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Roncesvalles, Toronto

Roncesvalles (or Roncesvalles Village or Roncy Village) is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, centred on Roncesvalles Avenue, a north–south street leading from the intersection of King and Queen Streets to the south, north to Dundas Street West, a distance of roughly 1.7 kilometres. It is located east of High Park, north of Lake Ontario, in the Parkdale–High Park provincial and federal ridings and the municipal Ward 4. Its informal boundaries are High Park to the west, Bloor Street West to the north, Lake Ontario/Queen Street West to the south and Lansdowne Avenue/rail corridor to the east. Originally known as "Howard Park", most of this area was formerly within the boundaries of Parkdale and Brockton villages and was annexed into Toronto in the 1880s.

Culturally, the area is known as the centre of the Polish community in Toronto with prominent Polish institutions, businesses and St Casimir's Catholic Church located on Roncesvalles Avenue. The businesses along Roncesvalles have formed the Roncesvalles Village Business Improvement Area and hold the largest Polish Festival in North America, which takes place every September.

Character
The neighbourhood is predominantly residential, with a commercial strip the full length of Roncesvalles, composed predominantly of small businesses, churches and institutions. To the west of Roncesvalles, the area is nearly completely residential except for St. Joseph's Health Centre and a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar barn. East of Roncesvalles along the CN and CP rail lines is an older industrial area that is in transition. Several of the buildings along Sorauren Avenue have been converted into loft-style condominiums. At one time a large TTC bus garage was located along Sorauren Avenue; this property has been converted into Sorauren Park. Two other old industrial buildings along Wabash are owned by the City of Toronto, and are slated for a future community centre project. One of the buildings currently serves as a clubhouse for the Park.

The City of Toronto defines three official neighbourhoods as having boundaries with Roncesvalles Avenue. To the west, the official neighbourhood is High Park-Swansea. To the east, the official neighbourhood is named "Roncesvalles" – often referred to as "Roncy". To the southeast of Roncesvalles Avenue is "South Parkdale".

History
Toronto's first highway to the west was Dundas Street starting at Queen Street along today's Ossington and west along its current path west to Dundas (near Hamilton). While Toronto's boundary was Dufferin Street, a very early village mostly built around hotels sprang up along Dundas just before it met Ossington and entered Toronto; this was Brockton. The Subdivision of land for Brockton included the portion of the neighbourhood east of what is now Roncesvalles Avenue. although little of this was built on. The rest of what is now the Roncesvalles neighbourhood began as farm lots given to Toronto's prominent Ridout family and the architect John George Howard. These men had careers in the city so little was done with their farmland most of which was never even cleared of the natural forest. Two houses were built by John Howard on these farms: Sunnyside (where St. Joseph's Hospital is now), and Colborne Lodge (Mr. Howard's own cottage built 1837) in what is now High Park. A path running through Sunnyside Farm was an Indigenous trail (now Indian Road) thought to have originally been an ancient Mississauga Indian path, leading from Lake Ontario north. In the 1850s, concurrent with the building of the railway, the central part of Brockton was separated from the Roncesvalles subdivided lands except for a small strip along Dundas between the railway and Bloor.

In 1850, Colonel O'Hara acquired the land north of Queen from Roncesvalles Avenue to just east of Lansdowne Avenue. In 1874, Colonel O'Hara died and his land was subdivided. Following the subdivision of two other farms south of Queen, a new village rapidly took shape and in 1879 was incorporated, despite protests by the City of Toronto, as the Village of Parkdale. The subdivision of O'Hara's land and the streets laid out after his death had names related to his family, largely superseded the Brockton subdivision south of the railway between Roncesvalles and Sorauren. Development in Parkdale crept up Sorauren Ave and there was even some building on Roncesvalles Avenue before a series of annexations brought Parkdale (1889), Brockton (1884) and the surrounding farmland (including Sunnyside farm) into the City of Toronto. In all there were 13 separate annexations by the City of Toronto between 1883 and 1893. When Parkdale was annexed to Toronto, streets were laid out or extended to Keele Street (the section south of Bloor was later renamed Parkside Drive) and the street grid took the shape it has to this day. In the 1890s, the intersection of Roncesvalles and Queen became more important as a Lake Shore streetcar line was built, enabling commuting to the west. A streetcar yard was added at the intersection in 1895. The Sunnyside railway station at the intersection was opened in 1912. At the turn of the 20th century, the first school was built in the neighbourhood, the Old Howard Park school on Boustead Avenue. Although a number of Victorian homes had already been built extending north from Parkdale, the neighbourhood was largely built from 1900 until the First World War with almost all houses built in the 'foursquare' style. Originally these homes were designed for the middle class while wealthier homes were found in Parkdale. Also at this time, the first four Carnegie Libraries were opened in Toronto. Apart from the Central Library all (three) libraries were identical, one of them being the High Park branch on Roncesvalles Avenue. The three original churches were also built at this time; St Vincent de Paul (Roman Catholic), St Jude's (Anglican) and Howard Park Emmanuel (United Church). In the later years of its development, Roncesvalles began to attract some wealthier families and many impressive homes were built from 1910 to 1930 on High Park Gardens and High Park Boulevard.

