The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Steigiamasis Seimas) was democratically elected in 1920 to draft and adopt the 1922 constitution of Lithuania.
The Kaunas City Theatre where on May 15, 1920, the first session of the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania was held (pictured before the World War I)
Following the last Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania was annexed by and became part of the Russian Empire. At the end of World War I, on February 16, 1918, the Council of Lithuania declared Lithuania's independence. The declaration called for the formation of a Constituent Assembly as soon as possible. However, Lithuania remained under German control until the Wilhelmshaven mutiny in the fall 1918. On November 2, 1918 the first draft of the Constitution of Lithuania was adopted. On November 11, the same day as the final armistice treaty ending World War I was signed, the first government of Lithuania was formed and Augustinas Voldemaras became the first prime minister. In December 1918, the Red Army invaded the country, triggering the Freedom Wars. By the end of 1919 the Red Army and the Bermontians were successfully ousted from the territory of Lithuania and the formation of state institutions and infrastructure began.
The law describing the procedures of electing and the powers of the Constituent Assembly was adopted on October 30, 1919. The elections were held only on April 14–15, 1920. The voter turnout reached about 90%. The voters, both men and women, elected 112 representatives. The majority, 59 seats, was taken by Christian democrats. 28 seats were taken by Peasants' Union and socialists, 12 by social democrats, 10 by minorities (Jews, Poles, and Germans). The other 3 representatives were independent. Only 8 representatives were older than 50. Five of the representatives were women. In fact, Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, a famous Lithuanian female writer, chaired the first session honoring the tradition that before the chair is elected, the oldest member acts as chair. As time passed, 38 members of the assembly resigned and were replaced. So in total there were 150 members of the Constituent Assembly.
The population of the Vilnius region, under Polish control, and that of the Klaipėda region, under French control, could not take part in the elections. However, the election law reserved 108 seats for the Vilnius region and 9 for the Klaipėda region. Therefore, there should have been 229 elected representatives.
The first meeting took place on May 15, 1920 in Kaunas, the temporary capital. Aleksandras Stulginskis was elected as the chairman and de facto president. As soon as June 10, 1920, it passed the third and the final draft of the constitution.
On June 12, 1920 a peace treaty was signed with the Russian SFSR. It was highly beneficial to Lithuania as Russia recognized its independence de jure (the first state to do so after 1918) and acknowledged that vast areas of the Vilnius region belonged to Lithuania. Shortly after the defeat in the Battle of Warsaw, the withdrawing Red Army handed Vilnius over to Lithuania, in accordance with the agreement.
From October 1920 till February 1921, the Constituent Assembly was adjourned because the Lithuanian-Belarusian Division of the Polish Army under General Lucjan Żeligowski seized Vilnius. Many representatives went to the front to defend the historic capital. Before adjourning it had created the so-called Small Seimas (Lithuanian: Mažasis Seimas) consisting of the Chairman and six members of the regular Constituent Assembly who were authorized to pass urgent laws.
In March 1921, after international arbitration, a border treaty with Latvia was signed. 21 km of coastline including the towns of Palanga and Šventoji were transferred to Lithuania. It also defended its interest in the city of Mažeikiai. In return, Latvia received the so-called Aknysta foreland (Latvian: Aknīste) north of Rokiškis. In total, Latvia gained about 100 km² more than Lithuania. This treaty solved all border conflicts with Latvia and the border remains the same today. It became a foundation for good and healthy cooperation between the two nations.
On September 23, 1921 Lithuania became a member of the League of Nations. Most of the world's countries immediately recognized its independence.
On February 15, 1922 it passed a law on land reform. It was a decade-long reform which nationalized land owned by the nobility and distributed it to the volunteers who fought in the Freedom Wars and to peasants who owned none or very little land. This way Lithuania's agriculture was based on small (20-50 ha) farms. Over the years 459,000 ha of land were distributed to over 65,000 people. The nobility was allowed to keep 80 ha of land and was reimbursed an average of 27 litas per ha for nationalized land. People who received land, except for the volunteers, were required to pay for the land for 36 years.
The main goal, to adopt a new constitution, was reached on August 1, 1922. The constitution granted broad powers to the Seimas, the Parliament. It selected the Cabinet of Ministers and elected the President. The Seimas and the president were to be elected every three years in democratic elections. Lithuania was declared a democratic republic modeled after the example of France. Because of the Christian democrats' majority, the constitution clearly reflected Christian ideas. For example, it established that religious education is mandatory and its preamble starts with the words "In the name of Almighty God" (Lithuanian: Vardan Dievo Visagalio).
On September 9 a law was passed on the national currency, introducing the litas. On October 1, it was introduced. Litas became one of the stronger currencies in Europe.
On October 6, 1922 the Constituent Assembly resigned. A new regular Seimas started on November 13. The assembly passed approximately 150 laws, strengthened the state's administrative system, and laid the foundations of the future economic, social and cultural life in Lithuania.
The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a small, carnivorous mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family (commonly referred to as the weasel family), and is in the monospecific genus Pekania. The fisher is closely related to, but larger than the American marten (Martes americana). The fisher is a forest-dwelling creature whose range covers much of the boreal forest in Canada to the northern United States. Names derived from aboriginal languages include pekan, pequam, wejack, and woolang. It is sometimes misleadingly referred to as a fisher cat, although it is not a cat.[2]
Males and females look similar. Adult males are 90 to 120 cm (35–47 in) long and weigh 3.5 to 6.0 kilograms (8–13 lb). Adult females are 75 to 95 cm (30–37 in) long and weigh 2.0 to 2.5 kg (4–6 lb). The fur of the fisher varies seasonally, being denser and glossier in the winter. During the summer, the color becomes more mottled, as the fur goes through a moulting cycle. The fisher prefers to hunt in full forest. Although an agile climber, it spends most of its time on the forest floor, where it prefers to forage around fallen trees. An omnivore, the fisher feeds on a wide variety of small animals and occasionally on fruits and mushrooms. It prefers the snowshoe hare and is one of the few animals able to prey successfully on porcupines. Despite its common name, the fisher rarely eats fish.
The reproductive cycle of the fisher lasts almost a year. Female fishers give birth to a litter of three or four kits in the spring. They nurse and care for their kits until late summer, when they are old enough to set out on their own. Females enter estrus shortly after giving birth and leave the den to find a mate. Implantation of the blastocyst is delayed until the following spring, when they give birth and the cycle is renewed.
Fishers have few predators besides humans. They have been trapped since the 18th century for their fur. Their pelts were in such demand that they were extirpated from several parts of the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Conservation and protection measures have allowed the species to rebound, but their current range is still reduced from its historic limits. In the 1920s, when pelt prices were high, some fur farmers attempted to raise fishers. However, their unusual delayed reproduction made breeding difficult. When pelt prices fell in the late 1940s, most fisher farming ended. While fishers usually avoid human contact, encroachments into forest habitats have resulted in some conflicts.
