title: Superstition in Ethiopia

text:
# Superstition in Ethiopia

Superstition is highly prevalent in Ethiopia. Like Turkey and Greece, Ethiopian culture believes in the evil eye. In Ethiopia this belief helps uphold a caste system.

## Buda

One folk religion inspired by superstition is Buda. Buda is associated with Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) and lower castes, primarily with artisans and manual laborers. Manual laborers are considered lower caste by the aristocratic families, who, like tribal lords, spiritualists, and scholars are considered part of the highest caste. Within this social structure, manual laborers socializing with higher castes is seen as sinful and impure, with the lower caste being referred to as "envious, malevolent, and selfish", and "carriers of evil". Beads and amulets such as *Kitab* jewelry are worn to protect against some effects of the evil eye.

Samuel Gobat recorded an encounter in the 1830s when a Christian priest accused some members of Beta Israel of being Budas; they rejected the charge: "We are not boudas. \[...\] if boudas exist, you are obliged to believe that they can do nothing contrary to the will of God; consequently they cannot harm those who have true faith in God. Thus your groundless fear of boudas only proves your total want of faith in the God of Israel."

According to Niall Finneran, "the idea of magical creation underpins the perception of artisans in Ethiopia and in the wider African context. In many cases, these skills have been originally acquired from an elemental source of evil via the paternal lineage, rather like a Faustian pact." It is also believed that these powers allow one to shapeshift into animals such as hyenas. These beliefs are also present in Sudan, Tanzania, and among the Berber people in Morocco.

## Other beliefs

In Ethiopia, it is generally agreed that there are twelve harmful superstition-related practices, including female genital mutilation, polygamy, uvulotomy, milk teeth extraction, forced marriage, food prohibition, work restriction, abdominal massaging of pregnant women, excessive feasting, unnecessary incision, and widow inheritance.

Among the Bale Oromos, *fungo* is a belief that a dowsing rope will act as an object of divination. This superstition was observed during the Ethiopian Civil War, when parents went to a diviner to find their children who had been displaced during the war.

Other superstitious Ethiopian practices and beliefs include:

* The common practice of slaughtering a goat before the birth of a baby (this may be due to Ethiopia's relatively high infant mortality rate).
* The belief is that if a spotted hyena scratches a house, the resident will be victim to a future war.
* That a hyena screaming is an omen of death. Two hyenas screaming signifies children would die, five to six a woman, and seven a man. Although unclear about what will happen, the following quote reflects the general superstition about hyenas: "When bad news is coming, he says, the hyenas cry. It is hard to find a Harari person skeptical of this claim. "

Among the southern Omotic language-speaking community, *mingi* is a type of superstition that asserts that children born with physical abnormalities, including the top teeth coming in before the bottom teeth, are cursed. These children were killed by drowning, suffocation, strangulation, or by leaving the infants in the forest. In July 2012, the Bari people officially banned the practice of infanticide but retained the belief.

## Zār

Belief in *Zār* (evil spirits) is widely prevalent in Ethiopia, though many Ethiopian also believe in benevolent, protective spirits or *adbar*. *Zār* is also practiced by Beta Israel, the Ethiopian diaspora living in North America and Europe, and northern Ethiopian Amhara people with its center in Gondar. *Zār* is believed to have its origin in Harar.

Dr. Simon Messing, a sociologist who did his work in northwestern Ethiopia (Gondar) in 1953–1954, collected 80 essays on beliefs representing 13 provinces of Ethiopia of 80 students of Haile Selassie I University.


title: Crassicantharus

abstract: Crassicantharus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Dolicholatiridae

text:
# Crassicantharus

***Crassicantharus*** is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Dolicholatiridae

## Species

Species within the genus *Crassicantharus* include:

Similar species:

* Ponder W.F. (1972). Notes on some Australian species and genera of the family Buccinidae (Neogastropoda). Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia. 2(3): 249–265. page(s): 262
* Fraussen K. & Stahlschmidt P. (2015). An extensive radiation of the genus Crassicantharus Ponder, 1972 (Gastropoda: Buccinoidea) in French Polynesia, with description of nine new species. Novapex. 16(3): 65-80

## InfoBox

| *Crassicantharus* | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| *Crassicantharus noumeensis* shell | |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Buccinoidea |
| Family: | Dolicholatiridae |
| Genus: | *Crassicantharus*
Ponder, 1972 |
|
| Type species | |
| *Crassicantharus norfolkensis* Ponder, 1972
 | |


title: Superman (Donna Fargo song)

abstract: "Superman" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Donna Fargo. It was released in December 1972 as the first single from the album My Second Album. The song was written by Fargo and Eddie Sauter. The song was Fargo's third consecutive number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for a single week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart.

text:
# Superman (Donna Fargo song)

"**Superman**" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Donna Fargo. It was released in December 1972 as the first single from the album *My Second Album*. The song was written by Fargo and Eddie Sauter.

The song was Fargo's third consecutive number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for a single week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart.

## Chart performance

| Chart (1972–1973) | Peak
position |
| --- | --- |
| US Hot Country Songs (*Billboard*) | 1 |
| US *Billboard* Hot 100 | 41 |
| US Easy Listening (*Billboard*) | 35 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 72 |
| Canadian *RPM* Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian *RPM* Top Singles | 75 |

## InfoBox

| "Superman" | |
| --- | --- |
| Single by Donna Fargo | |
| from the album  *My Second Album* | |
| B-side | "Forever Is As Far As I Could Go" |
| Released | December 1972 |
| Recorded | October 1972 |
| Studio | Jack Clement Recording (Nashville, Tennessee) |
| Genre | Country |
| Length | 2:27 |
| Label | Dot 17429 |
| Songwriter(s) | Donna Fargo and Eddie Sauter |
| Producer(s) | Stan Silver |
| Donna Fargo singles chronology | |
| "Funny Face"
(1972) "**Superman**"
(1972) "You Were Always There"
(1973) | |


title: Sunethra Bandaranaike House

abstract: The Sunethra Bandaranaike House or Horagolla Stables is the country house of Sunethra Bandaranaike, renovated in the 1980s by the renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa. The house was the original walauwa of Horagolla, the home of Sunethra Bandaranaike's great-grandfather Gate Mudaliyar Don Christoffel Henricus Dias Abeywickrema Jayatilake Seneviratne Bandaranaike. It was converted to a stable by Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, who after his appointment as Maha Mudaliyar at the turn of the twentieth century built the Horagolla Walauwa as his stately home in close proximity to the older walauw. A walauwa is the traditional name for a headman's house. In the 1980s the deteriorated stable building was renovated and redesigned by Geoffrey Bawa into a house for Sunethra Bandaranaike and her then husband Udaya Nanayakara. Construction commenced on 1 April 1983 and was completed 25 November 1987. The building consists of two sections; the original stables and the new wing, with these two sections forming an 'L' shape. The original building had one large arched entrance and enclosures for the six horses. Openings were introduced in the form of doors and windows and an internal mezzanine floor separates this space into a ground floor and upper gallery. The main sitting room is on the ground floor while the upper gallery provides an additional lounge/sitting area. The name boards of the horses that were kept here have been retained over their former stalls. The stable hands quarters have been converted into three bedrooms, with attached bathrooms and a library. The new wing contains an additional bedroom, with attached bathroom, dining area, pantry and open kitchen. The material used for the construction were recycled material sourced from either the original building or old demolished homes.

text:
# Sunethra Bandaranaike House

The **Sunethra Bandaranaike House** or **Horagolla Stables** is the country house of Sunethra Bandaranaike, renovated in the 1980s by the renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa.

The house was the original walauwa of Horagolla, the home of Sunethra Bandaranaike's great-grandfather Gate Mudaliyar Don Christoffel Henricus Dias Abeywickrema Jayatilake Seneviratne Bandaranaike. It was converted to a stable by Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, who after his appointment as Maha Mudaliyar (Head Mudaliyar) at the turn of the twentieth century built the Horagolla Walauwa as his stately home in close proximity to the older walauw. A walauwa is the traditional name for a headman's house.

In the 1980s the deteriorated stable building was renovated and redesigned by Geoffrey Bawa into a house for Sunethra Bandaranaike and her then husband Udaya Nanayakara. Construction commenced on 1 April 1983 and was completed 25 November 1987. The building consists of two sections; the original stables and the new wing, with these two sections forming an 'L' shape. The original building had one large arched entrance and enclosures for the six horses. Openings were introduced in the form of doors and windows and an internal mezzanine floor separates this space into a ground floor and upper gallery. The main sitting room is on the ground floor while the upper gallery provides an additional lounge/sitting area. The name boards of the horses that were kept here have been retained over their former stalls. The stable hands quarters have been converted into three bedrooms, with attached bathrooms and a library. The new wing contains an additional bedroom, with attached bathroom, dining area, pantry and open kitchen. The material used for the construction were recycled material sourced from either the original building or old demolished homes.

## Further reading

* Daniel, Smriti (July 13, 2019). "Sri Lanka: The iconic Horagolla home designed by Geoffrey Bawa has a fascinating backstory". *Architectural Digest India*.


title: SS Francis Scott Key

abstract: SS Francis Scott Key was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who is best known for writing the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".

text:
# SS Francis Scott Key

**SS *Francis Scott Key*** was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who is best known for writing the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".

## Construction

*Francis Scott Key* was laid down on 21 June 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 16, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 15 November 1941.

## History

*Francis Scott Key* was allocated to Lykes Brothers Steamship Company, on 29 January 1942. On 20 October 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon. On 22 June 1954, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1954", she returned loaded on 9 July 1954. On 14 March 1957, *Francis Scott Key* was withdrawn to be unload, she returned empty 19 March 1957. She was sold for scrapping on 14 August 1967, to Zidell Explorations, Inc., for $54,001. She was removed from the fleet, 29 August 1967.

