title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The petroleum reserve lay dormant until World War II provided an impetus to explore new oil prospects. The first renewed efforts to identify strategic oil assets were a two pronged survey using bush aircraft, local Inupiat guides, and personnel from multiple agencies to locate reported seeps. Ebbley and Joesting reported on these initial forays in 1943. Starting in 1944, the U.S. Navy funded oil exploration near Umiat Mountain, on the Colville River in the foothills of the Brooks Range. Surveyors from the U.S. Geological Survey spread across the petroleum reserve and worked to determine its extent until 1953, when the Navy suspended funding for the project. The USGS found several oil fields, most notably the Alpine and Umiat Oil Field, but none were cost-effective to develop.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Four years after the Navy suspended its survey, Richfield Oil Corporation (later Atlantic Richfield and ARCO) drilled an enormously successful oil well near the Swanson River in southern Alaska, near Kenai. The resulting Swanson River Oil Field was Alaska's first major commercially producing oil field, and it spurred the exploration and development of many others. By 1965, five oil and 11 natural gas fields had been developed. This success and the previous Navy exploration of its petroleum reserve led petroleum engineers to the conclusion that the area of Alaska north of the Brooks Range surely held large amounts of oil and gas. The problems came from the area's remoteness and harsh climate. It was estimated that between and of oil would have to be recovered to make a North Slope oil field commercially viable.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: In 1967, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) began detailed survey work in the Prudhoe Bay area. By January 1968, reports began circulating that natural gas had been discovered by a discovery well. On March 12, 1968, an Atlantic Richfield drilling crew hit paydirt. A discovery well began flowing at the rate of of oil per day. On June 25, ARCO announced that a second discovery well likewise was producing oil at a similar rate. Together, the two wells confirmed the existence of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. The new field contained more than of oil, making it the largest in North America and the 18th largest in the world.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The problem soon became how to develop the oil field and ship product to U.S. markets. Pipeline systems represent a high initial cost but lower operating costs, but no pipeline of the necessary length had yet been constructed. Several other solutions were offered. Boeing proposed a series of gigantic 12-engine tanker aircraft to transport oil from the field, the Boeing RC-1. General Dynamics proposed a line of tanker submarines for travel beneath the Arctic ice cap, and another group proposed extending the Alaska Railroad to Prudhoe Bay. Ice breaking oil tankers were proposed to transport the oil directly from Prudhoe Bay, but the feasibility was questioned.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: To test this, in 1969 Humble Oil and Refining Company sent a specially fitted oil tanker, the , to test the feasibility of transporting oil via ice-breaking tankers to market. The "Manhattan" was fitted with an ice-breaking bow, powerful engines, and hardened propellers before successfully traveling the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Beaufort Sea. During the voyage, the ship suffered damage to several of its cargo holds, which flooded with seawater. Wind-blown ice forced the "Manhattan" to change its intended route from the M'Clure Strait to the smaller Prince of Wales Strait. It was escorted back through the Northwest Passage by a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, the CCGS "John A. Macdonald". Although the "Manhattan" transited the Northwest Passage again in the summer of 1970, the concept was considered too risky. A pipeline was thus the only viable system for transporting the oil to the nearest port free of pack-ice, almost 800 miles (1,300 km) away at Valdez.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: In February 1969, before the SS "Manhattan" had even sailed from its East Coast starting point, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), an unincorporated joint group created by ARCO, British Petroleum, and Humble Oil in October 1968, asked for permission from the United States Department of the Interior to begin geological and engineering studies of a proposed oil pipeline route from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, across Alaska. Even before the first feasibility studies began, the oil companies had chosen the approximate route of the pipeline. Permission was given, and teams of engineers began drilling core samples and surveying in Alaska.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Because TAPS hoped to begin laying pipe by September 1969, substantial orders were placed for steel pipeline 48 inches (122 cm) in diameter. No American company manufactured pipe of that specification, so three Japanese companies—Sumitomo Metal Industries, Nippon Steel Corporation and Nippon Kokan Kabushiki Kaisha—received a $100 million contract for more than 800 miles (1280 km) of pipeline. At the same time, TAPS placed a $30 million order for the first of the enormous pumps that would be needed to push the oil through the pipeline.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: In June 1969, as the SS "Manhattan" traveled through the Northwest Passage, TAPS formally applied to the Interior Department for a permit to build an oil pipeline across of public land—from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. The application was for a 100-foot (30.5 m) wide right of way to build a subterranean 48-inch (122-centimeter) pipeline including 11 pumping stations. Another right of way was requested to build a construction and maintenance highway paralleling the pipeline. A document of just 20 pages contained all of the information TAPS had collected about the route up to that stage in its surveying.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The Interior Department responded by sending personnel to analyze the proposed route and plan. Max Brewer, an arctic expert in charge of the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory at Barrow, concluded that the plan to bury most of the pipeline was completely unfeasible because of the abundance of permafrost along the route. In a report, Brewer said the hot oil conveyed by the pipeline would melt the underlying permafrost, causing the pipeline to fail as its support turned to mud. This report was passed along to the appropriate committees of the U.S. House and Senate, which had to approve the right-of-way proposal because it asked for more land than authorized in the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and because it would break a development freeze imposed in 1966 by former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Udall imposed the freeze on any projects involving land claimed by Alaska Natives in hopes that an overarching Native claims settlement would result. In the fall of 1969, the Department of the Interior and TAPS set about bypassing the land freeze by obtaining waivers from the various native villages that had claims to a portion of the proposed right of way. By the end of September, all the relevant villages had waived their right-of-way claims, and Secretary of the Interior Wally Hickel asked Congress to lift the land freeze for the entire TAPS project. After several months of questioning by the House and Senate committees with oversight of the project, Hickel was given the authority to lift the land freeze and give the go-ahead to TAPS.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: TAPS began issuing letters of intent to contractors for construction of the "haul road", a highway running the length of the pipeline route to be used for construction. Heavy equipment was prepared, and crews prepared to go to work after Hickel gave permission and the snow melted. Before Hickel could act, however, several Alaska Native and conservation groups asked a judge in Washington, D.C., to issue an injunction against the project. Several of the native villages that had waived claims on the right of way reneged because TAPS had not chosen any Native contractors for the project and the contractors chosen were not likely to hire Native workers.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: On April 1, 1970, Judge George Luzerne Hart, Jr., of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered the Interior Department to not issue a construction permit for a section of the project that crossed one of the claims. Less than two weeks later, Hart heard arguments from conservation groups that the TAPS project violated the Mineral Leasing Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, which had gone into effect at the start of the year. Hart issued an injunction against the project, preventing the Interior Department from issuing a construction permit and halting the project in its tracks.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: After the Department of the Interior was stopped from issuing a construction permit, the unincorporated TAPS consortium was reorganized into the new incorporated Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Former Humble Oil manager Edward L. Patton was put in charge of the new company and began to lobby strongly in favor of an Alaska Native claims settlement to resolve the disputes over the pipeline right of way.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Opposition to construction of the pipeline primarily came from two sources: Alaska Native groups and conservationists. Alaska Natives were upset that the pipeline would cross the land traditionally claimed by a variety of native groups, but no economic benefits would accrue to them directly. Conservationists were angry at what they saw as an incursion into America's last wilderness. Both opposition movements launched legal campaigns to halt the pipeline and were able to delay construction until 1973.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Although conservation groups and environmental organizations had voiced opposition to the pipeline project before 1970, the introduction of the National Environmental Policy Act allowed them legal grounds to halt the project. Arctic engineers had raised concerns about the way plans for a subterranean pipeline showed ignorance of Arctic engineering and permafrost in particular. A clause in NEPA requiring a study of alternatives and another clause requiring an environmental impact statement turned those concerns into tools used by the Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth, and the Environmental Defense Fund in their Spring 1970 lawsuit to stop the project.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The injunction against the project forced Alyeska to do further research throughout the summer of 1970. The collected material was turned over to the Interior Department in October 1970, and a draft environmental impact statement was published in January 1971. The 294-page statement drew massive criticism, generating more than 12,000 pages of testimony and evidence in Congressional debates by the end of March. Criticisms of the project included its effect on the Alaska tundra, possible pollution, harm to animals, geographic features, and the lack of much engineering information from Alyeska. One element of opposition the report quelled was the discussion of alternatives. All the proposed alternatives—extension of the Alaska Railroad, an alternative route through Canada, establishing a port at Prudhoe Bay, and more—were deemed to pose more environmental risks than construction of a pipeline directly across Alaska.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Opposition also was directed at the building of the construction and maintenance highway parallel to the pipeline. Although a clause in Alyeska's pipeline proposal called for removal of the pipeline at a certain point, no such provision was made for removal of the road. Sydney Howe, president of the Conservation Foundation, warned: "The oil might last for fifty years. A road would remain forever." This argument relied upon the slow growth of plants and animals in far northern Alaska due to the harsh conditions and short growing season. In testimony, an environmentalist argued that arctic trees, though only a few feet tall, had been seedlings "when George Washington was inaugurated".


