title: Ford's Theatre

text: The Ford's Theatre Museum beneath the theater contains portions of the Olroyd Collection of Lincolniana. Most recently renovated for a July 2009 reopening, the Museum is run through a partnership with the National Park Service and the private non-profit 501(c)(3) Ford's Theatre Society. The collection includes multiple items related to the assassination, including the Derringer pistol used to carry out the shooting, Booth's diary and the original door to Lincoln's theater box. In addition, a number of Lincoln's family items, his coat (without the blood-stained pieces), some statues of Lincoln and several large portraits of the President are on display in the museum. The blood-stained pillow from the President's deathbed is in the Ford's Theatre Museum. In addition to covering the assassination conspiracy, the renovated museum focuses on Lincoln's arrival in Washington, his presidential cabinet, family life in the White House and his role as orator and emancipator. The museum also features exhibits about Civil War milestones and generals and about the building's history as a theatrical venue. The rocking chair in which Lincoln was sitting is now on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.


title: Ford's Theatre

text: After Lincoln was shot, doctors had soldiers carry him into the street in search of a house in which he would be more comfortable. A man on the steps of the house of tailor William Petersen beckoned to them. They took Lincoln into the first-floor bedroom and laid him on the beddiagonally because of his unusual height. Many people came to visit him throughout the night before he died the following morning at 7:22 a.m.


title: Ford's Theatre

text: The Petersen House was purchased by the U.S. government in 1896 as the "House Where Lincoln Died", being the federal government's first purchase of a historic home.


title: Ford's Theatre

text: The National Park Service has operated it as a historic house museum since 1933, the rooms furnished as on the night Lincoln died.


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: Coleus amboinicus, synonym Plectranthus amboinicus, is a semi-succulent perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae with a pungent oregano-like flavor and odor. "Coleus amboinicus" is considered to be native to parts of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and India, although it is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in the tropics where it is used as a spice and ornamental plant. Common names in English include Indian borage, country borage, French thyme, Indian mint, Mexican mint, Cuban oregano, soup mint, Spanish thyme. The species epithet, "amboinicus" refers to Ambon Island, in Indonesia, where it was apparently encountered and described by João de Loureiro (1717–1791).


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: A member of the mint family Lamiaceae, "Coleus amboinicus" grows up to tall. The stem is fleshy, about , either with long rigid hairs (hispidly villous) or densely covered with soft, short and erect hairs (tomentose). Old stems are smooth (glabrescent).


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: Leaves are by , fleshy, undivided (simple), broad, egg/oval-shaped with a tapering tip (ovate). The margins are coarsely crenate to dentate-crenate except in the base. They are thickly studded with hairs (pubescent), with the lower surface possessing the most numerous glandular hairs, giving a frosted appearance. The petiole is . The aroma of the leaves can be described as a pungent combination of the aromas of oregano, thyme, and turpentine. The taste of the leaves is described as being similar to the one of oregano, but with a sharp mint-like flavor.


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: Flowers are on a short stem (shortly pedicelled), pale purplish, in dense 10-20 (or more) flowered dense whorls (cymes), at distant intervals, in a long slender spike-like raceme. Rachis , fleshy and pubescent. The bracts are broadly ovate, long, acute. The calyx is campanulate, long, hirsute and glandular, subequally 5-toothed, upper tooth broadly ovate-oblong, obtuse, abruptly acute, lateral and lower teeth acute. Corolla blue, curved and declinate, long, tube long. Trumpet-like widened; limb 2-lipped, upper lip short, erect, puberulent, lower lip long, concave. Filaments are fused below into a tube around the style.


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: "Coleus amboinicus" is native to Southern and Eastern Africa, from South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal) and Eswatini to Angola and Mozambique and north to Kenya and Tanzania, where it grows in woodland or coastal bush, on rocky slopes and loamy or sandy flats at low elevations. From Southern Africa it would have been carried by Arabs and other traders to Arabia, India and Southeast Asia along the Indian Ocean maritime trade routes. The plant also currently grows in mainland India. The plant was later brought to Europe, and then from Spain to the Americas, hence the name Spanish thyme.


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: In basic research, the effects of the essential oil were tested with other plant essential oils for possible use as a mosquito repellant.


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: The leaves are strongly flavoured. The herb is used as a substitute for oregano to mask the strong odors and flavors of fish, mutton, and goat. Fresh leaves are used to scent laundry and hair. It is also grown as an ornamental plant.


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: The main chemical compounds found in the essential oil of "Coleus amboinicus" are carvacrol (28.65%), thymol (21.66%), α-humulene (9.67%), undecanal (8.29%), γ-terpinene (7.76%), "p"-cymene (6.46%), caryophyllene oxide (5.85%), α-terpineol (3.28%), and β-selinene (2.01%). Another analysis obtained thymol (41.3%), carvacrol (13.25%), 1,8-cineole (5.45%), eugenol (4.40%), caryophyllene (4.20%), terpinolene (3.75%), α-pinene (3.20%), β-pinene (2.50%), methyl eugenol (2.10%), and β-phellandrene (1.90%). The variations can be attributed to the methodology used in the extraction process, seasonal variations, soil type, climate, genetic and geographical variations of the plant.


title: Coleus amboinicus

text: "Coleus amboinicus" is a fast-growing plant commonly grown in gardens and indoors in pots. Propagation is by stem cuttings, but it can also be grown from seeds. In dry climates the herb grows easily in a well-drained, semi-shaded position. It is frost tender (USDA hardiness zones 10–11) and grows well in subtropical and tropical locations, but will do well in cooler climates if grown in a pot and brought indoors, or moved to a warm, sheltered position in winter. In Hawaii and other humid tropical locations, the plant requires full sun. It can be harvested throughout the growing season to be used fresh, dried, or frozen.


title: United States Secretary of the Interior

text: The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural resources, leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Park Service. The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the National Park Foundation Board. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet and reports to the president of the United States. The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries.


title: United States Secretary of the Interior

text: As the policies and activities of the Department of the Interior and many of its agencies have a substantial impact in the Western United States, the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949, Rogers Morton, was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the Mississippi River.


title: United States Secretary of the Interior

text: Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021.


title: United States Secretary of the Interior

text: Following senate confirmation, former U.S. representative Deb Haaland was sworn in as the secretary of the interior, the first Native American to hold the position.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: Blink is a browser engine developed as part of the Chromium project with contributions from Google, Meta, Microsoft, Opera Software, Adobe, Intel, IBM, Samsung, and others. It was first announced in April 2013.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: Blink's naming was influenced by the non-standard presentational blink HTML element, which was introduced by Netscape Navigator and supported by Presto- and Gecko-based browsers until August 2013. Blink has, contrary to its name, never functionally supported the element.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: Blink is a fork of the WebCore component of WebKit, which was originally a fork of the KHTML and KJS libraries from KDE.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: It is used in Chrome starting at version 28, Microsoft Edge starting at version 79, Opera (15+), Vivaldi, Brave, Amazon Silk and other Chromium-based browsers and frameworks.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: Much of WebCore's code was used for features that Google Chrome implemented differently such as sandboxing and the multi-process model. These parts were altered for the Blink fork, and although slightly bulkier, it allowed greater flexibility for adding new features. The fork also deprecates CSS vendor prefixes; existing prefixes will be phased out and new experimental functionality will instead be enabled on an opt-in basis. Aside from these planned changes, Blink initially remained relatively similar to WebCore.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: By commit count, Google was the largest contributor to the WebKit code base from late 2009 until 2013 when they started work on their fork, Blink.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: Internally, public API of the Blink doesn't rely entirely on the C++ Standard Template Library. Instead, it uses its own implementation.


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: Several projects exist to turn Chromium's Blink into a reusable software framework for other developers:


title: Blink (browser engine)

text: Chromium Blink is implemented on seven platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Fuchsia, Android, and Android WebView.


title: Accountant

text: Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant or Certified Public Accountant, or Registered Public Accountant. Such professionals are granted certain responsibilities by statute, such as the ability to certify an organization's financial statements, and may be held liable for professional misconduct. Non-qualified accountants may be employed by a qualified accountant, or may work independently without statutory privileges and obligations.


title: Accountant

text: Cahan & Sun (2015) used archival study to find out that accountants’ personal characteristics may exert a very significant impact during the audit process and further influence audit fees and audit quality. Practitioners have been portrayed in popular culture by the stereotype of the humorless, introspective bean-counter. It has been suggested that the stereotype has an influence on those attracted to the profession with many new entrants underestimating the importance of communication skills and overestimating the importance of numeracy in the role.


title: Accountant

text: An accountant may either be hired for a firm that requires accounting services on a continuous basis, or may belong to an accounting firm that provides accounting consulting services to other firms. The Big Four auditors are the largest employers of accountants worldwide. However, most accountants are employed in commerce, industry, and the public sector.


title: Accountant

text: In the Commonwealth of Nations, which include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong pre-1997, and several other states, commonly recognised accounting qualifications are Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), Chartered Accountant (CA or ACA), Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and International Accountant (AAIA). Other qualifications in particular countries include Certified Public Accountant (CPA – Ireland and CPA – Hong Kong), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA – Canada), Certified Management Accountant (CMA – Australia) (CMA – Sri Lanka), Certified Practising Accountant (CPA – Australia) and members of the Institute of Public Accountants (Australia), and Certified Public Practising Accountant (CPPA – New Zealand).


title: Accountant

text: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) received its Royal Charter in 1854 and is the world's first professional body of accountants.


title: Accountant

text: Excepting the Association of Certified Public Accountants, each of the above bodies admits members only after passing examinations and undergoing a period of relevant work experience. Once admitted, members are expected to comply with ethical guidelines and gain appropriate professional experience.


