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Draco (constellation)

Draco is a constellation in the deep northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. The north pole of the ecliptic is in Draco. Draco is circumpolar from northern latitudes, meaning that it never sets and can be seen at any time of year.

Stars
Thuban (α Draconis) was the northern pole star from 3942 BC, when it moved farther north than Theta Boötis, until 1793 BC. The Egyptian Pyramids were designed to have one side facing north, with an entrance passage geometrically aligned so that Thuban would be visible at night. Due to the effects of precession, it will again be the pole star around the year AD 21000. It is a blue-white giant star of magnitude 3.7, 309 light-years from Earth. The traditional name of Alpha Draconis, Thuban, means "head of the serpent".

There are three stars above magnitude 3 in Draco. The brighter of the three, and the brightest star in Draco, is Gamma Draconis, traditionally called Etamin or Eltanin. It is an orange giant star of magnitude 2.2, 148 light-years from Earth. The aberration of starlight was discovered in 1728 when James Bradley observed Gamma Draconis. Nearby Beta Draconis, traditionally called Rastaban, is a yellow giant star of magnitude 2.8, 362 light-years from Earth. Its name shares a meaning with Thuban, "head of the serpent". Draco also features several interacting galaxies and galaxy clusters. One such massive cluster is Abell 2218, located at a distance of 3 billion light-years (redshift 0.171).

Draco is home to several double stars and binary stars. Eta Draconis (the proper name is Athebyne ) is a double star with a yellow-hued primary of magnitude 2.8 and a white-hued secondary of magnitude 8.2 located south of the primary. The two are separated by 4.8 arcseconds. Mu Draconis, traditionally called Alrakis, is a binary star with two white components. Magnitude 5.6 and 5.7, the two components orbit each other every 670 years. The Alrakis system is 88 light-years from Earth. Nu Draconis is a similar binary star with two white components, 100 light-years from Earth. Both components are of magnitude 4.9 and can be distinguished in a small amateur telescope or a pair of binoculars. Omicron Draconis is a double star divisible in small telescopes. The primary is an orange giant of magnitude 4.6, 322 light-years from Earth. The secondary is of magnitude 7.8. Psi Draconis (the proper name is Dziban ) is a binary star divisible in binoculars and small amateur telescopes, 72 light-years from Earth. The primary is a yellow-white star of magnitude 4.6 and the secondary is a yellow star of magnitude 5.8. 16 Draconis and 17 Draconis are part of a triple star 400 light-years from Earth, divisible in medium-sized amateur telescopes. The primary, a blue-white star of magnitude 5.1, is itself a binary with components of magnitude 5.4 and 6.5. The secondary is of magnitude 5.5 and the system is 400 light-years away. 20 Draconis is a binary star with a white-hued primary of magnitude 7.1 and a yellow-hued secondary of magnitude 7.3 located east-northeast of the primary. The two are separated by 1.2 arcseconds at their maximum and have an orbital period of 420 years. As of 2012, the two components are approaching their maximum separation. 39 Draconis is a triple star 188 light-years from Earth, divisible in small amateur telescopes. The primary is a blue star of magnitude 5.0, the secondary is a yellow star of magnitude 7.4, and the tertiary is a star of magnitude 8.0; the tertiary appears to be a close companion to the primary. 40 Draconis and 41 Draconis are a binary star divisible in small telescopes. The two orange dwarf stars are 170 light-years from Earth and are of magnitude 5.7 and 6.1.

R Draconis is a red Mira-type variable star with a period of about 8 months. Its average minimum magnitude is approximately 12.4, and its average maximum magnitude is approximately 7.6. It was discovered to be a variable star by Hans Geelmuyden in 1876.

The constellation contains the star recently named Kepler-10, which has been confirmed to be orbited by Kepler-10b.

Deep-sky objects
One of the deep-sky objects in Draco is the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), a planetary nebula approximately 3,000 light-years away that was discovered by English astronomer William Herschel in 1786. It is 9th magnitude and was named for its appearance in the Hubble Space Telescope, though it appears as a fuzzy blue-green disk in an amateur telescope. NGC 6543 has a very complex shape due to gravitational interactions between the components of the multiple star at its center, the progenitor of the nebula approximately 1,000 years ago. It is located 9.6 arcminutes away from the north ecliptic pole to the west-northwest. It is also related to IC 4677, a nebula that appears as a bar 1.8 arcminutes to the west of the Cat's Eye nebula. In long-term exposures, IC 4677 appears as a portion of a ring surrounding the planetary nebula.

There are several faint galaxies in Draco, one of which is the lenticular galaxy NGC 5866 (sometimes considered to be Messier Object 102) that bears its name to a small group that also includes the spiral galaxies NGC 5879 and NGC 5907. Another is the Draco Dwarf Galaxy, one of the least luminous galaxies with an absolute magnitude of −8.6 and a diameter of only about 3,500 light years, discovered by Albert G. Wilson of Lowell Observatory in 1954. Another dwarf galaxy found in this constellation is PGC 39058.

Draco also features several interacting galaxies and galaxy clusters. One such massive cluster is Abell 2218, located at a distance of 3 billion light-years (redshift 0.171). It acts as a gravitational lens for even more distant background galaxies, allowing astronomers to study those galaxies as well as Abell 2218 itself; more specifically, the lensing effect allows astronomers to confirm the cluster's mass as determined by x-ray emissions. One of the most well-known interacting galaxies is Arp 188, also called the "Tadpole Galaxy". Named for its appearance, which features a "tail" of stars 280,000 light-years long, the Tadpole Galaxy is at a distance of 420 million light-years (redshift 0.0314). The tail of stars drawn off the Tadpole Galaxy appears blue because the gravitational interaction disturbed clouds of gas and sparked star formation.

Q1634+706 is a quasar that holds the distinction of being the most distant object usually visible in an amateur telescope. At magnitude 14.4, it appears star-like, though it is at a distance of 12.9 billion light-years. The light of Q1634+706 has taken 8.6 billion years to reach Earth, a discrepancy attributable to the expansion of the universe.

The Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall, possibly the largest known structure in the universe, covers a part of the southern region of Draco.

Mythology
Draco (also known as Ὄφις) is one of the 48 constellations listed in Ptolemy's Almagest (2nd century), adopted from the list by Eudoxus of Cnidus (4th century BC).

Draco was identified with several different dragons in Greek mythology. Gaius Julius Hyginus in De Astronomica reports that it was one of the Gigantes, who battled the Olympian gods for ten years in the Gigantomachy, before the goddess Athena killed it and tossed it into the sky upon his defeat. As Athena threw the dragon, it became twisted on itself and froze at the cold north celestial pole before it could right itself. Aelius Aristides names him Aster or Asterius ('star' or 'starry') and says that Athens' Great Panathenaea festival celebrated Athena's victory over him. The festival coincided with the culmination of the constellation's head as seen from the Athenian Acropolis.

The Catasterismi attributed to Eratosthenes identify Draco as Ladon, the dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. When Heracles was tasked with stealing the golden apples during his twelve labors, he killed Ladon and Hera transformed Ladon into a constellation. In the sky, Hercules is depicted with one foot on the head of Draco. Sometimes, Draco is represented as the monstrous son of Gaia, Typhon.

Traditional Arabic astronomy does not depict a dragon in modern-day Draco, which is called the Mother Camels. Instead, two hyenas, represented by Eta Draconis and Zeta Draconis are seen attacking a baby camel (a dim star near Beta Draconis), which is protected by four female camels, represented by Beta Draconis, Gamma Draconis, Nu Draconis, and Xi Draconis. The nomads who own the camels are camped nearby, represented by a cooking tripod composed of Upsilon, Tau, and Sigma Draconis. However Arabic astronomers also knew of the Greek interpretation of the constellation, referring to it in Arabic as At-Tinnin (التنين, 'the dragon'), which is the source of the formal name of Gamma Draconis, Eltanin, from raʾs al-tinnīn ('the head of the dragon').

Meteor showers
The October Draconids, also called Giacobinids, is a meteor shower associated with the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The shower peaks on 8 October and it has experienced storms in 1933 and 1946, when the zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) was up to 10,000 meteors per hour. Further outbursts were observed in 1985, 1998, and 2011. During the 2011 outburst, ZHR reached 400 meteors/hour, however it was largely unnoticed visually due to interference by the bright Moon.

The February Eta Draconids is a meteor shower that was discovered on February 4, 2011. Observers noted six meteors with a common radiant in a short period. Its parent is a previously unknown long-period comet.

Namesakes
Draco was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the constellation.

