text: Both parts feature a fictional titular reality show that follows the competition of fourteen animated teenagers at a fictional island. For "Total Drama All-Stars", the original island used in the first season is featured, where the producers say it is located somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario. The second part of the season, "Total Drama: Pahkitew Island", features a brand new island which producers say it is located somewhere in Western Canada. The season's animated characters are depicted as campers who participate in themed challenges and must avoid being voted off the island by other fellow campers. At the end of the series, the winning contestant or the last camper to stand on the island will win C$1,000,000 (US$731,485.00). The competition is hosted by Chris McLean (Christian Potenza), who is assisted by the camp's chef, Chef Hatchet (Clé Bennett).


title: Total Drama All-Stars and Pahkitew Island

text: At the beginning of the competition, the fourteen campers are evenly placed into two teams which are themed to the genre of the competition. In each episode, the two teams participate in a challenge, in which one or more campers can win invincibility for their team. The losing team is called to the campfire at night, where they must vote one of their members off the island. The camper with the most votes is eliminated from the competition. At this campfire, McLean passes out marshmallows to the campers who have not been voted off, while the one who does not get a marshmallow is eliminated. That eliminated person must then walk to the island's dock and will be forced off of the island, and told to "never, ever come back", according to Chris.


text: About halfway through the competition, the teams are disbanded, after which the challenges continue; the winner of each challenge then only receives invincibility for him or herself, whereupon a camper without invincibility is voted off the island. This process of elimination continues on until two players remains on the island. These two players, are now then subject to a final contest. At the end, a camper wins the competition, while the loser ends up being the runner-up. However, the runner-up is the winner in the other ending of the finale, as there are always two endings to "Total Drama" seasons. This season, along with every other season in the series, is a parody of the reality show "Survivor" while the host, Chris McLean is very similar to "Survivor" host Jeff Probst with the evil persona of Fear Factor Joe Rogan.


text: The first part consisting of thirteen episodes is an all-star season using fourteen returning characters from the two previous seasons, while the last thirteen episodes consist of a new cast introducing fourteen new characters. Both parts are apart of the 26 episodes that Cartoon Network ordered in 2012. Cartoon Network aired the whole season first starting on September 10, 2013 on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. EST in the United States, with Teletoon airing the season later on January 9, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. EST.


text: This season also features the 100th episode of the entire series which was aired in Canada on February 27, 2014. The 100th episode of the series is the 9th episode of this season, "Zeek and Ye Shall Find". All episodes for the fifth season are 21 minutes and 20 seconds long, all of them much shorter than previous seasons. This is the first season to feature a 20-second intro, as every other previous season had a full one-minute intro section.


text: 7 characters from "Total Drama World Tour" and 7 characters from "" returned to compete in "Total Drama All-Stars". They all competed together during several "Heroes vs. Villains" themed challenges, which means that all the heroes competed against all the villains.


text: The 14 returning characters who competed in "Total Drama All-Stars" are Alejandro, Cameron, Courtney, Duncan, Gwen, Heather, Jo, Lightning, Lindsay, Mike, Sam, Scott, Sierra, and Zoey.


text: "Total Drama: Pahkitew Island" features an entire new cast. This is the second time the series completely replaces any existing cast with an all new cast. The new characters competing are Amy, Beardo, Dave, Ella, Jasmine, Leonard, Max, Rodney, Samey, Scarlett, Shawn, Sky, Sugar, and Topher.


text: On June 28, 2011, Christian Potenza mentioned an upcoming season of "Total Drama". This was the first time a cast member mentioned a fifth season to the public. One year later on July 19, 2012, Christian Potenza announced a fifth season of "Total Drama" in an interview with Tom McGillis, saying that Season 5 will be just like Seasons 1 and 4. This hinted that this season will take place back at an island.


text: As shown in the Fresh TV official website, it seemed that there would be 26 new episodes to be aired in 2013–2014 for Season 5. Tom McGillis later stated that the new 26 episodes will be split into two 13-episode seasons; where the first part will consist of some of the existing cast, while the second part will consist of a new cast which were not yet introduced. Voice actors began recording lines for Season 5 in December 2012.


text: On January 28, 2013, Cartoon Network confirmed that the new season title will be "Total Drama All-Stars" for Part 1. Two days later on January 30, both Christian Potenza and Drew Nelson confirmed the title for Episode 4 which is "Food Fright". Drew Nelson also confirmed that the two new teams for this season are the Heroic Hamsters and the Villainous Vultures. Rumors started floating in early 2010 about the season being "Heroes vs. Villains" and that both the original and second generation cast would compete together, but it wasn't until December 19, 2012 when Tom McGillis confirmed on ABC3 Australia that the theme for this season will indeed be "Heroes vs. Villains".


text: On February 1, 2013, Christian Potenza released a video that revealed several new information about "Total Drama All-Stars", including episode titles, voice actors, and plot information. That same day, Christian Potenza also released the first lines of the season from Episode 4:


text: On June 11, 2013, it was confirmed that the airdate for the whole season will be in early 2014; mostly during the winter of 2014. Tom McGillis later confirmed on Twitter that the Canadian airdate will be in January 2014, while the U.S. airdate will be in September 2013. On August 19, 2013, Cartoon Network released the first official trailer for "Total Drama All-Stars" along with a new website that revealed all the characters. Lindsay and Jo's eliminations were leaked via episode scripts and trailers before the season started airing.


text: As for "Total Drama: Pahkitew Island", production was done and it was released in the United States. The season was first announced to air on May 27, but was later delayed to July 7. This part is under the same production code as the previous part, "Total Drama All-Stars". However, the script for the entire first episode was leaked online about a year before the season's release. Scarlett's final design along with one second of the fully animated first episode were also leaked on Instagram by her Venezuelan-Spanish voice actor.


text: On March 21, 2014, the entire cast design was revealed by Fresh TV along with new promotions for the season. Bryn McAuley who voiced the twins, Amy and Samey, was the first confirmed voice actress. On April 9, 2014, Fresh TV celebrated the International Day of Pink by making the "Pahkitew Island" cast all wear pink clothing, symbolizing the support for anti-bullying. Before the official cast release Sunday Muse was also confirmed to voice Ella, while Ian Ronningen was set to voice Rodney. On May 30, 2014, a new teaser trailer was released for "Total Drama: Pahkitew Island" in Italy, marking the first time fully animated scenes were released to the public. Several trailers in English were released later on Cake Entertainment's website. On June 16, Cartoon Network posted the "Pahkitew Island" website, along with the audition tapes for Sugar, Samey, Amy, Leonard, and Max. Italy was the first country to air full episodes of "Pahkitew Island". On June 23, the audition tapes of Beardo, Rodney, Ella, Topher, and Dave were released. On June 26, the entire cast and the characters they voiced were released via Fresh TV's re:fresh blog. On July 1, ABC3 announced that "Total Drama: Pahkitew Island" will air on July 14, 2014 in Australia.


text: "Total Drama All-Stars" was the #1 telecast on Cartoon Network with the highest ratings for the week of the season premiere. Additionally, it ranked as the #1 telecast on all television among kids 6–11 and 9–14 for Tuesday prime-time airings. It also claimed #1 in its 7 p.m. time period among kids 9–14 and 6–11.


text: "Total Drama All-Stars" has received mixed to negative reviews. Many claimed there was "character derailment" within the old and new cast of characters. It currently holds a 5.4 rating on Metacritic based on 9 reviews. Like the previous season, both parts were criticised for their short length in comparison to the first three seasons. "Total Drama: Pahkitew Island", however, was considerably more positive. The season currently holds a 73% approval rating according to Rotten Tomatoes.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: Suicide Club, known in Japan as , is a 2001 Japanese independent horror film written and directed by Sion Sono. The film explores a wave of seemingly unconnected suicides that strikes Japan and the efforts of the police to determine the reasons behind the strange behavior.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: "Suicide Club" gained considerable notoriety in film festivals around the world for its controversial, transgressive subject matter and overall gruesome presentation. It developed a significant cult following over the years, and won the Jury Prize for "Most Ground-Breaking Film" at the 2003 Fantasia Film Festival. This film has a similar premise to M. Night Shymalan's The Happening.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: The film takes place over six days, with footage from a fictional pop group "Dessert" opening and closing the film. The story begins with a concert held by Dessert, in which they perform a J-Pop song titled "Mail Me".


