title: Fritz Haarmann

text: In late 1913, Haarmann was arrested for burglary. A search of his home revealed a hoard of stolen property linking him to several other burglaries. Despite protesting his innocence, Haarmann was charged with and convicted of a series of burglaries and frauds. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for these offenses.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Due to compulsory conscription resulting from the outbreak of World War I, Germany saw a shortage of available domestic manpower. In the final years of his prison sentence, Haarmann was permitted to work throughout the day in the grounds of various manor houses near the town of Rendsburg, with instructions to return to prison each evening. Upon his release from prison in April 1918, he initially moved to Berlin, before opting to return to Hanover, where he briefly lived with one of his sisters before renting a single room apartment in late August 1918.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: According to Haarmann, he was struck by the poverty of the German nation as a result of the loss the nation had suffered in World War I. Through his initial efforts to both trade and purchase stolen property at Hanover Central Station, Haarmann established several criminal contacts with whom he could trade in contraband property, and he immediately reverted to the criminal life he had lived before his 1913 arrest.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Despite police knowledge that Haarmann was both a known criminal and a known homosexual, he gradually began to establish a relationship with law enforcement as an informer, largely as a means of redirecting the attention of the police from himself in his own criminal activities, and to facilitate his access to young males. By 1919, Haarmann is known to have regularly patrolled Hanover station, and to have provided police with information relating to the city's extensive criminal network. With the cooperation of several police officials, Haarmann devised a ruse whereby he would offer to fence or store stolen property at his premises, then pass this information to police, who would then raid his property at agreed times and arrest these contacts. To remove any suspicion as to his treachery reaching the criminal fraternity, Haarmann himself would be arrested in these raids. Moreover, on numerous occasions, he is known to have performed citizen's arrests upon commuters for offenses such as travelling on forged documents. As a result of these activities, police began to rely on Haarmann as a reliable source of information regarding various criminal activities in Hanover, and he was allowed to patrol the station largely at will.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Between 1918 and 1924, Haarmann committed at least twenty-four murders, although he is suspected of murdering a minimum of twenty-seven. All of his victims were males between the ages of 10 and 22, the majority of whom were in their mid- to late-teens. The victims were lured back to one of three addresses in which Haarmann is known to have resided throughout those years. He is known to have killed upon the promise of assistance, accommodation, work, or under the pretense of arrest. At Haarmann's apartment, the victim was typically given food and drink before Haarmann bit into his Adam's apple, often as he was strangled. Often this caused the victim to die of asphyxiation, but on several occasions Haarmann bit completely through his victims' Adams apple and trachea. (Haarmann referred to the act of biting through his victims' neck as his "love bite".)


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: All of Haarmann's known victims were dismembered before their bodies were discarded, usually in the Leine River, although the dismembered body of his first known victim had simply been buried, and the body of his last victim had been thrown into a lake located at the entrance to the Herrenhausen Gardens.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann typically kept his victims' personal possessions, for himself or for his lover, Hans Grans, or they were sold on the black market through criminal contacts both men had established at Hanover Central Station. However, the personal possessions of some victims were sold to legitimate retailers. In several instances, both Haarmann and Grans gave possessions belonging to various victims to acquaintances as gifts.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Following Haarmann's arrest, rumors circulated that Haarmann ate the flesh of his victims, or sold it on the black market as pork or horse meat. Although no evidence was ever produced to confirm these theories, Haarmann was known to be an active trader in contraband meat, which was invariably boneless, diced and often sold as ground meat. When asked where he obtained the meat, Haarmann sometimes said he had gotten it from a butcher named "Karl". Haarmann initially resided in a hotel, before he and Grans lodged with a middle-class family.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann's first known victim was a 17-year-old runaway named Friedel Rothe. When Rothe disappeared on 25 September 1918, his friends told police he was last seen with Haarmann, who at the time of this first known murder resided in a single room apartment at 27 Cellerstraße. Under pressure from Rothe's family, police raided Haarmann's apartment in October 1918, where they found their informer in the company of a semi-naked 13-year-old boy. He was charged with both the sexual assault and battery of a minor, and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. (Haarmann later said to detectives that when they searched his apartment, the head of Friedel Rothe was stowed behind his stove wrapped in newspaper.)


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann avoided serving his sentence throughout 1919. That October, he met an 18-year-old youth named Hans Grans, who had run away from his home in Berlin following an argument with his father on 1 October. Grans had slept rough in and around Hanover station for approximately two weeks—selling old clothes in and around the station to earn enough money to simply eat—before he encountered Haarmann.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: In his subsequent confessions to police, Grans stated that, although his sexual orientation was heterosexual, he himself initiated contact with Haarmann, with the intention of prostituting himself, having heard of Haarmann's homosexuality through acquaintances he had established in Hanover. Haarmann himself stated following his arrest that he viewed Grans as being "like a son" to him, adding that he "pulled him [Grans] out of the ditch and tried to make sure he didn't go to the dogs."


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Shortly after their initial acquaintance, Haarmann invited the youth to move into his apartment, and Grans became Haarmann's lover and criminal accomplice. According to Haarmann, although he was smitten with Grans, he gradually became aware the youth manipulated and, occasionally, mocked him. A few times Grans was evicted after heated arguments only for Haarmann to plead with him to come back. Despite the manipulation Haarmann endured at the hands of his accomplice, he later claimed to tolerate the capitulation as he craved Grans' companionship and affection, adding: "I had to have someone I meant everything to."


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann served the nine-month prison sentence imposed in 1918 for sexual assault and battery between March and December 1920. Upon his release, he again regained the trust of the police and again became an informer. Haarmann initially resided in a hotel, before he and Grans lodged with a middle-class family.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Through criminal contacts, Haarmann became aware of a vacant ground-floor apartment located at 8 Neue Straße. The apartment was located in a densely populated, old house located alongside the Leine River. Haarmann secured a letting agreement with the landlady, ostensibly to use the property for storage purposes. He and Grans moved into 8 Neue Straße on 1 July 1921.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann's subsequent victims largely consisted of young male commuters, runaways and, occasionally, male prostitutes, whom he would typically encounter in or around Hanover's central railway station. The second murder Haarmann is known to have committed occurred on 12 February 1923. The victim was a 17-year-old pianist named Fritz Franke, whom Haarmann encountered at Hanover Central Station and invited to his Neue Straße residence, where he introduced the youth to Hans Grans and two female acquaintances (one of whom was Grans' female lover). According to Grans' lover, that evening, Grans whispered in her ear: "Hey! He's going to be trampled on today." The following day, both these acquaintances returned to Haarmann's apartment, where they were informed by Haarmann that Franke had travelled to Hamburg. Speculation remains as to Grans' knowledge of Haarmann's intentions towards Franke when he made this comment to the two female acquaintances. According to Haarmann, following this murder, Grans arrived unannounced at his apartment, where he observed Franke's nude body lying upon Haarmann's bed. Grans had then simply looked at him and asked, "When shall I come back again?"


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Five weeks after the murder of Franke, on 20 March, Haarmann encountered a 17-year-old commuter named Wilhelm Schulze at Hanover station. Schulze had been travelling to work when he encountered Haarmann. No human remains identified as belonging to Schulze were ever found, although most of his clothing was in the possession of Haarmann's landlady, Elisabeth Engel, at the time of his arrest. Two more victims are known to have been murdered at 8 Neue Straße before Haarmann vacated the apartment in June: 16-year-old Roland Huch, who disappeared on 23 May after informing a close friend he intended to run away from home and join the Marines; and 19-year-old Hans Sonnenfeld, who disappeared on or about 31 May and whose distinctive yellow overcoat Haarmann is known to have worn after the youth's murder.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: On 9 June 1923, Haarmann moved into a single-room attic apartment at 2 Rote Reihe. Two weeks after moving into this address, on 25 June, Ernst Ehrenberg, the 13-year-old son of Haarmann's neighbour, disappeared running an errand for his father. His school cap and braces would be found in Haarmann's apartment following his arrest. Two months later, on 24 August, an 18-year-old office clerk named Heinrich Struß was reported missing by his aunt (with whom he lived). Many of Struß's belongings would also be found in Haarmann's apartment. Struß's murder would be followed one month later by the murder of a 17-year-old named Paul Bronischewski, who disappeared en route to the city of Bochum, having worked with his uncle in Saxony-Anhalt throughout the summer. Subsequent police enquiries suggested Bronischewski had likely alighted the train at Hanover, where he evidently encountered Haarmann. Bronischewski's jacket, knapsack, trousers and towel would all be found in the possession of Haarmann following his arrest.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann is next known to have killed on or about 30 September 1923. The victim was 17-year-old Richard Gräf, who last informed his family he had met an individual at Hanover station who "knows of a good job for me." Two weeks later, on 12 October, a 16-year-old Gehrden youth named Wilhelm Erdner failed to return home from work. Subsequent enquiries by Erdner's parents revealed the youth became acquainted with a Detective Fritz Honnerbrock (a pseudonym used by Haarmann) shortly before his disappearance. Both Haarmann and Grans subsequently sold Erdner's bicycle on 20 October. Within a week of having sold this bicycle, Haarmann killed two further victims: 15-year-old Hermann Wolf, who disappeared from Hanover station on 24 October, and 13-year-old Heinz Brinkmann, who was seen by a witness standing in the entrance to Hanover station at 11 pm on 27 October, having missed his train home to the town of Clausthal.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: On 10 November 1923, a 17-year-old apprentice carpenter from the city of Düsseldorf named Adolf Hannappel disappeared from Hanover station. He was seen by several witnesses sitting upon a trunk in the waiting room. These witnesses also positively identified Hans Grans—in the company of Haarmann—pointing towards the youth, who shortly thereafter was observed walking towards a café in the company of these two men. One month later, on 6 December 19-year-old Adolf Hennies disappeared. He had been seeking employment at the time of his disappearance. None of the human remains recovered were identified as belonging to Hennies, whom Haarmann specifically admitted to dismembering, but denied killing. In subsequent court testimony vehemently disputed by Grans, Haarmann claimed he returned home to find Hennies's body—missing his signature "love bite"—lying naked on his bed, with Grans and another criminal acquaintance named Hugo Wittkowski stating the youth was, "One of yours." (Neither Haarmann nor Grans were convicted of Hennies's murder due to conflicting testimony.)