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The portion of the environmental debate with the biggest symbolic impact took place when discussing the pipeline's impact on caribou herds. Environmentalists proposed that the pipeline would have an effect on caribou similar to the effect of the U.S. transcontinental railroad on the American bison population of North America. Pipeline critics said the pipeline would block traditional migration routes, making caribou populations smaller and making them easier to hunt. This idea was exploited in anti-pipeline advertising, most notably when a picture of a forklift carrying several legally shot caribou was emblazoned with the slogan, "There is more than one way to get caribou across the Alaska Pipeline". The use of caribou as an example of the pipeline's environmental effects reached a peak in the spring of 1971, when the draft environmental statement was being debated.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The pipeline interferes with caribou migration routes but crossing points were installed to help limit disruption.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: In 1902, the United States Department of Agriculture set aside of Southeast Alaska as the Tongass National Forest. Tlingit natives who lived in the area protested that the land was theirs and had been unfairly taken. In 1935, Congress passed a law allowing the Tlingits to sue for recompense, and the resulting case dragged on until 1968, when a $7.5 million settlement was reached. Following the Native lawsuit to halt work on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, this precedent was frequently mentioned in debate, causing pressure to resolve the situation more quickly than the 33 years it had taken for the Tlingits to be satisfied. Between 1968 and 1971, a succession of bills were introduced into the U.S. Congress to compensate statewide Native claims. The earliest bill offered $7 million, but this was flatly rejected.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The Alaska Federation of Natives, which had been created in 1966, hired former United States Supreme Court justice Arthur Goldberg, who suggested that a settlement should include of land and a payment of $500 million. The issue remained at a standstill until Alyeska began lobbying in favor of a Native claims act in Congress in order to lift the legal injunction against pipeline construction. In October 1971, President Richard Nixon signed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Under the act, Native groups would renounce their land claims in exchange for $962.5 million and in federal land. The money and land were split up among village and regional corporations, which then distributed shares of stock to Natives in the region or village. The shares paid dividends based on both the settlement and corporation profits. To pipeline developers, the most important aspect of ANCSA was the clause dictating that no Native allotments could be selected in the path of the pipeline.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Another objection of the natives was the potential for the pipeline to disrupt a traditional way of life. Many natives were worried that the disruption caused by the pipeline would scare away the whales and caribou that are relied upon for food.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: In both the courts and Congress, Alyeska and the oil companies fought for the pipeline's construction amidst opposition concerning the pipeline's EIS (environmental impact statement). The arguments continued through 1971. Objections about the caribou herds were countered by observations of Davidson Ditch, a water pipeline with the same diameter of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which caribou were able to jump over. To those who argued that the pipeline would irrevocably alter Alaska wilderness, proponents pointed to the overgrown remnants of the Fairbanks Gold Rush, most of which had been erased 70 years later. Some pipeline opponents were satisfied by Alyeska's preliminary design, which incorporated underground and raised crossings for caribou and other big game, gravel and styrofoam insulation to prevent permafrost melting, automatic leak detection and shutoff, and other techniques. Other opponents, including fishermen who feared tanker leaks south of Valdez, maintained their disagreement with the plan.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: All the arguments both for and against the pipeline were incorporated into the 3,500-page, 9-volume final environmental impact statement, which was released on March 20, 1972. Although Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens felt the statement "was not written by a proponent," it maintained the general approval for pipeline construction that was demonstrated in the draft statement. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton allowed 45 days of comment after the release, and conservationists created a 1,300-page document opposing the impact statement. This document failed to sway Judge Hart, who lifted the injunction on the project on August 15, 1972.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The environmental groups that had filed the injunction appealed the decision, and on October 6, 1972, the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. partially reversed Hart's decision. The appeals court said that although the impact statement followed the guidelines set by the National Environmental Policy Act, it did not follow the Minerals Leasing Act, which allowed for a smaller pipeline right of way than was required for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The oil companies and Alyeska appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but in April 1973, the court declined to hear the case.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: With the appeals court having decided that the Minerals Leasing Act did not cover the pipeline's requirements, Alyeska and the oil companies began lobbying Congress to either amend the act or create a new law that would permit a larger right-of-way. The Senate Interior Committee began the first hearings on a series of bills to that effect on March 9, 1973. Environmental opposition switched from contesting the pipeline on NEPA grounds to fighting an amendment to the leasing act or a new bill. By the spring and summer of 1973, these opposition groups attempted to persuade Congress to endorse a Trans-Canada oil pipeline or a railroad. They believed the "leave it in the ground" argument was doomed to fail, and the best way to oppose the pipeline would be to propose an ineffective alternative which could be easily defeated. The problem with this approach was that any such alternative would cover more ground and be more damaging environmentally than the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Hearings in both the U.S. Senate and the House continued through the summer of 1973 on both new bills and amendments to the Mineral Leasing Act. On July 13, an amendment calling for more study of the project—the Mondale-Bayh Amendment—was defeated. This was followed by another victory for pipeline proponents when an amendment by Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel was passed by the Senate. The amendment declared that the pipeline project fulfilled all aspects of NEPA and modified the Mineral Leasing Act to allow the larger right-of-way for the Alaska pipeline. Upon reconsideration, the vote was tied at 49–49 and required the vote of vice president Spiro Agnew, who supported the amendment. A similar amendment was passed in the House on August 2.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: On October 17, 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries announced an oil embargo against the United States in retaliation for its support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Because the United States imported approximately 35 percent of its oil from foreign sources, the embargo had a major effect. The price of gasoline shot upward, gasoline shortages were common, and rationing was considered. Most Americans began demanding a solution to the problem, and President Richard Nixon began lobbying for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline as at least a part of the answer.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Nixon supported the pipeline project even before the oil crisis. On September 10, 1973, he released a message stating that the pipeline was his priority for the remainder of the Congressional session that year. On November 8, after the embargo had been in place for three weeks, he reaffirmed that statement. Members of Congress, under pressure from their constituents, created the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, which removed all legal barriers from construction of the pipeline, provided financial incentives, and granted a right-of-way for its construction. The act was drafted, rushed through committee, and approved by the House on November 12, 1973, by a vote of 361–14–60. The next day, the Senate passed it, 80–5–15. Nixon signed it into law on November 16, and a federal right-of-way for the pipeline and transportation highway was granted on January 3, 1974. The deal was signed by the oil companies on January 23, allowing work to start.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Although the legal right-of-way was cleared by January 1974, cold weather, the need to hire workers, and construction of the Dalton Highway meant work on the pipeline itself did not begin until March. Between 1974 and July 28, 1977, when the first barrel of oil reached Valdez, tens of thousands of people worked on the pipeline. Thousands of workers came to Alaska, attracted by the prospect of high-paying jobs at a time when most of the rest of the United States was undergoing a recession.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Construction workers endured long hours, cold temperatures, and brutal conditions. Difficult terrain, particularly in Atigun Pass, Keystone Canyon, and near the Sagavanirktok River forced workers to come up with solutions for unforeseen problems. Faulty welds and accusations of poor quality control caused a Congressional investigation that ultimately revealed little. More than $8 billion was spent to build the of pipeline, the Valdez Marine Terminal, and 12 pump stations. The construction effort also had a human toll. Thirty-two Alyeska and contract employees died from causes directly related to construction. That figure does not include common carrier casualties.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and its completion in 1977 had an immense effect on Alaska, the United States as a whole, and the rest of the world. Its impact has included economic, physical, and social repercussions running the gamut from life in small towns to the global oil market.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Construction of the pipeline caused a massive economic boom in towns up and down the pipeline route. Prior to construction, most residents in towns like Fairbanks—still recovering from the devastating 1967 Fairbanks Flood—strongly supported the pipeline. By 1976, after the town's residents had endured a spike in crime, overstressed public infrastructure, and an influx of people unfamiliar with Alaska customs, 56 percent said the pipeline had changed Fairbanks for the worse. The boom was even greater in Valdez, where the population jumped from 1,350 in 1974 to 6,512 by the summer of 1975 and 8,253 in 1976.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: This increase in population caused many adverse effects. Home prices skyrocketed—a home that sold for $40,000 in 1974 was purchased for $80,000 in 1975. In Valdez, lots of land that sold for $400 in the late 1960s went for $4,000 in 1973, $8,000 in 1974, and $10,000 in 1975. Home and apartment rentals were correspondingly squeezed upward by the rising prices and the demand from pipeline workers. Two-room log cabins with no plumbing rented for $500 per month. One two-bedroom home in Fairbanks housed 45 pipeline workers who shared beds on a rotating schedule for $40 per week. In Valdez, an apartment that rented for $286 per month in December 1974 cost $520 per month in March 1975 and $1,600 per month—plus two mandatory roommates—in April 1975. Hotel rooms were sold out as far away as Glenallen, north of Valdez.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The skyrocketing prices were driven by the high salaries paid to pipeline workers, who were eager to spend their money. The high salaries caused a corresponding demand for higher wages among non-pipeline workers in Alaska. Non-pipeline businesses often could not keep up with the demand for higher wages, and job turnover was high. Yellow cab in Fairbanks had a turnover rate of 800 percent; a nearby restaurant had a turnover rate of more than 1,000 percent. Many positions were filled by high school students promoted above their experience level. To meet the demand, a Fairbanks high school ran in two shifts: one in the morning and the other in the afternoon in order to teach students who also worked eight hours per day. More wages and more people meant higher demand for goods and services. Waiting in line became a fact of life in Fairbanks, and the Fairbanks McDonald's became No. 2 in the world for sales—behind only the recently opened Stockholm store. Alyeska and its contractors bought in bulk from local stores, causing shortages of everything from cars to tractor parts, water softener salt, batteries and ladders.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The large sums of money being made and spent caused an upsurge in crime and illicit activity in towns along the pipeline route. This was exacerbated by the fact that police officers and state troopers resigned in large groups to become pipeline security guards at wages far in excess of those available in public-sector jobs. Fairbanks' Second Avenue became a notorious hangout for prostitutes, and dozens of bars operated throughout town. In 1975, the Fairbanks Police Department estimated between 40 and 175 prostitutes were working in the city of 15,000 people. Trouble was incited sometimes by prostitutes' pimps, who engaged in turf fights. In 1976, police responded to a shootout between warring pimps who wielded automatic firearms. By and large, however, the biggest police issue was the number of drunken brawls and fighting. On the pipeline itself, thievery was a major problem. Poor accounting and record keeping allowed large numbers of tools and large amounts of equipment to be stolen. The "Los Angeles Times" reported in 1975 that as many as 200 of Alyeska's 1,200 yellow-painted trucks were missing from Alaska and "scattered from Miami to Mexico City". Alyeska denied the problem and said only 20–30 trucks were missing. The theft problem was typified by pipeliners' practice of mailing empty boxes to pipeline camps. The boxes then would be filled with items and shipped out. After Alyeska ruled that all packages had to be sealed in the presence of a security guard, the number of packages being sent from camps dropped by 75 percent.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Since the completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in 1977, the government of the state of Alaska has been reliant on taxes paid by oil producers and shippers. Prior to 1976, Alaska's personal income tax rate was 14.5 percent—the highest in the United States. The gross state product was $8 billion, and Alaskans earned $5 billion in personal income. Thirty years after the pipeline began operating, the state had no personal income tax, the gross state product was $39 billion, and Alaskans earned $25 billion in personal income. Alaska moved from the most heavily taxed state to the most tax-free state.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The difference was the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the taxes and revenue it brought to Alaska. Alyeska and the oil companies injected billions of dollars into the Alaska economy during the construction effort and the years afterward. In addition, the taxes paid by those companies altered the tax structure of the state. By 1982, five years after the pipeline started transporting oil, 86.5 percent of Alaska revenue came directly from the petroleum industry.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The series of taxes levied on oil production in Alaska has changed several times since 1977, but the overall form remains mostly the same. Alaska receives royalties from oil production on state land. The state also has a property tax on oil production structures and transportation (pipeline) property—the only state property tax in Alaska. There is a special corporate income tax on petroleum companies, and the state taxes the amount of petroleum produced. This production tax is levied on the cost of oil at Pump Station 1. To calculate this tax, the state takes the market value of the oil, subtracts transportation costs (tanker and pipeline tariffs), subtracts production costs, then multiplies the resulting amount per barrel of oil produced each month. The state then takes a percentage of the dollar figure produced.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Under the latest taxation system, introduced by former governor Sarah Palin in 2007 and passed by the Alaska Legislature that year, the maximum tax rate on profits is 50 percent. The rate fluctuates based on the cost of oil, with lower prices incurring lower tax rates. The state also claims 12.5 percent of all oil produced in the state. This "royalty oil" is not taxed but is sold back to the oil companies, generating additional revenue. At a local level, the pipeline owners pay property taxes on the portions of the pipeline and the pipeline facilities that lay within districts that impose a property tax. This property tax is based on the pipeline's value (as assessed by the state) and the local property tax rate. In the Fairbanks North Star Borough, for example, pipeline owners paid $9.2 million in property taxes—approximately 10 percent of all property taxes paid in the borough.