title: American white ibis

text: The white plumage and pink facial skin of adult American white ibises are distinctive. Adults have black wingtips that are usually only visible in flight. In non-breeding condition the long downcurved bill and long legs are bright red-orange. During the first ten days of the breeding season, the skin darkens to a deep pink on the bill and an almost purple-tinted red on the legs. It then fades to a paler pink, and the tip of the bill becomes blackish. It is difficult to determine the sex of an adult American white ibis from its external appearance, since the sexes have similar plumage. However, there is sexual dimorphism in size and proportion as males are significantly larger and heavier than females and have longer and stouter bills. This species is moderately large for an ibis but is relatively short legged, compact and bulky for a large wader. A study of the American white ibis in southern Florida yielded weight ranges of for males and for females, with average weights of for males and for females. The length of adult female and male birds ranges from with a wingspan. Among standard measurements, American white ibis measure along each wing, have a tail measurement of , a tarsus of and a culmen of .


title: American white ibis

text: The newly hatched American white ibis is covered with violet down feathers, deepening to dark brown or black on the head and wings. The chest is often bare and there can be a white tuft on the head. The irises are brown. The exposed skin is pinkish initially, apart from the tip of the bill which is dark gray, but turns gray within a few days of hatching. The bill is short and straight at birth and has an egg tooth which falls off between days five and nine, and develops three black rings from around day six, before turning gray by around six weeks of age. The gray to sandy gray brown juvenile plumage appears between weeks two and six, and face and bill become pink a few weeks later, while the legs remain gray. The irises have turned slate-gray by this stage. Once fledged, the juvenile American white ibis has largely brown plumage and only the rump, underwing and underparts are white. The legs become light orange. As it matures, white feathers begin appearing on the back and it undergoes a gradual molt to obtain the white adult plumage. This is mostly complete by the end of the second year, although some brown feathers persist on the head and neck until the end of the third year. Juvenile birds take around two years to reach adult size and weight.


title: American white ibis

text: Like other species of ibis, the American white ibis flies with neck and legs outstretched, often in long loose lines or V formations—a 1986 field study in North Carolina noted over 80% of adult ibis doing so, while juveniles rapidly took up the practice over the course of the summer. The resulting improvement in aerodynamics may lower energy expenditure. These lines fly in an undulating pattern as they alternately flap and glide. Soaring in a circular pattern is also seen. Heights of may be reached as birds glide over flights of or more. More commonly, birds fly between above the ground, gliding or flapping at a rate of around 3.3 wingbeats a second.


title: American white ibis

text: The main call of the American white ibis is a honking sound, transcribed as "urnk, urnk", or "hunk, hunk". The call is used in flight, courtship or when disturbed. Birds also utter a muted "huu-huu-huu" call while foraging, and make a squealing call in courtship. Young in the nest give a high-pitched "zziu" as a begging call.


title: American white ibis

text: Immature American white and scarlet ibises are very difficult to tell apart, although scarlet ibises tend to have darker legs and bare skin around the face. An immature American white ibis could be mistaken for an immature glossy ibis, but the latter is wholly dark brown and lacks the white belly and rump. The adult is distinguishable from the wood stork, which is much larger and its wings have more black on them.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis is most common in Florida, where over 30,000 have been counted in a single breeding colony. It also occurs throughout the Caribbean, on both coasts of Mexico (from Baja California southwards) and Central America, and as far south as Colombia and Venezuela. The non-breeding range extends further inland, reaching north to Virginia, and west to eastern Texas. The species is known to wander, and has been sighted, sometimes in small flocks, in states far out of its usual range.


title: American white ibis

text: In North America, breeding takes place along the Atlantic coast, from the Carolinas south to Florida and thence west along the Gulf Coast. Laguna Cuyutlán is an isolated and regionally important wetland in the state of Colima on México's west coast where a breeding colony has been recorded. American white ibises are not faithful to the sites where they breed, and large breeding colonies composed of ten thousand birds or more can congregate and disband in one or two breeding seasons. Breeding populations across its range have fluctuated greatly with wholesale movement between states.


title: American white ibis

text: Until the 1940s, the species bred only in large numbers in Florida, mostly within the Everglades. Drought conditions elsewhere in the United States led to more than 400,000 American white ibis breeding there in the 1930s. In the 1950s and 1960s, large colonies appeared in Alabama, Louisiana, and then North and South Carolina and the Gulf Coast of Florida, and finally Texas in the 1970s. Between the 1970s and early 1990s, breeding colonies declined and disappeared in South Carolina and Florida, and greatly increased in North Carolina and Louisiana. Colonies last between one and seventeen years, their longevity related to size and quality of nearby wetlands. The longest-lasting are associated with wetlands over in size. Degradation of wetland or breeding sites are reasons for abandonment. The population of American white ibises in a colony at Pumpkinseed Island in Georgetown County, South Carolina, dropped from 10,000 to zero between 1989 and 1990 as Hurricane Hugo had inundated nearby freshwater foraging areas with salt water.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis is found in a variety of habitats, although shallow coastal marshes, wetlands and mangrove swamps are preferred. It is also commonly found in muddy pools, on mudflats and even wet lawns. Populations that are away from the coast and shoreline, particularly in southern Florida, often reside in other forms of wetlands such as marshes, ponds and flooded fields. In summer, these move to more coastal and estuarine habitats as inland waterways become flooded with summer rains and the ibis find the water levels too deep to forage effectively.


title: American white ibis

text: Remains similar to the American white ibis have been found in Middle Pliocene deposits of the Bone Valley formation in central Florida, and Lower Pliocene deposits of the Yorktown Formation at Lee Creek in North Carolina. Two species, one living and one extinct, have been recovered from the Talara Tar Seeps in northern coastal Peru. "Eudocimus peruvianus" was described from a tarsometatarsus that differed slightly from "E. albus", whose remains were also found there. Remains of neither species are common in the beds. The tar seeps have been dated at 13,900 years old. The American white ibis is still found in Peru.


title: American white ibis

text: A field study late in the Florida nesting season revealed that on an average day, adult American white ibis spent 10.25 hours looking for food, 0.75 hours flying, 13 hours resting, roosting, and attending to their nests. Much of the time roosting is spent preening, biting and working their feathers with their long bills, as well as rubbing the oil glands on the sides of their heads on back plumage. American white ibis generally only preen themselves, not engaging in allopreening unless part of courtship behavior. Bathing often takes place before preening; ibis squat in water deep and flick water over themselves with each wing in succession. Hundreds of birds may bathe together around the time of courtship.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis is territorial, defending the nesting and display sites against intruders. Agonistic or threat displays include lunging forward with the bill in a horizontal posture, and standing upright and snapping the bill opposite another bird engaging in the same display. Birds also lunge and bite, often holding onto an opponent's head or wings.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis pairs up in spring and breeds in huge colonies, often with other waterbird species. Nesting begins as soon as suitable foraging and nesting habitat is available. The female selects the site, usually in the branches of a tree or shrub, which is often over water, and builds the nest, and males assist by bringing nest material. Anywhere from one to five eggs are typically laid, with two or three being the most common. The eggs are matte pale blue-green in color with brown splotches, measure , and weigh on average . Clutch sizes are usually lower in coastal colonies as compared to inland colonies, although there are no statistically significant differences in the fledging rate of both colonies. Throughout the mating and incubation period, the male undergoes a period of starvation to stay close to the nest and aggressively defend his nest and mate from both predators and other ibises in preference to foraging for food. In the 2006 breeding season, a non-breeding adult female was observed to be tending to multiple nests that belonged to other American white ibises—the first time the behavior has been documented for this species.


title: American white ibis

text: Although the American white ibis is predominantly monogamous and both sexes provide parental care to their young, the male often flies off to engage in extra-pair copulation with other nesting females after mating with its primary female partner. These extra-pair copulations are usually done after the within-pair copulations, and make up about 45% of all total matings, although only about 15% of all extra-pair copulations are successful. By not restricting the number of females it copulates with, the male is able to increase its reproductive success considerably. Although females are receptive towards extra-pair copulations, male mate-guarding greatly reduces the rate of successful female involvement in attempted extra-pair copulations by other males.


title: American white ibis

text: The breeding success of the American white ibis is sensitive to the hydrological conditions of the ecosystem such as rainfall and water levels. Low and decreasing water levels predict good prey accessibility. Water level reversals, where levels rise in the breeding season, disperse prey and impact on foraging success. Nest numbers and average clutch sizes are smaller in periods of reduced prey availability. The success rate of parents raising one or more young to 20 days of age ranges widely from 5 to 70% of nests, and varies greatly between nearby colonies. American white ibis parents have been known to supplement their chicks' diet with items such as cockroaches and rotting food from human garbage in poorer years, when fish and crayfish are more scarce. Studies have also shown that years with higher nesting numbers had significantly faster spring drying rates of water bodies than years with low nesting numbers. This is because faster drying rates means that there are fewer fish and increased available area where crayfish can be hunted. This highlights the fact that American white ibises do not use probability of nesting failure as a key factor in determining nesting sites but instead, rely on other criteria such as prey availability and nest-site predation rates. The draining of wetlands in south Florida has also impacted on species that forage in shallow water such as the American white ibis, and its increase in numbers is a key indicator of restoration of habitat within the Everglades.


title: American white ibis

text: The main cause of nest failure among the species is due to nest abandonment, the leading cause of which is inundation from extremely high tides. Parents abandoned 61% of all nesting starts either during or immediately after extremely high tides. The eggs float out of the flooded nests, or get washed out into the sea by wave action. Incubating parents usually abandon the nest when the water or tidal levels reaches above the bottom of the nest cup. Nevertheless, there have been instances where the parents have been observed to transport their eggs to another nest in an attempt to salvage some eggs. However, despite the fact that some nesting sites face high chance of tidal damage every breeding season, American white ibises still continue to nest in these areas because of other favorable conditions such as abundant nearby food sources and low egg predation rates.


