title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: As RBC Roosendaal were in financial trouble they were obliged to having youth players feature within their senior teams. In the 1988–89 season, Van Hooijdonk made his debut for RBC as a substitute. While playing as a sub for the club he soon scored three goals. With the club's main striker suffering from an injury Van Hooijdonk played almost the majority of the season's second half, scoring six goals in 32 matches. He signed his first professional contract with RBC soon thereafter. Van Hooijdonk made a greater impression in the following season becoming a key player for the team, scoring 27 times in 37 matches. Several teams went on to show interest in him such as NAC Breda. Van Hooijdonk didn't hesitate in signing a contract with NAC, and rejoined his boyhood club.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: NAC paid 400,000 guilders for the transfer of Van Hooijdonk. In returning to NAC, he was both positive in his outlook as well as determined to illustrate his quality. Van Hooijdonk succeeded at such going on to help the team win promotion to the Eredivisie in 1993. During his time at the club he got his first call up, in December 1994, to play for the Netherlands. During the rest of that season, he set a scoring streak in 11 consecutive Eredivisie matches. Within the 1994–95 winter break, Celtic made a deal with NAC which saw Van Hooijdonk join up with the Scottish outfit at once. Altogether he scored 81 goals in 115 appearances for NAC.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: Van Hooijdonk made his Celtic debut on 11 January 1995 in a league match against Hearts at Hampden Park. The striker made an instant impact for his new team by scoring a stunning opening goal. Hearts went on to equalise and so the game finished 1–1. Van Hooijdonk settled quickly at Celtic and he became an instant favourite with the fans. When Van Hooijdonk arrived at Celtic they had not won any trophies in six years. With Van Hooijdonk in tow Celtic won the Scottish Cup of that season with him being the only goalscorer in the final against Airdrie in May 1995.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: The following 1995–96 season, saw Van Hooijdonk in outstanding form for Celtic. He scored 32 goals, including 26 in the League which saw him finish as top scorer. Of particular note was his prowess at scoring from free kicks. However, despite Van Hooijdonk's goals and the attractive football being played by manager Tommy Burns' side, Celtic still finished the season without any silverware.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: Van Hooijdonk's next season at Celtic, 1996–97, was an unhappy time for both the player and the club. A row with the Celtic chairman/owner, Fergus McCann, would rumble on and as a result, he often ended up on the bench. The manager of the Dutch national team Guus Hiddink then told him he wouldn't be selected for such as long as he was not a regular at Celtic.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: He eventually left Celtic over a wage dispute towards the end of the 1996–97 season, stating that the reputed £7,000 a week rise he was being offered might be "good enough for the homeless" to live on "but not for an international striker." In total Van Hooijdonk scored 52 goals for Celtic in 84 appearances. He went on to join up with Nottingham Forest in a deal worth up to £4.5 million.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: Van Hooijdonk arrived as Forest were in deep relegation trouble, struggling to maintain their position in the Premier League. He made his debut for Forest in a 1–1 draw against Blackburn on 11 March 1997. It was hoped the arrival of van Hooijdonk would kick-start their survival, but he scored just one goal in his eight games for them that season. Although only one of those games was lost, the other seven were drawn and Forest were relegated. He immediately pledged his future to help the club regain its status.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: The following season was an unqualified success, both for him and Forest. Forest won the title and promotion in a competitive league (facing stiff opposition from Sunderland, Charlton and Middlesbrough), with van Hooijdonk scoring 34 goals and building up a good partnership with strike partner Kevin Campbell, who scored 23 times. During the 97-98 season, Van Hooijdonk clashed with manager Dave Bassett over the setup of the team, and desired a move to PSV Eindhoven. Newcastle United also offered £7 million for him, but Bassett would only let Van Hooijdonk go for £10 million. He was a regular in the Dutch national squad, and was named in the Dutch squad for 1998 FIFA World Cup in France where he scored as a substitute in the match against South Korea.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: After the World Cup had finished he discovered that the promised strengthening to the Forest squad to enable them to cope back in the Premier League had not transpired, indeed that his strike partner Campbell (who had an ongoing back injury) had been sold to Trabzonspor for £2.5m. The club had also announced that Scot Gemmill was dropped from the first team for refusing to sign a new contract, and that club captain and terrace hero Colin Cooper was being allowed to leave to the team promoted alongside them as runners up, Middlesbrough. Van Hooijdonk asked for a transfer. The club's new owners refused. Van Hooijdonk announced that he had been told previously that he could leave the club at the end of the 1997–98 season if he so wished, that he felt betrayed by the club's owners who had failed to deliver on their promises to him regarding the strengthening of the team, and that he felt he could no longer play for his employers. Forest, desperate for a striker, refused to allow him to be transfer-listed again, so van Hooijdonk announced his intention to strike. He kept fit by training with his former club NAC Breda.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: Because of his behaviour, Van Hooijdonk received criticism both from fans and from his teammates, not least from team-mate Steve Stone and manager Dave Bassett. The club refused to listen to offers for him, as they needed a top striker and the stand-off lasted until early November when van Hooijdonk, realising that he had no choice, agreed to return and played in a game against Wimbledon. By this time the club was again in relegation trouble: bottom of the league without a win in nine games. He played sporadically between then and the end of the season. He scored 6 goals in his 19 starts in the Premier League, including his first goal in his second game back against Forest's fierce rivals Derby County, helping them to a draw. Infamously after this goal, most of his team-mates refused to celebrate alongside him, instead going to Scot Gemmill, the man who crossed the ball to him. He also scored a last-minute home equaliser against rivals Liverpool with a trademark free-kick that protected Forest's proud unbeaten home run against them that went back to 1984. In another game against Leicester City he scored to put Forest 1-0 up but was then sent off as they ultimately lost 3-1. Forest ended the 1998–99 Premier League season bottom and were relegated. Ralf Rangnick, then coach of VfB Stuttgart, wanted to bring Van Hooijdonk to Germany, but chairman Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder refused, feeling that Van Hooijdonk was too expensive at the age of 30.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: At the end of the 1998–99 season he returned to the Netherlands with SBV Vitesse in a £3.5m move to continue his career after and did much to convince his critics of his goal-scoring abilities when he helped the Arnhem team to a UEFA Cup spot with 25 goals in one season. He also returned into the Dutch national team in this period.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: Van Hooijdonk then signed a three-year deal for Benfica in 2000 where he joined up with one of the former Celtic F.C. 'three amigos' Jorge Cadete. He eventually only played one season for them with 19 goals. At Benfica he faced the same structural problems as he faced at Nottingham Forest and the team used three different managers throughout the season. The new chairman at the club had no faith in Van Hooijdonk and he was set back into its second team. Benfica was planning on selling him to another foreign club, but all Van Hooijdonk wanted was to return to his home country. At the end of the 2000–01 season, he signed for his fourth Dutch club, Feyenoord.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: While at Feyenoord, he will always be remembered for his free kick abilities and his integral part in the UEFA Cup 2001–02 win. He scored two goals against Borussia Dortmund in the final at De Kuip and his performances helped Feyenoord beat Freiburg, Rangers, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan in earlier rounds.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: Never one to settle down, van Hooijdonk joined Fenerbahçe SK at the beginning of the 2003–04 season where he featured in 52 games for the Turkish club and scored 32 goals (24 in his first season). He was nicknamed "Aziz Pierre" (means Saint Pierre in Turkish) by fans. He wore the number 17, the same number that he wore for the national team. He won the Süper Lig title in 2003–04 (the first top-tier championship of his career) and again the following year in 2004–05 with Fenerbahçe.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: In mid-2005, he signed again for his former club, NAC, playing 17 games, scoring 5 goals. During the winter transfer window of the 2005–06 season, he signed for another former club, Feyenoord, where he scored 8 goals in 37 appearances. On 17 October 2006, Van Hooijdonk announced his retirement at the end of the 2006–07 season. On 13 May 2007, he eventually played his final professional match after a draw with Feyenoord against FC Groningen in the play-offs, having played 550 games (335 goals) in the highest leagues in 18 seasons of professional football.


title: Pierre van Hooijdonk

text: It was reported in May 2008 that van Hooijdonk had been a victim of fraud and had lost £2,000,000 to a scam, which involved him investing in a Chinese textile company that did not exist.


title: Bonfire

text: A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.


title: Bonfire

text: The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling it as "banefyre" and John Mirk's "Book of Festivals" speaking of a communal fire in celebrations of Saint John's Eve that "was clene bones & no wode & that is callid a bone fyre". The word is thus a compound of "bone" and "fire."


title: Bonfire

text: In 1755, Samuel Johnson misattributed the origin of the word as a compound of the French ""bon"" (“good”) and the English "fire" in A Dictionary of the English Language.


title: Bonfire

text: In many regions of continental Europe, bonfires are made traditionally on 24 June, the solemnity of John the Baptist, as well as on Saturday night before Easter. Bonfires are also a feature of Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, and the celebrations on the eve of St. John's Day in Spain. In Sweden bonfires are lit on Walpurgis Night celebrations on the last day of April. In Finland and Norway bonfires are tradition on Midsummer Eve and to a lesser degree in Easter.


title: Bonfire

text: Bonfire traditions of early spring, lit on the Sunday following Ash Wednesday (, otherwise called Quadragesima Sunday), are widespread throughout the Alemannic German speaking regions of Europe and in parts of France. The burning of "winter in effigy" at the Sechseläuten in Zürich (introduced in 1902) is inspired by this Alemannic tradition. In Austria, the custom of the ""Osterfeuer"" or Easter fires is widespread, but also regulated in some cities, districts and countries to hold down the resulting annual peak of PM10-dust emission. There are also "" (solstice fires) ignited on the evening of 21 June.


