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Krefeld

Krefeld (,   ; Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its center lying just a few kilometers to the west of the river Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine. Because of its economic past, Krefeld is often referred to as the "Velvet and Silk City". It is accessed by the autobahns A57 (Cologne–Nijmegen) and A44 (Aachen–Düsseldorf–Dortmund–Kassel).

Krefeld's residents now speak Hochdeutsch, or standard German, but the native dialect is a Low Franconian variety, sometimes locally called Krefelder Platt, Krieewelsch Platt, or sometimes simply Platt. The Uerdingen line isogloss, separating general dialectical areas in Germany and neighboring Germanic-speaking countries, runs through and is named after Krefeld's Uerdingen district, originally an independent municipality.

Early history
Records first mention Krefeld in 1105 under the name of Krinvelde.

In February 1598, Walburga, wife of Adolf van Nieuwenaar, and last Countess of Limburg and Moers, gave the County of Moers, which included Krefeld, to Maurice, Prince of Orange. After her death in 1600, John William of Cleves took possession of these lands, but Maurice successfully defended his heritage in 1601. Krefeld and Moers would remain under the jurisdiction of the House of Orange and the Dutch Republic during the Dutch Golden Age (1588-1672). Krefeld was one of few towns spared the horrors of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). The town of Uerdingen, incorporated into Krefeld in the 20th century, had been destroyed at the hands of troops from Hesse during the Thirty Years' War, and almost ceased to exist.

After the death of William III of Orange in 1702, Krefeld passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. The Battle of Krefeld occurred nearby in 1758 during the Seven Years' War. Krefeld and Uerdingen were included within the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg in 1815 (after 1822 the Rhine Province).

In 1872 Krefeld became an independent city within Rhenish Prussia. In 1918 during the First World War the Belgian Army used it as a base during the occupation of the Rhineland. In 1929 Krefeld and Uerdingen merged to form Krefeld-Uerdingen; in 1940 the name was shortened to simply Krefeld.

The Mennonites of Krefeld
From 1607 Mennonites arrived in Krefeld, as in nearby Gronau, from neighboring Roman Catholic territories where they were persecuted. In 1609 Herman op den Graeff, originally from Aldekerk, moved with his family to Krefeld. There he became a lay preacher and chairman of the Mennonite religious community. In 1637, Op den Graeff was referred to as “the Mennonite lord Bishop” (der hiesigen Mennoniten Herrn Bischof) of Krefeld in the reformed community’s minutes book. They sought refuge in the lands of the more tolerant House of Orange-Nassau, at the time rulers of Krefeld; in 1657 their congregation was officially recognized and in 1693 they were allowed to build their own church, although hidden in a back yard (which still exists, reconstructed after World War II, with about 800 members). Also the Quaker Evangelists received a sympathetic audience among the larger of the German-Mennonite congregations around Krefeld, Gronau, Emden and Altona, Hamburg. In 1683 a group of thirteen Mennonite families (twelve of them Mennonite-Quakers), the so called Original 13, including three of the Op den Graeff families left Krefeld to re-settle in Pennsylvania in order to enjoy religious freedom. They crossed the Atlantic on the ship Concord, and founded the settlement of Germantown (now incorporated in Philadelphia), invited by William Penn, and thus beginning the Pennsylvania Dutch ethnic identity. The most important Mennonite family of Krefeld were the silk merchants and silk weaving industrialists Von der Leyen who, by 1763, employed half of Krefeld's population of 6,082 in their factories. Their residence, built from 1791, is the current City Hall.

The Jews of Krefeld
Jews were listed as citizens of Krefeld from 1617. In 1764 a synagogue was erected, and by 1812, under French rule, the town included 196 Jewish families, with three Jewish-owned banks. Under Napoleon, the town became the capital for the surrounding Jewish communities including over 5000 Jews, and by 1897 they comprised 1.8% of the population. In 1846 a Jewish representative was voted onto the town's municipal council, while rising antisemitism was noted during these elections. A reform synagogue was built in 1876, arousing opposition from the Orthodox community. A Jewish school existed in the town, with more than 200 students around 1900.

In November 1938 during November pogroms, the two synagogues were attacked. In 1941 following an order from Hitler to deport the German Jews to the east, Jews from the town were sent to the area around Riga and murdered there. In 1945, the U.S. Army occupied the city and placed Henry Kissinger, then an Army private and later Secretary of State of the United States, in charge of the city administration.

In 2008 a new synagogue, library and Jewish cultural center were erected on the location of one of the demolished synagogues. Around 1100 Jews were reported to live in and around Krefeld at the time.

World War II
On 11 December 1941, during World War II, a detailed report on the transport of Jews from Krefeld and its surroundings listed 1007 Jews from Krefeld and Duisburg, were deported to the Šķirotava Railway Station near Riga, later to become Jungfernhof concentration camp. They were transported in freezing conditions with no drinking water for more than two days. Almost immediately upon arrival they were shot in the Rumbula forest massacre.

On 21 June 1943 British bombs destroyed many buildings in the east part of the city; a firestorm consumed large parts of the city center (apart from the central train station, which remained intact apart from minor damage). On 3 March 1945 US troops entered Krefeld, among them the later U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

During the Cold War, the city was host to the 16th Signal Regiment of the United Kingdom's Royal Corps of Signals stationed at Bradbury Barracks. The town became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia after World War II.

Points of interest

 * Linn Castle (German)
 * Botanischer Garten Krefeld, a municipal botanical garden
 * Krefeld Zoo
 * Lange and Esters Houses, neighbouring houses by early Mies van der Rohe, now serving as local contemporary art museum venues
 * Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, contemporary art museum
 * German Textile Museum
 * Galopprennbahn Krefeld, horse racing track
 * The well-preserved historic old towns of the formerly independent districts Uerdingen, Linn and Hüls
 * Krefeld-Uerdingen Bridge, the only bridge to cross the Rhine in Krefeld

Districts

There are a number of districts in Krefeld. Each has a municipal representative, with representatives chosen by local elections. The districts are:

Municipal absorptions
Cities and places that were incorporated into Krefeld:
 * 1901: Linn (Stadtrecht since 1314)
 * 1907: Bockum, Verberg und Oppum (all mayoralty Bockum)
 * 1929:
 * Krefeld became an independent city
 * Uerdingen, Krefeld (received municipal law in 1255/1344, added Hohenbudberg in today's Duisburg district Friemersheim)
 * Fischeln, Krefeld district
 * Traar, Krefeld district
 * Gellep and Stratum (in Lank), Krefeld district
 * Forstwald (Vorst), Krefeld district
 * Benrad und Hülserberg (Hüls), Kempen
 * 1975: Locality of Hüls from Kempen (since 1970 integrated and belonged since 1929 to the Kempen-Krefeld district; in 1936 Orbroich had been independent)

Demographics
¹ Census data

Largest migrant communities in Krefeld by 31.12.2017 are

Mayor
The current Mayor of Krefeld is Frank Meyer of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, 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 ! 83,056 ! 98.8 ! 59,491 ! 99.0 ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 990 ! 1.2 ! 612 ! 1.0 ! colspan=3| Total ! 84,046 ! 100.0 ! 60,103 ! 100.0 ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 180,496 ! 46.6 ! 180,256 ! 33.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Frank Meyer
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party
 * 36,025
 * 43.4
 * 37,125
 * 62.4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Kerstin Jensen
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union
 * 22,901
 * 27.6
 * 22,366
 * 37.6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Thorsten Hansen
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens
 * 12,778
 * 15.4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Martin Vincentz
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany
 * 4,186
 * 5.0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Joachim C. Heitmann
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party
 * 3,578
 * 4.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Richard Jansen
 * align=left| Die PARTEI
 * 1,551
 * 1.9
 * align=left| Salih Tahusoglu
 * align=left| We Make Krefeld
 * 1,047
 * 1.3
 * align=left| Andreas Drabben
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association/Free Voters
 * 783
 * 0.9
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Peter Lommes
 * align=left| German Communist Party
 * 207
 * 0.2
 * align=left| Andreas Drabben
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association/Free Voters
 * 783
 * 0.9
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Peter Lommes
 * align=left| German Communist Party
 * 207
 * 0.2
 * 207
 * 0.2
 * colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer
 * }
 * }

The following is a list of mayors of Krefeld from 1848:
 * 1848–1872: Ludwig Heinrich Ondereyck
 * 1872–1881: Friedrich Christian Roos
 * 1882–1903: Ernst Küper
 * 1903–1905: Wilhelm Hammerschmidt
 * 1905–1911: Adalbert Oehler
 * 1911–1930: Johannes Johansen
 * 1945–1946: Johannes Stepkes
 * 1946–1947: Wilhelm Warsch
 * 1947–1949: Hermann Passen
 * 1949–1951: Hanns Müller (FDP)
 * 1951–1956: Johannes Hauser (CDU)
 * 1956–1961: Josef Hellenbrock (SPD)
 * 1961–1968: Herbert van Hüllen (CDU)
 * 1968–1982: Hansheinz Hauser (CDU)
 * 1982–1989: Dieter Pützhofen, first term in office (CDU)
 * 1989–1994: Willi Wahl (SPD)
 * 1994–2004: Dieter Pützhofen, second term in office (CDU)
 * 2004–2015: Gregor Kathstede (CDU)
 * 2015–present: Frank Meyer (SPD)

The following is a list of city counsellors from 1946 until 1999:
 * 1946–1949: Johan Stepkes
 * 1949–1964: Bernhard Heun
 * 1964–1986: Hermann Steffens
 * 1986–1988: Alfred Dahlmann
 * 1988–1999: Heinz-Josef Vogt

City council
The Krefeld city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 82,582 ! 98.5 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 1,216 ! 1.5 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 83,798 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! ±0 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 180,491 ! 46.4 ! 1.2 ! !
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
 * 24,977
 * 30.2
 * 3.4
 * 17
 * 3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)
 * 23,599
 * 28.6
 * 6.1
 * 17
 * 3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
 * 16,662
 * 20.2
 * 9.0
 * 12
 * 6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)
 * 4,834
 * 5.9
 * 0.5
 * 3
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD)
 * 4,476
 * 5.4
 * 1.2
 * 3
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| The Left (Die Linke)
 * 2,664
 * 3.2
 * 1.4
 * 2
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Die PARTEI (PARTEI)
 * 2,031
 * 2.5
 * 1.3
 * 1
 * ±0
 * align=left| We Make Krefeld (WIR)
 * 1,200
 * 1.5
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association/Free Voters (UWG/FW)
 * 1,023
 * 1.2
 * 0.5
 * 1
 * ±0
 * align=left| Voters' Association Our Future (WUZ)
 * 842
 * 1.0
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey|
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Independents
 * 267
 * 0.3
 * 0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| German Communist Party (DKP)
 * 7
 * 0.0
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey|
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Independents
 * 267
 * 0.3
 * 0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| German Communist Party (DKP)
 * 7
 * 0.0
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * 7
 * 0.0
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer
 * }
 * }

Transport
Krefeld is connected to the Deutsche Bahn network with several stations, including its main station, Krefeld Hauptbahnhof. They are served by Intercity, Regional-Express and Regionalbahn trains. The Düsseldorf-based Rheinbahn operates a Stadtbahn service to the centrally located Rheinstraße stop. This line was the first electric inter-city rail line in Europe, established in 1898, and commonly called the K-Bahn because of the letter "K" used to denote the trains to Krefeld. Nowadays, in the VRR notation, it is called U76, with the morning and afternoon express trains numbered as U70, the line number there coloured red instead of the usual blue used for U-Bahn lines. The term K-Bahn, however, prevails in common usage.

The city of Krefeld itself operates four tramway and several bus lines under the umbrella of SWK MOBIL, a city-owned company. Since 2010, 19 of the oldest trams of the type Duewag GT8 were replaced by modern barrier-free trams of the type Bombardier Flexity Outlook. SWK Mobil owns an option to buy another 19 trams of the same type to replace the last 19 Duewag M8 trams. The whole tram fleet will then be barrier-free. Next to that the city plans to extend the line 044 in Krefeld-Hüls to connect the northern district of Hüls with the Krefeld downtown area.

Economy
The headquarters of Fressnapf, a pet food retailer franchise company, are situated in Krefeld.

The Nirosta steelworks, once owned by ThyssenKrupp, was sold in 2012 to Outokumpu.

International relations
Since 1964, the city has hosted an "honors program in foreign language (German) studies" for high school students from Indiana, United States. The program annually places approximately thirty carefully selected high school juniors with families in and around Krefeld for intensive German language training. Since 1973, the fire services of Krefeld and twin city Leicester have played each other in an annual 'friendly' football match.

Twin towns – sister cities
Krefeld is twinned with:

 * Venlo, Netherlands (1964)
 * 🏴 Leicester, England, United Kingdom (1969)
 * 🇫🇷 Dunkirk, France (1974)
 * Leiden, Netherlands (1974)
 * 🇺🇸 Charlotte, United States (1986)
 * 🇩🇪 Oder-Spree (district), Germany (1990)
 * 🇷🇺 Ulyanovsk, Russia (1993) - put on hold due to Ukraine war since 2022
 * 🇹🇷 Kayseri, Turkey (2009)

Scientists and academics

 * Charlotte Auerbach (1899–1994) – genetic scientist
 * Edmund ter Meer (1859–1931) – chemist and industrialist
 * Felix Kracht (1912–2002) – aerospace engineer, an Airbus pioneer and former Senior Vice President
 * Fritz ter Meer (1884–1967) – chemist and industrialist
 * Leopold Löwenheim (1878–1957) – logician
 * Herta Wescher (1899–1971), art historian and art critic
 * Max Zorn (1906–1993) – mathematician
 * Rudi Dornbusch (1942–2002) – economist
 * Kate Wallach (1905-1979)

Writers, poets and journalists

 * Bernhard Hennen (born 1966) – writer of fantasy literature
 * Bodo Hauser (1946–2004) – journalist and writer
 * Erol Yesilkaya (born 1976) – Turkish-German screenwriter
 * Johannes Floehr (born 1991) – author and comedian
 * Kurt Feltz (1910–1982) – poet
 * Margarethe Schreinemakers (born 1958) – television presenter and journalist

Musicians

 * Albert Dohmen (born 1956) – opera singer
 * Andrea Berg (born 1966) – singer
 * Blind Guardian (1984-) – Power Metal band
 * Engin Nurşani (1984–2020) – folk musician
 * Heinrich Band (1821–1860) – inventor of the bandoneón
 * Maria Madlen Madsen (1905–1990) – opera singer
 * Ralf Hütter (born 1946) – leader of electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk
 * Saki Kaskas (1971–2016) – Greek-Canadian video game music composer

Visual artists

 * Albert Oehlen (born 1954) – artist
 * Charles J. Kleingrothe (1864–1925) – photographer
 * Heinrich Campendonk (1889–1957) – German-Dutch painter and graphic designer
 * Johan Thorn Prikker (1868–1932) – Dutch artist
 * Johannes Itten (1888–1967) – Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist
 * Joseph Beuys (1921–1986) – artist
 * Markus Oehlen (born 1956) – artist
 * Theo Akkermann (1907–1982) – sculptor

Sportspeople

 * Jochen Neerpasch (born 1939) – racing driver
 * Friedhelm Funkel (born 1953) – football manager and player
 * Juliane Schenk (born 1982) – German badminton player
 * Martin Hyun (born 1979) – German-American ice hockey player and author
 * Philip Hindes (born 1992) – British sprint cyclist
 * Werner Rittberger (1891–1975) – figure skater
 * Marc Schaub (born 1992) – professional ice hockey player
 * Nicole Anyomi (born 2000) – football player

Businessmen

 * Ben Neumann (1966–2020) – American entrepreneur and film producer
 * Edmund ter Meer (1859–1931) – chemist and industrialist
 * Felix Kracht (1912–2002) – aerospace engineer, an Airbus pioneer and former Senior Vice President
 * Fritz ter Meer (1884–1967) – chemist and industrialist
 * Thierry Hermès (1801–1878) – French businessman and founder of Hermès

Military personnel

 * Emil Schäfer (1891–1917) – World War I aviator
 * Heinz Harmel (1906–2000) – SS commander, Knight's Cross Holder
 * Werner Voss (1897–1917) – World War I aviator

Politicians

 * Jürgen Lenders (born 1966), politician (FDP)

Mennonites

 * Herman op den Graeff (1585-1642), born in Aldekerk; Mennonite community leader from Krefeld, in 1632 delegate to sign the Dordrecht Confession of Faith
 * Abraham op den Graeff (1646-1731), grandchild of the previous one, born in Krefeld; original founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and in 1688 signer of the first organized religious protest against slavery in colonial America

title: Krefeld


text:
Talk:Countdown (game show)

Older entries
"Indeed the current prize fund tends to be a board game and assorted junk for every contestant and a full Oxford English Dictionary for the series winner, which is highly extravagant in terms of the show's overall history."

Eh? What does that last bit mean? Anyway, "highly extravagant" doesn't sound very NPOV to me, so I'll remove it. -- Oliver P. 19:22 Feb 5, 2003 (UTC)

 * I meant to say that the prizes were previously even smaller. I could be wrong, but I've a feeling that the goody bag for every single contestant is a recent addition.  I'll go and rewrite it now. Bagpuss

 * Aha, okay, thanks for clarifying that! -- Oliver P. 18:16 Feb 7, 2003 (UTC)

Clarification (History section)
"After the death of Whiteley, Sir Jeremy Isaacs, the then head of Channel 4, said that he* had been the one to decide to bring over the French programme and had only then learnt of YTV's programme."

Does that "he" refer to Richard, or to Isaacs? -- 16:32, 28 January 2006 82.112.132.33

 * Good question. I had to read that sentence a few times before giving up. Here is the edit which added that statement to the article: . The edit summary was alternate according to Isaacs in radio interview.
 * Anyway, Richard was presenting YTV's programme, wasn't he? So he couldn't have "only then learnt of YTV's programme". Aaron McDaid 21:32, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

US version
Why is there no US version of this show? I had heard of Countdown from my British friends when the host passed away and recently saw and became addicted to Des Chiffres et des Lettres while on holiday (albeit I don't speak a word of French). Has there been any unsuccessful attempts on this side of the pond? It would seem natural considering us Americans will throw just about any kind of game show on television and multiple times at that (ie Fear Factor, Match Game).

 * According to, "In the mid 80s a pilot for an American version of Countdown was made, but was scrapped after being considered too brainy." --Q4 12:47, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

 * It just seems to be a very British thing, and I can't imagine many Americans enjoying it. --Nathan (Talk) 13:26, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Are there any 'intellectual' game shows on US TV? --MartinUK 17:52, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Ahem, we are the homeplace of Jeopardy, albeit with a Canadian host. The show does muster a cult following.Stephen 04:53, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Apparently, some US viewers like political commentary more than game shows. Case in point: the US version of Countdown has nothing to do with Countdown. --Damian Yerrick (talk | stalk) 07:18, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Letters game image
Interesting thing: the example still of a letters game is the selection from a famous round in 1991 in which both contestants came up with the word "wankers". (There's nothing longer available, though there are a couple of alternative sevens.) The clip is very well-known in the UK, having been endlessly repeated on out-take shows ever since. --Bonalaw 14:10, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Yea, ideally another clip should be used, although this incident definitely deserves a mention. --MartinUK 17:42, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I didn't mean it should be removed. I just thought some Wikipedians might find it an interesting bit of trivia. --Bonalaw 10:58, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I personally think more modern pictures should be used - the letters game is from 1991, and the numbers game from the early 2000s (the set shown was used from 2000 to 2002). There's nothing in the article that says the pictures are old, either- you have to click on them to find out. BillyH 15:30, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

Numbers game image
I'm amazed neither player did better on this. I got 666 immediately: (9-2)x9+3X10+6 and later 669: (9+2)x6x10+9. Can anyone solve it? --MartinUK 17:47, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
 * There is only one solution to this numbers game. This is the following 9+3=12 12×9=108 108+2=110 110×6=660 660+10=670. Bobo. 07:12, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

First show on Channel 4
According to Richard Whiteley's bumblings on the show, the first episode had 8 million viewers, but the second had 0.8 million. I don't have a written source, but if someone finds one, maybe it's worth a mention.--Nathan (Talk) 13:30, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Rude words (wankers)
I'm not convinced about 'wanker'/'wankers' having been broadcast on the show, despite the vehemence of one contributor. It shouldn't be impossible to find a reference to this - there has been plenty of coverage of other rude words appearing, and having been personally involved in one of those appearance, and keeping an eye on this as a result, I'd be surprised to have missed it entirely. The word 'wanker' certainly wouldn't normally appear on tea-time television. Does anyone else think they've seen this, and not just repeats of the famous excised clip? --Oolong 11:02, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

I've removed this bit, in the continued absence of anything to back it up (I can't find any non-Wikipedia-based references to it on the internet, which seems extraordinary). --Oolong 13:37, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Unfortunately it's going to be one of those things I'm never going to be able to find in order to give it a citation, aside from the fact that I can say that from memory it has happened. Sadly the memory doesn't really count as a primary source, but we can easily leave it out. Bobo. 20:26, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks Bobo. I hope some other source turns up; I would love for it to have appeared! --Oolong 10:20, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

It's happened twice, firstly in 1991 – Gino Corr and Lawrence Pearse http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/2023721568 and on Tuesday 21st October 2008, a contestant only known as 'Charley'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQS9s_X9oPE Mitchelljohn93 (talk) 21:45, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

When I was on the show in '92, shortly after the 'wankers' incident, Mark Nyman related over drinks in the hotel the night before recording that initially they *were* going to allow the 'wankers' round to be broadcast. Yes it's a rude word, but it's in the dictionary. However Gino Corr (hilarious bloke) when asked what seven letter word he got, replied 'You've got a right pair of wankers here, Richard!' An executive decision was made to pull (as it were!) the round. Martyn Smith 10 June 06

 * How can you "edit out" or "pull" a round in a game of Countdown? Did they film a fake extra round to replace it with? Chris Henderson, 11 September 2006

 * From what I've heard, they just re-record the declaration process with the contestant offering a different word of the same value. Never seen it happen though. Jono (talk)  23:54, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

I believe, in this case, they just had the contestants declare a different word of the same value.

 * Myself, my brother and one of my sisters used to play the game at home on pencil and paper - at first, with regard to scoring, we adopted the game's rules, but eventually, we just scored points regardless of the number of letters - if one of us had made five, one six and one four, we'd score the points value, to ensure a close scoreline. In the case of the edition that featured the word WANKERS, my sister got that word (can't remember what my brother and I got).  In one edition from an earlier series, I can't remember the order in which the letters came out, but I saw the word TRAGEDIAN - which we found was valid - nobody in our house, other than me, got the word - not even the contestants or Dictionary Corner! Arthurvasey (talk) 17:05, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

 * I watched a clip on youtubes.com of the letters natraully spelling c*ntflaps (not sure whether i should censor that). Should this be added? WhoIzzet

 * Since it's quite obviously not genuine, I would say NO. --Bonalaw 09:58, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Besides of which, "cuntflaps" only has two vowels in it, and thus a selection which spelled out this word would nowadays be illegal. Whether this was a much older episode or not, I don't think this would have applied, but this is certainly true. Bobo. 12:29, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

How about the "Gobshite" incident, where Richard exclaimed "Look, it's just a job for you; it's a career for me"? (look it up on youtube if you want to see)

They just aired one today (August 25, 2009) on Channel 4 where both contestants declared the word "bastards". The audio of them pronouncing the actual words was bleeped. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.182.188.62 (talk) 16:01, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Ricky Tomlinson lookalike
Was the appearance of the contestant who is a professional RT lookalike on the show today *really* a complete coincidence.....? Martyn Smith 21:37, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Knowing Damian Eadie, no. Jono 21:45, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
 * He didn't do very well, so it might not have been coincidence --MartinUK 11:06, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Example game
Instead of that example game, can we use the recent one from the CoC Final with Paul and Mark's words and scores printed beside it? This was a much more impressive performances, hetairas aside, and contains (as far as I remember) only one contestant-beater throughout the whole show. What do we think?

And while I'm asking about that particular CoC game, is the word pembina in the new word Bible by any chance? Bobo. 06:36, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I don't think the example game should be too amazing - a more typical one would be a better measure of the programme. --MartinUK 14:06, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
 * How about this one? A quality DC guest, a very good champion, who came up with one impressive nine-letter word, one very hard numbers games, coupled with two fairly easy ones, and quite a nice conundrum in SELLFAUST. Bobo. 14:42, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Citation spot check
As part of this project, I randomly checked a few footnotes from this article. Results were as follows:
 * 1) Footnote 9. "unlike almost any other game show hostess of the time, however, the advertisement also made it clear that the applicants' appearance would be less important than their being a talented mathematician."
 * 2) *Checks out, I guess. From site: "Vorderman found work as a graduate management trainee, but it was her mother who saw a newspaper ad asking for a woman with good maths to appear as co-host on a quiz show for the fledgling fourth terrestrial channel."
 * 3) Footnote 12. "since her debut in 1992, Susie Dent has become synonymous with the role, and has now made over a thousand appearances."
 * 4) *Checks out, although the source only covers the last part of the sentence. From site: "Susie Dent (SD, Series 24 to 55 & Specials, 1,367 appearances)"
 * 5) Footnote 14. "Countdown's longevity is often considered to be a consequence of it having a cult status;"
 * 6) *Iffy From site: "a daily afternoon quiz show that gained cult status almost from its inception in 1982"
 * 7) **The source is certainly related to the statement in the article, but doesn't provide evidence for either for the "often considered" statement or the longevity being attributed to this.
 * 8) Footnote 20. "In keeping with the show's friendly nature, contestants compete not for money but the Countdown winner's teapot, which is custom-made and can only be obtained by winning a game on the programme."
 * 9) *Checks out. From site: "The fabled Countdown teapot, which is not for sale anywhere. The only way you can get one of these collector's items is to appear on the show and win a game."
 * 10) Footnote 68. "When contestants Gino Corr and Lawrence Pearse[67] both declared the word wankers, one of the contestants quipped, "You've got a couple of wankers here!". This was edited out of the programme but has since appeared on many outtakes shows."
 * 11) *Problem. The source offers several different possible speakers and phrasings, and mentions only a single appearance on an outtakes show.

All in all, there seems to be a problem here with supporting the articles statements with sources that relate to but don't actually support what the article says. This needs fixin'. --RobthTalk 16:19, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I've had a go at fixing the worst of these, footnote 68, with a second reference that better supports both the phrasing and the multiple appearances on outtakes shows. I will have a look through some more of the references to see if there are any more cases of weak ones later on. Regards, CountdownCrispy 10:30, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Game example
This page looks a lot better. I wasn't a big fan of that example game, I know that for the Scrabble category someone did an example of a tournament game, the article was then submitted for wikifying which was a bit silly IHMO. Bearing that in mind, perhaps it would be better to find a nicely presented game on the web (Gary Woodward comes to mind) and link to that as an external link.

Mglovesfun 22:51, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Piles of numbers
They don't have the numbers in piles, they have them laid out on a table in different columns and rows. Some of the rows or columns are large numbers, the others are small, I can't remember the exact lay out, but they're definately not in piles.--Jcvamp 23:54, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Gone wrong
A player asked for a consonant and the consonant board fell off.

In another one:

A player asks for a consonant

P

then a vowel

O

Another vowel

O

(laughter) consonant

F

One final incident was a hand appeared randomly where the vowels and consonants are normally picked up.

Simply south 12:32, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

 * if it helps in any way, the hand belonged to warm-up man Greg Scott. Elcondor 12:54, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Reference for rules
As the publisher of New Improved Head I can definitively state that it does not satisfy Wikipedia standards for reliable sources, nor does it have any immediate plans to do so. The article referenced is also out of date (and may soon be disappearing from the site). I have therefore removed it as a source for DCEDL's rules. John FitzGerald 21:57, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Updates and the suggested merger
I've made quite a few little tweaks to the general appearance of this article which has, in my opinion, been slowly growing messy over recent times. Some of the major changes I have made and my justifications for them are listed below:

 * Tidying up the infobox - it was very overpopulated and difficult to comprehend, even for me as a fan of the show. What I have done is to prune it down so that it only refers to the programme with its present team and format, because should you want further detail there is more than enough to whet your appetite in the body of the article! Please think carefully before you revert this - an infobox will probably be the first thing a user sees of an article, and for a featured article the existing userbox was extremely bloated.
 * I've rearranged the pictures and compiled some fragment elements of the text of the article to make it more aesthetically pleasant to browse.
 * I've split the references into two columns to reduce the overall footprint of the page. Hopefully that's not too controversial.

That's about it - the only other thing I'd like to comment on is the suggested merger of Dictionary Corner into this article. I think our own detailed and referenced paragraph for it under Presenters is more than sufficient, greatly superior to the glorified stubby list over at the other article. If anything, I would delete the Dictionary Corner article and redirect this term to here.

Regards, Countdown Crispy  (  ? 12:13, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree. The Dictionary Corner article isn't worth keeping. Redirect here. --JimmyTheWig 13:17, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

 * Tend to disagree, though the DC article could be improved. DC does have a certain quality of its own and the list of those taking part would clog up the main article. IXIA 06:14, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

 * What could be added to the article about Dictionary Corner that isn't in the body of this article, other than a list of Dictionary Corner guests? Even that would be more suited to a list article rather than a regular article. -- Countdown Crispy  talk contributions 18:36, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

 * Agree, redirect to main Countdown (game show) article. Mglovesfun 17:38, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

 * I redirected Dictionary Corner to this article as per WP:RM. The article was short and of little interest compared to the entire show. You can of course revert the redirect if you feel that strongly about it, but as there was no opposition on this talk page, I went and did it. Mglovesfun 20:06, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Spoken version added
I have added a spoken version of this article; see above for the link. Hassocks5489 19:06, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Starring Susie Dent
That's overstating it a bit, surely? -88.109.115.129 09:34, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Suspension of the programme
"Channel 4 has suspended broadcasting of Countdown due to recent tabloid revelations regarding the reasons behind Vorderman's departure."

Is that correct? I understand that it was a planned summer break, probably at least partly to facilitate the coverage of the Goodwood race meeting this week. Last Saturday's TV guides bundled with the national newspapers show "Countdown" not being broadcast this week, and they would have been printed before the story about Carol Vorderman broke. "Deal or No Deal" isn't being shown this week either, so I imagine it was simply decided to give both shows a short rest.
 * Probably not correct. Until we've got definitely word that it won't be broadcast on Monday, remove it. This could be the second time somebody has posted words suggesting that the show will be removed from the air, which at this stage is speculation at best.--MartinUK (talk) 15:46, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Alexander Armstrong
I am removing him from the presenters lists, etc., as he has NOT been confirmed- it is still rumour, as the few sources cited show Jomunro (talk) 21:48, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley
I'm editing the 2009-present fixtures underneath the names, as it makes no sense as we're actually still in 2008, if no one noticed. :P

But Nick Hewer is the new host now. Medieval867 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 00:12, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Vandalism?
The URL in footnote 35 appears (to me) to have been vandalised. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.6.11.49 (talk) 09:23, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Game
There've been Wii and DS versions of Countdown made by Mindscape now (the publishers of Des chiffres). Picked up the DS version at ASDA a few hours ago. This needs a section here and it's probably its own article. ProtoKun7 (talk) 21:10, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

Slightly pedantic, but...
Is the plural of "conundrum" "conundrums" or "conundra"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.7.206.78 (talk) 14:26, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

august 2012
As of late August 2012, Countdown has vanished from c4 schedules... Anyone know why? and if when it will reappear?109.176.220.155 (talk) 13:14, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Channel 4 is the UK station broadcasting the Paralympics. --  Dr Greg   talk  16:43, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

C4 site says it will be back on 13th Sep at 15:10 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.153.106.191 (talk) 09:37, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

live show
What about if Channel 4 might launch the live version of Countdown this autumn. You can try contract Channel 4. Medieval867 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 00:10, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Does the section on the "8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdowns" games really belong under Celebrations (1.5)? Sure, you could argue that the first episode was part of a celebration (30th anniversary of Channel 4), but by the end of the next series, there will have been 16 games in total, some of which will air more than 2 years after the first. I think it belongs under either: 4.3 Humor or 4.4 Non-canon games

Or, alternatively, you could give it a section of its own. Bilorv (talk) 09:45, 4 January 2014 (UTC)
 * I would go slightly further than giving it a section of its own; I would give it a main article of its own, and remove it from this one, though providing a link. After all, it's a completely separate programme, even though it's recorded in the same studio, and has some of the same personnel. Drawoh46 (talk) 10:51, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

M and W
Letters M and W in this game are similar, but not the same - middle part in M is pointed while middle part in W is flat. Was there ever a mistake in serving the letters? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.93.208.197 (talk) 02:44, 6 October 2014 (UTC)
 * As I remember it, there was a case once when both M and W were selected in the same round, but both displayed as the same letter (can't remember whether it was as two Ms or two Ws). By looking carefully at a screenshot at the time it was clear that the two tiles were for different letters. I believe that one of the letters had been inverted in the consonants box. I also believe that after that incident the tiles were marked in some way so that this couldn't happen again. I'm sure someone will be able to say in which episode and in which round this occurred, but I believe it was during series 61, 62 or 63. Drawoh46 (talk) 16:10, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

In the "numbers" game, how do they distinguish between 6 and 9 since neither has a line underneath? 50.79.178.157 (talk) 17:01, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

Countdown has occupied a tea-time broadcast slot since its inception?
I'm not a regular viewer of Countdown, but it seems to go out at 2pm these days doesn't it? Hardly tea-time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.101.26.171 (talk) 13:50, 3 June 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Oxford spelling
The article states any word found in the OED is allowed in the letters round, but that American spellings are not allowed. Does this mean words with the -ize ending are allowed (as in Oxford Spelling), despite the widespread misconception that it is an Americanism? --2.216.83.245 (talk) 21:56, 4 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I imagine that they are allowed assuming that they appear in the OED without being annotated as an American spelling. I have the Concise Oxford Dictionary, which though it isn't the version used in the programme I assume must follow the same principles. In it, "Labor" is annotated as an American variant spelling, whereas "realize" is not. "Realize" is annotated "also -ise", and "realise" does not have its own entry, suggesting that "realize" is still viewed as the primary form (even though "realise" is seen much more frequently in BrEng text). So I think that both "realize" and "realise" would be accepted. But only Susie Dent knows for sure! I think it's too detailed a point to be worth mentioning in our article, though. JH (talk page) 08:53, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

Infobox
The total numbers of both series and episodes shown in the infobox don't tally with what you get if you add up the sub-categories. JH (talk page) 20:53, 28 October 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Numbers round
"Both score if they reach the same result, or if their results are the same distance away."

Shouldn't that read "if they reach the target number.."? Harfarhs (talk) 08:35, 21 July 2019 (UTC)

 * It's an old post, but I'll answer anyway.
 * There are more ways to tie than both hitting the target number exactly. Both can be 1 away, 2 away, etc.
 * For example, if the target number is 500, 498 and 498 is a tie, as is 498 and 502 (both 2 away). TroyVan (talk) 16:01, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

History table
Is it really necessary to have a table under the history section detailing how long each presenter has presented the programme for? I notice other gameshow articles don't have it and I can't help feeling that it's kind of repeating what is in the infobox. Admittedly the infobox doesn't have exact dates but you can get a rough idea how long each presenter presented it for.-- 5 albert square (talk) 18:17, 9 December 2020 (UTC)

It's the Final Countdown - if only!
Given that not everyone loves it, can there be a section on the need for such boring game shows? With never-changing formats, is it a case that the TV producers are lazy and lacking imagination? Then again, at least one show is willing to admit that it is totally Pointless. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.149.166.187 (talk) 08:44, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Countdown (game show)


text:
Talk:Semitism

Archives: Archive 1

I propose changing this to a disambiguation page between Semitic people, Semitic language, and Jewish ethnocentrism based on the M-W definition. Maybe adding a link to Wiktionary for anyone who wants a proper definition. (currently it's a broken redirect) Objections? Martin

Being an elderly German I have tried to resolve the superficially meaningless terms Semitismus and Anti-Semitismus. The latter was introduced by one Wihelm Marr, son of the famous jewish actor Heinrich Marr, at the beginning of the 1880s. This has become very popular almost overnight in the Western world at large, comprehending everything bad on jewish persons. It has taken on the meaning of racism as well.

Starting from there we can agree on the possibility that "anti-semitism" was a term used for the intra-jewish discourses in German speaking countries. There were many German jews who were very critical of certain traits of what is called the "jewish identity" - Tenach, Talmud, Zohar with their hatred against non-jews, with justification of ethnic cleansing, of lying and of cheating if so commanded by G-d. Most prominent among those (formerly) jewish critics is Karl Marx.

I suggest that Wilhelm Marr gave to these ugly traits the term "semitism" and he did not have any speakers of semitic languages in mind, when doing so. Instead he was reflecting the fact that frume jews will never use the word G-d. When encountering the tetragrammaton in Hebrew or Aramaic "holy writ" they will speak something different, most often just "ha Shem", which translates into "the name", meaning the name of their G-d. For instance the founder of the Chassidim was therefore called Baal Shem Tov (Master of the good name).

So when propagating anti-semitism Wilhelm Marr was taking up a fight against the selfish traits encountered in Judaism - but of course also found in certain christian communities like the evangelicals with their obsession with money. The G-d Marr was fighting against is in reality just an idol whose proper name is "Mammon" or selfishness.

Merriam-Webster definition of Semitism vs International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance non-definition (Newspeak)
I suggest a Wikipedia page be created defining the word Semitism.

Merriam-Webster definition of Semitism vs International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance non-definition (Newspeak)

Is Semitism a word, and is it racist to use this word?

"IHRA’s concern is that the hyphenated spelling allows for the possibility of something called ‘Semitism’, which not only legitimizes a form of pseudo-scientific racial classification that was thoroughly discredited by association with Nazi ideology, but also divides the term, stripping it from its meaning of opposition and hatred toward Jews"...https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/antisemitism/spelling-antisemitism

Or is Semitism Racism, or Jewish Supremacy?

"policy or predisposition favorable to Jews"...https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Semitism

Also see ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Israel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacism#Jewish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misnomer

We have a situation here where the word Semitism and Antisemitism have been twisted beyond recognition, and have opposing meanings. If Semitism is Racism or Jewish Supremacy, then Anti-Semtism would mean Anti-Racism or Anti-Jewish-Supremacy. ... SteveBenassi (talk) 12:03, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Semitism


text:
Norman Panama

Norman Kaye Panama (April 21, 1914 – January 13, 2003) was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He is known for his partnership with Melvin Frank and their work on films such as Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), White Christmas (1954), and The Court Jester (1956). Without Frank, he directed films such as How to Commit Marriage (1969).

Life and career
Panama met his future collaborator Melvin Frank in 1933 when they were both at the University of Chicago. After graduating, they formed a partnership in 1935 which endured for four decades; first writing for Milton Berle before becoming writers for Bob Hope's radio show and for Groucho Marx. In 1941, they sold their first script to Paramount Pictures, My Favorite Blonde (1942), which starred Hope.

They worked for Paramount for five years where, among others, they wrote Road to Utopia (1946), starring Hope and Bing Crosby, for which they received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. They moved to Columbia Pictures making It Had to Be You (1947) and The Return of October (1948) and also wrote Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) for RKO.

In 1950, they signed a writing, producing and directing deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and made films together as co-writers, co-directors and co-producers. They started with The Reformer and the Redhead (1950) and also made Knock on Wood (1954) and The Court Jester (1956), both with Danny Kaye, with the former earning them another Academy Award nomination. They also co-wrote White Christmas (1954) with Norman Krasna. They wrote a Broadway play together in 1956, later adapted into Li'l Abner (1959), directed by Frank. They received another Academy Award nomination for The Facts of Life (1960) and also worked on The Road to Hong Kong (1962).

He won an Edgar Award for A Talent for Murder (1981), a play he co-wrote with Jerome Chodorov. Panama continued to write and direct through the 1980s. He died in 2003 in Los Angeles, California, aged 88, from complications of Parkinson's disease.

Selected filmography

 * My Favorite Blonde (with Melvin Frank, 1942, story only)
 * Road to Utopia (with Melvin Frank, 1946)
 * Monsieur Beaucaire (with Melvin Frank, 1946)
 * It Had to Be You (with Melvin Frank, 1947)
 * The Return of October (with Melvin Frank, 1948)
 * Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (with Melvin Frank, 1948)
 * The Reformer and the Redhead (with Melvin Frank, 1950, also co-director)
 * Strictly Dishonorable (with Melvin Frank, 1951, also co-director)
 * Callaway Went Thataway (with Melvin Frank, 1951, also co-director)
 * Above and Beyond (with Melvin Frank, 1952, also co-director)
 * White Christmas (with Melvin Frank and Norman Krasna, 1954)
 * Knock on Wood (with Melvin Frank, 1954, also co-director)
 * The Court Jester (with Melvin Frank, 1956, also co-director)
 * That Certain Feeling (with Melvin Frank, 1956, also co-director)
 * Li'l Abner (with Melvin Frank, 1959)
 * The Trap (with Melvin Frank, 1959)
 * The Jayhawkers! (with Melvin Frank, 1959)
 * The Facts of Life (with Melvin Frank, 1960)
 * The Road to Hong Kong (with Melvin Frank, 1962, also director)
 * Strange Bedfellows (with Melvin Frank and Michael Pertwee, 1965)
 * Not with My Wife, You Don't! (with Melvin Frank, Peter Barnes and Larry Gelbart, 1966, also director)
 * The Maltese Bippy (1969, director only)
 * How to Commit Marriage (1969, director only)
 * Coffee, Tea or Me? (with Melvin Frank and Stanley Ralph Ross, 1973, TV, also director)
 * I Will, I Will... for Now (with Albert E. Lewin, 1973, also director)
 * Barnaby and Me (1978)

title: Norman Panama