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The first victim killed by Haarmann in 1924 was 17-year-old Ernst Spiecker, who disappeared on 5 January. Although subsequent trial testimony from a friend of Spiecker indicated Haarmann had become acquainted with this youth before his murder, Haarmann stated he would simply have to "assume" this youth was one of his victims due to all his personal possessions being found in his or Grans' possession following his arrest. Ten days later, Haarmann killed a 20-year-old named Heinrich Koch, whom he is also believed to have been acquainted with prior to the youth's murder. The following month, Haarmann is known to have killed two further victims: 19-year-old Willi Senger, who disappeared from the suburb of Linden-Limmer on 2 February, having informed his sister he was to travel with a friend; and 16-year-old Hermann Speichert, who was last seen by his sister on 8 February.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann is not known to have killed again until on or about 1 April, when he is believed to have killed an acquaintance named Hermann Bock. Although cleared of this murder at his trial, Haarmann was in possession of Bock's clothing when arrested, and he is known to have given the youth's suitcase to his landlady; moreover, Haarmann is known to have actively dissuaded several of Bock's acquaintances from reporting the youth missing. One week later, on 8 April 16-year-old Alfred Hogrefe disappeared from Hanover station, having run away from home in the town of Lehrte on 2 April. Hogrefe's murder would be followed 9 days later by that of a 16-year-old apprentice named Wilhelm Apel, whom Haarmann encountered on his "patrols" of the Hanover-Leinhausen station.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: On 26 April 18-year-old Robert Witzel disappeared after borrowing 50 pfennigs from his mother, explaining he intended to visit a travelling circus. Enquiries by the youth's parents revealed their son had accompanied an "official from the railway station" to the circus. Haarmann himself would later state he killed Witzel the same evening and, having dismembered the youth's body, had thrown the remains into the Leine River.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Two weeks after the murder of Witzel, Haarmann killed a 14-year-old named Heinz Martin, who was last seen by his mother on 9 May and who is believed to have been abducted from Hanover station. All his clothing was later found in Haarmann's apartment. Less than three weeks later, on 26 May, a 17-year-old travelling salesman from the town of Kassel named Fritz Wittig, whom Haarmann would later state he killed upon the insistence of Grans as he had worn a "good new suit" Grans coveted, was dismembered and discarded in the Leine River. The same day Wittig is believed to have been killed, Haarmann killed his youngest known victim, 10-year-old Friedrich Abeling, who disappeared while truant from school. His murder would be followed less than two weeks later by that of 16-year-old Friedrich Koch, who was approached by Haarmann on 5 June as he walked to college. Two acquaintances of Koch would later testify at Haarmann's trial that, as they walked with Koch to college, Haarmann approached Koch and tapped the youth on the boot with his walking stick and stated: "Well, boy, don't you recognize me?"


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann killed his final victim, 17-year-old Erich de Vries, on 14 June 1924. De Vries encountered Haarmann at Hanover station. His dismembered body would later be found in a lake located near the entrance to the Herrenhausen Gardens. Haarmann would confess it had taken him four separate trips to carry de Vries's dismembered remains—carried in the leather bag which had belonged to Friedrich Koch—to the location he had disposed of them.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: On 17 May 1924, two children playing near the Leine River discovered a human skull. Determined to be that of a young male aged between 18 and 20 and bearing evidence of knife wounds, police were skeptical as to whether a murder had been committed or whether the skull had either been discarded in this location by grave robbers, or placed there in a tasteless prank by medical students. Furthermore, police theorized the skull may have been discarded in the river at Alfeld, which had recently experienced an outbreak of typhoid. Two weeks later, on 29 May, a second skull was found behind a mill race located close to the scene of the earlier discovery. This skull was also identified as having been that of a young male aged between 18 and 20. Shortly thereafter, two boys playing in a field close to the village of Döhren discovered a sack containing numerous human bones.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Two more skulls would be found on 13 June: one upon the banks of the Leine River; another located close to a mill in west Hanover. Each of the skulls had been removed from the vertebrae with a sharp instrument. One skull belonged to a male in his late-teens, whereas the other belonged to a boy estimated to have been aged between 11 and 13 years old. In addition, one of these skulls also bore evidence of having been scalped.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: For more than a year prior to these discoveries, rumors had circulated in Hanover about the fate of the sheer number of children and teenagers who had been reported missing in the city. The discoveries sparked fresh rumors regarding missing and murdered children. In addition, various newspapers responded to these discoveries and the resulting rumors by harking to the disproportionate number of young people who had been reported missing in Hanover between 1918 and 1924.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: On 8 June, several hundred Hanover residents converged close to the Leine River and searched both the banks of the river and the surrounding areas, discovering a number of human bones, which were handed to the police. In response to these latest discoveries, police decided to drag the entire section of the river which ran through the centre of the city. In doing so, they discovered more than 500 further human bones and sections of bodies, many bearing knife striations, which were later confirmed by a court doctor as having belonged to at least 22 separate human individuals. Approximately half of the remains had been in the river for some time, whereas other bones and body parts had been discarded in the river more recently. Many of the recent and aged discoveries bore evidence of having been dissected—particularly at the joints. Over 30 percent of the remains were judged to have belonged to young males aged between 15 and 20.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Suspicion for the discoveries quickly fell upon Haarmann, who was known to both the police and the criminal investigation department as a homosexual who had amassed fifteen previous convictions dating from 1896 for various offenses including child molestation and the sexual assault and battery of a minor. Moreover, he had been connected to the 1918 disappearances of Friedel Rothe and a 14-year-old named Hermann Koch (who had disappeared weeks prior to Rothe). Haarmann was placed under surveillance. Being a trusted police informant, Haarmann was known to frequent Hanover Central Station. As he was well known to many officers from Hanover, two young policemen were drafted from Berlin to pose as undercover officers and discreetly observe his movements. The surveillance of Haarmann began on 18 June 1924.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: On the night of 22 June, Haarmann was observed by the two undercover officers prowling Hanover's central station. He was soon observed arguing with a 15-year-old boy named Karl Fromm, then to approach police and insist they arrest the youth on the charge of travelling upon forged documents. Upon his arrest, Fromm informed police he had been living with Haarmann for four days, and that he had been repeatedly raped by his accuser, sometimes as a knife was held to his throat. Haarmann was arrested the following morning and charged with sexual assault.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Following his arrest, Haarmann's attic apartment at No. 2 Rote Reihe was searched. Haarmann had lived in this single room apartment since June 1923. The flooring, walls and bedding within the apartment were found to be extensively bloodstained. Haarmann initially attempted to explain this fact as a by-product of his illegal trading in contraband meat. Various acquaintances and former neighbours of Haarmann were also extensively questioned as to his activities. Many fellow tenants and neighbours of the various addresses in which Haarmann lived since 1920 commented to detectives about the number of teenage boys they observed visiting his various addresses. Moreover, some had seen him leaving his property with concealed sacks, bags or baskets—invariably in the late evening or early morning hours. Two former tenants informed police that, in the spring of 1924, they had discreetly followed Haarmann from his apartment and observed him discarding a heavy sack into the Leine River.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The clothes and personal possessions found at Haarmann's apartment and in the possession of his acquaintances were suspected as being the property of missing youths: all were confiscated and put on display at Hanover Police Station, with the parents of missing teenage boys from across Germany invited to look at the items. As successive days passed, an increasing number of items were identified by family members as having belonged to their sons and brothers. Haarmann did initially attempt to dismiss these successive revelations as being circumstantial in nature by explaining he acquired many of these items through his business of trading in used clothing, with other items being left at his apartment by youths with whom he engaged in sexual activity.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The turning point came when, on 29 June, clothes, boots and keys found stowed at Haarmann's apartment were identified as belonging to a missing 18-year-old named Robert Witzel. A skull which had been found in a garden on 20 May (which was not initially connected with later skeletal discoveries) was identified as that of the missing youth. A friend of Witzel identified a police officer seen in the company of the youth the day prior to his disappearance as Haarmann. Confronted with this evidence, Haarmann briefly attempted to bluster his way out of these latest and most damning pieces of evidence. When Witzel's jacket was found in the possession of his landlady and he was confronted with various witnesses' testimony as to his destroying identification marks upon the clothing, he broke down and had to be supported by his sister.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Faced with this latest evidence, and upon the urging of his sister, Haarmann confessed to raping, killing and dismembering many young men in what he initially described as a "rabid sexual passion" between 1918 and 1924. According to Haarmann, he never actually intended to murder any of his victims, but would be seized by an irresistible urge to bite into or through their Adam's apple—often as he manually strangled them—in the throes of ecstasy, before typically collapsing atop the victim's body. Only one intended victim had escaped from Haarmann's apartment after he attempted to bite into his Adam's apple, although this individual is not known to have reported the attack to police.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: All of Haarmann's victims' bodies were disposed of via dismemberment shortly after their murder, and Haarmann was insistent that he found the act of dismemberment extremely unpleasant; he had, he stated, been ill for eight days after his first murder. Nonetheless, Haarmann was insistent that his passion at the moment of murder was invariably "stronger than the horror of the cutting and the chopping" which would inevitably follow, and would typically take up to two days to complete.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: To fortify himself to dismember his victims' bodies, Haarmann would pour himself a cup of strong black coffee, then place the body of his victim upon the floor of this apartment and cover the face with cloth, before first removing the intestines, which he would place inside a bucket. A towel would then be repeatedly placed inside the abdominal cavity to soak the collecting blood. He would then make three cuts between the victim's ribs and shoulders, then "take hold of the ribs and push until the bones around the shoulders broke." The victim's heart, lungs and kidneys would then be removed, diced, and placed in the same bucket which held the intestines before the legs and arms would be severed from the body. Haarmann would then begin paring the flesh from the limbs and torso. This surplus flesh would be disposed of in the toilet or, usually, in the nearby river.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The final section of the victims' bodies to be dismembered was invariably the head. After severing the head from the torso, Haarmann would use a small kitchen knife to strip all flesh from the skull, which he would then wrap in rags and place face downwards upon a pile of straw and bludgeon with an axe until the skull splintered, enabling him to access the brain. This he would also place in a bucket, which he would pour, alongside the "chopped up bones" in the Leine.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann was insistent that none of the skulls found in the Leine belonged to his victims, and that the forensic identification of the skull of Robert Witzel was mistaken, as he had almost invariably smashed his victims' skulls to pieces. The exceptions being those of his earliest victims—killed several years prior to his arrest—and that of his last victim, Erich de Vries. Although insistent that none of his murders were premeditated, investigators discovered much circumstantial evidence suggesting that several murders had been planned hours or days in advance, and that Haarmann had both concocted explanations for his victims' disappearances and dissuaded acquaintances of his victims from filing missing persons' reports with Hanover police. Investigators also noted that Haarmann would only confess to murders for which there existed evidence against him; on one occasion, Haarmann stated: "There are some [victims] you don't know about, but it's not those you think."


