title: Obesity in Nauru

text: As more and more money went to healthcare, less went to prevention, and this led to a cycle. Nauru also suffered from poor healthcare, worsening the problem. With much of the landscape destroyed from phosphate farming, Nauru was forced to import food resources from Western countries, leading to a sharp increase in consumption of processed food. With healthy food depleted from the island, obesity rates continued to climb. Due to the cultural association of obesity with wealth, many Nauruans began to view a sedentary lifestyle as preferable to one of hard work and physical exercise, further worsening the crisis.


title: Obesity in Nauru

text: Nauruan health authorities have developed several measures to reduce obesity, such as advising people to walk around the perimeter of the Nauru International Airport, which measures to in distance. Additionally, exercise sessions and sports are regularly organised.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive over a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: Robert Pim Butchart (1856–1943) began manufacturing Portland cement in 1888 near his birthplace of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: He and his wife Jennie Butchart (1866–1950) came to the west coast of Canada because of rich limestone deposits necessary for cement production.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In 1907 Isaburo Kishida, a sixty-five-year-old garden designer from Yokohama, Japan, came to Victoria at the request of his son to build a tea garden for Esquimalt Gorge Park. This garden was wildly popular. Several prominent citizens, Jennie Butchart among them, commissioned Kishida to build Japanese gardens for their estates before Kishida returned to Japan in 1912.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. They named their home "Benvenuto" ("welcome" in Italian), and began to receive visitors to their gardens. In 1926, they replaced their tennis courts with an Italian garden and in 1929 they replaced their kitchen vegetable garden with a large rose garden to the design of Butler Sturtevant of Seattle. Samuel Maclure, who was consultant to the Butchart Gardens, reflected the aesthetic of the English Arts and Crafts Movement.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In 1939, the Butcharts gave the Gardens to their grandson Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved in the operation and promotion of the gardens until his death 58 years later.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In 1953, miles of underground wiring were laid to provide night illumination, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens. In 1964, the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir to celebrate the 60th anniversary. In 1994, the Canadian Heraldic Authority granted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens. In 2004, two totem poles were installed to mark the 100th anniversary, and The Gardens were designated as a national historic site.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: Ownership of The Gardens remains within the Butchart family; the owner and managing director since 2001 is the Butcharts' great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In 1982 the Butchart Gardens was used as the inspiration for the gardens at the Canadian pavilion opened at Epcot Centre in Orlando Florida.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In December 2009 the Children's Pavilion and the Rose Carousel were opened. The menagerie includes thirty animals ranging from bears, to horses, to ostriches, to zebras and mirrors the world from which The Gardens draws its visitors. The designs were hand-picked by the owner, in consultation with an artist from North Carolina. The carvings were done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art. Each animal is carved from basswood and took many months to complete. There are also two chariots able to accommodate persons with disabilities.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: While Mrs. Butchart collected plants, Mr. Butchart collected ornamental birds from all over the world, having a parrot in the house, ducks in the Star Pond and peacocks on the front lawn. He built several elaborate birdhouses for the gardens and trained pigeons on the site of the present-day Begonia Bower.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: One, of a wild boar, purchased on a Mediterranean trip in 1973, was cast in Florence by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry,


title: Butchart Gardens

text: a replica of a 1620 bronze cast by Pietro Tacca. It is called "Tacca" in honor of the sculptor and, just as the original's,


title: Butchart Gardens

text: A fountain statue of three sturgeon, also by Tofanari (cast by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry), is installed near the Japanese garden.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In 1993, "Circle of Doves", which Ann-Lee Ross gave her husband Ian in 1991 to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary, was installed in front of the begonia bower.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In the summer of 2008, The Gardens introduced the Jennie B, an electrically driven 12-passenger boat, which plies the local coastlines in the summer giving visitors an appreciation of the waterside history plus coastal aquatic plants and animals.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: On December 1, 2009, the Children's Pavilion and Rose Carousel were opened to the public. The Rose Carousel, crafted by Brass Ring Entertainment of Sun Valley, California is the only carousel on Vancouver Island. The menagerie includes thirty animals ranging from bears, to horses, to ostriches, to zebras, to cats and mirrors the world from which The Gardens draws its visitors. The designs were hand-picked by Robin Clarke, The Gardens' owner and great-granddaughter of Jennie Butchart, in consultation with an artist from North Carolina. The carvings were done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art. Each animal is carved from basswood and took many months to complete. There are also two chariots able to accommodate disabled persons.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: The Rose Carousel is housed within the Children's Pavilion, which has a dome with a clear span, a full-fronted glass façade and a roof planted with native plant species. The pavilion also has an event room for such things as children's birthday parties.


title: Butchart Gardens

text: In the early days, weekly symphony concerts were hosted by Mr and Mrs. Butchart. These were often held for guests of the family, but later attracted a larger audience. More recently, in the Summer Season (July and August) and during the Winter Holiday Season they provide a wide range of local entertainment, from jazz to classical music. Also, The Weeds, a band made up of staff members from The Gardens, sometimes plays during the Summer Season. In 1977, Ian Ross's son Christopher (1944–2000) introduced firework shows accompanied by show tunes on summer Saturday evenings. During the Winter, lights and seasonal decorations adorn the gardens along with an ice-skating rink in the Waterwheel Square.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: The cinema of Nigeria, often referred to informally as Nollywood, consists of films produced in Nigeria; its history dates back to as early as the late 19th century and into the colonial era in the early 20th century. The history and development of the Nigerian motion picture industry is sometimes generally classified in four main eras: the Colonial era, Golden Age era, Video film era and the emerging New Nigerian cinema.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Film as a medium first arrived in Nigeria in the late 19th century, in the form of peephole viewing of motion picture devices. These were soon replaced in the early 20th century with improved motion picture exhibition devices, with the first set of films screened at the Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos from 12 to 22 August 1903. The earliest feature film made in Nigeria is 1926's "Palaver" directed by Geoffrey Barkas, which was also the first to feature Nigerian actors in substantial roles. As of 1954, mobile cinema vans played to at least 3.5 million people in Nigeria, and films being produced by the Nigerian Film Unit were screened for free at the 44 available cinemas. The first film entirely copyrighted to the Nigerian Film unit is "Fincho" (1957) by Sam Zebba; which is also the first Nigerian film to be shot in colour.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: After Nigeria's independence in 1960, the cinema business rapidly expanded, with new cinema houses being established. As a result, Nigerian films in theatres increased in the late 1960s into the 1970s, especially productions from Western Nigeria, owing to former theatre practitioners such as Hubert Ogunde and Moses Olaiya transitioning into the big screen. In 1972, the "Indigenization Decree" was issued by Yakubu Gowon, which demands the transfer of ownership of about a total of 300 film theatres from their foreign owners to Nigerians, which resulted in more Nigerians playing active roles in the cinema and film. The oil boom of 1973 through 1978 also contributed immensely to the spontaneous boost of the cinema culture in Nigeria, as the increased purchasing power in Nigeria made a wide range of citizens to have disposable income to spend on cinema going and on home television sets. After several moderate performing films, "Papa Ajasco" (1984) by Wale Adenuga became the first blockbuster, grossing approximately ₦61,000 (approx. 2015 ₦21,552,673) in three days. A year later, "Mosebolatan" (1985) by Moses Olaiya also went ahead to gross ₦107,000 (approx. 2015 ₦44,180,499) in five days.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: After the decline of the Golden era, Nigerian film industry experienced a second major boom in the 1990s, supposedly marked by the release of the direct-to-video film "Living in Bondage" (1992); the industry peaked in the mid-2000s to become the second largest film industry in the world in terms of the number of annual film productions, placing it ahead of the United States and behind only India. It started dominating screens across the African continent, and by extension the Caribbeans and the diaspora, with the movies significantly influencing cultures and the film actors becoming household names across the continent. The boom also led to backlash against Nigerian films in several countries, bordering on theories such as the "Nigerialization of Africa".