The lakefront was developed by the Toronto Harbour Commission in the 1910s, leading to the development of the Sunnyside Beach and Amusement Park in 1922. Its popularity spurred development of the area commercially. The foot of Roncesvalles became a commercial and transportation hub, with a train station, a bus depot and the streetcar loop. The Park was demolished for the Gardiner Expressway project in 1955 and the Sunnyside intersection bypassed, leading to a decline in commerce and residential values in the area. The wealthy moved away from the area to newer suburbs further west and many large local homes were divided into apartments. However, Roncesvalles has remained largely middle class, attracting an influx of successful immigrants especially from Poland reversing the relationship between Roncesvalles and Parkdale. St Casimir's Catholic Parish was established in 1944. The construction of the church and church hall began in 1948 and was completed in 1954 by which time the Polish community had become well established in the area. It was the construction of the church that attracted the Polish immigrants to the immediate area.

Street names
These names are attributed to Walter O'Hara:

 * Roncesvalles Avenue,- O'Hara named it after the Battle of Roncesvalles which took place in the Roncesvalles gorge in Spain in 1813 in which he led a regiment that fought against the retreating army of Napoleon.
 * Alhambra Avenue, after the palace in Spain,
 * Constance Street, after his daughter,
 * Fermanagh Avenue, after the county of his birth in Ireland,
 * Geoffrey Street, after a son,
 * Marion Street, after his wife, and
 * Sorauren Avenue, is named after the Battle of Sorauren at which Col. O'Hara was present.

Fern Avenue used to be named Ruth Avenue, after his daughter and Grenadier Road used to be named Walter Avenue, after another son. The streets O'Hara Avenue and West Lodge Avenue both to the east were laid out and named after O'Hara's death.

Other street names have historical connections:
 * Sunnyside Ave, Parkside Dr, Colborne Lodge Drive (in High Park), Howard Park Avenue, High Park Gardens, High Park Boulevard, High Park Ave (in the High Park neighbourhood) – all relate to John Howard.
 * Grenadier Road – (Grenadiers from Fort York were the first regular users of High Park).
 * Indian Road, Indian Grove, Indian Road Crescent, Indian Valley Crescent, Indian Trail and Algonquin Ave – all named after the old native path.
 * Ridout Street – the Ridout family, which owned property in the north-west vicinity of High Park.

Culture
The area has a highly developed history of political and community participation. There are several established community associations active. The High Park Residents' Association represents the area south of Bloor Street between Parkside Drive and Roncesvalles Avenue south to High Park Boulevard. The Sunnyside Community Association represents the area directly south of High Park Boulevard between Parkside and Roncesvalles, south to Lake Ontario. The Roncesvalles-MacDonnell Residents' Association represents the area east of Roncesvalles from Bloor south to Queen Street, east of Roncesvalles, south of the railway lines, west of Lansdowne Avenue.

In 2012, Roncesvalles was named as one of eight finalists in the "Canadian Institute of Planners’ (CIP) Great Places in Canada" contest, and the only neighbourhood from Toronto. From a poll of 200,000 votes nationwide, 90 neighbourhoods were nominated. A panel of planners reduced the list to 21 and Roncesvalles survived a second cut to make it to the top eight. According to CIP President Andrea Gabor: "in Roncesvalles, people can bike in or get on a streetcar, so they still feel like part of the city and connected to the downtown ... I think it embodies a lot of what people want when they’re living in the city."

Arts
The popular repertory movie theatre Revue Cinema, at the intersection of Roncesvalles and Howard Park Avenue first opened its doors in 1911. It closed for a year as part of the dissolution of the Festival Cinemas chain. It reopened as a non-profit operation of the Revue Film Society. The Society laboured for a year to find a way to reopen the Revue, and partnered with a local couple who purchased the theatre and now leases it to the Society.