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: When asked how many victims he killed, Haarmann claimed, "Somewhere between 50 and 70." The police, however, could only connect Haarmann with the disappearance of 27 youths, and he was charged with 27 murders—some of which he claimed were committed upon the insistence of Hans Grans, who was arrested on 8 July, and formally charged with being an accessory to murder one week later.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: On 16 August 1924, Haarmann underwent a psychological examination at a Göttingen medical school; on 25 September, he was judged competent to stand trial and returned to Hanover to await trial.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The trial of Fritz Haarmann and Hans Grans began on 4 December 1924. Haarmann was charged with the murder of 27 boys and young men who had disappeared between September 1918 and June 1924. In 14 of these cases, Haarmann—who insisted upon conducting his own defense—acknowledged his guilt, although he claimed to be uncertain of the identification of the remaining 13 victims upon the list of charges. Grans pleaded not guilty to charges of being an accessory to murder in several of the murders. Initially, following a thorough security search, all members of the public were permitted access to the courtroom, although by the third day the judge excluded all spectators from the courtroom in the opening days of the trial as each murder was discussed in detail, due to the ongoing carnal and gruesome nature of the revelations.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The trial was one of the first major modern media events in Germany, and received extensive international press coverage, being described as the "most revolting [case] in German criminal history." Varying sensational headlines—in which Haarmann was variously referred to by such titles as the "Butcher of Hanover," the "Vampire of Hanover," and the "Wolf Man"—continuously appeared in the press.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Although Haarmann denied any premeditation in the crimes, and remained adamant the ultimate reason he killed was a "mystery" to him, he readily confessed to having killed 14 of the victims for whose murder he was tried and to retaining and selling many of their possessions, although he denied having sold the body parts of any of his victims as contraband meat. Haarmann's denial that he had either consumed or sold human flesh would be supported by a medical expert, who testified on 6 December that none of the meat found in Haarmann's apartment following his arrest was human.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: When asked to identify photographs of his victims, Haarmann became taciturn and dismissive as he typically claimed to be unable to recognize any of his victims' photographs; however, in instances where he claimed to be unable to recognize his victims' faces but the victims' clothing or other personal belongings had been found in his possession, he would simply shrug and make comments to the effect of, "I probably killed him," or: "Charge it to me; it's alright with me." For example, when asked to identify a photograph of victim Alfred Hogrefe, Haarmann stated: "I certainly assume I killed Hogrefe, but I don't remember his face."


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Numerous exhibits were introduced into evidence in the opening days of the trial, including 285 sections of the skeletal structure—particularly skulls and thigh bones—recovered from the Leine River and forensically determined as belonging to young men under 20 years of age which had been retrieved from the Leine River, the bucket into which he stored and transported human remains, and the extensively bloodstained camp bed upon which he had killed many of the victims at his Rote Reihe address. As had been the case when earlier asked whether he could recognize the photographs of any of his victims, Haarmann's demeanour became dismissive upon the introduction of these exhibits; he denied any of the skulls introduced into evidence belonged to his victims, stating he had almost invariably "mashed" the victims' skulls, and had thrown only one undamaged skull into the river.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Several acquaintances and criminal associates of Haarmann testified for the prosecution, including former neighbours who testified to having purchased brawn or mince from Haarmann, whom they noted regularly left his apartment with packages of meat, but rarely arrived with them. Haarmann's landlady, Elisabeth Engel, testified that Haarmann would regularly pour chopped pieces of meat into boiling water and would strain fat from meat Haarmann claimed was pork. This fat would invariably be poured into bottles. On one occasion in April 1924, Haarmann's landlady and her family became ill after eating sausages in skins Haarmann claimed were sheep's intestines. Another neighbour testified to the alarming number of youths whom he had seen entering Haarmann's Neue Straße apartment, but whom he seldom observed leaving the address. This neighbour assumed Haarmann was selling youths to the Foreign Legion; another neighbour testified to having observed Haarmann throw a sack of bones into the Leine River. Two female acquaintances of Hans Grans also testified how, on one occasion in 1923, they discovered what they believed to be a human mouth boiling in a soup kettle in Haarmann's apartment; these witnesses testified they had taken the item to Hanover police, who simply replied the piece of flesh may be a pig's snout.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: By the second week of the trial testimony was introduced about how much the police knew about Haarmann's criminal activities after his 1918 release from prison. The police apparently never suspected him for any of the cases of missing boys and young men in Hanover in 1923 and 1924, even though some of the victims were last seen in his company, and he had a long criminal record that included charges of sexual assault and battery.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The trial lasted barely two weeks, and a total of 190 witnesses testified. On 19 December 1924, court reconvened to impose sentence upon both defendants. Judged sane and accountable for his actions, Haarmann was found guilty of 24 of the 27 murders and sentenced to death by beheading. He was acquitted of three murders which he denied committing. Upon hearing the sentence, Haarmann stood before the court and proclaimed, "I accept the verdict fully and freely", before adding: "I [shall] go to the decapitating block joyfully and happily." Grans became hysterical upon hearing he had been found guilty of incitement to murder and sentenced to death by beheading in relation to the murder of victim Adolf Hannappel, with an additional sentence of 12 years' imprisonment imposed for being an accessory to murder in the case of victim Fritz Wittig. Upon returning to his cell after hearing the verdict, Grans collapsed.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: In the case of Hannappel, several witnesses testified to having seen Grans, in the company of Haarmann, pointing towards the youth. Haarmann claimed this was one of two murders committed upon the insistence of Grans and for this reason, Grans was sentenced to death. In the case of Wittig, police found a handwritten note from Haarmann, dated the day of Wittig's disappearance and signed by both him and Grans, in which Grans agreed to pay Haarmann 20 gold marks for the youth's suit. As the note indicated Grans' possible knowledge in the disappearance of Wittig, he was convicted of being an accomplice to Haarmann in this murder and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann made no appeal against the verdict; claiming his death would atone for his crimes and stating that, were he at liberty, he would likely kill again. Grans did lodge an appeal against his sentence, although his appeal was rejected on 6 February 1925.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: At 6 o'clock on the morning of 15 April 1925, Fritz Haarmann was beheaded by guillotine in the grounds of Hanover prison. His executioner was Carl Gröpler. In accordance with German tradition, Haarmann was not informed of his execution date until the prior evening. Upon receipt of the news, he observed prayer with his pastor, before being granted his final wishes of an expensive cigar to smoke and Brazilian coffee to drink in his cell.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: No members of the press were permitted to witness the execution, and the event was seen by only a handful of witnesses. According to published reports, although Haarmann was pale and nervous, he maintained a sense of bravado as he walked to the guillotine. The last words Haarmann spoke were: "I am guilty, gentlemen, but, hard though it may be, I want to die as a man." Immediately prior to placing his head upon the execution apparatus, Haarmann added: "I repent, but I do not fear death."


