title: Lancelet

text: Lancelets are inactive filter feeders, spending most of the time half-buried in sand with only their frontal part protruding. They eat a wide variety of small planktonic organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, diatoms, dinoflagellates and zooplankton, and they will also take detritus. Little is known about the diet of the lancelet larvae in the wild, but captive larvae of several species can be maintained on a diet of phytoplankton, although this apparently is not optimal for "Asymmetron lucayanum".


title: Lancelet

text: Lancelets have oral cirri, thin tentacle-like strands that hang in front of the mouth and act as sensory devices and as a filter for the water passing into the body. Water passes from the mouth into the large pharynx, which is lined by numerous gill-slits. The ventral surface of the pharynx contains a groove called the endostyle, which, connected to a structure known as Hatschek's pit, produces a film of mucus. Ciliary action pushes the mucus in a film over the surface of the gill slits, trapping suspended food particles as it does so. The mucus is collected in a second, dorsal groove, known as the epipharyngeal groove, and passed back to the rest of the digestive tract. Having passed through the gill slits, the water enters an atrium surrounding the pharynx, then exits the body via the atriopore.


title: Lancelet

text: Both adults and larvae exhibit a "cough" reflex to clear the mouth or throat of debris or items too large to swallow. In larvae the action is mediated by the pharyngeal muscles while in the adult animal it is accomplished by atrial contraction.


title: Lancelet

text: The remainder of the digestive system consists of a simple tube running from the pharynx to the anus. The hepatic caecum, a single blind-ending caecum, branches off from the underside of the gut, with a lining able to phagocytize the food particles, a feature not found in vertebrates. Although it performs many functions of a liver, it is not considered a true liver but a homolog of the vertebrate liver.


title: Lancelet

text: Lancelets have no respiratory system, breathing solely through their skin, which consists of a simple epithelium. Despite the name, little if any respiration occurs in the “gill” slits, which are solely devoted to feeding. The circulatory system does resemble that of primitive fish in its general layout, but is much simpler, and does not include a heart. There are no blood cells, and no hemoglobin.


title: Lancelet

text: The excretory system consists of segmented "kidneys" containing protonephridia instead of nephrons, and quite unlike those of vertebrates. Also unlike vertebrates, there are numerous, segmented gonads.


title: Lancelet

text: Lancelets became famous in the 1860s when Ernst Haeckel began promoting them as a model for the ancestor of all vertebrates. By 1900 lancelets had become a model organism. By the mid-20th century they had fallen out of favor for a variety of reasons, including a decline of comparative anatomy and embryology, and due to the belief that lancelets were more derived than they appeared, e.g., the profound asymmetry in the larval stage.


title: Lancelet

text: With the advent of molecular genetics lancelets are once again regarded as a model of vertebrate ancestors, and are used again as a model organism.


title: Lancelet

text: As a result of their use in science, methods of keeping and breeding lancelets in captivity have been developed for several of the species, initially the European "Branchiostoma lanceolatum", but later also the West Pacific "Branchiostoma belcheri" and "Branchiostoma japonicum", the Gulf of Mexico and West Atlantic "Branchiostoma floridae" and the circumtropical (however, genetic evidence suggest the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific populations should be recognized as separate) "Asymmetron lucayanum". They can reach an age of up to 7–8 years.


title: Lancelet

text: The animals are edible and harvested in some parts of the world. They are eaten both fresh, tasting like herring, and as a food additive in dry form after being roasted in oil. When their gonads start to ripen in the spring it affects their flavor, making them taste bad during their breeding season.


title: Lancelet

text: The Cephalochordata were traditionally seen as the sister lineage to the vertebrates; in turn, these two groups together (sometimes called Notochordata) were considered the sister group to the Tunicata (also called Urochordata and including sea squirts). Consistent with this view, at least 10 morphological features are shared by lancelets and vertebrates, but not tunicates. Newer research suggests this pattern of evolutionary relationship is incorrect. Extensive molecular phylogenetic analysis has shown convincingly that the Cephalochordata is the most basal subphylum of the chordates, with tunicates being the sister group of the vertebrates. This revised phylogeny of chordates suggests that tunicates have secondarily lost some of the morphological characters that were formerly considered to be synapomorphies (shared, derived characters) of vertebrates and lancelets.


title: Lancelet

text: Among the three extant (living) genera, "Asymmetron" is basal and it is placed in its own family. Genetic studies have come to separate conclusions on their divergence, with some suggesting that "Asymmetron" diverged from other lancelets more than 100 million years ago and others (with higher statistic support) that it occurred about 42 million years ago. The two remaining genera, "Branchiostoma" and "Epigonichthys" diverged from each other about 36 million years ago. Despite this deep separation, hybrids between "Asymmetron lucayanum" and "Branchiostoma floridae" are viable (among the deepest split species known to be able to produce such hybrids).


title: Lancelet

text: The following are the species recognised by ITIS. Other sources recognize about thirty species. It is likely that currently unrecognized cryptic species remain.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh (born 29 January 1962) is a senior political leader of Hamas and formerly one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority. Haniyeh became prime minister after Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah–Hamas conflict, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continued to exercise prime ministerial authority in the Gaza Strip. In September 2016, reports indicated Haniyeh would replace Khaled Mashal as Chief of Hamas's Political Bureau. He was elected as Hamas political chief on 6 May 2017.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Haniyeh was born in the Al-Shati refugee camp in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. His parents became refugees, after they fled their homes near what is now Ashkelon, Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He attended United Nations-run schools and graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza with a degree in Arabic literature in 1987. While at university, he had become involved with Hamas. From 1985 to 1986, he was head of the students' council representing the Muslim Brotherhood. He also played as a midfielder in the Islamic Association football team. He graduated at about the same time the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation started in the Gaza Strip.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: He participated in protests in First Intifada and was given a short prison sentence by Israeli occupation authorities. He was detained by Israel again in 1988 and imprisoned for six months. In 1989, he was imprisoned for three years.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Following his release in 1992, Israeli occupation authorities deported him to Lebanon with senior Hamas leaders Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, Mahmoud Zahhar, Aziz Duwaik, and 400 other activists. The activists stayed at Marj al-Zahour in southern Lebanon for over a year, where according to BBC News, Hamas "received unprecedented media exposure and became known throughout the world". A year later, he returned to Gaza and was appointed as dean of the Islamic University.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: After Israel released Ahmed Yassin from prison in 1997, Haniyeh was appointed to head his office. His prominence within Hamas grew due to his relationship with Yassin and he was appointed as the representative to the Palestinian Authority. His position within Hamas continued to strengthen during the Second Intifada due to his relationship with Yassin, and because of the assassinations of much of the Hamas leadership by the Israeli security forces. He was targeted by the Israel Defense Forces for his alleged involvement in attacks against Israeli citizens. Following a suicide bombing in Jerusalem in 2003, he was slightly injured on his hand by an Israeli Air Force bomb attack attempting to eliminate the Hamas leadership. In December 2005, Haniyeh was elected to head the Hamas list, which won the Legislative Council elections the following month. Haniyeh succeeded Khaled Meshaal's head leadership of Hamas in elections held in 2016.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Haniyeh was nominated as prime minister on 16 February 2006 following the Hamas "List of Change and Reform" victory on 25 January 2006. He was formally presented to Mahmoud Abbas on 20 February and was sworn in on 29 March 2006.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Israel implemented a series of punitive measures, including economic sanctions, against the Palestinian Authority following the election. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, announced that Israel would not transfer to the Palestinian Authority an estimated $50 million per month in tax receipts that were collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Haniyeh dismissed the sanctions, stating that Hamas would neither disarm nor would it recognize Israel.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Haniyeh expressed regret that Hamas was subjected to punitive measures, adding that "it [Israel] should have responded differently to the democracy expressed by the Palestinian people".


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: The United States demanded that $50 million in unexpended foreign aid funds for the Palestinian Authority be returned to the United States, which Palestinian Economic Minister Mazen Sonokrot agreed to do. On the loss of foreign aid from the United States and the European Union, Haniyeh commented that: "The West is always using its donations to apply pressure on the Palestinian people."