title: Accountant

text: Chartered, Chartered Certified, Chartered Public Finance, and International Accountants engaging in practice (i.e. selling services to the public rather than acting as an employee) must gain a "practising certificate" by meeting further requirements such as purchasing adequate insurance and undergoing inspections.


title: Accountant

text: The ICAEW, ICAS, ICAI, ACCA and AAPA are five Recognised Supervisory Bodies (RSB) in the UK. A member of one of them may also become a "Statutory Auditor" in accordance with the Companies Act, providing they can demonstrate the necessary professional ability in that area and submit to regular inspection. It is illegal for any individual or firm that is not a Statutory Auditor to perform a company audit.


title: Accountant

text: The ICAEW, ICAS, ICAI, ACCA, AIA and CIPFA are six recognised qualifying bodies statutory (RQB) in the UK. A member of one of them may also become a "Statutory Auditor" in accordance with the Companies Act, providing they are a member of one of the five Recognised Supervisory Bodies RSB mentioned above.


title: Accountant

text: All six RQBs are listed under EU mutual recognition directives to practise in 27 EU member states and individually entered into agreement with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA).


title: Accountant

text: In addition to the bodies above, technical qualifications are offered by the Association of Accounting Technicians, ACCA and AIA, which are respectively called AAT Technician, CAT (Certified Accounting Technician) and IAT (International Accounting Technician).


title: Accountant

text: In the United States, licensed accountants are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), and in certain states, Public Accountants (PAs). Unlicensed accountants may be Certified Internal Auditors (CIAs) and Certified Management Accountants (CMAs). The difference between these certifications is primarily the legal status and the types of services provided, although individuals may earn more than one certification. Additionally, much accounting work is performed by uncertified individuals, who may be working under the supervision of a certified accountant. As noted above, the majority of accountants work in the private sector or may offer their services without the need for certification.


title: Accountant

text: A CPA is licensed by a state to provide auditing services to the public. Many CPA firms also offer accounting, tax, litigation support, and other financial advisory services. The requirements for receiving the CPA license vary from state to state, although the passage of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination is required by all states. This examination is designed and graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).


title: Accountant

text: A PA (sometimes referred to as LPA—Licensed Public Accountant) is licensed by the state to practice accountancy to the same extent as are CPAs, although in some states PAs are not permitted to perform audits or reviews (notably Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, & South Carolina). A PA's ability to practice out of state is very limited due to most states having phased out the PA designation. While most states no longer accept new PA license applicants, four states still accept PA applicants for practice privileges within the state. As with the CPA, the requirements for receiving the PA license vary from state to state. Most states require a passage of either two or three (out of four) sections of the CPA exam or passage of the Comprehensive Examination for Accreditation in Accounting which is administered and graded by the Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation (ACAT).


title: Accountant

text: A certified internal auditor (CIA) is granted a certificate from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), provided that the candidate has passed a four-part examination. One of the four parts is waived if the candidate has already passed the CPA Exam. A CIA typically provides services directly to an employer rather than to the public.


title: Accountant

text: A person holding the Certificate in Management Accounting (CMA) is granted the certificate by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), provided that the candidate has passed an examination of two parts and has met the practical experience requirement of the IMA. A CMA provides services directly to employers rather than to the public. A CMA can also provide services to the public, but to an extent much lesser than that of a CPA.


title: Accountant

text: An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally authorized tax practitioner empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Enrolled agent status is the highest credential awarded by the IRS, unlimited rights of representation. The EA credential is recognized across all 50 U.S. states. Candidates must pass a three-part exam (called the Special Enrollment Examination) covering the subjects of individual tax, business tax, and client representation, or must have worked at the IRS for five consecutive years in a position which regularly engaged in these areas.


title: Accountant

text: The United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are about one million persons employed as accountants and auditors in the U.S.


title: Accountant

text: In Australia, there are three legally recognised local professional accounting bodies which all enjoy the same recognition and can be considered as "qualified accountant": the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA), CPA Australia (CPA) and the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ). Other international bodies such as ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) enjoy recognition for the purposes of supporting their members in their careers. For instance, ACCA has achieved recognition by the Tax Practitioner Board, as Tax and BAS agents, in 2010.


title: Accountant

text: In Brazil, a certified public accountant must be a member of the CFC (Federal Council of Accounting). The CFC is the sole professional accountancy organization in Brazil, responsible for guiding, regulating and controlling the accounting profession through its local chapters.


title: Accountant

text: In Canada, a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) must be a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (designatory letters CPA).


title: Accountant

text: Up to 2013, there were three nationally recognized accounting designations in Canada: Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified General Accountant (CGA), and Certified Management Accountants (CMA). The national CA and CGA bodies were created by Acts of Parliament in 1902 and 1913 respectively, The national CMA organization was established under the Canada Corporations Act in 1920.


title: Accountant

text: In January 2012, following eight months of member and stakeholder consultation, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), the Society of Management Accountants of Canada (CMA Canada) and Certified General Accountants of Canada (CGA-Canada) issued "A Framework for Uniting the Canadian Accounting Profession" under a new Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) was established by CICA and CMA Canada on January 1, 2013, under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, to support Canadian provincial accounting bodies that were unifying under the CPA banner. CGA-Canada integrated with CPA Canada on October 1, 2014, completing the unification of Canada's accounting profession at the national level.


title: Accountant

text: All recognized national and provincial accounting bodies in Canada have now unified under the CPA banner. The Canadian CPA designation is held by more than 200,000 members in Canada and around the world.


title: Accountant

text: In Japan, a certified public accountant must be a member of the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA). It is the sole professional accountancy organization in Japan.


title: Accountant

text: Chartered accountancy is offered in India by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the second largest accounting body in the world. This Institute was established in 1949 under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 for the regulation of the profession of chartered accountants in India.


title: Accountant

text: The ICAI set up the Accountancy Museum of India in 2009, the third museum of accounting in the world. It is located at ICAI's office in Noida.A Cost and Management Accountant is registered as a member under the Institute of Cost Accountants of India(ICMAI) previously known as (ICWAI) which is a statutory body constituted under the Cost and Works Accountants Act 1959 enacted by the Parliament of India, it is also the second largest Management Accountancy body in the world. The members of the Institute are widely recognized as Cost and Management Accountants (FCMA, ACMA).t4e5terrwet4rtreehejfhouwehruyt,tktikein45843t4045--tr0-tty[t;jtl[lrtr'herlrkrgj


title: Accountant

text: Under Public Accountants Law ( UU 5/2011), the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Indonesia (IAPI) is the professional organization having the authority to issue CPA designation which is the statutory requirements for obtaining public accountant license from the government.


title: Accountant

text: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) offers chartered accountant studies in Pakistan. ICAP was established under The Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 as a self-regulatory body.


title: Accountant

text: The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) offers accountant studies in Pakistan. ICMAP was established under The Cost and Management Accountants Act, 1966.


title: Accountant

text: Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants (PIPFA) is an autonomous body recognized mainly in the government sector and established under license from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan by the authority given under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance, 1984.


title: Accountant

text: The body is co-sponsored by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan, the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan and the Auditor General of Pakistan.PIPFA has more than 5,000 members and a number of them are members of ICAP and ICMAP.


title: Accountant

text: Chartered accountancy is governed in Bangladesh by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB).


title: Accountant

text: And The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) offers management accountant studies in Bangladesh.


title: Accountant

text: In New Zealand, there are two local accountancy bodies the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and the New Zealand Association of Certified Public Accountants (NZACPA) the operating name of New Zealand Association of Accountants Inc (NZAA).


title: Accountant

text: To audit public companies an individual must be a member of either the CAANZ or an otherwise gazetted body. Chartered Certified Accountant (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants or FCCA) qualification has also been gazetted under. An ACCA member can practice as long as they hold an ACCA public practice certificate (with audit qualification) in their country of origin.


title: Accountant

text: In Singapore, a public accountant must be a member of any professional accountancy body in Singapore. Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is the sole local accountancy body, therefore the public accountant must be a member of the ISCA.


title: Accountant

text: In Sri Lanka, a chartered accountant must be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (designatory letters ACA or FCA). It is the sole local accountancy body, therefore to audit public companies an individual must be a member of the ICASL. A Certified management account also must be a member of the Institute of Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (designatory letters ACMA or FCMA).


title: Accountant

text: In Austria, the accountancy profession is regulated by the Bilanzbuchhaltungsgesetz 2006 (BibuG – Management Accountancy Law).


title: Accountant

text: In Hong Kong, the accountancy industry is regulated by Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants(HKICPA) under the Professional Accountants Ordinance (Chapter 50, Laws of Hong Kong). The auditing industry for limited companies is regulated under the Companies Ordinance (Chapter 32, Laws of Hong Kong), and other ordinances such as the securities and futures ordinance, the listing rules, etc.


title: Accountant

text: HKICPA terminated all recognition of overshare bodies in 2005 for "accreditation" under professional accountants ordinance. In general, all British RQBs except for CIPFA were re-accredited. Please refer to HKICPA for latest recognition.


title: Accountant

text: In Portugal, there are two accountancy qualifications: the "Contabilistas Certificados" (CC), responsible for producing accounting and tax information, and the "Revisor Oficial de Contas" (ROC), more related to auditing practices. The CC certification is exclusively awarded by the professional organization "Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados" (OCC), and the certification to become an auditor is awarded by another professional organization, the "Ordem dos Revisores Oficiais de Contas" (OROC). In general, accountants or auditors accredited by OTOC or OROC are individuals with university graduation diplomas in business management, economics, mathematics or law who, after further studies, applied for an exam and received the certification to be a CC or ROC. That certification is only received after a one-year (CC) or three-year (ROC) internship. Any citizen having a polytechnic degree as a bookkeeper is also entitled to apply for the exam and certification at the OCC.


