title: Fennec Shand

text: Fennec Shand is portrayed by Ming-Na Wen. It marks one of several notable performances by Wen in Walt Disney Company projects, including voicing Mulan in the animated films "Mulan" (1998), "Mulan II" (2004) and the video game "Kingdom Hearts II" (2005), making a cameo appearance in the 2020 live-action remake as a court guest, and portraying Melinda May on the Marvel series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Patrick Hipes of "Deadline Hollywood" called this a "Disney franchise trifecta". Wen has jokingly said of Disney: "Please just keep acquiring all these different franchises, because I just keep getting employed by them. I have hit every bucket list thanks to Disney."


title: Fennec Shand

text: Wen was a fan of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, and as one of the few Asian girls growing up in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania during her childhood, she could relate in particular to the character Luke Skywalker and his dreams of a more meaningful life. She said: "Just that image of him looking at the binary suns and wishing for more, it always stays with me." She has described "Star Wars" as her "favorite all-time genre". Wen grew up in the same town as "The Mandalorian" executive producer Dave Filoni, who also directed the episode in which she appears.


title: Fennec Shand

text: Fennec Shand is the first major "Star Wars" villain/antihero portrayed by an Asian actress. Wen said she is pleased there has been more representation of Asians among the casts of "Star Wars" projects in recent years, citing Kelly Marie Tran's character Rose Tico in "" (2017) as another example. She noted that the "Star Wars" franchise has often been influenced by Asian culture in its costumes and set design elements, despite an earlier lack of Asian actors. Wen said: "There was all this incredible imagery, but yet there were very few Asians in the films. Any sort of representation is important and necessary. And I'm just happy that I got chosen."


title: Fennec Shand

text: After attending the premiere for "The Mandalorian" on November 13, 2019, Wen posted photos from the event on Twitter and wrote: "What a night! If you told my 13 yr old self that I’d be on the red carpet celebrating being IN a @starwars project, she’d think you were nuts! Well, that little girl inside me still think it’s nuts!"


title: Fennec Shand

text: Fennec Shand's costume was created by Joseph Porro, the costume designer for "The Mandalorian". A black, leather outfit of armor with broad shoulders and accents of orange, it was inspired by the fennec fox referenced in the character's name. Wen referred to it as an "amazing outfit that I fell in love with right away".


title: Fennec Shand

text: Original plans for Fennec's hair called for it to be loose and unkempt, but Wen suggested her hairstyle include some of "the fennec fox architecture", similar to the costume. She also felt the original plan was too similar to the long, flowing hair of her Melinda May character on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and she wanted the two characters to be more differentiated. Wen brought these ideas to Dave Filoni and "The Mandalorian" creator and showrunner Jon Favreau, and they responded enthusiastically. As a result, the hairstylist on "The Mandalorian" conceived a braiding system with triangular points, similar to the ears of a fennec fox. The braids are pulled back tight against her head and threaded with orange, which was also influenced by the fennec fox animal. Wen said felt the hairstyle "gives her such a strong, unique look".


title: Fennec Shand

text: Fennec Shand is characterized as an elite assassin, one who is mysterious and very dangerous. She is a highly skilled fighter at both firearms and hand-to-hand combat, and displays a sharpshooter's ability with a sniper rifle. She is very graceful and agile, and stealthy, demonstrating an ability to maneuver and survive. Ming-Na Wen, the actress who portrays Fennec, felt the character has a moral ambiguity similar to that of popular "Star Wars" character Han Solo. She is also very tricky, playing mind games with her victims, as demonstrated by her attempts to manipulate Toro Calican once captured. Anthony Breznican of "Vanity Fair" has noted that the character is rather talkative in this way, in contrast to the usually stoic and silent title character, the Mandalorian. Wen feels the character "has a good sense of humor about it all as well". Nevertheless, she also at times demonstrates a gruff and reserved personality. Fennec is ruthless, independent, unpredictable, and is loyal to herself first and foremost. She occasionally shows errors in judgement, like when she (almost) fatally underestimates the ruthlessness of Toro Calican.


title: Fennec Shand

text: In "The Mandalorian", Fennec Shand is presented as an elite mercenary and assassin who developed a significant reputation committing murders for the galaxy's top crime syndicates, including the Hutts, before their leaders were imprisoned by the New Republic. Little else about her backstory is revealed. She appears in the "Mandalorian" episode "", starting the episode in hiding on the desert planet Tatooine, because a large bounty has been placed upon her. Toro Calican, an aspiring bounty hunter, takes the bounty on Fennec as his first assignment, believing capturing such a notorious target would bring him prestige and allow him to join the Bounty Hunters' Guild. Toro recruits the show's protagonist, a bounty hunter known as "The Mandalorian", to help him find and capture her.


title: Fennec Shand

text: They track Fennec to a part of the planet known as the Dune Sea, where they discover the dead body of another bounty hunter she had previously killed. While they investigate, Fennec opens fire on them with a long-ranged blaster rifle, keeping them pinned down from a high vantage point. The Mandalorian and Toro eventually charge toward her position on speeder bikes and use flash charges to temporarily blind and distract her. After a brief fight, they are able to incapacitate Fennec, and restrain her with handcuffs. When the Mandalorian temporarily departs to secure them transportation, Fennec informs Toro that the Mandalorian is wanted by the Bounty Hunters Guild, and that capturing him would bring Toro a legendary reputation. She offers to work with Toro to subdue the Mandalorian and turn him over to Guild. Instead Toro shoots Fennec and leaves her for dead in the desert, believing she intended to eventually kill him. In a later scene, an unidentified person approaches Fennec's body.


title: Fennec Shand

text: Shand returns in the second-season episode "", in which it is revealed that she was rescued by Boba Fett, who nursed her back to health using cybernetics and recruited her as his partner. She accompanies Fett to Tython, where they attempt to recover the latter's old armor from the Mandalorian, and ensure the safety of Grogu, a Force-sensitive alien infant that the Mandalorian has adopted, in exchange for the armor's return. When Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant attacks the group, Fennec helps the Mandalorian and Fett fend off the stormtroopers deployed to capture Grogu, but fail to prevent him from being taken by Gideon's Dark Troopers. To repay their debt to the Mandalorian for returning Fett's armor, Fennec and Fett aid his efforts to rescue Grogu in both "" and <nowiki>"</nowiki><nowiki>"</nowiki>. At the conclusion of the latter episode, after their debt has been paid off, Fennec and Fett return to Tatooine and kill Bib Fortuna, who has been in charge of Jabba the Hutt's palace since his death. Fett then sits on the throne that once belonged to Jabba, with Fennec at his side.


title: Fennec Shand

text: A younger Fennec appears in the animated series "", with Ming-Na Wen returning to voice the character. Set 28 years before "The Mandalorian", Fennec is depicted as a bounty hunter who attempts to capture Omega for the bounty on her head. In the episode "Cornered", a docking official contacts her about the Bad Batch and Omega's presence on Pantora, and Fennec arrives there. After getting lost, Omega encounters Fennec, who gains her trust by offering to help her find her friends and also steals fruit for her. They eventually run into Hunter, the leader of the Bad Batch, who realizes that Fennec is a threat and tells Omega to flee. After Fennec fights Hunter and later knocks out Wrecker, she gives chase on a stolen speeder, but the Bad Batch and Omega eventually escape from Pantora. Fennec then informs her client of the escape but says that she will find Omega.


title: Fennec Shand

text: She later returns in "Bounty Lost", in which it is revealed that she was hired by Nala Se to bring her Omega, who has been kidnapped by Cad Bane. Fennec arrives at an abandoned facility on Bora Vio and kills Taun We, whom Bane was supposed to deliver Omega to. She then confronts Cad Bane. As the bounty hunters fight each other, Omega is saved by the Bad Batch and they escape again. Fennec leaves the planet, but not before sabotaging Bane's ship, leaving him stranded. Nala Se tells her that Omega is "safe" as long as she is not in the hands of Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su, and that she will transfer Fennec her payment.


title: Fennec Shand

text: Fennec appears in "The Book of Boba Fett", which premiered on December 29, 2021, with Wen reprising her role. She serves as Fett's right-hand woman following his takeover of Jabba's criminal empire, and assists him with running it and eliminating any possible rivals. When Fett prepares to go to war with the Pyke Syndicate for control of Tatooine, Fennec recruits the Mandalorian to their side. She subsequently partakes in the fight against the Pykes and their allies, before assassinating the Pyke boss, as well as the mayor of Mos Espa and the leaders of the crime families who betrayed Fett.


title: Fennec Shand

text: Fennec Shand has been received positively by reviewers and fans alike. Izak Bulten of "Screen Rant" wrote: "Despite appearing in just one episode, she had a clear, well-realized character and has quickly become a favorite amongst fans of the series." "Men's Health" writer Evan Romano said "In only a few lines, this character has already had some very impressive lore built around her". "Vanity Fair" writer Anthony Breznican felt the character continued a positive and significant trend of greater diversity in "Star Wars" casting, citing other examples of Asian actors in recent projects such as Kelly Marie Tran in "The Last Jedi" and Christopher Sean in "Star Wars Resistance". Joanna Robinson, also of "Vanity Fair", praised the character, saying she had a "coiled power in her", and complimented the casting of Wen. Jackson McHenry of "Vulture" praised Wen's performance, and called the character "one of the badder-ass badasses in the world of "The Mandalorian"". Fennec Shand was included on "Vulture"s list of the show's 15 best cameo appearances from season one.