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: In Tokyo on May 27, 54 teenage schoolgirls commit mass suicide by throwing themselves in front of an oncoming train. Shortly after, at a hospital, two nurses commit suicide by jumping out of a window. At both locations, rolls of skin are found, with the skin in the rolls matching that removed from the bodies of the dead. Three detectives—Kuroda (Ryō Ishibashi), Shibusawa (Masatoshi Nagase), and Murata (Akaji Maro)—are notified by a hacker named Kiyoko (Yoko Kamon) of a link between the suicides and a website that shows the number of suicides as red and white circles.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: On May 28, at a high school, a group of students jump off the roof during lunch, sending the city in search of a "Suicide Club". By May 29, the suicide boom has spread all over Japan. Mitsuko is on her way home when she gets hit by her boyfriend, Masa, who has thrown himself off a roof. Mitsuko is taken to the police station for questioning, where the police strip-search her and discover that she has a butterfly tattoo.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: On May 30, the police receive a call from a boy who warns that on that evening at 7:30, another mass suicide will take place at the same platform. The detectives organize a stake-out in order to prevent the event but there is no suicide. Meanwhile, individual and smaller-scale group suicides continue all over Japan, claiming many lives, including Kuroda's entire family. Kuroda receives a call from the boy who had warned about the 7:30 suicide, and Kuroda shoots himself after.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: Kiyoko is captured by a group led by a man named Genesis, whose hideout is a small subterranean bowling alley, where he resides with four glam-rock cohorts. During her capture, Genesis performs a song while a girl in a white sack is brutally raped and killed right in front of them. Kiyoko e-mails the authorities information about Genesis. On May 31, the police arrest Genesis, and it is assumed the leader of the "Suicide Club" has been caught.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: On June 1, Mitsuko goes to her boyfriend's home to return his helmet, where she notices pop group Dessert's posters on the wall and recognizes a pattern on the fingers of the group that corresponds to the letters on a telephone keypad spelling out the word "suicide". The boy from earlier calls to tell her there is no "Suicide Club" and invites her to a secret concert.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: On June 2, Mitsuko sneaks into the backstage area and sees a group of children in the audience, who ask her questions. Mitsuko impresses the children so they take her to a room where a strip from her skin is shaved off; it is the spot where the butterfly tattoo was.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: A new roll of skin ends up with the police, and detective Shibusawa recognizes the strip as the one with Mitsuko's tattoo. That evening, he sees Mitsuko at the train station and grabs her hand but she pulls away. She stares at Shibusawa as the train pulls into the station, and again after boarding the train. As the train pulls out, the ending credits begins, in which Dessert announces their disbandment and offer appreciation toward their fans' support, before performing their final song, "Live as You Please".


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: Jonathan Regehr of Screen Anarchy gave the film a rating of 6/10, calling it "an unbalanced movie". Dai Green of HorrorNews.net wrote that the film "may not register entirely in first run, but it will certainly leave a mark". Virginie Sélavy of "Electric Sheep Magazine" wrote that ""Suicide Club" has been described as 'muddled' and Sono criticised for not making his satire of pop culture and denunciation of the media clear enough. But the ambiguity of the film is precisely what makes it interesting".


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: As of early 2006, the film has one prequel and a proposed follow-up. "Noriko's Dinner Table" ("Noriko no Shokutaku") depicts events from before and after the happenings of "Suicide Circle" and gives more insight on its predecessor. In 2006, Sono said "I always wanted to make a trilogy but in reality it is very difficult."


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: "" (自殺サークル　完全版, translated as "Suicide Circle: The Complete Edition") was written by Sion Sono in April 2002. The book deals with the themes of "Suicide Club" and "Noriko's Dinner Table", bringing the two plots closer. So far no plans for an English edition have appeared.


title: Suicide Club (film)

text: A manga of the same title and written by Usamaru Furuya appeared at the same time of the movie's Japanese DVD release. Although Furuya's intention was to faithfully reproduce the film's plot, Sono asked him to write his own story. As a result, the "Suicide Club" manga is much more straightforward and easier to understand than the film, and features much more solid character development. It deals with the same opening scene, but there is a twist: out of the 54 suicidal girls, a survivor is reported: Saya Kota. Her best friend, Kyoko, must now unveil the secret of the Suicide Club and save Saya from falling deeper into it.


title: Banana split

text: A banana split is an American ice cream-based dessert consisting of a peeled banana cut in half lengthwise, and served with ice-cream and sauce between the two pieces. There are many variations, but the classic banana split is made with three scoops of ice cream (one each of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry). A sauce or sauces (chocolate, strawberry, and pineapple are traditional) are drizzled onto the ice cream, which is topped with whipped cream and maraschino cherries. Crushed nuts (generally peanuts or walnuts) are optional.


title: Banana split

text: There are some regional variations on the name. For example, in parts of the UK, it is known as a banana longboat, likely referring to the shape of the dish.


title: Banana split

text: The original banana split was made with three scoops of different flavored ice creams, topped with fruits, and served over a banana that was split vertically down the middle. The original recipe used strawberries, raspberries and crushed pineapple with marshmallow syrup, chopped nuts, and pitted black cherries. The banana split is traditionally served in an elongated glass dish called a "boat".


title: Banana split

text: Strickler's marshmallow sauce is no longer used as a topping. The traditional toppings used in today's banana split include pineapple, strawberry and chocolate sauce, whipped cream, nuts, and cherries. Caramel sauce, on the other hand, is a non-traditional topping used in later variations of the classic banana split.


title: Banana split

text: Variations on the classic may use grilled bananas, experiment with different flavors of ice cream such as coconut or coffee, or sauces like salted caramel and warm butterscotch.


title: Banana split

text: Cold beverages and ice cream were a novelty in the mid-1800s when soda fountains began selling ice cream concoctions. A popular recipe published in 1907 called for a lengthwise split banana, two scoops of ice cream at each end and a spoon of whipped cream in between with maraschino cherry on top, with one end covered with chopped mixed nuts and another with chopped mixed fruits. "The Spatula Soda Water Guide" published in 1919 contained recipes for 25 banana split varieties.


title: Banana split

text: The origin of the banana split is controversial, but most historians believe it was first created in 1904 by an optometrist in Latrobe, Pennsylvania named David "Doc" Strickler. Strickler was inspired by the fruit laden sundaes he saw while vacationing in Atlantic City in the summer of 1904, and aspired to create something similar when he returned to Latrobe using the banana fruit, which, in those days, was shipped to Pennsylvania by way of New Orleans. The sundae he concocted originally cost 10 cents, twice the price of other sundaes, and caught on with students of nearby Saint Vincent College. News of a new variety of sundae quickly spread by word-of-mouth and through correspondence and soon progressed far beyond Latrobe. Strickler went on to buy the pharmacy, naming it Strickler's Pharmacy, while keeping his office on a top floor.


title: Banana split

text: Wilmington, Ohio, also claims an early connection dating to 1907 when Ernest "Doc" Hazard created a dessert in hopes of attracting students from Wilmington College to his shop during the slow days of winter. The dessert he came up with was the banana split: three scoops of ice cream served between the two halves of a split banana, topped with chocolate, strawberry and pineapple sauces, whipped cream, maraschino cherries and nuts.


title: Banana split

text: However, most historians believe the evidence for Strickler's 1904 debut is more convincing, and, in 2004, the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA) certified the city of Latrobe, Pennsylvania as the birthplace of the banana split. Both towns hold an annual festival in honor of the dessert.


title: Banana split

text: Latrobe and Wilmington are not the only towns to claim the distinction of inventing the banana split. In Boston it is said the dessert was created at the Butler Department Store by the head soda jerk who, in 1905, served a banana split with two scoops of vanilla ice cream, topped with peaches, walnuts and pistachios. Davenport, Iowa claims it was invented by a local Davenport confectioner in 1906, and similar claims have been made by Columbus, Ohio, where the banana split is said to have been created by Letty Lally when a customer at Foeller's Drug Store asked for "something different." (Food writer Mike Turback considers Lally's creation the first banana royale, a sundae made with banana slices.) The lack of evidence presents an obstacle to proving any of these claims.


title: Banana split

text: Walgreens is credited with spreading the popularity of the banana split. The early drug stores operated by Charles Rudolph Walgreen in the Chicago area adopted the banana split as a signature dessert. Fountains in the stores proved to be a draw, attracting customers who might otherwise have been just as satisfied having their prescriptions filled at some other drug store in the neighborhood.


title: Banana split

text: The banana split pie was created by Janet Winquest, a 16-year-old resident of Holdrege, Nebraska. In 1952, she won a $3,000 prize in Pillsbury's Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest for the recipe.


title: Banana split

text: Louis Prima played a song called "Banana Split for My Baby" at the Casbar Lounge of the Sahara Hotel in 1956.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy (, ; ; 21 August 178923 May 1857) was a French mathematician, engineer, and physicist who made pioneering contributions to several branches of mathematics, including mathematical analysis and continuum mechanics. He was one of the first to state and rigorously prove theorems of calculus, rejecting the heuristic principle of the generality of algebra of earlier authors. He almost singlehandedly founded complex analysis and the study of permutation groups in abstract algebra.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: A profound mathematician, Cauchy had a great influence over his contemporaries and successors; Hans Freudenthal stated: "More concepts and theorems have been named for Cauchy than for any other mathematician (in elasticity alone there are sixteen concepts and theorems named for Cauchy)." Cauchy was a prolific writer; he wrote approximately eight hundred research articles and five complete textbooks on a variety of topics in the fields of mathematics and mathematical physics.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Cauchy was the son of Louis François Cauchy (1760–1848) and Marie-Madeleine Desestre. Cauchy had two brothers: Alexandre Laurent Cauchy (1792–1857), who became a president of a division of the court of appeal in 1847 and a judge of the court of cassation in 1849, and Eugene François Cauchy (1802–1877), a publicist who also wrote several mathematical works.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Cauchy married Aloise de Bure in 1818. She was a close relative of the publisher who published most of Cauchy's works. They had two daughters, Marie Françoise Alicia (1819) and Marie Mathilde (1823).