title: Destroying angel

text: The name destroying angel applies to several similar, closely related species of deadly all-white mushrooms in the genus "Amanita". They are "Amanita bisporigera" and "A. ocreata" in eastern and western North America, respectively, and "A. virosa" in Europe. Another European species of "Amanita" referred to as the destroying angel, "Amanita verna" - also referred to as the 'Fool's mushroom' - was first described in France in 1780.


title: Destroying angel

text: Destroying angels are among the most toxic known mushrooms; both they and the closely related death caps ("A. phalloides") contain amatoxins.


title: Destroying angel

text: Destroying angels are characterized by having a white stalk and gills. The cap can be pure white, or white at the edge and yellowish, pinkish, or tan at the center. It has a partial veil, or ring (annulus) circling the upper stalk, and the gills are "free", not attached to the stalk. Perhaps the most telltale of the features is the presence of a volva, or universal veil, so called because it is a membrane that encapsulates the entire mushroom, rather like an egg, when it is very young. This structure breaks as the young mushroom expands, leaving parts that can be found at the base of the stalk as a boot or cuplike structure, and there may be patches of removable material on the cap surface. This combination of features, all found together in the same mushroom, is the hallmark of the family. While other families may have any one or two of these features, none has them all. The cap is usually about across; the stipe is usually long and about thick. They are found singly or in small groups.


title: Destroying angel

text: Destroying angels can be mistaken for edible fungi such as the button mushroom, meadow mushroom, or the horse mushroom. Young destroying angels that are still enclosed in their universal veil can be mistaken for puffballs, but slicing them in half longitudinally will reveal internal mushroom structures. This is the basis for the common recommendation to slice in half all puffball-like mushrooms picked when mushroom hunting. Mushroom hunters recommend that people know how to recognize both the death cap and the destroying angel in "all" of their forms before collecting any white gilled mushroom for consumption.


title: Destroying angel

text: All "Amanita" species form ectomycorrhizal relationships with the roots of certain trees. Thus, destroying angels grow in or near the edges of woodlands. They can also be found on lawns or grassy meadows near trees or shrubs. Several species called destroying angel are found all over the world. "Amanita bisporigera" is associated with oaks and conifers.


title: Destroying angel

text: The destroying angel ("Amanita bisporigera") and the death cap ("Amanita phalloides") account for the overwhelming majority of deaths due to mushroom poisoning. The toxin responsible for this is amatoxin, which inhibits RNA polymerase II and III. Symptoms do not appear for 5 to 24 hours, by which time the toxins may already be absorbed and the damage (destruction of liver and kidney tissues) is irreversible. As little as half a mushroom cap can be fatal if the victim is not treated quickly enough. The symptoms include vomiting, cramps, delirium, convulsions, and diarrhea. In one study, people who had ingested the toxin were treated with "fluid and electrolyte replacement, oral activated charcoal and lactulose, IV penicillin, combined hemodialysis and hemoperfusion in two 8-hour sessions", some with "IV thioctic acid, others IV silibinin" and all received a "special diet". It was concluded that "...intensive combined treatment applied in these cases is effective in relieving patients with both moderate and severe amanitin poisoning."


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Hard Times: For These Times (commonly known as Hard Times) is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book surveys English society and satirises the social and economic conditions of the era.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: "Hard Times" is unusual in several ways. It is by far the shortest of Dickens's novels, barely a quarter of the length of those written immediately before and after it. Also, unlike all but one of his other novels, "Hard Times" has neither a preface nor illustrations. Moreover, it is his only novel not to have scenes set in London. Instead the story is set in the fictitious Victorian industrial Coketown, a generic Northern English mill-town, in some ways similar to Manchester, though smaller. Coketown may be partially based on 19th-century Preston.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: One of Dickens's reasons for writing "Hard Times" was that sales of his weekly periodical "Household Words" were low, and it was hoped the novel's publication in instalments would boost circulation – as indeed proved to be the case. Since publication it has received a mixed response from critics. Critics such as George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Macaulay have mainly focused on Dickens's treatment of trade unions and his post–Industrial Revolution pessimism regarding the divide between capitalist mill owners and undervalued workers during the Victorian era. F. R. Leavis, a great admirer of the book, included it – but not Dickens's work as a whole – as part of his Great Tradition of English novels.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: The novel was published as a serial in Dickens's weekly publication, "Household Words". Sales were highly responsive and encouraging for Dickens who remarked that he was "Three parts mad, and the fourth delirious, with perpetual rushing at "Hard Times"". The novel was serialised, in twenty weekly parts, between 1 April and 12 August 1854. It sold well, and a complete volume was published in August, totalling 110,000 words. Another related novel, "North and South" by Elizabeth Gaskell, was also published in this magazine.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: The novel follows a classical tripartite structure, and the titles of each book are related to "Galatians" 6:7, "For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Book I is entitled "Sowing", Book II is entitled "Reaping", and the third is "Garnering."


