title: Fallon Carrington

text: In "Nothing But Trouble", Monica manipulates Fallon into accepting Jeff's marriage proposal, but Fallon discovers Jeff's duplicity and enlists Michael to help her against the Colbys. Their attempt to erase the data Jeff has stolen from the Carrington server fails in "The Gospel According to Blake Carrington", and Jeff's father Cesil Colby reveals to Fallon the crimes that Blake has committed against the Colbys. In "Our Turn Now", the Carringtons proceed with preparations for Fallon's wedding to Jeff as a distraction from their second attempt to erase Jeff's server. Jeff presents Fallon with full ownership of their company Morell Co and a plan for them to exchange 25% of Carrington Atlantic and Colby. On the eve of the wedding, Fallon asks Michael to marry her at the city hall, but he refuses, not wanting something so important to be part of a Carrington plot. With Fallon and Jeff at the altar and the server still not breached, Blake tries to stop the ceremony, but Fallon shuts him down. Afterward, she reveals to the stunned Colbys and her family that the marriage is invalid because she married someone else, Liam Ridley, the night before. Jeff's claim to 25% of Carrington Atlantic is therefore null and void, but Fallon now owns 25% of Colby. Jeff and Fallon's feud goes public in "Poor Little Rich Girl". Blake apologizes to Fallon and Steven for manipulating them, and his long-absent ex-wife Alexis—Fallon and Steven's mother—reappears. Fallon makes overtures to connect with her mother in "Enter Alexis", and Alexis tells Fallon that Blake bribed a judge to seize custody and exile her. Fallon soon discovers, however, that Alexis has not been living a life of luxury abroad, but is housed in a trailer nearby, and has stayed in touch with Steven. A furious Fallon confronts Alexis, and their catfight takes them into the pool. In "Don't Con a Con Artist", Steven refuses to believe Fallon's claim that Alexis is trying to sabotage Steven's engagement until Fallon manipulates Alexis into confessing. Fallon agrees to a date with Liam in "Use or Be Used", but cuts him loose when Alexis reveals that Liam is a journalist named Jack Lowden writing a tell-all. Fallon and Cristal work together to secure leverage over Blake in "A Line from the Past". Intending to publicly force her father to take responsibility for an environmental scandal he covered up, Fallon is dumbstruck when Blake announces her promotion to COO in Cristal's place. In "Trashy Little Tramp", Blake thwarts Fallon's plans for Carrington Atlantic. She visits Claudia looking for incriminating information on Blake, which she uses in a secret meeting with the Carrington Atlantic board. In "Dead Scratch", Fallon is named Carrington Atlantic's CEO, while Jeff and Monica reveal their Carrington heritage as the children of Blake's half-sister, and declare their intention to force a sale of the company. The Carringtons are trapped in the burning stable house during Steven and Sam's wedding, but Michael rescues Blake, Fallon, and Sam.


title: Fallon Carrington

text: In the season two premiere episode, "Twenty-Three Skidoo", Fallon resumes her relationship with Michael but still has to pretend to be married to Liam to convince Liam's uncle, Max, to buy Carrington Atlantic. Max threatens to call off the deal if Fallon does not sleep with him in "Ship of Vipers", but he dies during a tryst with a prostitute Fallon hires to impersonate her.


title: Fallon Carrington

text: Meanwhile, Michael retrieves a signed document of the sale of Carrington Atlantic. The only copy Max Van Kirk signed before his death. Unbeknownst to Fallon, Michael has put himself on the line to get that copy for her. Liam, seeing that he may not have any chance with Fallon anymore, now that the company has been sold, releases photos of Fallon and Michael to the media. This does not look good on Fallon's image as she is supposedly married to Liam to the world. Fallon then plans a divorce party for herself and Liam, claiming it would stop the rumors. Liam confessed that he leaked the pictures because he is fighting for her. He gives a speech about how he hates (loves) her, and Fallon kisses him. She flees the scene and Liam goes after her. They are making out when Fallon sees Michael on the CCTV. Colby walks in on them. Liam storms out. Fallon tells Colby that she is confused because Michael is keeping secrets.


title: Fallon Carrington

text: Jeff Colby tells Fallon that Michael is doing right by her. Because he knows that Michael decided to work with Ada just to save Fallon and get her the document signed by Max Van Kirk. Fallon decides to tell Liam off.


title: Fallon Carrington

text: James Poniewozik of "The New York Times" wrote that "Gillies seizes the screen as the lusty, ambitious Fallon." Darren Franich of "Entertainment Weekly" noted that "Elizabeth Gillies channels [Joan] Collins' carnivorous ambition and Leighton Meester's imperial pout."


title: Fallon Carrington

text: Hedy Phillips of "Euphoria" wrote, "Though the whole cast has come together to put a new spin on this campy classic, it's star Liz Gillies who has brought Fallon Carrington to life and made this reboot into something truly special."


title: End time

text: The end time (also called end times, end of time, end of days, last days, final days, doomsday, or eschaton) refers to:


title: Lee Priest

text: Lee Andrew McCutcheon (born 6 July 1972 in Newcastle, Australia) is a competitive bodybuilder. He is a former International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional bodybuilder and a current National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA) professional athlete.


title: Lee Priest

text: Lee Priest grew up in Wallsend, Australia. Priest's mother was also a bodybuilding competitor, and posed with Priest onstage. Priest started training at the age of 12 with the help and support of his grandfather. He competed for the first time at the age of 13 and won. He went on to win numerous other competitions leading up to him winning the IFBB Mr. Australia at 16 17, 18, and 19. Priest competed at the World's Championship at 17, where he placed 4th. At 19 he again competed and won The Mr. Australia title, but was not allowed to get his pro card in Australia because of his young age. It was then Priest decided to enter an amateur competition, Niagara Falls Championships. While there, Priest was discovered and given his pro card. Priest became one of the youngest men ever to turn IFBB pro at the age of 20.


title: Lee Priest

text: Priest competed successfully within the IFBB for 16 years. After falling shy of a notable championship, Priest set his sights on his most elusive opponent The Ironman Pro. After ten years of coming in 2nd or 3rd, 2006 proved Priest's year as the Ironman Pro.


title: Lee Priest

text: In 2010 he was invited by Paul Dillett to compete in the WBFF, but due to the lack of competition, he decided against competing.


title: Lee Priest

text: Priest is also an avid racing enthusiast and champion race car driver. He started racing in 2002 with road-racing and circle track. Priest then progressed to drag racing in 2004. He won numerous races and titles in road and circle track. His most successful bid came within drag-racing. He won Rookie of the Year in 2005. The following year, 2006, he won the SCEDA Racing Championship in Lancaster, California.


title: Lee Priest

text: Following a seven-year absence from competitive bodybuilding, Lee Priest returned in 2013 to compete in the NABBA Mr Universe where he won the overall title as an amateur. He then appeared as a special guest at the 2014 Universe Championships while he was on tour in the UK.


title: Lee Priest

text: Priest joined "MuscleSport Magazine" in November 2014 and began writing a monthly column online and in their print magazine. He was featured on the cover of their Winter 2015 issue.


title: Lee Priest

text: In 2014 NABBA International announced plans to hold a professional bodybuilding competition in Sydney, Australia, in partnership with the World Fitness Federation (WFF) International. This will be the first NABBA professional event held in Australia since the 1990 NABBA World Championships held in Geelong, Victoria.


title: Lee Priest

text: The Lee Priest Classic Australia 2015 was held on Sunday, 22 March 2015 at the Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney. The contest included both professional and amateur classes with overall male and female amateur class winners receiving a Pro Card from the World Fitness Federation.


title: Lee Priest

text: A second Lee Priest Classic event was held in the UK in conjunction with Muscle Promotions UK and sanctioned by WFF International. The Lee Priest Classic UK was held on Sunday, 19 July 2015 at The Cresset, Peterborough. The event offered classes for both amateurs and professionals.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known professionally as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress. Widely successful in Mexico, she earned the sobriquet of "Reina de las Rancheras" ("Queen of Rancheras").


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 2005 Dúrcal received a Latin Grammy Award for musical excellence, a prize that is awarded by the Governing Board of the Recording Latin Academy to artists who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance during their careers.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: Dúrcal began her artistic career by participating in various radio song festivals and competitions, secretly supported by her paternal grandfather, who always believed in her talent and became her first fan. In 1959, with the approval of her parents, she participated in the television program "Primer Aplauso", broadcast by Televisión Española. The theme that she chose for the contest was the traditional song "La sombra vendo". Luis Sanz, a Madrid manager who watched the show, was impressed by her talent and personality. Sanz contacted the program for the name and the address of the young contestant.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: Her first film was "Canción de Juventud" (1962) directed by Luis Lucia. The plot of the film portrayed a teenager with her own personality. The movie scored huge box office and critics success. This success was repeated in other Spanish-speaking countries where the movie was shown. Immediately Dúrcal became the star of "Rocío de La Mancha". Following this, she got her first record deal with transnational Phonogram (now Universal Music). The songs the artist played in both films served to make her first album, "Las películas de Rocío Dúrcal" (1962).