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Since the mid-2000s, during the decline of the video-film era, the Nigerian cinema has undergone some restructuring to promote quality in output and professionalism in the industry, with "The Figurine" (2009) widely regarded as marking the major turnaround of contemporary Nigerian cinema. There has since been a resurgence in cinema establishments, and a steady return of the cinema culture in Nigeria. As of 2013, Nigerian cinema is rated as the third most valuable film industry in the world based on its worth and revenues generated.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: The history of cinema in Nigeria dates back to as early as the history of film itself; notably in the late 19th century, with the use of peephole viewing of motion picture devices. These were soon replaced in early 20th century with improved motion picture exhibition devices; the first set of films shown in Nigerian theatres were Western films, with the first film screened at Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos from 12 to 22 August 1903. In that year, Herbert Macaulay had invited to Nigeria, the "Balboa and Company", Spain to organize an exhibition tour of silent films in Nigeria.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Although Mr Balboa later closed his exhibition in Lagos, while he continued showing films in other West African countries, the success of his exhibition led to a European merchant, Stanley Jones, to begin showing films in the same Glover Memorial Hall, starting from November 1903. This brought about the influx of more European film exhibitors to Nigeria. The first film hit in this early period came on 3 August 1904, when the documentary on the visit of the "Alake of Abeokuta" to England was screened.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Colonial filmmakers started producing films for local audiences within Nigeria since the 1920s, mostly employing the mobile cinema as a means of exhibition; the earliest feature film made in Nigeria is 1926's "Palaver" produced by Geoffrey Barkas. The film was also the first film ever to feature Nigerian actors in a speaking role. Nigerian film actors featured in "Palaver" include Dawiya and Yilkuba. The film was shot amongst the Sura and Angas people of the present day Bauchi and Plateau States in Northern Nigeria, and narrates the rivalry between a British District Officer and a tin miner which leads to a war. Also in this era there were several films set in Nigeria, one of the most notable being 1935's "Sanders of the River" by Zoltán Korda, featuring Nigerian actor Orlando Martins. Martins also featured in other notable films including "The Man from Morocco" (1945), "Men of Two Worlds" (1946) and so on, and this established Martins as one of the recognized Nigerian actors of his time. As of 1921, there were four other halls showing films twice a week in Lagos Mainland and one hall each in Ebute Metta and Oshodi. By this time, cinema had become popular in Lagos with crowds of young and old people usually waiting at the doors of theatre halls. Religion also aided in the expansion of cinema culture as the Christian missionaries used cinemas for religious propaganda.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: As cinemas became a common feature of the social life in the then emerging city of Lagos, the late 1930s through 1940s marked the beginning of the establishment of big commercial cinema houses with branches in strategic parts of the country. One of the earliest cinema operators in Lagos was the "West African Pictures Company" owned by Mr. S. Khalil, a member of the Syrian community in Lagos. He established the Rex Cinema in Ebute Metta, Regal Cinema and Royal Cinema. Other popular cinema chains include: Capitol Cinema, Casino Cinema, Kings Cinema, Central Cinema, Rialto Cinema, Corona Cinema, Odeon Cinema, Road House Cinema, Ikeja Arms Cinema and Glover Hall. In 1937, the colonial government set up a Board of Censorship to handle matters relating to the establishment and operations of cinema houses in the colony. Nigerian content in films made and shown in Nigerian cinemas during this period were however virtually non-existent as the production and distribution were controlled by foreigners. Motion picture entertainment was as a result complemented by the Yoruba travel theatre groups, which emerged in the 1930s through 1940s; One of the most prominent were the Agbegijo and Alarinjo theatre groups, which featured theatre actors such as Duro Ladipo, Ishola Ogunmola, Lere Paimo, Oyin Adejobi, amongst others.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: In 1949 through 1950, the state of affairs changed a bit, with more Nigerian contents being exhibited in cinemas; with a purported drive to "Africanize" film production, the Nigerian Film Unit was established in order to decentralize colonial film production. The Colonial Film Unit, throughout the decade, exhibited health and educational films to local audiences through its mobile cinema vans. It also produced newsreels and short documentaries, depicting celebrations and colonial achievements to domestic and overseas audiences.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: After Nigeria's independence in 1960, the cinema business rapidly expanded, with new cinema houses being established. However, there came a significant influx of American, Indian, Chinese and Japanese films; posters of films from these countries were all over theatre halls and actors from these industries became very popular in Nigeria. Towards the late 1960s and into the 1970s Nigerian productions in movie houses increased gradually, especially productions from Western Nigeria, owing to former theatre practitioners such as Hubert Ogunde, Ola Balogun, Moses Olaiya, Jab Adu, Isola Ogunsola, Ladi Ladebo, Sanya Dosumu and Sadiq Balewa amongst others, transitioning into the big screen. The first fully commercial Nigerian films, shot on celluloid, were also made by these filmmakers in the 1960s.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: In 1972, concerned about the influx of foreign culture into Nigeria, the "Indigenization Decree" was issued by the then head of state Yakubu Gowon; which demands the transfer of ownership of about a total of 300 film theatres in the country from their foreign owners to Nigerians. Also, more Nigerians started playing active roles in cinema establishment as a result of this policy. This transfer also resulted in the emergence of Nigerian playwrights, screenwriters and film producers; popular literature and theatre works were adapted into motion pictures. The oil boom of 1973 through 1978 contributed immensely to the spontaneous boost of the cinema culture in Nigeria. The presence of foreign investments led to the erection of several cinema complexes. In 1976, The 5000-capacity National Arts Theatre, Iganmu was constructed in Lagos. The theatre was incorporated with two cinemas, each having a capacity of over 700 people. At this time cinema business had become a notable employer of many people and also served as an important social function, as Nigerians visited cinemas for relaxation and entertainment purposes. The increased purchasing power in Nigeria also made a wide range of citizens to have disposable income to spend on cinema-going and on home television sets.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Television broadcasting in Nigeria began in the 1960s and received much government support in its early years. By the mid-1980s every state had its own broadcasting station. Law limited foreign content on television, so producers in Lagos began televising local popular theatre productions. Many of these were circulated on video as well, and a small-scale informal video movie trade developed. As of late 1980s, the cinema culture was beginning to face a major decline, and most Nigerian film producers had transitioned to television productions. The gradual decline of the Golden era of Nigerian cinema has been attributed to several factors, including the reduction in the value of Naira, lack of finance and marketing support, lack of standard film studios and production equipment, frequent Government structural adjustment programmes due to military dictatorships, as well as inexperience on the part of practitioners. The drastic decline in cinema culture resulted in some of the existing cinema houses being acquired by religious bodies and turned to churches; others were simply just closed down. In the early 1990s, only a few of the once vibrant cinema houses were still in operation, and all had collapsed before 1999.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: The emergence of the video film market in Nigeria is traced back to the 1980s when television productions thrived. Jimi Odumosu's "Evil Encounter", a 1983 horror film released directly on television, was the first production to be a pointer to how lucrative making film directly on video can be. The film was extensively promoted before being aired on the television, and as a result, had streets flooded in the following morning with video copies of the recorded broadcast. It was reported that the film became an instant hit at Alaba market, a commercial district which later became the hub of video distribution in this period and also eventually became the hub of piracy in Nigeria. Since "Evil Encounter", it became common, especially in Southern Nigerian cities to see video copies of recorded television programmes traded on the streets.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: This method was adopted and built on by producers and distributors at Alaba Market to reinvent the film industry, since the Nigerian cinema culture was facing a major decline. The first film produced on video in Nigeria was 1988's "Soso Meji", produced by Ade Ajiboye. The film was also screened at the few available theatres at the time. Subsequently, Alade Aromire produced "Ekun" (1989) on video, which was screened at the National Theatre, Iganmu. However, the boom experienced in this era is generally believed to have been kickstarted by Kenneth Nnebue's "Living in Bondage" (1992). Nnebue had an excess number of imported video cassettes which he then used to shoot his first film on a Video camera. Although "Living in Bondage" is often touted in the media as the "first commercial video film", several historians have argued that the video film industry was already booming before "Living in Bondage".


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: As of 2004, at least four to five films were produced every day in Nigeria. Nigeria movies now already dominate television screens across the African continent and by extension, the diaspora. The film actors also became household names across the continent, and the movies have significantly influenced cultures in many African nations; from way of dressing to speech and usage of Nigerian slangs. This was attributed to the fact that Nigerian films told "relatable" stories, which made foreign films to "gather dusts" on the shelves of video stores, even though they cost much less.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: According to the "Filmmakers Cooperative of Nigeria", every film in Nigeria had a potential audience of 15 million people in Nigeria and about 5 million outside Nigeria. In no time, the industry became the third largest producer of films in the world. However, this didn't translate to an overtly commercial film industry when compared to other major film hubs across the world; the worth of the industry was approximated at just about US$250 million, since most of the films produced were cheaply made. The film industry regardless became a major employer in Nigeria. As of 2007, with a total number of 6,841 registered video parlours and an estimated 500,000 unregistered ones, the estimated revenue generated by sales and rentals of movies in Lagos State alone was estimated to be ₦804 million (US$5 million) per week, which adds up to an estimated ₦33.5 billion (US$209 million) revenue for Lagos State per annum. Approximately 700,000 discs were sold in Alaba market per day, with the total sales revenue generated by the film industry in Nigeria estimated at ₦522 billion (US$3 billion) per annum, with broadcast content valued at ₦250 billion (US$1.6 billion).