title: American white ibis

text: The eggs hatch after about three weeks and the young are attended by both parents. Males are present around the nest for most of the day, and females most of the night. The parents exchange nest duties in the morning and in the evening. Most of the feeding of the chicks occurs during the period where they swap nesting duties. Little feeding is done in the period of the day that is between the two duty swaps and no feeding is done between midnight and 6 a.m. Chick mortality is highest in the first twenty days post hatching, with anywhere from 37 to 83% of hatchlings surviving to three weeks of age in the Everglades. During periods of food limitations and starvation events, the American white ibis tends to exhibit sex-dependent pre-fledgling mortality. For many bird species that have sexually dimorphic nestlings, mortality rates are higher for larger-sized male nestlings as a result of the parents' inability to meet its greater nutritional needs. However, in the case of the American white ibis, the male nestlings actually have a lower mortality rate as compared to the females despite being on average 15% greater in mass as compared to its female counterparts. Although current research has yet to discover the underlying factors to why the males tend to have better survival rates under such conditions, it is suspected that the parents tend to feed the larger male nestlings first because they are either perceived by the parents to have a higher chance of survival, or, being generally larger, the male nestlings simply out-compete the small females for food.


title: American white ibis

text: Bird predators may seize anywhere from 7% to 75% of the progeny in a breeding colony. The fish crow ("Corvus ossifragus") is common raider of American white ibis nests, accounting for up to 44% of egg loss in a field study at Battery Island, North Carolina. Other predators of eggs and young include the boat-tailed grackle ("Quiscalus major"), black-crowned night heron ("Nycticorax nycticorax"), gulls, and possibly vultures, as well as the common opossum ("Didelphis marsupialis"), raccoon ("Procyon lotor"), and rat snakes ("Elaphe" species). Egg predation rates of the American white ibis decline with nest age owing to increased nest attentiveness by the parents, especially during the last week of incubation. High nest densities and reduced synchrony increase egg predation rates because of the increased opportunities afforded by the longer incubation times, as well as the greater availability of nests available for predation.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis begins breeding in its third summer, although birds in captivity may breed as young as nine or ten months of age. The oldest member of the species recorded in captivity was over 20 years of age, and a wild bird has been picked up 16 years and 4 months after being banded.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis prefers to eat crayfish and other crustaceans, but also takes aquatic insects and small fish. Outside the nesting season, the diet is highly variable, as abundance and types of prey depend on both the region and the habitat. In the Llanos, located in Colombia and Venezuela, the most frequent prey are insects, such as fly larvae and beetles. Generally in North America the main prey are crustaceans, mostly crayfish. In the Everglades and cypress swamps, the diet is primarily made up of crayfish, while those that feed in willow ponds eat predominantly fish. American white ibises that feed in mangrove swamps focus on crabs. The tactile nature of the ibis's probing for food in mud means that it catches prey that are too slow to evade the ibis once located by its bill. In the Everglades, this means that crayfish make up a large part of the diet, but a more diverse array of invertebrates are taken in coastal areas. Although crayfish are sought by foraging ibises, prey switching to fish does occur if fish are found in great abundance. It is unclear whether the fish are more easily caught if overcrowded, or whether sheer numbers of fish mean that ibises are catching them instead of crayfish—normally, fish are more agile than crayfish and hence elude the ibis's bill more easily. Fish are a more energy-rich source of food for the American white ibis. In the breeding season, American white ibises in a colony at Pumpkinseed Island travelled further to forage in freshwater wetlands and catch crayfish, than nearby saltwater areas where fiddler crabs predominated, indicating their benefit was worth the extra energy expended in fetching them for their young. This travel results in the wholesale transport of nutrients across the landscape by the colony; in a successful breeding year the colony at Pumpkinseed Island was estimated to have contributed a third as much phosphorus to the neighboring estuary as other environmental processes.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis is found in mixed-species foraging flocks with the glossy ibis ("Plegadis falcinellus") in flooded fields, and the two species select different food items with little overlap; the former foraging for crabs and aquatic insects and the latter feeding mainly on grain. The wood stork is also found in the same habitat in Florida, but hunts larger prey and a higher percentage of fish, so there is little overlap. In the Llanos, where American white ibis coexist with the scarlet ibis, their diets differ, the former consuming more bugs, fish and crustaceans, while the latter eat a much higher proportion of beetles. The willet ("Tringa semipalmata") has been observed trailing American white ibis and catching prey disturbed by them, and even kleptoparasitizing (stealing) from them, in J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Florida. An isolated event of intraspecific predation in juvenile American white ibis has been observed, where a juvenile attacked and consumed a chick from another nest.


title: American white ibis

text: During the summer, the American white ibis roams along the coast of tidal flats and mangrove swamps as the inland marshes are usually flooded. However, as the water level recedes in the fall, populations at the coast shift their foraging area inland, to inland marshes and swamplands. It has become more common in urban landscapes in Florida since the late 1990s, and is one of a number of wetland-dependent bird species which forages in man-made ponds on golf courses in the southwest of the state.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis is a tactile, nonvisual forager, which limits its ability to choose from a wide variety of prey. For the most part, the American white ibis forages for food by tactile probing. It wades slowly through shallow water and sticks its long, downcurved bill into the substrate of the water body with its bill held at around agape at the tip, and sweeps its long bill back and forth across the bottom to pick out suitable food items. Birds may also probe when standing still. Groping with a wide open bill is a technique used by ibis in deeper water when alone, as is head swinging, in which the ibis swings its wide open bill widely in open water. Others copy this type of foraging if they see one ibis doing it. On land, the American white ibis locates prey by sight and pecks, and does not have to insert its bill into the substrate. The American white ibis seeks small prey when other birds are around, as it needs time to break up larger food items into smaller pieces to eat, and other predators such as herons and egrets often take the opportunity to rob the ibis of its catch. Along with the scarlet ibis, the species coexists with another five species of ibis in the Llanos in Venezuela. American white ibis males are aggressive to and take prey items from smaller ibises, but the smaller females are more often the victims of this behavior.


title: American white ibis

text: Juveniles have lower foraging efficiency compared to adults and in most feeding flocks, the juveniles are usually outnumbered by the adults. They usually tend to stay close to one another and forage for food together at the peripheral region of the group. During the breeding season, adult male ibises have been recorded raiding other parent ibises who are feeding their young in the colony. The raiders force their bill down the throat of the victim—either the parent about to disgorge their food or recently fed young—and extract the ball of food. This behavior allows the otherwise starving adult males to obtain food without having to spend long periods of time away from the nest, and prevent its female mate copulating with another male ibis, which would reduce its own reproductive success. Females and juveniles almost never try to drive off the larger and more aggressive pirating males, but instead try to avoid or move away from them. This pirating behavior is less common between two male ibises as the males will actively fight off the pirate. The explanation of the species' sexual dimorphism of body size is unclear, because no differences between the sexes in feeding success rates or the foraging behavior have been observed and, as males are larger, they need more food than females.


title: American white ibis

text: Causes of death of adult ibis are not well known. Alligators could feasibly prey on nesting ibises but there has been little research in the area. A flock of fifty adult American white ibis were killed in a fire in the Everglades. The corpses were found in a dense swathe of cattail ("Typha angustifolia"), which suggested they had taken shelter there. It is unclear why they had not been able to fly away from the fire, but one hypothesis was that they had been foraging for insects disturbed by the fire.


title: American white ibis

text: A total of 51 species of parasitic worm have been recovered from the American white ibis, predominantly from the gastrointestinal system and particularly the small intestine. These include Cestoda (tapeworms), Acanthocephala (thorny headed worms), Nematoda (roundworms), Digenea and Spirurida. Several roundworm and spirurid species have been found in the lining of the gizzard. Nematodes are more prevalent in American white ibis from freshwater habitats, and cestodes more frequent in those from saltwater areas. One nematode found in adult birds, "Skrjabinoclavia thapari", is borne in the fiddler crab as an intermediate host, while the thorny headed worm species "Southwellina dimorpha" is carried in crayfish and infests both adult and juvenile ibis.


title: American white ibis

text: Parasitic protozoa of the genus "Sarcocystis" have been recovered from the smooth muscles of adult American white ibis, and another species, "Haemoproteus plataleae", has been recovered from the blood of adults and nestlings, and can hence be transmitted before the young leave the nest. The larvae of two species of mite of the family Hypoderidae, "Phalacrodectes whartoni" and "Neoattialges eudocimae", have been recovered from under the skin. Two species of the louse suborder Mallophaga, "Plegadiphilus eudocimus" and "Ardeicola robusta", also parasitise the bird.


title: American white ibis

text: The American white ibis is classed as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List. The population consists of 150,000 mature adults, and is stable, although some populations have unknown trends. A partial survey of under 50% of the North American population published in 2007 found an almost six-fold increase in the last four decades. The estimated breeding range is huge, at . Fluctuating breeding populations and high mobility of colonies make estimating the population difficult. Attempted censuses of breeding colonies across Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and the Carolinas yielded a count of 166,000 breeding birds in 2001, and 209,000 in 2004. The conservation status has been listed in two states—it is a "Species of Special Concern" in Florida, and a species of "Moderate Conservation Concern" in Alabama. The preservation of colony sites and freshwater foraging areas is important to maintaining populations; however, the highly mobile nature of breeding colonies makes this challenging.


title: American white ibis

text: John James Audubon reported that the American white ibis was hunted and sold in Louisiana, and mainly eaten by American Indians. It had orange flesh and a strong fishy taste. Elsewhere, the flesh has been described as appealing on account of the crayfish diet, and both members of the genus "Eudocimus" have been hunted, which has been responsible for decline, across their range. Crawfish farmers in Louisiana have also shot them for foraging in crawfish ponds. Overall, the impact of hunting is not thought to be major.


title: American white ibis

text: The pollutant methylmercury is a globally distributed neurotoxin and an endocrine system disruptor. In the Everglades ecosystem, human pollution has led to increased concentrations of methylmercury, which have impacted the behaviors of the American white ibis. Hormone levels in males are affected, leading to a decrease in the rates of key courtship behavior, and fewer approaches by females during the mating season. In addition, methylmercury also increased male-male pairing behaviors by 55%. Both the chemically induced "homosexual" behavior and the diminished ability to attract females by males have reduced reproduction rates in affected populations. Exposure of American white ibises to methylmercury causes reduced foraging efficiency and it also makes them more likely to abandon nests owing to the disruptive effect of the pollutant on the bird's hormone systems, which in turn affects parental care behavior. Tests on captive birds have not shown a decreased survival of American white ibis exposed to methylmercury.


title: American white ibis

text: Native American folklore held that the bird was the last to seek shelter before a hurricane, and the first to emerge afterwards. The bird was thus a symbol for danger and optimism. For this reason, the University of Miami adopted the American white ibis as its official athletics mascot in 1926, and the yearbook was known as "The Ibis" from that year. The mascot was initially known as Ibis before adopting the name Sebastian in 1957. It was named after San Sebastian Hall, a residence hall on campus, which sponsored an Ibis entry in the college's homecoming celebration.