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Superintendent Mr. Gradgrind opens the novel at his school in Coketown stating, "Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts", and interrogates one of his pupils, Cecilia (nicknamed Sissy), whose father works at a circus. Because her father works with horses, Gradgrind demands the definition of a horse. When she is scolded for her inability to factually define a horse, her classmate Bitzer gives a zoological profile, and Sissy is censured for suggesting that she would carpet a floor with pictures of flowers or horses.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Louisa and Thomas, two of Mr. Gradgrind's children, go after school to see the touring circus run by Mr. Sleary, only to meet their father, who orders them home. Mr. Gradgrind has three younger children: Adam Smith (after the famous theorist of laissez-faire policy), Malthus (after Rev. Thomas Malthus, who wrote "An Essay on the Principle of Population", warning of the dangers of future overpopulation), and Jane.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Josiah Bounderby, "a man perfectly devoid of sentiment", is revealed as Gradgrind's close friend. Bounderby is a manufacturer and mill owner who is affluent as a result of his enterprise and capital. He often gives dramatic and falsified accounts of his childhood.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: As they consider her a bad influence on the other children, Gradgrind and Bounderby prepare to dismiss Sissy from the school; but the two soon discover her father has abandoned her thereto, in hope that she will lead a better life without him. Mr. Gradgrind gives Sissy a choice: to return to the circus and its kindly manager, Mr. Sleary, and forfeit her education, or to continue her education and work for Mrs. Gradgrind, never returning to the circus. Sissy accepts the latter, hoping to be reunited with her father. At the Gradgrind house, Tom and Louisa befriend Sissy but they are all discontent with their strict upbringing.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Amongst the mill workers, known as "the Hands", is a gloomy man named Stephen Blackpool (nicknamed "Old Stephen"): another of the story's protagonists. When introduced, he has ended his day's work and meets his close friend Rachael. On entering his house he finds that his drunken wife – who has been living away from him – has made an unwelcome return. Stephen is greatly perturbed, and visits Bounderby to ask how he can legally end his marriage and marry Rachael. Mrs. Sparsit, Mr. Bounderby's housekeeper, disapproves of Stephen's query and Bounderby explains that ending a marriage would be complex and prohibitively costly. When Stephen points out the injustice of this, Bounderby accuses him of having ideas above his station. Leaving the house, Stephen meets an old woman who seems interested in Bounderby and says she visits Coketown once a year. Upon returning, he finds Rachael caring for his wife, and stays until three o'clock. When Rachael falls asleep, Mrs. Blackpool wakes up and mistakes a bottle of medicine for alcohol. Despite knowing that she will die if she drinks the entire bottle, Stephen does not move to stop her. Rachael wakes and is able to prevent Mrs. Blackpool from poisoning herself, and Stephen, horrified by his lack of action, finds strength and resolve to bear his suffering.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Several years pass. Sissy becomes Gradgrind's housekeeper, caring for his younger children. Gradgrind tells Louisa that Josiah Bounderby, 30 years her senior, has proposed marriage to her, and quotes statistics to prove that an age difference does not make a marriage unhappy or short. Louisa passively accepts the offer, and the newlyweds set out to Lyons (Lyon), where Bounderby wants to observe how labour is used in the factories there. Tom, her brother, elatedly bids her farewell.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Book Two opens on Bounderby's bank in Coketown, over which the "light porter", Sissy's old classmate Bitzer, and the austere Mrs. Sparsit keep watch at the afternoon. A well-dressed gentleman asks for directions to Bounderby's house, as Gradgrind has sent him from London with a letter of introduction. It is James Harthouse, who has tried several occupations and been bored by all of them.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Harthouse is introduced to Bounderby, who accepts him and then regales him with improbable and brief mentions of his childhood. Harthouse is utterly bored by him, but enamoured of the now-melancholy Louisa. Louisa's brother Tom works for Bounderby, and has become reckless and wayward in his conduct. Tom admires Harthouse, who holds him in some contempt, and Tom discloses contempt for Bounderby in the presence of Harthouse, who notes Louisa's affection for Tom and later learns that Tom has money problems – and that Tom persuaded Louisa to marry Bounderby to make his own life easier.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: At a crowded union meeting, the agitator Slackbridge accuses Stephen Blackpool of treachery because he will not join the union, and Stephen learns he is to be 'sent to Coventry' – shunned by all his fellow workers. Summoned by Bounderby, he is asked what the men are complaining of; and when Stephen tries to explain, Bounderby accuses Stephen of being a troublemaker and sacks him. Later Louisa and Tom visit Stephen, expressing regret, and Louisa gives him some money. Privately, Tom tells him to wait outside the bank after work.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: When a robbery takes place at the bank, Stephen is suspected of the crime; even more so as he had left the town the next day. Mrs. Sparsit observes the advancing relationship between James Harthouse and Louisa, and suspects an adulterous liaison. Unable to hear their dialogue, she assumes the affair is progressing. When Harthouse confesses his love for Louisa, Louisa refuses him. They leave separately, and Mrs. Sparsit follows Louisa to the station, where Louisa boards a train to her father's house; Mrs Sparsit loses her. When Louisa arrives, she is in an extreme state of distress. Having argued that her rigorous education has stifled her ability to express her emotions, Louisa collapses at her father's feet in a dead faint.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: At Bounderby's London hotel, Mrs. Sparsit gives him the news her surveillance has brought. Bounderby takes her back to Coketown and to Stone Lodge, where Louisa is resting. Gradgrind tells Bounderby that Louisa resisted Harthouse's advances, but has experienced a crisis and needs time to recover. Bounderby is immensely indignant and ill-mannered, especially towards Mrs. Sparsit for misleading him. Ignoring Gradgrind's pleas, he announces that unless Louisa returns to him the next day, the marriage will end. She does not come back.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Harthouse leaves Coketown after Sissy tells him never to return. As Slackbridge increasingly blackens Stephen Blackpool's name, Rachael goes to the bank to say she knows where he is, and that she will write asking him to return to Coketown to clear his name. Bounderby is suspicious when she tells him Stephen was visited by Louisa and Tom the night he was dismissed, and brings her to Gradgrind's house where Louisa confirms Rachael's account.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Mrs Sparsit eventually tracks down Mrs Pegler, the old woman who makes a mysterious annual visit to see Bounderby's house, and brings her to the house where she is revealed as Bounderby's mother. Far from having abandoned him to a life of hardship, she gave him a good upbringing and, when he became successful, allowed herself to be persuaded never to visit him. Bounderby is now publicly exposed as a ridiculous humbug 'bully of humility'.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: On a Sunday outing, Rachael and Sissy find Stephen, who has fallen down an abandoned pit shaft while walking back to Coketown. He is rescued by villagers but, after professing his innocence and speaking to Rachael for the last time, he dies. Louisa and Sissy now suspect that Tom has committed the bank robbery, and simply told Stephen to loiter outside the bank in order to incriminate him. Sissy has already helped Tom escape by sending him to join Mr. Sleary's circus. Louisa and Sissy find Tom there, disguised in blackface. Gradgrind arrives and despairs, and a plan is hatched with Sleary's co-operation to get Tom to Liverpool, where he can escape abroad. The plan is temporarily foiled by the arrival of Bitzer, who hopes to obtain promotion from Bounderby by bringing Tom to justice, but Sleary arranges an ambush and Tom is taken to Liverpool where he boards ship.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Bounderby punishes Mrs Sparsit for his humiliation by turning her out, but she doesn't particularly mind the dishonour. Five years later, he will die of a fit in the street, while Mr. Gradgrind, having abandoned his Utilitarian ideas and trying to make Facts "subservient to Faith, Hope and Charity", will suffer the contempt of his fellow MPs. Rachael will continue her life of honest hard work, while Stephen Blackpool will be pardoned by Mr Gradgrind. Tom will die from fever fairly near Coketown, having expressed penitence in a tear-stained letter. Louisa herself will grow old, but will never remarry and have children of her own. Louisa, showing kindness to the less fortunate and being loved by Sissy's children, will spend her life encouraging imagination and fancy in all she encounters.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Thomas Gradgrind is the notorious school board Superintendent, who is dedicated to the pursuit of profitable enterprise. His name is now used generically to refer to someone who is hard and only concerned with cold facts and numbers, a follower of Utilitarian ideas who neglects the imagination. He soon sees the error of these beliefs however, when his children's lives fall into disarray.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Josiah Bounderby is a business associate of Mr. Gradgrind. Given to boasting about being a self-made man, he employs many of the other central characters of the novel. He has risen to a position of power and wealth from humble origins (though not as humble as he claims). He marries Mr. Gradgrind's daughter Louisa, some 30 years his junior, in what turns out to be a loveless marriage. They have no children. Bounderby is callous, self-centred and ultimately revealed to be a liar and fraud.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Louisa (Loo) Gradgrind, (later Louisa Bounderby), is the eldest child of the Gradgrind family. She has been taught to suppress her feelings and finds it hard to express herself clearly, saying as a child that she has "unmanageable thoughts." After her unhappy marriage, she is tempted to adultery by James Harthouse, but resists him and returns to her father. Her rejection of Harthouse leads to a new understanding of life and of the value of emotions and the imagination. She reproaches her father for his dry and fact-based approach to the world and convinces him of the error of his ways.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Cecilia (Sissy) Jupe is a circus girl of Sleary's circus, as well as a student of Thomas Gradgrind's very strict classroom. Sissy has her own set of values and beliefs which make her seem unintelligent in the Gradgrind household. At the end of the novel, when the Gradgrinds' philosophy of religiously adhering solely to facts breaks down, Sissy is the character who teaches them how to live.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Sissy Jupe is first introduced to the readers as Girl Number Twenty in Gradgrind's classroom. She struggles to keep up with Gradgrind's extreme reliance on the recitation of facts, and therefore is seen as not worthy of the school. Sissy is also representative of creativity and wonderment because of her circus background, and those were things that the Gradgrind children were not allowed to engage in. With the urging of Josiah Bounderby, Mr. Gradgrind goes to inform Sissy's father that she can no longer attend his school.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Gradgrind and Bounderby arrive at the Pegasus' Arms, the Coketown public-house where Sissy, her father, and the rest of Sleary's circus were staying. While Sissy and her father were very close once, Mr. Jupe packed up and abandoned his daughter, leaving Sissy alone. In a moment of compassion, Mr. Gradgrind takes Sissy into his home and gives her a second chance at the school. Sissy continues to fall behind in the school, so Mr. Gradgrind keeps her at home to tend to his invalid wife.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: While Sissy is the device of imagination and fantasy in the novel, she also serves as the voice of reason. The reason she cannot grasp the philosophy of Gradgrind's classroom is because she actually has a more realistic view of how the world should be perceived. After Louisa and Mr. Gradgrind come to terms with the fact that their way of life is not working, Sissy is the one they come to; she takes care of Louisa and helps her live a new, happy life.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Thomas (Tom) Gradgrind, Junior is the oldest son and second child of the Gradgrinds. Initially sullen and resentful of his father's Utilitarian education, Tom has a strong relationship with his sister Louisa. He works in Bounderby's bank (which he later robs), and turns to gambling and drinking. Louisa never ceases to adore Tom, and she aids Sissy and Mr. Gradgrind in saving her brother from arrest.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Stephen Blackpool is a worker at one of Bounderby's mills. He has a drunken wife who no longer lives with him but who appears from time to time. He forms a close bond with Rachael, a co-worker, whom he wishes to marry. After a dispute with Bounderby, he is dismissed from his work at the Coketown mills and, shunned by his former fellow workers, is forced to look for work elsewhere. While absent from Coketown, he is wrongly accused of robbing Bounderby's bank. On his way back to vindicate himself, he falls down a mine-shaft. He is rescued but dies of his injuries.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Bitzer – is a very pale classmate of Sissy's who is brought up on facts and taught to operate according to self-interest. He takes up a job in Bounderby's bank, and later tries to arrest Tom.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Rachael – is the friend of Stephen Blackpool who attests to his innocence when he is accused of robbing Bounderby's bank by Tom. She is a factory worker, childhood friend of Blackpool's drunken and often absent wife, and becomes the literary tool for bringing the two parallel story lines together at the brink of Hell's Shaft in the final book.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Mrs. Sparsit – is a widow who has fallen on hard times. She is employed by Bounderby, and is jealous when he marries Louisa, delighting in the belief that Louisa is later about to elope with James Harthouse. Her machinations are unsuccessful and she is ultimately sacked by Bounderby.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Mrs. Gradgrind – the wife of Mr. Gradgrind, is an invalid who constantly complains. Tom Sr.'s apparent attraction to her is because she totally lacks 'fancy,' though she also appears to be unintelligent and without empathy for her children.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Mr. Sleary - the owner of the circus which employs Sissy's father. He speaks with a lisp. A kind man, he helps both Sissy and young Tom when they are in trouble.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Mrs. Pegler - an old woman who sometimes visits Coketown to observe the Bounderby estate. She is later revealed to be Bounderby's mother, proving his "rags-to-riches" story to be fraudulent.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Jane Gradgrind - a younger sister of Tom and Louisa Gradgrind who spends a lot of time with Sissy Jupe. She is cheerful, affectionate and despite looking similar to Louisa, in personality she is opposite.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Dickens wished to educate readers about the working conditions of some of the factories in the industrial towns of Manchester, and Preston, to "strike the heaviest blow in my power", and as well to confront the assumption that prosperity runs parallel to morality. This notion he systematically deconstructed through his portrayal of the moral monsters, Mr. Bounderby and James Harthouse. Dickens also believed in the importance of the imagination, and that people's lives should not be reduced to a collection of material facts and statistics. The description of the circus, which he describes as caring so "little for Plain Fact", is an example of this.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: The Utilitarians were one of the targets of Dickens's satire. Utilitarianism was a prevalent school of thought during this period, its founders being Jeremy Bentham and James Mill, father to political theorist John Stuart Mill.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Bentham's former secretary, Edwin Chadwick, helped design the Poor Law of 1834, which deliberately made workhouse life as uncomfortable as possible. In the novel, this attitude is conveyed in Bitzer's response to Gradgrind's appeal for compassion.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Dickens was appalled by what he saw as a selfish philosophy, which was combined with materialist "laissez-faire" capitalism in the education of some children at the time, as well as in industrial practices. In Dickens's interpretation, the prevalence of utilitarian values in educational institutions promoted contempt between mill owners and workers, creating young adults whose imaginations had been neglected, due to an over-emphasis on facts at the expense of more imaginative pursuits.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Dickens wished to satirise radical Utilitarians whom he described in a letter to Charles Knight as "see[ing] figures and averages, and nothing else." He also wished to campaign for reform of working conditions. Dickens had visited factories in Manchester as early as 1839, and was appalled by the environment in which workers toiled. Drawing upon his own childhood experiences, Dickens resolved to "strike the heaviest blow in my power" for those who laboured in horrific conditions.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: John Stuart Mill had a similar, rigorous education to that of Louisa Gradgrind, consisting of analytical, logical, mathematical, and statistical exercises. In his twenties, Mill had a nervous breakdown, believing his capacity for emotion had been enervated by his father's stringent emphasis on analysis and mathematics in his education. In the book, Louisa herself follows a parallel course, being unable to express herself and falling into a temporary depression as a result of her dry education.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: The bastion of fact is the eminently practical Mr. Gradgrind, and his model school, which teaches nothing but "Facts". Any imaginative or aesthetic subjects are absent from the curriculum, and analysis, deduction and mathematics are emphasised. Fancy, the opposite of Fact, is epitomised by Sleary's circus. Sleary is reckoned a fool by Gradgrind and Bounderby, but it is Sleary who understands that people must be amused. Sissy, the circus performer's daughter, does badly at school, failing to remember the many facts she is taught, but is genuinely virtuous and fulfilled. Gradgrind's own son Tom revolts against his upbringing, and becomes a gambler and a thief, while Louisa becomes emotionally stunted, virtually soulless both as a young child and as an unhappily married woman. Bitzer, who adheres to Gradgrind's teachings, becomes an uncompassionate egotist.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Mr. Bounderby spends his whole time fabricating stories about his childhood, covering up the real nature of his upbringing, which is revealed at the end of the novel. While not a snooper himself, he is undone by Sparsit unwittingly revealing the mysterious old woman to be his own mother, and she unravels Josiah's secrets about his upbringing and fictitious stories. Mr. Bounderby himself superintends through calculating tabular statements and statistics, and is always secretly rebuking the people of Coketown for indulging in conceitful activities. This gives Bounderby a sense of superiority, as it does with Mrs. Sparsit, who prides herself on her salacious knowledge gained from spying on others. Bounderby's grasp for superiority is seen in Blackpool's talks to Bounderby regarding divorce proceedings and a union movement at his factory, accusing him that he is on a quest 'to feast on turtle soup and venison, served with a golden spoon.' All "superintendents" of the novel are undone in one way or another.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Dickens portrays the wealthy in this novel as being morally corrupt. Bounderby has no moral scruples, and, for example, fires Blackpool "for a novelty". He also conducts himself without any shred of decency, frequently losing his temper. He is cynically false about his childhood. Harthouse, a leisured gent, is compared to an "iceberg" who will cause a wreck unwittingly, due to him being "not a moral sort of fellow", as he states himself. Stephen Blackpool, a destitute worker, is equipped with perfect morals, always abiding by his promises, and always thoughtful and considerate of others, as is Sissy Jupe.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Dickens is also concerned, throughout "Hard Times", with the effects of social class on the morality of individuals. Some contrasting characters relating to this theme are Stephen and Rachel, and Tom and Mr. Bounderby. Stephen's honesty and Rachel's caring actions are qualities not shown in people from higher classes, but among hard working individuals who are browbeaten by the uncaring factory owners such as Bounderby. These qualities appear repeatedly, as Stephen works hard every day, until he decides to leave town to save the names of his fellow workers, and Rachel supports Stephen through this, while struggling to provide for herself as well. In contrast to these behaviours, Mr. Bounderby refuses to recognise the difficulties faced by those in lower classes, as seen by him completely casting aside Stephen's request for help. Other aristocratic characters simply carry out blatantly immoral actions, such as Tom throwing away his sister's money, falling into debt, then robbing a bank, and even framing someone else for his actions. Tom is also seen to be deceitful as he is able to keep his guilt hidden until the evidence points only toward him. On the contrary, when the news comes out that Stephen had robbed the bank, Stephen begins to head back to Coketown to face his problems and clear his name. Overall, the stark difference in morality between characters of dissimilar social status suggests Dickens's idea that there is a form of innate natural law that may remain unhampered in those leading less titled lives. Stephen's concept of right and wrong is untainted by the manufactured values of utilitarianism, instilled into Tom and Bounderby.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Critics have had diverse opinions on the novel. John Ruskin declared "Hard Times" to be his favourite Dickens work due to its exploration of important social questions. However, Thomas Macaulay branded it "sullen socialism", on the grounds that Dickens did not fully comprehend the politics of the time. Edwin Percy Whipple criticized the novel in Scribner's Magazine by saying, "'Hard Times' is a satire on political economy, of which Dickens knew little, and the little he did know offended his benevolent feelings..." as he believed Dickens' criticisms of a utilitarian education were misguided. George Bernard Shaw argued "Hard Times" to be a novel of "passionate revolt against the whole industrial order of the modern world". But he criticized the novel for failing to provide an accurate account of trade unionism of the time, arguing that Slackbridge, the poisonous orator, was "a mere figment of middle-class imagination". Believing that it was very different from Dickens's other novels, Shaw also said: "Many readers find the change disappointing. Others find Dickens worth reading almost for the first time."