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: At the peak of the video era at around 2008, the industry had become the second largest producer of films, releasing approximately 200 video films monthly. However at this point, the Nigerian film industry had practically degenerated into a "visionless" industry, with the invasion of several people who do not know a thing about filmmaking, and piracy was at its peak. Dealing with the menace of piracy, amongst other problems, became a hard nut to crack; as a result of this, most investors of the ""Alaba cartel"", who control almost 90 percent stakes in the video industry, began to channel their money into other business ventures instead. The decline of the Home video era has been attributed to several factors, such as the refusal of the Government to provide support and funding, the lack of a formal and effective indigenous film distribution infrastructure and the increase in the cost of production in Nigeria.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: This is an emerging phase in Nigerian cinema, in which there became a major shift in the method of film production, from the video format, back to the cinema method, which constituted the films produced in the Golden era. Few years into the 21st century, Nigeria began to experience the growth of cinemas, which was initially structured for the middle and upper class. The Silverbird Group is the first company to launch a series of modern Cinema houses across major cities in Nigeria, mostly situated in affluent areas and districts. It launched its cinema chains in 2004, starting with the Silverbird Galleria in Victoria Island, Lagos. The Silverbird Galleria is a large shopping mall, with an upscale cinema facility and various outlets where mercantile activities take place. This provides more reasons to visit the place beyond just watching films, but more of a social activity and a modified sort of entertainment beyond film watching. This trend has given another probable explanation as to the demise of the Nigerian cinema culture in the 1980s, which might have been as a result of the unfashionable appearance of most cinemas of the Golden era.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Silverbird cinemas upon establishment started screening Nigerian films with high production quality, as a result discouraging poor film production. The first New wave film to be shown at a cinema was the Yoruba-language film "Irapada" (2006) by Kunle Afolayan, which was screened at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos. The Silverbird experiment became very successful, and as a result, the group launched few more cinema branches in Lagos and other cities in the country. Not long after the establishment of Silverbird cinemas, Genesis Deluxe Cinemas and Ozone Cinemas were also launched creating a competition in the cinema business. Much later, in the 2010s, Filmhouse Cinemas also came into the picture, leading to the availability of more cinemas in the country, especially outside the affluent neighbourhoods.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Several grants have been launched by the Nigerian Government, in order to support quality content in Nigerian films. In 2006, "Project Nollywood" was launched by the Nigerian Government, in conjunction with Ecobank. The project provided ₦100 million (US$781,000) to Nigerian filmmakers to produce high quality films and to fund a multimillion Naira distribution network across the country during this period. In 2010, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan launched a ₦30 billion (US$200 million) "Creative and Entertainment Industry" Intervention Fund, financed by Bank of Industry (BOI), in conjunction with Nigerian Export and Import (NEXIM) Bank. This grant, although dubbed as a spin-off of "Project Nollywood", was for the entire Nigerian Creative Arts and Entertainment sector. The vision of the grant for the film industry however is to help more Nigerian filmmakers in training, funding, and also help in creating necessary infrastructure for the industry. In 2013, a smaller new grant of ₦3 billion (US$20 million) was awarded once again solely for Nollywood, and specifically for the production of high quality films, and to sponsor filmmakers for formal training in film schools. Also in 2015, Bank of Industry launched another "NollyFund" program for the purpose of giving financial support in form of loans to film producers.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: The popular 2009 thriller film "The Figurine" is generally considered the game changer, which heightened the media attention towards ""New Nigerian Cinema"" revolution. The film was a critical and commercial success in Nigeria, and it was also screened in international film festivals The 2010 film "Ijé" by Chineze Anyaene, overtook "The Figurine" to become the highest grossing Nigerian film; a record it held for four years, until it was overtaken in 2014 by "Half of a Yellow Sun" (2013). By 2016, this record was held by "The Wedding Party", a film by Kemi Adetiba.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: By the end of 2013, the film industry reportedly hit a record breaking revenue of ₦1.72 trillion (US$11 billion). As of 2014, the industry was worth ₦853.9 billion (US$5.1 billion) making it the third most valuable film industry in the world, behind the United States and India. It contributed about 1.4% to Nigeria's economy; this was attributed to the increase in the number of quality films produced and more formal distribution methods.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Unlike the home video era, films in the new wave are generally of much improved quality, with considerably bigger budgets; averaging between ₦40 million (US$250,000) and ₦120 million ($750,000). These films' production periods take months and even span into years, a far cry from the films in video format which are usually shot in a matter of days or weeks. Other notable improvements in the New Nollywood include: more subtle performances from actors; different from the overt melodrama which constituted the video era, more practical, more logical and generally better stories. Themes explored in these films are often characterized by consciously cosmopolitan themes, as most of the filmmakers are relatively young. A proper copyright and distribution system still remains one of the major challenges in the New Nigerian Cinema.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Around year 2006 through 2007, Nigerian filmmaker Frank Rajah Arase signed a contract with a Ghanaian production company, "Venus Films", which involved helping to introduce Ghanaian actors into mainstream Nollywood. This collaboration eventually led to extreme popularity of certain Ghanaian actors, such as Van Vicker, Jackie Appiah, Majid Michel, Yvonne Nelson, John Dumelo, Nadia Buari and Yvonne Okoro, arguably as much as their Nigerian counterparts. Furthermore, over the years; due to the high cost of film production in Nigeria, Nigerian filmmakers have been forced to make films outside Lagos in order to cut costs, mirroring the exodus of filmmaking in Hollywood from Los Angeles to cities like Toronto and Albuquerque, a process known as “"Runaway production"”. Several other producers as a result started shooting in cities like Accra, Ghana, channeling the savings into investing in better equipment, many of them trying to get their films onto the big screen.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: In 2013, Nigerian Entertainment Today revealed that Ghanaian actors had 60 percent of the total market share in the year. A survey carried out by the Newspaper showed that out of 184 films featured on "Nollytuned.com", a Nigerian streaming website, between April and August 2013, Ghanaian actors played lead roles in at least 93 of them. It was also reported that there are high demands for Ghanaian acts in video stores. At the first edition of Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) in 2013, Ghana’s Jackie Appiah was awarded "Best Actress in a Lead Role". Same year, Appiah again was awarded ‘Best Actress’ at the Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards (NAFCA). Ghanaian actors like Majid Michel have also been awarded at several Nollywood award ceremonies.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Sam Onanuga, a Nigerian script writer blames the trend on the reluctance of the established Nigerian acts to partake in more films on Video. With the emergence of New Nigerian Cinema, more Nigerian acts wanted roles on the big screen in order to boost their resume, refusing to star in video films; Ghanaian actors as a result took advantage of this, as they become more prominent on Nigerian video films which were already taking a down turn at this time, but still very popular.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: This development sparked media attention; mostly concerns that Ghanaians were taking over jobs meant for Nigerians. While some industry stakeholders such as Bob Manuel were unwelcoming towards the development, others like Mercy Aigbe, Belinda Effah, and Yvonne Jegede saw it as a welcome development; noting that the industry is big enough for everyone, and that other major film hubs across the world also have presence of other nationalities. Theresa Edem commented: “A united Africa sells any day, anytime. It’s been a great partnership so far. They’ve added colour to Nollywood and they’ve brought about healthy competition. Emem Isong, a Nigerian producer comments: “It fosters unity and integration and that’s not a bad thing”.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Some Ghanaian media on the other hand described the trend as “Brain drain” from Ghana. However, Ghanaian director Frank Fiifi Gharbin, expressed satisfaction with the development, saying: “there shouldn’t be much fuss about Ghanaian actors in Nollywood. For us it is a good development. It shows that our actors are beginning to gain prominence and are being accepted worldwide”.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: The increased collaboration between Nigeria and Ghana from the mid 2000s led to the resurgence of Ghana's film industry. However, many Ghanaian productions are copyrighted to Nollywood and distributed by Nigerian marketers due to Nigeria's bigger market. Nigerian filmmakers usually feature Ghanaian actors in Nigerian movies as well and that has led to the popularity of Ghanaian actors almost like their Nigerian counterparts. Nigerian actors have also starred in some Ghanaian productions, in order for the film to capture wider audience. Van Vicker, a popular Ghanaian actor, has starred in many Nigerian movies. As a result of these collaborations, Western viewers often confuse Ghanaian movies with Nigerian films and count their sales as one; however, they are two independent industries that sometimes share the colloquial "Nollywood".


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: In 2009, Unesco rated Nollywood as the second-biggest film industry in the world after Indian cinema in terms of output.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: Since the 2000s, Nigerian movies started to dominate television screens across the African continent and by extension, the diaspora. The film actors have also become household names across the continent, and the movies significantly influence cultures in many African nations; from ways of dressing to speech and use of Nigerian slang. This has been attributed to the fact that Nigerian films told "relatable" stories, which made foreign films gather dust on the shelves of video stores, even though they cost much less.


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: This overwhelming popularity has also led to backlash against Nigerian films in several countries; For instance, there have been reported cases of shops selling Nigerian films being raided by the police in Ghana; according to them, "they are struggling not to be colonized by Nigerian movies". Several other governments have also introduced protectionist measures, some of which include introducing spurious taxes for production houses who want to shoot films in their countries. In July 2010, Ghana started demanding US$1,000 from visiting Nigerian actors and US$5,000 from producers and directors. The Democratic Republic of Congo had also tried to ban Nigerian films. Jean Rouch, a champion of indigenous art in Niger, compared Nollywood to AIDS. He stated that there seems to be a "Nigerianization" of Africa, worrying that the whole continent has come to "snap its fingers the Nigerian way".


title: Cinema of Nigeria

text: The Nigerian film industry has a strong following in the African diaspora community in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom.


title: Best Friends Whenever

text: Best Friends Whenever is an American comedy television series created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas that premiered on Disney Channel on June 26, 2015. Its final episode aired on December 11, 2016, after two seasons. The series stars Landry Bender, Lauren Taylor, Gus Kamp, Ricky Garcia, Benjamin Cole Royer, and Matthew Lewis Royer.


title: Best Friends Whenever

text: Set in Portland, Oregon, two teenage girls named Cyd and Shelby are best friends living together while Cyd's parents are on an archaeological dig in Peru. After an accident in their neighbor Barry's science lab, they are given the ability to travel in time, provided they are thinking of the time they want to go to and are touching. When it comes to their trips to the future, they briefly find themselves strapped to tables in a futuristic lab and must figure out what this means while having various adventures along the way.


title: Best Friends Whenever

text: "Best Friends Whenever" was created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, who have also created "". On March 6, 2015, Disney ordered "Best Friends Whenever" with production starting the same month. The series was renewed for a second season by Disney Channel on February 29, 2016. The second season premiered on July 25, 2016. In February 2017, the cast took to social media to report that the series had not been renewed for a third season. On June 30, 2017, "TV by the Numbers" reported that the series had been canceled.


title: Best Friends Whenever

text: The series airs on Disney Channel in Canada. It premiered on Disney Channel in Australia and New Zealand on October 16, 2015.


title: Best Friends Whenever

text: Brian Lowry, writing for "Variety", thought the series' pilot episode was formulaic and did not take full advantages of the time travel premise. In particular, the series "appears more content to focus on the humdrum details of Shelby and Cyd's frantic lives than, say, sending them back to meet Abraham Lincoln or ahead to a time of flying cars."