Another theatre, the Brighton, closed in the mid-1980s. It is in use as a convenience store, although it has not been renovated, other than its marquee signage removed.

The area has several bars and restaurants with live music. The Local pub offers live music daily. Inter Steer offers live music twice a week. Loons Restaurant & Pub offers live music on Friday nights. Latinada, on Bloor Street west of Dundas, is a Tapas bar with live music. Zagłoba restaurant also offers live music.

Annually in June, the "Roncy Rocks" one-day music and art show is held outdoors along Roncesvalles. Several side streets off Roncesvalles are closed and musical stages and art displays installed. Musicians and artists are mostly local to the community.

In 2018, the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada moved to a location in the former Tower Building nearby on Sterling Road. There are several independent art galleries on Dundas Street West between Sorauren Avenue and Roncesvalles.

Polish community
The street has long been known as the cultural and commercial centre of Toronto's Polish Canadian community. A number of Polish-speaking restaurants, delicatessens and shops specializing in Polish goods are located on Roncesvalles Avenue. The sign "Mówimy po polsku" ("We speak Polish") is displayed in some storefronts.

While still recognized as a centre of the Polish community, the ethnic makeup of the area around Roncesvalles Avenue varies widely, as is the case throughout Toronto. According to the 2006 census figures, in Ward 14, which includes Roncesvalles, there were 2,775 residents who identified Polish as their mother tongue, or 5.5% of the population. This is the second-largest group after English. According to the 2011 census, the overall number of residents of Toronto who identify Polish as their mother tongue is 27,880.

The Roncesvalles Village Business Improvement Area holds an annual Roncesvalles Village Polish Festival each fall, closing Roncesvalles Avenue to vehicular traffic. The festival features amusement rides, clothing, craft and food stands and outdoor musical entertainment, including polka music. In 2011, an estimated 300,000 people attended the festival. The official patron of the festival is the Polish Consulate. It is considered the largest Polish festival in North America.

The public library branch holds a collection of Polish-language books and magazines. Polish-language lessons are part of the curriculum at St. Vincent de Paul separate school.

At the southern end of Roncesvalles Avenue, at the Sunnyside intersection of King, Queen, Queensway and Roncesvalles streets, two monuments are erected in memory of two events in Polish history. A large monument in memory of the massacre of Polish prisoners of war during World War II, and especially the mass graves of officers found in Katyn forest. Fresh wreaths are placed there regularly. Next to it is a memorial to thousands of Polish citizens deported to Siberian labour camps during the Second World War.

In Poland, the Catholic faith is predominant, and this is the case for persons of Polish descent ('Polonia') in Canada. There are two large Catholic churches on Roncesvalles. St. Casimir's Roman Catholic Church offers Polish-language masses every Sunday. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, at Westminster Avenue, holds masses in English and Latin.

An enormous memorial was held on Roncesvalles Avenue when Pope John Paul II died, with standing room only on the street and sidewalks of Roncesvalles from Marion Avenue to Wright Avenue. The memorial was loosely centred on a statue of the Pope located at the St. Stanislaus-St. Casimir's Credit Union, a credit union for people of Polish descent. A tribute of candles and flowers around the statue continues today. When Pope John Paul II visited Toronto in 1984, he had visited Roncesvalles and dined at the Sir Nicholas Restaurant at 89 Roncesvalles.

Churches
The Annunciation Of The Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Cathedral is located at Sorauren Avenue and Galley Avenue. Until 1961, it was the North Parkdale United Church, when it was purchased for $160,000. It was elevated to Cathedral status in 1967. Its interior was damaged by fire in 2000 but was refurbished.

Roncesvalles United Church, located at Wright Avenue, operates a mission and a daycare. The church was renamed Emmanuel – Howard Park in 1972, following the merger of its congregation with that of Howard Park United Church. Cheri DiNovo was the pastor of the church until she was elected as the current Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Parkdale–High Park in 2006. The former Howard Park Church is located at Sunnyside and Marmaduke and was converted into housing. As of 2016, Emmanuel – Howard Park was renamed Roncesvalles United Church. Services are also held by Roman Catholic Womenpriests at the church.

St. Casimir's Polish Roman Catholic Church at Garden Avenue, offers Polish masses on Sundays. Its origins begin in 1944 when the Oblate Mission decided to create the third Polish parish (and first in the west end) in Toronto. The lot on which the church stands today was purchased for $15,000 in 1948 and construction on the parish hall began the same year. The first mass was held in the church hall in 1949. The church was completed and officially began offering mass on May 23, 1954. The founder and driving force behind the creation of the parish and church was Father Michael Smith who later went on to found Copernicus Lodge. The parish and church were important in the beginning of the Polish community in Toronto's west end.