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice (; ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital of the Silesian Voivodeship.


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice is the westernmost city of the Upper Silesian metropolis, a conurbation of 2.0 million people, and is the third-largest city of this area, with 175,102 permanent residents as of 2021. It also lies within the larger Upper Silesian metropolitan area which has a population of about 5.3 million people and spans across most of eastern Upper Silesia, western Lesser Poland and the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic. Gliwice is bordered by three other cities and towns of the metropolitan area: Zabrze, Knurów and Pyskowice. It is one of the major college towns in Poland, thanks to the Silesian University of Technology, which was founded in 1945 by academics of Lwów University of Technology. Over 20,000 people study in Gliwice. Gliwice is an important industrial center of Poland. Following an economic transformation in the 1990s, Gliwice shifted from steelworks and coal mining to automotive and machine industry.


title: Gliwice

text: Founded in the 13th century, Gliwice is one of the oldest settlements in Upper Silesia, with a preserved Old Town core. Gliwice's most historical structures include St Bartholomew's Church (15th century), Gliwice Castle and city walls (14th century), (originally a hospital, 15th century) and (15th century). Gliwice is also known for its Radio Tower, where Gleiwitz incident happened shortly before the outbreak of World War II and which is thought to be the world's tallest wooden construction, as well as Weichmann Textile House, one of the first buildings designed by world-renowned architect Erich Mendelsohn. Gliwice hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 which took place on 24 November 2019.


title: Gliwice

text: In Slavic languages, the root or suggests terrain characterized by loam or wetland. In South Slavic languages, or refers to mushrooms, with meaning little mushrooms.


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice was first mentioned as a town in 1276, however, it was granted town rights earlier by Duke Władysław Opolski of the Piast dynasty. It was located on a trade route connecting Kraków and Wrocław and was part of various Piast-ruled duchies of fragmented Poland: Opole until 1281, Bytom until 1322, from 1322 to 1342 Gliwice was a capital of an eponymous duchy, afterwards again part of the Duchy of Bytom until 1354, later it was also ruled by other regional Polish Piast dukes until 1532, although in 1335 it fell under the suzerainty of the Bohemian Crown, passing with that crown under suzerainty of the Austrian Habsburgs in 1526.


title: Gliwice

text: According to 14th-century writers, the town seemed defensive in character, when under rule of Siemowit of Bytom. In the Middle Ages the city prospered mainly due to trade and crafts, especially brewing.


title: Gliwice

text: On 17 April 1433, Gliwice was captured by the Duke Bolko V, who joined the Hussites after they captured Prudnik.


title: Gliwice

text: After the dissolution of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz in 1532, it was incorporated as Gleiwitz into the Habsburg monarchy. Because of the vast expenses incurred by the Habsburg monarchy during their 16th century wars against the Ottoman Empire, Gleiwitz was leased to Friedrich Zettritz for the amount of 14,000 thalers. Although the original lease was for a duration of 18 years, it was renewed in 1580 for 10 years and in 1589 for an additional 18 years. Around 1612, the Reformed Franciscans came from Kraków, and then their monastery and Holy Cross Church were built. The city was besieged or captured by various armies during the Thirty Years' War. In 1645 along with the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz it returned to Poland under the House of Vasa, and in 1666 it fell to Austria again. In 1683 Polish King John III Sobieski stopped in the city before the Battle of Vienna. In the 17th and 18th century, the city's economy switched from trading and brewing beer to clothmaking, which collapsed after the 18th-century Silesian Wars.


title: Gliwice

text: During the mid 18th century Silesian Wars, Gleiwitz was taken from the Habsburg monarchy by the Kingdom of Prussia along with the majority of Silesia. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Gleiwitz was administered in the Prussian district of Tost-Gleiwitz within the Province of Silesia in 1816. The city was incorporated with Prussia into the German Empire in 1871 during the unification of Germany. In 1897 Gleiwitz became its own Stadtkreis, or urban district.


title: Gliwice

text: The first coke-fired blast furnace on the European continent was constructed in Gleiwitz in 1796 under the direction of John Baildon. Gleiwitz began to develop into a major city through industrialization during the 19th century. The town's ironworks fostered the growth of other industrial fields in the area. The city's population in 1875 was 14,156. However, during the late 19th century Gleiwitz had: 14 distilleries, 2 breweries, 5 mills, 7 brick factories, 3 sawmills, a shingle factory, 8 chalk factories and 2 glassworks.


title: Gliwice

text: Other features of the 19th century industrialized Gleiwitz were a gasworks, a furnace factory, a beer bottling company, and a plant for asphalt and paste. Economically, Gleiwitz opened several banks, Savings and loan associations, and bond centers. Its tram system was completed in 1892, while its theater was opened in 1899; until World War II, Gleiwitz' theatre featured actors from throughout Europe and was one of the most famous theatres in the whole of Germany. Despite Germanisation policies, the Poles established various Polish organizations, including the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society, and published local Polish newspapers.


title: Gliwice

text: According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Gleiwitz's population in 1905 was 61,324. By 1911, it had two Protestant and four Roman Catholic churches, a synagogue, a mining school, a convent, a hospital, two orphanages, and a barracks. Gleiwitz was the center of the mining industry of Upper Silesia. It possessed a royal foundry, with which were connected machine factories and boiler works. Other industrialized areas of the city had other foundries, meal mills, and factories producing wire, gas pipes, cement, and paper.


title: Gliwice

text: After the end of World War I, clashes between Poles and Germans occurred during the Polish insurrections in Silesia. Some ethnically Polish inhabitants of Upper Silesia wanted to incorporate the city into the Second Polish Republic, which just regained independence. On 1 May 1919, a Polish rally was held in Gliwice. Seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict, the League of Nations held a plebiscite on 20 March 1921 to determine which country the city should belong to. In Gleiwitz, 32,029 votes (78.7% of given votes) were for remaining in Germany, Poland received 8,558 (21.0%) votes, and 113 (0.3%) votes were declared invalid. The total voter turnout was listed as 97.0%. This prompted another insurrection by Poles. The League of Nations determined that three Silesian cities: Gleiwitz (Gliwice), Hindenburg (Zabrze) and Beuthen (Bytom) would remain in Germany, and the eastern part of Upper Silesia with its main city of Katowice (Kattowitz) would join restored Poland. After delimiting the border in Upper Silesia in 1921, Gliwice found itself in Germany, but near the border with Poland – the nearby Knurów was already in Poland.


title: Gliwice

text: During the interbellum the city witnessed not only Anti-Polish, but also Anti-French incidents and violence by the Germans. In 1920, local Polish doctor and city councillor , protested against the German refusal to treat French soldiers stationed in the city. In January 1922, he himself treated French soldiers shot in the city. On 9 April 1922, 17 Frenchmen died in an explosion during the liquidation of a German militia weapons warehouse in the present-day Sośnica district. Styczyński, who defended the rights of local Poles and protested against German acts of violence against Poles, was himself murdered by a German radical/militant on 18 April 1922. Nevertheless, various Polish organizations and enterprises still operated in the city in the interbellum, including a local branch of the Union of Poles in Germany, Polish banks and a scout troop.


title: Gliwice

text: On 9 June 1933, Gliwice was the site of the first conference of the Nazi anti-Polish organization Bund Deutscher Osten in Upper Silesia. In a secret "Sicherheitsdienst" report from 1934, Gliwice was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia. Polish activists were increasingly persecuted starting in 1937.


title: Gliwice

text: An attack on a radio station in Gleiwitz on 31 August 1939, staged by the German secret police, served as a pretext, devised by Reinhard Heydrich under orders from Hitler, for Nazi Germany to invade Poland, which marked the start of the Second World War.


title: Gliwice

text: Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, on 4 September 1939, the "Einsatzgruppe I" entered the city to commit atrocities against Poles. After the invasion of Poland, the assets of local Polish banks were confiscated by Germany. The Germans formed a "Kampfgruppe" unit in the city. It was also the cremation site of many of around 750 Poles murdered in Katowice in September 1939.


title: Gliwice

text: During the war, the Germans operated a Nazi prison in the city, and established numerous forced labour camps, including a "Polenlager" camp solely for Poles, a camp solely for Jews, a penal "education" camp, a subcamp of the prison in Strzelce Opolskie, and six subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner of war camp. From July 1944 to January 1945, Gliwice was the location of four subcamps of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In the largest subcamp, whose prisoners were mainly Poles, Jews and Russians, nearly 100 either died of hunger, mistreatment and exhaustion or were murdered. During the evacuation of another subcamp, the Germans burned alive or shot 55 prisoners who were unable to walk. There are two mass graves of the victims of the early 1945 death march from Auschwitz in the city, both commemorated with monuments.