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The enormous amount of public revenue created by the pipeline provoked debates about what to do with the windfall. The record $900 million created by the Prudhoe Bay oil lease sale took place at a time when the entire state budget was less than $118 million, yet the entire amount created by the sale was used up by 1975. Taxes on the pipeline and oil carried by it promised to bring even more money into state coffers. To ensure that oil revenue wasn't spent as it came in, the Alaska Legislature and governor Jay Hammond proposed the creation of an Alaska Permanent Fund—a long-term savings account for the state. This measure required a constitutional amendment, which was duly passed in November 1976. The amendment requires at least 25 percent of mineral extraction revenue to be deposited in the Permanent Fund. On February 28, 1977, the first deposit—$734,000—was put into the Permanent Fund. That deposit and subsequent ones were invested entirely in bonds, but debates quickly arose about the style of investments and what they should be used for.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: In 1980, the Alaska Legislature created the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation to manage the investments of the Permanent Fund, and it passed the Permanent Fund Dividend program, which provided for annual payments to Alaskans from the interest earned by the fund. After two years of legal arguments about who should be eligible for payments, the first checks were distributed to Alaskans. After peaking at more than $40 billion in 2007, the fund's value declined to approximately $26 billion as of summer 2009. In addition to the Permanent Fund, the state also maintains the Constitutional Budget Reserve, a separate savings account established in 1990 after a legal dispute over pipeline tariffs generated a one-time payment of more than $1.5 billion from the oil companies. The Constitutional Budget reserve is run similar to the Permanent Fund, but money from it can be withdrawn to pay for the state's annual budget, unlike the Permanent Fund.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Although the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System began pumping oil in 1977, it did not have a major immediate impact on global oil prices. This is partly because it took several years to reach full production and partly because U.S. production outside Alaska declined until the mid-1980s. The Iranian Revolution and OPEC price increases triggered the 1979 energy crisis despite TAPS production increases. Oil prices remained high until the late 1980s, when a stable international situation, the removal of price controls, and the peak of production at Prudhoe Bay contributed to the 1980s oil glut. In 1988, TAPS was delivering 25 percent of all U.S. oil production. As North Slope oil production declined, so did TAPS's share of U.S. production. Today, TAPS provides less than 17 percent of U.S. oil production.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The pipeline attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually on pipeline tourism trips. Notable visitors have included Henry Kissinger, Jamie Farr, John Denver, President Gerald Ford, King Olav V of Norway, and Gladys Knight. Knight starred in one of two movies about the pipeline construction, "Pipe Dreams" and "Joyride", both were critically panned. Other films, such as "On Deadly Ground" and "30 Days of Night", refer to the pipeline or use it as a plot device.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The Alistair Maclean novel, "Athabasca", published 1980, also deals with a sabotage threat against both the Alaska Pipeline and the Athabasca tar sands in Canada.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The pipeline has also inspired various forms of artwork. The most notable form of art unique to the pipeline are pipeline maps—portions of scrap pipe cut into the shape of Alaska with a piece of metal delineating the path of the pipeline through the map. Pipeline maps were frequently created by welders working on the pipeline, and the maps were frequently sold to tourists or given away as gifts. Other pipeline-inspired pieces of art include objects containing crude oil that has been transported through the pipeline.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Migrant Workers take the majority of jobs created by the pipeline, this causes dispute and hostility between migrant communities and local Inuit. However, many local Inuit rely on the pipeline and oil industry for income. It is also a source of heat and energy for locals.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Oil going into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline comes from one of several oil fields on Alaska's North Slope. The Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, the one most commonly associated with the pipeline, contributes oil, as do the Kuparuk, Alpine, Endicott, and Liberty oil fields, among others. Oil emerges from the ground at approximately and cools to by the time it reaches Pump Station 1 through feeder pipelines that stretch across the North Slope. North Slope crude oil has a specific gravity of 29.9 API at . Pipeline flow rate has been steady from 2013 to 2018, hovering just over half a million barrels per day. The minimum flow year was 2015 which averaged , which is less than its theoretical maximum capacity of or its actual maximum of in 1988. From Pump Station 1, the average time taken by the oil to travel the entire length of the pipeline to Valdez has increased from 4.5 days to 18 days from 1988 to 2018.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The minimum flow through the pipeline is not as clearly defined as its maximum. Operating at lower flows will extend the life of the pipeline as well as increasing profit for its owners. The 2012 flow of 600,000 bbd is significantly less than what the pipeline was designed for. Low flowrates require that the oil move slower through the line, meaning that its temperature drops more than in high-flow situations. A freeze in the line would block a pig in the line, which would force a shutdown and repairs. A 2011 engineering report by Alyeska stated that, to avoid freezing, heaters would need to be installed at several pump stations. This report noted that these improvements could bring flow as low as 350,000 bbd, but it did not attempt to determine the absolute minimum. Other studies have suggested that the minimum is 70,000 to 100,000 bbd with the current pipeline. Alyeska could also replace the 48" pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks with a 20" pipeline and use rail the rest of the way, which would allow as little as 45,000 bbd.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Pumping stations maintain the momentum of the oil as it goes through the pipeline. Pump Station 1 is the northernmost of 11 pump stations spread across the length of the pipeline. The original design called for 12 pump stations with 4 pumps each, but Pump Station 11 was never built. Nevertheless, the pump stations retained their intended naming system. Eight stations were operating at startup, and this number increased to 11 by 1980 as throughput rose. As of December 2006, only five stations were operating, with Pump Station 5 held in reserve. Pump Stations 2 and 7 have a capacity of moving 60,000 gallons/minute (227,125 L/min), while all other stations have a capacity of 20,000 gal/min (75,708 L/min). The pumps are natural-gas or liquid-fueled turbines.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Because of meanders and thermal and seismic accommodations, the amount of diameter welded steel pipeline between the pipe stations and the end of the line is , while the linear distance between the Prudhoe Bay and Valdez station endpoints is . The pipeline crosses 34 major streams or rivers and nearly 500 minor ones. Its highest point is at Atigun Pass, where the pipeline is above sea level. The maximum grade of the pipeline is 145%, at Thompson Pass in the Chugach Mountains. The pipeline was created in 40 and 60-foot (12.2 and 18.3-meter) sections. Forty-two thousand of these sections were welded together to make a double joint, which was laid in place on the line. Sixty-six thousand "field girth welds" were needed to join the double joints into a continuous pipeline. The pipe is of two different thicknesses: of it is thick, while the remaining is thick. More than 78,000 vertical support members hold up the aboveground sections of pipeline, and the pipeline contains 178 valves.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: At the end of the pipeline is the Valdez Marine Terminal, which can store of oil across eighteen storage tanks. They are tall and in diameter. They average 85% full at any given time—. Three power plants at the terminal generate 12.5 megawatts each. Four tanker berths are available for mooring ships in addition to two loading berths, where oil pumping takes place. More than 19,000 tankers have been filled by the marine terminal since 1977.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The pipeline is surveyed several times per day, mostly by air. Foot and road patrols also take place to check for problems such as leaks or pipe settling or shifting. The pipeline can be surveyed in as little as twenty one days, but most surveys take longer to ensure thoroughness. These external inspections are only part of standard maintenance, however. The majority of pipeline maintenance is done by pipeline pigs—mechanical devices sent through the pipeline to perform a variety of functions.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The most common pig is the scraper pig, which removes wax that precipitates out of the oil and collects on the walls of the pipeline. The colder the oil, the more wax buildup. This buildup can cause a variety of problems, so regular "piggings" are needed to keep the pipe clear. A second type of pig travels through the pipe and looks for corrosion. Corrosion-detecting pigs use either magnetic or ultrasonic sensors. Magnetic sensors detect corrosion by analyzing variations in the magnetic field of the pipeline's metal. Ultrasonic testing pigs detect corrosion by examining vibrations in the walls of the pipeline. Other types of pigs look for irregularities in the shape of the pipeline, such as if it is bending or buckling. "Smart" pigs, which contain a variety of sensors, can perform multiple tasks. Typically, these pigs are inserted at Prudhoe Bay and travel the length of the pipeline. In July 2009, a pig launcher was installed at Pump Station 8, near the midpoint of the pipeline.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: A third type of common maintenance is the installation and replacement of sacrificial anodes along the subterranean portions of pipeline. These anodes reduce the corrosion caused by electrochemical action that affect these interred sections of pipeline. Excavation and replacement of the anodes is required as they corrode.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The pipeline has at times been damaged due to sabotage, human error, maintenance failures, and natural disasters. By law, Alyeska is required to report significant oil spills to regulatory authorities. The "Exxon Valdez" oil spill is the best-known accident involving Alaska oil, but it did not involve the pipeline itself. Following the spill, Alyeska created a rapid response force that is paid for by the oil companies, including ExxonMobil, which was found liable for the spill.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: An explosion on July 8, 1977, Pump Station No. 8, killed one worker, injured five others, and destroyed a pump station. A Congressional committee later announced the cause was workers not following the proper procedures, causing crude oil to flow into a pump under repair at the time. In its first two months of operation, from June 20 to August 15, 1977, seven incidents and accidents caused the pipeline to be shut down periodically. The NTSB investigated the system, and made recommendations.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The largest oil spill involving the main pipeline took place on February 15, 1978, when an unknown individual blew a 1-inch (2.54-centimeter) hole in it at Steele Creek, just east of Fairbanks. Approximately of oil leaked out of the hole before the pipeline was shut down. After more than 21 hours, it was restarted.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The steel pipe is resistant to gunshots and has resisted them on several occasions, but on October 4, 2001, a drunken gunman named Daniel Carson Lewis shot a hole into a weld near Livengood, causing the second-largest mainline oil spill in pipeline history. Approximately leaked from the pipeline; were recovered and reinjected into the pipeline. Nearly of tundra were soiled and were removed in the cleanup. The pipeline was repaired and was restarted more than 60 hours later. Lewis was found guilty in December 2002 of criminal mischief, assault, drunken driving, oil pollution, and misconduct.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The pipeline was built to withstand earthquakes, forest fires, and other natural disasters. The 2002 Denali earthquake occurred along a fault line that passed directly underneath the pipeline. The slider supports in that particular 1,900-foot section of the pipeline, right over the fault line, were designed to accommodate the ground slipping 20 feet horizontally and 5 vertically. In this 7.9 magnitude earthquake, the ground shifted 14 feet horizontally and 2.5 vertically. The pipeline did not break, but some slider supports were damaged, and the pipeline shut down for more than 66 hours as a precaution. In 2004, wildfires overran portions of the pipeline, but it was not damaged and did not shut down.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: In May 2010, as much as several thousands of barrels were spilled from a pump station near Fort Greely during a scheduled shutdown. A relief valve control circuit failed during a test of the fire control system, and oil poured into a tank and overflowed onto a secondary containment area.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: A leak was discovered on January 8, 2011, in the basement of the booster pump at Pump Station 1. For more than 80 hours, pipeline flow was reduced to 5 percent of normal. An oil collection system was put in place, and full flow resumed until the pipeline was again shut down while a bypass was installed to avoid the leaking section.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: Heavy rains in Alaska resulting from climate change have brought flooding uncomfortably close to the pipeline in recent years. In May 2019, the Dietrich River flooded north of Coldfoot, eroding 25–50 feet of riverbank, necessitating emergency work that left only an 80-foot buffer between the river and the pipeline. A few months later, in August, the Sagavanirktok River flooded, eroding 100 feet of river bank, and leaving only a 30-foot buffer between the river and the pipeline. The Lowe River also flooded near the pipeline in March 2019, and again in June 2020. Although Alyeska appears to be responding by stockpiling construction and emergency response materials, and has installed ground chillers beneath a stretch of pipeline 57 miles northwest of Fairbanks, comprehensive information on plans for addressing pipeline breaks in "high consequence areas" is not readily available.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The original design for the pipeline in the early 1970s called for a 25 year useful life with an expected 10 billion barrels of Prudhoe Bay oil production. By most economic, engineering and construction measures, the Alaska Pipeline has been a huge success. However, since the early 2000s, declines in oil production have posed a serious problem for the pipeline. As the flow rate slows, oil spends longer in the pipeline, which allows it to cool much further while travelling to Valdez. It cannot be allowed to fall below freezing (32 °F), otherwise the pipeline could seize up, crack, and rupture, as the water content would separate from the oil and freeze in place. A "Low Flow Impact Study" conducted by the pipeline operators, Alyeska, concluded in June 2011 that the minimum flow for the pipeline as it currently existed was 300,000 to 350,000 barrels per day in the winter.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: This minimum flow rate is a legally contentious figure, since the taxable value of the pipeline is largely dependent on how long it can be operated. In late 2011, the Alaska Superior Court ruled that Alyeska's low flow study was invalid, and it ruled in favor of an internal BP study. The BP study concluded that with the installation of heaters along the pipeline route, the minimum flow could be lowered to . This court ruling increased ninefold the taxed property value of the pipeline. A study by the National Resources Defense Council that was also cited in this court case put specific numbers to this suggestion, and concluded that an investment of $0.8 billion in shoring up the pipeline could extend its lifespan long enough to extract an additional $28 billion of oil from existing wells alone. This NRDC study additionally explained: "This is a lower