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In Dúrcal's third film, "Tengo 17 años" (1964), she put aside her role of "child star". That same year, she appeared in her first theater play, "Un domingo en Nueva York", in which she was revealed as a great theatrical actress. In 1965 she filmed "Más bonita que ninguna"; the band Los Brincos wrote some songs for the movie. In 1966, she shared the spotlight with Enrique Guzmán in the film "Acompáñame". She began to perform duets with such singers as Jaime Morey and Amalia de Isaura. Then she co-starred in the film "Amor en el Aire" (1967) with the then young Argentine singer-songwriter Palito Ortega. In 1968 she filmed "Cristina Guzmán", the first of her films that was aimed at an audience over 18.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 1970, Dúrcal married Filipino-born musician Antonio Morales (known professionally as Júnior), who would manage her singing career. In 1972, Antonio Morales began a series of television shows in Spain and Latin America singing with his wife as a duet. Their first child, Spanish actress Carmen Morales de las Heras, was born in December 1970. After the birth of their second child, Antonio Morales de las Heras, in April 1974, Morales decided to give up his career to devote time to their children. Dúrcal meanwhile continued her film and singing career. In 1979 she had her third child, Shaila Morales de las Heras, who took up a singing career under the stage name of Shaila Dúrcal and is also a successful singer.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 1977, Dúrcal signed a contract with Ariola Eurodisc (with singer-songwriter Camilo Sesto supporting her in her projects) dedicating herself to the musical career. That year, while in Mexico, she met the Mexican singer-songwriter Alberto Aguilera Valadez, better known as Juan Gabriel, who decided to record a whole album of rancheras performed by Rocío Dúrcal entitled "Rocío Dúrcal canta a Juan Gabriel". Without further advertising, the LP received high levels of sales, so Dúrcal and Juan Gabriel considered the possibility of a new recording together. They ended up doing 5 LPs, marking the revival of Rocío Dúrcal as a singer. The final collaboration between Dúrcal and Juan Gabriel emerged in 10 albums. Dúrcal's album named "Canta A Juan Gabriel Volumen 6" (1984) is among the top ten best-selling albums in the history of Mexico. For this album Rocío Dúrcal received her first Grammy Award nomination.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: The collaboration of Dúrcal with Juan Gabriel was interrupted by disagreements between the artists and because of problems of Juan Gabriel with his record label, so Dúrcal continued to record albums with other songwriters such as Marco Antonio Solís and Rafael Pérez Botija (with whom under his leadership in 1981 she recorded the album of ballads "Confidencias)". In 1988 she recorded the album "Como Tu Mujer" with producer Marco Antonio Solis.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 1990, she recorded her first album on CD format entitled "Si Te Pudiera Mentir". In 1991, Durcal offered a concert at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, recorded in a double disc "El Concierto... En Vivo". Between 1992 and 1993 she recorded the album "Desaires", produced by the Mexican singer and songwriter Joan Sebastián. In this album she reprises ranchera.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 1995, she launched her production "Hay Amores Y Amores", with songs written and produced by the Argentine Roberto Livi. For this album she was nominated again to the Grammy Awards in the category "Best Latin Pop Album". In 1997 the double album "Juntos Otra Vez" brought Rocío Dúrcal and Juan Gabriel together again for the last time. That album was made by an engagement with the record company and not by the desire of both artists to continue to cooperate.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 1998, under the direction of her discoverer Luis Sanz, Dúrcal starred in the Spanish TV show "Los negocios de mamá", broadcast by Televisión Española. In 2000, she celebrated 40 years in the industry. In that year she returned to ranchera music with the album "Caricias", under the production of songwriter and producer Bebu Silvetti. In 2001 Rocío Dúrcal recorded "Entre Tangos Y Mariachi", again produced by Bebu Silvetti, an album that includes 10 of the most famous Argentine tango arrangements interpreted with ranchero/bolero style like her previous album. In the summer of 2001 Dúrcal made a successful tour in Spain, 13 years after her last Spanish performance.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: After a year and a half absence, she returned to the stage on 19 September 2002 with a concert at the National Auditorium in Mexico, which was recorded in a double album that was released on CD and then on DVD on 22 October 2002, "En Concierto... Inolvidable". The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 2003, the artist received another Latin Grammy Award nomination for her album "Caramelito", produced by Kike Santander. In May 2004 she returned to Spain to record what would be her last album, "Alma Ranchera", which was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award, but did not win.


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: In 2001, after recording her album "Entre Tangos y Mariachi", Dúrcal was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Dúrcal canceled her tours while undergoing medical treatment, and resumed touring in 2002. In 2003, from Spain, she collaborated with the Mexican singer Julio Preciado for a duet in the song "Si nos dejan" included in his album "Que me siga la tambora".


title: Rocío Dúrcal

text: Rocío Dúrcal died on 25 March 2006 at the age of 61 from uterine cancer at her home in Torrelodones, Madrid. She was cremated and a portion of her ashes were scattered in Spain while the remainder of her ashes were deposited into a crypt at Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, the same place where years later a portion of the ashes from her husband Antonio Morales who died in 2014, were also deposited next to her.


title: Left axis deviation

text: In electrocardiography, left axis deviation (LAD) is a condition wherein the mean electrical axis of ventricular contraction of the heart lies in a frontal plane direction between −30° and −90°. This is reflected by a QRS complex positive in lead I and negative in leads aVF and II.


title: Left axis deviation

text: There are several potential causes of LAD. Some of the causes include normal variation, thickened left ventricle, conduction defects, inferior wall myocardial infarction, pre-excitation syndrome, ventricular ectopic rhythms, congenital heart disease, high potassium levels, emphysema, mechanical shift, and paced rhythm.


title: Left axis deviation

text: Cardiac axis in electrocardiography represents the sum of depolarization vectors generated by individual cardiac myocytes. To interpret the cardiac axis, one has to determine the relationship between the QRS axis and limb leads of the ECG. Usually, left ventricles makes up most of the heart muscles, so a normal cardiac axis is directed downward and slightly to the left. In a normal axis, QRS is between -30° and +90°. In contrast to that, left axis deviation (LAD) is defined as QRS axis between −30° and −90°, and right axis deviation is defined as QRS axis greater than +90°, while extreme axis deviation occurs when QRS axis is between -90° and 180°.


title: Left axis deviation

text: Determining the electrical axis can provide insight into underlying disease states and help steer the differential diagnosis. There are several methods to determining the ECG axis. The easiest method is the quadrant method, where one looks at lead I and lead aVF. First, examine the QRS complex in both leads I and avF and determine if the QRS complex is positive (height of R wave > S wave), equiphasic (R wave = S wave), or negative (R wave < S wave). If lead I is positive and lead aVF is negative, then this is a possible LAD. To determine a true LAD, examine QRS in lead II. If the QRS complex is positive in lead II, then this is a normal axis. On the other hand, if QRS complex is negative in lead II, then this is a LAD.Another method of determining LAD is called the Isoelectric lead, which allows for a more precise estimation of the QRS axis.


title: Left axis deviation

text: There are several potential causes of LAD. These include normal variation, left ventricular hypertrophy, conduction defects, inferior wall myocardial infarction, preexcitation syndrome, ventricular ectopic rhythms, congenital heart disease, hyperkalemia, emphysema, mechanical shift and pacemaker-generated paced rhythm. Normal variation causing LAD is an age-related physiologic change. Conduction defects such as left bundle branch block or left anterior fascicular block can cause LAD on the ECG. Pre-excitation syndrome as well as congenital heart diseases such as atrial septal defect, endocardial cushion defects can also cause LAD on ECG. Mechanical shifts that cause LAD are expiration or raised diaphragm from pregnancy, ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), abdominal tumor, or enlarged liver or spleen. Left axis deviation is a border deviation in athletes, which, if it is combined with another borderline feature such as right bundle branch block, requires further investigation in view of increased risk of sudden cardiac death.


title: Left axis deviation

text: Left axis deviation symptoms depend on the underlying cause. For example, if left ventricular hypertrophy is the cause of LAD, symptoms can include shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain (especially with exercise), palpitations, dizziness, or fainting. If a conduction defect such as left bundle branch block is the cause of LAD, there may not be any symptoms unless the conduction defect is caused by heart failure, in which case there can be symptoms of heart failure such as shortness of breath or fatigue.


title: Left axis deviation

text: Left axis deviation per se does not require treatment, however the underlying cause can be treated. If left ventricular hypertrophy is the cause of LAD, treatment depends on the underlying cause of the hypertrophy. If high blood pressure is the cause of LVH, then treatment is targeted at lowering blood pressure and preventing further enlargement of the left ventricle by using medications such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), calcium channel blockers, diuretics, and beta-blockers. If LVH is due to valvular issues such as aortic valve stenosis, surgical repair of the valve or replacement of the valve is required.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Drax, also known as Drax the Destroyer, is a fictional character portrayed by Dave Bautista in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In the films, Drax is a warrior and member of the Guardians of the Galaxy who seeks vengeance for the loss of his family. Originally he sought to avenge his family by killing Kree fanatic Ronan the Accuser, but after Ronan's death, his mission became defeating Thanos. An element of comedy to his character is a running gag that Drax takes common idioms literally, being unable to understand the concept of metaphor.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: , the character has appeared in five films and "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" (2022) as well as the Disney+ animated series "What If...?" (2021) as alternate versions, voiced by Fred Tatasciore instead of Bautista. He will return in the upcoming film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (2023)