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Several months after Hamas' 2006 election victory, Haniyeh sent a letter to US President Bush, in which he called on the "American government to have direct negotiations with the elected government", offered a long-term truce with Israel, while accepting a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and urged an end the international boycott, claiming that it would "encourage violence and chaos". The U.S. government did not respond and maintained its boycott.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: On 14 June 2007, Abbas dismissed Haniyeh and appointed Salam Fayyad in his place. This followed action by Hamas armed forces to take control of Palestinian Authority positions that were under the control of Fatah militias armed and supported by the United States and Israel. The appointment of Fayyad to replace Haniyeh has been challenged as illegal, because under the Palestinian Basic Law, the President of the Palestinian Authority may dismiss a sitting prime minister, but may not appoint a replacement without the approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council. According to the law, until a new prime minister is thus appointed, the outgoing prime minister heads a caretaker government. Fayyad's appointment was never placed before, or approved, by the Legislative Council. For this reason, Haniyeh has continued to operate in Gaza, and has been recognized by a large number of Palestinians as the legitimate acting prime minister. Anis al-Qasem, the Palestinian constitutional lawyer who drafted the Basic Law, is among those who publicly declared the appointment of Fayyad to be illegal.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: An agreement with Abbas was to have been reached to stop Abbas's call for new elections. On 20 October 2006, on the eve of this deal to end factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas, Haniyeh's convoy came under gunfire in Gaza and one of the cars was set on fire. Haniyeh was not hurt in the attack. Hamas sources said that this was not an assassination attempt. Palestinian Authority security sources reported that the attackers were the relatives of a Fatah man killed by clashes with Hamas.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: During the simmering Fatah–Hamas conflict, on 14 December 2006, Haniyeh was denied entry to Gaza from Egypt at the Rafah Border Crossing. The Border Crossing was closed by order of Israeli Minister of Defence, Amir Peretz. Haniyeh was returning to Gaza from his first official trip abroad as prime minister. He was carrying an estimated 30 million USD in cash, intended for Palestinian Authority payments. Israeli authorities later stated that they would allow Haniyeh to cross the border provided he leave the money in Egypt, which would reportedly be transferred to an Arab League bank account. A gun battle between Hamas militants and the Palestinian Presidential Guard was reported at the Rafah border crossing in response to the incident. The EU monitors who operated the crossing were reportedly evacuated safely. When Haniyeh later attempted to cross the border, an exchange of gunfire left one bodyguard dead and Haniyeh's eldest son wounded. Hamas denounced the incident as an attempt by rival Fatah on Haniyeh's life, prompting firefights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between Hamas and Fatah forces. Haniyeh was quoted as saying that he knew who the alleged perpetrators were, but declined to identify them and appealed for Palestinian unity. Egypt has since offered to mediate the situation.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: He resigned on 15 February 2007 as part of the process to allow a unity government between Hamas and Fatah. He formed a new government on 18 March 2007 as head of a new cabinet that included Fatah as well as Hamas politicians.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: On 14 June 2007, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the March 2007 unity government and the declaration of a state of emergency. Haniya was dismissed and Abbas ruled Gaza and the West Bank by presidential decree.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: On 13 October 2016, the Legal Committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) endorsed a request for the return of Haniyeh's government to the Gaza Strip, following its resignation on 2 June 2014. The endorsement was made in response to PLC's review of a study submitted by members of Hamas' parliament, angry about perceived government failings following Haniyeh's resignation. In Hamas' own words, denouncing the consensus government's "reneging on the internal accord between Hamas and factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization to form the 2014 consensus government, and replacing a number of ministers with Fatah leaders – turning it into a Fatah government." Despite the PLC recommendation and Hamas' plea, both the consensus government and Fatah refused the request, citing in a press release its illegality and risk of further divisions between Hamas-controlled Gaza and the West Bank.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: As of November 2016, reports circulated regarding Haniyeh's succession of Khaled Meshaal as head leader of Hamas. Meshaal, Haniyeh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Qatar recently to discuss national reconciliation and the upcoming national elections. This meeting signaled that Haniyeh had been selected over the other two likely candidates, senior Hamas member Moussa Mohammed Abu Marzook and prestigious Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Haniyeh left Gaza in September to visit a series of Arab and Muslim states in preparation for his new role, and officially relocated to the Qatari capital of Doha, where Meshaal has been residing. It is expected of the head of Hamas' politburo to live outside of the Gaza Strip.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: In August 2020, Haniyeh called Mahmoud Abbas and rejected the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, something which Reuters called a "rare show of unity".


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: In February 2020, Haniyeh met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. U.S. State Department stated: "President Erdogan’s continued outreach to this terrorist organization only serves to isolate Turkey from the international community, harms the interests of the Palestinian people, and undercuts global efforts to prevent terrorist attacks launched from Gaza."


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: During the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy in 2006, Haniyeh strongly objected to the Pope's remarks: "In the name of the Palestinian people, we condemn the Pope’s remarks on Islam. These remarks go against the truth and touch the heart of our faith." He also denounced the Palestinian attacks on churches in the West Bank and Gaza.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: In August 2006, on his first visit abroad as prime minister to Iran, Haniyeh said: "We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem". In December 2010, Haniyeh stated at a news conference in Gaza, "We accept a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the resolution of the issue of refugees." In addition, he said that if the Palestinian electorate approves such a peace agreement with Israel, his government will abide by it notwithstanding previous Hamas positions on the issue.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: In a speech broadcast on "Al-Aqsa TV" on 23 March 2014 (the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Sheik Ahmad Yassin), Haniyeh stated (as translated by MEMRI): "Out of deprivation, we shall establish the balance of terror. Out of the ruins, we shall rock Tel Aviv. [With] our bare hands, we shall dig into the rock and do the impossible." The crowd immediately responded (as translated by Al-Monitor), "Move forward Hamas, move! We are the cannon and you are the bullets. … Oh Qassam, our beloved, bombard Tel Aviv."


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: On 2 May 2011, Haniyeh condemned the killing by American forces of Osama bin Laden, founder and leader of Al-Qaeda, stating that the operation is "the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs". He stated, "We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior." Political analysts said the remarks were an attempt to cool differences in the Gaza Strip with al Qaeda-inspired Salafi groups, which condemn Hamas as too moderate. The United States government condemned his remarks as "outrageous".


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Haniyeh is married and has 13 children. In 2009, the family lived in Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. In 2010, Haniyeh purchased a parcel of land in Rimal, a Gaza City beachfront neighborhood. Haniyeh registered the land in the name of his son-in-law. Subsequently, Haniyeh reportedly purchased additional homes and registered them under the names of his children. According to a 2014 "Ynet" article, Haniyeh is a millionaire, stemming from the 20% tax charged on all items entering though tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh's eldest son was arrested by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah Border Crossing with a few million dollars, which he intended to take into Gaza.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: Haniyeh's sisters Kholidia, Laila and Sabah, are Israeli citizens and live in the Bedouin town of Tel as-Sabi in southern Israel. Kholodia moved to Tel as-Sabi first and then her two sisters followed. Kholidia's husband said "Our life is normal here and we want it to continue." Laila and Sabah are both widowed but remain in Tel as-Sabi assumingly to retain their Israeli citizenship. Some of the children of the three sisters have served in the Israel Defense Forces.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: In early 2012, Israeli authorities granted a request to travel by Haniyeh's sister, Suhila Abd el‑Salam Ahmed Haniyeh, and her critically ill husband for emergency heart treatment that could not be treated by hospitals in Gaza. After successful treatment at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, the couple returned to Gaza. Haniyeh's granddaughter was treated in an Israeli hospital in November 2013 and his mother-in-law was treated in an Israeli hospital in June 2014. In October 2014, a few months after the 2014 Israel–Gaza War, Haniyeh's daughter spent a week in an Israeli hospital in Tel Aviv for emergency treatment after she suffered complications from a routine procedure.


title: Ismail Haniyeh

text: In September 2016, Haniyeh left Gaza with his wife and two of his sons for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the Hajj. This trip, interpreted as a campaign commencement, bolstered reports that Haniyeh was to replace Meshaal. He went to Qassim Suleimani's funeral, in Tehran, Iran in 2020.


title: Sope (food)

text: A sope () is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a fried masa base with savory toppings. Also known as "picadita" (in Tierra Caliente, Guerrero), it originates in the central and southern parts of Mexico, where it was sometimes first known as "pellizcadas". It is an "antojito", which at first sight looks like an unusually thick tortilla with vegetables and meat toppings.


title: Sope (food)

text: The masa base is fried with pinched sides and topped with refried beans, crumbled cheese, lettuce, onions, red or green sauce and sour cream. Sometimes other ingredients (mostly meat) are also added to create different tastes and styles.


title: Sope (food)

text: The "sope" has spread throughout all Mexico's territory, and thousands of regional variants are made. Even though "sopes" are traditionally from Mexico, many Central American countries have adopted this dish into their cuisine, with slightly different ingredients, and very similar to Salvadoran enchiladas.


title: Sope (food)

text: While the pinched sides of the "sope" are its most distinctive characteristic, flat "sopes" are made to resemble a thick tortilla or a "tostada". However, though both "tostadas" and "sopes" are fried, the "tostada" is thin and fried until it becomes crunchy and fragile, while the "sope" is much thicker and fried only until the exterior surface is cooked. The "sope", therefore, has a soft, slightly pliable texture. The "sope"'s thickness is meant to support its toppings, and the frying of its exterior surface adds resistance to the moisture of the ingredients.


title: Sope (food)

text: The most common variation of the "sope" involves simply adding chicken and is widely known as a "sope de pollo". "Sopes" topped with beef are also a common variation and are typically slightly larger than "sopes de pollo".


title: Sope (food)

text: In the northern regions of Mexico, "sopes" are often prepared without vegetables, substituting black beans, spicy salsa, and "longaniza" or "chorizo" instead. In Acapulco and Guerrero, "sopes" are unusually small in size, so they are called "sopecitos" instead, and are fried in the same oil used to fry seafood, which gives them a unique taste. "Sopecitos" are made of beans and salsa only; no other ingredients are added.


title: Sope (food)

text: In Oaxaca, "sopes" sometimes are prepared using "chapulines" (roasted grasshoppers) as topping. Also, an extremely large dish similar to a giant "sopes" or a giant "tostada" is the traditional food of reference in Oaxaca known as "tlayuda".


title: Sope (food)

text: The "sopes" has been adopted and adapted to the local tastes of all Mexico's regions. This resulted in the creation of many traditional food specialties, which may appear to resemble the "sopes", but are considered a different dish.


title: Sope (food)

text: The most common variation is the "huarache", which is prepared in almost the same manner. However, the "huarache" normally is two or three times as large as a "sopes" and has a characteristic oblong shape. "Huaraches" are usually topped with rib, chicken, or beefsteak meat. The name "huarache" is derived from the shape of the "masa", similar to the popular sandals. Toppings for the "huarache" include beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, ground beef, and salsa.


title: Sope (food)

text: The "tlacoyo" is a completely different traditional Mexican dish which must not be confused with a "sopes", but in some regions has started to be used in a similar way, as a base on top of which are placed the same ingredients used for "sopes". A "tlacoyo" is an oval fried or toasted cake made of masa, torpedo-shaped and a lot fatter, since it is filled with beans or cheese.