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: F. R. Leavis, in "The Great Tradition", described the book as essentially a moral fable, and that 'of all Dickens's works (it is) the one that has all the strengths of his genius – that of a completely serious work of art'. This, however, was a view which he later revised in "Dickens the Novelist", which recognised that Dickens's strengths and artistry appeared fully in other works.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: Walter Allen characterised "Hard Times" as being an unsurpassed "critique of industrial society", which was later superseded by works of D. H. Lawrence. Other writers have described the novel as being, as G. K. Chesterton commented in his work "Appreciations and Criticisms", "the harshest of his stories"; whereas George Orwell praised the novel (and Dickens himself) for "generous anger".


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: In 1988 Portuguese director João Botelho adapted the novel to the big screen in "Hard Times" (shot entirely in black & white) transferring the action to an unspecified industrial Portuguese city of the 1980s.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: "Hard Times" has been adapted twice for BBC Radio, first in 1998 starring John Woodvine as Gradgrind, Tom Baker as Josiah Bounderby and Anna Massey as Mrs. Sparsit, and again in 2007 starring Kenneth Cranham as Gradgrind, Philip Jackson as Bounderby, Alan Williams as Stephen, Becky Hindley as Rachael, Helen Longworth as Louisa, Richard Firth as Tom and Eleanor Bron as Mrs. Sparsit.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: In the theatre, "Hard Times" was adapted for the stage by Michael O'Brien and directed by Marti Maraden at Canada's National Arts Centre in 2000. In 2018 Northern Broadsides toured an adaptation written by Deb McAndrew and directed by Conrad Nelson.


title: Hard Times (novel)

text: The novel has also been adapted twice as a mini-series for British television, once in 1977 by ITV with Patrick Allen as Gradgrind, Timothy West as Bounderby, Rosalie Crutchley as Mrs. Sparsit and Edward Fox as Harthouse, and again in 1994 by the BBC with Bob Peck as Gradgrind, Alan Bates as Bounderby, Dilys Laye as Mrs. Sparsit, Bill Paterson as Stephen, Harriet Walter as Rachael and Richard E. Grant as Harthouse.


title: Variable valve timing

text: In internal combustion engines, variable valve timing (VVT) is the process of altering the timing of a valve lift event, and is often used to improve performance, fuel economy or emissions. It is increasingly being used in combination with variable valve lift systems. There are many ways in which this can be achieved, ranging from mechanical devices to electro-hydraulic and camless systems. Increasingly strict emissions regulations are causing many automotive manufacturers to use VVT systems.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The valves within an internal combustion engine are used to control the flow of the intake and exhaust gases into and out of the combustion chamber. The timing, duration and lift of these valve events has a significant impact on engine performance. Without variable valve timing or variable valve lift, the valve timing is the same for all engine speeds and conditions, therefore compromises are necessary. An engine equipped with a variable valve timing actuation system is freed from this constraint, allowing performance to be improved over the engine operating range.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Piston engines normally use valves which are driven by camshafts. The cams open ("lift") the valves for a certain amount of time ("duration") during each intake and exhaust cycle. The "timing" of the valve opening and closing, relative to the position of the crankshaft, is important. The camshaft is driven by the crankshaft through timing belts, gears or chains.


title: Variable valve timing

text: An engine requires large amounts of air when operating at high speeds. However, the intake valves may close before enough air has entered each combustion chamber, reducing performance. On the other hand, if the camshaft keeps the valves open for longer periods of time, as with a racing cam, problems start to occur at the lower engine speeds. Opening the intake valve while the exhaust valve is still open may cause unburnt fuel to exit the engine, leading to lower engine performance and increased emissions. According to engineer David Vizard's book "Building Horsepower", when both intake & exhaust are open simultaneously, the much-higher-pressure exhaust pushes the intake-charge back, out from the cylinder, polluting the intake-manifold with exhaust, in worst cases.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Early variable valve timing systems used discrete (stepped) adjustment. For example, one timing would be used below 3500 rpm and another used above 3500 rpm.