title: 1985 World Series

text: The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals upset the heavily favored Cardinals in seven games. The Series was popularly known as the "Show-Me Series" or the "I-70 Showdown Series," as both cities are in the state of Missouri which is nicknamed the "Show Me State" and are connected by Interstate 70.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Cardinals won the NL East division by three games over the New York Mets, then defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to two in the NL Championship Series. The Royals won the AL West division by one game over the California Angels, then defeated the Toronto Blue Jays four games to three in the AL Championship Series.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Cardinals were seeking to win their NL-leading 10th World Series title, while the Royals were seeking their first World Series title. The Royals were completing one of the most successful decades by any expansion team, with six division titles and two pennants from 1976 to 1985. This was the first World Series in which all games were played at night. Also, this was the second all-Missouri World Series; the first in was all-St. Louis series between the Cardinals and Browns (a decade later, they became the Baltimore Orioles). This was the second of five World Series played completely on artificial turf; the first was in and the others were in , and 2020.


title: 1985 World Series

text: This is the most recent World Series in which the designated hitter was not used in an AL baseball park. From to 1985, the DH was used in all games in even-numbered years. In odd-numbered years, like this World Series, the pitchers from both were required to bat for themselves throughout the series, as in the National League. Beginning with the next World Series, the DH rule was used only at the AL representative's park.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The 1985 World Series marked the fifth time in World Series history that a team came back from a three games to one deficit to win a championship, and the first in which that team lost the first two games of the series at home (in the following year's Series, the New York Mets won after losing the first two series games at home). Bret Saberhagen's victories in Games 3 and 7, allowing only a single run in both starts, earned him the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.


title: 1985 World Series

text: In their 17th season, the Royals won their first World Series title; their next appearance was 29 years later in against the San Francisco Giants, but lost in seven games. A year later, the Royals won their second title, over the New York Mets.


title: 1985 World Series

text: When Lonnie Smith led off for the Royals, he became the first player in MLB history to be traded from a team (the St. Louis Cardinals) during a season and play against that team in the World Series the same season.


title: 1985 World Series

text: John Tudor scattered seven hits in innings for the Cards and won with relief help from Todd Worrell. The Royals struck first in the second on Steve Balboni's RBI single with runners on first and second, but the Cardinals tied it off of Danny Jackson in the third on Willie McGee's RBI groundout with runners on second and third. Next inning, Tito Landrum doubled with one out, then scored on late-season acquisition César Cedeño's RBI double to give Jackson the loss despite Jackson throwing seven innings of two-run ball. The Cardinals padded their lead in the ninth off of Dan Quisenberry when Tom Herr singled to lead off and scored on Jack Clark's double.


title: 1985 World Series

text: This was the first Saturday night game in World Series history. The Series began on a Saturday from 1969 through 1976, and again from 1985 through 2006 (with the exception of 1990, which began on a Tuesday night).


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Royals went up 2–0 in the fourth off of Danny Cox when Willie Wilson hit a leadoff single that was followed by back-to-back RBI doubles by George Brett and Frank White. However Charlie Leibrandt continued a history of tough luck in the postseason. The previous year, he had lost Game 3 of the 1984 ALCS, 1–0, to the Detroit Tigers when he pitched a three-hit complete game. He lost Game 4 in the 1985 ALCS in the ninth inning. Clinging to a two-run lead in the ninth of this game, manager Dick Howser opted to not send in his relief ace Dan Quisenberry to close out the game. Leibrandt allowed a leadoff double to Willie McGee, then was only one out from tying the series at one apiece when he allowed an RBI single to Jack Clark. After a double and walk loaded the bases, Terry Pendleton cleared them with a double and gave the Cardinals a 4–2 lead. Quisenberry came in and after he walked Darrell Porter he got out of the inning. Jeff Lahti earned a save with a scoreless bottom of the inning. The Cardinals' four run ninth would be the only inning in the series in which they scored more than one run.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Royals got back into the series by riding ace Bret Saberhagen to a 6–1 victory against twenty-game winner Joaquín Andújar. Saberhagen flashed messages on the television screen to his pregnant wife who was due to give birth any day. She eventually gave birth on October 26 (in Game 6). The Royals went up 2–0 in the fourth on Lonnie Smith's two-run double that scored Jim Sundberg and Buddy Biancalana, who had walked and singled, respectively. Royals second baseman Frank White made history by becoming the first second baseman in the history of the World Series to hit in the clean-up spot in the batting order. White came through with a two-run home run off of Andújar in the fifth after George Brett got on base. The Cardinals scored their only run of the game in the sixth off of Bret Saberhagen on consecutive singles by Ozzie Smith, Tom Herr, and Jack Clark. The Royals padded their lead in the seventh off of Ricky Horton when George Brett drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a balk, then scored on White's double. Two outs later, White scored on Buddy Biancalana's single to cap the scoring.


title: 1985 World Series

text: John Tudor's complete game shutout put the Cardinals on the verge of winning their second World Series in four years. Tito Landrum, only playing due to a tarp injury to Vince Coleman, continued to make his case for series MVP with a home run in the second off of Bud Black. Next inning, Willie McGee homered also to make it 2–0 Cardinals, who added to their lead in the fifth when Terry Pendleton tripled with one out and scored on Black's throwing error on Tom Nieto's bunt attempt. The best chance for the Royals to score was in the seventh inning, when they loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. With pinch-hitter Hal McRae up for Buddy Biancalana, he grounded to the third baseman to end the threat. Tudor allowed just five hits in a complete game while striking out eight with one walk while Black went just five innings and allowing three runs on four hits and three walks.


title: 1985 World Series

text: Entering this game, the Royals were 3–0 in must-win games in playoff elimination games. They improved their record to 4–0 with a decisive victory over the Cardinals, again by the score of 6–1. The Royals struck first on Frank White's groundout with runners on second and third in the top of the first off of Bob Forsch, but the Cardinals tied it off of Danny Jackson in the bottom half on back-to-back two-out doubles by Tom Herr and Jack Clark. However, they would not score after that. The Royals broke the game open in the second when Buddy Biancalana singled to score Jim Sundberg, who doubled with one out. After Lonnie Smith walked, Willie Wilson tripled home both runs to make it 4–1. The Royals added to their lead in the eighth off of Jeff Lahti on shortstop Ozzie Smith's throwing error on Danny Jackson's ground ball, then in the ninth on Pat Sheridan's RBI double. Jackson was the winning pitcher, following the same formula and pitching rotation as the Royals did in the ALCS where Jackson also won Game 5. Jackson threw an immaculate inning in the 7th, becoming the only pitcher to do so during a World Series game to date. Jackson scattered five hits, allowing only one run in a complete game.


title: 1985 World Series

text: A pitcher's duel unfolded between Danny Cox and Charlie Leibrandt, the tough-luck loser in Game 2. The game was marked by controversy. In the fourth inning of the scoreless game, the Royals' Frank White appeared to have stolen second base, but was ruled out in a questionable call. The batter, Pat Sheridan, hit a single to right field two pitches later. This would have likely given the Royals a 1–0 lead had White been called safe. Instead, Leibrandt and Cox traded scoreless innings until the eighth, when pinch-hitter Brian Harper singled home Terry Pendleton, who had singled earlier, to give the Cardinals a 1–0 lead.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Cardinals' 1–0 lead entering the bottom of the eighth was the result of St. Louis taking the upper hand after two situations that were mirror images of each other: In consecutive half-innings – the bottom of the seventh and the top of the eighth – both teams had runners on first and second with their respective starting pitcher coming to bat. Kansas City manager Dick Howser opted to leave Leibrandt in the game to bat, but the Royals starter struck out to end the inning. In contrast, Whitey Herzog pulled Cardinals starter Cox for pinch hitter Harper, who then had the game's first hit with runners in scoring position to put St. Louis ahead 1–0.


title: 1985 World Series

text: In the bottom of the ninth, Herzog called on rookie reliever Todd Worrell to relieve setup man Ken Dayley, who had pitched the eighth and would have been the winner had the Cardinals won. The first batter, pinch-hitter Jorge Orta, sent a chopping bouncer to the right of Jack Clark. He tossed the ball to Worrell, who tagged the bag ahead of Orta, but Clark's toss was behind Worrell and it allowed the running Orta to come between umpire Don Denkinger and his view of the lunging Worrell's glove. Denkinger called Orta safe. TV replays - not used by officials for play review until 2008 - indicated that Orta should have been called out, and an argument ensued on the field. The Cardinals argued briefly but as crew chief and believing he had made the correct call, Denkinger would not reverse it. Orta remained at first. In his book "You're Missing a Great Game", Herzog wrote that he later wished he had asked Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, who was in attendance, to overrule the call and declare Orta out. If Ueberroth had refused to do so, Herzog would have pulled his team from the field and forfeited the game.


title: 1985 World Series

text: Instead of one out and no one on, the Royals now had no outs and a runner on first for batter Steve Balboni. Balboni lifted a pop-up in foul territory along the edge of the first base dugout. Jack Clark, who had only recently made the transition from right field to first base that season, lost track of the ball as he looked to find the dugout and the ball dropped on the top step of the dugout. Balboni then singled two pitches later, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. Onix Concepción was sent in as a pinch-runner for the slow-footed Balboni. Catcher Jim Sundberg attempted to sacrifice the runners over, but he failed. With two strikes, he bunted anyway, and sent it back to Worrell, who threw to third to force out Orta, the only out the Cardinals would record. Porter then allowed a passed ball allowing Concepción and Sundberg to advance to third and second, respectively.