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Ancien Régime, but lost this position due to the French Revolution (July 14, 1789), which broke out one month before Augustin-Louis was born. The Cauchy family survived the revolution and the following Reign of Terror (1793–94) by escaping to Arcueil, where Cauchy received his first education, from his father. After the execution of Robespierre (1794), it was safe for the family to return to Paris. There Louis-François Cauchy found himself a new bureaucratic job in 1800, and quickly moved up the ranks. When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power (1799), Louis-François Cauchy was further promoted, and became Secretary-General of the Senate, working directly under Laplace (who is now better known for his work on mathematical physics). The famous mathematician Lagrange was also a friend of the Cauchy family.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: On Lagrange's advice, Augustin-Louis was enrolled in the École Centrale du Panthéon, the best secondary school of Paris at that time, in the fall of 1802. Most of the curriculum consisted of classical languages; the young and ambitious Cauchy, being a brilliant student, won many prizes in Latin and the humanities. In spite of these successes, Augustin-Louis chose an engineering career, and prepared himself for the entrance examination to the École Polytechnique.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In 1805, he placed second of 293 applicants on this exam and was admitted. One of the main purposes of this school was to give future civil and military engineers a high-level scientific and mathematical education. The school functioned under military discipline, which caused the young and pious Cauchy some problems in adapting. Nevertheless, he finished the Polytechnique in 1807, at the age of 18, and went on to the École des Ponts et Chaussées (School for Bridges and Roads). He graduated in civil engineering, with the highest honors.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: After finishing school in 1810, Cauchy accepted a job as a junior engineer in Cherbourg, where Napoleon intended to build a naval base. Here Augustin-Louis stayed for three years, and was assigned the Ourcq Canal project and the Saint-Cloud Bridge project, and worked at the Harbor of Cherbourg. Although he had an extremely busy managerial job, he still found time to prepare three mathematical manuscripts, which he submitted to the "Première Classe" (First Class) of the Institut de France. Cauchy's first two manuscripts (on polyhedra) were accepted; the third one (on directrices of conic sections) was rejected.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In September 1812, now 23 years old, Cauchy returned to Paris after becoming ill from overwork. Another reason for his return to the capital was that he was losing interest in his engineering job, being more and more attracted to the abstract beauty of mathematics; in Paris, he would have a much better chance to find a mathematics related position. Therefore, when his health improved in 1813, Cauchy chose to not return to Cherbourg. Although he formally kept his engineering position, he was transferred from the payroll of the Ministry of the Marine to the Ministry of the Interior. The next three years Augustin-Louis was mainly on unpaid sick leave; he spent his time quite fruitfully, working on mathematics (on the related topics of symmetric functions, the symmetric group and the theory of higher-order algebraic equations). He attempted admission to the First Class of the Institut de France but failed on three different occasions between 1813 and 1815. In 1815 Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, and the newly installed Bourbon king Louis XVIII took the restoration in hand. The Académie des Sciences was re-established in March 1816; Lazare Carnot and Gaspard Monge were removed from this Academy for political reasons, and the king appointed Cauchy to take the place of one of them. The reaction of Cauchy's peers was harsh; they considered the acceptance of his membership in the Academy an outrage, and Cauchy thereby created many enemies in scientific circles.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In November 1815, Louis Poinsot, who was an associate professor at the École Polytechnique, asked to be exempted from his teaching duties for health reasons. Cauchy was by then a rising mathematical star, who certainly merited a professorship. One of his great successes at that time was the proof of Fermat's polygonal number theorem. However, the fact that Cauchy was known to be very loyal to the Bourbons doubtless also helped him in becoming the successor of Poinsot. He finally quit his engineering job, and received a one-year contract for teaching mathematics to second-year students of the École Polytechnique. In 1816, this Bonapartist, non-religious school was reorganized, and several liberal professors were fired; the reactionary Cauchy was promoted to full professor.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: When Cauchy was 28 years old, he was still living with his parents. His father found it high time for his son to marry; he found him a suitable bride, Aloïse de Bure, five years his junior. The de Bure family were printers and booksellers, and published most of Cauchy's works. Aloïse and Augustin were married on April 4, 1818, with great Roman Catholic pomp and ceremony, in the Church of Saint-Sulpice. In 1819 the couple's first daughter, Marie Françoise Alicia, was born, and in 1823 the second and last daughter, Marie Mathilde.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: The conservative political climate that lasted until 1830 suited Cauchy perfectly. In 1824 Louis XVIII died, and was succeeded by his even more reactionary brother Charles X. During these years Cauchy was highly productive, and published one important mathematical treatise after another. He received cross-appointments at the Collège de France, and the .


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In July 1830, the July Revolution occurred in France. Charles X fled the country, and was succeeded by the non-Bourbon king Louis-Philippe (of the House of Orléans). Riots, in which uniformed students of the École Polytechnique took an active part, raged close to Cauchy's home in Paris.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: These events marked a turning point in Cauchy's life, and a break in his mathematical productivity. Cauchy, shaken by the fall of the government and moved by a deep hatred of the liberals who were taking power, left Paris to go abroad, leaving his family behind. He spent a short time at Fribourg in Switzerland, where he had to decide whether he would swear a required oath of allegiance to the new regime. He refused to do this, and consequently lost all his positions in Paris, except his membership of the Academy, for which an oath was not required. In 1831 Cauchy went to the Italian city of Turin, and after some time there, he accepted an offer from the King of Sardinia (who ruled Turin and the surrounding Piedmont region) for a chair of theoretical physics, which was created especially for him. He taught in Turin during 1832–1833. In 1831, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the following year a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In August 1833 Cauchy left Turin for Prague to become the science tutor of the thirteen-year-old Duke of Bordeaux, Henri d'Artois (1820–1883), the exiled Crown Prince and grandson of Charles X. As a professor of the École Polytechnique, Cauchy had been a notoriously bad lecturer, assuming levels of understanding that only a few of his best students could reach, and cramming his allotted time with too much material. The young Duke had neither taste nor talent for either mathematics or science, so student and teacher were a perfect mismatch. Although Cauchy took his mission very seriously, he did this with great clumsiness, and with surprising lack of authority over the Duke.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: During his civil engineering days, Cauchy once had been briefly in charge of repairing a few of the Parisian sewers, and he made the mistake of mentioning this to his pupil; with great malice, the young Duke went about saying Mister Cauchy started his career in the sewers of Paris. Cauchy's role as tutor lasted until the Duke became eighteen years old, in September 1838. Cauchy did hardly any research during those five years, while the Duke acquired a lifelong dislike of mathematics. The only good that came out of this episode was Cauchy's promotion to baron, a title by which Cauchy set great store.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In 1834, his wife and two daughters moved to Prague, and Cauchy was finally reunited with his family after four years in exile.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Cauchy returned to Paris and his position at the Academy of Sciences late in 1838. He could not regain his teaching positions, because he still refused to swear an oath of allegiance.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In August 1839 a vacancy appeared in the Bureau des Longitudes. This Bureau bore some resemblance to the Academy; for instance, it had the right to co-opt its members. Further, it was believed that members of the Bureau could "forget about" the oath of allegiance, although formally, unlike the Academicians, they were obliged to take it. The Bureau des Longitudes was an organization founded in 1795 to solve the problem of determining position at sea — mainly the longitudinal coordinate, since latitude is easily determined from the position of the sun. Since it was thought that position at sea was best determined by astronomical observations, the Bureau had developed into an organization resembling an academy of astronomical sciences.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In November 1839 Cauchy was elected to the Bureau, and discovered immediately that the matter of the oath was not so easily dispensed with. Without his oath, the king refused to approve his election. For four years Cauchy was in the position of being elected but not approved; accordingly, he was not a formal member of the Bureau, did not receive payment, could not participate in meetings, and could not submit papers. Still Cauchy refused to take any oaths; however, he did feel loyal enough to direct his research to celestial mechanics. In 1840, he presented a dozen papers on this topic to the Academy. He also described and illustrated the signed-digit representation of numbers, an innovation presented in England in 1727 by John Colson. The confounded membership of the Bureau lasted until the end of 1843, when Cauchy was finally replaced by Poinsot.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Throughout the nineteenth century the French educational system struggled over the separation of church and state. After losing control of the public education system, the Catholic Church sought to establish its own branch of education and found in Cauchy a staunch and illustrious ally. He lent his prestige and knowledge to the École Normale Écclésiastique, a school in Paris run by Jesuits, for training teachers for their colleges. He also took part in the founding of the Institut Catholique. The purpose of this institute was to counter the effects of the absence of Catholic university education in France. These activities did not make Cauchy popular with his colleagues, who, on the whole, supported the Enlightenment ideals of the French Revolution. When a chair of mathematics became vacant at the Collège de France in 1843, Cauchy applied for it, but received just three of 45 votes.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: The year 1848 was the year of revolution all over Europe; revolutions broke out in numerous countries, beginning in France. King Louis-Philippe, fearful of sharing the fate of Louis XVI, fled to England. The oath of allegiance was abolished, and the road to an academic appointment was finally clear for Cauchy. On March 1, 1849, he was reinstated at the Faculté de Sciences, as a professor of mathematical astronomy. After political turmoil all through 1848, France chose to become a Republic, under the Presidency of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and son of Napoleon's brother, who had been installed as the first king of Holland. Soon (early 1852) the President made himself Emperor of France, and took the name Napoleon III.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Not unexpectedly, the idea came up in bureaucratic circles that it would be useful to again require a loyalty oath from all state functionaries, including university professors. This time a cabinet minister was able to convince the Emperor to exempt Cauchy from the oath. Cauchy remained a professor at the university until his death at the age of 67. He received the Last Rites and died of a bronchial condition at 4 a.m. on 23 May 1857.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: The genius of Cauchy was illustrated in his simple solution of the problem of Apollonius—describing a circle touching three given circles—which he discovered in 1805, his generalization of Euler's formula on polyhedra in 1811, and in several other elegant problems. More important is his memoir on wave propagation, which obtained the Grand Prix of the French Academy of Sciences in 1816. Cauchy's writings covered notable topics. In the theory of series he developed the notion of convergence and discovered many of the basic formulas for q-series. In the theory of numbers and complex quantities, he was the first to define complex numbers as pairs of real numbers. He also wrote on the theory of groups and substitutions, the theory of functions, differential equations and determinants.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In the theory of light he worked on Fresnel's wave theory and on the dispersion and polarization of light. He also contributed research in mechanics, substituting the notion of the continuity of geometrical displacements for the principle of the continuity of matter. He wrote on the equilibrium of rods and elastic membranes and on waves in elastic media. He introduced a 3 × 3 symmetric matrix of numbers that is now known as the Cauchy stress tensor. In elasticity, he originated the theory of stress, and his results are nearly as valuable as those of Siméon Poisson.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Other significant contributions include being the first to prove the Fermat polygonal number theorem.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Cauchy is most famous for his single-handed development of complex function theory. The first pivotal theorem proved by Cauchy, now known as "Cauchy's integral theorem", was the following:


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: where "f"("z") is a complex-valued function holomorphic on and within the non-self-intersecting closed curve "C" (contour) lying in the complex plane. The "contour integral" is taken along the contour "C". The rudiments of this theorem can already be found in a paper that the 24-year-old Cauchy presented to the Académie des Sciences (then still called "First Class of the Institute") on August 11, 1814. In full form the theorem was given in 1825. The 1825 paper is seen by many as Cauchy's most important contribution to mathematics.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In 1826 Cauchy gave a formal definition of a residue of a function. This concept concerns functions that have poles—isolated singularities, i.e., points where a function goes to positive or negative infinity. If the complex-valued function "f"("z") can be expanded in the neighborhood of a singularity "a" as


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: where φ("z") is analytic (i.e., well-behaved without singularities), then "f" is said to have a pole of order "n" in the point "a". If "n" = 1, the pole is called simple.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: The coefficient "B" is called by Cauchy the residue of function "f" at "a". If "f" is non-singular at "a" then the residue of "f" is zero at "a". Clearly, the residue is in the case of a simple pole equal to


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In 1831, while in Turin, Cauchy submitted two papers to the Academy of Sciences of Turin. In the first he proposed the formula now known as Cauchy's integral formula,


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: where "f"("z") is analytic on "C" and within the region bounded by the contour "C" and the complex number "a" is somewhere in this region. The contour integral is taken counter-clockwise. Clearly, the integrand has a simple pole at "z" = "a". In the second paper he presented the residue theorem,


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: where the sum is over all the "n" poles of "f"("z") on and within the contour "C". These results of Cauchy's still form the core of complex function theory as it is taught today to physicists and electrical engineers. For quite some time, contemporaries of Cauchy ignored his theory, believing it to be too complicated. Only in the 1840s the theory started to get response, with Pierre Alphonse Laurent being the first mathematician besides Cauchy to make a substantial contribution (his work on what are now known as Laurent series, published in 1843).


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In his book "Cours d'Analyse" Cauchy stressed the importance of rigor in analysis. "Rigor" in this case meant the rejection of the principle of "Generality of algebra" (of earlier authors such as Euler and Lagrange) and its replacement by geometry and infinitesimals. Judith Grabiner wrote Cauchy was "the man who taught rigorous analysis to all of Europe". The book is frequently noted as being the first place that inequalities, and formula_6 arguments were introduced into Calculus. Here Cauchy defined continuity as follows: "The function f(x) is continuous with respect to x between the given limits if, between these limits, an infinitely small increment in the variable always produces an infinitely small increment in the function itself."


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: M. Barany claims that the École mandated the inclusion of infinitesimal methods against Cauchy's better judgement. Gilain notes that when the portion of the curriculum devoted to "Analyse Algébrique" was reduced in 1825, Cauchy insisted on placing the topic of continuous functions (and therefore also infinitesimals) at the beginning of the Differential Calculus. Laugwitz (1989) and Benis-Sinaceur (1973) point out that Cauchy continued to use infinitesimals in his own research as late as 1853.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Cauchy gave an explicit definition of an infinitesimal in terms of a sequence tending to zero. There has been a vast body of literature written about Cauchy's notion of "infinitesimally small quantities", arguing they lead from everything from the usual "epsilontic" definitions or to the notions of non-standard analysis. The consensus is that Cauchy omitted or left implicit the important ideas to make clear the precise meaning of the infinitely small quantities he used.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: He was the first to prove Taylor's theorem rigorously, establishing his well-known form of the remainder. He wrote a textbook (see the illustration) for his students at the École Polytechnique in which he developed the basic theorems of mathematical analysis as rigorously as possible. In this book he gave the necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a limit in the form that is still taught. Also Cauchy's well-known test for absolute convergence stems from this book: Cauchy condensation test. In 1829 he defined for the first time a complex function of a complex variable in another textbook. In spite of these, Cauchy's own research papers often used intuitive, not rigorous, methods; thus one of his theorems was exposed to a "counter-example" by Abel, later fixed by the introduction of the notion of uniform continuity.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: In a paper published in 1855, two years before Cauchy's death, he discussed some theorems, one of which is similar to the "Principle of the argument" in many modern textbooks on complex analysis. In modern control theory textbooks, the Cauchy argument principle is quite frequently used to derive the Nyquist stability criterion, which can be used to predict the stability of negative feedback amplifier and negative feedback control systems. Thus Cauchy's work has a strong impact on both pure mathematics and practical engineering.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Cauchy was very productive, in number of papers second only to Leonhard Euler. It took almost a century to collect all his writings into 27 large volumes:


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: His greatest contributions to mathematical science are enveloped in the rigorous methods which he introduced; these are mainly embodied in his three great treatises:


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: Augustin-Louis Cauchy grew up in the house of a staunch royalist. This made his father flee with the family to Arcueil during the French Revolution. Their life there during that time was apparently hard; Augustin-Louis's father, Louis François, spoke of living on rice, bread, and crackers during the period. A paragraph from an undated letter from Louis François to his mother in Rouen says:


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: He was an equally staunch Catholic and a member of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. He also had links to the Society of Jesus and defended them at the Academy when it was politically unwise to do so. His zeal for his faith may have led to his caring for Charles Hermite during his illness and leading Hermite to become a faithful Catholic. It also inspired Cauchy to plead on behalf of the Irish during the Great Famine of Ireland.


title: Augustin-Louis Cauchy

text: His royalism and religious zeal made him contentious, which caused difficulties with his colleagues. He felt that he was mistreated for his beliefs, but his opponents felt he intentionally provoked people by berating them over religious matters or by defending the Jesuits after they had been suppressed. Niels Henrik Abel called him a "bigoted Catholic" and added he was "mad and there is nothing that can be done about him", but at the same time praised him as a mathematician. Cauchy's views were widely unpopular among mathematicians and when Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja was made chair in mathematics before him he, and many others, felt his views were the cause. When Libri was accused of stealing books he was replaced by Joseph Liouville rather than Cauchy, which caused a rift between Liouville and Cauchy. Another dispute with political overtones concerned Jean-Marie Constant Duhamel and a claim on inelastic shocks. Cauchy was later shown, by Jean-Victor Poncelet, to be wrong.


title: Money order

text: A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.


title: Money order

text: The money order system was established by a private firm in Great Britain in 1792 and was expensive and not very successful. Around 1836 it was sold to another private firm which lowered the fees, significantly increasing the popularity and usage of the system. The Post Office noted the success and profitability, and it took over the system in 1838. Fees were further reduced and usage increased further, making the money order system reasonably profitable. The only draw-back was the need to send an advance to the paying post office before payment could be tendered to the recipient of the order. This drawback was likely the primary incentive for establishment of the Postal Order System on 1 January 1881.


title: Money order

text: A money order is purchased for the amount desired. In this way it is similar to a certified cheque. The main difference is that money orders are usually limited in maximum face value to some specified figure (for example, the United States Postal Service limits domestic postal money orders to US$1,000.00 ) while certified cheques are not. Money orders typically consist of two portions: the negotiable cheque for remittance to the payee (the receiver), and a receipt or stub that the customer retains for his/her records. The amount is printed by machine or checkwriter on both portions, and similar documentation, either as a third hard copy or in electronic form and retained at the issuer and agent locations.


title: Money order

text: Money orders have limited acceptance in the insurance and brokerage industry because of concerns over money laundering. Because of provisions within the USA PATRIOT Act and the Bank Secrecy Act, money orders have far more regulatory processing requirements than personal cheques, cashier's cheques, or certified cheques.


title: Money order

text: In India, a money order is a service provided by the Indian Postal Service. A payer who wants to send money to a payee pays the amount and a small commission at a post office and receives a receipt for the same. The amount is then delivered as cash to the payee after a few days by a postal employee, at the address specified by the payer. A receipt from the payee is collected and delivered back to the payer at his address. This is more reliable and safer than sending cash in the mail.


title: Money order

text: It is commonly used for transferring funds to a payee who is in a remote, rural area, where banks may not be conveniently accessible or where many people may not use a bank account at all. Money orders are the most economical way of sending money in India for small amounts.


title: Money order

text: In the United States, money orders are typically sold by third parties such as the United States Postal Service, grocery stores, and convenience stores. Some financial service companies such as banks and credit unions may not charge for money orders to their clients. Money orders remain a trusted financial instrument. However, just because a particular business can issue a money order does not necessarily mean that they will cash them. The U.S. Postal Service issues money orders for a small charge at any location.