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: The comic book character, Drax the Destroyer, first appeared in "The Invincible Iron Man" #55 (February 1973), and was created by Jim Starlin with the help of writer Mike Friedrich. He appeared in various Marvel series, and was "killed" several times. Drax received an eponymous 4 issue miniseries in 2004, and was a starring character in "Annihilation: Nova" #1–4 (2005) and "Annihilation" #1–6 (2006). After a follow up appearance in "Nova" vol 4 #4–7 (2007) and the 2008 "" storyline, he was featured as a team member in the 2008 relaunch of Guardians of the Galaxy, and appeared in the 25 issue series of the same name. The character had a small role in "The Thanos Imperative" #1–3 (2010), in which he was killed. The comic book origin of the character was as the displaced soul of a human from Earth placed in a body created to seek revenge on Thanos.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige first mentioned "Guardians of the Galaxy" as a potential film at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, stating, "There are some obscure titles, too, like "Guardians of the Galaxy". I think they've been revamped recently in a fun way in the [comic] book." Feige reiterated that sentiment in a September 2011 issue of "Entertainment Weekly", saying, "There's an opportunity to do a big space epic, which "Thor" sort of hints at, in the cosmic side" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Feige added, should the film be made, it would feature an ensemble of characters, similar to "X-Men" and "The Avengers". Feige announced that the film was in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International during the Marvel Studios panel, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014. He said the film's titular team would consist of the characters Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In 2018, Bautista joined his castmates in support of "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn after his firing for old tweets joking about pedophilia and rape. Bautista declared that if Disney (parent company of Marvel Studios) did not use Gunn's script for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", he would ask to be recast, calling Gunn's firing "nauseating". Ultimately, Gunn was reinstated as director of the film in March 2019. Bautista indicated that at one point Gunn wanted to do "a Drax and Mantis film" as a spinoff, but that the concept was not pursued by Marvel.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Bautista's makeup took approximately four hours to apply, though it could be removed in 90 minutes. Drax has various scarring patterns on his body, which replace the simple tattoos from the comics, each having a specific story. Additionally, his skin tone was changed from the bright green in the comics to a muddier grey, to avoid visual similarities to the Hulk.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: For the second film, Bautista's makeup took only 90 minutes to apply, down from four hours for the first film. He would have to sit in a sauna at the end of the day to get the makeup off, after his makeup test was found to be too "abrasive".


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Prior to 2014, Drax's homeworld was invaded by forces of Thanos under the command of Ronan the Accuser. The invaders killed Drax's family, setting him off on a path of revenge, resulting in him being captured and sent to a space prison called the Kyln.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In 2014, the other Guardians first encounter Drax in prison, where he has immediate hostility towards Gamora due to her connection with Thanos. Drax attacks Gamora, but Peter Quill convinces him to spare her in return for her ability to draw Ronan to her, so that Drax can exact revenge. Drax helps the Guardians escape from prison, accompanying them to Knowhere, where he argues with Rocket and then drunkenly sends a signal out to challenge Ronan to fight. Ronan arrives, easily defeats Drax, and leaves with the Power Stone. Drax regrets his actions and joins the Guardians in defending Xandar from Ronan's attack. After Ronan's ship crashes, Drax and Rocket destroy Ronan's axe holding the Power Stone, and join Quill and Gamora in controlling the stone long enough to destroy Ronan. After the Nova Corps praise the Guardians for their actions, Gamora genuinely assures Drax that his family was avenged. He accepts her advice, although he acknowledges that Ronan was merely a pawn of Thanos, whom he now seeks revenge on.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Drax and the Guardians are later hired by the Sovereign to fight off an alien attacking their valuable batteries, in exchange for retrieving Gamora's sister Nebula. After they leave, they are chased by the Sovereign fleet, as Rocket had stolen their batteries, of which Drax was aware. After crash-landing on a planet, they meet Quill's father, Ego. Drax decides to accompany Quill and Gamora to Ego's planet, while Rocket, Groot, and Nebula stay behind. On Ego's planet, they meet his assistant Mantis, with whom Drax develops a friendship though he finds her hideous. When the Guardians find out about Ego's true self, Drax joins them in fighting Ego until Quill puts a jetpack on him and sends him away with an unconscious Mantis.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In 2018, when the Guardians answer the distress call from Thor's destroyed spaceship and save Thor from floating in space, Drax accompanies Quill, Gamora, and Mantis to Knowhere to head off Thanos from gaining the Reality Stone. However, Thanos gets there first and uses the stone to briefly turn Drax into a pile of blocks. After Thanos takes Gamora and leaves, Drax reforms back into himself and accompanies Quill and Mantis to Titan, where they join with Avengers Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, and Peter Parker in an effort to defeat Thanos there, which ultimately fails due to Thanos' immense power with the partially assembled Infinity Gauntlet. Shortly after, Drax disintegrates due to the Blip.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In 2023, Drax is restored to life and is transported via a portal to Earth at the destroyed Avengers Compound to join the battle against an alternate 2014 Thanos and his army. Afterwards, Drax attends Stark's funeral, and along with the other Guardians and Thor, departs for space. Drax and the rest of the Guardians, accompanied by Thor, then return to space, where they eventually come to respond to various distress calls brought about by the killing of the gods of various worlds.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Later, after Thor goes his own way, the Guardians buy Knowhere from the Collector, and Drax helps as they work to refurbish it. When Quill is feeling depressed over the loss of his relationship with Gamora, Drax joins the Guardians in attempting to give him a meaningful Christmas by kidnapping a fictionalized in-universe version of actor Kevin Bacon as a gift for Quill. Drax and Mantis land in Hollywood, Los Angeles, inadvertantly make money as buskers posing for pictures on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and get drunk at a bar before a seller of star maps tells them where to find Kevin Bacon's house.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In "Guardians of the Galaxy", Drax is characterized as a warrior who seeks to avenge his family's death at the hands of Ronan. On relating to the character, Bautista said, "I can just relate to Drax so much it's not even funny. Just the simple things that we have in common. Simple things like the tattoos, the tragedy—because, you know, I had a bit of tragedy in my life, as well. So it's really easy for me to pull from that." Bautista also said that there was "a lot of comic relief to Drax", but the character was not aware of it. Bautista stated that he did not do much preparation for the role, because "Luckily, for me, I'm a lifelong athlete and I adapted real quick".


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In preparing for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", Bautista waited for the final version of the script so as to not take "away from the magic", which he felt had happened when he read early drafts of the first film. He added that "I wasn't crazy about my part [in "Vol. 2", initially]. It went a different direction than what I thought they were going to go with Drax," noting he did not "think Drax was that significant in the film". The part "clicked" for Bautista after the table read with the other cast. Bautista called Drax "more funny, driven" than in the first film, and having "a sense of innocence and heartbreak about him", despite "most people's first perception of Drax [that] he's just a big, muscly brute".


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Drax appears in "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", an episode of "What If...?", although voiced by Fred Tatasciore instead of Bautista. Bautista claimed he had not been asked to voice Drax in the series, although Marvel Studios vice-president Brad Winderbaum doubted this.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Several alternate versions of Drax appear in the animated series, "What If...?", where he is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In an alternate 2014, Drax works as a bartender on Contraxia and is an admirer of Star-Lord T'Challa, after his homeworld and family were saved by him from a Kree invasion.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In an alternate 2011, Drax attends Thor's intergalatic party on Earth. He becomes upset when Thor calls on the partygoers to clean up their mess until Thor uses his powers to intimidate them into cleaning up while mentioning that Frigga is coming.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Drax has superhuman strength and durability, and exceptional fighting skills. In "Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two", he is dragged behind a flying spaceship as it crashes in a forest, and shows no sign of injury despite being smalled into multiple trees. In "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special", he is repeatedly shot by a police officer with a handgun, which only tickles him. Afterwards, he easily flips a police car in the air and onto its back. Drax typically fights with a pair of long curved knives.


title: Drax (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Despite his rough exterior and tragic backstory, Drax commonly serves as comic relief, and his one-liners within the franchise have often been the subject of memes.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Arabian Nights is a 1974 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Its original Italian title is "", which means The Flower of the One Thousand and One Nights.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The film is an adaptation of the ancient Arabic anthology "One Thousand and One Nights", also known as the "Arabian Nights". It is the last of Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life", which began with "The Decameron" and continued with "The Canterbury Tales". The lead was played by young Franco Merli who was discovered for this film by Pasolini. The film is an adaptation of several stories within the original collection but they are presented out of order and without the Scheherazade, Dunyazad and King Shahriyar frame story.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The film contains abundant nudity, sex and slapstick humor. It preserves the eroticism and the story within a story structure of "Arabian Nights" and has been called "perhaps the best and certainly the most intelligent" of "Arabian Nights" film adaptations.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: With this film, Pasolini intended to make a film of "Arabian Nights" based on his 'memory of it as a boy'. In preparation for the film, Pasolini re-read the "1001 Nights" with a more critical lens and chose only the stories that he felt were the most 'beautiful'.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The main story concerns an innocent young man, Nur-e-Din (Franco Merli), who comes to fall in love with a beautiful slave girl, Zumurrud (Ines Pellegrini), who selected him as her master. After a foolish error of his causes her to be abducted, he travels in search of her. Meanwhile, Zumurrud manages to escape and, disguised as a man, comes to a far-away kingdom where she becomes king. Various other travellers recount their own tragic and romantic experiences, including a young man who becomes enraptured by a mysterious woman on his wedding day, and the prince Shazaman (Alberto Argentino), who wants to free a woman from a demon (Franco Citti) and for whom two women sacrifice their lives. Interwoven are Nur-e-Din's continuing search for Zumurrud and his (mostly erotic) adventures. In the end, he arrives at the far-away kingdom and is reunited with Zumurrud.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Pasolini originally wanted to use more native actors from Iran and other shooting locations in some of the roles but he had to settle for Italian actors and actresses as the Muslim governments did not permit nudity for their citizens. Many of the roles are still played by non-professional native actors, though usually the ones that don't involve nudity. This leads to some odd casting choices such as the Yunan story where Prince Yunan is played by an Italian (Salvatore Sapienza) while his father is clearly played by an East Asian (most likely native Nepalese).