The main character in the 1996 film Dragonheart gets his name from this constellation. The film also reveals that Draco is actually a dragon heaven, where dragons go when their time in this world is complete, if they have upheld the oath of an ancient dragon to guard mankind, with dragons otherwise fading into nothing upon their deaths. At the conclusion of the film, Draco, the last dragon, ascends into the constellation after he sacrifices himself to destroy an evil king.

The Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense chess opening was also named after the constellation by Russian chess master Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky.

Draco Malfoy, an antagonist in the Harry Potter series, is named after the constellation as well.

title: Draco (constellation)


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Leslie speaker

The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided by a rotating system of horns in front of the treble driver. It is most commonly associated with the Hammond organ, though it was later used for the electric guitar and other instruments. A typical Leslie speaker contains an amplifier, a treble horn and a bass speaker—though specific components depend upon the model. A musician controls the Leslie speaker by either an external switch or pedal that alternates between a slow and fast speed setting, known as "chorale" and "tremolo".

The speaker is named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, who began working in the late 1930s to get a speaker for a Hammond organ that better emulated a pipe or theatre organ, and discovered that baffles rotating along the axis of the speaker cone gave the best sound effect. Hammond was not interested in marketing or selling the speakers, so Leslie sold them himself as an add-on, targeting other organs as well as Hammond. Leslie made the first speaker in 1941. The sound of the organ being played through his speaker received national radio exposure across the US, and it became a commercial and critical success. It soon became an essential tool for most jazz organists. In 1965, Leslie sold his business to CBS who, in 1980, sold it to Hammond. Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation subsequently acquired the Hammond and Leslie brands.

Because the Leslie is a sound modification device in its own right, various attempts have been made to simulate the effect using electronic effect units. These include the Uni-Vibe, the Neo Ventilator, or Hammond-Suzuki's own simulator in a box.

History

Leslie worked as a radio service engineer at Barker Brothers Department Store in Los Angeles, which sold and repaired Hammond organs. He bought one in 1937, hoping it would be a suitable substitute for a pipe organ. He was disappointed, however, with the sound in his home compared to the large showroom where he originally heard it. Consequently, he attempted to design a speaker to overcome this. He initially tried making a cabinet similar to Hammond's, but soon concluded that pipe organs produced a spatially varied sound because of the different location of each pipe. He set out to emulate this by making a moving speaker. He tried various combinations of speakers and speeds, and discovered that a single one running at what's now known as the "tremolo" speed worked best. After further experimentation, he decided that splitting the signal into a rotating drum and horn helped accentuate bass and treble frequencies.

By 1940, Leslie decided his prototype was ready to market, and went to the Hammond Organ Company to demonstrate it. Laurens Hammond, however, was not impressed with Leslie's attempt to better his own organ design, and declined to market it. The company even changed the speaker interface on their organs to make them "Leslie-proof," though Leslie quickly worked around this. Leslie began manufacturing the speaker in 1941—initially under a variety of names, including Vibratone, Brittain Speakers, Hollywood Speakers, and Crawford Speakers. He returned to the name "Leslie Vibratone" in 1947. To counteract Hammond's slogan "Music's Most Glorious Voice," Leslie added a similar slogan, "Pipe Voice of the Electric Organ" to the plates. He eventually owned nearly 50 patents on the speaker.

Leslie manufactured the speaker to work with other organs besides Hammond, including Wurlitzer, Conn, Thomas and Baldwin. He never particularly liked Hammond organs, once remarking "I hate those damn things."

In 1965, Leslie sold his Electro Music company to CBS, which had also acquired the Fender guitar company. In 1980, the Hammond Corporation finally bought Electro Music and the Leslie name from CBS. After Hammond went out of business in 1986, a former engineer re-established Electro Music, licensing the name from Noel Crabbe, who had acquired the rights to Hammond. It was subsequently sold to Suzuki in 1992, who continue to manufacture the speaker.

Features

A Leslie speaker consists of a number of individual components. The audio signal enters the amplifier from the instrument. Once amplified, the signal travels to an audio crossover, which splits it into separate frequency bands that can be individually routed to each loudspeaker. Different models have different combinations of speakers, but the most common model, the 122, consists of a single woofer for bass and a single compression driver and acoustic horn for treble. The audio emitted by the speakers is isolated inside an enclosure, aside from a number of outlets that lead towards either a rotating horn or drum. An electric motor rotates both horn and drum at a variable speed.

The only control common to all Leslie speakers is a dial that controls the master volume. This is normally set up once and then left, since the organ's expression pedal normally controls the volume. Leslie recommended playing the organ at full volume with all stops (drawbars) pulled out and adjusting the volume just before distortion occurs. However, the distorted sound of an overdriven vacuum tube amplifier can be a desirable sound, to the extent that modern Leslie simulators have an explicit "overdrive" setting.

Control of a Leslie speaker is normally catered for by an external two way switch, between two settings marked "chorale" and "tremolo". The switch is mounted onto the controlling instrument, so the player can easily switch settings. Some earlier models were limited to "off" and "tremolo", and some later models had all three settings. The switch can be used while notes are being played, and the sound of changing between the two settings is part of the characteristic sound. On both settings, the treble horn rotates slightly faster than the bass woofer; about 50 revolutions per minute (rpm) for "chorale" and 400 rpm for "tremolo", compared to the woofer's 40 rpm and 340 rpm respectively.

Unlike most popular music amplifiers, that use jack plugs to connect to instruments, Leslie speakers use an amphenol connector to interface directly to an organ via a console connector. The type and design of the connector depends on the organ and model of Leslie speaker.

Older models that used tube power amplifiers use a variety of six-pin connectors, while later models use nine-pin connectors. In all cases, for a single organ – Leslie configuration, the mains power, audio and control signals are all carried on the connector, and the design of the pin layouts varies between organs and speakers. Care is taken when attempting to service them since an incorrectly or poorly wired cable can cause permanent damage to the organ or speaker, or result in electrocution. It is also possible to connect multiple Leslie speakers to a single organ, by using a power relay that provides the necessary AC current.

A separate device, known as the combo preamp, is necessary to connect a vintage Leslie to another instrument such as a guitar. This combines a separate AC input and line level input onto a single amphenol connector, and provide a footswitch to select between the speeds of the Leslie. Modern products such as the Trek II UC-1A allow any instrument with a phone jack connection to use a variety of Leslie speakers.

Modern Leslie speakers have 11-pin interfaces that are safer to service, as the mains power is carried separately using standard IEC mains connectors. The Hammond-Suzuki Leslie 2101 also includes line in and line out jacks, so a combo preamp is no longer required. Its settings can also be controlled via MIDI.

Single speed
The initial models of Leslie speakers did not have the "chorale" setting. The control switch was simply a choice between "off" and "tremolo". The first model of Leslie produced was the 30A. It emulated Hammond's DXR-20 tone cabinet, which used moving drums but only produced amplitude modulation, not frequency modulation. It contained a 15 in drum and the power amplifier was housed in the top of the unit, to allow easy repair. This was superseded between 1947 and 1949 by the 31H, also known as the "Tall Boy". It was similar in appearance to the 30A, but contained additional louvres along the top of the cabinet. Also, reflectors were placed on the end of the horn, to allow the treble signal to exit the unit through the sides, rather than on the top.

The next models Leslie produced were the 21H and the 22H, which had a cabinet in a similar styling to the better known 122, with the same dimensions and louvres. They were powered by a 40 watt tube amplifier.

Dual speed

The 122 is the most popular Leslie. It was specifically designed for the Hammond organ and is the model most commonly identified with it. It is 41 in high, offers two different speeds for chorale and tremolo, and has a 40 watt tube amplifier. The 122 is the most adaptable to being recorded, as it has a balanced signal which eliminates mains hum and other noise. The 122RV was the same model, but with an additional reverb amplifier, which fed through to a separate static speaker. A slightly smaller version, the 33 in 142 was available. Hammond-Suzuki currently manufacture the 122A, a straight reissue of the 122, and the 122XB, which contains a modern 11-pin adapter, an IECC mains adaptor, line-in, and a jack socket for a footswitch to control the speed. This eliminates the need for a combo preamp.

The 147 is the "universal" version of the 122, designed for many organs, and has a different amplifier input and motor speed control, but is otherwise identical. The signal input is unbalanced, allowing a simpler connection to organs that have a built-in speaker system, such as the Hammond A100, or a Wurlitzer. The motor speed switching uses a separate AC signal, rather than the DC voltage control of the 122. In operation, the noticeable differences between the 122 and the 147 are the 122's lower susceptibility to induced noise, and a delay between operation of the speed control and the actual change in speed. As with the 122 and 142, the 145 is identical to the 147, except that it is housed in a 33 in cabinet, and thus slightly easier to move. As with the 122, Hammond-Suzuki manufactures a modern replacement, the 147A. The model X-77, released in 1968, was designed to accompany Hammond's new tonewheel / transistor organ, the X-66. It contained seven different tab controls and six speakers. It has a completely different interface from other Leslies, using a 12-pin amphenol connector.

