title: Nim (programming language)

text: The codice_31 macro in this example takes the echo statement in the form of an abstract syntax tree as input. In this example we decided to return this syntax tree without any manipulations applied to it. But we do it twice, hence the name of the macro. The result is that the code gets rewritten by the macro to look like the following code at compile time:


title: Nim (programming language)

text: Nim's FFI is used to call functions written in the other programming languages that it can compile to. This means that libraries written in C, C++, Objective-C, and JavaScript can be used in the Nim source code. One should be aware that both JavaScript and C, C++, or Objective-C libraries cannot be combined in the same program, as they are not as compatible with JavaScript as they are with each other. Both C++ and Objective-C are based on and compatible with C, but JavaScript is incompatible, as a dynamic, client-side web-based language.


title: Nim (programming language)

text: To activate threading support in Nim, a program should be compiled with codice_33 command line argument. Each thread has a separate garbage collected heap and sharing of memory is restricted, which helps with efficiency and stops race conditions by the threads.


title: Nim (programming language)

text: Nim supports asynchronous IO via the codice_35 module, which adds async/await syntax via the macro system. An example of an asynchronous http server:


title: Nim (programming language)

text: Nim has an active community on the self-hosted, self-developed official forum. Further, the project uses a Git repository, bug tracker, and wiki hosted by GitHub, where the community engages with the language.


title: Nim (programming language)

text: The first Nim conference, NimConf, took place on June 20, 2020. It was held digitally due to COVID-19, with an open call for contributor talks in the form of YouTube videos. The conference began with language overviews by Nim developers Andreas Rumpf and Dominik Picheta. Presentation topics included talks about Nim web frameworks, mobile development, Internet of things (IoT) devices, and game development, including a talk about writing Nim for Game Boy Advance. NimConf 2020 is available as a YouTube playlist.


title: Nim (programming language)

text: In addition to official conferences, Nim has been featured at various other conventions. A presentation on Nim was given at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) in 2015. Four speakers represented Nim at Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting (FOSDEM) 2020, including the creator of the language, Andreas Rumpf.


title: Tony Hicks

text: Anthony Christopher Hicks (born 16 December 1945) is an English guitarist and singer who has been a member of the British rock/pop band the Hollies since 1963, and as such was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. His main roles within the band are lead guitarist and backing singer.


title: Tony Hicks

text: Hicks first had a taste of fame at age 12 as a member of Les Skifflettes when they were featured on the Carroll Levis talent show in 1957. By the early 1960s, he was a respected member of the Manchester music scene and had become the lead guitarist with Ricky Shaw and the Dolphins, while working as an apprentice electrician. When then local rivals the Hollies needed a replacement for their guitarist Vic Steele in February 1963, Hicks was immediately approached to join the band and although initially reluctant, he was finally convinced to join after listening to The Hollies through the air vent of the Twisted Wheel club in Manchester. Hicks shrewdly negotiated an £18 per week wage to join, despite the other members being paid just £9 per week. They had by this time secured a test recording session with EMI's Parlophone label with staff producer Ron Richards, whom the band later credited with creating and choosing their greatest hits. Hicks duly attended the session as their new guitarist in April 1963 and the audition resulted in a recording contract with Parlophone.


title: Tony Hicks

text: The Hollies soon became one of the most successful bands in Britain; they had a distinctive, breezy pop style built around the three-part harmony of Hicks (lower harmony) and bandmates Allan Clarke (lead vocals) and Graham Nash (high harmony). Hicks contributed his first solo composition for the group ("When I'm Not There") to an EP release in 1964 and co-wrote a B-side ("Keep Off That Friend of Mine") with drummer Bobby Elliott that year. Hicks then joined Clarke and Nash as the group's in-house songwriting team, who from 1964 to mid-1966 wrote as "Chester Mann" and "L. Ransford" before adopting the Clarke-Hicks-Nash banner. By the mid-1960s the threesome had become responsible for writing most of their songs, including singles hits such as "Stop! Stop! Stop!", "On a Carousel", "Carrie Anne" and "King Midas in Reverse". Hicks rarely sang lead vocals on Hollies songs, but was featured on "Look Through Any Window" (1965), and sang verse leads on "Too Much Monkey Business" (1964), "Carrie Anne" (a song he began for the band in Stavanger, Norway in 1967) and "Open Up Your Eyes" (1968). Hicks took solo lead vocals on his song "Pegasus" (1967), the Clarke-Sylvester-penned "Look at Life" (1969), his "Born A Man" (1973), "Hillsborough" (1989) and Bobby Elliott's "Then, Now, Always (Dolphin Days)" (2009).


title: Tony Hicks

text: In 1966, with contributions from fellow Hollies Clarke and Nash, Hicks contributed guitar work alongside Yardbirds guitarist and session musician Jimmy Page to the Everly Brothers' album "Two Yanks in England" (which included cover versions of a number of Hollies songs co-written by Hicks).


title: Tony Hicks

text: In the 1960s, with Nash performing few guitar duties except for the occasional rhythm part and acoustic work, Hicks became an integral part of the Hollies sound. Apart from contributing distinctive lead-guitar parts, he could be relied on to add unusual instrumentation to their sessions—such as the banjo which was a key component of their hit "Stop! Stop! Stop!", Greek-type ("Tell Me to My Face") and fuzz guitar ("Have You Ever Loved Somebody"). When no original material was available, Hicks discovered demos of Hollies hits "Just One Look" (UK No. 2 in 1964), "I Can't Let Go" (UK No. 2 in 1966) and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (UK No. 3 in 1969) (which became one of their biggest hits).


title: Tony Hicks

text: Hicks suggested the band do an album of Bob Dylan songs in late 1968; Nash disagreed, one of the reasons for his exit from the band (although he had already sung with David Crosby and Stephen Stills in the US). The Hollies replaced Nash with Terry Sylvester and "Hollies Sing Dylan" (1969) was No. 3 in the UK Albums Chart, although it failed to chart in the US. This was one of the first "tribute albums" devoted to a single artist by a vocal group.


title: Tony Hicks

text: After Nash's December 1968 departure from the group Hicks began to write more solo songs, which were used as either B-sides or album tracks (such as "Cos You Like To Love Me" and "Don't Give Up Easily" in 1969 and "Dandelion Wine" in 1970). He wrote much of The Hollies' 1970 album "Confessions of the Mind", including "Too Young To Be Married" (a No. 1 single in Australia and New Zealand).


title: Tony Hicks

text: Hicks also co-wrote songs with UK singer Kenny Lynch for The Hollies, such as "What A Life I've Led", "Look What We've Got", "Promised Land", the US hit single "Long Dark Road" (all 1971) and "Blue in the Morning" (1972) and "Faded Images", recorded by Cilla Black on her 1971 album "Images". He co-wrote Hollies songs between 1974 and 1978 with Allan Clarke and Terry Sylvester. In 1974, Hicks produced the eponymous group album "Taggett" on EMI Records in the UK.


title: Tony Hicks

text: In 1990, Hicks co-wrote "Naomi" for The Hollies with his son Paul. In 1993 he added new guitar parts and harmony vocals (with Clarke and Nash) to an "alternate" version of "Peggy Sue Got Married" by Buddy Holly (credited to "Buddy Holly and The Hollies"), which led off the "Not Fade Away" tribute album to Holly by various artists.


title: Tony Hicks

text: The Hollies continued to have hits beyond the 1970s, including a UK chart hit with the medley "Holliedaze" in 1981, a US Top 30 hit cover of "Stop! In the Name of Love" in 1983, a UK No. 1 single in 1988 (a re-issue of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"), and in 1993 "The Woman I Love". The group still performs and records today; however, with the retirement of Allan Clarke in 1999, only Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott remain from the band's 1960s heyday.


title: Tony Hicks

text: In 2010, The Hollies (who had already won an Ivor Novello Award in 1995 for outstanding contribution to British popular music and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hicks and Elliott were absent from the induction ceremony because of UK touring commitments with the current Hollies band.


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" is a song written and recorded by American singer Jesse McCartney for his third studio album Departure. English singer Leona Lewis record it for her debut studio album "Spirit" (2007) where it became a world-wide hit. Jointly composed by McCartney and Ryan Tedder, and produced by Tedder, the song is the album's lead single; officially, it was Lewis's official second single and followed "A Moment Like This". It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in October 2007. Debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart, "Bleeding Love" became the best-selling single of 2007 in both countries. After the single's release, it became a major international hit and was the best-selling single of 2008 worldwide. The single reached number one in 35 countries, including Japan, France, Germany and the United States, making it only the second song in history to achieve this feat, Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" being the first. The accompanying music video first aired on 17 October 2007, and was uploaded to YouTube on the same day.


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" has sold more than one million copies in the United Kingdom, and over 4 million digital downloads in the United States, where it was the best-selling digital song there in 2008. It was named the 17th most successful song in the US from 2000 to 2009. "Bleeding Love" has charted on the UK Singles Chart in three different years: in 2007 it peaked at number one; 2008 at number 76; and 2009 at number 97. It sold 788,000 copies in the UK alone during 2007. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards. At the 2008 Brit Awards it was nominated for Best British Single. It is Lewis's biggest hit in the US to date and remains her signature song. As of 2021, the song has been streamed over two billion times.


title: Bleeding Love

text: In 2006, Lewis entered the third series of the British reality singing competition, "The X Factor", and after performing and competing against other aspiring hopefuls, the British public voted her the winner on 16 December 2006, receiving 60% of the final vote. As the winner, Lewis received the prize of a £1 million recording contract with Sony BMG, of which Simon Cowell is an A&R executive, and with Cowell's own record label, Syco Music.


title: Bleeding Love

text: Meanwhile, in February 2007, OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder and singer and songwriter Jesse McCartney had written the song "Bleeding Love" for McCartney's third studio album, "Departure". However, his record label, Hollywood Records, did not like the song. Tedder believed it was a "massive" song and the record company was "out of [their] mind". Despite his own reality TV background, Tedder had previously made the decision not to work with contestants from the singing competition "American Idol", but he had not heard of "The X Factor", and on being shown a website about Lewis, he thought that "her voice just sounded unreal", saying that "from a writer's perspective, this girl – with or without a TV show – has one of the best voices I've ever heard". On hearing that Cowell was looking for songs for Lewis's debut album, Tedder rearranged "Bleeding Love", changed the key and tailored it to suit her voice. They pitched the song to Cowell, who said it was "the one". After the success of Lewis's version, the song was re-recorded by McCartney being included as a bonus track on the international version of the album, "Departure".