title: Variable valve timing

text: More advanced "continuous variable valve timing" systems offer continuous (infinite) adjustment of the valve timing. Therefore, the timing can be optimized to suit all engine speeds and conditions.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The simplest form of VVT is "cam-phasing", whereby the phase angle of the camshaft is rotated forwards or backwards relative to the crankshaft. Thus the valves open and close earlier or later; however, the camshaft lift and duration cannot be altered solely with a cam-phasing system.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Achieving variable duration on a VVT system requires a complex system, such as multiple cam profiles or oscillating cams.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The first variation of continuous variable valve timing involves holding the intake valve open slightly longer than a traditional engine. This results in the piston actually pushing air out of the cylinder and back into the intake manifold during the compression stroke. The air which is expelled fills the manifold with higher pressure, and on subsequent intake strokes the air which is taken in is at a higher pressure. Late intake valve closing has been shown to reduce pumping losses by 40% during partial load conditions, and to decrease nitric oxide (NOx) emissions by 24%. Peak engine torque showed only a 1% decline, and hydrocarbon emissions were unchanged.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Another way to decrease the pumping losses associated with low engine speed, high vacuum conditions is by closing the intake valve earlier than normal. This involves closing the intake valve midway through the intake stroke. Air/fuel demands are so low at low-load conditions and the work required to fill the cylinder is relatively high, so Early intake valve closing greatly reduces pumping losses. Studies have shown early intake valve closing reduces pumping losses by 40%, and increases fuel economy by 7%. It also reduced nitric oxide emissions by 24% at partial load conditions. A possible downside to early intake valve closing is that it significantly lowers the temperature of the combustion chamber, which can increase hydrocarbon emissions.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Early intake valve opening is another variation that has significant potential to reduce emissions. In a traditional engine, a process called valve overlap is used to aid in controlling the cylinder temperature. By opening the intake valve early, some of the inert/combusted exhaust gas will back flow out of the cylinder via the intake valve, where it cools momentarily in the intake manifold. This inert gas then fills the cylinder in the subsequent intake stroke, which aids in controlling the temperature of the cylinder and nitric oxide emissions. It also improves volumetric efficiency, because there is less exhaust gas to be expelled on the exhaust stroke.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Early and late exhaust valve closing timing can be manipulated to reduce emissions. Traditionally, the exhaust valve opens, and exhaust gas is pushed out of the cylinder and into the exhaust manifold by the piston as it travels upward. By manipulating the timing of the exhaust valve, engineers can control how much exhaust gas is left in the cylinder. By holding the exhaust valve open slightly longer, the cylinder is emptied more and ready to be filled with a bigger air/fuel charge on the intake stroke. By closing the valve slightly early, more exhaust gas remains in the cylinder which increases fuel efficiency. This allows for more efficient operation under all conditions.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The main factor preventing this technology from wide use in production automobiles is the ability to produce a cost-effective means of controlling the valve timing under the conditions internal to an engine. An engine operating at 3000 revolutions per minute will rotate the camshaft 25 times per second, so the valve timing events have to occur at precise times to offer performance benefits. Electromagnetic and pneumatic camless valve actuators offer the greatest control of precise valve timing, but, in 2016, are not cost-effective for production vehicles.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The history of the search for a method of variable valve opening duration goes back to the age of steam engines when the valve opening duration was referred to as "steam cut-off”. The Stephenson valve gear, as used on early steam locomotives, supported variable cutoff, that is, changes to the time at which the admission of steam to the cylinders is cut off during the power stroke.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Early approaches to variable cutoff coupled variations in admission cutoff with variations in exhaust cutoff. Admission and exhaust cutoff were decoupled with the development of the Corliss valve. These were widely used in constant speed variable load stationary engines, with admission cutoff, and therefore torque, mechanically controlled by a centrifugal governor and trip valves.


title: Variable valve timing

text: As poppet valves came into use, a simplified valve gear using a camshaft came into use. With such engines, variable cutoff could be achieved with variable profile cams that were shifted along the camshaft by the governor. The Serpollet steamcars produced very hot high pressure steam, requiring poppet valves, and these used a patented sliding camshaft mechanism, which not only varied the inlet valve cut-off but allowed the engine to be reversed.


title: Variable valve timing

text: An early experimental 200 hp Clerget V-8 from the 1910s used a sliding camshaft to change the valve timing. Some versions of the Bristol Jupiter radial engine of the early 1920s incorporated variable valve timing gear, mainly to vary the inlet valve timing in connection with higher compression ratios. The Lycoming R-7755 engine had a Variable Valve Timing system consisting of two cams that can be selected by the pilot. One for take off, pursuit and escape, the other for economical cruising.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The desirability of being able to vary the valve opening duration to match an engine's rotational speed first became apparent in the 1920s when maximum allowable RPM limits were generally starting to rise. Until about this time an engine's idle RPM and its operating RPM were very similar, meaning that there was little need for variable valve duration. The first use of variable valve timing was on the 1903 Cadillac Runabout and Tonneau created by Alanson Partridge Brush Patent 767,794 “INLET VALVE GEAR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES” filed August 3rd, 1903, and granted August 16th, 1904. Some time prior to 1919 Lawrence Pomeroy, Vauxhall's Chief Designer, had designed a 4.4 L engine for a proposed replacement for the existing 30-98 model to be called the H-Type. In this engine the single overhead camshaft was to move longitudinally to allow different camshaft lobes to be engaged. It was in the 1920s that the first patents for variable duration valve opening started appearing – for example United States patent .


title: Variable valve timing

text: In 1958 Porsche made application for a German Patent, also applied for and published as British Patent GB861369 in 1959. The Porsche patent used an oscillating cam to increase the valve lift and duration. The desmodromic cam driven via a push/pull rod from an eccentric shaft or swashplate. It is unknown if any working prototype was ever made.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Fiat was the first auto manufacturer to patent a functional automotive variable valve timing system which included variable lift. Developed by Giovanni Torazza in the late 1960s, the system used hydraulic pressure to vary the fulcrum of the cam followers (US Patent 3,641,988). The hydraulic pressure changed according to engine speed and intake pressure. The typical opening variation was 37%.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Alfa Romeo was the first manufacturer to use a variable valve timing system in production cars (US Patent 4,231,330). The fuel injected models of the 1980 Alfa Romeo Spider 2000 had a mechanical VVT system. The system was engineered by Ing Giampaolo Garcea in the 1970s. All Alfa Romeo Spider models from 1983 onward used electronic VVT.


title: Variable valve timing

text: In 1989, Honda released the VTEC system. While the earlier Nissan NVCS alters the phasing of the camshaft, VTEC switches to a separate cam profile at high engine speeds to improve peak power. The first VTEC engine Honda produced was the B16A which was installed in the Integra, CRX, and Civic hatchback available in Japan and Europe.


title: Variable valve timing

text: In 1992, Porsche first introduced VarioCam, which was the first system to provide continuous adjustment (all previous systems used discrete adjustment). The system was released in the Porsche 968 and operated on the intake valves only.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Variable valve timing has been applied to motorcycle engines but was considered a non-useful "technological showpiece" as late as 2004 due to the system's weight penalty. Since then, motorcycles including VVT have included the Kawasaki 1400GTR/Concours 14 (2007), the Ducati Multistrada 1200 (2015), the BMW R1250GS (2019) and the Yamaha YZF-R15 V3.0 (2017), the Suzuki GSX-R1000R 2017 L7.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Variable valve timing has begun to trickle down to marine engines. Volvo Penta's VVT marine engine uses a cam phaser, controlled by the ECM, which continuously varies advancement or retardation of the camshaft timing.


title: Variable valve timing

text: In 2007, Caterpillar developed the C13 and C15 Acert engines which used VVT technology to reduce NOx emissions, to avoid the use of EGR after 2002 EPA requirements.


title: Variable valve timing

text: In 2010, Mitsubishi developed and started mass production of its 4N13 1.8 L DOHC I4, the world's first passenger car diesel engine that features a variable valve timing system.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Manufacturers use many different names to describe their implementation of the various types of variable valve timing systems. These names include:


title: Variable valve timing

text: This method uses two cam profiles, with an actuator to swap between the profiles (usually at a specific engine speed). Cam switching can also provide variable valve lift and variable duration, however the adjustment is discrete rather than continuous.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The first production use of this system was Honda's VTEC system. VTEC changes hydraulic pressure to actuate a pin that locks the high lift, high duration rocker arm to an adjacent low lift, low duration rocker arm(s).


title: Variable valve timing

text: Many production VVT systems are the "cam phasing" type, using a device known as a variator. This allows continuous adjustment of the cam timing (although many early systems only used discrete adjustment), however the duration and lift cannot be adjusted.


title: Variable valve timing

text: These designs use an oscillating or rocking motion in a part cam lobe, which acts on a follower. This follower then opens and closes the valve. Some oscillating cam systems use a conventional cam lobe, while others use an eccentric cam lobe and a connecting rod. The principle is similar to steam engines, where the amount of steam entering the cylinder was regulated by the steam "cut-off" point.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The advantage of this design is that adjustment of lift and duration is continuous. However, in these systems, lift is proportional to duration, so lift and duration cannot be separately adjusted.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The BMW (valvetronic), Nissan (VVEL), and Toyota (valvematic) oscillating cam systems act on the intake valves only.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Eccentric cam drive systems operates through an eccentric disc mechanism which slows and speeds up the angular speed of the cam lobe during its rotation. Arranging the lobe to slow during its open period is equivalent to lengthening its duration.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The advantage of this system is that duration can be varied independent of lift (however this system does not vary lift). The drawback is two eccentric drives and controllers are needed for each cylinder (one for the intake valves and one for the exhaust valves), which increases complexity and cost.


