text: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is an enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway (see image, also known as the HMP shunt pathway). G6PD converts glucose-6-phosphate into 6-phosphoglucono-δ-lactone and is the rate-limiting enzyme of this metabolic pathway that supplies reducing energy to cells by maintaining the level of the reduced form of the co-enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). The NADPH maintains the supply of reduced glutathione in the cells that is used to mop up free radicals that cause oxidative damage. The pathway also stimulates catalase, an antioxidant enzyme.


title: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency

text: The G6PD / NADPH pathway is the "only" source of reduced glutathione in red blood cells (erythrocytes). The role of red cells as oxygen carriers puts them at substantial risk of damage from oxidizing free radicals except for the protective effect of G6PD/NADPH/glutathione.


text: People with G6PD deficiency are therefore at risk of hemolytic anemia in states of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can result from infection and from chemical exposure to medication and certain foods. Broad beans, e.g., fava beans, contain high levels of vicine, divicine, convicine and isouramil, all of which create oxidants.


text: When all remaining reduced glutathione is consumed, enzymes and other proteins (including hemoglobin) are subsequently damaged by the oxidants, leading to cross-bonding and protein deposition in the red cell membranes. Damaged red cells are phagocytosed and sequestered (taken out of circulation) in the spleen. The hemoglobin is metabolized to bilirubin (causing jaundice at high concentrations). The red cells rarely disintegrate in the circulation, so hemoglobin is rarely excreted directly by the kidney, but this can occur in severe cases, causing acute kidney injury.


text: Deficiency of G6PD in the alternative pathway causes the buildup of glucose and thus there is an increase of advanced glycation endproducts (AGE). The deficiency also reduces the amount of NADPH, which is required for the formation of nitric oxide (NO). The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus type 2 and hypertension in Afro-Caribbeans in the West could be directly related to the incidence of G6PD deficiency in those populations.


text: Although female carriers can have a mild form of G6PD deficiency (dependent on the degree of inactivation of the unaffected X chromosome – see "lyonization"), homozygous females have been described; in these females there is co-incidence of a rare immune disorder termed chronic granulomatous disease (CGD).


text: The diagnosis is generally suspected when patients from certain ethnic groups (see epidemiology) develop anemia, jaundice and symptoms of hemolysis after challenges from any of the above causes, especially when there is a positive family history.


text: When there are sufficient grounds to suspect G6PD, a direct test for G6PD is the "Beutler fluorescent spot test", which has largely replaced an older test (the Motulsky dye-decolouration test). Other possibilities are direct DNA testing and/or sequencing of the G6PD gene.


text: The "Beutler fluorescent spot test" is a rapid and inexpensive test that visually identifies NADPH produced by G6PD under ultraviolet light. When the blood spot does not fluoresce, the test is positive; it can be falsely negative in patients who are actively hemolysing. It can therefore only be done 2–3 weeks after a hemolytic episode.


text: When a macrophage in the spleen identifies a RBC with a Heinz body, it removes the precipitate and a small piece of the membrane, leading to characteristic "bite cells". However, if a large number of Heinz bodies are produced, as in the case of G6PD deficiency, some Heinz bodies will nonetheless be visible when viewing RBCs that have been stained with crystal violet. This easy and inexpensive test can lead to an initial presumption of G6PD deficiency, which can be confirmed with the other tests.


text: Testing during and for many weeks after a haemolytic episode will lead to false negative results as the G6PD deficient RBC will have been excreted and the young RBC (reticulocytes)will not yet be G6PD deficient. False negative results will also be likely following any blood transfusions. For this reason, many hospitals wait for 3 months after a haemolytic episode before testing for G6PD deficiency. Females should have their G6PD activity measured by quantitative assay to avoid being misclassified by screening tests.


text: The World Health Organization classifies G6PD genetic variants into five classes, the first three of which are deficiency states.


text: 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) deficiency has similar symptoms and is often mistaken for G6PD deficiency, as the affected enzyme is within the same pathway, however these diseases are not linked and can be found within the same person.


text: The most important measure is prevention – avoidance of the drugs and foods that cause hemolysis. Vaccination against some common pathogens (e.g. hepatitis A and hepatitis B) may prevent infection-induced attacks.


text: In the acute phase of hemolysis, blood transfusions might be necessary, or even dialysis in acute kidney failure. Blood transfusion is an important symptomatic measure, as the transfused red cells are generally not G6PD deficient and will live a normal lifespan in the recipient's circulation. Those affected should avoid drugs such as aspirin.


text: Some patients may benefit from removal of the spleen (splenectomy), as this is an important site of red cell destruction. Folic acid should be used in any disorder featuring a high red cell turnover. Although vitamin E and selenium have antioxidant properties, their use does not decrease the severity of G6PD deficiency.


text: G6PD-deficient individuals do not appear to acquire any illnesses more frequently than other people, and may have less risk than other people for acquiring ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.


text: However, a recent study revealed that G6PD deficiency increases the cardiovascular risk up to 70%. The risk conferred by G6PD deficiency is moderate compared with the impact of primary cardiovascular risk factors.


text: Besides, a published review hypothesized that G6PD deficiency could reduce the antiplatelet efficacy of clopidogrel (clopidogrel resistance).


text: G6PD deficiency is the second most common human enzyme defect after ALDH2 deficiency, being present in more than 400 million people worldwide. G6PD deficiency resulted in 4,100 deaths in 2013 and 3,400 deaths in 1990. The Mediterranean Basin is where favism is most common, especially among Mizrahi Jews, Sardinians, Cypriots, Greeks, Egyptians, and some African populations, including those who have these ancestries. Favism has also been documented outside of the Mediterranean basin, in other Middle Eastern and East Asian nations like Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria and China. Sardinia has the highest reported frequency of favism, with five instances per every 1,000 people.


text: A side effect of this disease is that it confers protection against malaria, in particular the form of malaria caused by "Plasmodium falciparum", the most deadly form of malaria. A similar relationship exists between malaria and sickle-cell disease. One theory to explain this is that cells infected with the "Plasmodium" parasite are cleared more rapidly by the spleen. This phenomenon might give G6PD deficiency carriers an evolutionary advantage by increasing their fitness in malarial endemic environments.


text: In vitro studies have shown that the "Plasmodium falciparum" is very sensitive to oxidative damage. This is the basis for another theory, that is that the genetic defect confers resistance due to the fact that the G6PD-deficient host has a higher level of oxidative agents that, while generally tolerable by the host, are deadly to the parasite.


text: The modern understanding of the condition began with the analysis of patients who exhibited sensitivity to primaquine. The discovery of G6PD deficiency relied heavily upon the testing of prisoner volunteers at Illinois State Penitentiary, a type of study which today is considered unethical and cannot be performed. When some prisoners were given the drug primaquine, some developed hemolytic anemia but others did not. In spite of these results, the US military administered the drug widely during the Korean War to prevent the relapsing infection caused by "Plasmodium vivax" hypnozoites. Numerous cases of hemolytic anemia were observed in US soldiers of North African and Mediterranean descent.


text: After studying the mechanism through Cr testing, it was conclusively shown that the hemolytic effect of primaquine was due to an intrinsic defect of erythrocytes.


text: In both legend and mythology, favism has been known since antiquity. The priests of various Greco-Roman era cults were forbidden to eat or even mention beans, and Pythagoras had a strict rule that to join the society of the Pythagoreans one had to swear off beans. This ban was supposedly because beans resembled male genitalia, but it is possible that this was because of a belief that beans and humans were created from the same material.


title: History of tea

text: The history of tea spreads across multiple cultures over the span of thousands of years. With the tea plant "Camellia sinensis" native to East Asia and probably originating in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Burma. one of the earliest tea drinking is dated back to China's Shang dynasty, in which tea was consumed as a medicinal drink. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo. It first became known to the western world through Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the early 16th century. Drinking tea became popular in Britain during the 17th century. The British introduced commercial tea production to British India, in order to compete with the Chinese monopoly on tea.


title: History of tea

text: "Camellia sinensis" originated specifically around the intersection of latitude 29°N and longitude 98°E, the point of confluence of the lands of southwest China, Tibet, north Burma, and northeast India. The plant was introduced to more than 52 countries, from this centre of origin.


title: History of tea

text: On morphological differences between the Assam and Chinese varieties, botanists have long asserted a dual botanical origin for tea; however, statistical cluster analysis, the same chromosome number (2n=30), easy hybridization, and various types of intermediate hybrids and spontaneous polyploids all appear to demonstrate a single place of origin for "Camellia sinensis"—the area including the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, and northern part of Burma.


title: History of tea

text: Yunnan Province has also been identified as "the birthplace of tea...the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant." Fengqing County in the Lincang City Prefecture of Yunnan Province in China is said to be home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree, some 3,200 years old.


title: History of tea

text: According to "The Story of Tea", tea drinking likely began in Yunnan province during the Shang Dynasty (1500 BC–1046 BC), as a medicinal drink. From there, the drink spread to Sichuan, and it is believed that there "for the first time, people began to boil tea leaves for consumption into a concentrated liquid without the addition of other leaves or herbs, thereby using tea as a bitter yet stimulating drink, rather than as a medicinal concoction."


title: History of tea

text: Scholars believe that tea drinking likely originated in the southwest of China and that the Chinese words for tea may have been originally derived from the Austro-Asiatic languages of the people who originally inhabited that area.


title: History of tea

text: In one popular Chinese legend, Emperor Shennong was drinking a bowl of just boiled water because of a decree that his subjects must boil water before drinking it. Some time around 2737 BC, a few leaves were blown from a nearby tree into his water, changing the color and taste. The emperor took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and restorative properties. A variant of the legend tells that the emperor tested the medical properties of various herbs on himself, some of them poisonous, and found tea to work as an antidote. Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's famous early work on the subject, "The Classic of Tea". A similar Chinese legend states that the god of agriculture would chew the leaves, stems, and roots of various plants to discover medicinal herbs. If he consumed a poisonous plant, he would chew tea leaves to counteract the poison.