title: Bonfire

text: Since 1988 "" (fires in the Alps) have been lit on a day in August on mountains so they can be seen from afar as an appeal for sustainable development of mountain regions.


title: Bonfire

text: In the Czech Republic, the festival called "Burning the Witches" (also Philip and Jacob Night, Walpurgis Night, or Beltane) takes place on the night between 30 April and 1 May. This is a very old and still observed folk custom and special holiday. On that night, people gather together, light bonfires, and celebrate the coming of spring. In many places people erect maypoles.


title: Bonfire

text: The night between 30 April and 1 May was considered magical. The festival was probably originally celebrated when the moon was full closest to the day exactly between the spring equinox and summer solstice. People believed that on this night witches fly to their Sabbath, and indeed this is one of the biggest pagan holidays. People also believed, for example, in the opening of various caves treasures were hidden. The main purpose of this old folk custom was probably a celebration of fertility.


title: Bonfire

text: To protect themselves against witches, people lit bonfires in high places, calling these fires "Burning the Witches". Some people took to jumping over the fire in order to ensure youth and fertility. The ash from these fires supposedly had a special power to raise crops, and people also walked their cattle through the ashes to ensure fertility.


title: Bonfire

text: In Australia, bonfires are rarely allowed in the warmer months due to fire danger. Legislation about bonfires varies between states, metropolitan and rural regions, local government areas, and property types. For example, in urban areas of Canberra bonfires may be lit around the Queen's Official Birthday if local fire authorities are notified; however, they are banned the rest of the year. Smaller fires such as campfires and outdoor barbecues are usually permitted outside of fire restriction periods. In the state of Queensland, the rural town of Killarney hosts an annual Bonfire night for the greater community; proceeds support the town's aged care facilities.


title: Bonfire

text: Due to their historic connection to Britain and Ireland, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador has many communities that celebrate bonfire nights, particularly Guy Fawkes Night; this is one of the times when small rural communities come together. In the province of Quebec, many communities light bonfires on 24 June to celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.


title: Bonfire

text: In France, the bonfire celebrates Jean le Baptiste during the ("St John's Day"), first Saturday after the solstice, about 24 June. Like the other countries, it was a pagan celebration of the solstice, or midsummer, but Christianisation transformed it into a Catholic celebration.


title: Bonfire

text: In India, particularly in Punjab, people gather around a bonfire and eat peanuts and sweets during the festival of Lohri to celebrate the winter solstice which occurred during the Indian month of Magh. People have bonfires on communal land. If there has been a recent wedding or a new born in the family, people will have a bonfire outside their house to celebrate this event. The festival falls in the second week of January every year. In the northeastern state of Assam, the harvest festival of Bhogali Bihu is celebrated to mark the end of the harvest season in mid-January. In southern India, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, the Bhogi Festival is celebrated on the last day of Maarkali, which is also the first day of the farming festival of Pongal. People collect unwanted items from their houses and throw them into a bonfire to celebrate. During the ten days of Vijayadashami, effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghanad are erected and burnt by enthusiastic youths at sunset. Traditionally a bonfire on the day of Holi marks the symbolic annihilation of Holika the demoness as described above.


title: Bonfire

text: Chaharshanbe Suri is a fire jumping festival celebrated by Persian people, Kurdish people and some other ethnicities. The event takes place on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz. Loosely translated as Wednesday Light, from the word , which means light in Persian, or more plausibly, consider to be a variant of (red) and take it to refer either to the fire itself or to the ruddiness (sorkhi), meaning good health or ripeness, supposedly obtained by jumping over it, is an ancient Iranian festival dating back to at least 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era. Also called the Festival of Fire, it is a prelude to Nowruz, which marks the arrival of spring. The words Chahar Shanbeh mean Wednesday and Suri means red. Bonfires are lit to "keep the sun alive" until early morning. The celebration usually starts in the evening, with people making bonfires in the streets and jumping over them singing "". The literal translation is, my yellow is yours, your red is mine. This is a purification rite. Loosely translated, this means you want the fire to take your pallor, sickness, and problems and in turn give you redness, warmth, and energy. There are Zoroastrian religious significance attached to Chahārshanbeh Suri and it serves as a cultural festival for Iranian and Iranic people.


title: Bonfire

text: Another tradition of this day is to make special Chaharshanbe Suri Ajil, or mixed nuts and berries. People wear disguises and go door to door knocking on doors as similar to Trick-or-treating. Receiving of the Ajeel is customary, as is receiving of a bucket of water.


title: Bonfire

text: Ancient Persians celebrated the last 5 days of the year in their annual obligation feast of all souls, Hamaspathmaedaya (Farvardigan or popularly Forodigan). They believed Faravahar, the guardian angels for humans and also the spirits of dead would come back for reunion. There are the seven Amesha Spenta, that are represented as the haft-sin (literally, seven S's). These spirits were entertained as honored guests in their old homes, and were bidden a formal ritual farewell at the dawn of the New Year. The festival also coincided with festivals celebrating the creation of fire and humans. In Sassanid period the festival was divided into two distinct pentads, known as the lesser and the greater Pentad, or Panji as it is called today. Gradually the belief developed that the 'Lesser Panji' belonged to the souls of children and those who died without sin, whereas 'Greater Panji' was truly for all souls.


title: Bonfire

text: In Iraq, Assyrian Christians light bonfires to celebrate the Feast of the Cross. In addition to the bonfire, every household traditionally hangs a lighted fire in the roof of their house.


title: Bonfire

text: Throughout Ireland, bonfires are lit on the night of 31 October to celebrate Halloween or Samhain. Bonfires are also held on 30 April, particularly in Limerick to celebrate the festival of Bealtaine and on St. John's eve, 23 June, to celebrate Midsummer's eve, particularly in County Cork where it is also known as 'Bonna Night'.


title: Bonfire

text: In Northern Ireland, bonfires are lit on Halloween, 31 October, and each 11 July, bonfires are lit by many Protestant communities to celebrate the victory of Williamite forces at the Battle of the Boyne, which took place on 12 July 1690. This is often called the "Eleventh night". Bonfires have also been lit by Catholic communities on 9 August since 1972 to protest and commemorate Internment.


title: Bonfire

text: In Israel, on the eve of Lag BaOmer, bonfires are lit on to commemorate the Mishnaic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who according to tradition died on Lag BaOmer. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is accredited with having composed the Kabalistic work The Zohar (literally "The Shining" - hence the custom of lighting fire to commemorate him). The main celebration takes place at Rabbi Shimon's tomb on Mount Meron in northern Israel, but all over the country bonfires are lit in open spaces. Linked by Modern Jewish tradition to the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Roman Empire (132-135 CE), Lag BaOmer is very popularly observed and celebrated as a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit. As Lag Ba'Omer draws near, children begin collecting material for the bonfire: wood boards and planks, old doors, and anything else made of wood. On the night itself, families and friends gather round the fires and youths will burn their bonfires till daybreak.


title: Bonfire

text: In Northeast Italy, the celebration (in English "bread and wine"), and is held on the evening of Epiphany (5 January). A straw witch dressed with old clothes is placed on a bonfire and burned to ash. The witch symbolizes the past and the direction of the smoke indicates whether the new year is going to be good or bad.


title: Bonfire

text: The Northern Italian ("the old lady") is a version of the wicker man bonfire effigy, which is burned once a year as part of town festivals. As depicted in the film by Federico Fellini, it has a more pagan-Christian connotation when it is burned on Mid-Lent Thursday.


title: Bonfire

text: In Abbadia San Salvatore, a village in the south of Tuscany, bonfires called up to seven meters high are burned during Christmas Eve to warm up people around them waiting for the midnight, following a millenary tradition.


title: Bonfire

text: In Southern Italy, traditionally bonfires are lit in the night between 16 and 17 January, thought to be the darkest and longest night of the year. The celebration is also linked to the cult of Saint Anthony The Great.


title: Bonfire

text: Every 16 August, the ancient city of Kyoto holds the Gozan no Okuribi, a Buddhist bonfire-based spectacle, which marks the end of the *O-Bon season.


title: Bonfire

text: The Luxembourgish town of Remich annually holds a three-day-long celebration for Carnival (called in Luxembourgish). The celebration of the Remich Fuesend Karneval celebrations concludes with the Buergbrennen, a bonfire that marks the end of winter. Such bonfires are also organised by others towns and villages throughout Luxembourg around the same time, although they only last an evening.


title: Bonfire

text: Bonfire in Nepal is taken almost synonymous with camp-fire. During winter months its quite common to have a bonfire in hotels, resorts, and residential areas, as well as private properties.


title: Bonfire

text: Bonfires are also lit during Siva ratri in the evening. This holiday is based on the lunar calendar and often falls during month of February.


title: Bonfire

text: In Iceland, bonfires are traditional on New Year's Eve, and on 6 January, which is the last day of the Icelandic Christmas season. In Norway and Denmark, large bonfires are lit on 23 June to celebrate or the evening before John the Baptist's birthday. As with many other traditions in Scandinavia, St. Hans is believed to have a pagan origin, the celebration of midsummer's eve.


title: Bonfire

text: In Sweden, Walpurgis Night is celebrated on 30 April, and festivities include the burning of a bonfire. In Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Midsummer Eve is celebrated with large bonfires.


title: Bonfire

text: In Lithuania bonfires are lit to celebrate St John's Eve (aka: (Dew Holiday)) during the midsummer festival . Bonfires may be lit to keep witches and evil spirits away.


title: Bonfire

text: In Poland, bonfires are traditionally and still enthusiastic burned during "Feast of Saints Peter and Paul", "Pentecost" day and "Saint John Night" as , (Śląsk, Małopolska, Podkarpacie), "Palinocka" (Warmia, Mazury, Kaszuby) or (Mazowsze and Podlasie) on 23/24 June.