title: Gliwice

text: On 24 January 1945, Gliwice was occupied by the Red Army as part of their Allied Occupation Zone. Under borders changes dictated by the Soviet Union at the Potsdam Conference, Gliwice fell inside Poland's new borders after Germany's defeat in the war. It was incorporated into Poland's Silesian Voivodeship on 18 March 1945, after almost 300 years of being outside of Polish rule. The Germans were displaced to the new borders of Germany. Some of Poles that were the from the Polish Kresy (Eastern Borderlands), that were incoporated by Soviet Union, settled in Gliwice, for example from the vicinity of Lwów (Lviv) and part of Eastern Galicia incorporated into the USSR (the western parts of Eastern Galicia with Przemyśl, Sanok, Lubaczów, Lesko and the Western Bieszczady remained with Poland). Poles from other parts of Kresy also settled in Gliwice: from Volhynia, Polesie (Polesia), the Wilno region (Vilnius region) and the Grodno region. In addition, Poles from other regions of Poland, including the vicinity of Kielce, Rzeszów, Łódź or Poznań, as well as Poles from other countries, settled in Gliwice.


title: Gliwice

text: The earliest population estimate of Gliwice from 1880, gives 1,159 people in 1750. The same source cites population to have been 2,990 in 1810, 6,415 in 1838, and 10,923 in 1861. A census from 1858 reported the following ethnic makeup: 7,060 - German, 3,566 - Polish, 11 - Moravian, 1 - Czech. Since the Industrial Revolution, Gliwice saw rapid economic growth which fuelled fast population increase. In 1890 Gliwice had 19,667 inhabitants, and this number has increased over twofold over the next 10 years to 52,362 in 1900. Gliwice gained its status of a large city ("" in German) in 1927, when population reached 102,452 people.


title: Gliwice

text: In 1945, with the approaching Red Army, a significant number of residents were either evacuated or fled the city at their own discretion. Following the Yalta Conference, Gliwice, along most of Silesia, was incorporated into communist Poland, and the remaining German population was expelled. Ethnic Poles, some of them themselves expelled from the Polish Kresy (which were incorporated into Soviet Union), started to settle down in Gliwice. Population estimates reached their pre-war levels in 1950, at 119,968 people. Gliwice's population peaked in 1988 at 223,403 inhabitants.


title: Gliwice

text: As of December 31, 2016, Gliwice's population stood at 182,156 people, a decrease of 1,236 over the previous year. Gliwice faces a continuous population decline since 1988, which is credited to very low birth rates (exceeded by death rates) and suburbanisation.


title: Gliwice

text: Historically, Gliwice was ethnically diverse, initially inhabited by Poles, later it had a German majority as a result of German colonization, with a significant autochthonous Polish minority. In the Upper Silesian Plebiscite in 1921, 78.9 percent of voters opted for Germany (however 15.1 percent of the vote in Gliwice was cast by non-residents, who are believed to overwhelmingly vote for Germany across the region). However, in 1945 most of Germans were expelled or fled themselves, and the city was repopulated with Poles, mostly displaced from former Eastern Poland, annexed by the Soviet Union. Many of these new inhabitants were academics from the Lwów Polytechnic who created the Silesian University of Technology.


title: Gliwice

text: According to the 2011 Polish Census, 93.7 percent of people in Gliwice claimed Polish nationality, with the biggest minorities being Silesians (or or both Poles and Silesians at the same time) at 9.7 percent (18,169 people) and Germans at 1.3 percent (2,525). 0.3 percent declared another nationality, and the nationality of 2.1 percent of people could not be established. These numbers do not sum up to 100 percent as responders were allowed to choose up to two nationalities. Most-common languages used at home were: Polish (97.7 percent), Silesian (2.3 percent), German (0.7 percent) and English (0.4 percent).


title: Gliwice

text: Except for a short period immediately after Reformation, Gliwice has always had a Catholic majority, with sizeable Protestant and Jewish minorities. According to the population estimate in 1861, 7,476 people (68.4 percent) were Catholic, 1,555 (14.2 percent) Protestant, and 1,892 Jewish (17.3 percent, highest share in city history).


title: Gliwice

text: Currently, as of 2011 census, 84.7 percent of inhabitants claim they belong to a religion. The majority – 82.73 percent – belongs to the Catholic Church. This is significantly lower than the Polish average, which is 89.6 and 88.3 percent, respectively. According to the Catholic Church in Poland, weekly mass attendance in the Diocese of Gliwice is at 36.7 percent of obliged, on par with Polish average. Other larger denominations include Jehovah's Witnesses (0.56 percent or 1,044 adherents) and Protestants (0.37 percent or 701 adherents).


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gliwice, which has 23 parish churches in the city. Gliwice is also the seat of the one of the three Armenian Church parishes in Poland (the other being in Warsaw and Gdańsk), which is subject to the Holy See directly. Other denominations present in the city include a Greek Catholic Church parish, an Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession parish, a Methodist parish, 9 Jehovah Witnesses halls (including one offering English-language services), several evangelical churches, a Buddhist temple and a Jewish prayer house.


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice's Jewish population reached its highest number in 1929 at approx. 2,200 people, and started to decline in the late 1930s, as NSDAP gained power in Germany. In 1933 there were 1,803 Jews in the city, and this number has dropped by half to 902 in 1939, most of them perished in the war. Between 1933 and 1937, Jews of Upper Silesia enjoyed somewhat less legal persecution compared to Jews in other parts of Germany, thanks to the Polish-German Treaty of Protection of Minorities' Rights in Upper Silesia. This regional exception was granted thanks to the Bernheim petition that Gliwice citizen Franz Bernheim filed against Nazi Germany in front of the League of Nations.


title: Gliwice

text: Only 25 Jews of the pre-war population lived through the war in the city, all of them being in mixed marriages with gentiles. Immediately after the war, Gliwice became a congregation point for Jews saved from The Holocaust, with population at around a 1,000 people in 1945. Since then, the number of Jews in Gliwice has started to decline as survivors moved to larger cities or emigrated to Israel, United States and other western counties. Currently, Gliwice's Jewish community is estimated at around 25 people and is part of the Katowice Jewish Religious Community.


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice has one , where religious services are held every Sabbath and on holidays. It is located in the house that the Jewish Religious Community elected in 1905. Previously, Jews in Gliwice prayed in the New Synagogue which was destroyed by Nazis during the Kristallnacht in 1938.


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice is a major applied science hub for the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union. Gliwice is a seat of:


title: Gliwice

text: The Polish north–south A1 and east–west A4 motorways, which are parts of the European routes E75 and E40, respectively, run through Gliwice, and their junction is located in the city. In addition the Polish National roads 78 and 88 also run through the city.


title: Gliwice

text: The Gliwice Canal ("Kanał Gliwicki") links the harbour to the Oder River and thus to the waterway network across much of Germany and to the Baltic Sea. There is also an older Kłodnica Canal ("Kanał Kłodnicki") which is no longer operational.


title: Gliwice

text: The city's President (i.e. Mayor) is Adam Neumann. He succeeded Zygmunt Frankiewicz who was mayor for 26 years (1993–2019) before being elected as a Polish Senator.


title: Gliwice

text: Gliwice has 21 city districts, each of them with its own "Rada Osiedlowa". They include, in alphabetical order: Bojków, Brzezinka, Czechowice, Kopernik, Ligota Zabrska, Łabędy, Obrońców Pokoju, Ostropa, Politechnika, Sikornik, Sośnica, Stare Gliwice, Szobiszowice, Śródmieście, Żwirki I Wigury, Trynek, Wilcze Gardło, Wojska Polskiego, Wójtowa Wieś, Zatorze, Żerniki.


title: Gliwice

text: Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency include: Brzeziński Jacek (PO), Chłopek Aleksander (PiS), Gałażewski Andrzej (PO), Głogowski Tomasz (PO), Kaźmierczak Jan (PO), Martyniuk Wacław (LiD), Religa Zbigniew (PiS), Sekuła Mirosław (PO), Szarama Wojciech (PiS), Szumilas Krystyna (PO).


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: The EURO STOXX 50 is a stock index of Eurozone stocks designed by STOXX, an index provider owned by Deutsche Börse Group. The index is composed of 50 stocks from 11 countries in the Eurozone.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: EURO STOXX 50 represents Eurozone blue-chip companies considered as leaders in their respective sectors. It is made up of fifty of the largest and most liquid stocks. The index futures and options on the EURO STOXX 50, traded on Eurex, are among the most liquid products in Europe and the world.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: The EURO STOXX 50 Index represents some of the largest companies in the Eurozone in terms of free-float market capitalization.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: The index captures about 60% of the free-float market capitalization of the EURO STOXX Total Market Index (TMI), which in turn covers about 95% of the free-float market capitalization of the represented countries.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: EURO STOXX 50 was quoted only starting 1998 but its prices were calculated retroactively back to the year 1986. The base value is 1000 points, referenced on 31 December 1991.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: The calculation of the indices employ the Laspeyres formula, which measures price changes against a fixed base quantity weight:


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: Changes in weights due to corporate actions are distributed proportionally across all index components. The index divisors, which is adjusted to maintain the continuity of the values of the index across changes due to corporate actions, are calculated as follows:


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: where ΔMC = The difference between the closing market capitalization of the index and the adjusted closing market capitalization of the index: for companies with corporate actions effective at time (t+1), the free-float market capitalization is calculated with adjusted closing prices, the new number of shares at time (t+1) and the free-float factor at time (t+1) minus the free-float market capitalization calculated with closing prices, number of shares at time (t) and free-float factor at time (t).


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: Buffers are used to achieve the fixed number of components and to maintain stability of the indices by reducing index composition changes. Selection methodology ensures a stable and up-to-date index composition. Fast-entry and fast-exit rules ensure the index accurately represents the performance of only the biggest and most liquid stocks.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: The composition of EURO STOXX 50 is reviewed annually in September. The index is available in several currency (EUR, USD, CAD, GBP, JPY) and return (Price, Net Return, Gross Return) variant combinations. Calculation takes place every 15 seconds between 09:00 CET and 18:00 CET for the EUR and USD variants of any return type, while the CAD, GBP and JPY variants are available as end-of-day calculation only (18:00 CET). The EURO STOXX 50 Index is derived from the 19 EURO STOXX regional Supersector indices.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: , the most countries with most companies represented are France (representing 36.6% of all total assets) and Germany (33.2%).