title: History of tea

text: A legend dates back to the Tang dynasty. In the legend, Bodhidharma, the founder of Chan Buddhism, accidentally fell asleep after meditating in front of a wall for nine years. He woke up in such disgust at his weakness that he cut off his eyelids. They fell to the ground and took root, growing into tea bushes. Another version of the story has Gautama Buddha in place of Bodhidharma.


title: History of tea

text: The Chinese have consumed tea for thousands of years. The earliest physical evidence known to date, found in 2016, comes from the mausoleum of Emperor Jing of Han in Xi'an, indicating that tea was drunk by Han dynasty emperors as early as the 2nd century BC. The samples were identified as tea from the genus "Camellia" particularly via mass spectrometry, and written records suggest that it may have been drunk earlier. People of the Han dynasty used tea as medicine (though the first use of tea as a stimulant is unknown). China is considered to have the earliest records of tea consumption, with possible records dating back to the 10th century BC. Note however that the current word for tea in Chinese only came into use in the 8th century AD, there are therefore uncertainties as to whether the older words used are the same as tea. The word "tu" 荼 appears in "Shijing" and other ancient texts to signify a kind of "bitter vegetable" (苦菜), and it is possible that it referred to several different plants, such as sow thistle, chicory, or smartweed, including tea. In the "Chronicles of Huayang", it was recorded that the Ba people in Sichuan presented "tu" to the Zhou king. The state of Ba and its neighbour Shu were later conquered by the Qin, and according to the 17th century scholar Gu Yanwu who wrote in "Ri Zhi Lu" (日知錄): "It was after the Qin had taken Shu that they learned how to drink tea."


title: History of tea

text: The first known reference to boiling tea came from the Han dynasty work "The Contract for a Youth" written by Wang Bao where, among the tasks listed to be undertaken by the youth, "he shall boil tea and fill the utensils" and "he shall buy tea at Wuyang". The first record of cultivation of tea also dated it to this period (Ganlu era of Emperor Xuan of Han) when tea was cultivated on Meng Mountain (蒙山) near Chengdu. From the Tang to the Qing dynasties, the first 360 leaves of tea grown here were picked each spring and presented to the emperor. Even today its green and yellow teas, such as the Mengding Ganlu tea, are still sought after.


title: History of tea

text: An early credible record of tea drinking dates to 220 AD, in a medical text "Shi Lun" (食论) by Hua Tuo, who stated, "to drink bitter t'u constantly makes one think better." Another possible early reference to tea is found in a letter written by the Qin dynasty general Liu Kun. However, before the mid-8th century Tang dynasty, tea-drinking was primarily a southern Chinese practice. It became widely popular during the Tang dynasty, when it was spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.


title: History of tea

text: Laozi, the classical Chinese philosopher, was said to describe tea as "the froth of the liquid jade" and named it an indispensable ingredient to the elixir of life. Legend has it that master Lao was saddened by society's moral decay, and sensing that the end of the dynasty was near, he journeyed westward to the unsettled territories, never to be seen again. While passing along the nation's border, he encountered and was offered tea by a customs inspector named Yin Hsi. Yin Hsi encouraged him to compile his teachings into a single book so that future generations might benefit from his wisdom. This became known as the "Dao De Jing", a collection of Laozi's sayings.


title: History of tea

text: Tang dynasty writer Lu Yu's () "Cha Jing" ("The Classic of Tea") () is an early work on the subject. According to "Cha Jing," tea drinking was widespread. The book describes how tea plants were grown, the leaves processed, and tea prepared as a beverage. It also describes how tea was evaluated. The book also discusses where the best tea leaves were produced. Teas produced in this period were mainly tea bricks which were often used as currency, especially further from the center of the empire where coins lost their value. In this period, tea leaves were steamed, then pounded and shaped into cake or brick forms.


title: History of tea

text: During the Song dynasty, production and preparation of all tea changed. The tea included many loose-leaf styles (to preserve the delicate character favored by court society), and it is the origin of today's loose teas and the practice of brewed tea. A powdered form of tea also emerged. Steaming tea leaves was the primary process used for centuries in the preparation of tea. After the transition from compressed tea to the powdered form, the production of tea for trade and distribution changed once again.


title: History of tea

text: The Chinese learned to process tea in a different way in the mid-13th century. Tea leaves were roasted and then crumbled rather than steamed. By the Yuan and Ming dynasties, unfermented tea leaves were first pan-fried, then rolled and dried. This stops the oxidation process which turns the leaves dark and allows tea to remain green. In the 15th century, oolong tea, where the tea leaves were allowed to partially ferment before pan-frying, was developed. Western taste, however, preferred the fully oxidized black tea, and the leaves were allowed to ferment further. Yellow tea was an accidental discovery in the production of green tea during the Ming dynasty, when apparently sloppy practices allowed the leaves to turn yellow, which yielded a different flavour as a result.


title: History of tea

text: Tea production in China, historically, was a laborious process, conducted in distant and often poorly accessible regions. This led to the rise of many apocryphal stories and legends surrounding the harvesting process. For example, one story that has been told for many years is that of a village where monkeys pick tea. According to this legend, the villagers stand below the monkeys and taunt them. The monkeys, in turn, become angry, and grab handfuls of tea leaves and throw them at the villagers. There are products sold today that claim to be harvested in this manner, but no reliable commentators have observed this firsthand, and most doubt that it happened at all. For many hundreds of years the commercially used tea tree has been, in shape, more of a bush than a tree. "Monkey picked tea" is more likely a name of certain varieties than a description of how it was obtained.


title: History of tea

text: In 1391, the Hongwu emperor issued a decree that only loose tea would be accepted as a "tribute". As a result, tea production shifted from cake tea to loose-leaf tea and processing techniques advanced, giving rise to the more energy efficient methods of pan-firing and sun-drying, which were popular in Jiangnan and Fujian respectively. The last group to adopt loose-leaf tea were the literati, who were reluctant to abandon their refined culture of whisking tea until the invention of oolong tea. By the end of the 16th century, loose-leaf tea had entirely replaced the earlier tradition of cake and powdered tea.


title: History of tea

text: During the Sui dynasty in China, tea was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks. Tea use spread during the 6th century AD. Tea became a drink of the religious classes in Japan when Japanese priests and envoys, sent to China to learn about its culture, brought tea to Japan. Ancient recordings indicate the first batch of tea seeds were brought by a priest named in 805 and then by another named in 806. It became a drink of the royal classes when encouraged the growth of tea plants. Seeds were imported from China, and cultivation in Japan began.


title: History of tea

text: In 1191, Zen priest introduced tea seeds to Kyoto. Some of the tea seeds were given to the priest Myoe Shonin, and became the basis for Uji tea. The oldest tea specialty book in Japan, , was written by Eisai. The two-volume book was written in 1211 after his second and last visit to China. The first sentence states, "Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one's life more full and complete." Eisai was also instrumental in introducing tea consumption to the warrior class, which rose to political prominence after the Heian period.


title: History of tea

text: Green tea became a staple among cultured people in Japan—a brew for the gentry and the Buddhist priesthood alike. Production grew and tea became increasingly accessible, though still a privilege enjoyed mostly by the upper classes. The tea ceremony of Japan was introduced from China in the 15th century by Buddhists as a semi-religious social custom. The modern tea ceremony developed over several centuries by Zen Buddhist monks under the original guidance of the monk . In fact, both the beverage and the ceremony surrounding it played a prominent role in feudal diplomacy.


title: History of tea

text: In 1738, Soen Nagatani developed Japanese , literally "simmered tea", which is an unfermented form of green tea. It is the most popular form of tea in Japan today. The name can be confusing because sencha is no longer simmered. While sencha is currently prepared by steeping the leaves in hot water, this was not always the case. Sencha was originally prepared by casting the leaves into a cauldron and simmering briefly. The liquid would then be ladled into bowls and served. In 1835, Kahei Yamamoto developed , literally "jewel dew", by shading tea trees during the weeks leading up to harvesting. By the 20th century, machine manufacturing of green tea was introduced and began replacing handmade tea.


title: History of tea

text: The first historical record documenting the offering of tea to an ancestral god describes a rite in 661 AD in which a tea offering was made to the spirit of King Suro, the founder of the Geumgwan Gaya Kingdom. Records from the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910), the royal Yi family and the aristocracy used tea for simple rites. The "Day Tea Rite" was a common daytime ceremony, whereas the "Special Tea Rite" was reserved for specific occasions. Toward the end of the Joseon Dynasty, commoners joined the trend and used tea for ancestral rites, following the Chinese example based on Zhu Xi's text formalities of family.


title: History of tea

text: Stoneware was common, ceramic more frequent, mostly made in provincial kilns, with porcelain rare, imperial porcelain with dragons the rarest. The earliest kinds of tea used in tea ceremonies were heavily pressed cakes of black tea, the equivalent of aged pu-erh tea in China. However, importation of tea plants by Buddhist monks brought a more delicate series of teas into Korea, and the tea ceremony. Green tea, "Jakseol(작설, 雀舌)" or "Jungno(죽로, 竹露)", is most often served. However, other teas such as "Byeoksoryeong(벽소령, 碧宵嶺)" Cheonhachun(천하춘, 天下春), Ujeon(우전, 雨前), Okcheon(옥천, 玉泉), as well as native chrysanthemum tea, persimmon leaf tea, or mugwort tea may be served at different times of the year.