Pro-Line

By the late 1960s, gigging musicians were finding that older Leslies like the 122 were not loud enough for large venues, which led to the introduction of the "Pro Line" series. These Leslies had louder solid-state power amplifiers, and were mounted on casters for ease of portability. The first models Leslie manufactured were the 900 and 910, which contained a 100 watt, three-channel power amplifier. Both could split into two sections. The most popular version of the Pro-Line series was the 760. It was a smaller version of the 900 and 910, and contained a 40 watt treble and 50 watt bass amplifier. A smaller, more portable version of the 760 is the 820. It is a solid-state cabinet like the 760, and it connects to the organ with a 9-pin connector as well. However, it is only 31 inch high and has only a single rotor with a full-range 12-inch speaker.

The Pro-Line series was durable and fault-tolerant, with many models lasting for years. However, because they used solid-state amplifiers, they are not as highly regarded as the older tube-based Leslies, because they lack the characteristic sound when the amp is overdriven.

The smallest Leslie is the Model 16, made in 1970. It has a Fender-like speaker body and a rotating foam dispersion block. It was built for guitarists, portable, and had "Leslie" written on the front. It contained just a single 10-inch speaker, and was designed to be powered by an external amplifier, and contained an additional output for an extension speaker. Control of the speaker was via two switches, one of which controlled the speed and one switched the rotors on and off. It was also released later as the Fender Vibratone.

Hammond-Suzuki
As well as the 122A and 147A reissues, Hammond-Suzuki now makes smaller and transportable Leslies using modern technology. The 2101 is 520 mm high and has a rotating horn as found on the 122 and 147, along with a pair of 2 in compression drivers and two 5 in woofers. The unit provides two separate inputs so different instruments can be plugged into the rotary and stationary components respectively. The 2121 is a 15 inch stationary speaker that uses digital signal processing to emulate the rotating drum found in older Leslies. The 3300 is the same as the 2121, but with a 300 watt power amplifier.

Sound generation
The Leslie is specifically designed, via reproduction of the Doppler effect, to alter or modify sound. As the sound source is rotated around a specific pivot point, it produces tremolo (the modulation of amplitude) and a variation in pitch. This produces a sequence of frequency modulated sidebands. To stop a Leslie's rotor, a special brake circuit was added to the Leslie motor controls, that incorporated an electronic relay by producing a half-wave of direct current.

Much of the Leslie's unique tone is due to the fact that the system is at least partially enclosed, whereby linear louvres along the sides and front of the unit can vent the sound from within the box after the sound has bounced around inside, mellowing it. The crossover is deliberately set to 800 Hz to give the optimum balance between the horn and the drum, and is considered an integral part of the speaker. The tone is also affected by the wood used. Tone differences, due to cost cutting using particle board for speaker and rotor shelves instead of the previous plywood, are evident in the Leslie's sound. The thinner ply of the top of the cabinet adds a certain resonance as well. Like an acoustic instrument, a Leslie's tone is uniquely defined by its cabinet design and construction, the amplifier, crossover and speakers used, and the motors—not merely by the spinning of rotors.

Miking
Because a Leslie speaker modifies as well as amplifies the sound, the output cannot simply be connected to a larger PA system if the volume onstage from the built-in amplifier is too quiet. This is particularly problematic for an older Leslie like the 122 or 147, which only has a 40 watt RMS power amplifier. Instead, microphones are placed around the Leslie, and the output from these is connected to the PA. A typical setup for onstage miking is to use two microphones placed on opposite sides of the horn and a single microphone on the drum.

Miking a Leslie is also important in a recording studio, as the choice and positioning of microphones determines the overall recorded sound. A popular recommendation is two Shure SM57s on the horn and a Sennheiser MD 421 on the drum. Recording Magazine's Dave Martin suggests a similar setup, with various microphone models used as stereo pairs on the horn but using an Electro-Voice RE20 on the drum instead. Keith Emerson recorded his Leslie using a single mic each on the horn and the drum, but with the covers removed.

Clones and simulations

While the Leslie speaker is still made and sold, similar effects can now be obtained via analogue electronic devices and digital emulation. Chorus and phase shifter devices can give an approximation of the sounds produced by a Leslie speaker. The Uni-Vibe, a four-stage phase shifter, was specifically marketed as a low-cost Leslie substitute for guitarists, and used a foot-operated fast/slow switch similar to the combo preamp. The pedal was popular, and notable users included Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour and Robin Trower, but vintage units tend not to be in good condition now due to the degradation of capacitors in the unit. Although the sound of a Leslie speaker heard in person is quite distinct, digital clones have become increasingly better at emulating it.

Most modern keyboards that emulate the Hammond organ also include a Leslie simulator, including Hammond's own XK-3c and the Nord Electro. However, there is still a market for standalone simulators. Hughes & Kettner's Rotosphere has received good reviews for accurately producing the sound of a Leslie speaker with a tube amplifier. The Neo Ventilator has been particularly praised for its accuracy in emulating the sound of a Leslie. Sound on Sound's Mark Ashfield described it as "quite simply the best Leslie speaker simulator to date", while a Keyboard Magazine reviewer was "blown away by how authentic the Ventilator sounds". In 2013, Hammond-Suzuki started manufacturing their own Leslie simulator in a stomp box. California based company Strymon released the Lex pedal, a rotary speaker emulator pedal, suitable for a variety of applications, including guitar.

Early adopters
Leslie never advertised his speakers. After demonstrating a prototype with Bob Mitchell, an organist with radio station KFI in Los Angeles, a contract was made to install another prototype in the station's studios, where Mitchell would be the only organist authorized to use it. Mitchell was so impressed that he tried to patent the speaker, but discovered that he could not. Soon afterwards, Mitchell became an organist with the Mutual Broadcasting System, and played a Hammond with the Leslie on its shows, ensuring national exposure for the sound. The Leslie was subsequently a standard component of several notable jazz organists, including Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Shirley Scott. Graham Bond was the first notable British organist to play a Hammond through a Leslie.

Pioneering usages
Although the Beatles are often credited as such, they were not the first to experiment with processing other sounds through a Leslie speaker. Producer Lou Adler had been experimenting with the technique as early as 1963, and one of the first recordings to feature vocals recorded through a Leslie speaker was the 1964 single "She Rides with Me", written by Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson and performed by singer Paul Petersen. According to Petersen, "I got a call from Lou Adler on New Years Eve 1963 in Las Vegas. He asked me to come to LA right away to cut a Brian Wilson song. When I got to RCA's studio, the track had already been cut by Brian. The only people there were Lou and two engineers. Lou rigged up the Leslie organ sound for the vocals, and that was it." Adler also used the effect on the simultaneously released "He Don't Love Me" by Shelley Fabares. Wilson himself used the effect on the guitar sound for the Beach Boys' July 1965 song "You're So Good to Me".

Although "She Rides with Me" was not a hit record, Leslie-processed sounds soon became a prominent feature of psychedelic music. The Beatles first recorded with a Leslie in June 1965 when George Harrison was overdubbing one of his lead guitar parts on "It's Only Love". According to author Andy Babiuk, the band's "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966) marked the first time that a vocal was recorded using a microphone wired directly into the input of a Leslie, after John Lennon had asked for his voice to sound "as though I'm the Dalai Lama singing from the highest mountain top". They went on to use a Leslie throughout the sessions for Revolver in 1966.

The Beatles inspired other guitarists to use the speaker. Harrison played through a Leslie in his guest appearance on Cream's song "Badge" (1969), and Richard Wright used a similar setup when recording with Pink Floyd. [This paragraph is about the use of Leslie speakers by guitarists. Richard Wright played keyboards, not guitar, with Pink Floyd.]