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: The EURO STOXX 50 serves as the basis for single sub-indices such as the EURO STOXX 50 ex Financials, which excludes all companies assigned to the ICB code 8000. EURO STOXX 50 is used for as underlying index for other financial products or for performance benchmarking purposes. Additionally, the index serves as an underlying for many strategy indices, such as the EURO STOXX 50 Risk Control Indices.


title: EURO STOXX 50

text: The index is used as an underlying for ETFs and derivative financial instruments such as futures and options.


title: Short Brothers

text: Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particularly notable for its flying boat designs manufactured into the 1950s.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1943, Shorts was nationalised and later denationalised, and in 1948 moved from its main base at Rochester, Kent to Belfast. In the 1960s, Shorts mainly produced turboprop airliners, major components for aerospace primary manufacturers, and missiles for the British Armed Forces.


title: Short Brothers

text: Shorts was primarily government-owned until being bought by Bombardier in 1989, and is today the largest manufacturing concern in Northern Ireland. In November 2020, Bombardier sold its Belfast operations to Spirit AeroSystems.


title: Short Brothers

text: The company's products include aircraft components, engine nacelles and aircraft flight control systems for its parent company Bombardier Aerospace, and for Boeing, Rolls-Royce Deutschland, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.


title: Short Brothers

text: The Short Brothers business started in 1897 when Eustace Short (1875 – 1932) bought a second-hand coal gas filled balloon, and, with his brother Oswald, started a company to develop and manufacture balloons. In 1900, the two brothers visited the 1900 Paris Exposition ('World's Fair'), where they saw the balloons of Édouard Surcouf (of Société Astra), who had developed a method of constructing truly spherical balloons.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1902, the brothers started offering balloons for sale. They manufactured the balloons at Hove, Sussex, in premises above the acoustic laboratory run by a third brother, Horace (2 July 1872 – 6 April 1917). In 1903, when Horace left to work on steam turbine development with Charles Parsons, Eustace and Oswald moved their workshop to rented accommodation in London, then again to railway arches in Battersea, conveniently situated next to Battersea gas-works.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1905, they won a contract for three balloons for the British Indian Army. The quality of their work impressed Colonel James Templer, superintendent of the Royal Balloon Factory, who introduced the brothers to Charles Rolls. Rolls commissioned them to build him a large balloon to compete in the 1906 Gordon Bennett Cup balloon race. More orders soon followed from other members of the Aero Club of Great Britain (later Royal Aero Club).


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1908, on hearing reports from Aero Club members who had seen the Wright brothers' demonstrations of their aircraft at Le Mans in France, Oswald Short reportedly said to Eustace, "This is the finish of ballooning: we must begin building aeroplanes at once, and we can't do that without Horace!" Oswald succeeded in persuading Horace to leave his job with Parsons, and in November 1908 they registered their partnership under the name Short Brothers. Two orders for aircraft were soon received, one from Charles Rolls, who ordered a glider, and the other from Francis McClean, a member of the Aero Club who later bought several more aircraft from Short Brothers, and also acted as an unpaid test-pilot. At the end of 1908 Horace started work on the two designs, and in early 1909 construction was started of McClean's aircraft, the Short No.1 biplane. In March 1909 it was exhibited, without its fabric covering, at the first British Aero Show held at Olympia. Meanwhile, the brothers had obtained the British rights to build copies of the Wright design.


title: Short Brothers

text: In February 1909, Shorts started construction of a new workshop on unobstructed marshland at Leysdown, near Shellbeach on the Isle of Sheppey. This had been acquired by the Aero Club for use as a flying ground, together with Mussell Manor (now known as "Muswell Manor"), which became its clubhouse. Construction of an initial batch of six aircraft was started immediately. Short Brothers thus became the first aircraft manufacturing company in the world to undertake volume production of an aircraft design. Here the Dunne D.5, the first tailless aircraft, was also built under contract. In 1910 the Royal Aero Club and Short Brothers moved to a larger and less marshy ground at Eastchurch, about 2.5 miles (4 km) away. At this time the Royal Aero Club had offered the Admiralty the use of the flying field and Frank McClean had agreed to act as an instructor, so beginning a close association between Short Brothers and the Naval Air Service, whose first pilots were trained using Short S.27 pusher biplanes.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1911, Shorts built one of the world's first successful twin-engine aircraft, the Triple Twin. Construction started on a long series of naval aircraft floatplanes, starting with the Short S.26.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1913, Gordon Bell became Shorts' first professional test pilot: he was succeeded by Ronald Kemp in 1914. Kemp could not handle the volume of flight testing and development alone and, by 1916, other pilots were employed on a freelance basis. One of these was John Lankester Parker. In 1918 Parker succeeded Kemp as Shorts' Chief Test Pilot, a post he was to occupy for the next 27 years.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 2013 a statue of the brothers was unveiled in memory of their contribution to early aviation, by local artist Barbara Street to stand on the site of the Aero Club clubhouse at Muswell manor.


title: Short Brothers

text: By the outbreak of World War I Shorts were already building a variety of aircraft. Production really started to expand during the war, for example for the Short Admiralty Type 184 (or simply "Short S.184"). On 15 August 1915, during the Battle of Gallipoli, a Short S.184 was the first aircraft to attack a ship with a live torpedo. Flying from HMS "Ben-my-Chree", piloted by Flight Commander Charles Edmonds, it hit a Turkish supply ship in the Dardanelles. In terms of number built, the S.184 was Shorts' most successful pre-Second World War aircraft: over 900 were produced, many under licence by other manufacturers. A landplane version of the S.184 was also sold to the Royal Flying Corps as the Short Bomber.


title: Short Brothers

text: During the First World War, Shorts were among the manufacturers of two flying boats, the F.3 and F.5, designed by John Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe. When the war ended, some 50 of these were being built at Rochester.


title: Short Brothers

text: Due to the company's success, and the increasing number of seaplanes being produced, larger premises with ready access to the sea were needed. At that time, seaplanes were taken by road to Queenborough, then loaded onto lighters to be taken to the RNAS seaplane station on Isle of Grain to be launched and tested.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1913, an 8.4 acre (3.4 hectare) plot of land by the river Medway about 20 miles (32 km) away at Borstal, near Rochester, Kent, was purchased from Charles Willis (a local councillor), and the planning and construction work started.


title: Short Brothers

text: By early 1915, the first facility of what was to become known as the Seaplane Works was completed: No.1 Erecting Shop. As this and the No.2 and No.3 shops became available, the workforce moved from the Eastchurch factory. No.3 shop was completed in 1917. A long concrete slipway was constructed from the centre-line of No.3 Erecting Shop to enable aircraft of up to 20 tons weight to be launched even at low tide.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1916, Short Brothers was awarded a contract to build two large dirigible airships for the Admiralty. As part of the contract, a loan was provided to enable the company to purchase a site near Cardington, Bedfordshire, on which to build airship construction facilities. As a result, the company concentrated on the construction of heavier-than-air aeroplanes in the Isle of Sheppey/Rochester area, and balloons and dirigibles at Cardington. A housing estate built by the company near Cardington to house its employees still bears the name Shortstown.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1919, the name of the company was changed to Short Brothers (Rochester and Bedford) Ltd., but nationalisation the same year ended the Short brothers' involvement with the company, which became the Royal Airship Works.


title: Short Brothers

text: During the immediate post-war years the economic climate was difficult for the aircraft industry in the United Kingdom. Shorts survived without reducing the company's workforce by diversifying into areas such as building lightweight bus and tram bodies.


title: Short Brothers

text: During the 1920s and 1930s, flying boats were favoured for long-range civil aviation, because their operation did not rely on the existence of suitable airfields, which were not widespread at the time. Shorts took to the flying boat market, and in 1924 constructed a testing tank for testing hull and float designs. Shorts designed the floats used for the Supermarine S.4 and Gloster III seaplanes entered by the United Kingdom for the 1925 Schneider Trophy race. Alan Cobham's de Havilland DH.50 (G-EBFO) was also fitted with Shorts floats at Rochester. On 30 June 1926, Cobham then started a flight to Australia from the Medway. Two de Havilland Giant Moths were fitted with Shorts floats at Rochester, and the first was flown in June 1928; both were delivered to Western Canada Airlines Ltd.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1924, Shorts produced the first of a series of three designs known as the Singapore. In 1927, the Singapore I was used by Sir Alan Cobham, when he, his wife, and crew made a survey of Africa which covered about 23,000 miles.


title: Short Brothers

text: Shorts then started design work on the Short Calcutta, based on the Singapore layout but larger and more powerful, which began service with Imperial Airways in August 1928. By April 1929 two more had been added to the fleet, and they operated passenger-preferred coastal routes from Genoa to Alexandria by way of Athens, Corfu, Naples, and Rome. Several Calcuttas were used on shorter routes, and were instrumental in permitting long-range airline services between outposts of the British Empire. Shorts followed the production of four Calcuttas with the larger Kent, following with a series of still larger aircraft designs such as the Short Empire, the first of which was launched on 2 July 1936. The Empire was commissioned off the drawing board by Imperial Airways (later BOAC), to operate the UK's Empire Airmail scheme.


title: Short Brothers

text: A year later Shorts won a British government defence contract for the Sunderland military patrol flying boat. Sharing a similar design, but incorporating some aerodynamic and hydrodynamic advances, and a more rounded top of the fuselage that incorporated several gunner's positions. Dreaded by U-boats, it was claimed by the British propaganda people that the Germans called it "The Flying Porcupine" ("Fliegendes Stachelschwein" in German), although no evidence supports their contention.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1933, Shorts opened a new factory at Rochester Airport, which was becoming increasingly important for the landplanes the company was producing. The Eastchurch premises was closed in 1934, and in the same year Shorts purchased the engine manufacturer Pobjoy, which had moved to Rochester Airport to be near Shorts and had collaborated on its latest designs.