St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, at Westminster Avenue, offers Latin masses on Sundays. It is the 'mother' parish of St. Casimir's and was built in the 1910s.

Westminster Chapel at High Park is a merger of Westminster Chapel and High Park Baptist Church. Westminster Chapel at High Park is located on Hewitt Avenue. High Park Baptist Church was founded as the Hewitt Avenue Mission in 1908 and was originally an outpost of Walmer Road Baptist Church. At the time, Roncesvalles was largely unpopulated, with the Eaton family home on Indian Road being one of the only residences in the area. The original building has been expanded several times, culminating in the construction of a unique circular sanctuary in 1927. High Park Baptist holds Sunday services, small group Bible studies in the church and local homes, and hosts "Room To Roam" a drop-in for parents and children in the neighbourhood, a popular food and clothing bank, summer day camps for local children, and more.

Health
The large St. Joseph's Health Centre at Sunnyside and The Queensway in the south of the district has been on the site since the 1840s, being first the site of the Sisters of St. Joseph Order, then an orphanage and later the hospital. The Order still operates the hospital. It occupies the site of Sunnyside Lodge, a home of John Howard.

At the south end of Roncesvalles is Copernicus Lodge, a large chronic care and nursing home facility that primarily serves the Polish community although not exclusively. The Lodge is a monument to the community that in large part was responsible for its creation. It opened its first wing on Roncesvalles and later opened a new wing on Marion Street.

There are several doctor's offices on Roncesvalles, and several are located in the Sunnyside Medical Arts Building at 27 Roncesvalles, including the St. Joseph's Urban Family Health Team. The street has several drugstores.

Education
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is an English secular public school board that serves the City of Toronto. The school board operates a number of institutions that provides primary and secondary. TDSB does not operate any secondary schools in the neighbourhood, although three TDSB secondary school located near the neighbourhood serve the students of Roncesvalles. They include Humberside Collegiate Institute, Parkdale Collegiate Institute, and Western Technical-Commercial School. Primary schools operated by TDSB in Roncesvalles include:
 * Fern Avenue Public School is a public elementary school and middle school on Fern Avenue, east of Roncesvalles.
 * Garden Avenue Junior Public School is a public elementary school on Garden Avenue west of Roncesvalles. It was founded in 1957 and was known as Argentina Junior P.S. between 1961 and 1982, but this was changed back to the original name during the Falklands conflict.
 * Howard Junior Public School is a public elementary school on Marmaduke Street at Sunnyside Avenue.

The Toronto District Catholic School Board (TDCSB) is a public English separate school board that serves the City of Toronto. The school board operates institutions that provides primary and secondary education. Schools operated by TDCSB in Roncesvalles include:
 * St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School is a Catholic elementary school on Fermanagh Avenue east of Roncesvalles. It was founded in 1914 operating out of a storefront on Roncesvalles Avenue, across the street from the church. With the end of the war in 1918, a separate building was constructed for the school behind the church on Westminster Ave., which was run by Sisters of Loreto. The school was extended to Fermanagh Avenue shortly after. Problems with low enrolment threatened the existence of the school which was considered for closure during a reorganization of the Metropolitan Separate School Board (which became the TCDSB) and general changes of demographics.
 * Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School. The school is leased by the TCDSB.

Two public French-language secondary schools, École secondaire catholique Saint-Frère-André and École secondaire Toronto Ouest operate nearby on Lansdowne Avenue in the former West Toronto Collegiate building. They are operated by Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir, and Conseil scolaire Viamonde respectively.

The High Park branch of the Toronto Public Library, a Carnegie library, is located at Wright Avenue. It was opened in 1916, and renovated in 1979 and again in 1991.

Economy
There are myriad small businesses, most of which are independently owned and operated. These include specialty gift shops, pharmacies, grocers (including organic specialty), health food stores, clothing and shoe boutiques, cafes and restaurants, book and music stores, video stores, art shops, hardware stores and law offices. The former S.S. Kresge store, now a Royal Bank, was built in 1936 and retains its original Kresge signage. The majority of shops are accommodated in two or three-storey structures built in the first half of the 20th century, with the retail portion on the ground floor and apartments above.

Roncesvalles is very well known for the large number of small restaurants, cafés and specialty food shops of various cuisines. There are several bakeries and delicatessens found along the full length of Roncesvalles.