title: History of tea

text: The earliest record of tea in a more occidental writing is said to be found in the statement of an Arabian traveler, that after 879 the main sources of revenue in Canton were the duties on salt and tea. Marco Polo records the deposition of a Chinese minister of finance in 1285 for his arbitrary augmentation of the tea taxes. In 1557, Portugal established a trading port in Macau, and word of the Chinese drink "chá" spread quickly, but there is no mention of them bringing any samples home. In the early 17th century, a ship of the Dutch East India Company brought the first green tea leaves to Amsterdam from China. Tea was known in France by 1636. It enjoyed a brief period of popularity in Paris around 1648. The history of tea in Russia can also be traced back to the 17th century. Tea was first offered by China as a gift to Czar Michael I in 1618. The Russian ambassador tried the drink; he did not care for it and rejected the offer, delaying tea's Russian introduction by fifty years. By 1689, tea was regularly imported from China to Russia via a caravan of hundreds of camels traveling the year-long journey, making it a precious commodity at the time. Tea was appearing in German apothecaries by 1657 but never gained much esteem except in coastal areas such as Ostfriesland. Tea first appeared publicly in England during the 1650s, where it was introduced through coffeehouses. From there it was introduced to British colonies in America and elsewhere.


title: History of tea

text: Tea was first introduced to Europe by Italian traveler Giovanni Battista Ramusio, who in 1555 published "Voyages and Travels", containing the first European reference to tea, which he calls "Chai Catai"; his accounts were based on second-hand reports in the polities of the Gulf of Aden; Yemen and Somalia.


title: History of tea

text: Portuguese priests and merchants in the 16th century made their first contact with tea in China, at which time it was termed "chá". The first Portuguese ships reached China in 1516, and in 1560 Portuguese missionary Gaspar da Cruz published the first Portuguese account of Chinese tea; in 1565 Portuguese missionary Louis Almeida published the first European account of tea in Japan.


title: History of tea

text: Commercial production of tea was first introduced into India by the British, in an attempt to break the Chinese monopoly on tea. The British, using Chinese seeds, plus Chinese planting and cultivating techniques, launched a tea industry by offering land in Assam to any European who agreed to cultivate tea for export. Tea was originally only consumed by Anglicized Indians; it was not until the 1950s that tea grew widely popular in India through a successful advertising campaign by the India Tea Board.


title: History of tea

text: Prior to the British, the plant may have been used for medicinal purposes. Some cite the Sanjeevani plant as the first recorded reference of tea use in India. However, scientific studies have shown that the Sanjeevani plant is in fact a different plant and is not related to tea. The Singpho tribe and the Khamti tribe validate that they have been consuming tea since the 12th century. However, commercial production of tea in India did not begin until the arrival of the British East India Company, at which point large tracts of land were converted for mass tea production.


title: History of tea

text: The Chinese variety is used for Sikkim, Darjeeling tea, and Kangra tea, while the Assam variety, clonal to the native to Assam, was used everywhere else. The British started commercial tea plantations in India and in Ceylon:


title: History of tea

text: "In 1824 tea plants were discovered in the hills along the frontier between Burma and Assam. The British introduced "tea culture" into India in 1836 and into Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1867. At first they used seeds from China, but later seeds from the clonal Assam plant were used." Only black tea was produced until recent decades mostly in India, except in Kangra (present-day Himachal Pradesh) which produced green tea for exporting to central Asia, Afghanistan and neighboring countries.


title: History of tea

text: India was the top producer of tea for nearly a century but was displaced by China as the top tea producer in the 21st century. Indian tea companies have acquired a number of iconic foreign tea enterprises including British brands Lipton, Tetley, Twinings and Typhoo. Most of the Indian tea garden owners have focused on exports to markets like Europe and Russia, while very few have focused on building their own brands such as Makaibari, Dharmsala Tea Company, and a few others. While India is the largest consumer of tea worldwide, the per-capita consumption of tea in India remains a modest 750 grams per person annually. Recently consumption of green tea has seen a great upsurge across the cities, and regions such as Kangra which were known for their green tea production historically, have seen a resurgence of their green teas in the domestic market.


title: History of tea

text: Gilan in north of Iran is main production center of Iranian tea. Historically, Lahijan is the first town in Iran to have tea plantations. With its mild weather, soil quality and fresh spring water, Lahijan stands to have the largest area of tea cultivation in Iran. "Lahijan Spring Tea" is the best quality tea produced in the country. Tea is cultivated at other cities of Gilan, for example Fuman and Roudsar.


title: History of tea

text: Taiwan is famous for the making of oolong tea and green tea, as well as many western-styled teas. Bubble tea or "Zhen Zhu Nai Cha" (Mandarin: 珍珠奶茶) is black tea mixed with sweetened condensed milk and tapioca. Since the island was known to Westerners for many centuries as "Formosa"—short for the Portuguese "Ilha Formosa", or "beautiful island"—tea grown in Taiwan is often identified by that name.


title: History of tea

text: The first record of tea in English came from a letter written by Richard Wickham, who ran an East India Company office in Japan, writing to a merchant in Macao requesting "the best sort of chaw" in 1615. Peter Mundy, a traveller and merchant who came across tea in Fuji in 1637, wrote, ""chaa"—only water with a kind of herb boiled in it". In 1657, Thomas Garway, a "tobacconist and coffee-man" was the first to sell tea in London at his house in Exchange Alley, charging between 16 and 50 shillings per pound. The same year, tea was listed as an item in the price list in a London coffee house, and the first advertisement for tea appeared in 1658. In 1660 Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary: "I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before." It is probable that early imports were smuggled via Amsterdam or through sailors arriving on eastern boats. The marriage of King Charles II in 1662 to the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza brought the tea drinking habit to court. Official trade of tea began in 1664 with an import of only two pound two ounces for presentation to the king, which grew to 24 million pounds per year by 1801.


title: History of tea

text: Regular trade began in Canton (now Guangzhou), where it was controlled by two monopolies: the Chinese "Cohong" (trading companies) and the British East India Company. The "Cohong" acquired tea from 'tea men' who had an elaborate supply chain into the mountains and provinces where tea grew. The East India Company brought back many products, of which tea was just one, which proved one of the most successful. It was initially promoted as a medicinal beverage or tonic but by the end of the 17th century was taken as an all-purpose drink, albeit mainly by the elite, as it was expensive. Tea was traded in significant amounts by the 18th century, when tea was being sold by grocers and tea shops in London. By the 1720s black tea overtook green tea in popularity as the price dropped, and early on British drinkers began adding sugar and milk to tea, a practice that was not done in China. By the 1720s European maritime trade with China was dominated by exchange of silver for tea. As prices continued to drop, tea became increasingly popular and by 1750 had become the British national drink. A fungus reduced coffee production in Ceylon by 95% in the 19th century, cementing tea's popularity. The escalation of tea importation and sales over the period 1690 to 1750 is mirrored closely by the increase in importation and sales of cane sugar: the British were not drinking just tea but "sweet" tea. Thus, two of Britain's trading triangles converged: the sugar sourced from Britain's trading triangle encompassing Britain, Africa and the West Indies and the tea from the triangle encompassing Britain, India and China.


title: History of tea

text: In China, the Qing dynasty Qianlong Emperor wrote to King George III in response to the MaCartney Mission's request for trade in 1793: "Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its borders. There is therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce." Tea had to be paid in silver bullion, and critics of the tea trade at this time would point to the damage caused to Britain's wealth by this loss of bullion. As a way to generate the silver needed as payment for tea, Britain began exporting opium from the traditional growing regions of British India (in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan) into China. Although opium use in China had a long history, the British importation of opium increased fivefold between 1821 and 1837, and usage of the drug became more widespread across Chinese society. The Qing government attitude towards opium, which was often ambivalent, hardened because of the social problems created by drug use and took serious measures to curtail importation of opium in 1838–39.


title: History of tea

text: Tea had become an important source of tax revenue for the British Empire, and the banning of the opium trade and thus the creation of funding issues for tea importers was one of the main causes of the First Opium War.


title: History of tea

text: While waging war on China was one of Britain's tactics, it also began to use India for growing tea. After tea plants were smuggled out of China, plantations were established in areas such as Darjeeling, Assam, and Ceylon. As an attempt to circumvent its dependence on Chinese tea, the East India Company sent Scottish botanist Robert Fortune to China to purchase and bring out of China tea plants, which were then taken to India, although it was the discovery of native varieties of tea plant in India which proved more important for the development of production there.


title: History of tea

text: Tea remained a very important item in Britain's global trade, contributing in part to Britain's global dominance by the end of the 18th century. To this day tea is seen worldwide as a symbol of 'Britishness', but also, to some, as a symbol of old British colonialism.


title: History of tea

text: The drinking of tea in the United States was largely influenced by the passage of the Tea Act and its subsequent protest during the American Revolution. Tea consumption sharply decreased in America during and after the Revolution, when many Americans switched from drinking tea to drinking coffee, considering tea drinking to be unpatriotic. The American specialty tea market quadrupled in the years from 1993 to 2008, now being worth $6.8 billion a year. Specialty tea houses and retailers also started to pop up during this period.


title: History of tea

text: Canadians were big tea drinkers from the days of British colonisation until the Second World War, when they began drinking more coffee like their American neighbors to the south. During the 1990s, Canadians begun to purchase more specialty teas instead of coffee.


title: History of tea

text: In South America, the tea production in Brazil has strong roots because of the country's origins in Portugal, the strong presence of Japanese immigrants, and because of the influences of Argentina's yerba mate culture. Brazil had a big tea production until the 1980s, but it has weakened in the past decades.


title: History of tea

text: The Aboriginal Australians drank an infusion from the plant species "leptospermum". Upon reaching Australia, Captain Cook noticed the aboriginal peoples drinking it and called it tea. Today the plant is referred to as the "ti tree".