## Bibliography

* "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
* Maritime Administration. "Francis Scott Key". *Ship History Database Vessel Status Card*. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
* Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
* "SS *Francis Scott Key*". Retrieved 13 February 2020.

## InfoBox

|  | |
| --- | --- |
| History | |
| United States | |
| Name | *Francis Scott Key* |
| Namesake | Francis Scott Key |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | Lykes Brothers Steamship Company |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 16 |
| Awarded | 14 March 1941 |
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland |
| Cost | $1,470,687 |
| Yard number | 2003 |
| Way number | 3 |
| Laid down | 21 June 1941 |
| Launched | 15 November 1941 |
| Completed | 29 January 1942 |
| Identification |  |
| Fate |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type |  |
| Tonnage |  |
| Displacement |  |
| Length | * 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa * 416 feet (127 m) pp * 427 feet (130 m) lwl |
| Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
| Installed power | * 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) * 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) |
| Propulsion |  |
| Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Capacity | * 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain) * 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale) |
| Complement |  |
| Armament |  |


title: Cromers Wood

abstract: Cromers Wood is a 28-hectare (69-acre) nature reserve between Milstead and Sittingbourne in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. This ancient semi-natural wood is located on the south-east slope of a dry valley. There are birds such as sparrowhawks, green woodpeckers and great spotted woodpeckers, and flora include early purple and common spotted orchids. There is public access to the site.

text:
# Cromers Wood

**Cromers Wood** is a 28-hectare (69-acre) nature reserve between Milstead and Sittingbourne in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.

This ancient semi-natural wood is located on the south-east slope of a dry valley. There are birds such as sparrowhawks, green woodpeckers and great spotted woodpeckers, and flora include early purple and common spotted orchids.

There is public access to the site.

51°18′40″N 0°43′59″E / 51.311°N 0.733°E / 51.311; 0.733

## InfoBox

| Cromers Wood | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|  | |
| Type | Nature reserve |
| Location | Milstead, Kent |
| OS grid | TQ 906 604 |
| Area | 28 hectares (69 acres) |
| Managed by | Kent Wildlife Trust |


title: Surprise (schooner)

abstract: Surprise is a two-masted former racing schooner berthed in Camden, Maine. Built in 1917–18 in Rockport, Massachusetts, she is one of a small number of surviving schooners designed by noted naval architect Thomas F. McManus. She currently serves as a "windjammer", providing daily cruises in Penobscot Bay. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

text:
# Surprise (schooner)

***Surprise*** is a two-masted former racing schooner berthed in Camden, Maine. Built in 1917–18 in Rockport, Massachusetts, she is one of a small number of surviving schooners designed by noted naval architect Thomas F. McManus. She currently serves as a "windjammer", providing daily cruises in Penobscot Bay. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

## Description and history

*Surprise* is a two-masted wooden sailing schooner. She has a total length of 44 feet 6 inches (13.56 m), with a length at the waterline of 34 feet 6 inches (10.52 m). She has a beam of 12 feet (3.7 m) and a draft of 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m). Her framing is of oak and locust, with planking of yellow pine, some of it replaced by mahogany during restoration. The deck is fir. The area below decks has been fitted to carry passengers on day trips, and there is a motor chamber in the rear. She normally carries four sails: main and staysails, with club sails that can be set above those two.

*Surprise* was built in 1917–18 at Worrell Shipyard in Rockport, Maine. She was one of seven schooner yachts designed by Thomas F. McManus, then a prominent naval architect, and is the only one of those still afloat. Her design represents an important transition between schooners designed as working craft and those designed for pleasure and racing. She was built for M.S. Kattenhorn, a merchandise broker living in New Rochelle, New York. She remained in the Kattenhorn family as a racing and pleasure craft into the 1960s. Although her original plans called for a motor, it was not added until after the Kattenhorn's sold it. It was converted for use in the tourist trade in the late 1980s, and now provides short tours of Penobscot Bay from her base in Camden, Maine.

Media related to Surprise (ship, 1918) at Wikimedia Commons

## InfoBox

|  | |
| --- | --- |
| *Surprise* (schooner) | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
|  | |
|  | |
|  | |
| Location | Camden Harbor, Camden, Maine |
| Coordinates | 44°12′38″N 69°3′48″W / 44.21056°N 69.06333°W / 44.21056; -69.06333 |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1917 (1917) |
| Architect | McManus, Thomas F. |
| Architectural style | Two-masted schooner |
| NRHP reference No. | 91000771 |
| Added to NRHP | June 14, 1991 |


title: Surprise (Sylvia album)

abstract:
Surprise is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Sylvia. People Magazine reviewed it on 5.14.84:
"Not only has Sylvia changed her look to something that's as close to punk as any Nashvillian is likely to get, but she has also gotten a little rambunctious musically. Most of this album, such as William Davidson's "On the Other Side of Midnight" and the Dennis Morgan-Don Pfrimmer tune "Victims of Goodbye," is typical Sylvia, lilting ballads rendered with just the right touches of heartbreak. But there are also a couple of atypically revved-up tracks, especially "Give 'Em Rhythm," a rockabilly stomper by Morgan and Skeeter Davis that includes homages to Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, and a lathered-up "One Foot on the Street." Sylvia is not likely to threaten, say, Lacy J. Dalton or any other honky-tonk honey, but she pulls off this digression with style and zest. It provides an enjoyable change of pace on an entertaining LP."

text:
# Surprise (Sylvia album)

***Surprise*** is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Sylvia. People Magazine reviewed it on 5.14.84: "Not only has Sylvia changed her look (with the help of makeup artist Way Bandy) to something that's as close to punk as any Nashvillian is likely to get, but she has also gotten a little rambunctious musically. Most of this album, such as William Davidson's "On the Other Side of Midnight" and the Dennis Morgan-Don Pfrimmer tune "Victims of Goodbye," is typical Sylvia, lilting ballads rendered with just the right touches of heartbreak. But there are also a couple of atypically revved-up tracks, especially "Give 'Em Rhythm," a rockabilly stomper by Morgan and Skeeter Davis that includes homages to Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, and a lathered-up "One Foot on the Street." Sylvia is not likely to threaten, say, Lacy J. Dalton or any other honky-tonk honey, but she pulls off this digression with style and zest. It provides an enjoyable change of pace on an entertaining LP."

## Track listing

| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. | "Give 'Em Rhythm" | Dennis Morgan, Stephen Allen Davis | 2:55 |
| 2. | "Unguarded Moments" | Morgan, Don Pfrimmer | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Victims of Goodbye" | Morgan, Pfrimmer | 3:01 |
| 4. | "Isn't It Always Love" | Archie Jordan, Sue Sutton | 2:23 |
| 5. | "Love Over Old Times" | Lisa Angelle, Mike Reid | 3:35 |
| 6. | "I Just Don't Have The Heart" | Shireen Salyer, John Schweers | 3:07 |
| 7. | "One Foot On The Street" | Steve Dean, Frank J. Myers | 3:33 |
| 8. | "On The Other Side Of Midnight" | William T. Davidson | 3:43 |
| 9. | "Surprise" | Kye Fleming, Morgan | 3:26 |
| 10. | "It's Still There" | Jordan | 3:50 |
| Total length: | | | 33:14 |

## Chart performance

| Chart (1984) | Peak
position |
| --- | --- |
| U.S. *Billboard* Top Country Albums | 40 |
| U.S. *Billboard* 200 | 178 |

## InfoBox

| Surprise | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Studio album by Sylvia | |
| Released | 1984 |
| Genre | Country |
| Length | 33:14 |
| Label | RCA Nashville |
| Producer | Tom Collins |
| Sylvia chronology | |
| *Snapshot*
(1983) ***Surprise***
(1984) *One Step Closer*
(1985) | |
|  | |
| Singles from  *Surprise* | |
| 1. "Victims of Goodbye"
Released: March 1984 2. "Love Over Old Times"
Released: June 1984 | |
|  | |


title: British Rail Class 196

abstract: The British Rail Class 196 Civity is a class of diesel multiple unit built for West Midlands Trains by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF. A total of 26 units have been built; 12 two-car units and 14 four-car units. They are the first train of the Civity family to feature end gangways.

text:
# British Rail Class 196

The **British Rail Class 196 *Civity*** is a class of diesel multiple unit built for West Midlands Trains by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF. A total of 26 units have been built; 12 two-car units and 14 four-car units.

They are the first train of the Civity family to feature end gangways.

## History

Shortly after the announcement that a consortium of Abellio, Mitsui and JR East had been awarded the West Midlands franchise, West Midlands Trains confirmed they had placed an order for 26 diesel multiple units based on CAF's *Civity* platform.

The first completed unit started testing at the Velim railway test circuit in December 2019.

The first vehicle arrived at Tyseley TMD in Birmingham on 17 April 2020, having travelled by ship from Cuxhaven to Hull. Revenue services using the new fleet began on 17 October 2022, on services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham.