title: Money order

text: The United States Postal Service began selling money orders as an alternative to sending currency through the postal system in order to reduce post office robberies, an idea instituted by Montgomery Blair who was Postmaster-General 1861–1864. Money orders were later offered by many more vendors than just the postal service as a means to pay bills and send money internationally where there were not reliable banking or postal systems. Companies that now offer money orders include 7-11, QuikTrip, Cumberland Farms, Safeway, Western Union, MoneyGram, CVS, Wal-Mart, and 3T Solutions.


title: Money order

text: Obtaining a money order in the United States is simple, as they can be purchased at any post office, and are sold at many other locations.


title: Money order

text: An international money order is very similar in many aspects to a regular money order except that it can be used to make payments abroad. With it, a buyer can easily pay a seller for goods or services if he or she resides in another country. International money orders are often issued by a buyer's bank and bought in the currency that the seller accepts. International money orders are thought to be safer than sending currency through the post because there are various forms of identification required to cash an international money order, often including a signature and a form of photo identification.


title: Money order

text: When purchasing an international money order, it is important to ensure that the specific type of money order is acceptable in the destination country. Several countries are very strict that the money order be on pink and yellow paper and bear the words "international postal money order." In particular, Japan Post (one of the largest banking institutions in the world) requires these features. Most other countries have taken this as a standard when there is any doubt of a document's authenticity.


title: Money order

text: In the last decade, a number of electronic alternatives to money orders have emerged and have, in some cases, supplanted money orders as the preferred cash transmission method. Many of these alternatives use the ubiquitous Visa/MasterCard payment systems to settle transactions. In Japan, the konbini system enables cash to cash transfers and is available at many of the thousands of convenience stores located in the country. In Italy, the PostePay system is offered through the Italian post office. In Ireland, 3V is offered through mobile top-up locations. In the United States, PaidByCash is offered at 60,000 grocery and convenience stores. In Bangladesh, mobile banking services enable electronic transfer of money as well as retail transactions.


title: Money order

text: In the United Kingdom, a number of credit card providers have started to provide pre-paid credit cards. These cards can be "topped-up" at any location that uses the Pay-Point system and also at the Post Office for the Post Office card. PayPal has their own branded pre-paid card which can be "topped-up" using a PayPal account or Pay-Points.


title: Matura

text: It is taken by young adults (usually aged from 17 to 20) at the end of their secondary education, and generally must be passed in order to apply to a university or other institutions of higher education. is a matriculation examination and can be compared to "A-Level exams", the or the .


title: Matura

text: The official name is "Matura Shtetërore" (State Matura) which was introduced in 2006 by the Ministry of Education and Science replacing the school based "Provimet e Pjekurisë" (Maturity Examination). The "Matura" is the obligatory exam after finishing the "gjimnaz" (secondary school) to have one's education formally recognized and to become eligible to enroll in universities. Vocational schools, art schools and schools participating in pilot programs are part of the "Matura" with different exam structures and subjects. The Matura is a centralized affair, conducted by the QSHA (Center for Educational Services) which is in charge of selecting tasks, appointing national examiners, grading the sheets; other agencies ensure the safety and integrity of the exams.


title: Matura

text: The three compulsory subjects to complete secondary education are Albanian language and literature, mathematics and a foreign language (English, except for students in dual-language schools). Students in high schools must also take one additional exam which they choose themselves out of a list of eight subjects. The "Matura" exams take place in four separate days usually in the June/July period. The first three days are for each of the compulsory subjects; the fourth day is for the additional exam. The basic marks range from 4 to 10 where a 5 is the lowest passing mark; applicants fill out forms indicating their preferred universities with no ranking between them. The State "Matura" replaced an admission system conducted individually by each faculty/university which was seen as abusive.


title: Matura

text: The official term for "Matura" in Austria is "Reifeprüfung". The document received after the successful completion of the written and oral exams is called Maturazeugnis.


title: Matura

text: In the Gymnasium (AHS), which, as opposed to vocational schools, focuses on general education, the "Matura" consists of 3–4 written exams (referred to as "Klausurarbeiten", four to five hours each) to be taken on consecutive mornings (usually in May) and three to four oral exams to be taken on the same half-day about a month later (usually in June); The higher vocational education schools (BHS) such as HBLAs, HTLs, and HTBLAs follow a similar format. All examinations are held at the school which the candidate last attended. Candidates have the option to write a scholarly paper (called "Fachbereichsarbeit") to be submitted at the beginning of the February preceding the final exams, which, if accepted, reduces the number of written exams by one, as the Fachbereichsarbeit is seen as an equivalent to a subject. This paper also needs to be defended in the corresponding oral exam.


title: Matura

text: The grading system is the one universally used in Austrian schools: "1" ("sehr gut") is excellent; "2" ("gut") is good; "3" ("befriedigend") is satisfactory; "4" ("genügend") is passed and "5" ("nicht genügend") means that the candidate has failed. In addition, a candidate's "Maturazeugnis" contains a formalized overall assessment: ""mit ausgezeichnetem Erfolg bestanden"" (pass with distinction: an average of 1.5 or better, no grade above 3), ""mit gutem Erfolg bestanden"" (pass with merit: an average of 2.0 or better, no grade above 3), ""bestanden"" (pass: no grade above 4); and '""nicht bestanden"" (fail: at least one grade 5). Candidates who have failed may re-take their exams in September/October or February/March of the following school year.


title: Matura

text: Compulsory subjects for the written finals are always German and Mathematics, as well as a foreign language (usually English, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin or sometimes Ancient Greek). Schools with a focus on science may require their students to take written finals in Biology or Physics.


title: Matura

text: The Austrian "Matura" used to be a decentralized affair, however since 2014 tests in Mathematics, German and foreign languages, are now centralized and held at the same day throughout Austria. There is only one external examiner: candidates are set tasks both for their written and oral finals by their own (former) teachers. Formally, however, there is an examination board consisting of a candidate's teachers/examiners, the headmaster/headmistress and one external "Vorsitzende(r)" (head), usually a high-ranking school official or the head of another school. Oral exams are held publicly, but attendance by anyone other than a candidate's former schoolmates is not encouraged, and indeed rare.


title: Matura

text: It is possible for Austrians of all age groups to take the Matura. Adults from their twenties on are usually tutored at private institutions of adult education before taking their final tests, held separately before a regional examination board.


title: Matura

text: In 2015, the old Matura system was replaced by a new concept called "Zentralmatura" (centralized Matura). Graduation exams are now put together by "bifie" (an institution for research in education) and every graduation exam in Austria is now held on the same day. However, the teachers still correct all the exams themselves using an answer sheet that is included in the exam packages.


title: Matura

text: Students can still choose either four or three written exams (maths, German and one foreign language are compulsory; one additional language can also be chosen). When students choose three written exams, they will have to do another three oral exams. When choosing four written exams, only two additional oral exams are necessary.


title: Matura

text: What is also new is that every student now has to write a graduation paper called "VWA" ("Vorwissenschaftliche Arbeit" or, literally translated, "Pre-scientific paper"). They can choose any topic they want, usually one year before graduating. When they have finished writing it (it should usually be 30.000 to 60.000 characters long), they have to present it to teachers and to the head ("Vorsitzende(r)"). The "VWA" is another grade in the "Maturazeugnis".


title: Matura

text: In Bulgarian the matura is formally called "държавен зрелостен изпит" (Romanization: "darzhaven zrelosten izpit", State Maturity Exam) or ДЗИ (DZI), but usually it is called simply "матура". There is only one compulsory subject – "Bulgarian Language and Literature", but students are required to select an additional subject of their choice; they can also request a third and fourth subject. Each exam consists of a single written test. The second subject must be chosen between:


title: Matura

text: In 2008, according to the statistics on the web site of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, 76,013 students have registered for the matura exams. Of them only 1748 students registered for a third, voluntary subject. Only 845 of them passed the third examination successfully. Because of the exam's challenging nature, students who request a third subject have a significant advantage in the university admissions process.


title: Matura

text: The nationwide leaving exams ("državna matura") were introduced for gymnasium (and other four-year high school programme) students in the school year 2009/2010. The examinations are conducted by the National Center for External Evaluation of Education ("Nacionalni centar za vanjsko vrednovanje obrazovanja" – NCVVO). There are two available terms during which candidates can take their exams: the summer term, taking place usually during June, and the fall term, typically occurring during September. Many university faculties and other higher-education institutions already have their applications closed by the end of the summer term due to having reached their first-year students enrollment quota for the upcoming academic year.


title: Matura

text: The compulsory subjects are available at the basic (B) or higher (A) level exams. Certain higher-education institutions require the candidate to take certain or all compulsory subject exams at the A level. On the other hand, there are higher-education programmes requiring only the B level exams. In such cases, the candidate taking an exam in a certain subject on the A level is credited more points than a candidate taking the B level exam: 1 point of the A level exam is worth 1.6 points of the B level exam.


title: Matura

text: The Croatian language exam has two parts: literature written exam, and an essay. The literature exam is composed mostly of the multiple choice assignments and matching questions assignments, whereas the essay part of the exam requires an essay ranging from 400 to 600 words written with notable understanding of a given literature text.


title: Matura

text: The literature appearing in the exam changes annually; however, the list of works that can appear remains the same. The B level exam literature list consists of the following: Camus' The Stranger, Cesarić's Lirika, Gundulić's Dubravka, Ibsen's A Doll's House, Krleža's The Glembays, Matoš's Pjesme, Novak's Posljednji Stipančići, and Sophocles' Antigone. The A level works are: Camus' Stranger, Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Držić's Dundo Maroje, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Krleža's The Glembays and The Return of Filip Latinovicz, Marinković's Ruke, Nehajev's Bijeg, Poe's The Black Cat, Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Sophocles' Antigone, Šimić's Preobraženja, and Šoljan's Kratki izlet.