title: History of tea

text: Through colonisation by the British, tea was introduced to Australia. In fact, tea was aboard the First Fleet in 1788. In 1884, the Cutten brothers established the first commercial tea plantation in Australia in Bingil Bay in northern Queensland Nerada Tea. In 1883, Alfred Bushell opened the first tea shop in Australia in Queensland. In 1899, Bushell's sons moved the enterprise to Sydney and began selling tea commercially, founding Australia's first commercial tea seller Bushell's Company.


title: History of tea

text: In 2000, Australia consumed 14,000 tonnes of tea annually. Tea production in Australia remains very small and is primarily in northern New South Wales and Queensland. Most tea produced in Australia is black tea, although there are small quantities of green tea produced in the Alpine Valleys region of Victoria.


title: History of tea

text: Sri Lanka is renowned for its high quality tea and as the fourth biggest tea producing country globally, after China, India and Kenya, and has a production share of 9% in the international sphere. The total extent of land under tea cultivation has been assessed at approximately 187,309 hectares. The plantations started by the British were initially taken over by the government in the 1960s but have been privatized and are now run by plantation companies which own a few estates or tea plantations each. Ceylon tea is divided into 3 groups as Upcountry, Mid country and Low country tea based on the geography of the land on which it is grown.


title: History of tea

text: The Somali Ajuran empire which established bilateral trading ties with Ming Dynasty China in the 13th century brought with them a myriad of commodities including tea. Africa has seen greatly increased tea production in recent decades, the great majority for export to Europe and North America respectively, produced on large estates, often owned by tea companies from the export markets. Almost all production is of basic mass-market teas, processed by the crush, tear, curl method.


title: Space Ghost

text: Space Ghost (Tad Ghostal) is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth.


title: Space Ghost

text: In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks, Jan and Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space. In the 1990s, Space Ghost was brought back as a host for his own fictional late-night talk show, "Space Ghost Coast to Coast", on Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and GameTap. In the 2000s, he was revamped as a serious superhero once again in a mini-series by DC Comics.


title: Space Ghost

text: The original series debuted in September 1966. Space Ghost was voiced by Gary Owens, who is best known for being the announcer for "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In".


title: Space Ghost

text: In the original series, Space Ghost was an intergalactic crime fighter from the Ghost Planet. He had the ability to be invisible (Inviso Power) (via his belt), fly, and survive in space. His principal weapons were his power bands which displayed multiple beam-based attacks including heat, cold, magnetism, energy, and force among others. Space Ghost's sidekicks are Jan (voiced by Ginny Tyler), Jayce (voiced by Tim Matheson), and their pet monkey Blip (vocal effects provided by Don Messick).


title: Space Ghost

text: The original series shared time with an unrelated segment called "Dino Boy in the Lost Valley". During its original run, there were a total of 42 Space Ghost episodes and 18 Dino Boy episodes. The series ended in 1968, but remained in syndication during the 1970s.


title: Space Ghost

text: The final bunch of episodes had Metallus, Creature King, Zorak, Moltar, Brak, and Black Widow coming together as the Council of Doom to destroy Space Ghost. They were defeated by Space Ghost and were assumed to have gotten away when their headquarters was destroyed.


title: Space Ghost

text: Twenty-two new "Space Ghost" segments appeared on "Space Stars" on NBC in 1981. Gary Owens reprised his role as Space Ghost, while Steve J. Spears voiced Jace, Alexandra Stoddart voiced Jan, and Frank Welker provided the vocal effects of Blip. The episodes introduced a new assortment of villains including an evil version of Space Ghost named Space Spectre (voiced by John Stephenson) who came from an alternate universe. The villains Toymaker and Wizard (voiced by Frank Welker) made more than one appearance. As in the original series, Space Ghost often came to the aid of The Herculoids and vice versa. The Phantom Cruiser was given a more modern redesign as well. They also frequently crossed paths with the Teen Force and it appeared that Jan and Teen Force member Kid Comet were dating as well.


title: Space Ghost

text: The character Space Ghost hosted a talk show, "Space Ghost Coast to Coast", which began broadcasting in 1994 on Cartoon Network. The show spoofed late-night talk shows, with one-time villains Zorak and Moltar serving as Space Ghost's sidekicks (with occasional guest appearances from other "Space Ghost" villains Metallus, Lokar, Tansut, Brak, and Black Widow). In this version, Space Ghost is voiced by George Lowe, and his real name is Tad Ghostal. The show reused animation cels from the Hanna-Barbera archives.


title: Space Ghost

text: The show ran from 1994 to 1999, and returned with two new episodes in 2001, moving to the Adult Swim programming block later that year; the series ended its Adult Swim run in 2004. The characters of Jan, Jace, and Blip (Space Ghost's old sidekicks) appeared a few times on the show. After approximately eight seasons, the show went into hiatus. New episodes of "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" appeared on the "Animation" channel of the GameTap service, beginning on May 30, 2006. On May 31, 2008, the show ended when the TV section of GameTap shut down.


title: Space Ghost

text: Following the popularity of "Coast to Coast", the show provided a spin-off series, "Cartoon Planet"; the show ran from 1995 to 1998. "Cartoon Planet" was an hour-long cartoon block hosted by Space Ghost with his imprisoned sidekicks Zorak and Brak; the segments in-between the cartoons usually consisted of skits and original songs.


title: Space Ghost

text: Due to the popularity of the series' songs, two albums were released: "Space Ghost's Surf & Turf" and "Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que". Lowe provided the voice for Space Ghost on both records. The voice on these recordings is totally computer-generated, using a custom software program that Lowe had written.


title: Space Ghost

text: Space Ghost's "Coast to Coast" version was released as an action figure by Toycom, complete with a desk and chair, a series of cue cards and a mug. Also included were several different sets of hands, allowing the figure to be used either as the talk show host or the super hero or both. The shoulders and neck were ball-jointed, with a light plastic yellow cape. A transparent variant "invisible" figure and a variant with electric "light up" powerband were also released. A repaint of this figure was used to create a Space Spectre figure.


title: Space Ghost

text: In 2012, a new Space Ghost figure was released in the Jazwares Hanna-Barbera series and came with a pack-in of Blip.


title: Space Ghost

text: In 2016, Funko released 4 Pop! Vinyl Figures: Space Ghost, Brak, Space Ghost Invisible and Zorak. The last two were exclusive to the New York-based Toy Tokyo store. The same year, a new release of Space Ghost was presented by the toy company Mezco Toyz. This figure is a high quality toy and was pending confirmation of an official release date. Now recently released in June 2017 with one being the regular release while the second being a variant glow-in-the-dark figure sold exclusively from Entertainment Earth but is still being sold through other online retailers.


title: Space Ghost

text: In 2017, Figures Toy Company released two 8 inch Mego-like sets: Space Ghost in one set and Jan, Jace, and Blip in another set.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an action role-playing game, developed by Level-5. The game is a significantly enhanced version of "", which originally released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in December 2010. It was released for the PlayStation 3 in Japan in November 2011, and published in Western regions by Namco Bandai Games in January 2013. It was also released for Nintendo Switch in September 2019. A remastered version was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in September 2019, and for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in September 2022.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Players control Oliver, a young boy who sets out on a journey in search of a way to resurrect his recently deceased mother. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot, by boat, or on a dragon. While players navigate Oliver throughout the game's world, other characters can be controlled during battles against enemies; during these battles, players use magic abilities and creatures known as "familiars", which can be captured and tamed.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Development began in 2008, simultaneous to "Dominion of the Dark Djinn". The game's animated sequences were produced by Studio Ghibli, while the original score was co-composed by Joe Hisaishi. The art style was also inspired by Studio Ghibli's other productions. The character development of Oliver was a large focus of the game, intending to make children empathize with the character and for adults to relive their adolescence. The developers used the power of the PlayStation 3 to its full potential to render the world with great detail not possible in "Dominion of the Dark Djinn".