## Operators

### West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains use the Class 196 fleet to replace their 23 Class 170/5 *Turbostar* units on services between Birmingham and Shrewsbury via Telford. They also run on Birmingham to Hereford services from 2023, with occasional appearances on the Snow Hill Lines (Dorridge & Stratford-upon-Avon to Worcester). Six 2-car units will be allocated to the initial services operated on the East West Rail route between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

## Fleet details

| Class | Operator | Qty. | Year built | Cars per unit | Unit nos. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 196/0 | West Midlands Trains | 12 | 20192022 | 2 | 196001196012 |
| | 196/1 | | 14 | 4 | 196101196114 |

### Named units

Some units have received names:

* 196101: *Charles Darwin*
* 196001: *Graiseley Wolves*
* 196004: *Sir Edward Elgar*
* 196102: *The Shropshire Flyer*

1. Fletcher, Steven (26 August 2020). "The Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011, as amended - CAF WMT Class 196 Diesel Multiple Unit -Technical File: RTV-T41340-R004" (PDF). Letter to Paul Simmons (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles). London: Office of Rail and Road. UK/51/2020/0049. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
2. Moore, Kyle. "Video: First glimpse of brand new West Midlands Railway trains". *Birmingham Updates*. Updates Media. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
3. "Class 196 fact sheet" (PDF). Birmingham: West Midlands Trains. 12 October 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
4. "Autumn start for Class 730/0s on London Euston diagrams". *Rail Express*. No. 327. August 2023. p. 10.
5. "New maintenance contract for 170s". News. *Today's Railways UK*. No. 268. June 2024. p. 10.
6. "West Midlands Trains Launches CAF '196'". *Modern Railways*. No. 890. Stamford: Key Publishing. November 2022. pp. 12–13.
7. Booth, Janine (18 April 2023). "West Midlands Railway: new train fleet enters service on Hereford Line". *RailAdvent*. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
8. "May Timetable Change: Sunday 21 May 2023". Birmingham: West Midlands Trains. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
9. Vosman, Quintus (13 January 2020). "New British fleets undergo testing in Velim". *International Railway Journal*. Falmouth: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
10. *Powerpacks with 6H 1800 for Railcar Applications* (PDF) (01/20 ed.). MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. 20 April 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
11. Fender, Keith; Sheratt, Philip (June 2018). "West Midlands prepares for new fleets". *Modern Railways*. Vol. 75, no. 837. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 78.
12. Briginshaw, David (12 December 2017). "New West Midlands franchise orders 107 trains". *International Railway Journal*. Falmouth: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
13. "West Midlands Trains reveals first Class 196 DMU". *Rail Business UK*. Sutton: DVV Media International. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
14. Clinnick, Richard (19 May 2020). "First brand new CAF train delivered to West Midlands Trains". *Rail Magazine*. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
15. "New West Midlands Railway fleet enters passenger service". Birmingham: West Midlands Trains. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
16. "West Midland Railways launches Class 196 fleet". *Rail Magazine*. No. 969. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 2 November 2022. pp. 12–13.
17. "New Trains - Class 196". Birmingham: West Midlands Trains. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
18. "Naming Update". *Railways Illustrated*. No. 243. May 2023. p. 23.
19. "West Midlands Railway Class 196s named". *Today's Railways UK*. No. 255. May 2023. p. 58.
20. "Shed Talk". Units. *Rail Express*. No. 332. January 2024. p. 24.

Media related to British Rail Class 196 at Wikimedia Commons

## InfoBox

| British Rail Class 196<br>*Civity* | |
| --- | --- |
| Four-car Class 196 at Shrewsbury | |
| Interior of a Class 196 unit | |
| In service | 17 October 2022 – present |
| Manufacturer | CAF |
| Built at | Newport, Wales (final assembly) |
| Family name | *Civity* |
| Replaced | Class 170/5 |
| Constructed | 2019–2022 |
| Number built | * 26 * (12 x 196/0, 14 × 196/1) |
| Formation | * 2 cars per 196/0 unit: * DMSL-DMS * 4 cars per 196/1 unit: * DMSL-MS-MSL-DMS |
| Fleet numbers | * 196001196012 * 196101196114 |
| Capacity | * 196/0: 141 seats * 196/1: 311 seats |
| Owners | Corelink Rail |
| Operators | West Midlands Railway |
| Depots |  |
| Lines served |  |
| Specifications | |
| Doors | * Double-leaf sliding plug * (2 per side per car) |
| Maximum speed | 100 mph (160 km/h) |
| Prime mover(s) | * 2 or 4 × MTU 6H 1800 R85L * (one per car) |
| Engine type | Inline-6 turbo-diesel |
| Displacement | 12.8 L (780 cu in) per engine |
| Power output | * 196/0: 780 kW (1,050 hp) * 196/1: 1,560 kW (2,090 hp) * (390 kW (520 hp) per engine) |
| Safety system(s) |  |
| Coupling system | Dellner |
| Multiple working | Within class (max. 8 cars) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge |


title: Surprise (clipper)

abstract: Surprise was a California clipper built in East Boston in 1850. It initially rounded Cape Horn to California, but the vessel's owners, A. A. Low & Brother, soon found that the vessel performed well in Far Eastern waters. From that point onward the vessel spent much of her working life in the China trade, although the vessel also made three trips from the East Coast of the United States to California. Surprise served as a clipper-rigged ship for 17 years, from 1850 until 1867, giving her an exceptionally long working life with this demanding rigging. After her sail plan was cut down in 1867, removing her skysails, she entered a second life as a slower merchant sailing ship from 1867 until her loss in 1876.

text:
# Surprise (clipper)

***Surprise*** was a California clipper built in East Boston in 1850. It initially rounded Cape Horn to California, but the vessel's owners, A. A. Low & Brother, soon found that the vessel performed well in Far Eastern waters. From that point onward the vessel spent much of her working life in the China trade, although the vessel also made three trips from the East Coast of the United States to California.

*Surprise* served as a clipper-rigged ship for 17 years, from 1850 until 1867, giving her an exceptionally long working life with this demanding rigging. After her sail plan was cut down in 1867, removing her skysails, she entered a second life as a slower merchant sailing ship from 1867 until her loss in 1876.

## Early history

### Launch in Boston

As with many Boston-built clipper ships, *Surprise* was fully built and rigged in her port of origin, but was towed to the East Coast's shipping hub, New York City, to take on its first long-distance cargo. The ship's owner, and the New York reporters who covered the new ship's arrival from Boston, were impressed with the clipper's appearance and measurements.

Arthur Hamilton clark described the ship as fully rigged on the stocks, with all her gear rove off. She was launched with her three skysail yards across and colors flying, which attracted a multitude of people. When *Surprise* arrived at New York to load for San Francisco, the *New York Herald* declared that she was the handsomest ship ever seen in the port.

"Her ends were said to be quite sharp," another account reads, "but she was not quite as large and did not carry as much sail as other clippers of her era, such as *Game Cock*, *Sea Serpent* and *White Squall*. The Lows were delighted with her and gave Samuel Hall a $2,500 bonus."

*Surprise* was 190 feet long, with a breadth of 39 feet and a depth of 22 feet. Her main-yard was 78 feet long from boom-iron to boom-iron, and her mainmast was 84 feet from heel to cap, with other spars in proportion. She was beautifully fitted throughout. She was painted black from the water-line up. The figurehead was a finely carved and gilded flying eagle, and the stern was ornamented with the arms of New York.

### Arrival in New York

The new clipper's arrival from Boston drew a significant number of spectators. The steamer *R. B. Forbes* towed the ship to its loading berth in New York.

The ship's owners underwrote an organized celebration of the arrival of the new ship in New York City for service to California. Receptions of this sort were intended to help "sell" the new clipper's (relatively high-priced) shipping services to New York merchants and wholesalers. The steamer-towboat *R.B. Forbes* was an integral element in gatherings of this type. "The *R. B. Forbes* ... was generally on hand at launches, regattas, and Fourth of July celebrations," our historian reports, "with a jolly party of Boston underwriters and their friends on board ... With a rainbow of bunting over her mastheads, the brass band in full blast, and champagne corks flying about her deck, she contributed liberally to the gayety of many festive occasions. She was also usually the first to introduce a new-born ship to the end of a manila hawser, and for several years she towed most of the eastern-built clippers to their loading berth at Boston or New York."

## Voyages and records set

*Surprise* was one of the most profitable clipper ships ever constructed. On her first voyage she sailed to San Francisco in 96 days and 15 hours, beating the record set by *Sea Witch, by one day.* *Surprise* arrived to California with 1,800 tons of cargo, making $78,000 in freight fees. From there she sailed to China.

On her third trip, when she arrived in London with a freight of tea from Canton, China on the 12th of November 1851, the profit was calculated at $50,000. On average at that time a clipper would pay for its construction cost in one passage.

*Surprise* made eleven consecutive passages from China to New York in eighty-nine days or less, six from Hong-Kong, five from Shanghai." Her fastest passage was eighty-one days, from Shanghai, in 1857.

## Race home from China

There were several famous races home from China. Once the British clippers *Chrysolite* and *Stornaway*, and the American clippers *Race Horse*, *Surprise*, and *Challenge* raced from Canton to Liverpool and Deal. The ships arrived at the home ports as follows: At Liverpool, *Chrysolite* in 106 days; at Deal, *Stornaway* in 109 days; *Challenge* in 105 days; *Surprise* in 106 days.

## Ice trade and mutiny

In his letters, Marcus L. Woodard described his 1861 voyage from New York City to Batavia aboard *Surprise.* The ship was carrying a cargo of ice. The secessionist crew mutinied when the ship arrived at Batavia.

## Loss and salvage

*Surprise* encountered a heavy gale in Kaneda Bay, off Yokohama, Japan on February 4, 1876, and struck an underwater rock. Four days later, the ship was found. It was floating bottom up. The ship itself was a total loss, but 10,000 cases of kerosene it was carrying were salvaged. No deaths were reported. Responsibility for the mishap was placed on an "unqualified pilot, who boarded the ship off the entrance to Tokyo Bay."