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The true tally of Haarmann's victims will never be known. Following his arrest, Haarmann made several imprecise statements regarding both the actual number of his victims he killed, and when he began killing. Initially, Haarmann claimed to have killed "maybe 30, maybe 40" victims; later, he would claim the true number of victims he had killed was between 50 and 70.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann was acquitted of three murders at his trial: those of Adolf Hennies, Hermann Wolf, and Hermann Bock. In each instance, strong circumstantial evidence existed attesting to his guilt.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: In the case of Hermann Wolf, police established that prior to the youth's disappearance, he had informed his father he had conversed with a detective at Hanover station. Haarmann is known to have given many of Wolf's clothes to his landlady in the days immediately following his 44th birthday (shortly after Wolf was reported missing). Moreover, the youth's distinctive belt buckle was found at Haarmann's Rote Reihe address. Haarmann only chose to deny this murder midway through his trial, following heated threats made against him by the father of the murdered youth.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann was acquitted of the murder of Adolf Hennies due to conflicting testimony regarding the circumstances as to whether he or Grans actually murdered the youth. Although Haarmann admitted at his trial to having dismembered Hennies's body, he claimed to have returned to his apartment and "found a dead body lying there," to which, he claimed, Grans simply replied, "One of yours." Grans would deny this claim, and would state that he had bought Hennies's distinctive coat from Haarmann for eight Marks, after having been warned the coat was stolen. Due to this conflicting testimony, and the lack of an actual witness to the murder, neither Haarmann nor Grans were convicted of Hennies's murder.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: In the case of Hermann Bock, several friends of his testified at Haarmann's trial that, prior to Haarmann's arrest, they were actively dissuaded from filing a missing person report upon the youth with police; these witnesses testified that Haarmann was insistent on filing the report himself (he had never done so). Other witnesses testified to having acquired various personal possessions belonging to the youth from Haarmann. In addition, a tailor testified at Haarmann's trial to having been asked by Haarmann to alter the suit. Haarmann repeatedly contradicted himself regarding his claims as to how he acquired the youth's possessions. It is likely that Haarmann chose to deny this murder due to evidence suggesting the murder had been premeditated, as opposed to being committed in the throes of passion. He had known the youth for several years prior to his murder, and Bock was known to be heterosexual. Due to his denial of having committed this particular murder, Haarmann was acquitted.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: In September 1918, Haarmann is believed to have killed a 14-year-old named Hermann Koch, a youth who disappeared just weeks prior to his first confirmed victim, Friedel Rothe. Haarmann is known to have kept company with Koch. He is also known to have written a letter to Koch's school providing an explanation for the youth's prolonged absence. As had been the case in the disappearance of Friedel Rothe, police had searched Haarmann's Cellerstraße apartment in search of the youth, although no trace of Koch was found and charges against Haarmann in relation to the disappearance were dropped. Koch's father had petitioned in 1921 for Haarmann to be tried for his son's murder however his requests were officially rejected.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann is also strongly suspected of the murder of Hans Keimes, a 17-year-old Hanover youth who was reported missing on 17 March 1922 and whose nude, bound body was found in a canal on 6 May. The cause of death was listed as strangulation, and the body bore no signs of mutilation. A distinctive handkerchief bearing Grans' name was found lodged in Keimes's throat.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Prior to the discovery of Keimes's body, Haarmann is known to have both visited the youth's parents offering to locate their son and to have immediately thereafter informed police that he believed Grans was responsible for Keimes's disappearance. However, Hans Grans is known to have been in custody at the time of the disappearance of Keimes.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Two weeks prior to the disappearance of Keimes, Haarmann had returned to his Neue Straße apartment, having served six months in a labour camp for several acts of theft he committed in August 1921. Upon his return, Haarmann discovered that Grans had stolen much of his personal property and fraudulently obtained and spent his military pension while he had been incarcerated. This resulted in a violent argument between the two men culminating in Haarmann evicting Grans. Shortly thereafter, Grans and a criminal acquaintance named Hugo Wittkowski returned and further ransacked the apartment. It is likely Haarmann committed the murder of Keimes in an attempt to frame Grans in reprisal for the theft of his property and pension.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Haarmann was not tried for the murder of either Koch or Keimes. Officially, both cases remain unsolved.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Following Haarmann's execution, sections of his brain were removed for forensic analysis. An examination of slices of Haarmann's brain revealed traces of meningitis, although no sections of Haarmann's brain were permanently preserved. Nonetheless, Haarmann's head was preserved in formaldehyde and remained in the possession of the Göttingen medical school from 1925 until 2014, when it was cremated.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The remains of Haarmann's victims which had been recovered were buried together in a communal grave in Stöckener Cemetery in February 1925. In April 1928, a large granite memorial in the form of a triptych, inscribed with the names and ages of the victims, was erected over the communal grave.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The discovery of a letter from Haarmann declaring Hans Grans' innocence subsequently led to Grans receiving a second trial. This letter was dated 5 February 1925, and was addressed to the father of Grans. In this letter, Haarmann claimed that although he had been frustrated at having been seen as little more than a "meal ticket" by Grans, Grans "had absolutely no idea that I killed". Furthermore, Haarmann claimed many of his accusations against Grans prior to his trial were obtained under extreme duress, and that he falsely accused Grans of instigating the murders of Hannappel and Witzel as a means of revenge. Haarmann claimed that his pastor would be informed as to the contents and the authenticity of the letter.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: Hans Grans was retried in January 1926. He was charged with aiding and abetting Haarmann in the murders of victims Adolf Hannappel and Fritz Wittig. Although Grans stated in one address to the judge at this second trial that he expected to be acquitted, on 19 January, he was again found guilty of aiding and abetting Haarmann in both cases, although in this instance, he was sentenced to two concurrent 12-year sentences. After serving this 12-year sentence, Grans was extralegally interned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Following the conclusion of the Second World War, he continued to live in Hanover until his death in 1975.


title: Fritz Haarmann

text: The murders committed by Haarmann stirred much discussion in Germany regarding methods used in police investigation, the treatment of mentally ill offenders, and the validity of the death penalty. However, the most heated topic of discussion in relation to the murders committed by Haarmann were issues relating to the subject of homosexuality, which was then illegal and punishable by imprisonment in Germany. The discovery of the murders subsequently stirred a wave of homophobia throughout Germany, with one historian noting: "It split the [gay rights] movement irreparably, fed every prejudice against homosexuality, and provided new fodder for conservative adversaries of legal sex reform."


title: Louis Mandylor

text: Louis Mandylor (born 1966) is an Australian film and television actor. Mandylor played Nick Portokalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002), a role he reprised in the sequel "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" (2016).


title: Louis Mandylor

text: Mandylor was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, the son Greek immigrants. He is the younger brother of fellow actor Costas Mandylor. He and his brother took a shorter version of their mother's last name, citing their paternal last name as being too long.


title: Louis Mandylor

text: He played for Heidelberg United FC (Megas Alexandros) in their 1988 State League championship team. He also played five National League games in 1989 and scored one goal.


title: Louis Mandylor

text: During his football career, he was also boxing in Melbourne, winning 14 fights with 4 losses. He then emigrated to the United States to originally pursue a boxing career and then subsequently an acting career.


title: Louis Mandylor

text: Mandylor played Nick Portokalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002); he reprised the role in its spin-off TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life" (2003) and the movie sequel "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" (2016).


title: Louis Mandylor

text: He made a guest appearance on "Relic Hunter" with Tia Carrere. He played Louis Malone in the first season of "Martial Law" alongside Sammo Hung. Mandylor appeared in the sitcom "Friends", pretending to be Joey's twin in "The One With Unagi". He appeared twice on ""; in the third season (2004) as a robber/killer, and in a different role in the eighth season (2009).


title: Louis Mandylor

text: He and his brother Costas have acted alongside each other in the "Charmed" episode "Saving Private Leo" (2002), the crime thriller "Sinners and Saints" (2010) and "My Brother Cicero" (1998), a short movie which Louis wrote and produced. Louis portrayed Deputy Lloyd in the Syfy thriller film "The Cursed"; he stars alongside his brother Costas. One of his more popular roles was that of Bobby DeLuca in the film "Suckers" (2001), where he plays a good-guy turned car salesman.


title: Rock climbing

text: Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, one that often tests a climber's strength, endurance, agility and balance along with mental control. Knowledge of proper climbing techniques and the use of specialized climbing equipment is crucial for the safe completion of routes.


title: Rock climbing

text: Because of the wide range and variety of rock formations around the world, rock climbing has been separated into several different styles and sub-disciplines, such as scrambling, bouldering, sport climbing, and trad (traditional) climbing another activity involving the scaling of hills and similar formations, differentiated by the rock climber's sustained use of hands to support their body weight as well as to provide balance.


title: Rock climbing

text: Rock climbing competitions have the objectives of either completing the route in the least amount of attempts or attaining the farthest point on an increasingly difficult route. Indoor rock climbing is typically split into three disciplines: bouldering, lead climbing, and top roping.


title: Rock climbing

text: Paintings dating from 200 BC show Chinese men rock climbing. In early America, the cliff-dwelling Anasazi in the 12th century are thought to have been excellent climbers. Early European climbers used rock climbing techniques as a skill required to reach the summit in their mountaineering exploits. In the 1880s, European rock climbing became an independent pursuit outside of mountain climbing.


title: Rock climbing

text: Although rock climbing was an important component of Victorian mountaineering in the Alps, it is generally thought that the sport of rock climbing began in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in various parts of Europe. Rock climbing evolved gradually from an alpine necessity to a distinct athletic activity. From the middle of the 19th century, the founder of the Alpine Club, John Ball, researched and made known the Dolomites. He was followed there by many other climbers such as Paul Grohmann, Edward R. Whitwell, Michael Innerkofler, Angelo Dibona and Tita Piaz with many first ascents.


title: Rock climbing

text: Just before the First World War, there was a so-called "Mauerhakenstreit" (German: the Great Piton Debate of 1911) in Central Europe regarding the use of aids in climbing and mountaineering. Paul Preuss and Hans Dülfer were the main actors in these discussions, which have essentially continued to this day. Preuss propagated a pure climbing style. Angelo Dibona, on the other hand, was an advocate of security and was not fundamentally averse to pitons. When Luis Trenker asked how many pitons he had hit in total in life, Dibona replied: "Fifteen, six of them on the Laliderer north face, three on the Ödstein, two on the Croz dell 'Altissimo, one on the Einser and the rest on other difficult climbs."


title: Rock climbing

text: Aid climbing, climbing using equipment that acts as artificial handhold or footholds, became popular during the period 1920–1960, leading to ascents in the Alps and in Yosemite Valley that were considered impossible without such means. However, climbing techniques, equipment and ethical considerations have evolved steadily. Today, free climbing, climbing using holds made entirely of natural rock while using gear solely for protection and not for upward movement, is the most popular form of the sport. Free climbing has since been divided into several sub-styles of climbing dependent on belay configuration.


title: Rock climbing

text: Over time, grading systems have also been created in order to compare more accurately the relative difficulties of the rock climbs.


