title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Beginning in April 1989, the rankings were changed to be based on the average points per event played instead of simply total points earned, subject to a minimum divisor of 60 (20 events per year). This was in order to more accurately reflect the status of some (particularly older) players, who played in far fewer events than their younger contemporaries but demonstrated in major championships that their ranking was artificially low. Tom Watson, for example, finished in the top 15 of eight major championships between 1987 and 1989, yet had a "total points" ranking of just 40th; his ranking became a more realistic 20th when based on "average points". A new system for determining the "weight" of each tournament was also introduced, based on the strength of the tournament's field in terms of their pre-tournament world rankings. Major championships were guaranteed to remain at 50 points for the winners, and all other events could attain a maximum of 40 points for the winner if all of the world's top 100 were present. In practice most PGA Tour events awarded around 25 points to the winner, European Tour events around 18 and JPGA Tour events around 12.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: In 1996, the three-year period was reduced to two years, with the current year now counting double and the minimum number of events reduced from 60 to 40. Points were extended to more of the field, beginning in 2000, and were no longer restricted to integer values. Beginning in September 2001, the tapering system was changed so that instead of the points for each result being doubled if they occurred in the most recent 12 months, one eighth of the initial "multiplied up" value was deducted every 13 weeks. This change effectively meant that players could now be more simply described as being awarded 100 points (not 50) for winning a major. Beginning in 2007, the system holds the points from each event at full value for 13 weeks and then reduces them in equal weekly increments over the remainder of the two-year period.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: In 2010, a maximum number of tournaments was introduced as well as the minimum of 40. The maximum number was initially set to 60 from January 2010 and was reduced by 2 every six months until it reached 52 in January 2012. This means that since 2012 only the player's 52 most recent tournaments (within the two-year period) are used to calculate his ranking average.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: At first only the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient used the rankings for official purposes, but the PGA Tour recognized them in 1990, and in 1997 all five of the then principal men's golf tours did so. The rankings, which had previously been called the Sony Rankings, were renamed the Official World Golf Rankings at that time.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Since 2004 the rankings have been produced by a company called "Official World Golf Ranking" which took over the ranking system from IMG. The company is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in the United Kingdom with its registered office at the European Tour Building at Wentworth. The company has seven members: The PGA of America, the International Federation of PGA Tours, the USGA, the PGA Tour, Augusta National, the R&A and the PGA European Tour, who each contribute to the running of the company; £50,000 each in 2020. There is a chairman and seven directors, one appointed by each member, who make up the Governing board. There is also a Technical committee.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: One of the objects of the company is "to devise, maintain, review, update, administer and promote the recognition of a system that fairly ranks the relative performances of male professional golfers participating in the leading golf tournaments throughout the world, taking into account all relevant factors including, amongst other matters, the date of the tournament, the prestige of the tournament, the standard of the other participants and the value of the tournament prize fund."


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: The ranking system is endorsed by the four major championships and six major professional tours, five of which are charter members of the International Federation of PGA Tours:


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Starting in 2012, some events received points that had not previously received any. These were the Sunshine Tour "Winter Series" and the PGA Tour of Australasia "State Based and Regional Tournaments".


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: In July 2022, Official World Golf Ranking announced that it had received an application from LIV Golf for it to be included in the ranking system.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Simply put, a golfer's World Ranking is obtained by dividing their "points total" by the "number of events" they have played, which gives their "average". Players are then ranked according to their average, highest first.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: The first stage in the calculation is the ranking of each event. For most events the ranking depends on the current world rankings of the participating golfers and the participation of the leading golfers from the "home tour".


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: A "world rating value" is calculated. Any golfer currently ranked in the world top 200 is given a rating value. The world No. 1 is allocated 45, the No. 2 is allocated 37, the No. 3 is allocated 32, down to those ranked between 101 and 200 who are allocated a rating value of 1 each. The maximum possible world rating value is 925 but this would only happen if all the top 200 golfers were playing.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: A "home tour rating value" is calculated. The leading 30 golfers from the previous year's "home tour" are given rating values. Most tours use earnings lists for their top 30, but the PGA Tour currently uses the FedEx points list calculated after the playoffs. Major championships and WGC events use the current world top 30 list. The home tour No. 1 is allocated 8 down to those from 16 to 30 who are allocated a rating value of 1 each. The maximum home tour rating value is 75 if all the top 30 players from the home tour are competing. The total home tour rating value is limited to 75% of the world rating value.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: The world rating value and home tour rating value are added together to give a "Strength of Field" value. This is then converted into an event ranking using a table. As examples, a strength of field value of 10 converts to an event ranking of 8, a strength of field value of 100 converts to an event ranking of 24, while a strength of field value of 500 converts to an event ranking of 62.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Major championships have a fixed event ranking of 100 points. For each tour, there is a minimum ranking for each event. In addition, some tours have a "flagship event" that is guaranteed a higher ranking.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: 72-hole tournaments which are reduced to 54 holes retain full points, but if a tournament is reduced to 36 holes, its points allocation is reduced by 25%. 54-hole tournaments reduced to 36 holes retain full points.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Having calculated the ranking of the event, the ranking points of the players for that event can be calculated. The winner's ranking points are the same as the ranking of the event, so that major winners get 100 ranking points. The second place golfer gets 60% of this amount, 40% for 3rd, 30% for 4th, 24% for 5th, down to 14% for 10th, 7% for 20th, 3.5% for 40th to 1.5% for 60th. Players tied for a position share the points for those positions so that if, for example, two players tie for second place they would each receive 50%, the average of 60% and 40%.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: A player's ranking points for an event must be at least 1.2. Players who would get less than this using the above formula get no ranking points. For example, if an event has a ranking of 10 only the leading 12 players (and ties) receive any ranking points since the player in 12th place gets 12% of the event ranking (i.e. 1.2). The player in 13th position gets no points. Where there is a tie for the final scoring place, those players are guaranteed to receive at least 1.2 points. Using the above example, if there were two or more players tied for 12th place, each would receive 1.2 points. The only exceptions to this system are in the major championships where all players who make the cut get a minimum of 1.5 ranking points.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Since 2019, the PGA Tour has used its season-ending Tour Championship strictly to determine the final distribution of its FedEx Cup bonus pool. The 30 players are seeded according to their ranking in the FedEx Cup standings, with all players starting at a specified score with respect to par and the player leading the field after four rounds winning the FedEx Cup and receiving credit for an official PGA Tour win. The person with the lowest score over the event's four rounds receives no recognition from the tour. The OWGR ignores the PGA Tour's treatment of this event, awarding ranking points based solely on each player's performance during the Tour Championship itself.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: For the first 13 weeks after an event the player receives the full ranking points earned in that event. However, from then onwards they are reduced in equal weekly increments over the remainder of a two-year period. This gives priority to recent form. Each week the ranking points are reduced by a factor of 1/92 (approximately 1.09%) so that in week 14 only 98.91% of the ranking points are credited, continuing until week 104 when only 1.09% is credited. From week 105 the ranking points are completely lost.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: The player's adjusted points for all events in the two-year period are then added together, and this total is divided by the number of events to give the average ranking. However, players are subject to both a minimum and maximum number of events over the two-year period. If a player competes in fewer than 40 tournaments over the two-year period his adjusted points total is divided by 40 and not the actual number of events he has played in. There is also a maximum of 52 tournaments, which means that only the player's 52 most recent tournaments (within the two-year period) are used.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: The resulting averages for all players are put into descending order to produce the ranking table. This means that the player who has obtained most cumulative success does not necessarily come top of the rankings: it is "average" performance levels that are important, and some golfers play substantially more tournaments than others. New rankings are released every Monday.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: A professional golfer's ranking is of considerable significance to his career. Currently a ranking in the World Top 50 grants automatic entry to all the majors and World Golf Championships; see table below. In addition, rankings are the main criterion for selection for the International Team in the Presidents Cup, while ranking points are one of the qualification criteria for the European Ryder Cup team. The rankings are also used to help select the field for various other tournaments.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: The first official ranking list was published prior to the Masters in April 1986, with Bernhard Langer the first world No. 1 ranked player, ahead of Seve Ballesteros, who had topped the unofficial McCormack's World Golf Rankings at the end of the previous year. Ballesteros briefly held the No. 1 spot after Langer, before Greg Norman's worldwide success over the rest of that season made him the first year-end No. 1. Ballesteros took the No. 1 position back from Norman in 1987, and the pair exchanged the No. 1 position several times over the next two years. During 1990, Nick Faldo remained ranked just behind Norman despite winning three majors in two years (and more world ranking points in total than his rival, albeit having entered more events). As detailed in Mark McCormack's "World of Professional Golf 1991" annual, it was also the case (but less immediately apparent) that Norman had won a total of 14 events during the ranking period to Faldo's 10, and when the two had competed in the same tournament, had finished ahead of his rival 19 times to 11, so Norman's No. 1 position (on the new "average points" system) had some justification. Faldo did inherit the No. 1 ranking for the first time early in 1991.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: In April 1991, a quirk in the way the rankings treated results from previous years meant that Ian Woosnam, who had never won a major, took the No. 1 spot from Faldo on the eve of the latter's attempt to win the Masters for a third year in succession; as if to justify his new ranking, Woosnam — and not Faldo — won the tournament. Twelve months later, Fred Couples similarly took over the No. 1 ranking shortly before the 1992 Masters, then also went on to make that tournament his first major victory. Faldo's Open victory in 1992 lifted him back to the No. 1 position, and he held that spot until replaced by Nick Price, who in 1994 became the first African ranked No. 1 after his back-to-back major victories that summer.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: By 1996, Greg Norman had regained the top spot and ended 1996 and 1997 narrowly ahead of first Tom Lehman, and then Tiger Woods and Ernie Els in the rankings, despite his rivals enjoying major victories in those years while he won none. Lehman, Els and Woods would all briefly become No. 1 during 1997, Lehman for a week – to date, the only player to hold the No. 1 ranking for just one week. In 1996, Colin Montgomerie also led the rankings in total points earned over the two-year period (but never on average points per event); in 1997 Els was top of a similar "total points" list. Those were the last occasions on which a player led on "total" points but not average points until 2016, when Dustin Johnson similarly had more points in total than the world number one Jason Day. Woods then finished 1998 narrowly ahead of Mark O'Meara even though the latter won two major titles that year while Woods won just once on the PGA Tour. In March 1999, David Duval became world No. 1 after winning The Players Championship, his sixth victory in a twelve-month period that came before his first major victory (which would follow two years later at the Open Championship).