## InfoBox

| *Surprise* | |
| --- | --- |
| History | |
| United States | |
| Name | *Surprise* |
| Owner | A. A. Low & Brother |
| Builder | Samuel Hall, East Boston, MA |
| Launched | 5 October 1850 |
| Fate | Wrecked in 1876 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Clipper |
| Tonnage | 1262 or 1361 tons |
| Length | 183 or 190 ft. |
| Beam | 38 or 39 ft. |
| Draft | 22 ft. |
| Complement | A captain, "30 able seamen, 6 ordinary seamen, 4 boys, 2 boatswains, a carpenter, a sailmaker, 2 cooks, a steward, and 4 mates." Captain Philip Dumaresq, 1850-1852, Captain Charles A. Ranlett, 1852-1876. |


title: Ziua

abstract: Ziua was a major Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest. It was published in Romanian, with a fairly sizeable and often informative English section. Ziua was founded in 1994 by Sorin Roșca Stănescu, eventually becoming foreign-owned. It was the most conservative of the major Romanian dailies, often taking a Christian-nationalist point of view in its opinion pieces. The website of the paper, in addition to featuring almost all the contents of the Romanian edition, featured a daily selection of articles translated into English. Moreover, Ziua's website featured one of the most complete free online newspaper archives in Romania, stretching back to January 1998. There used to be several regional editions of the paper, including Ziua de Vest, Ziua de Iași, Ziua de Constanța, and Ziua de Cluj. These newspapers either survive as stand-alone spin-offs, with independent editorial supervision, or have been sold. The last edition of the newspaper was printed on 7 January 2010, the last front-page editorial quoting unsustainable mounting losses coupled with a general economic recession. The same editorial promised that only the print edition of the newspaper will be shut down, the online edition continuing to be produced. However, the last update to the website's content occurred at 21:00 on 7 January, with a final update on 12 January replacing the front page with a message announcing that the newspaper has completely ceased to exist.

text:
# Ziua

***Ziua*** (*The Day* in Romanian) was a major Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest. It was published in Romanian, with a fairly sizeable and often informative English section. *Ziua* was founded in 1994 by Sorin Roșca Stănescu, eventually becoming foreign-owned. It was the most conservative of the major Romanian dailies, often taking a Christian-nationalist point of view in its opinion pieces.

The website of the paper, in addition to featuring almost all the contents of the Romanian edition, featured a daily selection of articles translated into English. Moreover, Ziua's website featured one of the most complete free online newspaper archives in Romania, stretching back to January 1998.

There used to be several regional editions of the paper, including *Ziua de Vest*, *Ziua de Iași*, *Ziua de Constanța*, and *Ziua de Cluj*. These newspapers either survive as stand-alone spin-offs, with independent editorial supervision, or have been sold (and subsequently renamed).

The last edition of the newspaper was printed on 7 January 2010, the last front-page editorial quoting unsustainable mounting losses coupled with a general economic recession. The same editorial promised that only the print edition of the newspaper will be shut down, the online edition continuing to be produced. However, the last update to the website's content occurred at 21:00 on 7 January, with a final update on 12 January replacing the front page with a message announcing that the newspaper has completely ceased to exist.

## InfoBox

Ziua
| The old logo, used until 2006 | |
| --- | --- |
| Type | Print |
| Format | Berliner |
| Publisher | Sorin Roșca-Stănescu (1994-2008) |
| Editor-in-chief | Roland Cătălin Pena / Adrian Pătrușcă |
| Editor | Adina Anghelescu, Victor Roncea, Miruna Munteanu, Doru Dragomir, Cătălin Vărzaru, Răzvan Savaliuc, George Damian, Vladimir Alexe, Laura Dushka, Rene Pârșan, Mihai Toader, Marius Gherghe, Cezar Ioan |
| Founded | 1930 (1930) |
| Language | Romanian |
| Ceased publication | 2010 (2010) |
| Headquarters | Strada Mille 17 |
| City | Bucharest |
| Country | Romania |
| Circulation | 12,000 |
| Website | www.ziua.ro |
|  | |


title: Tour Lilleurope

abstract:
Tour Euralille is an office skyscraper in Euralille, the business district of the Lille metropolitan area. Designed by Jean-Claude Burdèse and Claude Vasconi, 110 m high, it is the second tallest tower in Lille after the Tour de Lille.
The Tour Euralille and its atrium span the Lille-Europe station, which represented a real technical challenge during its construction. The mixed structure of the tower, produced by the company Rabot Dutilleul Construction, consists of a reinforced concrete ladder beam which is supported by a metal frame supporting the suspended floors.

text:
# Tour Lilleurope

**Tour Euralille** is an office skyscraper in Euralille, the business district of the Lille metropolitan area.

Designed by Jean-Claude Burdèse and Claude Vasconi, 110 m high, it is the second tallest tower in Lille after the Tour de Lille. The *Tour Euralille* and its atrium span the Lille-Europe station, which represented a real technical challenge during its construction. The mixed structure of the tower, produced by the company Rabot Dutilleul Construction, consists of a reinforced concrete ladder beam which is supported by a metal frame supporting the suspended floors.

## InfoBox

| Tour Lilleurope | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|  | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Modernism |
| Location | Parvis de Rotterdam
Lille, France |
| Coordinates | 50°38′17″N 3°04′36″E / 50.6379949°N 3.0766564°E / 50.6379949; 3.0766564 |
| Completed | 1995 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 110 m (360 ft) |
| Roof | 110 m (360 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 25 |
| Floor area | 27,473 m2 (295,720 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 9 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Jean-Claude Burdèse, Claude Vasconi |


title: Eupithecia fuscata

abstract: Eupithecia fuscata is a moth in the family Geometridae. It was described by David Stephen Fletcher in 1951 and it is found in Uganda.

text:
# Eupithecia fuscata

***Eupithecia fuscata*** is a moth in the family Geometridae. It was described by David Stephen Fletcher in 1951 and it is found in Uganda.

## InfoBox

| *Eupithecia fuscata* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | *Eupithecia* |
| Species: | ***E. fuscata*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Eupithecia fuscata***<br>D. S. Fletcher, 1951 | |
|


title: Commemorative coins of Monaco

abstract: The commemorative coins of Monaco are minted by the Monagasque Treasury since the re-valuation of the French franc in 1960 and before the introduction of the euro in 2002.

text:
# Commemorative coins of Monaco

The **commemorative coins of Monaco** are minted by the Monagasque Treasury since the re-valuation of the French franc in 1960 and before the introduction of the euro in 2002.

## Silver issues

### 10 Francs

.900 silver / 25 grams / 38 mm. Note: the above coins were also issued in .900 fine gold with the same denomination.

### 50 Francs

* 1974 – 25th anniversary of accession, Rainier III, 1949–1974, profile in military uniform
* 1974 – 24th anniversary of reign, Rainier III, profile facing right (unofficial issue)

Note: the above coins were also issued in .900 fine gold with the same denomination.

### 100 Francs

* 2009 source MAA - LBMRC


title: Salix paraflabellaris

abstract: Salix paraflabellaris is a species of willow, belonging to the family Salicaceae. It can be found in Southwestern China, primarily on the northwestern part of Yunnan.

text:
# Salix paraflabellaris

***Salix paraflabellaris*** is a species of willow, belonging to the family Salicaceae. It can be found in Southwestern China, primarily on the northwestern part of Yunnan.

## Characteristics

*Salix paraflabellaris* has its trunk laying on or slightly above the ground. Its young twigs are bare and slightly straight. Its leaves are obovate or obovate-elliptic, with length of 10-17 mm and width of 7-12 mm.

## InfoBox

| *Salix paraflabellaris* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| *Clade*: | Tracheophytes |
| *Clade*: | Angiosperms |
| *Clade*: | Eudicots |
| *Clade*: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Salicaceae |
| Genus: | *Salix* |
| Species: | ***S. paraflabellaris*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Salix paraflabellaris***<br>S.D.Zhao | |
|


title: Saturn I SA-3

abstract: Saturn-Apollo 3 (SA-3) was the third flight of the Saturn I launch vehicle, the second flight of Project Highwater, and part of the American Apollo program. The rocket was launched on November 16, 1962, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

text:
# Saturn I SA-3

**Saturn-Apollo 3** (**SA-3**) was the third flight of the Saturn I launch vehicle, the second flight of Project Highwater, and part of the American Apollo program. The rocket was launched on November 16, 1962, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

## History

The Saturn I launch vehicle components were delivered to Cape Canaveral by the barge *Promise* on September 19, 1962, but erection of the first-stage booster onto its launch pedestal was delayed until September 21 due to a tropical depression that moved over the Florida peninsula. The dummy second and third stages (S-IV and S-V) and payload were assembled on the booster on September 24. Ballast water was loaded into the dummy stages on October 31, and the RP-1 fuel was loaded on November 14.

For this launch, Cape Canaveral director Kurt Debus asked Marshall Space Flight Center director Wernher von Braun, who was overseeing the Saturn project, that no outside visitors be allowed on NASA grounds due to the ongoing tensions of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

## Flight

Saturn-Apollo 3 was launched at 17:45:02 on November 16, 1962, from Launch Complex 34. The only hold in the countdown sequence was for 45 minutes due to a power failure in ground support equipment. This mission was the first time the Saturn I rocket was launched with a full load of propellant, carrying approximately 750,000 pounds (340,000 kg) of fuel.

The vehicle's four inner H-1 engines shut down at 2 minutes 21.66 seconds after launch and an altitude of 38.19 miles (61.46 km), and its four outer engines shut down at 2 minutes 29.09 seconds and 44.19 miles (71.11 km); both sets burned slightly longer than was initially estimated, reaching a maximum velocity of 4,046 miles per hour (6,511 km/h). The vehicle continued to coast to an altitude of 103.91 miles (167.22 km) and range of 131.36 miles (211.41 km), at which point, 4 minutes 52 seconds after launch, officials sent a terminate command to the rocket, setting off several charges which caused the dummy stages of the vehicle to destruct. The first stage remained intact, though uncontrolled, until it impacted the Atlantic Ocean around 270 miles (430 km) from its launch site.

## Objectives

### Primary

The main objectives of SA-3 were much the same as the previous two Saturn I flights in that it was primarily a test of the first-stage booster (S-I) and its H-1 engines. According to the NASA report *Results of the Third Saturn 1 Launch Vehicle Test Flight*, SA-3 aimed to test four areas: the booster, the ground support equipment, the vehicle in flight, and Project Highwater.