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Around this time, Ninetto Davoli, who was bisexual and involved with Pier Paolo Pasolini, left him to marry a woman. Pasolini references this by having his story be the one about the man who is instructed on how to woo a woman by a girl who happens to be his fiancé and who dies of a broken heart. Davoli was married in 1973 and this film can be read as Pasolini's farewell to him. This was the first film where Pasolini had Davoli naked with his penis exposed, and interestingly, his story in the film ends with him being castrated by his former lover. And it is no coincidence that Aziz is a very insensitive character.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: In typical Pasolini fashion, there is also some gender bending casting. Zummurrud's bride is played by the thirteen year son of an Iranian hotel owner who lived near Imam mosque.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Filming took place in Iran, north and south Yemen, the deserts of Eritrea and Ethiopia, and Nepal. Sium's story that Zummurrud reads about was filmed in Ethiopia with uncredited native actors. Some of the interior scenes were shot at a studio in "Cristaldi" in Rome.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The market scene at the very beginning of the film was filmed in a town in Yemen named Taiz. The home of Nur-ed-Din, the place where the European man abducts Zummurrud from, is in Zabid. Pasolini had lived there for some time. The desert city that Zummurrud rides to disguised as "Wardan" was shot at Sana'a. The story of Aziz and Aziza was also filmed here.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Princess Dunya's palace is the Dar al-Hajar palace in Yemen. The deleted scenes of Dunya battling her father were filmed in a desert near the location.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: At least five monumental buildings of Iran have been used for the film. The Jameh Mosque and the Shah Mosque, both in Esfahan were used as parts of 'King' Zumurud's palace. The Shah Mosque is the place of the wedding feast, where Zummurrud takes revenge on her former captors and where she sees Nur-ed-Din eating at the end of the film. Two real palaces provided parts of the palace as well. The balcony of Ālī Qāpū Palace in Esfahan can be seen as a stage for the wedding celebrations and the throne room of Chehel Sotoun became the King's bedroom. However the entrance to the palace was filmed at the old city walls of Sana'a in Yemen.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The Music Hall of Ālī Qāpū doubled as the underground chamber where Prince Shahzmah finds a girl who is held prisoner by a demon. Chehel Sotoun provided another underground room. Here Yunan finds a fourteen-year-old boy who is hiding from the man who would kill him on his next birthday.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Shooting was complicated in Isfahan: military guards threw Pasolini and the crew out because they brought donkeys onto the premises of the Shah Mosque and Pasolini had women singing for the scene; this was explicitly prohibited and cost the production a few days delay.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The adventures of Yunan begin and end in Nepal. Yunan can be seen playing hide and seek with his friends in and around the Jaisi Deval Temple in Kathmandu and running to his father's palace on Durbar Square in Kathmandu to tell him he wants to go to the sea. He finds his father in the sunken bath of Sundhari Chowk in Patan. After his return home from his adventures he says farewell to his royal life on Bhelukhel Square in Bhaktapur.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Prince Shahzmah ends up in Nepal as well. When the King first hears of the monkey sage, he is in the courtyard of Kumari Bahal in Kathmandu. He gives orders to receive the animal with all honours and so a procession is organised to bring him to the palace. The parade passes Saraswati Hiti in Patan, the Ashok Binayak Temple on Durbar Square in Kathmandu, among other places, and ends at the golden gate of Durbar Square in Bhaktapur. In the courtyard of Pujari Math, Dattatreya Square in Bhaktapur, Shahzmah becomes a man again. He too goes off to become a mendicant.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Most of the score was composed by Ennio Morricone and intentionally keeps away from traditional music unlike the first two films of the Trilogy of Life. The music is symphonic. This was to separate it from reality and give it more of a dream-like quality. The "Andante" of Mozart's String Quartet No.15 is also used in the film. This was to contrast the poverty depicted on the screen with the richness of Mozart's music.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The original script written by Pasolini is very different from what appears in the final film. The set up and flashbacks are much different and more stories from the book are added. In the original script, the film is divided into three parts, the first half, the Intermezzo and the second half. Each part was to have a different frame story which would segue into even more stories in a more conventional framework than the continuous, and fluid form of the final script. In the original prologue of the film, the story opens in Cairo with four boys masturbating to different stories they envision in their heads. These daydreams are based on various stories from the original source material including the erotic poetry of Abu Nuwas, the story of Queen Zobeida and King Harún, the tale of Hasan and Sitt the Beautiful and the stories of Dunya and Tagi and Aziz and Aziza. The stories of the two dervishes were to go in between the last scene. These stories are left out of the final film except for the ones with the Dunya frame narrative. These stories (Dunya and Tagi, Aziz and Aziza, Yunan and Shahziman) are in the final film though much later and in different context.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: In the intermezzo, four people of different faiths each believe they have killed a hunchback and tell the Sultan stories to calm his anger. The Christian matchmaker, Muslim chef, Jewish doctor and Chinese tailor each tell their story and avoid the death sentence. The next part was to have Pasolini appearing as himself to the young boys. He kisses each boy, giving them a fragment of the story of Nur-ed-Din and Zummurrud each time. This entire section of the script was left out of the final film.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The most famous shot of the film, where Aziz shoots an arrow laden with a dildo into the vagina of Budur is not in this script. Most of the original script is redone with Nur-ed-Din and Zummurrud as the main narrative and some stories are inserted in different ways to reflect this. The final script does not follow a strict narrative structure but contains a rhapsodic form that moves from story to story.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The same as with "The Canterbury Tales" which also featured international actors, this movie was shot with silent Arriflex 35 mm cameras and was dubbed into Italian in post-production. Pasolini went to Salento, particularly the towns of Lecce and Calimera to find his voice actors because he believed the local dialect was "pure" and untainted by overuse in Italian comedies and because he saw similarities between Arabic and the Lecce accent.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The film was shot with Arriflex cameras. Pasolini refused to adopt one of the most conventional aspects of cinematography at that time, the Master shot. Pasolini never used a Master shot. The scenes are all constructed shot by shot. This guarantees there is no coming back to the story or the characters. It gives the film a free form aspect that anything can happen. The shots still remain perfectly calibrated despite this however. The protagonists are often framed frontally, reminiscent of portraits. He wanted his films to reflect the immediate needs that would be required for his visual storytelling.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Pasolini shot a couple scenes that were later discarded from the final film; these can be seen on the Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-ray release. These scenes are silent with no spoken dialogue but with music overlaid. In the first scene, Nur-ed-Din gets drunk at a party and then returns home to hit his angry father. His mother helps him escape to a caravan where he is propositioned for intercourse. In the next scene, Dunya is caught with her lover who is to be executed by her father. She helps him to escape while dressed as a man. Her father follows in pursuit but she fights him off and kills him. Now in a tent while still disguised as a man, Dunya propositions her lover for anal intercourse; he replies timidly by stripping, only for Dunya to pull off her helmet and reveal it was only a joke.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The reason for keeping these scenes out was probably two-fold, the runtime of the film was already too long but also the scenes depict some of the protagonists in a very unflattering light for a film that is intended as an erotic film with light adventure elements. (Nur-ed-Din gets drunk and punches his father and then steals some of his money, and Dunya cuts her father's throat with a knife.) The cross-dressing reveal of the Dunya story was also already used in the film for the story of Zummurrud and Nur-ed-Din.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Pasolini intended with his "Trilogy of Life" to portray folksy erotic tales from exotic locales. As with his previous two films, "The Decameron" (Italy) and "The Canterbury Tales" (Britain), "Arabian Nights" is an adaptation of several erotic tales from the near east. Pasolini was much more positive and optimistic with his "Trilogy of Life" than he was with his earlier films. He was notoriously adversarial and his films often touched on depressing themes. None of that is in this trilogy which stood as a new beginning. Of note is that this is the only film of the trilogy to not be overtly critical of religion. Whereas the previous two were highly critical of the church and clergy, Islam plays very little into this film (though in a deleted scene, Nur-ed-Din's father scolds him for drinking which is prohibited in the Koran). Allah's name is invoked twice in the entire film and none of the characters are seen going to mosque or performing any religious acts of any kind. The characters are very irreligious and the films emphasis on folk superstitions such as ifrits and magic lends emphasis to this. Whereas sexuality is a sin for the characters in the previous two films, no such stigma exists for the characters here.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Open sexuality is a very important topic in this film and this is displayed in the Sium story that Zummurrud tells near the beginning. The poet leaves a naked boy and girl alone to see which of the two is more smitten with the other. Both are taken with one another and there is no clear winner. This shows what follows in the movie, that sexuality is for both genders and all orientations. Desire will be felt equally by both genders and without guilt.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Though earlier translators of the source material (notably Galland) had tried to tone it down, the physical and erotic essence of the stories is quite abundant in these tales. Love in the Nights is not a psychological passion as much as a physical attraction. This is noticeably displayed by Pasolini in his film.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Homosexuality is also depicted in this film in a much more favorable light than in the previous two films. The poet Sium takes three boys to his tent early in the film and in the Muslim society which is very segregated by gender, homoeroticism thrives throughout. The poet Sium can even be seen as a stand-in for Pasolini himself, who frequently searched for young men along the Ostia in Rome. This is in much stark contrast to the previous film "The Canterbury Tales", which included an elaborate scene of a homosexual being burned alive at the stake, while the clergy look on smiling.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The film relies much more heavily on flashbacks and stories within stories than the previous two stories. Whereas in the other films, Pasolini himself serves as the one to bind the stories all together (a disciple of Giotto and Geoffrey Chaucer respectively) there is no equivalent character here. Pasolini does not act in this film and the stories are tied together with the Nur-ed-Din frame story and with characters having flashbacks and reading stories to one another. The film's use of flashbacks was likely influenced by Wojciech Has's film "The Saragossa Manuscript" which at one point, has eight flashbacks-within-flashbacks.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The stories of the two painters both deal with fate and its fickle nature. The first painter's drunken foolishness causes the death of two women, the captive princess and the Asian king's daughter Abriza. This leads him to renounce the world and become a monk. The second painter loses his ship due to his own wish for a sea journey. He is told by the captive child underground that he is the one who will kill him but foolishly believes he can conquer fate and stays with him rather than leave. He ends up killing him in a way he could not anticipate. His story is about attempting to conquer fate. Rather than conquer it he ended up fulfilling it and for this renounced the world and became a painter.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The stories are all taken from the "1001 Nights" and they stay largely true to the source material, though some of the context is changed and the endings of some stories changed around. The two dervishes who tell their story to the ladies of Baghdad are changed to holy monks who work as painters here. The second dervish's story also ends here with the girl dying as she transforms the dervish back while in the original, she has a battle with the ifrit. This was likely changed to put a quick end to the story and to save time and resources. The third dervish's story is also changed in some parts. He kills the child while sleepwalking here, instead of cutting a fruit. Also his father's ship comes to the island and saves him while in the original he goes to the Palace of the One Eyed Men and the Palace of the Forty Women. The porter's pool joke of Night 9 is also given to Nur-ed-Din. Abu Nuwas's story about hiring three men is also changed to a fictional poet from Ethiopia.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: Most notably, the Scheherazade frame story is done away with. Pasolini wanted a different set up for this film without a character framing the tales, as he had already done previously in "The Canterbury Tales" where he played Chaucer.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: "Arabian Nights", and "The Trilogy of Life" in general, were wildly popular though Pasolini himself turned against the series after their release. In 1975, he wrote an article in the Corriere della Sera lambasting the films. He disliked how the films influenced a series of low quality pornographic films from the same source materials ("The Decameron" in particular was a rife source for Italian pornographic filmmakers after the success of Pasolini's film) and with what he saw as the commodification of sex. Pasolini responded to his disappointment with the commercial success of these films in his final film Salo.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: In June 1974, the director received an obscenity complaint after a preview screening of the film was shown in Milan. Ironically, the funds for the preview were done with the aim of making a documentary in support of the city which would have been beneficial to the local government. The complaint was officially filed on August 5, 1974. The deputy prosecutor of Milan, Caizzi, dismissed it because he acknowledged the film's place as a work of art.


