requiring a new generic name in 1993.


title: Reticulated python

text: In a 2004 genetics study using cytochrome b DNA, and colleagues discovered the reticulated python as sister to Australo-Papuan pythons, rather than "Python molurus" and relatives. Raymond Hoser erected the genus "Broghammerus" for the reticulated python in 2004, naming it after German snake expert Stefan Broghammer, on the basis of dorsal patterns distinct from those of the genus "Python", and a dark mid-dorsal line from the rear to the front of the head, and red or orange (rather than brown) iris colour. In 2008, Lesley H. Rawlings and colleagues reanalysed Kluge's morphological data and combined it with genetic material, and found the reticulated clade to be an offshoot of the Australo-Papuan lineage as well. They adopted and redefined the genus name "Broghammerus".


title: Reticulated python

text: However, this and numerous other names by the same author were criticized by several authors, who proposed ignoring them for the purposes of nomenclature. and colleagues subsequently described the genus "Malayopython" for this species and its sister species, the Timor python, calling the Timor python "M. timoriensis". Hoser has since said that the "Malayopython" name is a junior synonym of "Broghammerus", thus it should not be recognized by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Neither of these proposed reclassifications has been recognized by the ITIS, but "Malayopython" has been recognized by a number of subsequent authors and the Reptile Database.


title: Reticulated python

text: The latter two are dwarf subspecies. Apparently, the population of the Sangihe Islands north of Sulawesi represents another such subspecies, which is basal to the "P. r. reticulatus" plus "P. r. jampeanus" clade, but it is not yet formally described.


title: Reticulated python

text: The proposed subspecies "M. r. "dalegibbonsi"", "M. r. "euanedwardsi"", "M. r. "haydnmacphiei"", "M. r. "neilsonnemani"", "M. r. "patrickcouperi"", and "M. r. "stuartbigmorei"" have not found general acceptance.


title: Reticulated python

text: The reticulated python has smooth dorsal scales that are arranged in 69–79 rows at midbody. Deep pits occur on four anterior upper labials, on two or three anterior lower labials, and on five or six posterior lower labials.


title: Reticulated python

text: The reticulated python is the largest snake native to Asia. More than a thousand wild reticulated pythons in southern Sumatra were studied, and estimated to have a length range of , and a weight range of . Reticulated pythons with lengths more than are rare, though according to the "Guinness Book of World Records", it is the only extant snake to regularly exceed that length. One of the largest scientifically measured specimens, from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was measured under anesthesia at , and weighed after not having eaten for nearly 3 months.


title: Reticulated python

text: The specimen once widely accepted as the largest-ever "accurately" measured snake, that being Colossus, a specimen kept at the Highland Park Zoo (now the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the 1950s and early 1960s, with a peak reported length of from a measurement in November 1956, was later shown to have been substantially shorter than previously reported. When Colossus died on 14 April 1963, its body was deposited in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. At that time, its skeleton was measured and found to be in total length, and the length of its fresh hide was measured as – both measurements being significantly shorter than what had been previously estimated in 1956. The hide tends to stretch from the skinning process, thus may be longer than the snake from which it came – e.g., by roughly 20–40% or more. The previous reports had been constructed by combining partial measurements with estimations to compensate for "kinks", since completely straightening an extremely large live python is virtually impossible. Because of these issues, a 2012 journal article concluded, "Colossus was neither the longest snake nor the heaviest snake ever maintained in captivity." Too large to be preserved with formaldehyde and then stored in alcohol, the specimen was instead prepared as a disarticulated skeleton. The hide was sent to a laboratory to be tanned, but it was either lost or destroyed, and now only the skull and selected vertebrae and ribs remain in the museum's collection. Considerable confusion exists in the literature over whether Colossus was male or female (females tend to be larger).


title: Reticulated python

text: Numerous reports have been made of larger snakes, but since none of these was measured by a scientist nor any of the specimens deposited at a museum, they must be regarded as unproven and possibly erroneous. In spite of what has been, for many years, a standing offer of a large financial reward (initially $1,000, later raised to $5,000, then $15,000 in 1978 and $50,000 in 1980) for a live, healthy snake or longer by the New York Zoological Society (later renamed as the Wildlife Conservation Society), no attempt to claim this reward has ever been made.


title: Reticulated python

text: The colour pattern is a complex geometric pattern that incorporates different colours. The back typically has a series of irregular diamond shapes flanked by smaller markings with light centers. In this species' wide geographic range, much variation of size, colour, and markings commonly occurs.


title: Reticulated python

text: In zoo exhibits, the colour pattern may seem garish, but in a shadowy jungle environment amid fallen leaves and debris, it allows them to virtually disappear. Called disruptive colouration, it protects them from predators and helps them to catch their prey.