title: European water vole

text: The water vole is the U.K.'s fastest declining mammal and efforts are under way to protect it and its habitat from further destruction. One aspect of water vole conservation in the U.K. is focused on non-linear habitats such as reed beds which support extensive networks or metapopulations. Other areas supporting healthy populations of water voles are large conurbations such as Birmingham and London and some upland areas where American mink are scarce. Across the U.K., the Wildlife Trusts and other organisations are undertaking many practical projects to conserve and restore water vole populations.


title: European water vole

text: Water voles have recently returned to Lindow Common nature reserve in Cheshire, after many years of absence. The reserve rangers credit this to conservation management, which included thinning of woodland.


title: European water vole

text: In September 2019, the Box Moor Trust re-introduced 177 Water Voles in to the River Bulbourne in Hemel Hempstead as part of a three-year plan. There is an existing population in nearby Sarratt, and it is hoped that in time the two groups will breed.


title: European water vole

text: Wetlands West (formerly the Severn and Avon Vales Wetlands Partnership) reports on work done as part of the Water Vole Recovery Project in the Berkeley Vale. In Gloucestershire a new nature reserve for water voles was created in 2009/2010 at Nind (a former trout farm).


title: European water vole

text: Glasgow has recently been identified as a stronghold for water voles, including a distinct population of 'fossorial' water voles, which have been reported as inhabiting brownfield sites, road verges and urban parks.


title: European water vole

text: The European otter has been known to attack mink preying upon water voles. There are also indications that the water vole is increasing in numbers in U.K. areas where the European otter has made a return.


title: European water vole

text: In 2015, People's Trust for Endangered Species launched a new project to try to coordinate conservation efforts for the water-vole in the U.K. The National Water-Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP) is the first ongoing monitoring scheme for this species in the U.K. and aims to bring together data from several hundred sites to allow the status of this animal to be assessed year-on-year.


title: European water vole

text: A water vole named "Ratty" is a leading character in the 1908 children's book "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame: the locality used in the book is believed to be Moor Copse in Berkshire, England, and the character's name "Ratty" has become widely associated with the species and their riverbank habitat, as well as the misconception that they are a species of rat.


title: European water vole

text: In the comic novel and film "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons, one of the characters, Urk, refers to the subject of his unrequited love, Elfine Starkadder, as his little water-vole. Throughout the story, Urk spends a lot of time talking to the water-voles on the farm.


title: European water vole

text: C. S. Calverley a 19th-century writer of (among other things) light verse, in his poem "Shelter", beginning:


title: European water vole

text: Tells of an apparently shy, easily frightened young female by a lakeside, who in the last line of the poem, it is revealed that:


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The Chinese paddlefish ("Psephurus gladius"; : literal translation: "white sturgeon"), also known as the Chinese swordfish, is an extinct species of fish that was formerly native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China. With records of specimens over and possibly in length, it was one of the largest species of freshwater fish. It was the only species in the genus Psephurus and one of two recent species of paddlefish (Polyodontidae), the other being the American paddlefish ("Polyodon spathula"). It was an anadromous species, meaning that it spent part of its adult life at sea, while migrating upriver to spawn.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The Chinese paddlefish was officially declared extinct in 2022, with an estimated time of extinction to be by 2005, and no later than 2010, although it had become functionally extinct by 1993. The main cause of its extinction was the construction of the Gezhouba and Three Gorges dams, causing population fragmentation and blocking the anadromous spawning migration. Overfishing also played a significant role in its demise. Fishing of the Chinese paddlefish dates back centuries, with annual harvests reaching 25 tons by the 1970s. Since the 1990s, the species was officially listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered, and was last seen alive in 2003. A 2019 paper including scientists from the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute found the species to be extinct. It was unanimously agreed to be extinct by the Species Survival Commission Sturgeon Specialist Group of the IUCN on 15 September 2019, with its conservation status being formally updated by the IUCN Red List in July 2022.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The Chinese paddlefish had a white underbelly, and its back and head were grey. Its dorsal and anal fins were situated considerably far back on the body. The paddle-like rostrum was narrow and pointed, and was between a quarter and up to a third of total body length. Its eyes were small and round. The tail fin was heterocercal (spine extending into the upper lobe), with the lower lobe being well developed. The skull is more elongate and narrower than that of the American paddlefish, and lacks the sculpturing present on the skull bones of other paddlefish, with the stellate (star-shaped) bones on the rostrum less numerous than those of the American paddlefish. The teeth were small, and became proportionally smaller relative to the jaw during growth. Compared to "Polyodon", the jaws were shorter, and had a proportionately narrower gape, and unlike the American paddlefish, but similar to fossil paddlefish, the upper jaw was not firmly attached to the braincase. Like other paddlefish, the skeleton was largely cartilaginous. The body lacked scales, except for small scales in the caudal peduncle and caudal fin.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: Juveniles attained a weight of around by their first winter and a length of and a weight of about by the time they were a year old. Beyond this length, proportional weight gain relative to body length dramatically increased, reaching a weight of about by the time they were around long. They reached sexual maturity at a weight of around . The maximum length of the Chinese paddlefish is often quoted as , with this estimate apparently being given by C. Ping (1931), though according to Grande and Bemis (1991), specimens over had not been definitively measured. Ping recorded that fishermen in Nanjing caught a Chinese paddlefish with a length of 7 meters and a weight of 907 kilograms. FishBase and World Wide Fund for Nature gives a conservative maximum weight of .


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The species was first named as a species of "Polyodon" by Eduard von Martens in 1862. It was placed into a separate, monotypic genus by Albert Günther in 1873. The species was also given a different name, "Spatularia angustifolium" by Johann Jakob Kaup also in 1862, but this is considered a junior synonym of "P. gladius."


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: Paddlefish (Polyodontidae) are one of two living families of Acipenseriformes alongside sturgeons (Acipenseridae). The oldest records of Acipenseriformes date to the Early Jurassic, over 190 million years ago. The oldest paddlefish fossil is that of "Protopsephurus" from the Early Cretaceous of China, dating to around 120 million years ago. The oldest representatives of the genus containing the American paddlefish ("Polyodon") date to around 65 million years ago, from the beginning of the Paleocene. Various molecular clock estimates have been given for the age of the divergence between the American and Chinese paddlefish, including 68 million years ago 72 million years ago, and 100 million years ago, all dating to the middle to Upper Cretaceous.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The Chinese paddlefish was native to the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) River basin and its estuary at the East China Sea. Historically it was also recorded in the Yellow River basin (which is connected to the Yangtze by the Grand Canal) and its estuary at the Yellow Sea. It primarily inhabited the large rivers, but sometimes travelled into large lakes. Due to their anadromous nature, mature individuals were found in coastal waters of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea; occasionally spring tides would bring individuals into the lower reaches of the Qiantang and Yong rivers of Zhejiang province.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The species spent part of its life in the lower section of the Yangtze, including the brackish water of its estuary, but migrated upriver and into major tributaries to congregate for spawning, which occurred in spring, from mid-March to early April. One spawning site on the Jinsha River, located at the midpoint of the river, around from the riverbank, was around in length, and had a max water depth of and rapid water flow, with the bottom sediments in the lower reaches being shingly and in the upper reaches muddy/sandy. A study on a sample of spawning Chinese paddlefish found that they were 8 to 12 years old. The ovaries of the female fish contained over 100,000 eggs, each approximately across. The developing zygotes and fry were restricted to the region of the Yangtze basin upstream of Luzhou in southeastern Sichuan, while yearlings and adults were widely distributed throughout the Yangtze river proper from the lower to upper reaches.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The fish was largely solitary, and occupied the lower-mid layers of the water column. Chinese paddlefish were noted for being strong swimmers. Unlike its relative the American paddlefish, which is a planktivorous filter feeder, the Chinese paddlefish was primarily piscivorous, mainly feeding on small to medium-sized fishes like anchovies ("Coilia)", cyprinids ("Coreius, Rhinogobio")"," gobies ("Gobius)" as well as bagrid catfish and bothid flounders. Shrimp and crab were also eaten. The jaws, unlike the American paddlefish but like sturgeons and fossil paddlefish, were capable of protrusion, a form of cranial kinesis allowing them to move relative to the rest of the skull, with the upper jaw being able to thrust downwards and forwards in order to seize prey. Paddlefish, like other Acipenseriformes and several other groups of vertebrates, engage in passive electroreception (the sensing of external electric fields) using structures called ampullae that form an extension of the lateral line system of sensory organs. Passive electroreception (where electric fields are sensed but not generated, as in electric fish) is primarily used for detecting the weak electric fields generated by prey. The head and rostrum of Chinese paddelfish, like those of other paddlefish, was densely packed with ampullae, indicating that enhancing electroreception was one of the rostrum's primary functions.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: The last records of Chinese paddlefish in the Yellow River basin and its estuary date back to the 1960s, although declines were realized between the 13th and 19th centuries. Declines were significant throughout its primary range in the Yangtze basin, but annual captures of 25 tonnes continued into the 1970s. In 1983, the Chinese government made fishing of the species illegal due to its decline in numbers. The species was still being found in small numbers in the 1980s (for example, 32 were caught in 1985), and young were seen as recently as 1995. Due to the rarity of the fish by the time it was realised that it was in peril, and the fact that the adult fish were difficult to keep in captivity, attempts to create a captive breeding stock failed.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: Since 2000, there have been only two confirmed sightings of the fish alive, both from the Yangtze basin: The first was a , female caught at Nanjing in 2002 and the second a , female accidentally caught at Yibin, Sichuan, on January 24, 2003, by fisherman Liu Longhua (刘龙华); the former died despite attempts to save it and the latter was radio-tagged and released, but the tag stopped working after only 12 hours.