title: 1985 World Series

text: With first base now open and two runners in scoring position, Herzog then chose to walk Royals pinch-hitter Hal McRae to set up a potential double-play. McRae would be replaced by the faster John Wathan to pinch-run to avoid a potential double play. With the bases loaded and one out, Royals pinch-hitter Dane Iorg (a former Cardinal who had won a championship ring with them in 1982) blooped a single to right field. Pinch runner Onix Concepción scored the tying run and Sundberg approached the plate with the winning run. Right fielder Andy Van Slyke's throw was on target, but Sundberg slid home safely with the game-winning run before Porter was able to tag him.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Royals celebrated the rally, and mobbed home plate. The Cardinals went to their dressing rooms, only to find champagne waiting for them and plastic over their lockers in anticipation for the celebration that never came. Denkinger stated that he still believed he had made the right call until he later met with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth after the game and had the opportunity to see the replay himself. He would later claim that he was waiting to hear the ball land in Worrell's glove while watching the bag for Orta's foot. Due to the crowd noise in Royals Stadium, he ruled Orta safe because he never heard Worrell catch the ball. "I was in good position, but Worrell is tall, the throw was high, and I couldn't watch his glove and his feet at the same time," Denkinger told "Sports Illustrated". "It was a soft toss, and there was so much crowd noise, I couldn't hear the ball hit the glove." Denkinger was also scheduled to be the home plate umpire in Game 7.


title: 1985 World Series

text: One night after becoming a father, Bret Saberhagen tossed a five-hitter and got all the offense he needed when Darryl Motley homered to left off John Tudor in the second inning, after a walk to Steve Balboni. In the third, Lonnie Smith led off with a walk, and with one out George Brett hit an infield single. After a double steal, Tudor issued walks to Frank White to load the bases and Jim Sundberg to force in Smith, making it 3–0. Tudor was replaced with Bill Campbell after only innings. Balboni singled to left off Campbell to score Brett and White to make it 5–0. Tudor walked four and was charged with all five runs. In the dugout, he angrily punched an electrical fan, cutting his pitching hand.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Royals blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth. A succession of five Cardinal pitchers allowed six Royals runs, five coming after two were out. Campbell gave up a single to Sundberg and was immediately replaced by Jeff Lahti, who allowed four runs before being replaced by Ricky Horton. However, after Horton gave up a single to Brett, Herzog immediately replaced him with Joaquín Andújar, normally a starter but pressed into relief. Andújar allowed an RBI single to Frank White to increase the Royals lead to 10–0. With Sundberg at the plate (the Royals had batted around), Andújar twice charged home plate umpire Denkinger to disagree with his strike zone. First, Denkinger called an Andújar pitch a ball. Herzog, who had been berating Denkinger for most of the game, rushed from the dugout to defend Andújar, and was ejected—reportedly after saying to Denkinger, ""We wouldn't even be here if you hadn't missed the fucking call last night!"" According to Denkinger, he replied "Well if you guys weren't hitting .120 in this World Series, we wouldn't be here." The next pitch was also called a ball, and Denkinger ejected Andújar, who then charged at Denkinger. It took three teammates to restrain him and get him off the field. Andújar was suspended for the first ten games of the 1986 season for his outburst. Although it has been rumored that Herzog sent in Andújar specifically to bait Denkinger, Herzog himself has said several times Andújar was the only pitcher who still had anything left in his arm. After the ejection, Game 5 loser Bob Forsch walked Sundberg (the walk was charged to Andújar), but got out of the fifth-inning nightmare. He pitched a clean sixth inning and Ken Dayley kept the Royals off the scoreboard for the last two innings, but it was not enough as the Cardinals could not score against Saberhagen.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Royals became the first team ever to win the World Series after losing the first two games at home. The following year, the New York Mets accomplished the same feat by defeating the Boston Red Sox in seven games. In the 1996 World Series, the New York Yankees lost their first two games at home against the defending 1995 World Series champion Atlanta Braves before winning four straight to claim the title. The Royals also were the fifth team in MLB history to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win a best-of-seven World Series, the previous teams being the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1958 New York Yankees, 1968 Detroit Tigers, and the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1985 Royals had also come back from a three games to one deficit to win the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, making them the first and so far only team to do so (the championship series had changed from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format in 1985). The six elimination games won by the Royals represent a Major League record for a single postseason, a record which would later be equaled by the 2012 San Francisco Giants. The Royals became the first team to win two Game 7s in one postseason. The 2017 Houston Astros are the only other team to achieve this feat.


title: 1985 World Series

text: The Cardinals' .185 batting average was the lowest for a seven-game World Series until the New York Yankees hit .183 in the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cardinals also scored only thirteen total runs—an all-time low for a seven-game series—scoring only once in the final 26 innings of the series. If they had held on for the win in Game 6, they still would have been outscored in the series 15–13.


title: 1985 World Series

text: This was Kansas City's second major professional sports championship, joining the Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl IV in January 1970. Each franchise has added one championship, the Royals in 2015 and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV in February 2020.


title: 1985 World Series

text: ABC televised the series, with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentators Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver. This was the first World Series broadcast for McCarver, who would go on to call a record 24 World Series telecasts with ABC, CBS and Fox. Howard Cosell was originally scheduled to be in the booth with Michaels and Palmer, but was removed from his assignment just prior to Game 1 because of the controversy surrounding his book "I Never Played the Game".


title: 1985 World Series

text: CBS Radio broadcast the series nationally, with Jack Buck on play-by-play and Sparky Anderson providing color commentary. Locally, Royals' flagship station WIBW aired the games in Kansas City with Denny Matthews and Fred White alternating on play-by-play and color, while in St. Louis the Cardinals' flagship KMOX simulcast the CBS Radio coverage due to Buck's status as the team's primary local announcer during the regular season.


title: 1959–60 European Cup

text: The 1959–60 European Cup was the fifth season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 in the final at Hampden Park, Glasgow. It remains the record score for the European Cup final. It was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive European Cup title. It was also the first time that a German team, Eintracht Frankfurt, reached the final.


title: 1959–60 European Cup

text: The tournament saw the first participation by a Greek club, having withdrawn from the previous season.


title: 1959–60 European Cup

text: The draw for the preliminary round took place in Cernobbio, Como, Italy, on 6 July 1959. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 26 teams were grouped geographically into two pots. The first two teams drawn in each pot also received byes, while the remaining clubs would play the preliminary round in September.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: A decoupling capacitor is a capacitor used to decouple one part of an electrical network (circuit) from another. Noise caused by other circuit elements is shunted through the capacitor, reducing its effect on the rest of the circuit. For higher frequencies an alternative name is bypass capacitor as it is used to bypass the power supply or other high impedance component of a circuit.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: Active devices of an electronic system (transistors, ICs, vacuum tubes, for example) are connected to their power supplies through conductors with finite resistance and inductance. If the current drawn by an active device changes, voltage drops from power supply to device will also change due to these impedances. If several active devices share a common path to the power supply, changes in the current drawn by one element may produce voltage changes large enough to affect the operation of others – voltage spikes or ground bounce, for example – so the change of state of one device is coupled to others through the common impedance to the power supply. A decoupling capacitor provides a bypass path for transient currents, instead of flowing through the common impedance.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: The decoupling capacitor works as the device’s local energy storage. The capacitor is placed between the power line and the ground to the circuit the current is to be provided. According to the capacitor current–voltage relation, formula_1, a voltage drop between power line and ground results in current draw out from the capacitor to the circuit. When capacitance "C" is large enough, sufficient current is supplied to maintain an acceptable range of voltage drop. The capacitor stores a small amount of energy that can compensate for the voltage drop in the power supply conductors to the capacitor. To reduce undesired parasitic effective series inductance, small and large capacitors are often placed in parallel, adjacent to individual integrated circuits (see ).


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: In digital circuits, decoupling capacitors also help prevent radiation of electromagnetic interference from relatively long circuit traces due to rapidly changing power supply currents.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: Decoupling capacitors alone may not suffice in such cases as a high-power amplifier stage with a low-level pre-amplifier coupled to it. Care must be taken in layout of circuit conductors so that heavy current at one stage does not produce power supply voltage drops that affect other stages. This may require re-routing printed circuit board traces to segregate circuits, or the use of a ground plane to improve stability of power supply.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: A bypass capacitor is often used to decouple a subcircuit from AC signals or voltage spikes on a power supply or other line. A bypass capacitor can shunt energy from those signals, or transients, past the subcircuit to be decoupled, right to the return path. For a power supply line, a bypass capacitor from the supply voltage line to the power supply return (neutral) would be used.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: High frequencies and transient currents can flow through a capacitor to circuit ground instead of to the harder path of the decoupled circuit, but DC cannot go through the capacitor and continues on to the decoupled circuit.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: Another kind of decoupling is stopping a portion of a circuit from being affected by switching that occurs in another portion of the circuit. Switching in subcircuit A may cause fluctuations in the power supply or other electrical lines, but you do not want subcircuit B, which has nothing to do with that switching, to be affected. A decoupling capacitor can decouple subcircuits A and B so that B doesn't see any effects of the switching.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: In a subcircuit, switching will change the load current drawn from the source. Typical power supply lines show inherent inductance, which results in a slower response to change in current. The supply voltage will drop across these parasitic inductances for as long as the switching event occurs. This transient voltage drop would be seen by other loads as well if the inductance between two loads is much lower compared to the inductance between the loads and the output of the power supply.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: To decouple other subcircuits from the effect of the sudden current demand, a decoupling capacitor can be placed in parallel with the subcircuit, across its supply voltage lines. When switching occurs in the subcircuit, the capacitor supplies the transient current. Ideally, by the time the capacitor runs out of charge, the switching event has finished, so that the load can draw full current at normal voltage from the power supply and the capacitor can recharge. The best way to reduce switching noise is to design a PCB as a giant capacitor by sandwiching the power and ground planes across a dielectric material.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: Sometimes parallel combinations of capacitors are used to improve response. This is because real capacitors have parasitic inductance, which causes the impedance to deviate from that of an ideal capacitor at higher frequencies.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: Transient load decoupling as described above is needed when there is a large load that gets switched quickly. The parasitic inductance in every (decoupling) capacitor may limit the suitable capacity and influence appropriate type if switching occurs very fast.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: Logic circuits tend to do sudden switching (an ideal logic circuit would switch from low voltage to high voltage instantaneously, with no middle voltage ever observable). So logic circuit boards often have a decoupling capacitor close to each logic IC connected from each power supply connection to a nearby ground. These capacitors decouple every IC from every other IC in terms of supply voltage dips.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: These capacitors are often placed at each power source as well as at each analog component in order to ensure that the supplies are as steady as possible. Otherwise, an analog component with poor power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) will copy fluctuations in the power supply onto its output.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: In these applications, the decoupling capacitors are often called "bypass capacitors" to indicate that they provide an alternate path for high-frequency signals that would otherwise cause the normally steady supply voltage to change. Those components that require quick injections of current can "bypass" the power supply by receiving the current from the nearby capacitor. Hence, the slower power supply connection is used to charge these capacitors, and the capacitors actually provide the large quantities of high-availability current.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: A transient load decoupling capacitor is placed as close as possible to the device requiring the decoupled signal. This minimizes the amount of line inductance and series resistance between the decoupling capacitor and the device. The longer the conductor between the capacitor and the device, the more inductance is present.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: Since capacitors differ in their high-frequency characteristics, decoupling ideally involves the use of a combination of capacitors. For example in logic circuits, a common arrangement is ~100 nF ceramic per logic IC (multiple ones for complex ICs), combined with electrolytic or tantalum capacitor(s) up to a few hundred μF per board or board section.