Despite the name "fisher", the animal is not known to eat fish. The name is instead related to the word "fitch", meaning a European polecat (Mustela putorius) or pelt thereof, due to the resemblance to that animal. The name comes from colonial Dutch equivalent fisse or visse. In the French language, the pelt of a polecat is also called fiche or fichet.[3]
In some regions, the fisher is known as a pekan, derived from its name in the Abenaki language. Wejack is an Algonquian word (cf. Cree wuchak, otchock, Ojibwa ojiig) borrowed by fur traders. Other American Indian names for the fisher are Chipewyan thacho[4] and Carrier chunihcho,[5] both meaning "big marten", and Wabanaki uskool.[3]
The Latin specific name pennanti honors Thomas Pennant, who described the fisher in 1771. Buffon had first described the creature in 1765, calling it a pekan. Pennant examined the same specimen, but called it a fisher, unaware of Buffon's earlier description. Other 18th-century scientists gave it similar names, such as Schreber, who named it Mustela canadensis, and Boddaert, who named it Mustela melanorhyncha.[6] The fisher was eventually placed in the genus Martes by Smith in 1843.[7] In 2008, advances in DNA analysis allowed a more detailed study of the fisher's evolutionary history. The fisher and the Martes genera were determined to have descended from a common ancestor, but the fisher was distinct enough to put it in its own genera. It was decided to create the genus Pekania and reclassify the fisher as Pekania pennanti.[8]
Members of the genus Pekania are distinguished by their four premolar teeth on the upper and lower jaws. Its close relative Mustela has just three. The fisher has 38 teeth. The dentition formula is: 3.1.4.12.1.4.2[9]
Some evidence shows that ancestors of the fisher migrated to North America during the Pliocene era between 2.5 and 5.0 million years ago. Two extinct mustelids, M. palaeosinensis and M. anderssoni, have been found in eastern Asia. The first true fisher, M. divuliana, has only been found in North America. M. divuliana is strongly indicated to be related to the Asian finds, which suggests a migration. M. pennanti has been found as early as the Late Pleistocene era, about 125,000 years ago. No major differences are seen between the Pleistocene fisher and the modern fisher. Fossil evidence indicates that the fisher's range extended farther south than it does today.[3]
Three subspecies were identified by Goldman in 1935, M. p. columbiana, M. p. pacifica, and M. p. pennanti. Later research has debated whether these subspecies could be positively identified. In 1959, E.M. Hagmeier concluded that the subspecies are not separable based on either fur or skull characteristics. Although some debate still exists, in general, the fisher is recognized to be a monotypic species with no extant subspecies.[10]
Fishers are a medium-sized mammal, comparable in size to the domestic cat. Their bodies are long, thin, and low to the ground. The sexes have similar physical features, but they are sexually dimorphic in size, with the male being much larger than the female. Males are 90 to 120 cm (35–47 in) in length and weigh 3.5 to 6.0 kg (8–13 lb). Females measure 75 to 95 cm (30–37 in) and weigh 2.0 to 2.5 kg (4–6 lb).[11][12] The largest male fisher ever recorded weighed 9 kg (20 lb).[13]
The fisher's fur changes with the season and differs slightly between sexes. Males have coarser coats than females. In the early winter, the coats are dense and glossy, ranging from 30 mm (1 in) on the chest to 70 mm (3 in) on the back. The color ranges from deep brown to black, although it appears to be much blacker in the winter when contrasted with white snow. From the face to the shoulders, fur can be hoary-gold or silver due to tricolored guard hairs. The underside of a fisher is almost completely brown except for randomly placed patches of white or cream-colored fur. In the summer, the fur color is more variable and may lighten considerably. Fishers undergo moulting starting in late summer and finishing by November or December.[14]
Fishers have five toes on each foot, with unsheathed, retractable claws.[3] Their feet are large, making it easier for them to move on top of snow packs. In addition to the toes, four central pads are on each foot. On the hind paws are coarse hairs that grow between the pads and the toes, giving them added traction when walking on slippery surfaces.[15] Fishers have highly mobile ankle joints that can rotate their hind paws almost 180°, allowing them to maneuver well in trees and climb down head-first.[16][17] The fisher is one of relatively few mammalian species with the ability to descend trees head-first.[18]
A circular patch of hair on the central pad of their hind paws marks plantar glands that give off a distinctive odor. Since these patches become enlarged during breeding season, they are likely used to make a scent trail to allow fishers to find each other so they can mate.[15]
Fishers are generalist predators. Although their primary prey is snowshoe hares and porcupines, they are also known to supplement their diet with insects, nuts, berries, and mushrooms. Since they are solitary hunters, their choice of prey is limited by their size. Analyses of stomach contents and scat have found evidence of birds, small mammals, and even deer—the latter two indicating that they are not averse to eating carrion. Fishers have been seen to feed on deer carcasses.[19] While the behavior is not common, fishers have been known to kill larger animals, such as wild turkey, bobcat, and lynx.[20][21][22]
Fishers are one of the few predators that seek out and kill porcupines. Stories in popular literature indicate that fishers can flip a porcupine onto its back and "scoop out its belly like a ripe melon".[23] This was identified as an exaggerated misconception as early as 1966.[24] Observational studies show that fishers make repeated biting attacks on the face of a porcupine and kill it after about 25–30 minutes.[25]
The female fisher begins to breed at about one year of age and her reproductive cycle is an almost year-long event. Mating takes place in late March to early April. Blastocyst implantation is then delayed for 10 months until mid-February of the following year when active pregnancy begins. After gestating for about 50 days, the female gives birth to one to four kits.[26] The female then enters estrus 7–10 days later and the breeding cycle begins again.[27]
Females den in hollow trees. Kits are born blind and helpless. They are partially covered with fine hair. Kits begin to crawl after about 3 weeks. After about 7 weeks, they open their eyes. They start to climb after 8 weeks. Kits are completely dependent on their mother's milk for the first 8–10 weeks, after which they begin to switch to a solid diet. After 4 months, kits become intolerant of their litter mates, and at 5 months, the mother pushes them out on their own. After one year, juveniles will have established their own range.[27]
Fishers are generally crepuscular, being most active at dawn and dusk. They are active year-round, and are solitary, associating with other fishers only for mating. Males become more active during mating season. Females are least active during pregnancy and gradually increase activity after birth of their kits.[27]
A fisher's hunting range varies from 6.6 km2 (3 sq mi) in the summer to 14.1 km2 (5 sq mi) in the winter. Ranges up to 20.0 km2 (8 sq mi) in the winter are possible depending on the quality of the habitat. Male and female fishers have overlapping territories. This behavior is imposed on females by males due to dominance in size and a male's desire to increase mating success.[28]
Although fishers are competent tree climbers, they spend most of their time on the forest floor and prefer continuous forest to other habitats. They have been found in extensive conifer forests typical of the boreal forest, but are also common in mixed-hardwood and conifer forests. Fishers prefer areas with continuous overhead cover with greater than 80% coverage and avoid areas with less than 50% coverage.[30] Fishers are more likely to be found in old-growth forests. Since female fishers require moderately large trees for denning, forests that have been heavily logged and have extensive second growth appears to be unsuitable for their needs.[31]
Fishers also select for forest floors with large amounts of coarse woody debris. In western forests, where fire regularly removes understory debris, fishers show a preference for riparian woodland habitat.[28][32][33] Fishers tend to avoid areas with deep snow. Habitat is also affected by snow compaction and moisture content.[34]
