title: Vitreous enamel

text: Vitreous enamel has many useful properties: it is smooth, hard, chemically resistant, durable, scratch resistant (5–6 on the Mohs scale), has long-lasting colour fastness, is easy to clean, and cannot burn. Enamel is glass, not paint, so it does not fade under ultraviolet light. A disadvantage of enamel is a tendency to crack or shatter when the substrate is stressed or bent, but modern enamels are relatively chip- and impact-resistant because of good thickness control and coefficients of thermal expansion well-matched to the metal.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: The Buick automobile company was founded by David Dunbar Buick with wealth earned by his development of improved enamelling processes, c. 1887, for sheet steel and cast iron. Such enameled ferrous material had, and still has, many applications: early 20th century and some modern advertising signs, interior oven walls, cooking pots, housing and interior walls of major kitchen appliances, housing and drums of clothes washers and dryers, sinks and cast iron bathtubs, farm storage silos, and processing equipment such as chemical reactors and pharmaceutical process tanks. Structures such as filling stations, bus stations and Lustron Houses had walls, ceilings and structural elements made of enamelled steel.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: One of the most widespread modern uses of enamel is in the production of quality chalk-boards and marker-boards (typically called 'blackboards' or 'whiteboards') where the resistance of enamel to wear and chemicals ensures that 'ghosting', or unerasable marks, do not occur, as happens with polymer boards. Since standard enamelling steel is magnetically attractive, it may also be used for magnet boards. Some new developments in the last ten years include enamel/non-stick hybrid coatings, sol-gel functional top-coats for enamels, enamels with a metallic appearance, and easy-to-clean enamels.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: The key ingredient of vitreous enamel is finely ground glass called frit. Frit for enamelling steel is typically an alkali borosilicate glass with a thermal expansion and glass temperature suitable for coating steel. Raw materials are smelted together between into a liquid glass that is directed out of the furnace and thermal shocked with either water or steel rollers into frit.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: Colour in enamel is obtained by the addition of various minerals, often metal oxides cobalt, praseodymium, iron, or neodymium. The latter creates delicate shades ranging from pure violet through wine-red and warm grey. Enamel can be transparent, opaque or opalescent (translucent). Different enamel colours can be mixed to make a new colour, in the manner of paint.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: There are various types of frit, which may be applied in sequence. A ground coat is applied first; it usually contains smelted-in transition metal oxides such as cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, and iron that facilitate adhesion to the metal. Next, clear and semi-opaque frits that contain material for producing colours are applied.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: On sheet steel, a ground coat layer is applied to create adhesion. The only surface preparation required for modern ground coats is degreasing of the steel with a mildly alkaline solution. White and coloured second "cover" coats of enamel are applied over the fired ground coat. For electrostatic enamels, the coloured enamel powder can be applied directly over a thin unfired ground coat "base coat" layer that is co-fired with the cover coat in a very efficient two-coat/one-fire process.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: The frit in the ground coat contains smelted-in cobalt and/or nickel oxide as well as other transition metal oxides to catalyse the enamel-steel bonding reactions. During firing of the enamel at between , iron oxide scale first forms on the steel. The molten enamel dissolves the iron oxide and precipitates cobalt and nickel. The iron acts as the anode in an electrogalvanic reaction in which the iron is again oxidised, dissolved by the glass, and oxidised again with the available cobalt and nickel limiting the reaction. Finally, the surface becomes roughened with the glass anchored into the holes.


title: Vitreous enamel

text: Enamel coatings applied to steel panels offer protection to the core material whether cladding road tunnels, underground stations, building superstructures or other applications. It can also be specified as a curtain walling. Qualities of this structural material include:


title: Paul Fix

text: Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career between 1925 and 1981. Fix was best known for portraying Marshal Micah Torrance, opposite Chuck Connors's character in "The Rifleman" from 1958 to 1963. He later appeared with Connors in the 1966 Western film "Ride Beyond Vengeance" and "The Time Tunnel" episode, ""End of the World".


title: Paul Fix

text: Paul Fix was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York, to Wilhelm Fix, a brewmaster, and the former Louise C. Walz, though some sources say he was born Paul Fix Morrison. His mother and father were German immigrants who had left their Black Forest home and arrived in New York City in the 1870s.


title: Paul Fix

text: Following the United States' entry into World War I in April 1917, Fix joined the National Guard, initially serving at Peekskill, New York. After three months of duty there, he went AWOL and enlisted in the U.S. Army. After serving at Fort Slocum for three months, he again went AWOL and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was stationed in Providence, Rhode Island. While serving in the Navy, Fix was recruited to perform on stage in a Navy Relief Organization production of the comic opera "H.M.S. Pinafore". Later, he served as a hospital corpsman aboard ships transporting American troops to and from Europe, and continued that assignment until he was officially discharged from military service on September 5, 1919.


title: Paul Fix

text: Following the war, Fix became a busy character actor, who got his start in local productions in New York. By the 1920s, he had moved to Hollywood, and performed in the first of almost 350 movie and television appearances. In the 1930s, he became friends with John Wayne. He was Wayne's acting coach and eventually appeared as a featured player in about 27 of Wayne's films.


title: Paul Fix

text: Fix worked in early films such as "Lucky Star" (1929) with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell and "Ladies Love Brutes" (1930), and became a regular performer for the film's director, Frank Borzage, on a further eight occasions. Fix later appeared as Richard Bravo in the 1950s cult classic, "The Bad Seed" (1956) with Nancy Kelly, "The Sea Chase" (1955) with John Wayne and Lana Turner, playing Heinz the cook, and in George Stevens' "Giant" (1956) with James Dean, portraying Elizabeth Taylor's father.


title: Paul Fix

text: Fix appeared as the presiding judge in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) with Gregory Peck. He played the sheriff in "The Sons of Katie Elder" (1965) with John Wayne and Dean Martin. In 1966, he appeared in the film "El Dorado" with Wayne and Robert Mitchum. In 1972, he was cast in the film "Night of the Lepus", and the following year, he portrayed the New Mexico rancher Pete Maxwell in "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" with James Coburn. In 1979, he appeared in "Wanda Nevada". Fix co-wrote the screenplay for the John Wayne film "Tall in the Saddle".


title: Paul Fix

text: Although Fix is best-remembered for his recurring role as Marshal Micah Torrance on ABC's Western series "The Rifleman", he also performed in guest-starring roles in many other television programs between the 1950s and late 1970s. In the 1958 episode "The Golden Gun" on the ABC/Warner Bros.' Western "Colt .45", he portrayed Frank Wilson Sr., the father of Frank Jr., played by Edd Byrnes.


title: Paul Fix

text: On Christmas Day, 1958, Fix appeared in the episode "Medal for Valor" on CBS's "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater". Fix plays Rufus Stewart, a businessman who hires David Manning, played by Richard Basehart, a man with an ill wife, who is in need of medical treatment, to substitute in the American Civil War for Stewart's son, Adam, portrayed by Richard Anderson. Manning, who won a Medal of Honor, returns from three years in the United States Army with an affidavit certifying that he was a military substitute so that he can claim western land. Rufus Stewart reneges on the promise because the son, the local sheriff, is running for the United States House of Representatives. Oddly, Rufus ends up being shot to death in a confrontation that he caused, and Adam agrees to provide the affidavit to Manning. The episode does not reveal if the sheriff was elected to Congress, but considers the political liability of one having hired a substitute in the war.


title: Paul Fix

text: Fix guest-starred on the short-lived detective series, "Meet McGraw" and on the Western series of Rory Calhoun and John Payne, "The Texan" and "The Restless Gun", which aired, respectively, in the same time slot on Mondays on CBS and NBC.


title: Paul Fix

text: Fix played the historical role of U.S. President Zachary Taylor in the 1960 episode "That Taylor Affair" of the NBC Western series, "Riverboat", with Darren McGavin. Arlene Dahl was cast in this episode as Lucy Belle.


title: Paul Fix

text: In 1961, Fix appeared as Ramsey Collins in the series finale, "Around the Dark Corner", of the NBC crime drama "Dante". That same year, he played Dr. Abel in the episode "The Haven" on "The DuPont Show with June Allyson". His other television credits include "Adventures of Superman" (1953–1954, with Anthony Caruso and Elisha Cook Jr.) and the adventure series, "Northwest Passage".


title: Paul Fix

text: Fix played Dr Mark Piper in the second pilot episode of "", "Where No Man Has Gone Before". When the first series was filmed, his character was replaced by Leonard McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley.


title: Paul Fix

text: Fix made five appearances as District Attorney Hale on "Perry Mason" (1957–1963), showing great skill as an examiner who did not ask objectionable questions unlike Hamilton Burger, who often experienced a judge's ire for asking leading questions. He guest-starred on such television series as "Wagon Train" (1962), "The Twilight Zone" (1964), "The F.B.I." (1965–1973), "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1966), "The Time Tunnel" (1966), "The Wild Wild West" (1966–1967), "Gunsmoke" (1967), "Daniel Boone" (1969), "" (1971), "The Rockford Files" episode "The House on Willis Avenue" (as Joe Tooley), and two episodes of "The Streets of San Francisco", one in 1973 and again in 1975, each a different character/storyline. He appeared on the NBC series "Kentucky Jones" (1964) as Judge Perkins in the episode "Spare the Rod". He played an aging suicidal novelist named Maxwell Hart on the "Emergency!" fourth-season episode "Kidding", where paramedic John Gage, played by Randolph Mantooth, was in charge of a small group of intellectual 10- and 11-year-old school children on a tour of Rampart General Hospital. In 1974, he made an appearance as an old friend of Steve Austin's in the TV series "The Six Million Dollar Man" in the episode "Population Zero". He also appeared as Kronus, a retired fleet commander on the original "Battlestar Galactica".