The Roncesvalles Village Business Improvement Area district includes businesses along the full length of Roncesvalles from Dundas Street to Queen Street. The BIA was founded in 1985.

Recreation

The Roncesvalles area has several parks and sporting facilities. The schools of the neighbourhood also provide facilities, including swimming pools for school-age children. The largest park in the area is 400 acre High Park west of Parkside Drive, with playgrounds, Grenadier Pond, a zoo, baseball diamonds, outdoor swimming pool and forest. Sorauren Avenue Park, was created at the intersection of Sorauren Avenue and Wabash Avenue on the site of a former bus garage. It now holds two tennis courts, two soccer fields and a fieldhouse. A playground is across Wabash from the park. At the site, a former linseed oil factory is now in the ownership of the City and is earmarked for a future recreation centre. To the south of the area, the Sunnyside lakefront provides playgrounds, picnic areas, the Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion, a boardwalk, a recreation trail and beaches.

High Park provides baseball diamonds and organized youth baseball programs. High Park also has two soccer fields, tennis courts and an artificial ice rink in the winter. The École secondaire catholique Saint-Frère-André and École secondaire Toronto Ouest on Lansdowne Avenue to the east provide an all-weather track and a soccer field. The closest hockey arena is at McCormick, east of Lansdowne.

There are several club-run facilities. High Park Curling Club on Indian Road is Toronto's oldest curling club. The current rink was opened in 1911. There are two tennis clubs in High Park. Along the lakefront, there are rowing clubs including the Argonaut Club. The Boulevard Club operates tennis and boating facilities.

Transportation

The intersection of Roncesvalles, Queen and King streets has long been a transportation hub of the city of Toronto. Passenger trains first served the area in 1855. In the 1890s the location became the hub of commuter streetcars going as far west as Port Credit. In 1895, Toronto Railway Company (forerunner of the TTC) built the Roncesvalles streetcar yards, which continue to dominate the northwest corner. The intersection itself is famous for its huge number of streetcar tracks, possibly the most numerous in the city. The area has also been home to two other TTC yards, one streetcar yard in the triangle formed by Howard Park Avenue, Dundas Street West and Ritchie Avenue, and the bus garage on Sorauren Ave on the current site of Sorauren Park. The Roncesvalles Carhouse, a streetcar maintenance and storage facility, is located within Roncesvalles.

Today, the area is well served by the Dundas West and Keele subway stations to the north at Bloor Street. The 501, 504A, 505, and 506 streetcars provide frequent service and the 80 Queensway bus provides service along Parkside Avenue from Keele station.

Roncesvalles Avenue was completely reconstructed in 2009–2011, partially owing to the need to replace the sewer pipes, water mains and the streetcar tracks. The roadway re-construction incorporated roadway narrowing and sidewalk improvements. Transit platforms were built to extend to the streetcar doors at transit stops. The transit platforms incorporated ramps to provide a bicycle lane. Sewers were rebuilt during 2009 and early 2010. The trees on the street, which were in planters, were replaced, and the new trees planted at ground level. The soil beneath the tree plantings was landscaped into trenches beneath the sidewalks.

GO Transit operates trains along the Lakeshore rail line, although no longer stopping at Sunnyside. The nearest stop is at Exhibition Place. There are GO trains operating along the CN/CP lines to the east, stopping at Bloor Street and Dundas Street West.

There once was an inter-city bus depot at the northwest corner of Roncesvalles and Queen, now converted to a fast-food restaurant. This took over from the commuter streetcars, although streetcars do travel as far west as Long Branch from Roncesvalles.

The former Toronto - Sunnyside passenger train station, providing intercity train connections, on the Great Western line opened in 1910 at the foot of Roncesvalles. It replaced the railway station located at Jameson and Springhurst, that opened in 1879. Sunnyside station shut in 1971 and was demolished in 1973.