title: Decoupling capacitor

text: These photos show old printed circuit boards with through-hole capacitors, where as modern boards typically have tiny surface-mount capacitors.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: Park Sang-hyun (; born October 7, 1990), known by his stage name Thunder (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor and model. He is a former member of South Korean boy band MBLAQ. On December 16, 2014, it was announced that he had departed from the group to focus on studying music. He signed with Mystic Entertainment's music label APOP on February 11, 2015 and released his debut extended play on December 7, 2016.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: Park Sang-hyun was born in Busan, South Korea, but grew up in the Philippines. He has two elder sisters, Sandara and Durami. Aside from his native Korean, he is also fluent in English and Tagalog, and can speak conversational Mandarin and Japanese.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: His eldest sister, Sandara, achieved nationwide fame in the Philippines in 2004 after becoming the runner-up on the first season of "Star Circle Quest", a talent search reality competition. He first appeared on national television when he attended the finale with his mother. Later on, as his sister began her hectic activities as a celebrity, a crew from one of South Korea's biggest television agencies recorded her daily life in the documentary "My Name Is Sandara Park". This marked Thunder's first ever appearance on South Korean television.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: Sandara's eventual decision to pursue activities in their home country led to their family's return to South Korea in 2007. By this time, Thunder had finished secondary education in the Philippines. It was later on revealed in a magazine interview that he had originally decided to pursue a professional career as a soccer player, specifically as a midfielder. He gave up and instead started auditioning for entertainment agencies, one of which was JYP Entertainment. He had taken dancing workshops offered by Sandara's home network back in the Philippines.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: Thunder eventually became a trainee under LOEN Entertainment, where he met IU. He appeared in IU's debut music video for her song "Lost Child" and was also seen in a couple of videos with her wherein they sing Big Bang's "Lies" and Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry."


title: Thunder (singer)

text: Thunder, Seung-ho, G.O, Lee Joon and Mir made their debut as MBLAQ on October 9, 2009 at Rain's "Legend of Rainism" concert where they performed various songs from their then-unreleased single album "Just BLAQ". On October 14, MBLAQ officially released their debut single album "Just BLAQ", along with the "Oh Yeah" music video. A day later, MBLAQ had their debut stage with their title song "Oh Yeah" on Mnet's "M! Countdown". Also in October, he was featured in Lyn's "New Celebration" music video. In November, he starred in a commercial film with Wonder Girls for Cafe Mori.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: Because of his androgynous face and modelesque image he was featured in Elle Girl's February 2010 issue. He was given a 4-page spread, where he showed off his unique yet fashionista chic image. In March 2010, Thunder alongside U-KISS' Dongho and Eli and Shinee's Key hosted a new variety show called "Raising Idol". In March 2010, he also appears in K.Will's "Gift" music video. Thunder also participated in Mnet's "Mnet Scandal". He was also a host of "The M-Wave", a music program which aired on Arirang TV with Krystal Jung. Having lived in the Philippines, he participated in the cable TV show, "Mom, I've gone crazy for English" with Nicole Jung, where he was an English mentor to young children. In 2010, Thunder was also chosen to become Alba Heaven spokesperson. It is a job search site, focusing on connecting users who want part-time jobs with potential businesses and employers, he participated in a TV CF which was broadcast on the airwaves.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: In 2011, Thunder was made a permanent cast member of the KBS show "Imagination Arcade". He was featured in a six-page spread on the October issue of "Singles", showing a completely different image. In December 2011, Thunder had a cameo role in jTBC drama "Padam Padam" where he played the role of Yang Kang-woo, the older brother of Yang Kang-chil (played by Jung Woo-sung).


title: Thunder (singer)

text: In 2012, he was featured in two magazines: he posed shirtless for the March issue of "Harper's Bazaar" and the April issue of "L'Officiel Hommes Korea"; both were an eight-page spread. Also in April, "Wanna Girls" magazine named him as new fashionista icon of 2012, along with Jessica Jung, Hyomin and Yong Jun-hyung. In July 2012, Thunder released a self-composed solo song titled "Don't Go" for "The BLAQ% Tour" album. In October, Thunder started his career in runway as he walked for Lee Jae-ho's Coexistence Collection in S/S 2013 Seoul Fashion Week. In November, he walked for Korean designer Park Jong-cheol's fashion show 'Bling Bling Party' as part of SUNY Korea Festival.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: In January 2013, Thunder was cast as the male lead in the MBC drama "Nail Shop Paris", with Park Gyu-ri. In 2014, he was cast in the dance musical "Moon Night", along with Seung-ho and Two X's Jiyou. In 2014, Thunder released his first single "Gone" which he composed himself. In March 2014, Thunder had graced the runway again for designer Lie Sang Bong's fashion show in 2014 F/W Seoul Fashion Week. He released his second single "Monster" later that year. On December 16, 2014, Thunder and Lee Joon officially withdrew from the group after their contracts expired.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: In 2015, he was cast in the role of Kang Hyun-seo in the MBC drama "Make a Woman Cry". Starting with this drama, he is being credited by his birth name (except for music-related projects). In 2016, he made a cameo appearance on another MBC drama, "Woman with a Suitcase", as Cheondung, a lawyer interviewing for the same job as Ma Seok-woo (played by Lee Joon).


title: Thunder (singer)

text: On November 23, 2016, Mystic Entertainment revealed that Thunder would release new music in December. His self-titled debut extended play as a solo artist was released on December 7, 2016 and featured guest appearances by Goo Hara, Basick and Giantpink. Thunder participated in writing and composing all five tracks. The music video for the promotional single "Sign" features his sister Sandara.


title: Thunder (singer)

text: On February 6, 2017, it was announced that Thunder would be the first Korean idol to star in a Korean-Indonesian movie, titled Forever-Holidays in Bali. On April 19, before going over to Bali to film the movie, Thunder appeared in Indonesian music show "Dahsyat" to perform. It was a huge success with the hashtag #ThunderOnDahsyat trending second on Indonesian Twitter that morning.


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum is an animated children's television series that premiered on November 11, 2019, on PBS Kids. The series is produced by 9 Story Media Group. It is based on the children's book series written by Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos, named "Ordinary People Change the World". The series involves Xavier Riddle with his sister Yadina, and their friends Brad and Berby, at the Secret Museum, and help from historical heroes, who are depicted in the series as children.


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: The series involves a Peruvian-American boy named Xavier Riddle, his sister Yadina Riddle (alongside her stuffed turtle Dr. Zoom) and their best friend Brad. In each episode, a problem or difficulty is encountered. They go to the Secret Museum to time travel to the past to observe, interact, and learn from the historical heroes. They then return to the present and use their experience to solve the problem.


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: Brad Meltzer wrote the book "Ordinary People Change the World" and began a series based on the book named the Ordinary People series in 2014 with "I Am Abraham Lincoln", "I Am Amelia Earhart", "I Am Rosa Parks", and "I Am Albert Einstein".


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: The series is produced by 9 Story Media Group's animation division, Brown Bag Films. 9 Story's Chief Creative Officer Angela Santomero states that "Xavier Riddle" lets kids know they have "the curiosity and adventurous spirit to change the world". Meltzer added to that statement: "When my own kids watch this series, I get to see them realize that there’s extraordinary within the ordinary."


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: Each episode of "Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum" runs for half an hour. They consist of two 11-minute stories based on famous historical heroes around the world in the past. However, airings on streaming services such as Globoplay in Brazil split the episodes into segments, with each 11-minute story isolated. There may be an interstitial segment between the two main stories, in which Berby, and either Xavier, Yadina, Brad, or Dr. Zoom, are shown doing something fun together.