title: Bonfire

text: On 23 and 24 June, according to ancient custom, an immense number of Polish persons of both sexes repaired to the banks of the San (river), Vistula and Odra river, to consult Fate respecting their future fortunes, jumping through a fire on the Eve of Saint John's was a sure way to health. The leaping of the youths over fire () must be a custom derived from remote antiquity. Jan Kochanowski, who died in 1584, mentions it in a song from an ancient tradition. Varro and Ovid relate, that in the Palilia, celebrated in honour of the goddess Pales, on 20 April, the anniversary of the foundation of Rome, the young Romans leaped over burning bundles of hay. In modern Italy, this kind of saltation is continued by the name of , though Pope Sergius III prohibited it.


title: Bonfire

text: In Romania, in Argeș County, a bonfire is lit on the night of 25 October every year, as a tradition said to be done since the Dacians. It consists in burning of a tall tree, which resembles the body of a god. It is usually done on a high peak, in order to be seen from far away.


title: Bonfire

text: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, bonfires are traditionally lit on the evening before 1 May, commemorating Labour Day . Bonfires are also being built on the eve of the Christian holiday Easter on so called Holy Saturday and are lit next day early in the morning. This bonfires are called , or . The root, is the Serbo-Croatian word for Easter. Their burning symbolizes the Resurrection of Jesus. In villages far from cities, this tradition is still active. Young men and children all gather on some plane remote from village and start building a bonfire by collecting logs of wood, or pruned branches from vineyards and orchards. Bonfires are also lit on the evening before Saint George's Day on so called (in Croatia, on 24 April according to Gregorian calendar) or (in Serbia, on 6 May according to Julian calendar). Idea for all this bonfires are probably taken from old Slavic tradition where bonfires were lit to celebrate the arrival of Spring.


title: Bonfire

text: In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, bonfires are also held on the last night of April and are called 'Phillip-Jakob's Night' () or "Burning of the Witches" (). They are considered to be historically linked with Walpurgis Night and Beltane.


title: Bonfire

text: In Turkey bonfires are lit on Kakava believed to be the awakening day of nature at the beginning of spring. Kakava is celebrated by the Romani people in Turkey on the night of 5-6 May.


title: Bonfire

text: In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, bonfires are lit on Guy Fawkes Night a yearly celebration held on the evening of 5 November to mark the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605, in which a number of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to destroy the House of Lords in London.


title: Bonfire

text: In Northern Ireland, bonfires are lit on Halloween, 31 October. and each 11 July, bonfires are lit by many Protestant communities to celebrate the victory of Williamite forces at the Battle of the Boyne, which took place on 12 July 1690. This is often called the "Eleventh night". Bonfires have also been lit by Catholic communities on 9 August since 1972 to protest and commemorate Internment.


title: Bonfire

text: Historically in England, some time before 1400, fires were lit around Midsummer as a wake in the vigil for St John the Baptist. Folk would awake in the evening, and make three manners of fire: one with only clean bones ("bonys") and no wood called a "bonnefyre", one with clean wood and no bones called a "wakefyre", and the third with both bones and wood, called "Saynt Ionys Fyre". Apparently the original wake fell into "lechery and gluttony", so the church deemed it instead as a fast.


title: Bonfire

text: The annual rock and dance music Wickerman Festival takes place in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Its main feature is the burning of a large wooden effigy on the last night. The Wickerman festival is inspired by the horror film "The Wicker Man", a film itself inspired by the Roman accounts of the Celtic Druids ritual burning of a wicker effigy.


title: Bonfire

text: In Biggar, Lanarkshire, a bonfire is lit on Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) to celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of the New Year. The bonfire takes almost a month to build using whatever combustible materials can be found. It is lit by a senior citizen of the town who is accompanied to the bonfire site (which is by the Corn Exchange in the centre of the town) by the local pipe band and several torchbearers. The celebrations are attended by hundreds of drinking and dancing revellers. During the war years, when a bonfire wasn't allowed, a candle was lit in a biscuit tin to keep the tradition of "burnin' oot the auld year" alive.


title: Bonfire

text: In New England, on the night before the Fourth of July, towns competed to build towering pyramids, assembled from hogsheads, barrels and casks. They were lit at nightfall, to usher in the celebration. The highest were in Salem, Massachusetts, composed of as many as forty tiers of barrels. The practice flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, and can still be found in some New England towns.


title: Bonfire

text: On Christmas Eve in Southern Louisiana, bonfires are built along the Mississippi River levees to light the way for Papa Noël as he moves along the river in his pirogue (Cajun canoe) pulled by eight alligators. This tradition is an annual event in St. James Parish, Louisiana.


title: Bonfire

text: One of the oldest traditions at Texas A&M University involves the building of a bonfire by students to be burnt before their annual game against The University of Texas. The tradition began in 1909 as little more than a burning trash pile. Eventually students began clearing land in the area, by hand, to harvest thousands of logs needed for its construction. In 1969 Aggie Bonfire set a Guinness world record for tallest bonfire at 109 feet. In 1999, there was an accident where the stack collapsed during construction, killing 12 people and injuring 27 others. The accident led to the university to no longer sanction the building of Bonfire. Since 2002, the student-sponsored group Student Bonfire began building an annual bonfire in the spirit of the original.


title: Bonfire

text: Bonfires are used on farms, in large gardens and allotments to dispose of waste plant material that is not readily composted. This includes woody material, pernicious weeds, diseased material and material treated with persistent pesticides and herbicides. Such bonfires may be quite small but are often designed to burn slowly for several days so that wet and green material may be reduced to ash by frequently turning the unburnt material into the centre. Such bonfires can also deal with turf and other earthy material. The ash from garden bonfires is a useful source of potash and may be beneficial in improving the soil structure of some soils although such fires must be managed with safety in mind. Garden and farm bonfires are frequently smoky and can cause local nuisance if poorly managed or lit in unsuitable weather conditions.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The first CES was held in June 1967 in New York City. It was a spinoff from the Chicago Music Show, which, until then, had served as the main event for exhibiting consumer electronics. The event had 17,500 attenders and over 100 exhibitors; the kickoff speaker was Motorola chairman Bob Galvin. From 1978 to 1994, CES was held twice each year: once in January in Las Vegas known for "Winter Consumer Electronics Show (WCES)" and once in June in Chicago, known as "Summer Consumer Electronics Show (SCES)".


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The winter show was successfully held in Las Vegas in 1995 as planned. However, since the summer Chicago shows were beginning to lose popularity, the organizers decided to experiment by having the show travel around to different cities starting in 1995 with a planned show in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. However, the inaugural E3 gaming show was scheduled to be held on the West Coast in May and proved a source of increasing competition, causing the Philadelphia Summer CES show to be cancelled. The 1996 Winter show was again held in Las Vegas in January, followed by a Summer show this time in Orlando, Florida, however only a fraction of the traditional exhibitors participated. The next "Summer" show was scheduled to be held in conjunction with Spring COMDEX in Atlanta, however when only two dozen-or-so exhibitors signed on, the CES portion of the show was cancelled.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In 1998, the show changed to a once-a-year format with Las Vegas as the location. In Las Vegas, the show is one of the largest (the other being CONEXPO-CON/AGG), taking up to 18 days to set up, run and break down.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The first CES was held in New York City from June 24 to 28, 1967. The 200 exhibitors attracted 17,500 attendees to the Hilton and Americana hotels over those four days. On view: the latest pocket radios and TVs with integrated circuits.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Philips unveiled the first-ever home VCR, the N1500 videocassette recorder. Until that point, VCRs cost upward of $50,000 and were used mainly by TV stations, but the Philips model with a built-in tuner was just $900.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Winter CES held January 7–9 in Chicago, at the Conrad Hilton Hotel. Per the show guide, it included video (with television receivers and video systems panels), audio (including CB radio, radio, audio compacts, audio components, and tape equipment panels), and calculator and watch areas, considered separate component conferences. Speakers included the FTC's Joan Bernstein on "The Warranty Law -- Its Status and Impact," and the FCC's Richard M. Smith on "Regulating Citizens' Band Radios."


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Winter CES held January in Las Vegas. Atari 400 and 800 computers introduced. Bill Gates appeared at CES for the first time, introducing the first BASIC compiler for the Apple II. Texas Instruments showed off the TI-99/4.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Summer CES held June 3–6 in Chicago, at McCormick Place. Features (per the show guide) included personal communications, retail advertising, promotion and store layout, exports, video, audio, auto sound/telephone sales, and a large series of retail sales and sales management breakouts.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Summer CES June 6 at Chicago saw the first appearance of Commodore 64 and General Consumer Electronics' (GCE) Vectrex.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The Amiga was first shown publicly at the CES this year. In addition, Japanese jazz fusion artist, Ryo Kawasaki, performed with the Commodore 64 at the Summer CES (June 3–June 6 at Chicago) as a demo for the "Kawasaki Synthesizer".


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: At Summer CES. Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the American version of its Famicom, with a new case redesigned by Lance Barr and featuring a "zero insertion force" cartridge slot.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In Summer CES, Sony revealed a Super Famicom with a built-in CD-ROM drive, that incorporated Green Book technology or CD-i, called "Play Station" (also known as SNES-CD). However, a day after the announcement at CES, Nintendo announced that it would be breaking its partnership with Sony, opting to go with Philips instead while using the same technology.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Winter CES saw unveiling of Game Gear. Games for NEC's TurboGrafx-16, Sega Genesis, and SNK's Neo-Geo took center stage


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In the summer CES held in Chicago and dominated by video game products, Apple Inc. unveiled off its Newton MessagePad. First recorders introduced for the two rival digital systems targeted as replacements for the Philips Compact Cassette analog audio tape system: MiniDisc created by Sony and Digital Compact Cassette (DCC), created by Philips and Matsushita.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The show is dominated by players for the burgeoning DVD format, with a variety of features and price points; the DIVX format is also showcased, but gets relatively little attention, and no companies have DIVX players to show.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Microsoft officially unveiled the final design of its Xbox console. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates showed the finished design of the Xbox console and controller. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) announced expansion of Charge Up to Recycle! program to include all consumer rechargeable batteries, adding Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-Ion), and Small VRLA (SSLA/Pb).