title: Chinese paddlefish

text: During a search conducted in the Yangtze basin from 2006–2008, a research team from the Chinese Academy of Fisheries Science in Jingzhou failed to catch any paddlefish, but two possible specimens were recorded with hydroacoustic signals. A comprehensive study published in 2019, including scientists from the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, found that the species was certainly extinct, based on its absence from extensive capture surveys of the Yangtze between 2017 and 2018. The paper estimated that the species went extinct between 2005 and 2010, and became functionally extinct by 1993. The primary cause of its extinction was overfishing and the construction of dams along the Yangtze. The paddlefish was heavily overfished in all stages of growth from fry (which were easily captured by traditional fishing methods) to adult, which combined with the long generation time due to its slow maturation led to reduced sustainability of viable populations. Dam construction, notably the Gezhouba Dam, which became operational in 1981, and the Three Gorges Dam landlocked and divided populations and prevented the spawning migration. The paper thus recommended the reclassification of the species as Extinct by the IUCN. A similar recommendation was also made by the Species Survival Commission Sturgeon Specialist Group of the IUCN in September 2019.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The Navy Working Uniform (NWU) is a series of military uniforms that are currently used by the United States Navy (and some elements of the U.S. Coast Guard) for wear by its members. The NWU is a "working" uniform, which means that it is made to a more durable and utilitarian standard, thus being worn in lieu of more formal uniforms that might get unduly damaged or dirtied in the process of normal military duties.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The first NWU variant, known as the NWU Type I, was designed in late 2004 and began being used by the U.S. Navy in limited quantities beginning in late 2008. By late 2010, it had completely replaced most other "working" uniforms. It was made of a ripstop cotton–nylon blend and featured a blue and grey camouflage pattern. Though originally intended for shipboard use, the nylon content caused the uniforms to lack sufficient flame resistance for shipboard environments, and it was replaced with flame-resistant coveralls when working shipboard. Due to the unsuitability of its camouflage pattern ashore, the NWU Type I was completely retired from use in 2019, replaced by other variants.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: There are currently two variants of the NWU in use by the U.S. Navy for shore environments. The NWU Type II, which has a primarily tan and brown camouflage pattern called AOR1, is designed to be worn in sandy and arid desert battlefield environments, while the NWU Type III, which has primarily green, brown, and black pattern called AOR2, is designed to be worn in more temperate environments such as the contiguous United States.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: NWU Type III is now worn by all U.S. Navy personnel. The NWU Type III has been issued to new naval recruits since late 2017 and completely replaced the NWU Type I in 2019 when the latter was discontinued and phased out of service. The NWU Type II is worn only by specialized units such as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Navy SEALs, Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsmen, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians, and Seabees when in the appropriate environment.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: As a standing professional military force, the U.S. Navy has three main categories of uniforms for its members to wear, referred to as dress, service, and working. Dress uniforms are elaborate, designed to be worn during formal occasions of prestige and state, in that regard, they are roughly similar to a civilian tuxedo or a three-piece suit. Service uniforms are more casual, designed to be worn in an everyday context, such as in an office setting. Working uniforms are more durable and utilitarian, designed for use in battle and environments where other more formal clothing would be impracticable and might get unduly damaged or dirtied.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: Prior to the NWU's introduction in late 2008, the U.S. Navy's sailors and officers wore three main working uniforms: The coveralls, which were worn by all sailors and officers and were made from a blue polyester and cotton blend fabric; working khakis, also known as wash khakis, which were tan in color and worn by officers and chief petty officers only; and utilities, which consisted of a light blue shirt and dark blue trousers and were worn by seamen and petty officers only.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: During this time there were also various other working uniforms that were available to U.S. Navy sailors to wear, such as the winter working blue (consisting of a black shirt and trousers) and aviation working greens (an olive green jacket and trousers worn with a tan shirt and black tie), but these were rarely worn. By late 2010, the NWU replaced all of these uniforms with the exception of the coveralls, which are still worn today in the polyester/cotton version and a newer flame-resistant version. In addition, some sailors, such as U.S. Navy corpsmen wear the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform when assigned to a U.S. Marine Corps unit. Other sailors, such as Navy SEALs, SWCC, and Seabees, formerly wore the Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Camouflage Uniform when in operating areas, both of which have since been largely replaced by the NWU Type III and NWU Type II respectively.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The NWU consists of three main components: a jacket, a pair of trousers, and a hat known as an eight-point cover. The uniforms are made using a fabric bearing a camouflage pattern reminiscent of computer pixels; the version used on the Type II intended for arid areas is known as AOR1 and the version on the Type III for use in woodland areas is known as AOR2. The jacket is worn over a brown short-sleeved T-shirt. The overall blue color of the discontinued NWU Type I, according to the U.S. Navy, was intended to reflect the U.S. Navy's heritage and connection to seaborne operations. The colors were also chosen to match the most commonly used paint colors aboard ship, extending the lifetime of the uniform on long deployments where uniforms often come into contact with freshly painted surfaces. The pixelated pattern was advertised as ostensibly being able to hide wear and stains, something unavoidable with the utilities and working khakis used previously.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The uniform is primarily composed of a ripstop 50/50 nylon and cotton blend, which eliminates the need for a "starch and press" appearance and reduces the possibility of snags and tears from sharp objects (thus making the garment last longer). However, this blend combines high flammability with the strength to hold onto the sailor's body while burning, which is why the NWU is no longer authorized aboard ships. All-weather garments include a unisex black "mock turtleneck", a black fleece jacket, a brown fleece jacket (which is only authorized outside the contiguous United States.) and a matching camouflage parka.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: Black safety boots, identical to those worn by the U.S. Coast Guard with their Operational Dress Uniform, are worn with the NWU. Brown or tan boots can be authorized for wear when deployed, though black is the standard color of boot for sailors located in the contiguous United States.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The NWU Type III has its rank insignia in the form of a slip-on piece of fabric displayed on the chest between the breast pockets. The NWU Type III is worn with an embroidered or laser cut U.S. flag on the right sleeve pocket flap, and an embroidered or laser cut First Navy Jack flag patch on the left sleeve pocket flap both attached by hook and loop fasteners. Alternatively, Sailors may be authorized to wear approved "command patches" in place of the First Navy Jack flag patch on the left sleeve pocket flap. Also on the NWU Type III, name-tapes and badges are placed and sewn onto the blouse.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: Like the previous working uniforms, the NWU is designed to allow personnel to stay warm and dry in inclement weather, thus they are designed to be slightly larger for the wearing of sweaters underneath. The NWU, unlike its predecessors, was also designed to be longer-lasting and does not need to be ironed like previous uniforms. The uniform also has more pockets than its predecessors, with four on the shirt including the two pockets on the sleeves of the uniform, and six on the trousers. The NWU Type I was phased into service beginning in late 2008 and through to January 2009.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: From 26 February 2003 to 20 September 2003, the U.S. Navy's Vice Chief of Naval Operations, William J. Fallon, directed the U.S. Navy to create a survey group under the name of "Task Force Uniform" to begin conducting a study of the U.S. Navy's then-current uniforms to see if any of them should be replaced by newer, more contemporary ones. From this study and subsequent initiative, the NWU and Navy Service Uniform (NSU) were created.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: More than a year after the Task Force Uniform initiative was created, early versions of the NWU, still in its prototype stage, were publicly unveiled before a crowd of sailors for the first time on 18 October 2004 aboard , by Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Navy Terry D. Scott. Overall, the NWU prototypes that were showcased in late 2004 and early 2005 were similar to the BDU and DCU uniforms used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force at the time.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: There were originally four prototype variants of the NWU, two of each which had their own different camouflage patterns. One variant, known by the developmental moniker of NWU-C, used a more traditional blob-like "analog" camouflage pattern that was essentially a blue, black, and gray version of the US Woodland. The other prototype variant, known as the NWU-D, used a pixelated blue-dominant camouflage pattern reminiscent of the U.S. Marine Corps' MARPAT and U.S. Army's Universal Camouflage Pattern. Two uniforms featured rounded collars like those found on the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform, the other featured sharper, pointed collars reminiscent of those found on the Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Camouflage Uniform. Two variants featured pockets on the sleeves near the shoulders and removed the lower row of pockets on the blouse, whereas two other variants kept the lower row of pockets and featured no sleeve pockets, like on the BDU and DCU. The NWU-D variant was selected to become the NWU.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: In addition to the different pockets, different collars, and different camouflage patterns proposed, there were two different variants of hats proposed as well. One hat was a flat-topped patrol cap reminiscent of that used on the U.S. Army's BDU. The other was an eight-point utility cover like those worn by the U.S. Marines.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The early NWU prototype uniforms were tested throughout late 2004 and into 2005 over a period of six months by a test group of select U.S. Navy sailors. In early 2006, the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations, Michael G. Mullen, selected the pixelated blue camouflage pattern with pointed blouse collars and an eight-point cover to become the NWU's finished product.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The NWU Type I, known then as simply the NWU, began being made available to U.S. Navy sailors in late 2008 and early 2009. It completely replaced most of the U.S. Navy's other working uniforms by late 2010. In March 2006, the U.S. Navy set the introduction date for the NWU as late 2007, but that date was ultimately pushed back by almost a year to late 2008 and early 2009.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: In January 2010, the Navy began using new camouflage patterns for the Navy Working Uniform derived from MARPAT, named Type II and Type III, desert and woodland, respectively. The new patterns were approved the previous year, in 2009.<ref name="NAVADMIN374/09"></ref> These patterns are overall darker than their respective MARPAT progenitors, modified with different color shades and a vertically aligned pixel pattern for the woodland version, as opposed the horizontal alignment of woodland MARPAT. The additional patterns addressed the fact that the blue and grey Type I pattern was not meant for a tactical environment. Rank insignia is embroidered and worn on a tab in the center of the torso, name and "U.S. Navy" tapes were embroidered in brown (Type II) or black (Type III). Further rules were detailed when NAVADMIN 374/09 was released: the Type II was restricted for wear to Naval Special Warfare personnel, while Type III was restricted to Navy ground units until late 2016.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: In August 2016 the U.S. Navy announced that it will be eliminating the NWU Type I in favor of the Type III which completely replaced it on 1 October 2019 for wear as the standard working uniform for all Navy personnel ashore. Type III NWUs began being sold across the U.S. and issued to new U.S. Navy recruits and officer candidates from October 2017 onward, with production of the NWU Type I being ended. The Type II will remain restricted to wear by Naval Special Warfare sailors in arid desert environments.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The New York Naval Militia mirrored the Navy's policy of phasing out the NWU Type I in favor of the NWU Type III. The Ohio Naval Militia automatically follows the regulations set forth by the Department of the Navy and will phase into the new uniform on the same timescale as the Navy.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: In 2018, the eight-point cover used with the Type III NWU began featuring the Anchor, Constitution and Eagle (ACE) logo in place of the rank or rate insignia previously worn, similar to the Eagle-Globe-Anchor insignia is worn on the eight-point covers of the U.S. Marine Corps' combat utility uniforms. In October 2019, the ACE logo completely replaced rank insignia on the NWU Type III's eight-point cover.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: The U.S. Navy's original goal of developing a single working uniform for wear shipboard and ashore, for which the NWU Type I was found to be unsuitable because of its lack of flame resistance, has largely been abandoned. With the NWU Type III having become the main shore uniform, the U.S. Navy continues to work to develop a new two-piece shipboard working uniform, prototypes of which were tested from May to September 2018. For the time being, sailors wear an improved flame-resistant variant of the coverall, known as the IFRV.