title: Fennec Shand

text: Prior to her return in the second season, several reviewers felt the character was eliminated too quickly and did not get the chance to live up to her potential. Joanna Robinson said she would have preferred a full episode of word play between Fennec and the Mandalorian, and said of Fennec's role in the episode: "There's a real potential there, and it was over too quickly for my taste. I would've loved more of it." Dirk Libbey of "CinemaBlend" called the character "criminally underused", and Allie Gemmill of "Inverse" called her death "hasty". Breznican said, "There's way too much potential for that character to just vanish like this." Keith Phipps of "Vulture" wrote that she "seemed too clever to be taken out so easily by a rookie". Kerr Lordygan of "TV Fanatic" wrote that "Fennec's demise was too easily obtained, though the possibility of her return was left open". "TV Insider's" Emily Hannemann stated that she is just "plain cool" saying, "Not every character can steal a scene by sitting and drinking spotchka, but not every character is Fennec Shand." Stating that Ming-Na Wen's Fennec Shand, like Din Djarin and Grogu, has left a mark in the Star Wars franchise, "Cinemablend's" Erik Swann praised Fennec Shand.


title: Fennec Shand

text: Several reviewers correctly speculated that the character was still alive, with some arguing this is foreshadowed by the final scene of "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger", during which a mysterious stranger investigates her body. Allie Gemmill called that scene "one of the most tantalizing closings to a "Mandalorian" episode since the series premiere revealed Baby Yoda". Dirk Libbey called the mysterious character's identity and his interest in Fennec "one of our bigger cliffhanger moments" from the series. Evan Romano said he would not be surprised to see Fennec Shand turn up again in a future "Star Wars" film or series, writing: "This character seems just a little too capable, and a little too cool to be disarmed and killed after just a single brief appearance". Stephanie Dube Dwilson of "Heavy.com" said she so enjoyed Wen's acting that she hopes the character returns.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: Racial groups in South Africa have a variety of origins. The racial categories introduced by Apartheid remain ingrained in South African society with South Africans and the South African government continuing to classify themselves, and each other, as belonging to one of the four defined race groups (Blacks, Whites, Coloureds and Indians). Statistics South Africa asks people to describe themselves in the census in terms of five racial population groups. The 2011 census figures for these categories were Black South African at 76.4%, White South African at 9.1%, Coloured South African at 8.9%, Indian South African at 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified at 0.5%.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: Statistics South Africa provided five racial categories by which people could classify themselves, the last of which, "unspecified/other" drew negligible responses, and these results were omitted. The 2010 midyear estimated figures for the other categories were Black at 78.4%, White at 10.2%, Coloured at 8.8%, Indian/Asian at 2.6%. The first census in South Africa in 1911 showed that Whites made up 22% of the population; it declined to 16% in 1980.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The majority population of South Africa are those that classify themselves Black or indigenous South Africans, Africans or Black people of South Africa, but they are not culturally or linguistically homogeneous. The major ethnic parts of the group are the Zulu, Xhosa, Bapedi (North Sotho), Batswana, South Ndebele, Basotho (South Sotho), Venda, Tsonga and Swazi, all of which predominantly speak Southern Bantu languages.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: Black South African ethnicity's native distribution is also found across countries neighbouring South Africa. The Basotho are the majority ethnic group of Lesotho. The Tswana ethnic group constitute the majority of the population of Botswana. The Swazi ethnic group is the majority ethnic group in Swaziland. The Tsonga ethnic group is also found in Southern Mozambique, they are also known as the Shangaan (Shangana, Shangane or Shangani).


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: "African" may refer to black South Africans who call themselves indigenous South Africans. It is also used to refer to Black people from other African countries who are in South Africa.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The Khoisan of South Africa are the minority of indigenous South Africans that complete the context indigenous or the Black South African population. It is important to note that some Coloureds are now identifying themselves as Khoisan because of their mixed heritage that includes the latter, though they also draw ancestry from the Bantu South Africans and the Dutch people.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: As of the calculations of 2004, there are 34,216,164 Blacks and 8,625,050 Black households residing in South Africa. The Black population density is 29/km. The density of Black households is 7/km. Blacks made up 79.0% of the total population in 2011 and 81% in 2016. The percentage of all Black households that are made up of individuals is 19.9%. The average Black household size is 4.11 members.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: In South Africa, the Black population is spread out, with 34.0% under the age of 15, 21.6% from 15 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 11.8% from 45 to 64 and 4.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age of a Black South African is 21 years. For every 100 Black females there are 91.1 Black males. For every 100 Black females age 18 and over, there are 86.2 Black males.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: With regard to education, 22.3% of Blacks aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 18.5% have had some primary, 6.9% have completed only primary school, 30.4% have had some high education, 16.8% have finished only high school and 5.2% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 22.0% of Blacks have completed high school and 59% of Blacks, aged 25 to 64, have an upper secondary education as their highest level of education. This places South Africa above the G20 average of 32% and the OECD average of 38%.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The percentage of Black housing units having a telephone and/or mobile phone in the dwelling is 31.1%. The percentage having access to a nearby phone is 57.2%, and 11.7% do not have nearby access or any access. The percentage of Black households that have a flush or chemical toilet is 41.9%. Refuse is removed from 45.3% of Black households by the municipality at least once a week and 11.0% have no rubbish disposal. Some 17.9% of Africans have running water inside their dwelling, 51.7% have running water on their property and 80.2% have access to running water. The percentage of Black households using electricity for cooking is 39.3%, for heating, 37.2% and for lighting, 62.0%. Radios are owned by 68.7% of Black households while 44.2% have a television, 1.8% own a computer, 40.0% have a refrigerator and 24.6% have a mobile phone.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The unemployment rate of the Black population aged 15–65 is 28.1%. The median annual income of Black working adults aged 15–65 is ZAR 12,073. Black males have a median annual income of ZAR 14,162 versus ZAR 8,903 for Black females.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The Coloured population is mainly concentrated in the Cape region, and come from a combination of ethnic backgrounds including Indigenous South Africans, Whites, Griqua and Asians.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: It is important to denote that this ethnicity is not by default to people of multiracial heritage in South Africa, therefore many multiracial South Africans do identify by any ethnic heritage they may be from i.e. Blacks, Whites, Asians etc., in the same matter, some people with little or no multiracial heritage do identify as a Coloured ethnic. However, during Apartheid this ethnicity was by law anyone who is of multiracial heritage or determined to be "Coloured" by the government. This ethnicity doesn't necessarily have an ethnic language nor of specific race but they are contemporarily South African cultured and rather stem their traditional and historical identity from the sense of community of Coloured people, "e.g." "Cape Coloureds". They are not all culturally or linguistically homogeneous but many from those who identify as Coloured usually speak Afrikaans as a first language.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: In detail, "Coloureds" descend from indigenous African people (South African Bantu-speaking peoples, South African Khoisan (mostly those who lived in the Cape Peninsula) and Africans not of South African descent), Griqua multiracials, European groups (mainly Dutch and British) and Asian groups (Javanese, Malay, Indian, Malagasy and other concerned Asian ethnicities) mainly of slaves brought in South Africa. The Cape Malay (or "Cape Muslim") identity, which was classified as a subgroup of Coloured by the apartheid government, was generally held to encompass people of multiracial heritage from the Cape, who practiced Islam.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: "Khoisan" refers to two separate groups. The Khoikhoi, who were called "Hottentots" by the Europeans, were pastoralists and extensively integrated into the colonial economy, many converting early to Christianity; the San people, called Bushmen by the Europeans, were hunter-gatherers. The Khoisan groups as a minority completes the rest of the indigenous South African population and it is also found that others do not classify themselves as Black South African, African or even Black African. In the 2011 census for example, the overwhelming majority of the San community in Platfontein originating from the northern parts of Namibia and southern Angola opted to be classified as 'Other' and many from those claiming to be descendants of Namaqualand Khoikhoi classify themselves as "Coloured".


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: Within the Coloured community, more recent immigrants will also be found i.e. Coloureds from the former Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); Namibia and immigrants of mixed descent from India (such as Anglo-Indians) who were welcomed to the Cape when India and Burma received their Independence.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: In 2008, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the descendents of mainland Chinese who arrived before 1994, and had been classified as a subgroup of Coloured by the apartheid government, were eligible for redress. As a result of this ruling, about 12,000–15,000 ethnically Chinese citizens who arrived before 1994, numbering 3%–5% of the total Chinese population in the country, will be able to benefit from government BEE policies.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: White Africans (also known as "Afrikaners" or "English South Africans") in South Africa are predominantly descendants of Dutch, German, French Huguenot, English, Portuguese and other European settlers. Culturally and linguistically, they are divided into Afrikaners, who speak Afrikaans, and English-speaking groups. The White population decreased in the 1990s and 2000s due to a low birth rate and emigration. As factor in their decision to emigrate, many cite the high crime rate, affirmative action policies and racial discrimination. From 1994 to 2010, approximately 400,000 Whites permanently emigrated. Despite high emigration levels, immigrants from Europe have settled in the country. By 2005, an estimated 212,000 British citizens were residing in South Africa. By 2011, this number may have grown to 500,000. Some European Zimbabweans emigrated to South Africa. Some of the more nostalgic members of the community are known in popular culture as "Whenwes", because of their nostalgia for their lives in Rhodesia "when we were in Rhodesia". White South Africans also returned in large numbers in the 2000s and 2010s. In May 2014, Homecoming Revolution estimated that around 340,000 White South Africans had returned to South Africa in the preceding decade.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: There have been other White immigration waves to South Africa in recent decades. In the 1970s, many Portuguese residents of African colonies such as Angola and Mozambique moved to South Africa after the independence of those nations. In addition, the apartheid government encouraged Central European immigration in the 1980s and early 1990s, particularly from Poland and Hungary. In the Near East, particularly from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: As of the census of 2001, there are 4,293,638 Whites and 1,409,690 White households residing in South Africa. The White population density is 4/km. The density of White households is 1.16/km. Whites made up 9.6% of the total population.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The percentage of all White households that are made up of individuals is 19.1%. The average White household size is 3.05 members. In South Africa, the White population is spread out, with 19.0% under the age of 15, 15.1% from 15 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age of a White is 35 years. For every 100 White females there are 94.0 White males. For every 100 White females age 18 and over, there are 91.1 White males.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: With regards to education, 1.4% of Whites aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 1.2% have had no more than some primary school education, 0.8% have only completed primary school, 25.9% have had no more than some high school education, 41.3% have finished only high school, and 29.8% have an education higher than the high-school level. Overall, 70.7% of Whites have completed high school.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The percentage of White housing units having a telephone and/or mobile phone in the dwelling is 95.4%. The percentage having access to a nearby phone is 4.4%, and 0.2% do not have nearby access or any access. The percentage of White households that have a flush or chemical toilet is 98.7%. Refuse is removed from 90.8% of White households by the municipality at least once a week, and 0.5% have no rubbish disposal. Some 87.2% of White have running water inside their dwelling, 95.6% have running water on their property, and 99.4% have access to running water. The percentage of White households using electricity for cooking is 96.6%, for heating, 93.2%, and for lighting, 99.2%. Radios are owned by 94.7% of White households while 92.6% have a television, 46.0% own a computer, 97.6% have a refrigerator, and 74.6% have a mobile phone.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: The unemployment rate of the White population aged 15–65 is 4.1%. The median annual income of White working adults aged 15–65 is ZAR 65,000. White males have a median annual income of ZAR 81,701 versus ZAR 52,392 for White females.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: Descendants of migrants from British India in the late 19th and early 20th century have an estimated population of 1.2 million or 2.5% of the South African population; many of them descended from indentured workers brought in the nineteenth century to work on the sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area of Natal and adhered to different religions and spoke different languages. A smaller number, called "Passenger Indians" came independently for work purposes and business interests at around the same time. Indians (synonymous with "Asian") are regarded as one of South Africa's 4 race groups.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: There is also a significant group of Chinese South Africans (approximately over 300,000 individuals). They were classified as a subgroup of Coloured, or as honorary white during apartheid.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: There is a small but notable population of Lemba people who live primarily in the north eastern regions of South Africa who have bantu and semitic origins.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: Zimbabweans, Somalis, Pakistanis and Nigerians are large migrant communities. There are also Vietnamese South Africans, Japanese, and Koreans in South Africa.