title: Paul Fix

text: Fix played the hardy pioneer James Briton "Brit" Bailey in the 1969 episode "Here Stands Bailey" of "Death Valley Days".


title: Paul Fix

text: His daughter Marilyn married actor Harry Carey Jr., in 1944, and they had four children of their own.


title: Sampath Raj

text: Sampath Raj (born 25 December 1968) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to Kannada and Malayalam films. He is best known for appearing in each film of director Venkat Prabhu's trilogy, consisting of "Chennai 600028", "Saroja" and "Goa". He has also acted in supporting roles in various other films. He is mostly known in negative roles. He has played a brief role as Ekambram in "Malgudi Days" for the episode "Neighbors Help", which was directed by Kavitha Lankesh. After a sabbatical, he returned to Kannada cinema with the film "Shourya" (2010).


title: Sergio García

text: Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably the 2008 Players Championship and the 2017 Masters Tournament. García was also the Chairman of Spanish football team CF Borriol.


title: Sergio García

text: García has spent much of his career in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, including over 300 weeks in the top 10 between 2000 and 2009, and over 450 weeks in the top 10 in total. He reached his highest career ranking, second, after winning the HSBC Champions tournament in November 2008. García has achieved career earnings of more than US$43 million. As a player, he is noted for strong iron play and accuracy. In the Ryder Cup, he competed in ten of the eleven matches playing during his professional career cumulatively earning a record 28.5 points during those matches.


title: Sergio García

text: García began playing golf at the age of three and was taught by his father, Victor, who is a club professional. García won his club championship at age 12. Four years later, he set a record as the youngest player to make the cut at a European Tour event, the 1995 Turespaña Open Mediterranea. This record was broken by amateur Jason Hak in November 2008 at the UBS Hong Kong Open, beating García's record by 107 days. In 1995, García became the youngest player to win the European Amateur. He followed that with a win in the Boys Amateur Championship in 1997. He won a professional tournament, the 1997 Catalan Open as an amateur.


title: Sergio García

text: In 1998, he won The Amateur Championship at Muirfield and reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Amateur. He also finished second in the 1998 Argentine Open, being the low amateur, and winning the Pereira Iraola Cup.


title: Sergio García

text: García turned professional in 1999 after shooting the lowest amateur score in the 1999 Masters Tournament. His first title on the European Tour came in his sixth start as a professional, in July 1999 at the Irish Open. He first achieved worldwide prominence with a duel against Tiger Woods in the 1999 PGA Championship, where he eventually finished second, losing by one stroke. Late in the final round, García with his ball up against a tree trunk in the right rough on the 16th hole, and the green hidden from view, he swung hard with his eyes shut and hit a low curving fade that ran up onto the green. As the shot traveled, he sprinted madly into the fairway and then scissor-kick jumped to see the result. Shortly afterwards he became the youngest player ever to compete in the Ryder Cup.


title: Sergio García

text: In 2002, during a practice round, García made an albatross (double eagle) on the par-5 second hole at the Masters, one of the few players to have ever done so. On the hole at the Augusta National Golf Club, he holed a 2-iron following a drive.


title: Sergio García

text: When García first turned professional, he had an unorthodox swing with a circular loop and long large lag, and this method drew comparisons to Ben Hogan, one of the best players of all time. But during the 2003 season, he worked towards making his swing more conventional, but has largely kept his original method. In his early years, he repeatedly gripped, released, and regripped his hands on the club handle before finally taking a shot. This "waggle" habit created a stir, especially at the 2002 U.S. Open when some spectators shouted out, "Hit the ball, Sergio!", and some people audibly counted the number of regrips into the twenties. Since then he has eliminated the habit. Responding to criticism of his swing, he said, "My swing works for me, so why should I change it? I prefer to have a natural swing and play well rather than a perfect swing and not be able to play good."


title: Sergio García

text: At the age of 21, García won his first PGA Tour event at the 2001 MasterCard Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, and then won again at the Buick Classic in New York the same year. He was the youngest Tour winner since Tiger Woods in 1996 at age 20. In 2002, García won the Mercedes Championships in early January, and in 2004, he won the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and the Buick Classic for the second time. His sixth PGA Tour victory came at the 2005 Booz Allen Classic. As of October 2020, he has eleven PGA Tour victories, including the 2017 Masters Tournament. He also plays a limited schedule on the European Tour, where he has 16 tour level victories to his name.


title: Sergio García

text: García has been a member of every European Ryder Cup team since 1999, with the exception of 2010, and has a career record at the Ryder Cup of 25–13–7 (). He has been in six winning sides and his singles win in 2018 made him the all-time Ryder Cup points leader, with 25 points in 9 appearances, overtaking Nick Faldo's 25 points in 11 appearances. By winning three of his four matches at Whistling Straits in 2021, he extended this record to 28 points, and also surpassed Faldo as the player with the most individual match victories, with 25.


title: Sergio García

text: In the 2006 Ryder Cup, at the K Club in Republic of Ireland, García won both his fourball and foursome matches (with José María Olazábal and Luke Donald, respectively) on day one, beating David Toms and Brett Wetterich in the fourballs and Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk in the foursomes. On day two, he paired up with Olazábal again, who won both their matches against Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco in both the foursomes and fourballs. Going into the final day in the singles, García was heavily tipped to be the second person to win all their matches in one Ryder Cup; however, Stewart Cink beat him 4 and 3. Europe won the cup again, with 18 points to the United States' 9 points.


title: Sergio García

text: At the 2020 Ryder Cup, Garcia won the inaugural Nicklaus-Jacklin Award for the European team. It is an award given to the player whose teamwork, sportsmanship, performance and decisions epitomized the spirit of the Ryder Cup.


title: Sergio García

text: In March 2007, García received criticism for a spitting incident at the WGC-CA Championship. During his third round García spat into the bottom of the cup on the 13th green after three-putting for bogey. After missing the cut in the first two major championships of 2007, García came close to winning The Open Championship – his favourite of the four majors – at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. He held the lead after each one of the first three rounds and carried a three-shot lead over Steve Stricker and a six-shot lead over the rest of the field into the start of the fourth day.


title: Sergio García

text: At an early stage of the last round, García had extended his lead to four shots, but bogeys at the 5th, 7th, and 8th holes brought him back to the field. On the final challenging hole, he needed a par to win, but failed to get up and down from the greenside bunker. The last putt on the 18th hole on Sunday, from about , would have given him his first professional major. He missed it by a fraction and faced a four-hole playoff with Pádraig Harrington that he eventually lost by one stroke.


title: Sergio García

text: In his post-round news conference, García seemed to suggest that bad breaks had cost him the Open championship. During the playoff, on the long par-3 16th hole, his tee shot hit the flagstick but then bounced from the pin, off the green, and García could not convert for birdie. "It's not the first time, unfortunately", he stated. "I don't know... I'm playing against a lot of guys out there, more than the field." In the 2007 PGA Championship, he was disqualified after signing an incorrect scorecard after the third round.


title: Sergio García

text: On 11 May 2008, García won The Players Championship on the PGA Tour in a sudden-death playoff against Paul Goydos. The playoff began at the par-3 17th, where Goydos hit a pitching wedge that ballooned and fell inches short of the island green and into the water, while García played a sand wedge to within four feet (1.3 m) of the hole. Goydos made double bogey while García made par for the win.


title: Sergio García

text: At the 2008 PGA Championship, played over the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit, García narrowly missed out on winning his first professional major championship yet again. Like at the 2007 Open Championship, Pádraig Harrington was able to erase a García lead on the back nine to take the title. García finished two strokes back for his second runner-up finish at the PGA Championship. His most serious mistake during the final round was misjudging his second shot on the 16th, playing into a strong wind, which found the water in front of the par-4 hole's green, costing him sole ownership of the lead. Regarding another near-miss in a major championship, García stated, "I felt like I responded well, and he was obviously very good on the back nine, and things just happened his way."


title: Sergio García

text: On 26 October 2008, he won his first European Tour title in over three years, at the first playing of the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar at his home course, the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo in Castellón, Spain. With this win, he rose to a career high of third in the Official World Golf Rankings. He dedicated the victory to compatriot Seve Ballesteros, who was recovering from multiple operations from the brain tumor that would ultimately claim Ballesteros' life. He won the 2008 HSBC Champions, the opening event on the 2009 European Tour season on 9 November 2008 in a playoff over Oliver Wilson. This win notched him up to a career high second in the Official World Golf Rankings, replacing Phil Mickelson in that spot, who had coincidentally won the HSBC Champions in 2007. García earned more money than any other golfer in 2008, earning $6,979,959 in 26 events.


title: Sergio García

text: After his success in 2008, García had a very disappointing season in 2009, rarely contending and finished ranked 74th on the PGA Tour money list. He had more success on the European Tour where he finished tenth in the inaugural Race to Dubai. His slump continued into 2010, and after missing the cut at the US PGA Championship, García announced he was taking a break from golf and would miss the 2010 Ryder Cup. He also dropped out of the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Struggles with the putter were the primary cause of his slump, since his ballstriking remained among the best in the world. On 29 August 2010, European captain Colin Montgomerie announced that García would be his fourth vice captain for the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.


title: Sergio García

text: García returned to competitive play in late 2010 with a new putting grip and this produced better results for him on the greens during tournaments in 2011. After 36 holes, he was near the lead in both the 2011 Transitions Championship and the 2011 Byron Nelson Championship, but both times faded on the weekend to fall out of contention.


title: Sergio García

text: García had to withdraw from qualifying for the 2011 Open Championship because of an infected finger. He had originally planned against qualifying for the 2011 U.S. Open, where he was outside the top-50 in the OWGR and was not guaranteed automatic entry. He eventually earned a spot in the U.S. Open after being one of the top four at a qualifying tournament near Memphis. García played well in all four rounds of the U.S. Open, ending in a tie for seventh place at five-under par 279. García finished tied for ninth place in The 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George's. This was his 17th career top-10 finish in a major.


