title: Rock Believer

text: About "Rock Believer", John Aizlewood of "Classic Rock" wrote, "The days of unashamed ballads such as 'Wind of Change', pop-metal ('Is There Anybody There?') and bold experiments ('The Zoo') are long gone. Instead, bar two versions of the majestic, lighters-aloft 'When You Know (Where You Come From)', they've gone full throttle with an intensity that would wind their grandchildren."


title: Flag of Haiti

text: The flag of Haiti (French: , ) is the national flag of the Republic of Haiti. It is a bicolour flag featuring two horizontal bands coloured blue and red, emblazoned by a white rectangular panel bearing the coat of arms of Haiti. The coat of arms depicts a trophy of weapons atop a green hill and a royal palm symbolizing independence. The palm is topped by the Cap of Liberty. The motto "L'Union fait la Force" ("Unity makes strength") appears on a white ribbon below the arrangement.


title: Flag of Haiti

text: The present design was first used by the Republic of Haiti under President Alexandre Pétion in 1806. It was most recently readopted on 25 February 2012 under Title I, Chapter I, Article 3 of the current Constitution of Haiti:L'emblême de la Nation Haïtienne est le Drapeau qui répond à la description suivante:


title: Flag of Haiti

text: The English translation adopted by the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C., reads:The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with the following description:


title: Flag of Haiti

text: Contrary to the constitutional mandate, the white field is rarely (if ever) rendered as a square. A rectangle with an 11:9 ratio has been adopted by the Haitian Ministry of Information and Coordination since 1987 or earlier.


title: Flag of Haiti

text: The flag of Haiti is one of seven national flags whose designs incorporate a depiction of the flag itself, the others being the flags of Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Venezuela. The flag is one of four national flags of UN member states to feature a gun, the others being those of Mozambique, Guatemala, and Bolivia.


title: Flag of Haiti

text: The first purely Haitian flag was adopted on 18 May 1803, on the last day of the Congress of Arcahaie, about north of Port-au-Prince. Haitian lore holds that the newly appointed revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines created the flag by taking a French tricolor and ripping out the white center, which he discarded. He then asked Catherine Flon, his god-daughter, to sew the remaining bands together. The white pale removed, the blue was taken to represent Haiti's black citizens and the red the "gens de couleur". The story is widely known in Haiti: the anniversary of the date is celebrated as the Flag and Universities Day and images of Catherine Flon have appeared on Haitian currency and stamps.


title: Flag of Haiti

text: Following his proclamation as Emperor Jacques I, Dessalines promulgated a new constitution on 20 May 1805. In it, the colors of the flag were altered to black and red. This flag being subsequently adopted by Henri Christophe, the republicans under Alexandre Pétion returned to the colors blue and red, subsequently turning them horizontal and adding the newly adopted Haitian coat of arms.


title: Flag of Haiti

text: During the period of the Haitian Empire of Faustin I, his coat of arms was used on the flag and for official functions, but it was subsequently abandoned upon his removal from office.


title: Flag of Haiti

text: Between 1964 and 1986, the family dictatorships of François "Papa Doc" and Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returned to Dessalines' black and red design. They included the national coat of arms, but altered the flags in its trophy to black as well.


title: Mary Frann

text: Mary Frann (born Mary Frances Luecke, February 27, 1943 – September 23, 1998) was an American stage, film and television actress.


title: Mary Frann

text: She is best known for her role as Bob Newhart's wife, Joanna Loudon, on the CBS sitcom "Newhart", which aired from 1982 to 1990.


title: Mary Frann

text: Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Frann was a child model and appeared in commercials for a local television station while she attended Nerinx Hall High School. At the age of 18, she was voted Missouri's "Junior Miss". She went on to win the 1961 national title of America's Junior Miss and earned a college scholarship to study drama at Northwestern University. As America's Junior Miss, she starred in a Jam Handy educational film ("Prom: It's a Pleasure") extolling the etiquette and fun of the high school prom. While attending Northwestern, Frann worked as a weather reporter for the NBC station in St. Louis. After a year, she dropped out of Northwestern and moved to Chicago where she co-hosted a morning show on an ABC affiliate. While working as a host, Frann worked in local theatre productions and began working in television and films. In 1964, Frann made her television debut in the "Kraft Suspense Theatre" episode "Once Upon a Savage Night", which was subsequently expanded into the TV movie "Nightmare in Chicago". In 1966, Frann made her feature film debut in the low-budget musical drama "Nashville Rebel", starring Waylon Jennings.


title: Mary Frann

text: After receiving an offer to host another morning show, Frann realized she wanted to pursue a career as an actress rather than a broadcaster. In 1968, she moved to Los Angeles where she stayed with her best friend, actress Joan Van Ark. Shortly after her arrival, Frann won a role on the NBC crime drama series "My Friend Tony". After winning the role, Frann's agent told her that he felt she should change her name to something more appealing. Frann adopted the stage name "Jennifer Douglas", a name she picked from the phone book. After "My Friend Tony" was canceled after one season, Frann returned to using the name "Mary Frann" (which she had gone by since high school) as her professional name.


title: Mary Frann

text: For the next five years, Frann continued to work in television and also worked in theatre in Los Angeles and New York. In 1974, she landed the role of Amanda Howard on the daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives". She would remain on the show until 1979. While on the series, Frann also made guest appearances on "Quincy, M.E."; "The Rockford Files"; "Fantasy Island"; "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "WKRP in Cincinnati". In 1978, Frann was nearly cast as Sue Ellen Ewing on the CBS prime-time drama "Dallas". Producers later decided to cast actress Linda Gray. In 1982, she starred on the short-lived series "King's Crossing" with Linda Hamilton. That series was canceled after one season due to low ratings. Later that year, she landed her most memorable role as Joanna Loudon, the wife of Vermont inn owner Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart), in the sitcom "Newhart". The series, which aired from October 1982 to May 1990, was a hit with audiences and was nominated for 25 Emmys and five Golden Globes. Shortly after filming the series finale, Frann was cast as "Clementine Duke" in the miniseries "Lucky/Chances". The series was based on two of Jackie Collins' novels, "Lucky" and "Chances". The role was a dramatic departure from Frann's work on "Newhart" and surprised audiences. She later told the "Los Angeles Times", "I thought it would be outrageous, flamboyant, glamorous. I wanted to remind people that I was capable of playing many different roles."


title: Mary Frann

text: During the run of "Newhart", Frann continued acting in various projects. In 1985, she co-starred in the TV movie "Gidget's Summer Reunion", and in 1988, she appeared in "Dance 'til Dawn" with Alyssa Milano, Christina Applegate and Kelsey Grammer. Frann also co-hosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants of 1986 and 1987, and acted as hostess for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Parade.


title: Mary Frann

text: Her last acting role came in an episode of the series "". Due to the sporadic airing of the series, the episode she was in, "The Curse of Hampton Manor", aired two years after her death.


title: Mary Frann

text: Frann was active as a volunteer fund-raiser and with several charitable works. She was a member of the Celebrity Action Council, a volunteer group of celebrity women who served the women's outreach of the Los Angeles Mission, for seven years. The night before her death, she had attended a meeting at the Mission.


title: Mary Frann

text: On September 23, 1998, Frann died in her sleep at her home in Beverly Hills, California. Her body was discovered by longtime partner Jonathan Cookman, Jr. An autopsy determined she died of a heart attack, and found myocardial scars suggesting earlier undiagnosed infarction. Her remains are interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.


title: HLA-B27

text: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) B27 (subtypes B*2701-2759) is a class I surface antigen encoded by the B locus in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6 and presents antigenic peptides (derived from self and non-self antigens) to T cells. HLA-B27 is strongly associated with ankylosing spondylitis and other associated inflammatory diseases, such as psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and reactive arthritis.


title: HLA-B27

text: The prevalence of HLA-B27 varies markedly in the global population. For example, about 8% of Caucasians, 4% of North Africans, 2–9% of Chinese, and 0.1–0.5% of persons of Japanese descent possess the gene that codes for this antigen. In northern Scandinavia (Lapland), 24% of people are HLA-B27 positive, while 1.8% have associated ankylosing spondylitis.


title: HLA-B27

text: The relationship between HLA-B27 and many diseases has not yet been fully elucidated. Though HLA-B27 is associated with a wide range of pathology, it does not appear to be the sole mediator in development of disease. In particular, 90% of people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are HLA-B27 positive, though only a small fraction of people with HLA-B27 ever develop AS. People who are HLA-B27 positive are also more likely to experience early onset AS than HLA-B27 negative individuals. There are additional genes being discovered that also predispose to AS and associated diseases, and additionally there are potential environmental factors (triggers) that may also play a role in susceptible individuals.


title: HLA-B27

text: In addition to its association with ankylosing spondylitis, HLA-B27 is implicated in other types of seronegative spondyloarthropathy as well, such as reactive arthritis, certain eye disorders such as acute anterior uveitis and iritis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's and ulcerative colitis associated spondyloarthritis. The shared association with HLA-B27 leads to increased clustering of these diseases. HLA antigens have also been studied in relation to Autism.


title: HLA-B27

text: Due to its strong association with spondyloarthropathies, HLA-B27 is the most studied HLA-B allele. It is not entirely clear how HLA-B27 influences disease, however there are some prevailing theories as to the mechanism. The theories can be divided between antigen-dependent and antigen-independent categories.


title: HLA-B27

text: These theories consider a specific combination of antigen peptide sequence and the binding groove (B pocket) of HLA-B27 (which will have different properties from the other HLA-B alleles). The "arthritogenic peptide hypothesis" suggests that HLA-B27 has a unique ability to bind antigens from a microorganism that trigger a CD8 T-cell response that then cross-reacts with a HLA-B27/self-peptide pair. Furthermore, it has been shown that HLA-B27 can bind peptides at the cell surface. The "molecular mimicry hypothesis" is similar, however it suggests that cross reactivity between some bacterial antigens and self peptide can break tolerance and lead to autoimmunity.