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

title: Leslie speaker


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User:Laszlo~enwiki

Tony László Writer Director, ISSHO Kikaku

title: User:Laszlo~enwiki


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User talk:Seav/TestEditLink

Sorry, but we need an international button here.—Eloquence 12:33, Jul 30, 2003 (UTC)

More international than the word "edit"? Then make it a pencil. -- till we *) 14:03, Jul 30, 2003 (UTC)

 * No need to be too blunt. What I'm actually suggesting is the layout and I just whipped up a simple and easy-to-do icon. The icon can be easily changed. And I did just that... I made it into a pencil icon as Tillwe suggests. --seav 15:33, Jul 30, 2003 (UTC)

Hmm .. I do like the layout, but others might feel that it takes too much whitespace.—Eloquence

 * Maybe this should be put to a vote? (Maybe we already have too many votes around...) --seav 16:14, Jul 30, 2003 (UTC)

title: User talk:Seav/TestEditLink


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Psophodidae

Psophodidae is a family of passerine birds native to Australia and nearby areas. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. In the strictest sense, it includes only the five or six species of whipbirds and wedgebills (Psophodes and Androphobus), but some authors also include the quail-thrushes (Cinclosoma), eight species of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New Guinea, and the jewel-babblers (Ptilorrhoa), three or four species found in rainforest in New Guinea. Others place them in their own family, the Cinclosomatidae. The Malaysian rail-babbler (Eupetes macrocerus) was formerly sometimes placed in this family, which would then be called Eupetidae.

Taxonomy
The quail-thrushes, jewel-babblers, whipbirds and wedgebills were traditionally included with the logrunners (Orthonyx) in the family Orthonychidae. Sometimes the Malaysian rail-babbler and blue-capped ifrit (Ifrita kowaldi) were also included in the family. In 1985, Sibley and Ahlquist found that the logrunners were not related to the others and included only the logrunners in the Orthonychidae. They treated the others as the subfamily Cinclosomatinae within their expanded family Corvidae.

A number of authors later treated the quail-thrushes and allies as the family Cinclosomatidae, a name first coined by Gregory Mathews in 1921–1922. However, if the whipbirds are included in the family, the older name Psophodidae Bonaparte, 1854 has priority. If the Malaysian rail-babbler is also included, the name Eupetidae Bonaparte, 1850 has priority.

The Malaysian rail-babbler has now been shown to be unrelated to the others, probably being an early offshoot of the Passerida. Another study found the quail-thrushes and jewel-babblers to be related to each other but did not show them to have a close relationship with Psophodes or Ifrita.

Description
Whipbirds and wedgebills are 19–31 cm long. They are mainly olive-green or brown in colour and have a crest.

Distribution and habitat
The whipbirds and wedgebills are all found in Australia, occurring in a range of habitats from rainforest to arid scrub. The western whipbird is considered to be near-threatened because of habitat loss and fires while the Papuan whipbird is classed as data deficient.

Behaviour
They are terrestrial birds which fly fairly weakly and prefer to squat or run when disturbed. They forage on the ground feeding mainly on insects and other invertebrates. In the desert, quail-thrushes also eat some seeds.

They build a cup-shaped nest among shrubs or on the ground. Two or three eggs are laid.

Species list

 * Genus Androphobus
 * Papuan whipbird, Androphobus viridis
 * Genus Psophodes
 * Eastern whipbird, Psophodes olivaceus
 * Black-throated whipbird, Psophodes nigrogularis
 * White-bellied whipbird, Psophodes leucogaster
 * Chiming wedgebill, Psophodes occidentalis
 * Chirruping wedgebill, Psophodes cristatus

title: Psophodidae


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Carousel

A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (international), Galloper (international) or roundabout (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The "seats" are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gears to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music.

Carousels are commonly populated with horses, each horse weighing roughly 100 lbs (45 kg), but may include a variety of mounts, for example pigs, zebras, tigers, or mythological creatures such as dragons or unicorns. Sometimes, chair-like or bench-like seats are used, and occasionally mounts can be shaped like aeroplanes or cars.

The names carousel and merry-go-round are also used, in varying dialects, to refer to a distinct piece of playground equipment.

Early carousels
The modern carousel emerged from early jousting traditions in Europe and the Middle East. Knights would gallop in a circle while tossing balls from one to another; an activity that required great skill and horsemanship. This game was introduced to Europe at the time of the Crusades from earlier Byzantine and Arab traditions. The word carousel originated from the Italian Carosella and Spanish Carosella ("little battle", used by crusaders to describe a combat preparation exercise and game played by Turkish and Arabian horsemen in the 12th century). This early device was essentially a cavalry training mechanism; it prepared and strengthened the riders for actual combat as they wielded their swords at the mock enemies.

By the 17th century, the balls had been dispensed with, and instead, the riders had to spear small rings that were hanging from poles overhead and rip them off. Cavalry spectacles that replaced medieval jousting, such as the ring tilt, were popular in Italy and France. The game began to be played by commoners, and carousels soon sprung up at fairgrounds across Europe. At the Place du Carrousel in Paris, an early make-believe carousel was set up with wooden horses for the children.

Another kind of carousel emerged in the 17th century in Belgium and France to celebrate special events. This was a ceremonial parade of knights and noblemen on horseback around a courtyard, accompanied by tournaments and various equestrian demonstrations and games, including the spearing of cardboard heads of "Moors" and "Saracens". The most famous carousel of this kind was held by Louis XIV in June 1662, in the courtyard of the Tuileries Palace, to celebrate the birth of his son and heir. The site of the event, next to the Louvre, is still known as "the Carrousel".

By the early 18th century carousels were being built and operated at various fairs and gatherings in central Europe and England. Animals and mechanisms would be crafted during the winter months and the family and workers would go touring in their wagon train through the region, operating their large menagerie carousel at various venues. Makers included Heyn in Germany and Bayol in France. These early carousels had no platforms; the animals would hang from chains and fly out from the centrifugal force of the spinning mechanism. They were often powered by animals walking in a circle or people pulling a rope or cranking.

By 1803 John Joseph Merlin had a carousel in his Mechanical Museum in London, where gentry and nobility liked to gather on winter evenings. The horses "floated free over a pole". It was connected to a "big musical instrument that played a fully orchestrated concerto" and from the first note, the carousel would start turning while each horse would make a galloping movement with a visitor riding on its back. Merlin did not patent his inventions and engineers were allowed to come to create their own models of his creations.

Direction of rotation
Viewed from above, in the United Kingdom, merry-go-rounds, called "gallopers" by the showmen community when populated by model horses, usually turn clockwise (from the outside, animals face to the left), while in North America and Mainland Europe, carousels typically go counterclockwise (animals face to the right).

Modern carousels
By the mid-19th century, the platform carousel was developed; the animals and chariots were fixed to a circular floor that would suspend from a centre pole and rotate around. These carousels were called dobbies and were operated manually by the operator or by ponies.

In mid-19th-century England, the carousel became a popular fixture at fairs. The first steam-powered mechanical roundabout, invented by Thomas Bradshaw, appeared at the Pot Market fair in Bolton in about 1861. It was described by a Halifax Courier journalist as "a roundabout of huge proportions, driven by a steam engine which whirled around with such impetuosity, that the wonder is the daring riders are not shot off like cannonball, and driven half into the middle of next month."

Soon afterwards, English engineer Frederick Savage began to branch out of agricultural machinery production into the construction of fairground machines, swiftly becoming the chief innovator in the field. Savage's fairground machinery was exported all over the world. By 1870, he was manufacturing carousels with Velocipedes (an early type of bicycle) and he soon began experimenting with other possibilities, including a roundabout with boats that would pitch and roll on cranks with a circular motion, a ride he called 'Sea-on-Land'.

Savage applied a similar innovation to the more traditional mount of the horse; he installed gears and offset cranks on the platform carousels, thus giving the animals their well-known up-and-down motion as they traveled around the center pole – the galloping horse. The platform served as a position guide for the bottom of the pole and as a place for people to walk or other stationary animals or chariots to be placed. He called this ride the 'Platform Gallopers'. He also developed the 'platform-slide' which allowed the mounts to swing out concentrically as the carousel built up speed. Fairground organs (band organs) were often present (if not built-in) when these machines operated. Eventually electric motors were installed and electric lights added, giving the carousel its classic look.

These mechanical innovations came at a crucial time, when increased prosperity meant that more people had time for leisure and spare money to spend on entertainment. It was in this historical context that the modern fairground ride was born, with Savage supplying this new market demand. In his 1902 Catalogue for Roundabouts he claimed to have "... patented and placed upon the market all the principal novelties that have delighted the many thousands of pleasure seekers at home and abroad."

In the United States, the carousel industry was developed by immigrants, notably Gustav Dentzel of Germany and Charles W.F. Dare from England, from the late 19th century. Several centers and styles for the construction of carousels emerged in the United States:
 * Coney Island style – characterized by elaborate and sometimes faux-jeweled saddles, as well as mirrors to catch and reflect lights. This style was pioneered by Charles I. D. Looff.
 * Philadelphia style – known for more realistically painted saddles, this style was pioneered by Dentzel and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.
 * Country Fair style – often with no saddles at all, this style was pioneered Allan Herschell and Edward Spillman of western New York, and Charles W. Parker of Kansas.