Fishers are widespread throughout the northern forests of North America. They are found from Nova Scotia in the east to the Pacific shore of British Columbia and Alaska. They can be found as far north as Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories and as far south as the mountains of Oregon. Isolated populations occur in the Sierra Nevada of California and the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia,[35] and Virginia.[36]
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fishers were virtually eliminated from the southern and eastern parts of their range, including most American states and eastern Canada including Nova Scotia. Overtrapping and loss of forest habitat were the reasons for the decline.[37][38]
Most states had placed restrictions on fisher trapping by the 1930s, coincidental with the end of the logging boom. A combination of forest regrowth in abandoned farmlands and improved forest management practices increased available habitat and allowed remnant populations to recover. Populations have since recovered sufficiently that the species is no longer endangered. Increasing forest cover in eastern North America means that fisher populations will remain sufficiently robust for the near future. Between 1955 and 1985, some states had allowed limited trapping to resume. In areas where fishers were eliminated, porcupine populations subsequently increased. Areas with a high density of porcupines were found to have extensive damage to timber crops. In these cases, fishers were reintroduced by releasing adults relocated from other places into the forest. Once the fisher populations became re-established, porcupine numbers returned to natural levels.[39] In Washington, fisher sightings were reported into the 1980s, but an extensive survey in the 1990s did not locate any.[40]
Scattered fisher populations now exist in the Pacific Northwest. In 1961, fishers from British Columbia and Minnesota were reintroduced in Oregon to the southern Cascades near Klamath Falls and to the Wallowa Mountains near La Grande. From 1977–1980, fishers were introduced to the region around Crater Lake.[41] Starting in January 2008, fishers were reintroduced into Washington State.[42] The initial reintroduction was on the Olympic peninsula (90 animals), with subsequent reintroductions into the south Cascade Mountains. The reintroduced animals are monitored by radio collars and remote cameras, and have been shown to be reproducing.[43] From 2008 to 2011, about 40 fishers were reintroduced in the northern Sierra Nevada near Stirling City, complementing fisher populations in Yosemite National Park and along California's northern boundary between the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Klamath Mountains.[44] Fishers are a protected species in Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. In Idaho and California, fishers are protected through a closed trapping season, but they are not afforded any specific protection;[45] however, in California the fisher has been granted threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.[46] In June 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that fishers be removed from the endangered list in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.[12]
Recent studies, as well as anecdotal evidence, show that fishers have begun making inroads into suburban backyards, farmland, and periurban areas in several US states and eastern Canada, as far south as most of northern Massachusetts, New York,[47][48] Connecticut,[49] Minnesota and Iowa,[50] and even rural New Jersey.[51] Having virtually disappeared after the construction of the Cape Cod Canal in the early 1900s, some reports have shown that populations have become re-established on Cape Cod,[52][53][54] although the populations are likely smaller than the populations in the western part of New England.[55][56]
Fishers have had a long history of contact with humans, but most of it has been to the detriment of fisher populations. Unprovoked attacks on humans are extremely rare, but fishers will attack if they feel threatened or cornered. In one case, a fisher was blamed for an attack on a 6-year-old boy.[57][58] In another case, a fisher is believed to be responsible for an attack on a 12-year-old boy.[59]
Fishers have been trapped since the 18th century. They have been popular with trappers due to the value of their fur, which has been used for scarves and neck pieces. The best pelts are from winter trapping, with secondary-quality pelts from spring trapping. The lowest-quality furs come from out-of-season trapping when fishers are moulting. They are easily trapped, and the value of their fur was a particular incentive for catching this species.[62]
Prices for pelts have varied considerably over the past 100 years. They were highest in the 1920s and 1930s, when average prices were about US$100.[63] In 1936, pelts were being offered for sale in New York City for $450–750 per pelt.[64] Prices declined through the 1960s, but picked up again in the late 1970s. In 1979, the Hudson's Bay Company paid $410 for one female pelt.[64] In 1999, 16,638 pelts were sold in Canada for C$449,307 at an average price of $27.[65]
Between 1900 and 1940, fishers were threatened with near extinction in the southern part of their range due to overtrapping and alterations to their habitat. In New England, fishers, along with most other furbearers, were nearly exterminated due to unregulated trapping. Fishers became extirpated in many northern U.S. states after 1930, but were still abundant enough in Canada to maintain a harvest over 3,000 fishers per year. Limited protection was afforded in the early 20th century, but total protection was not given to the few remaining fishers until 1934. Closed seasons, habitat recovery, and reintroductions have restored fishers to much of their original range.[3]
Trapping resumed in the U.S. after 1962, once numbers had recovered sufficiently. During the early 1970s, the value of fisher pelts soared, leading to another population crash in 1976. After a few years of closed seasons, fisher trapping reopened in 1979 with a shortened season and restricted bag limits. The population has steadily increased since then, with steadily increasing numbers of trapped animals, despite a much lower pelt value.[60]
Fishers have been captured live for fur farming, zoo specimens, and scientific research. From 1920–1946, pelt prices averaged about C$137. Since pelts were relatively valuable, attempts were made to raise fishers on farms. Fur farming was popular with other species such as mink and ermine, so the same techniques were thought to be applicable to fishers. However, farmers found it difficult to raise fishers due to their unusual reproductive cycle. In general, knowledge of delayed implantation in fishers was unknown at the time. Farmers noted that females mated in the spring but did not give birth. Due to declining pelt prices, most fisher farms closed operations by the late 1940s.[66]
Fishers have also been captured and bred by zoos, but they are not a common zoo species. Fishers are poor animals to exhibit because, in general, they hide from visitors all day. Some zoos have had difficulty keeping fishers alive since they are susceptible to many diseases in captivity.[67] Yet at least one example shows a fisher kept in captivity that lived to be 10 years old, and another living to be about 14 years old,[68] well beyond its natural lifespan of 7 years.[69][70]
In 1974, R.A. Powell raised two fisher kits for the purpose of performing scientific research. His primary interest was an attempt to measure the activity of fishers to determine how much food the animals required to function. He did this by running them through treadmill exercises that simulated activity in the wild. He compared this to their food intake and used the data to estimate daily food requirements. The research lasted for two years. After one year, one of the fishers died due to unknown causes. The second was released back into the wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.[71]
In some areas, fishers can become pests to farmers when they raid chicken coops. A few instances of fishers preying on cats and small dogs have been reported;[72][73][74][75][76][77] but in general, the evidence suggests these attacks are rare. A 1979 study examined the stomach contents of all fishers trapped in the state of New Hampshire; cat hairs were found in only one of over 1,000 stomachs.[78] More recent studies in suburban upstate New York and Massachusetts found no cat remains in 24 and 226 fisher diet samples (scat and stomach contents), respectively.[79] While a popular belief exists for more frequent attacks on pets, zoologists suggest bobcats or coyotes are more likely to prey upon domestic cats and chickens.