title: HLA-B27

text: These theories refer to the unusual biochemical properties that HLA-B27 has. The "misfolding hypothesis" suggests that slow folding during HLA-B27's tertiary structure folding and association with β2 microglobulin causes the protein to be misfolded, therefore initiating the unfolded protein response (UPR)—a pro-inflammatory endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. However, although this mechanism has been demonstrated both "in vitro" and in animals, there is little evidence of its occurrence in human spondyloarthritis. Also, the "HLA-B27 heavy chain homodimer formation hypothesis" suggests that B27 heavy chains tend to dimerise and accumulate in the ER, once again, initiating the UPR. Alternatively, cell surface B27 heavy chains and dimers can bind to regulatory immune receptors such as members of the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor family, promoting the survival and differentiation of pro-inflammatory leukocytes in disease.


title: HLA-B27

text: One more misfolding theory, published in 2004, proposes that β2 microglobulin-free heavy chains of HLA-B27 undergo a facile conformational change in which the C-terminal end of domain 2 (consisting of a long helix) becomes subject to a helix-coil transition involving residues 169–181 of the heavy chain, owing to the conformational freedom newly experienced by domain 3 of the heavy chain when there is no longer any bound light chain (i.e., β2 microglobulin) and owing to the consequent rotation around the backbone dihedral angles of residues 167/168. The proposed conformational transition is thought to allow the newly-generated coiled region (incorporating residues 'RRYLENGKETLQR' which have also been found to be naturally bound to HLA-B27 as a 9-mer peptide) to bind to either the peptide-binding cleft of the same polypeptide chain (in an act of self-display) or to the cleft of another polypeptide chain (in an act of cross-display). Cross-display is proposed to lead to the formation of large, soluble, high molecular weight (HMW), degradation-resistant, long-surviving aggregates of the HLA-B27 heavy chain. Together with any homodimers formed either by cross-display or by a disulfide-linked homodimerization mechanism, it is proposed that such HMW aggregates survive on the cell surface without undergoing rapid degradation, and stimulate an immune response. Three previously noted features of HLA-B27, which distinguish it from other heavy chains, underlie the hypothesis: (1) HLA-B27 has been found to be bound to peptides longer than 9-mers, suggesting that the cleft can accommodate a longer polypeptide chain; (2) HLA-B27 has been found to itself contain a sequence that has also been actually discovered to be bound to HLA-B27, as an independent peptide; and (3) HLA-B27 heavy chains lacking β2 microglobulin have been seen on cell surfaces.


title: HLA-B27

text: Around 1 in 500 people infected with HIV are able to remain symptom-free for many years without medication, a group known as long-term nonprogressors. The presence of HLA-B27, as well as HLA-B5701, is significantly common among this group.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Phabullo Rodrigues da Silva (born 1 November 1993), known professionally as Pabllo Vittar (), is a Brazilian drag queen and singer.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Born in São Luís, Phabullo is a dizygotic twin and has an older sister. Phabullo spent part of his childhood and adolescence living in the cities of Santa Inês and Caxias, both in the interior of Maranhão, due to financial difficulties. He never knew his father, who abandoned his mother, a nurse, when she was pregnant with him.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: During his childhood, Phabullo experienced bullying because of his delicate gestures and feminine voice. He was physically assaulted with a plate of hot soup strewn over his face. He attended ballet classes during this period.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: At the age of 13, Phabullo began doing covers at family parties and school performances and joined a choir at a Catholic church. Soon after, he began songwriting. Later, he decided to become a professional, moving to Indaiatuba with his sister, where he worked in several places, such as snack bars and beauty salons. Soon after, he moved to Uberlândia with his mother, who had recently married. At the age of 15, he came out to his mother, who had suspected that he was gay; his sister already knew about his sexual orientation. His mother, whom he talks to daily, is supportive of his sexual orientation.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: He then began to go out for the night in Maranhão, to make friends, and to participate as one of a selection of singers in a house of shows. He started performing his own songs and impersonating celebrities for a small fee, but it was not a professional job. He was now dressing feminine, but did not identify himself as a drag queen; the first time that he did drag was at age 17 in Uberlândia, to publicize a party of his friend by delivering pamphlets at the door of a nightclub. With time, he started performing in LGBT parades in several cities of Maranhão and became known by the state's LGBT community. At age 18, in Minas Gerais, Phabullo started participating in and winning some beauty contests in full drag, before beginning his professional career as a singer while adopting the stage name of "Pabllo Knowles", an homage to singer Beyoncé. His first performance as a drag queen occurred at the Belgrano nightclub, of producers Ian Hayashi and Leocádio Rezende (whom Phabullo would later call his "parents").


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Still in Minas Gerais, Phabullo took a university entrance exam by the Federal University of Uberlândia, where he was admitted to the full design course in 2013, but after some periods he dropped out of college due to his schedule of shows, which increased greatly due to the success of his music videos on the internet and his participation in the band of primetime television program "Amor & Sexo".


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: When he attracted attention from entrepreneurs in the entertainment field, Phabullo began his musical career professionally, performing in bars and concert halls in Uberlândia and cities of the region. In this period, Phabullo adopted the stage name of Pabllo Vittar.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Vittar appeared on TV for the first time in 2014, on a Brazilian talent singing show, performing "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston. He became famous in the media in 2015 with the success of his music video "Open Bar", a Portuguese-language version of Major Lazer's song "Lean On" with original lyrics, produced by Bonde do Rolê and Omulu. In less than four months, the video reached one million views on YouTube. He also released an extended play with the same name, using pop hits' instrumentals with new arrangements and lyrics.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: On 12 January 2017, his debut studio album "Vai Passar Mal" was released – including the singles "Nêga", "Todo Dia", "K.O.", "Corpo Sensual", "Então Vai" (with Diplo) and "Indestrutível". In the same month he released "Todo Dia" as the second single of the album, which became notorious at Brazilian Carnival due to its lyrics. The third single "K.O." became an even bigger hit and brought Vittar to nationwide fame and success; as of 2021, the song has over 381 million views on YouTube. The fourth single, "Corpo Sensual", was released on 6 September 2017, to similar success, resulting in over 321 million views on YouTube.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Vittar has been featured in songs by international artists such as Major Lazer's "Sua Cara" (with fellow Brazilian singer Anitta). The music video was released on 30 July 2017, and reached 10th place on the list of most-viewed online videos in the first 24 hours, with 25 million views. The singer also appears on "I Got It", from Charli XCX's fourth mixtape "Pop 2". Vittar collaborated again with XCX on "Flash Pose", released on 25 July 2019; the single was later included on Vittar's album "111". He also got to perform "Flash Pose" at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: On 15 August 2018, Pabllo Vittar released his second studio album "Não Para Não" – including the singles "Problema Seu", "Disk Me", "Seu Crime", "Buzina", and "Não Vou Deitar". Vittar toured in support of the album, in Brazil and internationally. An extended tour called NPN Pride saw Vittar performing in various pride parades throughout USA and Canada. The first two singles were released to great success, with "Disk Me" reaching over 85 million views and "Problema Seu" reaching over 112 million views on Youtube. The singles "Seu Crime" and "Buzina" also were successful, albeit with smaller numbers, with both reaching over 25 million views on Youtube. This album also featured Brazilian singers Dilsinho and Ludmilla in "Trago seu Amor de Volta" and "Vai Embora", respectively.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: On 31 October 2019, Pabllo Vittar released the "111 1" EP – including the singles "Parabéns" (with Brazilian rapper Psirico), "Amor de Que" and "Flash Pose" (with Charli XCX). Following the success of the "111 1" EP, "Amor de Que" rose to success thanks to the 2020 Brazilian Carnival, with the song reaching over 50 million views in just a month; as of 2021, the song has over 138 million views. "Parabéns" was released as the second single and also enjoyed similar success, with over 127 million views on Youtube as of 2020. "Flash Pose" had modest success, reaching over 25 million views on YouTube.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: On 24 March 2020, Vittar's third studio album "111" was released – including the singles "Clima Quente" (with Brazilian Jerry Smith), "Tímida" (with Thalía) and "Rajadão"; the songs from the EP were also included in the album. Vittar collaborated with various artists on the album, and included songs in Portuguese, English and Spanish.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: With the nomination of "Sua Cara" at the 19th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Vittar became the first Grammy-nominated drag queen. He also became the first drag queen to win an EMA award in its 25-year run for Best Brazilian Act. The following year, he consecutively won again.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Vittar is mainly a pop singer, although his music incorporates other genres. His debut studio album "Vai Passar Mal" mixes pop with elements of electronic music and Brazilian genres such as tecno brega, arrocha, funk carioca, and forró. Music critics noted that his second studio album "Não Para Não" follows a similar formula, mixing Brazilian and international influences. Speaking about the latter album, Vittar explained: "I lived in Santa Izabel do Pará and listened to cumbia, carimbó, tecnobrega and guitarrada. In Maranhão, I heard axé and ... Pabllo Vittar is all over this album, I cannot go against my origins." His lyrics often explore themes such as love, self-confidence, and partying.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Vittar is a countertenor with 2.3 octaves of vocal extension already exhibited, spanning from flat E in the third octave (E♭3) to G# in the fifth octave (G♯5). Sérgio Anders, a singing professor at the State University of Minas Gerais, considers Vittar to have "an infantile voice in an adult male". While he views Vittar as a good singer, Anders opines that his technique is not very developed. Shannon Sims of "The New York Times" described Vittar's voice as a "nasal soprano".