The golden age of the carousel in America was the early 20th century, with large machines and elaborate animals, chariots, and decorations being built.

Antique and notable carousels
The National Carousel Association maintains a list of Historic Carousel Award winners, primarily focused on carousels in Canada and America.

1930–1939

 * The King Arthur Carrousel has existed since 1932 and was moved to Disneyland in 1954. It is an assembly of two carousels. Walt Disney wanted it to have four courses of all jumpers. The remaining chariot woodwork was repurposed as the "Calliope" tenders of Casey Jr. Circus Train powered gravity coaster.

1940–1949

 * The carousel at Harper Motors is an iconic landmark on the North Coast of California. It was bought by the dealerships owner Harvey Harper in 1991, after purchase this 1947 Allan Herschell Carousel was shipped to Oakland by train and drive to Eureka in a semi-truck. It took a year to assemble on site. It was refurbished and repainted in 2013 which caused the ride to be closed for a month. It is open daily free of charge to the public from 12–4 except on holidays and when inclement weather doesn't allow for riders. Paardenmolen bobbejaanland.jpg, Belgium]]

Unique and record breaking

 * The carousel at Phantasialand in Germany is one of the biggest in the world, made by Preston & Barbieri one historical amusement ride factory in Italy.
 * The world's only two-row stationary carousel built from an original Dentzel blueprint left in existence, the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel and Shelter Building, is located in Highland Park in Meridian, Mississippi.
 * In May 2005, William Henry Dentzel III, built the world's first solar-powered carousel. The carousel operates during Solfest at the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California.
 * There is only one carousel in the world that rides in a waving motion – "Over the Jumps: The Arkansas Carousel" in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is also the only remaining wooden track carousel built by the Herschell & Spillman Company, and one of only four track carousels still in existence.
 * The carousel at Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania is the last T.M. Harton Carousel that is still in operation and its Artizan band organ is one of two known of the same model in the world.
 * In 2007, SeaWorld Orlando opened Sea Carousel, Florida's first aquatic carousel.
 * In 2012, Buttonwood Park Zoo opened an Americana carousel by Chance Rides.
 * In 2013, Palm Beach International Equestrian Center opened a Bertazzon Venetian Carousel as part of the Winter Equestrian Festival (the first carousel to be used in events besides South Florida Fair and the first Palm Beach County carousel built by Bertazzon)
 * Binghamton, New York is considered the "Carousel Capital of the World" for the six original carousels in the Triple Cities area, donated by George F. Johnson, owner of the Endicott-Johnson Company early in the 20th century. These carousels, manufactured by the Allen Hershell Company in the "country fair" style, were donated with the express stipulation that they would never charge admission for anyone to ride them. Apparently when Mr. Johnson was a child he was frequently too poor to ride the local carousel and he vowed this would never happen to another child in the area. The carousel at the Ross park zoo in Binghamton, NY does charge admission, in a way, as it requires the child to drop one piece of litter found in the park into a trash barrel in order to ride. This is all written on a plaque at the entrance to the carousel.{Greater Binghamton New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, visitbinghamton.org, March 2014}

 * The two double-decker Columbia Carousels built by Chance Rides and located at Six Flags Great America and California's Great America are the two tallest carousels in the world.
 * The Merry-Go-Round at Bear Mountain State Park in New York, features hand-painted scenes of the Park and 42 hand-carved seats of native animals including a black bear, a wild turkey, a deer, a raccoon, a skunk, a Canada goose, a fox, a swan, a bobcat, a rabbit, and more.
 * On Canada Day 2016, a new attraction was opened in Downtown Markham, Ontario. The Pride of Canada Carousel was commissioned by Christopher Bratty, current president of the real estate and development firm The Remington Group. The carousel was produced and originally envisioned by Shelley M. Shier of Broadway Bound Fine Arts and Entertainment for The Remington Group. The carousel sits inside a glass pavillon designed by Sheldon Levitt from Quardrangle Architects. The carousel itself features 44 ride-able reusable material sculptures representing different elements of Canadian culture. It was designed by artist Patrick Amiot who worked with the Brass Ring Carousel Company to build the ride.
 * Ice floe carousels have been constructed on frozen lakes. For example, in 2017 an ice carousel was made in Finland. It was constructed by cutting the ice in a circle with a chainsaw.

In popular culture

 * In Mary Poppins, Mary, Bert, and the children ride a merry-go-round, then leave the carousel on their horses to go off on a fox hunt and a horse race.
 * In the film Charade, near the end, there is a scene where appears a carousel in the background with the music of the main theme, a Parisian waltz composed by Henry Mancini (Charade carousel) played with bells.
 * In the film Logan's Run, the residents of a domed city of the future are doomed to die on their 30th birthday, unless they can be "renewed" in a ritual known as "carousel".
 * In Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, the carnival's carousel can cause riders to become younger or older depending on the direction, left and right in which they ride.
 * Carousel (1945) was a Broadway musical featuring hit songs such as "If I Loved You" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". The protagonist, Billy Bigelow, is a carousel barker.
 * In the dramatic climax scene of Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951) the hero and the villain struggle on a carousel.
 * David Carradine's 1983 film Americana revolves around a Vietnam veteran's obsession with the restoration of an abandoned carousel.
 * In the Australian children's picture book The Carousel by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Walter di Qual, after an exhilarating ride on a carousel, a child has a semi-mystical vision of the carousel horses breaking free from the wheel and galloping across the world.
 * The children's television programme The Magic Roundabout uses a carousel as its central motif.
 * The film The Sting features a large indoor carrousel adjacent a brothel, where the Madame allows the girls to ride on slow nights.
 * The three installments of the book series Kingdom Keepers: The Return by Ridley Pearson features the carousel from Disneyland being used as a time machine to the opening of Disneyland Park.
 * The carousel at House on the Rock is billed as the world's largest indoor carousel.
 * In the 2012 music video for Gangnam Style, a carousel in the Gangnam district is used as one of the backdrops while Psy dances.
 * In 2014, American singer-songwriter, Melanie Martinez, released a song "Carousel", using carousel as a metaphor for love which goes in circles endlessly.
 * The children's television programme Playdays had a roundabout called Rosie who was the focus of episodes broadcast on Wednesdays from 1992 to 1997, maintained by Mr. Jolly.

title: Carousel


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Foday Sankoh

Foday Saybana Sankoh (17 October 1937 – 29 July 2003) was the founder of the Sierra Leone rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which was supported by Charles Taylor-led NPFL in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. An estimated 50,000 people were killed during the war, and over 500,000 people were displaced in neighboring countries.

Early life and career
Foday Sankoh was born on 17 October 1937, in the remote village of Masang Mayoso, Tonkolili District in the Northern part of Sierra Leone to an ethnic Temne father and a Loko mother. Sankoh was the son of a farmer.

Sankoh attended primary and secondary school in Magburaka, Tonkolili District and took on a number of jobs in Magburaka before he joined the Sierra Leone army in 1956. He undertook training in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. In 1971, then a corporal in the Sierra Leone army, he was cashiered from the army's signal corps and imprisoned for seven years at the Pademba Road Prison in Freetown for failing to inform authorities of an ultimately unsuccessful coup attempt against Siaka Stevens by his former ally John Amadu Bangura.

On his release he worked as an itinerant photographer in the south and east of Sierra Leone, eventually coming in contact with young radicals.

Sankoh and confederates Rashid Mansaray and Abu Kanu solicited support for an armed uprising to oust the APC government. They then traveled to Liberia, where they reportedly continued recruiting and served with Charles G. Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).

Civil war
On 23 March 1991, the RUF, led by Foday Sankoh and backed by Charles Taylor, launched its first attack in villages in Kailahun District in the diamond-rich Eastern Province of Sierra Leone.

The RUF became notorious for brutal practices such as mass rapes and amputations during the civil war. Sankoh personally ordered many operations, including one called "Operation Pay Yourself" that encouraged troops to loot anything they could find. After complaining about such tactics, Kanu and Mansaray were summarily executed.

In March 1997, Sankoh fled to Nigeria, where he was put under house arrest and then imprisoned. From this time until Sankoh's release in 1999, Sam Bockarie performed the task of director of military operations of the RUF. During the ten-year war, Sankoh broke several promises to stop fighting, including the Abidjan Peace Accord and the Lomé Peace Accord signed in 1999. Eventually the United Kingdom and ECOMOG intervened with their own small, but professional, military forces, and the RUF was eventually crushed.

Arrest and charges
Sankoh was later arrested on 17 May 2000 after his soldiers gunned down a number of protesters, killing 19 people, including journalist Saoman Conteh, outside his Freetown home on 8 May 2000. His arrest led to massive celebrations throughout Sierra Leone.