title: Sope (food)

text: Since it is similar in shape to a" huarache" (but smaller), and is made of the same corn as the" sope" and is even thicker (so it has more resistance to humid foods), Mexican street vendors decided to sell it adding toppings on it, as an alternative to the "sopes". However, the traditional "tlacoyo" it is supposed to be consumed without any toppings on it, and this form is mostly found as street food.


title: Sope (food)

text: "Garnachas" are small corn tortillas fried with shredded meat, crumbled dried cheese, and salsa. In many instances, "garnachas" may only have chopped onion and salsa on top. Similar in appearance to "sopes", they are a main specialty from Guatemala.


title: Sope (food)

text: Oaxacan "memelas" are a local name for the identical "sopes" served in other parts of Mexico, just made with different toppings. "Memelas" are corn "masa" cakes topped with beans, salsa, shredded cabbage, "mole negro, guacamole", and cheese. "Memelas" have been served at Oaxacan/Mexican restaurants in the United States since the 1990s. In Puebla, they are often served by topping the fried masa with sauce - red sauce on one side and green sauce on the other side which is called "estilo bandera". Instead of meat, "memelas" in Puebla are served with sour cream, crumbled cheese, and diced onions on top of the red and green sauces.


title: Sope (food)

text: A "chalupa" is a "tostada" platter in Mexican cuisine, not a "sopes", but its preparation method is quite similar. It is a specialty of south-central Mexico, such as the states of Puebla, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. It is made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold and deep frying to produce a crisp, shallow corn cup. It is filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken, pork, chopped onion, chipotle pepper, red salsa, and green "salsa".


title: Sope (food)

text: The "chalupa" is usually longer than a "sopes", resembling the canoe-like boat that is its namesake, although small versions (named "chalupitas") are available in other regions. An Americanized form is sold in Taco Bell restaurants, filled with ground meat, steak, or chicken, (and even bacon has also been available in past limited offers) and topped with cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and "salsa" (also comes in Baja style, replacing the sour cream with a Baja sauce), resembles an American taco inside, but is wrapped with deep-fried wheat flatbread.


title: Sope (food)

text: Yucatecan food is very different from what is traditionally referred to as "Mexican" food, as the cuisine from this region includes the local Mayan culture combined with an unusual (for the rest of the country) European cuisine influence.


title: Sope (food)

text: "Salbutes" and "panuchos" are the Yucatecan variant of the "sopes". "Salbutes" are soft, cooked tortillas with lettuce, tomato, turkey, and avocado on top. "Panuchos" feature tortillas partially fried as a "sopes" base, but filled with black beans and topped with turkey or chicken, lettuce, avocado, and pickled onions. Habanero chiles accompany most dishes, either in solid or puréed form, along with fresh limes or lime juice.


title: Forestry in India

text: Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental resource. India is one of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world. Together, India and 9 other countries account for 67 percent of total forest area of the world. India's forest cover grew at 0.20% annually over 1990–2000, and has grown at the rate of 0.7% per year over 2000–2010, after decades where forest degradation was a matter of serious concern.


title: Forestry in India

text: As of 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates India's forest cover to be about 68 million hectares, or 22% of the country's area The 2013 Forest Survey of India states its forest cover increased to 69.8 million hectares by 2012, per satellite measurements; this represents an increase of 5,871 square kilometers of forest cover in 2 years. However, the gains were primarily in northern, central and southern Indian states, while northeastern states witnessed a net loss in forest cover over 2010 to 2012. In 2018, the total forest and tree cover in India increased to 24.39% or 8,02,088 km. It increased further to 24.56 percent or 807,276 square kilometres in 2019.


title: Forestry in India

text: Unless India makes major, rapid and sustained effort to expand electricity generation and power plants, the rural and urban poor in India will continue to have to meet their energy needs through unsustainable destruction of forests and fuel wood consumption. India's dependence on fuel-wood and forestry products as a primary energy source is not only environmentally unsustainable, it is a primary cause of India's near-permanent haze and air pollution.


title: Forestry in India

text: Forestry in India is more than just about wood and fuel. India has a thriving non-wood forest products industry, which produces latex, gums, resins, essential oils, flavours, fragrances and aroma chemicals, incense sticks, handicrafts, thatching materials and medicinal plants. About 60% of non-wood forest products production is consumed locally. About 50% of the total revenue from the forestry industry in India is in non-wood forest products category.


title: Forestry in India

text: The forest ("vana/araṇya") played a major role in early Indian literature, usually presented in opposition to settled society. It was represented as the setting for royal hunts, and as the home of hermits, whose hermitages are depicted as idyllic societies in harmony with the natural environment.


title: Forestry in India

text: Yajnavalkya Smriti written before the 5th century AD prohibited the cutting of trees and if a tree is cut punishments were prescribed for such acts. The Kautalya's Arthashastra written in the Mauryan Period, says about the need of forest administration. It also says how a forest is important for a successful kingdom.


title: Forestry in India

text: In 1840, the British colonial administration promulgated an ordinance called Crown Land (Encroachment) Ordinance. This ordinance targeted forests in Britain's Asian colonies, and vested all forests, wastes, unoccupied and uncultivated lands to the crown. The Imperial Forest Department was established in India in 1864. The British state monopoly over Indian forests was first asserted through the Indian Forest Act of 1865. This law simply established the government's claims over forests. The British colonial administration then enacted a further far-reaching Forest Act of 1878, thereby acquiring the sovereignty of all wastelands which in its definition included all forests. This Act also enabled the administration to demarcate reserved and protected forests. In the former, all local rights were abolished while in the latter some existing rights were accepted as a privilege offered by the British government to the local people which can be taken away if necessary. These colonial laws brought the forests under the centralised sovereignty of the state. Sir Dietrich Brandis, the Inspector General of Forests in India from 1864 to 1883, is regarded as the father not only of scientific forestry in India, but as the "father of tropical forestry."


title: Forestry in India

text: An FAO report claims it was believed in colonial times that the forest is a national resource which should be utilised for the interests of the government. Like coal and gold mines, it was believed that forests belonged to the state for exploitation. Forest areas became a source of revenue. For example, teak was extensively exploited by the British colonial government for ship construction, sal and pine in India for railway sleepers and so on. Forest contracts, such as that of "biri pata" (leaves of Diospyros melanoxylon), earned so much revenue that it was often used by the people involved in this business as a leverage for political power. These contracts also created forest "zamindars" (government recognised forest landowners).The government gave out these contracts without any restrictions in regard to conservation and these contractors began cutting trees indiscriminately as a result forest around train tracks disappeared. The British agenda regarding forest in India displaced the locals and natives of India who had ideas in cognizance with coexisting with the forest with industrial exploitation of forest and used it to create revenue for the British Crown. The Forest Act of 1865 amended twice in 1878 and 1927 aimed at declaring the forests of India the property of the government ergo a resource of the British Crown. These actions of the British government took away the livelihood of the local people. The British government cleared vast lands of forests for cultivation of plantations similar to those in Africa and America, wherein abundant exploitation of people was prominent. This indiscriminate exploitation of Indian Forest in was done under the banner of "scientific forestry". Additionally, as in Africa, some forests in India were earmarked by the government officials and the rulers with the sole purpose of using them for hunting and sport for the royalty and the colonial officials.


title: Forestry in India

text: In 1952, the government nationalised the forests which were earlier with the "zamindars". India also nationalised most of the forest wood industry and non-wood forest products industry. Over the years, many rules and regulations were introduced by India. In 1980, the Conservation Act was passed, which stipulated that the central permission is required to practice sustainable agro-forestry in a forest area. Violations or lack of permits was made a criminal offense. These nationalisation wave and laws intended to limit deforestation, conserve biodiversity, and save wildlife. However, the intent of these regulations was not matched by reality that followed. Neither investment aimed at sustainable forestry nor knowledge transfer followed once India had nationalised and heavily regulated forestry. Deforestation increased, biodiversity diminished and wildlife dwindled. India's rural population and impoverished families continued to ignore the laws passed in Delhi, and use the forests near them for sustenance.


title: Forestry in India

text: India launched its National Forest Policy in 1988. This led to a programme named Joint Forest Management, which proposed that specific villages in association with the forest department will manage specific forest blocks. In particular, the protection of the forests would be the responsibility of the people. By 1992, seventeen states of India participated in Joint Forest Management, bringing about 2 million hectares of forests under protection. The effect of this initiative has been claimed to be positive.


title: Forestry in India

text: Since 1991, India has reversed the deforestation trend. Specialists of the United Nations report India's forest as well as woodland cover has increased. A 2010 study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation ranks India amongst the 10 countries with the largest forest area coverage in the world (the other nine being Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, United States of America, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Indonesia and Sudan). India is also one of the top 10 countries with the largest primary forest coverage in the world, according to this study.


title: Forestry in India

text: From 1990 to 2000, FAO finds India was the fifth largest gainer in forest coverage in the world; while from 2000 to 2010, FAO considers India as the third largest gainer in forest coverage.


title: Forestry in India

text: Some 500,000 square kilometres, about 17% of India's land area, were regarded as Forest Area in the early 1990s. In FY 1987, however, actual forest cover was 640,000 square kilometres. Some claim, that because more than 50% of this land was barren or bushland, the area under productive forest was actually less than 350,000 square kilometres, or approximately 10% of the country's land area.


title: Forestry in India

text: India's 0.6% average annual rate of deforestation for agricultural and non-lumbering land uses in the decade beginning in 1981 was one of the lowest in the world and on a par with Brazil.