title: Arabian Nights (1974 film)

text: The film offers a polemic against the "neocapitalist petit bourgeois world" which Pasolini claimed to detest. The second level of his polemic was aimed at the leftists who criticized his "Trilogy of Life" for not "adhering to a specific political agenda right down to the letter." Pasolini felt isolated that so many of his leftist friends and colleagues did not see his Trilogy the way he had intended it to be seen. He felt they were overly critical of his films and missed the point of them.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Queen), the main line station is a terminus of the Brighton Main Line to and and the Chatham Main Line to and Dover via . From the main lines, trains can connect to the Catford Loop Line, the Dartford Loop Line, and the Oxted line to and . Southern operates most commuter and regional services to south London, Sussex and parts of east Surrey, while Southeastern operates trains to south-east London and Kent, alongside limited services operated by Thameslink. Gatwick Express trains run direct to Gatwick. The Underground station is on the Circle and District lines between and , and the Victoria line between and . The area around the station is an important interchange for other forms of transport: a local bus station is in the forecourt and Victoria Coach Station is nearby.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria was built to serve both the Brighton and Chatham Main Lines, and has always had a "split" feel of being two separate stations. The Brighton station opened in 1860 with the Chatham station following two years later. It replaced a temporary terminus at Pimlico, and construction involved building the Grosvenor Bridge over the River Thames. It became immediately popular as a London terminus, causing delays and requiring upgrades and rebuilding. It was well known for luxury Pullman train services and continental boat-train trips, and became a focal point for soldiers during World War I.


title: London Victoria station

text: Like other London termini, steam trains were phased out of Victoria by the 1960s, to be replaced by suburban electric and diesel multiple-unit services; all services from the station are currently operated using electric multiple units. Despite the end of international services following the opening of the Channel Tunnel, Victoria still remains an important London terminal station. The connected Underground station, in particular, suffered from overcrowding, until a major upgrade was completed in the late 2010s. The Gatwick Express service provides easy access between Central London and Gatwick Airport for international travellers.


title: London Victoria station

text: The station complex is in Victoria in the City of Westminster, immediately south of the London Inner Ring Road. It is located south of Victoria Street, east of Buckingham Palace Road and west of Vauxhall Bridge Road. Several different railways lead into the station line by way of Grosvenor Bridge from the south west, south and south east. It is in Travelcard Zone 1 and is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1970.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria Coach Station is about 300 metres south-west of the railway stations. It is the main London coach terminal and serves all parts of the UK and mainland Europe.


title: London Victoria station

text: London Buses routes 2, 11, 13, 16, 24, 36, 38, 44, 52, 148, 170, 185, 211, 390, 507, C1, C10 and night routes N2, N11, N16, N38, N44 and N136 serve the station at Victoria bus station or neighbouring streets.


title: London Victoria station

text: By 1850, railways serving destinations to the south of London had three termini available – , and Waterloo. All three were inconvenient for Central London as they terminated south of the river Thames, whereas the main centres of population, business and government were north of the river in the City of London, the West End and Westminster.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria Station was designed in a piecemeal fashion to help address this problem for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR). It consisted of two adjacent main line railway stations which, from the viewpoint of passengers, were unconnected.


title: London Victoria station

text: The London and Brighton Railway terminus at London Bridge provided reasonable access to the City of London but was inconvenient for travellers to and from Westminster. As early as 1842 John Urpeth Rastrick had proposed that the railway should build a branch to serve the West End, but his proposal was unsuccessful.


title: London Victoria station

text: However, the transfer of the Crystal Palace from Hyde Park to Sydenham Hill between 1851 and 1854 created a major tourist attraction in the then rural area south of London, and the LB&SCR opened a branch line from the Brighton Main Line at Sydenham to the site in 1854. While this was under construction the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway also planned a line from Crystal Palace, to a new station at Battersea Wharf, at the southern end of the new Chelsea Bridge. Despite its location, the new station was called Pimlico. It opened on 27 March 1858, but was very much regarded as a temporary terminus, composed of a small number of wooden huts, and positioned immediately next to a proposed bridge over the Thames. Shortly afterwards the LB&SCR leased most of the lines of the new railway, and built a further connection from Crystal Palace to the Brighton Main Line at Norwood Junction, thereby providing itself with a route into west London, although it was recognised that a terminus would be needed on the north side of the river.


title: London Victoria station

text: During the summer of 1857 a scheme for an independent "Grosvenor Basin Terminus" in the West End of London, "for the use of the Southern Railways of England" was mooted. The station was originally referred to as the "Grosvenor Terminus" but later renamed Victoria as it was sited at the end of Victoria Street. Three other railway companies were also seeking a terminus in Westminster: the Great Western (GWR), the London & North Western (LNWR), and the East Kent Railway (EKR). The first two already had rail access to Battersea through their joint ownership of the West London Line with the LB&SCR. In 1858, the EKR leased the remaining lines of the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway from Shortlands railway station, and also negotiated temporary running powers over the lines recently acquired by the LB&SCR, pending the construction of its own line into west London. On 23 July 1859 these four companies together formed the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway (VS&PR) company, with the object of extending the railway from Stewarts Lane Junction, Battersea across the river to a more convenient location nearer the West End, and the following month the EKR changed its name to the London Chatham and Dover Railway.


title: London Victoria station

text: The new line followed part of the route of the Grosvenor Canal with Victoria station on the former canal basin. It required the construction of a new bridge over the Thames, originally known as Victoria Bridge and later as Grosvenor Bridge. The bridge was long, which was required so that it could clear all river traffic. It was designed by John Fowler. The line was built as mixed gauge from Longhedge Junction, Battersea, to cater for GWR trains. It required a 1-in-50 climb and a turn from the LSWR main line to reach the bridge. The LB&SCR had hoped to amalgamate with the VS&PR, and introduced a parliamentary bill to allow it to do so in 1860. This was opposed by the GWR and LC&DR and rejected. By way of compromise the LB&SCR was permitted to lease Victoria station from the VS&PR, but agreed to accommodate the other railways until a terminus could be built for them on an adjoining site.


title: London Victoria station

text: The LB&SCR side of Victoria station opened on 1 October 1860, the temporary terminus in Battersea having closed the day before. The station was designed by Robert Jacomb Hood. It consisted of six platforms and ten tracks, with an entrance on Victoria Street. The site then covered and was long and wide. The roof was built on a set of wrought iron girders, with an additional safety row that would allow the main girders to withstand a train strike. On the northwest corner of the station was the 300-bedroom Grosvenor Hotel. It was designed by J. T. Knowles, and run independently of the station itself. It opened in 1861. The LCDR and GWR opened their own station on 25 August 1862, occupying a less imposing wooden-fronted building with an entrance on Wilton Road. The Chatham line station had eight platforms, five of which were of mixed gauge, shared by broad-gauge trains of the GWR from Windsor via Southall.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria station proved to be unexpectedly popular for both the main companies, and by 1862 there were frequent delays due to congestion at Stewarts Lane Junction. In March 1863 the LB&SCR and the LC&DR jointly funded a new high-level route into Victoria, avoiding Stewarts Lane and requiring the widening of Grosvenor Bridge, including the replacement of the broad-gauge rails with a third LB&SCR line. The work was completed during 1867/8. The South Eastern Railway (SER) wanted to use Victoria as a London terminus as it was more convenient than London Bridge, but were advised they would need to pay extensive tolls and expenses to do so. Consequently, the SER constructed a station at instead.