Sankoh was handed to the British. Under the jurisdiction of a UN-backed court, he was indicted on 17 counts for various war crimes, including use of child soldiers and crimes against humanity, including genocide, enslavement, rape and sexual slavery.

Death
Sankoh died in hospital of complications arising from a stroke whilst awaiting trial on the night of 29 July 2003. In a statement by the UN-backed war crimes court, chief prosecutor David Crane said that Sankoh's death granted him "a peaceful end that he denied to so many others". He was buried in his hometown of Magbruka in the northern province of Sierra Leone.

title: Foday Sankoh


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User:GulDan

Figure that I've been around long enough to warrant at least a slightly better description of myself.

I am a student of Computer science (Complexity) and Mathematics at the University of Rochester. I also am engaged in medieval studies (I can read both Middle English and Old English). Right now large amounts of my time (which should more often be spent studying) is being spent on Jennifer Government: NationStates where I do some coding. I consider myself a pretty friendly guy, so if you feel like dropping a note, I won't mind.

First Article: Aleph-null

title: User:GulDan


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Cardiff Giant

The Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous archaeological hoaxes in American history. It was a 10 ft, roughly 3,000 pound purported "petrified man", uncovered on October 16 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. "Stub" Newell, in Cardiff, New York. He covered the giant with a tent and it soon became an attraction site. Both it and an unauthorized copy made by P. T. Barnum are still being displayed. P.T. Barnum's is on display at Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Creation and discovery
The giant was the creation of a New York tobacconist named George Hull. He was deeply attracted to science and especially in the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin. Hull, an atheist, got into an argument with Reverend Turk and his supporters at a Methodist revival meeting about Genesis 6:4, which states that there were giants who once lived on Earth. Being the minority party, Hull lost the argument. Angered by his defeat and the credulity of people, Hull wanted to prove how easily he could fool people with a fake giant.

The idea of a petrified man did not originate with Hull, however. During 1858, the newspaper Alta California had published a fake letter claiming that a prospector had been petrified when he had drunk a liquid within a geode. Other newspapers had also published stories of supposedly petrified people.

In 1868, Hull, accompanied by a man named H.B. Martin, hired men to quarry out a 10 ft block of gypsum in Fort Dodge, Iowa, telling them it was intended for a monument to Abraham Lincoln in New York. He shipped the block to Edward Burghardt in Chicago, a German stonecutter whom he had sworn to secrecy. Burghardt hired two sculptors named Henry Salle and Fred Mohrmann to create the giant. They had taken cautious steps to cover up their work during the carving, putting up quilts to lessen the sound of carving.

The giant was designed to imitate the form of Hull himself. Hull consulted a geologist and learned that hairs wouldn't be petrified, so he removed the hair and beard from the giant. The length of the giant was 10 feet 4½ inches and it weighed 2990 pounds.

Various stains and acids were used to make the giant appear to be old and weathered. In order for the giant to look ancient, Hull first wiped the giant using a sponge soaked with sand and water. The giant's surface was beaten with steel knitting needles embedded in a board to simulate pores. The giant was also rubbed with sulphuric acid to create a deeper, vintage-like color. During November 1868, Hull transported the giant by railroad to the farm of his cousin, William Newell. By then, he had spent US$2,600 1868 for the hoax.

On a night in late November 1868, the giant was buried in a hole in Newell's farm. Nearly a year later, Newell hired Gideon Emmons and Henry Nichols, ostensibly to dig a well, and on October 16, 1869, they found the giant. One of the men reportedly exclaimed, "I declare, some old Indian has been buried here!"

Exhibition and exposure as fraud
On the first day, visitors were able to view the giant with no fee charged. The next day, a tent was set up on the discovery site and Newell charged each visitor fifty cents for a fifteen-minute session of viewing the giant. The number of visitors went to about three to five hundred per day as the demand for wagons and carriages dramatically increased. The townspeople also gained huge profit because of the Cardiff Giant. The hotels and restaurants in Cardiff saw more customers in those four days than they had ever seen before.

Some believed this giant was a petrified man, while some believed it was a statue. Those who believed it was a petrified man thought it was one of the giants mentioned in the aforementioned Genesis verse. On the other hand, John F. Boynton, the first geologist to examine the giant, declared that it could not be a fossilized man, but hypothesized that it was a statue that was carved by a French Jesuit in the 16th or 17th century in order to impress the local Native Americans.

Andrew D. White, the first president of Cornell University, made a close inspection of the Cardiff Giant. He noticed that there was no good reason to try to dig a well in the exact spot the giant had been found."“Being asked my opinion, my answer was that the whole matter was undoubtedly a hoax; that there was no reason why the farmer should dig a well in the spot where the figure was found; that it was convenient neither to the house nor to the barn; that there was already a good spring and a stream of water running conveniently to both; that, as to the figure itself, it certainly could not have been carved by any prehistoric race, since no part of it showed the characteristics of any such early work; that, rude as it was, it betrayed the qualities of a modern performance of a low order.”"However, he was taken aback by the channels on the bottom part of the giant, stating that for such grooving to be created on local Onondaga grey limestone would require years.

Yale paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh examined the statue, pointing out that it was made of soluble gypsum, which, had it been buried in its blanket of wet earth for centuries, would not still have fresh tool marks on it (which it did), and termed it "a most decided humbug". Some theologians and preachers, however, defended its authenticity.

Eventually, Hull sold his part-interest for US$23000 1870 to a syndicate of five men headed by David Hannum. They moved it to Syracuse, New York, for exhibition. The giant drew such crowds that showman P. T. Barnum offered $50,000 for the giant. When the syndicate refused, he hired a man to model the giant's shape covertly in wax and create a plaster replica. He displayed his giant in New York, claiming that his was the real giant, and the Cardiff Giant was a fake.

As the newspapers reported Barnum's version of the story, David Hannum was quoted as saying, "There's a sucker born every minute" in reference to spectators paying to see Barnum's giant. Since then, the quotation has often been misattributed to Barnum himself.

Hannum sued Barnum for calling his giant a fake, but the judge told him to get his giant to swear on his own genuineness in court if he wanted a favorable injunction.

On December 10, 1869, Hull confessed everything to the press, and on February 2, 1870, both giants were revealed as fakes in court; the judge also ruled that Barnum could not be sued for terming a fake giant a fake. Hull proclaimed that he did not confess because of the pressing criticism, but confessed proudly that he intended for the hoax to be exposed to reveal the tendency of the Christian community to believe in things too easily and to counter the fundamentalist belief that giants once roamed the earth.

Subsequent and current resting places
The Cardiff Giant was displayed at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, but did not attract much attention.

Iowa publisher Gardner Cowles, Jr., bought it later to adorn his basement rumpus room as a coffee table and conversation piece. In 1947 he sold it to the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, New York, where it is still displayed.

The owner of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, a coin-operated game arcade and museum of oddities in Farmington Hills, Michigan, has said that the replica displayed there is Barnum's replica.

A replica of the Giant is displayed at The Fort Museum and Frontier Village in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Imitators
The Cardiff Giant has inspired a number of similar hoaxes.
 * In 1876, the Solid Muldoon was exhibited in Beulah, Colorado, at 50 cents a ticket. There was also a rumor that Barnum had offered to buy it for $20,000. One employer later revealed that this was also a creation of George Hull, aided by Willian Conant. The Solid Muldoon was made of clay, ground bones, meat, rock dust, and plaster.
 * In 1879, the owner of a hotel at what is now Taughannock Falls State Park hired men to create a fake petrified man and place it where workmen would dig it up. One of the men who had buried the giant later revealed the truth when drunk.
 * During 1897, a petrified man found downriver from Fort Benton, Montana, was claimed by promoters to be the remains of former territorial governor and U.S. Civil War General Thomas Francis Meagher. Meagher had drowned in the Missouri River during 1867. The petrified man was displayed across Montana as a novelty and exhibited in New York and Chicago.