title: Short Brothers

text: On 5 July 1937, a Short Empire was used by Imperial Airways for the first westbound transatlantic service from Foynes, Ireland to Newfoundland.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1936, the Air Ministry established a new aircraft factory at Belfast, and created a new company Short & Harland Ltd, owned 50% each by Harland and Wolff and Shorts. The first products of the new factory were 50 Bristol Bombays followed by 150 Handley-Page Hereford bombers.


title: Short Brothers

text: Shorts work on seaplanes eventually culminated in the Short Sandringham and Short Seaford, both based on the Empire/Sunderland boats. These flying boats had enough range to operate as a transatlantic airliner, but largely served the post-war Empire (Commonwealth) market, in competition with 4-engined land planes such as modified Avro Lancasters, Avro Lancastrian and Avro York.


title: Short Brothers

text: Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) operated the "Coral Route" from New Zealand to Fiji, the Cook Islands and Tahiti in the South Pacific, with Short Solent flying boats up to 1960.


title: Short Brothers

text: During the Battle of Britain, the Rochester factory was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe, and several Stirlings and other aircraft were destroyed, and during Easter week of 1941, Belfast and the aircraft factory were subjected to the worst single air-raid the UK had seen outside London. To prevent raids from limiting production, satellite factories near Belfast were operated at Aldergrove and Maghaberry, producing 232 Stirlings between them. A temporary Short's factory was established at White Cross Bay, Windermere, that produced 35 Sunderland Mark IIIs. Austin Motors at Longbridge, Birmingham also produced over 600 Stirlings, and Blackburn Aircraft produced 240 Sunderlands at its shadow factory in Dumbarton, Scotland.


title: Short Brothers

text: During the Second World War, the Short Sunderland was an effective anti-submarine patrol bomber operated by RAF Coastal Command in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, in Asia and the south Pacific because of its availability, endurance and weapon load. It also carried out air-sea rescue operations. In the absence of sufficient Sunderlands, Australia impressed Qantas-Imperial Short Empire flying boats into military service, and used these successfully especially on reconnaissance missions in the Timor Sea area.


title: Short Brothers

text: A much enlarged transatlantic development of the Empire, the S.26 G-Class was developed, but only three completed before the war resulted in further production being cancelled.


title: Short Brothers

text: Short's work on the Sunderland also won it the contract for the Short Stirling four-engine bomber-transport for the RAF. This was essentially a land-based Sunderland, however its use of a now outdated thick-section, low aspect ratio wing to facilitate it going into service quickly limited climb and ceiling, and design decisions, such as the use of cells for individual bombs limited its long term usefulness as a heavy bomber when it proved incapable of carrying the newer larger bombs that didn't fit in the cells. As it was intended as a stopgap pending the delivery of the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Manchester bombers, it followed the RAF tradition of also being a transport aircraft, with a cabin useful for troops and cargo, in which role it was used once the Halifax and Avro Lancaster were available in large enough numbers. Attempts by Shorts to sell improved versions to the RAF were ignored, not least over concerns regarding Oswald's leadership and alcoholism.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1944, the Short Shetland, a high-speed, long-range, four-engined flying-boat, was built (with Saunders-Roe providing the wings and detail design work), but the project was abandoned shortly after the end of the war, however conversions and developments of the Sunderland entered service as transports, starting during the war with the Hythe, which was a demilitarized Sunderland with the turrets faired over, then the post-war Sandringham, which refined the shape to eliminate the turret mountings, and finally by the definitive Solent, with an enlarged tail and more powerful engines and other refinements derived from the stillborn wartime Seaford, which was to have been the penultimate Sunderland development.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1943, the Government nationalised Short's under Defence Regulation 78. Oswald Short, who had resigned as Chairman in January of that year, remained as Honorary Life President.


title: Short Brothers

text: By 1947, all of Shorts other wartime factories had been closed, and operations concentrated in Belfast. In 1948, the company offices followed, and Shorts became a Belfast company in its entirety. In the meantime, in 1947, Short Brothers (Rochester and Bedford) Ltd. had merged with Short and Harland Limited to become Short Brothers and Harland Limited, with Oswald Short remaining as Life President.


title: Short Brothers

text: In the 1950s, Shorts was involved in much pioneering research, including designing and building the VTOL Short SC1, the Short SB5 and the Short SB.4 Sherpa. Shorts built the Short Sperrin, a backup jet engine bomber design in case the V bomber projects failed, and the Short Seamew, a cheap-to-produce anti-submarine reconnaissance and attack aircraft intended for the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve squadrons, but the Sperrin was not needed and the RNVR squadrons disbanded. In the 1950s, Shorts also received sub-contracts to build 150 English Electric Canberras, and on 30 October 1952, the first of those made its maiden flight. Of these types, Shorts delivered 60 Canberra B.2s, 49 Canberra B.6s and 23 Canberra P.R.9s, the remaining 18 being cancelled by the Government in 1957. Further work was involved in the conversion of time-expired Canberra B.2s into unmanned radio-controlled missile target aircraft. Two prototypes and 10 production Canberra U.10s were produced, followed by six improved Canberra U.14s. These aircraft were controlled from the ground by VHF radio, and were equipped to provide feedback on their own performance, as well as that of the missiles aimed at them. As early as 1953, Shorts became involved with pioneering the development of electronic analogue computers, to assist with the design of increasingly complex aircraft.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1954, the Bristol Aeroplane Company became a 15.25% shareholder in Shorts, and the company used the injection of funds to set up a production line for the Bristol Britannia turbo-prop airliner, known in the press as "The Whispering Giant". Although it was originally intended that 35 Britannias should be built by Shorts, a shortage of work at Bristol led to this number being reduced. Eventually, 15 Britannias were completed by Shorts; five sets of Britannia components were sent to Filton and used on the continued production there of Britannias.


title: Short Brothers

text: In the 1960s, Shorts found a niche for a new short-haul freighter aircraft and responded with the Short SC.7 Skyvan. The Skyvan is most remembered for its box-like, slab-sided appearance and rectangular twin tail units, but the aircraft was well loved for its performance and loading. It served almost the same performance niche as the de Havilland Twin Otter, and the Skyvan proved more popular in the freighter market due to the large rear cargo door that allowed it to handle bulky loads with ease. Skyvans can still be found around the world today.


title: Short Brothers

text: The heavy lift freighter Short SC.5 Belfast flew for the first time in 1964. Only 10 were built for the Royal Air Force. In the 1970s, Shorts entered the feederliner market with the Shorts 330, a stretched modification of the Skyvan, called the C-23 Sherpa in USAF service, and another stretch resulted in the more streamlined Shorts 360, in which a more conventional central fin superseded the older H-profiled twin fins.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1988, the proposed development was announced of a regional jet seating 44 passengers and to be called the FJX. The aircraft would have been a competitor to the Bombardier CRJ100 that was also in development at the time, but the FJX was cancelled after Short Brothers' sale to Bombardier.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1987 loyalists working at Shorts erected loyalists flags and bunting to intimidate the Catholic workers. The loyalists workers went on strike after management removed the loyalist flags from the shop floor.


title: Short Brothers

text: In April 1989, three Northern Irish men, Noel Little, Samuel Quinn and James King, were arrested in Paris and later convicted of "arms trafficking and associating with criminals involved in terrorist activities." They were accused of having stolen missile parts and documents related to Shorts' products. Also arrested were arms dealer Douglas Bernhardt and a South African diplomat.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1993 a Catholic sub-contractor at Shorts was shot dead and five others injured in a loyalist attack on a mini-bus full of Catholic workmen in an attack to discourage Catholics from taking jobs at Shorts.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1937, Shorts established an airfield in central Belfast, beside the factory. This became Sydenham Airport and, from 1938 to 1939, was Belfast's main civilian airport. During the Second World War, the airfield was requisitioned by the Royal Navy. Shorts continued to use the airfield until production of complete aircraft ceased, despite Nutts Corner, a former RAF base, becoming Belfast's main airport (Nutts Corner was itself superseded in 1963 by Aldergrove). In 1983, following interest from airlines and customers, the airfield was opened for commercial flights as Belfast Harbour Airport (later Belfast City Airport (BCA), now George Best Belfast City Airport). Following major capital investment, Bombardier sold BCA for £35 million in 2003.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1977, the company changed its name back to Short Brothers, and in 1984 it became a public limited company in preparation for privatisation. The government announced the sale of Shorts to Bombardier on 7 June 1989 for £30 million. As part of the sale, the government agreed (at the insistence of then-Chancellor John Major) to write off £390 million of the company's "accumulated losses and inject another £390 million to recapitalise the group and cover current and future losses, capital investment and training."


title: Short Brothers

text: Bombardier beat a bid from General Electric Company and Fokker. Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm had withdrawn before final offers were submitted.


title: Short Brothers

text: In 1993, with the company under the chairmanship of Sir Roy McNulty, Bombardier Shorts and Thomson-CSF formed a joint venture, Shorts Missile Systems, for the design and development of very short-range, air defence missiles for the UK Ministry of Defence and armed forces worldwide using expertise dating back to the 1950s. In 2000, Thomson-CSF bought Bombardier's 50% share to become the sole owner of Shorts Missile Systems, renaming it Thales Air Defence in 2001.


title: Short Brothers

text: On 31 October 2019, Bombardier announced the sale of its aerostructures activities to Spirit AeroSystems. The sale closed in November 2020 following regulatory approval and a renegotiated price due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Short Brothers

text: Year of first flight in parentheses. Some of the early aircraft are designated using the Short sequence or constructors number which should not be confused with the similar type designations started at S.1 in 1924. Since becoming part of Bombardier Aerospace in 1989, focus is aerospace components rather than individual aircraft models, missiles or drones.