Male fisher killed by anticoagulant rodenticide on a marijuana grow site on US Forest Service lands, southern Sierra Nevada mountains
In 2012, a study conducted by Integral Ecology Research Center, UC Davis, U.S. Forest Service, and the Hoopa tribe showed that fishers in California were exposed to and killed by anticoagulant rodenticides associated with marijuana cultivation.[80] In this study, 79% of fishers that were tested in California were exposed to an average of 1.61 different anticoagulant rodenticides and four fishers died directly attributed to these toxicants. A 2015 follow-up study building on these data determined that the trend of exposure and mortality from these toxicants increased to 85%, that California fishers were now exposed to an average of 1.73 different anticoagulant rodenticides, and that 9 more fishers died, bringing the total to 13.[81] The extent of marijuana cultivation within fishers' home ranges was highlighted in a 2013 study focusing on fisher survival and impacts from marijuana cultivation within the Sierra National Forest.[82] Fishers had an average of 5.3 individual grow sites within their home range.[82] One fisher had 16 individual grow sites within its territory.
One of the first mentions of fishers in literature occurred in The Audubon Book of True Nature Stories. Robert Snyder relates a tale of his encounter with fishers in the woods of the Adirondack Mountains of New York. He recounts three sightings, including one where he witnessed a fisher attacking a porcupine.[83]
In Winter of the Fisher, Cameron Langford relates a fictional encounter between a fisher and an aging recluse living in the forest. The recluse frees the fisher from a trap and nurses it back to health. The fisher tolerates the attention, but being a wild animal, returns to the forest when well enough. Langford uses the ecology and known habits of the fisher to weave a tale of survival and tolerance in the northern woods of Canada.[84]
Fishers are mentioned in several other books, including The Blood Jaguar (an animal shaman), Ereth's Birthday (a porcupine hunter) and in The Sign of the Beaver, where a fisher is thought to have been caught in a trap.[85][86][87]
^ "Fort Resolution Chipewyan Dictionary" (PDF). January 22, 2011. p. 40. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
^ Vashon, Jennifer; Vashon, Adam; Crowley, Shannon. "Partnership for Lynx Conservation in Main December 2001 – December 2002 Field Report" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. p. 9.
^ Richardson, John (March 17, 2010). "Researchers collect data to track health of, threats to Canada lynx". The Portland Press Herald. Pressherald.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
^ Hardisky, Thomas, ed. (July 2001). "Pennsylvania Fisher Reintroduction Project". Pennsylvania Game Commission, Bureau of Wildlife Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
^ Mapes, Lynda V (January 28, 2008). "Weasel-like fisher back in state after many decades". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
^ Peter Fimrite (2011-12-09). "Fishers returned to area in Sierra after 100 years". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
^ Polansky, Rob. "West Haven residents concerned over fisher cats". WFSB Eyewitness News. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
^ "Trail camera shows fierce mammal not seen in Iowa since 1800s". February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
^ Davis, Chase (November 13, 2005). "Elusive fisher cats returning to Cape". Archived from the original on March 7, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
^ Brennan, George (April 3, 2008). "Rare Cape fisher caught on camera". Archived from the original on March 7, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
^ "Fisher Cat Attacks Child at Bus Stop". FOX News, Providence, RI. June 23, 2009. Archived from the original on March 6, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
^ "Weasel-like fishers rebound; backyard pets become prey". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 12, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
^ "Fisher: The fisher is a North American marten, a medium sized mustelid". Science Daily. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
^ "What is a Fisher Cat?". WPRI.com. June 23, 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
^ "Fisher [sic] in Massachusetts". Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
^ O'Brian, Brian (August 25, 2005). "On the wild side: Once nearly extinct, weasel-like fishers thrive in the suburbs, where their ravenous feeding habits threaten family pets". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
^ Fahim, Kareem (July 4, 2007). "A Cat Fight? Sort of, only louder and uglier". New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.
Born at Le Havre, Normandy, in northern France, she was without fortune, but she was exceedingly well-educated. Her father, captain of the port in Le Havre, died in 1613 with her mother following shortly after.[1] Madeleine and her brother Georges de Scudéry were placed in the care of an uncle who cared for them very well.[1] He gave Madeleine an abnormally well-rounded education: she studied writing, spelling, drawing, dancing, painting, and needlework.[1] In addition, on her own, Madeleine studied agriculture, medicine, cooking, Spanish, and Italian.[1] Her works also demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received instruction in Greek and Latin.[1] In 1637, following the death of her uncle, Scudéry established herself in Paris with her brother. Georges de Scudéry became a playwright.[1] Madeleine often used her brother's name to publish her works.[1] She was at once admitted to the Hôtel de Rambouillet coterie, and afterwards established a salon of her own under the title of the Société du samedi (Saturday Society). For the last half of the 17th century, under the pseudonym of Sapho or her own name, she was acknowledged as the first bluestocking of France and of the world. She formed a close romantic relationship with Paul Pellisson which was only ended by his death in 1693. She never married.
Her lengthy novels, such as Artamène, ou le Grand Cyrus (10 vols., 1648–53), Clélie (10 vols., 1654–61), Ibrahim, ou l'illustre Bassa (4 vols., 1641), Almahide, ou l'esclave reine (8 vols., 1661-3) were the delight of Europe, commended by other literary figures such as Madame de Sévigné. Artamène, which contains about 2.1 million words, ranks as the longest novel ever published. Her novels derive their length from endless conversations and, as far as incidents go, successive abductions of the heroines, conceived and told decorously. Contemporary readers also enjoyed these novels because they gave a glimpse into the life of important society figures.[2] These figures were often disguised as Persian, Greek, and Roman warriors and maidens.[2] In fact, Scudéry created the roman à clef to provide a forum for her thinly veiled fiction featuring political and public figures.[3]
Les Femmes Illustres (1642) addresses itself to women and defends education, rather than the beauty or cosmetic, as a means of social mobility for women.[2] This text was a means to justify women's participation in rhetoric and literary culture.[2] It uses women speakers as models for the speeches, including Cleopatra of Egypt.[2] In Les Femmes Illustres (1642), Conversations Sur Divers Sujets (1680), and Conversations Nouvelles sur Divers Sujets, Dediees Au Roy (1684), Madeleine de Scudéry adapted classical rhetorical theory from Cicero, Quintilian, Aristotle, and the sophists to a theory of salon conversation and letter writing.[2] Scudéry's Conversations Sur Divers Sujets, included dialogues covering "Conversation," "The Art of Speaking," "Raillery," "Invention," and "The Manner of Writing Letters."[2] This text offers the rhetoric of salon conversation and model scenarios where women take intellectual control of the conversation.[2] Other works devoted to conversations, pertaining to the education of women include: "The Slave Queen" (1660), "Mathilda of Aguilar, a Spanish Tale," (1667), and "The Versailles Promenade, or the Tale of Celanire" (1669).[2] These covered the art of speaking, invention, the manner of writing letters, and scenarios where women had control of the intellectual conversation.[2]
Scudéry's novels are usually set in the classical world or "the Orient", but their language and action reflect fashionable ideas of the 17th century, and the characters can be identified with Mademoiselle de Scudéry's contemporaries. In Clélie, Herminius represents Paul Pellisson; Scaurus and Lyriane were Paul Scarron and his wife (who became Mme de Maintenon); and in the description of Sapho in vol. 10 of Le Grand Cyrus the author paints herself.