Notable events

 * 1850 – Col. O'Hara acquires 420 acres (170 ha) to the east side of Roncesvalles, north of Queen Street, as part of compensation for helping to put down 1837 Rebellion.
 * 1855 – Great Western Railway rail line along Lake Ontario to Hamilton is built. Station at foot of Jameson and Springhurst built in 1879.
 * 1856 – Grand Trunk Railway, running north-south to the east of Roncesvalles is built. Stations at Dufferin and Queen and at Dundas and Dupont.
 * 1873 – Most of High Park given to city by John Howard.
 * 1876 – Sunnyside Residence, orphanage on grounds of then Sunnyside Lodge, and now the site of current St. Joseph's opens, operated by Sisters of St. Joseph.
 * 1884 – Annexation of Brockton Village into Toronto.
 * 1884 – Annexation of Sunnyside farm into Toronto.
 * 1889 – Annexation of Parkdale by Toronto.
 * 1895 – Roncesvalles streetcar yard built.
 * 1905 – Parkdale Canoe Club founded. Now known as Boulevard Club. First club building built in 1915 at foot of Roncesvalles.
 * 1908 – Hewitt Avenue Mission, now High Park Baptist Church, built at Hewitt and Roncesvalles.
 * 1910 – Sunnyside railway station opens to replace South Parkdale railway station, closed after grade separation project completion.
 * 1910 – High Park Presbyterian Church at Wright and Roncesvalles built. (Now known as Emmanuel Howard Park.)
 * 1912 – Revue Cinema opens.
 * 1914 – St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and School open on Roncesvalles.
 * 1915 – High Park Library opens.
 * 1921 – St. Joseph's Hospital established.
 * 1922 – Sunnyside Amusement Park opens.
 * 1922 – Palais Royale opens at foot of Roncesvalles.
 * 1930 – City acquires the last part of High Park property, bringing total to 400 acres (162 ha).
 * 1952 – St. Casimir's Church built. This coincides with the influx of Polish immigrants and the movement of Polish Torontonians from the Queen Street West area around St. Stanislaus Catholic Church.
 * 1955 – Demolition of Sunnyside Amusement Park. The Lakeshore Road is closed from the foot of Roncesvalles, the street 'The Queensway' is built and streetcars are rerouted from the Lakeshore Road to The Queensway in a dedicated right-of-way.
 * 1958 – Gardiner Expressway opens.
 * 1963 – The Sphynx cat is alleged to have originated from a litter born in a Roncesvalles Avenue alley.
 * 1971 – Sunnyside railway station closes. Demolished in 1973.
 * 1979 – Copernicus Lodge retirement home opens.
 * 1980 – Erection of Katyn monument.
 * 1984 – Pope John Paul II visit, with open-air mass at Exhibition Place.
 * 2005 – Outdoor memorial mass for Pope John Paul II on Roncesvalles Avenue.
 * 2005 – First annual Roncesvalles Village Polish festival.
 * 2008 – First season of the Sorauren Farmers' Market in Sorauren Park on Monday afternoons.
 * 2010, April 11 – Mass at St. Casimir's and march to Katyn monument to honour victims of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, which killed the Polish president and government officials.

Notable people

 * Harold Ballard – The Ballard family (father Sidney owned a textile machinery business) lived at 44 Parkway Avenue in the early 1900s. Harold attended Howard Public School, graduating in 1916.
 * The Boyd Gang – Edwin Alonzo Boyd's gang achieved national notoriety in the 1950s with a crime spree that began at the Roncesvalles branch of the Toronto Bank (across from the Dundas-Roncesvalles triangle), while maintaining a hideout at a girlfriend's apartment on Wright Avenue.
 * Samantha Bee – grew up in Roncesvalles, host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and comedian.
 * Piya Chattopadhyay – journalist
 * Katerina Cizek – documentary filmmaker and web creator.

 * Daniel Lanois – Record producer and musician. Opened studio at 1 Howard Park Avenue in 2010.
 * Archie P. McKishnie and Jean Blewett – brother and sister writers, lived at 353 Sunnyside Avenue. McKishnie wrote historical novels about pioneer life; Blewett wrote poetry and was an editor for The Globe and Mail.
 * Taylor Mitchell – Country folk singer who grew up in the Roncesvalles area. She died from blood loss and severe injuries due to a coyote attack while hiking at Cape Breton Highlands National Park in 2009.

 * William Herbert Price – solicitor, MLA, Ontario attorney general, Ontario treasurer, lived at 7 Indian Grove.
 * Percy Quinn – Humanitarian, alderman, businessman, professional hockey team owner. Lived at 92 Roncesvalles until his death in 1944.
 * Morton Shulman – Former Coroner of Toronto, outspoken local NDP MPP for the provincial electoral district of High Park (now part of the larger Parkdale—High Park electoral district) and TV talk show host operated a family medical practice on Roncesvalles until he retired.

title: Roncesvalles, Toronto


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Sarich orbital engine

The Sarich orbital engine is a type of internal combustion engine, invented in 1972 by Ralph Sarich, an engineer from Perth, Australia, which features orbital rather than reciprocating motion of its central piston. It differs from the conceptually similar Wankel engine by using a generally prismatic shaped piston that orbits the axis of the engine, without rotation, rather than the rotating trilobular rotor of the Wankel.