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Following its announcement, "Ni no Kuni" was widely anticipated. It was acclaimed by many reviewers, with praise particularly directed at its story, graphic design and gameplay. "Wrath of the White Witch" became one of the best-selling PlayStation 3 games, selling over 170,000 units within a week of its Japanese release, and over one million units within fourteen months of its Western release. The game was nominated for and won awards from several gaming publications. A sequel, "", was released in March 2018.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch" is an action role-playing game that uses a third-person perspective. Players complete quests—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Outside of quests, players can freely roam the overworld. Players explore towns, villages, dungeons and dangerous places scattered throughout the world, and possess the ability to travel between the world and Oliver's hometown of Motorville. Upon leaving a location, players enter the World Map, which can be used to select a destination. The world may be fully explored from the beginning of the game without restrictions, although story progress unlocks more gameplay content and forms of transport to navigate the world: players initially run to navigate the world, though later gain the ability to travel by boat, or on the back of a dragon.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: When players encounter enemies, they enter a battle system. Battles take place on an open battlefield, allowing players to freely roam around the area. During battles, players command a single human ally, or one of the familiars accompanying them; all characters and familiars are manually moved around the battlefield. To fight enemies, players use magical abilities and "familiars". Familiars are creatures that can be tamed, in order to be suitable to send out in battle to fight for players. Familiars level up and evolve alongside the human characters; each familiar has unique statistics and capabilities, and can be upgraded through the use of treats, and equipped with items. When all enemies in a battle are defeated, players may receive experience points, currency and items. When a specific amount of experience is earned, characters' levels will increase, and their abilities will improve. Health is lost when players are attacked by enemies, while mana points are depleted through the use of magic. Should a party member lose health or mana points, they can be restored by using provisions. Health and mana can also be restored by picking up orbs, known as "glims"; a golden glim restores all health, and enables the powerful "Miracle Move", which may deal significant damage to enemies or provide assistance to allies.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The errands that can be undertaken at the request of townspeople and the bounty hunts available from the Taskmaster are collectively known as "tasks". When tasks are completed, players will earn a number of stamps for their current merit stamp card, which can be exchanged for upgrades. The in-game Wizard's Companion book includes pages featuring Oliver's spells, as well as a bestiary, short stories, alchemy recipes and maps.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: "Ni no Kuni" follows the journey of Oliver, a resident of Motorville. While trying out a new vehicle designed by his friend Philip, Oliver almost drowns but is saved by his mother Allie who immediately after dies from heart problems. As Oliver cries, his tears cause his doll, a gift from his mother, to come to life and reveal itself as a fairy named Drippy who tells Oliver that he is from another world where an evil wizard named Shadar took control. He also tells Oliver that each person from his world has a "soulmate", a person that shares a link with someone in Oliver's world, and that his mother looks very much like a great sage, Alicia, who was captured by Shadar. Realizing that Alicia must have been Allie's soulmate, Oliver sets out with Drippy to travel to the other world and rescue Alicia in the hope that doing so will bring Allie back in his world.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: In the other world, Oliver finds a multitude of broken-hearted people affected by Shadar, and uses his new-found magic abilities to restore those pieces of heart which they lack, and travels the world to seek out the four great sages who may be able to help. Along the way, he meets Esther, daughter of one of the great sages, and Swaine, a thief who initially steals a crucial item from them but ultimately decides to help out. As they enlist the sages' help, they learn of a wand known as Mornstar that could be used to defeat Shadar, but are at a loss as to how to retrieve it as it was recently destroyed by Shadar. Soon after, they find themselves many years in the past by the actions of a stranger and are able to retrieve the wand there.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: After returning to the present and retrieving three magical stones to complete the wand, Oliver learns that his mother Allie was in fact the great sage, Alicia. Realizing she could not defeat Shadar, and that he had destroyed his soulmate in the other world to avoid the possibility of being defeated through them, she chose to travel into both the future and into Oliver's world in the hopes of finding his next soulmate. After settling into this new world she eventually gave birth to her son Oliver, who unknowingly became Shadar's soulmate. After he is defeated, Shadar's past is shown. He was once a soldier who helped a young girl against orders and whose hometown was destroyed to set an example; a being known as the White Witch called to him to embrace his despair and become the Dark Djinn, Shadar. The spirit of Alicia talks to the dying Shadar who realizes that the girl he saved was the young Alicia herself. Shadar then uses his power to sever the link between himself and Oliver, to save Oliver from dying as well.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: With Shadar defeated, Oliver prepares to return home but the White Witch appears and casts a spell known as "manna", an ash-like substance that turns all living beings in the three major cities into undead-like creatures. A girl named Pea, who has been appearing to Oliver on occasion, travels with the group and uses her magic to clear the cities of manna and restore the people to normal; the group proceeds to defeat the White Witch herself. They discover that she was a young queen called Cassiopeia from thousands of years ago who had noble intentions but was manipulated by her "council of twelve", calling themselves the Zodiarchs, who desired to run the country. Feeling powerless, she found and used the manna spell, believing it would bring peace and prosperity to her people. When the horrific effects of manna were revealed she gradually witnessed the death of all of her subjects, including the council, and found herself on her own. She was gradually driven to despair and became the White Witch, believing that all life must be destroyed in an attempt to "start over". Her power created an illusory version of the council to oversee the destruction of the world. The remains of her kind intentions also created Pea, the incarnation of her as a child, to help Oliver on his journey. Pea was sent to Motorville by the spirit of the Wizard King, Cassiopeia's father, to give Oliver his starting wand and teach him gateway so he could eventually save Cassiopeia/The White Witch from herself.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Having been defeated, Cassiopeia fuses together with Pea and is restored to her former, kind self. After assisting the group in destroying the Zodiarchy, the last manifestations of the council, Cassiopeia declares that she will dedicate her life to making amends for her actions and Oliver bids farewell to his friends before returning to his old life in Motorville.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Conceived as a project for Level-5's tenth anniversary in 2008, "Ni no Kuni: The Another World" was announced in the September 2008 issue of "Famitsu", as a title for the Nintendo DS. In June 2010, Level-5 announced that the game would also be released for the PlayStation 3, with significant differences; the DS version was renamed "Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi", while the PlayStation 3 version was given the title "Ni no Kuni: Shiroki Seihai no Joō", known in English as "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" and "Wrath of the White Witch", respectively. Both versions were revealed to be in development separately, only retaining the same "story axle", while features such as artwork, graphics and specifications all received significant changes. Journalists noted that the game's announcement ignited widespread anticipation within the gaming industry.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: To spur pre-order game sales, Namco Bandai collaborated with several retail outlets to provide a special edition version of the game, with extra features and content. The "Wizard's Edition" includes a unique case packaging, the Wizard's Companion book, a Drippy plush doll, as well as exclusive downloadable content. The game was originally released in Japan on November 17, 2011, and in Western regions in early 2013: in North America on January 22, in Australia on January 31 , and in Europe February 1. At E3 2019, Bandai Namco announced that "Wrath of the White Witch" would be released for Nintendo Switch on September 20, 2019. A remastered version featuring some graphical improvements was also released for PlayStation 4 and Windows on the same day. At Tokyo Game Show on September 15, 2022, Bandai Namco announced that the remastered version was available for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S the same day.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The team wanted the theme of the game to resonate with children; they initially considered the idea of expressing adventure and dreams. They later explored the concept of a child's greatest influence, their mother, and the possibility of losing them. Although the framework of the story was completed prior to Studio Ghibli's involvement with the game, they still took part in many discussions regarding some ideas, including the game's final scenes.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The majority of the game takes place in a magical world, referred to as the "other world". To avoid making the world map feel outdated, the team modernized the design by arranging the terrain in "fun and fascinating ways". The game's open world was designed to remind players of a "miniature diorama", intending to invoke reminiscence to an older time, as well as the feeling of freshness. Other segments of the game are set in Oliver's fictional hometown of Motorville. The town is modelled after an American town in the peak of the automotive industry during the 1950s and 1960s; this decision was made due to Oliver's interest in cars and machines. Motorville is geographically based near the city of Detroit, Michigan; the Japanese version of the town was named "Hotroit".


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Level-5 collaborated with Studio Ghibli to produce the game's animated sequences, and the game features graphics and visuals replicating the traditional animation style of Studio Ghibli films. The collaboration began when musician Naoya Fujimaki, who had previously worked with both companies, introduced Level-5 president Akihiro Hino to Studio Ghibli president Toshio Suzuki. At the time, Studio Ghibli had completed work on "Ponyo" (2008), and the animation team had no ongoing projects, which influenced Suzuki's decision to collaborate with Level-5. Another influencing factor of the collaboration was witnessing Hino's passion for the project. Studio Ghibli approached the production process in the same way that they would create an animated film. Work on the animation began in July 2008, and took much longer than the predicted three months.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Studio Ghibli's Yoshiyuki Momose served as the game's director of animation, staging the scenes and directing actors during the motion capture sessions. He was also assigned to drawing character designs and storyboards. Hino wished the game to have a heartwarming feel; the artwork and character movements was greatly inspired by Studio Ghibli's work, particularly due to their attention to detail, as well as their talent in creating storyboards and utilizing camera control. The development team constantly watched Studio Ghibli's films during development. Game director Ken Motomura regularly worked with Studio Ghibli, swapping and reviewing assets, while Hino worked with the studio in regards to the game's dialogue and animated sequences. To make Studio Ghibli's hand-drawn cutscenes and the game engine's real-time cutscenes transition seamlessly, Level-5 adjusted the latter's color tones, shadows and character movements. For the backgrounds, the team used deep colors, unifying them so they would not look like "a mass of polygons". The team found particular difficulty in animating the game's cel shaded appearance, and spent time researching Studio Ghibli animation to recreate their traditional animation.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: When designing the familiars, Level-5 accounted for the characteristics of their surrounding area, which inspired the later design. Some of the initial familiar designs were deemed either creepy or "overly-cute", and adapted accordingly to match the style of Studio Ghibli's artwork.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: For the game's characters, the team wished to explore the concept of opposites, mainly represented by the White Witch's goal to destroy the world, and Oliver's attempts to save it. The character performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology, followed by manual adjustment by the team to make a "more anime-like movement". The game's characters were particularly inspired by Level-5's previous work on the "Professor Layton" series (2007–present). During development, Momose suggested that the team design the clothes in a modern fashion, in order for players to gain a "stronger sense that you have stepped out of the familiar and into a different world".


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The game's main playable character, Oliver, is a 13-year-old boy. The team decided to make him a child as they wished to showcase a coming of age story. They wanted children to empathize with Oliver's development, and adults to relive the excitement of their adolescence. A major part of the story is Oliver's personal development, which Hino describes as "the process of how a child grows into an adult". In regards to Oliver's physical appearance, Momose made his outfit represent a young boy in 1950s America, which was the inspiration for his hometown.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: For the localization of the game, the team decided to give the character of Drippy a Welsh accent, citing comedian Rhod Gilbert as a reference point. Steffan Rhodri was ultimately cast as Drippy; the team immediately felt that he fit the role, during his first audition. The Fairy Godmother character was initially conceived as an "older lady with a perm", which evolved into the concept of a "mountain-like woman". The method that she uses to give birth, in which the offspring burst forth, was inspired by the process that sea anemones lay eggs. The character of Cassiopeia was conceived in a quick meeting, after which the background information and story documents were handed to Momose, who drew the character based on the information. Cassiopeia underwent various changes throughout development. In particular, Momose suggested possible alterations to her physical appearance, such as the size of her head, and changing colors to reflect her emotions. The character Pea was named as a reference to the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea", while her Japanese name of Kokoru is a reference to the word .