The test of the booster involved the propulsion system, structural design, and control systems. The ground support test involved the facilities and equipment used in the launch, including propellant systems, automatic checkout equipment, launch platform, and support towers. The vehicle in flight test measured aeroballistics, which confirmed values of aerodynamic characteristics such as stability and performance; propulsion, which ensured the engines could provide enough thrust to propel the vehicle at the correct velocity and trajectory, as well as provide data on the performance of all eight engines during flight; structural and mechanical, which provided measurements of the vehicle's stress and vibration levels through all phases of flight; and guidance and control, which demonstrated that spacecraft systems could accurately provide orientation and velocity information.

The fourth objective, Project Highwater, was an experiment previously flown on SA-2. This involved the intentional release of ballast water from the second and third stages which allowed scientists to investigate the nature of Earth's ionosphere, as well as noctilucent clouds and the behavior of ice in space.

For Project Highwater, tanks in SA-3's dummy upper stages were filled with 192,528 pounds (87,329 kg) of water, approximately 22,900 US gallons (87,000 L; 19,100 imp gal), which was used to simulate the mass of future Saturn payloads. The water was divided roughly in half between the two dummy stages. When the terminate command was sent to the rocket, primacord charges split both stages longitudinally, instantly releasing its load of water. The experiment was tracked by cameras and other equipment on the ground and in aircraft. Observers at Cape Canaveral reported that the ice cloud was visible for about three seconds and was "several miles across".

NASA declared all engineering goals of the flight as achieved, despite occasional issues with telemetry during flight and some measurement data being unusable or only partially usable. Project Highwater on SA-3 was also declared successful, though again, telemetry issues produced questionable results.

### Special

The NASA *Results* report states that ten special tests were included in the SA-3 flight, all focused on technologies and procedures intended for use on future Apollo missions.

Propulsion

As mentioned earlier, SA-3 was the first Apollo flight to carry a full load of propellant, compared to earlier flights that carried approximately 83% of maximum capacity. This had the effect of testing the rocket's reaction to slower acceleration and extended first stage flight time. Also on this mission, the outboard engines were allowed to fire until depletion of the rocket's liquid oxygen (LOX), rather than the timed cut-offs of previous flights.

SA-3 also featured the first use of retrorockets on Apollo hardware. These were the only functional part on SA-3 of what would become the S-I/S-IV stage separation system, which would separate the two stages in later missions. These four small solid rockets were located 90 degrees apart around the top of the S-I stage, with their nozzles aimed up. At 2 minutes 33.66 seconds after launch, the rockets fired for about 2.1 seconds. A minor misalignment of the rockets caused a 4.3 degree per second roll of the vehicle, which caused the spacecraft's ST-90 and ST-124P inertial platforms to fail after 15 degrees of rotation. This was considered incidental to the flight and did not impact mission success.

Instrumentation

The ST-124P inertial platform ('P' for prototype) was a component of the guidance and control system, and contained gyroscopes and accelerometers that fed information to control computers. Once out of the atmosphere, this information provided steering signals to the gimbaled engines. During SA-3, this platform was an inactive component; while functioning and monitored during the flight, it had no control over the vehicle, and was used only to compare performance with the then-standard ST-90 platform, which was also an inactive component for the flight. For this mission, both platforms were located on the interstage between S-I and S-IV; Saturn IB and Saturn V vehicles would have one on the Instrument Unit atop the S-IVB stage.

Two new transmitters were included on SA-3. The pulse code modulated (PCM) data link transmitted digital data, which would be vital to providing automated spacecraft checkout and launch procedures on future flights. The unit operated with high signal strength, indicating that it would provide very accurate data. An ultra high frequency (UHF) radio link was also tested on SA-3. It would be used to transmit sensor measurements which could not be effectively transmitted at lower frequencies. The system performed satisfactorily, and post-flight documentation indicated engineers may expand its role for future telemetry transmission.

A Block II antenna panel was tested during flight. Located between propellant tanks, it provided stronger and more consistent signal strength than the Block I panel.

Temperature measurements of the S-IV dummy stage and interstage fairing were carried out with eighteen temperature probes, called thermocouples. These were used to detect temperature changes around protuberances on the stage's skin and in the area of the retrorockets during operation. For the S-IV stage, temperatures were within expected levels, though a heating rate around twice that predicted was encountered. On the interstage, during retrorocket firing, a maximum temperature of 315 °C (599 °F) was seen, indicating something unknown may have caused an abnormally high reading.

Engineering and ground equipment

A single panel of Block II M-31 heat shield insulation, along with one of the spacecraft's calorimeters, was mounted on the base of the first stage by the engines. This test measured heat flux through the new insulation compared to the material normally used on Saturn I Block I flights.

A dynamic pressure study was conducted for the Centaur program, in which two aluminum panels were mounted to the payload adapter atop the S-V stage and equipped with 11 pressure sensors. This study was performed due to the failure of the first Centaur vehicle flown, suspected to result from an adverse pressure environment around the shoulder of the vehicle. The test found that a very low pressure region formed just behind the shoulder while the vehicle was at Mach 0.7.

Finally, a new 240-foot (73 m) umbilical tower and Block II swing arm were used for the first time in preparation for future Block II Saturn I flights.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Media related to Saturn-Apollo 3 at Wikimedia Commons

## InfoBox

Saturn-Apollo 3
| SA-3 at liftoff from Pad 34 | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Mission type | Test flight |
| Operator | NASA |
| Mission duration | 4 minutes, 52 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 211.41 km (131.36 mi) |
| Apogee | 167.22 km (103.91 mi) |
|  | |
|  | |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 499,683 kg (550.8 short tons) |
|  | |
|  | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | November 16, 1962, 17:45:02 (1962-11-16UTC17:45:02Z) UTC |
| Rocket | Saturn I SA-3 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-34 |
|  | |
|  | |
| End of mission | |
| Destroyed | November 16, 1962, 17:49:54 (1962-11-16UTC17:49:55Z) UTC
(Project Highwater) |
|  | |
| Project Apollo
Uncrewed tests | |


title: Bobby Jindal 2016 presidential campaign

abstract: The 2016 presidential campaign of Bobby Jindal, the 55th Governor of Louisiana, was announced on June 24, 2015. His candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election came after several years of speculation following the 2012 election. Jindal is the first Indian American and third Asian American to run for president of the United States. On November 17, 2015, Jindal announced that he was suspending his campaign for president.

text:
# Bobby Jindal 2016 presidential campaign

The **2016 presidential campaign of Bobby Jindal**, the 55th Governor of Louisiana, was announced on June 24, 2015. His candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election came after several years of speculation following the 2012 election. Jindal is the first Indian American and third Asian American to run for president of the United States.

On November 17, 2015, Jindal announced that he was suspending his campaign for president.

## Background

Jindal came to national prominence during the 2003 election for Louisiana governor.

In what Louisianans call an open primary (but is technically a nonpartisan blanket primary), Jindal finished first with 33 percent of the vote. He received endorsements from the largest newspaper in Louisiana, the New Orleans *Times-Picayune*; the newly elected Democratic mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin; and the outgoing Republican governor, Mike Foster. In the general election, Jindal faced the outgoing lieutenant governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette, a Democrat. Despite winning in Blanco's hometown, he lost many normally conservative parishes in northern Louisiana, and Blanco prevailed with 52 percent of the popular vote.

Political analysts suggested two explanations for his loss. Some blamed Jindal for his refusal to answer questions about his religion and ethnic background brought up in several Democratic advertisements, which the Jindal campaign called "negative attack ads." Others noted that a significant number of conservative Louisianans remain more comfortable voting for a conservative Democrat than for a Republican. Despite losing the election, Jindal became a well-known figure on the state's political scene and a rising star within the Republican Party as a result of his campaign.

In 2004, Jindal ran for the House seat in Louisiana's First Congressional District, winning with 78 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 2006.

In early 2007, Jindal announced his candidacy for governor of Louisiana and became an early front-runner on the Republican side. In Louisiana's blanket primary, he faced 11 opponents and received 54 percent of the vote. Because he received a majority of votes in the primary, no runoff was necessary. He was re-elected in a similar fashion in 2011, with 66 percent of the vote.

When he took office in January 2008, at age 36, Jindal became the first Indian American governor and the youngest sitting governor in the United States.

## Campaign

Jindal officially launched his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on June 24, 2015, with an announcement via Twitter, ahead of a formal announcement in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner later that day. Jindal also posted a hidden camera video to Facebook that showed Jindal and wife, Supriya, announcing his intention to run for President to their children. Jindal's children's relatively muted reactions to the announcement helped the video go viral. The video was later removed, and Jindal spokeswoman Shannon Dirmann claimed that criticism of the video came largely from "liberals".

Aside from being the first Indian American to run for President of the United States, Jindal was the first Asian American to mount a nationwide campaign for president.

Jindal's campaign slogan was "Tanned. Rested. Ready." The slogan, according to an email sent to his supporters, was meant to quell criticism he had received from the media for distancing himself from his Indian-American heritage. The email referred to those making the claims as "the liberal media." The Nixon Foundation tweeted a message "pointing out" that the slogan had originated from that of a satirical T-shirt featuring Richard Nixon, initially made popular at the Republican National Conference in 1988.