Overview
The engine promised to be about one third the size and weight of conventional piston engines due to the compact arrangement of the combustion chambers. Another advantage is that there is no high-speed contact area with the engine walls, unlike in the Wankel engine in which edge wear is a problem. However, the combustion chambers are divided by vanes which do have contact with both the walls and the orbiting piston and are more difficult to seal due to the eight corners of the combustion chamber.

In the patent, the engine is described as two stroke internal combustion engine, but the patent claims that with a different valve mechanism it could be used as a four stroke engine. However most of the development work was done on four stroke versions with both poppet and disk valve arrangements. A supercharger is required if operated in two stroke mode since crankcase pumping can't be used to charge the combustion chamber.

Interestingly, in his seminal book researching and documenting all the possible ways to create a rotary piston displacer, Felix Wankel shows the orbiting piston and reciprocating vane mechanism used in the orbital engine.

Research and Development
The Orbital Engine Company, with funding from partner BHP and Federal Government R&D grants, worked on the concept from 1972 until 1983 and had a 3.5L four stroke engine performing as well as the similar petrol car engines of the day at typical road load conditions. A technical paper was presented to the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1982, and is now part of their historic transaction collection.

A major reason for the good performance of this engine was the development of a unique and patented injection system directed into the combustion chamber which created a stratified charge combustion process.

Several auto makers from around the world showed great interest in the engine, however it was realised that there was still at least $100 million of development work required to commercialise the engine and the funding sources decided this was not a sound investment. Instead it was realised the same injection and combustion system could be adapted onto existing two and four stroke petrol engines and this work become the future of the company, being called the Orbital Combustion Process.

During prototyping process, the engine has been installed in 3 vehicles: Toyota Kijang (3 cylinder unit), and Suzuki Karimun. (2 cylinder unit), installed by Sangeet Hari Kapoor when he was working in PT Wahana Perkasa Auto Jaya, which is a company under the Texmaco group. The 3 cylinder unit is also installed to 100 units of Ford Festivas in Australia, dubbed Festiva EcoSport, and the verdict is that while the car is somewhat more powerful than the Ford Festiva 1.3, it failed in to deliver emission compliance, efficiency, and NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) reduction at same time.

Technical problems
The orbital engine has two of fundamental design issues, which also plague the Wankel engine:

 * 1) Large surface to volume ratio combustion chamber which leads to larger combustion chamber heat losses and so loss of power, which can be greatly reduced using stratified combustion;
 * 2) Long sealing paths and multiple corner seals which mean it is harder to contain the chamber gases and so there is some loss of pressure and thus power.

Drawings
Some conceptual sketches from the engine's patent:

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

title: Sarich orbital engine


text:
Mackeson Stout

Mackeson Stout is a milk stout first brewed in 1907. It contains lactose, a sugar derived from milk.

Milk stout
Milk stout (also called sweet stout, mellow stout or cream stout) is a stout containing lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Lactose cannot be fermented by brewers' yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and the residue adds sweetness, body and calories to the finished beer. Mackeson still bears on its label the milk churn that has been its trademark since it was first brewed in 1907.

Milk stout was believed to be nutritious, and was recommended to nursing mothers. In 1875, John Henry Johnson first sought a patent for a milk beer, based on whey, lactose and hops.

History
Mackeson's Brewery of Hythe, Kent first released the beer in 1909 to celebrate the 240th anniversary of brewing in Hythe. They patented it and licensed it to breweries across the country, so it quickly became a national brand and attracted numerous imitators. Whitbread acquired the brand in 1929. By the 1950s, it accounted for half of Whitbread's production and was brewed in London, Stockport, Kirkstall and Hythe.

Brewing at the Hythe plant ended in 1968. The beer was then brewed at the Exchange Brewery in Sheffield. When that was closed in 1993, Whitbread moved production to their Castle Eden and Samlesbury plants. From May 1999, then Vaux brewery until production was contracted out to Young's Brewery of Wandsworth. Whitbread was purchased in 2001 by Interbrew (now Anheuser-Busch InBev). Production was then moved to Camerons Brewery of Hartlepool before moving to Hydes Brewery in Manchester until March 2012.

Advertisements
A long-lasting television advertising campaign with the actor Bernard Miles contained the catch-phrase that Mackeson "looks good, tastes good and, by golly, it does you good."

After its claimed health benefits were challenged, it shortened the slogan to "It looks good, tastes good and by golly!"

For some years, Mackeson has been a 'ghost brand' in the UK – still produced and sold but without advertising or promotion.