title: Ethnic groups in South Africa

text: Between 2009 and 2016, South Africa's population increased by 11.6% from an estimated 49.9 million to an estimated 55.7 million.


title: JD Sports

text: JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as JD Sports or JD, is a British sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Pentland Group owns 55% of the company.


title: JD Sports

text: The company was established by John Wardle and David Makin (hence the name "JD"), trading from a single shop in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1981. The company opened a store in the Arndale Centre in Manchester in 1983. Pentland Group bought Wardle's and Makin's shares for £44.6M in May 2005, so acquiring 45% of the business.


title: JD Sports

text: Early acquisitions of stores included 209 stores with the acquisition of First Sport from Blacks Leisure Group in December 2001 and 70 stores from the administrators of Allsports in October 2005. Subsequent acquisitions of businesses included:


title: JD Sports

text: In addition, the company acquired the rugby heritage brands 'Canterbury' and 'Canterbury of New Zealand' as well as 'The Duffer of St. George' and 'Kooga Rugby' brands.


title: JD Sports

text: The company acquired "Chausport", which operated 75 small stores in France, in May 2009. It opened its first store in Malaysia in January 2016. The company acquired an 80% stake in the Australian retailer Next Athleisure for A$6.6 million in late 2016. This was followed by the opening of more stores in Australia in April 2017, in South Korea in April 2018, in Singapore in May 2018 and in Thailand in November 2018. The company also acquired 80% of Cosmos Sport, based in Crete, in December 2021 and has launched a joint venture in Indonesia with a store due to open in 2022.


title: JD Sports

text: JD Sports is the official supplier and sponsor of numerous association football teams, players and associations. In August 2008, JD Sports announced sponsorship deals with AFC Bournemouth, Charlton Athletic, Dundee United, Blackpool, Luton Town & Oldham Athletic.


title: JD Sports

text: The company has been the subject of accusations of mistreatment of its UK warehouse staff, with comparisons being made to Victorian "dark satanic mills" and "prison" conditions in 2016 and 2019.


title: JD Sports

text: The company pushed its subsidiary, Go Outdoors, into administration in June 2020 but then bought it back from administrators with the creditors losing much of their money.


title: JD Sports

text: The company along with Leicester City were placed under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) due to alleged breaches in competition law in September 2021. The investigation was in regard to anti-competitive agreements over the sale of club branded merchandise in the UK. Both JD Sports and Leicester City said they were 'fully cooperating' with the CMA.


title: JD Sports

text: After the company acquired Footasylum in March 2019, the CMA carried out an investigation and then, on the basis that the company's ownership of Footasylum might limit competition, ordered the company to dispose of Footasylum. The company and, its subsidiary, Footasylum, were fined a combined £4.7 million after the CEO of JD Sports, Peter Cowgill, allegedly met covertly with the CEO of Footasylum, Barry Bown, on two occasions in July and August 2021 in breach of an order from the CMA not to exchange commercially sensitive information without CMA consent. One of the meetings was alleged to have taken place in a car park in Bury, Greater Manchester.


title: Rhizome

text: In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow horizontally. The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards.


title: Rhizome

text: A rhizome is the main stem of the plant that runs underground horizontally. A stolon is similar to a rhizome, but a stolon sprouts from an existing stem, has long internodes, and generates new shoots at the end, such as in the strawberry plant. In general, rhizomes have short internodes, send out roots from the bottom of the nodes, and generate new upward-growing shoots from the top of the nodes.


title: Rhizome

text: A stem tuber is a thickened part of a rhizome or stolon that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ. In general, a tuber is high in starch, e.g. the potato, which is a modified stolon. The term "tuber" is often used imprecisely and is sometimes applied to plants with rhizomes.


title: Rhizome

text: If a rhizome is separated each piece may be able to give rise to a new plant. The plant uses the rhizome to store starches, proteins, and other nutrients. These nutrients become useful for the plant when new shoots must be formed or when the plant dies back for the winter. This is a process known as vegetative reproduction and is used by farmers and gardeners to propagate certain plants. This also allows for lateral spread of grasses like bamboo and bunch grasses. Examples of plants that are propagated this way include hops, asparagus, ginger, irises, lily of the valley, cannas, and sympodial orchids.


title: Rhizome

text: Stored rhizomes are subject to bacterial and fungal infections, making them unsuitable for replanting and greatly diminishing stocks. However, rhizomes can also be produced artificially from tissue cultures. The ability to easily grow rhizomes from tissue cultures leads to better stocks for replanting and greater yields. The plant hormones ethylene and jasmonic acid have been found to help induce and regulate the growth of rhizomes, specifically in rhubarb. Ethylene that was applied externally was found to affect internal ethylene levels, allowing easy manipulations of ethylene concentrations. Knowledge of how to use these hormones to induce rhizome growth could help farmers and biologists to produce plants grown from rhizomes, and more easily cultivate and grow better plants.


title: Rhizome

text: Some plants have rhizomes that grow above ground or that lie at the soil surface, including some "Iris" species, and ferns, whose spreading stems are rhizomes. Plants with underground rhizomes include gingers, bamboo, snake plant, the Venus flytrap, Chinese lantern, western poison-oak, hops, and "Alstroemeria", and the weeds Johnson grass, Bermuda grass, and purple nut sedge. Rhizomes generally form a single layer, but in giant horsetails, can be multi-tiered.


title: Rhizome

text: Many rhizomes have culinary value, and some, such as "zhe'ergen", are commonly consumed raw. Some rhizomes that are used directly in cooking include ginger, turmeric, galangal, fingerroot, and lotus.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Isha Foundation is a nonprofit, spiritual organisation founded in 1992 near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. It hosts the Isha Yoga Centre, which offers yoga programs under the name Isha Yoga. The foundation is run "almost entirely" by volunteers. The word "isha" means "the formless divine".


title: Isha Foundation

text: The Yoga Centre, founded at Isha Foundation in 1994, offers yoga programmes under the name Isha Yoga. This customised system of yoga combines postural yoga with chanting, breathing ("prāṇāyāma") and meditation. It does not belong to a lineage ("paramparā"), and its practitioners believe it to be based on the founding guru's unique insight.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Yoga classes for business leaders are intended to "introduce a sense of compassion and inclusiveness" to economics.


title: Isha Foundation

text: A yoga course for the Indian national hockey team was conducted in 1996. Isha Foundation began conducting yoga programs in the United States in 1997 and, in 1998, yoga classes for life-term prisoners in Tamil Nadu prisons.


title: Isha Foundation

text: The foundation organises gatherings ("sathsangs") with Vasudev in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where he delivers discourses, leads meditations, and conducts question-answer sessions. It organises annual pilgrimages ("yatras") to Mount Kailash and the Himalayas. The Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrimage led by Vasudev is among the largest groups to visit Kailash, with 514 pilgrims making the journey in 2010. The trip cost up to Rs per person in 2021, with cheaper options available in which devotees receive limited interaction with Vasudev.


title: Isha Foundation

text: The centre hosts an annual seven-day-long music and dance festival culminating in the all-night celebration of Maha Shivaratri, a major Hindu festival honouring Shiva.