title: Rock climbing

text: On August 3, 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally announced that sport climbing would be a medal sport in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The event debut was postponed to 2021, due to COVID-19.


title: Rock climbing

text: In "How to Rock Climb", John Long writes that for moderately skilled climbers simply getting to the top of a route is not enough- how one gets to the top matters. Within free climbing, there are several distinctions given to ascents:


title: Rock climbing

text: Style is mostly up to each individual climber and even among climbers the verbiage and definitions can differ. Climbers can be more dynamic (using greater force) or static (controlled movements) in their climbing style.


title: Rock climbing

text: It is the style that describes your premise for your climbing. When you recognize a style, performance can be judged in relation to it. Since style is "weighted" in the range from "good" to "bad" (from left to right in the list), one can compare ascents of the same route. Good style is to keep the number of input factors (trials, time, equipment) low to leave the result uncertain, and the degree of adventure high. Since style is not the climb itself, you can climb the same route and improve your style over time. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jørgensen created their own style before starting the final push up Dawn Wall; they called it "Team Free", and were their yardstick for success.


title: Rock climbing

text: In sportsmanship, being a "good sport" is the highest honor; be honest, show respect for the opponent and the challenge - and not least take both success and adversity with dignified calm. Go for the ball and not the man.


title: Rock climbing

text: Ethics to consider when establishing new routes is locally rooted. In Elbsandstein, bolts are OK if placed from below, by hand, not by cracks and not too close. At Gritstone, only natural protection applies. On granite in California, bolts are OK to link cracks together, but only placed from below. In the Alps, several styles live in parallel: long and beautiful routes with a style like in California (M Piola and the Remy brothers), but also new routes with bolts close to cracks and old routes being retrobolted. The number of bolted routes has become so large that the UIAA is worried that the opportunity for naturally protected climbing will diminish. The UIAA uses both style and ethics in its argument, but the goal is to protect some areas that may be the arena for what they call "adventure climbing".


title: Rock climbing

text: Most of the climbing done in modern times is considered free climbing—climbing using one's own physical strength, with equipment used solely as protection and not as support—as opposed to aid climbing, the gear-dependent form of climbing that was dominant in the sport's earlier days. Free climbing is typically divided into several styles that differ from one another depending on the choice of equipment used and the configurations of their belay, rope and anchor systems.


title: Rock climbing

text: As routes get higher off the ground, the increased risk of life-threatening injuries necessitates additional safety measures. A variety of specialized climbing techniques and climbing equipment exists to provide that safety. Climbers will usually work in pairs and utilize a system of ropes and anchors designed to catch falls. Ropes and anchors can be configured in different ways to suit many styles of climbing, and roped climbing are thus divided into further sub-types that vary based on how their belay systems are set up. Generally speaking, beginners will start with top roping and/or easy bouldering and work their way up to lead climbing and beyond.


title: Rock climbing

text: Due to the length of time and extended endurance required, and because accidents are most likely to happen on the descent, rock climbers do not usually climb back down the route, or "downclimb," especially on the larger multiple pitch class III–IV, or multi-day grade IV–VI climbs.


title: Rock climbing

text: Still the most popular method of climbing big walls, aid climbers make progress up a wall by repeatedly placing and weighting gear that is used directly to aid ascent and enhance safety. This form of climbing is typically used when ascent is too technically difficult or impossible for free climbing.


title: Rock climbing

text: The most commonly used method to ascend climbs refers to climbs where the climber's own physical strength and skill are relied upon to accomplish the climb. Free climbing may rely on top rope belay systems, or on lead climbing to establish protection and the belay stations. Anchors, ropes and protection are used to back up the climber and are passive as opposed to active ascending aids. Sub-types of free climbing are trad climbing and sport climbing. Free climbing is generally done as "clean lead" meaning no pitons or pins are used as protection.


title: Rock climbing

text: Climbing on short, low routes without the use of the safety rope that is typical of most other styles. Protection, if used at all, typically consists of a cushioned bouldering pad below the route and a spotter, a person who watches from below and directs the fall of the climber away from hazardous areas. Bouldering may be an arena for intense and relatively safe competition, resulting in exceptionally high difficulty standards.


title: Rock climbing

text: Solo climbing, or soloing, is a style of climbing in which the climber climbs alone, without the assistance of a belay.


title: Rock climbing

text: Deep-water soloing (or psicobloc) is similar to free soloing in that the climber is unprotected and without a rope, but should the climber fall, it is into deep water instead of onto the ground.


title: Rock climbing

text: Free soloing, referred to as "soloing" in the UK, is single-person climbing without the use of any rope or protection system. If a fall occurs and the climber is not over water (as in the case of deep water soloing), the climber is likely to be killed or seriously injured. Though technically similar to bouldering, free solo climbing typically refers to routes that are far taller and/or far more lethal than bouldering. The term "highball" is used to refer to climbing on the boundary between free soloing and bouldering, where what is usually climbed as a boulder problem may be high enough for a fall to cause serious injury (20 ft. and higher) and hence could also be considered to be a free solo.


title: Rock climbing

text: Solo climbing with a rope secured at the beginning of the climb allowing a climber to self-belay as they advance. Once the pitch is completed the soloist must descend the rope to retrieve their gear, and then reclimb the pitch. This form of climbing can be conducted free or as a form of aid climbing.


title: Rock climbing

text: Lead climbing is a climbing technique where the lead climber ascends with the rope passing through intermittent anchors that are below them, rather than through a top anchor, as in top-rope climb. A partner belays from below the lead climber, by feeding out enough rope to allow upward progression without undue slack. As the leader progresses they use a runner and carabiners to clip the rope into intermediate points of protection such as active cams, or passive protection such as nuts; this limits the length of a potential fall. The leader also may clip into pre-placed bolts. Indoor gyms might have short runners pre-attached to fixed anchor points in the wall.


title: Rock climbing

text: Unlike top-rope climbing, where the climber is always supported by an anchor located above the climber, lead climbing often involves scenarios where the climber will be attached to a point under him or her. In these cases, if the climber were to fall, the distance fallen would be much greater than that of top-rope and this is one of the main reasons lead climbing can be dangerous. The fall factor is the ratio of the height a climber falls and the length of rope available to absorb the fall. The higher the fall factor, the more force placed on the climber as the ropes decelerate them. The maximum fall factor is 2. It is often advised that climbers who are interested in lead climbing should learn from experienced climbers and participate in training sessions before lead climbing on their own.


title: Rock climbing

text: The climbing rope is of a fixed length; the climber can only climb the length of the rope. Routes longer than the rope length are broken up into several segments called pitches; this is known as multi-pitch climbing. At the top of a pitch, the first climber to ascend (also known as the leader), sets up an anchor and then belays the second climber (also known as the follower) up to the anchor; as the second climber follows the route taken by the leader, the second climber removes ("cleans") the carabiners and anchors placed along the way in order to use them again on the next pitch. While "cleaning" the route, the follower attaches the carabiners and anchors to his or her harness belt loops. Once both climbers are at the top anchor, the leader begins climbing the next pitch, and so on, until the top of the route is reached.


title: Rock climbing

text: In either case, upon completion of a route, climbers can walk back down if an alternate descent path exists, or rappel (abseil) down with the rope.


title: Rock climbing

text: The act of climbing single- or multi-pitch routes, protected by permanently-fixed bolts and anchors drilled into the rock, using a rope and the aid of a belayer.


title: Rock climbing

text: Unlike traditional rock climbing, sport climbing involves the use of protection (bolts) placed with power drills or on rappel or permanent anchors which are attached to the rock walls. This is separate from bolted trad climbing.


title: Rock climbing

text: Traditional or "trad" climbing involves rock climbing routes in which protection against falls is placed by the climber while ascending. In the unusual event bolts are used, these are placed on lead (usually with a manual drill). More commonly removable gear called cams, hexes, and nuts are placed in constrictions or cracks in the rock to protect against falls (in place of bolts) but not to aid the ascent directly. Due to the difficulty of placing bolts on lead, bolts tend to be placed farther apart than on many sport climbs. Once bolted on lead, if repeat ascensions can repeat the route using only the previously placed bolts for protection, the route would then be considered a sport climb, and repeat ascents would be considered to be done in the sport climbing rather than trad climbing style. Routes which are protected by a mixture of preplaced bolts and traditional climbing protection (cams/nuts/hexes) are commonly referred to as "mixed" routes, as in a mix of trad and sport climbing. Historically, pitons (a kind of deformable nail) were placed in constrictions in the rock instead of hexes, nuts and cams. These are difficult to remove and often destructive, resulting in a number of unremovable "fixed" pitons on many older traditionally protected routes. These are frequently used in a similar fashion to bolts, although they are not as trustworthy and by convention are not considered when evaluating if a route is a trad climb, sport climb or mixed climb the way bolts might be.


title: Rock climbing

text: Commonly known as "top roping", top rope climbing is climbing in which a climber is belayed from the ground or the base of the route. A belay system resembling a pulley in which an anchor has been created at the top of a climb, through which the rope runs through from the belayer on the ground, to the climber on the ground "(position before starting the climb)". The rope is "taken-in," to clear up the slack as the climber moves upwards, so in the event of a fall, the climber falls the shortest distance possible. The length of a fall is normally no more than a meter, but can vary depending on the length of the route (the longer the rope, the more stretch the rope will undergo when weighted) and the weight of the climber compared to that of the belayer, among other things.


title: Rock climbing

text: Belaying a climber from the top of a route, bringing them up to walk off or continue on to next pitch. A similarly safe system of climbing a route as top-roping, except the belayer has set the anchors at the top of the climb (normally after leading a route, in which case the climber is "seconding") to belay the climber either indirectly (belayer is part of the system and can be vulnerable when exposed to unexpected directions of pull and loading of the rope) or directly (belayer is not part of the system and belaying is done directly from the anchors using either an Italian / Munter Hitch or adapted use of a belay device), up the route from the top. If bolts have been clipped or traditional gear placements have been made, it is the job of the climber to collect and clean the route.