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch" was developed for the PlayStation 3. The team planned to bring the game to the console from the beginning of development, but opted to work on the DS version of the game beforehand due to the larger number of DS users in Japan at the time. The team found the PlayStation 3 allowed them to render the game world with great detail, using the hardware to its full potential to present the animation, world and music. Hino felt that the PlayStation 3 version allowed the game's music to accompany the imagery, which was not possible on the DS version. The team found particular technical difficulty in animating Oliver's cape, which was overcome by a combination of mathematical calculations and hand-drawn motions by the programmers and graphic artists, respectively.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The team considered utilizing the PlayStation Move controller for casting spells in the game, in a similar fashion to the use of the touchscreen in the DS version, though ultimately decided against it as it would limit the potential sales. The battle system was revised over ten times, in order to achieve something new and unique. For about a year of development, the battle system used a turn-based system, though this was ultimately changed when the team felt that it was not fun for players. The team eventually merged turn-based combat and action elements, popular in Japanese and Western regions, respectively, in order to appeal to both regions.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Level-5 worked with localization company Shloc to translate the game; the two studios collaborated for many weeks. The team found great difficulty when localizing the game for Western regions, particularly due to the large amounts of text and audio that required translation. Other minor changes to the artwork and animation also occurred, such as making Oliver bow in a Western manner. By December 12, 2012, development on the localized version of "Wrath of the White Witch" was completed and the game was submitted for manufacturing.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch" received generally positive reviews. Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating in the 0–100 range, calculated an average score of 86 out of 100 for the PlayStation 4 version, 85 out of 100 for the PlayStation 3 version, and 84 out of 100 for the Nintendo Switch version. Critics praised the visual design, characters and story, soundtrack, and combat system. Colin Moriarty of "IGN" named "Ni no Kuni" "one of the best RPGs", and among the best PlayStation 3 exclusives, and Kevin VanOrd of "GameSpot" wrote that it joins the group of greatest RPGs.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The game's artistic design received acclaim, being favorably compared to Studio Ghibli's previous work. "Eurogamer"s Oli Welsh wrote that the artists of Level-5 and Studio Ghibli have collaborated to make a game that belongs to both studios. Moriarty of "IGN" called the game "unquestionably gorgeous", surpassing the visuals of most other games. "Destructoid"s Jim Sterling echoed these remarks, stating that "few titles can hope to come as close". GameSpot's VanOrd felt that the "cartoonish visuals are heightened by extraordinary visual details", contributing to the "sense of wonder" created by the game. Stephanie Bendixsen of "Good Game" called the art "vibrant and exciting", noting that it "brings the game to life in the most beautiful way".


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Brittany Vincent of "GamesRadar" found the story poignant, and "IGN"s Moriarty named it one of the game's standout features. GameSpot's VanOrd felt that the game's themes and dialogue positively contributed to the story, appreciating the use of humor, and "GameTrailers" called the writing "top notch". Conversely, "Joystiq"s Sinan Kubba wrote that the story lacked the charm that the art style possessed, while "Polygon"s Philip Kollar felt that the game's art style was the only motive to complete the story, which he felt was predictable. Some reviewers commented on the pacing of the story; "Eurogamer"s Welsh found that it was "too slow to surprise or to develop its mysteries", while "GamesRadar"s Vincent found the pace believable. The game's side quests also received praise; "GameTrailers" felt that they provide insight into the world and "Eurogamer"s Welsh commended their variety, while "Polygon"s Kollar conversely found them uninteresting and "single-minded".


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The world and environments of the game drew acclaim from many reviewers. "Electronic Gaming Monthly"s Andrew Fitch named the world one of the game's standout features, praising the diversity of the locales. Jason Schreier of "Kotaku" praised the "care and precision" with which the world was crafted. Kimberley Wallace of "Game Informer" called the world "breathtaking", and "Destructoid"s Sterling felt that the world was "adorable", praising the design and use of the familiars.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: The game's characters polarized reviewers. Some felt that the characters were inventive and interesting, while others noted that they lacked personality. Bendixsen of "Good Game" called the characters "imaginative and wacky", while "IGN"s Moriarty felt that Oliver's uniqueness was one of the standout points of the game, and found that it made him care about the character. "Destructoid"s Sterling disliked Oliver, but found that the supporting characters compensate. Wallace of "Game Informer" felt that the characters lack personality, and only exist to assist Oliver's journey. "Joystiq"s Kubba echoed similar remarks, stating that the characters have "the depth of a toothbrush". Similarly, the voice acting received mixed reactions; "IGN"s Moriarty felt that the English voice for Oliver was the most disappointing, but praised the other voice acting, and Ian Dransfield of "VideoGamer.com" wrote that the English dub is "worth hearing".


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Many reviewers found the battle system a refreshing mix from other role-playing games. Fitch of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" commented that "it keeps getting better the longer you play". "Joystiq"s Kubba called the game's combat a "triumph", praising its ability to blend different styles, and "GameTrailers" found it "immensely satisfying". "Kotaku"s Schreier felt that the combat never feels unfair, although criticized the use of the artificial intelligence during the battle. Phil Iwaniuk of "Official PlayStation Magazine" found the game's consistent battle encounters irritating, but that combat is "otherwise a pleasure". "Polygon"s Kollar felt that the game's artificial intelligence resulted in a "sloppy" and "frustrating" combat system.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Reviewers praised the use of music in the game. "IGN"s Moriarty felt that it was appropriate in every situation, praising its ability to create emotion and involve players in the experience. "GameTrailers" found the soundtrack "powerful", commenting on its appropriate use during gameplay, and GamesRadar's Vincent named it "breathtaking". Sterling of "Destructoid" favorably compared the soundtrack to "Dragon Quest VIII", praising the orchestral qualities and "sense of fun". Chris Scullion of "Computer and Video Games" wrote that the music ensures the game "sounds as good as it looks". "Eurogamer"s Welsh called the music "a lush and romantic treat", though criticized the repetitiveness of the battle music.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Within seven days of its original release in Japan, "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch" sold over 170,000 units. Following its release in the United Kingdom, the game topped the charts, and sold out in many stores across the region.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: By March 2014, the game had shipped over 1.1 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 3 games. Many pre-orders of the game's special edition, the "Wizard's Edition", were cancelled due to overselling as a result of a glitch in the order system. All canceled orders were compensated with a $20 clubNamco voucher and the game's strategy guide by Prima Games.


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch" received multiple nominations and awards from gaming publications. Prior to its release, it won Best RPG Game from "Computer and Video Games". The game appeared on several year-end lists of the best role-playing games of 2013, receiving wins from "Destructoid", "Game Revolution", "GameTrailers", "IGN", the 18th Satellite Awards and the Spike VGX 2013 Awards. It also received Best Game from "The Huffington Post". The game also won Best Sound from Cheat Code Central, and Excellence in Animation at the SXSW Gaming Awards. At the 13th National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, it received multiple wins, including awards for Animation, Art Direction, Original Light Mix Score, Original Family Game, as well as Original/Adapted Song for "Kokoro no Kakera".


title: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

text: Level-5 announced a sequel, titled "", during the PlayStation Experience event in December 2015. Set hundreds of years after "Wrath of the White Witch", the game features a new cast of characters. Delayed twice prior to its launch, "Revenant Kingdom" was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows on March 23, 2018.


title: Simone Missick

text: Simone Missick (née Cook; born January 19, 1982) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Detective Misty Knight in "Luke Cage", a role she also plays in "The Defenders" and "Iron Fist". Since 2019, she starred as Lola Carmichael in "All Rise".


title: Simone Missick

text: Simone Missick graduated from Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, in 1999 and completed her studies at Howard University in 2003.


title: Simone Missick

text: Missick took master classes at British American Drama Academy in England. There she studied under Ben Kingsley, Alan Rickman, and Jane Lapotaire.


title: Simone Missick

text: In 2008, Missick was featured in female leading role of Reese Knight in the independent feature "The Road to Sundance".


title: Simone Missick

text: In 2016, Missick had her breakout role on "Luke Cage" as Misty Knight. Missick reprised the role in "The Defenders" and in the second season of "Iron Fist".


title: Simone Missick

text: In February 2019, it was announced that Missick was cast in the main role of Trepp for the second season of the Netflix science-fiction series "Altered Carbon".


title: Simone Missick

text: In May 2019, it was announced that Missick was cast in a lead role as Judge Lola Carmichael, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge for the CBS drama series "All Rise".


title: Simone Missick

text: Missick married actor Dorian Missick in February 2012. He starred alongside her in the second season of "Luke Cage" as Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton.


title: Book of Wisdom

text: The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid-first century BCE, the central theme of the work is "wisdom" itself, appearing under two principal aspects. The first aspect is, in its relation to humankind, wisdom is the perfection of knowledge of the righteous as a gift from God showing itself in action. The second aspect is, in direct relation to God, wisdom is with God from all eternity. It is one of the seven Sapiential or wisdom books in the Septuagint, the others being Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), Job, and Sirach. It is included in the canons of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Most Protestants consider it part of the Apocrypha.


title: Book of Wisdom

text: The book is addressed to the rulers of the earth, urging them to love righteousness and seek wisdom; the wicked think that all is chance and that they should enjoy each day, but they are deluded. In the second section Solomon (not explicitly named, but strongly implied) tells of his search for wisdom.