title: Isha Foundation

text: The foundation sells various products such as yoga mats, personal care products and accessories. Its US chapter reported revenues of $25m in 2020, with the premium programmes being the largest source. The “business leadership” insights program, in particular, was priced at $6500 per person.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Project GreenHands (PGH) was established in 2004 as an environmental organisation. Its activity is largely focused on Tamil Nadu. It received the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar, the Government of India's environmental award, in 2010. Its activities include agroforestry, plant nurseries in schools, and tree-planting in urban centres such as Tiruchirappalli and Tiruppur.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Action for Rural Rejuvenation is a health and community-oriented program focusing on rural Tamil Nadu. It was established in 2003, and as of 2010, operated in 4,200 villages with a population of seven million.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Action for Rural Rejuvenation hosts the annual Gramotsavam sports festival in Tamil Nadu, promoting sports as a part of daily life in rural communities to improve mental and physical well-being. In recognition of this effort, Isha received India's National Sports Promotion Award in the Sport for Development category in 2018.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Isha Vidhya, an education initiative, aims to raise education and literacy in rural India by providing quality English-language-based, computer-aided education for children. There are seven Isha Vidhya Schools, with around 3000 students. In 2010, the Life Insurance Corporation of India Golden Jubilee Foundation provided a grant for construction at an Isha Vidhya School in Coimbatore. In March 2022, the initiative onboarded Byju's to provide digital learning tools to underprivileged children in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Rally for Rivers was a month-long, nationwide campaign launched by Isha Foundation in 2017 to address the scarcity of water across rivers in India and instill awareness about protecting rivers. Vasudev launched the campaign on 3 September from Isha Yoga Centre, Coimbatore. On 3 October, a river revitalisation draft proposal was presented by Vasudev to Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The states of Karnataka, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat signed memorandums of understanding with Isha Foundation to plant trees along river banks. The Niti Aayog and the Ministry of Water Resources constituted committees to study the draft policy proposal. Under the name Rally for Rivers, a Cauvery calling campaign was organised which would last over a decade. The project mainly focuses on river Kaveri. In November, at a conference in Germany, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Erik Solheim, discussed Rally for Rivers with Vasudev, and how environmental programs around the world could emulate its success.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Rally for Rivers has been criticised by environmentalists who allege that it was trying to solve a complex problem with a "shallow solution".


title: Isha Foundation

text: The Cauvery Calling project aims to support farmers in planting an estimated 2.4 billion trees through agroforestry, thereby covering one third of Cauvery basin with trees as a means of conserving it. The project has received acclaim from politicians and members of the movie industry, yet environmentalists and public intellectuals have alleged that it presents a simplistic view of river conservation, sidestepping social issues and ignoring the potential harm to tributaries and wildlife habitats.


title: Isha Foundation

text: A public interest litigation has also been filed in the Karnataka High Court questioning the legality of the fundraising practices for the initiative, and the usage of government owned land for a private purpose without supporting study. In January 2020, the High Court ruled that the foundation needed to disclose details of its fundraising practices relating to the initiative.


title: Isha Foundation

text: The Save Soil movement is an international effort to raise awareness about soil health. As part of the campaign, Vasudev completed a 100-day, 30,000 km journey from London to southern India to meet with government officials, international organizations, and interested members of the public. The United Nations’ Convention to Combat Desertification and the World Food Programme have partnered with the organization to address soil degradation and the associated impacts. Countries, such as Barbados, and states in India, such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, have signed a memorandum of understanding with Save Soil. In conjunction with these efforts, the foundation has hosted walkathons for Save Soil in cities across North America.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Critics have noted that the initiative lacks sufficient engagement with public and private institutions.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Isha Foundation's headquarters are located in an ashram on the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains, adjacent to the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, some forty kilometres from the city of Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. The foundation's construction activities at Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore are alleged to have violated rules and regulations on several occasions. Environmental activists and the local indigenous community have fought against the expansion of the ashram.


title: Isha Foundation

text: Vasudev designed the 112-foot Adiyogi Shiva statue at the Isha Yoga Centre. It was inaugurated on Mahashivaratri, 24 February 2017, by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.


title: Isha Foundation

text: The statue depicts Shiva as the first yogi or Adiyogi, and first Guru or Adi Guru, who offered yoga to humanity. It was built by the Isha Foundation using 20,000 individual iron plates supplied by the Steel Authority of India and weighs around 500 tonnes (490 long tons; 550 short tons). It has been recognised as the "Largest Bust Sculpture" by Guinness World Records. A consecrated Shivalinga, Yogeshwar Linga, is at its base.


title: Isha Foundation

text: In 2016, a couple claimed that their two adult daughters were held captive at the centre. The foundation denied the allegation and released a statement by the women asserting they were staying there voluntarily. The case was dismissed in court. Another woman alleged that her adult son was being held captive.


title: Isha Foundation

text: A report by "Newslaundry" alleges Isha Foundation's structures in Ikkarai Boluvampatti, Coimbatore, are built without proper permission from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA), meaning the structures are illegally built.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a British horror parody television series created by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness for Channel 4. The show focuses on fictional horror author Garth Marenghi (played by Holness) and his publisher Dean Learner (played by Ayoade), characters who originated in the stage show "Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight".


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The series is presented as a special release of the fictional television series "Darkplace". Within the canon of the show, "Darkplace" was produced in the 1980s, but failed to gain an audience anywhere but Peru, eventually becoming a lost series. Saved footage has recently resurfaced, with Marenghi republishing with the intent of gaining interest from a modern audience. The "original footage" of the show is intercut or bookended with commentary from many of the "original" cast, where characters such as Marenghi and Learner reflect on what it was like to make the show. "Darkplace" parodies the fashion, special effects, production gaffes, and music of low-budget '80s television, as well as the modern practice of including commentary tracks on DVD releases of old films and television shows.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: "Darkplace" was broadcast in a late-night timeslot, with very little advertising, and met with poor viewing figures. It built up a significant internet following, leading Channel 4 to repeat the series and produce a DVD release. In 2005, Channel 4's Film4 asked Holness and Ayoade to write a script for a film version of the series, but the project never saw further development.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The show was later broadcast in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel and Adult Swim and is available to stream on Peacock.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The spoof comedy series, released in 2004, lampoons 1980s television drama, particularly horror, sci-fi, and "the rampant egotism of self-appointed 'mastermind' authors". The show presents "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" as though it were a real, low-budget television series, produced in the 1980s, and now getting its first screening, framed as part of a director's commentary series. "Darkplace"s fictional show-within-a-show includes deliberately poor production and special effects, sub-par acting, choppy editing and storylines that are "severely flawed and open-ended". This is interspersed with present-day interviews with the cast.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The series' fictional premise is that some time in the 1980s, best-selling horror author Garth Marenghi and his publisher/publicist, Dean Learner, made their own low-budget television series with a single intent: "to change the evolutionary course of Man over a series of half-hour episodes." Set in Darkplace Hospital, "over the very gates of Hell", in Romford, London, "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" shows the adventures of Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D., as he fights the forces of darkness while simultaneously coping with the pressures of "day to day admin". Within this fictional context, Marenghi wrote 63 teleplays from which 50 shows were produced (in the commentary, he mentions that there were 67 episodes at one point, though it may have been intentional by Holness to show discontinuity); however, Channel 4 was eventually forced to reject the show due to its "radicality", though Marenghi also cites possible government suppression: "MI8, which is actually three levels above MI6, pulled the plug. And they did it because I knew the truth."


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: In 2004, due to the "worst artistic drought in broadcast history", Channel 4 decided to air six of the original episodes.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The makers of "Darkplace" endeavoured to make the show seem authentic. From "the retro Channel 4 logo at the start to the distortion of the analogue music track at the start of scenes", "the fashion, ... the texture of film stock", "[the] deliberately poor continuity, cheesy lines, wooden acting and cheap special effects"; it is delivered "in such a pitch perfect way you can't help but laugh". Also included are "present-day interviews", in which the character "Marenghi", with co-stars "Dean Learner" and "Todd Rivers", comment on the show-within-the-show. The interview segments further reveal the delusional and self-absorbed attitudes of Marenghi and Learner.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: As with promotion for their earlier Perrier Award-winning stage show, the official website speaks of Garth Marenghi, and other characters as though they were real people, while making no mention of the real actors. Press releases also contained "realistic looking fake back stories for Marenghi and the other characters instead of making any mention of what the real cast have appeared in", and an article by "Garth Marenghi" appeared in "The Daily Telegraph" discussing his "groundbreaking television series". "More than a few" people and media outlets were caught out by this fictional framing.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The show's musical soundtrack, ostensibly composed by "Stig Baasvik" (but with a further credit stating that it is "based on melodies whistled by Garth Marenghi") parodies the same subjects as the writing, and gained its actual composer, Andrew Hewitt, a BAFTA Nomination as Best New Composer for Film and T.V. (2004).


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: A few other (real) actors have recurring roles in the show-within-the-show: Kim Noble appears in every episode as Jim, a hospital worker whose main function is to listen to Dagless reel off a lengthy speech and respond with a "yes" or other monosyllabic reply, and Noble's real comedy partner Stuart Silver appears as "The Extra": a character whose name is unknown and has been a doctor, receptionist, keyboard soloist and barman. Julian Barratt also appears in three episodes as the hospital's vicar, whom Dagless refers to as "Padre". Graham Linehan and Stephen Merchant appear twice as the hospital porter and chef respectively. Noel Fielding appears as a mutant "Ape-oid" in Episode 4, "The Apes of Wrath".


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: "Darkplace" originally aired in 2004. Only one series was produced. There is media speculation that the "average" or "poor" viewing figures led Channel 4 to decide against commissioning a second series. Channel 4 started a re-run of the series in October 2006 and released the show on DVD in the same month, while allowing the show to be re-broadcast on Virgin Media's On-demand service. In 2005, it was reported that the channel's cinema division, Film Four, had asked Holness and Ayoade to write a script for a film version of their programme.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The series had a spin-off, the spoof chat show "Man to Man with Dean Learner", which began on 20 October 2006 on Channel 4. Dean's first guest was Garth Marenghi. During the interview with Garth a clip from the supposedly forthcoming movie, "War of the Wasps", is shown, again featuring Dean Learner and his acting ability. Marenghi would also appear on the final episode of the series, which featured a clip from a video nasty that Garth and Dean had supposedly produced, which featured cameos from various "Darkplace" cast members.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: As of 2022 "Darkplace" is available to watch on All 4 (Channel 4's VOD service) and BritBox, and was screened on UK Gold in January 2016. In the United States it is available on Amazon Prime.