title: Rock climbing

text: A method of fairly easily ascending a route, heavily dependent on permanent protection rather than using natural rock features to proceed.


title: Rock climbing

text: In crack climbing, the climber ascends a rock crack using specific techniques such as jamming, stemming, and laying back. Cracks can vary in size from smaller than the width of a finger to larger than human body size. Climbers may protect their hands from sharp-edged rock with tape.


title: Rock climbing

text: Face climbing is a type of climbing where climbers use features and irregularities in the rock such as finger pockets and edges to ascend a vertical rock face.


title: Rock climbing

text: Slab climbing, also known as friction climbing, is classified by the slope of the rock. A slope for slab climbing is less than ninety degrees, and prioritizes footwork. It is also known as friction climbing, and although this might sound easy, slab is considered one of the more challenging types of climbing. Popular techniques for slab are smearing, maintaining a center of gravity, and high steps. Two of the most renowned locations for slab climbing are Joshua Tree and Yosemite, but the Looking Glass mountain and Moab are also great options. The hardest slab route ever climbed is Cryptography located in Saint Loup, Switzerland, and ascended by Alessandro Zeni.


title: Rock climbing

text: Short for "simultaneous", simul climbing is when two climbers move at the same time. The pseudo-lead climber places gear that the pseudo-follower collects. When the leader runs low on gear they construct a belay station where the follower can join them to exchange gear. The stronger climber is often the pseudo-follower since a fall by the follower would pull the leader from below towards the last piece of gear—a potentially devastating fall for the leader. In contrast, a fall from the leader would pull the follower from above, resulting in a less serious fall. Most speed ascents involve some form of simul climbing but may also include sections of standard free climbing and the use of placed gear for advancement (i.e. partial aid or pulling on gear).


title: Rock climbing

text: Climbing communities in many countries and regions have developed their own rating systems for routes. Ratings, or grades, record and communicate consensus appraisals of difficulty. Systems of ratings are inherently subjective in nature, and variation of difficulty can be seen between two climbs of the same grade. Hence, there may be occasional disagreements arising from physiological or stylistic differences among climbers. The practice of rating a climb below its actual difficulty is known as sandbagging.


title: Rock climbing

text: The most commonly used rating systems in the United States are the Yosemite Decimal System and the Hueco V-scale bouldering grade. The current ranges for climbing routes are 5.0 for easy beginner routes to 5.15 being world class and V0–V16, respectively. As the limit of human climbing ability has not yet been reached, neither grading system has a definite endpoint and they are thus subject to revision.


title: Rock climbing

text: The ratings take into account multiple factors affecting a route, such as the slope of the ascent, the quantity and quality of available handholds, the distance between holds, ease of placing protection and whether advanced technical maneuvers are required. Typically the rating for the hardest move on the wall will be the rating for the whole climb. While the height of a route is generally not considered a factor, a long series of sustained hard moves will often merit a higher grade than a single move of the same technical difficulty. For example, a climb with multiple 5.11 moves with no rests may thus be rated a 5.12.


title: Rock climbing

text: As climbing routes or problems increase in difficulty, climbers learn to develop skills that help them complete the climbs clean. There are several techniques for hands and feet as well as terms for motions that combine the two. For indoor gyms, route setters visualize and create routes for climbers, placing different kinds of holds in specific parts of the wall at particular angles because they intend climbers to use certain techniques.


title: Rock climbing

text: Pockets: A hold that has a hole in it with just enough room for one or two fingers to fit inside of it.


title: Rock climbing

text: Horn: A protruding hold that is typically smooth like a sloper. These are held by wrapping your arm, or entire palm around the hold. The more surface area you have on this hold the better.


title: Rock climbing

text: Pinch: A pinch can either be used vertically or horizontally. With a pinch hold, the muscles between the index finger and thumb are used.


title: Rock climbing

text: Volume: Volumes are wood or fiberglass structures that are supported by the climbing wall. They are generally giant, prism-like features that are introduced to change the dynamics of the wall. In Europe large climbing holds can be considered volumes, while in the US, the actual surface volume of the wall is changed by a volume.


title: Rock climbing

text: Indoor climbing occurs in buildings on artificial rock structures. This permits for climbing in all types of weather and at all times of the day. Climbers climb indoors to improve their skills and techniques, as well as for general exercise or fun. Indoor climbing gyms typically provide rope setups and ensure that new climbers know safe techniques.


title: Rock climbing

text: While indoor climbing is meant to be graded the same as outdoor climbing, it can sometimes be inaccurate. For example, a small gym might rate a route as a 5.10d, whereas a larger gym might have chosen to grade the route a 5.10a. Nonetheless, indoor gyms are a convenient and climate-controlled space to train for the outdoor world.


title: Rock climbing

text: Outdoors, climbs usually take place on sunny days when the holds are dry and provide the best grip, but climbers can also attempt to climb at night or in adverse weather conditions if they have the proper training and equipment. However, night climbing or climbing in adverse weather conditions will increase the difficulty and danger on any climbing route.


title: Rock climbing

text: Most climbers choose to wear specialized rubber climbing shoes which are often of a smaller size than their normal street shoes in order to improve sensitivity towards foot placements and use the tightness to their advantage. Climbing chalk (MgCO) is commonly used as a drying agent to minimize sweating of the hands. Most other equipment is of a protective nature. Rock climbing is inherently dangerous, so to minimize the potential consequences resulting from a fall, climbers use protection. The most basic protective equipment is a climbing rope. Climbing pioneers would attach the rope to themselves; in the event of a fall, the rope would usually cause injury to the climber in the hope that it prevented death. With advances in technology came the development of specialized harnesses, carabiners which are used for clipping into belay and rappel anchors and connecting gear, and belay devices which are used to catch a falling climber, hold or lower a climber and for rappelling. Eventually, the placement of bolts with the use of quickdraws led to the rise of sport climbing. Traditional climbers developed the spring-loaded camming device, which allowed a wider variety of climbing styles to be adequately protected compared to chocks and hexes. Traditionally pitons were used however in most areas protection which damages the rock is discouraged. Most climbers choose to wear a specialized climbing helmet to protect them from falling rocks or equipment or head injuries from crashing into rocks.


title: Rock climbing

text: Injuries in rock climbing are mainly sports injuries that occur due to falls or overuse. Injuries due to falls are relatively uncommon; the vast majority of injuries result from overuse, most often occurring in the fingers, elbows, and shoulders. Such injuries are often no worse than torn calluses, cuts, burns and bruises. There are a number of skincare products specifically for climbers available in the market. However, overuse symptoms, if ignored, may lead to permanent damage especially to tendons, tendon sheaths, ligaments, and capsules. Taping of fingers and elbows to prevent injuries is common practice and there are various techniques for taping.


title: Rock climbing

text: Illustrated photo-topos are widely used in rock climbing. Many of them are found in climbing and mountaineering guidebooks such as those published by Rockfax, or the British Mountaineering Council. Full-colour photo-topo diagrams have replaced the previous generation of text based guidebooks, which were illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams. The use of drones has helped improve the quality of images of many of the cliffs.


title: Rock climbing

text: Some areas that are popular for climbing, for example in the United States and Australia, are also sacred places for indigenous peoples. Many such indigenous people would prefer that climbers not climb these sacred places and have made this information well known to climbers. A well-known example is the rock formation that Americans have named Devils Tower National Monument. Native American cultural concerns also led to complete climbing closures at Cave Rock at Lake Tahoe, Monument Valley, Shiprock and Canyon de Chelly.


title: Rock climbing

text: Climbing activities can sometimes encroach on rock art sites created by various Native American cultures and early European explorers and settlers. The potential threat to these resources has led to climbing restrictions and closures in places like Hueco Tanks, Texas, and portions of City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho.


title: Rock climbing

text: In Australia, the monolith Uluru (Ayers Rock) is sacred to local indigenous communities and climbing is banned on anything but the established ascent route (and even then climbing is discouraged, and soon to be discontinued). Elsewhere in Australia, many formerly popular climbing routes in areas such as the Grampians and Arapiles have been closed due to indigenous cultural concerns.


title: Rock climbing

text: Indigenous peoples are not the only cultures that object to climbing on certain rock formations. Professional climber Dean Potter kicked off a major controversy when he ignored long-accepted convention to scale Delicate Arch in 2006, resulting in strict new climbing regulation in Arches National Park.


title: Rock climbing

text: Many significant rock outcrops exist on private land. Some people within the rock climbing community have been guilty of trespassing in many cases, often after land ownership transfers and previous access permission is withdrawn. In the U.S. the climbing community responded to access closures by forming the Access Fund. This is an "advocacy organization that keeps U.S. climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment. Five core programs support the mission on national and local levels: public policy, stewardship and conservation (including grants), grassroots activism, climber education and land acquisition." In the U.K. the British Mountaineering Council represents climbers and their interest of public access to crags, cliffs and boulders. In Europe there are different rules in different countries regarding the rights of landowners and climbers.


title: Rock climbing

text: Although many climbers adhere to "minimal impact" and "leave no trace" practices, rock climbing is sometimes damaging to the environment. Common environmental damages include: soil erosion, breaking rock features, chalk accumulation, litter, abandoned bolts and ropes, human excrement, introduction of foreign plants through seeds on shoes and clothing, as well as damage to native plant species (especially those growing in cracks and on ledges as these are often intentionally removed during new route development through a process commonly referred to as "cleaning)".


title: Rock climbing

text: Clean climbing is a style of rock climbing which seeks to minimize some of the aesthetically damaging side effects of some techniques used in trad climbing and more often, aid climbing by avoiding using equipment such as pitons, which damage rock.