title: London Victoria station

text: The GWR began services on 1 April 1863, connecting Victoria to Southall, and later some services to Uxbridge, , and Windsor. From 13 August 1866 the LB&SCR ran services from Victoria to London Bridge along the newly completed South London Line. The Great Northern Railway began a service from Victoria to Barnet (via ) on 1 March 1868, with other cross-London services running via Victoria in the 1870s.


title: London Victoria station

text: In 1898 the LB&SCR decided to demolish its station and replace it with an enlarged red-brick Renaissance-style building, designed by Charles Langbridge Morgan. Since widening of the station was prevented by the LC&DR station and Buckingham Palace Road, increased capacity was achieved by lengthening the platforms and building crossovers to allow two trains to use each platform simultaneously. Work was completed in 1908, and included the rebuilding of the Grosvenor Hotel at the same time. The site then covered with of platforms. Overhead electric trains began to run into Victoria on 1 December 1909, to London Bridge. The line to Crystal Palace was electrified on 12 May 1911.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria became well known for its Pullman services during the late 19th century. The LB&SCR introduced the first Pullman first-class service to Brighton on 1 November 1875, followed by the first all-Pullman train in the UK on 1 December 1881. Another all-Pullman service was introduced in 1908 under the name of the Southern Belle, then described as "... the most luxurious train in the world...". The SECR began Pullman continental services on 21 April 1910 and on domestic services to the Kent coast on 16 June 1919. The Golden Arrow, another all-Pullman train began services in 1924, and remained in service until 30 September 1972.


title: London Victoria station

text: The LC&DR and GWR jointly leased the 'Chatham' portion of the station for 999 years from 28 June 1860, with the GWR responsible for 6.67%. The LC&DR completed its main line as far as Canterbury on 3 December 1860 and began to use the LB&SCR station on that day.


title: London Victoria station

text: From 1899 the LC&DR entered a working union with its rival, the South Eastern Railway, to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). As a result, services from its station at Victoria began to be rationalised and integrated with those from the other SECR termini.


title: London Victoria station

text: The LC&DR station began to be reconstructed in the late 19th century after several properties on Buckingham Palace Road, and the hotel, were bought by the company. Work began in 1899 with the removal of the old roof. The rebuilt station was partially opened on 10 June 1906, with additional platforms and cab exit on 10 February the following year, along with a new annexe to the hotel. It was formally re-opened on 1 July 1908. As a consequence of the rebuilding, boat trains become more popular from Victoria compared to Charing Cross and Cannon Street. Services increased to serve Ostend and Calais via Dover and Rotterdam via Gravesend. The LB&SCR part of the station also served Dieppe via Newhaven.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria has since seen more visits from royalty and heads of state than any other London station. During the funeral of Edward VII, seven kings, over 20 princes and five archdukes were greeted here.


title: London Victoria station

text: In the early 20th century, the development and improvement of the London Underground, meant that Victoria could not compete as a cross-London service. GNR trains stopped running on 1 October 1907, with Midland ones following on June the next year. The GWR ceased to use the station for scheduled services on 21 March 1915, partly due to World War I in addition to the new Underground lines. Victoria was used as the main station for drafted soldiers, and those returning from action in the war. By the middle of the war, the station served twelve trains a day running between Victoria and Folkestone, with additional trains serving Dover. The station was regularly served with a voluntary buffet for departing soldiers, who served up to 4,000 men a day. Victoria itself did not suffer significant damage during the war, but a section of Grosvenor Bridge was destroyed after an anti-aircraft shell struck a gas main underneath it.


title: London Victoria station

text: Following the war, memorials were built on both parts of the station. The Southern Railway side marks 626 soldiers killed or missing, while the Chatham side marks 556. A plaque marks the arrival of the body of The Unknown Warrior at Victoria on 10 November 1920.


title: London Victoria station

text: The service to Ostend via Dover was re-introduced on 18 January 1919. Civilian trains to Boulogne via Folkestone restarted on 3 February. Boat train services to Newhaven started on 1 June, and a connection with Paris started on 15 July. On 8 January 1920, Victoria replaced Charing Cross as the main station for continental services, as it had more facilities and closer locomotive and carriage facilities. The service to Paris via Calais and Dover began on the same day.


title: London Victoria station

text: The two stations at Victoria came largely under single ownership in 1923 with the formation of the Southern Railway (SR) as part of the Big Four grouping. The following year steps were taken to integrate the two stations. The platforms were renumbered in a single sequence, openings were made in the wall separating them to allow passengers to pass from one to the other without going into the street, and alterations were made to the tracks to allow for interchangeable working. The work was completed in 1925, and all platforms were renumbered in a contiguous sequence. Electric suburban services to Herne Hill and Orpington first ran on 12 July that year, followed by South London line services on 17 June 1928, and electric services to Crystal Palace and (via ) on 3 March 1929. The SR also concentrated continental steamer traffic at Victoria, introducing the Golden Arrow, in 1924, and the Night Ferry in 1936.


title: London Victoria station

text: The station had a news cinema (later a cartoon cinema) that showed a continuous programme. The cinema was designed by Alister MacDonald, son of the Prime Minister Ramsay, and was in operation from 1933 until it was demolished in 1981. The GWR remained part-owner of the station until 1932 thereafter retaining running powers, although it does not appear to have used them.


title: London Victoria station

text: Night-train services stopped running from Victoria on 4 September 1939 after World War II was declared, and other services were terminated following the German invasion of France in May 1940. Though the station was bombed several times in 1940 and 1941, there was not enough damage to prevent operations. A plane crashed into the eastern side of the station on 15 September 1940 and a flying bomb caused partial damage on 27 June 1944.


title: London Victoria station

text: The greatest change to the station during the 1920s and 1930s was the introduction of third-rail electrification for all suburban and many main-line services, replacing the original LB&SCR overhead scheme by 1929 and largely replacing steam traction, except on Chatham Section main-line and Oxted line trains. Services to were electrified in 1925 and to Epsom the following year. By 1932 the Brighton Main Line was electrified, quickly followed by those to other Sussex coastal towns and Portsmouth by 1938. The brand name "Southern Electric" was applied to all these services. The Brighton Belle, the first electric all-Pullman service in the world, ran from Victoria from 29 June 1934 until its withdrawal in 1972.


title: London Victoria station

text: British Railways (BR) took over the station on 1 January 1948. A new set of offices for Continental trains opened on 14 June, while the eastern booking hall was renovated, opening on 5 February 1951.


title: London Victoria station

text: During the 1950s and early 1960s British Railways (Southern Region) completed its Kent Coast Electrification schemes, which meant that most of the remaining services from the station were electrified, including boat trains. Some minor services were withdrawn, and the few remaining steam services, to Oxted and beyond, were replaced by diesel-electric multiple units. Various plans were proposed at this time to redevelop Victoria, including new offices, hotels and a helicopter station. The last steam service left Victoria on 8 January 1964 to , after which it was replaced by diesel-electric multiple units.


title: London Victoria station

text: The station was redeveloped internally in the 1980s, with the addition of shops within the concourse, and above the western platforms as the "Victoria Place" shopping centre and of office space. Platforms 16 and 17 opened on the site of the former taxi rank on 21 December 1987. A major re-signalling scheme was carried out during the works. The station was managed by Network SouthEast also under British Rail.


title: London Victoria station

text: The other major change to the station under BR was the gradual development of services to Gatwick Airport station after its opening on 28 May 1958. A dedicated rail-air terminal opened on top of platform 15 on 1 May 1962, designed by Clive Pascall.


title: London Victoria station

text: Several long-standing services from Victoria ended during the BR era. The "Brighton Belle"'s final service was on 30 April 1972, followed by the last "Golden Arrow" on 30 September. The "Night Ferry" lasted until 31 October 1980, though the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, a luxury Pullman service, has been running intermittently since 1982.


title: London Victoria station

text: In 1984 the non-stop Gatwick Express service was started, aiming for a 30-minute journey time. This was coupled with the provision of an airport lounge and check-in facilities at first-floor level, with dedicated escalators down to the Gatwick Express platforms. British Airways and other major airlines had their own check-in desks there. British Rail operated an International Travel Centre within the main station, separate from the domestic travel centre. At the time, Victoria was still a major departure point for international travel, with boat trains to Dover and Folkestone for France and Belgium and beyond. This ceased with the introduction of Eurostar in 1994, which did not serve Victoria, and the International Travel Centre closed.


title: London Victoria station

text: In 2019/20, Victoria was the second-busiest station in the UK, with an estimated 73.6 million passenger entries/exits. However, as with other stations, patronage dropped dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimated usage figure fell 81% in 2020/21 to 13.8 million, although Victoria retained its rank in second place, behind .


title: London Victoria station

text: Services are operated by Southeastern and Southern, owned by the Department for Transport and Govia respectively. All services at Victoria use electric multiple unit trains.


title: London Victoria station

text: To help passengers choose the correct service, the floor of the main concourse at Victoria was marked with different coloured lines. Passengers could then follow the line marked with the specific colour for that service to arrive at their intended departure point.


title: London Victoria station

text: Southeastern services at Victoria use platforms 1–8. The station is served by a mixture of metro and long distance (mainline) services. Metro services are operated using Class 465 and 466 EMUs whilst mainline services are operated using Class 375 and 377 EMUs.


title: London Victoria station

text: Southern services at Victoria use platforms 9-12 and 15-19 as of August 2022. The station is served by a mixture of metro and long distance (mainline) services. Southern Metro and Mainline services are both operated by Class 377 EMUs and Gatwick Express is serviced by Class 387 EMUs.


title: London Victoria station

text: During the Suspension of the Gatwick Express, Southern Services at Victoria began to use Platforms 13 and 14 as well as operating the Gatwick Express fleet of Class 387 units. However this has now ended as Gatwick Express Services were reinstated in March of 2022.