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The Memory Stick PRO was introduced as a joint effort between Sony and SanDisk. Adobe announced Adobe Photoshop Album to import, organize and edit digital photos, and allows quick and easy searching and sharing of entire photo collections. Pentax announced the OptioS digital camera. Sony launched its first DVD Handycam Camcorders. Olympus announced weather proof metal body Olympus mju U10D, S300D, u300D and 400 Digital cameras


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The first handheld video players based on Microsoft's Portable Media Player (PMC) were introduced. The media saw this as a challenge against Apple's iPod line, which by that time did not have a portable video player. Creative Technology planned to be the first to introduce a player based on PMC.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Digital video recorders (DVC) were highly prolific during the show of 2004, as well as the HDMI interface.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The Blu-ray Group held at the PRIL April 2004 CES the first US press conference to promote the Blu-ray Disc format.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2005 CES was from January 6 to 9, 2005, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The event started off with a twist when the main keynote address by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates went wrong, as his demonstration of the Xbox 360 resulted in an out of memory error, much to the amusement of the onlookers.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Zimiti Ltd (renamed Boardbug Ltd in 2007) won the "Best of Innovators" award for Personal Electronics. It is the only British company to have won this award.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2006 exhibition took place on January 5–8, 2006, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sands Convention Center, the Alexis Park hotel and the Las Vegas Hilton hotel. HDTV was a central theme in the Bill Gates keynote as well as many of the other manufacturer's speeches. The standards competition between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc was conspicuous, with some of the first HD movie releases and first HD players being announced at the show. Philips showed a rollable display prototype whose screen can retain an image for several months. Hillcrest Labs won the "Best Of Innovations" award in the video accessories category for software and hardware that allows a television to be controlled with natural gestures. Attendance was over 150,000 individuals in 1.67 million net square feet of space, making it the largest electronics event in the United States.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In a break from recent tradition, the 2007 CES exhibition did not begin on a Thursday, nor span a weekend. It ran from Monday to Thursday on January 8–11, 2007. The venues also changed slightly, with the high-performance audio and home theater expo moving from the Alexis Park venue to The Venetian. The remaining venues were the same as previous years: the Las Vegas Convention Center was the center of events, with the adjacent Las Vegas Hilton, and the Sands Expo and Convention Center hosting satellite exhibitions.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The location for the main keynotes was the other major change for 2007. Previously held at the Las Vegas Hilton's Main Theater, they staged for the first time at The Palazzo Ballroom in The Venetian. Bill Gates gave his ninth pre-show keynote address on the Sunday evening. The opening keynote was presented by Gary Shapiro (President/CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, which hosts the event), with Ed Zander, Chairman/CEO of Motorola. Other keynote speakers scheduled included Robert Iger from The Walt Disney Company, Michael Dell, founder of Dell Inc., and Leslie Moonves of CBS.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Finally, Industry Insider presentations moved to the Las Vegas Hilton, with contributions from Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia and John Chambers, CEO of Cisco.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In the gaming section for Windows Vista and DirectX 10, there were two games shown: "Age of Conan" and "Crysis".


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2008 exhibition was from January 7 to 10, 2008, in Las Vegas with 141,150 attendees. Bill Gates gave the keynote speech, in which he formally announced his retirement from his day-to-day duties at Microsoft. Along with the announcement, he presented a lengthy comedy skit on what his last day with Microsoft would be like, complete with cameos from celebrities including Jay-Z, Steven Spielberg, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and many others.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Panasonic attracted much attention by releasing a 150" Plasma TV, as well as a 50" TV as thin as 0.46 in. (11.6 mm).