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: minimum throughput level than what is implied in Alyeska’s Low Flow Impact Study (LoFIS). We did not use the minimum throughput level implied by LoFIS because we have serious reservations about the assumptions used in the study and the LoFIS does not provide adequate data to support its claims."


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Renewal Environmental Impact Statement estimated in 2010 that flow levels would be workable through at least 2032 due to ongoing exploration outside ANWR. Improvements that allow low flow-rates could extend its lifespan as far as 2075.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: As the pipeline's flow has diminished, its ownership has fluctuated. In 2000, as Exxon and Mobil merged, Mobil sold its 3.1% stake in the pipeline to Williams Companies as a condition of the merger. Three years later, Williams sold that share to Koch Alaska Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Koch Industries. Nine years later, Koch announced it would sell its share to the other pipeline owners, as did Unocal, which had held a small ownership share since 1970. In 2019, BP announced plans to sell its Alaska operations to Hilcorp Energy Company. The deal, which closed in 2020, included BP's 49.1% ownership share of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Opponents of the deal expressed concerns that Hillcorp, which did not fully disclose its finances, will lack the resources and expertise needed to address flooding and thawing-related safety concerns resulting from climate change.


title: Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

text: By law, Alaska is required to remove all traces of the pipeline after oil extraction is complete. No date has been set for this removal, but plans for it are being updated continuously.


title: Mark Watson

text: Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, where he won a "Gabbler of the Year" award. He went on to study English at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with first class honours. At university he was a member of the Footlights and contemporary of Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Dan Stevens. He was part of the revue which was nominated for the Best Newcomer category in the Perrier Comedy Awards at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and also co-directed a revue with Key.


title: Mark Watson

text: Although not brought up in Wales, Watson used to deliver his act with a common Welsh accent which is not quite his own. He adopted it when he started stand-up comedy saying that it made him "more comfortable to be talking in a voice that I didn't quite recognise as my own". He has since reverted to his own accent.


title: Mark Watson

text: Watson has appeared regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning the first ever Panel Prize at the if.comeddies in 2006 and being nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2005 Perrier Comedy Awards. His other awards include the " Time Out" Critics' Choice Award 2006 and a Barry Award nomination for best show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival 2006.


title: Mark Watson

text: Watson has performed several unusual shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne Festivals, including marathon shows lasting 24 hours or more. The first of these was performed at the 2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which lasted 24 hours. At the end of the show he proposed to his girlfriend Emily Howes, who accepted. These shows have featured guest appearances from other performers such as Tim Key, Tim Minchin, Adam Hills, Daniel Kitson, David O'Doherty, Brendon Burns and John Dorney as the balladeer.


title: Mark Watson

text: At the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Watson hosted a literary workshop-cum-interactive comedy show entitled "Mark Watson, And His Audience, Write A Novel". The aim was to write, by the end of August, a novel begun from scratch and woven entirely from audience suggestions, with another 2,000 words or so added each day. The novel was not finished within the month.


title: Mark Watson

text: At the 2007 Fringe, Watson hosted a panel show "We Need Answers" with Alex Horne and Tim Key. This saw 16 comedians take part in a knock out quiz where all the questions and answers came from text service Any Question Answered. Paul Sinha won the competition, beating Josie Long in the final. "We Need Answers" returned in 2008 with fewer rounds, Josie Long emerged as winner, beating Sinha in the semi-final and Kristen Schaal in the final.


title: Mark Watson

text: Watson performed his final 24-hour Fringe show at the 2009 festival along with his "Earth Summit" and his "Edit". The Earth Summit was Watson's version of the Al Gore talk about world pollution and global warming and the Edit was a compilation of Watson's fringe shows to date, made particularly for those who had not seen him perform there. Watson's debut DVD, "The Mark Watson Edit", was initially due for release on 15 November 2010. However, Watson was forced to shelve the project and a new DVD recording was released on 28 November 2011, entitled "Mark Watson Live".