title: Book of Wisdom

text: The Wisdom of Solomon can be linked to several forms of ancient literature, both Jewish and non-Jewish, but it clearly belongs with biblical Wisdom books such as the Book of Job, one of only five such books among ancient Jewish literature. In terms of classical genre it has been identified as an encomium and with the Greek genre of the "exhortatory discourse", by which a teacher attempts to persuade others to a certain course of action.


title: Book of Wisdom

text: Origen in the 2nd century refers to uncertainty about the Book of Wisdom. Melito of Sardis in the 2nd century CE, Augustine (c. 397 CE) and Pope Innocent I (405 CE) considered Wisdom of Solomon as part of the Old Testament. Athanasius writes that the Book of Wisdom along with three other deuterocanonical books, while not being part of the Canon, "were appointed by the Fathers to be read". Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 385 CE) mentions that the Wisdom of Solomon was of disputed canonicity. According to the monk Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 400 CE) the Book of Wisdom was categorized as "ecclesiastical" rather than "canonical".


title: Book of Wisdom

text: The Book of Wisdom was listed as canonical by the Council of Rome (382 CE), the Synod of Hippo (393), the Council of Carthage (397) and the Council of Carthage (419), the Council of Florence (in 1442) and the Council of Trent (in 1546).


title: Book of Wisdom

text: The Wisdom of Solomon was written in Greek, in Alexandria (Egypt), in the late 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE. The author's prime literary source was the Septuagint, in particular the Wisdom literature and the Book of Isaiah, and he was familiar with late Jewish works as the Book of Enoch and with Greek philosophical literature. It is uncertain whether the book has a single author or comes from a school of writers, but recent scholarship has favoured regarding it as a unified work. In either case its blend of Greek and Jewish features suggests a learned Hellenistic background, and despite the address to the "rulers of the world" the actual audience was probably members of the author's own community who were tempted to give up their Jewishness in the face of the temptations of Greek culture and the hostile conditions facing Jews in the Greek world.


title: Book of Wisdom

text: The book opens with the opposed pairs righteousness/unrighteousness and death/immortality: those who do not follow righteousness will fall into "senseless reasoning" and will not be open to wisdom; wisdom is not an inherent human quality nor one that can be taught, but comes from outside, and only to those who are prepared through righteousness. The suffering of the righteous will be rewarded with immortality, while the wicked will end miserably. The unrighteous are doomed because they do not know God's purpose, but the righteous will judge the unrighteous in God's presence. Lady Wisdom dominates the next section, in which Solomon speaks. She existed from the Creation, and God is her source and guide. She is to be loved and desired, and kings seek her: Solomon himself preferred wisdom to wealth, health, and all other things. She in turn has always come to the aid of the righteous, from Adam to the Exodus. The final section takes up the theme of the rescue of the righteous, taking the Exodus as its focus: "You (God) have not neglected to help (your people the Jews) at all times and in all places." (Wisdom of Solomon, 19:22).


title: Book of Wisdom

text: 19th-century American author Herman Melville marked his copy of the "Wisdom of Solomon" heavily. Without knowledge of biblical criticism, he managed to note the interplay of Hellenistic Platonism and Jewish philosophy, writing, "this admirable book seems partly Mosaic & partly Platonic in its tone. Who wrote it I know not. Someone to whom both Plato and Moses stood for godfather." The interplay of multiple philosophies is exemplified in many of Melville's works, specifically "Moby-Dick" and "Clarel", wherein religious and philosophical interplay represent the struggle for certainty in the 19th century.