title: Forestry in India

text: India is a large and diverse country. Its land area includes regions with some of the world's highest rainfall to very dry deserts, coast line to alpine regions, river deltas to tropical islands. The variety and distribution of forest vegetation is large: there are 600 species of hardwoods, including sal ("Shorea robusta"). India is one of the 17 mega biodiverse regions of the world.


title: Forestry in India

text: Indian forests types include tropical evergreens, tropical deciduous, swamps, mangroves, sub-tropical, montane, scrub, sub-alpine and alpine forests. These forests support a variety of ecosystems with diverse flora and fauna.


title: Forestry in India

text: Prior to the 1980s, India deployed a bureaucratic method to estimate forest coverage. A land was notified as covered under Indian Forest Act, and then officials deemed this land area as "recorded forest" even if it was devoid of vegetation. By this forest-in-name-only method, the total amount of recorded forest, per official Indian records, was 71.8 million hectares. Any comparison of forest coverage number of a year before 1987 for India, to current forest coverage in India, is thus meaningless; it is just bureaucratic record keeping, with no relation to reality or meaningful comparison.


title: Forestry in India

text: In the 1980s, space satellites were deployed for remote sensing of real forest cover. Standards were introduced to classify India's forests into the following categories:


title: Forestry in India

text: The first satellite recorded forest coverage data for India became available in 1987. India and the United States cooperated in 2001, using Landsat MSS with a spatial resolution of 80 meters, to get accurate forest distribution data. India thereafter switched to digital images and advanced satellites with 23 meters resolution and software processing of images to get more refined data on forest quantity and forest quality. India now assesses its forest distribution data biennially.


title: Forestry in India

text: According to the 2019 Forest Survey, the State of Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country. In terms of percentage of forest cover Mizoram (85.41 percent) is the most forest rich state. In Lakshadweep, around 90.33% of forest can be found. The States/Union Territories that showed larger increase in forest cover is Karnataka followed by Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Jammu & Kashmir while the States/Union Territories that showed loss of forest cover are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.


title: Forestry in India

text: The 2015 forest census data thus obtained and published by the Government of India suggests the five states with largest area under forest cover as the following:


title: Forestry in India

text: The 2019 forest census data thus obtained and published by the Government of India suggests the five states with largest area under forest cover as the following:


title: Forestry in India

text: In the 1970s, India declared its long-term strategy for forestry development to compose of three major objectives: to reduce soil erosion and flooding; to supply the growing needs of the domestic wood products industries; and to supply the needs of the rural population for fuelwood, fodder, small timber, and miscellaneous forest produce. To achieve these objectives, the National Commission on Agriculture in 1976 recommended the reorganisation of state forestry departments and advocated the concept of social forestry. The commission itself worked on the first two objectives, emphasising traditional forestry and wildlife activities; in pursuit of the third objective, the commission recommended the establishment of a new kind of unit to develop community forests. Following the leads of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, a number of other states also established community-based forestry agencies that emphasized programmes on farm forestry, timber management, extension forestry, reforestation of degraded forests, and use of forests for recreational purposes.


title: Forestry in India

text: In the 1980s, such socially responsible forestry was encouraged by state community forestry agencies. They emphasized such projects as planting wood lots on denuded communal cattle-grazing grounds to make villages self-sufficient in fuelwood, to supply timber needed for the construction of village houses, and to provide the wood needed for the repair of farm implements. Both individual farmers and tribal communities were also encouraged to grow trees for profit. For example, in Gujarat, one of the more aggressive states in developing programmes of socioeconomic importance, the forestry department distributed 200 million tree seedlings in 1983. The fast-growing eucalyptus is the main species being planted nationwide, followed by pine and poplar.


title: Forestry in India

text: In 2002, India set up a National Forest Commission to review and assess India's policy and law, its effect on India's forests, its impact of local forest communities, and to make recommendations to achieve sustainable forest and ecological security in India. The report made over 300 recommendations including the following:


title: Forestry in India

text: India's national forest policy expects to invest INR 2,000,644,350,000 (US$26.7 billion) by 2020, to pursue nationwide afforestation coupled with forest conservation, with the goal of increasing India's forest cover from 20% to 33%.


title: Forestry in India

text: Due to faster tribal population growth in forest / tribal areas, naturally available forest resources (NTFP) in a sustainable manner are becoming inadequate for their basic livelihood. Many tribal are giving up their traditional livelihood and taking up farming and cattle rearing in the forest areas causing irreparable damage to forests. The erstwhile protectors of forests are slowly turning into the bane of forests and its wildlife. The government should devise schemes to avert this process and save the dwindling forest area and its flora and fauna. Tribal people have extraordinary understanding of forest flora and fauna which can be productively utilized. All the tribal peoples shall be employed by the government in the expansion and protection of forests and its wildlife till their descendants get educated and diversify into industrial and service sectors.


title: Forestry in India

text: Significant forest products of India include paper, plywood, sandalwood, timber, poles, pulp and matchwood, fuelwood, sal seeds, tendu leaves, gums and resins, cane and rattan, bamboo, grass and fodder, drugs, spices and condiments, herbs, cosmetics, tannins.


title: Forestry in India

text: India is a significant importer of forest products. Logs account for 67% of all wood and wood products imported into India due to local preference for unprocessed wood. This preference is explained


title: Forestry in India

text: by the availability of inexpensive labour and the large number of productive sawmills. In trade year 2008–2009, India imported logs worth $1.14 billion, an increase of about 70% in just 4 years.


title: Forestry in India

text: Indian market for unprocessed wood is mostly fulfilled with imports from Malaysia, Myanmar, Côte d'Ivoire, China and New Zealand.


title: Forestry in India

text: India is growing market for partially finished and ready-to-assemble furniture. China and Malaysia account for 60% of this imported furniture market in India followed by Italy, Germany, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United States, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.


title: Forestry in India

text: The Indian market is accustomed to teak and other hardwoods that are perceived to be more resistant to termites, decay and are able to withstand the tropical climate. Teak wood is typically seen as a benchmark with respect to grade and prices of other wood species. Major imported wood species are tropical woods such as mahogany, garjan, marianti, and sapeli. Plantation timber includes teak, eucalyptus, and poplar, as well as spruce, pine, and fir. India imports small quantities of temperate hardwoods such as ash, maple, cherry, oak, walnut, beech, etc. as squared logs or as lumber. India is the world's third largest hardwood log importer.


title: Forestry in India

text: In 2009, India imported 332 million cubic metres of roundwood mostly for fuel wood application, 17.3 million cubic metres of sawnwood and wood-based panels, 7.6 million metric tonnes of paper and paperboard and about 4.5 million metric tonnes of wood and fiber pulp.


title: Forestry in India

text: Indian forests are more than trees and an economic resource. They are home to some of earth's unique flora and fauna.


title: Forestry in India

text: Indian forests represent one of the 12 mega biodiverse regions of the world. India's Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas are amongst the 32 biodiversity hotspots on earth.


title: Forestry in India

text: India is home to 12% of world's recorded flora, some 47000 species of flowering and non-flowering plants. Over 59000 species of insects, 2500 species of fishes, 17000 species of angiosperms live in Indian forests. About 90000 animal species, representing over 7% of earth's recorded faunal species have been found in Indian forests. Over 4000 mammal species are found here. India has one of the richest variety of bird species on earth, hosting about 12.5% of known species of birds. Many of these flora and fauna species are endemic to India.


title: Forestry in India

text: India was, until 1991, one of the largest exporters of wild birds to international bird markets. Most of the birds traded were parakeets and munias. Most of these birds were exported to countries in Europe and the Middle east.


title: Forestry in India

text: In 1991, India passed a law that banned all trade and trapping of indigenous birds in the country. The passage of the law stopped the legal exports, but illegal trafficking has continued. In 2001, for example, an attempt to smuggle some 10,000 wild birds was discovered, and these birds were confiscated at the Mumbai international airport.


title: Forestry in India

text: According to a WWF-India published report, trapping and trading of some 300 species of birds continues in India, representing 25% of known species in the country. Tens of thousands of birds are trapped from the forests of India, and traded every month to serve the demand for bird pets. Another market driver for bird trapping and trade is the segment of Indians who on certain religious occasions, buy birds in captivity and free them as an act of kindness to all living beings of the world. Trappers and traders know of the need for piety in these people, and ensure a reliable supply of wild birds so that they can satisfy their urge to do good.


title: Forestry in India

text: The trappers, a detailed survey and investigation reveals are primarily tribal communities. The trappers lead a life of poverty and migrate over time. Their primary motivation was economics and the need to financially support their families.


title: Forestry in India

text: Trapping and transport of trapped birds from India's forests has high injury and losses, as in other parts of the world. For every bird that reaches the market for a sale, many more die.


title: Forestry in India

text: Abrar Ahmed, the WWF-India and TRAFFIC-India ornithologist, suggests the following as potentially effective means of stopping the harm caused by illegal trading of wild birds in India:


title: Forestry in India

text: The role of forests in the national economy and in ecology was further emphasized in the 1988 National Forest Policy, which focused on ensuring environmental stability, restoring the ecological balance, and preserving the remaining forests. Other objectives of the policy were meeting the need for fuelwood, fodder, and small timber for rural and tribal people while recognizing the need to actively involve local people in the management of forest resources. Also in 1988, the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 was amended to facilitate stricter conservation measures. A new target was to increase the forest cover to 33% of India's land area from the then-official estimate of 23%. In June 1990, the central government adopted resolutions that combined forest science with social forestry, that is, taking the sociocultural traditions of the local people into. As a part of which nearly 179,000 square kilometres area was afforested during the 1951-91 period. However, despite large-scale tree planting programmes, forestry in India has actually regressed since independence. Annual fellings at about four times the growth rate are a major cause. Widespread pilfering by villagers for firewood and fodder also represents a major decrement. In addition, the 1988 National Forest Policy noted, the forested area has been shrinking as a result of land cleared for farming and development programmes.