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: The complete series was released on DVD (PAL, Region 2 only) on 16 October 2006, including the following special features:


title: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

text: Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade reprise their roles as Garth Marenghi and Dean Learner in "Man to Man with Dean Learner", which is also available on DVD.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz, drummer Stephen Bladd, vocalist/keyboardist Seth Justman, and bassist Danny Klein. Wolf and Justman served as principal songwriters. The band played R&B-influenced blues rock during the 1970s and soon achieved commercial success before moving toward a more mainstream radio-friendly sound in the early 1980s, which brought the band to its commercial peak. They performed a mix of cover songs of classic blues and R&B songs, along with original compositions written primarily by Wolf and Justman, as well as some group compositions written under the pseudonymous name Juke Joint Jimmy, representing compositions credited to the entire band as a whole. After Wolf left the band in 1983 to pursue a solo career, the band released one more album in 1984 with Justman on lead vocals, before breaking up in 1985. Beginning in 1999, the band had several reunions prior to the death of its namesake, J. Geils, on April 11, 2017.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The band first released several Top 40 singles in the early 1970s, including a cover of the song "Lookin' for a Love" by The Valentinos (which reached No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972), as well as the single "Give It to Me" (No. 30 in 1973). Their biggest hits included "Must of Got Lost" (No. 12 in 1975), "Come Back" (No. 32 in 1980), "Love Stinks" (which reached No. 38 in 1980 and was featured in several films), "Centerfold" (No. 1 in 1982), and "Freeze-Frame" (No. 4 in 1982).


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The band started in the mid-1960s while John Geils was attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a couple of semesters after transferring from Northeastern University in Boston (where he lived in "The Playboy Room" of the Gamma Phi Kappa Fraternity). Originally named Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels, the group was an acoustic blues trio with Geils on guitar, bassist Danny Klein ("Dr. Funk"), and harmonica player Richard Salwitz ("Magic Dick").


title: The J. Geils Band

text: In 1968, the band switched focus, going electric and recruiting two fellow musicians from Boston band The Hallucinations, drummer Stephen Jo Bladd and vocalist Peter Blankenfeld, a fast-talking former WBCN disc jockey with the air name Peter Wolf. Initial influences included James Cotton and Little Walter — in 2008 interview, harmonica star Magic Dick said they were all "harp freaks".


title: The J. Geils Band

text: They became The J. Geils Blues Band, later dropping the word "Blues" from the band name. Soon, fan Seth Justman joined on keyboards and the band started to earn a sizable following in the Boston area.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The band took its time carefully considering various offers of contracts. Unofficial live recordings circulated: as noted in "Creem", "WBCN had the infamous J. Geils 'bathroom tapes' (that were almost exactly what the name implies) and a tape of their performance at Alternate Media Conference at Goddard College, but these hardly sufficed" to fans who wanted a proper album. The group ultimately signed to Atlantic Records in 1970.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: After spending the better part of 1970 playing live shows around the US opening for artists as eclectic as BB King, Johnny Winter, The Allman Brothers, and The Byrds, The J. Geils Band recorded their debut LP "The J. Geils Band" in August 1970 in A&R Studios in New York City and it was released in November. The band started to get airplay with release of their first single, a rock-cover of The Contours' Motown hit, "First I Look at the Purse", and soon the band would get more AM radio airplay with a series of several successful singles in the early 1970s, the first one being a cover version of The Valentinos' "Lookin' for a Love", which appeared on their second album "The Morning After" and was their Top 40 debut in 1972 (at No. 39 on the Billboard chart). The album was released in October 1971. The song "Cry One More Time" (also on "The Morning After") was later covered by Gram Parsons on his debut album in 1973.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: Through constant touring, the band soon built a large following in the US for their energetic live shows, with the charismatic stage-antics and "microphone-stand-pole-vaulting" of singer Peter Wolf, as well as its innovative use of the harmonica as a lead instrument. Harmonicalinks.com later called Magic Dick "a pioneer in sound and style for rock harmonica." AllMusic.com described their 1970s period as a band "pure and simple, churning out greasy covers of obscure R&B, doo wop, and soul tunes, while cutting them with a healthy dose of Stonesy swagger." On August 17, 1971, at a show on the Boston Common, The Allman Brothers Band named The J. Geils Band as its favorite local band. Both bands later played the last show at the Fillmore East prior to the venue's closing. Although living in Boston, the band had always considered Detroit its second home because of its enormous popularity there. Two of its three live albums were recorded in Detroit at the Cinderella Ballroom and Pine Knob Music Theater. Their second live album, 1976's "Blow Your Face Out", was recorded at the Boston Garden and Detroit's Cobo Arena.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: After the release of their first two albums and keeping a busy show schedule, it was The J. Geils Band's third album "Bloodshot" which was the first commercial breakthrough for the band, reaching No. 10 on the "Billboard" 200 album charts in the United States in 1973 and spawning the single "Give It to Me", which went to No. 30 in the "Billboard" charts following the album's release in 1973. The original U.S. copies of "Bloodshot" were distributed in red vinyl, (instead of the customary black), with matching red 1950s style Atlantic Records labels. The band would continue to use these vintage-style Atlantic labels, in different colors with each album release, throughout their remaining tenure with the label. Seeking to seize on this commercial success, the band released their following album "Ladies Invited" in November of that same year, which debuted at No. 51 but did not match the commercial success of "Bloodshot". After spending the early part of 1974 on the road with an active touring schedule, the band went back into the studio and recorded their fifth album "Nightmares...and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle", which yielded a big hit single, the Justman/Wolf composition "Must of Got Lost", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top 100 in early 1975. Later that year the band started playing arenas across the US with a variety of artists including The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, and Rod Stewart. After their initial commercial success and with constant touring, the group seemed destined to be nothing more than a party band until the release of "Monkey Island" (1977), after which the group left Atlantic Records and signed to EMI America for "Sanctuary" (1978), which charted at No. 49 on the "Billboard" 200 and spun off a sizable hit single in "One Last Kiss" (No. 35 on the "Billboard" Hot 100).


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The group hit their commercial peak and achieved mainstream success in the early 1980s, first with the humorous "Love Stinks" which was released in January 1980 and yielded two Top 40 singles, the song "Come Back" which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard chart, as well as the title track "Love Stinks" which went to No. 38. "Love Stinks" remained a staple in FM radio in the '80s and was showcased in the 1998 hit film "The Wedding Singer" when Adam Sandler performs it in the film, and it also appeared on the film's soundtrack "The Wedding Singer Volume 2", also released in 1998. The band spent the better part of 1980 touring the US, Europe as well as touring Japan for the first time. The band followed up the success of "Love Stinks" with their hit album "Freeze Frame", which reached No. 1 in early 1982 for four weeks. The first single "Centerfold" which hit No. 1 for six weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100 "Centerfold" also became their only major hit single in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 3 in February 1982. The title-cut "Freeze Frame" peaked at No. 4 in April 1982. The flip side of "Freeze Frame", "Flamethrower" received airplay on Urban contemporary radio notably, in Metro Detroit, and reached number 25 on the Billboard soul chart and peaked at 12 on U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. The song also received airplay on rock and Top 40 stations. The third and final single released from the album "Angel in Blue" peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band's videos for "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame" were in heavy rotation on MTV which also contributed to the album's success. During 1982 the band was frequently selling out arenas around the US, including a month-long tour with U2 as their support act in March 1982., The band also undertook a two-month tour of Europe playing with The Rolling Stones from June and July of that year as well. The band followed up on the international success of "Freeze Frame" with the release of another live album, "Showtime!", which contained their #24 live hit cover of "I Do", originally a 1965 hit by the Marvelows, which the band remade for their 1977 "Monkey Island" album.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: Wolf left the group in 1983 over disagreements on the group's musical direction. Many years later in 2016, Wolf offered the following recollection of the disagreements within the group that led to his departure: "I did not leave the band, but the majority of the band wanted to move in another direction.[...] They wanted to continue in a pop-techno way, [and] it wasn't my thing."


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The band went on to record one more album of new material, "You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd". Seth Justman took over lead vocal duties in Wolf's absence. The album produced only one single, "Concealed Weapons", and was not a commercial success. The group then disbanded in 1985 after contributing the title song to the horror film "Fright Night".