title: Short Brothers

text: Shorts' missile division, which evolved into Shorts Missile Systems (1993–2000, then sold), produced surface-to-air missiles.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Shirley Muldowney (born June 19, 1940), also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980, and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She won a total of 18 NHRA national events.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Born Shirley Ann Roque in Burlington, Vermont, on June 19, 1940, Muldowney began street racing in the 1950s in Schenectady, New York. "School had no appeal to me. All I wanted was to race up and down the streets in a hot rod," declared Muldowney. When she was 16, she married 19-year-old Jack Muldowney, who built her first dragster.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: It was Jack Muldowney who first taught me how to drive a car. Jack was the mechanic. He was the guy who tuned the cars that let the girl beat all the boys. I was a kid from upstate New York with no guidance, no direction. I was headed for trouble, nothing going for me. Then I found the sport at a very young age and was able to make something out of it.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: In 1958, Muldowney made her debut on the dragstrip of the Fonda Speedway. She obtained her NHRA pro license in 1965. She competed in the 1969 and 1970 U.S. Nationals in a twin-engined dragster in Top Gas. With Top Gas losing popularity, Muldowney switched to Funny Car, buying her first car from Connie Kalitta.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Around this time, her husband and she drifted apart; they finally divorced in 1972. "He didn't want to go nitro racing and we parted, but we stayed friends all those years until he passed away [in 2007]," she later said.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Muldowney won her first major event, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Southern Nationals, in 1971.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: She stepped up to Top Fuel, getting her license in 1973 (making her the first woman to do it), behind the wheel of Poncho Rendon's digger; Don Garlits signed her application, one of three signatures she needed to make it official; the other two were Tommy Ivo and Connie Kalitta.) From 1973 to 1977, she teamed up with Kalitta as the "Bounty Hunter" and "Bounty Huntress" in match races, in a pair of Ford Mustangs, hers a Buttera chassis, and his a Logghe. The "Bounty Huntress" Mustang caught fire at Dragway 42 in Ohio in 1973.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: In Columbus, Ohio, in 1976, Muldowney dominated Top Fuel, qualifying number-one by 0.05 second, setting low elapsed time (ET) and top speed of the meet, having the low ET in every round, breaking her own top speed record in the final, and winning the class. An unprecedented three NHRA Top Fuel Dragster world championships followed, in 1977, 1980, and 1982.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Muldowney's success met enormous opposition from those who felt drag racing (or any form of motorsport, for that matter) was no place for women. Garlits has said about her:


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Now, if you ask who do I have the most respect for, I'd say Shirley Muldowney. She went against all odds. They didn't want her to race Top Fuel, the association, the racers, nobody...just Shirley.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Muldowney noted, "NHRA fought me every inch of the way, but when they saw how a girl could fill the stands; they saw I was good for the sport."


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: A crash in 1984 crushed her hands, pelvis, and legs, necessitating half a dozen operations and 18 months of therapy. Muldowney was sidelined for a long period, but returned to the circuit in the late 1980s. She continued to race, mostly without major sponsorship, throughout the 1990s in IHRA competition, as well as match-racing events. She returned to the NHRA towards the end of her career, running select events until her retirement at the end of 2003.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Muldowney was described by longtime drag racer Fred Farndon as the "best 'natural' driver (top fuel or funny car), no question."


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Her recent activities include the dictation of her memoirs, "Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track", which Bill Stephens transcribed, and which Sports Publishing L.L.C. published in 2005.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: In March 2016, Muldowney disregarded a cancer scare to be the official starter of the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Having been given a diagnosis of lung cancer prior to the event, Muldowney was later given a diagnosis of histoplasmosis, a curable and nonmalignant fungal infection that can mimic cancer.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Muldowney operates a charitable organization, Shirley's Kids, which helps children in need in cities where drag racing is part of the community.


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: The 1983 biopic "Heart Like a Wheel," about Muldowney's life and career, starred Bonnie Bedelia. Muldowney would rather have had Jamie Lee Curtis play her; she called Bedelia "a snot," and stated, "When she was promoting the movie on TV shows, she would tell interviewers she didn't even like racing. She got out of race car like she was getting up from the dinner table." Muldowney had mixed feelings about the film itself, stating, "No, the movie did not capture my life very well at all, but more importantly, I thought the movie was very, very good for the sport."


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: Samples from the movie made about Shirley are heard in the lyrics of the L7 song "Shirley on the Hungry for Stink album"


title: Shirley Muldowney

text: On October 7, 2022 the NHRA Coin Shirley Muldowney Edition NFT became available on the OpenSea NFT Marketplace.


title: Valis (novel)

text: Valis (stylized as VALIS) is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, intended to be the first book of a three-part series. The title is an acronym for "Vast Active Living Intelligence System", Dick's gnostic vision of God. Set in California during the 1970s, the book features heavy auto-biographical elements and draws inspiration from Dick's own investigations into his unexplained religious experiences over the previous decade.


title: Valis (novel)

text: It is the first book in the incomplete "VALIS trilogy" of novels, followed by "The Divine Invasion" (1981). The planned third novel, "The Owl in Daylight", had not yet taken definite shape at the time of the author's death. Dick's final novel, "The Transmigration of Timothy Archer" (1982), builds on similar themes; Dick wrote: "the three do form a trilogy constellating around a basic theme."


title: Valis (novel)

text: In March 1974, Horselover Fat (the alter-personality of Philip K. Dick) experiences visions of a pink beam of light that he calls Zebra and interprets as a theophany exposing hidden facts about the reality of our universe, and a group of others join him in researching these matters. One of their theories is that there is some kind of alien space probe in orbit around Earth, and that it is aiding them in their quest; it also aided the United States in disclosing the Watergate scandal and the resignation of Richard Nixon in August 1974.


title: Valis (novel)

text: Kevin turns his friends onto a film, "Valis", that contains obvious references to revelations identical to those that Horselover Fat has experienced, including what appears to be time dysfunction. The film is itself a fictional account of an alternative-universe version of Nixon (Ferris F. Fremount) and his fall, engineered by a satellite called . (The plot of the fictitious film "Valis" was that of Dick's then-unpublished novel "Radio Free Albemuth".)


title: Valis (novel)

text: In seeking the film's makers, Kevin, Phil, Fat, and David—now calling themselves the Rhipidon Society—head to an estate owned by popular musician Eric Lampton and his wife Linda. They decide the goal that they have been led toward is Sophia Lampton, who is two years old and the Messiah or incarnation of Holy Wisdom ("Pistis Sophia") anticipated by some variants of Gnostic Christianity. In addition to healing Phil's schizophrenic personality split, she tells them that their conclusions about (which Fat had previously termed "Zebra") and reality are correct, and more importantly, that we should worship, not gods, but humanity. She dies two days later due to a laser accident caused by Brent Mini.


title: Valis (novel)

text: Dick also offers a rationalist explanation of his apparent theophany, acknowledging that it might have been visual and auditory hallucinations from either schizophrenia or drug addiction sequelae.


title: Valis (novel)

text: Phil, Fat, Kevin, and David decide to call themselves the Rhipidon Society. The motto they adopt is, "Fish cannot carry guns."


title: Valis (novel)

text: "Radio Free Albemuth", a posthumously published earlier version of "VALIS", is not included as a component of the "VALIS" trilogy. Dick completed one more novel after "The Divine Invasion", "The Transmigration of Timothy Archer" (1982), based on Dick's association with Bishop James A. Pike and which, while not referencing VALIS directly, is thematically similar. According to Dick, these three books "form a trilogy constellating around a basic theme."


title: Valis (novel)

text: Greg Costikyan reviewed "Valis" in "Ares Magazine" #9 and commented that "The plot is minor, the characterization poor, and the prose unexciting; philosophy and deft manipulation of mood are not enough to carry the book."


title: Valis (novel)

text: Dave Langford reviewed "Valis" for "White Dwarf" #98, and stated that "Here a hard-headed Dick gently mocks the weird metaphysics of Fat through a series of wonderfully insane conversations and misadventures: a slapstick-tightrope-dance over a bit of potential insanity, a wrestle with demons in which (both inside and outside "Valis") Dick is the unexpected winner."


title: Valis (novel)

text: Thomas M. Disch reported that "the fascination of the book, what's most artful and confounding about it, is the way the line between Dick and Fat shifts and wavers." Disch concludes that "as a novel, as a "whole" novel... it went off the rails sometimes. But the first half holds together wonderfully, considering how much there is to be held together."


title: Valis (novel)

text: Umberto Rossi posits that some degree of academic discomfort towards the novel has resulted from uncertainty whether Dick genuinely believed in the more fantastical aspects of the narrative (further supported by the Exegesis which followed). In detailing the many ideological shunts between skepticism and belief which occur within the plot, Rossi concludes Dick intended neither view to achieve hegemony, but that the synthesis of both effectively depict "the unyielding contradictions in [Dick's] experience of self... Being involved in a quest does not automatically confer enlightenment, but rather involves a search for the light; the condition of the quester is one of doubt, not certainty."


title: Valis (novel)

text: V has been described as one node of an artificial satellite network originating from the star Sirius in the Canis Major constellation. According to Dick, the Earth satellite used "pink laser beams" to transfer information and project holograms on Earth and to facilitate communication between an extraterrestrial species and humanity. Dick claimed that used "disinhibiting stimuli" to communicate, using symbols to trigger recollection of intrinsic knowledge through the loss of amnesia, achieving gnosis. Drawing directly from Platonism and Gnosticism, Dick wrote in his "Exegesis": "We appear to be memory coils (DNA carriers capable of experience) in a computer-like thinking system which, although we have correctly recorded and stored thousands of years of experiential information, and each of us possesses somewhat different deposits from all the other life forms, there is a malfunction—a failure—of memory retrieval."


title: Valis (novel)

text: At one point, Dick claimed to be in a state of enthousiasmos with , where he was informed his infant son was in danger of perishing from an unnamed malady. Routine checkups on the child had shown no trouble or illness; however, Dick insisted that thorough tests be run to ensure his son's health. The doctor eventually complied, despite the fact that there were no apparent symptoms. During the examination doctors discovered an inguinal hernia, which would have killed the child if an operation was not quickly performed. His son survived thanks to the operation, which Dick attributed to the "intervention" of .