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: In 2000, Tiger Woods had an unprecedented season of success that saw him earn 948 world ranking points in a single calendar year, so many points that even had his 1999 points (which represented the previous single-season record) been totally discounted from the calculation, Woods would still have had a points average easily high enough to lead the rankings – and Woods would still have led at the end of 2001 even had he earned no further points that year. Tiger Woods dominated the No. 1 spot for the following five years, but when Vijay Singh won the PGA Championship in 2004 and with it took the No. 1 ranking, that change highlighted the fact that Woods had not won a major for over two years, and also the extraordinary success Singh had recently on tour had that had allowed him to overtake the American. Woods responded by winning the very next major, the 2005 Masters, and with it regained the No. 1 spot, which he would then retain for a further five years. Following knee surgery in the summer of 2008, Woods missed the entire second half of the year, while Pádraig Harrington won two major championships, to add to the Open Championship he won in 2007. Despite earning no further ranking points during his absence, Woods remained No. 1 on the ranking system in December 2008.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: During 2010, there was much debate as to whether Woods' continued retention of the No. 1 ranking (which he held up until the end of October) was justified given his relatively poor form—Woods finished fourth in two major championships in 2010, but failed to finish in the top ten of any other events he entered. During the 2010 season, several of his rivals for the No. 1 spot - including Masters champion Phil Mickelson (who had won four majors since 2004 but had yet to reach No. 1 in the rankings), Lee Westwood (who had yet to win a major but had finished second in both the Masters and Open Championships in 2010), and then Martin Kaymer (who had won the PGA Championship among four worldwide wins)— each missed opportunities to win particular events that would have taken them above Woods, before Westwood finally became world No. 1 on October 31.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: During 2011, the possession of the No. 1 ranking would be the subject of much discussion among European golf commentators as it passed from Westwood to Kaymer, back to Westwood and then in May to Luke Donald, who took No. 1 spot by defeating Westwood in a playoff for the BMW PGA Championship. Donald, in becoming the fifteenth world No. 1, also became the first ever to reach No. 1 before having won or finished runner-up in a major championship in his career. Donald's position at the top of the rankings was justified by his consistency through the rest of the 2011 season – becoming the first golfer ever to win the money title on both the European and PGA Tours in the same season.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: In March 2012, Donald lost the No. 1 position to Rory McIlroy; the pair then exchanged the No. 1 position a further four times in the following two months, so the volatility of the No. 1 ranking again became a source of comment. At the end of 2012, McIlroy had opened up a clear lead at the top of the rankings, following his second major victory at the PGA Championship and emulating Donald in leading the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic. However, by the end of March 2013, a resurgent Tiger Woods had returned to the top of the rankings, after adding three PGA Tour wins in 2013 to his three victories from 2012 while McIlroy struggled with his form following equipment changes. Woods then suffered a back injury that sidelined him for the early part of 2014, and in his absence, Adam Scott, winner of the 2013 Masters, became the 17th world No. 1 on May 18, despite not winning an event in 2014 to that date; he would win the following week to secure his No. 1 position and avoid following Tom Lehman as a one-week No. 1. He held the No. 1 position until August 3, when McIlroy regained the top spot by following his Open Championship victory with another at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: On August 16, 2015, following Jordan Spieth's second-place finish at the 2015 PGA Championship (that followed earlier wins at the Masters and the U.S. Open), Spieth became the 18th world No. 1. Over the following three weeks, the No. 1 spot passed back and forth between McIlroy and Spieth, due to the way each player's average points (which were almost identical) fluctuated (as their point weightings and events played divisors changed), until, on September 20, both were overtaken by Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner, who became the 19th world No. 1 with victory in the BMW Championship, his fifth of the season. A week later, Spieth regained the No. 1 spot from Day after winning the Tour Championship (and with it, the FedEx Cup), and concluded 2015 as world No. 1, but Day's continued good form took him back to number one after winning the WGC Matchplay in March 2016.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: On February 19, 2017, Dustin Johnson became the 20th player to reach number one in the rankings following his victory at the Genesis Open. He would remain number one for over a year before being overtaken in May 2018 by Justin Thomas, who had won the PGA championship and four other events in 2017. Johnson regained top spot but was overtaken again in September 2018 by Justin Rose, who had finished second at the Open and again in two FedEx Cup playoff events. Rose became the 22nd player to reach number one, and the fourth Englishman. Johnson regained the number one position from Rose but was replaced by a new number one for a third time in 2018 on October 21, when Brooks Koepka added victory in the CJ Cup to his two 2018 major titles. Koepka remained number one on the ranking at the end of 2018, even though Rose had amassed a higher total of ranking points (from more events entered). Dustin Johnson regained the number one position early in 2019 with victory at the WGC-Mexico Championship, but Koepka returned to number one when he retained his PGA Championship title in May 2019. Koepka remained number one at the end of 2019, although FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy had (like Rose the year before) amassed more ranking points in total than him.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: On February 9, 2020, McIlroy regained the number one position as his higher 2019 points total became reflected in the weighted average. Following the resumption of golf on the PGA Tour after suspension due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Jon Rahm became the 24th player to top the world rankings, and the second Spaniard, on July 19 after his victory at the Memorial Tournament, his fourth worldwide win in twelve months. Rahm became the second player after Luke Donald to become world number one before having won or been runner-up in a major championship. The following month Dustin Johnson regained the number one position following his victory in the Northern Trust event and remained number one at the end of 2020, strengthening his hold on the position by winning his first Masters Tournament in November. Jon Rahm regained the number one position following his victory in the U.S. Open in June 2021.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: In March 2022, Scottie Scheffler became the 25th player to reach number one after winning the WGC Match Play, his third victory of the 2022 season. Scheffler became the third player to become world number one before winning or finishing runner-up in a major. Emulating Ian Woosnam in 1991, Scheffler then promptly won his first major in his very first start as world number one, the 2022 Masters Tournament.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Awarded to the player with the most weeks at No. 1 during calendar year and named after Mark McCormack, originator of the ranking.


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: Although not recognized by any official award, these golfers have won the most World Ranking Points during the years for which the rankings have been calculated (points totals prior to 1996 are scaled to the current standard, i.e. major wins are worth 100 points):


title: Official World Golf Ranking

text: The table shows the World Rankings of the winners of each major championship in the week before their victory.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: "Hurricane" is a protest song by Bob Dylan co-written with Jacques Levy and released on the 1976 album "Desire". It was also released as a single in November 1975. The song is about the imprisonment of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It compiles acts of racism and profiling against Carter, which Dylan describes as leading to a false trial and conviction.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: Carter and a man named John Artis had been charged with a triple murder at the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1966. The following year Carter and Artis were found guilty of the murders, which were widely reported as racially motivated. In the years that followed, a substantial amount of controversy emerged over the case, ranging from allegations of faulty evidence and questionable eyewitness testimony to an unfair trial.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: In his autobiography, Carter maintained his innocence, and after reading it, Dylan visited him in Rahway State Prison in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: "Dylan had written topical ballads such as 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll' and Bob wasn't sure that he could write a song [about Carter]... He was just filled with all these feelings about Hurricane. He couldn't make the first step. I think the first step was putting the song in a total storytelling mode. I don't remember whose idea it was to do that. But really, the beginning of the song is like stage directions, like what you would read in a script: 'Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night... Here comes the story of the Hurricane.' Boom! Titles. You know, Bob loves movies, and he can write these movies that take place in eight to ten minutes, yet seem as full or fuller than regular movies".


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: After meeting with Carter in prison and later with a group of his supporters, Dylan began to write "Hurricane". The song was one of his few "protest songs" during the 1970s and proved to be his fourth most successful single of the decade, reaching #33 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "Billboard" declared that it was "probably the most powerful song Dylan has recorded in a decade, combining the 'sensible hate' he showed in 'Masters Of War' with a perfect expression of the kind of injustice heard in 'The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll.'"