title: Forestry in India

text: Between 1990 and 2010, India has reversed the deforestation trend. In 2010, FAO reported that India is the third fastest in the world in increasing forest cover. According to a NASA study in 2019, India along with China was leading in increasing the Earth's greenery over the past two decades.


title: Forestry in India

text: In 2019, 220 million trees were planted in a single day in Uttar Pradesh as a part of afforestation drive of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In 2019, Prime minister Narendra Modi released Rs 47,436 Crore for Afforestation to State government.


title: Forestry in India

text: The 2009 Indian national forest policy document emphasizes the need to combine India's effort at forest conservation with sustainable forest management. India defines forest management as one where the economic needs of local communities are not ignored, rather forests are sustained while meeting nation's economic needs and local issues through scientific forestry.


title: Forestry in India

text: 4.95% of the area of India (156,700 km) called Protected areas of India is reserved for the in situ conservation of species and their natural habitat.


title: Forestry in India

text: The Chipko movement in India started in the 1970s around a dispute on how and who should have a right to harvest forest resources. Although the Chipko movement is now practically non-existent in Uttarakhand, the Indian state of its origin, it remains one of the most frequently deployed examples of an environmental and people's movement in a developing country. The motivation of the movement is a subject of some debate; some neopopulists view Chipko primarily as an environmental movement and an attempt to save forests, while others suggest that the movement had nothing to do with eco-conservation, but was driven primarily by local communities' demand for equal rights to harvest forests.


title: Forestry in India

text: According to one set of writers: Since the early 1970s, as they realised that deforestation threatened not only the ecology but their livelihood in a variety of ways, people have become more interested and involved in conservation. The best known popular activist movement is the Chipko Movement, in which local women under the leadership of Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Sunderlal Bahuguna, decided to fight the government and the vested interests to save trees. The residents declared that they would embrace—literally "to stick to" (chipkna in Hindi)--trees to prevent cutting of ash trees in their district.


title: Forestry in India

text: According to those who critique the ecological awareness and similar theories, Chipko had nothing to do with protecting forests, rather it was an "economic" struggle using the traditional Indian way of non-violence. These scientists point out that very little is left of the Chipko movements today in its region of origin save for its memory, even though the quality of forests and its use remains a critical issue for India. To explain the cause of Chipko movement, they find that government officials had ignored the subsistence issues of the local communities, who depended on forests for fuel, fodder, fertiliser and sustenance resources. These researchers claim that local interviews and fact finding confirms that local communities had filed complaints requesting the right to commercially exploit the forests around them. Their requests were denied, while permits to fell trees and exploit those same forests were granted to government-favoured non-resident contractors including a sporting company named Symonds. A protest that became Chipko movement followed. The movement grew and Indian government responded by imposing a 15-year ban on felling all trees above 1000 metres in the region directly as a result of the Chipko agitations. This legislation was deeply resented by many communities supporting Chipko because, the regulation further excluded the local people from the forest around them. Opposition to the legislation resulted in so-called 'Ped Katao Andolan' in the same region, a movement to cut the trees down in order to defy the new legislation. The people behind Chipko movement felt that the government did not understand or care about their economic situation.


title: Forestry in India

text: Chipko movement, at the very least, suggests that forests in India are an important and integral resource for communities that live within these forests, or survive near the fringes of these forests.


title: Forestry in India

text: A major threat to forests of India are in its northeastern states. From ancient times, the locals have practiced slash-and-burn shifting cultivation to grow food. Locally called "Jhum", it supports about 450,000 families in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya. Approximately 15,000 square kilometers of forest land is under "jhum" cultivation, and just a sixth of this land is actually producing any crop at any given year. The tribal people consider it a tradition, and economic ecosystem. However, the slash and burn causes damage to a dense forest, to soil, to flora and fauna, as well as pollution. The crop yields are very poor with "jhum" cultivation. Between 2010 and 2012, satellite studies confirmed a net loss of forest cover over these northeastern states. The lost forest includes primary dense forests. There is a concerted effort by the state government officials to educate, incentivize and train "jhum" dependent families to horticulture and other high value crops, along with an offer of food supply security. Bamboo-based textiles and value added forest products industries are also being encouraged by the local officials. States such as Arunachal Pradesh reported reduction in Jhum cultivation practice in 2013.


title: Forestry in India

text: A 1999 publication claimed that protected forest areas in several parts of India, such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand, were vulnerable to illegal logging by timber mafias that have coopted or intimidated forestry officials, local politicians, businesses and citizenry.


title: Forestry in India

text: Despite these local criminal and corruption issues, satellite data analysis and a 2010 FAO report finds India has added over 4 million hectares of forest cover, a 7% increase, between 1990 and 2010.


title: Forestry in India

text: In 1969, forestry in India underwent a major change with the passage of the Forest Rights Act, a new legislation that sought to address the needs of forest dwelling communities that resulted from the failure to record their rights over forest land and resources. It also sought to bring in new forms of community conservation.


title: Mattress

text: A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a lying person. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, containing materials such as hair, straw, cotton, foam rubber, or a framework of metal springs. Mattresses may also be filled with air or water.


title: Mattress

text: Mattresses are usually placed on top of a bed base which may be solid, as in the case of a platform bed, or elastic, such as an upholstered wood and wire box spring or a slatted foundation. Popular in Europe, a divan incorporates both mattress and foundation in a single upholstered, footed unit. Divans have at least one innerspring layer as well as cushioning materials. They may be supplied with a secondary mattress or a removable "topper". Mattresses may also be filled with air or water, or a variety of natural fibers, such as in futons. Kapok is a common mattress material in Southeast Asia, and coir in South Asia.


title: Mattress

text: The word "mattress" derives from the Arabic مَطْرَحٌ ("maṭraḥ") which means "something thrown down" or "place where something is thrown down" and hence "mat, cushion". During the Crusades, Europeans adopted the Arabic method of sleeping on cushions on the floor, and the word "materas" eventually descended into Middle English through the Romance languages. The oldest known mattress dates to around 77,000 years ago.


title: Mattress

text: Early mattresses contained a variety of natural materials including straw, feathers or horse hair. In the first half of the 20th century, a typical mattress sold in North America had an innerspring core and cotton batting or fiberfill. Modern mattresses usually contain either an inner spring core or materials such as latex, viscoelastic or other flexible polyurethane foams. Other fill components include insulator pads over the coils that prevent the bed's upholstery layers from cupping down into the innerspring, as well as polyester fiberfill in the bed's top upholstery layers. In 1899 James Marshall introduced the first individually wrapped pocketed spring coil mattress now commonly known as Marshall coils.


title: Mattress

text: In North America, the typical mattress sold today is an innerspring; however, there is increasing interest in all-foam beds and hybrid beds, which include both an innerspring and high-end foams such as viscoelastic or latex in the comfort layers. In Europe, polyurethane foam cores and latex cores have long been popular. These make up a much larger proportion of the mattresses sold in the continent.


title: Mattress

text: A conventional mattress consists of two primary sections – a "core" or "support layer" and the "upholstery" or "comfort layer" – wrapped in a thick fabric called the "ticking".


title: Mattress

text: Upholstery layers cover the mattress and provide cushioning and comfort. The upholstery layer consists of three parts: the insulator, the middle upholstery, and the quilt.


title: Mattress

text: Mattresses are typically made to conform to bed sizing standards that vary by market. The size of mattress varies between national standards in width and height and depth. Many countries use non-numeric labels such as "King", "Queen", "Double", "Full" or "Single" to represent these dimensions.


title: Mattress

text: A "mattress topper" is a thin mattress, usually thick. Stand-alone mattresses of this size exist (see futon and Bed base#Floor beds; traditional European beds were made of a stack of mattresses of this size). But "mattress topper"s are usually sold for use on top of boxsprings (secured with straps or elasticated cloth corners). They are used to extend the life of the more-expensive boxspring, make a bed warmer or cooler (with airflow, or heat-conductive materials), make a firm bed softer, and for travel and dorms, as they are portable, especially if they are low-density.


title: Mattress

text: Like a mattress protector/mattress pad/mattress cover (a thin, generally unpadded layer not designed to improve comfort), mattress toppers can be used to protect the mattress from the sleeper or vice versa. Some mattress toppers are machine-washable; covers and fillings are made from a range of materials.


title: Mattress

text: A tick mattress is a bag made of ticking (a type of cloth), filled with some suitable material. A paillasse or a featherbed is a tick mattress, as are most futons. They are simply constructed and were traditionally homemade. Because they are fairly thin and light, they are layered to form a bed.


title: Mattress

text: Innerspring mattresses commonly consist of just the spring core, and the top and bottom upholstery layers.


title: Mattress

text: The core of the mattress supports the sleeper's body. Modern spring mattress cores, often called "innersprings" are made up of steel coil springs, or "coils".


title: Mattress

text: The gauge of the coils is one factor which determines firmness and support. Coils are measured in quarter increments. The lower the number, the thicker the spring. In general, higher-quality mattress coils have a 14-gauge (1.63 mm) diameter. Coils of 14 to 15.5-gauge (1.63 to 1.37 mm) give more easily under pressure, while a 12.5-gauge (1.94 mm) coil, the thickest typically available, feels quite firm.


title: Mattress

text: Connections between the coils help the mattress retain its shape. Most coils are connected by interconnecting wires; encased coils are not connected, but the fabric encasement helps preserve the mattress shape.