In Clélie, Scudéry invented the famous Carte de Tendre, a map of an Arcadia where the geography is all based around the theme of love: the river of Inclination flows past the villages of "Billet Doux" (love letter), "Petits Soins" (Little Trinkets) and so forth.[4] Scudéry was a skilled conversationalist; several volumes purporting to report her conversations upon various topics were published during her lifetime. She had a distinct vocation as a pedagogue.
The Carte de Tendre was "conceived as a social game during the Winter of 1653–1654" by Madelaine de Scudery, and a printed copy was "later incorporated into the first volume of her coded novel, Clelie." (Reitinger 1999, 109).
Madeleine survived her brother by more than thirty years, and in her later days published numerous volumes of conversations, to a great extent extracted from her novels, thus forming a kind of anthology of her work. Scudéry was deaf for the last 40 years of her life.[5] She outlived her vogue to some extent, but retained a circle of friends to whom she was always the "incomparable Sapho."[6]
Madeleine de Scudéry was part of a movement in the late Renaissance in England and France where women used classical rhetorical theory for their own.[2] She revised discourse to be modeled on conversation rather than public speaking, favoring that as a means of rhetoric, the speaker in the salon built on the ideas of the speaker before them, opting for consensus rather than argument.[2] She is one of the central figures associated with the "salon" conversation and letter writing.
Controversial in her own era, Mademoiselle de Scudéry was satirized by Molière in his plays Les Précieuses ridicules (1659) and Les Femmes savantes (1672) and by Antoine Furetière in his Roman Bourgeois (1666).
The 19th century German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote what is usually referred to as the first German-language detective story, featuring Scudéry as the central figure. "Das Fräulein von Scuderi" (Mademoiselle de Scudery) is still widely read today, and is the origin of the "Cardillac syndrome" in psychology.
Mademoiselle de Scudéry is also featured prominently in "Madeleine: One of Love's Jansenists," a novel published in 1919 by modernist writer Hope Mirrlees.[7] The novel is set in and around the literary circles of the 17th Century Précieuses. The protagonist, a young woman named Madeleine Troqueville, becomes enamored of Mademoiselle de Scudéry, who snubs young Madeleine. It has been suggested that the novel is a roman à clef with Natalie Clifford Barney portrayed as Mademoiselle de Scudéry.[8]
Meaning in existentialism is descriptive; therefore it is unlike typical, prescriptive conceptions of "the meaning of life".[citation needed] Due to the methods of existentialism, prescriptive or declarative statements about meaning are unjustified.[citation needed]. The root of the word "meaning" is "mean", which is the way someone or something is conveyed, interpreted, or represented. As each individual has their own form of unique perspective; meaning is therefore, purely subjective. Meaning is the way something is understood by an individual, in turn, this subjective meaning is also how the individual may identify it. Meaning is the personal significance of something physical or abstract. This would include the assigning of value(s) to such significance. [1][not in citation given]
What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die. (...) I certainly do not deny that I still accept an imperative of knowledge and that through it men may be influenced, but then it must come alive in me, and this is what I now recognize as the most important of all.
For Kierkegaard, meaning does not equal knowledge, although both are important. Meaning, for Kierkegaard, is a lived experience, a quest to find one's values, beliefs, and purpose in a meaningless world. As a Christian, Kierkegaard finds his meaning in the Word of God, but for those who are not Christian, Kierkegaard wishes them well in their search.[3][citation needed] However, it is noted that Kierkegaard was not a friend to the church so to claim him as a man of prayer is neglectful. He in fact hated the governance of the church and is religious in the sense that he attempted to understand happiness through his three stages of existence, marking himself on the second stage.
"Existence precedes essence" means that humans exist first before they have meaning in life. Meaning is not given, and must be achieved. With objects—say a knife for example, there is some creator who conceives of an idea or purpose of an object, and then creates it with the essence of the object already present. The essence of what the knife will be exists before the actual knife itself. Sartre, who was an atheist, believed that if there is no God to have conceived of our essence or nature, then we must come into existence first, and then create our own essence out of interaction with our surroundings and ourselves. With this come serious implications of self-responsibility over who we are and what our lives mean. For this reason, meaning is something without representation or bearing in anything or anyone else. It is something truly unique to each person – separate, independent.[4]
Logotherapy is a type of psychological analysis that focuses on a will to meaning as opposed to a Nietzschean/Adlerian doctrine of "will to power" or Freud's "will to pleasure".[5] Frankl also noted the barriers to humanity's quest for meaning in life. He warns against "...affluence, hedonism, [and] materialism..." in the search for meaning.[6]
Coordinates: 23°0′40″N 72°34′10″E﻿ / ﻿23.01111°N 72.56944°E﻿ / 23.01111; 72.56944 The National Institute of Design (NID) is a design school in Ahmedabad, India. The institute functions as an autonomous body under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. NID is recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research under Ministry of Science and Technology, government of India, as a scientific and industrial design research organisation.
NID is accorded as "Institute of National Importance" by Act of Parliament, under the National Institute of Design Act, 2014.[2]
As a result of the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956, the government of India invited the design team of Charles and Ray Eames to recommend a programme of design to serve as an aid to small industries in India. On the basis of their document, 'The India Report', the government of India set up the National Institute of Design in 1961 as an autonomous national institution for research, service and training in industrial design and visual communication. The Sarabhai family, especially Gautam Sarabhai and his sister Gira, played a major role in establishment of this institute.[3] Designer and sculptor Dashrath Patel was its founder secretary. He held the post till 1981, and was awarded the Padma Shri in the same year.[4]
The institute has 3 active campuses, Main Campus-Ahmedabad, Post Graduate Campus - Gandhinagar and the third one is Bengaluru Campus - Bengaluru. Other three new NIDs were established by Government of India in 2015 and later.
The National Institute of Design Bengaluru Campus, located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, specializes in research and development activities related to design.
The Bangalore office of NID was initially located at Rajaji Nagar and functioned as an interface to coordinate projects between the main institute at Ahmedabad and the technology industry which is centred on Bangalore.
A campus was later planned to be built at Yeshwantpur, a suburb in northwest Bangalore. The new campus was built at a cost of 7.5 crores and was officially inaugurated on 31 March 2006 by Dr Darlie O'Koshy, who was the executive director of NID at the time.[5]
The campus is located 3 km from Yeshwantpur railway station on the arterial Tumkur Road (National Highway 4) that connects Bangalore and Mumbai. The campus is in proximity to two other Central Government Institutes, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) and Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), and is 5 km away from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) along the same road.