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: Dylan first recorded the song in late July 1975; it featured Scarlet Rivera on violin and Vinnie Bell on Danelectro Bellzouki 12-string guitar. Dylan was forced to re-record the song, with altered lyrics, in October 1975 after concerns were raised by Columbia's lawyers that references to Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley (the two star witnesses of the case) as having "robbed the bodies" could result in a lawsuit. Bello and Bradley had never been accused of such acts. Because there was too much leakage on the multitracks to make a vocal "punch in," Dylan decided to re-record the entire song. At this time, he was already rehearsing for his upcoming tour, and the musicians from the Rolling Thunder Revue were still at his disposal. Dylan took violinist Rivera, guitarist Steven Soles, bassist Rob Rothstein, drummer Howie Wyeth, and percussionist Luther Rix back into the studio, and a new, faster version of "Hurricane" was recorded with Don DeVito again producing, and Ronee Blakley providing a harmony vocal. (There is a noticeable mistake in the 8-minute recording at 4:02 where the backing singer (Blakley) gets her line wrong. She sings: "Remember you saw (said) you saw the getaway car.") The final version of the song, which runs over eight minutes, was spliced together from two separate takes completed on October24, 1975.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: Even though some offending lyrics were removed, the song still drew legal action from eyewitness Patricia Graham (Patty) Valentine, who believed that it portrayed her as part of a conspiracy to frame Carter. However, her lawsuit was dismissed by a federal district court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal. More generally, even with the revised lyrics, "Hurricane" was accused of factual errors. The song included a description of Carter as the "number one contender"; according to the May 1966 issue of "The Ring", he was ranked ninth around the time of his arrest and had never been ranked higher than third. Reporters for the "Herald News", a New Jersey newspaper published not far from the scene of the crime, questioned Dylan's objectivity at the time of the song's release and accused him of excessive poetic license. Dylan biographer Howard Sounes praised the song but noted "there was no reference to his antagonistic rhetoric, criminal history, or violent temper."


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: The song was released on the album "Desire" in January 1976, making the Carter case known to a broader public. "Hurricane" is credited with harnessing popular support to Carter's defense.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: During the fall tour preceding "Desire"s release, Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue played a benefit concert for Carter in New York City's Madison Square Garden, raising $100,000. The following year, they played another benefit at the Houston Astrodome. Dylan met with managers Richard Flanzer and Roy Silver, who provided Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr and Dr. John for the concert. After expenses were paid, however, the Houston event failed to raise any money.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: Despite winning the right to a new trial, Carter and Artis were once again found guilty when the prosecution argued that the defendants committed triple murder at the Lafayette Grill in revenge for the killing of an African-American tavern owner earlier during the same night. In 1976, Carter was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Dylan, and the other high-profile supporters, did not attend the trial. Artis was paroled five years later.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: In 1985 Federal Judge H. Lee Sarokin of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, who declined to hear the song when it was offered to him by his family, ruled that Carter had not received a fair trial and overturned the conviction, resulting in Carter's release and the granting of a writ of habeas corpus to Carter, commenting that the prosecution had been "based on racism rather than reason and concealment rather than disclosure". In 1988, after the prosecution said they would not seek a third trial and filed a motion to dismiss, following their failed appeal to the Supreme Court which declined to hear the case and upheld Sarokin's ruling, a Superior Court judge dropped all charges against Carter and Artis.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: The song has been covered by Ani DiFranco, Furthur, Middle Class Rut, the Milltown Brothers and Iain Lee when he sang it on his Late Night Alternative phone in show on Talkradio in January 2018.


title: Hurricane (Bob Dylan song)

text: In the season three premiere of the Showtime TV Show, "Our Cartoon President", the song was parodied as a proclamation of Donald Trump's innocence during the 2020 impeachment trial of Donald Trump. The parody was performed by cartoon variants of Fox & Friends hosts Steve Doocy (On harmonica and acoustic guitar, a reference to Dylan's most commonly played instruments), Ainsley Earhardt (On cello), and Brian Kilmeade (On violin).


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II. The town is located on four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau, and had a population of about 13,200 as of 2020. It is the county seat and one of two population centers in the county known as census-designated places (CDPs); the other is White Rock.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The ruins of permanent Puebloan settlements, such as those located in nearby Bandelier National Monument and Tsankawi, and numerous other sites such as cliff dwellings indicate that the area has been inhabited during various eras since around 1150 AD. The first settlers on the plateau are thought to be Keres speaking Native Americans around the 10th century. Around 1300, Tewa settlers immigrated from the Four Corners Region and built large cities but were driven out within 50 years by Navajo and Apache raids and by drought.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: In the late 19th century, homesteaders utilized the land for ranching. Most homesteaders built simple log cabins that they only lived in during warm weather to feed livestock. Many of the homesteaders later moved down to the warmer Rio Grande Valley. In 1917, homesteader Harold H. Brook sold part of his land and buildings to Ashley Pond II, a businessman from Detroit who founded the Los Alamos Ranch School. The area was used to teach young men basic ranching and other outdoor survival skills.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: In 1943, during World War II, the United States Department of War exercised eminent domain over the Ranch School and all remaining homesteads in the area so that the relatively isolated location could be used for the secretive Manhattan Project, which ultimately developed the world's first nuclear weapons. Facilities for research and development were quickly built and scientists and engineers from all over the world were assigned to the project, however all information about the town and project was held secretively away from public awareness. Los Alamos was referred to under the code name "Site Y" by military personnel, and was known only as "The Hill" by many in nearby Santa Fe. The specific location of the project and all of its residents was also concealed by designating its mailing address as PO Box 1663, Santa Fe, NM. All incoming truckloads were falsely labeled as common items in order to conceal the true nature of their contents, and any outbound correspondence by those working and living in Los Alamos was censored by military officials. Not until after the bombing of Hiroshima was information about the purpose of the Manhattan Project released to the public.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: In the years after World War II, the laboratory was established as a research government facility under the Department of Energy, and is now known as Los Alamos National Laboratory.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: "Los Alamos" is a Spanish place name that typically refers to poplar or cottonwood trees. Alternatively, "Los Alamos" could refer to the large groves of aspen trees () that intersperse the coniferous forest on the mountainsides above the townsite, where they are distinctly visible during the autumn months due to their spectacular autumn colors.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos is located in northern New Mexico between the Rio Grande and the eastern rim of the Valles Caldera on the Pajarito Plateau, approximately to the northwest of Santa Fe. The elevation at the post office is and total land area is .


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The Los Alamos Townsite and White Rock are located on flat mesa tops separated by steep canyons. This location was chosen for its relative inaccessibility to help protect the secret activities of the Manhattan Project.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The town of Los Alamos was built on four mesas—Barranca Mesa, North Mesa, Los Alamos Mesa and South Mesa—along with the connecting communities at the base of the mountain. Los Alamos National Laboratory occupies half of South Mesa, Two Mile Mesa, Frijoles Mesa, Mesita de Buey and several nearby areas in the region (in the valleys and at the base of the mountain). White Rock lies at the top of White Rock Canyon.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos has a humid continental climate ("Dfb") with four distinct seasons. Summer days are moderately warm in the 70s and 80s, but reach 90 on only 5 days per year on average.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos' geographical location causes its wildlife and vegetation to be diverse compared to surrounding areas in the state. "The variation in elevation creates precipitation and temperature gradients that support a wide diversity of plant communities..." There are six different plant communities within the county; each is home to unique flora and fauna.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Ponderosa pine trees are the most common trees at the elevation of Los Alamos (). Common shrubs in the area include sagebrush, Gambel oak, and wild rose.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Black bears (brown-color variation), elk, mule deer, bobcats, gray foxes, skunks and chipmunks are examples of mammals living in the area.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: "Over 200 species of birds have been reported" in the "Pajarito Ornithological Survey" conducted by LANL.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Among these are broad-tailed hummingbirds, hairy woodpeckers, zone-tailed hawks, common ravens, western bluebirds, and great horned owls.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Wildfires have affected the county, but the most destructive to the townsite was the Cerro Grande Fire of May 2000, which caused an estimated $1 billion in damages and destroyed more than 400 homes. The town was evacuated for eight days. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) built temporary housing on North Mesa for those who were displaced by the fire. Though there was no loss of life, other effects include damage to LANL facilities (nuclear material was not affected), flash-flooding, and erosion.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The Las Conchas Fire of June 26, 2011 burned about three times as many acres and also prompted evacuation of Los Alamos, but there was no damage to property in Los Alamos. It was the biggest wildfire New Mexico had endured.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Wildfires have altered plant communities in the area. Plant species are migrating to cover burn areas.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Over two thousand sites in the area have been determined to have been impacted as a result of past activities at LANL. The location of these sites have been identified throughout the county, and are primarily (but not exclusively) on DOE property. Contaminated sites vary widely in significance. Corrective action and environmental restoration has been deemed necessary for certain areas; LANL takes part in this process. Some residents have voiced concern about a lack of public participation and opportunity to comment on the clean-up schedule and funding.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The current population is 12,019, as of 2010, with a population density of . The median age is 40 years. 24.8% of the people are under the age of 18, 4.8% are ages 18 to 24, 29.2% are ages 25 to 44, 28.2% are ages 45 to 64, and 12.9% are ages 65 years or older. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos is demographically unique compared to its surrounding counties and the state as a whole. Over 35% of the population of surrounding counties (Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Sandoval) and the state of New Mexico are Hispanic or Latino, while only about 15% of Los Alamosans are Hispanic or Latino. The white and especially the Asian populations of Los Alamos are significantly higher than the rest of New Mexico.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The geography of Los Alamos lends itself to several sports and recreational activities. There is an extensive system of trails within the canyons and into the mountains above the town, catering to all skill levels of running, hiking and mountain biking. The Aquatic Center is an indoor, Olympic-length public swimming pool (soon to be joined by a lazy river), and a public 18-hole golf course (par 72, 6500 yards) has existed since 1947.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Winter sports include skiing at the community-owned Pajarito Mountain Ski Area on 10,440 ft. Pajarito Mountain between November and April. The County maintains New Mexico's only refrigerated, NHL regulation, outdoor ice skating rink on the sun-shaded floor of Los Alamos Canyon, almost beneath the Omega Bridge. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are possible at Valles Caldera National Preserve and other locations, weather permitting.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: On November 10, 2015, the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Energy announced the establishment of Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Los Alamos, along with units in Hanford, Washington and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos Public Schools provides public Kindergarten through High School education (5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school: Los Alamos High School). The graduation rate, as of March 6, 2021, is 99.3%, in comparison to New Mexico's 76.9% rate and America's average rate of 85%.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos is the fifth-fastest-growing city in New Mexico, after Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Las Cruces, and Ruidoso.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The median household income in Los Alamos is $98,458, and per capita income is $54,067. Income is significantly higher than the rest of New Mexico. Los Alamos has the highest millionaire concentration of any US city, with 12.4 percent of households having at least $1 million in assets. This is a result of chemists, engineers, and physicists working at LANL since the Manhattan Project. Only 6.6% of people are below the poverty line; one-third the rate of New Mexico. As of January 2015, there were zero homeless individuals.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: There are 5,249 households and an average household size of 2.23 people. There are 5,863 housing units, and the median value of owner-occupied housing units is $281,500. Median gross rent is $921.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: 31.4% of households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% are married couples living together, 6.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% are non-families. 29.8% of all households are made up of individuals, and 7.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos National Laboratory is the area's largest employer with approximately 10,500 employees, and is foundational to the economy of Los Alamos, with an annual budget of about $2.45 billion. Approximately 40% of the laboratory's employees live in Los Alamos, while the remainder commute from Santa Fe, Española, Taos, and Albuquerque. About 66% of the people who work in the national laboratories commute daily to the lab; some take the Atomic City Transit, Rail Runner Express, use the Park and Ride, or carpool with other employees.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Other major employers in Los Alamos include Smith's Food and Drug, Los Alamos National Bank, Los Alamos Medical Center, Los Alamos County, Los Alamos Public Schools, and Del Norte Credit Union.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos is relatively isolated, and can only be accessed from NM 4 from the south and NM 502 from the east.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: NM 502 sees significantly more traffic because it connects with US 84/285, which delivers access to several Pueblo communities between Española and Santa Fe. Approximately 10,000 commuters use NM 502 daily. NM 502 begins at Pojoaque, and traverses San Ildefonso Pueblo and the Rio Grande.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Interstate 25 is the nearest major interstate highway, and passes through or near Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Denver.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: There are three access roads between White Rock and Los Alamos—Main Hill Road, Jemez Road and Pajarito Road. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Pajarito Road has been restricted to LANL badge holders for security reasons.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Los Alamos County Airport, located on the eastern edge of Los Alamos, is the only airport in the county. The main source of activity is from small private aircraft, with intermittent commercial commuter service.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Albuquerque International Sunport is a 100 mile drive south of Los Alamos, and serves most national destinations.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The 47-bed acute-care facility known as Los Alamos Medical Center is the only hospital in Los Alamos and is a LifePoint Health hospital. The hospital provides "complete medical, surgical, obstetrical, pediatric, emergency, and diagnostic services" and employs about 300 Northern New Mexicans.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: Medical Associates of Northern New Mexico (MANNM) is a group of medical providers that offers family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, nephrology, radiology, and endocrinology among its many services.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: During the Cold War, workers at LANL were in contact with radiation and other toxins, causing many of these individuals illness. A non-profit organization called Cold War Patriots provides these individuals and their families with information about the healthcare benefits available to them.