title: Valis (novel)

text: Another event was an episode of supposed xenoglossia. Supposedly, Dick's wife transcribed the sounds she heard him speak, and discovered that he was speaking Koine Greek—the common Greek dialect during the Hellenistic years (3rd century BC–4th century AD) and direct "father" of today's modern Greek language—which he had never studied. As Dick was to later discover, Koine Greek was originally used to write the New Testament and the Septuagint. However, this was not the first time Dick had claimed xenoglossia: a decade earlier, Dick insisted he was able to think, speak, and read fluent Latin under the influence of Sandoz LSD-25.


title: Valis (novel)

text: The UK edition of "VALIS" also included "Cosmology and Cosmogony", a chapbook containing selections from Dick's "Exegesis".


title: Valis (novel)

text: Theology and philosophy, especially metaphysical philosophy, play an important role in "VALIS", presenting not just Dick's (and/or Horselover Fat's) own views on these subjects but also his interpretation of numerous religions and philosophies of the past. The most prominent religious references are to Valentinian Gnosticism, the Rose Cross Brotherhood, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, as well as Biblical writings including the Book of Daniel and the New Testament epistles. Many ancient Greek philosophers are discussed, including several Pre-Socratics (Pythagoras, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Empedocles, and Parmenides) as well as Plato and Aristotle. More recent thinkers that are mentioned include the philosophers Pascal and Schopenhauer, the Christian mystic Jakob Böhme, the alchemist Paracelsus, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, the Romanian historian of religion Mircea Eliade, and the author and psychologist Robert Anton Wilson. In Wilson's autobiographical "Cosmic Trigger" (released shortly before Dick commenced work on "VALIS"), Wilson describes similar musings concerning the 'Sirius Connection', contemplating the idea that alien entities are sending out waves of information that we can tune in on. "VALIS" specifically mentions the Dogon people, saying that they had encountered three-eyed people who had descended from Ikhnaton. References are also made to numerous deities, including Yurugu (who it associates with Yin) and Nommo (who it associates with Yang); it also suggests a blind, mad creator deity called Yaldaboath or Samael. The novel frequently references the 1945 discovery at Nag Hammadi.


title: Valis (novel)

text: The action of "VALIS" is set firmly in the American popular culture of its time, with references to the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, and Linda Ronstadt, as well as the fictional rock musicians Eric Lampton and Brent Mini (likely based on David Bowie and Brian Eno respectively). However, the novel also contains a number of high culture references such as the poets Vaughan, Wordsworth, and Goethe, and the classical composers Handel and Wagner. In particular, the novel contains several extended discussions about Wagner's metaphysical opera "Parsifal".


title: Valis (novel)

text: "The Black Iron Prison" is a concept of an all-pervasive system of social control postulated in the "Tractates Cryptica Scriptura", a summary of an unpublished Gnostic exegesis included in "VALIS". Dick wrote:


title: Valis (novel)

text: "VALIS" was adapted in 1987 as an electronic opera by composer Tod Machover, and performed at Centre Georges Pompidou, with live singers and video installations created by artist Catherine Ikam.


title: Valis (novel)

text: On February 1, 2004, "Variety" announced that Utopia Pictures & Television had acquired the rights to three of Philip K. Dick's works: "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said", "VALIS", and "Radio Free Albemuth".


title: Valis (novel)

text: "VALIS" appeared in the TV show "Lost". In the episode "Eggtown", aired February 21, 2008, the character John Locke gives Ben Linus the book to read from Ben's own book shelf, while Ben is being held captive. In "The Other Woman", aired March 6, 2008, Ben is again shown reading the novel before being interrupted by Locke.


title: Valis (novel)

text: John Alan Simon, director of the film adaptation of "Radio Free Albemuth", remarked that "VALIS" will form the basis of a sequel to that film if it is successful: "Since "Radio Free Albemuth" is essentially the first draft of "VALIS", we ended up with rights to both from the estate of Philip K. Dick. If "Radio Free Albemuth" is successful, "VALIS" the book would form the basis for the sequel to "VALIS" the movie. In other words, the story of "VALIS" would form the basis for "VALIS 2"."


title: Valis (novel)

text: Progressive metal band Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster have songs named "Exegesis", "Valis" and "Black Iron Prison", all inspired by Dick's work, on their 2012 album "Exegesis".


title: Valis (novel)

text: Portuguese double bassist Hugo Carvalhais's 3rd album "Grand Valis" (Clean Feed Records 2015) is inspired by Dick's book.


title: Superstition in India

text: Superstition refers to any belief or practice that is caused by supernatural causality, and which contradicts modern science. Superstitious beliefs and practices often vary from one person to another or from one culture to another.


title: Superstition in India

text: Superstitions are usually attributed to lack of education; however, this has not always been the case in India, as there are many educated people with beliefs considered superstitious by the public. Superstitious beliefs and practices vary from one region to another, ranging from harmless practices such as lemon-and-chili totems in order to ward off the evil eye, to harmful acts like witch-burning.


title: Superstition in India

text: Being part of tradition and religion, these beliefs and practices have been passed down from one generation to another for centuries. The Indian government has tried to put new laws prohibiting such practices into effect. Due to the rich history of superstition, these laws often face a lot of opposition from the general public. In 2013, Narendra Dabholkar, an anti-superstition specialist, who was also the founder of the Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith, was fatally shot by two bikers for requesting the enactment of a law that prohibits black magic. Critics argued that the Indian constitution does not prohibit such acts.


title: Superstition in India

text: Sati is the act or custom of a Hindu widow burning herself or being burned to death on the funeral pyre of her husband. After watching the Sati of his own sister-in-law, Ram Mohan Roy began campaigning for abolition of the practice in 1811. The practice of Sati was abolished by Governor General Lord William Bentinck in British India in 1829.


title: Superstition in India

text: On 4 September 1987, 18-year-old Roop Kanwar, from Deorala, Rajasthan, who had been married for 7 months, was burned to death on her husband's pyre. It was alleged the victim had tried to escape, but she was drugged and forced on to the pyre. On 1 October 1987, the legislative assembly of Rajasthan passed an ordinance against Sati, which was later turned into an Act. It was followed by pro-Sati rallies and protests in Jaipur. On 3 January 1988, the Indian parliament passed a new law (Commission (Prevention) of Sati Act 1987) based on Rajasthan's legislation of 1987, which also criminalized the glorification of Sati. Police charged Kanwar's father-in-law and brother-in-law of allegedly forcing her to commit the act, but they were acquitted in October 1996.


title: Superstition in India

text: Although human sacrifices are not prevalent in India, rare isolated incidents do happen, especially in rural areas. In some cases, humans have been replaced by animals and birds. This has caused backlash from animal rights groups, so in some places they have again been replaced by human effigies. The motives behind these sacrifices include inducing rainfall and helping childless women conceive. It is alleged that cases often go unreported or are covered up. Between 1999 and 2006, about 200 cases of child sacrifices were reported from Uttar Pradesh.


title: Superstition in India

text: In Hinduism, people are believed to have auspicious or favourable days on which they will have a high probability of success in any task they do. Such days with a certain time are calculated based on the individual’s birth star, moon, and planetary phases according to Hindu astrology. Starting a business or businesses signing new deals or starting new ventures is mostly conducted on auspicious days of persons involved in the business. Hindu marriages are also done in a matching auspicious time and date of a bride and groom according to Hindu astrology and horoscope of the bride and groom.


title: Superstition in India

text: Fortune telling is a common practice in India. Fortune tellers have a variety of ways of predicting the future like palmistry, consulting horoscope, numerology, parrot astrology, boom boom mattukaran etc.


title: Superstition in India

text: The word "godman" in modern usage is a colloquial blanket term used for charismatic spiritual leaders in India. Locally, they may be referred to as "baba", "swami", "guru", "shastri", "bapu" or "bhagat". Many of them claim to have magic or psychic powers and perform miracles. On the other hand, some only provide spiritual advice. There are also female gurus. Many of them are worshiped by their followers as avatars or living gods. Many of them belong to ancient ascetic lineages or claim to be successor to some previous spiritual predecessor. Some of them have built large pan-Indian or international networks. Their recent success has been attributed to the use of mass media and public relations techniques.


title: Superstition in India

text: In India, people who follow Hindu religion believe to be born with a star on their name which is one of twenty seven stars in Hindu astrology based on their time and date of birth. They also believe that planets and their position and size and shape of moon such a full moon or full solar eclipse influence their day to day life. Horoscopes are tailored to each and every Hindu person and a horoscope typically mentions any defects or negative influences a person has or may face. Horoscope is used in marriages in which the bride and groom should have a matching horoscope which is also called Janam Kundali. Without a matching horoscope, a marriage between Hindu male and female may not happen. Hindu wedding matchmakers typically carry information about a person's horoscope. Hindu persons prefer arranged marriage as it allows them to find a bride or groom with a matching horoscope.


title: Superstition in India

text: A person born under the influence of Mars (Mangala) is said to have "Mangala Dosha" ("mars defect"); such a person is called a "manglik". According to the superstition, the marriage between a Manglik and a non-Manglik is disastrous. To prevent this diaster, the "manglik" person is first married to a tree, an animal, or an inanimate object, so that the purported evil effects of the "mangala dosha" befall on the mock "spouse".


title: Superstition in India

text: It is common that many retailers in India tie a wire or thread with lemons and green chillies on it and hang it at the entrance of a shop near ceiling. This is supposed to ward off evil spirts or bad eyes who are wishing evil to a business. Lemons are generally considered as a counter weapon to a "mantra" which is a spell that can be also used for trickery or evil. Some Hindu people also carry lemons while travelling so that they cannot fall under the spell of a "mantra" of a stranger. Stepping on a lemon is also considered to cause harm to a person as the lemon may be enchanted with a "mantra" or a dark spell. Lemons and coconuts are used in Hindu rituals called pooja. Government of india frequently performs Hindu rituals on vehicles, computer and electronic equipment, airplanes, jetplanes and weapons. Breaking a coconut in such pooja is also common. Hindus do Shastra pooja which is goddess worship is performed on weapons.