The Campus can be accessed by public transport buses operated by the BMTC from the junction of Outer Ring Road and Tumkur Road at Gorguntepalya or Peenya on Tumkur Road. The campus is also accessible by the Bangalore Metro and is located near the Peenya Metro Station.
The National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar is an extension campus of National Institute of Design, situated in the city of Gandhinagar. It provides postgraduate courses in various fields.[6]
NID =conducts workshops for industry professionals and students all year long. Some of these are for industry professionals only.[7]
In December 2015, NID launched NODE (NIDs Online Design Education),[3][8] an online initiative which delivers self-directed and self-paced design classes from the faculty of the National Institute of Design to students across the country. Students need not be enrolled in NID, and must only pay a nominal fee, to take these classes. NID does not issue physical certificates on course completion. Only a digital certificate is issued.[9] The first course was launched on 23 December 2015, titled "Design Fundamentals", and consisted of 47 online classes.
Dfrost is the annual design and cultural festival hosted by the National Institute of Design R&D campus, Bangalore. It is held around the 20th of March every year.[10]
National Institute of Design, Kurukshetra is under construction which was opened by Haryana CM Bhupendra Singh Hooda in 2012. The creation of four NIDs was suggested as part of the government's 2007 National Design Policy.[11]
The foundation stone for National Institute of Design, Jorhat was laid by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in February 2011,[12] while land has also been earmarked for the Telangana campus in the state capital Hyderabad.[11]
Widely considered the most important American book published before 1800,[1][2] Notes on the State of Virginia is both a compilation of data by Jefferson about the state's natural resources and economy, and his vigorous argument about the nature of the good society, which he believed was incarnated by Virginia. He expressed his beliefs in the separation of church and state, constitutional government, checks and balances, and individual liberty. He wrote extensively about slavery, the problems of miscegenation, a justification of white supremacy, and his belief that whites and blacks could not live together in a free society.
Notes on the State of Virginia contained Jefferson's firm belief in citizen's rights to express themselves freely without fear of government or church reprisal and that government's role is only secular and should not have anything to do with religion.[7] This led later to charges of atheism leveled at him by his opponents in Federalist newspapers leading up to the nasty election of 1800.[8] They quoted his European-published Notes on Virginia as proof that he was Godless.
Yet, in Query XVIII, he also wrote, addressing the presumed retribution for lack of theistic respect:
His predecessor John Adams angrily counter-attacked the press and vocal opponents by passing chilling Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson, by contrast, worked tirelessly to overturn what he viewed as tyrannical limits on free speech and free press, except for when he asked Thomas McKean, governor of Pennsylvania, to have Federalist newspapermen indicted for libel, claiming that it was necessary to prevent licentious abuses of free speech.[10] He later lamented the anguish caused by his political enemies; however, he never denied the charges made by them, including those in Notes on Virginia, and he never gave up his fight for "Republican principles" to shield the common man from state or religious oppression.[11]
It will probably be asked, Why not retain and incorporate the blacks into the state, and thus save the expense of supplying, by importation of white settlers, the vacancies they will leave? Deep rooted prejudices entertained by the whites; ten thousand recollections, by the blacks, of the injuries they have sustained; new provocations; the real distinctions which nature has made; and many other circumstances, will divide us into parties, and produce convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of the one or the other race.
Jefferson said he thought Blacks were inferior to Whites in terms of beauty and reasoning intelligence.[14] In "Manners," Jefferson wrote that slavery was demoralizing to both White and Black society and that man is an "imitative animal."
from among those of our brethren whom they unjustly hold in bondage, so that they may be enabled to keep them the more secure in ignorance and wretchedness, to support them and their children, and consequently they would have the more obedient slave. For if the free are allowed to stay among the slave, they will have intercourse together, and, of course, the free will learn the slaves bad habits, by teaching them that they are MEN, as well as other people, and certainly ought and must be FREE.
Do you believe that the assertions of such a man, will pass away into oblivion unobserved by this people and the world?...I say, that unless we try to refute Mr. Jefferson's arguments respecting us, we will only establish them.[16]
Mr. Jefferson's very severe remarks on us have been so extensively argued upon by men whose attainments in literature, I shall never be able to reach, that I would not have meddled with it, were it not to solicit each of my brethren, who has the spirit of a man, to buy a copy of Mr. Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, and put it in the hand of his son. For let no one of us suppose that the refutations which have been written by our white friends are enough—they are whites—we are blacks. We, and the world wish to see the charges of Mr. Jefferson refuted by the blacks themselves, according to their chance; for we must remember that what the whites have written respecting this subject, is other men's labours, and did not emanate from the blacks.
^ Thomas Jefferson. "Notes On the State Of Virginia, Religion". Jefferson believed the only legitimate role of government was to prevent injury to others. But to deny the existence of god or believe in 20 Gods was none of the state's business.
^ G.S. Rowe, Thomas McKean: The Shaping of an American Republicanism (Boulder, CO: Colorado Associated University Press, 1978), 339-40. Joseph Dennie, publisher of the Federalist Port Folio, was targeted, ostensibly for professing the futility of democracy; Rowe argues that he was actually indicted over his unsubtle attacks on Jefferson's unseemly sexual relationship with slave Sally Hemings.
Pony car is an American class of automobile launched and inspired by the Ford Mustang in 1964.[1][2][3][4] It broke all post-World War II automobile sales records, "creating the 'pony car' craze soon adopted by competitors."[5] The term describes an affordable, compact, highly styled car with a sporty or performance-oriented image.[6][7]
The pony car had its origins when domestic automakers began "noticing the rising interest in small, sporty cars, and the increasing importance of younger customers"[8] Several concept cars were developed. Efforts to entice Ford Motor Company by the Budd Company, the producer of the bodies of the original 2-seater Thunderbird, was a new four-seat car utilizing refurbished tooling from the old model as well as a new two-seat roadster built early 1962 on a Ford Falcon chassis using a modified 4-seat 1957 Thunderbird body.[8] Budd also created an fully operational proof of concept for American Motors Corporation (AMC), the XR-400, featuring a long hood, AMC's 327 cu in (5.4 L) V8, short rear deck, and the look "similar to many European sports cars."[8] The automaker's "management expressed interest in a new car with a sports flair" and work on the Tarpon, a striking 2+2 with an elongated fastback roof, began in early 1963.[8]
Examples of production cars that included sporty and youthful appeal were the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair.[9] Initially positioned as an economy car, the Corvair's plusher-trimmed and sportier Monza model sold around 144,000 units by 1961. The Monza's bucket seats and floor-mounted transmission shifter started a trend toward sportier cars equipped with both in all sizes from compacts to full-size cars. Ford initially responded with Futura and Futura Sprint versions of its Ford Falcon, Chrysler with the Plymouth Valiant Signet and Dodge Dart GT, American Motors with the 440-H and Rogue versions of the Rambler American,[10] and Studebaker with the sporty Daytona version of its compact Lark. Other sporty bucket-seat compact cars that appeared during the early 1960s included the Mercury Comet S-22, Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass, Buick Special Skylark, and Pontiac Tempest LeMans. Most of these sporty compacts came with the same economical six-cylinder engines as their more mundane counterparts, but in some cases more powerful V8 engines were at least optional along with four-speed manual transmissions and center consoles between the front bucket seats.