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: The radio telescope located in Los Alamos is one of ten dishes composing the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA).


title: Los Alamos, New Mexico

text: In June 2016 a collaboration was initiated between the County of Los Alamos, the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation and the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Feynman Center for Innovation and Community Relations and Partnerships Office, to open a private, non-profit coworking space called ProjectY cowork Los Alamos, which helped create educational programs and resources for entrepreneurs and remote workers.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: A pulmonary artery is an artery in the pulmonary circulation that carries deoxygenated blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs. The largest pulmonary artery is the "main pulmonary artery" or "pulmonary trunk" from the heart, and the smallest ones are the arterioles, which lead to the capillaries that surround the pulmonary alveoli.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The pulmonary arteries are blood vessels that carry systemic venous blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the microcirculation of the lungs. Unlike in other organs where arteries supply oxygenated blood, the blood carried by the pulmonary arteries is deoxygenated, as it is venous blood returning to the heart. The main pulmonary arteries emerge from the right side of the heart, and then split into smaller arteries that progressively divide and become arterioles, eventually narrowing into the capillary microcirculation of the lungs where gas exchange occurs.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: In order of blood flow, the pulmonary arteries start as the pulmonary trunk that leaves the fibrous pericardium (parietal pericardium) of the ventricular outflow tract of right ventricle (also known as infundibulum or conus arteriosus. The outflow track runs superiorly and to the left, posterior to the pulmonary valve. The pulmonary trunk bifurcates into right and left pulmonary arteries below the arch of aorta and in front of the left main bronchus. Pulmonary trunk is short and wideapproximately in length and - in diameter.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The pulmonary trunk splits into the right and the left main pulmonary artery. The left main pulmonary artery is shorter than the right, passes behind and downwards the descending aorta and above the left main bronchus to the root of the left lung. Above, the left main pulmonary artery is connected to the concavity of the proximal descending aorta by the ligamentum arteriosum. The right pulmonary artery pass across the midline of the body, below the carina of trachea, and comes in front of the right main bronchus.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The left main pulmonary artery then divides into two lobar arteries, one for each lobe of the left lung.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: At the right root of the lung, it bifurcates into artery that supplies the right upper lobe of the lung, in front of the right upper lobe bronchus, and interlobar artery that supplies the right middle and inferior lobes of the lung, running together with bronchus intermedius.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The right and left main pulmonary (lungs) arteries give off branches that supplies the corresponding lung lobes. In such cases it is termed lobar arteries. The lobar arteries branch into segmental arteries (roughly 1 for each segment). Segmental arteries run together with segmental bronchi, at the posterolateral surfaces of the bronchi. These in turn branch into subsegmental pulmonary arteries. These eventually form intralobular arteries. The pulmonary arteries supply the alveoli of the lungs. In contrast, bronchial arteries, that has different origins, supply the bronchi of the lungs.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The pulmonary arteries originate from the truncus arteriosus and the sixth pharyngeal arch. The truncus arteriosus is a structure that forms during the development of the heart as a successor to the conus arteriosus.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: By the third week of development, the endocardial tubes have developed a swelling in the part closest to the heart. The swelling is known as the bulbus cordis and the upper part of this swelling develops into the truncus arteriosus. The structure is ultimately mesodermal in origin. During development of the heart, the heart tissues undergo folding, and the truncus arteriosus is exposed to what will eventually be both the left and right ventricles. As a septum develops between the two ventricles of the heart, two bulges form on either side of the truncus arteriosus. These progressively enlarge until the trunk splits into the aorta and pulmonary arteries.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: During early development, the ductus arteriosus connects the pulmonary trunk and the aortic arch, allowing blood to bypass the lungs.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs. The blood here passes through capillaries adjacent to alveoli and becomes oxygenated as part of the process of respiration.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: In contrast to the "pulmonary arteries", the bronchial arteries supply nutrition to the lungs themselves.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The pulmonary artery pressure (PA pressure) is a measure of the blood pressure found in the main pulmonary artery. This is measured by inserting a catheter into the main pulmonary artery. The mean pressure is typically 9–18 mmHg, and the wedge pressure measured in the left atrium may be 6–12 mmHg. The wedge pressure may be elevated in left heart failure, mitral valve stenosis, and other conditions, such as sickle cell disease.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: The pulmonary artery is relevant in a number of clinical states. Pulmonary hypertension is used to describe an increase in the pressure of the pulmonary artery, and may be defined as a mean pulmonary artery pressure of greater than 25 mmHg. As can be measured on a CT scan, a diameter of more than 29 mm diameter is often used as a cut-off to indicate pulmonary hypertension. In chest X-rays, diameter of descending pulmonary artery more than 16 mm indicates pulmonary hypertension. This may occur as a result of heart problems such as heart failure, lung or airway disease such as COPD or scleroderma, or thromboembolic disease such as pulmonary embolism or emboli seen in sickle cell anaemia. Most recently, computational fluid based tools (non-invasive) have been proposed to be at par with the current clinical tests (invasive) of pulmonary hypertension.


title: Pulmonary artery

text: Pulmonary embolism refers to an embolus that lodges in the pulmonary circulation. This may arise from a deep venous thrombosis, especially after a period of immobility. A pulmonary embolus is a common cause of death in patients with cancer and stroke. A large pulmonary embolus that becomes lodged in the bifurcation of the pulmonary trunk with extensions into both the left and right main pulmonary arteries is called a "saddle embolus".


title: Pulmonary artery

text: Several animal models have been utilized for investigating pulmonary artery related pathologies. Porcine model of pulmonary artery is the most frequently used and it was recently found that their mechanical properties vary with every subsequent branching.


title: Helen Shaver

text: Helen Shaver (born February 24, 1951) is a Canadian actress and film and television director. She has received Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours.


title: Helen Shaver

text: Shaver was born and raised, with five sisters, in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, a small city located near London, Ontario. As a child, she suffered from chronic rheumatic fever and, between the ages of five and twelve, was forced to spend six months of each year in bed or in hospitals, which she said fostered her introspective side. She attended the Banff School of Fine Arts as a teenager and studied acting at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.


title: Helen Shaver

text: After roles in such Canadian features as "Outrageous!" (1977), "Starship Invasions" (1977), "Who Has Seen the Wind" (1977) and "High Ballin" (1978), Shaver won a Canadian Film Award as Best Lead Actress opposite Tom Berenger (for her performance as "Ann MacDonald") in "In Praise of Older Women" (1978).