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2009 exhibition, held January 7–10, 2009, returned to the previous Thursday–Sunday schedule, and attracted 113,085 attendees. Among more than 2,700 exhibiting companies were approximately 300 first-time exhibitors.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Several highlights include organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions, the Palm Pre, Mattel MindFlex Game, pico projectors, the Marvell SheevaPlug plug computer, and 3D projectors.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The Minoru 3D Webcam, a USB webcam that is billed as the world's first stereoscopic 3D consumer stereo webcam won the "Fans Favorite" award. Dell introduced its Dell Adamo subnotebook.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The game show "Jeopardy!" filmed one episode from the celebrity series and the 2009 Tournament of Champions on a new set at the Sony booth. The set was moved to their main studio at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, starting with the show's 26th season through the 29th season.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: CES 2009 suffered 22 percent or more attendance drop, which was attributed to the global financial crisis.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Highlights include the Intel Infoscape, which is run on the Intel Core i7 processor. One computer ran two screens, displaying 576 cubes hooked up to 20,000 info sources, including 20 live video feeds. Visitors would touch one of the cubes, and an infobox displaying that content would come forward. One journalist explained, "The graphics on the giant screens were a tons of fun to move around with their uncanny quickness and smooth motion, and the whole thing felt super responsive, Giving us a peek into the future, it seemed a lot like that computer screen in the movie Minority Report. It was the most spectacular demo we saw at CES 2010." Equally impressive, Parrot presented the 1st prototype of Parrot AR.Drone, a remote-controlled flying toy which streams video via WiFi to an iPhone.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2011 exhibition was held from January 6 to 9, 2011. CESWEB is reporting that their pre-audit numbers show an attendance of 128,949.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Many tablets were introduced in 2011's show, such as the Motorola Xoom tablet, winning Best of Show, which runs Android Honeycomb. Many 4G phones were also unveiled at the show, including the LG Revolution, Samsung Infuse 4G, HTC Thunderbolt, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Motorola CLIQ 2, Motorola Droid Bionic, and Motorola Atrix 4G. In a push towards mobile devices, Microsoft demonstrated an early version of the next release of the Windows operating system, running on ARM-based devices.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: 3D TVs were introduced by many giants, such as Mitsubishi's 92-inch model of its 2011 lineup of theater-sized 3D Home Cinema TVs. Toshiba also unveiled its Glasses Free 4K 3D TV prototype. Samsung announced the Plasma 3D HD TV series named D8000 and LG introduced the LED 3D TV of its Infinia Nano series.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2012 exhibition was held from January 8 to 13, 2012. Microsoft released an official statement saying that CES 2012 will be Microsoft’s last appearance at the event. The show organizers claimed that 153,000 people attended the 2012 show, a 2% increase from the previous year and a new all-time attendance record. Intel was caught falsifying a demo of their new Ivy Bridge processors. AMD demonstrated their new Trinity APUs.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: AMTC was demonstrating this ‘Tier-2’ CE products (‘middleware’) featuring the Inview Technology platform. Inview claimed that its low processing and memory footprint means connected TV capabilities are available at low-cost, as the software is provided royalty free. Parrot presented the "world's most advanced headphones" the Parrot ZIK By Starck.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: This was also the first year in which the Photo Marketing Association held its annual trade show in conjunction with CES, with the PMA show branded as PMA@CES.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2013 International CES, instead of starting on Thursday went from Tuesday to Friday, January 8–11, 2013, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Over 3,000 exhibitors showcased a wide range of innovative products this year. CES 2013 was known for what was billed as an insane opening by Qualcomm. This year the categories include 3D, Accessories, Audio, Automotive Electronics, Embedded Technology, Lifestyle Electronics, Wireless & Wireless Devices to name a few. 2013 International CES however was not necessarily being noted for announcing the newest products, but getting a lot of press for the fundamental changes about to hit the digital world; such as motion detection sensors, the driverless cars and digital home safety and technology.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2014 International CES was held during the week from January 7 to 10, 2014, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The first Li-Fi smartphone prototype was presented at the show. The smartphone uses SunPartner's Wysips CONNECT, a technique that converts light waves into usable energy, making the phone capable of receiving and decoding signals without drawing on its battery. The phone also has a transparent photovoltaic screen that lets light recharge the phone.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: ProtectCELL showcased its comprehensive mobile protection plans for all major devices, including the iPhone 5S and 5C, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2 and Galaxy S4. With demonstrations such as blending a Blackberry, ProtectCELL proves they will cover all damages.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The AMD presentation mentioned (among others) – the Kaveri CPU of the Steamroller architecture, Heterogenous System Architecture (HSA) lineup and the intention to build upon that, immersive experience, Mantle and AMD TrueAudio.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In the Intel keynote presentation, its CEO talked about three areas in which technology can improve: living, working, and playing. He also presented Intel Edison, a SoC of the SD card format.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Pebble announced the Pebble Steel smartwatch, which has a thin body, tactile metal buttons, and Corning Gorilla Glass.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Laser diodes were unveiled at the show that are going to be used for high-beam headlights in Audi vehicles. The high beams will be lasers, though the low beams will be light-emitting diodes. The car maker says that their high beams have a 500-meter range, which is roughly twice the distance of LED high beams. Lasers are expensive though. Lasers are smaller, brighter and more energy efficient than LED headlamps. Their laser headlamps use less than half the energy of LEDs. Laser diodes can emit 170 lumens per watt, while LEDs generate only 100 lumens. Lasers are sensitive to heat but that has not stopped their production for vehicles. Laser technology is not as advanced compared with LEDs, which have been around for decades.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2015 International CES was held during the week January 6–9, 2015, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The 2015 CES was reportedly the largest in its history, with 3,600 exhibitors and 170,000 professional/industry attendees.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 2016 CES was held January 6–9, 2016, in Las Vegas and 3,600 companies attended; the CES 2016 venues of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino and the Sands Expo & Convention Center had over 2.4 million square feet utilized for the event. The 2016 event had notably more security with full bag searches and police officers in armored gear and explosives detection dogs.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In 2016, there were only 22 CES Innovation Awards Honorees in the Tech for a Better World category. These included Advanced Ordnance Teaching, Clinical Bidet, Ossia’s Cota Wireless Power Technology, eFit, eGeeTouch Smart Fingerprint-NFC Luggage Lock, Eye Tribe Tracker Pro, homnistat, Hydrao, Jacoti Hearing Suite, K-1 Assistive Device, Luminon, MATRIX, Netatmo Presence, Noke U Locke, Owlet Baby Monitor, PanaCast 2, RemoPill, SCiO, Smart Air Purifier, The New Kano, Whirlpool Smart Top Load, and ZPower.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: One of the most anticipated technologies at 2016 CES was experiencing consumer device charging without wires—or "wireless power" --, as shown by companies like Energous, Ossia, and WiTricity.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: CES 2017 was held January 5–8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Even with tight security at the show, two prototype Razer triple-screen gaming laptops were stolen during the show. Min-Liang Tan, co-founder and chief executive officer of Razer, said that the company is treating the case as "industrial espionage". A Razer spokesperson said they were offering $25,000 for any "original information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction" of anyone who was involved with the crime.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: CES 2018 was held January 9–12, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Many companies such as Amazon, Nvidia, and Google had a presence at the event.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The newest model of Sony's Aibo companion robot was featured here, and was noticed as one of the standout items of 2018.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In this year, there were 31 CES Innovation Award categories. CES Best of Innovation Award Honorees included Siren Diabetic Socks, 2018 Nissan Leaf, Samsung's first consumer Micro LED TV, Wi-Charge's Long-Range Wireless Power Technology, Intel Movidius Neural Compute Stick, 3D Touch Surface Display by Continental Automotive Systems, Aipoly Autonomous Store Platform, AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X, Amaryllo's AR4, A.I. security camera, IRIVER media player, Bang & Olufsen's BeoSound Shape, BUDDY robot by Blue Frog Robotics, HP's 3D Camera, Dell Ocean-Bound Plastics Packaging Program, ElliQ by Intuition Robotics, Ethereal Halo by Ethereal Machines, InstruMMents 01 world’s first Dimensioning Instrument, Kensington VeriMark Fingerprint Key, Lancey smart space heater, LG 4K UHD Projector, Light L16 multi-aperture camera, Looxid VR, MARS smart TWS earbuds, Sproutel's social robot, Nura headphones, 1MORE ComfoBuds Pro True Wireless In-Ear Headphones, NUVIZ Head-Up Display for motorcyclists, Samsung Family Hub 3.0 Refrigerator, Trident 3 Arctic gaming console, Dynamic's WalletCard, WHILL Model Ci and Willow Wearable Breast Pump.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: In a way of celebrating CES 2018, a Las Vegas strip club even decided to introduce the public to their creations, which were the world’s first ever robot strippers.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: CES 2019 was held on January 8–11, 2019 in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada with 182K+ total attendants and 4.4K+ companies exhibited. John Deere had a presence at the event while Mercedes-Benz debuted the second-generation CLA Class at the show. Hikvision and IFlytek, two companies later sanctioned by the U.S. government for allegedly enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang with their technology, were also present.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Honda introduced the Autonomous Work Vehicle and P.A.T.H. (Predicting Action of The Human) Bot at the show. Russia's search giant Yandex announced that they had been offering free driverless rides as a demo of their autonomous Yandex taxi service.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: There are 30 CES Innovation Award categories. CES Best of Innovation Honorees include the KitchenAid Cook Processor Connect, LG V40 ThinQ, Zumi RoboCar, Ring Spotlight Cam, Samsung 2019 Family Hub, and the 2018 Nissan Leaf for the second time in a row. Google had set up its Google Assistant-themed ride at their booth.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Notoriously, CES received a large amount of negative press and backlash from feminists worldwide for its decision (later reversed) to revoke a CES Innovations Award for a female pleasure device presented to Lora DiCarlo, with CES stating the reasoning for the revocation was “products that are immoral, obscene, indecent, profane, or not in keeping with CTA’s image will be disqualified.". The award was later reinstated.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The 53rd CES was held in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 7 to 10, 2020. Apple Inc. attended its first CES since 1992.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Automotive has become a major part of CES with focus on innovation in electric vehicles, infotainment, telematics, autonomous capabilities and ride sharing. Even major OEMs are now using CES to introduce new automotive technologies to the public the first time. Suppliers to the automotive industry involving electronics are increasingly present at the CES. At the CES 2020 it was particularly noticeable that a large number of vendors in autonomous (self driving) technology were present. Mercedes showcased their Vision AVTR concept car of the future inspired by the movie Avatar. Sony was possibly the biggest surprise at CES 2020 with their electric vehicle concept incorporating Sony technologies for sensors and infotainment. A range of the electric vehicles shown at CES 2020 are expected to enter production in the next 1–2 years from the established OEMs as well as startups such as Rivian, BYTON, Faraday Future and others.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Hyundai and Uber announced a joint-initiative at CES 2020 to develop a 100% electrically-powered flying taxi that will feature vertical take off/landing and a four-passenger capacity at 180 mph. The partnership marks the first for the Uber Elevate initiative for aerial ridesharing.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Consumer-focused internet security startup, Clario Tech Limited, launched at CES 2020, announcing their new cross-platform security application, while hosting booth #12055.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: CES management reviewed dozens of Video conferencing platforms to find one that would support tens of thousands of people and at the end chose to use  Microsoft Teams for the service. For exhibiting companies, the digital venue remained live for 30 days until February 15.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: On January 12, 2021, Billie Eilish gave a live digital performance. Ryan Seacrest held a session discussing digital performances and spoke to Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The show ran from January 5 to 7. Although the show was originally scheduled to run until January 8, the Consumer Technology Association decided to close the show one day early citing public health concerns after many companies pulled out of the in-person event.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Due to increased COVID-19 Omicron variant infections, many companies such as Intel, Lenovo, TikTok, T-Mobile, Amazon, Google, and Meta switched to a virtual-only appearance. As of December 25, 2021, 42 exhibitors had canceled, which is approximately 7% of the total exhibit floor. Additionally, many major tech publications such as The Verge, CNET, Engadget, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, TechRadar and Tom's Guide as well as many tech YouTube channels only reported on the show remotely.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: General Motors CEO Barra said the company would participate in a digital only format, and that her keynote speech to debut the electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV would be delivered remotely.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: Samsung Electronics introduced Bespoke Home, a consumer-tailored home appliance. It also unveiled a micro-LED TV and QD-OLED panels. Benz announced the new electric concept car EQXX. Hyundai Motor Group unveiled a meta-mobility vision that combines robotics and metaverse. It also unveiled personal mobility, L7, Spot, and MobED. BMW unveiled an iX flow that uses electronic ink to change the color of the vehicle's exterior. VinFast a member of Vingroup from Vietnam also introduced their electric sub VF 5, VF 6, VF 7, VF 8 and VF 9.


title: Consumer Electronics Show

text: The CES created a corresponding Asian conference, CES Asia, was planned to happen annually during the month of June in Shanghai, China but has been cancelled indefinitely:


title: Josh Thomson

text: Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, UFC, the World Fighting Alliance, and appeared at Dynamite!! 2010. Thomson is a former Strikeforce World Lightweight Champion, former Strikeforce U.S. Lightweight Champion, and a former top contender in the UFC.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson was born and raised in San Jose, California, growing up in the east side of the city. Being half-European-American and half-Mexican, Thomson faced discrimination and got into fights often. In middle school, he was involved in a brawl in which the principal was punched while trying to break up the incident, resulting in Thomson being placed in a juvenile hall. Afterwards, Thomson went to live with his father in Idaho where he went to high school and competed in wrestling. Thomson continued wrestling at junior college powerhouse, North Idaho Community College, and also trained with the wrestling team at Stanford University before deciding school was not for him. His college wrestling record was 40–3. In 2000, Thomson was involved in an alcohol-fueled brawl while on a lake cruise in Idaho. In the melee Thomson choked one man so badly that he required CPR and as a result, Thomson was charged with felony aggravated assault, serving six months of a three-year sentence before being released for good behavior.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson started out very strongly in his MMA career winning his first two professional bouts, before going to a no contest with Norifumi Yamamoto. Thomson would then go on to win his next three fights, including a win over former WEC Lightweight Champion Rob McCullough.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson made his debut in the UFC at UFC 44 defeating Gerald Strebendt by knockout in the first round. He would then pick up a decision victory over Hermes Franca in an incredible fight at UFC 46, before falling victim in his next fight to a highlight reel knockout finish at the hands of Yves Edwards.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson went 2-1 in the UFC before leaving and opting instead to go overseas to Japan and fight for PRIDE FC. He won his sole fight in PRIDE by submission in the first round. Thomson then signed with Strikeforce and made his debut against Clay Guida in a title fight for the vacant Strikeforce Lightweight Championship losing by unanimous decision. Thomson would go on to win his next six fights, including victories over Duane Ludwig and Nam Phan earning him another shot at the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.


title: Josh Thomson

text: On June 27, 2008, he defeated Gilbert Melendez by unanimous decision at to become the new Strikeforce Lightweight Champion.


title: Josh Thomson

text: On November 21, 2008, Thomson was scheduled to make his first title defense in a rematch against Yves Edwards at but had to pull out after tearing ligaments in his toe. Duane Ludwig was selected to take Thomson's place on the card. On April 11, 2009, Thomson was scheduled to make his first title defense in a rematch against Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce's debut on the Showtime Network, but had to pull out after breaking his ankle while training on April 1, 2009. Rodrigo Damm was selected to take Thomson's place on the card.


title: Josh Thomson

text: On August 15, 2009, Thomson was scheduled to unify his title with the newly crowned Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez at , but suffered a broken leg in training. Mitsuhiro Ishida was selected to take Thomson's place against Melendez.


title: Josh Thomson

text: On December 19, 2009 at , Thomson fought Gilbert Melendez for the Lightweight Championship. Thomson would lose the fight by unanimous decision, but the fight would see both fighters put it all on the line in what would prove to be a very fast-paced and exciting fight.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson fought Pat Healy at and won by rear naked choke late in the 3rd round. After this win, Dave Camarillo granted him his black belt in Guerrilla jiu-jitsu. Thomson broke two ribs during the fight on Healy's very first takedown and fought the rest of the fight very defensively.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson fought Gesias Cavalcante on October 9, 2010 at where he won a controversial unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27).