Some of the technical developments that debuted in early sporty compact cars in the U.S. (1961–63) included a turbocharged six-cylinder in the rear-engine Corvair Monza Spyder/Corsa (1962–66), turbocharged aluminum V8 on the 1962–63 Oldsmobile Cutlass Jetfire, and a standard 194 cu in (3.2 L) four-cylinder engine/rear transaxle combination on the 1961–63 Pontiac Tempest LeMans (available with an optional high-performance four-barrel carburetor). In 1963, the LeMans introduced a large-for-a-compact-car 326 cu in (5.3 L) V8 option producing up to 280 hp (209 kW).
Although these sporty versions of mundane compact cars were a commercial success for most automakers, some auto executives—led by Ford's Lee Iacocca—believed they only scratched the surface of the potential market. During this period there was a strong influx of young buyers with discretionary income and a taste for vehicles with a younger image than a standard sedan. Iacocca's marketing studies revealed that if a unique-looking sporty car could be offered at an affordable price, it would find many buyers.[11] Ford's response was the Mustang, an enormous success from its April 17, 1964 launch. Year 1 sales forecasts of 100,000 units were shattered on the first day, when Ford dealers took orders for 22,000 vehicles, forcing the company to shift production mid-year. The extended model year sales totaled 618,812 Mustangs.[12]
The 1964 Mustang provided the template for the new class of automobiles.[13][14] The term "pony car" to describe members of its ranks was coined by Car Life magazine editor Dennis Shattuck.[15]
Although the Mustang was based on the Falcon platform, its "long hood, short deck" look was unique. Offered as a two-door coupé and convertible, it was nevertheless mechanically mundane in its basic form, with a 170 cu in (2.8 L) six-cylinder engine coupled to a three-speed manual transmission. Its attractive US$2,368 base price included bucket seats, carpeting, floor shifter, sport steering wheel, and full wheel covers. Importantly, it had an extensive list of options that featured V8 engines, Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission or four-speed manual gearbox, radios, air conditioning, power steering, and other accessories.[16] A fully dressed V8 Mustang could increase sticker price by up to 60%, which generated excellent profits for Ford.[17]
The cars could carry four people while featuring a sporty design. Many of the offerings came with economical six-cylinder or small V8 engines.[18] The basic two-door "Pony Car" characteristics were thus set:[19][20]
Tellingly, while most pony cars were available with more powerful engines and performance packages—enough to propel some into the muscle car realm—the vast majority were sold with six-cylinder engines or ordinary V8s.[21] The initial pony cars "were sporty compact cars for the masses."[22] They transformed into performance cars for enthusiasts whose production viability depended on significant sales of economical "secretaries' cars" and low-margin rental fleet models.[22] Similarly as other muscle car versions, for the most part, the high-performance models saw limited sales and were largely limited to drag racing, road racing, or racing homologation purposes.[23]
Despite the immediate success of the Mustang, many (including some within Ford) feared that the bubble would soon burst. Even though an early competitor, the Plymouth Barracuda, had actually gone on sale two weeks earlier (on April 1, 1964),[24] other manufacturers were generally relatively slow to respond.
Well aware of the Mustang's upcoming debut, Chrysler had sought a low-cost way to expand the appeal of its mainstream compact Valiant. The company's precarious financial situation meant the resulting Barracuda was compromised, with insufficient distinction from the Valiant and styling that drew mixed reactions. As a result, its sales were a fraction of the Mustang's.[25]
Initially, General Motors believed that the restyled 1965 Corvair would be an adequate challenger for the Mustang. However, when it became clear that the Corvair itself was doomed, the more conventional Chevrolet Camaro was introduced.[20] It appeared in 1967, at the time the Mustang received its first major redesign, and was joined by the Camaro-based Pontiac Firebird and the Mustang-based Mercury Cougar. American Motors made its entry late in 1967 with the Javelin.[26] It was described by race driver Gordon Johncock "as a roomy, comfortable, peppy and handsome example of a so-called pony car, the type of automobile that's showing up more and more on US highways."[27] Although U.S. showrooms were awash in pony cars a final contender appeared in 1970, Dodge's Challenger, essentially an enlarged Barracuda.[28][29]
The pony car market segment was maturing and all four domestic automakers were building versions of the long hood/short deck template that Ford had developed.[30] The term pony car applied to all versions of these nameplates, from base models through high-performance "muscle car" extremes,[31] developed in league with factory supported racing to gain a marketing edge.[32] The competition between the manufacturers was so fierce the Trans-Am Series from 1966 to 1972 is described as "The Pony Car Wars".[33]
While sales were strong throughout the end of the 1960s, pony cars' greater value was in generating brand loyalty, particularly among the crucial youth market. In 1970 Car and Driver reported that while very few pony car drivers bought a second, around 50% purchased another model from the same manufacturer. Even so, by as early as 1969 sales were beginning to slide, dropping to 9% of the total market from a peak of 13% in 1967.
The success Ford experienced with the Mustang also inspired Japanese car maker Toyota to introduce the Celica in 1970.[34] Parroting Ford, Toyota built the first Celica on their compact economy Carina platform. Though the smaller Celica had a generally similar appearance to the Mustang, no Japanese automaker came forward with a V8-powered, rear-drive sporty coupe.[35] Instead they largely stayed with 4- and 6-cylinder models that accentuated practicality at the expense of personality, from the Celica to the Datsun 240Z.[35] The "4-cylinder Honda Preludes of 1978–2001, had no trace of the daring, danger and aggression that appeal to fans of powerful American muscle cars,"[35] reflecting heavy taxes imposed by Japanese Government regulations on engines over 2,000 cc (120 cu in).
In Europe, Ford began production of the Ford Capri,[36] (using the Cortina MkII platform and driveline and a few components from the Escort) while GM of Europe introduced the Opel Manta and Vauxhall Firenza. In April 1970, Ford began selling the Capri in North America via Lincoln-Mercury dealerships as the Mercury Capri (the Mk1 and Mk2 were sold as captives but marketed by Mercury despite the absence of marque badging), as well as in South Africa and Australia.
1972 Dodge Challenger with less than a 200 lb (91 kg) advantage in curb weight over a mid-sized sedan
As with most automobile redesigns, each subsequent generation of the pony cars grew larger, heavier, costlier, and more plush. Big-block engines joined the option list, and both performance and comfort options proliferated. Specialty car buyers were better educated and had more money than the average car buyer.[37] These demographic factors contributed to buyer behaviors that included purchasing more optional equipment and moving up the pricing ladder, which resulted in the pony cars becoming larger, more luxurious, and pricier during the late 1960s and early 1970s.[37] The 1973 Mustang, for example, was 8.5 in (216 mm) longer, 5.9 in (150 mm) wider, and over 600 lb (272 kg) heavier than the original 1965 edition. The Dodge Challenger was only slightly smaller outside and lighter than Dodge's own intermediate Coronet four-door sedans. The Cougar abandoned its pony car roots as it became heavier with an emphasis on higher trim levels and convenience appointments. When its Falcon-based platform ended production, the Cougar moved upmarket to the midsize platform used with the Torino.[38] At the same time, the Mustang moved to a subcompact platform. The added bulk left the standard six and V8 engines sorely pressed, while the introduction of powerful big-blocks underscored the limitations of the pony cars' suspension, brakes, and tires.