title: Helen Shaver

text: Shaver was one of the stars of director Sam Peckinpah's final film, 1983's "The Osterman Weekend". In 1985, Shaver starred in "Desert Hearts" as a 1950s university professor who falls in love with another woman. Her performance, with co-star Patricia Charbonneau, drew critical praise and Shaver won the Bronze Leopard Award at the Locarno International Film Festival. Another prominent film performance during that time came in 1986 as the love interest of Paul Newman in his Oscar-winning portrayal of "Fast" Eddie Felson in Scorsese's "The Color of Money", a sequel to 1961's "The Hustler".


title: Helen Shaver

text: In 1980, Shaver starred with Beau Bridges in the short-lived NBC TV series "United States" developed by Larry Gelbart. A year later she starred in the short-lived drama series "Jessica Novak". She was in the 1984 Canadian-made "Countdown to Looking Glass". She subsequently appeared on such television shows as "Hill Street Blues" and "T. J. Hooker". In 1990, she guest-starred as the murderer in "Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo", and later that year co-starred on the short-lived series "WIOU", playing a television journalist (as she also did on "Jessica Novak"). From 1996-1999, Shaver co-starred on the TV series "", playing Dr. Rachel Corrigan, a widowed psychiatrist with an eight-year-old daughter who is helped by the Legacy in the pilot episode; her performance earned a Saturn Award nomination. In 2000, she won a Genie Award for her portrayal of a drug-addicted prostitute in the independent feature "We All Fall Down".


title: Helen Shaver

text: Shaver made her feature-length directorial debut in 1999 with the television film "Summer's End", which won an Emmy and earned her a directorial nomination. Shaver has also directed a number of television shows and cable movies, including "The Outer Limits", "Judging Amy", "Joan of Arcadia", "Medium", "The OC", "", "The L Word", "Jericho", "Journeyman", "Private Practice", "The Unit", "Crusoe", "Orphan Black", Vikings (2013 TV series), "13 Reasons Why", and "Westworld". In 2003 she won a Gemini award for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series for the "Just Cause" television series episode "Death's Details".


title: Helen Shaver

text: "Happy Place", her first theatrical feature film after directing for television, premiered at the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, and was screened at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival.


title: Helen Shaver

text: In 2021, Helen Shaver picked up The Living Legend Tribute at the 23rd Women's Image Network Awards with fellow honoree JoJo Siwa its Rising Musical Star recipient.


title: Helen Shaver

text: Shaver dated screenwriter Stephen C. Peters, and is now married to Steve Smith, the key grip she met during the filming of "Desert Hearts". They have a son, Mackenzie.


title: Kasbah

text: A kasbah (, ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term alcazaba in Spanish (), which derives from the same Arabic word. By extension, the term can also refer to a medina quarter, particularly in Algeria. In various languages, the Arabic word, or local words borrowed from the Arabic word, can also refer to a settlement, a fort, a watchtower, or a blockhouse.


title: Kasbah

text: The term "qasaba" was historically flexible but it essentially denotes a fortress, commonly a citadel that protects a city or settlement area, or that serves as the administrative center. A kasbah citadel typically housed the military garrison and other privileged buildings such as a palace, along with other amenities such as a mosque and a hammam (bathhouse). Some kasbahs are built in a strategic elevated position overlooking the city, like the Kasbah of the Oudayas in Rabat, Morocco, or the Alcazaba of Málaga in Spain. It could also be a large purpose-built royal quarter, protected by its own set of walls, that housed the palace of the ruler and the administration of the state. Examples of this include the Kasbah of Marrakesh and the Kasbah of Tunis, both founded by the Almohads, who built or redeveloped similar palace enclosures in many important cities of their empire. In some cases, kasbahs could be simple fortified enclosures around a city that housed military garrisons, without being the main citadel. In Fez, for example, there were up to 13 kasbahs built throughout the city in different periods, including the Kasbah an-Nouar and the Kasbah Cherarda.


title: Kasbah

text: According to architect and restorer Leopoldo Torres Balbás, the Alcazaba of Málaga is the prototype of military architecture in the Taifa period in Al-Andalus, with its double wall and many fortifications. Its only parallel is the castle of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria. Examples of other "alcazabas" in Spain include the Alcazaba of Almería, the Alcazaba of Antequera, the Alcazaba of Badajoz, the Alcazaba of Guadix, the Alcazaba of Mérida, the Castle of Molina de Aragón, the Alcazaba of Alcalá la Real and in the Alcazaba of the Alhambra in Granada.


title: Kasbah

text: In Morocco, the term "kasbah" is also used in predominantly Amazigh regions to denote a fortified residence ("tighremt" in Amazigh languages), often built of mudbrick, such as the Kasbah of Telouet or the Kasbah Amridil. In southern Tunisia, the term is sometimes applied to some fortified granaries (also known as "ksour").


title: Kasbah

text: The word "kasbah" may also be used to describe the old part of a city, in which case it has the same meaning as a medina quarter. In Algiers, the name "qasaba" originally referred to the upper part of the city which contained the citadel and residence of the rulers. Following the French conquest of the country in 1830, most of the historic lower town of Algiers was demolished and remodeled along European lines. The only part of the old city that remained relatively untouched was the upper town, thus known as the "Casbah" of Algiers. The Casbah of Dellys is another example of the term being used for an old city.


title: Kasbah

text: In Turkish and Urdu the word "kasaba" refers to a settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city; in short, a town. In Serbo-Croatian, "kasaba" (Cyrillic: ) means an undeveloped, provincial small town. In India, a qasbah is a small town distinguished by the presence of Muslim families of rank.


title: Kasbah

text: In the Al-Bahah and Asir provinces of Saudi Arabia and in Yemen, the word "qasaba" can refer to a single stone-built tower, either as part of a tower house or a tower isolated on a hilltop or commanding a field. The "Encyclopædia Britannica" article on Asir (southwestern province of Saudi Arabia), mentions that "ancient "qasaba" ("towers") found in the province were used as lookouts or granaries." Another book describes these towers as follows: "Apparently unique to Asir architecture are the qasaba towers. Controversy surrounds their function – some argue that they were built as lookouts, and others that they were keeps, or even granaries. Perhaps it is a combination, although the right position of a watchtower, on a hill top, is the wrong place for a keep or granary." Archaeologists have found images of similar towers in the ruins of Qaryat al-Fāw, in the Rub' al Khali of Saudi Arabia, that date from between the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century CE. "Homes rose two stories, supported by stone walls nearly two meters (6') thick and boasting such amenities as water-supply systems and second-floor latrines. One eye-catching mural faintly depicts a multi-story tower house with figures in the windows: Its design resembles similar dwellings today in Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia."


title: Kasbah

text: "Most of the qasabas have a circular plan, although some are square. Sometimes they have a band of quartz stones just below the windows or framing the windows – one well preserved example is at the top of Wadi Ain. The remains of a martello tower-like stone structure are just off the dirt track north of Al-Masnah. It appears to be an interesting antecedent of the Asir farmhouse and perhaps closely related to the qasaba. It is in ruins now, but was once a dwelling and is strongly defensive." One account says about a traditional village in Al-Bahah, Saudi Arabia: "Even the road that leads to the village is impressive, and several historical stone and slate towers dot the way. Al-Bahah Province is known as the region of 1001 towers, once built to protect villages, roads and plantations from rivalling tribes. Today, these towers are abandoned, and many of them are partially or completely in ruins."


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: Blue Moon Belgian White (branded as Belgian Moon in Canada) is a Belgian-style witbier brewed by MillerCoors under the name the Blue Moon Brewing Co. It was launched in 1995, and was originally brewed in Golden, Colorado.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: Originally called Bellyslide Belgian White, the beer was created by Keith Villa, a brewer at the Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field, Denver, Colorado (owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company). Blue Moon, brewed at the Molson Brewery in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is sold in the US, as well as exported to Europe. Blue Moon Brewing Co. is an entity of Tenth and Blake Beer Company, the craft and import division of MillerCoors.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: The grain bill for Blue Moon includes malted barley, white wheat, orange peel, coriander and oats—and is usually served with a slice of orange, which its brewmasters claim accentuates the flavor of the brew.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: Available in cans, bottles and kegs, Blue Moon has 5.4% alcohol by volume. In Minnesota, the alcohol content of all Blue Moon beers bought in grocery or convenience stores is 3.2% alcohol by weight (approximately 4.0% alcohol by volume). Blue Moon Brews and seasonal brews sold in liquor stores are 5.4% by volume.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: In addition to their original Belgian White variety, Blue Moon Brewing Company offers Blue Moon Summer Ale, renamed Honey Moon in 2006. Honey Moon contains 5.2% alcohol by volume in a standard 12 fluid ounce bottle. The beer was renamed "Summer Honey Wheat" in 2011, and is still sold under that name.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: In autumn, Blue Moon markets Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, renamed Harvest Moon in 2007. This variety contains the flavors of pumpkin and other seasonal spices. Harvest Moon is typically available in bottles from mid-September through December. It contains 5.7% alcohol by volume in a standard 12 fluid ounce bottle. The beer was later renamed "Harvest Pumpkin Ale", a name it is still marketed under.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: Blue Moon offers Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale during the winter season. Its name was changed to Full Moon with the subtitle "Blue Moon Winter Ale" in 2007. It is brewed with natural flavor and a caramel color. Full Moon contains 5.6% alcohol in a standard 12 fluid ounce bottle. The name was changed to "Mountain Abbey Ale" in 2012.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: In spring, Blue Moon provides Blue Moon Spring Blonde Ale, originally known as Rising Moon. In 2011 the recipe was changed removing the Kaffir lime leaves. The new recipe focuses more on orange and lemon peel to add the citrus flavors. In 2013 the beer was changed to "Valencia Grove Amber", an amber ale brewed with Valencia orange peel, roasted malts and a touch of wheat.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: It addition to its seasonal brews, Blue Moon released a pale ale called Pale Moon in 2008, with filings commenced to create a Pale Moon Light. Pale Moon is now marketed as "Rounder".