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" was written by Ryan Tedder and Jesse McCartney for Lewis's debut studio album, "Spirit" (2007). Production of the song was helmed by Tedder. It was recorded at several recording studios, including Mansfield Studios, Los Angeles; The Record Plant, Hollywood, California and Encore Studios, Burbank, CA. "Bleeding Love" was recorded at these locations by Tedder and Craig Durrance, and were assisted in the process by Nate Hertweck. Programming and arrangement was carried out by Tedder. The song was mixed by Phil Tan at Soapbox Studios, Atlanta, GA, and he was assisted by Josh Houghkirk. The song's string arrangement was completed by Tedder.


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" is a pop song with R&B undertones set in the key of F major. It moves at 104 bpm and is set in time. The album version runs for four minutes and twenty-two seconds and the radio edit runs for four minutes and one second. Lewis' vocal range extends from C to B, but has gone higher into the sixth octave in most live performances. "Bleeding Love" is constructed in the common verse–chorus–bridge song pattern. It employs a church organ which is audible throughout the song until the bridge. Synthesized strings are also prominent throughout the song, which intermittently integrates wood block percussion throughout the track. A heavy, distorted marching band-like drum loop backs the song. The song employs a harmonic shift beginning at the bridge. A harmonic shift or harmonic variety generally identifies most song bridges. In "Bleeding Love" the turn around from the common I, vi, IV, V (F, Dm, Bb, C) progression used exclusively up to the bridge for both verses and choruses shifts to focus on the relative minor: vi, IV, I/V, V (Dm, Bb, F/C, C).


title: Bleeding Love

text: McCartney wrote the song about his longtime girlfriend and said: "I kept thinking about being in love so much that it hurts. I was away from my girlfriend for four months at the time and I really wanted to [quit] and fly home. I was so in love that it was painful. It was like bleeding, it cut me open." The song refers to someone in a relationship who is extremely blinded by love. Regardless of the numerous warnings from her friends and the fact that she is emotionally hurt by her lover, she continues to love him and accepts the pain. Metaphorically, this is represented in his "cutting her open". However, all she can do is "bleed love" for him.


title: Bleeding Love

text: The song's first radio play was on the BBC Radio 1 Chart Show on 16 September 2007, and was quickly followed by an online exclusive streaming by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. It was reported that over 1.5 million people listened to the song online. The song was also Scott Mills's record of the week from Monday 24 September to Friday 28 September. Lewis went on a two-day regional UK radio tour to promote the single and album on 11 and 12 October 2007. This was followed by an appearance on "This Morning" on 15 October. Lewis performed the song live on the fourth series of "The X Factor" on 20 October 2007, and also made appearances on several other TV and radio shows such as T4, GMTV and "Loose Women".


title: Bleeding Love

text: Lewis also performed the song at the Festival della canzone italiana on 29 February 2008, and on German entertainment show "Wetten, dass..?" on 1 March 2008. Lewis made her US television debut on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", on 17 March 2008, where she sang "Bleeding Love". She has also performed on "Good Morning America" on 4 April 2008, "Live With Regis and Kelly" on 8 April 2008, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on 11 April 2008, and "The Tyra Banks Show" on 17 April 2008. Lewis performed the song live on the seventh season of "American Idol" on Wednesday 23 April 2008.


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" received critical acclaim from music critics. Showbiz Spy described the song as "emotionally fuelled", and opined, "this track perfectly showcases Leona's impressive vocal prowess and from the moment she opens her mouth we are instantly reminded about her amazing voice, capable of heart stopping intensity and a playful light touch". Digital Spy's review of the song gave it four stars out of five, saying it is "easily the best single to be released by an "X Factor" star", and describing it as "a brilliantly smart pop record, managing to offer the lovelorn balladry that Lewis's "X Factor" fans are no doubt craving, while also suggesting a hint of street cred in the form of some beefy, vaguely modish beats". It came second in Digital Spy's Top 20 Singles of 2007 announced on 31 December.


title: Bleeding Love

text: However, BBC America's reviewer expressed that "the inventive percussion can't stop 'Bleeding Love' from sounding dated, like filler on some long-lost, late '90s Mariah Carey album. It's one of those mid-tempo numbers – too slow for the club, too fast for the foxtrot. Actually, with its marching band drum beat, it sounds as much like Gwen Stefani's 'Hollaback Girl' as a ballad can." The critic continues to say, "On to the positive: Lewis wisely restrains her vocals, never devolving into those vocal acrobatics that have historically plagued Christina Aguilera." "Billboard"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s review by Singles Review Editor Chuck Taylor for "Bleeding Love", the first ahead of the song's release in the United States, stated it was "a colossal and timeless debut", going on to say "not only a one-listen harmonic show-stopper, it is also hip, soulful, beat-rippling and an undeniable vocal tour de force". "The Village Voice" described the song as a "perfectly devised emo-pop machine ... the old Mariah is jealous right now".


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" has earned Lewis numerous awards and nominations. In December 2007, "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year and the award for Best Track in the Virgin Media Music Awards 2007. In January 2008, the song was nominated for the British Single award at the 2008 BRIT Awards. Although the award was won by Take That's "Shine", it was announced that "Bleeding Love" had received the second highest number of public votes. The massive success of "Bleeding Love" earned Lewis the music award at Britain's Best 2008, which was aired on ITV1 on Friday 23 May 2008. On 3 December 2008, the song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's "Please Read the Letter" and Adele's "Chasing Pavements", respectively. "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked the song 25th in the list of The 100 Best Singles of 2008. In April 2009, Tedder and McCartney were awarded with the Song of the Year Award at the 26th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards for writing "Bleeding Love". In September 2011, "Bleeding Love" was ranked number 67 by VH1 on its list for the 100 Greatest Songs of the '00s.


title: Bleeding Love

text: The song has been ranked 129th by Billboard on its 600 most massive smashes over the chart's six decades.


title: Bleeding Love

text: In the United Kingdom, "Bleeding Love" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 28 October 2007 ― for the week ending dated 3 November 2007. With "Bleeding Love" reaching number one, Lewis became the first contestant from "The X Factor" to achieve two number-one singles. It was reported to be outselling Take That's "Rule the World" by three-to-one in chain store Woolworths. The single went on to sell 218,805 copies in its first week, gaining the biggest one-week sales in 2007, a feat it maintained until "When You Believe" by Leon Jackson - her successor as winner of the UK X Factor - was released in December 2007. In its second and third weeks on sale the single sold 158,370 copies, and 111,978 copies respectively, bringing the total sales to 489,153 and making "Bleeding Love" the biggest-selling single of 2007 after just three weeks of release. It stayed at the top of the chart for seven weeks, the longest run from a homegrown female solo artist in British chart history, until Adele's "Easy on Me" spent eight weeks at number one in 2021 and 2022. By the end of 2007 the single had sold a total of 788,000 copies, becoming Britain's biggest-selling single of 2007. It was the first time a single by a British female solo artist had topped the end of year singles sales chart in the then fifty five-year history of the Official Charts Company. The British Phonographic Industry certified "Bleeding Love" platinum on 18 January 2008 and triple platinum on 5 March 2021. In February 2014, it was confirmed by the Official Charts Company that "Bleeding Love" had sold total of 1,180,000 copies in the United Kingdom, making it the 103rd song overall to sell a million copies in Britain, with Lewis the fourteenth female singer to achieve the feat.


title: Bleeding Love

text: In Australia, "Bleeding Love" debuted at number nine on the ARIA Singles Chart on 24 December 2007, and went on to top the chart on 21 January 2008. On 10 February 2008, the single received a platinum certification, with sales of over 70,000. In New Zealand, Lewis became the first British female solo artist to have a number one single since the Sugababes’ "Push the Button" topped the chart in January 2006; it stayed at number one for five weeks. It also reached number one in Switzerland, France, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands. In Spain, the single reached number two on the Spanish Singles Chart by PROMUSICAE. It was certificated Platinum with sales over 40,000 units. "Bleeding Love" was a hit on radio stations around the world, reaching number one in the airplay charts of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Latin America, Estonia and Japan. In the Greek Airplay Chart, it reached number two. In Italy the song peaked at number 2 on the FIMI Singles Chart based only on digital downloads; instead it peaked at number one on the Italian Musica&Dischi Singles Chart, which is based on digital downloads and CD single sales, for 13 non-consecutive weeks.


title: Bleeding Love

text: In the United States, the single was released digitally on 18 December 2007, and debuted on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 11. The song officially debuted on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on 1 March 2008 at number 85. The song became Lewis's first U.S. top ten hit, and reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 three separate times: twice for one week and once for two weeks. It also hit number one on subsidiary charts, including Hot Digital Songs, and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks, where it spent 52 weeks. Lewis is the third female artist from the UK to have a number one hit with a debut U.S. single, following Petula Clark with "Downtown" (1965) and Sheena Easton with "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" (1981). It became the second single to have three separate turns atop the Hot 100, following Chic's "Le Freak" (1979). During this time, the parent album "Spirit" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200, making Lewis the first solo British artist in 18 years to simultaneously top both the "Billboard" albums and singles charts. On the "Billboard" End of Decade Chart, "Bleeding Love" was 17th. The song has sold 4,589,000 digital downloads in the U.S. by December 2013.


title: Bleeding Love

text: There are two music videos for "Bleeding Love". The first was directed by Melina Matsoukas and was filmed in Los Angeles. It is set in a mock apartment block and features six storylines about couples in different stages of relationships. Lewis stated that it is "real colourful, very funky, has lots of extras and I get to really perform". Melina explained her meaning of the video in an interview on MTV's "Making the Video", saying that the water in the video is a metaphor for the tenants' love problems, as if the apartments are bleeding love. The international version of the video was first posted to YouTube on 17 October 2007, and which now has over 187 million views.


title: Bleeding Love

text: Lewis filmed a second video in New York City for the US release of "Bleeding Love". The treatment for the video was written by Ryan Tedder, and centres on a storyline involving Lewis arguing with her boyfriend, played by model Nicholas Lemons. It was directed by Jessy Terrero. The video premiered in the United States on 29 January 2008 on Yahoo! Music, and was uploaded to YouTube on 30 January 2008. Its television debut was on 4 February 2008 on VH1 as part of their "You Oughta Know" campaign. This video has over 234 million views on YouTube.


title: Bleeding Love

text: The international version of the music video was nominated for Best UK Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The US version was number one on the VH1 Year-End Top 40.