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The group reunited with Wolf in 1999 for a 13-date tour of the East Coast and upper Midwest. Rollins Band drummer Sim Cain sat in on drums for this tour, which also saw the band supported by backup singers Andricka Hall and Catherine Russell, as well as the Uptown Horns (who had also appeared with the group on its "Freeze Frame" Tour). After the '99 reunion tour finished at that year's end, Wolf returned to touring with his own backup band.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: On February 26, 2005, the band (with drummer Marty Richards) reunited at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA, for a charity show for the Cam Neely Foundation for cancer care. On May 22, 2006, all six original members had a surprise reunion at bassist Danny Klein's 60th birthday party at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: On February 19, 2009, the band reunited again to perform the opening concert at the new House of Blues in Boston on Lansdowne Street (formerly the location of Avalon, Axis, The Embassy and The Modern), with Marty Richards on drums and Mitch Chakour supplying backup vocals. Subsequently, they played two shows on April 24 and 25 at Detroit's Fillmore Theater (formerly State Theater). They also did a second show on Lansdowne Street on April 28.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: On July 11, 2009, The J. Geils Band played at the Borgata Hotel/Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, selling out the Borgata's 2,000-seat event center. On December 31, 2009, the band reunited for a one-night live gig at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The band played a benefit in Boston for Big Brothers/Big Sisters on January 23, 2010. On August 14, 2010, The J. Geils Band reunited once again to open for Aerosmith at a sold-out show at Fenway Park. For their 2010 dates, the band was again supported by the Uptown Horns along with backup singers Mitch Chakour, Andricka Hall and Nichelle Tillman. Hall and Tillman toured with the band for their 2012 tour, as did the Uptown Horns, while Hall, Mitch Chakour, and Ada Dyer were the backup singers on the 2011 tour. Since this time, Wolf and Geils had also both been touring as solo artists. Danny Klein formed a new band called Danny Klein's Full House that was dedicated to playing the music of The J. Geils Band.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The J. Geils Band embarked on a short U.S. tour in August/September 2012. However, they left for the tour without J. Geils, replaced by touring guitarists Duke Levine and Kevin Barry, along with touring drummer Tom Arey. Geils filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the other members of the group over use of the name for a tour without him. He named band members Richard Salwitz, Danny Klein, Peter Wolf and Seth Justman in the lawsuit filed in Boston Superior Court, claiming that they "planned and conspired" to continue touring without him and were unlawfully using the group's trademarked name. Geils, angry at his bandmates for what they did, permanently left the band. Geils died in 2017.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: On May 30, 2013, The J. Geils Band performed six songs as part of the Boston Strong concert at the TD Garden in Boston. The concert, a benefit for victims of the recent Boston Marathon bombing victims, also featured Aerosmith, James Taylor, Boston, Dropkick Murphys, New Kids on the Block, Bell Biv DeVoe, Boyz II Men, Jimmy Buffett, Carole King, Extreme and Jason Aldean.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: In 2013 the band was the opening act for Bon Jovi in multiple locations across the United States. Beginning in the fall of 2014 and through the beginning of 2015, The J. Geils Band was the opening act for Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band on most tour dates across North America, along with a few solo shows. Their final tour was in the summer of 2015 with their final show being played in Detroit, MI.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: The band was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the years 2005, 2006, 2011, 2017, and 2018. They were not voted in on any of those attempts.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: Since the breakup of the band in 1985, J. Geils began restoring sports cars in Massachusetts and started the performance shop KTR European Motorsports in Ayer, Massachusetts. In 1992, he joined his old bandmate Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz to form the band Bluestime, which released two records: the self-titled "Bluestime" (1994) and "Little Car Blues" (1996) on Rounder Records. In 2004, Geils produced the album "Nail It!" for Massachusetts-based blues/rock group The Installers (Francesca Records No. 1011). He also occasionally performed live with the group. The December 2009 edition of Vintage Guitar (magazine) featured an in-depth interview with Geils by Mambo Sons guitarist Tom Guerra. In the interview, Geils revealed his playing approach, jazz influences and choice of instruments. Geils released several jazz albums with Gerry Beaudoin.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: Magic Dick contributed his harmonica playing and some vocals as part of a live recording called "Command Performance" by the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue featuring The Tommy Castro Band, Deanna Bogart, Ronnie Baker Brooks and others. Since 2007, he has toured as part of the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue on different Blues Cruises and again on land-based shows.


title: The J. Geils Band

text: Magic Dick is still active and touring as an acoustic duo with Shun Ng. The duo released an EP "About Time".


title: The J. Geils Band

text: Peter Wolf followed his time in the band with a moderately successful solo career, having six solo singles chart on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 in the 1980s and early 1990s. He continued to release albums into the 2010s, with his most recent release "A Cure for Loneliness" being released in 2016. He toured with Kid Rock during the first half of 2008 and continues to tour heavily with his solo band, the Midnight Travelers.


title: Powerball

text: Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). From its inaugural drawing on April 19, 1992, until August 21, 2021, Powerball drawings were held twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday); a third weekly drawing (held Mondays) was added on August 23, 2021. Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evening at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, at Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee.


title: Powerball

text: Since October 7, 2015, the game has used a 5/69 (white balls) + 1/26 (Powerballs) matrix from which winning numbers are chosen, resulting in odds of 1 in 292,201,338 of winning a jackpot per play. Each play costs $2 or $3 with the Power Play option (originally, Powerball plays cost $1; when Power Play began, such games were $2). The official cutoff for ticket sales is 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time; some lotteries cut off sales earlier. The drawings are held at the Florida Lottery's studio in Tallahassee. Powerball's minimum advertised jackpot is $20 million (annuity); Powerball's annuity is paid in 30 graduated installments over 29 years, or winners may choose a lump sum payment instead (cash option). One lump sum payment will be less than the total of the 30 annual payments because with the annuity option each yearly payment is increased by 5%.


title: Powerball

text: On November 8, 2022, Powerball produced the largest lottery jackpot in world history; the $2.04 billion jackpot was won by a single ticket sold in Altadena, California.


title: Powerball

text: The numbers were originally drawn in West Des Moines, Iowa, before moving to Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. Drawings moved to their current home in Tallahassee in 2012.


title: Powerball

text: Powerball replaced Lotto*America in April 1992; Mega Millions replaced The Big Game 10 years later (See below for the evolution of the name "Mega Millions".).


title: Powerball

text: Powerball's predecessor began in 1988; the multi-state game was known as Lotto America. The game, and name, were changed to Powerball on April 19, 1992; its first drawing was held April 22.


title: Powerball

text: Dr. Edward J. Stanek was president of the Iowa Lottery and one of two men, along with Steve Caputo, who came up with the Powerball game.


title: Powerball

text: When it was launched in 1992 Powerball became the first game to use two drums. Using two drums to draw numbers from offers more manipulation by simultaneously allowing high jackpot odds, numerous prize levels and low overall odds of winning (as explained later, a ticket can win by matching only one number). The two-drum concept was suggested by Steve Caputo of the Oregon Lottery. The two-drum concept has since been used by "The Big Game" (now Mega Millions) in the US, Australia's Powerball, Thunderball in the UK, Eurojackpot and EuroMillions.


title: Powerball

text: Through 2008, Powerball drawings usually were held at Screenscape Studios in West Des Moines, Iowa. The drawings' host was longtime Iowa radio personality Mike Pace, who had hosted MUSL drawings since Lotto America began in 1988. In 1996, Powerball went "on the road" for the first time, holding five remote drawings at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. A few weeks later, Georgia became the only jurisdiction to leave Powerball (Maine, which joined MUSL in 1990, left when Powerball began). In August 1996, Georgia joined the then-new "The Big Game", then the other major U.S. lottery group. It planned to sell tickets for "both" games for the rest of 1996; but within days Georgia was removed from MUSL, not to return until the 2010 cross-sell expansion.


title: Powerball

text: On November 2, 1997, the annuity was changed from 20 to 25 yearly payments; the cash option was added.


title: Powerball

text: In 1998, Florida was given permission by its government to participate in a multi-state game. It was set to offer Powerball; but in early 1999, new governor Jeb Bush prevented Florida from joining since he believed Powerball would hurt the existing Florida Lottery games. In 2008, Governor Charlie Crist finally allowed Florida to join MUSL, on January 4, 2009.


title: Powerball

text: On March 7, 2001, an optional multiplier (called "Power Play") was added, allowing players to multiply non-jackpot winnings by up to five by paying an extra $1 per game. A wheel was introduced to select the "Power Play" multiplier for each drawing (the next year, the "1x" was removed from the "Power Play" wheel.)


title: Powerball

text: With the start of Powerball sales in Florida on January 4, 2009 (with its first drawing on January 7), the matrices changed to 5/59 + 1/39 (adding four white ball numbers and dropping three red balls). This changed the jackpot probability from 1:146 million to 1:195 million; the overall probability became 1:35.


title: Powerball

text: Based on statistical projections, the average jackpot win increased from $95 million to $141 million. Over 3.5 million additional prizes were expected to be won yearly due to the change in probability. The starting jackpot increased to $20 million, with minimum rollovers of $5 million. The jackpot contribution increased from 30.3% to 32.5% of total sales. The Power Play option was modified; second prize, usually $200,000, was given an automatic 5x multiplier, making the 5+0 prize $1 million cash. The bonus second prize if the jackpot exceeded its previous record by $25 million, triggered only twice, was eliminated with the 2012 format change.


title: Powerball

text: The conditions for Florida joining Powerball included a move of the live drawings from Iowa to Universal Studios in Orlando. The three hosts rotating announcing duties from Universal Studios were Tracy Wiu, Elizabeth Hart and Scott Adams (MUSL headquarters remained in Iowa, where its other draws are held). The wheel that was used to determine the Power Play multiplier was retired when the drawings moved to Florida; a random number generator (RNG) was used until the 2012 format change.


title: Powerball

text: Arkansas became the 33rd MUSL member on October 31, 2009, the last to join before the 2010 cross-sell expansion. The Ohio Lottery added Powerball on April 16, 2010, it joined Mega Millions (along with New York) years earlier, when "The Big Game" added "Mega Millions" to its name.


title: Powerball

text: In March 2009, it was reported that New Jersey, already a Mega Millions member, sought permission to join Powerball. Shortly after, discussions were revealed about allowing each US lottery to offer both games. On October 13, the Mega Millions consortium and MUSL reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball. In November, MUSL signed an agreement to start streaming Powerball drawings online.


title: Powerball

text: On January 31, 2010, the date of the cross-sell expansion, Mega Millions and MUSL each added lotteries; eight Powerball members added Mega Millions by May. The Montana Lottery joined Mega Millions on March 1, 2010. Nebraska added Mega Millions on March 20, 2010, Oregon followed on March 28, 2010, Arizona joined Mega Millions on April 18, 2010, Maine added Mega Millions on May 9, 2010, Colorado and South Dakota joined Mega Millions on May 16, 2010. The U.S. Virgin Islands joined Mega Millions in October 2010.


title: Powerball

text: Before the agreement, the only places that sold both Mega Millions and Powerball tickets were retailers straddling a border; one retailer on the Sharon, Pennsylvania/Masury, Ohio border sold both Mega Millions (via the Ohio Lottery) and Powerball (Pennsylvania) before the agreement and continued to be the only retailer to sell tickets for both lotteries.