title: Matura

text: The optional subjects are Biology, Chemistry, Computer science, Ethics, Geography, History, Logics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Politics, Psychology, Religious studies, Sociology, and Visual arts. Optional subjects are available only at a single level. A gymnasium student is considered to have finished their high school education program upon passing only the three compulsory subjects (alongside fulfilling the other prerequisites set by their high school); if a student fails a Matura exam on an optional subject, that subject simply won't be listed on their certificate.


title: Matura

text: Students receive their exams in sealed opaque silver bags which they personally open typically by piercing the top with a pen and thus breaking the seal. Inside they get the exam booklet, the answer sheet (used for scanning students' answers for faster grading process), a concept booklet, a new opaque silver bag, and a piece of paper with barcode stickers used for candidate identification. Before they start taking the exam, students need to stick the barcodes on every booklet, paper and bag that they received. At the end, students gather all the examination material and seal it in the opaque silver bag they had received, which will then be sent back to NCVVO for grading. The answers of the exam questions are published typically two days after the exam day.


title: Matura

text: Examinees are allowed to file a complaint on grading, or even on the exam questions. On the 2012 Croatian language exam, a total of 7 exam questions were nullified due to multiple possible interpretations of the source text and the indiscrimination by the examinees shown by the psychometric analysis.


title: Matura

text: Further enrollment into higher education is conducted on-line via the National Computer System for Applications for Higher Education Institutions ("Nacionalni informacijski sustav prijava na visoka učilišta" – NISpVU). Each candidate has the right to attempt to enroll at a maximum of 10 colleges, faculties, schools, and academies of universities, or other types of higher-education institutions. Lists of students with the right to enrollment are processed by the central computers of each institution's division. The rank is formed based on Matura exams points and optional additional criteria or extra points set by the institution that ranks the applicants, for example, admission exams, or GPA of final grades of each year in certain or all high school subjects.


title: Matura

text: For example, for a domestic student to enroll at the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, the following criteria needs to be met: they have acquired at least 55% on the compulsory admission exam (select advanced areas in Chemistry, Biology and Physics), and they have passed the A level exams of the compulsory Matura subjects. Their final points are then calculated based on the following:


title: Matura

text: The official term for matura in the Czech Republic is "maturita" or "maturitní zkouška". In 2010 the Czech Republic introduced a system of state exams, which divided the previous system into two parts. The first is the state exam, which consists of two compulsory subjects: "Czech language and literature" and either a foreign language (mostly English, but also German, Russian, Spanish or French) or mathematics (the combination is chosen by students). The second part consists of Czech language and literature and at least two, but usually three, "profile" subjects, which vary between schools. Gymnázium (similar to grammar school) students usually choose from:


title: Matura

text: The state part of the exam is supervised by CERMAT (formerly "Centrum pro reformu maturitní zkoušky", "Centre for Maturita Reform; now "Centrum pro zjišťování výsledků vzdělávání", "Centre for Detection of Education Results"), a state managed company. CERMAT issues final tests for the state part of the exam, documentation and practical tests, holds training for teachers who correct essays and supervise the students during the exams. The main part of the company is the tech centre, which is used for auto correcting the students exams. State exams are subject to continual improvement. Today the tests consist of four exams from which two are state organized and two school organized, in the future the state wants to add at least one more state exam and one more compulsory school exam.


title: Matura

text: In 2012 the state part of the "maturita" exam was split into two difficulty levels – students could choose between basic and advanced tests. This solution was found to be ineffective and was canceled the following year.


title: Matura

text: The Czech Republic also has a separate examination system called "Národní srovnávací zkoušky" ("National Comparative Test"), owned and managed by the private company Scio, s.r.o. which provides tests for all subjects. Some Czech universities recognize the results of these tests and students can be accepted based on these results, however, they still have to succeed in the "maturita" exam.


title: Matura

text: The examination itself is also divided between written and oral parts but not all subjects require both written and spoken input (for example math is formed by a written test only). Usually both the written and the oral part of the exam are set in late spring. The state part of the written exam is set to one day in which students in the whole country write identical tests, different tests are always issued on the day the exam takes place. The school (profile) part is always different and is based on requirements of the school which issues the test so it may be both written and spoken, but it can also be only one of the options.


title: Matura

text: The oral part of the "maturita" exam takes part in a classroom in which a commissioner must be present. The oral exam is divided into two 15 minute parts (except Czech language and literature, where the preparation time is 20 minutes), first a student draws a number of his question and then begins 15 minutes of preparation often called "potítko" ("sweat lodge") after the first 15 minutes he is called in to the 15 minute oral exam. The commission is composed of the class teacher, commissioner and either a principal or a representative principal. The student is examined by the examiner and an assessor. The examiner and the assessor usually agree on a grade which should be assigned to the student and if not the commission takes a vote for the grade. Students can graduate with a grade better than 5 (grades are 1–5, where 1 is the best).


title: Matura

text: Exam duration, for both oral and written exams, as well as preparation time, can be longer for students with disabilities.


title: Matura

text: If students fail in one subject, they have the option to repeat the subject, if they fail more than one subject, then they have to repeat the complete set of exams including the written part. All students have a maximum of three attempts to succeed in this exam, if they fail to succeed they end secondary school without the "maturita" and are unable to apply for college or university. They still have a chance to do maturita exam on another secondary school in the future, but this mostly means that they should finish study on that another school in full length, e.g. 4 years.


title: Matura

text: The official term for the matura exam in Hungary is ""érettségi vizsga"" or simply ""érettségi"". It is usually taken after 12 or 13 years of schooling, at the age of 17 to 19, but may also be taken at a later age. Candidates who pass their final exams (school-leaving exams) receive a document that contains their grades and which enables them to go to a university.


title: Matura

text: Hungarian students have to take an exam from Hungarian literature and grammar (""magyar nyelv és irodalom""), Mathematics (""matematika""), History (""történelem""), one foreign language (""idegen nyelv""), and one more subject of the student's choice that can be anything that the student had learned for at least 2 years in school. While these five subject are mandatory for obtaining a degree, candidates may choose as many additional exam subjects as they wish. Students can choose between standard ("közép") or higher ("emelt") level for each subject. The exams don't necessarily have to be taken in Hungarian; at the candidate's request, they can be taken in any language (with the exception of Hungarian literature and grammar for obvious reasons).


title: Matura

text: The Hungarian literature and grammar, History, the Sciences (e.g. biology) and foreign language exams are made up of a written and an oral part, while the standard-level Mathematics exam contains only a written part. (Should a candidate fail their standard-level Mathematics exam, they can have an oral exam in order to pass). The higher-level Mathematics exam consists of both a written and an oral part.


title: Matura

text: The grading scale of the "érettségi" is the same as the usual grading used in Hungarian schools but the percentages differ: excellent (5), good (4), medium (3), pass (2), and fail (1).


title: Matura

text: In Italy the examination is commonly called "(Esame di) Maturità" ('maturity exam') or just "Esame di Stato" ('state exam'), but the official name is "Esame di Stato conclusivo del corso di studio di istruzione secondaria superiore" ('Final state exam of the upper secondary cycle of studies'). This is the final exam for secondary school, which students are normally required to pass in order to be admitted to colleges and universities.


title: Matura

text: In Italy, the maturità is informally regarded as a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood, after which secondary school graduates get ready for higher education and/or a job.


title: Matura

text: Examination boards are composed of three internal teachers belonging to the student's school, three external teachers and an external president of the board. Every year the Ministry of Education decides which subjects will be assigned to external teachers; these are different depending on the type of school.


title: Matura

text: The exam is divided into written and oral sections. The written section consists of three tests. The first one is Italian and is identical nationwide: students are required to write an essay, an article on a given topic, but they can also choose to analyse and comment on a text (usually a poem). The second test changes according to the type of school the student attended, so it can be on a wide variety of different subjects, such as pedagogy and psychology, mathematics, foreign language, Latin, and Ancient Greek. It is identical nationwide for schools of the same type. The subject is decided by the Ministry a few months before the exam: it is almost always the same for some types of school (for example Mathematics for liceo scientifico) and it is chosen among the "written" subjects for other schools (for example, it is chosen between Latin and Ancient Greek for liceo classico or one of the three different foreign languages studied, included English, in liceo linguistico). Finally, the third test is about a maximum of five selected subjects of the last year, and it is written by every single examining commission. The student doesn't know before which subjects are in the text. Starting the school year 2018–2019 the third test will be abolished leaving the first and the second written tests and the oral test. The interview section is to assess that the student has really reached a personal and intellectual maturity concerning the various subjects of his or her last school year; the examining commission is supposed to ask about every subject, but has got to make sure that the candidate is also able to discuss about a variety of themes explaining and justifying his or her opinion; also, in recent years has become customary for each student to prepare a short essay ("tesina") on a free topic, intended to showcase the ability to cover different sides of the topic using extensively the notions and methods learnt in school.


title: Matura

text: The students who are able to reach 100 points without needing a bonus can be awarded the "lode" (cum laude) praise by the examination board.