title: Navy Working Uniform

text: Currently, the U.S. Navy has four prototypes in testing to replace the IFRV coveralls. Three are based on the former wash khaki and utilities worn until 2010, and the other is based on the NWU Type III though in tan and blue instead of camouflage.


title: Sydney White

text: Sydney White is a 2007 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Joe Nussbaum and written by Chad Gomez Creasey based on the story of "Snow White". The film, starring Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton and Matt Long, was released theatrically on September 21, 2007 by Universal Pictures.


title: Sydney White

text: Teenager Sydney White sets off to attend college at SAU and pledge to her mother's sorority. She become friends with Demetria Rosemead "Dinky" Hotchkiss, also an incoming member of the Kappa Sorority. While on their way to their dorm, she meets Tyler Prince, the president of a popular fraternity and the on-off boyfriend of the student council president and Kappa Sorority head, Rachel Witchburn. Rachel checks out her university's website that ranks the "hottest" in the school several times a day, and is always number one on the list. Tyler meets Sydney and is immediately smitten, while Rachel watches from her window. Sydney's unique and tomboyish personality gradually propels her popularity on the university website, making Rachel jealous.


title: Sydney White

text: As one of the Kappa Sorority's traditional initiation rituals, the freshmen need to find a date late at midnight. Sydney finds Lenny, one of a group of social outcasts called the “seven dorks”, who live in a run-down house known as the Vortex. Rachel instructs Sydney to ditch her date, leaving Lenny to pay. Rachel blocks Sydney's induction into Kappa by falsely claiming Sydney has lied about her background and cheated on a Kappa quiz. Sydney leaves that night in the rain and goes to sit in front of the Vortex, where she is welcomed by the seven dorks.


title: Sydney White

text: Sydney and the seven dorks try to bring Rachel down from her student council position by running one of the dorks, Terrence, for student body president. He is soon disqualified and Sydney replaces him as a presidential candidate. Sydney's stance against elitism on campus earns her respect from different cliques and she gets the number one rank on the school's "hottest" website.


title: Sydney White

text: The day before the debate and election, Rachel hires a hacker to destroy Sydney's files using a virus called 'The Poison Apple.' Sydney is then forced to stay up all night in the library doing her work. When Sydney finishes, she falls asleep and is almost disqualified for not showing up, but Tyler wakes her with a kiss just in time. Sydney wins the debate and the election, becoming the new president, while Rachel is stripped of her Kappa sisterhood privileges by her sisters because of the years of cruelty she bestowed on both her Kappa sisters and the students at the University as well as lying and cheating during the election.


title: Sydney White

text: The film ends with Sydney's father and other construction workers fixing the Vortex. And, according to Sydney's narration, they all lived "dorkily ever after".


title: Sydney White

text: Principal photography took place in and around Orlando from February 14, 2007 to April 4, 2007. Filming locations included the University of Central Florida, Rollins College, and University High School (Orlando).


title: Sydney White

text: "Sydney White" opened on September 21, 2007 in the United States in 2,104 venues. In its opening weekend, the film earned $5,196,380 in the box office, ranking sixth place and third of the week's new releases. At the end of its run, the film grossed $11,892,415 domestically and $1,727,660 overseas for a worldwide total of $13,620,075. Based on an estimated $16.5 million budget, the film was a box office bomb.


title: Sydney White

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 36% rating based on 84 reviews with an average rating of 4.94/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Amanda Bynes is charming, but "Sydney White" is a poorly adapted take on "Snow White", relying on tired ethnic stereotypes laughs." On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 45 out of 100, based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull.


title: Beverley

text: The town is known for Beverley Minster, Beverley Westwood, North Bar (a 15th-century gate) and Beverley Racecourse. It inspired the naming of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts, which in turn was the impetus for Beverly Hills, California. The town was listed in the 2018 "Sunday Times" report on Best Places to Live in northern England.


title: Beverley

text: The town was originally known as "Inderawuda" and was founded around 700 AD by Saint John of Beverley during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. After a period of Viking control, it passed to the Cerdic dynasty, a period during which it gained prominence in terms of religious importance in Great Britain. It continued to grow especially under the Normans when its trading industry was first established. A place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages due to its founder, it eventually became a significant wool-trading town. Beverley was once the tenth-largest town in England, as well as one of the richest, because of its wool and the pilgrims who came to venerate its founding saint, John of Beverley. After the Reformation, the stature of Beverley was much reduced.


title: Beverley

text: In the 20th century, Beverley was the administrative centre of the local government district of the Borough of Beverley (1974–1996). It is now the county town of the East Riding, located north-west of Hull, east of Market Weighton and west of Hornsea. According to the 2001 United Kingdom census the total population of the urban area of Beverley was 29,110 – of whom 17,549 live within the historic parish boundaries. The population of the parish had risen to 18,624 at the time of the UK's 2011 census.


title: Beverley

text: The origins of Beverley can be traced back to the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. The first structure built in the area, which at the time was known as Inderawuda (meaning ""in the wood of the men of Deira""), was a Christian church dedicated to St John the Evangelist. This was founded by the Bishop of York who later became known as John of Beverley, who was believed to have performed miracles during his lifetime, and was later venerated as a saint. Around the 850s, the now developed monastery was abandoned in a hurry; historians presume this was because of the invasion of the so-called Great Heathen Army of Vikings who had invaded England, and established the Kingdom of Jórvík in the Yorkshire area. However, the population was increased during the 10th century, by people who came to venerate the Saint, John of Beverley.


title: Beverley

text: Before the Battle of Brunanburh, possibly located further north than Beverley, the King of England at the time Athelstan visited Inderawuda, he prayed all night and saw a vision saying he would be victorious: in return he helped the town to grow greatly. The name of the town was changed to Bevreli or "Beverlac", meaning beaver-clearing or beaver-lake, in the 10th century; a reference to the colonies of beavers in the River Hull at the time. The last three Anglo-Saxon archbishops of York helped Beverley to develop, via the rise in prominence of Beverley Minster and the town in general; along with York itself, Ripon and Southwell, Beverley became one of the most important Christian centres of Northern England. Aldred was declared by king Edward the Confessor as "sole Lord of the Manor of Beverley". Beverley developed as a trade centre, producing textiles, leather and objects made out of antler.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley Minster was constructed in 1220 and there were 3 phases to its construction. 1220–1260, 1320–1348 Stopped during the black death and again in 1420–1440 but Beverley Minster is not complete. The Chapterhouse was demolished in 1660 and only the doors remain in the church. St Martin's chapel was also destroyed and was a place of pilgrimage for many, was removed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.


title: Beverley

text: After the Norman conquest, many pilgrims flocked to Beverley upon hearing reports of miracles wrought by the town's founder, John. However, much of the North of England rejected Norman rule, and sought to reinstate Viking rule. Towns in Yorkshire were obliterated by the Normans in response, with the Harrying of the North; but Beverley itself was spared, upon the Normans hearing about the town's saintly history. In 1086, Beverley was recorded in the Domesday Book as comprising around 19 households and lying within the Hundred of Sneculfcros. In the 12th century, Beverley developed from a settlement of several thousand, to an extensive town, stretching from around the North Bar area to the Beck in an elongated pattern, it was granted borough status in 1122 by Thurstan. Industry grew further, Beverley especially traded wool with the cloth making towns of the Low Countries.