title: Mattress

text: Upholstery layers cover the mattress and provide cushioning and comfort. Some manufacturers call the mattress core the "support layer" and the upholstery layer the "comfort layer". The upholstery layer consists of three parts: the insulator, the middle upholstery, and the quilt.


title: Mattress

text: The insulator separates the mattress core from the middle upholstery. It is usually made of fiber or mesh and is intended to keep the middle upholstery in place.


title: Mattress

text: The middle upholstery comprises all the material between the insulator and the quilt. It is usually made from materials which are intended to provide comfort to the sleeper, including flexible polyurethane foam (which includes convoluted "egg-crate" foam), viscoelastic foam, latex foam, felt, polyester fiber, cotton fiber, wool fiber and non-woven fiber pads. In Europe and North America, mattress makers have begun incorporating gel-infused foams, soft-solid gels layered over foam, and poured gels in the top comfort layer of the bed.


title: Mattress

text: The quilt is the top layer of the mattress. Made of light foam or fibers stitched to the underside of the ticking, it provides a soft surface texture to the mattress and can be found in varying degrees of firmness.


title: Mattress

text: Typically the measurements of a foundation will be about 1–2″ shorter than the measurement of a mattress.


title: Mattress

text: Ticking is the protective fabric cover used to encase mattresses and foundations. It is usually designed to coordinate with the foundation border fabric and comes in a wide variety of colors and styles. Mattress fabrics can be knits, damask or printed wovens, or inexpensive non-wovens. During the past decade, along with the rise in popularity of all-foam beds, stretchy knit ticking on the bed's top panel has become a standard look on both innerspring and foam beds. Most ticking is made with polyester yarns. More expensive mattress fabrics may contain a combination of polyester with rayon, cotton, silk, wool or other natural yarns.


title: Mattress

text: Up until the early 2000s, beds were normally upholstered with a single fabric. This was usually a damask ticking or, for inexpensive bedsets, a non-woven fabric covering all surfaces of the mattress and foundation. Today's bedsets are covered with up to six different fabrics: A better quality circular knit or woven damask on the top panel—the bed's sleeping surface; a matching or contrasting (usually woven) fabric on the border of the mattress; a matching or contrasting (usually woven) fabric on the foundation side panels; a 'non-skid' woven or non-woven fabric on the surface of the foundation and reverse side of the mattress; and a non-woven dust cover on the under side of the foundation. Some North American mattress producers are beginning to use furniture upholstery fabrics on the bed's borders giving beds a more European, home furnishings look.


title: Mattress

text: All-foam mattresses use different weights and densities of petrochemical-based flexible polyurethane foams and viscoelastic foams or memory foam, and latex rubber foams. A number of mattress manufacturers have incorporated polyurethane and visco-elastic foams with a portion of plant-based content. All-foam mattresses are often paired with platform bases.


title: Mattress

text: Mattresses can also be made from bladders of some fluid, notably water or air. These date to antiquity – goatskin bladders filled with water were used in Persia at least as early as 3600 BCE – and gained increased popularity in the 20th century with improved manufacturing.


title: Mattress

text: Many parameters determine the quality of a mattress. Laboratory test methods have been established for some of these parameters, such as pressure distribution, skin microclimate, hygiene, edge support, and long-term stability. Some of these have been developed by Duncan Bain, working on behalf of the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.


title: Mattress

text: Other parameters, such as firmness, are more specific to the sleeper. In general, firm mattresses are recommended for stomach and some back sleepers, soft mattresses are recommended for side sleepers, and medium mattresses are recommended for the majority of back sleepers. Double mattresses are available with a softer and a firmer part, or with adjustable firmness levels, to accommodate sleepers with different preferences who share a bed.


title: Mattress

text: In 2003, a randomized-controlled trial found that medium-firm mattresses assessed using the Hs scale from the European Committee for Standardization were associated with less pain; this study has been cited by clinical practice guidelines on lower back pain. In 2015, a systematic review of studies concluded that medium-firm, custom-inflated mattresses were best for pain and neutral spinal alignment.


title: Mattress

text: The term mattress lifespan refers to the duration in which all types of mattress can retain their original support and comfort. Mattresses deteriorate over time, and the lifespan of a mattress depends on a variety of factors, notably materials, manufacturing quality, care, and the rigorousness of use. A poor quality foam comfort layer can deteriorate noticeably in 1 year, while a quality latex core can last 20 years or more; innerspring cores typically last around 10 years. The comfort layer is almost invariably the first area to fail, which is why mattresses are often double-sided, to extend the lifespan. A separate topper may be used instead of or in addition to a comfort layer, which reduces wear and is replaceable without replacing the entire mattress. The majority of high-end mattresses have a lifespan of between 7–10 years but it can last beyond 10 years and more depending on the level of care.


title: Mattress

text: In the United States, mattress warranties are typically for 10 years or 20 years, sometimes 25 years, though this specifically addresses manufacturing defects and faster-than-normal deterioration, not expected deterioration with time. In the United States, there is a general expectation that mattresses should last about 10 years, and this is the average number of years Americans keep mattresses, though this varies by age group. This expectation is based on a number of factors, including sales pitches; the expectation that mattresses will last the length of their warranty, hence 10 years or 20 years, accordingly; and comparison with other household items.


title: Mattress

text: The mattress replacement cycle is a key driver of income and profits for the mattress industry – a five-year replacement cycle yields double the sales of a 10-year replacement cycle, for instance – so the mattress industry has a financial incentive to shorten the replacement cycle. Notably, the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) established the Better Sleep Council (BSC) in 1979 with the stated goal to "shorten the mattress replacement cycle", in addition to encouraging people to "invest in better bedding".


title: Mattress

text: An industry-funded 2006 study by researchers at Oklahoma State University (funded by the BSC) of 59 people with poor sleep who received free new replacement mattresses for their existing mattresses 5 years or older (average age 9.5 years) found improved sleep, particularly when the existing mattresses were cheap. A follow-up paper by some of the same authors with additional statistical analysis reinforced these conclusions. The BSC has subsequently cited this study in the ISPA-published news magazine for mattress manufacturers, BedTimes, to advocate a more frequent replacement cycle, specifically to "consider replacing a mattress every five to seven years"; the recommendation is based largely on this study.


title: Mattress

text: Wear problems occur with most mattresses and can include sagging, mildew, and staining. These are prevented by proper support, rotation and flipping, keeping it dry, and using a mattress pad or protector. Some symptoms of a broken or worn-out mattress include springs which can be felt poking through the upholstery layer, visible permanent sagging or deformity, lumpiness, and excessive squeaking.


title: Mattress

text: Mattresses require a solid foundation which does not itself sag – a sagging foundation, such as by weak slats on a wide bed, will in turn cause the mattress to sag. Consistently sleeping in the same place and body position causes excessive wear, and thus rotating or flipping mattresses is used to reduce this: double-sided mattresses can be alternately flipped width-wise (about the long axis) and length-wise (about the shorter axis), or alternately flipped and rotated; while single-sided mattresses are only rotated, which is simpler but less effective. Flipping/rotation schedules vary between materials and manufacturers, but typically recommended is monthly for the first six months and every two or three months thereafter. Foundations should also be rotated, if possible, though less frequently – rotating box springs twice a year is recommended. While sagging is undesirable, some level of indentation (about ) is natural if natural materials are used in a comfort layer.


title: Mattress

text: Excessive wear on mattresses can occur when folding and bending takes place, placing heavy objects in one spot, or excess force on the handles, will also cause more rapid deterioration. Care should particularly be taken during transport or storage.


title: Mattress

text: Mattresses require ventilation to remain dry and prevent mildew, and thus should not be placed directly on the floor or on a solid surface – slats or a box spring provide space for airflow, while solid wood or plywood (as in cheap bunkie boards) does not. Additional ventilation is recommended for natural materials, in which case leaving the mattress "naked" after stripping sheets (for example while laundering) is recommended. If a mattress is allowed to become damp, for example by wet cleaning, mildew may develop inside the upholstery; cleaning with a vacuum cleaner or mild surface cleanser and a slightly damp cloth avoids this.


title: Mattress

text: Mattresses absorb fluids and stains readily, notably from nightly sweating (which results in a yellow stain), seminal (or Cowper) stains which are darker, menstrual fluids which are dark red, and other bodily fluids in addition to accidental spills. These visibly stain the ticking and seep through into lower layers. In addition to being unhygienic, hard to launder, and unsightly, such stains typically void a warranty. Thus a mattress protector is suggested to protect the mattress; this can be removed and cleaned separately, and replaced if damaged.


title: Mattress

text: Companies often specialize in a particular type of mattress, such as innerspring, latex, and airbed, although as latex and airbeds have become more popular, they have become more common.


title: Mattress

text: Mattresses which are mostly the same are often sold under different brand names; two of the largest brands, Serta and Simmons, became owned by the same company after a private equity buyout. Simmons, founded in the late 1800s, was bought and sold multiple times and faced bankruptcy after a major decline in the bedding industry in the 2000s. The International Sleep Products Association was founded in 1915 and releases a report on U.S. mattress sales. Another association, Specialty Sleep Association, represents companies such as Innomax and Boyd Specialty focused on latex, waterbeds, and airbeds. However, Select Comfort, which produces airbeds (a specialty bed), is a member of the ISPA.


title: Mattress

text: Originally founded in 1881, the Sealy Corporation was purchased by Tempur-Pedic in 2012, which had introduced an all foam (TEMPUR-Material) brand into the United States in 1992.


title: Mattress

text: Adjustable beds have become a trend and are more compatible with certain types of mattresses such as latex or memory foam. These are particularly popular in Europe, and for one business accounted for 25% of beds in Sweden in 2010 and 70% of beds in the Netherlands.