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2019, Watson staged a 26.2-hour live show to coincide with the London Marathon, and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 he hosted two 24-hour "Watsonathon" events on the Twitch streaming platform.


title: Mark Watson

text: A three-episode run of "We Need Answers" began on BBC Four on 12 February 2009, based on the Edinburgh Fringe show of the same name. As with the live show, Watson co-hosted with Tim Key and Alex Horne. A further 13 episodes were broadcast later in 2009. Guests for the series included Germaine Greer, Michael Rosen and Jilly Goolden.


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2010 ITV4 commissioned "Mark Watson Kicks Off", a sports panel show, hosted by Watson, where each week with three celebrities taking part in numerous rounds including "Beat the Best" where Watson takes on a sporting champion but with a twist and "I'm not a successful sports star but I'm related to someone who is" where the three celebrities ask questions to a guest who is related to a sports star.


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2011, Watson hosted a pilot for an improvisational comedy show called "Improvisation My Dear Mark Watson". The one-off episode was commissioned and broadcast by Dave, who chose not to create a full series. The pilot aired on 9 July.


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2012, Watson starred with Micky Flanagan and host Mark Dolan as a captain in the Channel 4 panel programme "The Mad Bad Ad Show".


title: Mark Watson

text: Watson has made occasional appearances on BBC Two's comedy panel show "Mock The Week"; he has also been a panellist on BBC music quiz show "Never Mind The Buzzcocks" four times—once as guest captain and once as presenter—in addition to appearing on the topical panel show "Have I Got News for You". He has appeared on the panel shows "Would I Lie to You?", "QI", "Argumental" and "Richard Osman's House of Games".


title: Mark Watson

text: In Australia, Watson has been seen on "Rove", "Good News Week", "Spicks and Specks" and the "Melbourne International Comedy Festival", all aired in April 2007.


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2010, Watson took part in "Channel 4's Comedy Gala", a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2017, he competed in series 5 of "Taskmaster" against Bob Mortimer, Sally Phillips, Nish Kumar and Aisling Bea finishing joint second.


title: Mark Watson

text: Also in 2017, Watson appeared on "Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls" alongside Iwan Thomas, Jordan Stephens, Lucy Mecklenburgh, Melody Thornton, RJ Mitte, Ryan Thomas, Sharron Davies and Shazia Mirza. Watson left on doctors orders after suffering from severe chest pains and insomnia in the final episode.


title: Mark Watson

text: In February 2021, he appeared on Richard Osman's House of Games alongside Josie Lawrence, Raj Bisram and Laura Whitmore.


title: Mark Watson

text: "Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better" aired on BBC Radio 4 in February 2007, followed by a second series in August 2008. Both series featured poems by Tim Key and music, performed by Tim Minchin in the first series and Tom Basden in the second. In August 2009, Watson hosted a three-episode series on BBC Radio 5 Live called "100 Million or Bust", where a panel of guests attempted to spend £100 million on transfers as managers of an English Premier League team.


title: Mark Watson

text: Another collaboration with Basden and Key, "Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation", was broadcast as a pilot in February 2011, with a full series of 6 episodes broadcast in late 2011.


title: Mark Watson

text: A similar series entitled "Mark Watson Talks About Life", again featuring Basden and Key, was broadcast in autumn 2014.


title: Mark Watson

text: Watson has written seven novels: "Bullet Points" (2004), "A Light-Hearted Look At Murder" (2007), "Eleven" (2011), "The Knot" (2012), "Hotel Alpha" (2015), "The Place That Didn't Exist" (2016), and "Contacts" (2020). In addition, he has written the non-fiction book "Crap at the Environment" (2008), following his own efforts to halve his carbon footprint over the course of one year. In 2015, he released a graphic novel, "Dan and Sam", with illustrations by Oliver Harud.


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2009, Watson appeared in adverts for Magners Pear Cider, which became the subject of an extended routine by fellow comic Stewart Lee as part of his 2009, "If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One" live show. Watson provided the voice over for a rabbit in an Innocent Smoothies advert in 2010.


title: Mark Watson

text: On 25 February, Watson presented the 2009 NME Awards at Brixton Academy. At the start of the 2009/2010 season, Watson wrote a regular article in the Bristol City official matchday programme Well Red.


title: Mark Watson

text: In December 2009, Watson's television drama "A Child's Christmases in Wales" starring Ruth Jones was broadcast as part of the Christmas 2009 season on BBC Four; it was described as peeping into the Christmases of a South Wales family during the 1980s.


title: Mark Watson

text: He has his own production company "Impatient Productions" which produces his own radio shows as well as producing for others such as Angela Barnes


title: Mark Watson

text: In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Watson, Tim Key and Alex Horne started a YouTube channel playing a game known as No More Jockeys. The three were given Chortle Legends of Lockdown awards for No More Jockeys as well as their individual work. In December, he launched a podcast through his production company with co-host Michael Chakravety called "menkind", discussing masculinity with a weekly guest.


title: Mark Watson

text: Watson was married to Emily Howes, a fellow novelist, writer-performer and theatre director. Tim Key was Watson's best man. Watson and Howes have two children; they divorced in 2019.


title: Shaligram

text: A shaligrama shila (), also rendered as shaligram, is a particular variety of stone collected from riverbed or banks of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki River in Nepal, used as a non-anthropomorphic representation of God Vishnu by Hindus. They are typically fossils of ammonite shells from the Devonian-Cretaceous period of 400 to 66 million years ago. The fossils are considered holy by Hindus because Madhvacharya received it from Vyasadeva, also called Astamurti, and also they resemble symbols associated with God Vishnu, mainly the Shankha (conch shell).


title: Shaligram

text: According to the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana, and Shiva Purana, shilagrama shilas originated due to the following chain of events.


title: Shaligram

text: A king named Vrishadhvaja had been cursed by Surya to endure poverty, due to his reluctance to worship any deity other than Shiva. To regain their lost prosperity, his grandsons Dharmadhvaja and Kusadhvaja performed austerities to propitiate goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. Pleased with the austerities, she granted them prosperity, and the boon of her being born as their daughters. Accordingly, Lakshmi incarnated as Vedavati, the daughter of Kusadhvaja and Tulasi, the daughter of Dharmadhvaja. Tulasi went to Badarikashrama to perform austerities in order to gain Vishnu as her husband, but was informed by Brahma that she would not get Vishnu as her husband in that life, and would have to marry the Danava named Shankhachuda.


title: Shaligram

text: In his previous birth, Shankhachuda was Sudama, an attendant of Krishna, a manifestation of Vishnu residing in Goloka. He had been created out of his body, and was cursed by Radha to be born as a danava. As a result, Shankhachuda was virtuous and pious by nature, and was devoted to Vishnu. He married Tulasi on the command of Brahma, as per the rules of the Gandharva marriage. After Shankhachuda's marriage, the danavas, under his leadership, waged a battle against their natural enemies, the devas, in which they won due to merit of Shankhachuda's virtue. The devas were subsequently driven out of Svarga by the victorious danavas.


title: Shaligram

text: Demoralised and defeated, the devas approached Vishnu, who told them that Shankhachuda was destined to be killed by Shiva. On being requested by the devas, Shiva, along with his attendants and the devas, waged a battle against the danavas, led by Shankhachuda. However, neither side was able to outpower the other. An unembodied voice told Shiva that by the boon of Brahma, Shankhachuda was invincible in combat as long as he wore his armour, and his wife's chastity was not violated.


title: Shaligram

text: Hence, Vishnu, assuming the form of an old Brahmin, asked Shankhachuda his armour while begging alms. Shankhachuda donated his armour to him. When he was busy fighting with Shiva, Vishnu, wearing Shankhachuda's armour, assumed the form of Shankhachuda, and cohabited with Tulasi. Thus, Tulasi's chastity was broken, and Shankhachuda was killed by Shiva's trishula, thereby reliving Sudama from the curse.


title: Shaligram

text: At the moment of Shankhachuda's death, Tulasi became suspicious that the man who was with her at that time was not Shankhachuda. When she discovered that it was Vishnu who had deceived her, she cursed him to become a stone, as she believed that he had been emotionless like a stone in accomplishing the death of his devotee, Shankhachuda, and stealing her chastity, when she was also his devotee. Vishnu consoled Tulasi by stating that it was the result of her austerities performed in the past in order to gain him as her husband, and that she would again become his wife upon casting off her body. Thus, Lakshmi cast off the body of Tulasi, and assumed a new form (which became known by the name of Tulasi). The discarded body of Tulasi was transformed into the Gandaki river, and from her hairs emerged the tulasi shrub. Vishnu, on being cursed by Tulasi, assumed the form of a large rocky mountain known as shaligrama, on the banks of the Gandaki river where "vajrakita", a type of worm having teeth as strong as the vajra, carved out various markings on his body. The stones carved by "vajrakita" which fall down from the surface of that mountain into the Gandaki river, came to be known as the .