title: Variable valve timing

text: This system consists of a cam lobe that varies along its length (similar to a cone shape). One end of the cam lobe has a short duration/reduced lift profile, and the other end has a longer duration/greater lift profile. In between, the lobe provides a smooth transition between these two profiles. By shifting area of the cam lobe which is in contact with the follower, the lift and duration can be continuously altered. This is achieved by moving the camshaft axially (sliding it across the engine) so a stationary follower is exposed to a varying lobe profile to produce different amounts of lift and duration. The downside to this arrangement is that the cam and follower profiles must be carefully designed to minimise contact stress (due to the varying profile).


title: Variable valve timing

text: Ferrari is commonly associated with this system, however it is unknown whether any production models to date have used this system.


title: Variable valve timing

text: It consists of two (closely spaced) parallel camshafts, with a pivoting follower that spans both camshafts and is acted on by two lobes simultaneously. Each camshaft has a phasing mechanism which allows its angular position relative to the engine's crankshaft to be adjusted. One lobe controls the opening of a valve and the other controls the closing of the same valve, therefore variable duration is achieved through the spacing of these two events.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The operating principle is that the one follower spans the pair of closely spaced lobes. Up to the angular limit of the nose radius the follower 'sees' the combined surface of the two lobes as a continuous, smooth surface. When the lobes are exactly aligned the duration is at a minimum (and equal to that of each lobe alone) and when at the extreme extent of their misalignment the duration is at a maximum. The basic limitation of the scheme is that only a duration variation equal to that of the lobe nose true radius (in camshaft degrees or double this value in crankshaft degrees) is possible. In practice this type of variable cam has a maximum range of duration variation of about forty crankshaft degrees.


title: Variable valve timing

text: This is the principle behind what seems to be the very first variable cam suggestion appearing in the USPTO patent files in 1925 (1527456). The "Clemson camshaft" is of this type.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Also known as "combined two shaft coaxial combined profile with helical movement", this system is not known to be used in any production engines.


title: Variable valve timing

text: It has a similar principle to the previous type, and can use the same base duration lobe profile. However instead of rotation in a single plane, the adjustment is both axial and rotational giving a helical or three-dimensional aspect to its movement. This movement overcomes the restricted duration range in the previous type. The duration range is theoretically unlimited but typically would be of the order of one hundred crankshaft degrees, which is sufficient to cover most situations.


title: Variable valve timing

text: The cam is reportedly difficult and expensive to produce, requiring very accurate helical machining and careful assembly.


title: Variable valve timing

text: Engine designs which do not rely on a camshaft to operate the valves have greater flexibility in achieving variable valve timing and variable valve lift. The only production car that uses the camless design so far is the Koenigsegg Gemera.


title: Variable valve timing

text: This system utilizes the engine lube oil to control the closure of inlet valve. The intake valve opening mechanism incorporates a valve tappet and a piston inside a chamber. There is a solenoid valve controlled by the engine control system which gets energized and supplies oil through a non-return valve during the time of cam lift and the oil gets filled in the chamber and the return channel to the sump is blocked by the valve tappet. During the downward movement of the cam, at a particular instant, the return passage opens and the oil pressure gets released to the engine sump.


title: Bipedalism

text: Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin "bis" 'double' and "pes" 'foot'). Types of bipedal movement include walking, running, and hopping.


title: Bipedalism

text: Several groups of modern species are habitual bipeds whose normal method of locomotion is two-legged. In the Triassic period some groups of archosaurs (a group that includes crocodiles and dinosaurs) developed bipedalism; among the dinosaurs, all the early forms and many later groups were habitual or exclusive bipeds; the birds are members of a clade of exclusively bipedal dinosaurs, the theropods. Within mammals, habitual bipedalism has evolved multiple times, with the macropods, kangaroo rats and mice, springhare, hopping mice, pangolins and hominin apes (australopithecines, including humans) as well as various other extinct groups evolving the trait independently.


title: Bipedalism

text: A larger number of modern species intermittently or briefly use a bipedal gait. Several lizard species move bipedally when running, usually to escape from threats. Many primate and bear species will adopt a bipedal gait in order to reach food or explore their environment, though there are a few cases where they walk on their hind limbs only. Several arboreal primate species, such as gibbons and indriids, exclusively walk on two legs during the brief periods they spend on the ground. Many animals rear up on their hind legs while fighting or copulating. Some animals commonly stand on their hind legs to reach food, keep watch, threaten a competitor or predator, or pose in courtship, but do not move bipedally.


title: Bipedalism

text: The word is derived from the Latin words "bi(s)" 'two' and "ped-" 'foot', as contrasted with quadruped 'four feet'.


title: Bipedalism

text: Limited and exclusive bipedalism can offer a species several advantages. Bipedalism raises the head; this allows a greater field of vision with improved detection of distant dangers or resources, access to deeper water for wading animals and allows the animals to reach higher food sources with their mouths. While upright, non-locomotory limbs become free for other uses, including manipulation (in primates and rodents), flight (in birds), digging (in the giant pangolin), combat (in bears, great apes and the large monitor lizard) or camouflage.


title: Bipedalism

text: The maximum bipedal speed appears slower than the maximum speed of quadrupedal movement with a flexible backbone – both the ostrich and the red kangaroo can reach speeds of , while the cheetah can exceed . Even though bipedalism is slower at first, over long distances, it has allowed humans to outrun most other animals according to the endurance running hypothesis. Bipedality in kangaroo rats has been hypothesized to improve locomotor performance, which could aid in escaping from predators.


title: Bipedalism

text: Zoologists often label behaviors, including bipedalism, as "facultative" (i.e. optional) or "obligate" (the animal has no reasonable alternative). Even this distinction is not completely clear-cut — for example, humans other than infants normally walk and run in biped fashion, but almost all can crawl on hands and knees when necessary. There are even reports of humans who normally walk on all fours with their feet but not their knees on the ground, but these cases are a result of conditions such as Uner Tan syndrome — very rare genetic neurological disorders rather than normal behavior. Even if one ignores exceptions caused by some kind of injury or illness, there are many unclear cases, including the fact that "normal" humans can crawl on hands and knees. This article therefore avoids the terms "facultative" and "obligate", and focuses on the range of styles of locomotion "normally" used by various groups of animals. Normal humans may be considered "obligate" bipeds because the alternatives are very uncomfortable and usually only resorted to when walking is impossible.


title: Bipedalism

text: The great majority of living terrestrial vertebrates are quadrupeds, with bipedalism exhibited by only a handful of living groups. Humans, gibbons and large birds walk by raising one foot at a time. On the other hand, most macropods, smaller birds, lemurs and bipedal rodents move by hopping on both legs simultaneously. Tree kangaroos are able to walk or hop, most commonly alternating feet when moving arboreally and hopping on both feet simultaneously when on the ground.


title: Bipedalism

text: Many species of lizards become bipedal during high-speed, sprint locomotion, including the world's fastest lizard, the spiny-tailed iguana (genus "Ctenosaura").


title: Bipedalism

text: The first known biped is the bolosaurid "Eudibamus" whose fossils date from 290 million years ago. Its long hind-legs, short forelegs, and distinctive joints all suggest bipedalism. The species became extinct in the early Permian.


title: Bipedalism

text: All birds are bipeds when on the ground, a feature inherited from their dinosaur ancestors. However, hoatzin chicks have claws on their wings which they use for climbing.


title: Bipedalism

text: Bipedalism evolved more than once in archosaurs, the group that includes both dinosaurs and crocodilians. All dinosaurs are thought to be descended from a fully bipedal ancestor, perhaps similar to "Eoraptor".


title: Bipedalism

text: Dinosaurs diverged from their archosaur ancestors approximately 230 million years ago during the Middle to Late Triassic period, roughly 20 million years after the Permian-Triassic extinction event wiped out an estimated 95 percent of all life on Earth. Radiometric dating of fossils from the early dinosaur genus "Eoraptor" establishes its presence in the fossil record at this time. Paleontologists suspect "Eoraptor" resembles the common ancestor of all dinosaurs; if this is true, its traits suggest that the first dinosaurs were small, bipedal predators. The discovery of primitive, dinosaur-like ornithodirans such as "Marasuchus" and "Lagerpeton" in Argentinian Middle Triassic strata supports this view; analysis of recovered fossils suggests that these animals were indeed small, bipedal predators.


title: Bipedalism

text: Bipedal movement also re-evolved in a number of other dinosaur lineages such as the iguanodonts. Some extinct members of Pseudosuchia, a sister group to the avemetatarsalians (the group including dinosaurs and relatives), also evolved bipedal forms – a poposauroid from the Triassic, "Effigia okeeffeae", is thought to have been bipedal. Pterosaurs were previously thought to have been bipedal, but recent trackways have all shown quadrupedal locomotion.


title: Bipedalism

text: A number of groups of extant mammals have independently evolved bipedalism as their main form of locomotion - for example humans, giant pangolins, the extinct giant ground sloths, numerous species of jumping rodents and macropods. Humans, as their bipedalism has been extensively studied, are documented in the next section. Macropods are believed to have evolved bipedal hopping only once in their evolution, at some time no later than 45 million years ago.


title: Bipedalism

text: Bipedal movement is less common among mammals, most of which are quadrupedal. All primates possess some bipedal ability, though most species primarily use quadrupedal locomotion on land. Primates aside, the macropods (kangaroos, wallabies and their relatives), kangaroo rats and mice, hopping mice and springhare move bipedally by hopping. Very few non-primate mammals commonly move bipedally with an alternating leg gait. Exceptions are the ground pangolin and in some circumstances the tree kangaroo. One black bear, Pedals, became famous locally and on the internet for having a frequent bipedal gait, although this is attributed to injuries on the bear's front paws.