title: Mattress

text: In the 2010s, affiliate marketing became a major part of the business model for direct-to-consumer online mattress companies such as Amerisleep. Later, companies like Casper and Purple, with venture capital and funding followed and helped grow the global mattress industry to $28.5 billion dollar in 2018. According to experts, there are over 175 bed-in-a-box mattress companies in the United States. Mattress suggestion methods are emerging in response to the crowded retail marketplace.


title: Mattress

text: Another large company, Spring Air, went bankrupt in 2009 and was purchased by one of its former executives.


title: Mattress

text: Comfortaire, founded in 1981, was the first to specialize in airbeds. It was later bought by Select Comfort.


title: Ian Hendry

text: Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of "The Avengers" and "The Lotus Eaters", and played roles in the films "The Hill" (1965), "Repulsion" (1965), "Get Carter" (1971), and "Theatre of Blood" (1973).


title: Ian Hendry

text: Hendry was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, on 13 January 1931. His mother, Enid (née Rushton), was born in Durham in 1906, and father, George Rushton, was an artist and Head of the Ipswich Art School (1906 – 1929). His father, James Hendry, was born in 1901 in Glasgow where he graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of Glasgow before moving to Ipswich in 1924 to take up a graduate position with R & W Paul Ltd.


title: Ian Hendry

text: Hendry's younger brother, Donald, was born on 15 August 1933. They were both educated at the Ipswich School and Culford School, Suffolk. At Culford School, Hendry took an interest in sport, particularly boxing, cricket, running and rugby. He was also involved in amateur dramatics at Culford, helping to produce and perform in several school plays.


title: Ian Hendry

text: On leaving school in 1947, aged 16, Hendry studied at the College of Estate Management in London. In 1948, he spent a year working for Bidwells at their Cambridge office. In 1949, he began his National Service as part of the programme of conscription in the United Kingdom introduced after World War. He spent two years with the 32nd Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, during which time he paced for Christopher Chataway in athletics and ran a motorcycle stunt team. On completing his national service he returned to work in estate management at Bidwells London office in Edgware. During this period, Hendry re-established his interest in acting, becoming involved in amateur theatre through a local amateur dramatics group in Edgware.


title: Ian Hendry

text: By 1953, Hendry decide to change his career and follow his ambition become an actor. In late 1952, he applied to and was accepted for the Central School of Speech and Drama, London. He trained there from 1953 to 1955. His contemporaries at the school included Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave, both two years below him; Wanda Ventham, his future co-star in the series "The Lotus Eaters", who was in the year below; and Jeremy Brett and Wendy Craig, who were in the year above him.


title: Ian Hendry

text: Hendry's professional acting career began in 1955, working in repertory at the Hornchurch Theatre in Station Lane. He was appeared in Goldoni's "Servant of Two Masters" at the Edinburgh Festival. In 1957, Hendry spent another season in repertory, performing in several plays at the Oxford Playhouse, Oxford. In December 1957, "Dinner with the Family" transferred to the West End, playing at the New Theatre, London.


title: Ian Hendry

text: As his career developed, he gained parts in films including "Up in the World" (1956), "The Secret Place" (1957) and "Room at the Top" (1959).


title: Ian Hendry

text: In 1960, Hendry had a part in "Sink the Bismarck!" (1960). He then played the lead role of Dr Geoffrey Brent in the 12 episode crime series "Police Surgeon". Hendry was next cast in the similar role of Dr David Keel in the action-adventure series "The Avengers". Initially, Hendry was the star of this series, which co-starred Patrick Macnee as John Steed. However, production of the first season was curtailed by a strike and Hendry used the opportunity to depart the series and begin a film career - "The Avengers" continued with Macnee as its lead.


title: Ian Hendry

text: Hendry had lead roles in several films; "Live Now, Pay Later" (1962), "Girl in the Headlines" (1963), "The Hill" (1965) opposite Sean Connery, and Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" (1965). He starred in Gerry Anderson's film, "Doppelgänger" (1969), also known as "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun". During the 1960s he appeared in TV series such as "Armchair Theatre", "Danger Man", "The Saint" and "The Gold Robbers". He played the lead role as disbarred Queen's Counsel Alex Lambert in the TV series "The Informer" (1966–67).


title: Ian Hendry

text: In the early 1970s, Hendry had lead roles in several TV series including "The Adventures of Don Quick" (1970) and "The Lotus Eaters" (1972–73). He guest starred, alongside Brian Blessed, in the first episode of "The Sweeney", titled "Ringer", made in 1974 and broadcast early in 1975. He appeared regularly as a guest star in TV series including "The Persuaders!", "Dial M For Murder", "Churchill's People", "Thriller", "Van Der Valk", "Supernatural", "Crown Court", "The Enigma Files", "Bergerac" and "The Chinese Detective". Hendry was reunited with Patrick Macnee as a guest star on "The New Avengers", although he did not reprise the role of David Keel. His previous role in the series was acknowledged, however, by Steed's parting words: "It may be seventeen years late, but welcome back Gunner." (season 1, ep. 7 "To catch a rat").


title: Ian Hendry

text: Towards the end of the decade Hendry appeared as a former SAS Trooper and convict Roy Gates in the "Return of the Saint" episode "Yesterday's Hero."


title: Ian Hendry

text: He appeared in a number of films, including the Hammer entry "Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter" (1974). Among the more widely seen films he appeared in during this time were "Get Carter" (1971), for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, "Theatre of Blood" (1973) opposite Vincent Price, "The Passenger" (1975) and "" (1978).


title: Ian Hendry

text: Hendry starred opposite Nyree Dawn Porter in the TV series "For Maddie with Love" (1980). In 1980 Hendry appeared in the film McVicar based on the life of the bank robber John McVicar (played by Roger Daltrey of rock band The Who). Towards the end of his life he had a role in the crime series "Jemima Shore Investigates" as the eponymous heroine's literary agent. His final TV role was in the Channel Four soap opera "Brookside" (1984).


title: Ian Hendry

text: Hendry's first marriage was to Phyllis Joanna Bell, née Chaddock, in September 1955. Phyllis preferred to be known as 'Jo' - an abbreviation of her middle-name - and worked as a make-up artist for Leichner. The marriage ended in 1962. Hendry married actress Janet Munro on 16 February 1963. They had two daughters, Sally and Corrie, but their turbulent life together ended in divorce in 1971. Munro died a year later in London from the heart condition myocarditis. This was a contributory factor in Hendry's increasing dependence on alcohol. Hendry later married Sandra (Sandy) Jones on 27 May 1975, with whom he had a daughter, Emma.


title: Ian Hendry

text: Hendry was declared bankrupt in the late 1970s. He suffered from several health problems in his latter years, largely due to his long-term problems with alcohol which affected his professional and personal life.


title: Ian Hendry

text: His last part in a film was a substantial, though uncredited, role as a corrupt policeman in "McVicar" (1980). His last public appearance was as a guest on an October 1984 episode of "This Is Your Life" which profiled his former Avengers co-star Patrick Macnee, who had been a special guest when "This Is Your Life" featured Hendry in March 1978.


title: Ian Hendry

text: On 24 December 1984, Hendry died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage in London, aged 53. He was cremated, and his ashes interred in the Lily Pond beds at the Golders Green Crematorium.


title: Jordan Alexander

text: Jordan Alexander (born July 27, 1993) is a Canadian actress. She first gained recognition for starring in the Facebook Watch series "Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones", prior to landing her breakout role as the lead character Julien Calloway in the HBO Max series reboot of "Gossip Girl".


title: Jordan Alexander

text: Jordan Alexander was born on July 23, 1993; she was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and was raised in Toronto, Ontario. Alexander is of German, Irish and mixed African-American heritage. In 2018, she released her debut album, "The Lonely Hearts Club", and followed it by releasing the single "You", two years later.


title: Jordan Alexander

text: In 2020, Alexander played Elsie/Maya on the second season of the Facebook Watch series "Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones". She currently stars as private school student Julien Calloway in the teen drama television series "Gossip Girl", which premiered on HBO Max in July 2021.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: The hundredth monkey effect is a hypothetical phenomenon in which a new behavior or idea is spread rapidly by unexplained means from one group to all related groups once a critical number of members of one group exhibit the new behavior or acknowledge the new idea. The behavior was said to propagate even to groups that are physically separated and have no apparent means of communicating with each other.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: Since it was first popularized, the effect has been discredited in many cases of research. One of the primary factors in the spread of this concept is that many authors quote secondary, tertiary, or post-tertiary sources that have themselves misrepresented the original observations.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: The 'hundredth monkey' effect was popularized in the mid-to-late 1970s by Lyall Watson, who documented the findings of several Japanese primatologists from the 1950s.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: Between 1952 and 1953, primatologists conducted a behavioral study of a troop of "Macaca fuscata" (Japanese monkeys) on the island of Kōjima. The researchers would supply these troops with such foods as sweet potatoes and wheat in open areas, often on beaches. An unanticipated byproduct of the study was that the scientists witnessed several innovative evolutionary behavioral changes by the troop, two of which were orchestrated by one young female, and the others by her sibling or contemporaries. The account of only one of these behavioral changes spread into a phenomenon (i.e., the 'hundredth monkey effect'), which Watson would then loosely publish as a story.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: According to Watson, the scientists observed that some of the monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, initially through an 18-month-old female member (named "Imo" by the researchers) of the troop in 1953. Imo discovered that sand and grit could be removed from the potatoes by washing them in a stream or in the ocean. Gradually, this new potato-washing habit spread through the troop—in the usual fashion, through observation and repetition. (Unlike most food customs, this behavior was learned by the older generation of monkeys from younger ones.)