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: A TV special titled "Xavier Riddle and the Secret Movie: I Am Madam President" aired on March 16, 2020. In the special, Yadina, who dreams of becoming president one day, realizes all the presidents were men. She questions if she can still be president, even though it is something no girl has done yet. The trio visit the Secret Museum, where a five-part star is shown to them. They travel to different periods in time, where they meet women who are attempting to do something that has never been done before. Yadina learns from them on what is needed to do something that has never been done before, as she attempts to complete the star. She meets Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Amelia Earhart, Junko Tabei, Sally Ride and Yadina Riddle as an adult. Amelia Earhart is the only historical figure to be featured in this movie and an episode.


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: The series premiered on PBS Kids in United States on November 12, 2019. It premiered on TVOKids in Canada on December 10, 2019. It airs on Super3, a Catalan-language children's channel in Spain.


title: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

text: Joyce Slaton of Common Sense Media gave "Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum" a mixed review. She stated that "the show makes many historical inaccuracies, which makes it odd for a TV show that wants to make history come back alive for kids." She also stated that "the show's tendency to play too fast and loose with the historical facts is confusing, and that 'Go for it!' is an unlikely motto for Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 and didn't complete her solo Atlantic flight as a grade school student, as Xavier depicts." George Washington Carver did have a secret garden as a child, in which he learned important lessons that impacted his career in botany. But, as Slaton states, "it's a real stretch to imagine him having to defend plants from renegade soccer players in 19th century Missouri," and that "the show seems to overlook his importance as an activist for ex-slaves and champion of sustainable agriculture, instead boiling his messages down to 'take care of plants and you'll take care of the earth.'"


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: Made in Heaven is a 1987 fantasy-comedy film directed by Alan Rudolph, script from Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, and produced by Lorimar Productions. The film stars Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis and has cameos by Tom Petty, Ric Ocasek, Ellen Barkin and Neil Young. Emmett, a chain-smoking male angel, was played by Debra Winger (Hutton's then wife), but the character was only credited as being played by "Himself."


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: The original music score was composed by Mark Isham. The film was marketed with the tagline "How in Heaven did they meet? How on Earth will they find each other?"


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: "Made in Heaven" concerns two souls who cross paths in Heaven and then attempt to reconnect once they are reborn on Earth.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: In 1988, the film was released on VHS format as well as digital stereo LaserDisc format. In 2009, the film made its DVD debut as part of the Warner Archive Collection.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: In a small Pennsylvania town in 1957, Mike Shea (Hutton) dreams of escaping small-town life and moving to California with his girlfriend Brenda Carlucci. But Brenda leaves him with his motor running and Mike takes off alone.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: On the way to California, Mike rescues a woman and her children from their car which went into a river but he perishes. Finding himself in Heaven, his Aunt Lisa greets him, and explains the rules and regulations. While searching for someone he used to know, Mike comes across heavenly guide Annie Packert (McGillis), and instantly they fall in love.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: Unlike Mike, Annie has not yet lived on Earth, so their love is abruptly interrupted, just as they are going to perform a wedding ceremony. As she has not yet earned her wings on Earth, she must leave on a tour of duty and put in time inhabiting a human body.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: Mike is beside himself with despair, but the heavenly powers, in the form of Emmett Humbird, chain-smoking and sporting an orange crew-cut, offer him a deal. Mike can return to Earth, with the stipulation that neither he nor Annie will remember each other. He then has 30 years in which they must find each other again.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: Ally, the reincarnation of Annie, names her imaginary friend Mike. She grows up, gets married and writes a book whose protagonist is Mike. Her husband leaves her, and she is disconnected for a time. She dreams and daydreams of Mike, which confuses her, as she's not met him yet in this life.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: Mike is reborn as Elmo, at 28 Emmett visits him because he is pretty much a lost soul. Just conned by a woman, he's wandering down the road. Later, he gets a copy of Ally's book.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: Mike ends up meeting his original parents while hitchhiking, they are kind to him and buy him a trumpet. As a result, Elmo starts his musical career and ends up writing a hit song that he had been working on in Heaven. The song was "We Never Danced", a very ‘80s sounding song and one of the last words Annie spoke to Mike in heaven.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: Mike/Elmo ends up finding Ally/Annie on the street at the end of the film, and their eyes lock on one another. It's his 30th birthday, they met in the nick of time.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: "Made in Heaven: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" was released through Elektra Records on LP and cassette, but not on CD.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: The film was not a box office success, grossing a little over $4.5 million against a budget of $13 million.


title: Made in Heaven (1987 film)

text: The film's critical reception was mixed. "Made in Heaven" holds a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on sixteen reviews.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: Akira is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on Katsuhiro Otomo's seminal manga, "Akira", published from 1982 to 1990. It was adapted into a 1988 anime film and two video games. A live-action feature film has also been in development since 2000, and a new anime television series by Otomo was also announced in 2019.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: "Akira" takes place in futurist, cyberpunk "Neo-Tokyo", some decades following the destruction of Tokyo years prior by a massive explosion. A city struggling to prevent crime amid political corruption, the story focuses on Kaneda, the leader of a motorcycle gang, and his friend and fellow member Tetsuo, who is mentally unstable. After a near collision with a childlike Esper, the product of government research to imbue humans with powerful psychokinetic energies, Tetsuo becomes similarly afflicted. As Tetsuo struggles with controlling his new abilities, Kaneda, desperate to learn more, joins forces with a resistance group, including Kei, a woman he takes interest in. As Tetsuo's abilities start to go out of control, the military, led by Colonel Shikishima, take ultimate actions to try to contain him, wanting to prevent the same destruction to Neo-Tokyo as happened before with the test subject Akira in Tokyo years earlier. Kaneda, Kei, Shikishima, and the other Espers work together to try to help Tetsuo come to find peace and end his destructive rampage.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: "Akira" was originally serialized in Japan from 1982 to 1990 in Kodansha's "Young Magazine", ending with over 2000 pages of Otomo's art. It was published serially in the United States Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, colorizing the black and white manga. The choice to colorize the work helped to popularize "Akira" in the Western world. Six volumes of collected works were published from 2000 to 2002 by Dark Horse Comics, and in the UK by Titan Books, with the license later transferring to Kodansha Comics.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: Otomo did not plan on having an animated adaption of "Akira", but when the idea was presented to him, he became intrigued, and agreed to allow it as long as he remained in creative control of the film. The film was produced by TMS Entertainment and distributed by Toho across Japan on 16 July 1988; it had limited released in Western countries. When "Akira" hit home media around 1992, the film got a new resurgence, and since has been recognized as one of the best animated and science fiction films of all time, and is considered a landmark anime.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: A companion video game to the film was developed by TOSE and distributed by Taito for personal computers, and released in Japan on 24 December 1988. Titled simply "Akira", the game was a text-based adventure game with the text presented over images from the film, with the player decided what action protagonist Kaneda would take. It received average ratings from Japanese reviewers.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: Black Pearl Studios, a subsidiary of THQ, obtained permission from Kodansha to develop a game based on the "Akira" manga in 1993. Preview footage was shown at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show. Intended for a 1995 release on the Super NES, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, and Sega CD platforms, the game was never completed due to financial issues at THQ.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: In 1994, a British-made action game, simply titled "Akira", was released for the Amiga CD32 and is considered one of the console's worst games.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: "Akira Psycho Ball" is a simulated pinball machine video game, featuring elements from the manga and anime, for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by KAZe and released by Bandai on 21 February 2001, with limited release in Europe the following year. The game had generally positive reviews from Japanese reviewers.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: Warner Bros. acquired the rights to a live-action "Akira" film in 2002, but since then has had difficulty in getting a project started, with it remaining in development hell. At least five different directors and ten different writers have been attached at various times. While Otomo had given scriptwriters the freedom to modify the plot of "Akira" as necessary to fit a live-action film, fears remain over whitewashing or racebending in the film's casting as well as trying to relocate the film outside of Japan due to story's ties with Japan's history.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: Most recently, director Taika Waititi had been set to lead the film for a 2021 release, but that has been put on hold indefinitely as Waititi opted to work on "" first, and it is unclear if the film would still go forward with Waititi's direction due to the delay; in a 2021 interview, fellow filmmaker James Gunn related that Waititi had told him "[the] movie fell apart". However, during an interview with "Wired", Waititi said that he was not going to give up on making the film happen.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: As early as January 2016, a potential television series had been in the planning stages with Otomo's involvement.