On August 3, Jindal appeared at a nationally televised forum, where he expressed his disillusion with President Barack Obama. Jindal claimed that Obama was trying to divide the country along with liberals, insisting that the president was transforming "the American dream into the European nightmare", a phrase that he was noted to have used commonly. Jindal did not qualify for the first Republican debate on August 6, averaging in 13th place in the polls used to determine the invited candidates. Despite this, Jindal was allowed to participate in the undercard debate, his performance being seen as favorable by Michele Bachmann who claimed on Twitter after the debate that the millennials she watched the debate with were favorable of Jindal. After Scott Walker unveiled his health care plan on August 18, Jindal insisted that it was similar to the Affordable Care Act and one of his staffers was reported to as saying that Walker collaborated with Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on the plan. On August 21, Jindal boasted that he displayed what he called "videos uncovered" from Planned Parenthood and furthered, "I'm here to tell you Planned Parenthood should not get another dime of our taxpayer dollars." On August 30, Jindal claimed that he was the only candidate in the Republican field that had reduced the size of the government and said allowing immigrants to not "come here legally, learn English, adopt our values, roll up our sleeves and get to work" was invasive.

By early September 2015, Jindal was polling about 1 percent of the Republican primary electorate. That month, Jindal criticized Republican front-runner Donald Trump as having no substance and accused him of being a "narcissist." He also released two videos online mocking Trump. Trump responded by saying that he had never met Jindal, that he did not believe Jindal had a chance of securing the Republican nomination, and that he would "only respond to people that register more than 1 percent in the polls." Previously, Jindal had called Trump an "unserious carnival act," placing Jindal among a field of other Republican presidential candidates—such as Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, and Rand Paul—who had targeted Trump but had not surpassed him in any polls. Jindal spoke positively at that time about his campaign in Iowa. There was speculation that Jindal would be benefited by Walker's withdrawal from the race.

During the second Republican presidential debate, hosted by CNN, Jindal criticized Republicans in Congress for not having "half the fight in them the Senate Democrats did," and claimed—in an attempt to appeal to anti-abortion conservatives—that he had defunded Planned Parenthood in Louisiana as governor. Jindal was the sole presidential candidate to not pose for a photo op with the other candidates. Jake Tapper of CNN said he had opted to remain in the spin room.

On October 2, Jindal tweeted an accusation against Trump suggesting that he was in favor of single payer healthcare system and charged Ted Cruz with not showing "conservative leadership" in not opposing Trump for the view. Jindal furthered that Cruz was only showing support of Trump because he hoped to court his voters when he eventually dropped out of the race. By mid-October, Jindal was speculated to be ending his campaign after having only $260,000 to spend at the end of the previous month and spending significantly more than that of the third quarter's fundraising, his amount raised noted as being lower than that of some of his competitors and putting him in position to suspend his campaign similarly to Rick Perry and Scott Walker once their fundraising was unable to suffice. The lack of finances left Jindal in a worsened financial position than previous competitors Rick Perry and Scott Walker when they ended their campaigns the prior month.

On November 8, 2015, Jindal participated at the National Religious Liberties Conference alongside Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee, and said that "Christians are under physical assault all over the world and Christian values are under assault right here at home". Conservative radio host Kevin Swanson, who hosted the conference, advocated for the execution of homosexuals in his speech. Two other speakers at the conference, Reverend Phillip Kayser and Joel McDurmon, have also spoken of the death penalty for homosexual acts.

### CNBC debate

Jindal was polling better in Iowa than he was nationally. Due to this, a change in criteria would have benefitted him.

### Movement in Iowa

Three weeks into his campaign, Jindal had visited Iowa four times. Jindal stated that he viewed directly hearing from voters as the "only way to connect" with them. By October, Jindal had held 96 events in the state in just 55 days.

The Jindal campaign noted that the candidate had a high favorability rating among potential Republican voters that were surveyed. A poll on July 22 showed Jindal was favored by these voters 51–7. Wes Anderson wrote in an announcement of Jindal's favorability among voters in the state, "Bottom line, Gov. Jindal has taken off in Iowa. No other candidate has seen as much positive movement as Jindal." On September 1, Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer called Jindal the "hidden winner" for increasing his favorability rating by 18 points since the last sampling which she attributed to his increased profile, though noted it was not translating into votes, adding, "He's kind of lurking there as having some upside potential." In early November, Jindal was also found to have a 60% favorability in Iowa, the third highest, only behind Ben Carson and Ted Cruz.

Jindal's polling in the state throughout the entirety of his campaign ranged from the bottom of the field to average. A late July poll showed Jindal in fourth place, tied with Ben Carson. On November 2, 2015, a poll was released with Jindal faring better than he had previously been doing at 6%, noted by *The Hill* as being higher than Jeb Bush who had consistently been polling superior to Jindal since the announcement of his campaign months prior. On November 13, Jindal said the poll was the result of him having visited all of the state's counties and reported that his campaign was allowing everyone to ask questions, even sacrificing time for their participation.

Despite low polling, Jindal publicly retained confidence in how he would fare in Iowa. In October 2015, Jindal said he believed his campaign was "doing very well" in the state and that he believed the race would change after the Iowa caucus. In addition, he predicted that he would win the state, which would "propel us forward to the nomination". Former Iowa Republican political director Craig Robinson thought the campaign marched around the state instead of with its denizens.

Had Jindal's prediction been correct, and he had won the state in February, his campaign would have been faced with having to use the victory to win the nomination, despite lacking in funds when compared to other competitors within the field.

### New Hampshire

The day after announcing his campaign, June 25, Jindal traveled to New Hampshire, delivering a speech and insisting that he would return to the state the following weekend. In June, Jindal was shown to have a 26% favorability rating among voters in New Hampshire. On September 24, a CNN/WMUR poll was released showing Jindal had increased in unfavorable opinion within New Hampshire by 14 points since that time, his favorability having dropped by a single point. Jindal's last campaign trip to New Hampshire was on August 19, appearing at the state's annual Education Summit. Within the last three months of his campaign, Jindal did not visit New Hampshire, filing for the Republican Primary in the state on November 16, the day before announcing that he was suspending his campaign.

## Suspension of campaign

After not receiving much traction, lack of fundraising, and an inability to get to the primetime debate stage, Jindal announced on November 17, 2015, that he was suspending his campaign for president. Jindal stated about his campaign suspension, "This is not my time." On February 5, 2016, Jindal endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination, calling Rubio a "principled conservative" and "consistent about strengthening America's foreign policy."

## Endorsements

Bobby Jindal endorsements State legislators Celebrities, commentators, and activists

## InfoBox

| Bobby Jindal for President | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Campaign | 2016 United States presidential election |
| Candidate | **Bobby Jindal**
Governor of Louisiana (2008–2016) |
| Affiliation | Republican Party |
| Status | Announced: June 24, 2015
Suspended: November 17, 2015 |
| Headquarters | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Key people | Timmy Teepell (campaign manager)
Wes Anderson (chief pollster) |
| Receipts | US$1,442,463 (2015-12-3) |
| Slogan | Tanned, Rested, Ready |
| Website | |
| www.BobbyJindal.com
(archived - November 17, 2015) | |


title: Sabrina Le Beauf

abstract: Sabrina Marie Le Beauf is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sondra Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. She has voiced the character Norma Bindlebeep on the Nick at Nite animated series Fatherhood, a show based on Bill Cosby's book of the same name.

text:
# Sabrina Le Beauf

**Sabrina Marie Le Beauf** (born March 21, 1958) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sondra Huxtable on the NBC sitcom *The Cosby Show*. She has voiced the character Norma Bindlebeep on the Nick at Nite animated series *Fatherhood*, a show based on Bill Cosby's book of the same name.

## Early life

Sabrina was born on March 21, 1958, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Eager to leave the strictly segregated lifestyle of 1950s Louisiana behind, her family moved to Los Angeles, California soon after her birth. Her parents divorced, and Sabrina lived with her maternal grandmother, Sce Ethel Holmes, in south central LA until her mother's remarriage. When Sabrina was 10 years old, she returned to live with her mother and stepfather in Inglewood, California. Acting interested her from a young age, and she performed in many school plays, starring as Cinderella in elementary school. Sabrina also took on leadership roles, including high school class president at St. Matthias Catholic Girls High School and a Girls' State delegate.

After high school Sabrina attended UCLA, earning her undergraduate degree in theater. During her time at UCLA she became frustrated by the lack of parts offered to African American students, and in response formed a black students' theater group to allow them to put on their own shows. In September 1980, she began graduate work at the Yale School of Drama, where she earned her master's degree in acting.

## Career

In 1984, Le Beauf auditioned for the role of the eldest Huxtable daughter Sondra on *The Cosby Show*. 26 years old at the time of her audition, she was initially considered too old to play one of the children, being only 10 years younger than Phylicia Rashad, the actress who played her mother, Clair Huxtable. Pop singer Whitney Houston also auditioned for the same part, but refused to sign the contract as she also wanted to become a singer. Her refusal to sign the contract which would bind her to the show and put a singing career on the back burner forced the producers to give the role to Le Beauf. Sabrina went on to play Sondra Huxtable for all eight seasons of *The Cosby Show*, from 1984 through the series' end in 1992. Sondra, a Princeton graduate that went on to marry and start a family of her own, was a popular character on the show; in 1988, 50 million viewers tuned in to watch Sondra give birth to twins, named Winnie and Nelson in honor of Nelson and Winnie Mandela.

During her time on *The Cosby Show*, Le Beauf also appeared in the series *Hotel* and the TV movie *Howard Beach: Making a Case for Murder*. She also had brief appearances as bridge officer Ensign Giusti on two episodes of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* and on the comedy *The Sinbad Show.* Le Beauf also continued her work in the theater, starring as Rosalind in a production of Shakespeare's *As You Like It*.

Currently, Le Beauf is a frequent leading lady performing with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. She recently portrayed Katherine in *The Taming of the Shrew* with the Company in D.C. Le Beauf also appeared in the off-Broadway play “LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE” that ran from 2009 to 2012.

## Personal life

While performing at the Folger Theater in Washington, Le Beauf met businessman and producer Michael Reynolds in 1987. They married less than one month later, settling in New York. They remained married for over ten years but filed for divorce in 1997, which Le Beauf described as "a mutual decision."