title: Shaligram

text: Historically, the use of shaligrama shilas in worship can be traced to the time of Adi Shankara through the latter's works. Specifically, his commentary to the verse 1.6.1 in Taittiriya Upanishad, and his commentary to the verse 1.3.14 of the Brahma Sutras, suggest that the use of "shaligrama shila" in the worship of Vishnu has been a well-known Hindu practice. A good number of false shaligrama shilas, too, remain in circulation.


title: Shaligram

text: The statue of Vishnu in the Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram and Badrinath Temple of Garhwal region, and that of Krishna in Krishna Matha of Udupi and Radha Raman Temple of Vrindavana are also believed to be made from shaligrama shilas.


title: Shaligram

text: Shaligrama shilas are obtained from the area of Nepal known as "Shalagrama kshetra," which lies on the basin of the Kaligandaki river between Damodara kunda situated south of the mountain peak named Damodara Himal near Dhaulagiri (which can approached after trekking for a few days from Muktinath) in Mustang district in the north to Ruru Kshetra (referred to as the hermitage of Sage Pulaha in Varaha Purana) in the south.


title: Shaligram

text: Quoting from sources like "Viramitrodaya", "Chaturvarga-chintamani", "Matsyasukta", "Vaishvanara Samhita", "Puranasamgraha" etc. the "Pranatoshani Tantra" cites the following varieties of shaligrama shilas on the basis of shape, colour, features of the "chakra" (imprint of the ammonite shell present on the outer surface or inside the stone, resembling Sudarshana Chakra, the main weapon of Vishnu) and "mukha/vadana/dvara" (a large aperture resembling an open mouth through which the "chakra" present within the stone can be seen from outside) and distinct markings like the "vanamala" (a linear white line running throughout the body of the stone, resembling a garland)


title: Shaligram

text: ● Keshava: i) Marked with a single "chakra", a "vanamala" and four "bindu"s (circular markings present on the outer surface) of golden hue arranged like a square. ii) Marked with a shankha and "chakra" on the lower middle portion. Grants prosperity and fulfilment of all desires on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Hayagriva: i) Blue in colour at the top, shaped like an elephant-goad or the head of a horse, marked with a linear mark present near the "chakra" and several "bindu"s. ii) Marked with five linear marks, other characteristics being the same before. iii) Marked with a single "chakra" and a marking resembling a banner. iv) Has both yellow and red colours on its surface, endowed with two "chakra"s, marked with markings resembling ear-rings and gems on the sides, shaped like an elephant-goad or lotus-bud. v) Shaped like a lotus-bud while the "mukha" shaped like the head of a horse, and marked with a marking resembling a rosary. vi) Green in colour, marked with a single "chakra", the left side is elevated like that of a kapinjala bird. Grants knowledge, prosperity and wordly enjoyment on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Parameshthin: i) Presence of a hole (which does not reaches the other side of the stone, otherwise the stone would be unfit for worship) at the top, has a single "chakra", marked with the markings resembling a lotus and several "bindu"s. ii) White in colour, has a single "chakra" and markings resembling a lotus, shaped like a snake's hood/pearl necklace/sphere, the top is perforated and hard. iii) Reddish in colour, circular in shape with a single "chakra" and linear mark, perforated and hard. iv) Round in shape, yellow in colour with a hole at the top. v) Red/white in colour while the top surface is yellowish and perforated, marked with a single "chakra" and markings resembling a lotus. Grants enjoyment and liberation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Hiranyagarbha : i) The colour is yellow like that of honey and slightly elongated in shape, has several golden linear marks on the body with a crystal-like glow and shaped like the round moon. ii) Black in colour, round in shape, the "vadana" is glazed, marked with a single "chakra" and marking resembling "srivatsa" (a triangular mark on Vishnu's chest) on a of the top surface. Grants prosperity and increase in progeny on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Chaturbhuja : The colour is blue like that of a rain cloud. It is round in shape and marked with four "chakra"s. Grants fearlessness on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Gadadhara : Circular in shape, yellow in colour, the "chakra" is situated towards the left, the middle part is marked with three linear marks, markings resembling a banner, a "vajra" and elephant-goad are present on it.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Narayana :i) "Shyama" (dark colour of lighter tone) in complexion, the "chakra" is situated at middle portion, marked with a long linear mark, the right side is perforated. ii) The "vadana" is situated at the middle of the body, within which lies the "chakra" at the front, endowed with markings resembling ornaments like ear-rings, bracelets and necklaces. Grants all sorts of success on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Madhava : With a colour like that of honey, marked with a gada and shankha, the "chakra" is situated at the middle and is glazed. Grants liberation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Govinda : i) Black in colour, shining in appearance, endowed with a single "chakra" alongside markings resembling a gada on that right side and that resembling a mountain on the left. ii) Black in colour, not much large in size, the central portion is raised upwards, endowed with a large "vadana" marked with five "chakra"s situated towards the left


title: Shaligram

text: ● Vishnu : Black in colour, possesses a large "chakra", shaped like a gada, a linear mark is present on the top surface near the "vadana". Grants liberation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Madhusudhana : Golden in colour with shining appearance, has a single "chakra" and endowed with markings resembling a lotus and a shankha. Destroys enemies on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Trivikrama : "Shyama" in colour, triangular in shape with shining appearance, has one or two "chakra"s along with some "bindu"s on the left-side and a linear mark on the right-side . Grants wealth on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Shridhara : i) The shape is as round like the kadamba flower, endowed with "vanamala" and five linear marks at the top surface and sides. ii) Green in colour, round in shape with a flat upper surface, endowed with a single glazed "chakra" and markings resembling a lotus in the middle. iii) Small in size, has two "chakra"s and a "vanamala". iv) Glittering like a gem, endowed with a single "chakra", "vanamala", markings resembling a lotus/banner and another resembling an elephant-goad near the "vadana". Grants prosperity to householders on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Hrishikesha : Shaped like a half moon with a single "chakra" and also with markings resembling the hair of a boar.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Padmanabha : Reddish in colour, endowed with a semicircular "chakra" and markings resembling a lotus and hairs of a mane. Causes poverty and sorrow, hence should not be worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Damodara : i) Big in size, the colour is as green as durva grass with a small "chakra" situated in the middle, a small "vadana" and a single yellowish linear mark in the middle ii) Endowed with two "chakra"s and a cracked outer surface. Grants auspiciousness on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Sudarshana : i) Green in colour with gliterring appearance, the "chakra" and markings resembling a gada are situated on the left side while linear markings arranged like a lotus are found on the right side. ii) Black in colour, shaped like a lotus, endowed with a single "chakra", a large "vadana" and lowered middle portion. Destroys all sins and grants results of all types of worship the on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Vasudeva : White in colour, endowed with a single or two "chakra"s at the "dwara". Fulfills all desires on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Pradyumna : i) Yellow in colour, has a small "chakra" and markings resembling a makara on the sides and top surface, endowed with many holes. ii) The colour is as blue as rain-clouds, has a small "chakra" and small "mukha" and many holes. Grants prosperity and happiness to householders on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Aniruddha : i) Blue in colour, round in shape and glazed, has markings resembling a lotus at the top surface and three linear marks near the "dvara". ii) Black in colour with a beautifully shaped "dwara" and having a "chakra" near the centre, another on the sides and a small "chakra" at the top surface. iii) Yellow in colour, round in shape. Grants happiness to householders on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Purushottama : i) Golden in colour with a "chakra" at the middle portion and a bigger "chakra" at the front. ii) The colour is as yellow as the atasi flower and endowed with many "bindu"s. iii) With "mukha"s on all directions (traditionally numbered to ten). Increases prosperity and grants enjoyment and liberation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Adhokshaja : Dark black in colour with patches of brown, circular in shape, endowed with a single "chakra" and red linear marks, maybe large or small in size. Grants auspiciousness to worshippers on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Achyuta : Has four "chakra"s on right and left sides and two red markings resembling ear-rings at the "mukha", also marked with markings resembling shankha, gada, bow, arrow, pestle, banner, white umbrella and a red elephant-goad.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Upendra : Green in colour with glittering appearance, has a glazed body with one or more "chakra"s on the sides.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Janardana : Has two "dwara"s; one on the eastern side and another on the western side, and four "chakra"s; two on the top surface and other two in the middle. Grants prosperity and destroys enemies on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Hari : Green in colour, round in shape with one "mukha" at the top, the lower portion is marked with "bindu"s. Fulfills all desires on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Ananta: i) Marked with markings resembling the hood of a snake, has 20 red "chakra"s, 14 "dwara"s and many "bindu"s, has different colours on its bod. ii) The colour is as blue as a rain-cloud, circular in shape, has 27 "chakra"s. Grants four aims of human life and results of all types of worship on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Yogeshwara : Has a shivalinga like structure on its top surface. Grants redemption from the great sin of "brahmahatya" on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Pundarikaksha : Has markings resembling a pair of eyes/lotuses on the left or top surface or sides. Can bring the entire world under control of the worshipper on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Chaturmukha : Has four linear marks on the sides, and two "chakra"s on the middle portion of the body.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Yajnamurthi : Has both yellow and red colours on its surface, with a small "dwara" and two "chakra"s; one at the middle and other on the right side.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Dattatreya : i) Has white, red and black patches and markings resembling a rosary on the top surface. (Some versions state red and yellow colours)