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Vittar grew up listening to artists such as Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, and Tina Turner, whom he imitated as a child before he even considered becoming a drag queen, as well as Gilberto Gil, Ney Matogrosso, Elis Regina, Alcione Nazareth, and Caetano Veloso. He became interested in drag after watching the reality show "RuPaul's Drag Race" and cited RuPaul as an important inspiration: "All the drag artists in this world have to thank RuPaul for the visibility we have today." Some participants of the show have also influenced Vittar, notably April Carrion and Naomi Smalls. Model Bella Hadid visually influences him, especially his makeup and style. His music and performances are greatly influenced by bands such as Banda Batidão and .


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Early in his career, he used the stage name Pabllo Knowles as a reference to Beyoncé. Other influences include Rihanna, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, and Britney Spears, as well as his "Sua Cara" collaborators Anitta and Major Lazer. While making his debut album "Vai Passar Mal", Vittar explained that he listened to several artists to find inspiration, citing Liniker and Elza Soares as examples. The album was also influenced by Lana Del Rey, Allie X, Rihanna's album "Anti", and Beyoncé's album "Lemonade".


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Vittar's music is considered as "unofficial anthems for Brazil's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community" and he is widely viewed as a voice for them. Because dangers to LGBTQ+ people have grown in Brazil, Vittar's openness about being gay has made him an icon to those living in a prejudiced environment. As an openly gay Brazilian drag queen, Vittar has served as a positive representation of homosexuality and gender fluidity. He used his visibility to support LGBTQ+ individuals in Brazil and in other countries in South America. He said: "They tell me a lot about their daily struggle to go out on the street being gay, being drag. I want to give them strength so they can continue being who they are." Vittar also appeared on "A Força do Querer" ("Edge of Desire"), a popular telenovela about a transgender man. After seeing Vittar perform at the Rock in Rio festival, actor Fábio Assunção wrote in a Facebook post: "You represent the possibility of truth in a sea of hypocrisy. Your public figure is the voice of many suffocated people."


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: In an interview for "Veja" magazine, Vittar revealed that he chose a masculine stage name because he wanted to be truthful to the public, since he is not transgender. He only acts as a woman when he's on stage as Pabllo Vittar and has a more typical masculine gender expression in his private life. During the same interview, Vittar said he is "making music for humans." In October 2022 Vittar came out as gender-fluid on the PodPah podcast.


title: Pabllo Vittar

text: Since his debut, Vittar became the most followed and most streamed drag queen in the world, surpassing RuPaul. In 2020, Vittar was featured in a campaign for Calvin Klein, as part of the designer's pride collection.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The Welsh Dragon (, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd from around 655AD and is historically known as the "Red Dragon of Cadwaladr". Ancient leaders of the Celtic Britons that are personified as dragons include Maelgwn Gwynedd, Mynyddog Mwynfawr and Urien Rheged. Later Welsh "dragons" include Owain Gwynedd, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Owain Glyndŵr.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The red dragon appears in the ancient "Mabinogion" story of Lludd and Llefelys where it is confined, battling with an invading white dragon, at Dinas Emrys. The story continues in the , written around AD 829, where Gwrtheyrn, King of the Britons is frustrated in attempts to build a fort at Dinas Emrys. He is told by a boy Emrys, to dig up two dragons fighting beneath the castle. He discovers the white dragon representing the Anglo-Saxons, which is soon to be defeated by the red dragon of the Wales.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The red dragon is now seen as symbolising Wales, present on the current national flag of Wales, which became an official flag in 1959.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: Dragons as an emblem can be found in the Roman period of Britannia. Dragon brooches have been discovered dating to the first and second centuries. Little is known about these, but the military use of the term dragon also dates back to the Roman period and this in turn is likely inspired by the symbols of the Scythians, Indians, Persians, Dacians or Parthians. One notable Draco symbol which may have influenced the Welsh dragon is that of the Sarmatians, who contributed to the cavalry units stationed in Ribchester from the 2nd to 4th centuries. Cohorts were represented by the draco military standard from the third century in the same way that the Eagle Aquila standard represented the legions. The standard bearer of the cohort was called draconarius and carried a gilded staff with a dragon at the top. After the Roman withdrawal it has long been suggested that resistance to the Saxon incursion was led either by Romans or Romanised Britons, and this is evident in the names attributed in legend to those who led the opposition including Ambrosius Aurelianus and perhaps Artorius. This could account for how the Roman terminology came to be adopted by Britons.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: From the first extant written records of the Britons, it became evident that Dragons were already associated with military leaders. Gildas, writing in about 540, spoke of the Briton chieftain Maglocunus (Maelgwn Gwynedd in Welsh) as the "insularis draco". More significantly, the early poets, Taliesin and Aneirin both extensively use dragons as an image for military leaders, and for the Britons the word "dragon" began to take the form of a euphemism for a war leader, prince or ruler.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: In "Y Gododdin", Aneirin describes his patron, Mynyddog Mwynfawr as "the dragon" when he speaks of the "feast of the dragon". he also describes the war leader, Gwernabwy mab Gwen, as the dragon of the battle of Catraeth. Meanwhile Taliesin, on Urien Rheged, described inexperienced and skilful leaders as and respectively. Owain ap Urien is called Owain ben draic, the chief dragon. Although not compiled until later, the main part of Y Gododdin and the heroic poems on Urien Rheged by Taliesin almost certainly date in origin to the sixth century.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The Welsh term was used to refer to Welsh leaders including Owain Gwynedd, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (Llywelyn the Last) and "the dragon" Owain Glyndŵr. Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, a court poet to Owain Gwynedd refers to him in one elegy, personifying him as "The golden dragon of Snowdonia of eagles".


title: Welsh Dragon

text: As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd from around 655AD. The Red Welsh dragon is often described as the "Red Dragon of Cadwaladr" for this reason. Later Taliesin poems reference the return of Cadwaladr (r. circa 655 to 682) and coming Saxon liberation. Nevertheless these are perhaps as old as late 7th century, and speak of the .


title: Welsh Dragon

text: In the "Mabinogion" story "Lludd and Llefelys", the red dragon fights with an invading White Dragon. A plague is caused by a battle between a red dragon and a foreign white dragon. Lludd must set a trap for them at the exact centre of the island called Oxford, put them to sleep with mead, and then bury them underground in a stone chest. The third plague is caused by a mighty magician, who casts a spell to make the whole court fall asleep while he raids their stores. Lludd must confront him, keeping himself awake with a vat of cold water. Lludd returns home to Britain. He destroys the Coraniaid with the insect mixture and confines the dragons at Dinas Emrys. Finally he fights the magician, who submits to him to become his loyal servant.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The tale is taken up in the Historia Brittonum, written by Nennius. Historia Brittonum was written circa 828, and by this point the dragon was no longer just a military symbol but associated with a coming deliverer from the Saxons, and for the first time as a symbol of independence. It is also the first time that the colour of the dragon is verifiably given as red. Nevertheless there may well be an older attribution of red to the colour of the dragon in Y Gododdin. The story of Lludd a Llefelys in the Mabinogion settles the matter, firmly establishing the red dragon of the Celtic Britons being in opposition with the white dragon of the Saxons.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: In chapters 40–42 there is a narrative in which the tyrant Vortigern flees into Wales to escape the Anglo-Saxon invaders. There he chooses a hill-fort as the site for his royal retreat, and attempts to build a citadel, but the structure collapses repeatedly. His wise men tell him he must sacrifice a young boy born without a father on the spot to alleviate the curse. The King sent his soldiers out across the land to find such a lad. and discovers such a boy, Emrys (Ambrosius Aurelianus), but Emrys reveals the real reason for the collapsing towers: a hidden pool containing two dragons, one red and one white, representing the Britons and the Saxons specifically, are buried beneath the foundation. He explained how the White Dragon of the Saxons though winning the battle at present, would soon be defeated by the Welsh Red Dragon. After Vortigern's downfall, the fort was given to High-King Ambrosius Aurelianus, known in Welsh as Emrys Wledig, hence its name.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The same story of the red and white dragon is repeated in Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain", where the red dragon is also a prophecy of the coming of King Arthur.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: When the later Arthurian legends reached their modern form, Geoffrey of Monmouth, writing in the 12th century for a French and Breton audience, wrote that King Arthur used a golden dragon banner. His standard was also emblazoned with a golden dragon. It is also mentioned in at least four manuscripts that Arthur is associated with the golden dragon, and the standard functions as a haven for wounded soldiers in battles. Geoffrey of Monmouth reports that Arthur used the standard within his vicinity at the rear of the battle for the attention of his wounded soldiers.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: 's banner was known as or 'The Golden Dragon' (). It was famously raised over during the Battle of Tuthill in 1401 against the English. chose to fly the standard of a golden dragon on a white background, the traditional standard that, supposedly, Uther Pendragon had flown when the first Celtic Britons had fought the Saxons to a standstill almost 1,000 years before, which had been passed down to his son King Arthur. Adam of Usk reports that Glyndwr's golden dragon was the first use of a dragon standard used in war by Welsh troops on the 1st of November, 1401. Historian John Davies adds that the dragon raised by Glyndwr was a symbol of victory for the Celtic Britons.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: On his seals Glyndwr is also depicted with a Welsh dragon on his helmet, his horse's head and his crown. Glyndŵr's Great Seal as Prince of Wales also included a dragon gules on his crest.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: On Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond's tomb is an effigy detailing him wearing a crown affixed with the dragon of Cadwaladr. Following his son's victory at Bosworth field, Henry VII used a red dragon on a white and green background upon entering St Paul's. Henry the VII used the dragon motif, but this was used as part of the heraldry of house Tudor rather than of Wales. The dragon of Cadwaladr was used as a supporter on the royal arms of all Tudor sovereigns of England and also appeared on the standards of Henry VII and Henry VIII.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The red dragon did not become an official royal heraldic badge until 1800, when George III issued a royal warrant confirming the badge, blazoned as: "On a mount Vert a dragon passant with wings elevated Gules".