title: London Victoria station

text: Gatwick Express, formerly a separate franchise but now operated by Southern, run services from platforms 13 and 14. Ticket barriers were installed on these platforms


title: London Victoria station

text: As of September 2022, the typical off-peak service run by Gatwick Express in trains per hour (tph) is:


title: London Victoria station

text: However, within the peak hours, Gatwick Express services stop at intermediate stations between Haywards Heath and Brighton such as Preston Park, Hassocks and Burgess Hill.


title: London Victoria station

text: Thameslink operate limited services from London Victoria to Sevenoaks in Kent, usually on Sundays or early mornings.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 26 February 1884, an explosion occurred in the cloak-room of the Brighton side injuring seven staff, as part of the Fenian dynamite campaign.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 27 August 1910, an empty LB&SCR stock train derailed due to inadequate signalling arrangements, leading to four injuries. On 17 July 1946, a light engine collided with a passenger train; several people were injured.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 26 July 1939, as part of the IRA's S-Plan, bombs exploded in the luggage office at King's Cross and then in the cloakroom at Victoria. Five were wounded at Victoria; at King's Cross, one man was killed and 17 people severely wounded.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 15 December 1959, a passenger train collided with a rake of parcels vans. At least eleven people were injured.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 8 September 1973, a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at the ticket office, injuring four people.


title: London Victoria station

text: On the afternoon of 23 March 1988, Deborah Linsley was found brutally stabbed to death on a train arriving at platform 2 at Victoria. She had got on the Orpington-Victoria service at Petts Wood. A French au pair heard screaming from the compartment next to her on the final leg of the journey between Brixton and Victoria. Several people, including the au pair, reported seeing a suspicious blonde or ginger-haired man walking from the train and washing cuts on his face in the toilet of the station, while there were also sightings of a man seen staring at women boarding the train at Orpington and changing compartments at Penge East, possibly into Linsley's compartment. Despite the killer's DNA being known since 2002, the murder remains unsolved as of August 2022. There remains a £10,000 reward on offer for information leading to the capture of the killer.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 18 February 1991, an IRA bomb exploded in a litter bin, killing David Corner, and injuring 38. A general bomb warning for all main-line stations had been received by telephone at 0700, but the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch chose not to close the stations.


title: London Victoria station

text: In 2009 a woman was found by a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) acting suspiciously. When approached she produced a gun and pointed it at a passing young child. Unarmed PCSO George McNaught of the Metropolitan Police wrestled the gun out of the woman's hands before overpowering and detaining her. The woman was arrested and PCSO McNaught was awarded the commendation of the High Sheriff of Greater London for his brave actions. He is the first PCSO to receive the award.


title: London Victoria station

text: In March 2010, a youth was stabbed to death in Victoria Underground station, in front of numerous witnesses. Eight people were convicted of the killing in 2013. Three defendants were found guilty of murder and five were convicted of manslaughter.


title: London Victoria station

text: The former British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, claimed to have been attacked on a Tube platform at the station in July 2018. Two teenagers were arrested and then bailed by police. However a witness subsequently claimed that Sir Christopher was injured after accidentally falling over.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 22 March 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, a ticket office worker, Belly Mujinga along with another female staff member, were repeatedly coughed and spat on by a man from the public, who claimed to have COVID-19. A few days later, both Mujinga and the fellow worker fell ill with the virus. Mujinga had underlying respiratory issues and was eventually admitted to Barnet General Hospital and put on a ventilator. She died on 5 April, aged 47, leaving her 11-year-old daughter and husband. The police interviewed a 57-year-old man, who tested negative for the virus. No further action was taken as it was discovered that the incident was not a cause of Mujinga's death, as well as senior detectives concluding that "there is no evidence to substantiate any criminal offences having taken place".


title: London Victoria station

text: There are two connected Underground stations at Victoria, on different levels and built more than a century apart. The older one, on the north side of the bus station, serves the District and Circle lines, constructed by 'cut and cover' methods just below road level. The newer station, closer to the main line station, serves the Victoria line, a deep-level tube. Each has its own ticket hall, and the two are connected by a pedestrian passage beneath the bus station.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria is currently the station on the London Underground with million passengers using the station in . The station was not built for this number of passengers, which resulted in overcrowding requiring crowd control measures to be implemented at busy times. A £700 million upgrade of the station was completed in 2018, which doubled the size of the existing station, as well as providing step-free access.


title: London Victoria station

text: The first part of the station was opened on 24 December 1868 by the District Railway (DR, now the District line) when the company opened the first section of its line, between and . The DR connected to the Metropolitan Railway (MR, later the Metropolitan line) at South Kensington and, although the two companies were rivals, each company operated trains over the other's tracks in a joint service known as the ""Inner Circle"". The line was operated by steam locomotives, creating the necessity to leave periodic gaps open to the air.


title: London Victoria station

text: On 1 February 1872, the DR opened a northward branch from to the West London Extension Joint Railway (WLEJR, now the West London Line) at Addison Road (now Kensington (Olympia)). From that date the ""Outer Circle"" service began running over the DR. The service was run by the North London Railway (NLR) from Broad Street (now demolished) in the City of London via the North London Line to , then the West London Line to Addison Road and the DR to , the new eastern terminus of the DR.


title: London Victoria station

text: From 1 August 1872, the ""Middle Circle"" service also began operation through Victoria, from Moorgate along the MR on the north side of the Inner Circle to Paddington, then over the Hammersmith & City Railway (H&CR) to Latimer Road and then to Mansion House. On 30 June 1900, the Middle Circle service was withdrawn between Earl's Court and Mansion House. On 31 December 1908 the Outer Circle service was also withdrawn.


title: London Victoria station

text: The original DR station was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century, initially as a single-storey structure. An office building was built above it later. The line was electrified in 1905. In 1949, the Inner Circle route was given its own identity on the tube map as the Circle line.


title: London Victoria station

text: Plans for the route that eventually became the Victoria line date from the 1940s. A proposal for a new underground railway line linking north-east London with the centre was included in the "County of London Plan" in 1943. Between 1946 and 1954, a series of routes were proposed by different transport authorities to connect various places in south and north or north-east London. Each of these connected the three main-line termini at King's Cross, Euston and Victoria. A route was approved in 1955 with future extensions to be decided later, though funding for the construction was not approved by the government until 1962.


title: London Victoria station

text: As part of the construction of the Victoria line, a new ticket hall was constructed just outside the main railway building. From the ticket hall, a set of escalators led down to the new Victoria line. The Victoria line station opened on 7 March 1969, when the third phase of the line began operating, south of . Victoria was the terminus while the final phase was under construction to . This opened on 23 July 1971.


title: London Victoria station

text: Following growth in passenger numbers in the 2000s, Victoria Underground station became one of the busiest on the Underground, with around 80 million passengers a year. At rush hour, more than 30,000 passengers entered the station between 8 and 9am, and entrances to the station were frequently closed due to dangerous levels of overcrowding at platform level.


title: London Victoria station

text: TfL subsequently upgraded and expanded the station at a cost of £700m between 2011 and 2018 to alleviate overcrowding and to provide step-free access. The work included expansion of the existing south "Victoria line" ticket hall, an additional entrance and ticket hall under Bressenden Place, new and replaced escalators, renovation and expansion work throughout the existing station, and step-free access. Overall, the work expanded the station by 110%, with 9 new escalators and 10 new lifts.


title: London Victoria station

text: Although contributors to the public inquiry into the upgrade criticised that access to platforms was long and/or indirect compared to the direct access using the existing escalators, the work was permitted in July 2009. Construction began in 2011, and tunnelling for the project was completed in 2015 after complex work; tunnelling took place 60 cm from the existing District and Circle line tunnels.


title: London Victoria station

text: The first phase of the project opened in January 2017, with a new entrance leading to a North Ticket Hall underneath Bressenden Place, linked to the Victoria line by new escalators and lifts. The work was undertaken by a joint venture of BAM Nuttall and Taylor Woodrow Construction. In January 2018, the second phase of the project opened, with a new entrance at Wilton Road in front of the mainline station and the expanded Victoria line ticket hall. The main project was completed in October 2018, when step free access between all lines was completed. Work to reinstate the bus station and the historic Duke of York public house continued until 2019.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria is a proposed stop on Crossrail 2, the route of which has been safeguarded since 1991. The project would involve the construction of two new long platforms, and new entrances onto Ebury Street and the main National Rail station. The District and Circle line ticket hall would be expanded and include a direct connection to the new Crossrail station. Crossrail 2 trains would also be able to reverse at Victoria. The service proposes to run 30 additional trains per hour through the station, which is expected to reduce crowding in Victoria by 25%.


title: London Victoria station

text: The Docklands Light Railway has also been proposed to be linked with Victoria. This would be a continuation of the line from via , with another branch to . As of 2020, these extensions of the DLR are not being progressed.


title: London Victoria station

text: In January 2020, Victoria BID - the local Business improvement district - proposed removing the bus station from the mainline station forecourt to create a new "Station Square". Bus stops would be relocated to nearby streets.


title: London Victoria station

text: Victoria station is mentioned in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" as the location where Jack Worthing was found by Thomas Cardew. In describing this to Lady Bracknell, Jack clarifies he was named because Cardew had a ticket to , and clarifies this as "the Brighton line" (that is, the LB&SCR station, as opposed to the LC&DR one).


title: London Victoria station

text: The station is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Final Problem", when Dr Watson catches a Continental Express train from Victoria to avoid Moriarty and his henchmen.


title: London Victoria station

text: The Harold Pinter short play "Victoria Station" has the station as the intended destination that the driver never reaches.


