text:
Fenway Park

Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantially rebuilt in 1934, and underwent major renovations and modifications in the 21st century. It is the oldest active ballpark in MLB. Because of its age and constrained location in Boston's dense Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood, the park has many quirky features, including "The Triangle", Pesky's Pole, and the Green Monster in left field. It is the fifth-smallest among MLB ballparks by seating capacity, second-smallest by total capacity, and one of nine that cannot accommodate at least 40,000 spectators.

Fenway has hosted the World Series 11 times, with the Red Sox winning six of them and the Boston Braves winning one. Besides baseball games, it has also been the site of many other sporting and cultural events including professional football games for the Boston Redskins, Boston Yanks, and the Boston Patriots; concerts; soccer and hockey games (such as the 2010 NHL Winter Classic); and political and religious campaigns.

On March 7, 2012 (Fenway's centennial year), the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is a landmark at the end of the Boston Irish heritage trail. Former pitcher Bill Lee has called Fenway Park "a shrine". It is a pending Boston Landmark, which will regulate any further changes to the park. The ballpark is considered to be one of the most well-known sports venues in the world and a symbol of Boston.

History

In 1911, while the Red Sox were still playing on Huntington Avenue Grounds, owner John I. Taylor purchased the land bordered by Brookline Avenue, Jersey Street, Van Ness Street and Lansdowne Street and developed it into a larger baseball stadium known as Fenway Park. Taylor claimed the name Fenway Park came from its location in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, which was partially created late in the nineteenth century by filling in marshland or "fens", to create the Back Bay Fens urban park. However, given that Taylor's family also owned the Fenway Realty Company, the promotional value of the naming at the time has been cited as well.

Like many classic ballparks, Fenway Park was constructed on an asymmetrical block, with consequent asymmetry in its field dimensions. The park was designed by architect James E. McLaughlin, and the General Contractor was the Charles Logue Building Company.

The first game was played April 20, 1912, with mayor John F. Fitzgerald throwing out the first pitch and Boston defeating the New York Highlanders, 7–6 in 11 innings. Newspaper coverage of the opening was overshadowed by continuing coverage of the Titanic sinking five days earlier.

In June 1919, a rally supporting Irish Independence turned out nearly 50,000 supporters to see the President of the Irish Republic, Éamon de Valera, and was allegedly the largest crowd ever in the ballpark.

The park's address was originally 24 Jersey Street. In 1977, the section of Jersey Street nearest the park was renamed Yawkey Way in honor of longtime Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey, and the park's address was 4 Yawkey Way until 2018, when the street's name was reverted to Jersey Street in light of current Red Sox ownership distancing itself from Mr. Yawkey due to his history of racism (the Red Sox were the last team in Major League Baseball to integrate). The address is now 4 Jersey Street.

Changes to Fenway Park

Some of the changes include:
 * In 1926, a fire burned down Fenway Park's left field bleachers, which were left in their empty & burned state until 1933.
 * In 1933, a significant reconstruction of Fenway Park began after Tom Yawkey purchased the Red Sox and Fenway Park.
 * Duffy's Cliff was leveled and no longer existed, with work started on what eventually became known as the Green Monster.
 * Two wooden bleacher sections were reconstructed.
 * Multiple areas of the park were renovated or were new additions, including concessions, employee rooms, the press box, and the entrance to the team offices on Jersey Street.
 * By Opening Day 1934, the newly renovated Fenway Park had assumed the basic appearance, color (Dartmouth Green), and layout that exists to present day:
 * A large fire caused significant damage to new seating areas in left field and center field bleachers. These areas were reconstructed before opening day 1934.
 * 7,000 new seats were added
 * The Green Monster was completed at 37-feet high, replacing the 10 foot tall Duffy's Cliff and the original 25 foot wall.
 * A hand-operated scoreboard was added, with (what was then considered cutting-edge technology) lights to indicate balls and strikes. The scoreboard is still updated by hand today from behind the wall. The National League scores were removed in 1976, but restored in 2003 and still require manual updates from on the field.
 * Home run and foul distances were significantly altered:
 * From 320 feet to 312 in left
 * 468 feet to 420 in center
 * 358 feet to 334 in right
 * distance to the backstop was shortened from 68 feet to 60 feet
 * In 1946, the first upper deck seats were installed.
 * In 1947, arc lights were installed at Fenway Park. The Boston Red Sox were the third-to-last team out of 16 major league teams to have lights in their home park.
 * In 1976, metric distances were added to the conventionally stated distances because it was thought at the time that the United States would adopt the metric system. As of 2022, only Miami's LoanDepot Park and Toronto's Rogers Centre list metric distances. Fenway Park retained the metric measurements until mid-season 2002, when they were painted over. Also, Fenway's first electronic message board was added over the center field bleachers.
 * In 1988, a glass-protected seating area behind home plate named The 600 Club was built. After Ted Williams' death in 2002, it was renamed the .406 Club in honor of his 1941 season in which he produced a .406 batting average. The section was renamed again in 2006 to the EMC Club.
 * In 1993 the public restrooms were renovated and the original trough urinals were removed from the men's rooms.
 * In 1999 the auxiliary press boxes were added on top of the roof boxes along the first and third base sides of the field.
 * In 2000, a new video display from Daktronics, measuring 23 ft high by 30 ft wide, was added in center field.
 * Before the 2003 season, seats were added to the Green Monster.
 * Before the 2004 season, seats were added to the right field roof, above the grandstand, called the Budweiser Right Field Roof. In December 2017 Samuel Adams renamed the deck the "Sam Deck."
 * Before the 2008 season, the Coke bottles, installed in 1997, were removed to return the light towers to their original state. The temporary luxury boxes installed for the 1999 All-Star Game were removed and permanent ones were added to the State Street Pavilion level. Seats were also added down the left field line called the Coca-Cola Party-Deck.
 * Before the 2011 season, three new scoreboards beyond right-center field were installed: a 38 x scoreboard in right-center field, a 17 x video screen in center field, a 16 x video board in right field, along with a new video control room. The Gate D concourse has undergone a complete remodel with new concession stands and improved pedestrian flow. The wooden grandstand seats were all removed to allow the completion of the waterproofing of the seating bowl and completely refurbished upon re-installation.

New Fenway Park
On May 15, 1999, then-Red Sox CEO John Harrington announced plans for a new Fenway Park to be built near the existing structure. It was to have seated 44,130 and would have been a modernized replica of the current Fenway Park, with the same field dimensions except for a shorter right field and reduced foul territory. Some sections of the existing ballpark were to be preserved (mainly the original Green Monster and the third base side of the park) as part of the overall new layout. Most of the current stadium was to be demolished to make room for new development, with one section remaining to house a baseball museum and public park. The proposal was highly controversial; it projected that the park had less than 15 years of usable life, would require hundreds of millions of dollars of public investment, and was later revealed to be part of a scheme by current ownership to increase the marketable value of the team as they were ready to sell. Several groups (such as "Save Fenway Park") formed in an attempt to block the move.

A significant renovation of Fenway Park stretched over a 10-year period beginning around 2002 headed by Janet Marie Smith, then Vice President of Planning and Development for the Sox. The Boston Globe has described Smith as "the architect credited with saving Fenway Park." At completion of the renovations, it was reported that Fenway Park remains usable until as late as 2062.

Capacity and sellout streak
Fenway's capacity differs between day and night games because, during day games, the seats in center field (Section 35) are covered with a black tarp in order to provide a batter's eye.

Fenway's lowest attendance was recorded on October 1, 1964, when a game against the Cleveland Indians drew only 306 paid spectators.

On May 15, 2003, the Red Sox game against the Texas Rangers sold out, beginning a sellout streak that lasted until 2013. On September 8, 2008, when the Red Sox hosted the Tampa Bay Rays, Fenway Park broke the all-time Major League record for consecutive sellouts with 456, surpassing the record previously held by Jacobs Field in Cleveland. On June 17, 2009, the park celebrated its 500th consecutive Red Sox sellout. According to WBZ-TV, the team joined three NBA teams which achieved 500 consecutive home sellouts. The sellout streak ended on April 10, 2013 (with an attendance of 30,862) after the Red Sox sold out 794 regular season games and an additional 26 postseason games.

Features
The park is located along Lansdowne Street and Jersey Street in the Kenmore Square area of Boston. The area includes many buildings of similar height and architecture and thus it blends in with its surroundings. When pitcher Roger Clemens arrived in Boston for the first time in 1984, he took a taxi from Logan Airport and was sure the driver had misunderstood his directions when he announced their arrival at the park. Clemens recalled telling the driver "No, Fenway Park, it's a baseball stadium ... this is a warehouse." Only when the driver told Clemens to look up and he saw the light towers did he realize he was in the right place.

Fenway Park is one of the two remaining jewel box ballparks still in use in Major League Baseball, the other being Wrigley Field; both have a significant number of obstructed view seats, due to pillars supporting the upper deck. These are sold as such, and are a reminder of the architectural limitations of older ballparks.

George Will asserts in his book Men at Work that Fenway Park is a "hitters' ballpark", with its short right-field fence (302 feet), narrow foul ground (the smallest of any current major league park), and generally closer-than-normal outfield fences. By Rule 1.04, Note(a), all parks built after 1958 have been required to have foul lines at least 325 ft long and a center-field fence at least 400 ft from home plate. (This rule had the unintended consequence of leading to the "Cookie-Cutter Stadium" era, which ended when Camden Yards opened in 1992.) Regarding the narrow foul territory, Will writes:

"The narrow foul territory in Fenway Park probably adds 5 to 7 points onto batting averages. Since World War II, the Red Sox have had 18 batting champions (through 1989)... Five to 7 points are a lot, given that there may be only a 15- or 20-point spread between a good hitting team and a poor hitting team."

Will states that some observers might feel that these unique aspects of Fenway give the Red Sox an advantage over their opponents, given that the Red Sox hitters play 81 games at the home stadium while each opponent plays no more than nine games as visiting teams but Will does not share this view.