title: Welsh Dragon

text: There is a further badge for Wales, belonging to the Princes of Wales since 1901, of the red dragon on a mount but with a label of three points Argent about the shoulder to difference it from the monarch's badge. The badge became a part of the Coat of arms of the Prince of Wales by Royal Warrant.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: In 1953, the red dragon badge was given an augmentation of honour. The augmented badge is blazoned: "Within a circular riband Argent fimbriated Or bearing the motto" ["the red dragon inspires action"]", in letters Vert, and ensigned with a representation of the Crown proper, an escutcheon per fesse Argent and Vert and thereon the Red Dragon passant" Winston Churchill, the then prime minister, despised the badge's design, as is revealed in the following Cabinet minute from 1953:


title: Welsh Dragon

text: In 1959, Government use of this flag was dropped in favour of the current flag at the urging of the Gorsedd of Bards.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The badge was used by the Wales Office and was printed on Statutory Instruments made by the National Assembly for Wales. The badge was previously used in the corporate logo of the Assembly until the "dynamic dragon" logo was adopted.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: This Royal badge was supplanted by a new official Royal badge in 2008, which eliminated the red dragon altogether.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: In the 1909 national pageant of Wales, the Welsh dragon apperas upright on a white background. The Welsh dragon that appears on the flag on board Captain Scott's Terra Nova is also an upright dragon (sergeant) on a white and green background. Up until this point, there was no standardised version of the Welsh dragon.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The dragon was used on banners during women's suffrage events in Wales in the 1900s and 1910s. The banner's accession documents included a note from one of the former members "The banner was worked by Mrs Henry Lewis… [she] was also President of the South Wales Federation of Women’s Suffrage Societies + she led the S. Wales section of the great Suffrage Procession in London on June 17th 1911, walking in front of her own beautiful banner… It was a great occasion, some 40,000 to 50,000 men + women taking part in the walk from Whitehall through Pall Mall, St James’s Street + Piccadilly to the Albert Hall. The dragon attracted much attention – “Here comes the Devil” was the greeting of one group of on lookers."


title: Welsh Dragon

text: As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales is present on the national flag of Wales, which became an official flag in 1959.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The emblem (or logo) used by the Welsh Government is that of the Welsh dragon. According to their guidance, the; "logo consists of a dragon and Welsh Government name separated by a horizontal line, positioned together in a fixed relationship which must not be altered. These elements are aligned centrally with each other. The logo is always bilingual Regardless of the language of the material it appears on with "Welsh first, followed by English if necessary" They also mention, "The dragon must always face to the left.", this follows the same rule which is applied to the dragon when flown on a pole.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The Welsh dragon, "the most iconic of Welsh emblems", is also used as the official emblem or logo of the Football Association of Wales which was redesigned in 2019.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The motto "Anorchfygol Ddraig Cymru" ("Unconquerable Dragon of Wales') is associated with the red dragon.


title: Welsh Dragon

text: The motto "Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn" ("The red dragon will show the way"). This motto is in the strict poetic metre of cynghanedd.


title: Tara Alisha Berry

text: Tara Alisha Berry is an Indian actress, known for her works in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She started out with a music video with Shaan, called "Khudgarzi", produced by Eros in 2011. Her debut Hindi film was "Mastram".


title: Tara Alisha Berry

text: Her next release was "Chokher Bali", directed by Anurag Basu, which aired on Epic TV in 2015 as part of a series called "Stories by Rabindranath Tagore". On 11 September 2015, her film "The Perfect Girl", directed by Prakash Nambiar, was released.


title: Tara Alisha Berry

text: Tara was then signed on by Vishesh Films for a three-film deal. Her first Vishesh Films release is "Love Games", directed by Vikram Bhatt produced by Vishesh Films and T-Series. In 2020, Tara again featured in the web series "Mastram".