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: This behavior spread up until 1958, according to Watson, when a sort of group consciousness had suddenly developed among the monkeys, as a result of one last monkey learning potato washing by conventional means (rather than the one-monkey-at-a-time method prior). Watson concluded that the researchers observed that, once a critical number of monkeys was reached—i.e., the hundredth monkey—this previously learned behavior instantly spread across the water to monkeys on nearby islands.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: Watson first published the story in a foreword to Lawrence Blair's "Rhythms of Vision" (1975); the story then spread with the appearance of Watson's 1979 book "".


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: The original Koshima research was undertaken by a team of scientists as a secondary consequence of 1948 research on semi-wild monkeys in Japan. The Koshima troop was identified as segregated from other monkeys and, from 1950, used as a closed study group to observe wild Japanese macaque behavior. While studying the group, the team would drop sweet potatoes and wheat on the beach and observe the troop's behavior. In 1954, a paper was published indicating the first observances of one monkey, Imo, washing her sweet potatoes in the water.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: Her changed behavior led to several feeding behavior changes over the course of the next few years, all of which was of great benefit in understanding the process of teaching and learning in animal behavior. A brief account of the behavioral changes can be seen below:


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: The study does not indicate a catalyst ratio at which all the Koshima monkeys started washing sweet potatoes, or a correlation to other monkey studies where similar behavior started. To the contrary, it indicated that certain age groups in Koshima would not learn the behavior.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: This story was further popularized by Ken Keyes Jr. with the publication of his book "The Hundredth Monkey" (1984). Keyes's book was about the devastating effects of nuclear war on the planet. Keyes presented the 'hundredth monkey effect' story as an inspirational parable, applying it to human society and the effecting of positive change. Unfortunately, Keyes combined two items of truth: that the Koshima monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, and that the phenomenon was observed on neighboring islands. He did not provide substantiating evidence for his claims, diluting the importance of both studies and potentially discrediting the scientists involved. Combining this science with his political views may also have damaged the research credibility, leading to many reporters attempting to 'debunk' the Japanese team's research without doing sufficient research themselves.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: In many cases of research since it was first popularized, the effect has been discredited. One of the primary factors in the spread of this concept is that many authors quote secondary, tertiary, or post-tertiary sources that have themselves misrepresented the original observations.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: Separate papers make mention that, from 1960 onward, similar sweet potato-washing behaviors were noticed in other parts of the world, however this is not directly attributed to Koshima. Claims are made that a monkey swam from one island to another where he taught the resident monkeys how to wash sweet potatoes. No mention of the other behavioral improvements are made and no indication of how the monkey swam—the Koshima monkeys cannot swim. Therefore, although the question must be asked how the swimming monkey learned the sweet potato washing behavior if not from Koshima, no indication is made as to where the monkey learned the behavior.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: In 1985, Elaine Myers re-examined the original published research in an article for the journal "In Context". In her review, she found that the original research reports by the Japan Monkey Centre in the 2nd, 5th, and 6th volumes of "Primates" were insufficient to support Watson's story. In short, she is suspicious of the existence of a 'hundredth monkey' phenomenon; the published articles describe how the sweet potato-washing behavior gradually spread through the monkey troop and became part of the set of learned behaviors of young monkeys, but Myers does not agree that it serves as evidence for the existence of a critical number at which the idea suddenly spread to other islands.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: The story as told by Watson and Keyes is popular among New Age authors and personal-growth gurus, as well as becoming an urban legend and part of New Age mythology. Moreover, Rupert Sheldrake has cited that a phenomenon like the hundredth monkey effect would be evidence of morphic fields bringing about non-local effects in consciousness and learning. As a result, the story has also become a favorite target of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, and was used as the title essay in "The Hundredth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal", published by the Committee in 1990.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: In his book "Why People Believe Weird Things" (1997), Michael Shermer explains how the urban legend started, was popularized, and has since been discredited.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: An analysis of the appropriate literature by Ron Amundson, published by The Skeptics Society, revealed several key points that demystified the supposed effect. Claims that the practice spread suddenly to other isolated populations of monkeys may be called into question given the fact that the monkeys had the researchers in common. Amundson also notes that the sweet potato was not available to the monkeys prior to human intervention. Moreover, the number of monkeys in the colony was counted as 59 in 1962, indicating that even in numbers no "hundredth monkey" existed.


title: Hundredth monkey effect

text: Unsubstantiated claims that there was a sudden and remarkable increase in the proportion of washers in the first population were exaggerations of a much slower, more mundane effect. Rather than all monkeys mysteriously learning the skill, it was noted that it was predominantly a learned skill, which is widespread in the animal kingdom; older monkeys who did not know how to wash tended not to learn. As the older monkeys died and younger monkeys were born the proportion of washers naturally increased. The time span between observations by the Japanese scientists was on the order of years so the increase in the proportion was not observed to be sudden.


title: Alice Bailey

text: Alice Ann Bailey (June 16, 1880 – December 15, 1949) was a writer of more than twenty-four books on theosophical subjects, and was one of the first writers to use the term New Age. Bailey was born as Alice La Trobe-Bateman, in Manchester, England. She moved to the United States in 1907, where she spent most of her life as a writer and teacher.


title: Alice Bailey

text: Bailey's works, written between 1919 and 1949, describe a wide-ranging neo-Theosophical system of esoteric thought covering such topics as how spirituality relates to the Solar System, meditation, healing, spiritual psychology, the destiny of nations, and prescriptions for society in general. She described the majority of her work as having been telepathically dictated to her by a Master of Wisdom, initially referred to only as "the Tibetan" or by the initials "D.K.", later identified as Djwal Khul. Her writings bore some similarity to those of Madame Blavatsky and are among the teachings often referred to as the "Ageless Wisdom". Though Bailey's writings differ in some respects to the Theosophy of Madame Blavatsky, they have much in common with it. She wrote on religious themes, including Christianity, though her writings are fundamentally different from many aspects of Christianity or other orthodox religions. Her vision of a unified society included a global "spirit of religion" different from traditional religious forms and including the concept of the Age of Aquarius.


title: Alice Bailey

text: Bailey was born to a wealthy middle class British family and, as a member of the Anglican Church, received a thorough Christian education.


title: Alice Bailey

text: Her autobiography states that at the age of 15, on June 30, 1895, Bailey was visited by a stranger, "...a tall man, dressed in European clothes and wearing a turban" who told her she needed to develop self-control to prepare for certain work he planned for her to do. This turned out to be the creation and publication of 19 books together with educational and meditation work that reached into "practically all the countries of the world".


title: Alice Bailey

text: At the age of 22, Bailey did evangelical work in connection with the YMCA and the British Army. This took her to India where, in 1907, she met her future husband Walter Evans. Together they moved to America, where Evans became an Episcopalian priest. The marriage did not last and Bailey pushed for and received a divorce. She left with their three children after formal separation in 1915. Then followed a difficult period in which she worked in a sardine factory to support herself and the children.


title: Alice Bailey

text: Bailey discovered the Theosophical Society and the work of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The Theosophical Society states that Bailey became involved in 1917. Theosophist Joy Mills states that in 1918 she became a member of the Esoteric Section of the society. Theosophist Bruce F. Campbell notes, "She quickly rose to a position of influence in the American Section of the Adyar society, moving to its headquarters at Krotona in Hollywood. She became editor of its magazine, "The Messenger," and member of the committee responsible for Krotona." In 1919, Foster Bailey (1888–1977), who was to be her second husband, became National Secretary of the Theosophical Society. They married in 1921.


title: Alice Bailey

text: The Theosophist published the first few chapters of her first work, "Initiation, Human and Solar," (p. 762) but then stopped for reasons Bailey called "theosophical jealousy and reactionary attitude". Bailey "objected to the 'neo-Theosophy' of Annie Besant" and worked with Foster Bailey to gain more power in the American Section. According to Theosophist Josephine Maria Davies Ransom, she became part of a progressive "Back to Blavatsky movement, led mainly by Mr. and Mrs. Foster Bailey". She outlined her vision for the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society; however, her efforts to influence the society failed, and she and her husband were dismissed from their positions.


title: Alice Bailey

text: According to historian of religion Olav Hammer, Bailey's early writings of communications with the Tibetan were well received within the society, but society president Annie Besant questioned Bailey's claims of communications with "the Tibetan" and allowed the Baileys to be expelled from the organization. According to Bailey, she had come to see the society as authoritarian and involved with "lower psychic phenomena".


title: Alice Bailey

text: Alice and Foster Bailey founded the Lucis Trust in 1922. Its activities include the Arcane School, World Goodwill, Triangles, a quarterly magazine called The Beacon, and a publishing company primarily intended to publish Bailey's many books. The Arcane School gives instruction and guidance in meditation, via correspondence, based on the ideas in Bailey's books. World Goodwill is intended to promote better human relations through goodwill which they define as "love in action". That "action" included support of the United Nations. The "Triangles" are groups of three people who agree to link up in thought each day and to meditate on right human relations, visualizing light and love pouring into human minds and hearts, followed by the use of the Great Invocation. It is not necessary for each person to link in thought at the same time each day and need only take a few moments of time.


title: Alice Bailey

text: Alice and Foster Bailey founded "Lucifer Publishing Company". ("'Lucifer' and 'Lucis' come from the same word root, "lucis" being the Latin genitive case meaning "of light".", After the first two or three years, the name was changed to "Lucis Publishing Co." (The Theosophical Society also used the name "Lucifer" for its early magazine.) In 1923, with the help of Foster Bailey, Alice Bailey founded the Arcane School, which is part of Lucis Trust. This school provides educational correspondence, meditation instruction, and guided study based on her writings.