title: Powerball

text: Illinois joining Powerball on the expansion date, it became the second multi-jurisdictional lottery game (after Mega Millions, which Illinois already participated in) whose drawings were carried nationally. Both games' drawings were simulcast via Chicago cable superstation WGN-TV through its national WGN America feed. WGN-TV aired Illinois Lottery drawings nationally from 1992 to 2015 after acquiring broadcast rights from Chicago's Fox owned-and-operated station WFLD in 1988, which took the rights from WGN-TV in 1987. Powerball drawings were aired on WGN-TV and WGN America on Wednesday and Saturday immediately following the station's 9:00 p.m. (Central Time) newscast with the Mega Millions drawings being aired Tue and Fri evenings after the newscast. WGN served as a default carrier of Mega Millions or Powerball where no local television station carries either multi-jurisdictional lottery's drawings.


title: Powerball

text: On March 13, 2010, New Jersey became the first previous Mega Millions-only member (just before the cross-selling expansion) to produce a jackpot-winning Powerball ticket. It was worth over $211 million in annuity payments; it was sold in Morris Plains. On May 28, 2010, North Carolina became the first previous MUSL member (just before the cross-selling expansion) to produce a jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket; that jackpot was $12 million (annuity).


title: Powerball

text: On June 2, 2010, Ohio won a Powerball jackpot; it became the first lottery selling "either" Mega Millions "or" Powerball (when 2010 began) to provide a jackpot-winning ticket for its newer game. The ticket was worth a $261 million annuity; it was sold in Sunbury. Ohio's second Powerball jackpot-winning ticket, sold for the June 23, 2010 drawing, was part of another first; since Montana also provided a jackpot winner for that drawing, it was the first time a jackpot was shared through lotteries which sold competing games before the cross-selling expansion, as Montana sold only Powerball before the expansion date.


title: Powerball

text: On January 15, 2012, the price of each basic Powerball play doubled to $2, while PowerPlay games became $3; the minimum jackpot doubled to $40 million. A non-jackpot play matching the five white balls won $1 million. The red balls decreased from 39 to 35. The drawings were moved from Universal Studios Orlando to the Florida Lottery's studios in Tallahassee. Sam Arlen began his tenure as host in 2012, with Laura W. Johnson served as Arlen’s co-host.


title: Powerball

text: These changes were made to increase the frequency of nine-figure jackpots; a Powerball spokesperson believed a $500 million jackpot was feasible (it became a reality within the year,) and that the first $1 billion jackpot in US history would occur by 2012 (though it didn't occur until 4 years later.) Less than three months after the Powerball changes, Mega Millions' jackpot reached $656,000,000 despite remaining a $1-per-play game. The random "Power Play" multiplier was retired for a set, fixed dollar amount payout. The $25 million rollover "cap" (creating larger 5+0 prizes) was eliminated.


title: Powerball

text: California joined on April 8, 2013; it has never offered the "Power Play" option, as all payouts in California Lottery drawing games, by law, are parimutuel. Mega Millions, which became available in California in 2005, offers its "Megaplier" in its other 45 jurisdictions.


title: Powerball

text: On January 22, 2014, the variable Power Play option returned (2x-5x) for multiplying non-jackpot prizes.


title: Powerball

text: In October 2014, Puerto Rico joined Powerball; the first mainly Spanish-speaking jurisdiction offering the game; as of 2016 it had not joined Mega Millions.


title: Powerball

text: On October 4, 2015, the Powerball format changed again; the white-ball pool increased from 59 to 69 while the Powerball pool decreased from 35 to 26. While this improved the chance of winning any prize to 1 in 24, it also lengthened the jackpot odds to 1 in 292,201,338. The 4+1 prize became $50,000; the 10x PowerPlay became available in drawings with a jackpot of under $150 million. Three months later, the format produced a $1.5 billion jackpot, double the previous record, after 20 consecutive rollovers.


title: Powerball

text: On April 2, 2020, the Powerball starting jackpot amount was temporarily reset from $40 million to $20 million with the annuity option, with at least a $2 million rollover for each drawing without a jackpot winner, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. This was done to enforce social distancing and discourage crowding of selling venues for large jackpots, and to account for lower interest rates.


title: Powerball

text: On March 10, 2021, following Powerball's move to expand its operations in Australia later that year and in the United Kingdom in 2022, the Idaho Legislature voted overwhelmingly to end the state's participation in the lottery after more than 30 years. State lawmakers cited fears of outside revenue being generated from the foreign involvement as reasons behind the vote. The removal would have taken place when non-US jurisdictions were allowed to join in August 2021, but was rendered moot when the expansion was put on hold.


title: Powerball

text: On May 23, 2021, Powerball announced that starting on August 23, 2021, draws would occur on Monday, in addition to Wednesday and Saturday. All other features remain the same. Michele Lyles became the third regular hostess of the Powerball drawings serving alongside Arlen and Johnson. Beginning in 2022, Randy Trainor serves as a substitute host if neither Arlen, Johnson or Lyles are available.


title: Powerball

text: The scheduled November 7, 2022 drawing of the record-breaking $2.04B jackpot was delayed due the incomplete security protocols regarding ticket sales at an unnamed lottery until the next day at 8:59 a.m. EST. Prior to the November 7 delay, there had been delays on April 9 and October 19 in 2022. The Minnesota Lottery announced later that day that it had been responsible for the delay.


title: Powerball

text: The minimum Powerball bet is $2. In each game, players select five numbers from a set of 69 white balls and one number from 26 red Powerballs; the red ball number can be the same as one of the white balls. The drawing order of the five white balls is irrelevant; all tickets show the white ball numbers in ascending order. Players cannot use the drawn Powerball to match one of their white numbers, or vice versa. Players can select their own numbers, or have the terminal pseudorandomly select the numbers (the name for this varies by state, but most are called some variation of "quick pick", "easy pick", etc.).


title: Powerball

text: In each drawing, winning numbers are selected using two ball machines: one containing the white balls and the other containing the red Powerballs. Five white balls are drawn from the first machine and the red ball from the second machine. Games matching at least three white balls or the red Powerball win.


title: Powerball

text: Two identical machines are used for each drawing, randomly selected from four sets. The model of machine used is the Halogen, manufactured by Smartplay International of Edgewater Park, New Jersey. There are eight ball sets (four of each color); one set of each color is randomly selected before a drawing. The balls are mixed by a turntable at the bottom of the machine that propels the balls around the chamber. When the machine selects a ball, the turntable slows to catch it, sends it up the shaft, and then down the rail to the display. (The Florida Lottery was considering switching to a random number generator in 2019 for its in-state drawings; it is unknown whether Powerball was affected.) If the onsite location is unavailable, as was the case during Hurricane Michael, a backup machine is located at MUSL headquarters in Iowa. The drawings are supervised by Carol & Company, CPA.


title: Powerball

text: While Mega Millions and Powerball each have similar jackpot odds despite having a different double matrix (Mega Millions is 5/70 + 1/25), since Powerball is $2 per play, it now takes $584,402,676 (not counting Power Play side bets) on average to produce a jackpot-winning ticket.


title: Powerball

text: For an additional $1 per game, a player may activate the Power Play option. Activating it multiplies lower-tier winnings (base prize $50,000 or less) by up to 5, or 10 when the jackpot is under $150 million. Power Play is drawn separately from the 6 numbers. The 5+0 prize is automatically doubled to $2 million if Power Play is activated.


title: Powerball

text: The dilemma for players is whether to maximize the chance at the jackpot or increase lower-tier winnings. If a player selects a fixed amount of money to spend on tickets at a certain time, the player will give up one guess of the winning set of numbers every two times this player activates Power Play in respect of one of the purchased tickets.


title: Powerball

text: Power Play, when it began in 2001, was drawn with a special wheel. In 2006 and 2007, MUSL replaced one of the 5× spaces on the Power Play wheel with a 10×. During each month-long promotion, MUSL guaranteed that there would be at least one drawing with a 10× multiplier. The promotion returned in 2008; the ball landed in the 10× space twice. After being absent in 2009, the 10× multiplier returned in May 2010 (after the Power Play drawing was changed to RNG.) The promotion was extended for the only time, as the 10× multiplier was not drawn until June 12, 2010. The second prize 5× guarantee continued; the 10× applied to all non-jackpot prizes, as in previous promotions.


title: Powerball

text: Power Play's success has led to similar multipliers in other games, most notably "Megaplier", available through all Mega Millions members except California. The 2012 Powerball changes resulted in all eight lower-tier levels having "fixed" Power Play prizes.


title: Powerball

text: A Double Play option is available in 13 states and Puerto Rico. For an additional $1, players may reuse their Powerball numbers in a second drawing with a different prize structure held approximately 30 minutes after the main drawing. A Powerball ticket with the Double Play option costs $3; if both the Power Play and Double Play options are chosen the total cost is $4.


title: Powerball

text: All non-jackpot prizes are fixed amounts (except in California); they may be reduced and paid on a parimutuel basis, with each member paying differing amounts for the same prize tier, if the liability exceeds the funds in the prize pool for any game member.


title: Powerball

text: Jackpot winners have the option of receiving their prize in cash (in two installments; one from the winning jurisdiction, then the combined funds from the other members) or as a graduated annuity paid in 30 yearly installments. The pre-tax amount of the first annuity payment is approximately 1.505% of the jackpot amount. Each annuity payment is 5% higher than in the previous year to adjust for inflation.


title: Powerball

text: The advertised estimated jackpot represents the total payments that would be paid to jackpot winner(s) should they accept the annuity option. This estimate is based on the funds accumulated in the jackpot pool rolled over from prior drawings, expected sales for the next drawing, and market interest rates for the securities that would be used to fund the annuity. The estimated jackpot usually is 32.5% of the (non–"Power Play") revenue of each base ($1) play, submitted by game members to accumulate into a prize pool to fund the jackpot. If the jackpot is not won in a particular drawing, the prize pool carries over to the next drawing, accumulating until there is a jackpot winner. This prize pool is the cash that is paid to a jackpot winner if they choose cash. If the winner chooses the annuity, current market rates are used to calculate the graduated payment schedule and the initial installment is paid. The remaining funds in the prize pool are invested to generate the income required to fund the remaining installments. If there are multiple jackpot winners for a drawing, the jackpot prize pool is divided equally for all such plays.