title: Beverley

text: The town suffered a large fire in 1188 which destroyed numerous houses, and damaged Beverley Minster. Lady Sybil de Valines gave the Manor of the Holy Trinity on the east side of Beverley to the Knights Hospitallers in 1201, where they established a preceptory; also to be found in Beverley during the 13th century were Dominican friars who were given some land by Henry III upon which they erected buildings. Franciscans were present. A dispute arose between local farmers and the archbishop during the 13th century, about land rights; after the locals demanded a royal inquiry, the archbishop granted the townspeople pasture and pannage in the Westwood and other places.


title: Beverley

text: During the 14th century, England experienced periods of famine caused by poor weather conditions which destroyed crops. There were other nationwide issues to contend with at the time, such as the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War and the Great Rising. However, Beverley continued to grow: and by 1377, had become the 10th largest town in England.


title: Beverley

text: The earliest surviving secular drama in English, "The Interlude of the Student and the Girl" (), may have originated from Beverley.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley was reliant on pilgrimage, but changes brought about by the Reformation impacted upon this tradition, resulting in a decline in its status. Local Beverley man Cardinal John Fisher was martyred along with Thomas More for refusing to accept the Tudor King Henry VIII as Head of the Church of England. In October 1536, there was a popular rising in Beverley where 500 men in the town gathered at the Westwood under the leadership of a local lawyer named William Stapleton, later becoming part of the larger Pilgrimage of Grace in York and, in turn, part of the 30,000 rebels opposing Henry's new religious laws. Henry followed through with the break from Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, dissolving the Dominican Friary in Beverley and taking their land for himself, the Knights Templars in Beverley suffered the same fate in 1540.


title: Beverley

text: As a result of the tensions across the North of England, governance duties were handed over to the Council of the North so the Tudors could control the area at arm's length. Beverley was visited by John Leland, the man known as the "father of English local history", he wrote of the town in some detail, estimating the population of the time at around 5,000. Beverley Minster was threatened with demolition by its new owners who wanted to profit from selling its stone and lead, however the local people led by wealthy merchant Richard Gray saved it from this fate. During the time of Elizabeth I, Beverley was endowed with its own mayor; Edward Ellerker was the first to take this position. The gap between Beverley's rich and poor became more pronounced during the Tudor era, due to large unemployment. The substantial drop in pilgrimage to Beverley in honour of its founder John of Beverley affected the jobs of the working class as it was Beverley's main industry.


title: Beverley

text: In the early 17th century Beverley was affected by the plague which caused many deaths. Due to the close geographical proximity to Hull, focus on the area became magnified when the people of Hull refused to open the gates to Charles I a couple of months before the fighting began in the English Civil War. After being turned away from Hull, the king spent three weeks as a guest in a house at North Bar in Beverley, where he was openly greeted with the ringing of St Mary's Church bells. Beverley was initially royalist: however, it was taken by the parliamentarians of Hull, forcing the king to flee. A royalist army led by William Cavendish defeated Thomas Fairfax to reclaim the town for the royalists; from here they launched another Siege of Hull. Eventually the parliamentarians won the civil war and established the Commonwealth of England, in which alehouses were shut on Sundays and theatres and race meetings abandoned: the Puritans visited the then Church of England houses of worship and destroyed anything they thought to be idolatrous.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley Minster managed to escape this fate, in part due to the prominence of the Percy family and the fact that the church housed memorials to their ancestors. Beverley's Quakers were not so fortunate, and were strongly repressed by the Puritans. The English Restoration with Charles II coming to power was generally well received in Beverley, and his royal coat of arms was hung in the Minster and remains there. In terms of trade Beverley was not rich in the 17th century but had improved slightly, the majority were based in agriculture. During the Georgian era, Beverley was the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire and became the prime market town in the area during the 18th century; competition from Pocklington, Howden and Market Weighton was insufficient. The replacing of old timber buildings with new ones in the Georgian style helped the town recover in prestige, with the religious structures also undergoing restorations. During the Industrial Revolution, Beverley's people retained most agricultural jobs, though there was a presence of iron workers within the town.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley had a cattle market for 1300 years, it served as the centre for the region's livestock trade until it closed. The site is now the car park for Tesco supermarket which opened in 2002.


title: Beverley

text: Hodgsons Tannery (1816–1979) was a major employer in the town. The tannery turned animal hides into leather. At the time of closure there were 750 redundancies. After Hodgsons closed, part of the factory site was used by Clairant (chemical production company). However, this had also closed by 2005 with the loss of 120 jobs.


title: Beverley

text: Armstrong Patents Co. Ltd. (1917–1995) was also a well known company and major employer. The factory on East Gate mainly produced Armstrong shock absorbers until it closed in 1981.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley Shipyard opened in 1884 and continued to build ships until the yard closed completely in 1977. From 1905 until 1962 the yard was owned by Cook, Welton & Gemmell Shipbuilders. In 1954 the yard employed 650 people. Ships were launched sideways into the River Hull.


title: Beverley

text: Due to an increase in population, some of the entrances into the town (such as the brick-built Bars) were taken down to accommodate traffic. Although population figures rose steeply, the increase was not as much as in nearby Hull, or most of the rest of England. Beverley's religious associations remained during the 19th century: as well as the majority Anglican faith, there were several non-conformist religions practised such as Methodism with John Wesley previously having preached there; with the completion of the Catholic Emancipation and the refoundation of the Catholic hierarchy, the Diocese of Beverley in 1850 was chosen to cover Yorkshire, before being divided into two dioceses.


title: Beverley

text: Communications were improved with the opening of the Beverley railway station in October 1846. In 1884, Andrew Cochrane founded a shipyard at Grovehill on the River Hull. It was purchased by Cook, Welton & Gemmell in 1901. The yard was a leading builder of trawlers for the Hull deep-sea fishing fleet. In both world wars the yard built minesweepers for the Royal Navy. The deep-sea trawler Arctic Corsair now preserved in Hull was built there in 1960. The yard closed for ship construction in 1977 and the site is now used for boat repairs.


title: Beverley

text: A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Victoria Barracks in 1878. The barracks closed in 1977, and the only army presence in the area is now the Defence School of Transport at Normandy Barracks Leconfield, two miles to the north. In the First World War the Royal Flying Corps had an airfield on the Westwood. The site is now Beverley Racecourse


title: Beverley

text: The Second World War saw the nearby city of Hull suffer significantly from aerial bombardment: however, Beverley was more fortunate and did not endure such heavy attacks. Since the war, Beverley has gone through some remodelling, and has grown in size. It attracts thousands of tourists each year who come to view the religious buildings and visit Beverley Racecourse. In 2007, Beverley was named as the best place to live in the United Kingdom in an "Affordable Affluence" study by the Royal Bank of Scotland.


title: Beverley

text: In late 2015 a new shopping and entertainment complex opened in Flemingate (on the site of the old Hodgsons Tannery). Among the attractions is a six-screen cinema and a Premier Inn hotel. East Riding College (formerly Beverley College of Further Education) also relocated to Flemingate, after the previous site was sold for a housing development.


title: Beverley

text: During the Middle Ages, Beverley was governed by aldermen known as the twelve keepers, they oversaw the general running of the town and the maintaining of law and order. The borough corporation was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and formed the local government of the town until 1974. In 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, the former area of Beverley borough was merged with Beverley Rural District and Haltemprice Urban District to form an enlarged Beverley borough in the county of Humberside. Since 1996, it has formed part of the East Riding of Yorkshire district and is the county town, as it was before 1974.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley was represented in the Houses of Parliament by the Members of Parliament (MPs) for Yorkshire until Beverley was given parliamentary borough status from 1563. Beverley was able to elect two MPs for its entire time as a parliamentary borough; the right of election was vested not in the population as a whole, but in the freemen. Elections became notoriously corrupt, to the extent that the constituency was abolished in 1870 and incorporated into the East Riding constituency. During the 1950 general election a Beverley county constituency was created, covering half of the East Riding, with Bridlington covering the other half. It became part of the Haltemprice constituency in 1955, until it reverted to the Beverley constituency in 1983. Since 1997 Beverley has been part of the Beverley and Holderness constituency, a Conservative Party stronghold.


title: Beverley

text: In 2019 the Liberal Democrats made huge gains in the local elections, taking out all of the Conservative seats and taking control of the Town Council, whilst also gaining two seats from the Conservatives on East Riding of Yorkshire Council in St Mary's Ward. The only Conservative representatives for Beverley are in Minster and Woodmansey Ward, where the Conservatives held all three seats.


title: Beverley

text: In 2014 local authorities planned to build 3,300 new houses in Beverley, which would increase the size of the town by 20%. A spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: "The evidence recognises that the East Riding is generally a high demand area with strong levels of in-migration". The plans are opposed by some residents, such as those in the North Beverley Action Group.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley is home to the oldest state school in England, in the form of Beverley Grammar School. The school was founded in 700 AD by Saint John of Beverley. Several notable alumni have attended the school, including chemist Smithson Tennant, who discovered iridium and osmium, Thomas Percy, who was involved in the Gunpowder Plot and Paul Robinson, a football goalkeeper who has represented England national football team (2003–2009). In the modern day the school hosts around 800 pupils and has received favourable reports from Ofsted, however, in 2013 it was determined as requiring improvement.