In popular culture

 * In Halt and Catch Fire, the fictional Cardiff Giant personal computer was named after the petrified man.
 * "Cardiff Giant" is a song on the 2012 album Ten Stories by the band mewithoutYou.
 * Mark Twain's 1869 short story "The Legend of the Capitoline Venus" was inspired by the Cardiff Giant, and the ghost of the Giant is a character in Twain's 1870 short story "A Ghost Story."
 * The Cardiff Giant was referenced in the 1935 short story "Out of the Aeons" by H.P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald.
 * J. Jonah Jameson writes that Spider-Man is the biggest hoax since the Cardiff Giant in The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (1964).
 * The podcast The Memory Palace did an episode about the Cardiff Giant.
 * A character called the Cardiff Giant appeared occasionally in the early years of the newspaper comic Alley Oop. He was larger than the other cavemen, had a pale beard, and spots over his torso and arms.
 * The 1997 The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Skeptic" was inspired by the Cardiff Giant, the Piltdown Man, and the Scopes trial.
 * The Cardiff Giant was referenced in the Babylon Five novel The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos.
 * Myron Edward Batesole was a professional wrestler during the 1940s and 50s billed as "The Cardiff Giant."
 * Power-violence band Spazz used an image of The Cardiff Giant for their album “Dwarf Jester Rising”

title: Cardiff Giant


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User talk:Stevertigo/Sand box

Your use of headers also puts in spurious numbers for those of us with auto-numbering. -- Toby Bartels 13:35, 30 Jul 2003 (UTC)

title: User talk:Stevertigo/Sand box


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Dave Davies

David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his older brother Ray. Davies also sometimes undertook writing and/or lead vocals duties within the band, for example on songs such as "Death of a Clown", "Party Line", "Strangers" and "Rats". He has also embarked on a solo career, releasing several singles during the late 1960s and has since released eight solo albums.

Davies is prolific with his innovative nature on the electric guitar, specifically in being one of the first to use electric guitar distortion and exposing the effect to the mainstream. His signature distorted power chord riffs on songs would heavily influence future heavy metal and punk rock acts. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 as a member of the Kinks and, in 2003, was ranked 91st in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Early life
David Russell Gordon Davies was born at 6 Denmark Terrace, Muswell Hill, North London. He was born the last of eight children, including six elder sisters and an elder brother, later bandmate Ray. As children, the Davies brothers were immersed in a world of different musical styles, from the music hall of their parents' generation, to the jazz and early rock n' roll that their older sisters listened to. The siblings developed a rivalry early on, with both brothers competing for their parents' and sisters' attention.

Davies grew up playing skiffle, but soon bought an electric guitar and started experimenting with rock. The Davies brothers and friend Pete Quaife jammed together in the front room of their house. Activities in the Davies household centred around this front room, culminating in large parties, where the parents would sing and play piano together. The front room and these parties were musically nurturing to the Davies brothers, later influencing the Kinks' interpretations of the traditional British music hall style. Dave and his brother worked out the famous two-chord riff of their 1964 hit "You Really Got Me" on the piano in the front room.

Career
Davies founded the Kinks with Pete Quaife in 1963. His brother Ray, who became the best-known member and de facto leader of the band, joined soon after. The quartet was formed when drummer Mick Avory joined. Dave Davies had a turbulent relationship with Avory, one of the reasons behind the latter's departure from the band in the mid-1980s, although the two had been housemates together in the mid-1960s.

Ray and Dave Davies remained the only two steady members of the band. They were accompanied by an oft-changing roster of bassists and keyboardists. Dave played a largely subordinate role to his brother, often staying behind the scenes. Dave would make occasional contributions on Kinks records as lead vocalist and songwriter, with classics such as "Party Line" (the lyrics were written by Ray and the song has been attributed to Ray on many editions of "Face to Face"), "Death of a Clown" and "Strangers".

Early years (1963–1966)
The Kinks were signed to Pye Records in late 1963, and Dave Davies turned 17 three days before the first Kinks single (a version of "Long Tall Sally") was issued in early 1964. Davies was solely responsible for the signature distorted power chord sound on the Kinks' first hit, "You Really Got Me". He achieved the sound by using a razor blade to slit the speaker cone on his Elpico amplifier, which he then ran through a larger Vox as a "pre-amp". This sound was one of the first mainstream appearances of distortion, which was to have a major influence on many later musicians, especially in heavy metal and punk rock.

"You Really Got Me" was the band's third released single, the two previous recordings having failed to chart. They had a three-single contract with Pye Records, and needed a hit to get another. Pye didn't like the song and refused to pay for studio time. The band arranged other financial support to cut the single, which became a hit, topping the charts in the UK and reaching number 7 in the US.

The Kinks released three albums and several EPs in the next two years. They also performed and toured relentlessly, headlining package tours with the likes of The Yardbirds and The Mickey Finn, which caused tension within the band. Some legendary on-stage fights erupted during this time as well. The most notorious incident was at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff in May 1965, involving drummer Mick Avory and Dave Davies. The fight broke out during the second number of the set, "Beautiful Delilah". It culminated with Davies insulting Avory and kicking over his drum set after finishing the first song, "You Really Got Me". Avory responded by knocking down Davies with his hi-hat stand, rendering him unconscious. He then fled from the scene and Davies was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary, where he received 16 stitches to the head. Avory later claimed that it was part of a new act in which the band members would hurl their instruments at each other.

During the late 1960s the group steadily evolved, as Ray's songwriting skills developed and he began to lead the group in a new direction. The group abandoned the traditional R&B/blues sound and adopted a more nostalgic, reflective style of music, as showcased on songs like "Autumn Almanac" and "Waterloo Sunset", as well as their albums, such as Something Else by the Kinks and The Village Green Preservation Society.

Late 1960s and solo career
In July 1967, Dave Davies released his first solo single, "Death of a Clown", credited entirely under his name as the recording artist, though it was co-written by his brother. In the past, as a member of the Kinks, Dave Davies had only released his own compositions on B-sides and albums. Pye Records, the Kinks' label, sensed potential sales in a solo release from the overlooked Davies and issued "Death of a Clown" as his debut. Although the single was credited to Davies, the backing band was the Kinks, and the track also appeared on Something Else by the Kinks.

"Death of a Clown" rose to number three on the UK Singles Chart. Wanting to profit from the new buzz suddenly surrounding Davies, a solo LP was slated for release sometime in 1968 or 1969. The follow-up single, "Susannah's Still Alive", was released in November 1967; however, it only reached number 20 on the Melody Maker chart. The release of the solo album was held back, and it was decided to wait and see how another single would fare. As anticipation grew for the release of the new LP, it was nicknamed A Hole in the Sock Of. "Lincoln County" was chosen as the next single, but it failed to chart. By the time a fourth single, "Hold My Hand", met with the same result, a combination of his own lack of interest in continuing and Pye's decision to stop killed off any hopes of an album.

Eventually, the tracks intended for his first solo album were assembled for a 2011 compilation by Russell Smith & Andrew Sandoval entitled Hidden Treasures. It combined the singles, B-sides that were released for various Kinks singles and a handful of album tracks that Davies had recorded for Kinks albums. Many of these tracks had been assembled previously for The Album That Never Was, released in 1987.

The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur were released in 1968 and 1969, respectively. Although they received unanimous acclaim, Village Green failed to chart internationally, and Arthur was met with a mediocre commercial reception. These records, although praised by critics and the rock press, were commercial failures.

"Lola", Muswell Hillbillies, and theatrical incarnation
After Arthur, the Kinks made a comeback with their hit single "Lola" and the accompanying concept album Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One in 1970. Dave recorded two songs of his own for this LP, the acoustic "Strangers" and the hard-rocking "Rats". The rootsy Muswell Hillbillies, themed on country-rock and Americana, was released in late 1971 and was well-received with critics, but failed to sell strongly. The band's next five albums, Everybody's in Show-Biz, Preservation: Act 1, Preservation: Act 2, The Kinks Present A Soap Opera and Schoolboys in Disgrace, which added a large theatrical ensemble, were critical and commercial failures.

The Kinks left RCA Records in 1977, switching to Arista. The group shed all of the extra backing vocalists and brass instrumentalists that had accompanied them throughout their theatrical years, and reverted to a five-piece rock group again. Their debut LP for Arista was entitled Sleepwalker, and was a commercial and critical comeback for the group. It was the first album in what critics usually call the "arena rock" phase of the group, in which more commercial and mainstream production techniques would be employed. Dave later commented that he was glad to be back to more guitar-oriented songs, and he has listed Sleepwalker as one of his favourites.

1980s and onward
Davies saw the band through both success and failure, as they reached their commercial peak in the early 1980s. The group began adjusting their commercial methods, embracing the MTV culture that was selling records at the time. The music video for their 1982/83 single "Come Dancing" helped hoist the record to number 12 on the UK chart, and number 6 in the US – their biggest hit since "Tired of Waiting for You" in 1965.

The Kinks' popularity faltered in 1985, and soon their records ceased to chart altogether. Mick Avory left the band after the Kinks' last album for Arista, Word of Mouth, mainly due to the growing animosity between him and Dave Davies. Bob Henrit was brought in to take Avory's place. At the invitation of Ray Davies, Avory agreed to manage Konk Studios, where he also served as a producer and occasional contributor on later Kinks albums.