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" was covered by Belgian singer-songwriter Tom Dice after he won the Flemish version of "The X Factor" in 2008. He released his version, on 25 May 2010, from his debut album, which he titled "Teardrops." The single reached number 7 in Belgium.


title: Bleeding Love

text: "Bleeding Love" was covered by indie rock band The Wombats and was released as a single on 3 November 2008.


title: Honda F20C engine

text: The F20C and F22C1 were inline-4 engines produced by Honda for use in the Honda S2000. They are one of the few Honda 4-cylinder automobile engines that are designed to sit longitudinally for rear wheel drive.


title: Honda F20C engine

text: These engines are a distant relative to the F-series engines found in the mid-1990s Honda Accord and Prelude. To get most out of the compact-sized engine, Honda engineers utilized technology derived from Honda's racing engines. The F20C and F22C1 have two overhead cams with roller followers, a ladder-frame main bearing stiffener, a VTEC system for both the intake and exhaust camshaft, Fiber-Reinforced Metal cylinder liners (FRM), molybdenum disulfide-coated piston skirts for reduced friction, and uses a timing chain.


title: Honda F20C engine

text: The VTEC system consists of two separate cam lobe profiles. Variable cam phasing is not used. Roller followers are used to reduce friction in the valvetrain. The rocker arms are constructed using metal injection molding.


title: Honda F20C engine

text: The engine block is constructed of aluminum with a fiber-reinforced metal sleeve. A timing chain drives an intermediate gear, which drives the cams. The pistons are forged aluminum. The intake plenum was designed with minimal volume for fast engine response, and a flywheel was fitted until 2004. A high-flow catalyst is supplied along with an exhaust air-injection system, which greatly decreases catalyst light-off time and cold emissions.


title: Honda F20C engine

text: The F20C was designed with high engine speed capability in mind, for increased power output; the rev limit is 9,000 rpm, with VTEC engagement at 6,000 rpm. Its relatively long stroke of 84 mm results in a mean piston speed of 4,965 ft/m, or 25.2 m/s, which was higher than any other production car to date. Power output is at 8,300 rpm in North America and Europe. The Japanese version, which has a higher compression ratio, is capable of at 8,600 rpm. Honda's F20C Engine won a spot on Wards' "10 Best Engines List" twice, in 2000 and 2001.


title: Honda F20C engine

text: The engine displaces , lending to the Honda S2000's name. This method of naming follows suit with the rest of the Honda S roadsters (i.e. Honda S500, S600, and S800).


title: Honda F20C engine

text: The F20C produces the highest specific power output for any naturally aspirated piston engine in a car priced under US$100,000, at per liter, ahead of the SR16VE N1 found in the homologation version of the JDM Nissan Pulsar producing for a specific power of per liter. Honda's F20C engine held the record for producing the highest specific power output for any mass production naturally aspirated piston engine, at 123.5 HP/L, until Ferrari began production of the 458 Italia in 2010, which produced 124.5 HP/L.


title: Honda F20C engine

text: Although designed at the end of the previous century, the F20C is still one of the highest output per liter and the highest revving mass production engines ever made. In recognition of its incredible power output, the Honda S2000's engine has won the International Engine of the Year category for 1.8 to 2.2-liter engines five times in its lifetime (from 2000 to 2004).


title: Honda F20C engine

text: In 2004, Honda produced a stroked version of the F20C, increasing displacement by to . Dubbed the F22C1, it was originally designed for the North American market being introduced for the 2004 model year. Maximum power output was maintained at at 7,800 rpm. Rated torque increased from at 7,500 rpm for the F20C to at 6,500 rpm for the F22C. The redline was reduced from 8,900 rpm to 8,200 rpm, mandated by the longer travel distance of the pistons. Peak horsepower output was originally rated identical to the F20C, with "overall powerband characteristics strengthened 4% to 10% between 1,000 -8,000 rpm".


title: Honda F20C engine

text: The F22C1 was used exclusively in the North American market for 2004 and 2005 with the F20C being used in all other markets. In 2006, the engine fully replaced F20C engines in the Japanese market as well which resulted in a drop in rated power output from to . Outside Japan and the United States, the F20C continued to be the only available engine.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapidly successful and was soon one of the largest manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery, "a firm that has done more to spread the knowledge and enhance the reputation of British ceramic art than any other manufacturer", exporting across Europe as far as Russia, and to the Americas. It was especially successful at producing fine earthenware and stoneware that were accepted as equivalent in quality to porcelain (which Wedgwood only made later) but were considerably cheaper.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood is especially associated with the "dry-bodied" (unglazed) stoneware Jasperware in contrasting colours, and in particular that in "Wedgwood blue" and white, always much the most popular colours, though there are several others. Jasperware has been made continuously by the firm since 1775, and also much imitated. In the 18th century, however, it was table china in the refined earthenware creamware that represented most of the sales and profits.


title: Wedgwood

text: In the later 19th century, it returned to being a leader in design and technical innovation, as well as continuing to make many of the older styles. Despite increasing local competition in its export markets, the business continued to flourish in the 19th and early 20th centuries, remaining in the hands of the Wedgwood family, but after World War II it began to contract, along with the rest of the English pottery industry.


title: Wedgwood

text: After buying a number of other Staffordshire ceramics companies, in 1987 Wedgwood merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood plc, an Ireland-based luxury brands group. After a 2009 purchase by KPS Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, the group became known as WWRD Holdings Limited, an initialism for "Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton". This was acquired in July 2015 by Fiskars, a Finnish consumer goods company.


title: Wedgwood

text: Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795), came from an established family of potters, and trained with his elder brother. He was in partnership with the leading potter, Thomas Whieldon, from 1754 until 1759, when a new green ceramic glaze he had developed encouraged him to start a new business on his own. Relatives leased him the "Ivy House" in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, and his marriage to Sarah Wedgwood, a distant cousin with a sizable dowry, helped him launch his new venture.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood led "an extensive and systematic programme of experiment", and in 1765 created a new variety of creamware, a fine glazed earthenware, which was the main body used for his tablewares thereafter. After he supplied her with a teaset for twelve the same year, Queen Charlotte gave official permission to call it "Queen's Ware" (from 1767). This new form, perfected as white pearlware (from 1780), sold extremely well across Europe, and to America. It had the additional advantage of being relatively light, saving on transport costs and import tariffs in foreign markets. It caused considerable disruption to the makers of European faience and delftware, then the main European tableware bodies; some went out of business and others adopted English-style bodies themselves. The Pont-aux-Choux factory near Paris was one of the first to do so; in France creamware was known as "faience fine", in Italy "terraglia".


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood developed a number of further industrial innovations for his company, notably a way of measuring kiln temperatures accurately, and several new ceramic bodies including the "dry-body" stonewares, "black basalt" (by 1769), caneware and jasperware (1770s), all designed to be sold unglazed, like "biscuit porcelain".


title: Wedgwood

text: In 1766, Wedgwood bought a large Staffordshire estate, which he renamed Etruria, as both a home and factory site; the Etruria Works factory was producing from 1769, initially making ornamental wares, while the "useful" tablewares were still made in Burslem.


title: Wedgwood

text: In 1769 Wedgwood established a partnership with Thomas Bentley, who soon moved to London and ran the operations there. Only the "ornamental" wares such as vases are marked "Wedgwood & Bentley" and those so marked are at an extra level of quality. The extensive correspondence between Wedgwood and Bentley, who was from a landowning background, show Wedgwood often relied on his advice on artistic questions. Wedgwood felt the loss keenly when Bentley died in 1780.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood's slightly younger friend, William Greatbatch, had followed a similar career path, training with Whieldon and then starting his own firm around 1762. He was a fine modeller, especially of moulds for tablewares, and probably did most of Wedgwood's earlier moulds as an outside contractor. After some twenty years, Greatbatch's firm went under in 1782, and by 1786 he was a Wedgwood employee, continuing for over twenty years until he retired in 1807, on generous terms specified in Wedgwood's will. In the early period he seems also to have acted as agent for Wedgwood on trips to London, and after Wedgwood's retirement he may have in effect managed the Etruria works.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood was an early adopter of the English invention of transfer printing, which allowed printed designs, for long only in a single colour, that were far cheaper than hand-painting. Hand-painting was still used, the two techniques often being combined, with painted borders surrounding a printed figure scene. From 1761 wares were shipped to Liverpool for the specialist firm of Sadler and Green to print; later this was done in-house at Stoke.


title: Wedgwood

text: From 1769 Wedgwood maintained a workshop for overglaze enamel painting by hand in Little Cheyne Row in Chelsea, London, where skilled painters were easier to find. The pieces received a light second firing to fix the enamels in a small muffle kiln; this work was also later moved to Stoke. There was also a showroom and shop in Portland House, 12 Greek Street, Soho, London. Painting included border patterns or bands and relatively straightforward floral motifs on tableware. Complicated figure scenes and landscapes in painted enamels were generally reserved for the most expensive "ornaments" like vases, but transfer printed items had these.