title: Snapple

text: Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and based in Plano, Texas, United States. The company (and brand), which was originally known as Unadulterated Food Products, was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some fame due to various pop-culture references including television shows.


title: Snapple

text: Snapple was founded by Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden, and Arnold Greenberg in 1972 Valley Stream, Long Island, New York. Their company, which was originally known as Unadulterated Food Products, was first conceived as a part-time venture to supply fruit juices to health food stores. Unsure if the business would succeed, Greenberg continued to run his health food store in Manhattan's East Village, while Leonard Marsh and his brother-in-law, Hyman Golden, operated a window washing business. In a 1989 interview with "Crain's New York Business", Marsh admitted that when they launched the small business he knew "as much about juice as about making an atom bomb."


title: Snapple

text: An early apple juice product led to the company's name, Snapple. Golden, Greenberg and Marsh had created a carbonated apple juice. One of the batches of apple juice fermented in the bottle, causing the bottle caps to fly off. The original name of that particular apple juice product, "Snapple," a portmanteau derived from the words "snappy" and "apple," became the new name for their beverage company.


title: Snapple

text: The Snapple Beverage Corporation was born, beginning in the early 1980s. Snapple would not manufacture their first tea, lemon tea, until 1987.


title: Snapple

text: Currently, there are many different types of Snapple: Tea (multiple flavors, such as lemon, raspberry, and peach, all of which come in original and diet), juice drinks, lemonade, and bottled water. Snapple is also bottled in the form of an aluminum can.


title: Snapple

text: Snapple was known for a popular series of TV advertisements in the early 1990s featuring Wendy Kaufman (the "Snapple Lady") answering letters from Snapple fans. In an effort to counteract the Coke and Pepsi challenge commercials, Snapple began running a new line of advertisements in May 1992, which featured its trademark “made from the best stuff on Earth” line in ads that spoofed earlier beer and sports drinks promotions; the ads received low marks from advertising industry observers. In addition, the company used its $15-million-a-year advertising budget to pay for a long-lived series of live radio commercials featuring controversial disk jockeys Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh. At the end of the summer of 1992, Snapple conducted a five-week search for a new advertising agency that could better convey its corporate identity in preparation for a wider national push. Later that year, Snapple also signed tennis player Jennifer Capriati to endorse its products. By August 1992, Snapple had expanded its distribution to every major city in the United States and it signed new contracts with beverage distributors. The company owned no manufacturing facilities, but instead made agreements with more than 30 bottlers across the country. In this way, Snapple was able to keep its overhead low and its payroll short. The company administration consisted of just 80 employees, 50 of whom worked out of a modest office building on Long Island.


title: Snapple

text: Thomas H. Lee, an American businessperson, financier and investor of Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) acquired Snapple Beverages in 1992 on undisclosed terms. The three founders of Snapple, Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden and Arnold Greenberg, said they would own about one-third of the new company and be involved in its management. Hellen Berry, vice president of the Beverage Marketing Corporation, a consultant in New York, estimated that Snapple, which had been for sale for more than a year and had $100 million in sales in 1991, sold for $140 million. Only eight months after buying the company, Lee took Snapple Beverages public and in 1994, only two years after the original acquisition, Lee sold the company to the Quaker Oats Company for $1.7 billion. Lee was estimated to have made $900 million for himself and his investors from the sale. The company ran into problems and sold it to Triarc in 1997 for $300 million. Triarc sold it to Cadbury Schweppes for $1.45 billion in September 2000. It was spun off in May 2008 to its current owners.


title: Snapple

text: In 2009, a consumer lawsuit was brought against Snapple in California. The suit alleged the drinks contained unhealthy ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and deceptive names on labels that lead consumers to believe that certain healthy elements are in the drinks that are not really present.


title: Snapple

text: In 2010, in a lawsuit against Snapple in the federal District of New Jersey, the court certified to the FDA for an administrative determination the question whether high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) qualifies as a "natural" ingredient. In 2010, the FDA responded by letter and declined to provide the court with the requested guidance. Stating that it would take two to three years to engage in a transparent proceeding to elicit the proper public participation, the FDA again cited its limited resources and more pressing food-safety concerns.


title: Snapple

text: In 2011, a New York federal court dismissed a different lawsuit accusing Snapple of misleading consumers by labeling drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup as "all natural." The court found that the plaintiffs had failed to show that they were injured as a result of Snapple's labeling.


title: Snapple

text: After the lawsuit in May 2009, Snapple was made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. However, in certain areas, the older formula is still sold in stores, but this is becoming increasingly rare.


title: Snapple

text: In October 2003, Snapple began its sponsorship of the New York City public school system (and other parcels in the area), as part of the deal to make Snapple New York City's official beverage. The company promised an $8 million per year profit for city schools if it were allowed to sell its drinks, including juice and bottled water, in school vending machines.


title: Snapple

text: Snapple was able to acquire the contract in part because New York City officials did not want to encourage the consumption of sodas, which have been linked to childhood obesity and diabetes and are generally considered unhealthy. The Snapple juice drinks, specifically created to meet rules banning soda and other sugary snacks from city schools, are marketed under the "Snapple 100% Juiced!" label. The flavors available under this brand include Green Apple, Fruit Punch, Melon Berry, Grape, Orange Mango, and Strawberry Lime. Although the juice drinks are fortified with vitamins and minerals, a 16-ounce bottle contains more sugar (41 grams) than a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola (39 grams).


title: Snapple

text: Dr. Michael F. Jacobson, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, called the drinks "little better than vitamin-fortified sugar water." In addition, the concentrates used in the drinks, apple, grape and pear, are the least expensive and nutritious. Dr. Toni Liquori, associate professor at the Columbia Teachers College, questioned the sale of bottled water in schools, saying "If anything, we should have cold water in our schools."


title: Snapple

text: The deal also gave Snapple exclusive rights to sell its tea and juice-based drinks in vending machines on all New York City properties starting in January 2004. Snapple paid the City $106 million for the rights and agreed to spend $60 million more to marketing and promotion over the length of the five-year contract.


title: Snapple

text: In the early 1990s, the original label graphic on the Iced Tea flavor, a depiction of the United States historical event the Boston Tea Party, was replaced due to misinformation espoused by protest groups claiming the ships on the packaging were slave trading vessels in New York Harbor. Snapple also fell victim to a rumor that the small "K" was either a representation of the Klan, or of an imagined "Jewish Tax" (augmented by the fact that all three founders were Jewish). The "K" on the products actually meant that they were certified kosher. There were also rumors that the company donated to the controversial pro-life organization Operation Rescue.


title: Snapple

text: Snapple initially tried to quell these rumors quietly, but ultimately had to launch a media campaign to squash them, pointing out it would be bad for business to support controversial issues in such a way as the rumors implied. Through a media campaign with the NAACP, Snapple successfully fought back these rumors, although occasionally they are still brought up as fact.


title: Snapple

text: Snapple is well known for printing interesting numbered List of Snapple "Real Fact" facts on the inside of their bottle caps. A list of these "Real Facts" are available on the company website.


title: Snapple

text: Snapple was the official beverage sponsor of "America's Got Talent" from season 7 to season 9 of the NBC show (Howard Stern, one of the judges on the show, was a spokesperson for Snapple in the 1980s). It was replaced by Dunkin' for season 10.


title: Snapple

text: In 2007, Snapple opened the Snapple Theater Center on 50th Street and Broadway in the heart of New York City's Theater District. It has two theaters, one of which is a traditional theater, the other a thrust stage which can house plays. The center also includes a 40×50 ft rehearsal space which is available for rent. The theaters are considered off-Broadway because of their low seating capacities. The theater has since dropped the "Snapple" name and sponsorship and is purely known as "The Theater Center."


title: Rus' Khaganate

text: The Rusʹ Khaganate (, "Ruski kahanat", , "Russkiy kaganat", , "Ruśkyj kahanat"), is the name applied by some modern historians to a polity postulated to have existed during a poorly documented period in the history of Eastern Europe in the 9th century AD.


title: Rus' Khaganate

text: It was suggested that the Rusʹ Khaganate was a state, or a cluster of city-states, set up by a people called "Rusʹ" (characterised in all contemporary sources as Norsemen) somewhere in what is today European Russia and Ukraine as a chronological predecessor to the Rurik Dynasty and Kievan Rusʹ. The region's population at that time was composed of Slavic, Turkic, Baltic, Finnic, Hungarian and Norse peoples. The region was also a place of operations for Varangians, eastern Scandinavian adventurers, merchants, and pirates.


title: Rus' Khaganate

text: The sparse contemporaneous sources refer to the leader or leaders of Rusʹ people at this time using the Old Turkic title "Khagan", hence the suggested name of their polity.


title: Rus' Khaganate

text: Some historians have criticised the concept of Rus Khaganate calling it a "historiographical phantom" and said that the society of 9th-century Rusʹ cannot be characterised as a state.


title: Rus' Khaganate

text: The title of "Khagan" for a leader of some groups of Rus' people is mentioned in several historical sources, most of them foreign texts dating from the 9th century, while three East Slavic sources date from the 11th and 12th centuries. The earliest European reference related to the Rus' people ruled by a "khagan" comes from the Frankish "Annals of St. Bertin", which refer to a group of Norsemen who called themselves "Rhos" () and visited Constantinople around 838. Fearful of returning home via the steppes, which would leave them vulnerable to attacks by the Magyars, these Rhos travelled through the Frankish Empire accompanied by Greek ambassadors from the Byzantine emperor Theophilus. When questioned by the Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious at Ingelheim, they stated that their leader was known as "chacanus" (hypothesized to be either the Latin word for "Khagan" or a deformation of Scandinavian proper name "Håkan"), that they lived far to the north, and that they were Swedes ("comperit eos gentis esse sueonum").