The group switched to MCA (US) and London (UK) records in late 1985, and began work on their next album, Think Visual. The record was released in 1986, but only reached number 81 on the Billboard charts. Critics were lukewarm towards it, and it did not receive significant radio play. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic.com later commented that the album "represented an artistic dead end for the Kinks, as Ray Davies continued to crank out a series of competent, but undistinguished hard rockers." Dave Davies contributed two songs to Think Visual, "Rock 'n' Roll Cities" and "When You were a Child".

The group recorded several more records for MCA, their last studio effort for them being 1989's UK Jive. It was received slightly better than Think Visual, but it failed to enter into the Top 100. Dave Davies contributed the song "Dear Margaret" to the vinyl record – the cassette and CD of the album also contained two further Dave Davies songs, "Bright Lights" and "Perfect Strangers".

The group left MCA and struggled to find a record label that would accept them. All four original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, but this failed to revive their career. Eventually the Kinks signed to Columbia Records, who released their final studio album together, Phobia, on 13 April 1993. Despite publicity and press attention, the record was unsuccessful, peaking at number 166. Singles released failed to chart as well. To Phobia Davies contributed the songs "It's Alright (Don't Think About It)" and "Close to the Wire".

Columbia dropped the group in 1994, forcing them to retreat to their old Konk Records. The group released To The Bone on the small independent Grapevine Records in 1994.

The Kinks took a break from recording and touring in 1996. Ray and Dave reunited onstage to perform "You Really Got Me" at the Islington Assembly Hall in London on 18 December 2015. Rolling Stone magazine called their performance "rousing".

Solo work, 1980s–present day
After the aborted solo effort, Davies's solo career was not revived until 1980, with the release of Dave Davies (AFL1-3603), which featured Davies performing all the instruments himself. The album, named after its own catalog number, peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200. He went on to release Glamour (1981), which charted at number 152. Davies brought in a back-up band to play with him on this record. Chosen People was released in 1983, but failed to crack the Billboard 200.

Davies released his first true solo studio album in twenty years, Bug, in 2002. Fractured Mindz followed in January 2007. It was also his first new studio effort since his stroke in the summer of 2004 besides the track "God in my Brain" (which was recorded and released on the compilation album Kinked in January 2006).

Two Worlds was recorded throughout 2010 by The Aschere Project, the production team of Dave Davies and his son Russ. Both members wrote, produced, and recorded all the tracks. About the album's genre, Dave stated "it's a mixture of rock, kinda classical and electronic music." In February 2010, Davies released an autobiographical DVD filmed by his other son, titled Mystical Journey. His planned US tour in support of the release was postponed per doctor's advice. It was announced in February 2013 that on 4 June 2013, Davies would be releasing his sixth studio album entitled I Will Be Me worldwide. Davies undertook a short tour of the US to promote the album. Davies performed his first UK show in thirteen years in February 2014. In October 2014, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Kinks, a new album by Davies, with many tracks looking back to the start of the band, titled Rippin' Up Time was released. Davies appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the album in 2014. This episode was the highest rated Tonight Show episode in 2014.

In 2015, the Dave Davies solo album Rippin Up New York City was released on Red River Entertainment. He embarked on a solo tour to promote the album in the US in October and November. On 18 December, at his concert at the Islington Assembly Hall in London, he was joined onstage by Ray to perform the Kinks' hit "You Really Got Me" together. This marked the first time in nearly 20 years that the brothers had appeared and performed together.

Signature instruments

Davies has played a number of guitars over time, the most recognizable of which is his Gibson Flying V. Davies bought it in 1965, and soon began appearing live and on TV performances with it. Davies was one of the few guitarists who played Flying Vs at the time. It was, in that period, out of issue due to lack of interest upon its 1958 test release, and models were numbered. Guitarists such as Lonnie Mack, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King and Davies himself helped stir interest in the instrument, and it would eventually become one of the signature guitars of the heavy metal era.

Davies commented on his Flying V:

"I used to play a Guild custom built guitar and the airline lost it on our first American tour in '64 or '65. ... I had to get a replacement quick. I went into a store and they didn't have anything I liked. I saw this dusty old guitar case and I said "What have you got in there?" he said "Oh, that's just some silly old guitar." He got it out and I bought it for about $60."

Davies has played many other guitars throughout his career. He has played several models of Gibson Les Pauls over time, including a "Goldtop" model with P90 pickups and a black '78 model. On his website he lists the following:
 * Gibson Les Paul – Standard, Custom, Deluxe, Artisan and Goldtop models
 * Fender Elite Telecaster
 * Fender American Standard Telecaster
 * '63 Fender Telecaster sunburst (owned by Ray, used as Dave's main guitar between 1967 and 1969)
 * '54 Fender Stratocaster
 * Gibson Flying V
 * Gibson L5-S
 * Gibson L6-S
 * Guild F-512 NT 12-string acoustic
 * Harmony Meteor

Personal life and health
Davies was expelled from school at the age of 15 after being caught having sexual intercourse with his girlfriend, Sue Sheehan, on Hampstead Heath. Shortly thereafter, they were forced to separate by their respective families after Sheehan found out she was pregnant. Their relationship had a profound impact on Davies, who wrote a number of songs about their separation including "Funny Face", "Susannah's Still Alive", and "Mindless Child of Motherhood". In 1967, Davies married Lisbet (a cousin of Pete Quaife's first wife, Annette) and they divorced in 1990. From that marriage, Davies has four sons: Martin, Simon, Christian, and Russell. His three children Daniel, Lana, and Eddie are from a relationship with Nancy Evans. Dave briefly reunited with Sue Sheehan in the late 90s.

Davies published an autobiography, entitled Kink in 1996, in which he discussed his bisexuality and brief relationships with Long John Baldry and music producer Michael Aldred in the late 1960s. He also wrote of the tense professional relationship with his brother over the Kinks' career.

Davies has been vegetarian since the late 60s, and has said that he does not think meat is good for the nervous system.

On 30 June 2004, Davies suffered a stroke while exiting a lift at Broadcasting House, where he had been promoting his album, Bug. He was taken to University College Hospital near Euston Square tube station. Davies was released from the hospital on 27 August. By 2006, Davies had recovered enough to be able to walk, talk and play the guitar.

In September 2013 Rolling Stone magazine wrote about Davies and his girlfriend Rebecca G. Wilson. She contributed backing vocals to the songs "Front Room" and "King of Karaoke". Since 2014, Wilson has gone on tour as Davies' backup singer.

A second autobiography, Living on a Thin Line (ISBN 9781472289773), was released in July 2022. The book's title is shared by a Kinks track released in 1984. Davies details in the book how in 1982, while on tour in the US, he started hearing voices. He claims that those voices were alien in origin and the aliens, who he named "the intelligences", controlled both his body and mind. Davies also discussed his leaving of wives and children when relationships were outgrown.

Studio albums
Soundtrack album
 * AFL1-3603 (1980) US Billboard No. 42
 * Glamour (1981) US Billboard No. 152
 * Chosen People (1983) US Billboard No. 202
 * Bug (2002)
 * Fractured Mindz (2007)
 * I Will Be Me (2013)
 * Rippin' Up Time (2014)
 * Open Road (2017) with Russ Davies
 * Village of the Damned (1995) with John Carpenter

Live albums

 * Rock Bottom - Live at The Bottom Line (2000)
 * Transformation - Live at The Alex Theatre (2003)
 * Rainy Day in June (2004)
 * Rippin' Up New York City - Live at the Winery NYC (2015)

Official bootlegs
 * Solo Live - Live Solo Performance at Marian College (2000)
 * Bugged... Live! (2002)
 * Belly Up (2008) - recorded live at the Belly Up Club in San Diego on 29 April 1997, which was at the start of the first major solo tour of the U.S. by Davies
 * Around the Galaxy (2009)

Compilation albums

 * The Album That Never Was (1987) - singles recorded for his unreleased debut solo album
 * Unfinished Business (1999)
 * Kinked (2006 release on Koch Records)
 * Hidden Treasures (2011) - released and unreleased tracks recorded for his unreleased debut solo album
 * Decade (2018) - unreleased tracks from the 1970s

Demo recordings (The Meta Media Demo Series)

 * Fortis Green (1999)
 * Fragile (2001)

Guest appearances

 * In the Mouth of Madness soundtrack, lead guitar on track one (1995)

Projects with Russ Davies

 * Purusha and the Spiritual Planet as Crystal Radio (1998)
 * Two Worlds as The Aschere Project (2010)

title: Dave Davies