title: Wedgwood

text: The Frog Service is a large dinner and dessert service made by Wedgwood for Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, and completed in 1774. The service had fifty settings, and 944 pieces were ordered, 680 for the dinner service and 264 for the dessert. Although Wedgwood was already transfer printing many tablewares, this was entirely hand-painted in Chelsea in monochrome, with English views copied from prints and drawings; the final appearance was not dissimilar to transfer printing, but each image was unique. Also at Catherine's request, each piece carries a green frog. Although Wedgwood was paid just over £2,700 he barely made a profit, but milked the prestige of the commission, exhibiting the service in his London showroom before delivery.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood's best known product is Jasperware, created to look like ancient Roman cameo glass, itself imitating cameo gems. The most popular jasperware colour has always been "Wedgwood blue" (a darker shade is sometimes called "Portland Blue"), an innovation that required experiments with more than 3,000 samples. In recognition of the importance of his pyrometric beads (pyrometer), Josiah Wedgwood was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1783. In recent years, the Wedgwood Prestige collection continued to sell replicas of the original designs, as well as modern neo-classical style jasperware.


title: Wedgwood

text: The main Wedgwood motifs in jasperware, and the other dry-bodied stonewares, were decorative designs that were highly influenced by the ancient cultures being studied and rediscovered at that time, especially as Great Britain was expanding its empire. Many motifs were taken from ancient mythologies: Roman, Greek and Egyptian. Meanwhile, archaeological fever caught the imagination of many artists. Nothing could have been more suitable to satisfy this huge business demand than to produce replicas of ancient artefacts. From 1787 to 1794 Wedgwood even ran a studio in Rome, where young Neoclassical artists were in abundance, producing wax models for reliefs, often to designs sent from England. The most famous design is Wedgwood's copy of the Portland Vase, a famous Roman vase now in the British Museum, which was lent to Wedgwood to copy.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood developed other dry-bodied stonewares, meaning that they were sold unglazed. The first of these was what he called "basaltes", now more often "black basalt ware" or just basalt ware, perfected by 1769. This was a tough body in solid black, much used for classical revival styles. Wedgwood developed an attractive reddish stoneware he called "rosso antico" ("ancient red") This was often combined with black basalt. This was followed by caneware or bamboo ware, the same colour as bamboo and often modelled to look as though objects were made of the plant; first introduced in 1770, but mostly used between 1785 and 1810.


title: Wedgwood

text: Generally Wedgwood avoided the typical type of Staffordshire figures, white earthenware standing figurines of people or animals that by about 1770 were usually brightly painted, though sometimes sold in plain glazed white. These imitated rather successfully the porcelain figures pioneered by Meissen porcelain, a style which by about 1770 was being produced by the majority of porcelain factories, on the continent and in Britain. Though Staffordshire figures fell precipitously in price and quality after about 1820, in the 18th century many were still well-modelled and carefully painted.


title: Wedgwood

text: Instead Wedgwood concentrated on more sculptural figures, and produced many busts or small relief portrait plaques of celebrities, both types of high quality. The subjects were generally notably serious: politicians and royalty, famous scientists and writers. Many were small, with the oval shape usual in the painted portrait miniature; others were larger. They were probably generally intended for framing; many examples still retain their frames.


title: Wedgwood

text: Many subjects reflected Wedgwood's religious and political views, Unitarian and somewhat Radical respectively, in particular what is probably the best-known Wedgwood relief, the abolitionist design "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?", the basic design of which is usually credited to Wedgwood, although others drew and sculpted the final versions. This appeared in many formats in print and pottery from about 1786, and was very widely distributed, often given away.


title: Wedgwood

text: In addition plaques of varying sizes, most in jasperware, caught the fashion for Neoclassicism, with a great variety of classical subjects, but mostly avoiding nudity. The smaller ones were intended to be set in jewellery, sometimes in steel by Matthew Boulton's factory, and larger sizes might be framed for hanging, or inset in architectural features like fireplace mantels, mouldings and furniture. Smallest of all were many button designs.


title: Wedgwood

text: The firm lost some momentum after the deaths of Bentley in 1780 and the retirement of Josiah Wedgwood in 1790 (he died in 1795). By 1800 it had about 300 employees in Staffordshire. The Napoleonic Wars made exporting to Europe impossible for long periods, and left export markets in disarray. Thomas Byerley, Josiah's nephew, became a partner and was mainly in charge for some years, as Josiah's sons John, known as Jack, and Josiah II ("Joss"), who joined the firm only on Josiah I's retirement, had developed other interests, in particular horticulture. After Waterloo in 1815, there was a dramatic drop in the vital exports to America. Byerley's death in 1810 forced the brothers to confront the reality of the financial situation, as they needed to buy out his widow. Between the partners and other debtors, the firm was owed some £67,000, a huge sum. Joss bought Jack out, and continued as sole owner.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood continued to grow under Jack and his son Francis Wedgwood, and by 1859 the factory had 445 employees. As well as updated versions of wares from the previous century, bathroom ceramics such as sinks and lavatories had been important in recent decades, and Wedgwood's reputation for technical and design innovation had sunk considerably. However, they did introduce porcelain (see below), lustre ware by 1810, a form of Parian ware they called "Carrara" in 1848, and a "Stone China" from about 1827, the last of which was not especially successful. Neoclassicism was now less fashionable, and one response was to add floral enamels to black basalt wares from around 1805. Godfrey Wedgwood, Josiah I's great-grandson became a partner in 1859, and had considerable success reviving the firm in both these areas, in what was generally a successful period for British pottery.


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood's first decades of success came from producing wares that looked very like porcelain, and had broadly the same qualities, though not quite as tough, nor as translucent. During Josiah's lifetime and some time afterwards Wedgwood did not make porcelain itself. European factories had increasing success with porcelain, both soft-paste in England and France, and hard-paste mostly in Germany, which were still competing with Japanese and Chinese export porcelain, which were very popular, though expensive, in Europe. Towards the end of the 18th century other Staffordshire manufacturers introduced bone china as an alternative to translucent and delicate Chinese porcelain.


title: Wedgwood

text: By 1811 Byerley, as manager of the London shop, wrote back to Stoke that "Every day we are asked for China Tea Ware—our sales of it would be immense if we had any—Earthenware Teaware is quite out of fashion...", and in response in 1812 Wedgwood first produced their own bone china, with hand-painting. However West End taste did not perhaps represent all of Wedgwood's markets, and it was not the huge commercial success promised, and after thinking of doing so in 1814, the firm finally stopped making it in 1822. But when revived in 1878 it eventually became an important part of production.


title: Wedgwood

text: From very early on Josiah Wedgwood was determined to maintain high artistic standards, which was an important part of his efforts to appeal to the top end of the market with pottery rather than porcelain wares. He relied considerably on Bentley in London in this, as is clear from their correspondence. As with other potteries, the designs of prints were very often copied.


title: Wedgwood

text: Josiah Wedgwood was also a patriarch of the Darwin–Wedgwood family. Many of his descendants were closely involved in the management of the company down to the time of the merger with the Waterford Company:


title: Wedgwood

text: Ralph Wedgwood, presumably a cousin, made high quality wares in Burslem from c. 1790 until probably 1796, marked "Wedgwood & Co", a name never used by the main firm. He then joined William Tomlinson & Co., a firm in Yorkshire, who promptly dropped their own name, using "Wedgwood & Co" until he left in 1801. That name was revived by Enoch Wedgwood (1813–1879), a distant cousin of the first Josiah, who used Wedgwood & Co, starting in 1860. It was taken over by Josiah Wedgwood & Sons in 1980.


title: Wedgwood

text: Other potters used blatantly misleading marks: "Wedgewood", "Vedgwood", "J Wedg Wood", all on inferior wares.


title: Wedgwood

text: In 1968, Wedgwood purchased many other Staffordshire potteries including Mason's Ironstone, Johnson Brothers, Royal Tuscan, William Adams & Sons, J. & G. Meakin and Crown Staffordshire. In 1979, Wedgwood purchased the Franciscan Ceramics division of Interpace in the United States. The Los Angeles plant closed in 1984 and production of the Franciscan brand was moved to Johnson Brothers in Britain. In 1986, Waterford Glass Group plc purchased Wedgwood plc, forming the company Waterford Wedgwood plc.


title: Wedgwood

text: In 1986, Waterford Glass Group plc purchased Wedgwood plc for US$360 million, with Wedgwood delivering a US$38.7 million profit in 1998 (while Waterford itself lost $28.9 million), after which the group was renamed Waterford Wedgwood plc. From early 1987 to early 1989, the CEO was Patrick Byrne, previously of Ford, who then became CEO of the whole group. During this time, he sold off non-core businesses and reduced the range of Wedgwood patterns from over 400 to around 240. In the late 1990s, the CEO was Brian Patterson. From 1January 2001, the Deputy CEO was Tony O'Reilly, Junior, who was appointed CEO in November of the same year and resigned in September 2005. He was succeeded by the then-president of Wedgwood USA, Moira Gavin, up until the company went into administration in 2009.


title: Wedgwood

text: In 2001, Wedgwood launched a collaboration with designer Jasper Conran, which started with a white fine bone china collection then expanded to include seven patterns. In March 2009, KPS Capital Partners acquired the Waterford Wedgwood group assets. Assets including Wedgwood, Waterford and Royal Doulton were placed into WWRD Holdings Limited.


title: Wedgwood

text: On 5January 2009, following years of financial problems at group level, and after a share placement failed during the global financial crisis of 2008, Waterford Wedgwood was placed into administration on a "going concern" basis, with 1,800 employees remaining. On 27February 2009, Waterford Wedgwood's receiver Deloitte announced that the New York-based private equity firm KPS Capital Partners had purchased certain Irish and UK assets of Waterford Wedgwood, and the assets of its Irish and UK subsidiaries. KPS Capital Partners placed Wedgwood into a group of companies known as WWRD, an abbreviation for "Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton".


title: Wedgwood

text: From 2006 to 2008, Wedgwood began to offshore most production to Indonesia to reduce costs, while Waterford production moved to Eastern Europe. Some high-end pieces are still made in Barlaston and Waterford, respectively.