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: The Wales national rugby union team () represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. The team plays its home matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Principality Stadium), which replaced Cardiff Arms Park as the national stadium of Wales in 1999.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales has competed annually in the Six Nations Championship (previously the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship) since it was established in 1883. They have won the tournament (and its predecessors) outright 28 times, most recently in 2021. Since 2005, Wales has been the most successful team in the Six Nations, winning six Six Nations titles. They include four Grand Slams, again more than any other side. Wales has also participated in every Rugby World Cup since the competition was established in 1987; they finished third in the inaugural tournament and have since made two semi-finals, in 2011 and 2019. Wales were the host nation for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, although matches were also played in England, Scotland, Ireland and France.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: The Wales team experienced their first 'golden age' between 1900 and 1911; they first played New Zealand in 1905, winning 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park, and between March 1907 and January 1910, they won 11 consecutive matches, a record that stood for over a century. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a second 'golden age' between 1969 and 1980, when they won eight Five Nations Championships. In addition to their Six Nations successes, Wales also finished fourth at both the 2011 Rugby World Cup and 2019 Rugby World Cup. Additionally Wales won 14 consecutive matches between March 2018 and March 2019, and reached number 1 in the World Rugby Rankings for the first time in August 2019. Eight former Welsh players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame; 10 were inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame prior to its 2014 merger into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at St David's College, Lampeter, and introduced the sport there. Wales played their first international match on 19 February 1881; organised by Newport's Richard Mullock and captained by James Bevan, they played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal and six tries to nil (82–0 in modern scoring values). On 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel, Neath. Two years later, the Home Nations Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played, but Wales did not register a win. However, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had introduced the "four three-quarters" formation – with seven backs and eight forwards instead of six backs and nine forwards – which revolutionised the sport and was eventually adopted almost universally at international and club level.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: With the "four three-quarters" formation, Wales won the Home Nations Championship for the first time in 1893, winning the Triple Crown in the process. Wales next won the Championship in 1900, heralding the first "golden age" of Welsh rugby, which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, and were runners-up in 1901, 1903 and 1904.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In 1906, Wales again won the Home Nations Championship, and later that year played South Africa for the first time. Wales were favourites to win the match, but South Africa dominated in the forwards and eventually won 11–0. Two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, who they defeated 9–6.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In 1909, Wales won the Home Nations Championship and then, in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations. In 1911, Wales took the first Five Nations Grand Slam, winning all their matches in the tournament. It would be nearly 40 years before they achieved a Grand Slam again. England's defeat of Wales at Cardiff in 1913 was Wales' first home loss to one of the Home Nations since 1899, and their first home loss to England since 1895. The Great War came in 1914 and rugby was suspended for the duration.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: When Wales faced New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905, they had not lost at home since 1899. This New Zealand team – referred to as "The Original All Blacks" – was the first of the southern hemisphere national teams to visit the British Isles, and were undefeated on their tour up to that point, having already beaten England, Ireland and Scotland. Before the match, New Zealand team performed a haka (a Māori posture dance); the 47,000-strong crowd responded with the Welsh national anthem – "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" ("Land of My Fathers") – the first time a national anthem had been sung before a sporting fixture. Wales wing Teddy Morgan scored a try to give Wales a 3–0 lead, before New Zealand's Bob Deans claimed to have scored a try, only to be dragged behind the goal-line before the referee arrived. The referee awarded a scrum to Wales and the score remained unchanged; Wales won 3–0. The loss was New Zealand's only defeat on their 35-match tour.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: The post-First World War years marked a decline in Welsh rugby. An industrial recession struck the country, and hurt South Wales in particular. Welsh international results in the 1920s mirrored the performance of the economy: of their 42 matches, they won only 17, with three drawn. Half a million people emigrated from Wales to find work elsewhere during the depression; this included many Welsh rugby union internationals, who moved to the professional code of rugby league. Between 1923 and 1928, Wales managed only seven victories – five of them against France. However, even France managed to defeat Wales that decade, achieving their first victory in 1928. Welsh selection policy reflected the upheavals of the mid-1920s. In 1924, 35 different players were selected for Wales' four matches, with a different captain for each, and only Edward Watkins in the backs and Charlie Pugh in the forwards playing in all four matches.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: A resurgence of both economy and rugby union followed in the 1930s and, in 1931, Wales won their first championship for nine years. That year, for the first time since the First World War, Wales retained the same side for two consecutive matches when they faced England and Scotland. Then, in 1933, captained by Watcyn Thomas, Wales defeated England at Twickenham. In 1935, Wales beat the touring New Zealand side 13–12, with Haydn Tanner making his first appearance. Although the Five Nations Championship was suspended during the Second World War, Wales did play a Red Cross charity match against England at Cardiff in 1940, losing 18–9.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: After the Second World War, Wales played a New Zealand Army team ("the Kiwis") in 1946, losing 11–3. The Five Nations (suspended during the war) resumed in 1947, when Wales shared the title with England. Although Wales suffered their first home defeat to France in 1948, they won their first Five Nations Grand Slam since 1911 in 1950. The next year, they lost 6–3 to the touring South Africans, despite dominating in the line-outs. They achieved another Grand Slam in 1952, followed by a 13–8 win over New Zealand in 1953. In 1954, St Helen's in Swansea (a Welsh international venue since 1882) hosted its last international and Cardiff Arms Park officially became the home of the Welsh team. In 1956, Wales again won the Five Nations, but they did not regain the title until 1964 and did not win it outright until 1965.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales conducted their first overseas tour in 1964, playing several games and one test in South Africa. They lost the test against South Africa in Durban 24–3, their biggest defeat in 40 years. At the WRU annual general meeting that year, the outgoing WRU President D. Ewart Davies declared that "it was evident from the experience of the South African Tour that a much more positive attitude to the game was required in Wales ... Players must be prepared to learn, and indeed re-learn, to the absolute point of mastery, the basic principles of Rugby Union football". This started the coaching revolution. The WRU Coaching Committee – set up in the late 1950s – was given the task of improving the quality of coaching and, in January 1967, Ray Williams was appointed Coaching Organiser. The first national coach, David Nash, was appointed in 1967 to coach Wales for the season, but resigned when the WRU refused to allow him to accompany Wales on their 1968 tour of Argentina. Eventually, the WRU reversed their decision, appointing Clive Rowlands to tour as coach. Of the six matches, Wales won three, drew two and lost one.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales enjoyed a second "golden age" in the 1970s, with world-class players such as Gareth Edwards, J. P. R. Williams, Gerald Davies, Barry John, and Mervyn Davies in their side. Wales dominated Northern Hemisphere rugby between 1969 and 1979, and managed an incredible winning record, losing only seven times during that period. Wales toured New Zealand for the first time in 1969, but were defeated in both matches. In the second test, which they lost 33–12, New Zealand fullback Fergie McCormick scored 24 points; a record at the time.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In 1970, Wales shared the Five Nations with France, and recorded a 6–6 draw against South Africa in Cardiff. The following year, Wales recorded their first Five Nations Grand Slam since 1952. Using only 16 players in four games, the 1971 side achieved their most notable win of the tournament in their victory over Scotland; after a last-minute try by Gerald Davies that reduced Scotland's lead to 18–17, flanker John Taylor kicked a conversion from the sideline described as "the greatest conversion since St Paul" to give Wales a 19–18 win. Wales contributed more players than any other team to the British Lions side that toured New Zealand that year. Those Lions became the only ones to win a series over New Zealand.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In the 1972 Five Nations Championship, Wales and Scotland refused to travel to Ireland at the height of the Troubles after receiving threats, purportedly from the Irish Republican Army. The Championship remained unresolved with Wales and Ireland unbeaten. Although the Five Nations was a five-way tie in 1973, the Welsh did defeat Australia 24–0 in Cardiff.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales next won the Five Nations outright in 1975, and in 1976, Wales won their second Grand Slam of the decade. Just like the first in 1971, they used only 16 players over their four matches. They repeated the feat in 1978 and, in the process, became the first team to win three consecutive Triple Crowns. Following their final Five Nations match of 1978, both Phil Bennett and Gareth Edwards retired from rugby.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales hosted New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park in November 1978, losing 13–12 after a late penalty goal by the replacement New Zealand fullback, Brian McKechnie. The penalty was controversial because New Zealand lock Andy Haden had dived out of a line-out in an attempt to earn a penalty. Haden later admitted that he and Frank Oliver had pre-agreed this tactic should they find themselves in difficulties. Referee Roger Quittenton was criticised by the press for failing to notice the dive, but he later stated that the penalty had been given against Welsh lock Geoff Wheel for jumping off the shoulder of Oliver. Quittenton later said, "Haden's perception is that his dive secured the penalty. That is a load of rubbish". Wales then went on to win the 1979 Five Nations with a Triple Crown.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In 1980, the WRU's centenary year, Wales lost 23–3 to New Zealand in Cardiff, with the All Blacks scoring four tries to nil. Wales won two matches in the Five Nations Championships of both 1980 and 1981, and in 1983 were nearly upset by Japan, winning 29–24 at Cardiff. In 1984, Australia defeated Wales 28–9 at Cardiff Arms Park.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales achieved only one win in 1987's Five Nations before contesting the inaugural Rugby World Cup. Wales defeated Ireland in their crucial pool fixture, before defeating England in the quarter-finals. They then faced hosts New Zealand, who won 49–6, but beat Australia in the third place play-off game to claim third. The next year Wales won the Triple Crown for the first time since 1979, but heavy defeats on tour to New Zealand later that year saw the end of a number of Welsh players' careers, as several converted to rugby league.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Welsh rugby reached a nadir when Wales suffered their first Five Nations Championship whitewash; they had upset England in 1989 to avoid losing all their Championship matches that season, but in 1990, Wales were defeated in all four Five Nations' matches for the first time, before almost doing the same the following year. The 1991 World Cup saw further frustration, when Wales were upset by Samoa in their opening match. A second group-stage loss, by 38–3 to Australia, eliminated Wales from the tournament.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: After winning two Five Nations games in 1992, and one in 1993, Wales won the Championship in 1994 on points difference. But without defeating one of Australia, New Zealand or South Africa during the inter-World Cup period, and again losing all four of their matches at the 1995 Five Nations Championship, Wales was not considered a major contender for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. At the 1995 World Cup, after comprehensively beating Japan, Wales lost to New Zealand; this meant that they needed to defeat Ireland to qualify for the quarter-finals. Wales lost 24–23 and so failed to progress beyond the pool stage for the second time, and later that year Kevin Bowring replaced Alec Evans to become Wales' first full-time coach.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Record defeats of 51–0 to France and 96–13 to South Africa, prompted the WRU to appoint New Zealander Graham Henry as coach in 1998. Henry had early success as coach, leading Wales to a 10-match winning streak; this included Wales' first victory over South Africa, a 29–19 win in the first match played at the Millennium Stadium. Henry was consequently nicknamed "the Great Redeemer" by the Welsh media and fans, a reference to the opening line of "Cwm Rhondda", a popular song among Welsh rugby fans. Hosting the 1999 World Cup, Wales qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 1987, but lost 24–9 to eventual champions Australia. A lack of success in the Five and Six Nations (Italy joined the tournament in 2000), and especially a number of heavy losses to Ireland, led to Henry's resignation in February 2002; his assistant Steve Hansen took over.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: During Hansen's tenure, the WRU implemented a significant change in the structure of the game domestically. Regional teams were introduced as a tier above the traditional club-based structures in 2003, and the five (later four) regional sides became the top level of domestic professional rugby in the country. At the 2003 World Cup, Wales scored four tries in their 53–37 pool stage loss to New Zealand, before losing in the quarter-finals to the eventual tournament winners, England, despite outscoring them by three tries to one.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Coached by Mike Ruddock, Wales won their first Grand Slam since 1978 and their first Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005. A late long-range penalty from Gavin Henson gave them victory over England in Cardiff for the first time in 12 years, and after victories over Italy, France and Scotland, they faced Ireland in front of a capacity crowd at the Millennium Stadium where Wales' 32–20 victory gave them their first Championship since 1994. Later that year, they suffered a record home loss, 41–3 to New Zealand.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Ruddock resigned as head coach midway through the 2006 Six Nations, where Wales finished fifth, and Gareth Jenkins was eventually appointed as his replacement. Jenkins led Wales through the 2007 World Cup, where they failed to advance beyond the pool stage after losing their final game 38–34 to Fiji, thanks to a Graham Dewes try. Jenkins subsequently lost his job, and Warren Gatland, a New Zealander, was appointed as his successor.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales faced England at Twickenham for Gatland's inaugural match as coach and their first match of the 2008 Six Nations. They had not defeated England there since 1988, and went on to win 26–19. They eventually won all their matches in the Championship, conceding only two tries in the process, to claim another Grand Slam. Later that year, Wales defeated Australia 21–18 in Cardiff, but then started a six-year, 23-game winless streak against the southern hemisphere nations of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: At the 2011 World Cup, Wales reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1987, but lost 9–8 to France after captain Sam Warburton was sent off. The two teams met again in March 2012, with Wales needing a win to claim their third Six Nations Grand Slam in eight years, which they did with a 16–9 victory. This was followed immediately by an eight-match losing streak that was eventually broken during the 2013 Six Nations, where Wales retained the Championship for the first time since 1979. Wales reached the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup at the expense of hosts England, before losing 23–19 to South Africa. Wales also achieved a fourth Grand Slam in 14 years and their first in seven years in the 2019 Six Nations.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales reached the top spot in the men's World Rugby Rankings in August 2019, holding the position for two weeks. They went on to top their pool at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, winning all their pool matches for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987, and ultimately reached the semi-finals before they were knocked out by eventual champions South Africa; Wales lost to New Zealand in the bronze final and finished fourth in the tournament.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In July 2018, it was announced that then-Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac would succeed Gatland as Wales coach following the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Pivac's first match in charge was a match against a Barbarians side coach by Gatland in November 2019. Despite winning Pivac's first full international in charge in the 2020 Six Nations against Italy, Wales only recorded two other wins all year, finishing fifth in both the Six Nations and the Autumn Nations Cup. 2021 saw highs and lows. Wales won their fourth Six Nations title of the last decade, though they fell short of winning the Grand Slam at the death of their final match against France in Paris. They faced Argentina in a 2 match test series, in which they drew the opening game and Wales lost in the second game 11-33. That autumn, Wales opened with losses to New Zealand and South Africa before beating Fiji and Australia.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales slumped to a fifth place finish in the 2022 Six Nations Championship, their sole win coming at home against Scotland. In the final week of the tournament, Wales lost to Italy 21–22, their first ever home loss to the Italians.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: They then embarked on a tour to South Africa over the summer. Wales narrowly lost the first test, losing 32–29 after a late penalty from Springbok outside half Handre Pollard. The following week, Wales secured their first ever win on South African soil, winning 12–13 in Bloemfontein. South Africa won the final test, and secured a 2–1 series win.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: On 5 December 2022, Warren Gatland was reappointed as head coach, following a review of Wayne Pivac and his performance in the 2022 Autumn Nations Series. The contract will see Gatland as head coach through to the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with the potential to extend an additional four years, through the 2027 Rugby World Cup.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales play in red jerseys, white (or some times, black) shorts and red socks. For the 2015–16 season, the jersey design incorporated gold for the first time. The jerseys are embroidered with the WRU logo, which is based on the Prince of Wales's feathers. The original motto beneath the feathers was a German phrase, "Ich dien", meaning "I serve", but this has been replaced with large letters reading "WRU".