title: Rock climbing

text: Climbing can also interfere with raptor nesting since the two activities often take place on the same precipitous cliffs. Many climbing area land managers institute nesting season closures of cliffs known to be used by protected birds of prey like eagles, falcons and osprey.


title: Rock climbing

text: Many non-climbers also object to the appearance of climbing chalk marks, anchors, bolts and slings on visible cliffs. Since these features are small, visual impacts can be mitigated through the selection of neutral, rock-matching colors for bolt hangers, webbing and chalk. The use of certain types of climbing gear is banned altogether at some crags due to the risk of damage to the rock face. In such cases, climbers use knotted slings and ropes for climbing protection.


title: Rock climbing

text: Blowtorching is another climbing-induced impact that affects the rocks themselves. Blowtorching is when a climber uses a blowtorch to dry holds on a wet route. This mainly happens in areas that tend to have wet climbing conditions. Blowtorching is not only detrimental to the rock itself and can have permanent damage but it also leaves a very large burn mark that most non-climbers would object to the appearance of.


title: Rock climbing

text: The most significant form of vandalism directly attributable to rock climbers is the alteration of the climbing surface to render it more climber-friendly.


title: Rock climbing

text: With the advent of hard, bolted sport climbing in the 1980s, many routes were "chipped" and "glued" to provide additional features, allowing them to be climbed at the standard of the day. This attitude quickly changed as the safer sport climbing technique allowed climbers to push hard without much risk, causing the formerly more-or-less fixed grades to steadily rise. Altering routes began to be seen as limiting and pointless.


title: Rock climbing

text: Unlike traditional climbing which generally uses protection only as a backup in case of falls, some forms of climbing—like sport climbing, canyoneering or, especially, aid climbing—rely heavily on artificial protection to advance, either by frequent falls or by directly pulling on the gear. Often these types of climbing involve multiple drilled holes in which to place temporary bolts and rivets, but in recent years an emphasis on clean techniques has grown.


title: Rock climbing

text: Today, the charge of vandalism in climbing is more often a disagreement about the appropriateness of drilling and placing permanent bolts and other anchors. Although new fixed anchors are rarely placed by climbers, their dependency on the existing fixed anchors results in the difference between life and death. But the existing anchors remain on the climbing structure for long periods of time, changing the dynamic of the structure itself. Due to the permanent impact of the fixed anchors in wilderness areas, it was prohibited by the Wilderness Act. However, in 1990, there was a movement by the Forest Service and the Task Group to change the regulations such that fixed anchors would be allowed but still regulated in wilderness areas. These improvements led to protection for both the climbers and the Wilderness Act. Typically in the USA, the first ascensionists decide where to place protection on a new route and later climbers are supposed to live with these choices. This can cause friction and retro-bolting when the route is perceived to be dangerous to climbers who actually lead at the grade of the climb, since the first ascensionists often lead at a higher grade and therefore do not require as much protection. Failing to properly design a new route at its grade is considered arrogant and very poor form. Even in strongholds of rock-climbing tradition like Yosemite National Park, many routes are being gradually upgraded to safer standards of protection.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: General Computer originally made the game as a modification kit for the original "Pac-Man", titled "Crazy Otto". However, due to previous legal action with Atari, GCC was forced to present the project to Midway, the North American distributor of "Pac-Man". Midway purchased the project and enlisted GCC to use the game as a basis for the sequel to Pac-Man. Multiple names were considered for the game, including "Miss Pac-Man" and "Mrs. Pac-Man", before the final name was chosen for being easier to pronounce. While development had originally started without Namco's consent, company president Masaya Nakamura was brought in and provided feedback on the player character's design. The company ultimately collected the same royalties on each cabinet as they had with "Pac-Man".


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: "Ms. Pac-Man" was acclaimed by critics for its improvements to the original gameplay and for having a female protagonist; some have described it as superior to "Pac-Man". It has been listed among the greatest video games of all time and as one of the most successful American arcade games ever made. The game's success inspired a variety of successful merchandise, several ports for numerous home consoles and handheld systems, a television cartoon that included Pac-Man, and numerous video game sequels and remakes that spawned a "Ms. Pac-Man" video game spin-off series. The rights to the game are owned by Namco's successor company, Bandai Namco Entertainment.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: The gameplay is very similar to that of "Pac-Man". The player earns points by eating pellets and avoiding ghosts (contact with one causes Ms. Pac-Man to lose a life). Eating an energizer (or "power pellet") causes the ghosts to turn blue, allowing them to be eaten for extra points. Bonus fruits can be eaten for increasing point values, twice per round. As the rounds increase, the speed increases, and energizers generally lessen the duration of the ghosts' vulnerability, eventually stopping altogether.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: "Ms. Pac-Man" was originally conceived as an enhancement kit for "Pac-Man" called "Crazy Otto", created by programmers employed at the General Computer Corporation (GCC). While "Crazy Otto" was under development, GCC settled a lawsuit with Atari over their "Missile Command" conversion kit "Super Missile Attack". Part of the settlement terms barred GCC from selling future conversion kits without consent from the original game manufacturer.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Rather than scrapping "Crazy Otto" entirely, the programmers chose to present the completed game to Midway, Namco's American distributor of "Pac-Man". Midway was enthusiastic that such a game had come to their attention, as they were hoping to capitalize on the success of Pac-Man with a sequel. They bought the rights to "Crazy Otto" and worked with GCC and Namco to prepare the game for release. In final development, the game's name and characters experienced multiple changes. Sprites, text, and minor game elements were altered to better reflect the Pac-Man series.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: The game was initially titled "Super Pac-Man", containing Pac-Man as the lead character. Inspired by the cutscenes of "Crazy Otto" featuring Crazy Otto's female counterpart, the lead character was made female and the game was renamed "Pac-Woman". That name was dropped in favor of "Miss Pac-Man", but the developers then realized that, given the third intermission showing a stork delivering a baby to Pac-Man and the player's character, confusion could arise about their relationship. In light of this, the name was changed to "Mrs. Pac-Man", and then finally to "Ms. Pac-Man", which rolled off the tongue more easily. Programmer Steve Golson said "in the span of just two weeks, it went from Crazy Otto to Super Pac-Man to Miss Pac-Man." These later changes ("Miss", "Mrs.", and "Ms.") all occurred within 72 hours of actual production.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Shortly before release, Stan Jarocki of Midway stated that "Ms. Pac-Man" was conceived in part as a response to the original "Pac-Man" being "the first commercial videogame to involve large numbers of women as players," and that it was "our way of thanking all those lady arcaders who have played and enjoyed "Pac-Man"." According to one 1982 estimate, a majority of "Pac-Man" players were women. This is corroborated by marketing chief Michael Leone of the Castle Park Entertainment Center, who noted that his company "noticed a recent trend in our game pavilions that indicates a tremendous female acceptance of the Pac-Man game," further noting that it "was only natural for Midway...to introduce a Ms. Pac-Man."


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: GCC co-founder Doug Macrae noted that Masaya Nakamura, Namco's president at the time, gave him direct feedback on the Ms. Pac-Man character. In an interview, Macrae said, "We sent out ROMs to Midway, and they sent them over to Japan for the President of Namco, Masaya Nakamura, to look at. He said, 'Love the concept, get rid of the hair.'" He added, "There was a little bit of embarrassment [at Namco] of the fact that the sequel was being done somewhere other than in their own laboratories. ...The arrangement that Namco had with Midway was that Namco would still get their royalty on Ms. Pac-Man...and Midway could choose to do whatever they wanted in paying us a royalty in addition to Namco."


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man, is not known to have publicly commented on Ms. Pac-Man, despite questions from reporters.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: The GCC group agreed on October 29, 1981, to give the rights to "Ms. Pac-Man" to Midway in exchange for royalty payments for the game's sale. At the time, Midway held the license from Namco for distribution of "Pac-Man" games, advertising, and merchandise in North America. After the game became wildly successful, Midway and GCC undertook a legal battle concerning merchandise royalties before ultimately reaching a settlement in 1983. This settlement stated that GCC members would be paid royalties by Midway for usage of Ms. Pac-Man in commercial contexts.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Namco (now Bandai Namco) made an additional agreement with the GCC stakeholders in 2008. While Bandai Namco does control the Ms. Pac-Man copyright and intellectual property, some royalty rights and obligations are unresolved.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: In August 2019, AtGames, a company that specializes in microconsoles featuring older arcade games, acquired the royalties owed to GCC. AtGames had initially approached the GCC group members about licensing "Ms. Pac-Man" for potential products. Bandai Namco, on learning that AtGames had been seeking these rights for a possible mini-arcade game, filed a lawsuit against AtGames alleging that AtGames misrepresented itself as licensed to make Ms. Pac-Man products, and created Ms. Pac-Man mini-cabinets under those claims. It also alleged false advertising, unfair competition, and copyright infringement.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: The case was ultimately dismissed with prejudice on October 27, 2020, following a request by Bandai Namco. Presiding Judge Vince Chhabria stated that "all involved parties [had] resolved the case of their own accord." The details of the settlement were kept confidential, and the current status of the Ms. Pac-Man royalties is undisclosed.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Beginning with the "Arcade Archives" release of "Pac-Land" in 2022, the Ms. Pac-Man character has been removed from games which previously featured her. In her place is a new character known as Pac-Mom, who also replaces her in the "Pac-Man Museum +" versions of "Pac-Land", "Pac-In-Time" and "Pac-Attack", and in "Pac-Man World Re-Pac", a remake of "Pac-Man World". Bandai Namco has not given an official reason for the change, but news outlets have assumed that it was done to avoid legal problems with AtGames.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Reporter Patrick Goldstein of the "Los Angeles Times" reported that the game made its public debut on February 3, 1982 "in typical showbusiness style at a press conference at the Castle Park Entertainment Center in Sherman Oaks." He noted that "[t]he game is expected to appear in many video arcades during the next few weeks."