title: Matura

text: In Kosovo Testi i Maturës Shtetërore/Državni maturski ispit (the State Mature Exam) is mandatory for every high school student in order to get the high school certificate. Without passing the Matura Exam, one cannot apply to any university within Kosovo. It has different number of questions per subject, depending on the High School's profile.


title: Matura

text: It is held every year in June, and with the latest reforms, there are two tests, on two different days:


title: Matura

text: The tests are held on the same day for every school, usually in the middle of June. There is also a similar test for the Primary School pupils as well, called Testi i Semi-Maturës Shtetërore/Državni malomaturski ispit (State Semi-Matura Exam) which has 100 questions, and is mandatory for every pupil who will continue to High School.


title: Matura

text: The Tests are provided by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and are in Albanian, Serbian, Turkish and Bosniak, who make the ethnical groups of Kosovo.


title: Matura

text: In North Macedonia the matura is obligatory for every high school student who is planning on going to college afterwards. It is called "државна матура" ("state matura") or simply "матура" ("matura"). Every student who intends to pass the matura is required to complete four exams:


title: Matura

text: In the Polish education system, the exam is officially called "egzamin maturalny", but it is commonly known as "matura". It is taken on completion of high school, in May (with additional dates in June, and retakes available in August). The exam is not compulsory, although Polish students must pass it in order to be able to apply for higher education courses in Poland and elsewhere.


title: Matura

text: A major reform of the exam (originally enacted in 1999, although its introduction was delayed) came into effect as from 2005. Under the old system (popularly called "stara matura") candidates' performance was assessed solely by teachers from their own schools. In the new system "(nowa matura)" written work is assessed by independent examiners. This is considered to make the results more objective, and as a result Polish higher education institutions no longer run entrance exams (as they did under the old system), but base their admissions primarily on "matura" results.


title: Matura

text: As of 2015, every student taking the "matura" takes three compulsory exams at "basic level" "(poziom podstawowy)" in:


title: Matura

text: as well as at least one subject at "extended level" "(poziom rozszerzony)". These include the above as well as biology, chemistry, geography, social studies, history, history of art, history of music, information technology, physics and astronomy, Latin and Ancient History, philosophy, another modern language, languages of ethnic groups in Poland (Belarusian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian), Kashubian and Lemko.


title: Matura

text: Results are currently expressed as percentages. To pass the "matura" it is necessary to score at least 30% in each of the three compulsory exams, and from 2023, in at least one "extended level" subject. The results of the additional exams do not affect whether a student passes, but are usually a factor when applying for higher education places. Since the year 2015 the results are expressed not only as percentages, but are also accompanied by percentiles on the Matura certificate. This aims to make comparisons between Matura scores from different years fairer.


title: Matura

text: The exams are conducted by the Central Examination Board "(Centralna Komisja Egzaminacyjna; CKE)" , assisted by a number of Regional Examination Boards "(Okręgowa Komisja Egzaminacyjna; OKE)". The same bodies also conduct tests for pupils completing primary school.


title: Matura

text: A custom associated with the "matura" is the "studniówka", a ball organized for students and their teachers approximately one hundred days before the examinations begin. Following a popular superstition, candidates (particularly female ones) wear red underwear at the ball, and then wear the same items for the exam itself, to bring luck.


title: Matura

text: Matura () is an obligatory exam at the end of primary school and high school. The exam taken at the end of primary school is called (Minor) while the one at the end of high school is called (Major). For there are three exams: Serbian language and literature, mathematics, and a combined one consisting of questions about biology, geography, history, chemistry and physics.


title: Matura

text: In Slovakia the matura is formally called "Maturitná skúška". It consists of several parts. The first "written" part is usually held in March. In this part every student has to undergo tests from Slovak language and literature, foreign language (English, German, French, Russian or Spanish) and math (only if chosen by student). There are also tests in Ukrainian or Hungarian for students of schools with these as teaching languages. These tests are prepared and electronically assessed by NÚCEM (Národný ústav certifikovaných meraní vzdelávania, eng. National Institute for Certified Educational Measurements). This part also includes writing an essay in every language student is tested in. Topics are prepared by NÚCEM, but essays are assessed by student's school. Ranges of essays are 1.5 – 3 pages (A4 format) in Slovak and 160 – 180 words for level B1, 200 – 220 for B2 level or 260 – 320 words for C1 level of foreign language tests. There are only two compulsory subjects – "Slovak language and literature" and a foreign language. Gymnázium (similar to grammar school) students have to choose at least two additional subjects such as:


title: Matura

text: Exam from these additional subjects consists only of oral part usually held in May. One exception is Mathematics which consists of both written and oral parts. Students can also choose another foreign language as additional subject.


title: Matura

text: The students can choose a level of matura from the foreign language according to CEFR – B1 (intermediate) or B2 (upper intermediate). Students of gymnázium school have to choose at least one foreign language at level B2. Students of linguist-specialized (bilingual) gymnázium school have to pass test from the foreign language at level C1 (English level of bachelor's degree). In the past, if the student had got an additional certificate from foreign language (IELTS, TOEFL, CAE, FCE), at least at level B1, he/she did not need to pass the foreign language exam. However, this was cancelled in 2014 and now all secondary education students are required to pass the foreign language exam as a part of their matura.


title: Matura

text: In Slovenia, the "splošna matura" (college-prep leaving exam) is an obligatory exam after finishing "gimnazija" (upper secondary school) to have one's education formally recognised and to become eligible to enroll in colleges and universities. It should not be confused with the "poklicna matura" (vocational leaving exam), which is the final examination at vocational schools and does not lead to university studies. Since there is no entrance examination at the vast majority of Slovenian universities programmes (notable exceptions are only art and music programmes, architecture studies and sports studies), the score on this exam is the main criterion for admission (grades achieved during studies also play a small part).


title: Matura

text: It consists of three compulsory and two elective subjects. One must take Slovene (Italian or Hungarian for members of minorities), Mathematics and one foreign language (usually English, although French, German, Spanish, Russian, and Italian are provided, as well). The elective subjects can be chosen among all the other subjects, one has encountered during his schooling (Greek, Latin, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history or history of art, philosophy or sociology or psychology, music or graphic arts, history of drama, economics, informatics, biotechnology, electrotechnics, mechanics, materials science). It is possible to choose the second foreign language as one of the elective subjects.


title: Matura

text: The leaving exam is a centralised affair, conducted by the National Examination Centre, which is in charge of selecting tasks, appointing national examiners, grading the sheets and sending the scores to all Slovenian universities the applicants have applied for.


title: Matura

text: Grading is somewhat complicated, as there exist three different criteria for different sets of subjects.


title: Matura

text: It is also possible to pass the exam with grade 1 in one subject, however, two conditions must be met:


title: Matura

text: Thus, it is possible to gain from 10 to 34 points. Students who have achieved 30 or more points are awarded leaving exam diplomas cum laude (Slovene: "zlata matura" 'golden leaving exam') and are usually congratulated by the president of Slovenia at a festive reception in September.


title: Matura

text: The final score is expressed in points from 1 (failure) to 5 (the highest mark on a basic level) or 8 (the highest mark on a higher level).


title: Matura

text: The nationwide leaving exam was reintroduced in Slovenia in 1994, after all upper secondary schools had been suspended in the 1980s and reopened in 1991. The exam is conducted in two terms, the first one being in spring (May/June) and the second one in autumn (September). Due to the university admittance procedure, of which the first call concludes in July, applicants passing the exam in September have usually a very limited choice of university programmes for that year.


title: Matura

text: There has been a heated debate lately whether this leaving exam should once again be completely abolished. As of January 2007, the position of the Ministry of Education remains that the "matura" will still be the only way of completing secondary education. The decision on whether universities should introduce entrance examinations and reduce the importance of the leaving exam to a mere pass/fail has not been made yet.


title: Matura

text: In Switzerland's education system, secondary school has several tiers oriented towards different professional tracks. The gymnasium, leading to the Matura graduation, is the highest tier, offering broad and thorough academic foundations to prepare its students for direct entry to university. Approximately 20% of youth attain the Matura every year, although this figure varies among the different cantons, which are in charge of (upper) secondary education. The gymnasial Matura is required and sufficient (except for medicine, where the number of students is restricted) for Swiss students to study at a university or a federal institute of technology irrespective of their subject choice.


title: Matura

text: The specific requirements for a Matura graduation vary slightly among the cantons. In general they involve two parts: The grades of the last school year and standardized Matura exams at the end of 12th or 13th grade, depending on the canton. Also a scientific Matura paper of about 25 pages has to be executed. Grades attained in classes during the last school year and at the exams, as well as the Matura paper contribute equally to the final grade. With a revision in 2007, among others an appreciation of science subjects were carried out by individual graduation of biology, physics and chemistry, increasing the proportion of teaching mathematics and natural science subjects as well as the introduction of computer science as a supplementary subject.


title: Matura

text: 6 is the best grade, 1 is the lowest. The required average grade to attain Matura is 4. In order to pass, all grades below 4 have to be compensated by better grades in double, and no more than four grades lower than 4 are allowed.


title: Matura

text: The cantons are responsible for the organisation of the final tests. Exams include a series of oral and written tests. Tests are typically administered by a team consisting of a teacher who was involved in the student's classes and an independent expert. This cantonal Matura exam is recognised in the whole country but there is no single standardised test on a national level in contrary to what exists in France, for instance where the same test with the same questions and the same themes is passed by all students on the same day.


title: Matura

text: Matura exams are executed on at least five of the following subjects (all written exams and optionally also oral):


title: Matura

text: A "Federal Matura" exists on a national level, though each "Cantonal Matura" is also inherently approved on a federal level. The Federal Matura is organised by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) twice a year in each linguistical region.