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales's alternate strip is green jerseys, white shorts and green socks, although there have been various different coloured strips in the past. Former change strips worn by Wales have used black, navy, white, yellow and grey as their predominant colours. Wales previously wore black jerseys as part of celebrations for the WRU's 125th anniversary in 2005. The jersey was worn against Fiji and then Australia that year; the Australia match was the first time Wales had not played in their red jersey against one of their traditional rivals.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In 1992, the Welsh Rugby Union agreed a deal with Cotton Traders to produce the national team's kits. They were replaced in 1996 by Reebok, whose contract with the Welsh Rugby Union was worth £1.3 million in 1999. Wales received the first jersey sponsor in their history in 2000, when Redstone Telecoms agreed a deal worth £2 million. Redstone was replaced two years later by Reebok subsidiary Rockport, in a deal worth £1 million, followed by Brains Brewery in 2004, in conjunction with a four-year extension to the Reebok deal. Due to French alcohol advertising regulations, the "Brains" name was replaced by "Brawn" for the 2005 Six Nations Championship match between France and Wales at the Stade de France, and by "Brawn Again" for the corresponding match two years later. The Brains deal was extended in June 2008 until September 2009, with "Brains SA" appearing on Wales home shirts and "SA Gold" appearing on the team's yellow change shirts. For the away match against France in February 2009, the "Brains SA" logo was replaced by the words "Try Essai"; "essai" is the French word for a try, but is also pronounced the same as "SA", meaning the branding could have been viewed as "an invitation to 'try' Wales' best loved beer brand".


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In 2008, Under Armour replaced Reebok as Wales' kit manufacturer in a four-year deal worth £10 million. Welsh insurance company Admiral replaced Brains as the main shirt sponsors in 2010, signing a three-year contract. That deal was extended by two years in both in 2013 and 2015, with the latter described as the WRU's "biggest shirt partnership deal in its history". In 2017, Japanese motor company Isuzu Motors replaced Admiral as the main sponsors of the Wales team's home shirts, while sponsorship of the team's away shirts was taken on by Subaru as a result of both companies' UK imports being handled by IM Group. In October 2015, the WRU agreed a nine-year, £33 million extension to its contract with Under Armour, only for both parties to mutually terminate the deal four years early in 2020. A new, seven-year contract with Italian company Macron was agreed in September 2020, believed to be worth around £30 million.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Rugby union and Wales' national team hold an important place in Welsh culture and society. Sport historian John Bale has stated that "rugby is characteristically Welsh", and David Andrew said that "To the popular consciousness, rugby is as Welsh as coal mining, male voice choirs, "How Green Was My Valley", Dylan Thomas, and Tom Jones". Welsh rugby's first 'golden age' (1900–1911) coincided with the country's zenith during the 20th century, and rugby was important in building Wales' modern identity. There is a long tradition of Welsh supporters singing before and during matches. The choral tradition developed in Wales during the 19th century alongside the rise of nonconformity, and has extended to singing at rugby matches. Commonly sung songs include the hymn "Cwm Rhondda", Tom Jones' "Delilah", and Max Boyce's "Hymns and Arias".


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales' first home international was played in 1882 at St Helen's Ground in Swansea. In the 1880s and 1890s, home Welsh internationals were played at Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Llanelli. Swansea continued to be used as an international venue until 1954, when Cardiff Arms Park became Wales' primary home venue. Cardiff Arms Park first had a stand erected in 1881, and continued to expand its seating that decade. Crowds continued to grow and in 1902 in Wales' match against Scotland a world record 40,000 spectators paid to see the match. In 1911, the owners of the Arms Park, the Marquess of Bute's family, confirmed Wales' tenure and during the 1920s and 1930s, Wales gradually gained increasing control. A new stand was built at the park in the 1933–34 season, which increased the grounds' capacity to 56,000.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: By 1958, the WRU had concluded that a new national ground was needed due to flooding that often affected Arms Park. After debate and disputes between the WRU and various other parties, including Cardiff RFC, it was decided in the 1960s that a new national stadium would be built with a new ground for the Cardiff club backing onto it. The National Stadium, as it was known, was officially opened in 1970.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Since 1999, Wales have played all their home matches at the 74,500-capacity Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, which is also Wales' national stadium. The Millennium Stadium was first conceived in 1994, when a group redevelopment committee was set up. It was decided to replace the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park after a review found it was out of date; new legislation also required stadia to be all-seated. Construction of the new stadium began in September 1997, and was completed by June 1999, in time for the Rugby World Cup. The construction, which cost the WRU £126 million, was funded by private investment, £46 million of public funds from the National Lottery, the sale of debentures to supporters (offering guaranteed tickets in exchange for an interest-free loan), and loans. While the new ground was being built, Wales used the old Wembley Stadium for their home matches – a deal reciprocated during construction of the new Wembley, when FA Cup finals were held at the Millennium Stadium.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, which is played against five other European nations: England, France, Ireland, Italy, and Scotland. The Six Nations started as the Home Nations Championship in 1883, as a contest between the four component nations of the United Kingdom. Wales first won it in 1893, when they achieved a Triple Crown. Wales have won the tournament outright 28 times, and shared 12 other victories. Their longest wait between championships was 11 years (1994–2005). Wales first won a Grand Slam in 1908 – although France did not officially join the Five Nations until 1910 – and their first Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005. Their most recent Grand Slam was won in 2019 with victory over Ireland on the final day of the Six Nations tournament. Their most recent Triple Crown was won in 2021 with victory over England in the third round of the Six Nations tournament.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: The 1987 tournament was Wales' most successful; they won all three pool matches and their quarter-final, before losing to the All Blacks in the semi-finals. They then faced Australia in the third place play-off match, which they won 22–21.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In the next two tournaments in 1991 and 1995, Wales failed to progress beyond the pool stage, winning just one match in each tournament. They also became the first co host nation to not make it out of the pool stage in 1991.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Both the 1999 and 2003 tournaments were more successful, with Wales qualifying for the quarter-finals both times. Wales hosted the event in 1999 and topped their pool only to lose to eventual winners Australia in the quarter-finals.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In 2003, they finished second in their pool behind the All Blacks, and faced England in the quarter-finals. They lost to England, the eventual champions, 28–17. Wales conceded 17 penalties, and their lack of discipline proved costly.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In the 2007 World Cup, Wales again failed to progress from the pool stage. After a loss to Australia, and two wins against Japan and Canada, they faced Fiji for a place in the quarter-finals. The game started poorly for Wales who were behind 25–3 at half-time. They fought back to lead by three points with six minutes remaining, but Fiji then scored a try to win 38–34 and eliminated Wales from the tournament.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: At the 2011 World Cup, Wales reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1987. Playing the semi-finals against France, Wales lost 9–8, in a game overshadowed by the 18th-minute sending off of Wales' captain Sam Warburton for a dangerous tackle against Vincent Clerc.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: At the 2015 World Cup Wales were in the same pool as Australia, England, Fiji and Uruguay. They finished second in the pool behind Australia and ahead of hosts England. South Africa defeated Wales in the quarter-finals.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: In the 2019 World Cup Wales were in pool D with Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Uruguay. They won all their group matches to finish top of the pool. After defeating France in the quarter-finals, they lost to the eventual tournament winners South Africa in the semi-finals.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: When the World Rugby Rankings were introduced in October 2003, Wales were ranked 8th. They rose to 7th in June 2004, before falling back to 8th in November that year. Following a Grand Slam win in the 2005 Six Nations, they rose to a ranking position of 5th. They fell to 9th by June 2006, and, after rising back to 8th by September, fell to 10th after the 2007 World Cup. A second Six Nations' Grand Slam in 2008 propelled them to 6th in the rankings, but following losses to South Africa in the mid-year and end-of-year internationals Wales slipped to 7th. Wales climbed to 4th after a win over Scotland in their first match of the 2009 Six Nations. They slumped to 9th in 2010 but rose back to 4th after their fourth place in the 2011 World Cup. Since then, Wales have ranked the majority of the time among the top six teams. They reached 2nd during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, before hitting top spot for the first time on 19 August 2019, after winning 15 of their last 16 games.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Wales have won 398 of their 766 Test matches. Their biggest Test defeat was a 96–13 loss to South Africa in 1998, and their largest victory was a 98–0 defeat of Japan in 2004. Their record for most tries in a match is 16, scored against Portugal in 1994 – they also scored 102 points in this match, more than in any other Test. Wales' record for consecutive Test wins is 14, and for consecutive losses is 10.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Wales national XV at test level up until 26 November 2022.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Dafydd Jenkins and Rhys Davies were added to the squad to replace the injured Will Rowlands and Dan Lydiate.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Eighteen Welsh internationals have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. One Welsh player, Shane Williams in 2008, has been awarded World Rugby Player of the Year (formerly known as the International Rugby Board Player of the Year).