title: Beverley

text: There are other schools in Beverley, such as Beverley High School, which is a comprehensive school for girls: it has around 850 pupils, and is well above the national average based on the results of GCSE test performances. Beverley Grammar School and Beverley High School share a common sixth form, called the Beverley Joint Sixth.


title: Beverley

text: Longcroft School is a co-educational school, with around 1,500 pupils consisting of both boys and girls. Longcroft School was founded in 1949 and officially opened in 1951 and is home to the Longcroft Gospel Choir, founded by Jonathan Chapman. The choir comprises pupils from Year 9 and above and several members of Longcroft School staff, and has a large repertoire of music. Over the choir's period of existence, the choir has performed at venues such as Disneyland Paris and the Apple Store on Oxford Street, London, have released two of their own albums and have featured on a track by singer-songwriter Henry Priestman. But more recently in May 2015, it was announced that the Longcroft Gospel Choir will be one of twenty choirs in the UK to perform at and open the 2015 Rugby World Cup in London performing for the home team (England).


title: Beverley

text: East Riding College has a campus in Beverley. The college offers various further education courses for school leavers and adults from the town.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley and the East Riding of Yorkshire region is served by the "East Riding Mail", which is the sister paper to the "Hull Daily Mail".


title: Beverley

text: Radio stations BBC Radio Humberside and Viking FM serve the town and the whole of the East Riding of Yorkshire but, are based in the nearby city of Hull.


title: Beverley

text: Kingstown Hospital Radio serves the East Riding Community Hospital, in addition to the Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in nearby Cottingham.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley has its own radio station 107.8 Beverley FM, which broadcasts to Beverley and its surrounding area from the studio based in the town.


title: Beverley

text: The exterior scenes in "Lease of Life", (with Robert Donat), in 1954, were filmed in Beverley and nearby Lund, East Riding of Yorkshire, (Hinton St John), as well as Beverley Minster.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley's largest religious denomination is Christianity; 79.9% of the people in the area polled as part of the United Kingdom Census 2001 professed the Christian faith, 8% above the national average.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley Minster contains a tomb said to contain the bones of Saint John of Beverley who founded a monastery here and with it the town; another saint from Beverley is Saint John Fisher (born c. 1469). The minster was designated a Grade I listed building in 1950 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England.


title: Beverley

text: Adherents of the Church of England are in the majority with three parishes; the ancient Beverley Minster, St Mary's Church (designated a Grade I listed building in 1950 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England) and St Nicholas Church. Beverley is a suffragan bishopric of the Diocese of York represented by the Bishop of Beverley, created in 1994 to provide a provincial episcopal visitor for the Province of York. There is one Roman Catholic church in Beverley called St John's which belongs to the Diocese of Middlesbrough; when the Catholic Emancipation was complete in 1850 the Diocese of Beverley was established to cover all of Yorkshire, but it was later broken up into two dioceses, Leeds and Middlesbrough. Methodism is also represented in Beverley with around three places of worship.


title: Beverley

text: Since their suppression in the 17th century, Quakers established a meeting house and have worshipped in Beverley ever since. Their present meeting house – the third – in Quaker Lane – was built in 1961.


title: Beverley

text: Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the United States first arrived in Beverley in 1850 and quickly established a local congregation. In 1963 a large new chapel on Manor Road was built by local church members. Due to the continued growth of the Beverley congregation both the building and car parks were enlarged in the late 1990s.


title: Beverley

text: A market day is central to culture in Beverley; a smaller market day is held on Wednesday: however, the main event is on Saturday, with all of the stalls. Throughout each year there are various annual music festivals in the town, catering for different kinds of music. These include the Early Music Festival in May; the Beverley Folk Festival in June, which features three days of folk music, comedy and workshops; the Jazz Festival in August, followed by the Chamber Music Festival in September. Held monthly at the Beverley Memorial Hall is a local music event "Sunday Live". It is also home to the popular Beverley Male Voice Choir.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley hosts an annual literature festival, kite festival, a biennial puppet festival and Beverley town fair. Since 2006, Beverley Town Council has run an annual food festival in October. Including 70 stalls selling food produced in Beverley and the East Riding of Yorkshire, a 200-seat food theatre marquee, cookery demonstrations from local chefs, and street entertainment, the day-long event is attended by thousands of residents and visitors. In 2012, St Mary's Church in Beverley hosted the first real ale and cider festival. Over 2,000 people attended the event. The festival has now moved to the Beverley Memorial Hall and still attracts over 2,500 people.


title: Beverley

text: In terms of sport, the most noted field of participation is horse racing with Beverley Racecourse. The sport has a long history in Beverley, with evidence of a permanent race track reaching back as far as 1690, while its first grandstand was built in 1767. The town is represented in football by Beverley Town, who currently play in the Humber Premier League. Beverley was the host for the 2006 British National Cycling Championships. Beverley Westwood is home to the oldest golf club in Yorkshire the Beverley and East Riding Golf Club founded in October 1889. Beverley RUFC plays in the Yorkshire 1 league for Rugby Union and play at Beaver Park in the town. The Tour de Yorkshire passes through North Bar, one of the ancient gates of Beverley.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley town has a variety of public houses, some of which have become tourist attractions. Examples include the Sun Inn, the town's oldest public house dating back to around 1530. There are over 40 public houses in Beverley – the vast majority have been there for over a century. Beverley is home to one of the last pubs in the world to still use authentic gas lighting; The White Horse Inn (or "Nellie's" to the local population) is owned by the Samuel Smith Brewery company.


title: Beverley

text: A purpose built Post Office opened in Register Square in 1905. It continued to be the town's Post Office, until being closed in early 2020 as part of a cost cutting exercise. Post Office services are now provided by the nearby WH Smith shop.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley's first cinema, the Marble Arch, opened in 1916, located on Butcher Row. It was closed and completely demolished by 1967 having in the last few years been used as a bingo hall. After demolition, the site was used as a supermarket. Originally it was known as Moores, but later it became Prestos, then Jacksons. It is now M&S Simply Foods.


title: Beverley

text: The Museum of Army Transport relocated from Leconfield to Beverley in 1983. The museum was housed on part of the former Hodgsons Tannery site. The last surviving Blackburn Beverley aircraft XB259 (named after the town, and built nearby in Brough) was on static display until the museum closed due to a funding shortfall in 2003. This and the neighbouring former Hodgsons Tannery is now occupied by Flemingate – a shopping centre including Debenhams, H&M, River Island, restaurants and cafes, and is also home to a Parkway Cinema and Premier Inn.


title: Beverley

text: The current fire station opened in 1982 when New Walkergate (road) was constructed. The much smaller old fire station is now a GP surgery.


title: Beverley

text: The police station on Norfolk Street is part of the court complex built in about 1805, including a sessions house and a prison. The former courthouse is now a spa and the octagonal prison is a private home.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley previously had two hospitals serving the town. The Westwood Hospital originally opened as the town's Union Workhouse in 1861, but became a hospital in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II. The maternity ward closed in 1997. The hospital closed completely in 2011. The original main building has been converted to apartments. Beverley Cottage Hospital opened in Morton Lane 1885 and had closed by 1996. Beverley Community Hospital opened in 2012 on a new site.


title: Beverley

text: The East Riding Theatre, housed in a former nonconformist chapel originally built in 1910, is a community initiative launched by a group of local volunteers and film and television actor Vincent Regan. First opened to the public in December 2014 and seating 200, it is run as a not-for profit organisation and a registered charity and presents regular drama productions and musical performances.


title: Beverley

text: The town is served by Beverley railway station on the Hull to Scarborough Line, with services currently run by Northern and a limited service between Beverley and London King's Cross provided by Hull Trains. Before the mid 1960s, there was a direct York to Beverley Line via Market Weighton; the "Minsters Rail Campaign" is seeking to reinstate the closed line.


title: Beverley

text: Beverley railway station was opened in October 1846 by the York and North Midland Railway and gained junction status nineteen years later when the North Eastern Railway opened its line to Market Weighton and York. The railway station, designed by George Townsend Andrews, is now a Grade II listed building and has an elegant overall roof.