title: Shaligram

text: ● Shishumara : Long in shape, with a deep triangular opening and having one or two "chakra"s on the front side and another on the back side. Grants all sorts of success on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Hamsa : Shaped like a bow having both blue and white colours on its surface and has a "chakra" and markings resembling a lotus. Grants only salvation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Parahamsa : The colour is blue like the throat of a peacock, with a glazed body and round "dwara" within which lies a single "chakra" and a glittering patch resembling the sun on the right side of the "chakra". There are also two linear marks forming the shape of a boar on the body. Grants four aims of human life on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Lakshmipati : Black in colour while the sides or the front portion is blue like a peacock's throat, has a small "chakra" and large "vadana". Grants prosperity and wealth on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Garudadhvajalakshmipati : Round in shape, has golden marks resembling horns and hoofs on the body and a smooth "chakra" with black linear marks on it.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Batapatrashayin : Round in shape with white, copper-red and blue colours on its surface, has a single "vadana" in the middle, four "chakra"s and three "bindu"s, markings resembling a shankha and a lotus lie to the left and right side of the "chakra" respectively.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Vishvarupa : Circular in shape, has one or five "dwara"s and many "chakra"s. Bestows children and grandchildren on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Pitambara : Round like the udder of a cow or a human breast, has a single "chakra". Grants happiness on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Saptavirashrava : Round in shape with a small "chakra" and several golden "bindu"s all over the body. Increases all sorts of prosperity on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Jagadyoni: A single red "chakra" is present within the "dwara". Grants auspiciousness on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Bahurupin : With multiple "mukha"s and single "chakra" alongside markings resembling a shankha present inside. Grants salvation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Harihara : Has four "dwara"s and two "chakra"s with a "shivanabhi" (a special form of shivalinga) like structure on its top surface. Grants prosperity and happiness on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Swayambhu : Blue in colour with a long and big "mukha", and having the body encircled by linear marks. Grants only salvation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Shivanarayana : Has two "mukha"s and "chakra"s. Destroys wealth, property and progeny, hence should not be worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Naramurti : The colour is yellow like the atasi flower with markings resembling a sacred thread on the sides.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Shesha : Printed with linear marks forming the coiled body of a snake. Although red in colour, it is not considered inauspicious.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Pralambaghna : Red in colour with the markings resembling the coiled body and hood of a snake. Causes death, hence should not be worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Suryamurti : Has 12 different "chakra"s either on the body surface or inside the "dwara". Destroys illnesses on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Haiheya : Has one "mukha" and multiple markings resembling hoods, out of which two are found on the right side of the "dwara", shaped like a lotus petal with a golden mark resembling an arc. Grants all sorts of success on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Garuda : i) Shaped like a lotus with three marks one above the other the central line being longer, has four "chakra"s. ii) Printed with markings resembling a pair of wings and having two, three or four golden linear marks on his body, green, blue or white in colour. Destroys all sins on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Matsya : i) Elongated in shape, the colour is like gold/bell-metal, and marked with three "bindu"s. ii) Elonhated in shape resembling a fish, green in colour with crystal-like glow, endowed with two "chakra"s at the middle portion and three "bindu"s. iii) Has three elongated "dwara"s each possessing a "chakra" while another "chakra" is situated at the posterior end shaped like the tail of a fish, the right side is shaped like a cart, the left side has a linear mark. iv) Has a long "dwara" at the right side, endowed with three "bindu"s, a single "chakra" and markings resembling a shankha and lotus


title: Shaligram

text: v) Shaped like a fish and a has markings resembling an elongated fish. Grants enjoyment, liberation, fulfilment of all desires and auspiciousness on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Kurma : i) Shaped like a tortoise with the eastern side elevated. ii) Green in colour, round in shape resembling a tortoise, the top surface being elevated and endowed with red markings resembling Kaustubha, five circular markings resembling the sun and a "chakra". iii) Endowed with structures resembling the feet of a bed on the sides. iv) Endowed with a single "chakra", three golden "bindu"s and markings resembling a shankha and a lotus. v) Elongated in shape with the "mukha" extending from left to right side, and endowed with five circular markings resembling the sun. vi) Triangular in shape like the inflorescence of a snuhi plant with "chakra"s on both sides. vii) Round in shape resembling a tortoise, has both blue and red colours on its surface, has a long "dwara" and two "chakra"s imprinted sideways at the middle portion of the body. Fulfills all sorts of desires and increases progeny on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Varaha : i) Blue in colour, big in size, and printed with odd number of "chakra"s and three linear marks. ii) Endowed with even number of "chakra"s, of which at least one is situated on the right side, and "vanamala". This last variety is called Lakshmi-Varaha. Grants enjoyment and liberation on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Narasimha : Has a very large "mukha", two "chakra"s and linear marks resembling the mane of a lion. Creates detachment in the mind of the worshipper on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: i) Round in shape like the kadamba flower, small in size and marked with five linear marks. ii) Small in size with glittering appearance, the shape is circular or triangular like the inflorescence of the snuhi flower, has a "chakra" on both top and bottom surface with markings resembling the Brahminy kite beside the "chakra". iii) Not very small in size, has a single prominent glazed"chakra" at the centre. iv) The colour is yellow like the atasi flower with an elevated top surface, white "bindu"s at the "mukha" and an indistinct "chakra". v) The colour is blue like the rain-cloud, round like the bilva fruit or seeds of the jujube fruit in shape, has two "chakra"s, a "vanamala" and a small "mukha". This last variety is called Dadhivamana. Grants fulfilment of all desires, happiness, prosperity; increase in property, progeny and wealth of householders on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Parashurama : Yellow or black in colour and marked with markings resembling an axe, has a "chakra" on either left or right side and markings resembling teeth, either at the top surface or on the sides. Prevents untimely death on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Ramachandra : The colour is green like the durva grass, endowed with a single "chakra", markings resembling a staff on the top surface and two linear marks on the sides.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Krishna : i) Black in colour, endowed with a single "chakra" at the "dwara" and a "vanamala". ii) Has yellow patches, the "dwara" is situated at the middle, the top surface resembles a tortoise shell, endowed with yellow "bindu"s at the sides. Grants wealth, crops, happiness and redemption from sins on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Sankarshana : Red in colour, has two "chakra"s joined with each other on the top side, the eastern side is perforated. Grants happiness to householders on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Buddha : Has a very small "mukha" but without any "chakra". It is also called "Nivita" (hidden) "Buddha". Grants the ultimate position ("parama pada") on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: ● Kalki : i) The colour is black like that of a bee, has six "chakra"s and markings resembling a sword/dagger over the "mukha" on the top surface. ii) Shaped like the face of a horse and marked with three "chakra"s. Destroys all evil caused by "kaliyuga" on being worshipped.


title: Shaligram

text: More detailed classification is provided in the "Meru Tantra" and in the book "Shalagrama Kosha" compiled by S. K. Ramachandra Rao from a manuscript named "Shalagrama Pariksha" written by a Telugu brahmin named Anupasimha and unpublished sections of the Sritattvanidhi dealing with shaligrama shilas.


title: Shaligram

text: Shaligrama shilas are used as non-anthropomorphic representations of Vishnu alongside "Dvaravati shila"s, similar to the use of "yantra" and "kalasha" in the veneration of Devi and "linga" and "Baneshvara shila"s in the veenration of Shiva. The "Pranatoshani Tantra" states that worship of all deities can be conducted on a "shaligrama shila". The Puranas unequivocally state that worship of Vishnu done through a "shaligrama shila" yields greater merit than that done through a murti (idol).


title: Shaligram

text: Unlike murtis, shaligrama shilas can be worshipped in individual residencies alongside temples, can be carried away from one place to another easily and can be worshipped as long as the "chakra" inside it has not been broken or cracked. Apart from the traditional "upachara"s (articles of worship) whose number varies from five, 10, 16 to 18, worship of a "shaligrama shila" requires only tulasi leaves and water poured from a (special conchshell) for ablution compared to an murti which requires "upachara"s of monetary value like robes and jewellery. Hence worship of "shaligrama shila" can be afforded by people even in times of hardship and distress as the only mode of worship.


title: Shaligram

text: Hindus hailing from South India bedeck idols of Vishnu with a garland made of 108 shaligrama shilas. Bengali Hindus observe a ceremony called "Svastyayana" in which 108 or 1008 tulasi leaves anointed with sandalwood paste are offered on a "shaligrama shila" with the aim of healing diseases or being delivered from troubles. This can be accompanied by "Chandipatha" (ritualistic recitation of the "Devi Mahatmya") once, thrice or five times; worshipping one or four clay "Shivalinga"s and chanting the "mantra"s of Durga and Vishnu 108 or 1008 times.


title: The French Chef

text: The French Chef is an American television cooking show created and hosted by Julia Child, produced and broadcast by WGBH, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts, from February 11, 1963 to January 14, 1973. It was one of the first cooking shows on American television.


title: The French Chef

text: "The French Chef" was first shown with a pilot on July 26, 1962. After two more episodes were broadcast in the summer, the show premiered as a regular weekly series on February 11, 1963. The immensely popular show went on to air for 206 episodes. It is credited with convincing the American public to try cooking French food at home.


title: The French Chef

text: The show grew out of a special presentation Child gave on WGBH based on the book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" which she co-authored. "The French Chef" was produced from 1963 to 1973 by WGBH for National Educational Television (and later for PBS). Reruns continued on PBS until 1989, and were airing on Cooking Channel as of 2010. As of September 2016, episodes were being rerun on the new Canadian cooking channel Gusto, and later, Makeful. As recently as March 2017, reruns of the show were also seen on the American Public Television Create channel.


title: The French Chef

text: The original episodes were available on the PBS streaming service as of 2020. In July 2021, certain episodes were added to the Pluto TV lineup, together with other Julia Child cooking programs.