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: Blue Moon released a revamped and renamed set of seasonal beers starting with the Winter Abbey Ale, in 2010.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: In Canada, Blue Moon is marketed as "Belgian Moon" with packaging very similar to the Blue Moon labeling found in America.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: In 2012, Blue Moon had come under fire from the Brewers Association for not stating on the bottle that the beer is made by MillerCoors. The Brewers Association says that this omission allows the Blue Moon Brewing Company to masquerade as an independent craft brewer. Some other independent craft brewers agreed with the assessment. In May 2015, a California man filed suit against MillerCoors for the "Craft Beer" labeling; however, the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in October.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: In 1999, the Confédération des Brasseries de Belgique (The Confederation of Belgian Breweries) sued the then-named Coors Brewing Company over its use of the term "Belgian White". The CBB alleged Coors' advertising was misleading, and could confuse American consumers into believing Blue Moon was made in Belgium. Coors at first responded by adding "Made in USA" and "Belgian-style" in small print to the bottle labels, but refused to change its advertising or packaging.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: Coors eventually settled out of court with the CBB, agreeing to change the labeling to "Belgian-style Wheat Ale". Additionally, the CBB distributes the beer to conglomerates in European countries.


title: Blue Moon (beer)

text: The New Belgium Brewery, which makes Fat Tire Amber Ale, also complied with the CBB's request for name changes.


title: Winchester (film)

text: Winchester (also known as Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built) is a 2018 supernatural horror film directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, and written by the Spierigs and Tom Vaughan. The film stars Helen Mirren as heiress Sarah Winchester, with Jason Clarke and Sarah Snook, and follows Winchester as she is haunted by spirits inside her San Jose mansion in 1906.


title: Winchester (film)

text: An American-Australian co-production, the film was released in the United States on February 2, 2018 and in Australia on February 22, 2018. The film received negative reviews from critics, who called it "dull" and "pointless”, but was a box office success, grossing $44 million worldwide against a $3.5 million budget. At the 39th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film was nominated in four categories, including Worst Picture and Worst Actress for Mirren, but failed to "win" any awards.


title: Winchester (film)

text: Sarah Winchester is the widow of famed gun manufacturer William Wirt Winchester. Her husband's sudden death and the previous death of their child Annie have left her in grief. Having received more than twenty million dollars in inheritance, Winchester convinces herself she is cursed by the ghosts of those who died at the hands of Winchester firearms. After seeking advice from a medium, she begins building an enormous, seemingly never-ending mansion in San Jose, California that would eventually be named the Winchester Mystery House. The house is under constant construction and Sarah's niece Marion Marriott lives in the house with her son Henry. At night, Henry is possessed by a mysterious entity.


title: Winchester (film)

text: In 1906, the Winchester company hires Doctor Eric Price to stay at the house and assess Sarah, believing she is mentally unfit to remain in charge of the company. Eric is grieving from the death of his wife Ruby and is reliant on drugs. He arrives at the house and has a ghostly vision that he believes is a side-effect of the drugs he has taken. Later, he spots a ghost in the basement and witnesses a possessed Henry jump off the roof. Eric saves him.


title: Winchester (film)

text: The next day, Eric begins to conduct his assessment of Sarah's mental well-being. Sarah admits her fear of ghosts and believes she can help them move on. She reveals that she knows about Eric's drug problem and confiscates his supply of laudanum. That night, Eric witnesses a seemingly possessed Sarah draw a plan for a new room. He is startled by an entity and flees back to his room. The next day, Sarah shows Eric that she keeps records of people killed by Winchester rifles. It is revealed that Eric had actually been shot and killed by a Winchester rifle before being revived, and he keeps the refurbished bullet with him. Sarah explains how thirteen nails keep spirits sealed in rooms.


title: Winchester (film)

text: A possessed Henry attempts to kill Sarah with a rifle, but is stopped by Eric and Marion. Realizing how violent this spirit is, Sarah sends her staff away and decides to personally remove the ghost from her home. Eric encounters a butler who reveals himself to be a ghost. He and Sarah identify the ghost as Benjamin Block, a Confederate States Army soldier who lost his two brothers in the American Civil War, killed by Winchester rifles. A devastated Ben proceeded to shoot up a Winchester office, massacring the workers before being shot dead by police. Ben has been the one possessing Henry; the constructed room with the Winchester guns is the room where he was shot dead.


title: Winchester (film)

text: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake takes place, devastating the house and separating Eric and Sarah. In the chaos, a possessed Henry escapes his room and is pursued by Marion. Eric encounters several ghosts before seeing the ghost of Ruby his wife. It is revealed that Ruby could see and hear ghosts but was misdiagnosed as "delusional" by Eric. Depressed that he would not believe her, the unstable Ruby shot Eric before killing herself with a Winchester rifle. Ruby's ghost comforts Eric, inspiring him to help Sarah. Eric reunites with Sarah and they manage to trap Ben in the room. Marion and Henry are cornered by Ben's brothers. Ben attempts to murder Sarah, but the pair realizes that Ben is scared of the bullet Eric kept. Eric has been able to see the ghosts in the house due to his dying from that bullet beforehand. Eric uses the bullet in the rifle that Ben used in the shooting and banishes him. Henry and Marion are saved and the other spirits return to their rooms.


title: Winchester (film)

text: Eric pronounces Sarah sane, allowing her to remain in control of the company. Sarah announces her intent to build more rooms to help more spirits. As the house is being repaired, the camera returns to view the hall of boarded up rooms and catches a nail falling out of one of the boards that is sealing a spirit in a room.


title: Winchester (film)

text: In 2009, it was announced that a film would be made about the Winchester Mystery House. Rights to the story were acquired by the Hammer Films division of Exclusive Media in 2012, with Imagination Design Works and Nine/8 Entertainment producing. Michael and Peter Spierig were set as directors on May 10, 2016, with the pair also revising the script. On May 14, Helen Mirren began finalizing a deal to star in the film as heiress Sarah Winchester, and filming was expected to start later in 2016, in San Jose, California and Australia. In August 2016, CBS Films acquired distribution rights to the film, and production was pushed back to March 2017. In September 2016, Jason Clarke entered negotiations to star in the film. Sarah Snook and Angus Sampson joined the cast in March 2017, and filming commenced in Australia. The film was originally going to be released on February 23, 2018, but the release date was moved up to February 2, 2018.


title: Winchester (film)

text: "Winchester" grossed $25.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $20.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $46 million, against a production budget of $3.5 million.


title: Winchester (film)

text: February 2, 2018, and was expected to gross $6–8 million from 2,480 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up debuting to $9.3 million, finishing third at the box office, behind holdovers "" and "".


title: Winchester (film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a "Rotten" rating based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Like a grand staircase within the famous mansion that inspired it, "Winchester" appears poised to get a rise out of audiences, but ultimately leads nowhere." At Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Winchester (film)

text: "Variety"s Owen Gleiberman gave the film a negative review, writing, "Mirren does all she can to look like she’s having fun, but "Winchester"...[is] an empty grab bag of a spook show in which the Spierig brothers never do figure out a way to turn the Winchester Mystery House into an exhilarating movie set...".


title: Winchester (film)

text: Stephen Dalton of "The Hollywood Reporter" gave the film a mixed review, saying that ""Winchester" is a visual treat, its palette aglow with bronze and turquoise tints that suggest colorized Victorian postcards," but "it "promises more sophisticated shocks and psychological depths than it ultimately delivers."


title: Winchester (film)

text: Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars, stating, ""Winchester" leveled my unfair expectations simply by being both silly and fun... what [it] lacks in originality its creators amply make up for in execution." He also stated that the dialogue was "enjoyable."


title: Winchester (film)

text: In January 2019, it was nominated for several Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture and Worst Actress.


title: Play-Doh

text: Play-Doh is a modeling compound for young children to make arts and crafts projects at home. The product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s. Play-Doh was then reworked and marketed to Cincinnati schools in the mid-1950s. Play-Doh was demonstrated at an educational convention in 1956 and prominent department stores opened retail accounts.


title: Play-Doh

text: Advertisements promoting Play-Doh on influential children's television shows in 1957 furthered the product's sales. Since its launch on the toy market in the mid-1950s, Play-Doh has generated a considerable amount of ancillary merchandise such as the Fun Factory.


title: Play-Doh

text: The non-toxic, non-staining, reusable modeling compound that came to be known as "Play-Doh" was a pliable, putty-like substance concocted by Noah McVicker of Cincinnati-based soap manufacturer Kutol Products. It was devised at the request of Kroger Grocery, which wanted a product that could clean coal residue from wallpaper.


title: Play-Doh

text: Following World War II, with the transition from coal-based home heating to natural gas and the resulting decrease in internal soot, and the introduction of washable vinyl-based wallpaper, the market for wallpaper cleaning putty decreased substantially. McVicker's nephew, Joe McVicker, joined Kutol with the remit to save the company from bankruptcy. Joe McVicker was the brother-in-law of nursery school teacher Kay Zufall, who had seen a newspaper article about making art projects with the wallpaper cleaning putty. Her students enjoyed it, and she persuaded Noah McVicker (who also sold the putty) and Joe McVicker to manufacture it as a child’s toy. Zufall and her husband came up with the name Play-Doh; Joe McVicker and his uncle Noah had wanted to call it "Rainbow Modeling Compound".