title: Beverley

text: The £13 million A1079 Beverley Bypass opened in May 1980; the road links York and Hull. East Yorkshire Motor Services provide regular bus links with Hull city centre, as well as to local surrounding villages and places such as Hessle, Pocklington, Driffield, Market Weighton, Bridlington, York and Scarborough. The town has its own bus station. Beverley Beck is a canal which gives boats access to the town from the River Hull. The beck is used by fishermen for catching a large variety of fish such as pike, bream and carp. Previously, the Beverley Beck used to form a more significant role in transport as part of the trade industry, where Beverley was a trading post of the Hanseatic League. It remains home to the Beverley Barge Preservation Society in the modern day. Beverley is home to the notorious Grovehill junction which has 42 traffic lights.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The Truth About Love is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink. It was released on September 14, 2012, through RCA Records. After giving birth to her first child in 2011, Pink started working on the album with longtime collaborator Billy Mann. With hopes of becoming more involved in the production of the album, she also reunited with Greg Kurstin and Butch Walker. Recording sessions took place between January and May 2012. "The Truth About Love" is primarily a pop record and includes elements of electropop, dance-pop, and rock music. Its lyrics explore themes of love, monogamy, and sexuality, as evidenced by the album title. The songs on the album express various perspectives towards romance and delve into the realities of long-term relationships. It features guest appearances by Eminem, Lily Allen, and Nate Ruess.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended Pink's thematic and musical direction. Buoyed by extensive marketing, "The Truth About Love" was a commercial success, topping the charts in eight countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, and Sweden. In the United States, it became Pink's first number-one album on the "Billboard" 200 chart and was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of three million album-equivalent units. In Australia, "The Truth About Love" became the first album to top the year-end chart for two consecutive years and was certified nine times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It was ranked as the seventh best-selling album of 2012, with sales of 2.6 million copies sold worldwide. By 2016, the album had sold over seven million copies globally.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Six tracks from the album were released as singles. "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)", the album's lead single, was released on July 2, 2012, and peaked at number five on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The second single, "Try", attained the top-ten position in several countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Germany, the UK, and the US. It was followed by "Just Give Me a Reason", which topped the record charts in over ten countries worldwide and became Pink's fourth number-one single on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "True Love" charted moderately in various countries, while the album's other singles, "Walk of Shame" and "Are We All We Are", had a limited release. The album was further promoted through The Truth About Love Tour (2013–2014), which grossed $183 million upon completion. "The Truth About Love" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: In November 2010, Pink released her first greatest hits album, titled "Greatest Hits... So Far!!!". The album spawned two singles, "Raise Your Glass" and "Fuckin' Perfect", which achieved commercial success, peaking at number one and number two, respectively, on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. On June 2, 2011, Pink gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Willow Sage Hart. Despite media speculation that Pink would take an extended break from music to focus on motherhood, her management team suggested in an interview with "American Top 40" that the singer could release a new album next year.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: In March 2012, Pink confirmed via Twitter that she had begun working on her sixth studio album. In an open letter to her fans posted on her official website, she detailed the process of crafting the record, saying, "I'm putting my heart and soul into every song and there's a lot of that these days. This little girl has expanded me and what I am capable of feeling as a human". Pink later appeared on the cover of "Cosmopolitan" in June 2012. While discussing her return to the music scene, Pink revealed that the album was set to be released during the fall of the same year, and that she worked on new music with Billy Mann, among others. She added, "I've been in mommy mode, and I'm just starting to get back out there into the real world. I've been in the studio recording my new album, so now it feels like everything is falling back into place."


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The development process of "The Truth About Love" took place between January and May 2012. Pink recorded the album in sessions at Earthstar Creation Center in Venice, Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Suite 203, and The Modern Dirt Laboratories in London, UK. Before starting to work on the album, Pink contemplated how to successfully balance her music career and being a mother. In an interview for "Rolling Stone", she explained, "Every album, I'm worried that I'm a dork and a fraud – what if I can't sing anymore? Then I stop thinking and start playing guitar, and I realize that it's ok to suck, and move forward". While her previous albums were created by working every day until the early morning, Pink said becoming a mother has changed the process of making music, essentially complying with a strict routine. Recording sessions were therefore held only from Monday to Friday between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m., with breaks for nursing her daughter and having dinner. Weekends were off and dedicated to family time.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: For "The Truth About Love", Pink enlisted the help of her longtime collaborators, Billy Mann, Butch Walker, and Max Martin, as well as first-time collaborators Jeff Bhasker and Dan Wilson. Pink recalled that she started working on the album as "an experiment", and first met with Mann because she felt safe in a "no-shame zone" with him. She also reunited with record producer Greg Kurstin, with whom the singer had not collaborated since her fourth studio album, "I'm Not Dead" (2006). Noting that they shared great camaraderie, Pink felt that Kurstin would align with her musical ideas and elevate her production and musicality. Approximately 40 songs were written during the album's development process; Pink said she would write ideas for songs in her journal. The title track was the song that made her realize the project was taking a definite form and had a cohesive theme of love.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Pink drew inspiration for her songwriting from the various emotions she had experienced in her "exhausting search" for love, as well as the year she and husband Carey Hart were separated, admitting she was "still exorcising some demons". Explaining her writing process, Pink told "Daily News" that the record reflects her life at the time and her newfound happiness, inspired by motherhood. She continued, "Everything's a song. It's just a lot more fun. [...] I think that's a new thing for me. I was having a lot more fun than I was having before". She also sought to incorporate more musicality and raise the bar for herself, being more interested in the production aspects. Kurstin considered that the creative process was not difficult because Pink would compose lyrics fast once she felt inspired, comparing her work ethic with a stream of consciousness. Every day spent in the studio resulted in the completion of a new song, and Pink would record just "one or two takes", which, according to Kurstin, were "usually amazing".


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Every song on the album was co-written by Pink, with the exception of "Try", which was written by Michael Busbee and Ben West, and was originally recorded in 2010 by their former band GoNorthToGoSouth. They later pitched "Try" to Rani Hancock, an A&R executive of RCA Records, hoping to give the song to Kelly Clarkson or Daughtry. A demo version was also recorded by Adam Lambert, but according to Busbee, he "just wasn't the right fit". After hearing it at a label meeting, the director of RCA agreed to pitch the song to Pink. Pink accepted the offer to record "Try", which Busbee said "was one of the first outside songs she had recorded in a long time". The concept of "Just Give Me a Reason" was developed during a songwriting session with Bhasker and Nate Ruess. Bhasker was introduced to Pink by Peter Edge, an executive of RCA Records. Pink approached Ruess because she was captivated by his "intense incredible" voice. After the first verse was written, Pink later worked on the lyrics at home. She envisioned that the song's conversational nature demanded another collaborator, and selected Ruess to be a guest vocalist. However, he was ambivalent about singing a duet with Pink because he only recorded a demo for the track. Nonetheless, Pink persuaded Ruess to record "Just Give Me a Reason" in a duet after "many, many months of convincing". She concluded; "I totally tricked him into doing it and I'm so glad that I was able to because no one could have done it better, and I think now he's very happy that he did it".


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: "The Truth About Love" has been characterized as a pop album that incorporates elements of electropop, dance-pop, and rock music. The album consists mostly of "shouty" pop songs with "radio-gripping hooks" and confessional power ballads. According to Jon Pareles of "The New York Times", the album's instrumentation makes use of "dance beats, rock guitars, piano hymns, string orchestras, and hip-hop loops". Pink described "The Truth About Love" as a personal rock and roll record about monogamous relationships and different perspectives towards love, including "dark, light, happy, [and] sad", as well as "exploring how much it can hurt and how much it can feel good". Lyrical contents on the album are centered around Pink's recurring themes of love, sex, self-reliance, long-term relationships, and rebellion. "The Truth About Love" is a marked change in Pink's vocal style; she had quit smoking and expanded her upper vocal range by an octave.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Stephen Thomas Erlewine from "AllMusic" noted that the album explored more "grown-up emotions" and Pink "embracing every one of her contradictions". Kyle Anderson of "Entertainment Weekly" remarked the album's concept of expressing the darker side of love with "righteous anger [and] irreverence", while Sarah Godfrey of "The Washington Post" identified its tracks as "aggressive, attitudinal love songs". Mesfin Fekadu from the "Associated Press" summarized "The Truth About Love" as a "rollercoaster of emotions", comparing the album with "watching a reality show about the ups and downs of her relationship with her husband". Similarly, Christina Lee of "Idolator" suggested that the album documented Pink's year-long separation from her husband and her overall tumultuous relationship, pointing out the singer's realization that "the love of your life can also cause the heartbreak of your life".