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Neil Jenkins was the first rugby player to surpass 1000 Test points. He holds several Welsh records, including the most points scored for Wales with 1049, the most successful penalty kicks for Wales with 248, and the Welsh record for most points in a single Test match with 30. The record for drop-goals for Wales is held by Jonathan Davies with 13.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Shane Williams is Wales' record try-scorer with 58 tries. Williams is also Wales' record try-scorer in Six Nations Championships with 22 and the Rugby World Cups with 10. Colin Charvis' 22 tries is the all-time Welsh record for a forward, and was the world record for tries by a forward until 2011.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Alun Wyn Jones is the nation's most capped player with 154 Welsh caps. Six other players have earned 100 caps or more: Gethin Jenkins, Stephen Jones, Gareth Thomas, Martyn Williams, George North and Dan Biggar. The record for most matches as captain is held by Alun Wyn Jones with 52. The record for the most consecutive appearances is held by Gareth Edwards who played all 53 of his matches for Wales consecutively between 1967 and 1978. Edwards is also Wales' youngest ever captain at the age of 20.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: The youngest player ever capped for Wales is Tom Prydie, who made his debut in Wales' 2010 Six Nations finale on 20 March 2010 against Italy at age , beating the record set by Norman Biggs in 1888. Prydie is also Wales' youngest try-scorer, scored against South Africa in June 2010, overtaking the record that Tom Pearson set on his debut in 1891. Winger George North, aged 18 years 214 days, overtook Pearson's record as the youngest Wales player to score a try on debut in November 2010.


title: Wales national rugby union team

text: Following the unsuccessful tour to South Africa in 1964, the WRU set up a working party on coaching. The party recommended that Welsh clubs accept the principle of coaching. David Nash was appointed as the national team's first coach in 1967, but for the 1968 tour of Argentina, the WRU initially planned not to have a coach tour with the team. Following pressure from the Welsh clubs at the WRU's annual general meeting, the decision was reversed and Clive Rowlands was appointed as coach for the tour. The appointing of a coach for the team coincided with Wales' success in the Five Nations during the 1970s.


title: Mr. Lawrence

text: Douglas Lawrence Osowski, known professionally as Mr. Lawrence, is an American voice actor, writer, animator, storyboard artist, director, and comedian. He is best known for his work as a writer and voice actor for the Nicktoons "Rocko's Modern Life" and "SpongeBob SquarePants". On "SpongeBob", he has provided the voice of Plankton and various recurring characters since 1999.


title: Mr. Lawrence

text: Lawrence is known for his work as a writer (and, since season 10, story editor) on the animated TV series "SpongeBob SquarePants". He also has long-running character roles on the show, providing the voice of Sheldon Plankton and various recurring characters, such as Potty the Parrot (replacing Paul Tibbitt from season 10 onwards), the Realistic Fish-Head, and Larry the Lobster.


title: Mr. Lawrence

text: He was the voice of Edward T. Platypus, Nurse Leslie, Dave, and Ping-Pong on "Camp Lazlo". Lawrence also performed the voice of Filburt in "Rocko's Modern Life" and is the voice of the Announcer and Manant in "The Aquabats! Super Show!". Lawrence is a standup comedian, cartoonist, writer-director, animator and producer on the television series "Johnny Talk". He worked on "The Ren and Stimpy Show" in its second season as a layout assistant. He also worked as a writer on "Rocko's Modern Life", "The Twisted Whiskers Show", and "Mighty Magiswords".


title: Mr. Lawrence

text: As a comedian, Lawrence performed in New Jersey and Los Angeles, collaborating with comedian Jeremy Kramer and Boston comedy writer Martin Olson. Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, a storyboard writer for "Rocko's Modern Life" and co-creator of "Phineas and Ferb", described Lawrence as bearing a "unique sense of humor", and that one "would really have to know Doug to understand (or not understand)" his style. Marsh says that the rationale for Lawrence's humor techniques and decisions "remain a mystery to us forever."


title: Aeolipile

text: An aeolipile, aeolipyle, or eolipile, from the Greek "αιολουπυλη", also known as a Hero's engine, is a simple, bladeless radial steam turbine which spins when the central water container is heated. Torque is produced by steam jets exiting the turbine. The Greek-Egyptian mathematician and engineer Hero of Alexandria described the device in the 1st century CE, and many sources give him the credit for its invention. However, Vitruvius was the first to describe this appliance in his "De architectura" (ca. 30-20 BCE).


title: Aeolipile

text: The aeolipile is considered to be the first recorded steam engine or reaction steam turbine, but it is neither a practical source of power nor a direct predecessor of the type of steam engine invented during the Industrial Revolution.


title: Aeolipile

text: The name – derived from the Greek word Αἴολος and Latin word "pila" – translates to "the ball of Aeolus", Aeolus being the Greek god of the air and wind.


title: Aeolipile

text: The aeolipile usually consists of a spherical or cylindrical vessel with oppositely bent or curved nozzles projecting outwards. It is designed to rotate on its axis. When the vessel is pressurised with steam, the gas is expelled out of the nozzles, which generates thrust due to the rocket principle as a consequence of the 2nd and 3rd of Newton's laws of motion. When the nozzles, pointing in different directions, produce forces along different lines of action perpendicular to the axis of the bearings, the thrusts combine to result in a rotational moment (mechanical couple), or torque, causing the vessel to spin about its axis. Aerodynamic drag and frictional forces in the bearings build up quickly with increasing rotational speed (rpm) and consume the accelerating torque, eventually cancelling it and achieving a steady state speed.


title: Aeolipile

text: Typically, and as Hero described the device, the water is heated in a simple boiler which forms part of a stand for the rotating vessel. Where this is the case, the boiler is connected to the rotating chamber by a pair of pipes that also serve as the pivots for the chamber. Alternatively the rotating chamber may itself serve as the boiler, and this arrangement greatly simplifies the pivot/bearing arrangements, as they then do not need to pass steam. This can be seen in the illustration of a classroom model shown here.


title: Aeolipile

text: Both Hero and Vitruvius draw on the much earlier work by Ctesibius (285–222 BCE), also known as Ktēsíbios or Tesibius, who was an inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. He wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps.


title: Aeolipile

text: It is not known whether the aeolipile was put to any practical use in ancient times, and if it was seen as a pragmatic device, a whimsical novelty, an object of reverence, or some other thing. A source described it as a mere curiosity for the ancient Greeks, or a "party trick". Hero's drawing shows a standalone device, and was presumably intended as a "temple wonder", like many of the other devices described in "Pneumatica".


title: Aeolipile

text: Vitruvius, on the other hand, mentions use of the aeolipile for demonstrating the physical properties of the weather. He describes them as:


title: Aeolipile

text: In 1543, Blasco de Garay, a scientist and a captain in the Spanish navy, allegedly demonstrated before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and a committee of high officials an invention he claimed could propel large ships in the absence of wind using an apparatus consisted of copper boiler and moving wheels on either side of the ship. This account was preserved by the royal Spanish archives at Simancas. It is proposed that de Garay used Hero's aeolipile and combined it with the technology used in Roman boats and late medieval galleys. Here, de Garay's invention introduced an innovation where the aeolipile had practical usage, which was to generate motion to the paddlewheels, demonstrating the feasibility of steam-driven boats. This claim was denied by Spanish authorities.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: Punxsutawney Phil is the name given to a groundhog residing in Young Township near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who is the central figure in Punxsutawney's annual Groundhog Day celebration.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: On February 2 each year, Punxsutawney holds a civic festival with music and food. During the ceremony, which begins well before the winter sunrise, Phil emerges from his temporary home on Gobbler's Knob, located in a rural area about southeast of the town. According to the tradition, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring." Punxsutawney's event is the most famous of many Groundhog Day festivals held in the United States and Canada. The event formally began in 1887, although its roots go back even further.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: The event is based upon a communal light-hearted suspension of disbelief. It is organized by the "Inner Circle" – recognizable from their top hats and tuxedos – who ostensibly communicate with Phil to receive his prognostication. This suspension of disbelief extends to the assertion that the same groundhog has been making predictions since the 19th century.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: The vice president of the Inner Circle prepares two scrolls in advance of the actual ceremony, one proclaiming six more weeks of winter and one proclaiming an early spring. At daybreak on February 2, Punxsutawney Phil awakens from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob, is helped to the top of the stump by his handlers, and purportedly explains to the president of the Inner Circle, in a language known as "Groundhogese", whether he has seen his shadow. The president of the Inner Circle, the only person able to understand Groundhogese through his possession of an ancient acacia wood cane, then interprets Phil's message, and directs the vice president to read the proper scroll to the crowd gathered on Gobbler's Knob and the masses of "phaithphil phollowers" tuned in to live broadcasts around the world.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: The Inner Circle scripts the Groundhog Day ceremonies in advance, with the Inner Circle deciding beforehand whether Phil will see his shadow. The Stormfax Almanac has made note of the weather conditions on each Groundhog Day since 1999; the almanac has recorded 12 incidents in a 20-year span in which the Inner Circle said the groundhog saw his shadow while the sky was cloudy or there was rain or snow coming down, and in one case said the groundhog did not see his shadow despite sunshine.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: The practices and lore of Punxsutawney Phil's predictions are predicated on a light-hearted suspension of disbelief by those involved. According to the lore, there is only one Phil, and all other groundhogs are impostors. It is claimed that this one groundhog has lived to make weather prognostications since 1886, sustained by drinks of "groundhog punch" or "elixir of life" administered at the annual Groundhog Picnic in the fall. The lifespan of a groundhog in the wild is roughly six years.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: According to the Groundhog Club, Phil, after the prediction, speaks to the club president in the language of 'Groundhogese', which supposedly only the current president can understand, and then his prediction is translated and revealed to all.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a Celtic and Germanic tradition that says that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on February 2, the pagan holiday of Imbolc (known among Christians as Candlemas), winter and cold weather will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early. In Germany, the tradition evolved into a myth that if the sun came out on Candlemas, a hedgehog would cast its shadow, predicting snow all the way into May. When German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, they transferred the tradition onto local fauna, replacing hedgehogs with groundhogs. Several other towns in the region hold similar Groundhog Day events.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: Each year two scrolls are prepared by the vice president of the Inner Circle: One says early spring and the other says six more weeks of winter. These scrolls are placed during the ceremony on the stump and after Phil is awakened by the crowd, Phil communicates in Groundhogese to the president, who is then directed by Phil to the proper scroll and forecast.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: Phil first received his name in 1961. The origins of the name are unclear, but speculation suggests that it may have been indirectly named after Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: Prior to 1993, the Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney attracted crowds of approximately 2,000. The popularity of the film "Groundhog Day" brought significantly more attention to the event, with annual crowds rising to 10,000–20,000 (with the notable exception of 2021 where the event took place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The event is also streamed online each year.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals objected to the event, claiming that Phil is put under stress. They suggested replacing Phil with a robotic groundhog.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: In some cases where Phil's prognostications have been incorrect, organizations have jokingly made legal threats against the groundhog. Such tongue-in-cheek actions have been made by a prosecutor in Ohio, the sheriff's office of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and the Merrimack, New Hampshire Police Department.