Fenway Park's bullpen wall is much lower than most other outfield walls; outfielders are known to end up flying over this wall when chasing balls hit that direction, such as with Torii Hunter when chasing a David Ortiz game-tying grand slam that direction in game 2 of the 2013 ALCS.

The Green Monster

The Green Monster is the nickname of the 37.167 ft left field wall in the park. It is located 310 to 315 ft from home plate; this short distance often benefits right-handed hitters.

Part of the original ballpark construction of 1912, the wall is made of wood, but was covered in tin and concrete in 1934, when the scoreboard was added. The wall was covered in hard plastic in 1976. The scoreboard is manually updated throughout the game. If a ball in play goes through a hole in the scoreboard while the scorers are replacing numbers, the batter is awarded a ground rule double. Similarly, if a batter hits a ball into the balls, strikes, and out lights, it is also ruled a ground rule double.

The inside walls of the Green Monster are covered with players' signatures from over the years. Despite the name, the Green Monster was not painted green until 1947; before that, it was covered with advertisements. The Monster designation is relatively new; for most of its history, it was simply called "the wall." In 2003, terrace-style seating was added on top of the wall.

"The Triangle"

"The Triangle" is a region of center field where the walls form a triangle whose far corner is 420 ft from home plate. That deep right-center point is conventionally given as the center field distance. The true center is unmarked, 390 ft from home plate, to the left of "the Triangle" when viewed from home plate.

There was once a smaller "Triangle" at the left end of the bleachers in center field, posted as 388 ft. The end of the bleachers form a right angle with the Green Monster and the flagpole stands within that little triangle. That is not the true power alley, but deep left-center. The true power alley distance is not posted. The foul line intersects with the Green Monster at nearly a right angle, so the power alley could be estimated at 336 ft, assuming the power alley is 22.5° away from the foul line as measured from home plate.

"Williamsburg"
"Williamsburg" was the name, invented by sportswriters, for the bullpen area built in front of the right-center field bleachers in 1940. It was built there primarily for the benefit of Ted Williams, to enable him and other left-handed batters to hit more home runs, since it was 23 ft closer than the bleacher wall.

The Lone Red Seat
The lone red seat in the right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) signifies the longest home run ever hit at Fenway. The home run, hit by Ted Williams on June 9, 1946, was officially measured at 502 ft, well beyond "Williamsburg". According to Hit Tracker Online, the ball, if unobstructed, would have flown 520 to 535 ft.

The ball landed on Joseph A. Boucher, penetrating his large straw hat and hitting him in the head. A confounded Boucher was later quoted as saying: "How far away must one sit to be safe in this park? I didn't even get the ball. They say it bounced a dozen rows higher, but after it hit my head, I was no longer interested. I couldn't see the ball. Nobody could. The sun was right in our eyes. All we could do was duck. I'm glad I did not stand up."

There have been other home runs hit at Fenway that have contended for the distance title. In the 2007 book The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs, researcher Bill Jenkinson found evidence that on May 25, 1926, Babe Ruth hit one in the pre-1934 bleacher configuration which landed five rows from the top in right field. This would have placed it at an estimated 545 ft from home plate. On June 23, 2001, Manny Ramirez hit one that struck a light tower above the Green Monster, which would have cleared the park had it missed. The park's official estimate placed the home run one foot short of Williams' record at 501 ft. An April 2019 home run by Rowdy Tellez of the Toronto Blue Jays was initially reported as 505 ft, but later found to be significantly shorter, approximately 433 ft.

Foul poles

Pesky's Pole is the name for the pole on the right field foul line, which stands 302 ft from home plate, the shortest outfield distance (left or right field) in Major League Baseball. Like the measurement of the left-field line at Fenway Park, this has been disputed. Aerial shots show it to be noticeably shorter than the (actual) 302 foot line in right field, and Pesky has been quoted as estimating it to be "around 295 feet". There is no distance posted on the wall.

Despite the short wall, home runs in this area are relatively rare, as the fence curves away from the foul pole sharply. The pole was named after Johnny Pesky, a light-hitting shortstop and long-time coach for the Red Sox, who hit some of his six home runs at Fenway Park around the pole but never off the pole. Pesky (playing 1942 to 1952, except for 1943 to 1945) was a contact hitter who hit just 17 home runs in his career (6 at Fenway Park). It's not known how many of these six actually landed near the pole. The Red Sox give credit to pitcher (and later, Sox broadcaster) Mel Parnell for coining the name. The most notable for Pesky is a two-run homer in the eighth inning of the 1946 Opening Day game to win the game. According to Pesky, Mel Parnell named the pole after Pesky won a game for Parnell in 1948 with a home run down the short right field line, just around the pole. However, Pesky hit just one home run in a game pitched by Parnell, a two-run shot in the first inning of a game against Detroit played on June 11, 1950. The game was eventually won by the visiting Tigers in the 14th inning on a three-run shot by Tigers right fielder Vic Wertz and Parnell earned a no-decision that day.

The term, though it had been in use since the 1950s, became far more common when Parnell became a Red Sox broadcaster in 1965. Mark Bellhorn hit what proved to be the game-winning home run off of Julián Tavárez in game 1 of the 2004 World Series off that pole's screen.

On September 27, 2006, Pesky's 87th birthday, the Red Sox officially dedicated the right field foul pole as "Pesky's Pole", with a commemorative plaque placed at its base.

The seat directly on the foul side of Pesky's Pole in the front row is Section 94, Row E, Seat 5 and is usually sold as a lone ticket.

In a ceremony before the Red Sox' 2005 game against the Cincinnati Reds, the pole on the left field foul line atop the Green Monster was named the Fisk Foul Pole, or Pudge's Pole, in honor of Carlton Fisk. Fisk provided one of baseball's most enduring moments in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series against the Reds. Facing Reds right-hander Pat Darcy in the 12th inning with the score tied at 6, Fisk hit a long fly ball down the left field line. It appeared to be heading foul, but Fisk, after initially appearing unsure of whether or not to continue running to first base, famously jumped and waved his arms to the right as if to somehow direct the ball fair. It ricocheted off the foul pole, winning the game for the Red Sox and sending the series to a seventh and deciding game the next night, which Cincinnati won. Like Johnny Pesky's No. 6, Carlton had his No. 27 player number retired by the team.

"Duffy's Cliff"

From 1912 to 1933, there was a 10 ft high incline in front of the then 25 ft-high left field wall at Fenway Park, extending from the left-field foul pole to the center field flag pole (and thus under "The Triangle" of today). As a result, a left fielder had to play part of the territory running uphill (and back down). Boston's first star left fielder, Duffy Lewis, mastered the skill so well that the area became known as "Duffy's Cliff".

The incline served two purposes: it was a support for a high wall and it was built to compensate for the difference in grades between the field and Lansdowne Street on the other side of that wall. The wall also served as a spectator-friendly seating area during the dead ball era when overflow crowds, in front of the later Green Monster, would sit on the incline behind ropes.

As part of the 1934 remodeling of the ballpark, the bleachers, and the wall itself, Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey arranged to flatten the ground along the base of the wall, so that Duffy's Cliff no longer existed. The base of the left field wall is several feet below the grade level of Lansdowne Street, accounting for the occasional rat that might spook the scoreboard operators.

There has been debate as to the true left field distance, which was once posted as 315 ft. A reporter from The Boston Globe was able to sneak into Fenway Park and measure the distance. When the paper's evidence was presented to the club in 1995, the distance was remeasured by the Red Sox and restated at 310 ft. The companion 96 m sign remained unchanged until 1998, when it was corrected to 94.5 m.

Dell EMC Club
In 1983, private suites were added to the roof behind home plate. In 1988, 610 stadium club seats enclosed in glass and named the "600 Club", were added above the home plate grandstand replacing the existing press box. The press box was then added to the top of the 600 Club. The 1988 addition has been thought to have changed the air currents in the park to the detriment of hitters. In 2002, the organization renamed the club seats the ".406 Club" (in honor of Ted Williams' batting average in 1941).

Between the 2005 and 2006 seasons the existing .406 club was rebuilt as part of the continuing ballpark expansion efforts. The second deck now features two open-air levels: the bottom level is the new "Dell EMC Club" featuring 406 seats and concierge services and the upper level, the State Street Pavilion, has 374 seats and a dedicated standing room area. The added seats are wider than the previous seats.

Program hawkers
In 1990, Mike Rutstein started handing out the first issue of Boston Baseball Magazine (originally called Baseball Underground) outside of the park. He was frustrated with the quality of the program being sold inside the park, which also came out once every two months. The program was sold for $1, half the cost of the programs inside the park. To sell the program, Rutstein's employees would stand outside the park wearing bright red shirts and greet fans by holding a program up and shouting "Program, Scorecard, One Dollar!". By 1992, the Red Sox organization filed complaints with the city code enforcement arguing that the scorecard inside the magazine was not covered under the First Amendment protecting magazines and that Rutstein's employees were operating on the streets without a permit. Despite a lot of attention in the news, Rutstein said the charges were not pursued and no further legal action was taken. In 2012, one of Rutstein's long time employees Sly Egidio quit Boston Baseball to start "The Yawkey Way Report" named after Yawkey Way. By that time, Boston Baseball was selling for $3 per program, $2 cheaper than the in-park programs selling for $5. The Yawkey Way Report cost $1 and Egidio stationed his hawkers close to Boston Baseball's hawkers, starting a "hawker war." The Yawkey Way Report also came with baseball cards, ponchos and tote bags, which caused Rutstein to file his own complaints with Boston city code enforcement. Despite the rivalry, both programs continue to be hawked outside of Fenway Park and are often the first thing fans see when they approach the stadium on game-day.

Baseball
The Red Sox' one-time cross-town rivals, the Boston Braves, used Fenway Park for the 1914 World Series and the 1915 season until Braves Field was completed; ironically, the Red Sox would then use Braves Field – which had a much higher seating capacity – for their own World Series games in 1915 and 1916.

Since 1990 (except in 2005 when, because of field work, it was held in a minor league ballpark, and 2020, as the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Fenway Park has also hosted the final round of a Boston-area intercollegiate baseball tournament called the Baseball Beanpot, an equivalent to the more well-known hockey Beanpot tourney. The teams play the first rounds in minor league stadiums before moving on to Fenway for the final and a consolation game. Boston College, Harvard University, Northeastern University, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst compete in the four-team tournament.

Since at least 1997 Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" has been played at Fenway Park during Red Sox games, in the middle of the eighth inning since 2002. On opening night of the 2010 season at Fenway Park, the song was performed by Diamond himself in the middle of the eighth inning.

Beginning in 2006, the Red Sox have hosted the "Futures at Fenway" event, where two of their minor-league affiliates play a regular-season doubleheader as the "home" teams. Before the Futures day started, the most recent minor-league game held at Fenway had been the Eastern League All-Star Game in 1977.

From 1970 to 1987, the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) played its annual all-star game at various major league stadiums. The games were interleague contests between the CCBL and the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL). The 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987 games were played at Fenway. The MVP of the 1977 contest was future major league slugger Steve Balboni, who clobbered two home runs over the Green Monster that day. The CCBL returned to Fenway in 2009, 2010 and 2011 for its intraleague all-star game matching the league's East and West divisions. The 2009 game starred East division MVP and future Boston Red Sox Chris Sale of Florida Gulf Coast University. The CCBL also holds an annual workout day at Fenway where CCBL players are evaluated by major league scouts.

Baseball Records and Events of Note

 * Red Sox First Baseman Hugh Bradley hit the first home run at Fenway Park on April 26, 1912.
 * The first Grand slam hit at Fenway Park was by Rabbit Maranville of the Boston Braves in a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on September 26, 1914.
 * On June 21, 1916, Rube Foster pitches the first no-hitter at Fenway in a 2-0 victory over the Yankees.
 * On August 4, 1959, Elijah "Pumpsie" Green became the first African-American player in the Red Sox lineup to play at Fenway.
 * On August 19, 1967, Red Sox switch-hitter Reggie Smith became the first player in Fenway Park to hit a home run from both sides of the plate.

Boxing
On October 9, 1920, Fenway Park was the site of the first open-air boxing show in Boston. The card featured four bouts. Although Eddie Shevlin and Paul Doyle fought in the feature bout, Daniel J. Saunders of the Boston Daily Globe described heavyweights Battling McCreery and John Lester Johnson as "the only boxers who caused any excitement". McCreery, who according to Saunders, "was to take a flop in five rounds", won by judge's decision in ten rounds. After the fight, Johnson punched McCreery while McCreery was trying to shake his hand. McCreery then knocked Johnson out of the ring and hit him over the head with his chair. The card drew 5,000 spectators (half of what was expected) and brought in $6,100 (several thousand less than what was promised to the fighters).

In 1928, New England Welterweight Champion Al Mello headlined three cards at Fenway. He defeated Billy Murphy in front of a crowd of 12,000 on June 26, Charlie Donovan on August 31, and Murphy again on September 13.

On July 2, 1930, future World Heavyweight Champion James J. Braddock made his debut in that weight class. He defeated Joe Monte in ten rounds.

On September 2, 1930, Babe Hunt defeated Ernie Schaaf in what The Boston Daily Globe described as a "dull bout" and a "big disappointment". The undercard included future light heavyweight champion George Nichols, who defeated Harry Allen of Brockton, Massachusetts in ten rounds.

In 1932, Eddie Mack promoted ten cards at Fenway Park. The August 2 card featured World Light Heavyweight Champion Maxie Rosenbloom defeating Joe Barlow of Roxbury and Taunton' Henry Emond defeating The Cocoa Kid. On August 23, Dave Shade defeated Norman Conrad of Wilton, New Hampshire in front of 3,500 attendees. The September 6 card was headlined by World junior lightweight champion Kid Chocolate, who defeated Steve Smith.

On June 25, 1936, former world heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey defeated Phil Brubaker in what would be his final career victory.

In 1937, Rip Valenti and the Goodwin Athletic Club promoted five cards at Fenway. Three of these were headlined by New England Heavyweight Champion Al McCoy. On June 16 McCoy defeated Natie Brown in front of a crowd of 4,516. On July 29 he knocked out Jack McCarthy in the third round. On August 24 he and Tony Shucco fought to a draw. Future WBA featherweight champion Sal Bartolo fought one of his first professional fights on the May 24 undercard.

On June 25, 1945, Tami Mauriello knocked out Lou Nova in 2:47. An estimated crowd of 8,000 was in attendance.

On July 12, 1954, Tony DeMarco knocked out George Araujo 58 seconds into the fifth round in front of 12,000 spectators.

The most recent boxing event at Fenway took place on June 16, 1956. The undercard consisted of Eddie Andrews vs. George Chimenti, Bobby Courchesne vs. George Monroe for the New England Lightweight Championship, and Barry Allison vs. Don Williams for the New England Middleweight Championship. In the main event, Tony DeMarco defeated Vince Martinez by decision. An estimated 15,000 were in attendance - far below promoter Sam Silverman's expectations.

Soccer
On October 17, 1925, the Boston Soccer Club and the Fall River F.C. of the American Soccer League played a scoreless tie before 4,000 fans. Boston also hosted the Providence Clamdiggers and Indiana Flooring at Fenway later that season. On June 18, 1928, Boston played Rangers F.C. to a 2–2 tie in front of a crowd of 10,000. In 1929, Boston hosted two more matches at Fenway Park; a 3–2 victory over the New Bedford Whalers on August 10 and a 3–2 loss to Fall River on August 17.

On May 30, 1931, 8,000 fans were on hand to see the American Soccer League champion New York Yankees defeat Celtic 4–3. The Yankees goalkeeper, Johnny Reder, would later return to play for the Boston Red Sox. During 1968, the park was home to the Boston Beacons of the now-defunct NASL.

On July 21, 2010, Fenway hosted an exhibition game between European soccer clubs Celtic F.C. and Sporting C.P. in an event called "Football at Fenway". A crowd of 32,162 watched the two teams play to a 1–1 draw. Celtic won 6–5 on penalty shoot out, winning the first Fenway football challenge Trophy. Recent matches have taken place between Liverpool, an English Premier League club owned by Fenway Sports Group, and A.S. Roma, an Italian Serie A club owned by FSG partner Thomas R. DiBenedetto. The July 25, 2012 match ended in a 2–1 win for AS Roma before a crowd of 37,169. AS Roma also won the rematch on July 23, 2014, by a score of 1–0. On July 21, 2019, Liverpool returned to Fenway for a preseason match against Sevilla, the Spanish team won 2–1 at the end of full-time.

American football
Football has been played at Fenway since 1912, the year the venue opened. In 1926, the Boston Bulldogs of the first American Football League played at both Fenway and Braves Field; the Boston Shamrocks of the second American Football League did the same in 1936 and 1937. The Boston Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) played at Fenway for four seasons (1933–1936) after playing their inaugural season in 1932 at Braves Field as the Boston Braves. The Boston Yanks played there in the 1940s; and the Boston Patriots of the 1960s American Football League called Fenway Park home from 1963 to 1968 after moving there from Nickerson Field. At various times in the past, Dartmouth College, Boston College, Brown University, and Boston University teams have also played football games at Fenway Park. Boston College and Notre Dame played a game at Fenway in 2015 as part of Notre Dame's Shamrock Series. The annual Harvard–Yale game in November 2018 was played at Fenway.

In September 2019, it was announced that the Fenway Bowl, a postseason bowl game, would be played at Fenway Park beginning in 2020, pitting a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference against a team from the American Athletic Conference. However, both the 2020 and 2021 games were canceled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bowl was finally played for the first time in December 2022, as Louisville defeated Cincinnati.

Professional wrestling
On July 9, 1929, World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg defeated Ed "Strangler" Lewis in front of a crowd of 25,000 at Fenway Park.

In 1932, Charlie Gordon promoted shows at Fenway Park. On June 16, 1932, a card headlined by "The Georgia Leech" Paul Adams and George Myerson drew 8,000 spectators. 10,000 people turned out on July 6, 1932 to see a show main evented by Ted Germaine and Stewart Spears. The following week, Steve Passas handed German wrestler Mephisto his first loss in the United States at Fenway. The next week's card was headlined by Myerson and Germaine. Myerson was knocked unconscious, but was declared the winner after referee Joe Beston disqualified Germaine for using a choke hold. The card scheduled for July 27 was postponed until August 3 due to rain. It rained again on August 3 and the card was pushed back another week. However, due to a schedule conflict, Steve Passas, was forced to withdraw from his main event bout with Fred Bruno. On August 10, 1932, Adams defeated Louis Poplin in front of 8,000 fans in the substitute main event.

On August 18, 1934, a crowd of 30,000 turned out for a card headlined by AWA World Heavyweight Champion Ed Don George and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jim Londos. The fight ended in a draw after 3:14:13.

On June 27, 1935, Danno O'Mahony captured the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Londos in front of 30,000 fans.

On July 18, 1935, Ed Don George defeated Frank Sexton in an exhibition bout during a musical and athletic carnival benefiting Boston's department of public welfare that also featured a five-mile race, firearms exhibition drill, a boxing exhibition, tug of war contest, and a baseball game. Due to rain, only 5,000 attended the event and the ball game was called off after three innings.

On September 10, 1935, O'Mahony successfully defeated his title against George in front of an estimated crowd of 25,000. The bout, the second between O'Mahony and George, was refereed by world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock. The Paul Bowser-promoted card also featured Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Frank Sexton, Jack Spellman, and Karl Pojello. During the main event, a spectator suffered a heart attack and died. It was the eighth such death at a Boston wrestling bout in the past two years.

On June 29, 1937, around 7,000 spectators saw Steve Casey defeat Ed Don George in a card that also featured Danno O'Mahony, Tor Johnson, and William "Wee Willie" Davis. On July 20, 1937, Casey defeated another former world heavyweight champion, Danno O'Mahony, in front of 8,000. On July 26, 1938, Casey successfully defended his AWA World Heavyweight Championship against Dick Shikat before a crowd of 5,000.

The WWE (then the World Wide Wrestling Federation), hosted its only event at Fenway Park on June 28, 1969. 17,000 turned out to see WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defeat Killer Kowalski in a stretcher match and a undercard that featured a steel cage match between The Sheik and Bulldog Brower, a ten-man battle royal won by Mitsu Arakawa, a six-man midget wrestling tag match, a best three out of five falls six woman tag team match between The Fabulous Moolah, Donna Christanello, and Toni Rose and Vivian Vachon and Rita and Bette Boucher, and singles matches between George Steele and Victor Rivera, Antonio Pugliese and Baron Mikel Scicluna, Dominic DeNucci and Lou Albano, and Ricky Sexton and Duke Savage.

Hockey
Fenway Park has hosted ice hockey games on five separate occasions, beginning in 2010 when the third annual NHL Winter Classic was held at the stadium on New Year's Day. The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2–1 in sudden-death overtime, securing the first home-team victory in the relatively short history of the annual series. The 2010 Winter Classic paved the way for further use of the stadium for ice hockey, as the "Frozen Fenway" series was introduced. Frozen Fenway is a semi-annual series of collegiate and amateur games featuring ice hockey teams from local and regional high schools, colleges, and universities. Division I matches between Hockey East rivals have been a staple of the Frozen Fenway series, which has seen games played in 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2023 at the ballpark. When not in use for games, the rink is also opened to the public for free ice skating. Fenway Park became the first stadium to host two Winter Classic games in January 2023, as the Boston Bruins once again secured a 2–1 victory, this time defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hurling and Gaelic football
Fenway has hosted Gaelic games over the years. On June 6, 1937, Mayo, the All-Ireland Football champions, defeated a Massachusetts team, 17–8, and on November 8, 1954, Cork, the All-Ireland Hurling champions, defeated an American line-up, 37–28. In more recent times, the Fenway Hurling Classic for the Players Champions Cup has been staged, first in November 2015 when Galway defeated Dublin, and subsequently in November 2017 and November 2018.

Concerts
Fenway has been home to various concerts beginning in 1973 when Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles first played there. No further concerts were played there until 2003 when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played a leg of their The Rising Tour. Since 2003, there has been at least one concert every year at Fenway by such artists as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, Journey, Def Leppard, The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, The Police, Jason Aldean, Mötley Crüe, Dave Matthews Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Aerosmith, Phish, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, James Taylor (2015–2017 consecutively: 2015 & 2017 with Bonnie Raitt, 2016 with Jackson Browne), Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Dead & Company and New Kids On The Block 2011 (with Backstreet Boys), 2017 and 2021.

In 2017, Lady Gaga brought her Joanne World Tour to the stadium, making her the first woman to headline a concert there. In 2022, she returned with The Chromatica Ball. In 2019, The Who played their first ever show at the stadium with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. On August 3, 2021, Guns N' Roses played a show as a part of their 2020 Tour, where they revealed a new song "Absurd". Aerosmith returned for their 50th-anniversary celebrations on September 8, 2022, and the show labeled the venue's highest ticket sales to date.

On July 31 and August 1, 2023, Pink performed at the stadium as part of her Summer Carnival tour, and broke the record for biggest two-day attendance.

Ski and snowboard
Polartec Big Air At Fenway is the first big air snowboarding and skiing competition that was held on February 11–12, 2016. This event was part of the U.S. Grand Prix Tour and the International Ski Federation's World Tour. Notable winter athletes that competed are Ty Walker, Sage Kotsenburg, and Joss Christensen. The big air jump was constructed to be about 140 ft tall, standing above the lights of the stadium.

Public address announcers
Frank Fallon was the first public address (PA) announcer for the Red Sox, and held the job from 1953 to 1957. Fred Cusick, better known for his career of announcing Boston Bruins hockey games, joined him in 1956 and also left after 1957. Jay McMaster took over in 1958, until his replacement by Sherm Feller in 1967. Feller served as the announcer for 26 years until his death after the 1993 season. He was known for beginning his games by welcoming the fans with "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Welcome to Fenway Park", and ending them by saying "Thank you." Leslie Sterling took the job for the 1994 season, becoming the second female PA announcer in the history of Major League Baseball. Ed Brickley took over in 1997, and was replaced by Carl Beane in 2003. Beane was regarded as an "iconic" announcer, and served until his death in 2012, which was caused by a heart attack suffered while driving. Fenway used a series of guest announcers to finish the 2012 season before hiring Henry Mahegan, Bob Lobel, and Dick Flavin for 2013. Flavin died after the 2022 season.

Retired numbers
There are eleven retired numbers above the right field grandstand. The numbers retired by the Red Sox are red on a white circle. Jackie Robinson's 42, which was retired by Major League Baseball, is blue on a white circle. The two are further delineated through the font difference; Boston numbers are in the same style as the Red Sox jerseys, while Robinson's number is in the more traditional "block" numbering found on the Dodgers jerseys.

The numbers originally hung on the right-field facade in the order in which they were retired: 9-4-1-8. Dan Shaughnessy pointed out that the numbers, when read as a date (9/4/18), marked the eve of the first game of the 1918 World Series, the last championship that the Red Sox won before 2004. After the facade was repainted, the numbers were rearranged in numerical order. The numbers remained in numerical order until the 2012 season, when the numbers were rearranged back into the order in which they were retired by the Red Sox.

The Red Sox policy on retiring uniform numbers was once one of the most stringent in baseball—the player had to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, play at least 10 years with the team, and retire as a member of the Red Sox. The final requirement was waived for Carlton Fisk as he had finished his playing career with the Chicago White Sox. However, Fisk was assigned a Red Sox front office job and effectively "finished" his baseball career with the Red Sox in this manner. In 2008, the ownership relaxed the requirements further with the retirement of Johnny Pesky's number 6. Pesky has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame, but in light of his over 50 years of service to the club, the management made an exception. Pesky would have had 10 seasons, but he was credited with the three seasons he served as an Operations Officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The most recent number retired was 34, worn by 2013 World Series Most Valuable Player David Ortiz.

Ground rules
It is a misconception among fans that a fly ball that gets stuck in the ladder above the scoreboard on the left field wall is ruled a ground rule triple. There is no mention of it in the Red Sox ground rules list.
 * A ball going through the scoreboard, either on the bounce or fly, is a ground rule double.
 * A fly ball striking left-center field wall to right of or on the line behind the flag pole is a home run.
 * A fly ball striking wall or flag pole and bouncing into bleachers is a home run.
 * A fly ball striking line or right of same on wall in center is a home run.
 * A fly ball striking wall left of line and bouncing into bullpen is a home run.
 * A ball sticking in the bullpen screen or bouncing into the bullpen is a ground rule double.
 * A batted or thrown ball remaining behind or under canvas or in tarp cylinder is a ground rule double.
 * A ball striking the top of the scoreboard in left field in the ladder below top of wall and bouncing out of the park is a ground rule double.
 * A fly ball that lands above the red line on top of the Green Monster and bounces onto the field of play is ruled a home run.
 * A fly ball that hits the rail in the right-center triangle is a home run.

Access and transportation

 * Fenway Park can be reached by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line subway's Kenmore station on the "B", "C" and "D" branches, as well as Fenway station on the "D" branch.
 * Lansdowne station is served by all MBTA Framingham/Worcester Line commuter rail trains. This line provides service from South Station or Back Bay and points west of Boston. In 2014, the new station was completed with full-length platforms, elevators, and access to Brookline Avenue and Beacon Street.
 * Another option is taking the Orange Line or commuter rail to Back Bay or Ruggles. The stations are a 30-minute walk to Fenway.
 * Although the Massachusetts Turnpike passes close to Fenway Park, there is no direct connection. Motorists are directed to use Storrow Drive to access the park.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Fenway Park


text:
Flatulence

Flatulence is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environmental air, and hence flatus is not entirely generated in the stomach or bowels. The scientific study of this area of medicine is termed flatology.

Flatus is brought to the rectum and pressurized by muscles in the intestines. It is normal to pass flatus ("to fart"), though volume and frequency vary greatly among individuals. It is also normal for intestinal gas to have a feculent or unpleasant odor, which may be intense. The noise commonly associated with flatulence is produced by the anus and buttocks, which act together in a manner similar to that of an embouchure. Both the sound and odor are sources of embarrassment, annoyance or amusement (flatulence humor). In many societies, flatus is a taboo. Thus, many people either let their flatus out quietly or even hold it completely. However, holding the gases inside is not healthy.

There are several general symptoms related to intestinal gas: pain, bloating and abdominal distension, excessive flatus volume, excessive flatus odor, and gas incontinence. Furthermore, eructation (colloquially known as "burping") is sometimes included under the topic of flatulence. When excessive or malodorous, flatus can be a sign of a health disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease or lactose intolerance.

Terminology
Non-medical definitions of the term include "the uncomfortable condition of having gas in the stomach and bowels", or "a state of excessive gas in the alimentary canal". These definitions highlight that many people consider "bloating", abdominal distension or increased volume of intestinal gas, to be synonymous with the term flatulence (although this is technically inaccurate).

Colloquially, flatulence may be referred to as "farting", "pumping", "trumping", "blowing off", "pooting", "passing gas", "breaking wind", "backfiring", or simply (in American English) "gas" or (British English) "wind". Derived terms include vaginal flatulence, otherwise known as a queef.

Signs and symptoms
Generally speaking, there are four different types of complaints that relate to intestinal gas, which may present individually or in combination.

Bloating and pain
Patients may complain of bloating as abdominal distension, discomfort and pain from "trapped wind". In the past, functional bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome that produced symptoms of bloating were attributed to increased production of intestinal gas.

However, three significant pieces of evidence refute this theory. First, in normal subjects, even very high rates of gas infusion into the small intestine (30mL/min) is tolerated without complaints of pain or bloating and harmlessly passed as flatus per rectum. Secondly, studies aiming to quantify the total volume of gas produced by patients with irritable bowel syndrome (some including gas emitted from the mouth by eructation) have consistently failed to demonstrate increased volumes compared to healthy subjects. The proportion of hydrogen produced may be increased in some patients with irritable bowel syndrome, but this does not affect the total volume. Thirdly, the volume of flatus produced by patients with irritable bowel syndrome who have pain and abdominal distension would be tolerated in normal subjects without any complaints of pain.

Patients who complain of bloating frequently can be shown to have objective increases in abdominal girth, often increased throughout the day and then resolving during sleep. The increase in girth combined with the fact that the total volume of flatus is not increased led to studies aiming to image the distribution of intestinal gas in patients with bloating. They found that gas was not distributed normally in these patients: there was segmental gas pooling and focal distension. In conclusion, abdominal distension, pain and bloating symptoms are the result of abnormal intestinal gas dynamics rather than increased flatus production.

Excessive volume
The range of volumes of flatus in normal individuals varies hugely (476–1,491 mL/24 h). All intestinal gas is either swallowed environmental air, present intrinsically in foods and beverages, or the result of gut fermentation.

Swallowing small amounts of air occurs while eating and drinking. This is emitted from the mouth by eructation (burping) and is normal. Excessive swallowing of environmental air is called aerophagia, and has been shown in a few case reports to be responsible for increased flatus volume. This is, however, considered a rare cause of increased flatus volume. Gases contained in food and beverages are likewise emitted largely through eructation, e.g., carbonated beverages.

Endogenously produced intestinal gases make up 74 percent of flatus in normal subjects. The volume of gas produced is partially dependent upon the composition of the intestinal microbiota, which is normally very resistant to change, but is also very different in different individuals. Some patients are predisposed to increased endogenous gas production by virtue of their gut microbiota composition. The greatest concentration of gut bacteria is in the colon, while the small intestine is normally nearly sterile. Fermentation occurs when unabsorbed food residues arrive in the colon.

Therefore, even more than the composition of the microbiota, diet is the primary factor that dictates the volume of flatus produced. Diets that aim to reduce the amount of undigested fermentable food residues arriving in the colon have been shown to significantly reduce the volume of flatus produced. Again, increased volume of intestinal gas will not cause bloating and pain in normal subjects. Abnormal intestinal gas dynamics will create pain, distension, and bloating, regardless of whether there is high or low total flatus volume.

Odor
Although flatus possesses an odor, this may be abnormally increased in some patients and cause social distress to the patient. Increased odor of flatus presents a distinct clinical issue from other complaints related to intestinal gas. Some patients may exhibit over-sensitivity to bad flatus odor, and in extreme forms, olfactory reference syndrome may be diagnosed. Recent informal research found a correlation between flatus odor and both loudness and humidity content.

Incontinence of flatus
"Gas incontinence" could be defined as loss of voluntary control over the passage of flatus. It is a recognised subtype of faecal incontinence, and is usually related to minor disruptions of the continence mechanisms. Some consider gas incontinence to be the first, sometimes only, symptom of faecal incontinence.

Cause
Intestinal gas is composed of varying quantities of exogenous sources and endogenous sources. The exogenous gases are swallowed (aerophagia) when eating or drinking or increased swallowing during times of excessive salivation (as might occur when nauseated or as the result of gastroesophageal reflux disease). The endogenous gases are produced either as a by-product of digesting certain types of food, or of incomplete digestion, as is the case during steatorrhea. Anything that causes food to be incompletely digested by the stomach or small intestine may cause flatulence when the material arrives in the large intestine, due to fermentation by yeast or prokaryotes normally or abnormally present in the gastrointestinal tract.

Flatulence-producing foods are typically high in certain polysaccharides, especially oligosaccharides such as inulin. Those foods include beans, lentils, dairy products, onions, garlic, spring onions, leeks, turnips, swedes, radishes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cashews, Jerusalem artichokes, oats, wheat, and yeast in breads. Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables that belong to the genus Brassica are commonly reputed to not only increase flatulence, but to increase the pungency of the flatus.

In beans, endogenous gases seem to arise from complex oligosaccharides (carbohydrates) that are particularly resistant to digestion by mammals, but are readily digestible by microorganisms (methane-producing archaea; Methanobrevibacter smithii) that inhabit the digestive tract. These oligosaccharides pass through the small intestine largely unchanged, and when they reach the large intestine, bacteria ferment them, producing copious amounts of flatus.

When excessive or malodorous, flatus can be a sign of a health disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity or lactose intolerance. It can also be caused by certain medicines, such as ibuprofen, laxatives, antifungal medicines or statins. Some infections, such as giardiasis, are also associated with flatulence.

Interest in the causes of flatulence was spurred by high-altitude flight and human spaceflight; the low atmospheric pressure, confined conditions, and stresses peculiar to those endeavours were cause for concern. In the field of mountaineering, the phenomenon of high altitude flatus expulsion was first recorded over two hundred years ago.

Production, composition, and odor
Flatus (intestinal gas) is mostly produced as a byproduct of bacterial fermentation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, especially the colon. There are reports of aerophagia (excessive air swallowing) causing excessive intestinal gas, but this is considered rare.

Over 99% of the volume of flatus is composed of odorless gases. These include oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. Nitrogen is not produced in the gut, but a component of environmental air. Patients who have excessive intestinal gas that is mostly composed of nitrogen have aerophagia. Hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane are all produced in the gut and contribute 74% of the volume of flatus in normal subjects. Methane and hydrogen are flammable, and so flatus can be ignited if it contains adequate amounts of these components.

Not all humans produce flatus that contains methane. For example, in one study of the faeces of nine adults, only five of the samples contained archaea capable of producing methane. The prevalence of methane over hydrogen in human flatus may correlate with obesity, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, as archaea that oxidise hydrogen into methane promote the metabolism's ability to absorb fatty acids from food.

The remaining trace (<1% volume) compounds contribute to the odor of flatus. Historically, compounds such as indole, skatole, ammonia and short chain fatty acids were thought to cause the odor of flatus. More recent evidence proves that the major contribution to the odor of flatus comes from a combination of volatile sulfur compounds. Hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan (also known as methanethiol), dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide are present in flatus. The benzopyrrole volatiles indole and skatole have an odor of mothballs, and therefore probably do not contribute greatly to the characteristic odor of flatus.

In one study, hydrogen sulfide concentration was shown to correlate convincingly with perceived bad odor of flatus, followed by methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide. This is supported by the fact that hydrogen sulfide may be the most abundant volatile sulfur compound present. These results were generated from subjects who were eating a diet high in pinto beans to stimulate flatus production.

Others report that methyl mercaptan was the greatest contributor to the odor of flatus in patients not under any specific dietary alterations. It has now been demonstrated that methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, and hydrogen sulfide (described as decomposing vegetables, unpleasantly sweet/wild radish and rotten eggs respectively) are all present in human flatus in concentrations above their smell perception thresholds.

It is recognized that increased dietary sulfur-containing amino acids significantly increases the odor of flatus. It is therefore likely that the odor of flatus is created by a combination of volatile sulfur compounds, with minimal contribution from non-sulfur volatiles. This odor can also be caused by the presence of large numbers of microflora bacteria or the presence of faeces in the rectum. Diets high in protein, especially sulfur-containing amino acids, have been demonstrated to significantly increase the odor of flatus.

Volume and intestinal gas dynamics
Normal flatus volume is 476 to 1491 mL per 24 hours. This variability between individuals is greatly dependent upon diet. Similarly, the number of flatus episodes per day is variable; the normal range is given as 8–20 per day. The volume of flatus associated with each flatulence event again varies (5–375 mL). The volume of the first flatulence upon waking in the morning is significantly larger than those during the day. This may be due to buildup of intestinal gas in the colon during sleep, the peak in peristaltic activity in the first few hours after waking or the strong prokinetic effect of rectal distension on the rate of transit of intestinal gas. It is now known that gas is moved along the gut independently of solids and liquids, and this transit is more efficient in the erect position compared to when supine. It is thought that large volumes of intestinal gas present low resistance, and can be propelled by subtle changes in gut tone, capacitance and proximal contraction and distal relaxation. This process is thought not to affect solid and liquid intra-lumenal contents.

Researchers investigating the role of sensory nerve endings in the anal canal did not find them to be essential for retaining fluids in the anus, and instead speculate that their role may be to distinguish between flatus and faeces, thereby helping detect a need to defecate or to signal the end of defecation.

The sound varies depending on the volume of gas, the size of the opening that the air is being pushed through, which is affected by the state of tension in the sphincter muscle, and the force or velocity of the gas being propelled, as well as other factors, such as whether the gas was caused by swallowed air. Among humans, flatulence occasionally happens accidentally, such as incidentally to coughing or sneezing or during orgasm; on other occasions, flatulence can be voluntarily elicited by tensing the rectum or "bearing down" on stomach or bowel muscles and subsequently relaxing the anal sphincter, resulting in the expulsion of flatus.

Management
Since problems involving intestinal gas present as different (but sometimes combined) complaints, the management is cause-related.

Pain and bloating
While not affecting the production of the gases themselves, surfactants (agents that lower surface tension) can reduce the disagreeable sensations associated with flatulence, by aiding the dissolution of the gases into liquid and solid faecal matter. Preparations containing simethicone reportedly operate by promoting the coalescence of smaller bubbles into larger ones more easily passed from the body, either by burping or flatulence. Such preparations do not decrease the total amount of gas generated in or passed from the colon, but make the bubbles larger and thereby allowing them to be passed more easily.

Other drugs including prokinetics, lubiprostone, antibiotics and probiotics are also used to treat bloating in patients with functional bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, and there is some evidence that these measures may reduce symptoms.

A flexible tube, inserted into the rectum, can be used to collect intestinal gas in a flatus bag. This method is occasionally needed in a hospital setting, when the patient is unable to pass gas normally.

Volume
One method of reducing the volume of flatus produced is dietary modification, reducing the amount of fermentable carbohydrates. This is the theory behind diets such as the low-FODMAP diet (a diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, alcohols, and polyols).

Most starches, including potatoes, corn, noodles, and wheat, produce gas as they are broken down in the large intestine. Intestinal gas can be reduced by fermenting the beans, and making them less gas-inducing, or by cooking them in the liquor from a previous batch. For example, the fermented bean product miso is less likely to produce as much intestinal gas. Some legumes also stand up to prolonged cooking, which can help break down the oligosaccharides into simple sugars. Fermentative lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum reduce flatulence in the human intestinal tract.

Probiotics (live yogurt, kefir, etc.) are reputed to reduce flatulence when used to restore balance to the normal intestinal flora. Live (bioactive) yogurt contains, among other lactic bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus, which may be useful in reducing flatulence. L. acidophilus may make the intestinal environment more acidic, supporting a natural balance of the fermentative processes. L. acidophilus is available in supplements. Prebiotics, which generally are non-digestible oligosaccharides, such as fructooligosaccharide, generally increase flatulence in a similar way as described for lactose intolerance.

Digestive enzyme supplements may significantly reduce the amount of flatulence caused by some components of foods not being digested by the body and thereby promoting the action of microbes in the small and large intestines. It has been suggested that alpha-galactosidase enzymes, which can digest certain complex sugars, are effective in reducing the volume and frequency of flatus. The enzymes alpha-galactosidase, lactase, amylase, lipase, protease, cellulase, glucoamylase, invertase, malt diastase, pectinase, and bromelain are available, either individually or in combination blends, in commercial products.

The antibiotic rifaximin, often used to treat diarrhea caused by the microorganism E. coli, may reduce both the production of intestinal gas and the frequency of flatus events.

Odor
Bismuth

The odor created by flatulence is commonly treated with bismuth subgallate, available under the name Devrom. Bismuth subgallate is commonly used by individuals who have had ostomy surgery, bariatric surgery, faecal incontinence and irritable bowel syndrome. Bismuth subsalicylate is a compound that binds hydrogen sulfide, and one study reported a dose of 524 mg four times a day for 3–7 days bismuth subsalicylate yielded a >95% reduction in faecal hydrogen sulfide release in both humans and rats. Another bismuth compound, bismuth subnitrate was also shown to bind to hydrogen sulfide. Another study showed that bismuth acted synergistically with various antibiotics to inhibit sulfate-reducing gut bacteria and sulfide production. Some authors proposed a theory that hydrogen sulfide was involved in the development of ulcerative colitis and that bismuth might be helpful in the management of this condition. However, bismuth administration in rats did not prevent them from developing ulcerative colitis despite reduced hydrogen sulfide production. Also, evidence suggests that colonic hydrogen sulfide is largely present in bound forms, probably sulfides of iron and other metals. Rarely, serious bismuth toxicity may occur with higher doses.

 Activated charcoal

Despite being an ancient treatment for various digestive complaints, activated charcoal did not produce reduction in both the total flatus volume nor the release of sulfur-containing gasses, and there was no reduction in abdominal symptoms (after 0.52g activated charcoal four times a day for one week). The authors suggested that saturation of charcoal binding sites during its passage through the gut was the reason for this. A further study concluded that activated charcoal (4g) does not influence gas formation in vitro or in vivo. Other authors reported that activated charcoal was effective. A study in 8 dogs concluded activated charcoal (unknown oral dose) reduced hydrogen sulfide levels by 71%. In combination with yucca schidigera, and zinc acetate, this was increased to an 86% reduction in hydrogen sulfide, although flatus volume and number was unchanged. An early study reported activated charcoal (unknown oral dose) prevented a large increase in the number of flatus events and increased breath hydrogen concentrations that normally occur following a gas-producing meal.

Garments and external devices

In 1998, Chester "Buck" Weimer of Pueblo, Colorado, received a patent for the first undergarment that contained a replaceable charcoal filter. The undergarments are air-tight and provide a pocketed escape hole in which a charcoal filter can be inserted. In 2001 Weimer received the Ig Nobel Prize for Biology for his invention.

A similar product was released in 2002, but rather than an entire undergarment, consumers are able to purchase an insert similar to a pantiliner that contains activated charcoal. The inventors, Myra and Brian Conant of Mililani, Hawaii, still claim on their website to have discovered the undergarment product in 2002 (four years after Chester Weimer filed for a patent for his product), but state that their tests "concluded" that they should release an insert instead.

Incontinence
Flatus incontinence where there is involuntary passage of gas, is a type of faecal incontinence, and is managed similarly.

Society and culture
In many cultures, flatulence in public is regarded as embarrassing, but, depending on context, may also be considered humorous. People will often strain to hold in the passing of gas when in polite company, or position themselves to silence or conceal the passing of gas. In other cultures, it may be no more embarrassing than coughing.

While the act of passing flatus in some cultures is generally considered to be an unfortunate occurrence in public settings, flatulence may, in casual circumstances and especially among children, be used as either a humorous supplement to a joke ("pull my finger"), or as a comic activity in and of itself. The social acceptability of flatulence-based humour in entertainment and the mass media varies over the course of time and between cultures. A sufficient number of entertainers have performed using their flatus to lead to the coining of the term flatulist. The whoopee cushion is a joking device invented in the early 20th century for simulating a fart. In 2008, a farting application for the iPhone earned nearly $10,000 in one day.

A farting game named Touch Wood was documented by John Gregory Bourke in the 1890s. It existed under the name of Safety in the 20th century in the U.S., and has been found being played in 2011.

In January 2011, the Malawi Minister of Justice, George Chaponda, said that Air Fouling Legislation would make public "farting" illegal in his country. When reporting the story, the media satirised Chaponda's statement with punning headlines. Later, the minister withdrew his statement. Eproctophilla is the fetish of flatulence.

Environmental impact

Flatulence is often blamed as a significant source of greenhouse gases, owing to the erroneous belief that the methane released by livestock is in the flatus. While livestock account for around 20% of global methane emissions, 90–95% of that is released by exhaling or burping. In cows, gas and burps are produced by methane-generating microbes called methanogens, that live inside the cow's digestive system. Proposals for reducing methane production in cows include the feeding of supplements such as oregano and seaweed, and the genetic engineering of gut biome microbes to produce less methane.

Since New Zealand produces large amounts of agricultural products, it is in the unique position of having high methane emissions from livestock compared to other greenhouse gas sources. The New Zealand government is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and therefore attempts are being made to reduce greenhouse emissions. To achieve this, an agricultural emissions research levy was proposed, which promptly became known as a "fart tax" or "flatulence tax". It encountered opposition from farmers, farming lobby groups and opposition politicians.

Entertainment
Historical comment on the ability to fart at will is observed as early as Saint Augustine's The City of God (5th century A.D.). Augustine mentions "people who produce at will without any stench such rhythmical sounds from their fundament that they appear to be making music even from that quarter." Intentional passing of gas and its use as entertainment for others appear to have been somewhat well known in pre-modern Europe, according to mentions of it in medieval and later literature, including Rabelais.

Le Pétomane ("the Fartomaniac") was a famous French performer in the 19th century who, as well as many professional farters before him, did flatulence impressions and held shows. The performer Mr. Methane carries on le Pétomane's tradition today. Also, a 2002 fiction film Thunderpants revolves around a boy named Patrick Smash who has an ongoing flatulence problem from the time of his birth.

Since the 1970s, farting has increasingly been featured in film, especially comedies such as Blazing Saddles and Scooby-Doo.

Religion
In Islam, flatulence, if audible or odorous, invalidates wudu (ablution or ritual purity), if the person who passed gas suffers from OCD about passing wind. However, in normal cases, flatulence, even if inaudible and odorless, nullifies ritual ablution if the person is certain that he or she had passed gas.

Personal experiences
People find other peoples' flatus unpleasant, but are unfazed by, and may even enjoy, the scent of their own. While there has been little research carried out upon the subject, some speculative guesses have been made as to why this might be so. For example, one explanation for this phenomenon is that people are very familiar with the scent of their own flatus, and that survival in nature may depend on the detection of and reaction to foreign scents.

General and cited references

 * Allen, V. (2007). On Farting: Language and Laughter in the Middle Ages. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-312-23493-5.
 * Persels, J., & Ganim, R. (2004). Fecal Matters in Early Modern Literature and Art: Studies in Scatology. (Chap. 1: "The Honorable Art of Farting in Continental Renaissance"). ISBN 0-7546-4116-3.
 * Persels, J., & Ganim, R. (2004). Fecal Matters in Early Modern Literature and Art: Studies in Scatology. (Chap. 1: "The Honorable Art of Farting in Continental Renaissance"). ISBN 0-7546-4116-3.
 * Persels, J., & Ganim, R. (2004). Fecal Matters in Early Modern Literature and Art: Studies in Scatology. (Chap. 1: "The Honorable Art of Farting in Continental Renaissance"). ISBN 0-7546-4116-3.
 * Persels, J., & Ganim, R. (2004). Fecal Matters in Early Modern Literature and Art: Studies in Scatology. (Chap. 1: "The Honorable Art of Farting in Continental Renaissance"). ISBN 0-7546-4116-3.
 * Persels, J., & Ganim, R. (2004). Fecal Matters in Early Modern Literature and Art: Studies in Scatology. (Chap. 1: "The Honorable Art of Farting in Continental Renaissance"). ISBN 0-7546-4116-3.

title: Flatulence


text:
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a 2001 adult animated science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy franchise. It was the first photorealistic computer-animated feature film and the most expensive video game-inspired film until the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2010. The film stars the voices of Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Ving Rhames, Peri Gilpin, and Steve Buscemi, and follows scientists Aki Ross and Doctor Sid in their efforts to free a post-apocalyptic Earth from the Phantoms, a mysterious, deadly alien race who has driven the remnants of humanity into "barrier cities". Aki and Sid must fight against General Hein, who wants to use more violent means to end the conflict.

Square Pictures rendered the film using some of the most advanced processing capabilities available at the time. A render farm of 960 workstations was tasked with rendering each of the film's 141,964 frames. It took a staff of 200 about four years to complete The Spirits Within. Square intended to make the character of Aki Ross into the world's first photorealistic computer-animated actress, with plans for appearances in multiple films in different roles.

The Spirits Within premiered in Los Angeles on July 2, 2001, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 11. It received mixed reviews, but was widely praised for its characters' realism. Due to rising costs, the film greatly exceeded its original budget toward the end of production, reaching a final cost of $137 million (equivalent to $ million in ); it grossed only $85.1 million at the box office. The film has been called a box-office bomb and is blamed for the demise of Square Pictures.

Plot
In 2065, Earth is infested by alien life forms known as Phantoms. By physical contact Phantoms consume the Gaia spirit of living beings, killing them instantly, although minor contact may only result in an infection. The surviving humans live in "barrier cities" protected by energy shields that prevent Phantoms from entering, and are engaged in an ongoing struggle to free the planet. After being infected by a Phantom during one of her experiments, scientist Dr. Aki Ross (Ming-Na Wen) and her mentor, Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland), discover a means of defeating the Phantoms by gathering eight spirits: unique energy patterns contained by various lifeforms. When joined, the resulting energy wave can negate the Phantoms. Aki searches for the sixth spirit in the ruins of New York City when she is cornered by Phantoms but rescued by Captain Gray Edwards (Alec Baldwin) and his squad Deep Eyes, consisting of Master Sergeant Ryan Whittaker (Ving Rhames), Neil Fleming (Steve Buscemi) and Corporal Jane Proudfoot (Peri Gilpin). It is revealed that Gray was once romantically involved with Aki.

Returning to her barrier city, Aki joins Sid and appears before the leadership council along with General Douglas Hein (James Woods). Hein is determined to use the Zeus cannon, a powerful weapon aboard a space station, to destroy the Phantoms, though Sid is concerned the cannon will damage Earth's Gaia (a spirit representing its ecosystem). Aki delays the use of the cannon by revealing that she has been infected and the collected spirits are keeping her infection stable, convincing the council that there may be another way to defeat the Phantoms. However, this revelation leads Hein to incorrectly conclude that she is being controlled by the Phantoms. Aki and the Deep Eyes squad succeed in finding the seventh spirit as Aki's infection begins to worsen and she slips into unconsciousness. Her dream reveals to her that the Phantoms are the spirits of dead aliens brought to Earth on a fragment of their destroyed planet. Sid uses the seventh spirit to bring Aki's infection back under control, reviving her.

To scare the council into giving him clearance to fire the Zeus cannon, Hein lowers part of the barrier shield protecting the city. Though Hein intended that only a few Phantoms enter, his plan goes awry and legions of Phantoms invade the entire city. Aki, Sid and the Deep Eyes attempt to reach Aki's spaceship, their means of escape, but Ryan, Neil and Jane are killed by Phantoms. Hein escapes and boards the Zeus cannon's space station, where he finally receives authorization to fire the cannon.

Sid finds the eighth spirit at the crater site of the alien asteroid's impact on Earth at the Caspian Mountains. He lowers a shielded vehicle, with Aki and Gray aboard, into the crater to locate the final spirit. Just before they can reach it, Hein fires the Zeus cannon into the crater, not only destroying the eighth spirit but also revealing the Phantom Gaia. Aki has a vision of the Phantom home planet, where she is able to receive the eighth spirit from the alien particles in herself. When Aki awakens, she and Gray combine it with the other seven. Hein continues to fire the Zeus cannon despite overheating warnings and unintentionally destroys the cannon and himself. Gray sacrifices himself as a medium needed to physically transmit the completed spirit into the alien Gaia. The Earth's Gaia is returned to normal as the Phantoms ascend into space, finally at peace. Aki is pulled from the crater holding Gray's body, and is seen looking into the newly liberated world.

Development
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was filmed entirely in English. The original script, written by Sakaguchi, was titled Gaia. The screenplay was later rewritten by Al Reinert and Jeff Vintar. The film was co-directed by Motonori Sakakibara, with Jun Aida and Chris Lee both serving as producers. Lee even compared The Spirits Within, the first full-length photorealistic animated film, to Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length cel animated film. In order to keep the film in line with Hironobu Sakaguchi's vision as director, several script rewrites took place, most in the initial stages of production. By April 2000, Square was partnering with Columbia Pictures to produce the film, making it the first animated feature Columbia had worked on since Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation in 1986. Columbia was given the rights to distribute the film worldwide, with the exception of Asia.

The Spirits Within was completed over a period of four-years, during which approximately 200 people put in a combined 120 years of work on it. The first 18 months of development were spent creating the in-house software SQFlesh, which plugged into the programs Autodesk Maya and RenderMan. The majority of the rest of production was spent on animation. Square accumulated four SGI Origin 2000 series servers, four Onyx2 systems, and 167 Octane workstations for the film's production. The basic film was rendered at a custom render farm created by Square in Hawaii. It housed 960 Pentium III-933 MHz workstations. Character movements were filmed using motion capture technology. Animator Matthew Hackett stated that while motion capture was effective for many of the scenes, in others animators still had to add movements manually. Hand and facial movements were all done manually. Some of General Hein's facial features and poses were based on Hackett. As animators did not want to use any actual photographs in the film, all backgrounds were done using matte paintings. 1,327 scenes in total needed to be filmed to animate the digital characters. The film consists of 141,964 frames, with each frame taking an average of 90 minutes to render. By the end of production Square had a total of 15 terabytes of artwork for the film.

Aki Ross's voice actor, Ming-Na Wen, was selected for a perceived fit between her personality and Aki's. Ming-Na, who found the role via her publicist, said she felt like she had given birth with her voice to the character. She gradually accustomed herself to the difficulty of working without the presence and spontaneity of real actors, and commented that the voice-acting work did not take much time, as she would just go into the studio "once or twice a month for about four months" with no need for make-up and costuming sessions. The workload was so light it did not interfere with her acting commitments in the television series ER.

Sakaguchi said that he was pleased with the film's final cut, and he would not have changed anything if given the chance. The film had high cost overruns towards the end of filming. New funds had to be sourced to cover the increasing production costs while maintaining staff salaries. The film's final cost of $137 million, which included about $30 million spent on marketing by Columbia Pictures, escalated from an original budget rumored to be around $70 million. $45 million alone was spent on the construction of Square's studio in Hawaii.

Themes
Director Sakaguchi named the main character after his mother, Aki, who died in an accident several years prior to the production of the film. Her death led Sakaguchi to reflect on what happened to the spirit after death, and these thoughts resurfaced while he was planning the film, eventually taking the form of the Gaia hypothesis. He later explained that the theme he wanted to convey was "more of a complex idea of life and death and spirit", believing that the best way to portray this would be to set the film on Earth. By comparison, Final Fantasy video games are set in fictional worlds. Dan Mayers from Sight & Sound said that the film followed the same theme typically found in Final Fantasy video games: "A party of heroes averts impending global holocaust by drawing on their individual skills, gaining knowledge through challenges and emerging victorious with new-found love and respect for themselves and their companions". Writing in the book Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams, Livia Monnet wrote the film remediated "the notion of life in the neovitalistic, evolutionary biology of Lynn Margulis and in contemporary theories on artificial life", going on to state that the film's exploration of the Gaia hypothesis raised interesting questions regarding the life and death process of both cinema and digital media, as well as contemporary life sciences, cybernetics, philosophy and science fiction. The concept of artificial life and resurrection was also discussed, and compared to similar themes in the 1914 book Locus Solus; the Phantoms in The Spirits Within were considered to be brought to life by various forces: by the alien planet's red Gaia and then by human spiritual energy.

Character design

Each character's base body model was built from more than 100,000 polygons, plus more than 300,000 for clothing alone. Aki's character model bears 60,000 hairs, each of which were separately and fully animated and rendered. In creating the characters, designers had to transition between using PowerAnimator, Autodesk Maya and RenderMan.

Aki's appearance was conceived by the lead animator of the project, Roy Sato, who created several conceptual designs for Sakaguchi to consider, and then used the selected design as a guide for her character model. Sato perceived Aki's original look as a "supermodel", and subsequently removed her make-up and shortened her hair in order to give her a more intelligent look that would "convince people that she's a scientist". In an interview, Sato described actively trying to make her appear as realistic as possible, making her similar to himself in as many ways as he could in the animation, including elements of his personality through facial expressions. He concluded that Aki ended up being similar to him in almost every way, with the exception that "she's a lot cuter". The model for Aki was designed to closely follow human appearance, with Sakaguchi commenting in an interview: "I think it's OK to look at Aki and be convinced that she's a human".

While Square ruled out any chance of a sequel to The Spirits Within before it was even completed, Sakaguchi intended to position Aki as being the "main star" for Square Pictures, using her in later games and films by Square, and including the flexibility of being able to modify aspects such as her age for such appearances. Ming-Na said that she would be willing if asked to continue voicing Aki. Aki only made one appearance outside of the film; in 2002 she appeared in a demonstration video that Square Pictures made to present to The Wachowskis before developing Final Flight of the Osiris for The Animatrix. The short film, appearing in the DVD's bonus content and featuring her with a slightly modified design, shows her acrobatically dueling a robot from the Matrix setting. Shortly afterwards, Square Pictures was closed and absorbed into Square, which ceased using the character.

Music and soundtrack
The soundtrack to the film was released on July 3, 2001 by Sony Music. Elliot Goldenthal composed the entire score, as well as the film's theme song, "The Dream Within", which had lyrics written by Richard Rudolf and vocals performed by Lara Fabian. Director Hironobu Sakaguchi opted for the acclaimed Goldenthal instead of Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of the Final Fantasy games' soundtracks, a decision met with mixed opinions as the former was completely unknown to many of the games' fans. The last song on the album and the second and final song to play during the film's credits (after "The Dream Within") is "Spirit Dreams Inside" by Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel.

The film's score was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with Belgian composer Dirk Brossé conducting. It was recorded in the United Kingdom at the Watford Coloseum and the London AIR Lyndhurst Hall and was mixed at the Manhattan Center Studios in the United States. In the liner notes to the album, Goldenthal describes the soundtrack as combining orchestration techniques associated with the late 20th-century Polish avant-garde, as well as his experiments from Alien 3, and 19th-century Straussian brass and string instrumentation. In the film's 'Making of' featurette, Goldenthal states he used "ghostly choral" music when the Phantoms are emerging, in an attempt to give a celestial feeling, and focused on low brass clusters and taiko drum rhythms for violent scenes. When Aki talks about a dying girl, Goldenthal used a piano in order to give a domestic home-like feeling to a completely foreign environment, also choosing to use a flute each time Aki focusses on Gaia, as he believed it to be the most "human kind of instrument".

The album was met with positive reviews. Neil Shurley from AllMusic, who gave the album 4 out of 5, opined the album would probably have been nominated for an Oscar if the film itself had been more popular, as did the reviewer from Soundtrack Express, who gave the soundtrack 5 out of 5. Christopher Coleman from Tracksounds gave the soundtrack 10 out of 10, saying the feel of the album was "expansive and majestic" and that the score elevated the viewing experience of the film. A review from Filmtracks gave the album 4 out of 5, calling it "an easy album to recommend". Dan Goldwasser from Soundtrack.net also gave the soundtrack 4 out of 5, calling it a "must have".

The album peaked at No. 19 on Billboard's Top Soundtracks list and No. 193 on the Billboard 200 on July 28, 2001. The track "The Dream Within" was nominated for "Best Original Song Written for a Film" at the 2002 World Soundtrack Awards, but lost to "If I Didn't Have You" which was composed for Monsters, Inc..

Box office
Before the film's release, there was already skepticism of its potential to be financially successful. Chris Taylor from Time magazine noted that video game adaptations had a poor track record at the box office and that it was Sakaguchi's first feature film. The film debuted on July 2, 2001 at the Mann Bruins Theater in Los Angeles, California, and was released in the United States on July 11, where it made $11.4 million during its opening weekend, ranking in fourth place behind Legally Blonde, The Score and Cats & Dogs. The film would end up making $32 million in North America and selling 5,961,378 tickets in the United States. The film grossed $85 million in worldwide box office receipts, including ¥1 billion in Japan. 1,456,523 tickets were sold in France, 4,299,604 tickets in other European countries and 446,728 tickets in Brazil. The film achieved average to poor results at the box office in most of Southeast Asia; however, it performed well in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea; 160,100 tickets were sold in Seoul City.

In 2006, Boston.com regarded it as the 4th biggest box office bomb, estimating the film's losses at the end of its cinema run at over $94 million. In March 2012, CNBC considered it to be the 9th biggest box office bomb.

Critical reception
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within holds an approval rating of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 144 reviews, with an average rating of 5.30/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The movie raises the bar for computer animated movies, but the story is dull and emotionally removed". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gives the film a score of 49 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore on opening night gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times was a strong advocate of the film; he gave it 3½ stars out of four, praising it as a "technical milestone". While having some minor criticism of the plot, he concluded the reason to see the film was "simply, gloriously, to look at it", especially praising the realism in Aki's face. He also expressed a desire for the film to succeed in hopes of seeing others made in its image, though he was skeptical of its ability to be accepted. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian echoed concerns about the plot, describing it as "adequate" though also stating it quickly slipped into cliche. He also had high praise for the animation in general, though lamented that the character's faces did not look quite real enough.

Writing in a 2007 article about the uncanny valley, John Mangan from The Age cited character's eyes in the film as an example of this phenomenon, where attempts to create realistic humans unintentionally cause revulsion; Peter Travers from Rolling Stone said that it was enjoyable watching the characters at first, "but then you notice a coldness in the eyes, a mechanical quality in the movements". Nell Minow from Common Sense Media also expressed concerns about realism in the characters, describing the visuals as stunning overall but finding subtle issues with characters talking and acting. Describing the dialogue as "passable", Nell also said the script read like a reject from Pokémon, and that its "confusing gibberish about the earth's spirit [would] not do justice to the beliefs of environmentalists or pantheists". Todd McCarthy from Variety gave a positive review, praising the voice work and visuals though saying the characters were no more emotionally expressive than those in traditional animation. McCarthy described the acting as "no worse" than the majority of science-fiction films, also saying that as far as video game adaptation films went, The Spirits Within "sure beats Lara Croft: Tomb Raider".

Reception of Aki Ross
Aki's appearance was received positively by critics, with praise for the finer details of the character model such as the rendering of her hair. Entertainment Weekly named Aki an "it girl", stating that "calling this action heroine a cartoon would be like calling a Rembrandt a doodle". Ruth La Ferla from The New York Times described her as having the "sinewy efficiency" of Alien franchise character Ellen Ripley and visual appeal of Julia Roberts' portrayal of Erin Brockovich. The book Digital Shock: Confronting the New Reality by Herve Fischer described her as a virtual actress having a "beauty that is 'really' impressive", comparing her to video game character Lara Croft. In contrast, Livia Monnet criticized her character as an example of the constantly kidnapped female in Japanese cinema, further "diluted" by her existence solely as a computer-generated character representing "an ideal, cinematic female character that has no real referent".

Writing in the book Action and Adventure Cinema, Marc O'Day described her as among the "least overtly eroticised" female characters in science fiction, though stated that Aki was "transformed in a variety of poses into an erotic fantasy machine" in a bikini photo shoot that was included on the DVD's special features. She appeared dressed in the bikini on the cover of Maxim, and was ranked by the magazine and its readers as one of the sexiest women of 2001, placing at No. 87 out of 100 and becoming the first fictional woman to ever make the list. The same image of her appeared in the "Babes: The Girls of Sci Fi" special issue of SFX.

Legacy and related media
The merger between Square and Enix, which had been under consideration since at least 2000 according to Yasuhiro Fukushima, Enix chairman at the time, was delayed because of the failure of the film and Enix's hesitation at merging with a company that had just lost a substantial amount of money. Square Pictures was closed in late January 2002, largely due to the commercial failure of The Spirits Within.

The film's CGI effects have been compared favourably with those in later films, such as Avatar (2009). In 2011, BioWare art director Derek Watts cited The Spirits Within as a major influence on the successful Mass Effect series of action role-playing games. In the first episode of the Square Enix-published 2015 video game Life Is Strange, when the lead character interacts with a TV, she mentions the idea of watching the film, and says "I don't care what anybody says, that's one of the best sci-fi films ever made".

Although the film was loosely based on a video game series, there were never any plans for a game adaptation of the film itself. Sakaguchi indicated the reason for this was the lack of powerful gaming hardware at the time, feeling the graphics in any game adaptation would be far too much of a step down from the graphics in the film itself. A novelization was written by Dean Wesley Smith and published by Pocket Books in June 2001. The Making of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, a companion book, was published by BradyGames in August 2001. Edited by Steven L. Kent, the 240-page color book contains a foreword by director Sakaguchi and extensive information on all aspects of the film's creation, including concept art, storyboards, sets and props, layout, motion capture and animation, as well as a draft of the full script.

Accolades
The film won the "Jury Prize" at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival. It was nominated for "Best Sound Editing – Animated Feature Film, Domestic and Foreign" at the 49th Golden Reel Awards as well as "Best Animated Feature" at the 5th Online Film Critics Society awards. Conversely, the film was also nominated in the worst screenplay category at the 2001 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, but lost to Pearl Harbor. The film's trailer was nominated for the "Golden Fleece" award at the 3rd Golden Trailer Awards.

Home media
A two-disc DVD version of the film was released on October 23, 2001, with the Blu-ray edition released on August 7, 2007. Two weeks before it was released the DVD version was listed on Amazon.com as one of the most-anticipated releases, and it was expected to recoup some of the money lost on the film's disappointing box office performance. The DVD was initially a top seller; in February 2002, Jun Aida said that while sales were still strong, they were not good enough to save Square Pictures from closing. Both versions contained two full-length commentary tracks (one featuring Motonori Sakakibara, sequence supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida, lead artist Tatsuro Maruyama, and creature supervisor Takoo Noguchi; the second featuring animation director Andy Jones, editor Chris S. Capp, and staging director Tani Kunitake) as well as an isolated score with commentary. They also contained a version of the film in its basic CGI and sketch form, with the option of pop-up comments on the film. An easter egg shows the cast of the film re-enacting the dance from Michael Jackson's Thriller. Fifteen featurettes, including seven on character biographies, three on vehicle comparisons and an interactive "Making Of" featurette, were also included. Other features included Aki's dream viewable as a whole sequence, the film's original opening sequence, and intentional outtakes. Peter Bracke from High-Def Digest stated the DVD was "so packed with extras it was almost overwhelming", stating that Sony went "all-out" on the extra features in a likely attempt to boost DVD sales and recover losses. A single-disc edition of the film with significantly less special features was released on August 27, 2002.

As of December 2001, the film grossed US$26.6 million in video rental revenue in the United States, equivalent to 83.4% of its box office gross in the country. The DVD was nominated for "Best DVD Special Edition Release" at the 28th Saturn Awards. Aaron Beierle from DVD Talk gave a positive review of the DVD, rating it 4½ out of 5 stars for audio quality, video quality and special features. Dustin Somner from Blu-ray.com gave the Blu-ray version 5 out of 5 stars for video quality and special features, and 4½ stars for audio quality. Peter Bracke gave the Blu-ray version 4 out of 5 stars overall. The film was released in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in November 2021, with improved audio to Dolby Atmos/TrueHD 7.1 channel format.

Sony made the film available for free on the YouTube channel Throwback Toons on December 5, 2023.

title: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within