title: Wedgwood

text: In May 2015, Fiskars, a Finnish maker of home products, agreed to buy 100% of the holdings of WWRD. On 2 July 2015, the acquisition of WWRD by Fiskars was completed, including the brands Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert and Rogaška. The acquisition was approved by the US antitrust authorities. In 2015 there were complaints of misleading labelling, in that products made in the company's Indonesian factory were sold labelled "Wedgwood England".


title: Wedgwood

text: Wedgwood's founder wrote as early as 1774 that he wished he had preserved samples of all the company's works, and he began to do so. The first formal museum was opened in May 1906, with a curator named Isaac Cook, at the main (Etruria) works. The contents of the museum were stored for the duration of the Second World War and relaunched in a gallery at the new Barlaston factory in 1952. A new purpose-built visitor centre and museum was built in Barlaston in 1975 and remodelled in 1985, with pieces displayed near items from the old factory works in cabinets of similar period. A video theatre was added and a new gift shop, as well as an expanded demonstration area, where visitors could watch pottery being made. A further renovation costing £4.5 million was carried out in 2000, including access to the main factory itself.


title: Wedgwood

text: Adjacent to the museum and visitor centre are a restaurant and tea room, serving on Wedgwood ware. The museum, managed by a dedicated trust, closed in 2000 and on 24 October 2008, it reopened in a new multimillion-pound building.


title: Wedgwood

text: In June 2009, the Wedgwood Museum won a UK Art Fund Prize for Museums and Art Galleries for its displays of Wedgwood pottery, skills, designs and artefacts. In May 2011, the archive of the museum was inscribed in UNESCO's UK Memory of the World Register.


title: Wedgwood

text: The collection with 80,000 works of art, ceramics, manuscripts, letters and photographs faced being sold off to help satisfy pension debts inherited when Waterford Wedgwood plc went into receivership in 2009. The Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund, various trusts and businesses contributed donations to purchase the collection. On 1 December 2014, the collection was purchased and donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The collection will continue to be on display at the Wedgwood Museum on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum.


title: Wedgwood

text: The Minton Archive comprises papers and drawings of the designs, manufacture and production of the defunct pottery company Mintons. It was acquired by Waterford Wedgwood in 2005 along with other assets of the Royal Doulton group. At one time it seemed the Archive would become part of the Wedgwood collection. In the event, the Archive was presented by the Art Fund to the City of Stoke-on-Trent, but it was envisaged that some material would be displayed at Barlaston as well as the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.


title: Jane Stanford

text: Jane Elizabeth Lathrop Stanford (August 25, 1828 – February 28, 1905) was an American philanthropist, co-founder of Stanford University in 1885 (opened 1891) along with her husband, Leland Stanford, as a memorial to their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who died of typhoid fever in 1884 at the age of 15. After her husband's death in 1893, she funded and operated the university almost single-handedly until her unsolved murder by strychnine poisoning in 1905.


title: Jane Stanford

text: Born Jane Elizabeth Lathrop in Albany, New York, she was the daughter of shopkeeper Dyer Lathrop and Jane Anne (Shields) Lathrop. She attended The Albany Academy for Girls, the longest-running girls' day school in the country. She was the second or third of six or seven siblings:


title: Jane Stanford

text: The Stanfords lived in Port Washington, Wisconsin until 1852, when Leland Stanford's law library and other property were lost to fire; they then returned to Albany, New York. Leland Stanford went to California to join his brothers in mercantile businesses related to the California Gold Rush, and Jane remained in Albany with her family. He returned in 1855, and the following year, they moved to San Francisco, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits on a large scale. Leland Stanford was a co-founder of the Central Pacific Railroad and served as its president from 1861 until his death in 1893. Leland Stanford was president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, served as governor of California from 1862 to 1863, and was a United States senator from California from 1885 until his death in 1893.


title: Jane Stanford

text: On May 14, 1868, Jane Stanford gave birth to a son, Leland Stanford, Jr., at age 39. He died at age 15 on March 13, 1884, of typhoid fever while the family was in Florence, Italy.


title: Jane Stanford

text: Following their son's death, Jane and Leland Stanford sought ways to memorialize him. Before they left Europe in April, 1884 with his remains, they changed their wills to give everything to a proposed institution at Palo Alto. In November 1885, they created foundational plans for the Leland Stanford Junior University, which opened on October 1, 1891. After her husband's death on June 21, 1893, Jane Stanford effectively took control of the university. The university struggled financially in this period and the trustees advocated a temporary closure of the university until tax and legal issues could be resolved. From 1893 to 1898, she collected $10,000 per month from the university, as its co-founder. The estate left probate in 1898. As the remaining founder, she wielded a great deal of legal control over the university until her death.


title: Jane Stanford

text: It was at her direction that Stanford University gained an early focus on the arts. She also advocated for the admission of women; the university had been co-educational since its founding. She took a strong position on the issue of academic freedom when she sought and ultimately succeeded in having Stanford University economist Edward A. Ross fired. Ross had made speeches favoring the Democrat William Jennings Bryan, had collectivist economic teachings, favored racism against Chinese American "coolies," and outlined eugenics policies directed against Chinese people and other racial groups.


title: Jane Stanford

text: She traveled to London in 1897, the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, in hopes of selling her rubies and other jewels to raise funds for the university. In 1905, Jane Stanford directed the university trustees to sell her jewels after her death and use the funds as a permanent endowment "to be used exclusively for the purchase of books and other publications." The board of trustees confirmed that arrangement, and the Jewel Fund continues to add to the university's library collections. The endowment, originally $500,000, is now worth about $20 million. Items purchased through the Jewel Fund display a distinctive bookplate that depicts a romanticized Jane Stanford offering her jewels to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Since 2007, benefactors who provide endowments for library acquisitions are referred to as members of the Jewel Society.


title: Jane Stanford

text: In 1905, she died of strychnine poisoning. The evidence did not rule out self-poisoning because of financial issues with the university, the inability to generate a source of income to support the university in the long term (selling jewelry).


title: Jane Stanford

text: On January 14, 1905, at her Nob Hill mansion in San Francisco, Stanford consumed mineral water that tasted bitter. She quickly forced herself to vomit the water with prompting from and assistance by her maid, and when both the maid and her secretary agreed that the bottled water tasted strange, she sent it to a pharmacy to be analyzed. The findings, returned a few weeks later, showed that the water had been poisoned with a lethal dose of strychnine. Stanford moved out of her mansion and vowed never to return. Elizabeth Richmond, the maid, fell under suspicion and was dismissed. (Richmond had worked in Britain and had reportedly regaled Stanford's domestic staff with tales of English aristocrats being poisoned by their servants.)


title: Jane Stanford

text: The Harry Morse Detective and Patrol Agency was retained for a discreet investigation of the incident. Its detectives put Richmond under surveillance and scoured records of Bay Area pharmacies for possibly-suspicious purchases of strychnine but found none. The agency learned that the mansion was a hothouse of petty staff jealousies, graft, and intrigue, but it could not come up with evidence pointing to a culprit or a motive for an attempted murder. Depressed by the conviction that an unknown party had tried to kill her and suffering from a cold, Stanford soon decided to sail to Hawaii, with plans to continue on to Japan. The Stanford party left San Francisco for Honolulu on February 15, 1905.


title: Jane Stanford

text: At the Moana Hotel on the island of Oahu on the evening of February 28, Stanford asked for bicarbonate of soda to settle her stomach while in her room. Her personal secretary, Bertha Berner (a trusted employee of 20 years' standing and the only other person present who had also been at the scene of the previous incident), prepared the solution, which Stanford drank. At 11:15 p.m., Stanford cried out for her servants and hotel staff to call for a physician, declared that she had lost control of her body, and believed that she had been poisoned again. This time, attempts to induce vomiting were unsuccessful. Robert Cutler, a retired Stanford neurologist, recounted in "The Mysterious Death of Jane Stanford" what took place upon the arrival of Francis Howard Humphris, the hotel physician:


title: Jane Stanford

text: As Humphris tried to administer a solution of bromine and chloral hydrate, Mrs. Stanford, now in anguish, exclaimed, 'My jaws are stiff. This is a horrible death to die.' Whereupon she was seized by a tetanic spasm that progressed relentlessly to a state of severe rigidity: her jaws clamped shut, her thighs opened widely, her feet twisted inwards, her fingers and thumbs clenched into tight fists, and her head drew back. Finally, her respiration ceased. Stanford was dead from strychnine poisoning.


title: Jane Stanford

text: The "San Francisco Evening Bulletin" trumpeted the news with the March 1 headline "Mrs. Stanford Dies, Poisoned." Forensic chemical analysis revealed the presence of a pure form of strychnine in samples from the bicarbonate she had taken, as well as traces of the poison in her tissues. After hearing three days of testimony, the coroner's jury concluded in less than two minutes that she had died of strychnine "introduced into a bottle of bicarbonate of soda with felonious intent by some person or persons to this jury unknown." The testimony revealed that the bottle in question had been purchased in California (after Richmond had been let go), had been accessible to anyone in Stanford's residence during the period when her party was packing, and had not been used until the night of her death.


title: Jane Stanford

text: The jury's quick verdict was to prove controversial. A March 11, 1905, dispatch in "The New York Times" stated that the verdict was "written out with the knowledge and assistance of Deputy High Sheriff Rawlins" and implied that the jurors had been coached on the conclusion to reach. The controversy was largely stoked by Stanford University President David Starr Jordan, who had sailed to Hawaii himself and hired a local doctor, Ernest Coniston Waterhouse, to dispute poisoning as the cause of death. He then reported to the press that Stanford had in fact died of heart failure, a "medically preposterous" diagnosis given the dramatic and highly distinctive symptoms of strychnine poisoning that she had displayed.


title: Jane Stanford

text: In his book, Cutler concluded, "There is ample evidence that Mrs. Stanford was poisoned, that she was given good care, and that Jordan went over there to hush it up." Stanford had long had a difficult relationship with Jordan. At the time of her death, she was president of the university's board of trustees and was reportedly planning to remove him from his position.