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson's next fight was against Tatsuya Kawajiri under the co-promoted DREAM, K-1 end of year event Dynamite!! 2010. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson was expected to face promotional newcomer Maximo Blanco at but yet another foot injury forced him out of the bout.


title: Josh Thomson

text: The trilogy rematch between Thomson and Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship took place at on May 19, 2012, with Thomson losing the fight via split decision.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Following the dissolution of Strikeforce in January 2013, Thomson returned to the UFC and faced Nate Diaz on April 20, 2013 at UFC on Fox 7. He won the fight via TKO (head kick and punches), becoming the first of only two fighters to date to finish Diaz by way of strikes. The win also earned him his first "Knockout of the Night" bonus award.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson was expected to face current UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis on December 14, 2013 at UFC on Fox 9, replacing an injured T. J. Grant, However, the bout was cancelled after Pettis pulled out of the bout citing a knee injury.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson faced Benson Henderson on January 25, 2014 in the main event at UFC on Fox 10. Henderson defeated Thomson via split decision. Many media outlets and observers were split on who they thought should have been declared the winner. Thomson had one more takedown (5 to 4) and was able to secure Henderson's back on multiple occasions, while Henderson was able to significantly outstrike Thomson (114 to 33) over the duration of the bout and was credited with the bout's only submission attempt. During the first round Thomson broke the thumb on his right hand, contributing to his inability to punch with much effectiveness. Disappointed in the result of the Henderson bout, Thomson indicated in the post-fight press conference, that he may be "done" with the UFC or fighting.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson was expected to face Michael Johnson on July 26, 2014 at UFC on Fox 12. However, on July 11, Johnson pulled out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by Bobby Green. Thomson lost the bout via split decision.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson was expected to face Gilbert Burns on March 21, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62. However, on February 26, Thomson pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed injury, while Burns remained on the card against a replacement.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson faced Tony Ferguson at on July 15, 2015. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Thomson's contract ended after his bout with Ferguson and he opted not to re-sign with the UFC.


title: Josh Thomson

text: On August 11, 2015, Thomson signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA. He made his debut on September 19, 2015 at against Mike Bronzoulis, winning via submission in the third round.


title: Josh Thomson

text: In his second fight for the promotion, Thomson faced Pablo Villaseca on December 4, 2015 at Bellator 147. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.


title: Josh Thomson

text: In his third fight for Bellator MMA Thomson faced Patricky Pitbull in the main event at Bellator 172. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round.


title: Josh Thomson

text: Thomson now runs and co-hosts the popular MMA and combat sports podcast "Weighing In" with legendary former MMA referee "Big" John McCarthy.


title: Lisey's Story

text: Lisey's Story is a novel by American writer Stephen King that combines elements of psychological horror and romance. The novel was released on October 24, 2006. It won the 2006 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 2007. An early excerpt from the novel, a short story titled "Lisey and the Madman", was published in "McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories" (2004), and was nominated for the 2004 Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction. King has stated that this is his favorite of the novels he has written.


title: Lisey's Story

text: The genesis for "Lisey's Story" was an incident in 2003, when King came down with double pneumonia; while he was in the hospital, his wife Tabitha decided to redesign his studio. Coming home from the hospital and seeing his books and belongings in boxes, King saw an image of what his studio would look like after his death.


title: Lisey's Story

text: "Lisey's Story" is the story of Lisey Landon, the widow of a famous and wildly successful novelist, Scott Landon. The book tells two stories—Lisey's story in the present, and the story of her dead husband's life, as remembered by Lisey during the course of the novel.


title: Lisey's Story

text: It has been two years since the death of famous author Scott Landon, and his widow Lisey (pronounced ) is still in the process of cleaning out her husband's writing area. Over the past two years many academics have come to her hoping to find some piece of writing she might have missed, like an unpublished manuscript. Lisey has sent each away in their turn explaining that she's still working through the clean up, although her lack of progress speaks more to procrastination. Her mentally fragile sister Amanda spends a day with her, searching through stacks of books and magazines to earmark any pictures where Lisey appears or is mentioned. Lisey begins to relive her past, starting with the time she saved Scott from being fatally shot by an insane fan. She often stops herself mid-reminiscence to avoid uncovering terrifying memories.


title: Lisey's Story

text: After Amanda discovers that her ex-husband has remarried and is moving back to town she slices open her hands and slips into catatonia. Before admitting Amanda to an institution Lisey hears her sister speaking in Scott's voice, telling her he has created a "bool" hunt with a prize at the end.


title: Lisey's Story

text: One day she receives a disturbing phone call from a man calling himself Zack McCool, claiming that if Lisey doesn't hand over Scott's documents to a professor she had recently chased away he, Zack, would be forced to hurt her. His next step is to leave her a threatening letter and a dead cat in her mailbox. At this point Lisey alerts the authorities, although the most they can offer her is a patrol car stationed by her home unless an emergency arises elsewhere. This does not deter Zack in the least and he eventually sneaks onto her property and mutilates her with a can opener.


title: Lisey's Story

text: Throughout the book Lisey begins to face certain realities about her husband that she had repressed and forgotten. She recalls Scott's past—how he came from a family with a history of horrible mental illness that manifested as either an uncontrollable homicidal mania or as a deep catatonia, how he had a special gift, an ability to transport himself to another world, which he called "Boo'ya Moon" with its own unique dangers, how Scott Landon's brother Paul was killed by their father when, at thirteen, Paul succumbed to the family disease and attempted to kill Scott, and how Scott really died.


title: Lisey's Story

text: Using her own repressed ability to cross over to Boo'ya Moon, Lisey is able to pull Amanda out of her catatonia, bring Zack to the other world, and lure him to his grisly death at the claws of a vicious world-crossing beast that stalks the forest of Boo'ya Moon.


title: Lisey's Story

text: The prize at the end of the hunt is a diary of Scott's last days with his family, ending with Scott Landon's confession that he was forced to kill his own father to save him from the madness that had finally taken him over.


title: Lisey's Story

text: Over the next week Lisey is able to pack and give up Scott's things, as she now believes he has moved on. Now Lisey has a hard time keeping herself grounded in this world, often finding that she slips back to Boo'ya Moon in her sleep and sometimes while awake. The book ends with her saying goodbye to Scott in the now-empty study.


title: Lisey's Story

text: In August 2017, King expressed an interest in seeing the story adapted as a television series. ""Lisey's Story" is my favorite of the books and I would love to see that done, especially now that there's a kind of openness on the streaming services on TV and even the cable networks. There's more freedom to do stuff now and when you do a movie from a book, there's this thing that I call the sitting on a suitcase syndrome. That is where you try to pack in all the clothes at once and the suitcase won't close. So it's tough to take a book that is fully textured, and do it in two hours and 10 minutes. But as a TV show you have 10 hours." In April 2019 it was announced that the book would be adapted as an eight part limited series called "Lisey's Story", with all episodes scripted by Stephen King, starring Julianne Moore. The eight-episode miniseries premiered on Apple TV+ on June 4, 2021.


title: Horse breeding

text: Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses. Furthermore, modern breeding management and technologies can increase the rate of conception, a healthy pregnancy, and successful foaling.


title: Horse breeding

text: The male parent of a horse, a stallion, is commonly known as the "sire" and the female parent, the mare, is called the "dam". Both are genetically important, as each parent genes can be existent with a 50% probability in the foal. Contrary to popular misuse, "colt" refers to a young male horse only; "filly" is a young female. Though many horse owners may simply breed a family mare to a local stallion in order to produce a companion animal, most professional breeders use selective breeding to produce individuals of a given phenotype, or breed. Alternatively, a breeder could, using individuals of differing phenotypes, create a new breed with specific characteristics.


title: Horse breeding

text: A horse is "bred" where it is foaled (born). Thus a colt conceived in England but foaled in the United States is regarded as being bred in the US. In some cases, most notably in the Thoroughbred breeding industry, American- and Canadian-bred horses may also be described by the state or province in which they are foaled. Some breeds denote the country, or state, where conception took place as the origin of the foal.


title: Horse breeding

text: Similarly, the "breeder", is the person who owned or leased the mare at the time of foaling. That individual may not have had anything to do with the mating of the mare. It is important to review each breed registry's rules to determine which applies to any specific foal.


title: Horse breeding

text: In the horse breeding industry, the term "half-brother" or "half-sister" only describes horses which have the same dam, but different sires. Horses with the same sire but different dams are simply said to be "by the same sire", and no sibling relationship is implied. "Full" (or "own") siblings have both the same dam and the same sire. The terms paternal half-sibling, and maternal half-sibling are also often used. Three-quarter siblings are horses out of the same dam, and are by sires that are either half-brothers (i.e. same dam) or who are by the same sire.


title: Horse breeding

text: Thoroughbreds and Arabians are also classified through the "distaff" or direct female line, known as their "family" or "tail female" line, tracing back to their taproot foundation bloodstock or the beginning of their respective stud books. The female line of descent always appears at the bottom of a tabulated pedigree and is therefore often known as the "bottom line". In addition, the maternal grandfather of a horse has a special term: damsire.