title: Sergio García

text: In late June 2011, García almost broke his winless streak dating back to 2008, when he lost at the fifth sudden-death playoff hole to fellow Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal at the BMW International Open. García led the tournament after the 11th hole of the final round with a stunning stretch of holes, which saw him produce three birdies and two eagles in six holes, from holes six to eleven. However his charge to the finish was derailed by four bogeys in five holes, leaving him needing a birdie at the last to make the playoff. In the playoff, both players made consecutive birdies at the first two extra holes (both par 5s) before parring holes three and four (both par 3s). At the fifth extra hole, García had a eagle putt for the victory, but ran the effort four feet (1.3 m) past the hole. The resulting putt lipped out, allowing Larrazábal to hole a two-foot birdie putt for the victory.


title: Sergio García

text: García's runner-up finish at the BMW International Open ensured qualification for the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George's, through the current form money list exemption. García went on to finish tied for 9th place at the Open Championship, his best finish for four years. He continued the run at the 2011 PGA Championship where he finished in a tie for 12th place, extending his streak to 50 consecutive majors played, the longest streak among active players. In October 2011, García ended a three-year title drought with back-to-back wins in his home country at the Castelló Masters and the Andalucía Masters. García won the Castelló Masters in dominant fashion, with a final score of 27-under-par, 11 strokes ahead of the field. It was the joint third highest victory margin on the European Tour, beaten only by Tiger Woods' 15 stroke victory at the 2000 U.S. Open and Ernie Els' 13 stroke win at the 2005 BMW Asian Open. After the win, García dedicated it to the late Seve Ballesteros, stating "That was for Seve."


title: Sergio García

text: The following week, García won the Andalucía Masters, played at the Club de Golf Valderrama, arguably regarded as one of the toughest golf courses on the European Tour. He edged out fellow countryman Miguel Ángel Jiménez by one shot after a tense final round. Following his back-to-back wins, García moved back into the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking. In August 2012, García ended a four-year title drought on the PGA Tour by winning the Wyndham Championship. In doing so, García also secured his place on the 2012 Ryder Cup team. In December 2012, García fired a final round 61 to win the Iskandar Johor Open on the Asian Tour.


title: Sergio García

text: While tied for the lead at the 2013 Players Championship, García hit three balls into the water on the 17th and 18th holes, finishing quadruple-bogey, double-bogey. He finished tied for eighth place. After the tournament ended, García and Tiger Woods (who won the tournament) had a public feud over an incident that occurred during the third round. Two weeks later, at a European Tour players dinner, García was asked about meeting with Woods at the U.S. Open, to which he responded, "We'll have him 'round every night. We will serve fried chicken." The remark was seen as racist. García issued a statement later that night apologizing and then issued another apology the next day, saying that his comments were "totally stupid and out of place."


title: Sergio García

text: In January 2014, García won the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after defeating Mikko Ilonen in a playoff. The win put him back in the world top 10.


title: Sergio García

text: In July 2014, García finished joint runner-up at the 2014 Open Championship, two strokes behind Rory McIlroy. This was the second time García had finished as a runner-up at The Open Championship and fourth time in a major championship, having still yet to break through. García began the final round seven strokes behind McIlroy, but got to within two after an eagle on the 10th hole. However his challenge was ended when he left his second shot in the bunker at the par three 15th which he would bogey to fall three behind with three to play. This finish moved García back inside the world's top five in the world rankings.


title: Sergio García

text: The biggest result of García's 2015 season was at the 2015 Players Championship; where he tied Rickie Fowler and Kevin Kisner at 12 under par after 72 holes. He was then eliminated after the three-hole playoff, after finishing two strokes behind Fowler and Kisner. Fowler would go on to win in sudden-death. On the Asian Tour, he won the Ho Tram Open in Phước Thuận, Vietnam, beating Lin Wen-tang, Himmat Rai and Thaworn Wiratchant in a four-way playoff.


title: Sergio García

text: As the year before at The Players Championship, García came very close to another win on the PGA Tour at The Honda Classic. In a final round showdown with Adam Scott, where the pair started the final round level, the Aussie prevailed by one shot. In May, García won his second AT&T Byron Nelson championship in a playoff over Brooks Koepka. The win was his first on the PGA Tour since 2012 and his ninth career victory, tying Seve Ballesteros for most by a Spanish-born player.


title: Sergio García

text: In February 2017, García completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic for his first European Tour title in over three years. The victory was García's 12th of his European Tour career, as he finished three strokes ahead of Henrik Stenson. The victory moved García back inside the top-10 and after the win García said "Hopefully it will be the beginning of a great year."


title: Sergio García

text: On 9 April 2017, in his 74th major championship, García broke through and won the Masters Tournament with victory on the first sudden-death playoff hole against Justin Rose. García became the third Spanish player to win the Masters, after Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal. The victory also came on what would have been Ballesteros' 60th birthday.


title: Sergio García

text: García shot rounds of 71-69-70 over the first three rounds to enter the final round at six-under par and in the co-lead with Rose, who played together in the final group. This represented García's second career 54-hole lead/co-lead at a major championship, after the 2007 Open Championship. García began the final round strongly, with two birdies on his opening three holes and he forged a three shot lead early on. Rose came back though and following bogeys on the 10th and 11th for García, Rose opened up a two shot lead.


title: Sergio García

text: The 13th hole was then pivotal, as García scrambled a par and Rose missed a short birdie putt to keep the gap at two shots. García would then birdie the next hole and eagle the par five 15th to tie Rose with three holes remaining. They then both hit their tee shots at the 16th close, but only Rose converted, to again lead by one. Rose however would make a mistake at the 17th, leading to a dropped shot and meaning both players were tied going up the 72nd hole. Both players hit their approach shots close on the 18th green, but Rose burnt the lip with his birdie putt. García had a five-foot putt to win the tournament in regulation play but pushed it right resulting in a playoff as both players finished level on 9-under-par after 72 holes.


title: Sergio García

text: Playing the 18th hole again, Rose hit his tee shot into the pine straw, meaning his second shot was blocked off by trees, so could only advance his ball 50 yards or so. He played his third to a similar area of the green he had during regulation play. García fired his approach to within twelve feet. Rose's putt for par then missed on the left side of the hole, leaving García with two putts for the win. He only needed one, as he holed his birdie putt for his first major championship.


title: Sergio García

text: On 9 October 2017, it was announced that García had parted ways with TaylorMade after 15 years with the equipment brand.


title: Sergio García

text: Two weeks later, he won the Andalucía Valderrama Masters. Along with the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Masters, it was the first time he had recorded three wins in a single European Tour season. A few days after his win, he spoke about the rising tensions in Spain after the Catalan independence debate, calling on the country to 'be more together'.


title: Sergio García

text: Ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in November, García dropped a huge hint that he was on the verge of signing an equipment deal with Callaway Golf Company after playing a full set of the brand's clubs in Dubai.


title: Sergio García

text: On 21 January 2018, García played a bogey-free 27 holes to win the Asian Tour's SMBC Singapore Open by five strokes over Satoshi Kodaira and Shaun Norris. García shot four-under on the back nine to close out a third-round 66, then posted a closing three-under 68 in his final round.


title: Sergio García

text: On 5 April 2018, in the first round of the 2018 Masters Tournament, García tied the record for most strokes on a hole in Masters history, shooting a 13 on the 15th hole. García ultimately missed the cut at the 2018 Masters Tournament and failed to defend his title after shooting 81–78.


title: Sergio García

text: García was a member of the 2018 Ryder Cup winning European team at Le Golf National outside of Paris, France on 28–30 September 2018. He went 3–1–0 and won his singles match against Rickie Fowler (2 and 1). European captain Thomas Bjørn made García a captain's pick notwithstanding García's inconsistent play for much of 2018, but was chosen for his passion and record in the Ryder Cup.


title: Sergio García

text: On 22 October 2018, García successfully defended his Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation title after wrapping up a comfortable four-shot victory at Real Club Valderrama in Spain.


title: Sergio García

text: In February 2019, García was disqualified from the Saudi International tournament on the European Tour for damaging five greens deliberately in anger during his third round.


title: Sergio García

text: In March 2019, García was involved in another controversy at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. García and Matt Kuchar were locked in a quarterfinal duel when things went awry at the par-3 seventh hole. Trailing Kuchar by one, García missed a seven-footer for par to win the hole, his ball coming to rest an inch or two away from the cup. García went after his putt and gave it a quick-rake, and the ball lipped out. Due to the Spaniard's swiftness, Kuchar did not have a chance to concede the putt. As such, García lost the hole. Kuchar told the official he wanted to give García the putt, but that cannot be done retroactively. García eventually lost 2 up to Kuchar, who went on to play in the finals of the event.


title: Sergio García

text: In April 2019, García missed the cut at the Masters after shooting 73–75, which was won by Tiger Woods, and the missed cut was his 6th straight in a major championship, the longest such streak in his career.


title: Sergio García

text: In July 2019, García was again mired in controversy after throwing his driver at his caddie at the final round of the 2019 Open Championship after a poor drive at the fifth hole at Royal Portrush. Later that month, footage emerged of García gouging the teebox after a poor drive on the 16th hole, while competing at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational event in Memphis.


title: Sergio García

text: In September 2019, García won the KLM Open in Amsterdam with a one-shot win over teenage Danish golfer Nicolai Højgaard. This was his sixteenth European Tour win.


title: Sergio García

text: In January 2020, speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, García revealed that he had ended his association with Callaway after just two years together.


title: Sergio García

text: In October 2020, García won the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi. He has now won PGA Tour events in three separate decades.


title: Sergio García

text: Also in October 2020, it was announced that García would partner Amer Delić in a semi-professional doubles tournament to be held in Austin, Texas. The pair lost their opening match at the Men's UTR Pro Tennis event.


title: Sergio García

text: In May, while competing at the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour, García had a verbal altercation with a rules official while attempting to find his ball. García become heated after being told it took too long to find his ball, leading to him shouting "A couple more weeks, and I won't have to deal with you anymore". This led to speculation that Garcia would join the Saudi Arabia-led LIV Golf Invitational Series. García resigned from the PGA Tour and was then suspended from its future tournaments after he began play in the first LIV Golf tournament.


title: Sergio García

text: In July 2017, García married Golf Channel reporter Angela Akins, the daughter of Marty Akins. His sister Mar is married to the footballer Pablo Hernández. Until June 2018, he was also the president and chairman of his hometown football club CF Borriol, for whom he occasionally played in the Tercera División. He maintains residences in Austin, Texas, Orlando, Florida, Borriol, and Crans-Montana.


title: Sergio García

text: On 14 March 2018, García became a father. He named his daughter Azalea, after the famed flowers of Augusta National Golf Club and the nickname for the par-5 13th hole where García made par to move ahead and help claim his first major. They had son Enzo in April 2020.


title: Sergio García

text: García is also an avid Real Madrid supporter and was invited to take the honorary kickoff for El Clásico (between Real and archrival FC Barcelona) at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu wearing his green jacket after his Masters victory.


title: Sergio García

text: These figures are from the respective tour's official sites. Note that there is double counting of money earned and wins in the majors and World Golf Championships.


title: Sergio García

text: García previously had an endorsement deal with TaylorMade and Adidas, at the time a joint company used all TaylorMade equipment, and Adidas shoes and clothing.


title: Sergio García

text: Following the acquisition of TaylorMade by KPS Capital Partners and separation from Adidas and after fifteen years with the company, in January 2018 Sergio García severed his ties with TaylorMade, remained with Adidas and signed with Callaway. At the start of 2020, García confirmed he had parted ways with Callaway after two years to become a free agent.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Saturn's hexagon is a persistent approximately hexagonal cloud pattern around the north pole of the planet Saturn, located at about 78°N.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: The sides of the hexagon are about long, which is about longer than the diameter of Earth. The hexagon may be a bit more than wide, may be high, and may be a jet stream made of atmospheric gases moving at . It rotates with a period of , the same period as Saturn's radio emissions from its interior. The hexagon does not shift in longitude like other clouds in the visible atmosphere.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Saturn's hexagon was discovered during the Voyager mission in 1981, and was later revisited by "Cassini-Huygens" in 2006. During the "Cassini" mission, the hexagon changed from a mostly blue color to more of a golden color. Saturn's south pole does not have a hexagon, as verified by Hubble observations. It does, however, have a vortex, and there is also a vortex inside the northern hexagon. Multiple hypotheses for the hexagonal cloud pattern have been developed.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Saturn's polar hexagon was discovered by David Godfrey in 1987 from piecing together fly-by views from the 1981 Voyager mission,


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Cassini was able to take only thermal infrared images of the hexagon until it passed into sunlight in January 2009.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Cassini was also able to take a video of the hexagonal weather pattern while traveling at the same speed as the planet, therefore recording only the movement of the hexagon.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: After its discovery, and after it came back into the sunlight, amateur astronomers managed to get images showing the hexagon from Earth, even with modest-sized telescopes.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Between 2012 and 2016, the hexagon changed from a mostly blue color to more of a golden color. One theory for this is that sunlight is creating haze as the pole is exposed to sunlight due to the change in season. These changes were observed by the Cassini spacecraft.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: One hypothesis, developed at Oxford University, is that the hexagon forms where there is a steep latitudinal gradient in the speed of the atmospheric winds in Saturn's atmosphere. Similar regular shapes were created in the laboratory when a circular tank of liquid was rotated at different speeds at its centre and periphery. The most common shape was six sided, but shapes with three to eight sides were also produced. The shapes form in an area of turbulent flow between the two different rotating fluid bodies with dissimilar speeds. A number of stable vortices of similar size form on the slower (south) side of the fluid boundary and these interact with each other to space themselves out evenly around the perimeter. The presence of the vortices influences the boundary to move northward where each is present and this gives rise to the polygon effect. Polygons do not form at wind boundaries unless the speed differential and viscosity parameters are within certain margins and so are not present at other likely places, such as Saturn's south pole or the poles of Jupiter.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Other researchers claim that lab studies exhibit vortex streets, a series of spiraling vortices not observed in Saturn's hexagon. Simulations show that a shallow, slow, localized meandering jetstream in the same direction as Saturn's prevailing clouds are able to match the observed behaviors of Saturn's hexagon with the same boundary stability.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: Developing barotropic instability of Saturn's North Polar hexagonal circumpolar jet (Jet) plus North Polar vortex (NPV) system produces a long-living structure akin to the observed hexagon, which is not the case of the Jet-only system, which was studied in this context in a number of papers in literature. The north polar vortex (NPV), thus, plays a decisive dynamical role to stabilize hexagon jets. The influence of moist convection, which was recently suggested to be at the origin of Saturn's north polar vortex system in the literature, is investigated in the framework of the barotropic rotating shallow water model and does not alter the conclusions.


title: Saturn's hexagon

text: A 2020 mathematical study at the California Institute of Technology, Andy Ingersoll laboratory found that a stable geometric arrangement of the polygons can occur on any planet when a storm is surrounded by a ring of winds turning in the opposite direction to the storms itself, called an anticyclonic ring, or anticyclonic shielding. Such shielding creates a vorticity gradient in the background of a neighbor cyclone, causing mutual rejection between the cyclones (similar to the effect of beta-drift). Although apparently shielded, the polar cyclone on Saturn cannot hold a polygonal pattern of circumpolar cyclones such as Jupiter's due to the bigger size and slower wind speed of Saturn's polar cyclone.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. He held the WBA lightweight title from 1982 to 1984. Mancini inherited his nickname from his father, boxer Lenny Mancini. In 2015, Ray was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini, an American of Italian descent, was born Raymond Michael Mancino in Youngstown, Ohio on March 4, 1961. Boxing played a prominent role in the Mancini family history. Mancini's father, Lenny Mancini (the original "Boom Boom"), was a top-ranked contender during the 1940s. Lenny Mancini's dream, however, was dashed when he was wounded during World War II. Although Lenny Mancini returned to boxing, limitations resulting from his injuries prevented him from fulfilling his potential. He was a childhood friend and neighbor to future Oklahoma Sooners football head coach Bob Stoops.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Lenny inspired Ray to develop his boxing skills and encouraged him to train at a gym when he was quite young. Thus, Ray then began his quest to win the world title for his father.


title: Ray Mancini

text: On October 18, 1979, Mancini made his professional debut and defeated Phil Bowen with a first-round knockout. His whirlwind punching style caught the attention of network executives at several American television networks, and he became a regular on their sports programming. During this time Mancini defeated some notable boxers including former US champion Norman Goins in March 1981.


title: Ray Mancini

text: On April 30, 1980, Mancini defeated Bobby Sparks with a knockout at 1:28 in the first round for the regional Ohio State Lightweight title. Over a year later on May 16, 1981, Mancini won his first major title by defeating Jorge Morales for the WBC-affiliated NABF Lightweight championship when the referee determined that Morales could not continue after the 9th round. In the post-match interview, Ray said that he was "keeping this title for myself because the world title is going to my dad". Two months later, he successfully defended the title against José Luis Ramírez after a unanimous decision. Mancini's first attempt at a world title came on October 3 when he was pitted against Alexis Argüello for his World Boxing Council lightweight title. The event was selected by many (including "The Ring" and ESPN) as one of the most spectacular fights of the 1980s. Mancini gave Argüello trouble early and built a lead on the scorecards, but Argüello used his experience to his advantage in the later rounds and stopped Mancini in the 14th round.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini would rebound from the loss to Argüello by winning his next two bouts, including a second successful defense of his NABF Lightweight title against Julio Valdez (10th-round TKO) which would earn him another chance at a world title.


title: Ray Mancini

text: On May 8, 1982, in a match held at The Aladdin in Las Vegas, he challenged the new World Boxing Association lightweight champion, Arturo Frias. Fifteen seconds into the fight, Frias caught Mancini with a left hook to the chin and another combination made Mancini bleed from his eyebrow. Mancini recovered and dropped Frias right in the center of the ring with a combination. Dazed, Frias got back up but Mancini immediately went on the offensive and trapped Frias against the ropes. After many unanswered blows, referee Richard Greene stopped the fight at 2:54 in the first round, and the Mancini family finally had a world champion.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini's first title defense, against former world champion Ernesto España, went smoothly with a Mancini knockout win in the 6th round.


title: Ray Mancini

text: On November 13, 1982, a 21-year-old Mancini met 27-year-old South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim. Kim had struggled to make the weight limit, and had to lose several pounds shortly before the fight. The title bout, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, was televised live on CBS Sports. Mancini won by TKO in the 14th round. Moments after the fight ended, Kim collapsed and fell into a coma, having suffered a subdural hematoma, and died four days later. The week after his death, the cover of "Sports Illustrated" magazine showed Mancini and Kim battling, under the title "Tragedy in the Ring".


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini went to the funeral in South Korea and fell into a deep depression afterwards. He has said that the hardest moments came when people approached him and asked if he was the boxer who "killed" Duk Koo Kim. Mancini went through a period of reflection, as he blamed himself for Kim's death. In addition, Kim's mother died by suicide three months after the fight, and the bout's referee, Richard Green, killed himself in July 1983.


title: Ray Mancini

text: As a result of Kim's death, the WBC took steps to shorten its title bouts to a maximum of 12 rounds. The WBA and WBO followed in 1988, and the IBF in 1989.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini began the process of getting his life back together by once again putting on boxing gloves. He went to Italy to face British champion George Feeney, where he won a 10-round decision.


title: Ray Mancini

text: He defended his title two more times. First, on September 15, 1983, he beat Peruvian challenger Orlando Romero by a knockout in nine rounds at Madison Square Garden to achieve a lifelong dream of fighting in that building, and then after a November 25 tune-up bout in which he defeated Johnny Torres by first-round knockout in his return to the Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas, in January 1984, in a bout with former world champion Bobby Chacon, which was broadcast on HBO, Mancini defeated Chacon when referee Richard Steele stopped the fight in the third round with blood dripping from Chacon's left eye at Reno, Nevada.


title: Ray Mancini

text: In June 1984, Mancini, still recovering from the emotional trauma of Kim's death, fought Livingstone Bramble to defend his title in Buffalo, New York. This time however, Mancini came out on the losing end, defeated after 14 rounds. Mancini lost the title, but not before a fierce effort that resulted in an overnight stay at Millard Fillmore Hospital and 71 stitches around one eye.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini returned to the ring twice to attempt to regain his world title. In a rematch with Bramble, Mancini lost the fight by one point on all three judges' scorecards in a 15-round decision. His next attempt came in March 1989, when he lost to Héctor 'Macho' Camacho in a split decision, Mancini had one final fight in April 1992, against former lightweight champion Greg Haugen. Mancini lost when referee Mills Lane stopped the fight in the seventh round.


title: Ray Mancini

text: A made-for-television movie based on Mancini's life aired in the 1980s. The former champion was able to keep 75 percent of his $12 million in purse money, which enabled him to pursue a broad range of interests in retirement.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini, who as of 2007 resided in Los Angeles, owns the El Campeon Cigar Company and operates two movie production companies. Mancini appeared in and produced a handful of films. He appeared in the quirky 1994 comedy "The Search for One-eye Jimmy", in David Mamet's MMA film "Redbelt", and in the 2000 remake "Body and Soul". Mancini played Charlie, Frank's retired father, in "Bad Frank" (2017).


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini produced "Youngstown: Still Standing" in 2010, which premiered at the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival on March 24. The documentary film featured his hometown friend, actor Ed O'Neill, and also included Jim Cummings, Kelly Pavlik, Jay Williams, Andrea Wood, and Mancini himself, among many other Youngstown natives and locals. John Chechitelli – another Youngstown native – directed and edited the 89-minute-long film. It recounts the history of Youngstown, Ohio, from its founding in 1797 to the present.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini has a son also named Ray who appeared in the YouTube reality series SummerBreak, in which Manicini also had a guest role.


title: Ray Mancini

text: Mancini practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and holds a purple belt in the martial art. And he became a fight analyst for the Fox reality series "Celebrity Boxing".


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Dark Nights: Metal is a monthly comic book published by DC Comics that began in June 2017 and lasted until April 2018. "Dark Nights: Metal" is part of a larger crossover storyline, which include the eponymous six-issue core miniseries, and a number of tie-in books. The plot was written by Scott Snyder, with art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia. The story closely links with Snyder and Capullo's run on "Batman" during The New 52 DC relaunch.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: The story involves Batman discovering a dark multiverse that exists beneath the core DC multiverse. It is revealed that both multiverses are connected through mysterious metals that Batman has encountered over the years. His investigations eventually result in him releasing seven evil versions of himself from the dark multiverse, led by the dark god known as Barbatos, who plans to unleash darkness across every Earth.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: A soundtrack featuring songs inspired by the graphic novel was released as exclusive vinyl picture disc on September 28, 2018. The six-track EP features heavy metal songs by Jerry Cantrell, Chino Moreno, Brann Dailor, Maria Brink, Alexis Krauss and Jason Aalon Butler.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: DC Comics first announced the details of "Dark Nights: Metal" at Fan Expo Dallas in April 2017. The company revealed that the event would feature the reunion of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo after their widely acclaimed "New 52" Batman run. The series, which debuted in June 2017, is the culmination of their Batman story arcs, which includes "The Court of Owls", "Death of the Family", "", and "". Snyder stated, "I've been writing Metal as long as I've been writing Batman."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: The idea of creating a dark multiverse came from Snyder, who was inspired by watching the science documentary television series "" with his five-year-old son. He became fascinated with the concept of dark matter, prompting him to question "What if the Multiverse essentially has these 52 universes, but has almost this ocean of possibility, this ocean of almost reactive matter beneath it that's like a Dark Multiverse". Aside the seven featured Dark Knights in the finished comic book, Snyder planned more dark Batmen that got ultimately cut; these included a Punisher-esque Batman, a dark magic-wielding Batman, a Batman who grew up as a patient in Arkham Asylum after being accused of his parents' murder, a Batman who merged with his whole rogues gallery and one who merged with Gotham City itself.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: "Dark Nights: Metal" also marks the first appearance of Dream of the Endless from Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" (1989–1996) in the post-"New 52" DC Universe. According to Snyder, he wanted to make the story unforgettable and a character to help guide the superheroes through the unknown. When he realized Dream would be a good fit, he reached out to Gaiman for permission to use him. “I was so excited... [Gaiman] couldn’t have been more generous", he said. "It’s literally one of the best moments of my career, to be able to get to write a character that meant so much to me growing up and still does".


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: In June 2017, DC announced seven one-shot comics that tie into the story of "Dark Nights: Metal": "Batman: The Red Death", "Batman: The Murder Machine", "Batman: The Dawnbreaker", "Batman: The Drowned", "Batman: The Merciless", "Batman: The Devastator", and "The Batman Who Laughs". DC stated, "Each one-shot story spotlights a different, corrupted version of Batman spawned from the Dark Multiverse to wreak havoc on Earth."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: The following month, DC announced "Batman Lost" written by Scott Snyder with art by Olivier Coipel and Bengal. Snyder states, "the single issue story will strand Batman alone in the Dark Multiverse, where he will face his greatest fears."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: At the 2017 Comic-Con International, an additional tie-in one-shot was announced called "Hawkman Found" written by Jeff Lemire with art by Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan. As the title implies, it focused on the connection between Hawkman and the events of "Dark Nights: Metal" and it is positioned as a sequel to "Batman Lost". Lemire revealed that it "re-positions one of DC’s oldest, most iconic and most confusing characters ahead of a possible new ongoing in the new year."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: In September 2017, DC announced, without a specific reason, that issue #4 would be delayed by a week. This led to the one-shot comic, "Hawkman Found", being delayed by a week as well.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: DC announced another delay without reason in October 2017 and issue #5 was released three weeks later than the originally scheduled date.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Hal Jordan is summoned by Ganthet to investigate a dark presence that he senses on Earth, the location of which is revealed to be the Batcave. Upon his arrival, he meets Duke Thomas. As they investigate, they stumble upon a hidden room in the Batcave, where they hear a mysterious voice that lures them in. This leads them to a cell where Batman has imprisoned the Joker.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Meanwhile, Batman has been investigating random frequencies that have appeared across the Earth, which he believes are a part of a bigger mystery that he has been investigating for years regarding mysterious metals and dark energy. He enlists the help of Mister Terrific to collect more data from Earth-Two. After conferring with him, he realizes that he needs to use the Anti-Monitor tower at Superman's Fortress of Solitude to further his investigations.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Batman continues his investigation by seeking Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths, in Athens, but learns from Wonder Woman that the Greek Gods have abandoned Earth. However, she has been given a weapon forged for Apollo called the Sunblade, that she has been instructed to give to Batman. This leads him to an encounter with Talia al Ghul, where he is able to trade the Sunblade for a dagger forged by the wizard Shazam. It is made of one of the metals Batman has been searching for.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Back in the Batcave, the Joker has escaped his cell and appears to have deeper knowledge of the unraveling mystery. He proceeds to smash a machine that Batman has built, claiming that it will herald the end of the world. A fight ensues, where it is revealed that Duke is a metahuman with the power to become luminescent and see light constructs of his surroundings. It ends when the Joker suddenly disappears. Batman returns and explains that he needed the machine to peer into the source of visions he had been seeing from the Dark Multiverse. Duke is able to use his newfound ability to see a blueprint of the machine. Hal gives him his power ring, so that he is able to reconstruct it. This ends with Batman receiving a vision of complete darkness, while a group of dark figures exclaim that the seal has been broken and that the Dark Knights are coming, implying that Batman opened up a door to the Dark Multiverse.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: The story is framed around the journals of Carter Hall, who reveals a mystery that spans centuries revolving around divine metals that have landed on Earth. He gradually reveals a conflict that has existed since the beginning of time between four tribes: the wolf, the bear, the bird and the bat.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: After the Justice League defeats Mongul on his war moon, they return home to find Challengers Mountain, the headquarters of the superhero team Challengers of the Unknown, has mysteriously appeared in the middle of Gotham City. When they get into the mountain they are met by Kendra Saunders, otherwise known as Hawkgirl, who warns them of a full-scale invasion. She explains the concept of a Dark Multiverse, a multiverse that exists beneath the DC Multiverse, that contains a dark beast named Barbatos. Through her investigations, she has discovered a connection between Barbatos and the Wayne family. Batman is revealed to be part of a prophecy in which he will be treated by five divine metals that will open a door to the Dark Multiverse and allow Barbatos to invade the Multiverse. It is further revealed that Barbatos first marked Batman when he was sent back in time by Darkseid's Omega Beams during the events of the "Final Crisis" storyline. Despite this, Batman steals Kendra's sample of Nth metal, one of the divine metals. In bringing it to the Batcave to study it, the metal leads Batman to the journal of Carter Hall, discovered to have been in Wayne Manor the whole time. The journal confirms Batman's suspicions regarding his role in the prophecy. He is then visited by Daniel Hall (Dream) who warns him that the "nightmare has only just begun."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: The whole Justice League searches for Batman and, when Superman finds him, he interrogates him. During this exchange, Batman reveals that he has already been exposed to the foretold divine metals in a process called mantling. It started when he faced the Court of Owls and was exposed to electrum. He was exposed to dionesium during the events of the "Endgame" story arc, when he fought to the death with the Joker. The machine that was subsequently used to resurrect him exposed him to promethium. Finally, when he used the machine that allowed him to peer into the Dark Multiverse (during the events of the lead-up), he exposed himself to the Nth metal. In an attempt to escape the last metal, Batman steals Darkseid, who has been reduced to a baby. He aims to use Darkseid's Omega Beams to go back in time again and prevent Barbatos from meeting him. Unfortunately, he is tricked by the Court of Owls and subsequently exposed to the last divine metal: batmanium. This causes him to exchange places with Barbatos and seven dark versions of himself from the Dark Multiverse.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Superman flies to the Fortress of Solitude where he encounters the dark versions of Batman for the first time as they introduce themselves as the Dark Knights. They all come from the Dark Multiverse—temporary negative realities created by the fears of people from their respective counterpart positive universes—and were recruited by Barbatos with the promise of preventing the end of their worlds. The Batman Who Laughs from Earth-22, who lost his sanity due to his world's Joker, gathered the six other Dark Multiverse Batmen after they each alter themselves to gain superhuman abilities. The Dark Knights' membership includes the speedster fusion of Flash and Batman called The Red Death, a female amphibious Batman (Bryce Wayne) called The Drowned, a corrupted, teenaged Green Lantern Batman named The Dawnbreaker, a cyborg Batman named The Murder Machine, a Batman known as The Merciless who wears the helmet of Ares and the Doomsday-infected Batman called The Devastator. Superman is overwhelmed as he is spirited away from danger by the Flash and Doctor Fate.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Superman meets the people who are left of the resistance, including those who are connected to the Nth metal such as Doctor Fate, Steel, and Plastic Man's egg. Nightwing explains how major cities around the world have fallen to the dark versions of Batman: The Red Death attacked Central City, The Drowned attacked Amnesty Bay, The Dawnbreaker attacked Coast City, the Murder Machine attacked Detroit, the Merciless attacked Langley, the Devastator attacked Metropolis and the Batman Who Laughs takes Gotham City. Suddenly, Mister Terrific interprets vibrations coming from Plastic Man's egg which indicate the coordinates of four locations that need to be investigated. Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate and Kendra Saunders go to investigate the Rock of Eternity. Green Lantern and Mister Terrific head to the remains of Thanagar. Aquaman and Deathstroke go to Atlantis. Finally, Superman has Steel and the Flash create a path into the Dark Multiverse for him through the Phantom Zone. Once he arrives, Superman realizes that it was a trap set by the Dark Knights so that they can harness the energy from his cells to power their doomsday device which would unleash their reality into the Multiverse.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: While searching for the Nth Metal at the Rock of Eternity, Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate and Kendra Saunders face the personification of the Seven Sins. Kendra, entrusted with the mission given by the Council of Immortals, tries to fire the Anti-Monitor's astral brain into the center of the Multiverse as an attempt to stop the Dark Multiverse but is interrupted by Barbatos, who transforms her into a dark-hawk version of herself named Lady Blackhawk. Meanwhile, Dr. Fate is confronted by Black Adam, who alongside Vandal Savage, have brokered a deal with Barbatos. At the outskirts of Atlantis, Aquaman and Deathstroke enter the sacred/forbidden burial ground of Atlantis' first king, Arion. Meanwhile, Hal Jordan and Mr. Terrific reach Thanagar Prime where they find long-time Thangarian enemy Onimar Synn has conquered the planet with the help of JLA villain Starro. They have known of the Dark Multiverse's existence for eons and have prepared to “raze the Earth” with a doomsday device called The Phoenix Cannon. Starro neutralizes Lantern and Terrific and the two are incarcerated.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Meanwhile, in the Dark Multiverse, Superman wakes Bruce from an unending nightmare. Overwhelmed by dark Supermen, the World's Finest are saved by Daniel Hall. Taken to Lucien's library in the Dreaming, Daniel proceeds to explain the history of the Multiverse, revealing that alongside the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor, there is a third being: a "Forger" tasked to watch over what had yet to come. Within the Dark Multiverse is a "World Forge" which hammered out universes from the hopes and fears of all living beings (the most stable forming the Orrery of Worlds). Barbatos himself is a great dragon that the Forger kept to destroy unstable worlds. Knowing only destruction, Barbatos killed his creator and the Forge began to darken (as twisted worlds survived). Convinced that there is still hope, Superman and Batman head for the Forge of Worlds, however, they find the Forge has gone dark and are confronted by the Dragon of Barbatos—a corrupted Carter Hall. Superman and Batman evade Carter Hall's attack as they struggle to search for a spark in the darkened core of the Forge.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Exiting a portal in Arion's grave, Arthur and Deathstroke find themselves in the Earth's core. Remembering a legend of how Arion saved Atlantis by using magic from the Earth's core, they begin extracting Nth Metal only to come under attack from Black Manta, who is allied with the Dark Knights.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: On Thanagar Prime, Hal and Mr. Terrific are rescued from their cells by Martian Manhunter (who has been exploring Thanagar Prime to learn about the secret Nth Metal deposits) and the trio proceed to rescue Plastic Man from Synn and Starro. They soon learn several Dark Knights have seized control of the Phoenix Cannon, reversing its polarity to make Earth sink further into the Dark Multiverse.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: In the Rock of Eternity, Kendra regains control of her body after Wonder Woman uses her golden lasso on her, restoring Kendra's memories, although she is still in her dark-hawk form. Kendra decides to operate under her original alias, Hawkgirl, and arms herself with Carter's mace. However, even after defeating Black Adam, both are beaten by the Batman Who Laughs, who explains that all the heroes have done is help accelerate Barbatos' plans and that Earth is now low enough for Barbatos' army to claim the world. Refusing to give up, Diana and Kendra proceed to use the Rock of Eternity's core to reach Barbatos and are confronted by his Dark Army.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Clashing their metals together (Diana's bracelets and Kendra's mace), the two heroines succeed in helping Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, Aquaman and Deathstroke fight back against the Dark Knights. Mr. Terrific convinces Plastic Man to awaken, turning the tide of battle. Reaching the Dark Forge, Kendra manages to break Carter out of Barbatos' corruption (reigniting the Forge in the process), Diana reaches Batman and Superman (donned in Tenth Metal, the prime constitute of the World Forge), and Barbatos is confronted by Flash and Cyborg, who have gathered reinforcements from other realities (including the '53rd Earth').


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Refusing to lose, Barbatos reveals his last resort; using the combined power of the positive energy of his prisoner the Over-Monitor, the Anti-Monitor's brain's negative energy, and the Batman Who Laughs' dark energy, he plans to destroy all of creation and leave nothing but darkness in his wake. An unexpected team-up of Batman and the Joker, however, halts this plan, the Justice League defeats the remaining Dark Knights, and Hawkgirl subdues Barbatos. After the Over-Monitor explains that all living things have trace amounts of Tenth Metal, the League proceed to use this power to pull Earth out of the Dark Multiverse (which unintentionally also results in the Source Wall shattering). After the battle the Over-Monitor chains Barbatos down at the bottom of the Dark Multiverse with Tenth Metal chains, forcing him to watch the World Forge burn bright once more as it creates new worlds.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: The Justice League, with the inclusion of Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl, are invited to a gala dinner at Wayne Manor. They speak of their victory against Barbatos, Hawkman recovering on Blackhawk Island and having written about mysterious glimpses of what is to come. Most importantly, they address cracking the Source Wall, which means their Multiverse just got much bigger. This is a matter of utmost importance, but for the night the League decides to enjoy themselves and start preparing the next day.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: During the after-dinner party, Bruce, Diana, and Clark talk more about the possible incoming threats now that the Multiverse has been expanded, including a hidden threat they have not yet told anyone else about. Bruce tells his friends not to worry, as he has a plan. On the desk of his study lay a number of blueprints for a Hall of Justice.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: During the event, portals were created over Gotham City which Derek James fell into and gained the abilities of trans-dimensional travel.


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: The review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, gave issue #1 an average score of 8.8 out of 10 based on 46 critics. Kieran Shiach of Comic Book Resources (CBR) wrote "Ultimately, "Dark Nights: Metal" is just outright fun. Snyder, Capullo and their collaborators really leaned into the ecstatic lunacy of superhero comics towards the end of their Batman run and" Metal" feels like the next logical step." Jesse Schedeen from IGN gave the issue an 8.4 out of 10 writing, "Apart from a surprisingly sluggish middle act, Dark Nights: Metal #1 is a terrifically enjoyable read. This issue crams in all the adventure and bombast that was promised, but also makes it clear that Batman is confronting one of the most dire and all-encompassing threats of his career." Pierce Lydon from Newsarama gave it an 8 out of 10 saying, "Dark Nights: Metal is a great event book because it is true to its characters and it’s deeper than just its surface “Justice League vs. Evil Batmen” premise."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Comic Book Roundup gave issue #2 an average score of 8.8 out of 10 based on 37 critics. Jim Johnson of CBR praised the issue, and the story-line, for giving Batman a larger role in the DC Universe, saying ""Dark Nights: Metal", though, has so far not only given his character fantastically plausible reasons to get out of Gotham, but to take a central role in a storyline that reaches much farther." Schedeen gave it an 8.5 saying "While Metal still has a few kinks to iron out before it can rival the best of Snyder and Capullo's work, the series is delivering plenty of drama and spectacle as it explores the collision between the DCU and the Dark Multiverse."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: Comic Book Roundup gave issue #3 an average score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 30 critics. Jim Johnson of CBR applauds the issue for providing Superman as a bright contrast from Batman, he says "The presence of Superman dilutes the darkness, if only a little, and is exemplified here in his optimistic, albeit false for now, hopes of finding and rescuing his crimefighting partner." Schedeen gave it a 7.2 saying "Unfortunately, this issue seems prone to biting off more than it can chew, resorting in a number of exposition-driven sequences that slow down an otherwise exciting storyline."


title: Dark Nights: Metal

text: DC and Warner Bros. collaborated on a soundtrack featuring songs inspired by "Dark Nights: Metal". The soundtrack was produced by Tyler Bates and Mike Elizondo, and was released as a six-track EP exclusively on 12" vinyl on September 28, 2018. The pressing was limited to 4,000 copies and the EP was also accompanied by a poster and a 32-page comic book.


title: Traffic sign

text: Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduced, for example the fingerposts in the United Kingdom and their wooden counterparts in Saxony.


title: Traffic sign

text: With traffic volumes increasing since the 1930s, many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified and standardized their signs to overcome language barriers, and enhance traffic safety. Such pictorial signs use symbols (often silhouettes) in place of words and are usually based on international protocols. Such signs were first developed in Europe, and have been adopted by most countries to varying degrees.


title: Traffic sign

text: Various international conventions have helped to achieve a degree of uniformity in Traffic Signing in various countries.


title: Traffic sign

text: Traffic signs can be grouped into several types. For example, Annexe 1 of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1968), which on 30 June 2004 had 52 signatory countries, defines eight categories of signs:


title: Traffic sign

text: In the United States, the categories, placement, and graphic standards for traffic signs and pavement markings are legally defined in the Federal Highway Administration's "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices" as the standard.


title: Traffic sign

text: A rather informal distinction among the directional signs is the one between advance directional signs, interchange directional signs, and reassurance signs. Advance directional signs appear at a certain distance from the interchange, giving information for each direction. A number of countries do not give information for the road ahead (so-called "pull-through" signs), and only for the directions left and right. Advance directional signs enable drivers to take precautions for the exit (e.g., switch lanes, double check whether this is the correct exit, slow down).


title: Traffic sign

text: They often do not appear on lesser roads, but are normally posted on expressways and motorways, as drivers would be missing exits without them. While each nation has its own system, the first approach sign for a motorway exit is mostly placed at least from the actual interchange. After that sign, one or two additional advance directional signs typically follow before the actual interchange itself.


title: Traffic sign

text: The earliest road signs were milestones, giving distance or direction; for example, the Romans erected stone columns throughout their empire giving the distance to Rome. According to Strabo, Mauryas erected signboards at distance of 10 stades to mark their roads. In the Middle Ages, multidirectional signs at intersections became common, giving directions to cities and towns.


title: Traffic sign

text: In 1686, the first known Traffic Regulation Act in Europe was established by King Peter II of Portugal. This act foresaw the placement of priority signs in the narrowest streets of Lisbon, stating which traffic should back up to give way. One of these signs still exists at Salvador street, in the neighborhood of Alfama.


title: Traffic sign

text: The first modern road signs erected on a wide scale were designed for riders of high or "ordinary" bicycles in the late 1870s and early 1880s. These machines were fast, silent and their nature made them difficult to control, moreover their riders travelled considerable distances and often preferred to tour on unfamiliar roads. For such riders, cycling organizations began to erect signs that warned of potential hazards ahead (particularly steep hills), rather than merely giving distance or directions to places, thereby contributing the sign type that defines "modern" traffic signs.


title: Traffic sign

text: The development of automobiles encouraged more complex signage systems using more than just text-based notices. One of the first modern-day road sign systems was devised by the Italian Touring Club in 1895. By 1900, a Congress of the International League of Touring Organizations in Paris was considering proposals for standardization of road signage. In 1903 the British government introduced four "national" signs based on shape, but the basic patterns of most traffic signs were set at the 1908 International Road Congress in Paris. In 1909, nine European governments agreed on the use of four pictorial symbols, indicating "bump", "curve", "intersection", and "grade-level railroad crossing". The intensive work on international road signs that took place between 1926 and 1949 eventually led to the development of the European road sign system. Both Britain and the United States developed their own road signage systems, both of which were adopted or modified by many other nations in their respective spheres of influence. The UK adopted a version of the European road signs in 1964 and, over past decades, North American signage began using some symbols and graphics mixed in with English.


title: Traffic sign

text: In the U.S., the first road signs were erected by the American Automobile Association (AAA). Starting in 1906, regional AAA clubs began paying for and installing wooden signs to help motorists find their way. In 1914, AAA started a cohesive transcontinental signage project, installing more than 4,000 signs in one stretch between Los Angeles and Kansas City alone.


title: Traffic sign

text: Over the years, change was gradual. Pre-industrial signs were stone or wood, but with the development of Darby's method of smelting iron using coke-painted cast iron became favoured in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Cast iron continued to be used until the mid-20th century, but it was gradually displaced by aluminium or other materials and processes, such as vitreous enamelled and/or pressed malleable iron, or (later) steel. Since 1945 most signs have been made from sheet aluminium with adhesive plastic coatings; these are normally retroreflective for nighttime and low-light visibility. Before the development of reflective plastics, reflectivity was provided by glass reflectors set into the lettering and symbols.


title: Traffic sign

text: New generations of traffic signs based on electronic displays can also change their text (or, in some countries, symbols) to provide for "intelligent control" linked to automated traffic sensors or remote manual input. In over 20 countries, real-time Traffic Message Channel incident warnings are conveyed directly to vehicle navigation systems using inaudible signals carried via FM radio, 3G cellular data and satellite broadcasts. Finally, cars can pay tolls and trucks pass safety screening checks using video numberplate scanning, or RFID transponders in windshields linked to antennae over the road, in support of on-board signalling, toll collection, and travel time monitoring.


title: Traffic sign

text: Yet another "medium" for transferring information ordinarily associated with visible signs is RIAS (Remote Infrared Audible Signage), e.g., "talking signs" for print-handicapped (including blind/low-vision/illiterate) people. These are infra-red transmitters serving the same purpose as the usual graphic signs when received by an appropriate device such as a hand-held receiver or one built into a cell phone.


title: Traffic sign

text: Then, finally, in 1914, the world's first electric traffic signal is put into place on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Angola are particularly modelled on the Portuguese road signs since Angola is a former Portuguese colony.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Mauritius are regulated by the Traffic Signs Regulations 1990. They are particularly modelled on the British road signs since Mauritius is a former British colony. Mauritius has left-hand traffic.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Sierra Leone are standardized road signs and closely follow those used in Italy with certain distinctions. They are written in English.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Asia differ by country. Typically, Asian countries closely follow Europe in terms of road sign design, which means they are influenced by both the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals and road signage standards of the European Union. In Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, road signs closely follow those used in Latin America, being influenced by both the Vienna Convention and the MUTCD, the only difference being the use of blue circle instead of the letter "E" or "P".


title: Traffic sign

text: Asian Highway signs are marked using white letters on a dark blue background. In Turkey and Russia, European route numbers are indicated using white characters on a green rectangle and are signposted, this is not the case in many other Asian countries.


title: Traffic sign

text: In Cambodia, road signs are prescribed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, of Cambodia. Cambodian road signage practice closely follows those used in Europe, with the exception of warning signs which follow the American MUTCD, matching the designs used in neighbouring Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.


title: Traffic sign

text: A variety of road signs are used in mainland China, specified in the Guobiao standard GB 5678-2009. Most road signs in China, like warning signs, appear to adopt the practices of the ISO standards not intended for use in traffic signage, which are ISO 3864 and ISO 7010.


title: Traffic sign

text: Hong Kong's traffic signs follow the British road sign conventions and are bi-lingual in English and Chinese (English on top, and Traditional Chinese characters at the bottom).


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Macau are inherited from pre-1994/1998 reform Portuguese road signages. They are written in Chinese and Portuguese.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Taiwan are reminiscent of the early 1940s Japanese road signage, which was used in Japan itself until 1950, this means that Taiwan is lenient towards European road signs in terms of road sign design, but with some influences from road signs used in Japan and China.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in the Republic of India are similar to those used in some parts of the United Kingdom, except that they are multilingual. Most urban roads and state highways have signs in the state language and English. National highways have signs in the state language and English.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Japan are either controlled by local police authorities under or by other road-controlling entities including Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, local municipalities, NEXCO (companies controlling expressways), under . Most of the design of the road signs in Japan are similar to the signs on the Vienna Convention, except for some significant variances, such as stop sign with a red downward triangle. The main signs are categorized into four meaning types:


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in South Korea are standardised and regulated by the Korean Road Traffic Authority. South Korean road signage closely follows those used in Europe, but with some influences from road signs in Japan. Similar to road signs of Poland and Greece, road signs are triangular, have a yellow background and a red border. Like other countries, the signs use pictograms to display their meaning.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in North Korea differ by locale. Most of the time, they tend to closely follow China in design (but identically), and some road signs are unique to North Korea (such as an exclamation mark drawn on another sign to indicate other dangers), so they never appear elsewhere.


title: Traffic sign

text: South Korea keeps close to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals as South Korea is an original signatory. On the other hand, North Korea is not a signatory to the convention and instead designs its own signs, creating confusion.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in the Philippines are standardized in the "Road Signs and Pavement Markings Manual", published by the Department of Public Works and Highways. Philippine road signage practice closely follow those used in Europe, but with local adaptations and some minor influences from the US MUTCD and Australian road signs. However, some road signs may differ by locale, and mostly diverge from the national standard. For example, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has used pink and light blue in its signage for which it has been heavily criticised.