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The album opens with "Are We All We Are", a self-empowering protest song featuring instrumentation of "crashing drums", keyboards, and disorientated synthesizers. According to Diane Anderson-Minshall of "The Advocate", lyrics such as "We are the people that you'll never get the best of" are inspired by economic inequality and the Occupy Wall Street movement. Described as a breakup anthem, the next track, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)", is an upbeat electropop song with "Modest Mouse-style rock riffs" and "snappy guitars". The song drew comparisons to Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" for having a similar sound; both songs were produced by Kurstin. The third track, "Try", is a 1980s-influenced power ballad about a damaged relationship and taking risks with love. It is followed by "Just Give Me a Reason", a duet with Nate Ruess. The lyrics find Pink pleading with a partner as they strive to stay together.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The album's fifth track, "True Love", is a humorous ska-pop and pop-rock song, with guest vocals from Lily Allen. Lyrically, it has been described as "a celebration of dysfunctional love" and retells aspects of Pink's riotous relationship. A 1970s inspired glam rock and blues number, "How Come You're Not Here?" shows Pink's furious side at a partner who may be in love with someone else. It contains distorted vocals, layered guitars, and bells played by Pink's daughter, Willow. "Slut Like You" is an electroclash song whose tongue-in-cheek lyrics talk about female empowerment and owning one's sexuality. Critics found similarities between the track and Blur's 1997 single, "Song 2", as well as references to the 1983 American crime drama film, "Scarface". The next track on "The Truth About Love" is the title track, a retro 1960s influenced song. Its subject matter centers around the realities of a long-term relationship.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: "Beam Me Up" is an acoustic ballad about taking a break from reality and longing to be with someone who has died. Pink revealed that the song was written "through a lot of tears" and was inspired by a close friend whose child had died. The tenth track, "Walk of Shame", is an anthemic new wave song about the embarrassment and regret on the morning after a one-night stand. Described as an "alternative club banger", the dance-inflected "Here Comes the Weekend" features guest vocals by Eminem. The song revolves around letting loose at a party, as she sings on the chorus, "Here comes/ Comes the weekend hear it calling like a siren/ We don't look for trouble/ Just enough to seeing double". It is followed by "Where Did the Beat Go?", a midtempo R&B song with military drums and multi-layered vocals. Its lyrics display a vulnerable Pink questioning a relationship falling apart and no longer feeling desired. The album's final song of the standard edition, "The Great Escape", is a piano ballad. Its somber lyrics explore themes of medication, going through difficult times, and contemplating suicide.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The deluxe version of "The Truth About Love" continues with the track "My Signature Move", an anthemic pop-rock song produced by Walker, while "Is This Thing On?" contains influences of four-on-the-floor. The next song is "Run", an emotional power ballad dedicated to Pink's daughter, with lyrics such as the opening lines, "Remember make believe in you/ All the things I said I'd do/ I wouldn't hurt you, like the world did me/ Keep you safe, I'd keep you sweet". The final track of the deluxe edition, "Good Old Days", is characterized by "a refreshing, live-in-the-moment" message and melancholic lyrics.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: In 2011, RCA Music Group announced that it would be disbanding Jive Records, Arista, and J Records. With the shutdown, all artists previously signed to those labels, including Pink, would release their future material through RCA Records. Pink announced the album title during an interview on Australia's "Today" on July 4, 2012. The following day, she confirmed the album's release date as September 17, 2012 in the United Kingdom, and a day later in the United States. The album's artwork was unveiled through Pink's official website on July 16, 2012. Photographed by Andrew Macpherson, it depicts the singer with her "signature" pink hair crouching down and donning a short black top, short black shorts, garters, and red heels.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: On September 4, 2012, Pink announced that she partnered with the American retail company Target for a promotional campaign. The partnership included the release of an exclusive, deluxe edition of "The Truth About Love" album, featuring four extra tracks, and Pink appearing in television commercials for Target to promote the album. A special Fan Edition of the album was released in November 2012. In addition to the standard version of the album, the Fan Edition contains six additional songs, as well as a DVD containing the music videos of "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" and "Try", four live performances from a special "The Truth About Love" concert held in Los Angeles, and exclusive scenes from the album photoshoot.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: To bolster album sales, Pink and RCA Records implemented an extensive marketing plan for the album. At the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, Pink gave the first televised performance of "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)", which she also performed on September 10, 2012, on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "Le Grand Journal". Three days later, Pink sang at the 2012 iTunes Festival at Roundhouse, in London. On September 14, 2012, Pink appeared on "", where she was interviewed and performed "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)". Concurrent with the album's release in Germany, Pink held a special concert at Circus Krone, in Munich. Songs performed included "Are We All We Are", "How Come You're Not Here?", "True Love", "Try", "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)", and "Slut Like You", along with other tracks from her discography. She later performed "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" and "Try" on "Today" as part of their Toyota Concert Series. Pink also appeared on "The View" and "The Daily Show" singing "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)". Later the same month, the singer performed at the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival where her setlist included "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" and "Try".


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: In Australia, Pink promoted "The Truth About Love" by performing "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" and "True Love" on "Today". She also performed "Try" during the fourth season of "The X Factor" Australia and held a one-night-only concert at the Forum Theatre, in Melbourne. On November 12, 2012, she performed during the "Power of Pink" benefit concert at Sony Pictures Studios, singing her previous singles as well as "How Come You're Not Here?", "Try", and "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)". A day later, Pink was featured on an episode of "VH1 Storytellers". Her setlist included "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)", "How Come You're Not Here?", and she was accompanied on stage by Lily Allen and Nate Ruess during the performances of "True Love" and "Just Give Me a Reason", respectively. At the 2012 American Music Awards, Pink performed "Try" and recreated the highly choreographed routine from the music video joined by her male dancer, Colt Prattes. The performance was met with positive reviews from critics.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Pink then returned to Europe to further promote the album. On November 30, 2012, Pink played a private concert organized by NRJ at Salle Wagram in Paris, France. The following day, she appeared on Swiss television show "Benissimo" and sang "Try". Pink performed the song again on the semi-finale of the ninth series of "The X Factor" UK. On December 8, 2012, she performed "Try" on German television show" Wetten, dass..?", accompanied by Prattes. The singer was a main headliner at the 2012 edition of Jingle Bell Ball, an annually-held event promoted by Capital FM, which took place at the O Arena in London. Among the songs performed were "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" and "Try". She later performed "Try" on "The Graham Norton Show", in an appearance aired on December 31, 2012. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014, Pink performed a medley of "Try" and "Just Give Me a Reason". Pink descended from the ceiling on ropes and performed "Try" while flying above the audience and executing an aerial dancing routine. She then landed on stage and sang "Just Give Me a Reason" joined by Nate Ruess.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The album's lead single, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" was released on July 2, 2012, a week ahead of schedule due to a demo leaking onto the Internet. It received positive commentary from music critics; reviewers complimented Pink's vocals and the song's anthemic chorus, being heralded as a return to form. The single topped the charts in Australia and Hungary while reaching a peak of number five on the "Billboard" Hot 100. An accompanying music video, directed by Dave Meyers, was released on July 26, 2012. It depicts Pink taking revenge and crashing the wedding of a former lover.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: "Try" was released as the album's second single on September 6, 2012. The song attained top ten status in the United States and other 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Its music video was directed by Floria Sigismondi and choreographed by the GoldenBoyz and Sebastien Stella. Released on October 10, 2012, the video portrays Pink and her lover, played by Prattes, expressing their intense love story and frustrations through an elaborate choreography inspired by the Apache dance.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: "Just Give Me a Reason" was released as the third single from the album, on February 26, 2013. The song was a commercial success, topping the charts in over ten countries and reaching the top ten elsewhere. In the United States, "Just Give Me a Reason" spent three consecutive weeks at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, becoming Pink's fourth number-one single in the country. The accompanying music video, directed by Diane Martel, is mainly set on a floating mattress surrounded by mist and water and features a cameo from Pink's husband.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The album's fourth single, "True Love", was released on June 28, 2013. The song performed moderately on the charts, peaking within the top 40 charts in over 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, and Italy. An accompanying music video showing scenes of Pink playing, fighting, and riding bicycles with her family, interspersed with clips from a tour performance, was released on July 1, 2013. "Walk of Shame" was serviced to Australian contemporary hit radio stations on September 25, 2013, as the album's fifth single. The song's music video consists of a compilation of concert and behind-the-scenes footage from The Truth About Love Tour. In Europe, "Are We All We Are" was released as the final single from "The Truth About Love" on October 31, 2013.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: The album received further promotion from The Truth About Love Tour, which started on February 13, 2013, in Phoenix, Arizona. The first leg consisted of 26 dates, visiting venues in North America, while the second row of shows comprised 30 concerts throughout Europe. The third leg included 46 dates in Australia and ran from June to September. Pink played an additional 40 shows in North America, which commenced on October 10, 2013, and concluded on January 31, 2014. The tour garnered positive reviews, with critics commending her vocals, stage presence, and aerial acrobatics. It became the third highest-grossing tour of 2013 and grossed a total of $183 million with over 1.9 million ticket sales. A of the tour was released on November 15, 2013, as DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: "The Truth About Love" was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 16 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 6.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Kyle Anderson of "Entertainment Weekly" commended the songs' confessional nature, describing the record as "honesty you can dance to". In a positive review for "MSN Music", Robert Christgau viewed that, apart from its last two songs, the album "hit[s] every time" and summarized it as "a recorded image of [Pink's] feisty, heartfelt, all-over-the-place love/sex life". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from "AllMusic" applauded the album for "expanding and deepening [Pink's] music without succumbing to stuffy pretension", calling it "weird and willfully, proudly human". Robert Copsey of "Digital Spy" deemed "The Truth About Love" as a "fierce and thoroughly entertaining record". "Billboard"s Andrew Hampp rated the record 4.5 out of 5 stars and hailed it as being a "peerlessly witty, endlessly melodic tour de force".


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Caryn Ganz of "Spin" compared the album favorably to "Stronger" (2011) by Kelly Clarkson, stating that both records "are stocked with confidence-jolting up-tempo jams, broken-hearted weepers, and candid explorations of their own flaws". Ganz also remarked that both singers "have dug in their heels even harder for guitar pop", as opposed to following current musical trends. "The Boston Globe"s writer Sarah Rodman praised the album for juxtaposing "rock muscle, pop froth, and expressions both heartfelt and petulant". Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" found the recording to be "[recognizing] some nonstorybook sides of romance". Writing for "The Guardian", Caroline Sullivan noted that the singer "funnels her thoughts into some of the most pungent songs in pop" and commended her for having "the nous to convert raw emotion into pop-punk earworms". However, she criticized the ballads which "detract from an otherwise fierce record".


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: Hermoine Hoby of "The Observer" favored its "workmanlike ballads delivered with beyond-workmanlike shading" over its "chunky guitar pop stuffed with shouty, bad-girl choruses", which she considered dominant on the album. Greg Kot of the "Chicago Tribune" perceived "formula production and hack songwriting", but complimented Pink's personality showcased in its "handful" of worthy tracks. Jody Rosen, writing for "Rolling Stone", viewed "The Truth About Love" as "supercatchy", although he opined that the album "devolves into self parody" as "Pink strains to shock, peppering songs with gratuitous curse words". Sal Cinquemani from "Slant Magazine" gave the album a mixed review, rating it three out of five stars. He felt that the record was formulaic and denounced it as "competently, often frustratingly more of the same from an artist who still seems capable of much more".


