Question: This article: The French playwright Victorien Sardou wrote more than 70 plays, almost all of them successful, and none of them performed today. In the early 1880s Sardou began a collaboration with actress Sarah Bernhardt, whom he provided with a series of historical melodramas. His third Bernhardt play, La Tosca, which premiered in Paris on 24 November 1887, and in which she starred throughout Europe, was an outstanding success, with more than 3,000 performances in France alone.Puccini had seen La Tosca at least twice, in Milan and Turin. On 7 May 1889 he wrote to his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, begging him to get Sardou's permission for the work to be made into an opera: "I see in this Tosca the opera I need, with no overblown proportions, no elaborate spectacle, nor will it call for the usual excessive amount of music."Ricordi sent his agent in Paris, Emanuele Muzio, to negotiate with Sardou, who preferred that his play be adapted by a French composer. He complained about the reception La Tosca had received in Italy, particularly in Milan, and warned that other composers were interested in the piece. Nonetheless, Ricordi reached terms with Sardou and assigned the librettist Luigi Illica to write a scenario for an adaptation.In 1891, Illica advised Puccini against the project, most likely because he felt the play could not be successfully adapted to a musical form. When Sardou expressed his unease at entrusting his most successful work to a relatively new composer whose music he did not like, Puccini took offence. He withdrew from the agreement, which Ricordi then assigned to the composer Alberto Franchetti. Illica wrote a libretto for Franchetti, who was never at ease with the assignment. When Puccini once again became interested in Tosca, Ricordi was able to get Franchetti to surrender the rights so he could recommission Puccini. One story relates that Ricordi convinced Franchetti that the work was too violent to be successfully staged. A Franchetti family tradition holds that Franchetti gave the work back as a grand... contains an answer for the question: What is the last name of the person who starred in an play throughout Europe?, what is it ?
Answer: Bernhardt

Question: This article: Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, and populism has been a long-standing force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has a consistently high voter turnout. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, 78.2% of eligible Minnesotans votedthe highest percentage of any U.S. stateversus the national average of 61.2%. Voters can register on election day at their polling places with evidence of residency.Hubert Humphrey brought national attention to the state with his address at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Minnesotans have consistently cast their Electoral College votes for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976, longer than any other state. Minnesota is the only state in the nation that did not vote for Ronald Reagan in either of his presidential runs. Minnesota has gone for the Democratic Party in every presidential election since 1960, with the exception of 1972, when it was carried by Republican Richard Nixon. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have major-party status in Minnesota, but its state-level "Democratic" party is actually a separate party, officially known as the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). It was formed out of a 1944 alliance of the Minnesota Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties. The state has had active third-party movements. The Reform Party, now the Independence Party, was able to elect former mayor of Brooklyn Park and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura to the governorship in 1998. The Independence Party has received enough support to keep major-party status. The Green Party, while no longer having major-party status, has a large presence in municipal government, notably in Minneapolis and Duluth, where it competes directly with the DFL party for local offices. Major-party status in Minnesota (which grants state funding for elections) is reserved to parties whose candidates receive five percent or more of the vote in any statewide election (e.g., Governor, Secretary of State, U.S. President). The state's U.S. Senate seats... contains an answer for the question: What is the name of the party that competes directly with the DFL party for local offices?, what is it ?
Answer: The Green Party

Question: This article: The cartoon opens with an introduction of Petunia Pig; Petunia is shown as nervous, tripping on her lines and being unable to pronounce them correctly while on stage, leading an off-screen announcer to quietly tell her not to get excited. This causes her to go into an explosive rant and then the curtain closes on her and the main part of the cartoon starts. Porky is shown buying some flowers, candy, and then eventually a diamond ring. He proceeds to go over to Petunia's house and knock on the door, then Petunia goes to answer the door with her spoiled dog, Fluffnums. When she sees Porky, she is disgusted to see him so she disdainfully tells him to go away. This causes him to leave crying out of sadness and he then walks away, but Fluffnums sees the candy Porky has and alerts her to this fact. Petunia proceeds to run out after Porky and take him into her house, where she rips open the candy container and starts eating the candy. Porky tries to help himself to the candy several times but is constantly harassed by Fluffnums, who snarls and growls at him each time he tries to reach for the candy box. Porky finally gets a piece of candy, winks at the audience, and then finds out that Fluffnums ate it. He eventually tries to propose to Petunia, but as he is starting to do so, Fluffnums pulls a mean-spirited trick on Porky by pulling the rug out from under him. The fickle and selfish Petunia laughs at him, causing Porky to leave the house and walk off in shame. He proceeds to write a suicide note and tries to hang himself from a tree, but the branch the rope is on snaps due to Porky's weight, knocking him out and causing him to go into a dreamlike state. contains an answer for the question: What does a dog yank out from under Porky?, what is it ?
Answer:
the rug