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1984–92 | *The Cosby Show* | Sondra Huxtable | 51 episodes |
| 1986 | *Hotel* | Kate Miller | Episode: "Shadow Play" |
| 1989 | *Howard Beach: Making A Case For Murder* | Maresha Fisher | Television film |
| 1990 | *CBS Schoolbreak Special* | Holly | Episode: "Flour Babies" |
| 1993 | *Star Trek: The Next Generation* | Ensign Giusti | Episodes: "Gambit, Parts I & II" |
| 1994 | *The Sinbad Show* | Alesha | Episode: "Black History Month" |
| 1999 | *Cosby* | Gonreil | Episode: "Will Power" |
| 2004–05 | *Fatherhood* | Norma Bindlebeep (voice) | 26 episodes |
| 2009 | *The Stalker Within* | Leila |  |

## Awards and nominations

## InfoBox

| Sabrina Le Beauf | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | Sabrina Marie Le Beauf
(1958-03-21) March 21, 1958
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Yale University (MFA) |
| Known for | **Sondra Huxtable** in *The Cosby Show*
**Norma Bindlebeep** in *Fatherhood* |
| Spouse | Michael Reynolds  (m. 1987; div. 1997) |


title: Eupatorus birmanicus

abstract: Eupatorus birmanicus is a species of beetle within the subfamily Dynastinae. It is commonly known as the rabbit ears beetle due to its two rear horns having a resemblance to rabbit ears. The species can be found in Thailand.

text:
# Eupatorus birmanicus

***Eupatorus birmanicus*** is a species of beetle within the subfamily Dynastinae. It is commonly known as the **rabbit ears beetle** due to its two rear horns having a resemblance to rabbit ears. The species can be found in Thailand.

## InfoBox

| *Eupatorus birmanicus* | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|  | |
| Side view | |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Genus: | *Eupatorus* |
| Species: | ***E. birmanicus*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Eupatorus birmanicus***<br>Arrow, 1908 | |
|


title: Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2024

abstract: Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2024 is the seventh iteration of Europe's Biggest Dance Show, a multi-nation dance music simulcast hosted by BBC Radio 1, in collaboration with ten radio stations across Europe: 1LIVE, FM4, Fritz, NRK mP3, Raadio 2, Radio Promin, RTÉ 2FM, Studio Brussel, SR P3 and YleX.

text:
# Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2024

***Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2024*** is the seventh iteration of *Europe's Biggest Dance Show*, a multi-nation dance music simulcast hosted by BBC Radio 1, in collaboration with ten radio stations across Europe: 1LIVE, FM4, Fritz, NRK mP3, Raadio 2, Radio Promin, RTÉ 2FM, Studio Brussel, SR P3 and YleX.

## Background

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) announced on 14 September 2024 that the seventh iteration of *Europe's Biggest Dance Show* would take place on 22 September.

The simulcast started at 18:30 BST, with Danny Howard introducing for BBC Radio 1 in London. As has been the case since 2021, each radio station contributed 30 minutes of dance music from their respective country and sent their feeds to Broadcasting House in London for mixing purposes, before the feeds were sent back to the radio stations for broadcast.

RTÉ 2FM from Ireland returned after withdrawing from the 2023 iteration, but due to coverage of Culture Night on RTÉ 2FM, the simulcast aired on its sister station, RTÉ Pulse. However, on-air imaging referred to RTÉ 2FM.

## Running order

| Time (BST) | Country of origin | Radio station | DJ(s) | Presenter(s) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 18:30 | United Kingdom | BBC Radio 1 | Chris Lake | Danny Howard |
| 19:00 | Sweden | SR P3 | Killen. | Tina Mehrafzoon |
| 19:30 | Finland | YleX | DJ Orion | |
| 20:00 | Germany | 1LIVE | Adam Port | Jan-Christian Zeller |
| 20:30 | | Fritz | Stella Bossi | Bruno Dietel |
| 21:00 | Estonia | Raadio 2 | Syn Cole | Marta Püssa |
| 21:30 | Norway | NRK mP3 | Nora | Anna Nor Sørensen |
| 22:00 | Belgium | Studio Brussel | Bert van Steenberghe | |
| 22:30 | Austria | FM4 | Oberst & Buchner | Dalia Ahmed |
| 23:00 | Ireland | RTÉ Pulse | Jenny Greene | |
| 23:30 | Ukraine | Radio Promin | DJ LeoLevsky | Denis Denisenko |

## InfoBox

Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2024
| Genre | Dance |
| --- | --- |
| Running time | 330 minutes (6:30 pm  12:00 am) |
| Country of origin | Austria
Belgium
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Ireland
Norway
Sweden
Ukraine
United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | primarily English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 1 |
| Syndicates | 1LIVE
FM4
Fritz
NRK mP3
Raadio 2
Radio Promin
RTÉ Pulse
Studio Brussel
SR P3
YleX |
| Original release | 20 September 2024 |
| Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
| Website | Europe's Biggest Dance Show |


title: Eurasian wigeon

abstract: The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon, also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Mareca. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range.

text:
# Eurasian wigeon

The **Eurasian wigeon** or **European wigeon** (***Mareca penelope***), also known as the **widgeon** or the **wigeon**, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus *Mareca*. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range.

## Taxonomy

The Eurasian wigeon was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of *Systema Naturae* under the binomial name *Anas penelope*. *Anas* is the Latin word for "duck", and *penelope* refers to a duck that was supposed to have rescued Penelope when she was thrown into the sea. Her name derives from Ancient Greek πήνη *pene*, "braid" and ὤψ *ops* "appearance", from the ruse she used to deter suitors while her husband Ulysses was absent.

## Description

This dabbling duck is 42–52 cm (17–20 in) long with a 71–80 cm (28–31 in) wingspan, and a weight of 500–1,073 g (1.102–2.366 lb). The breeding male has grey flanks and back, with a black rear end, a dark green speculum and a brilliant white patch on upper wings, obvious in flight or at rest. It has a pink breast, white belly, and a chestnut head with a creamy crown. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake looks more like the female. The female is light brown, with plumage much like a female American wigeon. It can be distinguished from most other ducks, apart from American wigeon, on shape. However, that species has a paler head and white axillaries on its underwing. The female can be a rufous morph with a redder head, and a gray morph with a more gray head.

## Distribution

It breeds in the northernmost areas of Europe and the Palearctic. It is the Old World counterpart of North America's American wigeon. It is strongly migratory and winters further south than its breeding range. It migrates to southern Asia and Africa. In Great Britain and Ireland, the Eurasian wigeon is common as a winter visitor, but scarce as a breeding bird in Scotland, the Lake District, the Pennines and occasionally further south, with only a handful of breeding pairs in Ireland. It can be found as an uncommon winter visitor in the United States on the mid-Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It is a rare visitor to the rest of the United States except for the Four Corners and the southern Appalachians.

## Behaviour and habitat

The Eurasian wigeon is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some taller vegetation, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing, which it does very readily. It nests on the ground, near water and under cover. It is highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and will form large flocks. They will join with flocks of the American wigeon in the United States, and they also hybridize with them. This is a noisy species. The male has a clear whistle that sounds like: "pjiew pjiew", whereas the female has a low growl: "rawr".

The Eurasian wigeon is one of the species to which the *Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds* (AEWA) applies. Its conservation status is least concern.

## Footnotes

### Identification

## InfoBox

| Eurasian wigeon | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Male (rear) and female (front) | |
|  | |
| Calls recorded in Dorset | |
| Conservation status | |
|
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | *Mareca* |
| Species: | ***M. penelope*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Mareca penelope***
(Linnaeus, 1758) | |
|
|  | |
| Synonyms | |
| * *Anas penelope* Linnaeus, 1758 | |


title: Eurasian teal

abstract: The Eurasian teal, common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal. It is a highly gregarious duck outside the breeding season and can form large flocks. It is commonly found in sheltered wetlands and feeds on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. The North American green-winged teal (A. carolinensis) was formerly considered a subspecies of A. crecca.

text:
# Eurasian teal

The **Eurasian teal** (***Anas crecca***), **common teal**, or **Eurasian green-winged teal** is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the **teal** due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal.

It is a highly gregarious duck outside the breeding season and can form large flocks. It is commonly found in sheltered wetlands and feeds on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. The North American green-winged teal (*A. carolinensis*) was formerly (and sometimes is still) considered a subspecies of *A. crecca*.

## Taxonomy

The Eurasian teal belongs to the "true" teals, a group of small *Anas* dabbling ducks closely related to the mallard (*A. platyrhynchos*) and its relatives; that latter group in fact seems to have evolved from a true teal. It forms a superspecies with the green-winged teal and the speckled teal (*A. flavirostris*). A proposed subspecies, *A. c. nimia* of the Aleutian Islands, differs only in slightly larger size; it is probably not distinct.

Whether the Eurasian and green-winged teals are to be treated as one or two species is still being reviewed by the American Ornithologists' Union, while the International Union for Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International separate them nowadays. Despite the almost identical and highly apomorphic nuptial plumage of their males, which continues to puzzle scientists, they seem well distinct species, as indicated by a wealth of behavioural, morphological, and molecular data.

The Eurasian teal was first scientifically named by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 edition of *Systema naturae*. His Latin description reads: *\[Anas\] macula alarum viridi, linea alba supra infraque oculos* – "a duck with green speculum, a white line above and below the eyes" – and his primary reference was the bird's description in his earlier work *Fauna Svecica*. In fact, the description he used in *Systema Naturae* was the name under which the bird went in the *Fauna Svecica*, demonstrating the value of his new binomial nomenclature by compressing the long-winded names formerly used in biological classification into much simpler scientific names like *Anas crecca*. Linnaeus also noted in his description that earlier authors had already written about the Eurasan teal at length: Conrad Gessner had described it in the *Historiae animalium* as the *anas parva* ("small duck") among his *querquedulae* ("teals"); Ulisse Aldrovandi had called it *phascade* or *querquedula minor* ("lesser teal"), and was duly referenced by Francis Willughby who named the species *querquedula secunda Aldrovandi* ("the second teal of Aldrovandi"). John Ray may be credited with formally introducing the name "common teal", while Eleazar Albin called it simply "the teal". As regards the type locality Linnaeus simply remarked that it inhabits freshwater ecosystems in Europe.