title: Punxsutawney Phil

text: The Inner Circle, in keeping with the suspension of disbelief, claims a 100% accuracy rate, and an approximately 80% accuracy rate in recorded predictions (claiming in turn that whenever the prediction is wrong, the person in charge of translating the message must have made a mistake in their interpretation). Impartial estimates place the groundhog's accuracy between 35% and 41%.


title: Ray Porter

text: Raymond Porter is an American actor and audiobook narrator who is most widely known for portraying the DC Comics villain Darkseid in "Zack Snyder's Justice League".


title: Ray Porter

text: After appearing in many television shows, he gained attention when he was cast as Darkseid in the 2017 film "Justice League," becoming the first actor to have been cast as the character in a live action feature film. However, Darkseid did not appear in the theatrical cut, meaning "Zack Snyder's Justice League" marked the character's first appearance in a live-action film. Porter played Darkseid through the use of motion capture and "went through a few different vocal gymnastics trying to figure out the voice".


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition. It is widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known as micropropagation. Different techniques in plant tissue culture may offer certain advantages over traditional methods of propagation, including:


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Plant tissue culture relies on the fact that many plant cells have the ability to regenerate a whole plant (Cellular totipotency). Single cells, plant cells without cell walls (protoplasts), pieces of leaves, stems or roots can often be used to generate a new plant on culture media given the required nutrients and plant hormones.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Preparation of plant tissue for tissue culture is performed under aseptic conditions under HEPA filtered air provided by a laminar flow cabinet. Thereafter, the tissue is grown in sterile containers, such as Petri dishes or flasks in a growth room with controlled temperature and light intensity. Living plant materials from the environment are naturally contaminated on their surfaces (and sometimes interiors) with microorganisms, so their surfaces are sterilized in chemical solutions (usually alcohol and sodium or calcium hypochlorite) before suitable samples (known as explants) are taken. The sterile explants are then usually placed on the surface of a sterile solid culture medium but are sometimes placed directly into a sterile liquid medium, particularly when cell suspension cultures are desired. Solid and liquid media are generally composed of inorganic salts plus a few organic nutrients, vitamins and plant hormones. Solid media are prepared from liquid media with the addition of a gelling agent, usually purified agar.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: The composition of the medium, particularly the plant hormones and the nitrogen source (nitrate versus ammonium salts or amino acids) have profound effects on the morphology of the tissues that grow from the initial explant. For example, an excess of auxin will often result in a proliferation of roots, while an excess of cytokinin may yield shoots. A balance of both auxin and cytokinin will often produce an unorganised growth of cells, or callus, but the morphology of the outgrowth will depend on the plant species as well as the medium composition. As cultures grow, pieces are typically sliced off and subcultured onto new media to allow for growth or to alter the morphology of the culture. The skill and experience of the tissue culturist are important in judging which pieces to culture and which to discard.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: As shoots emerge from a culture, they may be sliced off and rooted with auxin to produce plantlets which, when mature, can be transferred to potting soil for further growth in the greenhouse as normal plants.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: The specific differences in the regeneration potential of different organs and explants have various explanations. The significant factors include differences in the stage of the cells in the cell cycle, the availability of or ability to transport endogenous growth regulators, and the metabolic capabilities of the cells. The most commonly used tissue explants are the meristematic ends of the plants like the stem tip, axillary bud tip and root tip. These tissues have high rates of cell division and either concentrate or produce required growth-regulating substances including auxins and cytokinins.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Shoot regeneration efficiency in tissue culture is usually a quantitative trait that often varies between plant species and within a plant species among subspecies, varieties, cultivars, or ecotypes. Therefore, tissue culture regeneration can become complicated especially when many regeneration procedures have to be developed for different genotypes within the same species.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: The three common pathways of plant tissue culture regeneration are propagation from preexisting meristems (shoot culture or nodal culture), organogenesis and non-zygotic embryogenesis.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: The propagation of shoots or nodal segments is usually performed in four stages for mass production of plantlets through in vitro vegetative multiplication but organogenesis is a common method of micropropagation that involves tissue regeneration of adventitious organs or axillary buds directly or


title: Plant tissue culture

text: indirectly from the explants. Non-zygotic embryogenesis is a noteworthy developmental pathway that is highly comparable to that of zygotic embryos and it is an important pathway for producing somaclonal variants, developing artificial seeds, and synthesizing metabolites. Due to the single-cell origin of non-zygotic embryos, they are preferred in several regeneration systems for micropropagation, ploidy manipulation, gene transfer, and synthetic seed production. Nonetheless, tissue regeneration via organogenesis has also proved to be advantageous for studying regulatory mechanisms of plant development.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Explants can be taken from many different parts of a plant, including portions of shoots, leaves, stems, flowers, roots, single undifferentiated cells and from many types of mature cells provided they still contain living cytoplasm and nuclei and are able to de-differentiate and resume cell division. This has given rise to the concept of totipotency of plant cells. However, this is not true for all cells or for all plants. In many species explants of various organs vary in their rates of growth and regeneration, while some do not grow at all. The choice of explant material also determines if the plantlets developed via tissue culture are haploid or diploid. Also, the risk of microbial contamination is increased with inappropriate explants.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: The first method involving the meristems and induction of multiple shoots is the preferred method for the micropropagation industry since the risks of somaclonal variation (genetic variation induced in tissue culture) are minimal when compared to the other two methods. Somatic embryogenesis is a method that has the potential to be several times higher in multiplication rates and is amenable to handling in liquid culture systems like bioreactors.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Some explants, like the root tip, are hard to isolate and are contaminated with soil microflora that becomes problematic during the tissue culture process. Certain soil microflora can form tight associations with the root systems, or even grow within the root. Soil particles bound to roots are difficult to remove without injury to the roots that then allows a microbial attack. These associated microflora will generally overgrow the tissue culture medium before there is significant growth of plant tissue.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Some cultured tissues are slow in their growth. For them there would be two options: (i) Optimizing the culture medium; (ii) Culturing highly responsive tissues or varieties.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Necrosis can spoil cultured tissues. Generally, plant varieties differ in susceptibility to tissue culture necrosis. Thus, by culturing highly responsive varieties (or tissues) it can be managed.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Aerial (above soil) explants are also rich in undesirable microflora. However, they are more easily removed from the explant by gentle rinsing, and the remainder usually can be killed by surface sterilization. Most of the surface microflora do not form tight associations with the plant tissue. Such associations can usually be found by visual inspection as a mosaic, de-colorization or localized necrosis on the surface of the explant.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: An alternative for obtaining uncontaminated explants is to take explants from seedlings which are aseptically grown from surface-sterilized seeds. The hard surface of the seed is less permeable to the penetration of harsh surface sterilizing agents, such as hypochlorite, so the acceptable conditions of sterilization used for seeds can be much more stringent than for vegetative tissues.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Tissue cultured plants are clones. If the original mother plant used to produce the first explants is susceptible to a pathogen or environmental condition, the entire crop would be susceptible to the same problem. Conversely, any positive traits would remain within the line also.


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Plant tissue culture is used widely in the plant sciences, forestry, and in horticulture. Applications include:


title: Plant tissue culture

text: Although some growers and nurseries have their own labs for propagating plants by the technique of tissue culture, a number of independent laboratories provide custom propagation services. The Plant Tissue Culture Information Exchange lists many commercial tissue culture labs. Since plant tissue culture is a very labour-intensive process, this would be an important factor in determining which plants would be commercially viable to propagate in a laboratory.


title: Back to the Future: The Musical

text: Back to the Future: The Musical is an Olivier Award-winning stage musical with music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard and a book by Bob Gale, adapted from the original screenplay by Robert Zemeckis and Gale. Based on the 1985 film of the same name, the show features original music alongside hits from the film, including "The Power of Love" and "Johnny B. Goode".


title: Back to the Future: The Musical

text: The musical originally was slated to make its world première in London's West End in 2015, the year to which the trilogy's characters traveled in "Part II". However, after director Jamie Lloyd left the production in August 2014, due to "creative differences" with Zemeckis, the production's release date was pushed to a 2016 opening. In May 2019, it was announced the show would receive its world premiere at Manchester Opera House in February 2020, ahead of an expected West End transfer. The show starred Olly Dobson playing the role of protagonist Marty McFly, originally portrayed by Michael J. Fox. Tony Award winner Roger Bart played Emmett "Doc" Brown, originally portrayed by Christopher Lloyd. The musical will come to Broadway in 2023, with Bart reprising his role, along with original London cast member Hugh Coles reprising the role of George McFly.