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: "Spin" listed the album at number 11 on their list of best pop albums released in 2012, with editor Ganz noting that Pink "got over her pop-star identity crisis" and presented her "genuine" side. In his list for "The Barnes & Noble Review", Christgau named "The Truth About Love" the fourth best album of 2012. "Billboard" ranked it as one of the best albums of the 2010s decade, with reviewer Sarah Grant affirming that Pink "created a ramshackle masterpiece that reminds us of what it's really like to be human" by "figuring out how the foreign experiences of a family-woman fit into [her] repertoire". The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, while "Just Give Me a Reason" received nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, respectively, at the 56th ceremony. In Canada, the album was nominated for International Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2014.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: "The Truth About Love" became Pink's first number-one album in the United States, debuting at the summit of the "Billboard" 200 chart with 280,000 copies sold and earning her biggest first-week sales at the time. The following week, the album fell to number four with sales of 94,000 copies. It sold 945,000 copies by the end of 2012, finishing as the country's 12th highest-selling album of the year. By December 2013, the album had sold over 1.83 million copies. It was certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 2017 for selling over three million album-equivalent units in the US. In Canada, "The Truth About Love" debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart. With 28,000 copies sold in the first week, it became Pink's first number-one album there. It was certified 3× Platinum by Music Canada (MC) for shipments of 240,000 copies.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: In the United Kingdom, "The Truth About Love" entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, selling 80,000 copies, behind The Killers' "Battle Born" which sold 94,000 copies. As of February 2019, the album has sold 907,000 sales in the UK and has been certified 3× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In France, it debuted at number four on the official album chart with 17,855 traditional units. The Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNAP) certified the album platinum, which denotes sales of 100,000 copies. In other regions, "The Truth About Love" reached number one on charts in Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, and peaked within the top ten in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, among others.


title: The Truth About Love (Pink album)

text: In Australia, "The Truth About Love" debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart with first-week sales of 74,293 copies, becoming Pink's fourth number-one album in the country and claiming the biggest single-week sales of 2012. The album spent ten non-consecutive weeks at the summit of the chart, becoming the longest-running number-one album since Adele's "21" (2011). "The Truth About Love" was the nation's highest-selling album of both 2012 and 2013, thus becoming the first album to ever achieve this feat. As of January 2014, it has sold 560,000 copies and was certified 9× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling over 630,000 units. The album experienced similar success in New Zealand, debuting at the top of the Official New Zealand Music Chart and spending six non-consecutive weeks there. It received a 4× Platinum certification from Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for shipments of over 60,000 units. Globally, "The Truth About Love" was the seventh best-selling album of 2012, with sales of 2.6 million copies, and by November 2016, it had sold an estimated seven million copies worldwide.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: The March 14, 1891, New Orleans lynchings were the murders of 11 Italian Americans and immigrants in New Orleans, Louisiana, by a mob for their alleged role in the murder of police chief David Hennessy after some of them had been acquitted at trial. It was the largest single mass lynching in American history. Most of the lynching victims accused in the murder had been rounded up and charged due to their Italian ethnicity.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: The lynching took place the day after the trial of nine of the nineteen men indicted in Hennessy's murder. Six of these defendants were acquitted, and a mistrial was declared for the remaining three because the jury failed to agree on their verdicts. There was a widespread belief in the city that Italian-American organized crime was responsible for the killing of the police chief, in a period of anti-Italian sentiment and rising crime. Italian-American voters were also known to prefer the scandal plagued city political machine to the new Reform Democrat Mayor, whose own role in inciting the violence that followed may well have been an attempt to misuse government power for the repression of his political opponents


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: Believing the jury had been fixed, a mob broke into the jail where the men were being held and killed eleven of the prisoners, most by shooting. The mob outside the jail numbered in the thousands and included some of the city's most prominent citizens. American press coverage of the event was largely congratulatory, and those responsible for the lynching were never charged.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: The incident had serious national repercussions. The Italian consul Pasquale Corte in New Orleans registered a protest and left the city in May 1891 at his government's direction. The "New York Times" published his lengthy statement charging city politicians with responsibility for the lynching of the Italians. Italy cut off diplomatic relations with the United States, sparking rumors of war. Increased anti-Italian sentiment led to calls for restrictions on immigration. The word "Mafia" entered the American lexicon, and the awareness of the Italian mafioso became established in the popular imagination of Americans.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: The lynchings were the subject of the 1999 HBO film "Vendetta", starring Christopher Walken. The film is based on a 1977 history book of the same name by Richard Gambino.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: In late 19th-century America, there was a growing prejudice against Italians, who had entered to fill the demand for more labor. They were immigrating to the American South, particularly Florida and Louisiana, in large numbers because of poor conditions at home and to fill the shortage of labor created by the end of slavery and the preference of freedmen to work on their own accounts as sharecroppers. Sugar planters, in particular, sought workers who were more compliant than former slaves; they hired immigrant recruiters to bring Italians to southern Louisiana. In the 1890s, thousands of Italians were arriving in New Orleans each year. Many settled in the French Quarter, which by the early 20th century became known as "Little Sicily." Furthermore, during the whole of the 19th century and well into the 20th, Italian immigrants to the United States were often referred to as "White niggers".


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: In a letter responding to an inquiry about immigration in New Orleans, Mayor Joseph A. Shakspeare expressed the common anti-Italian prejudice, complaining that the city had become attractive to "...the worst classes of Europe: Southern Italians and Sicilians...the most idle, vicious, and worthless people among us." He claimed they were "filthy in their persons and homes" and blamed them for the spread of disease, concluding that they were "without courage, honor, truth, pride, religion, or any quality that goes to make a good citizen.".


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: According to Humbert Nelli, Mayor Shakspeare had been elected as a Reform Democrat with the backing of a Louisiana Republican Party that had grown increasingly powerless since the end of the Reconstruction era. Both Mayor Shakspeare and the Republicans, however, were United in opposition to the city's corrupt and scandal plagued political machine, which was called the Regular Democratic Organization and remained firmly supported by the city's Italian-American voters. According to Nelli, this may well have been the real reason for the Mayor's outspoken anti-Italianism.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: On the evening of October 15, 1890, New Orleans police chief David Hennessy was shot by several gunmen as he walked home from work. Hennessy returned fire and chased his attackers before collapsing. When asked who had shot him, Hennessy reportedly whispered to Captain William O'Connor, "dagos" (a derogatory term for Italians and others of Mediterranean heritage). Hennessy was awake in the hospital for several hours after the shooting, and spoke to friends, but did not name the shooters. The next day complications set in and he died.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: There had been an ongoing feud between the Provenzano and Mantranga families, who were business rivals on the New Orleans waterfront. Hennessy had put several of the Provenzanos in prison, and their appeal trial was coming up. According to some reports, Hennessy had been planning to offer new evidence at the trial that would clear the Provenzanos and implicate the Mantrangas. If true, this would mean that the Mantrangas, and not the Provenzanos, had a motive for the murder. A policeman who was a friend of Hennessy's later testified that Hennessy had told him he had no such plans. In any case, it was widely believed that Hennessy's killers were Italian. Local papers such as the "Times-Democrat" and the "Daily Picayune" freely blamed "Dagoes" for the murder.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: The murder was quickly followed by mass arrests of local Italians. Mayor Joseph A. Shakspeare (according to the "Picayune") told the police to "scour the whole neighborhood. Arrest every Italian you come across." Within 24 hours, 45 people had been arrested. By some accounts, as many as 250 Italians were rounded up. Most were eventually released for lack of evidence. Local Italians were afraid to leave their homes for several days after the murder, but eventually the furor died down and they returned to work.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: Nineteen men were ultimately charged with the murder or as accessories and held without bail in the Parish Prison. These included Charles Mantranga, who was charged with plotting the murder, and several of the Mantrangas' friends and workers. Pietro Monasterio, a shoemaker, was arrested because he lived across the street from where Hennessy was standing when he was shot.(The assassins had allegedly laid in Monasterio's shop awaiting to attack Chief Hennessey on his way home.) Antonio Marchesi, a fruit peddler, was arrested because he was a friend of Monasterio's and "was known to frequent his shoe shop." Emmanuele Polizzi was arrested when a policeman identified him as one of the men he had seen running from the scene of the crime.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: A few days after Hennessy's death, Mayor Shakspeare gave a speech declaring that Hennessy had been "the victim of Sicilian vengeance" and calling upon the citizenry to "teach these people a lesson they will not forget." He appointed a Committee of Fifty to investigate "the existence of secret societies or bands of oath-bound assassins...and to devise necessary means and the most effectual and speedy measures for the uprooting and total annihilation" of any such organizations. On October 23, the committee published an open letter to the Italian community encouraging them to expose the criminals amongst them anonymously.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: We hope this appeal will be met by you in the same spirit in which we issue it, and that this community will not be driven to harsh and stringent methods outside of the law, which may involve the innocent and guilty alike...Upon you and your willingness to give information depends which of these courses shall be pursued.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: The letter was signed by the Committee's chairman, Edgar H. Farrar, who later served as president of the American Bar Association. Other prominent members of the Committee included General Algernon S. Badger, Judge Robert C. Davey, politician Walter C. Flower, Colonel James Lewis, and architect Thomas Sully.


title: March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings

text: The Committee of Fifty hired two private detectives to pose as prisoners and try to get the defendants to talk about the murder. Apparently the detectives did not obtain any useful information, because they were not asked to testify at the trial. Only Polizzi, who appeared to be mentally ill, said anything to incriminate himself, and his confession was deemed inadmissible.