title: Horse breeding

text: "Linebreeding" technically is the duplication of fourth generation or more distant ancestors. However, the term is often used more loosely, describing horses with duplication of ancestors closer than the fourth generation. It also is sometimes used as a euphemism for the practice of inbreeding, a practice that is generally frowned upon by horse breeders, though used by some in an attempt to fix certain traits.


title: Horse breeding

text: The estrous cycle (also spelled oestrous) controls when a mare is sexually receptive toward a stallion, and helps to physically prepare the mare for conception. It generally occurs during the spring and summer months, although some mares may be sexually receptive into the late fall, and is controlled by the photoperiod (length of the day), the cycle first triggered when the days begin to lengthen. The estrous cycle lasts about 19–22 days, with the average being 21 days. As the days shorten, the mare returns to a period when she is not sexually receptive, known as anestrus. Anestrus – occurring in the majority of, but not all, mares – prevents the mare from conceiving in the winter months, as that would result in her foaling during the harshest part of the year, a time when it would be most difficult for the foal to survive.


title: Horse breeding

text: Depending on breed, on average, 16% of mares have double ovulations, allowing them to twin, though this does not affect the length of time of estrus or diestrus.


title: Horse breeding

text: Changes in hormone levels can have great effects on the physical characteristics of the reproductive organs of the mare, thereby preparing, or preventing, her from conceiving.


title: Horse breeding

text: The cycle is controlled by several hormones which regulate the estrous cycle, the mare's behavior, and the reproductive system of the mare. The cycle begins when the increased day length causes the pineal gland to reduce the levels of melatonin, thereby allowing the hypothalamus to secrete GnRH.


title: Horse breeding

text: While horses in the wild mate and foal in mid to late spring, in the case of horses domestically bred for competitive purposes, especially horse racing, it is desirable that they be born as close to January 1 in the northern hemisphere or August 1 in the southern hemisphere as possible, so as to be at an advantage in size and maturity when competing against other horses in the same age group. When an early foal is desired, barn managers will put the mare "under lights" by keeping the barn lights on in the winter to simulate a longer day, thus bringing the mare into estrus sooner than she would in nature. Mares signal estrus and ovulation by urination in the presence of a stallion, raising the tail and revealing the vulva. A stallion, approaching with a high head, will usually nicker, nip and nudge the mare, as well as sniff her urine to determine her readiness for mating.


title: Horse breeding

text: Once fertilized, the oocyte (egg) remains in the oviduct for approximately 5.5 more days, and then descends into the uterus. The initial single cell combination is already dividing and by the time of entry into the uterus, the egg might have already reached the blastocyst stage.


title: Horse breeding

text: The gestation period lasts for about eleven months, or about 340 days (normal average range 320–370 days). During the early days of pregnancy, the conceptus is mobile, moving about in the uterus until about day 16 when "fixation" occurs. Shortly after fixation, the embryo proper (so called up to about 35 days) will become visible on trans-rectal ultrasound (about day 21) and a heartbeat should be visible by about day 23. After the formation of the endometrial cups and early placentation is initiated (35–40 days of gestation) the terminology changes, and the embryo is referred to as a fetus. True implantation – invasion into the endometrium of any sort – does not occur until about day 35 of pregnancy with the formation of the endometrial cups, and true placentation (formation of the placenta) is not initiated until about day 40-45 and not completed until about 140 days of pregnancy. The fetus's sex can be determined by day 70 of the gestation using ultrasound. Halfway through gestation the fetus is the size of between a rabbit and a beagle. The most dramatic fetal development occurs in the last 3 months of pregnancy when 60% of fetal growth occurs.


title: Horse breeding

text: Domestic mares receive specific care and nutrition to ensure that they and their foals are healthy. Mares are given vaccinations against diseases such as the Rhinopneumonitis (EHV-1) virus (which can cause miscarriage) as well as vaccines for other conditions that may occur in a given region of the world. Pre-foaling vaccines are recommended 4–6 weeks prior to foaling to maximize the immunoglobulin content of the colostrum in the first milk. Mares are dewormed a few weeks prior to foaling, as the mare is the primary source of parasites for the foal.


title: Horse breeding

text: Mares can be used for riding or driving during most of their pregnancy. Exercise is healthy, though should be moderated when a mare is heavily in foal. Exercise in excessively high temperatures has been suggested as being detrimental to pregnancy maintenance during the embryonic period; however ambient temperatures encountered during the research were in the region of 100 degrees F and the same results may not be encountered in regions with lower ambient temperatures.


title: Horse breeding

text: During the first several months of pregnancy, the nutritional requirements do not increase significantly since the rate of growth of the fetus is very slow. However, during this time, the mare may be provided supplemental vitamins and minerals, particularly if forage quality is questionable. During the last 3–4 months of gestation, rapid growth of the fetus increases the mare's nutritional requirements. Energy requirements during these last few months, and during the first few months of lactation are similar to those of a horse in full training. Trace minerals such as copper are extremely important, particularly during the tenth month of pregnancy, for proper skeletal formation. Many feeds designed for pregnant and lactating mares provide the careful balance required of increased protein, increased calories through extra fat as well as vitamins and minerals. Overfeeding the pregnant mare, particularly during early gestation, should be avoided, as excess weight may contribute to difficulties foaling or fetal/foal related problems.


title: Horse breeding

text: Mares due to foal are usually separated from other horses, both for the benefit of the mare and the safety of the soon-to-be-delivered foal. In addition, separation allows the mare to be monitored more closely by humans for any problems that may occur while giving birth. In the northern hemisphere, a special foaling stall that is large and clutter free is frequently used, particularly by major breeding farms. Originally, this was due in part to a need for protection from the harsh winter climate present when mares foal early in the year, but even in moderate climates, such as Florida, foaling stalls are still common because they allow closer monitoring of mares. Smaller breeders often use a small pen with a large shed for foaling, or they may remove a wall between two box stalls in a small barn to make a large stall. In the milder climates seen in much of the southern hemisphere, most mares foal outside, often in a paddock built specifically for foaling, especially on the larger stud farms. Many stud farms worldwide employ technology to alert human managers when the mare is about to foal, including webcams, closed-circuit television, or assorted types of devices that alert a handler via a remote alarm when a mare lies down in a position to foal.


title: Horse breeding

text: On the other hand, some breeders, particularly those in remote areas or with extremely large numbers of horses, may allow mares to foal out in a field amongst a herd, but may also see higher rates of foal and mare mortality in doing so.


title: Horse breeding

text: Most mares foal at night or early in the morning, and prefer to give birth alone when possible. Labor is rapid, often no more than 30 minutes, and from the time the feet of the foal appear to full delivery is often only about 15 to 20 minutes. Once the foal is born, the mare will lick the newborn foal to clean it and help blood circulation. In a very short time, the foal will attempt to stand and get milk from its mother. A foal should stand and nurse within the first hour of life.


title: Horse breeding

text: To create a bond with her foal, the mare licks and nuzzles the foal, enabling her to distinguish the foal from others. Some mares are aggressive when protecting their foals, and may attack other horses or unfamiliar humans that come near their newborns.


title: Horse breeding

text: After birth, a foal's navel is dipped in antiseptic to prevent infection. The foal is sometimes given an enema to help clear the meconium from its digestive tract. The newborn is monitored to ensure that it stands and nurses without difficulty. While most horse births happen without complications, many owners have first aid supplies prepared and a veterinarian on call in case of a birthing emergency. People who supervise foaling should also watch the mare to be sure that she passes the placenta in a timely fashion, and that it is complete with no fragments remaining in the uterus. Retained fetal membranes can cause a serious inflammatory condition (endometritis) and/or infection. If the placenta is not removed from the stall after it is passed, a mare will often eat it, an instinct from the wild, where blood would attract predators.


title: Horse breeding

text: Foals develop rapidly, and within a few hours a wild foal can travel with the herd. In domestic breeding, the foal and dam are usually separated from the herd for a while, but within a few weeks are typically pastured with the other horses. A foal will begin to eat hay, grass and grain alongside the mare at about 4 weeks old; by 10–12 weeks the foal requires more nutrition than the mare's milk can supply. Foals are typically weaned at 4–8 months of age, although in the wild a foal may nurse for a year.


title: Horse breeding

text: Beyond the appearance and conformation of a specific type of horse, breeders aspire to improve physical performance abilities. This concept, known as matching "form to function," has led to the development of not only different breeds, but also families or bloodlines within breeds that are specialists for excelling at specific tasks.


title: Horse breeding

text: For example, the Arabian horse of the desert naturally developed speed and endurance to travel long distances and survive in a harsh environment, and domestication by humans added a trainable disposition to the animal's natural abilities. In the meantime, in northern Europe, the locally adapted heavy horse with a thick, warm coat was domesticated and put to work as a farm animal that could pull a plow or wagon. This animal was later adapted through selective breeding to create a strong but rideable animal suitable for the heavily armored knight in warfare.


title: Horse breeding

text: Then, centuries later, when people in Europe wanted faster horses than could be produced from local horses through simple selective breeding, they imported Arabians and other oriental horses to breed as an outcross to the heavier, local animals. This led to the development of breeds such as the Thoroughbred, a horse taller than the Arabian and faster over the distances of a few miles required of a European race horse or light cavalry horse. Another cross between oriental and European horses produced the Andalusian, a horse developed in Spain that was powerfully built, but extremely nimble and capable of the quick bursts of speed over short distances necessary for certain types of combat as well as for tasks such as bullfighting.