title: Traffic sign

text: Regulatory road signs – other than the stop and give way signs – are generally circular, with (for prohibitions) a black symbol on a white background within a red border, or (for mandatory instructions) a white symbol on a blue background. In some cases circular regulatory signs are placed on white rectangular panels together with text supplementing their meanings.


title: Traffic sign

text: Most warning signs display a black symbol on a white background within a red-bordered equilateral triangle. Since 2012, however, a more visibly distinctive design (taken from that used for school signs in the US) has been adopted for pedestrian-related signs: these consist of a fluorescent yellow-green pentagon with black border and symbol. Additional panels may be placed below signs to supplement their meanings.


title: Traffic sign

text: Guide signs are divided into directional signs, service area signs, route markers, and tourist-related signs, with influence from both American and Australian practice. Directional signs use a green background with white letters and arrows. Service area signs use a blue background with white letters, arrows, and symbols. Tourist-related signs use a brown background with white letters, arrows, and symbols. The route marker sign, excluding the AH26 route marker, is based on the Australian National Route marker, but reserved for future use.


title: Traffic sign

text: Signs on expressways mostly take elements from Australian motorway/freeway signs. Exit signs, wrong way signs and start/end of expressway signs are very similar to Australian freeway signage. Traffic instruction signs are textual signs used to supplement warning and regulatory signs.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Saudi Arabia frequently show their text both in Arabic and English. Road signs also indicate which part of the road is for Muslims, and which part is for non-Muslims, for instance near Mecca.


title: Traffic sign

text: Singapore's traffic signs closely follow British road sign conventions, although the government has introduced some changes to them.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Sri Lanka are standardized road signs and closely follow those used in Europe with certain distinctions. A number of changes have introduced road signs that suit local roads and systems. Sri Lankan government announced by a gazette that aimed to give signage a face-lift and introduce over 100 new road traffic signs.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Thailand are standardised and are uniform throughout the country. Since the late twentieth century, Thai road signage practice closely follows the designs used in the United States, Europe and Japan. Road signs are often written in Thai language and display in metric units. In tourist areas, English is also used for important public places such as tourist attractions, airports, railway stations, and immigration checkpoints. Destinations on direction signage is written are written in both Thai and English.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Vietnam are standardized road signs closely follow those used in China with certain distinctions. They are written in Vietnamese.


title: Traffic sign

text: The standardization of traffic signs in Europe commenced with the signing of the 1931 Geneva Convention concerning the Unification of Road Signals by several countries. The 1931 Convention rules were developed in the 1949 Geneva Protocol on Road Signs and Signals.


title: Traffic sign

text: In 1968, the European countries signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic treaty, with the aim of standardizing traffic regulations in participating countries in order to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety. Part of the treaty was the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, which defined the traffic signs and signals. As a result, in Western Europe the traffic signs are well standardized, although there are still some country-specific exceptions, mostly dating from the pre-1968 era.


title: Traffic sign

text: The principle of the European traffic sign standard is that certain shapes and colours are to be used with consistent meanings:


title: Traffic sign

text: Directional signs ("guide signs" in American parlance) have not been harmonized under the convention, at least not on ordinary roads. As a result, there are substantial differences in directional signage throughout Europe. Differences apply to the choice of typeface, arrows and, most notably, colours. The convention does, however, specify that the type of directional signage used should, for each country, distinguish limited-access roads ("motorways") from ordinary, all-purpose roads.


title: Traffic sign

text: The black-on-white signposting of secondary roads distinguishes them from primary roads in Finland, France, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Sweden black-on-white indicates urban-only roads or urban destinations.


title: Traffic sign

text: The signposting of road numbers also differs greatly, except that European route numbers, if displayed, are always indicated using white characters on a green rectangle. European route numbers are, however, not signed at all in the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Albania and Iceland.


title: Traffic sign

text: The Convention recommends that certain signs – such as "STOP", "ZONE", etc. – be in English; however, use of the local language is also permitted. If a language uses non-Latin characters, a Latin-script transliteration of the names of cities and other important places should also be given. Road signs in the Republic of Ireland are bilingual, using Irish and English. Wales similarly uses bilingual Welsh–English signs, while some parts of Scotland have bilingual Scottish Gaelic–English signs. Finland also uses bilingual signs, in Finnish and Swedish. Signs in Belgium are in French, Dutch, or German depending on the region. In the Brussels Capital Region, road signs are in both French and Dutch. Signs in Switzerland are in French, German, Italian, or Romansh depending on the canton.


title: Traffic sign

text: European countries – with the notable exception of the United Kingdom, where distances and lengths are indicated in miles, yards, feet, and inches, and speed limits are expressed in miles per hour – use the metric system on road signs.


title: Traffic sign

text: For countries driving on the left, the convention stipulates that the traffic signs should be mirror images of those used in countries driving on the right. This practice, however, is not systematically followed in the four European countries driving on the left; United Kingdom, Cyprus, Malta and the Republic of Ireland. The convention permits the use of two background colours for danger and prohibition signs: white or yellow. Most countries use white, with a few – such as Finland, Iceland, Poland, and Sweden – opting for yellow as this tends to improve the winter-time visibility of signs in areas where snow is prevalent. In some countries, such as France or Italy, white is the normal background colour for such signs, but yellow is used for temporary signage (as, for example, at road works).


title: Traffic sign

text: European traffic signs have been designed with the principles of heraldry in mind; i.e., the sign must be clear and able to be resolved at a glance. Most traffic signs conform to heraldic tincture rules, and use symbols rather than written texts for better semiotic clarity.


title: Traffic sign

text: Albanian road signs are similar to Italian road signs, hence both follow the same convention on road sign design set out by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.


title: Traffic sign

text: Croatian road signs follow the Vienna convention (SFR Yugoslavia was the original signatory for Croatia, which is now a contracting party itself). The most common signs are:


title: Traffic sign

text: In the first years following Croatia's independence, its traffic signs were the same as in the rest of the former Yugoslavia. In the early 2000s, replacement of the yellow background of warning signs began, and new signs now use a white background.


title: Traffic sign

text: Iceland is not a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, but they do follow the Vienna Convention guidelines, however, they use a variant of the colour scheme and minor design changes similar to the signs in Sweden.


title: Traffic sign

text: Until the partition of Ireland in 1922 and the independence of the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland), British standards applied across the island. In 1926 road sign standards similar to those used in the UK at the time were adopted. Law requires that the signs be written in both Irish and English.


title: Traffic sign

text: In 1956, road signs in the Republic were changed from the UK standard with the adoption of US-style "diamond" signs for many road hazard warnings (junctions, bends, railway crossings, traffic lights). Some domestic signs were also invented, such as the keep-left sign (a black curved arrow pointing to the upper-left, although some are similar to the European "white arrow on blue disk" signs), while some other signs are not widely adopted outside Ireland, such as the no-entry sign (a black arrow pointing ahead in a white circle with a red slashed circumference).


title: Traffic sign

text: Directional signage is similar to current United Kingdom standards. The same colours are used for directional signs in Ireland as in the UK, and the UK Transport and Motorway fonts are used. Unlike Wales and Scotland, where Welsh and Gaelic place-names use the upright Transport face, Irish place-names are rendered in an italic face.


title: Traffic sign

text: In January 2005 Ireland adopted metric speed limits. Around 35,000 existing signs were replaced and a further 23,000 new signs erected bearing the speed limit in kilometres per hour. To avoid confusion with the old signs, each speed limit sign now has "km/h" beneath the numerals. Also, since the adoption of signs based on the "Warboys Committee" standard in 1977, Irish directional signs have used the metric system; however, unlike with the later speed limit changeover, there was no effort made to change the existing signage, and many finger posts still remain on rural roads with distances in miles, although the numbers continue to decline as roads are improved.


title: Traffic sign

text: In late 2007 Ireland began an extensive programme of sign and post replacement. Good examples are the M1 (Dublin–Dundalk) and the M50 (Dublin). While being mostly the same as the old signs, it is welcome as a lot of the signs were damaged/stained. About half of the new posts are now two medium posts with crosshatched metal posts in-between instead of one large pole to minimise the damage in case of a crash.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in Latvia largely adhere to Vienna Convention guidelines. In detailed design they closely resemble the signs used in Germany.


title: Traffic sign

text: Road signs in the Netherlands follow the Vienna Convention. Directional signs (which have not been harmonized under the convention) always use blue as the background colour. The destinations on the sign are printed in white. If the destination is not a town (but an area within town or some other kind of attraction), that destination will be printed in black on a separate white background within the otherwise blue sign.


title: Traffic sign

text: The Netherlands always signposts European road numbers where applicable (i.e., on the advance directional signs, the interchange direction signs and on the reassurance signs). Dutch national road numbers are placed on a rectangle, with motorways being signposted in white on a red rectangle (as an A"xx") and primary roads in black on a yellow rectangle (as N"xx"). When a motorway changes to a primary road, its number remains the same, but the A is replaced by the N. So at a certain point the A2 becomes N2, and when it changes to a motorway again, it becomes A2 again.


title: Traffic sign

text: The Dutch typeface, known as ANWB-Ee, is based on the US typeface. A new font, named ANWB-Uu (also known as Redesign), has been developed in 1997 and appears on many recent Dutch signs. On the motorways however the typeface remains the ANWB-Ee or a similar typeface. The language of the signs is typically Dutch, even though bilingual signs may be used, when the information is relevant for tourists.


title: Traffic sign

text: Signs in Norway mostly follow the Vienna Convention, except the polar bear warning sign, which is a white bear on a black background and a red border.