title: Bipedalism

text: Most bipedal animals move with their backs close to horizontal, using a long tail to balance the weight of their bodies. The primate version of bipedalism is unusual because the back is close to upright (completely upright in humans), and the tail may be absent entirely. Many primates can stand upright on their hind legs without any support.


title: Bipedalism

text: Chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, gibbons and baboons exhibit forms of bipedalism. On the ground sifakas move like all indrids with bipedal sideways hopping movements of the hind legs, holding their forelimbs up for balance. Geladas, although usually quadrupedal, will sometimes move between adjacent feeding patches with a squatting, shuffling bipedal form of locomotion. However, they can only do so for brief amounts, as their bodies are not adapted for constant bipedal locomotion.


title: Bipedalism

text: Humans are the only primates who are normally biped, due to an extra curve in the spine which stabilizes the upright position, as well as shorter arms relative to the legs than is the case for the nonhuman great apes. The evolution of human bipedalism began in primates about four million years ago, or as early as seven million years ago with "Sahelanthropus" or about 12 million years ago with "Danuvius guggenmosi". One hypothesis for human bipedalism is that it evolved as a result of differentially successful survival from carrying food to share with group members, although there are alternative hypotheses.


title: Bipedalism

text: Three captive primates, one macaque Natasha and two chimps, Oliver and Poko (chimpanzee), were found to move bipedally . Natasha switched to exclusive bipedalism after an illness, while Poko was discovered in captivity in a tall, narrow cage. Oliver reverted to knuckle-walking after developing arthritis. Non-human primates often use bipedal locomotion when carrying food.


title: Bipedalism

text: Other mammals engage in limited, non-locomotory, bipedalism. A number of other animals, such as rats, raccoons, and beavers will squat on their hindlegs to manipulate some objects but revert to four limbs when moving (the beaver will move bipedally if transporting wood for their dams, as will the raccoon when holding food). Bears will fight in a bipedal stance to use their forelegs as weapons. A number of mammals will adopt a bipedal stance in specific situations such as for feeding or fighting. Ground squirrels and meerkats will stand on hind legs to survey their surroundings, but will not walk bipedally. Dogs (e.g. Faith) can stand or move on two legs if trained, or if birth defect or injury precludes quadrupedalism. The gerenuk antelope stands on its hind legs while eating from trees, as did the extinct giant ground sloth and chalicotheres. The spotted skunk will walk on its front legs when threatened, rearing up on its front legs while facing the attacker so that its anal glands, capable of spraying an offensive oil, face its attacker.


title: Bipedalism

text: Bipedalism is unknown among the amphibians. Among the non-archosaur reptiles bipedalism is rare, but it is found in the "reared-up" running of lizards such as agamids and monitor lizards. Many reptile species will also temporarily adopt bipedalism while fighting. One genus of basilisk lizard can run bipedally across the surface of water for some distance. Among arthropods, cockroaches are known to move bipedally at high speeds. Bipedalism is rarely found outside terrestrial animals, though at least two types of octopus walk bipedally on the sea floor using two of their arms, allowing the remaining arms to be used to camouflage the octopus as a mat of algae or a floating coconut.


title: Bipedalism

text: There are at least twelve distinct hypotheses as to how and why bipedalism evolved in humans, and also some debate as to when. Bipedalism evolved well before the large human brain or the development of stone tools. Bipedal specializations are found in "Australopithecus" fossils from 4.2 to 3.9 million years ago and recent studies have suggested that obligate bipedal hominid species were present as early as 7 million years ago. Nonetheless, the evolution of bipedalism was accompanied by significant evolutions in the spine including the forward movement in position of the foramen magnum, where the spinal cord leaves the cranium. Recent evidence regarding modern human sexual dimorphism (physical differences between male and female) in the lumbar spine has been seen in pre-modern primates such as "Australopithecus africanus". This dimorphism has been seen as an evolutionary adaptation of females to bear lumbar load better during pregnancy, an adaptation that non-bipedal primates would not need to make. Adapting bipedalism would have required less shoulder stability, which allowed the shoulder and other limbs to become more independent of each other and adapt for specific suspensory behaviors. In addition to the change in shoulder stability, changing locomotion would have increased the demand for shoulder mobility, which would have propelled the evolution of bipedalism forward. The different hypotheses are not necessarily mutually exclusive and a number of selective forces may have acted together to lead to human bipedalism. It is important to distinguish between adaptations for bipedalism and adaptations for running, which came later still.


title: Bipedalism

text: The form and function of modern-day humans' upper bodies appear to have evolved from living in a more forested setting. Living in this kind of environment would have made it so that being able to travel arboreally would have been advantageous at the time. It has also been proposed that, like some modern-day apes, early hominins had undergone a knuckle-walking stage prior to adapting the back limbs for bipedality while retaining forearms capable of grasping. Numerous causes for the evolution of human bipedalism involve freeing the hands for carrying and using tools, sexual dimorphism in provisioning, changes in climate and environment (from jungle to savanna) that favored a more elevated eye-position, and to reduce the amount of skin exposed to the tropical sun. It is possible that bipedalism provided a variety of benefits to the hominin species, and scientists have suggested multiple reasons for evolution of human bipedalism. There is also not only the question of why the earliest hominins were partially bipedal but also why hominins became more bipedal over time. For example, the postural feeding hypothesis describes how the earliest hominins became bipedal for the benefit of reaching food in trees while the savanna-based theory describes how the late hominins that started to settle on the ground became increasingly bipedal.


title: Bipedalism

text: Napier (1963) argued that it is unlikely that a single factor drove the evolution of bipedalism. He stated ""It seems unlikely that any single factor was responsible for such a dramatic change in behaviour. In addition to the advantages of accruing from ability to carry objects – food or otherwise – the improvement of the visual range and the freeing of the hands for purposes of defence and offence may equally have played their part as catalysts."" Sigmon (1971) demonstrated that chimpanzees exhibit bipedalism in different contexts, and one single factor should be used to explain bipedalism: preadaptation for human bipedalism. Day (1986) emphasized three major pressures that drove evolution of bipedalism: food acquisition, predator avoidance, and reproductive success. Ko (2015) stated that there are two questions main regarding bipedalism 1. Why were the earliest hominins partially bipedal? and 2. Why did hominins become more bipedal over time? He argued that these questions can be answered with combination of prominent theories such as Savanna-based, Postural feeding, and Provisioning.


title: Bipedalism

text: According to the Savanna-based theory, hominines came down from the tree’s branches and adapted to life on the savanna by walking erect on two feet. The theory suggests that early hominids were forced to adapt to bipedal locomotion on the open savanna after they left the trees. One of the proposed mechanisms was the knuckle-walking hypothesis, which states that human ancestors used quadrupedal locomotion on the savanna, as evidenced by morphological characteristics found in "Australopithecus anamensis" and "Australopithecus afarensis" forelimbs, and that it is less parsimonious to assume that knuckle walking developed twice in genera "Pan" and "Gorilla" instead of evolving it once as synapomorphy for "Pan" and "Gorilla" before losing it in Australopithecus. The evolution of an orthograde posture would have been very helpful on a savanna as it would allow the ability to look over tall grasses in order to watch out for predators, or terrestrially hunt and sneak up on prey. It was also suggested in P. E. Wheeler's "The evolution of bipedality and loss of functional body hair in hominids", that a possible advantage of bipedalism in the savanna was reducing the amount of surface area of the body exposed to the sun, helping regulate body temperature. In fact, Elizabeth Vrba's turnover pulse hypothesis supports the savanna-based theory by explaining the shrinking of forested areas due to global warming and cooling, which forced animals out into the open grasslands and caused the need for hominids to acquire bipedality.


title: Bipedalism

text: Others state hominines had already achieved the bipedal adaptation that was used in the savanna. The fossil evidence reveals that early bipedal hominins were still adapted to climbing trees at the time they were also walking upright. It is possible that bipedalism evolved in the trees, and was later applied to the savanna as a vestigial trait. Humans and orangutans are both unique to a bipedal reactive adaptation when climbing on thin branches, in which they have increased hip and knee extension in relation to the diameter of the branch, which can increase an arboreal feeding range and can be attributed to a convergent evolution of bipedalism evolving in arboreal environments. Hominine fossils found in dry grassland environments led anthropologists to believe hominines lived, slept, walked upright, and died only in those environments because no hominine fossils were found in forested areas. However, fossilization is a rare occurrence—the conditions must be just right in order for an organism that dies to become fossilized for somebody to find later, which is also a rare occurrence. The fact that no hominine fossils were found in forests does not ultimately lead to the conclusion that no hominines ever died there. The convenience of the savanna-based theory caused this point to be overlooked for over a hundred years.


title: Bipedalism

text: Some of the fossils found actually showed that there was still an adaptation to arboreal life. For example, Lucy, the famous "Australopithecus afarensis", found in Hadar in Ethiopia, which may have been forested at the time of Lucy's death, had curved fingers that would still give her the ability to grasp tree branches, but she walked bipedally. "Little Foot," a nearly-complete specimen of "Australopithecus africanus", has a divergent big toe as well as the ankle strength to walk upright. "Little Foot" could grasp things using his feet like an ape, perhaps tree branches, and he was bipedal. Ancient pollen found in the soil in the locations in which these fossils were found suggest that the area used to be much more wet and covered in thick vegetation and has only recently become the arid desert it is now.