title: Horse breeding

text: Later, the people who settled America needed a hardy horse that was capable of working with cattle. Thus, Arabians and Thoroughbreds were crossed on Spanish horses, both domesticated animals descended from those brought over by the Conquistadors, and feral horses such as the Mustangs, descended from the Spanish horse, but adapted by natural selection to the ecology and climate of the west. These crosses ultimately produced new breeds such as the American Quarter Horse and the Criollo of Argentina. In Canada, the Canadian Horse descended from the French stock Louis XIV sent to Canada in the late 17th century.[6] The initial shipment, in 1665, consisted of two stallions and twenty mares from the Royal Stables in Normandy and Brittany, the centre of French horse breeding.[7] Only 12 of the 20 mares survived the trip. Two more shipments followed, one in 1667 of 14 horses (mostly mares, but with at least one stallion), and one in 1670 of 11 mares and a stallion. The shipments included a mix of draft horses and light horses, the latter of which included both pacing and trotting horses.[1] The exact origins of all the horses are unknown, although the shipments probably included Bretons, Normans, Arabians, Andalusians and Barbs.


title: Horse breeding

text: In modern times, these breeds themselves have since been selectively bred to further specialize at certain tasks. One example of this is the American Quarter Horse. Once a general-purpose working ranch horse, different bloodlines now specialize in different events. For example, larger, heavier animals with a very steady attitude are bred to give competitors an advantage in events such as team roping, where a horse has to start and stop quickly, but also must calmly hold a full-grown steer at the end of a rope. On the other hand, for an event known as cutting, where the horse must separate a cow from a herd and prevent it from rejoining the group, the best horses are smaller, quick, alert, athletic and highly trainable. They must learn quickly, have conformation that allows quick stops and fast, low turns, and the best competitors have a certain amount of independent mental ability to anticipate and counter the movement of a cow, popularly known as "cow sense."


title: Horse breeding

text: Another example is the Thoroughbred. While most representatives of this breed are bred for horse racing, there are also specialized bloodlines suitable as show hunters or show jumpers. The hunter must have a tall, smooth build that allows it to trot and canter smoothly and efficiently. Instead of speed, value is placed on appearance and upon giving the equestrian a comfortable ride, with natural jumping ability that shows bascule and good form.


title: Horse breeding

text: A show jumper, however, is bred less for overall form and more for power over tall fences, along with speed, scope, and agility. This favors a horse with a good galloping stride, powerful hindquarters that can change speed or direction easily, plus a good shoulder angle and length of neck. A jumper has a more powerful build than either the hunter or the racehorse.


title: Horse breeding

text: The history of horse breeding goes back millennia. Though the precise date is in dispute, humans could have domesticated the horse as far back as approximately 4500 BCE. However, evidence of planned breeding has a more blurry history. It is well known, for example, that the Romans did breed horses and valued them in their armies, but little is known regarding their breeding and husbandry practices: all that remains are statues and artwork. Mankind has plenty of equestrian statues of Roman emperors, horses are mentioned in the Odyssey by Homer, and hieroglyphics and paintings left behind by Egyptians tell stories of pharaohs hunting elephants from chariots. Nearly nothing is known of what became of the horses they bred for hippodromes, for warfare, or even for farming.


title: Horse breeding

text: One of the earliest people known to document the breedings of their horses were the Bedouin of the Middle East, the breeders of the Arabian horse. While it is difficult to determine how far back the Bedouin passed on pedigree information via an oral tradition, there were written pedigrees of Arabian horses by CE 1330. The Akhal-Teke of West-Central Asia is another breed with roots in ancient times that was also bred specifically for war and racing. The nomads of the Mongolian steppes bred horses for several thousand years as well, and the Caspian horse is believed to be a very close relative of Ottoman horses from the earliest origins of the Turks in Central Asia.


title: Horse breeding

text: The types of horse bred varied with culture and with the times. The uses to which a horse was put also determined its qualities, including smooth amblers for riding, fast horses for carrying messengers, heavy horses for plowing and pulling heavy wagons, ponies for hauling cars of ore from mines, packhorses, carriage horses and many others.


title: Horse breeding

text: Medieval Europe bred large horses specifically for war, called destriers. These horses were the ancestors of the great heavy horses of today, and their size was preferred not simply because of the weight of the armor, but also because a large horse provided more power for the knight's lance. Weighing almost twice as much as a normal riding horse, the destrier was a powerful weapon in battle meant to act like a giant battering ram that could quite literally run down men on an enemy line.


title: Horse breeding

text: On the other hand, during this same time, lighter horses were bred in northern Africa and the Middle East, where a faster, more agile horse was preferred. The lighter horse suited the raids and battles of desert people, allowing them to outmaneuver rather than overpower the enemy. When Middle Eastern warriors and European knights collided in warfare, the heavy knights were frequently outmaneuvered. The Europeans, however, responded by crossing their native breeds with "oriental" type horses such as the Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman horse This cross-breeding led both to a nimbler war horse, such as today's Andalusian horse, but also created a type of horse known as a Courser, a predecessor to the Thoroughbred, which was used as a message horse.


title: Horse breeding

text: During the Renaissance, horses were bred not only for war, but for haute ecole riding, derived from the most athletic movements required of a war horse, and popular among the elite nobility of the time. Breeds such as the Lipizzan and the now extinct Neapolitan horse were developed from Spanish-bred horses for this purpose, and also became the preferred mounts of cavalry officers, who were derived mostly from the ranks of the nobility. It was during this time that firearms were developed, and so the light cavalry horse, a faster and quicker war horse, was bred for "shoot and run" tactics rather than the shock action as in the Middle Ages. Fine horses usually had a well muscled, curved neck, slender body, and sweeping mane, as the nobility liked to show off their wealth and breeding in paintings of the era.


title: Horse breeding

text: After Charles II retook the British throne in 1660, horse racing, which had been banned by Cromwell, was revived. The Thoroughbred was developed 40 years later, bred to be the ultimate racehorse, through the lines of three foundation Arabian stallions and one Turkish horse.


title: Horse breeding

text: In the 18th century, James Burnett, Lord Monboddo noted the importance of selecting appropriate parentage to achieve desired outcomes of successive generations. Monboddo worked more broadly in the abstract thought of species relationships and evolution of species. The Thoroughbred breeding hub in Lexington, Kentucky was developed in the late 18th century, and became a mainstay in American racehorse breeding.


title: Horse breeding

text: The 17th and 18th centuries saw more of a need for fine carriage horses in Europe, bringing in the dawn of the warmblood. The warmblood breeds have been exceptionally good at adapting to changing times, and from their carriage horse beginnings they easily transitioned during the 20th century into a sport horse type. Today's warmblood breeds, although still used for competitive driving, are more often seen competing in show jumping or dressage.


title: Horse breeding

text: The Thoroughbred continues to dominate the horse racing world, although its lines have been more recently used to improve warmblood breeds and to develop sport horses. The French saddle horse is an excellent example as is the Irish Sport Horse, the latter being an unusual combination between a Thoroughbred and a draft breed.


title: Horse breeding

text: The American Quarter Horse was developed early in the 18th century, mainly for quarter racing (racing ¼ of a mile). Colonists did not have racetracks or any of the trappings of Europe that the earliest Thoroughbreds had at their disposal, so instead the owners of Quarter Horses would run their horses on roads that lead through town as a form of local entertainment. As the USA expanded West, the breed went with settlers as a farm and ranch animal, and "cow sense" was particularly valued: their use for herding cattle increased on rough, dry terrain that often involved sitting in the saddle for long hours.


title: Horse breeding

text: However, this did not mean that the original ¼-mile races that colonists held ever went out of fashion, so today there are three types: the stock horse type, the racer, and the more recently evolving sport type. The racing type most resembles the finer-boned ancestors of the first racing Quarter Horses, and the type is still used for ¼-mile races. The stock horse type, used in western events and as a farm and patrol animal is bred for a shorter stride, an ability to stop and turn quickly, and an unflappable attitude that remains calm and focused even in the face of an angry charging steer. The first two are still to this day bred to have a combination of explosive speed that exceeds the Thoroughbred on short distances clocked as high as 55 mph, but they still retain the gentle, calm, and kindly temperament of their ancestors that makes them easily handled.


title: Horse breeding

text: The Canadian horse's origin corresponds to shipments of French horses, some of which came from Louis XIV's own stable and most likely were Baroque horses meant to be gentlemen's mounts. These were ill-suited to farm work and to the hardscrabble life of the New World, so like the Americans, early Canadians crossed their horses with natives escapees. In time they evolved along similar lines as the Quarter Horse to the South as both the US and Canada spread westward and needed a calm and tractable horse versatile enough to carry the farmer's son to school but still capable of running fast and running hard as a cavalry horse, a stockhorse, or a horse to pull a conestoga wagon.


title: Horse breeding

text: Other horses from North America retained a hint of their mustang origins by being either derived from stock that Native Americans bred that came in a rainbow of color, like the Appaloosa and American Paint Horse. with those East of the Mississippi River increasingly bred to impress and mimic the trends of the upper classes of Europe: The Tennessee Walking Horse and Saddlebred were originally plantation horses bred for their gait and comfortable ride in the saddle as a plantation master would survey his vast lands like an English lord.


title: Horse breeding

text: Horses were needed for heavy draft and carriage work until replaced by the automobile, truck, and tractor. After this time, draft and carriage horse numbers dropped significantly, though light riding horses remained popular for recreational pursuits. Draft horses today are used on a few small farms, but today are seen mainly for pulling and plowing competitions rather than farm work. Heavy harness horses are now used as an outcross with lighter breeds, such as the Thoroughbred, to produce the modern warmblood breeds popular in sport horse disciplines, particularly at the Olympic level.


title: Horse breeding

text: Breeding a horse is an endeavor where the owner, particularly of the mare, will usually need to invest considerable time and money. For this reason, a horse owner needs to consider several factors, including: