text:
Talk:Knot

Requests
Hi, can someone enlighten me as to the origin of the phrase "an intentional complication in cordage", as a definition of what a knot is? Was this written by a Wikipedia editor, or this page especially? Or was it taken from some pre-existing work about knots? The phrase is all over the internet, in a way that suggests everyone has just copied the Wikipedia page. But I'd love to be able to name the originator of this phrase/attribute it correctly. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.208.254.208 (talk) 16:23, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

Line-Editing

(This request is about language, not content.) Starting on several rounds of line edits to bring up the syntax to professional standards. If anyone else with an eye for dangling modifiers and redundancies would like to join, polishing this beautiful article should be a party! Knotfully yours, Knotaholic (October 12, 2009). —Preceding undated comment added 18:15, 12 October 2009 (UTC).

Jamming definition

Can someone explain in the article what jamming and non-jamming mean? As in the Alpine butterfly knot is a non-jamming loop on the bight. --Audiovideo 02:46, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I am in the process of writing a new section tentatively entitled "Knot Properties" which will encompass how knots behave after they're tied -- it will include a discussion of security, capsizing, jamming, releasing, etc. -- Dfred 18:55, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Knot Strength Citations Most of the hard information in the Knot Strength section I recently added comes from The History and Science of Knots for which I added a ref at the bottom of the article. Specifically it comes from Chapter 10, "Studies on the Behaviour of Knots" written by Charles Warner. I'm pretty new to Wikipedia, so if someone more experienced could suggest (or implement :) a reasonable citation method to use here I'd appreciate it. TNX -- Dfred 20:20, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Something is wrong with >>List of loop knots When klicking on >>List Of loop knots< >knot<< page, the knot page is displayed again. The >>List of loop knots<< cannot be reached. Can anybody fix this? (Sorry, I was not able to fix it.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hild (talk • contribs) 18:19, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

General
I noticed no reference whatsoever to the use of the word "knot" to mean a large wad of bills, generally kept in most urban street entrepeneur's front pant pocket. The wad of bills from a side view resembles layered fibers of an actual rope, while creating an impenetrable dense mass.

Are you spelunking?, having foolishly but voluntarily buried yourself pre-maturely under millions of tons of rock?

Whilst I doubt this has a place in a serious encyclopedia, it kept me amused...

I felt that the basic terms like "bight" were better included in the main entry, so I killed my brand new bight article and stuck it and a few other definitions (wiki not dictionary) in a bulleted list.

I started to do the same to the categories of knots, but backed off when I looked at loop. I still think these terms would be better defined within the main entry. Hearing no objections, I'll probably continue to make these changes, taking care not to make a mess.

Also, how about some sub-categories in that looooong list of knot names? Ortolan88 June 02

Just figured out how 'Talk' works. I am pleased to have the above observations either anonymous or from you Ortolan88.

I am very new to this endeavor and I am still learning the Wiki editing, such as how to embed my handle Satsun, thanks Ortolan88.

like "bight" ... I agree and hope the picture assists. We can keep a brief inline definition and add a link to a more replete link later.

The second observation is right on the mark. I would like to see the categories turned to links and therein will be sub-lists of knots that fall into those categories. Many knots, of course, will appear in multiple lists.

I feel that a comphrensive master list of knots needs to exist for our users. I am hoping to provide a standard look to the pictures. Later adding articles/pictures showing intermediate steps to tying each knot.

A useful list of reference materials is need: Ashley's Book of Knots... A short list of the most practical knots all should know: overhand, figure eight, bowline, constrictor...

Its knot to late to add more good ideas. Satsun, 18 JUNE 2002 Good luck to the person/persons who have taken it upon themselves to complete this part of the pedia. richhill

Hey, Satsun, I like moving the full list of knots out of the article, but how about a short list of knots for the main article, "the eight great knots everyone should know how to tie" or something like that, overhand, square knot (and its buddy the shoe-tying bow), sheet bend, two half-hitches, bowline, figure-of-eight (I knew you knew what you were doing when you didn't call it "figure-eight"), etc. Ortolan88

I have one problem with that. The 'should' in the title seems a bit too prescriptive for an encyclopedia, in my opinion. But that's nothing that can't be solved with a bit of rewording. -- Ellmist

Eight great knots. I don't know that anyone would really get upset by a "should", but ...Ortolan88

hi, Ortolan88/Ellmist, Please go ahead and add your list. A comment and link to the fellow that has the speed record for tying the the "Scout" knots would also be interesting. Satsun, Sunday, July 14, 2002

Hi Satsun. I modified your template a little bit to start with a sentence explaining that the entry is a type of knot. I had to read halfway down the Sheepshank page before I realized it was talking about a knot. -- Nate

This article really needs to be split, with a knot disambiguation at the top. Egil 09:04 Feb 3, 2003 (UTC)

You might try to move the top 7 or so knot properties into a table, and leave the main section for history, descriptions, tying tips, proper usage, etc. I do not like the header format - the headers are too large for such small bits of information. Also, the grey and black illustrations are very clear and easy to read. The unprofessional pictures of tightened knots i.e Trucker's_hitch can be somewhat unclear (my apologies to the photographer - those who can't do, whine & complain), although the properly lit shots i.e Figure-of-eight knot can be both attractive and informative.

bowline links to slip knot as part of directions on how to tie it "lighting fast". Unfortunately, this redirects to knot, which doesn't seem to have directions on how to tie a slip knot. *sigh* --Johnleemk 10:37, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

This article is accompanied by a beautiful picture of several knots, conveniently numbered, and I have no idea what any of them are (and since I'm moving, and haven't yet unpacked from moving here, I couldn't tell you where I've put Clifford Ashley). ♥ «Charles A. L.» 01:04, Apr 30, 2004 (UTC)

 * 2) I updated the caption. number 4 still has me stuck but it sure does look like a 'rosebud' stopper. TheHungryTiger 22:51, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)

To Ortolan88 .. Dear Sir i think that your idea of eight knots or bends and hitches ,that every one should know is great,but please put in the safe ones, not ones like the blackwall hitch or midshipmans hitch,that will slip if there is any oil on or in the rope,allso, the easy ones,that you can tie in a force eight gale,on a black wet night, Regards Ratty876 ...

Knots, Splices and Rope Work on Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg recently posted Knots, Splices and Rope Work, by A. Hyatt Verrill which has many illustrations which could be used for the knot pages. -- Jim Regan 19:17, 22 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I reorganized this discussion in an attempt to make it more readable. Hopefully I have not distorted any of the comments, etc.--my sincere apologies if I have. BoomHitch 03:20, Mar 22, 2005 (UTC)

Caption to the picture identifies knot 1 as a splice which is incorrect - this is a specialist knot used to join marline for serving when a bulky knot is not desired - it is called a marline bend or a 'rope yarn knot' ABoK #2688. In the book it is published in, it is called a garnknop - Swedish translation is 'yarnknot' DerekSmith (talk) 09:50, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Formatting for subtopics
Knot name is a type of knot.

Canonical Name:. Variant Name(s): None. [completed picture] Category: bend.binding.coil.decorative.hitch.lashing.loop on the end.loop on the bight.noose.plaits.stopper.seizing,sennit.whipping. Origin: Ancient.Modern.Old.Unknown. Related knots: to other knots Releasing: Jamming. Non-jamming. Efficiency: Unknown%.60%. Caveat: None.spills.slips.secure if wet.not secure if wet.Low efficiency.Difficult to tie. Uses: Forming other knots, Boating, Fishing, Climbing, Caving, Securing objects, Securing to objects. Comments:  Structure: ex. Figure-of-eight knot Tying: article/pictures

Proposal: Template

Other wikipedia pages use some type of template for information which is laid-out in the same way across many articles, leaving the page itself freeform for writing about that specific item.

Wiki guidelines on information boxes has a few examples

Howabout something like that for knots? Ojw 19:11, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * I like it. Thanks for the work. It can always be modified for aesthetics later (that's the beauty of templates--no pun intended) (I would prefer a different color for the top line, perhaps some color added to the knot picture (sorry, I must be asleep)). BoomHitch 07:41, Mar 23, 2005 (UTC)

 * Would anyone be intereted in reviving WikiProject Knots? Samw 03:40, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Knots are really hurting for an infobox. I'm mildly interested in reviving the project, but I don't see it as anything more than a standards committee. --Smack (talk) 19:48, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

 * For lack of comment, I think I'm going to start converting knot articles to the infobox format. --Smack (talk) 04:55, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm fairly new to Wikipedia, but have spent many years playing with and studying knots -- and there really is no such thing as a true "Canonical Name" for every knot — even just in English — let alone in worldwide usage. Some knots like the bowline are very close to canonical, but for most there are at least two or three in common usage (and sometimes conflicting usage) throughout the English speaking world.  Really the closest anyone has to canonical identification for knots are the Ashley reference numbers.  They are what are used in scholaraly works on knots to unabiguously idenitfy them.  I'm not suggesting they be at the top in place of the Name or anything, but I believe there should be a field in the infobox for them.  And often multiple Ashley numbers will cover the same knot for different uses, so the field description should be "Ashley Numbers" rather than the singluar.  And, also, I just added a section on knot strength detailing some of the pitfalls of assigning specific values to knot efficiency.  Clearly some knots are better than other and I would propose that a coarse rating scheme be used like good/average/poor rather than putting specific numbers in for efficiency.  Just my initial thoughts.  Since I do have a reasonable amount of knowledge on the subject I've decided to be bold in my editing.  If anybody thinks it's out of hand, just let me know.  :)  --Dfred 22:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Your edits have been fine. And in case you didn't notice, the post about an infobox effort was several months ago, so I wouldn't hold your breath at this point. ;^) wrp103 (Bill Pringle) 13:28, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

 * I rewrote about a score of knot articles to the infobox format, but then I realized that the infobox has serious problems, so I stopped. However, I think that I can address Dfred's confusion about the "efficiency": I believe that it measures how much the knot degrades the rope's strength.  Thus, if you use a 100-lb-test line to tie a knot with an efficiency of 60%, you should expect the line to break at 60 lb. --Smack (talk) 03:17, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Indeed, the massive scale of the needed work is beginning to dawn on me... I noticed one other person recently joined WikiProject Knots and I've been trying to get my feet wet before contacting those folks who've expressed an interest in the past.  Regarding knot efficiency, see the Knot section I recently added for the basis of my comments.  A bulk citation for that section at the top of this talk page, but I wasn't sure what style to start using on this page since there really weren't too many cites in the body of the article. --Dfred 18:42, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Backwards taut-line hitch?
Most pictures I've seen of this knot show the final half-hitch tossed in reverse of the way the photo (on the page linked to through this intro. article) demonstrates, in this case being thrown "over and under" instead of the "under and over" shown. Either way, it tightens pretty well, but I wonder which version is correct, and which holds better. Sfahey 21:48, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

 * The instructions on how to tie a taut-line hitch conform to what you say. Furthermore, the two half-hitches article says that the two half hitches should face in opposite directions, but I don't know whether or not that actually matters for the taut-line hitch. --Smack (talk) 03:01, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I got a headache trying to follow those loops around. Sfahey 02:08, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Supposedly, the correct two half-hitches resembles a clove hitch rather than a cow hitch. --Smack (talk) 20:56, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I believe the main issue here is one of nomenclature, which is a big problem in general for knotting... Two similar friction hitches are often tied around the standing part of a rope resulting functionally in a "taut-line hitch", they are: the Rolling Hitch (Ashley #1734) and the Magnus Hitch (#1736).  It is possible that BSA or some other organization considers the Rolling Hitch version "correct", but they are both equivalently secure if worked up properly.  Personally I'm in agreement with Ashley that the Magnus Hitch (which is pictured) lays better and has somewhat less propensity to roll.  I will also put this comment in Talk:Taut-line_hitch and attempt to clarify in that article that both forms should probably be considered valid. --Dfred 21:14, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
 * This discussion is now occurring in Talk:Taut-line_hitch and further comments should probably go there.--Dfred 15:19, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
 * I've made a stab at trying to address the various tying methods at Taut-line hitch. --Dfred 05:13, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

"How to" tie knots
Per WP:NOT: "Wikipedia articles should not ... contain "how-to"s." Thus, in order to comply with the official policy, we should think about removing all how-to and tying instructions from Knot articles. I personally wish it weren't so, but that is the policy. Dddstone 14:48, 23 December 2006 (UTC)
 * But the five pillars include a policy to ignore any policy that doesn't make sense. ;^) wrp103 (Bill Pringle) 20:34, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

 * As I understand it, we avoid how-tos because, in most cases, the way to do something does not intrinsically characterize the thing itself. This is not the case with knots.  The sequence of manipulations that forms a knot describes its topology.  However, we should follow this policy, at least in part, by only listing one procedure to tie any knot. --Smack (talk) 06:39, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks for bringing this issue up... After reading WP:NOT thoroughly for the first time a month or so ago I must admit I was discouraged.  I started to question whether my knot documentation efforts are best directed into Wikipedia.  The WP:NOT policy clearly exists for some very good reasons, but understanding how exceptions are handled would make me feel somewhat better.  As wrp103 and Smack noted above, it does seem like there's some room for interpretation regarding knot tying methods in WP.  However I am concerned there are some folks who seem to take the no how-to policy quite literally and could later negate a great deal of effort on knotting articles.  I think it would be much easier to entice new serious contributors (say, some IGKT members) if this issue can be hashed-out to a reasonable degree -- nobody wants to see their good faith work junked...

 * It does seem to me that full-fledged, properly referenced knot articles are indeed suitable for an encyclopedia. I definitely agree that common sense would suggest that the process of tying a knot is intrinsically connected to a full description of a knot and that an article should be considered incomplete without a basic tying description.  I'd be interested in feedback from more experienced wikipedians regarding whether project-specific guidelines are an appropriate and reliable way to codify a project's self-regulation and justification in cases of a systemic borderline policy issue in the project's articles?  --Dfred 20:55, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

 * Even though I just proposed that we violate the how-to policy, I'm sure that much knotting information does belong on Wikibooks. I would like to discuss our options with some policy experts before we proceed.  Should we post on the WP:NOT talk page?  Village pump?  Request for comment? --Smack (talk) 22:07, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and entries about knots in other encyclopedias explain or show how to tie them. The how-to clause of WP:NOT is a special case of the "indiscriminate collection" section. Explaining in a knot article how to tie that knot is no more "indiscriminate" than having the article in the first place. The purpose of WP:NOT is to keep the project directed toward making an encyclopedia, not to destroy the usefulness of encyclopedic articles. Gazpacho 01:59, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree that the method of tying a knot is integral to a description of it, I just want to make sure that we keep within the written policy, or else it may get out of hand and some deletionist will come by and have all of the content removed. Keeping the policy in mind will prevent having to rewrite in the future. Dddstone 02:41, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

 * What if we ask for an exception? --Smack (talk) 18:20, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Guys, this isn't a bureacracy. Don't worry about the possibility of someone messing up knot articles because of a weird policy interpretation until it happens. And certainly don't do it yourself in anticipation. Gazpacho 21:46, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

 * I'm not suggesting a big bureaucratic hullabaloo. I'm just suggesting that we point out our situation in advance, so that we don't shock the policy nuts later on.  I'm actually surprised that they haven't torn the knot pages apart already. --Smack (talk) 21:51, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

I added WikiProject_Knots to the draft guidelines. --Dfred 18:40, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Fishing knots
Very bad idea to merge Fishing knots into Knots. Once the Fishing knots article is done it will be too large for merging, believe me. CyberAnth 10:26, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Can we get an approximate date (range) on when it will be at least stub class? − Twas Now 03:22, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Knot Theory
Regarding this sentence from the intro: "Knots have been the subject of interest both for their ancient origins, common use, and the mathematical implications of knot theory." The knots in knot theory are different from the knots spoken of in this article. The mathematical "knots" refer to an abstract object that looks like a string joined at both ends. But the thing is that this article has no mention, and probably shouldn't have any mention, of such knots. (such knots are rarely used in practical knot tying). And the study of knot theory I'm pretty sure was not motivated by practical knot tying, and has nothing to do with it. Why mathematicians are interested in it I don't know, I think its something abstract, and was only called knot theory because of a very superficial resemblance. So I don't think knot theory is really at all related to this article, and the mention doesn't really belong. What does everyon think?Brentt 19:06, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

 * Why should an article called "Knot" only discuss issues related to practical knot tying? I agree that mathematical knot theory should only occupy a small portion of this article, but a mathematical knot is a type of knot, after all.  I think that the brief mention in the lead and the tiny paragraph toward the end are fine as is.  VectorPosse 19:12, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

 * mathematical knots, sufficiently "nice" ones at least, are in fact knots pretty much in the sense of this article. so to say "it was only called knot theory because of a very superficial resemblance" is not quite right. however i do agree with Brentt that the remarks on knot theory in the current version of the article looks very much out of place. to go from rope splicing to a, however brief, discussion of the Alexander polynomial makes for an abrupt and awkward transition. maybe one can replace the remarks with a see also link to the knot theory article. Mct mht 05:41, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

I've added a section on "Physical theory of friction knots."--75.83.64.6 (talk) 01:04, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Well done.   A rbitrarily 0    ( talk ) 03:12, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Most useable knots
The following is a list of the most usable knots. This list of knots are a simplification of all other existing survival knots and can be helpful in survival situations and in low-tech construction (eg in the developing world). The list is assembled by comparing the knots used in survival books as "The SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea" by John Lofty Wiseman, "The Survival Handbook" by Peter Darman and "Go Sailing" by Steve Sleight , aswell as a number of other survival books. Careful selection has been made by including knots for all purposes (stopper knots for permanent fixing, hitches for dragging loads, easy removable knots, ...), and by examening whether the knots are not too difficult to lay and whether they can be used in several situations. As the list is heavily simplified, it could help people remember them when it really counts (critical moments).

 * the Double overhand knot
 * the Reef knot
 * the Double sheet bend
 * the Double half hitch
 * the Bowline
 * the Clove hitch]
 * the Diagonal lashing
 * the Round lashing

Please include this list into the article. thanks;

KVDP (talk) 14:07, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

 * I've added three of them. The reef knot is dangerous and shouldn't be encouraged. kwami (talk) 17:39, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

 * Okay, I've added some more. I do think we should have a practical section on basic everyday knots. However, I put in the harness knot—would the Alpine butterfly knot be better? kwami (talk) 22:22, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

 * I don't think it's accurate to say that "the reef knot is dangerous and shouldn't be encouraged." I use it to tie my shoes -- is that dangerous? The ability to intentionally capsize and release it while it's under load is a useful feature, in situations where you need that feature.--75.83.64.6 (talk) 05:08, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

looking for a knot ...
I learned a great knot at a military show in Ouagadougou, but have since forgotten it and wonder if anyone has any ideas as to what it might have been.

I used it to hang my mosquito net when sleeping outdoors biking cross-country. I could throw a loop over an out-of-reach branch, tie the knot, clinch it up, and in the morning simply pull on the free end of the now out-of-reach knot and the rope would fall to the ground. Very very handy. kwami (talk) 18:00, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Midshipman's Hitch
The page says "Midshipman's Hitch (also known as a Tautline Hitch) Used when the length of the line needs to be adjusted" - However, Admirilaty Manual of Seamnship Vol I, HMSO, London, 1964 p. 160 states that it is a hitch for lashing a rope to a hook. Specific text says ''An alternative to the Blackwall Hitch, preferred if the rope is greasy. Made by first forming a Blackwell hitch and then taking the underneath part and placing over the bill of the hook.'' Diagram is included in the description. Certainly does not appear to be used for adjusting the lenght of rope! Farawayman (talk) 09:07, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

German wiki
Some knots covered in German wiki that we don't seem to have. Could simply translate and borrow the images:

 * de:Zeisingstek
 * de:Anbindeknoten
 * de:Bergrettungsknoten
 * de:Wurfknoten
 * de:Fallreepsknoten
 * de:Jansik-Knoten
 * de:Kopfschlag
 * de:Marlschlag
 * de:Seilspanner
 * de:Rosenknoten
 * de:Kettenstek
 * de:Bootsmannsmaatknoten
 * de:Doppelte Rettungsschlinge
 * de:Gardaschlinge
 * de:Führerknoten
 * de:Höhlenknoten
 * de:Lassoknoten
 * de:Neunerknoten
 * de:Paketknoten
 * de:Warenhausschlinge
 * de:Zweistrang-Bändselknoten
 * de:Strickleiterknoten (Eng. mis-ID'd)

They also have a lot of good photos, though some remain copyrighted. I've added some that were on Commons, but don't have time to move the rest over. kwami (talk) 22:19, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Categorization of Knots
I think the 'Categories' of knots on this page is too cumbersome and can be greatly simplified as below. You'll recognize text copied from the article page and the few entries I've added by the lack of descriptive text.

Basic Knots

 * Stopper knots Stopper - A knot tied to hold a line through a hole. List of stopper knots.
 * Binding knots Binding - A knot that restricts object(s) by making multiple winds. List of binding knots.
 * Joining Knots or "Bends" Bend - A knot uniting two lines (for knots joining two ends of the same line, see binding knots or loops). List of bends.
 * Attaching Knots or "Hitches" Hitch - A knot tied to a post, cable, ring, or spar. List of hitch knots.
 * Loop Knots Loop - A knot used to create a closed circle in a line. List of loop knots.
 * Running Knots or Nooses(?) Slip (or Running Knots) - A knot tied with a hitch around one of its parts. In contrast, a loop is closed with a bend. While a slip knot can be closed, a loop remains the same size. List of slip knots.

Decorative & Fancy Knots

 * Decorative knot  A complex knot exhibiting repeating patterns often constructed around and enhancing an object. List of decorative knots.
 * Trick  A knot that is used as part of a magic trick, a joke, or a puzzle. List of trick knots.
 * Plait (or Braid) A number of lines interwoven in a simple regular pattern. List of plait knots.
 * Sennit  A number of lines interwoven in a complex pattern. See also Chain sinnet.
 * Lanyard knots
 * Button knots
 * Globe knots
 * Turk's heads
 * Mats
 * Chains
 * Plaits and Braids

Thanks to Des Pawson and Geoffrey Budsworth and various other authors (notably NOT Ashley) for the basic knots and decorative knots breakdown.

Ropework
These strike me more in the ropework line than particularly knot-centric.
 * Coil  Knots used to tie up lines for storage. List of coil knots. Another handy coil is here.
 * Lashing A knot used to hold (usually) poles together. List of lashing knots.
 * Seizing A knot used to hold two lines or two parts of the same line together. List of seizing knots.
 * Splice A knot formed by interweaving strands of rope rather than whole lines. More time-consuming but usually stronger than simple knots. List of splices.
 * Whipping A binding knot used to prevent another line from fraying.

ForemastJack (talk) 23:23, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Knots in nature
Mention something about knots in nature. Jidanni (talk) 00:32, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

from merged article
I've deleted the last link:

A rope knot can be a thing of beauty too

Just because it's a picture of a knot, it doesn't mean it belongs in the article. Much less when it leads to a store where the photographer is selling it. It looks like an attempt to generate views/sales. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.68.90.97 (talk) 09:35, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Should this perhaps be merged with Knot? There's quite an overlap of information... --mordemur 06:37, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)
 * I have only just come across this page. I have a mild intrest in the field and would request some time to work the Article over before any Merge is conducted. Exit2DOS2000   •T•C•  09:47, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

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Use by hagfish
I just added a bit about that and now see it also at Overhand_knot. Should this be in this article, and can that section be expanded? Are primates or birds known to make knots? Anna Frodesiak (talk) 22:39, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

See also: Reference desk/Science (permlink)

Anna Frodesiak (talk) 01:52, 25 January 2017 (UTC)

Capsize, flip, flype
The three terms are described in DOI: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2007.05.016 https://kundoc.com/pdf-how-capsizing-flipping-and-flyping-of-traditional-knots-can-result-in-new-endosc.html — Omegatron (talk) 21:04, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

Suggest merge October 2020
History of knotting is very short, lightly referenced, and could be better put in context here. --Wtshymanski (talk) 18:57, 31 October 2020 (UTC)

What about the not-so-strictest sense?
"A knot may also refer, in the strictest sense, to a stopper or knob at the end of a rope to keep that end from slipping through a grommet or eye."

What's the point of this? It seems to imply that these are not knots by some definition, but then fails to explain why or how at any point in the article. WP Ludicer (talk) 00:37, 28 July 2021 (UTC)
 * It implies that only such stopper knots are "true" knots by some definition. A bend is a bend, not a knot, in that sense; a hitch is a hitch, a loop is a loop, the venerable square "knot" is a binding [complication of cordage], and so on. Ashley may have more to say about it; finding a clarifying passage may take some digging. Just plain Bill (talk) 03:54, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

 * OK, here is a quote from Ashley, p.12:
 * The word knot has three distinct meanings in common use. In the broadest sense it applies to all complications in cordage, except accidental ones, such as snarls and kinks, and complications adapted for storage, such as coils, hanks, skeins, balls, etc.
 * In its second sense it does not include bends, hitches, splices, and sinnets, and in its third and narrowest sense the term applies only to a knob tied in a rope to prevent unreeving, to provide a handhold, or (in small material only) to prevent fraying.
 * Make of it what you will. regards, Just plain Bill (talk) 15:33, 28 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Just added refs & quotes to lead. cheers, Just plain Bill (talk) 23:53, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

Intentional or accidental
The entire content of this article is about intentional knots, but the dictionary definition of a knot applies to intentional, man-made knots, as well as unintentional knots, like a knot in your hair, natural knots, such as a knot in your muscles, or a knot in a tree, or symbolic uses, such as a knotty problem, or knots in your stomach.

If there's no other feedback, I will adjust the wording of the opening line to indicate that this is one usage of the word knot, so that it's not confused as the only meaning of the word knot.--Ryan (talk) 21:50, 5 July 2022 (UTC)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Ryanrands (talk • contribs) 21:50, 5 July 2022 (UTC)
 * The hatnote includes a link to Knot (disambiguation) which mentions muscle knots and tree knots. Might be useful to draft your proposed adjustment here in this talk page setion, and see what feedback shows up. Just plain Bill (talk) 22:45, 5 July 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Knot


text:
Augsburg

Augsburg (, , ; Ougschburg) is a city in the Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around 50 km west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and the regional seat of the Regierungsbezirk Swabia with a well preserved Altstadt (historical city centre). Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria (after Munich and Nuremberg), with a population of 304,000 and 885,000 in its metropolitan area.

After Neuss, Trier, Worms, Cologne and Xanten, Augsburg is one of Germany's oldest cities, founded in 15 BC by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum and named after the Roman emperor Augustus. It was a Free Imperial City from 1276 to 1803 and the home of the patrician Fugger and Welser families that dominated European banking in the 16th century. According to Behringer, in the sixteenth century it became "the dominant centre of early capitalism", having benefited from being part of the Kaiserliche Reichspost system as "the location of the most important post office within the Holy Roman Empire" and the city's close connection to Maximilian I. The city played a leading role in the Reformation as the site of the 1530 Augsburg Confession and the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Fuggerei, the oldest social housing complex in the world, was founded in 1513 by Jakob Fugger.

In 2019 UNESCO recognised the Water Management System of Augsburg as a World Heritage Site because of its unique medieval canals and water towers and its testimony to the development of hydraulic engineering.

Geography
Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach and on the Singold. The oldest part of the city and the southern quarters are on the northern foothills of a high terrace, which has emerged between the steep rim of the hills of Friedberg in the east and the high hills of the west. In the south extends the Lechfeld, an outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats.

Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily verdant. As a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europe's greenest and most livable city.

Suburbs and neighbouring municipalities
Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west and Aichach-Friedberg in the east.

The suburbs of Augsburg are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Diedorf.

Neighbouring municipalities: Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen.

Early history
The city of Augsburg was founded in 15 BC on the orders of Emperor Augustus. Emperor Augustus conducted extensive military campaigns and established administrative settlements. The Roman colony that became Augsburg was known as Augusta Vindelicorum, meaning "the Augustan city of the Vindelici". The settlement was established at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach. In 120 AD Augsburg became the administrative capital of the Roman province of Raetia. Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the fifth century AD, by Charlemagne in the eighth century and by Welf I, Duke of Bavaria in the 11th century.

Augsburg Confession
Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on 9 March 1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights and freedoms of Catholics. With its strategic location at an intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City of Augsburg became a major trading centre.

Augsburg produced large quantities of woven goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to great prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers. The Fugger family donated the Fuggerei part of the city devoted to housing for needy citizens in 1516, which remains in use today.

In 1530, the Augsburg Confession was presented to the Holy Roman Emperor at the Diet of Augsburg. Following the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, after which the rights of religious minorities in imperial cities were to be legally protected, a mixed Catholic–Protestant city council presided over a majority Protestant population; see Paritätische Reichsstadt.

Leading European centre of capitalism of the sixteenth century
Augsburg's economic boom years occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries thanks to the bank and metal businesses of the merchant families Fugger, Welser and Hochstetter. These families held a near total monopoly in important industries. Monopolies were considered criminal in contemporary laws and these families' practices were criticised by Martin Luther himself, but as Emperor Charles V needed their financial assistance, he cancelled the charge in the 1530s. In the 16th century Augsburg became one of Germany's largest cities. Augsburg was a major manufacturing centre for textiles, armor, scientific instruments, as well as gold- and silver-smithing. The prolific printers of Augsburg also made the city the largest producer of German-language books in the Holy Roman Empire. Like other free imperial cities, Augsburg was an independent entity, and had authority over its tax policies.

Augsburg's wealth attracted artists seeking patrons. The city rapidly became a creative centre for sculptors and musicians. Augsburg became the base of the Holbein family, starting with Hans Holbein the Elder. The composer Leopold Mozart was born and educated in Augsburg. Rococo became so prevalent that it became known as "Augsburg style" throughout Germany.

Augsburg benefitted majorly from the establishment and expansion of the Kaiserliche Reichspost in the late 15th and early 16th century. This postal system, which was the first modern postal service in the world, was created through negotiations and agreements between the Taxis family represented by Franz von Taxis and the early Habsburgs monarches, notably Maximilian I, his son Philip the Handsome and grandson Charles V. Even when the Habsburg empire began to extend to other parts of Europe, Maximilian's loyalty to Augsburg, where he conducted a lot of his endeavours, meant that the imperial city became "the dominant centre of early capitalism" of the sixteenth century, and "the location of the most important post office within the Holy Roman Empire". From Maximilian's time, as the "terminuses of the first transcontinental post lines" began to shift from Innsbruck to Venice and from Brussels to Antwerp, in these cities, the communication system and the news market started to converge. As the Fuggers as well as other trading companies based their most important branches in these cities, these traders gained access to these systems as well (despite a widely circulated theory which holds that the Fuggers themselves operated their own communication system, in reality they relied upon the imperial posts, presumably from the 1490s onwards, as official members of the court of Maximilian I).

Witch hunts
Several witch hunts occurred in Augsburg in the late 16th century. Following the 1585–1588 plague epidemic, southeast Germany was shattered by the 1589–1591 witch hunts. Following the 1592–1593 plague epidemic, cities in southeast Germany entered a period of inflation, marked by brutal witch hunts in urban areas.

Thirty Years' War
Religious peace in the city was largely maintained despite increasing tensions up to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In 1629, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution, which restored the legal situation of 1552. However, the edict was revoked in April 1632, when Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden occupied Augsburg.

In 1634, the Swedish army was defeated at the nearby Battle of Nördlingen. By October 1634, Catholic troops had surrounded Augsburg. The Swedish army refused to surrender and a siege ensued through the winter of 1634/35 and thousands died from hunger and disease. During the Swedish occupation and the siege by Catholic troops, the population of the city was reduced from about 70,000 to about 16,000. Diseases such as typhus and the plague ravaged the city.

Guilds
In the first half of the 17th century Augsburg was pivotal in the European network of goldsmiths. Augsburg attracted goldsmith journeymen from all over Europe and in the 18th century a large number of silversmiths and goldsmiths became master craftsman in Augsburg.

Nine Years' War
In 1686 the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I formed the League of Augsburg, also known as the "Grand Alliance" after England joined in 1689. The coalition consisted at various times of Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Electorate of the Palatinate, Portugal, Savoy, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic. The coalition was formed to defend the Electorate of the Palatinate and fought against France in the Nine Years' War.

End of Free Imperial City status
The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss or the Final Recess of 1803, saw the annexation of nearly all of the 51 Free Imperial Cities, excepting Augsburg and five others. However, when the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, Napoleon encouraged his German allies to annex their smaller neighbours, and Augsburg lost its independence. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1817, the city became an administrative capital of the Oberdonaukreis, then administrative capital in 1837 for the district Swabia and Neuburg.

Industrial revolution
During the end of the 19th century, Augsburg's textile industry again rose to prominence followed by the machine manufacturing industry.

Second World War and Cold War
Augsburg was historically a militarily important city due to its strategic location. During the German re-armament before the Second World War, the Wehrmacht enlarged Augsburg's one original Kaserne (barracks) to three: Somme Kaserne (housing Wehrmacht Artillerie-Regiment 27); Arras Kaserne (housing Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 27) and Panzerjäger Kaserne (housing Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 27 (later Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27)). Wehrmacht Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27 was later moved to Füssen.

The MAN factory at Augsburg was the largest German manufacturer of engines for U-boats in World War II and became the target of the Augsburg Raid. When the Avro Lancaster bomber was new in service, the RAF sent 12 at low level to bomb the factory in daylight, on 17 April 1942. The bombers were intercepted en route and only five returned, all damaged. The factory was damaged but production continued; the factory was repeatedly bombed later. A subcamp of the Dachau concentration camp outside Augsburg supplied approximately 1,300 forced labourers to local military-related industry, especially the Messerschmitt AG military aircraft firm, headquartered in Augsburg.

In 1941 Rudolf Hess, without Adolf Hitler's permission, secretly took off from a local Augsburg airport and flew to Scotland, crashing in Eaglesham, to the south of Glasgow. His objective was to meet the Duke of Hamilton in an attempt to mediate the end of the European front of World War II and join sides for the upcoming Russian Campaign.

The Reichswehr Infanterie Regiment 19 was stationed in Augsburg and became the base unit for the Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 40, a subsection of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27 (which later became the Wehrmacht Panzerdivision 17). Elements of Wehrmacht II Battalion of Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 99 (especially Wehrmacht Panzerjäger Kompanie 14) was composed of parts of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27. The Infanterie Regiment 40 remained in Augsburg until the end of the war, finally surrendering to the United States on 28 April 1945 when the U.S. Army occupied the city. The city and its Messerschmitt works were bombed on three occasions during the war. Collateral damage included the destruction of just under 25% of all homes in the city and the deaths of several hundred people.

Following the war the three Kasernen changed hands confusingly between the American and Germans, finally ending up in US hands for the duration of the Cold War. They became the three main US barracks in Augsburg: Reese, Sheridan and FLAK. US Base FLAK had been an anti-aircraft barracks since 1936 and US Base Sheridan 'united' the former infantry barracks with a smaller Kaserne for former Luftwaffe communications units.

The American military presence in the city started with the U.S. 5th Infantry Division stationed at FLAK Kaserne from 1945 to 1955, then by 11th Airborne Division, followed by the 24th Infantry Division, U.S. Army VII Corps artillery, USASA Field Station Augsburg and finally the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, which returned the former Kaserne to German hands in 1998. Originally the Heeresverpflegungshauptamt Südbayern and an Officers' caisson existed on or near the location of Reese-Kaserne but was demolished by the occupying Americans.

Municipality
From 1266 until 1548, the terms Stadtpfleger (head of town council) and Mayor were used interchangeably, or occasionally, simultaneously. In 1548 the title was finally fixed to Stadtpfleger, who officiated for several years and was then awarded the title for life (though no longer governing), thus resulting confusingly, in records of two or more simultaneous Stadtpfleger.

After the transfer to Bavaria in 1806, Augsburg was ruled by a Magistrate with two mayors, supported by an additional council of "Community Commissioners": the Gemeindebevollmächtige.

As of 1907, the Mayor was entitled Oberbürgermeister, as Augsburg had reached a population of 100,000, as per the Bavarian Gemeindeordnung.

Mayor
The mayor of Augsburg has been Eva Weber of the Christian Social Union (CSU) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 15 March 2020, with a runoff held on 29 March, and the results were as follows:

! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 96,477 ! 99.4 ! 102,294 ! 99.4 ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 578 ! 0.6 ! 661 ! 0.6 ! colspan=3| Total ! 97,055 ! 100.0 ! 102,955 ! 100.0 ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 214,110 ! 45.3 ! 213,982 ! 48.1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Eva Weber
 * align=left| Christian Social Union
 * 41,534
 * 43.1
 * 63,762
 * 62.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Dirk Wurm
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party
 * 18,116
 * 18.8
 * 38,532
 * 37.7
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Martina Wild
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens
 * 17,851
 * 18.5
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Andreas Jurca
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany
 * 4,673
 * 4.8
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Peter Hummel
 * align=left| Free Voters of Bavaria
 * 3,053
 * 3.2
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Frederik Hintermayr
 * align=left| The Left
 * 2,564
 * 2.7
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Lisa McQueen
 * align=left| Die PARTEI
 * 1,896
 * 2.0
 * align=left| Bruno Marcon
 * align=left| Augsburg in the Citizens' Hands
 * 1,478
 * 1.5
 * align=left| Anna Tabak
 * align=left| We are Augsburg
 * 1,261
 * 1.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Lars Vollmar
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party
 * 1,249
 * 1.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Christian Pettinger
 * align=left| Ecological Democratic Party
 * 1,183
 * 1.2
 * align=left| Claudia Eberle
 * align=left| Pro Augsburg
 * 941
 * 1.0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Florian Betz
 * align=left| V-Partei³
 * 678
 * 0.7
 * align=left| Christian Pettinger
 * align=left| Ecological Democratic Party
 * 1,183
 * 1.2
 * align=left| Claudia Eberle
 * align=left| Pro Augsburg
 * 941
 * 1.0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Florian Betz
 * align=left| V-Partei³
 * 678
 * 0.7
 * align=left| V-Partei³
 * 678
 * 0.7
 * colspan=7| Source: City of Augsburg (first round, second round)
 * }
 * }

City council
The Augsburg city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 15 March 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Total ! 5,127,607 ! 100.0 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 2,079 ! 2.1 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 97,013 ! 100.0 ! ! 60 ! ±0 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 214,110 ! 45.3 ! 4.1 ! !
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Christian Social Union (CSU)
 * 1,653,781
 * 32.3
 * 5.4
 * 20
 * 3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
 * 1,198,090
 * 23.4
 * 11.0
 * 14
 * 7
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)
 * 734,066
 * 14.3
 * 8.1
 * 9
 * 4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD)
 * 337,834
 * 6.6
 * 0.7
 * 4
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=#007E82|
 * align=left| Free Voters of Bavaria (FW)
 * 230,952
 * 4.5
 * 0.9
 * 3
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| The Left (Die Linke)
 * 189,034
 * 3.7
 * 0.5
 * 2
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)
 * 117,201
 * 2.3
 * 0.7
 * 1
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)
 * 114,119
 * 2.2
 * 0.3
 * 1
 * ±0
 * align=left| Generation AUX (GenAUX)
 * 108,956
 * 2.1
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * align=left| Augsburg in the Citizens' Hands (AiB)
 * 96,690
 * 1.9
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * align=left| Pro Augsburg (PRO A)
 * 94,346
 * 1.8
 * 3.3
 * 1
 * 2
 * align=left| We are Augsburg (WSA)
 * 77,189
 * 1.5
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Die PARTEI
 * 76,557
 * 1.5
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| V-Partei³
 * 69,643
 * 1.4
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey|
 * align=left| Political Voters' Association/Democracy in Motion (Polit-WG/DiB)
 * 29,149
 * 0.6
 * 2.5
 * 0
 * 1
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| V-Partei³
 * 69,643
 * 1.4
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey|
 * align=left| Political Voters' Association/Democracy in Motion (Polit-WG/DiB)
 * 29,149
 * 0.6
 * 2.5
 * 0
 * 1
 * 0.6
 * 2.5
 * 0
 * 1
 * colspan=7| Source: City of Augsburg
 * }
 * }

Members of the Bundestag
Augsburg is located in the Wahlkreis 253 Augsburg-Stadt constituency, which includes Königsbrunn and parts of the District of Augsburg (Landkreis Augsburg).

Volker Ullrich of the CSU was directly elected to the Bundestag in the 18th German Bundestag.

Indirectly elected to the Bundestag to adhere to the Landesliste were Ulrike Bahr for the SPD and Claudia Roth for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.

Climate
Augsburg has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb) or, following the 0 °C isotherm, a humid continental climate (Dfb).

Main sights

 * Town Hall, built in 1620 in the Renaissance style with the Goldener Saal
 * Perlachturm, a bell tower built in 989
 * Fuggerei, the oldest social housing estate in the world, inhabited since 1523
 * Fuggerhäuser (Fugger houses), restored renaissance palatial homes of the Fugger banking family
 * Bishop's Residence, built about 1750 in order to replace the older bishop's palace; today the administrative seat of Swabia
 * Cathedral, founded in the ninth century
 * St Anne's Church, medieval church building that was originally part of a monastery built in 1321
 * St Mary's Syriac Orthodox Church on the Zusamstraße in Lechhausen, built 1998 by Suryoye (Assyrians)
 * Augsburg Synagogue, one of the few German synagogues to survive the war, now restored and open with a Jewish museum inside
 * Augsburg textile and industry museum- or just tim - organises its displays under headings Mensch-Maschine-Muster-Mode.
 * Schaezlerpalais, a Rococo mansion (1765) now housing a major art museum
 * St Ulrich and St Afra— one church is Roman Catholic, the other Lutheran, the duality being a result of the Peace of Augsburg concluded in 1555 between Catholics and Protestants
 * Mozart Haus Augsburg (where the composer's father Leopold Mozart was born and Mozart visited several times)
 * Augsburger Puppenkiste, a puppet theatre
 * Luther Stiege, museum located in a church that showing Martin Luther's life and various rooms. (free admission)
 * Eiskanal, the world's first artificial whitewater course (venue for the whitewater events of the 1972 Munich Olympics)
 * Dorint Hotel Tower
 * Childhood home of Bertolt Brecht
 * The Augsburg Botanical Gardens (Botanischer Garten Augsburg)
 * Maximillian Museum, decorative arts
 * Bahnpark Augsburg home of 29 historic locomotives, blacksmith, historic roundhouse
 * 3 magnificent renaissance fountains, the Augustus Fountain, Mercury Fountain and Hercules Fountain from the 15th century, built for the 1500th anniversary of the foundation of the city
 * Walter Art Museum at the Glas Palast ("Glas-Palace")
 * Roman Museum in the former Monastery of St Magdalena. In December 2012 the church was closed owing to the risk of collapse. In 2015 an exhibition opened in the Zeughaus, which will replace the museum for an indefinite period. Renovation work is ongoing and the Church will remain closed until further notice.
 * Medieval canals, used to run numerous industries, medieval arms production, silver art, sanitation and water pumping
 * Kulturhaus Abraxas

Water Management System

The water systems of Augsburg have been the site of innovations in hydraulic engineering for centuries. Augsburg was built on top of an aquifer fed by the Lech and Wertach rivers, which provided purified groundwater that ran through the city through springs and streams. The canals channelling this water through the city were first mentioned in 1276, and by 1416 waterworks, pumps and water towers were added to distribute this water effectively. In 1545 Augsburg was one of the first European towns to separate drinking water from water used for industry, effectively preventing water-borne diseases. The pumps and waterwheels also generated power for fountains and food processing, such as a 17th-century butcher's hall that still stands today. In the 19th and 20th centuries hydroelectic power plants were also installed. These power plants were some of the first in the world to generate electricity from water and they are still in use today. On 6 July 2019 the Water Management System of Augsburg was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Population
Augsburg has a population of about 300,000. It is the third largest city in Bavaria and the largest city in the Swabia region. In the 16th century, Augsburg was one of the largest cities in Holy Roman Empire, with a population of about 30,000. This put it on a level with cities like Cologne and Prague. Augsburg passed 100,000 residents in 1909 and the population has grown steadily since then.

Twin towns – sister cities
Augsburg is twinned with:

 * 🇯🇵 Amagasaki, Japan (1959)
 * 🇫🇷 Bourges, France (1963)
 * 🇺🇸 Dayton, United States (1964)
 * Inverness, Scotland, UK (1956)
 * 🇨🇳 Jinan, China (2004)
 * 🇨🇿 Liberec, Czech Republic (2001)
 * 🇯🇵 Nagahama, Japan (1959)

Roads
The main road link is autobahn A 8 between Munich and Stuttgart.

Public transport
Public transport is very well catered for. It is controlled by the Augsburger Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (Augsburg transport and tariff association, AVV) extended over central Swabia. There are seven rail Regionalbahn lines, five tram lines, 27 city bus lines and six night bus lines, as well as several taxi companies.

The Augsburg tramway network is now 35.5 km-long after the opening of new lines to the university in 1996, the northern city boundary in 2001 and to the Klinikum Augsburg (Augsburg hospital) in 2002. Tram line 6, which runs 5.2 km from Friedberg West to Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), opened in December 2010.

Intercity bus
There is one station for intercity bus services in Augsburg: Augsburg Nord, located in the north of the city.

Railway
Augsburg has seven stations, the Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), Hochzoll, Oberhausen, Haunstetterstraße, Morellstraße, Messe and Inningen. The Central Station, built from 1843 to 1846, is Germany's oldest main station in a large city still providing services in the original building. It is currently being modernised and an underground tram station is built underneath it. Hauptbahnhof is on the Munich–Augsburg and Ulm–Augsburg lines and is connected by ICE and IC services to Munich, Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart. As of December 2007, the French TGV connected Augsburg with a direct High Speed Connection to Paris. In addition EC and night train services connect to Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna and connections will be substantially improved by the creation of the planned Magistrale for Europe.

The AVV operates seven Regionalbahn lines from the main station to: Starting in 2008, the regional services are planned to be altered to S-Bahn frequencies and developed long term as integrated into the Augsburg S-Bahn.
 * Mammendorf
 * Schmiechen (direction to Ammersee)
 * Aichach/Radersdorf
 * Meitingen/Donauwörth
 * Dinkelscherben
 * Schwabmünchen
 * Klosterlechfeld

Air transport
Until 2005 Augsburg was served by nearby Augsburg Airport (AGB). In that year all air passenger transport was relocated to Munich Airport. Since then, the airport is used almost entirely by business airplanes.

Economy

Augsburg is a vibrant industrial city. Many global market leaders namely MAN, EADS or KUKA produce high technology products like printing systems, large diesel engines, industrial robots or components for the Airbus A380 and the Ariane carrier rocket. After Munich, Augsburg is considered the high-tech centre for Information and Communication in Bavaria and takes advantage of its lower operating costs, yet close proximity to Munich and potential customers. In 2018 the Bavarian State Government recognised this fact and promoted Augsburg to Metropole.

Major companies

 * Boewe Systec
 * Faurecia
 * Fujitsu Technology Solutions
 * KUKA Robotics / Systems
 * MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg)
 * manroland
 * MT-Aerospace (former MAN Technologie)
 * NCR
 * Osram
 * Premium AEROTEC
 * RENK AG (offshoot of MAN SE)
 * Siemens
 * UPM-Kymmene (former Haindl)
 * WashTec (former Kleindienst)
 * Synlab Group
 * Cancom
 * Check24
 * Amazon
 * Patrizia Immobilien

Education
Augsburg is home to the following universities and colleges:

 * University of Augsburg, founded in 1970
 * Technische Hochschule Augsburg (University of Applied Sciences, formerly Fachhochschule Augsburg)

Media
The local newspaper is the Augsburger Allgemeine first published in 1807.

Notable people

 * Saint Afra, (died 304), patron Saint of Augsburg, martyr
 * Simpert, (died 807), abbot, bishop and confessor
 * Saint Ulrich (c. 890–973), Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg
 * Saint Wolfhard (1070–1127), Swabian artisan, trader and hermit
 * Jakob Fugger the Elder (1398–1469), master weaver, town councillor and merchant
 * Erhard Ratdolt (1442–1528), Printer, famous for having produced the first known printers type specimen book
 * Jakob Fugger (1459–1525), Noted banker and financial broker. An area within the city, called the Fuggerei, was set aside for the poor and needy in 1519.
 * Hans Holbein the Elder (1460–1524), pioneer in the transformation of German art from the Gothic to the Renaissance style
 * Konrad Peutinger (1465–1547), humanist, jurist, diplomat, politician, economist and archaeologist
 * Hans Burgkmair (1473–1531), painter and woodcut printmaker
 * Caspar Aquila (1488–1560), Lutheran theologian and reformer
 * Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), portrait and religious painter
 * Matthäus Schwarz (1497–c. 1574), accountant and author
 * Paulus Hector Mair (1517–1579), martial artist
 * Wilhelm Xylander (1532–1576), classical scholar and humanist
 * Elias Holl (1573–1646), architect
 * Philipp Hainhofer (1578–1647), merchant, banker, diplomat and art collector
 * Julius Schiller (1580–1627), lawyer and astronomer
 * Johann Georg Wirsung (1589–1643), anatomist
 * Johann Jakob Brucker (1696–1770), German historian of philosophy
 * Andreas Christoph Graf (1701–1776), German teacher, author and poet
 * Johann Jakob Haid (1704–1767), engraver
 * Leopold Mozart (1719–1787), violinist-composer, father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * Christoph Christian Sturm (1740–1786), preacher and author
 * Eduard Bayer (1822–1908), composer and classical guitarist
 * Emil Schürer (1844–1910), Protestant theologian. He studied the history of the Jews.
 * Johann Most (1846–1906), Social Democratic and then anarchist politician, newspaper editor and orator
 * Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913), inventor of the diesel engine
 * Albert Rehm (1871–1949), philologist who first understood the significance of the Antikythera mechanism
 * Hans von Euler-Chelpin (1873–1964), co-recipient of 1929 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
 * Karl Haberstock (1878–1956), art dealer to the Nazis
 * Artur Lauinger (1879–1961), German journalist
 * Julius Streicher (1885–1946), prominent Nazi prior to World War II, founder and publisher of anti-Semitic Der Stürmer newspaper, executed for war crimes
 * Julius Schaxel (1887–1943), biologist
 * Hans Loritz (1895–1946), Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
 * Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), writer and theater director
 * August Schmidhuber (1901–1947), Nazi SS officer, executed for war crimes
 * Wilhelm Gerstenmeier (1908–1944), SS concentration camp officer, executed for war crimes
 * Josef Priller (1915–1961), Luftwaffe ace
 * Mietek Pemper (1920–2011), Polish-born Jew. He compiled and typed Oskar Schindler's list, which saved 1,200 Jewish prisoners from the Holocaust.
 * Günther Schneider-Siemssen (1926–2015), scenic designer
 * Hans Henning Atrott (1944–2018), German author and theorist
 * Wolf Blitzer (born 1948), American journalist and CNN reporter
 * Francis T. McAndrew (born 1953), American Psychologist, Professor, and Author (U.S. military parents)
 * Günther K.H. Zupanc (born 1958), neurobiologist, researcher, university teacher, book author, journal editor and educational reformer
 * Sheryl Lee (born 1967), actress, poet and activist
 * Alexander Wesselsky (born 1968), lead singer of the German band Eisbrecher
 * Florian Hecker (born 1975), experimental electronic music composer
 * Marisa Olson (born 1977), artist
 * Benny Greb (born 1980), solo drum artist
 * Andreas Bourani (born 1983), singer-songwriter
 * Bianca Voitek (born 1985), female bodybuilder
 * Maximilian Hornung (born 1986), cellist

Sport

 * Werner Haas (1927–1956), Grand Prix motorcycle road racer
 * Ulrich Biesinger (1933–2011), former German footballer, part of the team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup
 * Helmut Haller (1939–2012), footballer who represented West Germany at three World Cups
 * Bernhard Langer (born 1957), professional golfer
 * Bernd Schuster (born 1959), football coach and former player
 * Armin Veh (born 1961), football coach
 * Alexander Grau (born 1973), racing driver
 * Philipp Kohlschreiber (born 1983), former tennis player
 * Thomas Holzer (born 1985), racing driver
 * Stefan Bradl (born 1989), motorcycle racer
 * Johnny Cecotto Jr. (born 1989), racing driver
 * Phoenix Sanders (born 1995), American baseball pitcher in the San Francisco Giants organisation
 * Nico Sturm (born 1995), ice hockey player

Sports
FC Augsburg is a football team based in Augsburg and plays in the WWK ARENA to the south of the city centre. FC Augsburg secured promotion to Bundesliga in 2011 and have remained there ever since, qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in 2015 and securing mid-table finishes across the last few seasons. The club, nicknamed the Fuggerstädter or simply as FCA, reached the last 32 in the 2015–16 Europa League with a 1–0 aggregate defeat to Liverpool. The WWK ARENA, nicknamed the "Anfield of the B17 Highway" following the Liverpool UEL match, opened in July 2009 and also hosted games of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The 30,660 capacity arena is easily accessible from the city centre or the adjacent B17 dual carriageway.

The city is home to a DEL (first-division) ice hockey team, the Augsburger Panther. The original club, AEV, was formed in 1878, the oldest German ice sport club and regularly draws around 4,000 spectators, quite reasonable for German ice hockey. Home games are played at the Curt Frenzel Stadion: a recently rebuilt (2012–2013) indoor rink and modern stadium and the club reached the 2018/19 DEL semi finals, eventually losing in the winner-takes-all game 7 to EHC Red Bull München (4–3 series defeat). Consequently, the Panthers qualified for the Champions Hockey League. Augsburg is also home to one of the most traditional German Baseball clubs, the Augsburg Gators and 2 American Football Clubs, the Raptors and Augsburg Storm, and in nearby Königsbrunn there is the Königsbrunn Ants.

For the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, a protective diversion channel of the Lech dam for river ice was transformed into the world's first artificial whitewater slalom course: the Eiskanal, which remains a world-class competition venue and has served as a prototype for two dozen similar courses abroad.

Local city nicknames
While commonly called Fuggerstadt (Fuggers' city) due to the Fuggers residing there, within Swabia it is also often referred to as Datschiburg: which originated sometime in the 19th century refers to Augsburg's favorite sweet: the Datschi made from fruit, preferably prunes, and thin cake dough. The Datschiburger Kickers charity football team (founded in 1965) reflects this in its choice of team name.

Among younger people, the city is commonly called "Aux" for short.

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

title: Augsburg


text:
Mosquito

Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word mosquito (formed by mosca and diminutive -ito) is Spanish and Portuguese for little fly. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and specialized, highly elongated, piercing-sucking mouthparts. All mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers; females of some species have in addition adapted to drink blood. Evolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micropredators, small animals that parasitise larger ones by drinking their blood without immediately killing them. Medical parasitologists view mosquitoes instead as vectors of disease, carrying protozoan parasites or bacterial or viral pathogens from one host to another.

The mosquito life cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs are laid on the water surface; they hatch into motile larvae that feed on aquatic algae and organic material. These larvae are important food sources for many freshwater animals, such as dragonfly nymphs, many fish, and some birds. Adult females of many species have mouthparts adapted to pierce the skin of a host and feed on blood of a wide range of vertebrate hosts, and some invertebrates, primarily other arthropods. Some species only produce eggs after a blood meal.

The mosquito's saliva is transferred to the host during the bite, and can cause an itchy rash. In addition, blood-feeding species can ingest pathogens while biting, and transmit them to other hosts. Those species include vectors of parasitic diseases such as malaria and filariasis, and arboviral diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever. By transmitting diseases, mosquitoes cause the deaths of over 725,000 people each year.

Description and life cycle

Like all flies, mosquitoes go through four stages in their life cycles: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The first three stages—egg, larva, and pupa—are largely aquatic, the eggs usually being laid in stagnant water. They hatch to become larvae, which feed, grow, and molt until they change into pupae. The adult mosquito emerges from the mature pupa as it floats at the water surface. Mosquitoes have adult lifespans ranging from as short as a week to around a month. Some species overwinter as adults in diapause.

Adult
Mosquitoes have one pair of wings, with distinct scales on the surface. Their wings are long and narrow, while the legs are long and thin. The body, usually grey or black, is slender, and typically 3–6 mm long. When at rest, mosquitoes hold their first pair of legs outwards, whereas the somewhat similar Chironomid midges hold these legs forwards. Anopheles mosquitoes can fly for up to four hours continuously at 1 to 2 km/h, traveling up to 12 km in a night. Males beat their wings between 450 and 600 times per second, driven indirectly by muscles which vibrate the thorax. Mosquitoes are mainly small flies; the largest are in the genus Toxorhynchites, at up to 18 mm in length and 24 mm in wingspan. Those in the genus Aedes are much smaller, with a wingspan of 2.8 to 4.4 mm.

Mosquitoes can develop from egg to adult in hot weather in as few as five days, but it may take up to a month. At dawn or dusk, within days of pupating, males assemble in swarms, mating when females fly in. The female mates only once in her lifetime, attracted by the pheromones emitted by the male. As a species that need blood for the eggs to develop, the female finds a host and drinks a full meal of blood. She then rests for two or three days to digest the meal and allow her eggs to develop. She is then ready to lay the eggs and repeat the cycle of feeding and laying. Females can live for up to three weeks in the wild, depending on temperature, humidity, their ability to obtain a blood meal, and avoiding being killed by their vertebrate hosts.

Eggs
The eggs of most mosquitoes are laid in stagnant water, which may be a pond, a marsh, a temporary puddle, a water-filled hole in a tree, or the water-trapping leaf axils of a bromeliad. Some lay near the water's edge while others attach their eggs to aquatic plants. A few, like Opifex fuscus, can breed in salt-marshes. Wyeomyia smithii breeds in the pitchers of pitcher plants, its larvae feeding on decaying insects that have drowned there.

Oviposition, egg-laying, varies between species. Anopheles females fly over the water, touching down or dapping to place eggs on the surface one at a time; their eggs are roughly cigar-shaped and have floats down their sides. A female can lay 100–200 eggs in her lifetime. Aedes females drop their eggs singly, on damp mud or other surfaces near water; their eggs hatch only when they are flooded. Females in genera such as Culex, Culiseta, and Uranotaenia lay their eggs in floating rafts. Mansonia females in contrast lay their eggs in arrays, attached usually to the under-surfaces of waterlily pads.

Clutches of eggs of most mosquito species hatch simultaneously, but Aedes eggs in diapause hatch irregularly over an extended period.

Larva
The mosquito larva's head has prominent mouth brushes used for feeding, a large thorax with no legs, and a segmented abdomen. It breathes air through a siphon on its abdomen, so must come to the surface frequently. It spends most of its time feeding on algae, bacteria, and other microbes in the water's surface layer. It dives below the surface when disturbed. It swims either by propelling itself with its mouth brushes, or by jerkily wriggling its body. It develops through several stages, or instars, molting each time, after which it metamorphoses into a pupa. Aedes larvae, except when very young, can withstand drying; they go into diapause for several months if their pond dries out.

Pupa
The head and thorax of the pupa are merged into a cephalothorax, with the abdomen curving around beneath it. The pupa or "tumbler" can swim actively by flipping its abdomen. Like the larva, the pupa of most species must come to the surface frequently to breathe, which they do through a pair of respiratory trumpets on their cephalothoraxes. They do not feed; they pass much of their time hanging from the surface of the water by their respiratory trumpets. If alarmed, they swim downwards by flipping their abdomens in much the same way as the larvae. If undisturbed, they soon float up again. The adult emerges from the pupa at the surface of the water and flies off.

Diet

Both male and female mosquitoes feed on nectar, aphid honeydew, and plant juices, but in many species the females are also blood-sucking ectoparasites. In some of those species, a blood meal is essential for egg production; in others, it just enables the female to lay more eggs. Both plant materials and blood are useful sources of energy in the form of sugars. Blood supplies more concentrated nutrients, such as lipids, but the main function of blood meals is to obtain proteins for egg production. Mosquitoes like Toxorhynchites reproduce autogenously, not needing blood meals. Disease vector mosquitoes like Anopheles and Aedes are anautogenous, requiring blood to lay eggs. Many Culex species are partially anautogenous, needing blood only for their second and subsequent clutches of eggs.

Host animals
Blood-sucking mosquitoes favour particular host species, though they are less selective when food is short. Different mosquito species favor amphibians, reptiles including snakes, birds, and mammals. For example, Culiseta melanura sucks the blood of passerine birds, but as mosquito numbers rise they attack mammals including horses and humans, causing epidemics of Eastern equine encephalitis virus in North America. Loss of blood from many bites can add up to a large volume, occasionally causing the death of livestock as large as cattle and horses. Malaria-transmitting mosquitoes seek out caterpillars and feed on their haemolymph, impeding their development.

Finding hosts

Most mosquito species are crepuscular, feeding at dawn or dusk, and resting in a cool place through the heat of the day. Some species, such as the Asian tiger mosquito, are known to fly and feed during daytime. Female mosquitoes hunt for hosts by smelling substances such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom alcohol, found in exhaled breath) produced from the host, and through visual recognition. The semiochemical that most strongly attracts Culex quinquefasciatus is nonanal. Another attractant is sulcatone. A large part of the mosquito's sense of smell, or olfactory system, is devoted to sniffing out blood sources. Of 72 types of odor receptors on its antennae, at least 27 are tuned to detect chemicals found in perspiration. In Aedes, the search for a host takes place in two phases. First, the mosquito flies about until it detects a host's odorants; then it flies towards them, using the concentration of odorants as its guide. Mosquitoes prefer to feed on people with type O blood, an abundance of skin bacteria, high body heat, and pregnant women. Individuals' attractiveness to mosquitoes has a heritable, genetically controlled component.

The multitude of characteristics in a host that is observed by the mosquito allows it to select its host to feed on. This occurs when a mosquito notes the presence of CO2, as it then activates its odour and visual search behaviours, ones that otherwise would not be used. In terms of a mosquito’s olfactory system, chemical analysis has revealed that people who are highly attractive to mosquitoes produce significantly more carboxylic acids. A human's unique body odour indicates that the target is actually a human host rather than some other living warm-blooded animal (as the presence of CO2 shows). Body odour, composed of volatile organic compounds emitted from the skin of humans, is the most important cue used by mosquitoes. Variation in skin odour is caused by body weight, hormones, genetic factors, and metabolic or genetic disorders. Infections such as malaria can influence an individual’s body odour. People infected by malaria produce relatively large amounts of Plasmodium-induced aldehydes in the skin, creating large cues for mosquitoes as it increases the attractiveness of an odour blend, imitating a "healthy" human odour. Infected individuals produce larger amounts of aldehydes heptanal, octanal, and nonanal. These compounds are detected by mosquito antennae. Thus, people infected with malaria are more prone to mosquito biting.

Contributing to a mosquito's ability to activate search behaviours, a mosquito's visual search system includes sensitivity to wavelengths from different colours. Mosquitoes are attracted to longer wavelengths, correlated to the colours of red and orange as seen by humans, and range through the spectrum of human skin tones. In addition, they have a strong attraction to dark, high-contrast objects, because of how longer wavelengths are perceived against a lighter-coloured background. Different species of mosquitoes have evolved different methods of identifying target hosts. Study of a domestic form and an animal-biting form of the mosquito Aedes aegypti showed that the evolution of preference for human odour is linked to increases in the expression of the olfactory receptor AaegOr4. This recognises a compound present at high levels in human odour called sulcatone. However, the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae also has OR4 genes strongly activated by sulcatone, yet none of them are closely related to AaegOr4, suggesting that the two species have evolved to specialise in biting humans independently.

Mouthparts
Female mosquito mouthparts are highly adapted to piercing skin and sucking blood. Males only drink sugary fluids, and have less specialized mouthparts.

Externally, the most obvious feeding structure of the mosquito is the proboscis, composed of the labium, U-shaped in section like a rain gutter, which sheaths a bundle (fascicle) of six piercing mouthparts or stylets. These are two mandibles, two maxillae, the hypopharynx, and the labrum. The labium bends back into a bow when the mosquito begins to bite, staying in contact with the skin and guiding the stylets downwards. The extremely sharp tips of the labrum and maxillae are moved backwards and forwards to saw their way into the skin, with just one thousandth of the force that would be needed to penetrate the skin with a needle, resulting in a painless insertion.

Saliva
Mosquito saliva contains enzymes that aid in sugar feeding, and antimicrobial agents that control bacterial growth in the sugar meal.

For a mosquito to obtain a blood meal, it must circumvent its vertebrate host's physiological responses. Mosquito saliva blocks the host's hemostasis system, with proteins that reduce vascular constriction, blood clotting, and platelet aggregation, to ensure the blood keeps flowing. It modulates the host's immune response via a mixture of proteins which lower angiogenesis and immunity; create inflammation; suppress tumor necrosis factor release from activated mast cells; suppress interleukin (IL)-2 and IFN-γ production;  suppress T cell populations;   decrease expression of interferon−α/β, making virus infections more severe;  increase natural killer T cells in the blood; and decrease cytokine production.

Egg development and blood digestion

Females of many blood-feeding species need a blood meal to begin the process of egg development. A sufficiently large blood meal triggers a hormonal cascade that leads to egg development. Upon completion of feeding, the mosquito withdraws her proboscis, and as the gut fills up, the stomach lining secretes a peritrophic membrane that surrounds the blood. This keeps the blood separate from anything else in the stomach. Like many Hemiptera that survive on dilute liquid diets, many adult mosquitoes excrete surplus liquid even when feeding. This permits females to accumulate a full meal of nutrient solids. The blood meal is digested over a period of several days. Once blood is in the stomach, the midgut synthesizes protease enzymes, primarily trypsin assisted by aminopeptidase, that hydrolyze the blood proteins into free amino acids. These are used in the synthesis of vitellogenin, which in turn is made into egg yolk protein.

Cosmopolitan
Mosquitoes have a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in every land region except Antarctica and a few islands with polar or subpolar climates, such as Iceland, which is essentially free of mosquitoes. This absence is probably caused by Iceland's climate. Its weather is unpredictable, freezing but often warming suddenly in mid-winter, making mosquitoes emerge from pupae in diapause, and then freezing again before they can complete their life cycle.

Eggs of temperate zone mosquitoes are more tolerant of cold than the eggs of species indigenous to warmer regions. Many can tolerate subzero temperatures, while adults of some species can survive winter by sheltering in microhabitats such as buildings or hollow trees. In warm and humid tropical regions, some mosquito species are active for the entire year, but in temperate and cold regions they hibernate or enter diapause. Arctic or subarctic mosquitoes, like some other arctic midges in families such as Simuliidae and Ceratopogonidae may be active for only a few weeks annually as melt-water pools form on the permafrost. During that time, though, they emerge in huge numbers in some regions and may take up to 300 ml of blood per day from each animal in a caribou herd.

Effect of climate change
For a mosquito to transmit disease, there must be favorable seasonal conditions, primarily humidity, temperature, and precipitation. El Niño affects the location and number of outbreaks in East Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and India. Climate change impacts the seasonal factors and in turn the dispersal of mosquitoes. Climate models can use historic data to recreate past outbreaks and to predict the risk of vector-borne disease, based on an area's forecasted climate. Mosquito-borne diseases have long been most prevalent in East Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and India. An emergence in Europe was observed early in the 21st century. It is predicted that by 2030, the climate of southern Great Britain will be suitable for transmission of Plasmodium vivax malaria by Anopheles mosquitoes for two months of the year, and that by 2080, the same will be true for southern Scotland. Dengue fever, too, is spreading northwards with climate change. The vector, the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, has by 2023 established across southern Europe and as far north as much of northern France, Belgium, Holland, and both Kent and West London in England.

Predators and parasites
Mosquito larvae are among the commonest animals in ponds, and they form an important food source for freshwater predators. Among the many aquatic insects that catch mosquito larvae are dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, whirligig beetles, and water striders. Vertebrate predators include fish such as catfish and the mosquitofish, amphibians including the spadefoot toad and the giant tree frog, freshwater turtles such as the red-eared slider, and birds such as ducks.

Emerging adults are consumed at the pond surface by predatory flies including Empididae and Dolichopodidae, and by spiders. Flying adults are captured by dragonflies and damselflies, by birds such as swifts and swallows, and by vertebrates including bats.

Mosquitoes are parasitised by hydrachnid mites, ciliates such as Glaucoma, microsporidians such as Thelania, and fungi including species of Saprolegniaceae and Entomophthoraceae.

Pollination

Several flowers including members of the Asteraceae, Rosaceae and Orchidaceae are pollinated by mosquitoes, which visit to obtain sugar-rich nectar. They are attracted to flowers by a range of semiochemicals such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and terpenes. Mosquitoes have visited and pollinated flowers since the Cretaceous period. It is possible that plant-sucking preadapted mosquitoes to blood-sucking.

Parasitism
Ecologically, blood-feeding mosquitoes are micropredators, small animals that feed on larger animals without immediately killing them. Evolutionary biologists see this as a form of parasitism; in Edward O. Wilson's phrase "Parasites ... are predators that eat prey in units of less than one." Micropredation is one of six major evolutionarily stable strategies within parasitism. It is distinguished by leaving the host still able to reproduce, unlike the activity of parasitic castrators or parasitoids; and having multiple hosts, unlike conventional parasites. From this perspective, mosquitoes are ectoparasites, feeding on blood from the outside of their hosts, using their piercing mouthparts, rather than entering their bodies. Unlike some other ectoparasites such as fleas and lice, mosquitoes do not remain constantly on the body of the host, but visit only to feed.

Fossil record

The oldest known mosquitoes are Libanoculex intermedius found in Lebanese amber, dating to the Barremian age of the Early Cretaceous, around 125 million years ago. The mouthparts of male individuals of this species are similar to living female mosquitoes, indicating that they consumed blood, unlike living male mosquitoes. Three other species of Cretaceous mosquito are known. Burmaculex antiquus and Priscoculex burmanicus are known from Burmese amber from Myanmar, which dates to the earliest part of the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous, around 99 million years ago. Paleoculicis minutus, is known from Canadian amber from Alberta, Canada, which dates to the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous, around 79 million years ago. P. burmanicus has been assigned to the Anophelinae, indicating that the split between this subfamily and the Culicinae took place over 99 million years ago. Molecular estimates suggest that this split occurred 197.5 million years ago, during the Early Jurassic, but that major diversification did not take place until the Cretaceous.

Taxonomy
Over 3,600 species of mosquitoes in 112 genera have been described. They are traditionally divided into two subfamilies, the Anophelinae and the Culicinae, which carry different diseases. Roughly speaking, protozoal diseases like malaria are transmitted by anophelines, while viral diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever are transmitted by culicines.

The name Culicidae was introduced by the German entomologist Johann Wilhelm Meigen in his seven-volume classification published in 1818–1838. Mosquito taxonomy was advanced in 1901 when the English entomologist Frederick Vincent Theobald published his 5-volume monograph on the Culicidae. He had been provided with mosquito specimens sent in to the British Museum (Natural History) from around the world, on the 1898 instruction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, who had written that "in view of the possible connection of Malaria with mosquitoes, it is desirable to obtain exact knowledge of the different species of mosquitoes and allied insects in the various tropical colonies. I will therefore ask you ... to have collections made of the winged insects in the Colony which bite men or animals."

External
Mosquitoes are members of a family of true flies (Diptera): the Culicidae (from the Latin culex, genitive culicis, meaning "midge" or "gnat"). The phylogenetic tree is based on the FLYTREE project.

Internal
Kyanne Reidenbach and colleagues analysed mosquito phylogenetics in 2009, using both nuclear DNA and morphology of 26 species. They note that Anophelinae is confirmed to be rather basal, but that the deeper parts of the tree are not well resolved.

Vectors of disease
Mosquitoes are vectors for many disease-causing microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, and protozoan parasites. Nearly 700 million people acquire a mosquito-borne illness each year, resulting in over 725,000 deaths. Common mosquito-borne viral diseases include yellow fever and dengue fever transmitted mostly by Aedes aegypti. Parasitic diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include malaria and lymphatic filariasis. The Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria are carried by female Anopheles mosquitoes. Lymphatic filariasis, the main cause of elephantiasis, is spread by a wide variety of mosquitoes. A bacterial disease spread by Culex and Culiseta mosquitoes is tularemia.

Control

Many measures have been tried for mosquito control, including the elimination of breeding places, exclusion via window screens and mosquito nets, biological control with parasites such as fungi and nematodes, or predators such as fish, copepods, dragonfly nymphs and adults, and some species of lizard and gecko. Another approach is to introduce large numbers of sterile males. Genetic modification methods including cytoplasmic incompatibility, chromosomal translocations, sex distortion and gene replacement, solutions seen as inexpensive and not subject to vector resistance, have been explored. Control of disease-carrying mosquitoes using gene drives has been proposed.

Repellents

Insect repellents are applied on skin and give short-term protection against mosquito bites. The chemical DEET repels some mosquitoes and other insects. Some CDC-recommended repellents are picaridin, eucalyptus oil (PMD), and ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate (IR3535). Pyrethrum (from Chrysanthemum species, particularly C. cinerariifolium and C. coccineum) is an effective plant-based repellent. Electronic insect repellent devices that produce ultrasounds intended to keep away insects (and mosquitoes) are marketed. No EPA or university study has shown that these devices prevent humans from being bitten by a mosquito.

Bites
Mosquito bites lead to a variety of skin reactions and more seriously to mosquito bite allergies. Such hypersensitivity to mosquito bites is an excessive reaction to mosquito saliva proteins. Numerous species of mosquito can trigger such reactions, including Aedes aegypti, A. vexans, A. albopictus, Anopheles sinensis, Culex pipiens, Aedes communis, Anopheles stephensi, C. quinquefasciatus, C. tritaeniorhynchus, and Ochlerotatus triseriatus. Cross-reactivity between salivary proteins of different mosquitoes implies that allergic responses may be caused by virtually any mosquito species. Treatment can be with anti-itch medications, including some taken orally, such as diphenhydramine, or applied to the skin like antihistamines or corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone. Aqueous ammonia (3.6%) also provides relief. Both topical heat and cold may be useful as treatments.

Greek mythology

Ancient Greek beast fables including "The Elephant and the Mosquito" and "The Bull and the Mosquito", with the general moral that the large beast does not even notice the small one, derive ultimately from Mesopotamia.

Origin myths
The peoples of Siberia have origin myths surrounding the mosquito. One Ostiak myth tells of a man-eating giant, Punegusse, who is killed by a hero but will not stay dead. The hero eventually burns the giant, but the ashes of the fire become mosquitoes that continue to plague mankind. Other myths from the Yakuts, Goldes (Nanai people), and Samoyed have the insect arising from the ashes or fragments of some giant creature or demon. Similar tales found in Native North American myth, with the mosquito arising from the ashes of a man-eater, suggest a common origin. The Tatars of the Altai had a variant of the same myth, involving the fragments of the dead giant, Andalma-Muus, becoming mosquitoes and other insects.

Lafcadio Hearn tells that in Japan, mosquitoes are seen as reincarnations of the dead, condemned by the errors of their former lives to the condition of Jiki-ketsu-gaki, or "blood-drinking pretas".

Modern era

Winsor McCay's 1912 film How a Mosquito Operates was one of the earliest works of animation. It has been described as far ahead of its time in technical quality. It depicts a giant mosquito tormenting a sleeping man.

Twelve ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Mosquito or the archaic form of the name, HMS Musquito.

The de Havilland Mosquito was a high-speed aircraft manufactured between 1940 and 1950, and used in many roles.

title: Mosquito


text:
Talk:Clark Ashton Smith

CAS
I like CAS.

Cthulu?
Can someone cite a source for Klarkash-Ton writing deliberately in the "Cthulu Mythos"? I seem to have read that the Mythos was retroactively created by August Derleth writing stories that referenced elements in Lovecraft, Smith and Howard's stories. From the biographical materials about Smith and Lovecraft I've read, I can recall no evidence that they deliberately wrote in a shared world. -- Jim Henry

 * The introduction to one of his Hyperborea stories makes reference to both Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth, while I believe another one makes reference to the Necronomicon. I'm positive on the first one, and not so sure on the second.  Furthermore, I know that one of Lovecraft's stories refers to The Book of Eibon (which was first mentioned in the CAS story "The Coming of the White Worm", and also shows up in at least one other Hyperborea story) I'll check and provide quotes/citations when I get a chance later this weekend. 198.164.41.86 8 July 2005 18:49 (UTC)

 * Here we go: "Ubbo-Sathla"

 * Before the coming of Zhothaqquah or Yok-Zothoth or Kthulhut from the stars, Ubbo-Sathla dwelt in the steaming fens of the newmade Earth: a mass without head or members, spawning the grey, formless efts of the prime and the grisly prototypes of terrene life.

 * The important parts of that being Yok-Zothoth and Kthulhut. The same story goes on to mention the Necronomicon and Abdul Alhazred. (Which means that it wasn't another story, as I had previously thought.)  First published in Weird Tales, July 1933.  While I can't say anything for certain about his other stories, I'd say that it's safe to assume that at least some of the Hyperborea tales are deliberately written to include creations of Lovecraft's. (In addition to the Hyperborea tales, I own the 1970s Zothique and Poseidonis collections.  I'm pretty sure that the first makes no mention of any creations of Lovecraft's, and I can't remember on the second.) g026r 06:08, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Painting
Someone more knowledgable should include mention of his paintings and drawings.

Refering to Paintings and Drawings By Clark Ashton Smith

 * —That and sculpture. A good collection for reference is In the Realms of Mystery and Wonder.—Ant 222 (talk) 12:19, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

Death
Theres no mention about the place where he died,and the reason for his death. New Babylon 15:14, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Poetry
Did CAS write poetry until 1961 (i.e. all his life), as the section header states, or up until an earlier date? I found the header a little vague, as it suggests he simply wrote poetry his whole life, rather than through a particular period, as the previous section indicates. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Humphreyswill (talk • contribs) 00:20, 1 February 2006 (UTC)
 * "Until 1961" was in the heading as a result of this edit by an anon who seems to have misunderstood the article's periodization of CAS's work. I've changed it back to "Until 1925." Deor (talk) 01:14, 1 February 2008 (UTC)
 * What's so important about "periodization"? The way the article was previously written made it seem as if Smith stopped writing poetry around 1925 when, in fact, he wrote poetry, on and off, right up until June 1961 (per S. T. Joshi.) And why pick the year 1925? What was esp. significant about that year? Smith published "Nero and Other Poems" in 1937. 2601:84:8A00:2860:F41D:17A5:2783:7AF1 (talk) 19:05, 31 December 2022 (UTC)

External link to Starship Sofa
This link simply links to the main page for this podcast. It needs to link to the specific edition which relates to the subject. I attempted to search the site for "Clark Ashton Smith", but no specific podcast was turned up. This will need to be removed if it cannot be pointed to the specific podcast in question. Yworo (talk) 16:31, 2 January 2010 (UTC)

(7) Some notation should be made regarding Smith's story, The Venus of Azombeii. It parallels the Koma People of Adamawa in Cameroon very closely. Wikipedia states that the Koma of the Atlantika Mountains weren't discovered until 1980; details from Smith's story are uncannily accurate, suggesting that he had access to knowledge that most others did not, and calling into question the known information about the Koma.Ooze2b (talk) 23:38, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

LaVeyan Satanism
I noticed the infobox for LaVeyan Satanism is included on the page, and he's included as an associated figure in the infobox, but the association is mentioned nowhere in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ganondox (talk • contribs) 01:09, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Strange sentence
The text at Clark_Ashton_Smith says "Smith wrote most of his weird fiction and Cthulhu Mythos stories, inspired by H. P. Lovecraft." This makes no sense. If the comma is deleted, it makes sense, but is it true? I hope someone who knows Smith's writings can fix this. Zaslav (talk) 06:22, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

 * The Cthulhu mythos stories were of course set in HP Lovecraft's universe. Probably the result of some awkard editing in the past. AnonMoos (talk) 08:25, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

 * In its orginal form, the sentence read: "It was during this period that Smith wrote most of his weird fiction stories, possibly inspired by H. P. Lovecraft." AnonMoos (talk) 08:33, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Clark Ashton Smith