title: Matura

text: An additional exam called "Latinum Helveticum", also organised by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, allows the student to study a field at a university that requires Latin knowledges.


title: Matura

text: The Fachmatura/Maturité de culture générale/Maturità specializzata/Maturita media spezialisada is a relatively new program (success rates were first published in 2008). The exam is taken after completion of a Fachmittelschule and it opens up certain technical college courses. The program requires successful completion of general education subjects as well as one year of additional training in one or two professional fields and writing a matura paper. The following fields may be chosen from; health, social work, science, communication and information, music/dance/theater, art and design and education.


title: Matura

text: The advanced vocational certificate (Berufsmatura/Maturité professionelle/Maturità professionale) allows access to the Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences and indicated both successful completion of the vocational program as well as additional advanced studies. It can be earned either during the vocation course or after course completion. Originally there were six specialties in which the certificate could be earned. Following the new vocational regulations of May 2015 there are now five orientations with two variants for each of the first three; "Technology, Architecture and Life Sciences", "Economics and Services", "Health and Welfare", "Art and Design", and "Nature, Agriculture and Food Services".


title: Matura

text: Matura is common in Ukrainian secondary education in the Ukrainian diaspora, specifically in the United States and Canada. It is usually run by Saturday Ukrainian Education schools sponsored by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, which regulates and writes the various tests. Children of Ukrainian descent are tested on Saturdays during a month-long period toward the end of their junior or senior year of high school on their knowledge of Ukrainian, geography, history, culture, and literature. Often, these tests are approved by local governments' accreditation standards as a second-language school which can, under certain circumstances, be applied to other schools.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: The Fort Worth Missing Trio refers to an unsolved missing persons case that began on December 23, 1974, when three girls Mary Rachel Trlica, Lisa Renee Wilson, and Julie Ann Moseley went missing while Christmas shopping at the Seminary South Shopping Center in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The car the girls were driving, a 1972 Oldsmobile 98, was left behind in the Sears parking lot at the mall; the girls have not been seen since.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: The oldest of the girls, Mary Rachel Trlica (née Arnold), was 17 years old at the time of her disappearance. She is known to go by her middle name of Rachel. She is a Caucasian female, in height, , with long brown hair, green eyes, a chipped upper front tooth, and a small scar on her chin. She was a married high school student at Southwest High School in Fort Worth and drove a 1972 Oldsmobile 98, the car the girls took to the mall on the day of the disappearance. At the time she vanished, Rachel had been married to her husband, Tommy Trlica, for about six months and wore a wedding ring.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: Lisa Renee Wilson was 14 years old at the time of her disappearance. She is known to go by her middle name of Renee. She is a fair-skinned Caucasian female, in height, , with light wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and a scar on the inside of one of her thighs. Clothing she was known to be wearing when she disappeared includes bluish-purple hip hugger pants, a white pullover sweatshirt with "Sweet Honesty" in green letters (some have reported it as a pale yellow T-shirt with green letters), red and white Oxford shoes, and a promise ring with a single clear stone.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: The youngest of the girls, Julie Ann Moseley, was 9 years old at the time of her disappearance. She is a Caucasian female, in height, , with shoulder-length sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a small scar under her left eye, a scar in the middle of her forehead, and a scar on the back of her calf. Clothing she was known to be wearing when she disappeared included a red shirt with dark pants (jeans) and red tennis shoes.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: The case shocked the Fort Worth community and left the families to adjust to life without their children. Thousands of leads have been followed, dozens of searches completed and hundreds of people interviewed. All have proven fruitless.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: On the morning of December 23, 1974, a little before noon, Rachel Trlica, Renee Wilson, and Julie Ann Moseley set out to go Christmas shopping. Moseley asked to tag along at the last minute because she “didn’t want to spend the day alone”. On being told that she would need to get permission to go, Moseley ran inside and called her mother, Rayanne, who would later recall: "I was working for an electrical contractor, and my husband and I were separated. It was a bitter, bitter time. I remember that Julie called and wanted to go to Seminary South. I said, 'No. You don't have any money. You just stay home.' I knew Renee and her mother, but I really didn't know Rachel. But she [Julie] kept whining about how she wouldn't have anybody to play with. ... I finally gave in, but I told her to be home by six." The older girls, specifically Renee, wanted to be back by 4:00pm because she had a Christmas party she wanted to attend with her new boyfriend, who had given her a promise ring that morning. She wanted plenty of time to get ready.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: The girls first headed to a surplus store in Fort Worth to pick up some layaway items that Renee had waiting. From there, they headed to the Seminary South Shopping Center. Several witnesses had reported seeing the girls in the mall that day. When the girls did not return home, the families became concerned and traveled to Seminary South to search for them. They arrived around 6:00pm that evening to find their car parked in the Sears upper-level parking lot. It appeared the girls had made it back to the car that afternoon as the gifts they had purchased were found in the car. The family stayed at the mall all night waiting for the girls to return.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: When the girls failed to turn up, the police were called and the case was quickly handed to the youth division of the Fort Worth Police Department's (FWPD) Missing Persons Bureau. The girls were presumed to be runaways by investigators. As if to prove this point, the next day Tommy Trlica, Rachel's husband, received a letter that appeared to have been written by her. It read:


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: "I know I'm going to catch it, but we had to get away. We're going to Houston. See you in about a week. The car is in Sears' upper lot. Love Rachel"


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: Strangely, while the addressed envelope was written in pencil, the letter itself was written in ink and on a sheet of paper that was wider than the envelope. It was addressed to "Thomas A. Trlica", instead of the less formal Tommy as Rachel called him. "Rachel" was written in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope. It appeared to be initially misspelled, as the “l” in her name was written as a lower-case “e”, but then it had been gone over again to form the correct “l”. The postmark did not contain a city, only a blurred zip code that appeared to be “76083”; the number “3” appeared to either be backward, as though it was applied by a hand-loaded stamp, or a partial “8”. It is assumed that the zip code was meant to be either 76038, which comes from Eliasville, or 76088, which comes from Weatherford. During the subsequent decades, handwriting experts across the nation, including from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have yielded inconclusive results from analyzing the letter.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: Despite receiving the letter, the families did not believe that it was written by Rachel nor that the girls had run away. Rayanne Moseley stated, "I know my daughter, and I know those other girls and they are not runaways." Judy Wilson, Renee's mother, stated: "I could have told you that night that they didn't run away. [Renee] wanted to go to that party. And no nine-year-old is going to run off two days before Christmas. Everybody knows that!" Frances Langston, Rachel's mother, believed the girls had been abducted, saying: "A lot of people may think they left with someone they knew, but I'll always think—until the day I die—that the girls were taken".


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: Not willing to give in, the families continued their search by distributing missing person fliers throughout the state and contacting newspapers across the country. Eventually, tips began to come in and witnesses began to come forward. In early 1975, one young man claiming to be an acquaintance of Rachel's stepped forward and claimed that he saw the three girls in the record department of a store inside the mall just before they disappeared. Apparently he and Rachel saw each other and spoke briefly. The man claimed that another person appeared to be with the girls. During this same time, some women's clothes were found in Justin, but it was determined that they did not belong to the girls.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: Frustrated with the police investigation, the families decided to hire a private detective named Jon Swaim. In August 1975, Swaim discovered that a 28-year-old man, who had worked for a local store where Rachel had applied for a job before her disappearance, was making a string of obscene phone calls in the area. It was discovered that the man was using his position to obtain information from young women who had either entered job applications or who were listed as references. Six female job applicants had been receiving obscene phone calls. The man also once lived in the neighborhood of Rachel's parents but moved away shortly before she married. In the end, nothing ever came of this suspect.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: In April 1975, Swaim went to Port Lavaca with 100 volunteers to search under local bridges after receiving a tip that the girls had been killed and taken there. However, no trace of the girls was found. A year later, three skeletons were found in a field in Brazoria County by an oil drilling crew. Swaim had the bones checked against x-rays and dental records of the girls, but it turned out that the bones belonged to a teenage boy about 15–17 years of age and two other females who were not identified as being any of the girls. In March 1976, a psychic called one of the families and told them that the girls could be found near an oil well. For some reason, the searchers focused on the small community of Rising Star outside of Abilene, but nothing was ever found.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: In 1979, Swaim died following a drug overdose; his death was subsequently ruled to be suicide. Upon his death, he ordered that all of his files on the case be destroyed.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: In the spring of 1981, police investigators were called to a location in Brazoria County after human remains had been found in a swampy area. After a month of investigation, they discovered that the bones did not belong to the three girls.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: In January 2001, the case was reopened and assigned to a homicide detective, Tom Boetcher, who believes the girls left the mall with someone they trusted: "We can say that they were at one point seen with one individual, but we believe there was more than one involved".


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: In 2018, two cars were raised from Benbrook Lake because they were thought to have a connection to the case. These efforts, however, yielded no results.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: Over the years, searchers have continued to comb through Texas brush and have explored hundreds of back roads. The families have walked creek beds and country roads only to come up with nothing. Decades after the girls disappeared, there have been no reports of new developments in the case.


title: Fort Worth Missing Trio

text: A store clerk came forward around the time of the girls' disappearance and said that a woman told her that she had seen the girls at the mall that day. The woman reported that she saw three girls being forced into a yellow pickup truck near Buddies grocery store at the mall. The truck was described to have lights on top of it. This witness, however, could never be located by police and the story was never verified.