title: Play-Doh

text: Joe McVicker took Play-Doh to an educational convention for manufacturers of school supplies, and Woodward & Lothrop, a department store in Washington, DC began selling the compound. In 1956, the McVickers formed the Rainbow Crafts Company to make and sell Play-Doh. Also in 1956, a three-pack of 7-ounce cans was added to the product line, and, after in-store demonstrations, Macy's of New York and Marshall Field's of Chicago opened retail accounts. In 1957, chemist Dr. Tien Liu reduced Play-Doh's salt content (thus allowing models to dry without losing their color), and Play-Doh ads were telecast on "Captain Kangaroo", "Ding Dong School", and "Romper Room". In 1958, Play-Doh's sales reached nearly $3 million.


title: Play-Doh

text: In 1964, Play-Doh was exported to Britain, France, and Italy. By 1965, Rainbow Crafts issued a patent for Play-Doh. Also in 1965, General Mills bought Rainbow Crafts for $3 million. In 1971, Rainbow Crafts and Kenner Products merged, and, in 1987, the Tonka Corporation bought the two. In the 1980s, its cardboard can (with a rust-prone metal bottom) was replaced with a more cost effective plastic container. In 1991, Hasbro became the owner of Play-Doh, and continues to manufacture the product today. In 1996, gold and silver were added to Play-Doh's palette to celebrate its 40th anniversary.


title: Play-Doh

text: Play-Doh packaging was briefly illustrated with children in the mid-1950s, but replaced by the Play-Doh Pixie, an elf mascot which, in 1960, was superseded by Play-Doh Pete, a smock and beret-wearing cartoonish boy. By 1992, Play Doh Pete's beret was recolored in blue, and his eyes were given a more human look. Later in 2000, Play-Doh Pete's beret was replaced with a baseball cap. Play-Doh Pete later retired and was removed in 2003, lasting for 42 years. Since 2012, the Doh-Dohs are the mascots.


title: Play-Doh

text: Play-Doh's current manufacturer, Hasbro, says the compound is primarily a mixture of water, salt, and flour, while its 2004 United States patent indicates it is composed of water, a starch-based binder, a retrogradation inhibitor, salt, lubricant, surfactant, preservative, hardener, humectant, fragrance, and color.


title: Play-Doh

text: A petroleum additive gives the compound a smooth feel, and borax prevents mold from developing. Play-Doh contains some wheat and may cause allergic reactions in people who are allergic to wheat gluten. It is not intended to be eaten.


title: Play-Doh

text: In 1960, the Play-Doh Fun Factory (a toy press that extrudes the compound in various shapes) was invented by Bob Boggild and Bill Dale. The Play-Doh Fuzzy Pumper Barber & Beauty Shop of 1977 and Mop Top Hair Shop of 1986 featured a figurine whose extruded "hair" could be styled.


title: Play-Doh

text: In 2003, the Play-Doh Creativity Table was sold. Play-Doh related merchandise introduced during the 2007 anniversary year included the Play-Doh Birthday Bucket, the Play-Doh Fifty Colors Pack, the Fuzzy Pumper Crazy Cuts (a reworking of the 1977 Fuzzy Pumper Barber & Beauty Shop), and the Play-Doh Creativity Center. In 2012, "Play-Doh Plus" was introduced. It is lighter, more pliable, and softer than regular Play-Doh.


title: Play-Doh

text: More than two billion cans of Play-Doh were sold between 1955 and 2005, and, in 2005, Play-Doh was being sold in 75 countries at 95 million cans a year. In the United States, more than 6,000 stores carry Play-Doh.


title: Play-Doh

text: To mark Play-Doh's fiftieth anniversary, Demeter Fragrance Library created a limited-edition fragrance inspired by Play-Doh's distinctive odor for "highly-creative people, who seek a whimsical scent reminiscent of their childhood."


title: Play-Doh

text: Play-Doh was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York, in 1998.


title: Play-Doh

text: In 2003, the Toy Industry Association placed Play-Doh into its "Century of Toys List", a roll call of the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the twentieth century.


title: Play-Doh

text: In late 2014, the company offered to replace the "Play-Doh Cake Mountain" playset's extruder tool, for free, after receiving complaints about the tool's "phallic shape".


title: Play-Doh

text: On April 2, 2015, 20th Century Fox announced work on a film adaptation with Hasbro Studios along with its subsidiary company Allspark Pictures and Chernin Entertainment producing, Jason Micallef writing, and Paul Feig directing from his production company Feigco. The film was eventually cancelled and rejected after the acquisition of Fox's parent company 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company.


title: Play-Doh

text: On March 17, 2022, it was announced that a new animated film adaptation is in development at Entertainment One and its parent company Hasbro, Emily V. Gordon writing and Jon M. Chu producing and possibly directing.


title: Play-Doh

text: A game show adaptation started streaming on Amazon Freevee initially as a one-off holiday special on December 10, 2021 and later as a full-length series on November 11, 2022. It is hosted by Sarah Hyland.


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964) and El Indio in Leone's "For a Few Dollars More" (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani's "A Bullet for the General" (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima's "Face to Face" (1967).


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: In Italy and much of Europe, he was notable for his roles in high-profile social dramas depicting the political and social stirrings of Italian and European society in the 1960s and 1970s, including four films directed by Elio Petri – "We Still Kill the Old Way" (1967), "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" (1970), "The Working Class Goes to Heaven" (1971) and "Todo modo" (1976). He is also recognized for his performances in Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Cercle Rouge" (1970), Giuliano Montaldo's "Sacco & Vanzetti" (1971) and Francesco Rosi's "Christ Stopped at Eboli" (1979).


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: Volonté was born in Milan but grew up in Turin. His father Mario was a fascist officer from Saronno (province of Varese), who in 1944 was in command of the Brigata Nera of Chivasso, near Turin. His mother, Carolina Bianchi, belonged to a wealthy Milanese industrial family and his younger brother Claudio was an actor as well. He went to Rome to train for an acting career at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, which he left in 1957. He had a brief career in television and acting in Shakespeare and Goldoni plays on the stage, before establishing his film career.


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: Volonté made his debut in 1960 in "Sotto dieci bandiere", directed by Duilio Coletti. Just four years later, he played "Ramón Rojo" in "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964), and "El Indio" in "For a Few Dollars More" (1965), both for cash reasons as he did not consider either role serious. Both films were directed by the then-unknown Sergio Leone, and Volonté's roles in them would bring him his greatest recognition from American audiences. He played Carlo Levi in "Christ Stopped at Eboli" (1979), which was based on Levi's autobiographical account of his years in internal-exile in Aliano, Southern Italy, in the 1930s. Volonté played the memorable role of the Bandito-turned-guerrilla, El Chuncho, in "A Bullet for the General" (1966).


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: Volonté's performances as memorable but neurotic characters, or as a gifted leader of brigands or revolutionaries, together with the unexpected, worldwide success of the films, gave him international fame. Volonté had already played comedies, including "A cavallo della tigre" (1961), by Luigi Comencini, and confirmed his versatility in "L'armata Brancaleone" (1966). However, he found his main dimension in dramatic roles for "Banditi a Milano" (1968), by Carlo Lizzani, "Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina" (1972) by Marco Bellocchio, "La Classe operaia va in paradiso" (1972) by his friend Elio Petri and "Il sospetto" (1975) by Francesco Maselli.


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: In 1968, Volonté won a Silver Ribbon as best actor for "A ciascuno il suo", also directed by Elio Petri. Volonté received the same award for two other performances: Petri's "Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto" (1971, winner of an Academy Award as best foreign film), considered by many to be his finest; and in "The Abyss" (1989).


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: In 1983 he won the award for Best Actor at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival for "La Mort de Mario Ricci". Four years later, at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for "Il caso Moro". 1988 Cannes Film Festival Official Selection, remarkable play as a Renaissance physician in "The Abyss" by André Delvaux from Marguerite Yourcenar's famous novel. In 1990, Volonté was named Best European Actor for "Porte aperte". In 1991, at the Venice Film Festival, he won a Golden Lion for his career as a whole. Volonté played numerous roles outside Italy.