title: Jane Stanford

text: Jordan's motives for involvement in the case are uncertain, but he had written to the new president of Stanford's board of trustees, offered several alternate explanations for Jane Stanford's death, and suggested to select whichever would be most suitable. The university leadership may have believed that avoiding the appearance of scandal was of overriding importance. The coverup evidently succeeded to the extent that the likelihood that she was murdered was largely overlooked by historians and commentators until the 1980s. In 2022, Stanford University historian Richard White concluded that Stanford was likely poisoned by her employee Bertha Berner, who was the only person present at both poisonings. White concludes that the first poisoning may have been intended to be non fatal and that Jordan and the San Francisco Police likely suspected Berner but covered up the murder to suit their own interests.


title: Jane Stanford

text: The source of the strychnine was never identified. Stanford was buried alongside her husband, Leland, and their son at the Stanford family mausoleum on the Stanford campus.


title: Jane Stanford

text: Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School in the Palo Alto Unified School District was named after her in 1985. The town of Lathrop, California in San Joaquin County was developed by her husband's railroad company in the late 1860s and named after Jane and her brother Charles Lathrop.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen is a city in Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb of Dallas. According to the 2020 U.S. census its population was 104,627, up from 84,246 in 2010. Allen is located approximately twenty miles (32.2 km) north of downtown Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area.


title: Allen, Texas

text: The Allen area was previously home to the Caddo, Comanche, and other indigenous peoples. The first immigrants from the United States and Europe arrived in the early 1840s. The town was established by the Houston and Texas Central Railway and named in 1872 for Ebenezer Allen, a state politician and railroad promoter. The railroad allowed sale of crops across the country before they rotted, causing a shift from the previous cattle-based agriculture. On February 22, 1878, a gang led by Sam Bass committed in Allen what is said to be Texas's first train robbery.


title: Allen, Texas

text: From 1908 through 1948, Allen was a stop along the Texas Traction Company's interurban line from Denison to Dallas. Allen was a small town of a few hundred residents when it was incorporated in 1953. Since this time, it has grown dramatically due to the construction of U.S. Route 75, the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and the development of nearby Dallas and Plano. Among the more recent developments is the Shaddock Park neighborhood.


title: Allen, Texas

text: According to the City of Allen, the city has a total area of . None of the area is covered with water except the small ponds scattered throughout the city.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa" in the Köppen climate classification), with long hot summers and cool winters.


title: Allen, Texas

text: In 2008, an EF-1 tornado touched down in Allen, damaging approximately 50 homes. In 2019, an EF-0 tornado touched down in west Allen.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Per the 2020 United States census, there were 104,627 people, 33,649 households, and 26,878 families residing in the city.


title: Allen, Texas

text: According to the 2019 American Community Survey, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 59.3% non-Hispanic or non-Latino white, 8.3% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 18.6% Asian, 1.4% two or more races, and 12.3% Hispanic and Latino American of any race. At the 2010 census, the racial and ethnic makeup was 69.5% white (61.1% non-Hispanic white), 9.0% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 16.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 3.5% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race were 10.9% of the population.


title: Allen, Texas

text: In 2010, there were 14,205 households, out of which 55.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.6% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.2% were non-families. 11.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.35. In 2019, 96% of adults living in Allen had at least high school degree and 55% had at least a Bachelor's degree.


title: Allen, Texas

text: In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.9% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 40.7% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 2.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.


title: Allen, Texas

text: In 2019, 96% of adults living in Allen had at least high school degree and 55% had at least a bachelor's degree. The average household income was $107,602. The city of Allen had 27,791 family units. The median age was 35.8 years. The median home value was $251,405. 59,620 of the population is currently registered to vote.


title: Allen, Texas

text: In 1992, Allen citizens approved the creation of the Allen Economic Development Corporation, which is funded by a 0.5% sales tax. According to the city government's 2014 facts & figures, the top employers in the city were:


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen serves as the corporate headquarters for the following companies: MonkeySports, CVE Technology, PFSweb, WatchGuard Video, PINSTACK, Boss Fight Entertainment, Brass Roots Technologies, Cytracom, No Magic, Lyrick Studios, WiQuest Communications, and Credit Union of Texas. Lyrick Studios ceased to exist in 2001 when it was purchased and incorporated into HiT Entertainment.


title: Allen, Texas

text: The city also has a 79,000-square-foot convention center (Watters Creek Convention Center) owned and operated by Marriott Hotels. In addition, Allen also has a multi-purpose arena, the 7,500-seat Credit Union of Texas Event Center, owned and operated by the City of Allen. There are three major malls/shopping complexes in the city: Allen Premium Outlets, Watters Creek, and The Village at Allen. These shopping complexes attract many visitors to Allen, Texas on a daily basis.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen also boasts many luxury hotels often used by visitors and business-people: Hyatt Place Dallas/Allen, Hilton Garden Inn Dallas-Allen, Courtyard by Marriott Dallas Allen at Allen Event Center, and Delta Hotels by Marriott Dallas Allen.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen has two major recreation centers: Joe Farmer Recreation Center and Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium. Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium boasts a large-scale indoor aquatic park with many swimming lanes, a rock-climbing wall, and a fitness center. Allen also boasts the Allen Community Ice Rink, Ford Pool, The Courses at Watters Creek, and Allen Senior Recreation Center. Most notably, Allen has The Edge Skate Park and Visitor Center, a 37,915-square-foot outdoor skate park making it one of the largest skate parks in Texas.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen is also home to 60 natural and man-made parks with over 1,188 acres of park land in total. Some of the more notable parks are the following: Allen Station Park, Bethany Lakes Park, Celebration Park, Glendover Park, Spirit Park, Stacy Ridge, Twin Creeks Park, Waterford Park, and Windridge Park.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Every year, Allen hosts the Allen USA Celebration on the last Saturday of June, which usually falls on the Saturday preceding the Independence Day holiday. The celebration boasts a large assortment of food trucks/stalls, sports drills, music concerts, a car show, bounce houses, and a large fireworks display - regarded as one of the largest in Texas. In previous years, there have been performances by Pentatonix, Jerry Jeff Walker, Vince Vance & the Valiants, Survivor, James "J.T." Taylor, Eddie Money, 38 Special, Three Dog Night, Commodores, Michael McDonald, and Lou Gramm. Now, the event draws in around 100,000 people annually and is considered to be the largest event in Allen.


title: Allen, Texas

text: In October 2004, the City of Allen purchased Chase Oaks Golf Club in Plano, Texas, adjacent to the southern city limits of the City of Allen. Chase Oaks, since renamed The Courses at Watters Creek, is a public golf course, and residents are entitled to discounted fees.


title: Allen, Texas

text: A multi-purpose arena, the 7,500-seat Credit Union of Texas Event Center, was completed in November 2009. It is home to the ECHL's Allen Americans and the Dallas Sidekicks of the Major Arena Soccer League.


title: Allen, Texas

text: According to the city's most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $160.9 million in revenues, $105.6 million in expenditures, $654.8 million in total assets, $125.6 million in total liabilities, and $42.5 million in cash and investments.


title: Allen, Texas

text: The city of Allen is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.


title: Allen, Texas

text: The Allen City Council consists of the mayor and six council members, who are elected to serve three year terms. The council's responsibilities include planning and approving the budget, setting policy, enacting ordinances, establishing municipal law, regulating zoning, and appointing board and commission members. A professionally trained city manager manages day-to-day operations.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Appointments to City of Allen boards, commissions, and committees are typically two-year staggered terms, though some are three-year appointments.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen, like the rest of Collin County, was solidly Republican throughout the early 2000s, but it has shifted significantly towards the Democratic Party in recent elections, culminating in Democrat Joe Biden's narrow victory in the city in 2020.


title: Allen, Texas

text: The current state senator for Texas Senate, District 8 is Angela Paxton. Jeff Leach is the state representative for District 67 and Candy Noble is the state representative for District 89. Allen residents are represented in the United States Congress by Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and representative Van Taylor.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen hosts a campus of Collin College, which is located inside Allen High School and mainly serves dual-credit high school students. A separate Collin College Technical Campus, opened in 2020, is located in west Allen. The 340,000 square-foot facility serves more than 7,000 students when fully occupied and is dedicated to workforce education.


title: Allen, Texas

text: The Allen Independent School District has 18 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 1 freshman center (Lowery Freshman Center), 1 alternative education center, and 1 high school (Allen High School). Allen ISD serves almost all of Allen. Allen ISD opened a 111,000 square-foot STEAM center. It also serves as a location for elementary and middle school field trip experiences for enrichment on STEAM topics and experiences.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Small portions of the Allen city limits extend into Lovejoy, McKinney, and Plano ISDs. In the fall of 2006, new 9th grade high school students in the Lovejoy ISD boundaries began attending the newly opened Lovejoy High School. The school became a full 4-year high school in the 2009–10 school year.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen High School offers advanced academic coursework through AP and IB courses. AP course enrollment is 53%.


title: Allen, Texas

text: The city of Allen possesses one sole library located in Downtown Allen: Allen Public Library. As of the 2019 City of Allen Facts and Figures, Allen has 147,772 volumes and 406,595 people were said to have visited the library.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen is served directly by several major roadways and freeways. Allen is bisected by U.S. Highway 75 and bordered to the west by Texas State Highway 121. Some of the major roadways in Allen are: Stacy Road, Exchange Parkway, McDermott Drive, Main Street, Alma Drive, Greenville Avenue, Ridgeview Drive, Allen Heights Drive, Angel Parkway, and Bethany Drive. Currently, with the large increase in its population and its ongoing retail and business development, traffic has become congested.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Currently, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) train system in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex does not extend into the City of Allen, though there has been ongoing discussion of possible expansion into Allen. Active Red Line service is unable to expand further north because Allen is currently unable to levy the 1% sales tax required for DART membership. Allen levies sales tax at the maximum rate of 8.25% set by Texas law. Redirecting 1% sales tax for DART membership would require scrapping funding for the Allen Economic Development Corporation and the Allen Community Development Corporation.