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Atari, Inc. released versions for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, and Atari 8-bit family. There were also versions for the VIC-20, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, IBM PC, Apple II, and TI-99/4A released under the Atarisoft label. Unlike "Pac-Man", most home versions of "Ms. Pac-Man" include all three intermission screens from the arcade game. The Atari 2600 rendition of "Pac-Man" was infamous for its flashing ghosts, while the 2600 port of "Ms. Pac-Man" had minimal flicker.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: A tabletop version of "Ms. Pac-Man" was released in 1983 by Coleco. The unit was shaped like a miniature arcade cabinet, was controlled with a small built-in joystick, and used a multicolor vacuum fluorescent display. It was a runner-up for Stand-Alone Game of the Year at the 1983 Arcade Awards held in January 1984. In 1991, Atari Corporation released a version for the Lynx, introducing new mazes, a fourth intermission, and a power-up that gives the player a temporary speed boost.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Tengen released an unlicensed port of the game in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In 1993, Namco released their original port of "Ms. Pac-Man" in North America themselves, eight years after its original release in Japan. The Genesis, Master System, and NES versions, by Tengen, and the Super NES version, by Williams Electronics, took a few liberties. They featured four different sets of mazes: the original arcade mazes, bigger mazes, smaller mazes, and "strange" mazes. There was also a Pac-Booster option that let players make Ms. Pac-Man move much faster which was only available in the original arcade game from a maintenance menu. These versions also allowed two people to play simultaneously, with player 2 as Pac-Man. The game ends at level 32, with an intermission where Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man say good-bye. It was released for the Game Boy Color with two new mazes and a bonus game ("Super Pac-Man").


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: In 2001, Namco released an arcade board with both "Ms. Pac-Man" and "Galaga" in honor of the 20th anniversary of both games with the subtitle "20 Year Reunion / Class of 1981". It also features "Pac-Man" as a hidden bonus game. The later 25th Anniversary Edition allows all three games to be selected at the main menu. "Ms. Pac-Man" is included in the CD-i "Arcade Classics" collection (released in Europe, but not in North America). It has all of the extra features of Tengen's ports, even though neither Tengen nor Williams Electronics made this version. It is included in Namco's, Microsoft's and Atari's late 1990s series of classic game anthologies, and is an unlockable minigame in the SNES version of "" and in "Pac-Man World 2". A standalone, battery-powered version of the game released by Jakks Pacific can be plugged directly into a television. "Ms. Pac-Man" and four other games ("Galaga", "Mappy", "Xevious" and "Pole Position") are included in a self-contained joystick hand controller. "Ms. Pac-Man" was also a free game bundled with every Xbox Live Arcade disc for the original Xbox. The Xbox 360 XBLA version was released on January 9, 2007, featuring an online leaderboard and twelve achievements. "Ms. Pac-Man" was later released on "Namco Museum Volume 3"; however, there is no mention of it in Namco's official archives (including the archives on all "Namco Museum" releases).


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: On July 11, 2008, "Ms. Pac-Man" was released for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad through the App Store. The ports were delisted from the App Store in July 2022. The game was also released in July for Windows Mobile. As part of Pac-Man's 30th anniversary, "Ms. Pac-Man" is one of the games included on the home version of "Pac-Man's Arcade Party" arcade machine. "Pac-Man's Arcade Party" was succeeded eight years later by "Pac-Man's Pixel Bash", which added 19 games to the existing roster, but Ms. Pac-Man was only available if the machine was set to Free Play. It was included as downloadable content in "Pac-Man Museum" for PlayStation 3, Windows and Xbox 360. In June 2020, Tastemakers' Arcade1Up decided to announce that "Ms. Pac-Man" would finally be added to their lineup of 3/4 scale arcade cabinets. The unit will also contain a few other Bandai Namco arcade games, including "Galaxian", "Pac-Mania", and "Pac-Man Plus".


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: In the United States, "Ms. Pac-Man" topped the monthly "RePlay" upright arcade cabinet charts for much of 1982, including most months between April and December. "Pac-Man" and "Ms. Pac-Man" also topped the US "RePlay" cocktail arcade cabinet charts for 23 months, from February 1982 through 1983 up until February 1984. It was listed as the highest-grossing arcade game of 1982 by "Cash Box" and the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA), whereas "RePlay" magazine listed "Donkey Kong" as the year's highest-grossing title. "Cash Box" later listed "Ms. Pac-Man" as one of the top two highest-grossing arcade games of 1983, along with "Pole Position". It was later listed by AMOA as one of the top five highest-grossing arcade video games of 1984.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: "Ms. Pac-Man" sold 125,000 arcade units by 1988, grossed by 1987, and has grossed ( adjusted for inflation) . "InfoWorld" stated that Atarisoft's "Ms. Pac-Man" for the Commodore 64 was as good as the best-selling Atari 8-bit version. The Genesis version of the game sold more than one million copies in the United States.


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: The arcade game was awarded a Certificate of Merit as runner-up for Coin-Op Game of the Year at the 1982 Arcade Awards held in January 1983. In January 1984, the Atari 2600 port of "Ms. Pac-Man" won the Videogame of the Year award at the 1983 Arcade Awards, tied with "Lady Bug".


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: "Computer Games" magazine called the Commodore 64 version a "Spectacular" and "Incredible" conversion, while stating that the Atari 5200 and IBM PC versions suffered from limitations but were nevertheless "enjoyable" ports. They later gave a "Classic" rating for other home computer versions, calling "Ms. Pac-Man" the "greatest" maze game. Reviewing the Super NES version, three of "Electronic Gaming Monthly"s four reviewers said the gameplay is timeless and universally appealing, and the enhancements appealing. The fourth, Sushi-X, felt the original game was a cheap cash-in on the popularity of "Pac-Man", and had not aged well. Doctor Devon of "GamePro" liked the original game but questioned the value of the Super NES port since it has somewhat frustrating controls, and since "Ms. Pac-Man" had already appeared on the Super NES in the form of an unlockable in "".


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: In "STart", Clayton Walnum praised the Lynx version's new mazes and the added twist of the lightning power-ups, and found the game transferred well to the small screen. Julian Rignall reviewed the Atari Lynx port for CVG Magazine writing that "it offers a fun and non-violent challenge which will appeal to anyone" giving a final score of 79 out of 100. Les Ellis reviewed the game for Raze Magazine in February 1991, stating that he liked the "neat little between-level scenes" and the "jolly title tune", and giving the game a final score of 79%. Robert A. Jung of IGN gave the Lynx version a final score of 8 out of 10, writing in his review, "A decent adaptation overall, and a good game in its own right."


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: Reviewing the Game Gear version, "GamePro" commented "If you loved the Pac-Man games, then you loved Ms. Pac-Man, and if you loved Ms. Pac-Man at the arcades, you'll love her here, too."


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: In 1996 "Electronic Gaming Monthly" reported that the Genesis version of "Ms. Pac-Man", which was released in 1991, was still among the top 20 best-selling Genesis games. The same year, "Next Generation" ranked the arcade version as number 12 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", saying that it has aged far better than the original "Pac-Man" due to its smarter monster AI, varied mazes, moving fruits, and intermissions. They added, "It has the broadest appeal of any game "Next Generation" has seen, with the possible exception of "Tetris". Women love it. Men Love it. Children love it." In 1997 "Electronic Gaming Monthly" listed the Genesis and Super NES versions as number 89 on their "100 Best Games of All Time", stating that the "Two-player simultaneous play and new mazes completely revive this classic." In 1999, "Next Generation" listed "Ms. Pac-Man" as number 41 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "It sounds easier than it is, and it makes the game one we consistently go back to, week after week."


title: Ms. Pac-Man

text: In 2009, "Game Informer" put "Ms. Pac-Man" 10th on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", saying that it "trumped [the original "Pac-Man"] in nearly every way". This is down one rank from "Game Informer"s previous best games of all-time list. "Entertainment Weekly" called "Ms. Pac-Man" one of the top ten games for the Atari 2600 in 2013. In 2016, "Ms. Pac-Man" placed 5th on Time's "The 50 Best Video Games of All Time" list. In 2022, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted "Ms. Pac-Man" to its World Video Game Hall of Fame.


title: Richard Rankin

text: Richard Rankin (born Richard Harris on 4 January 1983) is a Scottish film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for the Scottish sketch show "Burnistoun" and as Roger Wakefield MacKenzie in the Starz drama "Outlander".


title: Richard Rankin

text: Richard Rankin was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1983 and spent part of his childhood in the East End of the city. He moved to King's Park when he was ten, eventually attending Stonelaw High School. One of four boys born to a father on the police force and a mother in the hotel industry, he originally planned a career in the sciences or Information Technology.


title: Richard Rankin

text: Rankin initially attended Glasgow Caledonian University as an IT major, but changed course after a chance encounter at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during a holiday in Los Angeles. A local film producer told the then 22-year-old that he had the look of an actor, and upon his return to Glasgow, Rankin auditioned for Langside College with his brother Colin Harris. Both graduated and went on to a career in acting, but when Rankin, who was then known by his birth name of Richard Harris, applied for his Equity card he began using his mother's maiden name (Rankin) to prevent confusion with Irish actor Richard Harris.


title: Richard Rankin

text: Rankin began his professional career in 2006 by starring alongside Robert Florence in "VideoGaiden," a Scottish video game show originally aired on BBC Two Scotland"." Between 2007 and 2010 he made appearances on episodic Scottish television programs "Legit" (2007) and "The Old Guys" (2009) for the BBC and "Taggart" (2010) for STV"." The Scottish sketch comedy series "Burnistoun", which premiered in 2009 and ran for three series on BBC Two Scotland, featured Rankin in various roles.