title: Book of Wisdom

text: A considerable portion of the "Wisdom of Solomon", starting with Chapter II, was read at a memorial service in Concord, Massachusetts, on December 2, 1859, the day of the execution of the abolitionist John Brown.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr. (born April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is the Global Ambassador of WWE and also performs for the promotion as a wrestler under the ring name Titus O'Neil. Described by the company as "one of the most philanthropic Superstars in WWE history," Bullard is the recipient of the WWE Hall of Fame 2020 Warrior Award.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Bullard played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter played in the Arena Football League (AFL). His career as a professional wrestler began in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), before being moved to "NXT" where he was part of the second season and fifth season, "NXT Redemption". In WWE, he is a former one-time WWE Tag Team Champion as part of The Prime Time Players with Darren Young and a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion, being the inaugural holder of the latter title. In 2021, Bullard was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Warrior Award, honoring his charitable work – especially in his hometown of Tampa, Florida. In the summer of 2021 a public school in Tampa was also named after Bullard honoring his charitable work and contributions to and for the Hillsborough County public school system.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Bullard was born in Boynton Beach, Florida to Daria Bullard when she was 11 years old. His mother was molested and raped by her mother's boyfriend at 10 years old, and as a result she became pregnant with Bullard. He grew up in Live Oak, Florida, where he attended Suwannee High School. He was a standout player for the Suwannee Bulldogs high school football, and was recognized by "USA Today" and "Parade" magazine as a high school All-American as a senior in 1995.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Bullard accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1997 to 2000. He redshirted during the Gators' 1996 national championship season. Bullard lettered the next four seasons, playing in 44 regular season games with three starts. He was elected student body vice president in April 2000, and graduated in August 2000. While he was an undergraduate, he was initiated as a brother of Omega Psi Phi. After college, Bullard played in the Arena Football League from 2003 to 2007 with the Utah Blaze, Tampa Bay Storm, Las Vegas Gladiators, and Carolina Cobras.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Bullard signed a developmental deal with WWE in mid-2009 and began training with their development territory, Florida Championship Wrestling. He made his television debut on the January 16, 2010, episode of FCW's show on Bright House Sports Network as Titus O'Neil in a tag team match with Skip Sheffield, losing to the team of Vance Archer and Alex Riley. On December 3, O'Neil teamed with Damien Sandow to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship after defeating Xavier Woods and Mason Ryan in a match for the vacant championship. The pair lost the championship to Seth Rollins and Richie Steamboat on March 25, 2011.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: O'Neil competed in the second season of "WWE NXT", with Zack Ryder as his mentor. He debuted on June 8, teaming with Ryder to lose to John Morrison and Eli Cottonwood. During and after the bout the two argued. The following week the two made up. Two weeks later, O'Neil was the first person eliminated from the second season of "NXT", and gave a farewell speech before leaving the arena. O'Neil returned for the season finale on August 31, joining the other eliminated rookies in attacking the winner, Kaval.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: In March 2011, O'Neil was selected as one of the six former "NXT" contestants to return to the show in its fifth season, "NXT Redemption", being mentored by Hornswoggle. In the season premiere, O'Neil defeated Lucky Cannon in the main event. The two also feuded with Darren Young and his pro, Hornswoggle's old nemesis, Chavo Guerrerro. Following Lucky Cannon's elimination on the May 14, 2011, episode of "NXT Redemption", O'Neil lead the fans in a rendition of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", as a tribute to the recently retired Edge. On the June 21 episode of "NXT Redemption", O'Neil's pro from season two, Zack Ryder, returned for one night only to face and defeat O'Neil. On the July 12, 2011, episode of "NXT", he faced off against Darren Young and Derrick Bateman in a triple threat elimination match, which saw him lose to Bateman. 8 days later, O'Neil teamed up with NXT host Matt Striker in a winning effort against Darren Young and Derrick Bateman after Young was pinned by O'Neil.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the September 8 episode of "WWE Superstars", O'Neil teamed with Percy Watson in a losing effort against Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks. O'Neil and Watson defeated Derrick Bateman and Tyson Kidd, as well as Bateman and JTG, but lost to Darren Young and JTG.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the November 16, 2011, episode of "NXT", O'Neil was assaulted by a returning Darren Young. Young was then able to get the better of O'Neil twice in tag team matches. The conclusion to O'Neil's feud with Young came when O'Neil defeated Young in a no disqualifications match on the January 18 episode of "NXT". O'Neil then turned heel after the match, verbally ripping on the audience, his former pro Hornswoggle, and NXT itself.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: O'Neil later urged his friend Percy Watson to also turn his back on the fans on the January 25, 2012, episode of "NXT". When Watson refused, O'Neil shoved him and a match between the two was booked, leading to O'Neil defeating Watson. O'Neil continued to attack Watson after the match, leading to Alex Riley saving Watson. O'Neil then formed an alliance with former enemy Darren Young, and the duo teamed up to defeat Watson and Riley on the February 1 and 29 episodes of "NXT". O'Neil also faced and defeated Riley on the February 22 episode of "NXT". On the March 7 episode of "NXT", O'Neil faced Watson, which would result in a loss for O'Neil. O'Neil and Young then moved on to feud with The Usos.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the April 18 episode of "NXT", it was announced that O'Neil, along with Darren Young, had been moved to the main roster. The team made their debut on the April 20 episode of "SmackDown" with a victory over The Usos. They began a winning streak before their streak was ended on the May 18 episode of "SmackDown" by WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: At the No Way Out pay-per-view, O'Neil and Young won a fatal-four way tag team match to become #1 contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship after A.W. turned on his clients Primo & Epico. On the July 16 episode of "Raw", O'Neil and Young unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the August 10 episode of "SmackDown", they defeated Primo & Epico in a #1 contenders match by disqualification when A.W. provoked Kingston and R-Truth, who were on commentary, into interfering in the match. That same day, A.W. was released from his contract. Despite losing A.W, the Prime Time Players received a title shot at SummerSlam, but were again defeated by Kingston and R-Truth. On the September 7 episode of "SmackDown", The Prime Time Players defeated Primo and Epico and The Usos in a triple threat tag team match to earn another shot at the title. On "Raw" three days later, the Prime Time Players lost their title shot to the team of Kane and Daniel Bryan. At Survivor Series, O'Neil took part in a 10-man elimination tag team match, but was eliminated by Tyson Kidd.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: At the 2013 Royal Rumble, O'Neil entered the Royal Rumble match at number 7 but was eliminated by Sheamus. On the March 18 episode of "Raw", O'Neil played a new character called Rufus "Pancake" Patterson, his "uncle", accompanying Darren Young in his match against John Cena, in which Young was defeated.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the August 19, 2013, episode of "Raw", the Prime Time Players turned face in a winning effort against The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger), a week after O'Neil's tag-team partner Darren Young's (legitimate) coming out, which received mainstream media coverage. On the Night of Champions pre-show, O'Neil and Young won a tag team turmoil upon entering last, for the opportunity to face The Shield for the WWE Tag Team Championship but lost to Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns on the pay-per-view.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Furthering their face turn, the duo were amongst those who saved Daniel Bryan from being injured by Randy Orton. The Prime Time Players would be forced into a 3 on 1 handicap gauntlet match against The Shield as ordered by the COO, Triple H, the same as Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston and Rob Van Dam.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the January 31, 2014, episode of "SmackDown", O'Neil allowed Curtis Axel to pin Young during a tag-team match. After the match, O'Neil attacked Young to turn heel and disbanded the Prime Time Players. O'Neil defeated Young at Elimination Chamber.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: O'Neil lost a rematch to Young on the February 26 episode of "Main Event". Following this loss, O'Neil began a losing streak to the likes of Big Show, Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. From mid-April to mid-June, O'Neil commonly appeared on "Superstars", where he suffered many losses to Kofi Kingston and Big E. He was also unsuccessful in winning four battle royals: the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX, a battle royal for the WWE United States Championship in May, a Money in the Bank qualifying battle royal in June and a battle royal for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Battleground.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: In July, O'Neil formed a tag team with Heath Slater, later known as Slater-Gator. In July and August, they wrestled on "Main Event" and "Superstars". Despite wins over the likes of Zack Ryder and Sin Cara and Gold and Stardust, they suffered losses to El Torito and Hornswoggle and Big E and Kofi Kingston. In September, Slater-Gator lost multiple matches to Adam Rose and to the team of Rose and The Bunny. O'Neil entered the Royal Rumble, being eliminated by Dean Ambrose and eventual winner Roman Reigns in 4 seconds.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the February 16 episode of "Raw", O'Neil turned face by saving his former tag team partner Darren Young from an attack from The Ascension, disbanding Slater-Gator. To acknowledge this breakup, Slater announced on social media that he is going to 'focus on himself'. Then on the February 23 episode of "Raw", The Prime Time Players officially reunited to battle The Ascension, with Young picking up the victory. O'Neil participated in the 2nd Annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31, before being eliminated by Ryback. At Elimination Chamber, the Prime Time Players participated in the first ever tag team Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, however they were the last team to be eliminated by the winners and defending champions The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods). At Money in the Bank, O'Neil and Young defeated The New Day to win the Tag Team Championship, their first titles in WWE. They later defeated The New Day in a rematch at Battleground. The Prime Time Players dropped the WWE Tag Team Championships back to The New Day at SummerSlam in a fatal–four way match, also involving The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores. O'Neil and Young would invoke their championship rematch clause for the September 14 episode of "Raw", which they ended up losing against New Day.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the November 9 episode of "Raw", O'Neil would enter the 16-man tournament to crown the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, losing to Kevin Owens in the first round. On the Survivor Series kick-off show, O'Neil participated in a five-on-five elimination tag team match, teaming with The Dudley Boyz, Neville and Goldust to defeat Stardust, The Ascension, The Miz and Bo Dallas. On the February 8, 2016, episode of "Raw", O'Neil had what was described as a "playful, physical" altercation with Vince McMahon as the show was going off the air while the two were on stage during Daniel Bryan's retirement celebration. The following day, O'Neil was suspended for unprofessional conduct relating to the incident, with the suspension reportedly lasting up to 90 days. It was later confirmed that he would be suspended for 60 days.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the May 2 episode of "Raw", O'Neil returned from suspension, participating in a battle royal to determine the #1 contender to the WWE United States Championship. On the May 26 episode of "SmackDown", O'Neil entered a feud with United States Champion Rusev. This set up a match between O'Neil and Rusev for the United States Championship at Money in the Bank, which he lost. After the match, Rusev taunted and disrespected O'Neil's children. The following night on "Raw", a rematch was scheduled but O'Neil attacked Rusev before the match began. On the July 4 episode of "Raw", O'Neil lost in another title match to Rusev, ending the feud.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, O'Neil was drafted to "Raw". On the August 1 episode of "Raw", O'Neil started a slow heel turn when he questioned his former tag team partner Darren Young on his motives on being "great again". Later that night, he defeated Young by pinning him while grabbing Young's tights. Afterwards, O'Neil got into a backstage altercation with Young's manager Bob Backlund, ending in Young coming to Backlund's defense by attacking O'Neil. The week after on "Raw", Young defeated O'Neil by pinning him while grabbing O'Neil's tights, mimicking the way O'Neil defeated him. On the August 15 episode of "Raw", O'Neil and Young reconciled and were placed in a match against The Shining Stars. During the match, O'Neil attacked Young with a Clash of the Titus, cementing O'Neil's heel turn. Starting from September 2016, he began a losing streak whilst debuting a new gimmick known as "The Titus Brand". On the October 31 episode of "Raw", O'Neil competed in a battle royal to determine who would join Team Raw at the upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view against Team SmackDown, but was eliminated by Sami Zayn.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: In April 2017, Apollo Crews caught the attention of O'Neil's new "Titus Brand" after being drafted to "Raw" and recruited him on the brand. He later recruited cruiserweight Akira Tozawa to his brand, which he renamed to "Titus Worldwide" and turned him face in the process. After Dana Brooke challenged Asuka to a match on the November 27, 2017, episode on "Raw", in which she lost, O'Neil recruited Brooke to join the brand. Brooke made her first official appearance with the team on the January 1, 2018, episode of "Raw" accompanying Crews along with O'Neil in a match against Bray Wyatt, in which he was defeated and at this point Tozawa quietly left the team. On the January 8, 2018 episode of "Raw", O'Neil and Crews defeated Cesaro and Sheamus in an upset win. On the January 29 episode of "Raw", Crews and O'Neil competed in a match against Cesaro and Sheamus for their Tag Team Championships, in which they were unsuccessful at capturing the titles. On February 25 at Elimination Chamber, they competed in another match for the Raw Tag Team Championships, in a losing effort. On "Raw" the next night, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Titus Worldwide in a 2 out of 3 falls match to retain the title, winning 2-0 to end the feud. O'Neil later participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at the WrestleMania 34 kickoff show, but he was unsuccessful in both matches. He was also part of the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble event in which he was eliminated by Braun Strowman. While running to the ring to participate in this match, he famously tripped and slid underneath the ring, which led to several internet memes and reactions from fellow superstars. A couple of days later on Raw during a match between Baron Corbin and No Way Jose, O'Neil would try to amend for that mistake, but as he entered the ring, he slipped and fell from the apron. On the September 3 episode of "Raw", Dana Brooke parted ways with Titus Worldwide after a mid-match coaching backfired, causing Brooke and Ember Moon to lose to Bayley and Sasha Banks. On the October 15 episode of "Raw", Crews, without O'Neil, returned as a singles competitor, thus disbanding Titus Worldwide. On the November 2 episode of "Main Event", O'Neil returned to singles competition, defeating Mojo Rawley.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: He entered the 2019 men's Royal Rumble match at No. 11, but lasted a mere five seconds before being eliminated by Curt Hawkins. O'Neil then competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35, eliminating Heath Slater before being eliminated by Mustafa Ali moments later. On the May 20 episode of "Raw", O'Neil became the inaugural holder of the 24/7 Championship. His reign, however, ended in less than a minute when Robert Roode pinned him.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: On the May 4, 2020 episode of "Raw", O'Neil competed in a Last Chance Gauntlet match to earn a spot in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank; he opened the competition against Bobby Lashley, who ultimately eliminated him. On the October 19 episode of "Raw", O'Neil attempted to join The Hurt Business, only to be rejected and assaulted. Three weeks later, he challenged Lashley - a member of The Hurt Business - for the United States Championship; O'Neil lost in just over one minute. He co-hosted WrestleMania 37 alongside Hulk Hogan, and on April 6, 2021, O’Neil was the recipient of the Warrior Award.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Bullard is heavily involved in charity work with various nonprofit groups in the Tampa Bay region. He has helped more than 245 student athletes across the Tampa Bay area get into college, lead corporate volunteers in reading books to children in after-school programs, used his story to inspire employees from all types of companies to volunteer, and taken part in United Way's Walking School Bus program in at-risk neighborhoods by escorting children to school on foot to make sure they get there on time and can gain access to a healthy breakfast. Bullard hosts an annual Joy of Giving event, where he hands out toys to more than 1,000 children. He also visits children with cancer in the hospital.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Bullard became the 261st Lightning Community Hero in at a home game in 2012. Through that evening's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation had granted $13.2 million to more than 300 different non-profits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. In 2017, the founders announced that the Community Hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: In honor of all of his charitable work, Bullard was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020 as a recipient of the Warrior Award. In the Summer of 2021 a school in Tampa was named after him in his honor.


title: Titus O'Neil

text: Bullard was married and has two sons named Thaddeus Jr. ("TJ") and Titus and a daughter named Leah. He resides in Tampa, Florida, and is a devout Christian. He won the 2015 MEGA Dad Award for "Celebrity Dad of the Year". He is a good friend of Dave Bautista, who defended Bullard during his suspension from WWE in early 2016.


title: Outlander (film)

text: Outlander is a 2008 science fiction fantasy action horror film written and directed by Howard McCain, and starring Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John Hurt, and Ron Perlman.