title: Powerball

text: MUSL and its members accept all investment risk and are contractually obligated and liable to the winner to make all scheduled payments to annuity winners. If a jackpot ticket is not claimed, the funds in the prize pool are returned to members in proportion to the amount they contributed to the prize pool. The members have different rules regulating how unclaimed funds are used.


title: Powerball

text: When the Powerball jackpot is won, the next jackpot is guaranteed to be $20 million (annuity). If a jackpot is not won, the minimum rollover is $10 million. The cash in the jackpot pool is guaranteed to be the current value of the annuity. If revenue from ticket sales falls below expectations, game members must contribute additional funds to the jackpot pool to cover the shortage; the most likely scenario where this can occur is if the jackpot is won in consecutive drawings.


title: Powerball

text: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and resulting drop in ticket sales plus the falling interest rates on which annuity prizes were based, Powerball administrators reduced the minimum starting jackpot to $20 million, and the minimum increase to $2 million when the previous jackpot is not won.


title: Powerball

text: A winning ticket must be claimed in the jurisdiction in which it was purchased, regardless of residence. The minimum age to play Powerball is 18, except in Nebraska (19), and Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana and Mississippi (21).


title: Powerball

text: Generally, Powerball players do not have to choose cash or annuity unless they win a jackpot (then they usually have 60 days to choose). Exceptions include Florida and Missouri; the 60-day "clock" starts with the drawing, so a jackpot winner who wishes to take the cash option needs to make immediate plans to claim their prize. New Jersey and Texas require the cash/annuity choice to be made when "playing"; in New Jersey, an annuity ticket can be changed to cash after winning, while in Texas, the choice is binding. (When the cash option was introduced in 1997, all Powerball players had to make the choice when playing. This regulation was phased out by 1999.) All Powerball prizes must be claimed within a period ranging from 90 days to a year, depending on where the ticket was bought.


title: Powerball

text: Powerball winnings in California are subject to federal income tax only. Conversely, Powerball winnings in Puerto Rico are not subject to federal income tax, only local tax. There is no state income tax in Florida, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming, and only on interest and dividends in New Hampshire and Tennessee. In all other states, winnings are subject to both federal income tax and that state's income tax, provided the winning ticket was purchased in the winner's home state. Winnings from tickets purchased outside of one's home state may be subject to the income tax laws of "both" states (with possible credit based on the two jurisdictions), though this depends on the states in question.


title: Powerball

text: Unlike the jackpot pool, other prizes are the responsibility and liability of each participating lottery. All revenue for Powerball ticket sales not used for jackpots is retained by each member; none of this revenue is shared with other lotteries. Members are liable only for the payment of secondary prizes sold there.


title: Powerball

text: Since the secondary prizes are defined in fixed amounts (except in California), if the liability for a given prize level exceed the funds in the prize pool for that level the amount of the prize may be reduced and the prize pool be distributed on a parimutuel basis and result in a prize lower than the fixed amounts given in the prize tables. Because the secondary prize pools are calculated independently, it is possible lower-tier prizes will differ among the game members.


title: Powerball

text: Because the quoted jackpot amount is an annuity of 30 graduated annual payments, its cash value relative to the annuity fluctuates. The actual ratio depends on projected interest rates and other factors. MUSL starts with the cash value, built from a percentage of sales, and then calculates the advertised jackpot amount from that value, based on the average costs of the three best securities bids.


title: Powerball

text: On December 25, 2002, the president of a construction firm in Putnam County, West Virginia, won $314.9 million ($ million today), then a new record for a single ticket in an American lottery. The winner chose the cash option of $170 million, receiving approximately $83 million after West Virginia and Federal withholdings.


title: Powerball

text: On October 19, 2005, a family from Jacksonville, Oregon, won $340 million ($ million today). The winners chose the cash payout of $164.4 million (before withholdings), smaller than a previous winners cash payout in 2002 due to a then-recent change in the annuity structure.


title: Powerball

text: A jackpot of $365 million ($ million today) was won on February 18, 2006, by one ticket in Nebraska. It was shared by eight people who worked at a meatpacking plant. The group chose the cash option of approximately $177.3 million, before withholdings.


title: Powerball

text: On August 25, 2007, a jackpot worth $314 million ($ million today) was won by a retired auto worker from Ohio; that ticket was bought in Richmond, Indiana, a community that had previously sold a jackpot-winning ticket of over $200 million.


title: Powerball

text: In November 2011, three Greenwich, Connecticut, financial executives shared a jackpot of $254.2 million ($ million today), the largest prize on a Connecticut-bought ticket. Choosing the cash option, the men split nearly $104 million after withholdings. The jackpot, at the time, was the 12th largest in Powerball history.


title: Powerball

text: On May 18, 2013, the world's largest one-ticket jackpot at the time, an annuity of approximately $590.5 million ($ million today), was won by a Powerball ticket sold in Zephyrhills, Florida. On June 5, Florida Lottery officials announced the winner who purchased the "quick pick" ticket at a Publix supermarket. the winner chose the cash option of approximately $370.8 million, before Federal withholding; Florida does not have a state income tax.


title: Powerball

text: On January 13, 2016, the world's largest lottery jackpot at the time, an annuity of approximately $1.586 billion was split among three Powerball tickets in Chino Hills, California, Melbourne Beach, Florida, and Munford, Tennessee, each worth $528.8 million. Since there is no income tax in Florida or Tennessee (and California does not tax lottery winnings), the cash option after Federal withholdings is $187.2 million each.


title: Powerball

text: On August 23, 2017, the owner of a Powerball ticket sold in Chicopee, Massachusetts, won more than $750 million, one of the largest prizes in the lottery's history. A mother of two from Massachusetts was the lucky winner.


title: Powerball

text: On March 27, 2019, a single ticket purchased in Wisconsin was the only winner of a $768.4 million ($477 million cash) Powerball jackpot, the third largest in U.S. lottery history. The winner of the enormous prize was identified as a 24-year-old Wisconsin man.


title: Powerball

text: On November 8, 2022, a single ticket purchased in California was the only winner of a $2.04 billion ($997.6 million cash) Powerball jackpot, the largest in U.S. lottery history.


title: Powerball

text: The Powerball drawing on March 30, 2005, produced 110 second-prize winners. The total payout to these winners was $19.4 million, with 89 winners receiving $100,000 each, while the other 21 winners received $500,000 each as they were Power Play selections.


title: Powerball

text: MUSL officials initially suspected fraud or a reporting error. However, all 110 winners had played numbers from fortune cookies made by Wonton Food Inc. of Long Island City, New York. The factory had printed the numbers "22, 28, 32, 33, 39, 40" on thousands of fortunes. The "40" in the fortune did not match the Powerball number, 42. No employees of Wonton Food played those numbers. At the time, the closest game member was Connecticut. Because the ticket holders had won as result of a coincidence rather than foul play, the payouts were made.


title: Powerball

text: Had the fortune cookie given 42 as the Powerball number, these winners would have shared the $25 million jackpot: each $227,272 annuity or $122,727 cash (before withholdings). The fortune on the cookie read: "All the preparation you've done will finally be paying off."


title: Powerball

text: In 2006, WMS Gaming released a range of slot machines under the Powerball brand name. In 2007, the Oregon Lottery released a Windows Sidebar gadget that displays the winning numbers for Powerball in real-time. The gadget also provides large jackpot announcements.


title: Powerball

text: The New York Lottery introduced a Powerball scratchcard in 2010. Five winning numbers plus a Powerball were printed across the top of the card, with 12 opportunities to match. Matching the winning numbers or the Powerball won. The top prize was $1 million (annuity); unlike actual Powerball, there was no cash option for the top prize.


title: Breast milk

text: Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates (lactose and human milk oligosaccharides) and variable minerals and vitamins. Breast milk also contains substances that help protect an infant against infection and inflammation, whilst also contributing to healthy development of the immune system and gut microbiome.


title: Breast milk

text: The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, with solids gradually being introduced around this age when signs of readiness are shown. Supplemented breastfeeding is recommended until at least age two and then for as long as the mother and child wish.


title: Breast milk

text: Some newborn babies that are alert and healthy have the ability to latch on to the mother's breast within one hour of birth, however, on a global level, 3/5 babies are not breast fed within the first hour of being born. Breast milk can also be pumped from the mother using a breast pump and fed by baby bottle, cup and/or spoon, supplementation drip system, or nasogastric tube. For infants who are born early (preterm birth) and do not have the ability to suck right away, the use of cups to feed expressed milk and other supplements is reported to result in better breastfeeding extent and duration compared with bottles and tube feeding.


title: Breast milk

text: For women who do not produce sufficient amounts of breast milk, donor human breast milk that is pasteurized may be effective. If pasteurized donor breast milk is not available, commercial formula is suggested as a second alternative. Breast milk supplied by a woman other than the baby's mother that is not pasteurized and informal breast milk sharing is associated with a risk of transmitting bacteria and viruses from the donor mother to the baby and is not considered a safe alternative.


title: Breast milk

text: Breastfeeding offers health benefits to mother and child even after infancy. These benefits include proper heat production and adipose tissue development, a 73% decreased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, increased intelligence, decreased likelihood of contracting middle ear infections, cold and flu resistance, a tiny decrease in the risk of childhood leukemia, lower risk of childhood onset diabetes, decreased risk of asthma and eczema, decreased dental problems, decreased risk of obesity later in life, and a decreased risk of developing psychological disorders, including in adopted children. In addition, feeding an infant breast milk is associated with lower insulin levels and higher leptin levels compared feeding an infant via powdered-formula.