title: The French Chef

text: "The French Chef" introduced French cooking to the United States at a time when it was considered expensive restaurant fare, not suitable for home cooking. Child emphasized fresh and, at the time, unusual ingredients.


title: The French Chef

text: All of the recipes used on "The French Chef" had originally appeared in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," but for the show, Child chose mostly the more domestic recipes from the book, although such showpieces as Beef Wellington, various sorts of soufflé, and some ambitious pastries also made it into the mix if they seemed within the reach of a home cook without staff.


title: The French Chef

text: The show was done live-to-videotape from start to finish, leaving little room for mistakes. The resulting occasional accidents became a popular trademark of Child's on air presence, used as "teachable moments" to encourage viewers to relax about the task's demands.


title: The French Chef

text: Certain elements became "motifs": Julia's fondness for wine; her distinctive voice; her staunch defense of the use of butter (with margarine invariably referred to as "that other spread") and cream; her standard issue "impeccably clean towel"; and her closing line at the end of every show: ""This is Julia Child, Bon appétit!""


title: The French Chef

text: Child's first appearance cooking on TV had been by happenstance: a guest for another show on WGBH had cancelled their appearance, as did the backup guest. Child was invited to do a cooking demonstration, which received positive feedback and prompted executives to order a pilot.


title: The French Chef

text: When the show began, the budget was so low that "volunteers had to be recruited to wash dishes, and the food sometimes had to be auctioned to the audience afterwards to cover expenses."


title: The French Chef

text: In 1964 Child received a Peabody Award, crediting her for doing "more than show us how good cooking is achieved; by her delightful demonstrations she has brought the pleasures of good living into many American homes." In May 1966, her show won a Primetime Emmy Award for Achievements in Educational Television – Individuals.


title: The French Chef

text: The August 27, 1968 episode of "The French Chef" (rerun from an episode sometime in 1965) ended with the unexpected collapse of an Apple Charlotte.


title: The French Chef

text: The October 31, 1971 episode of "The French Chef" (on its ninth anniversary) was the first U.S. television show to be captioned for deaf viewers.


title: The French Chef

text: The show was produced by Ruth Lockwood and directed by Russell Morash, Russell Fortier, David Griffiths and David B. Atwood. Film composer John Morris wrote the 2nd theme song of The French Chef.


title: The French Chef

text: The show eventually became so popular that Child's use of a particular ingredient each week would sometimes cause a surge in demand and lead to grocery stores across the country temporarily selling out of it.


title: The French Chef

text: As part of its growing Twitch Creative content, Twitch streamed every episode of "The French Chef" over a four-day period starting on March 15, 2016, to launch its new food channel. Twitch reported that almost a million viewers watched the marathon.


title: The French Chef

text: A television series based on Julia Child and the creation of The French Chef premiered on HBO in 2022.


title: The French Chef

text: The three pilot episodes were subsequently taped over by the studio, a common practice at the time. No copies are known to exist today.


title: The French Chef

text: Child wrote that the first 13 episodes were lost at one point, but then 7 were found; if so, this would add an additional 6 episodes between episode 7 "Fruit Tarts" and what is listed here as episode 8 "Chicken Breasts and Rice" (which would have actually been episode 14).


title: The French Chef

text: Two companion cookbooks were written along with the show. "The French Chef Cookbook" was a show-by-show breakdown of the black and white series, while "From Julia Child's Kitchen" was a somewhat more ambitious work that was based on the color series but also added considerable extra material.


title: Hardness

text: In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard metals such as titanium and beryllium are harder than soft metals such as sodium and metallic tin, or wood and common plastics. Macroscopic hardness is generally characterized by strong intermolecular bonds, but the behavior of solid materials under force is complex; therefore, hardness can be measured in different ways, such as scratch hardness, indentation hardness, and rebound hardness.


title: Hardness

text: Hardness is dependent on ductility, elastic stiffness, plasticity, strain, strength, toughness, viscoelasticity, and viscosity.


title: Hardness

text: Common examples of hard matter are ceramics, concrete, certain metals, and superhard materials, which can be contrasted with soft matter.


title: Hardness

text: There are three main types of hardness measurements: "scratch", "indentation", and "rebound". Within each of these classes of measurement there are individual measurement scales. For practical reasons conversion tables are used to convert between one scale and another.


title: Hardness

text: Scratch hardness is the measure of how resistant a sample is to fracture or permanent plastic deformation due to friction from a sharp object. The principle is that an object made of a harder material will scratch an object made of a softer material. When testing coatings, scratch hardness refers to the force necessary to cut through the film to the substrate. The most common test is Mohs scale, which is used in mineralogy. One tool to make this measurement is the sclerometer.


title: Hardness

text: Another tool used to make these tests is the pocket hardness tester. This tool consists of a scale arm with graduated markings attached to a four-wheeled carriage. A scratch tool with a sharp rim is mounted at a predetermined angle to the testing surface. In order to use it a weight of known mass is added to the scale arm at one of the graduated markings, the tool is then drawn across the test surface. The use of the weight and markings allows a known pressure to be applied without the need for complicated machinery.


title: Hardness

text: Indentation hardness measures the resistance of a sample to material deformation due to a constant compression load from a sharp object. Tests for indentation hardness are primarily used in engineering and metallurgy. The tests work on the basic premise of measuring the critical dimensions of an indentation left by a specifically dimensioned and loaded indenter.


title: Hardness

text: Rebound hardness, also known as "dynamic hardness", measures the height of the "bounce" of a diamond-tipped hammer dropped from a fixed height onto a material. This type of hardness is related to elasticity. The device used to take this measurement is known as a scleroscope.


title: Hardness

text: Two scales that measures rebound hardness are the Leeb rebound hardness test and Bennett hardness scale.


title: Hardness

text: Ultrasonic Contact Impedance (UCI) method determines hardness by measuring the frequency of an oscillating rod. The rod consists of a metal shaft with vibrating element and a pyramid-shaped diamond mounted on one end.


title: Hardness

text: There are five hardening processes: Hall-Petch strengthening, work hardening, solid solution strengthening, precipitation hardening, and martensitic transformation.


title: Hardness

text: In solid mechanics, solids generally have three responses to force, depending on the amount of force and the type of material:


title: Hardness

text: Strength is a measure of the extent of a material's elastic range, or elastic and plastic ranges together. This is quantified as compressive strength, shear strength, tensile strength depending on the direction of the forces involved. Ultimate strength is an engineering measure of the maximum load a part of a specific material and geometry can withstand.


title: Hardness

text: Brittleness, in technical usage, is the tendency of a material to fracture with very little or no detectable plastic deformation beforehand. Thus in technical terms, a material can be both brittle and strong. In everyday usage "brittleness" usually refers to the tendency to fracture under a small amount of force, which exhibits both brittleness and a lack of strength (in the technical sense). For perfectly brittle materials, yield strength and ultimate strength are the same, because they do not experience detectable plastic deformation. The opposite of brittleness is ductility.


title: Hardness

text: The toughness of a material is the maximum amount of energy it can absorb before fracturing, which is different from the amount of force that can be applied. Toughness tends to be small for brittle materials, because elastic and plastic deformations allow materials to absorb large amounts of energy.


title: Hardness

text: Hardness increases with decreasing particle size. This is known as the Hall-Petch relationship. However, below a critical grain-size, hardness decreases with decreasing grain size. This is known as the inverse Hall-Petch effect.


title: Hardness

text: Hardness of a material to deformation is dependent on its microdurability or small-scale shear modulus in any direction, not to any rigidity or stiffness properties such as its bulk modulus or Young's modulus. Stiffness is often confused for hardness. Some materials are stiffer than diamond (e.g. osmium) but are not harder, and are prone to spalling and flaking in squamose or acicular habits.


title: Hardness

text: The key to understanding the mechanism behind hardness is understanding the metallic microstructure, or the structure and arrangement of the atoms at the atomic level. In fact, most important metallic properties critical to the manufacturing of today’s goods are determined by the microstructure of a material. At the atomic level, the atoms in a metal are arranged in an orderly three-dimensional array called a crystal lattice. In reality, however, a given specimen of a metal likely never contains a consistent single crystal lattice. A given sample of metal will contain many grains, with each grain having a fairly consistent array pattern. At an even smaller scale, each grain contains irregularities.


title: Hardness

text: There are two types of irregularities at the grain level of the microstructure that are responsible for the hardness of the material. These irregularities are point defects and line defects. A point defect is an irregularity located at a single lattice site inside of the overall three-dimensional lattice of the grain. There are three main point defects. If there is an atom missing from the array, a vacancy defect is formed. If there is a different type of atom at the lattice site that should normally be occupied by a metal atom, a substitutional defect is formed. If there exists an atom in a site where there should normally not be, an interstitial defect is formed. This is possible because space exists between atoms in a crystal lattice. While point defects are irregularities at a single site in the crystal lattice, line defects are irregularities on a plane of atoms. Dislocations are a type of line defect involving the misalignment of these planes. In the case of an edge dislocation, a half plane of atoms is wedged between two planes of atoms. In the case of a screw dislocation two planes of atoms are offset with a helical array running between them.


title: Hardness

text: In glasses, hardness seems to depend linearly on the number of topological constraints acting between the atoms of the network. Hence, the rigidity theory has allowed predicting hardness values with respect to composition.


title: Hardness

text: Dislocations provide a mechanism for planes of atoms to slip and thus a method for plastic or permanent deformation. Planes of atoms can flip from one side of the dislocation to the other effectively allowing the dislocation to traverse through the material and the material to deform permanently. The movement allowed by these dislocations causes a decrease in the material's hardness.