title: Akira (franchise)

text: At the 2019 Anime Expo, Otomo announced that he was working with Sunrise to create a new anime television series based on the manga.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: The Ford Panther platform was an automobile platform that was used by Ford Motor Company from the 1979 to 2012 model years. Following the downsizing of the General Motors B-bodies and C-bodies by two years, the Panther platform marked the end of production of sedans unencumbered by downsizing. Originally slated for discontinuation during the early 1980s, the Panther architecture was used for 33 model years, the longest-produced platform in North American automotive history.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: Developed as a successor to the 1969 Ford chassis, the rear-wheel drive, body-on-frame Panther platform was used by the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury brands. While produced exclusively as four-door sedans from 1992 to 2012, prior to its first update, the chassis underpinned two-door sedans and five-door station wagons. Throughout its entire production life, all Panther-platform vehicles were equipped with a V8 engine; the Modular V8 engine was the first overhead-cam V8 engine used in an assembly line manufactured production American vehicle.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: Initially developed in response to the implementation of CAFE by the U.S. federal government, the Panther platform outlived its closest rival (the GM B platform) by 15 years, with the 2012 Ford Crown Victoria becoming the final mass-produced passenger car designed with a separate frame. While body-on-frame construction is retained by pickup trucks and larger SUVs, unibody construction (or variants thereof) see nearly universal use in passenger cars.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: From 1978 to 1985, Ford and Mercury versions of the Panther platform were assembled in Hazelwood, Missouri (St. Louis Assembly). For the 1986 model year, production shifted to Talbotville, Ontario, Canada (St. Thomas Assembly) for the 1986 model year. Lincoln versions were sourced from Wixom, Michigan (Wixom Assembly) until its 2007 closure; from 2008 to 2011, the Lincoln Town Car was assembled by St. Thomas Assembly. After a short production run of 2012 vehicles for export, St. Thomas Assembly produced the final Ford Crown Victoria on 15 September 2011, the final vehicle produced by the facility and the final vehicle of the Panther platform.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: The Panther platform utilized the body-on-frame construction with live rear axle suspension. While commonplace during its late-1970s introduction, it is a design found almost exclusively in large SUVs and pickup trucks today. The durability resulting from the body on frame construction (which allows easier repair after minor collisions), and their relatively simple design make the Panther cars appealing as fleet vehicles, including police cars and taxicabs. The Lincoln Town Car appealed largely to livery services, and was the most commonly used limousine in North America, due to its ability to be easily "stretched" by lengthening the frame without compromising chassis strength.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: Although introduced in 1978, the Panther platform underwent major changes along the way. Across its design life it was produced in three distinct generations:


title: Ford Panther platform

text: For 1979, Ford introduced the Panther platform, downsizing the Ford LTD and Mercury Marquis model ranges. Along with an extensive reduction in exterior footprint and weight, the Panther platform saw several other changes. For the first time, the LTD and Marquis shared a common wheelbase; with the exception of grilles and taillights, the two model lines shared nearly identical bodywork. As before, two-door, four-door, and station wagon bodies were offered.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: For 1980, federal fuel-economy regulations forced the Lincoln Continental to adopt the Panther platform. While built on its own wheelbase and using its own bodywork, the Continental, Town Car, and Continental Mark VI used the same powertrain as the LTD and Marquis.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: Following the introduction of the Panther platform, Ford underwent an extensive revision of both its full-size and mid-size model ranges in the early 1980s. For 1981, Lincoln made the Town Car and four-door Continental Mark VI its full-size model line to reduce its model overlap, with the Continental later becoming a mid-size sedan (based on the Fox platform); the two-door version of the Mark VI was replaced in 1984 by the Mark VII coupe. For 1983, the Ford LTD and Mercury Marquis became mid-size sedans, replacing the Ford Granada and Mercury Cougar while the LTD Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis became distinct model lines, in an effort to move full-size model ranges upward in prestige.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: The first generation of the Panther platform is the sole generation produced in multiple body styles. 1981 was the sole year for the Town Car coupe with the two-door version of the Mark VI ending production after 1983. After 1987, two-door Ford and Mercury sedans were discontinued due to low demand. After 1991, the Ford LTD Country Squire and Mercury Colony Park station wagons were discontinued.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: Outside of the shift of nameplates in the early 1980s, few fundamental changes were made to first-generation Panther-platform vehicles from 1979 to 1991. For 1980, Lincoln introduced the AOD 4-speed overdrive automatic transmission and fuel injection for the 5.0L V8, becoming available for Ford and Mercury in 1981 (Canadian Lincolns got fuel injection only in 1984).


title: Ford Panther platform

text: For 1988, the LTD Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis underwent a minor revision to improve exterior aerodynamics. For 1990, the Panther platform received its first addition of SRS airbags. The Town Car (shifting to the second generation) was designed with dual airbags; the LTD Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, and station wagons were fitted with driver-side airbags.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: The American automotive landscape had changed significantly throughout the 1980s, although Ford had left the Panther platform essentially unchanged. A combination of changing consumer tastes as well as increasingly more stringent fuel economy standards forced Ford to make significant changes to the Panther cars in order to keep them in production. Bucking industry trends of the time, Ford chose not to downsize it any further or to replace it entirely with a front-wheel drive platform, opting instead for more aerodynamic bodystyling (which had been popularized by the smaller Taurus) and an all-new powertrain. As a result of changing market trends towards minivans and sport utility vehicles, one casualty of the redesign was the Country Squire and Colony Park station wagons; at the time, their de facto replacement was the Ford Aerostar.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: In October 1989, Lincoln introduced the second-generation Town Car. In early 1991, the Crown Victoria (the LTD prefix disappeared) and Grand Marquis received total redesigns of their bodies for 1992. The Ford was restyled to have more of a family resemblance to the Ford Taurus, while the Mercury was styled as a more contemporary version of its predecessor (a formal family sedan).


title: Ford Panther platform

text: In 1991, the 4.6L SOHC Modular V8 debuted under the hood of the Lincoln Town Car. It was the replacement for both the 302 and 351 cubic-inch Windsor V8 engines; in 1992, it became available in the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis. Although the torque peak for the Modular V8 was 1,200 rpm higher than for the 302 V8, the 4.6L was available with up to 60 more hp (with optional dual exhaust).


title: Ford Panther platform

text: In 1997, Ford significantly upgraded the exterior designs of all three Panther platform cars. The Town Car received the most extensive changes with its entire body being restyled. To increase parts commonality between the two, the Crown Victoria was redesigned to share the rear roofline (and much of the exterior sheetmetal) with the Grand Marquis, which saw minor cosmetic changes itself. Underneath the sheetmetal, a Watt's linkage was added to the rear suspension (still a live rear axle) in an effort to improve handling.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: For 2003, Ford Chassis Engineer Trever Skilnick completely redesigned the frame of the Panther platform using a hydroformed steel frame and a bolt-in cast aluminum stressed member that held the powertrain. The front and rear suspension were also completely overhauled in an effort to improve handling; rack and pinion steering replaced the recirculating-ball design. While the sheetmetal of the Crown Victoria was left alone, the Grand Marquis and Town Car both received updates to the exterior and interior in an effort to bring them in line with the rest of their respective product lineups. The "Cast Aluminum #2" frame crossmember won Casting of The Year for Tier 1 supplier CMI - Hayes Lemmerz, and the new chassis was reviewed favorably by journalist Dan Neil of the Wall Street Journal .


title: Ford Panther platform

text: For 2003, Mercury introduced the Marauder, a high-performance variant of the Grand Marquis. Designed in a similar fashion as the 1994–1996 Chevrolet Impala SS (with black also being its most commonly available paint color), it featured the engine of the Ford Mustang Mach 1. The Marauder sold poorly; it was dropped after 2004 after just over 11,000 were built.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: In total, twelve vehicle nameplates were produced under the Panther platform, with the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Lincoln Town Car, and Continental Mark VI produced exclusively on the architecture.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: Following the 2003 chassis redesign of the Panther platform, during most of the 2000s, Ford Motor Company began consideration of design efforts towards a rear-wheel drive successor to the chassis architecture. Intended for release by the end of the 2000s, an all-new platform would be the first truly new rear-wheel drive full-size chassis from Ford in three decades; another key objective was to consolidate the Panther chassis and the slightly smaller EA169 platform of Ford Australia (underpinning the Ford Falcon sedan and Ford Territory wagon, with the long-wheelbase Ford Fairlane/LTD nearly matching the Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis in wheelbase). During the mid-2000s, Ford debuted several concept vehicles (Ford 427, Lincoln MKR, and Ford Interceptor), previewing potential designs of rear-wheel drive Ford and Lincoln-Mercury full-size sedans. While none of the concept vehicles reached production in their entirety, design elements of each vehicle appeared in multiple Ford and Lincoln sedans.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: For the 2005 model year, Ford introduced its first front-wheel drive full-size chassis, the Ford D3 platform. Derived from a Volvo chassis architecture, the D3 chassis underpinned the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego. While the latter was sold alongside the larger Grand Marquis, the Five Hundred was phased in as a replacement for both the Ford Taurus and Crown Victoria. By 2007, the Crown Victoria was supported nearly entirely by fleet sales, outselling only the Ford GT in retail sales.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: After the 2007 model year, Ford ended retail sales of the Crown Victoria, with the Five Hundred renamed as the Ford Taurus; further retail sales were adopted by Lincoln-Mercury. As part of The Way Forward, Lincoln Town Car production shifted from Wixom Assembly and was consolidated with Ford and Mercury at St. Thomas Assembly in Canada.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: In January 2009, Ford announced that design efforts towards its global rear-wheel drive platform were canceled. The same year, Ford announced that 2011 marked the final year of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, with production of a successor to follow for 2012. 2011 would slowly mark the phaseout of both Panther-platform production and of vehicle production at St. Thomas Assembly. On January 4, the final Grand Marquis rolled off the assembly line, becoming the final Mercury vehicle ever produced. During August, the final Lincoln Town Car rolled off the assembly line.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: For the 2012 model year, all Crown Victorias were produced for export; as the vehicle was not produced with stability control, it was no longer legal for sale in the United States or Canada. A short run of Crown Victorias were produced for GCC export (Middle East); intended for export to Saudi Arabia, the final Ford Crown Victoria rolled off the assembly line on September 15, 2011, ending production at St. Thomas Assembly.


title: Ford Panther platform

text: While the closure of the Mercury division would leave the Grand Marquis without a direct successor, by the end of production, Ford introduced functional replacements for the Crown Victoria/Police Interceptor and Lincoln Town Car (in the sixth-generation Ford Taurus/Police Interceptor Sedan and Lincoln MKS, respectively). With the exception of the Police Interceptor Sedan, sales of the Taurus and MKS shifted from a high dependence on fleet customers to a higher proportion of retail sales. The Lincoln Town Car name made its return for livery customers, with Lincoln developing a livery/limousine variant of the Lincoln MKT with the MKT Town Car name.