By 1970 buyers were moving away from the pony cars, either toward smaller compact cars (domestic or imported) or toward larger, more luxurious models. Insurance company pressures combined to assault the pony car market with ever-increasing insurance policy premiums.[39] By 1972, the domestic pony cars were not "selling well at all — neither the current Mustang nor the Camaro, Javelin, Barracuda, Challenger, Firebird, nor Cougar" with the market segment so depressed that industry observers "believed GM would discontinue the Camaro and Firebird after 1972" or perhaps 1973.[40] Performance of the hottest versions of pony cars began to erode as a result of emissions controls. The 1973 oil crisis left the bulky pony cars out of step with the marketplace. The Mustang, which became intermediate size and alienated buyers,[41] was reinvented as the Mustang II and marketed as fuel efficient compact with luxury or sporting trim packages. The new subcompact-sized version was introduced in September 1973, coinciding with the oil embargo and became "in effect, filling the segment the Mustang had created, then abandoned."[42]
The Challenger, Barracuda, and Javelin were cancelled after the 1974 model year, and the Camaro and Firebird were to be discontinued at the same time, although they received last-minute stays of execution. The Cougar, originally billed as an upscale version of the Mustang, remained available as a luxury vehicle despite its upsizing to the platform shared with the Ford Torino, later becoming a corporate twin to the Ford Thunderbird after 1976.
Popularity was increased by examples such as the Firebird Trans Am in movies such as Smokey and the Bandit and TV programs such as The Rockford Files and Knight Rider. The GM pony cars experienced a resurgence in popularity in the late 1970s that helped ensure their continuation. The Mustang was redesigned with a renewed sporty image in 1979, prompting Mercury to reenter the pony car market with a Mercury Capri twin based on the new Mustang. Chrysler, beset by financial problems, did not revive the pony car, although it did offer other front-wheel drive performance models with a similar spirit. American Motors brought back its AMX model name to the performance-oriented I6 or V8 powered rear-drive Spirit, a similar car to the Mustang hatchback of that era. Advertising with the line "don't horse around" compared the value of AMC's model in relation to the 1979 Ford Mustang.[43] In 1982, the "Spirit GT became America's first pony car available with a 5-speed gearbox."[44]
Sales of the Mustang remained strong, although in the 1980s Ford gave serious consideration to replacing it with a front-drive model (which eventually appeared as the Ford Probe instead). Emissions and fuel economy concerns led many of the latter-day pony cars to offer four-cylinder engines (sometimes with turbocharging), although they were never as popular as six-cylinder and V8 models.
By the mid-1980s, the pony car survivors (Mustang, Camaro, and Firebird) enjoyed a period of renewed popularity as progressively more and more powerful (yet relatively fuel-efficient) V8 engines were offered in performance-oriented versions of these vehicles. However, declining sales and the growing popularity of rear-wheel drive light trucks and sport utility vehicles ultimately led to the demise of the Firebird and short lived demise of the Camaro after the 2002 model year.
The dilemma facing automakers in offering pony cars (or their equivalent) going forward is developing a suitable platform that is affordable and capable enough to be viable. Unlike the mid-1960s, the large majority of modern compact cars are front-wheel drive, with four- and six-cylinder engines, and the widespread use of unibody construction makes engineering a specialized body an expensive proposition.
In 2005, Ford introduced a new Mustang based on a dedicated platform. The success of this model inspired Dodge to reintroduce the Challenger in 2008 and Chevrolet to reintroduce the Camaro for 2010, which unlike previous pony cars, were based on full-size car architectures. The Mustang and Camaro were sold with coupe and convertible bodystyles, whereas the Challenger was sold only as a coupe.
The sixth generation Mustang was launched in 2014 and the sixth generation Camaro in 2015. The Mustang was the first model developed as a global car, with fully independent rear suspension and a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Meanwhile, Dodge will launch the Challenger GT with four-wheel drive.
NASCAR brought pony cars to its second-tier Nationwide Series (now Xfinity) at the Subway Jalepeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida, on Friday, July 2, 2010.[45] Dodge raced its Challenger, and Ford raced the iconic Mustang. The new cars are seen as a move by NASCAR to re-establish brand identity with fans and the cars on the track.[46][47]
Also, silhouettes of the Chevrolet Camaro have competed in the Rolex Sports Car Series, whereas production-based versions of the Camaro, Challenger and Mustang have raced in the SCCA World Challenge and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, as well as SCCA and NASA amateur competitions. The Camaro and Mustang have been adapted to GT3 regulations, although not by Chevrolet or Ford themselves. In 2016, Ford unveiled the Mustang GT4.
^ Borroz, Tony (17 April 2009). "April 17, 1964: Ford Mustang Starts Galloping". Wired. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
^ Squatriglia, Chuk (17 April 2009). "Mustang, the Ultimate Pony Car, Turns 45". Wired. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
^ a b c d McCausland, Evan (2 December 2013). "The Ford Mustang Wasn't The First Pony Car". Automobile Magazine. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
^ "An evocative event in California — 700 Mustangs appeared at a 20th Anniversary". The Motor. 166: 25. 1984. Retrieved 2014-04-03. A further mark of success is the group of "Pony Cars" (a term, incidentally, that was coined by Dennis Shattuck, who was editor of Car Life magazine at that time) spawned by Mustang: Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, Plymouth Barracuda
^ "Muscle Car Club definition - Introduction". musclecarclub.com. Retrieved 2016-01-23. These new "pony cars" and compact cars are generally considered muscle cars only if they have the top of the line performance engines and options.
^ Holmstrom, Darwin (2016). American Muscle Cars: A Full-Throttle History. Motorbooks. p. 81. ISBN 9780760350133. Retrieved 2016-01-23. Most of them were homologation specials built in ultralow volumes to qualify cars and engines for racing programs
^ Zazarine, Paul (19 September 2014). "The Significant 7 – The Most Notable Of The American Pony Cars". Heacock. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
Erasmus Darwin (12 December 1731 – 18 April 1802) was an English physician, natural philosopher, physiologist, inventor and poet. He was one of the founder members of the Lunar Society, a discussion group of pioneering industrialists and natural philosophers. He was a member of the Darwin — Wedgwood family, which most famously includes his grandson, Charles Darwin.
Arabic verbs that indicate actions, occurrences or states directed to one or more grammatical objects.
Category:Arabic ditransitive verbs: Arabic verbs that indicate actions, occurrences or states of two grammatical objects simultaneously, one direct and one indirect.
Category:Arabic ergative verbs: Arabic intransitive verbs that become causatives when used transitively.