The scientific name is from Latin *Anas*, "duck" and *kricka*, the Swedish name for this species. The specific name of Linnaeus is onomatopoetic, referring to the male's characteristic call which was already discussed by Linnaeus' sources. The scientific name of the Eurasian teal—unchanged since Linnaeus' time— therefore translates as "duck that makes *cryc*"; common names like the Bokmål *krikkand*, Danish *krikand* and German *Krickente* mean the same.

## Description

The Eurasian teal is one of the smallest extant dabbling ducks at 34–43 cm (13–17 in) length and with an average weight of 360 g (13 oz) in drake (males) and 340 g (12 oz) in hens (females). The wings are 17.5–20.4 cm (6.9–8.0 in) long, yielding a wingspan of 53–59 cm (21–23 in). The bill measures 3.2–4 cm (1.3–1.6 in) in length, and the tarsus 2.8–3.4 cm (1.1–1.3 in).

From a distance, the drakes in nuptial plumage appear grey, with a dark head, a yellowish behind, and a white stripe running along the flanks. Their head and upper neck is chestnut, with a wide and iridescent dark green patch of half-moon- or teardrop-shape that starts immediately before the eye and arcs to the upper hindneck. The patch is bordered with thin yellowish-white lines, and a single line of that colour extends from the patch's forward end, curving along the base of the bill. The breast is buff with small round brown spots. The center of the belly is white, and the rest of the body plumage is mostly white with thin and dense blackish vermiculations, appearing medium grey even at a short distance. The outer scapular feathers are white, with a black border to the outer vanes, and form the white side-stripe when the bird is in resting position. The primary remiges are dark greyish brown; the speculum feathers are iridescent blackish-green with white tips, and form the speculum together with the yellowish-white tips of the larger upperwing coverts (which are otherwise grey). The underwing is whitish, with grey remiges, dense dark spotting on the inner coverts and a dark leading edge. The tail and tail coverts are black, with a bright yellowish-buff triangular patch in the center of the coverts at each side.

In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake looks more like the hen; it is more uniform in colour, with a dark head and vestigial facial markings. The hen itself is yellowish-brown, somewhat darker on wings and back. It has a dark greyish-brown upper head, hindneck, eyestripe and feather pattern. The pattern is dense short streaks on the head and neck, and scaly spots on the rest of the body; overall they look much like a tiny mallard (*A. platyrhynchos*) hen when at rest. The wings are coloured similar to the drake's, but with brown instead of grey upperwing coverts that have less wide tips, and wider tips of the speculum feathers. The hen's rectrices have yellowish-white tips; the midbelly is whitish with some dark streaking.

Immatures are coloured much like hens, but have a stronger pattern. The downy young are coloured like in other dabbling ducks: brown above and yellow below, with a yellow supercilium. They are recognizable by their tiny size however, weighing just 15 g (0.53 oz) at hatching.

The drake's bill is dark grey, in eclipse plumage often with some light greenish or brownish hue at the base. The bill of hens and immatures is pinkish or yellowish at the base, becoming dark grey towards the tip; the grey expands basewards as the birds age. The feet are dark grey in males and greyish olive or greyish-brown in females and immatures. The iris is always brown.

Moults during summer. Male in eclipse resembles female, but with darker upperparts and grey bill. Flight feathers are moulted simultaneously and birds are flightless for up to 4 weeks.

This is a noisy species. The male whistles *cryc* or *creelycc*, not loud but very clear and far-carrying. The female has a feeble *keh* or *neeh* quack.

Males in nuptial plumage are distinguished from green-winged teals by the horizontal white scapular stripe, the lack of a vertical white bar at the breast sides, and the quite conspicuous light outlines of the face patch, which are indistinct in the green-winged teal drake. Males in eclipse plumage, females and immatures are best recognised by their small size, calls, and the speculum; they are hard to tell apart from the green-winged teal however.

## Distribution and habitat

The Eurasian teal breeds across the Palearctic and mostly winters well south of its breeding range. However, in the milder climate of temperate Europe, the summer and winter ranges overlap. For example, in the United Kingdom and Ireland a small summer population breeds, but far greater numbers of Siberian birds arrive in winter. In the Caucasus region, western Asia Minor, along the northern shores of the Black Sea, and even on the south coast of Iceland and on the Vestmannaeyjar, the species can be encountered all year, too.

In winter, there are high densities around the Mediterranean, including the entire Iberian Peninsula and extending west to Mauretania; on Japan and Taiwan; as well as in South Asia. Other important wintering locations include almost the entire length of the Nile Valley, the Near East and Persian Gulf region, the mountain ranges of northern Iran, and South Korea and continental East and Southeast Asia. More isolated wintering grounds are Lake Victoria, the Senegal River estuary, the swamps of the upper Congo River, the inland and sea deltas of the Niger River, and the central Indus River valley. Vagrants have been seen in inland Zaire, Malaysia, on Greenland, and on the Marianas, Palau and Yap in Micronesia; they are regularly recorded on the North American coasts south to California and South Carolina, including annual sightings on the island of Newfoundland.

From tracking wintering teal in Italy, most individuals departed the wintering grounds between mid-February and March, using the Black-Sea-Mediterranean flyway to reach their breeding grounds, from central Europe to east of the Urals, by May. This slow migration is due to long stopovers near the start of migration, mainly in south-eastern Europe.

Altogether, the Eurasian teal is much less common than its American counterpart, though still very plentiful. Its numbers are mainly assessed by counts of wintering birds; some 750,000 are recorded annually around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, 250,000 in temperate western Europe, and more than 110,000 in Japan. In 1990 and 1991, a more detailed census was undertaken, yielding over 210,000 birds wintering in Iran, some 109,000 in Pakistan, about 77,000 in Azerbaijan, some 37,000 in India, 28,000 in Israel, over 14,000 in Turkmenistan and almost 12,000 in Taiwan. It appears to be holding its own currently, with its slow decline of maybe 1–2% annually in the 1990s – presumably mainly due to drainage and pollution of wetlands – not warranting action other than continuing to monitor the population and possibly providing better protection for habitat on the wintering grounds. The IUCN and BirdLife International classify the Eurasian teal as a species of Least Concern, unchanged from their assessment before the split of the more numerous *A. carolinensis*.

The Eurasian teal is one of the species to which the *Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds* (AEWA) applies.

## Behaviour

This dabbling duck is highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and will form large flocks. In flight, the fast, twisting flocks resemble waders; despite its short legs, it is also rather nimble on the ground by ducks' standards. In the breeding season, it is a common inhabitant of sheltered freshwater wetlands with some tall vegetation, such as taiga bogs or small lakes and ponds with extensive reedbeds. In winter, it is often seen in brackish waters and even in sheltered inlets and lagoons along the seashore.

The Eurasian teal usually feeds by dabbling, upending or grazing; it may submerge its head and on occasion even dive to reach food. In the breeding season it eats mainly aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insects and their larvae, molluscs and worms. In winter, it shifts to a largely granivorous diet, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants and grasses, including sedges and grains. Diurnal throughout the breeding season, in winter they are often crepuscular or even nocturnal feeders.

It nests on the ground, near water and under cover. The pairs form in the winter quarters and arrive on the breeding grounds together, starting about March. The breeding starts some weeks thereafter, not until May in the most northernly locations. The nest is a deep hollow lined with dry leaves and down feathers, built in dense vegetation near water. After the females have started laying, the males leave them and move away for shorter or longer distances, assembling in flocks on particular lakes where they moult into eclipse plumage; they will usually encounter their offspring only in winter quarters. The clutch may consist of 5–16 eggs, but usually numbers 8–11; they are incubated for 21–23 days. The young leave the nest soon after hatching and are attended by the mother for about 25–30 days, after which they fledge. The drakes and the hens with young generally move to the winter quarters separately. After the first winter, the young moult into adult plumage. The maximum recorded lifespan – though it is not clear whether this refers to the common or the green-winged teal—was over 27 years, which is rather high for such a small bird.

1. BirdLife International (2020). "*Anas crecca*". *IUCN Red List of Threatened Species*. **2020**: e.T22680321A181692388. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22680321A181692388.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Arzel, C.; Elmberg, J.; Guillemain, M. (January 2007). "A flyway perspective of foraging activity in Eurasian Green-winged Teal". *Canadian Journal of Zoology*. **85** (1): 81–91. doi:10.1139/z06-201.
3. Carboneras, Carles (1992). del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi (eds.). *Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans)*. Handbook of Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 536–629, plates 40–50. ISBN 84-87334-10-5.
4. Livezey, Bradley C. (1991). "A phylogenetic analysis and classification of recent dabbling ducks (Tribe Anatini) based on comparative morphology" (PDF). *Auk*. **108** (3): 471–507. doi:10.2307/4088089. JSTOR 4088089.
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## InfoBox

| Eurasian teal | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Wintering male from Mangaon, Maharashtra, India | |
| Conservation status | |
|
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | *Anas* |
| Species: | ***A. crecca*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Anas crecca***
Linnaeus, 1758 | |
|
|  | |
| Distribution map
light green : nesting area
blue : wintering area
dark green : resident all year | |
| Synonyms | |
| *Anas crecca crecca* Linnaeus, 1758
*Anas crecca nimia* Friedmann, 1948 | |