title: Allen, Texas

text: Allen is roughly 30 miles northeast of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which is the primary airport serving Allen residents and visitors. It is also roughly 30 miles northeast of Dallas Love Field Airport.


title: Coffin birth

text: Coffin birth, also known as postmortem fetal extrusion, is the expulsion of a nonviable fetus through the vaginal opening of the decomposing body of a deceased pregnant woman due to increasing pressure from intra-abdominal gases. This kind of postmortem delivery occurs very rarely during the decomposition of a body. The practice of chemical preservation, whereby chemical preservatives and disinfectant solutions are pumped into a body to replace natural body fluids (and the bacteria that reside therein), have made the occurrence of "coffin birth" so rare that the topic is rarely mentioned in international medical discourse.


title: Coffin birth

text: Typically during the decomposition of a human body, naturally occurring bacteria in the organs of the abdominal cavity (such as the stomach and intestines) generate gases as by-products of metabolism, which causes the body to swell. In some cases, the confined pressure of the gases can squeeze the uterus (the womb), even forcing it downward, and it may turn inside-out and be forced out of the body through the vaginal opening (a process called "prolapse"). If a fetus is contained within the uterus, it could therefore be expelled from the mother's body through the vaginal opening when the uterus turns inside-out, in a process that, to outward appearances, mimics childbirth. The main differences lie in the state of the mother and fetus and the mechanism of delivery: in the event of natural, live childbirth, the mother's contractions thin and shorten the cervix to expel the infant from the womb; in a case of coffin birth, built-up gas pressure within the putrefied body of a pregnant woman pushes the dead fetus from the body of the mother.


title: Coffin birth

text: Cases have been recorded by medical authorities since the 16th century, though some archaeological cases provide evidence for its occurrence in many periods of human history. While cases of postmortem fetal expulsion have always been rare, the phenomenon has been recorded under disparate circumstances and is occasionally seen in a modern forensic context when the body of a pregnant woman lies undisturbed and undiscovered for some time following death. There are also cases whereby a fetus may become separated from the body of the pregnant woman about the time of death or during decomposition, though because those cases are not consistent with the processes described here, they are not considered true cases of postmortem fetal extrusion.


title: Coffin birth

text: The cause of postmortem fetal extrusion is not completely understood, as the event is neither predictable nor replicable under experimental conditions. Evidence has accumulated opportunistically and direct observation is serendipitous. While it is possible that more than one cause can produce the same result, there is an accepted hypothesis, based on established research in the fields of biochemistry and forensic taphonomy, and further supported by observational research, that accounts for the taphonomic mechanisms that would result in the most often encountered cases of postmortem extrusion of a non-viable fetus.


title: Coffin birth

text: Typically, as a dead body decomposes, body tissues become depleted of oxygen and the body begins to putrefy; anaerobic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract proliferate and as a result of increased metabolic activity, release gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide. These bacteria secrete exoenzymes to break down body cells and proteins for ingestion which thus weakens organ tissues. Increasing pressure forces the diffusion of excessive gases into the weakened tissues where they enter the circulatory system and spread to other parts of the body, causing both torso and limbs to become bloated. These decompositional processes weaken the structural integrity of organs by separating necrotizing tissue layers. Bloating usually begins from two to five days after death, depending on external temperature, humidity, and other environmental conditions. As the volume of gas increases, the pressure begins to force various body fluids to exude from all natural orifices. It is at this point during the decomposition of a pregnant body that amniotic membranes become stretched and separated, and intra-abdominal gas pressure may force the eversion and prolapse of the uterus, which would result in the expulsion of the fetus through the vaginal canal. It has been observed that the bodies of multiparous women are more likely to spontaneously expel the fetus during decomposition than those who died during their first pregnancy, because of the more elastic nature of the cervix.


title: Coffin birth

text: Numerous documented cases of postmortem fetal extrusion were described in the medical compendium "Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine", first published in 1896. The earliest presented case occurred in 1551 when a pregnant woman was tried and hanged by the courts of the Spanish Inquisition. Four hours after her death, and while the body still hung by the neck, two dead infants were seen to fall free of the body. This is unusual for the short amount of time elapsed between death and the postmortem delivery. As no information is given regarding other ambient circumstances, it is unclear whether the onset of putrefaction was accelerated, or if other causal factors were at work. In the city of Brussels, in 1633, a woman died in convulsions and three days later a fetus was spontaneously expelled. In Weissenfels, in 1861, postmortem fetal extrusion was observed sixty hours after the death of a pregnant woman. Other cases are described, though only a few describe the unexpected discovery of fetal remains following exhumation. Most cases occurred before burial; in some of these, the body was in the casket while in other cases the body was still on its deathbed or on a bier.


title: Coffin birth

text: During the late 19th century, modern embalming techniques were developed, whereby preservative and disinfectant chemical compounds (such as formaldehyde) are pumped into a body, flushing out the body's natural fluids, and with them the bacteria that flourish during putrefaction and generate the gases that comprise the active force behind the expulsion of the fetus. However, the phenomenon was still recognized by medical science and in 1904, John Whitridge Williams wrote a textbook on obstetric medicine that included a section on "coffin birth". Although the text has remained an important reference in obstetrics, the subject, whether called "coffin birth" or "postmortem fetal extrusion", was excluded by its 13th edition in 1966, and was not mentioned in the edition published in 2009. The subject was discussed in German medical literature during the 20th century, though more detailed case reports in the forensic literature have been published recently.


title: Coffin birth

text: In 2005, the body of a 34-year-old woman, eight months pregnant, was discovered in her apartment in Hamburg, Germany. The body was bloated and discolored, and upon initial examination, it was found that the head of the fetus had made its appearance in the vaginal opening. At autopsy, medical examiners found that both the head and shoulders of the fetus had emerged, and concluded that it was a case of postmortem fetal extrusion in progress. The woman, who had given birth twice before, had died of a heroin overdose. The case was unusual and serendipitous, as it was the first modern case in which medical practitioners were able to document a case of postmortem fetal extrusion in progress.


title: Coffin birth

text: In 2008, the body of a 38-year-old woman, seven months pregnant, was discovered in an open field four days after she had disappeared from her residence in Panama. A plastic bag had been left over her head, and she had been gagged; the case was ruled a homicide. The body had suffered from the tropical heat and high humidity, and was bloated and highly discolored. At autopsy, the remains of the fetus were discovered in the woman's undergarments. Although the fetus was in a similar state of decomposition, the umbilical cord was intact and still attached to the placenta inside the uterus. This was the first forensic case in which it could be concluded that coffin birth had occurred based on the position of the bodies and the clear attachment of the umbilical cord to the un-expelled placenta.


title: Coffin birth

text: In 2019, the autopsy reports in the case of the Watts family homicides in August 2018 revealed that Shanann Watts (who had been 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her murder) had been found in a shallow grave and that the fetus had been expelled from her body, along with the placenta and umbilical cord.


title: Coffin birth

text: Postmortem fetal extrusion can be very difficult to recognize once a body has undergone complete skeletonization, and bioarchaeologists are often very cautious about asserting the presence of this phenomenon. There are numerous cultural reasons why a mother and an infant might be interred together, so the joint presence of neonatal remains and an adult female is not taken as conclusive evidence of postmortem fetal extrusion; however, there have been excavated burials where the position of a set of fetal remains relative to those of an adult female supported this hypothesis. There are a few general guidelines when an archaeologist is assessing the placement of the fetus and the adult:


title: Coffin birth

text: In 1975, it was reported that during the excavation of a medieval cemetery in Kings Worthy, England, fetal remains appeared to lie within the birth canal of the skeleton of a young woman, with the fetal cranium external to the pelvic outlet and between the two femora (thigh bones) and the fetal leg bones clearly within the pelvic cavity. Other cases of coffin birth at archaeological sites have been described, such as in 1978 at a Neolithic site in Germany, at a medieval site in Denmark in 1982, and in 2009 at an Early Christian period site at Fingal, Ireland. A coffin birth was also described in a 2011 episode of the BBC show "History Cold Case", featuring the Roman era remains of a woman and three neonates discovered near Baldock, Hertfordshire. Another was identified in 2006 in a 14th-century Black Death cemetery in Genoa, Italy.


title: Coffin birth

text: Because postmortem fetal extrusion is so rare, and occurs under highly idiosyncratic conditions regarding the individual and the ambient environment, this phenomenon has not been studied for possible applications to forensic investigation. Even if the study of postmortem fetal extrusion could lead to improved investigative methods, experimental research would be highly problematic. At present, forensic scientists have at their disposal an array of established techniques and procedures for a death investigation at the stages of decomposition when postmortem fetal extrusion typically occurs.


title: Coffin birth

text: In archaeology, the study of mortuary context, that is, the interpretation of the postmortem treatment of the dead, whether an individual or as pertains to patterns within a group, has led to the development of hypotheses on social status and/or hierarchy regarding many cultures, ancient and extant. In addition, the determination of whether or not delivery actually occurred before death has a bearing on analyses of the mother's population, as the concentration of trace elements differ markedly between the skeletons of prepartum adult women (before giving birth) and women who are lactating; the identification of coffin birth would lead to more accurate analyses of the number of lactating women in a population or the rate of maternal mortality. It is therefore necessary for investigators to be able to recognize postmortem fetal extrusion when encountered in an excavated burial.


title: Coffin birth

text: There are also many cases where the remains of the fetus are found separate from the body of the mother, but expulsion was not through the birth canal, and separation of the two bodies may have been influenced by external environmental factors. The process of separation is so unusual that a specific term for the phenomenon may not have been proposed to the scientific community. These cases may have comparable results, but they are not cases of postmortem fetal extrusion.


title: Coffin birth

text: In April 2003, the body of Laci Peterson washed up on a shore near San Francisco Bay; she had been pregnant when she disappeared four months earlier, and the fetus she had been carrying was discovered on a separate beach. When questioned by the media, medical authorities initially speculated that a "coffin birth" might have occurred. However, at autopsy the cervix was found to be in a prepartum condition. Medical examiners later concluded that while Peterson's body was in the bay, the skin over the abdominal cavity had ruptured due to natural decompositional processes. Seawater entered the abdominal cavity and washed out most of the internal organs, along with the fetus.