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: Volonté was a strong political activist and known for his pro-Communist leanings. In 1981, he helped Oreste Scalzone to flee from capture in Italy to Denmark. He was the partner of Italian actress Carla Gravina for almost 10 years after they met when they played "Romeo and Juliet" in a theatre production in 1960. The two had a daughter Giovanna, born in the early 1960s. Actress Angelica Ippolito was his companion from 1977 until his death in 1994.


title: Gian Maria Volonté

text: Volonté died from a heart attack at the age of 61 in 1994 at Florina, Greece, during the filming of "Ulysses' Gaze", directed by Theo Angelopoulos. Actor Erland Josephson replaced him in the role. Volonté's grave is in a small cemetery on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena, according to his wishes.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Circus is the sixth studio album by American singer Britney Spears released on November 28, 2008, by Jive Records. A transition from the "darker and more urban" themes of her fifth studio album, "Blackout" (2007), Spears wanted to make her next project "a little bit lighter". She recorded the album during the spring and summer of 2008, after being involuntarily placed under a conservatorship earlier that year.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: As executive producers, Larry Rudolph and Teresa LaBarbera Whites enlisted collaborators including Spears' longtime colleague Max Martin and Danja. Their efforts resulted in a primarily pop and dance record with urban influences. Upon its release, "Circus" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its production but were ambivalent towards its lyrical content. It debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" 200, making it her fifth album to reach the top of the chart. The album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Four singles were released, three of which became international hits. Its lead single, "Womanizer", peaked atop the "Billboard" Hot 100 and registered as the largest jump to the top of the chart at the time after debuting at number 96. It became Spears's best-selling single in the country since "...Baby One More Time" (1998), and received a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards (2010). The second and third singles, "Circus" and "If U Seek Amy", peaked at numbers three and 19 in the country, respectively. Consequentially, "Circus" became Spears's second studio album after her debut "...Baby One More Time" (1999) to have two top-ten singles and three top 20 singles, also being her first to have two top-five singles in the United States along with five charting songs on the "Billboard" Hot 100. To promote the album, Spears embarked on a concert tour titled The Circus Starring Britney Spears, which commenced in March 2009.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: During the summer of 2008, it was confirmed that Spears was in the process of recording her sixth studio album. With the album's announcement came the additional confirmation of the involvement of producers Sean Garrett, Guy Sigsworth, Danja and Bloodshy & Avant. During its development, Garrett and vocal producer Jim Beanz complimented Spears's work ethic after her much-publicized personal struggles the previous year.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Spears chose to write much of the material for the album and worked to develop a more pop-influenced record with collaborators she had worked with earlier in her career. She stated that "Circus" marked the longest time she had spent recording an album, adding, "I think it is more urban [...] I'm writing every day, right here at the piano in this living room" and also described the album as her best work to date.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Producer Claude Kelly discussed the album's initial lack of concept saying, "When I went in with [Dr. Luke] we knew we were going to maybe write something for [Britney], but there was no concept, it was just knowing her style and knowing what she does. Max Martin, who produced Spears' debut single "...Baby One More Time", produced "If U Seek Amy" for the album. The Outsyders, an Atlanta-based production team, produced the album's first single, while Fernando Garibay worked on two bonus songs for Spears. Danja reported that he worked on the tracks at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and Spears recorded them at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank; the Canadian trio Let's Go to War co-wrote and produced the track "Mmm Papi". Lil Jon, Rodney Jerkins, Sean Garrett, and Taio Cruz announced they were working with Spears, though their songs weren't included on the official track listing.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Bonus track and the fourth single from the album "Radar" was, since it was included on Spears's previous studio album "Blackout" (2007), recorded on November 8, 2006, the day after Spears filed for divorce from Kevin Federline, at Sony Music Studios in New York City.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: "Circus" is a pop and dance record, which has been described as a sequel to Spears' fifth studio album "Blackout". Spears described the album as "lighter" than "Blackout", which was more urban sounding. Its "fiery" and "confrontational" lyrics have been also compared to those of its predecessor. The album has been compared to the works of Janet Jackson, Eurythmics, New Order and the songwriting of Prince, Leiber & Stoller and Phil Spector. "Circus" incorporates themes that were acknowledged in Spears's earlier work. "Circus" and "Kill the Lights" discuss fame, which was previously seen in "Piece of Me", while "Womanizer" and "Shattered Glass" talk about a womanizing man.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: "Circus" opens with its lead single "Womanizer". It features synth sirens with a repetitive chorus, and lyrically discusses a cheating man; it was described by Spears as a girl anthem. "Circus" addresses her feelings as an entertainer and performing, highlighted in the lines "All eyes on me in the centre of the ring just like a circus / When I crack that whip everybody gonna trip just like a circus". Its electronic dance elements were compared by PopJustice to those of Spears's earlier single "Break the Ice". The ballad "Out from Under" incorporates acoustic guitar backings. "Kill the Lights" is a dance-pop song that talks about Spears's conflict with paparazzi. Critics noted similarities to Spears's own "Piece of Me". "Shattered Glass" utilizes dark electronic beats and details a non-repairable relationship.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: "If U Seek Amy" integrates "glam-rave" elements with traditional pop styles; it gained controversy for its double entendre, where the title sounds phonetically like "F-U-C-K me". The electropop track "Unusual You" deals with a woman finding unexpected love. It has been compared to musical themes from the 1980s and 1990s, and has been noted as a "pulsating ballad", with the song also drawing comparisons to the "shimmering waterfall mood first popularized by Janet Jackson". "Blur", which features Spears singing in a lower register, sees the inclusion of urban influences, and lyrically recalls the morning after a party with lyrics "Can't remember what I did last night/I gotta get my head right, where the hell am I? Who are you? What'd we do last night?"; it drew similarities to Spears' song "Early Mornin" from "In the Zone". "Mmm Papi" draws elements from a 1960s go-go rock guitar and Latin-pop dance hall themes. Despite its "fun" nature, it was criticized for appearing to "revisit the Lolita persona of ""...Baby One More Time"". It has been suggested that its lyrics deal with either Spears's father Jamie or paparazzo Adnan Ghalib. "Mannequin" is a dance-pop song with a trip hop influence; while being noted for its "risky" and "futuristic" nature, it has also been suggested that Spears's vocals sounded "lifeless". "Lace and Leather" is an electro-funk track which gained comparisons to ""Control" era Janet Jackson", Prince, and Vanity 6's works from the 1980s and featured a then-unknown Kesha as a backing vocalist. "My Baby", described as having a "faux-Janet Jackson vocal", was written by Spears about her two sons Sean Preston and Jayden James Federline.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Spears commented of the album's title: "I like the fact that you're always on the edge of your seat when you're at a circus. You're never bored [...] You're just really engulfed in what's going on around you. And you want to know what's going to happen next." Spears also revealed she titled the album "Circus" due to her life being "a circus" at the time.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: The cover artwork and booklet images for "Circus" feature Spears in circus-styled settings. The photos were shot by Kate Turning.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: "Circus" was initially scheduled to be released worldwide on December 2, 2008, Spears's twenty-seventh birthday. However, after unauthorized online leaks, imeem began streaming the album from their website on November 25. The album shared a release date with the similarly titled album "The Circus" by British group Take That. Both standard and deluxe editions of the album were released in Europe on November 28, 2008, and in the United States on December 2, 2008.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: To promote the album, Jive Records set up a hotline where fans could leave a message for Spears, some of which received a return phone call from her. Some songs were previewed through the website of the New York radio station WKTU and Amazon.com. MTV aired a ninety-minute long documentary "" on November 30, 2008, documenting her return to her career. In May 2009, Jive's official website held a Britney Spears Global Fan-Fiction Contest, which required a fan to submit a two-hundred-word story based on one of the songs from "Circus". The public were allowed to vote for their favorite short story which would be produced into an animated music video. The winning story was based on the song "Kill the Lights"; the video premiered on July 27, 2009.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Spears's live comeback began on November 6, 2008, with a cameo appearance at the Dodger Stadium show of Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008–09). Midway through the performance of "Human Nature", Spears joined Madonna on stage. The week prior to the album's release, Spears performed in several countries as a part of the Circus Promo Tour. On November 27, 2008, Spears performed "Womanizer" live at the 2008 Bambi Awards in Offenburg, Germany, where she received an award for Best International Pop Star. In addition, she performed the song on "Star Academy" in France the following day and on "The X Factor" in the United Kingdom on November 29. Her performance on "The X Factor" was watched by an average of 11,880,000 citizens in the United Kingdom. Spears premiered her second single "Circus" at the Big Apple Circus on "Good Morning America" in New York City, and also performed "Womanizer" on December 2, 2008, which coincided with her twenty-seventh birthday and the release of "Circus". On December 16, 2008, she performed on NTV Japan's-3000 "Best Artist of 2008".


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: While performing on "Good Morning America" on December 2, 2008, Spears announced her fifth worldwide concert tour, titled The Circus Starring Britney Spears. She first revealed the first leg of twenty-five dates in the United States and two in the United Kingdom. Her longtime manager Larry Rudolph stated that the tour would "blow people's minds and promises to show Britney's fans something they will never forget", later adding, "she goes full-speed the whole show — about an hour and a half. It's pretty intense. This is a full-blown, full-out Britney Spears show, It is everything everybody expects from her — and more!" Spears also expressed excitement in including songs from "Blackout" into the setlist, as she didn't tour to promote it. The tour began on March 3, 2009, in New Orleans' New Orleans Arena and finished on November 29, 2009, in Adelaide's Adelaide Entertainment Centre. There were four legs of the tour, visiting North America twice, and others being Europe and Australia. The stage was composed of three rings and set in-the-round to resemble an actual circus. Fashion designers Dean and Dan Caten created the costumes. A giant cylinder screen was set above the stage to showcase videos and backdrops. Effects were provided by Solotech. The setlist was composed generally from her albums "In the Zone", "Blackout" and "Circus". In June 2009, Spears announced she would tour Australia for the first time; she was also rumored to tour South America, though her manager Adam Leber denied this despite their efforts to do so.


title: Circus (Britney Spears album)

text: Controversy arose during the Australian leg of the tour after several fans walked out of the performances due to Spears's alleged lip-synching; such claims were later denied by Spears's management and promoters. The tour was ranked as the fourth highest-grossing tour of the year in North America, becoming the highest-grossing tour of the year by a solo artist. In February 2010, Pollstar released their Top 50 Worldwide Concert Tours of 2009; "The Circus Starring Britney Spears" was ranked as the fifth highest-grossing tour worldwide of the year, with a gross of $131.8 million. In May 2010, "Hollyscoop" ranked the tour at the fifth position in their 15 Most Profitable Female Tours Ever list.