title: Coffin birth

text: In 2007, a 23-year-old woman in India, over eight months pregnant, hanged herself after contractions had begun. A viable infant was spontaneously delivered unassisted from the woman's body, which was suspended by the neck. The healthy infant was found on the floor, still tethered to the body of the mother by the umbilical cord. The primary cause of the delivery was the otherwise normal contractions, which had begun before death, and was therefore not related to processes of decomposition. While this is not postmortem fetal extrusion, it may be referred to as a case of "postmortem delivery", a term which is applied to a broad range of techniques and phenomena with a resultant delivery of a live infant.


title: Coffin birth

text: In 2008, in Germany, a 23-year-old woman in her third trimester was involved in a motor vehicle accident and died; the non-viable fetus was found between her feet. The vehicle caught fire following initial impact. The woman died of blunt trauma, and her body burned in the car. Investigators came to the conclusion that the extreme heat of the fire burned away epidermal and subcutaneous tissue around the abdominal cavity, after which the anterior aspect of the uterus ruptured, causing the fetus to spill out of the uterine cavity and land on the floor between the woman's feet. The umbilical cord was still intact and connected the fetus to the placenta through the ruptured wall of the uterus. Unlike the woman, who suffered fourth-degree burns over her entire body, the body of the fetus was relatively undamaged. Because the primary cause of separation from the mother's body was thermally induced traumatic rupture of the abdominal and uterine cavities; traumatic separation was not related to normal decompositional processes; and expulsion of the fetus did not involve passage through the birth canal, this is not considered a case of postmortem fetal extrusion.


title: Coffin birth

text: Whales can be subject to postmortem fetal extrusion. Many species float when dead, due to the gases of putrefaction. Drift whales that wash up on shore, and the carcasses of hunted whales, if not flensed (stripped of blubber) and processed in a timely manner, posed a risk. Tim Flannery wrote that "A rotting whale could fill with gas to bursting, ejecting a fetus the size of a motor vehicle with sufficient force to kill a man."


title: Argonautica

text: The Argonautica () is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the "Argonautica" tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from remote Colchis. Their heroic adventures and Jason's relationship with the dangerous Colchian princess/sorceress Medea were already well known to Hellenistic audiences, which enabled Apollonius to go beyond a simple narrative, giving it a scholarly emphasis suitable to the times. It was the age of the great Library of Alexandria, and his epic incorporates his research in geography, ethnography, comparative religion, and Homeric literature. However, his main contribution to the epic tradition lies in his development of the love between hero and heroine – he seems to have been the first narrative poet to study "the pathology of love". His "Argonautica" had a profound impact on Latin poetry: it was translated by Varro Atacinus and imitated by Valerius Flaccus, it influenced Catullus and Ovid, and it provided Virgil with a model for his Roman epic, the "Aeneid".


title: Argonautica

text: The "Argonautica" was an adventure for the poet, one of the major scholars of the Alexandrian period – it was a bold experiment in re-writing Homeric epic in a way that would meet the demanding tastes of his contemporaries. According to some accounts, a hostile reception even led to his exile to Rhodes. The literary fashion was for small, meticulous poems, featuring displays of erudition and paradoxography (the account of marvels and oddities), as represented by the work of Callimachus. In adapting the epic genre to this audience, Apollonius went a long way towards inventing the romance novel, including narrative techniques like the "interior monologue", whereby the author identifies with a character's thoughts and feelings. The re-evaluation of his work in recent times has led to a mass of innovative studies, often jostling each other for attention, so that "Argonautica" has become a daunting adventure for many modern scholars too:


title: Argonautica

text: Since scholarship is a key feature of this unique story, here is a preview of some of the main issues in the poet's treatment of the Argonaut myth, as addressed by recent scholarship.


title: Argonautica

text: There is some dispute about the date when the poem was originally published. It could have been during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (283–246 BC), or a generation later.


title: Argonautica

text: According to Jackie Murray, the poem was published at the time of Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–221 BC).


title: Argonautica

text: The story of the expedition seems to have been known to the author of the Odyssey (xii. 69, &c.), who states, that the ship Argo was the only one that ever passed between the whirling rocks ("petrai planktai" Πλαγκταὶ; Planctae, after the encounter with the Clashing Rocks). Jason is mentioned several times in the Iliad (vii. 467, &c., xxi. 40, xxiii. 743, &c.), but not as the leader of the Argonauts. Hesiod (Theog. 992, &c.) relates the story of Jason saying that he fetched Medeia at the command of his uncle Pelias, and that she bore him a son, Medeius, who was educated by Cheiron. The first trace of the common tradition that Jason was sent to fetch the golden fleece from Aea, the city of Aeëtes, in the eastern boundaries of the earth, occurs in Mimnermus (Strabo, Geography, 1.2.40), a contemporary of Solon; but the most ancient detailed account of the expedition of the Argonauts which is extant, is that of Pindar ("Pythian Odes" iv.)


title: Argonautica

text: The poem begins with an invocation to Apollo and briefly recounts his prophetic warning to Pelias, king of Iolcus, that his downfall will be the work of a man with only one sandal. Jason has recently emerged as the man in question, having lost a sandal while crossing a swollen stream. Consequently, Pelias has entrusted him with a suicidal mission to Colchis to bring back the Golden Fleece. A ship, the "Argo," has already been constructed by Argus, a shipwright working under Athena's instructions. Meanwhile, a band of heroes has arrived to help in the venture. The locals marvel at such a gatheringyoung Jason has been given an impossible mission yet this band of heroes just might help him pull it off. His mother fears the worst. He bids her to stay strong and calm.


title: Argonautica

text: Jason urges the heroes to elect a leader for the voyage. They all nominate Heracles. Heracles however insists on Jason as leader and the others submit to this choice. Rejoicing in his election, Jason orders the crew to haul the ship down to the water. The Argo is then moored for the night so that they can enjoy a farewell feast. Two bulls are sacrificed to Apollo, wine flows and conversation becomes animated. Jason however becomes withdrawn and glum. One of the heroes, Idas, accuses him of cowardice; the prophet Idmon in turn accuses Idas of drunken vainglory. A fight almost breaks out but Orpheus soothes everyone with a song about the cosmos and how the gods and all things were created. At dawn, Tiphys, the ship's helmsman, rouses the crew. The ship itself calls to them, since its keel includes a magical beam of Dodonian oak. The shore cables are loosed. Jason sheds a tear as they pull away from his home, Iolcus. The oars churn up the sea, wielded by heroic hands in time to Orpheus's stirring music. Soon the eastern coast of Thessaly is left behind.


title: Argonautica

text: The first major port they reach is Lemnos, where the women, led by their Queen Hypsipyle, have recently murdered all their menfolk, including husbands, sons, brothers and fathers. The all-female parliament decides that the heroes should be encouraged to stay. Jason, as leader, is summoned and he goes to town wrapped in a magnificent cloak made for him by Athena. Hypsipyle falls in love on the spot and he settles into the palace. His crew is taken home by the other womenall but Heracles and some comrades, who prefer to stay with the ship. Thus the voyage is postponed day after day. Finally Heracles assembles all the Argonauts for a strong talk. He tells them that they are not behaving like heroes and the Golden Fleece won't bring itself back to Greece. Thus chastised, they immediately prepare to leave. Jason tells the queen that, if she bears him a son, she should send him to his parents when he reaches maturity. He is the first back on board when the "Argo" sets sail again.


title: Argonautica

text: Traveling through the Hellespont, they reach an island/peninsula that is home to savage Earth-born men () with six arms each. Their neighbours are the Doliones, a civilized people descended from Poseidon. The savages are hostile but the Argonauts receive a friendly welcome from Cyzicus, the newly wed king of the Doliones who is, like Jason, in his adolescence. The 6-armed giants hurl rocks at the argonauts but Heracles destroys them all. However, the Argonauts and Doliones end up fighting each other in the dark, mistaking one another for enemies. Cyzicus is killed by Jason. His widow Cleite hangs herself in despair. Shared grief and a magnificent funeral reconcile the two sides. Meanwhile, the Argonauts are kept there by adverse winds. Finally the seer Mopsus learns from omens that they are meant to establish a cult of the mother of the gods (Rhea/Cybele). The cult is soon established, the weather changes for the better and the Argonauts set off again.


title: Argonautica

text: Their next landfall is by the river Cius, where Heracles's handsome young companion Hylas is abducted by a water nymph while filling an urn at her spring. Heracles and his comrade Polyphemus are still searching for him when the rest of the Argonauts set sail again. When at last the absences are noticed, Telamon accuses Jason of leaving Heracles behind on purpose. Just then the sea divinity Glaucus emerges from the depths, assuring them that the loss of their three crewmen is the work of the gods. He vanishes back into the water and they continue the voyage without their three comrades.


title: Argonautica

text: The Argonauts reach a gulf in the Propontis, home to the Bebrycians, whose king Amycus demands a boxing match with the champion of these "sea-wanderers" (). He does this with all travellers and he doesn't even ask who they are. Angered by such disrespect, Polydeukes volunteers and the fight begins. Amycus is a man-mountain but the young Argonaut is skilled with his fists and eventually lands a lethal blow. The Bebrycians rush on the victor, weapons drawn, but they are intercepted and chased off by his rampant crewmates. Some sheep are herded on board and the Argo leaves the following day. Their next stop is on the opposite coast, near the home of Phineus, once a king of the Thynians. He too doesn't ask who these travellers are. He already knows. His powers of prophesy are so great that Zeus has punished him for giving away divine secrets, afflicting him with extreme old age, blindness and daily visits from the harpies. Jason and the Argonauts are destined to rescue him from the harpies and thus he welcomes them as his deliverers. Zetes and Calais, sons of the north wind, duly chase the pests away, and the blind old man gratefully reveals the safest route to Colchis and how best to sail past the Clashing Rocks.