Versions
In 2012, its ABV was lowered from 3% to 2.8% in order to qualify for duty relief. It is available in 330 ml cans and 275 ml bottles.

A 4.9% Mackeson's XXX is brewed by Carib Brewery in Trinidad for the local market where it is targeted at young men, with the advertising slogan "king of the night". The Trinidadian version is a popular import into Hong Kong, and is among the top twenty highest selling beers there, selling over 500,000 litres a year.

British-brewed Mackeson's XXX was imported by a division of Hudepohl-Schoenling of Cincinnati for the US market. This division became Royal Imports after a restructuring in the late 1990s and for a brief while in the early 2000s Royal had the "Triple Stout" contracted brewed in the US, first at the former Hudepohl brewery now owned by Boston Beer Company and then at The Lion in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

title: Mackeson Stout


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Dirty Pretty Things (film)

Dirty Pretty Things is a 2002 British social thriller film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight. Following the lives of two immigrants in London, it was filmed in a documentary style and was produced by BBC Films and Celador Films, and distributed by Buena Vista International through Miramax Films.

Plot
Okwe, a doctor in his home country (not initially named) who was forced to flee after being falsely accused of murdering his wife, lives in the United Kingdom as an undocumented immigrant. He drives a cab in London during the day and works at the front desk of a hotel at night, which is staffed by other immigrants, both documented and undocumented. He is pressed into giving medical treatment to other poor immigrants, including fellow cab drivers with venereal diseases. He is supplied with antibiotics by his friend Guo Yi, an employee at a hospital mortuary.

Juliette, a sex worker who regularly conducts her business at the hotel, informs Okwe about a blocked toilet in one of the rooms, and he fishes out a human heart. The manager of the hotel, Juan, runs an illegal operation at the hotel wherein immigrants swap kidneys for forged passports. After learning of Okwe's past as a doctor, Juan pressures him to join his operation as a surgeon, but Okwe refuses.

Senay is a Turkish Muslim seeking asylum who also works at the hotel as a cleaner. Her immigration status allows her to stay in the UK, provided she does not work; the hotel is a perfect cover because she is not named on its books. She allows Okwe to sleep on her sofa when she is not home, as she is from a conservative culture where men and women who are not married do not spend the night together under the same roof. After Senay is visited by Immigration Services, who inspect the hotel after finding a book of matches in her flat, Okwe prevents the officials from intercepting her.

No longer able to work at the hotel, Senay begins working in a sweatshop making clothes, which is also raided by officials looking for undocumented immigrants, who the manager gets rid of. The manager allows Senay to keep her job and not report her to the authorities in return for her performing oral sex on him; she initially complies before proceeding to bite him. Okwe finds her a place to stay at the hospital mortuary, while Senay asks him to accept Juan's proposition in his organ business to raise money to travel to America.

In desperation, Senay offers her kidney to Juan for a passport; Juan accepts the deal on condition he takes her virginity as well. Senay is later provided with a morning-after pill by Juliette. After learning of Senay's plan, Okwe agrees to perform the operation to ensure her safety, but only if Juan provides them both with passports under different names. After Juan delivers the passports, Okwe and Senay drug him, surgically remove his kidney, and sell it to Juan's contact.

Okwe plans to use his new identity to return to his young daughter in Nigeria, and Senay plans to start a new life in New York. Before they part at Stansted Airport, they mouth the words "I love you" to each other, and she gives him her cousin's address in New York. Senay boards her plane, and Okwe calls his daughter long-distance to tell her he is finally coming home.

Critical response
Dirty Pretty Things received positive reviews. Metacritic gives it a rating of 78/100 based on reviews from 35 critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of based on  reviews, and an average rating of. The site's critical consensus describes the film as "An illuminating and nuanced film about the exploitation of illegal immigrants." J. R. Jones of The Chicago Reader described it as an "impressive mix of entertainment and social comment, spinning a great mystery even as it confronts an ugly world". The New Yorker called the film "a social thriller—a creepy, tightly knit suspense film that, on the fly, reveals more about the lives of immigrants in London than the most scrupulously earnest documentary". a sentiment echoed by the authors of Sociology: An Introductory Textbook and Reader of the film as being "not a documentary but a social thriller which blends aspects of the global urban legends about child kidnapping for organs and prostitutes drugging unsuspecting barflies who wake up in a hotel bathtub minus a kidney".

Accolades
Dirty Pretty Things was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a British Independent Film Award for Best Independent British Film in 2003. For his performance as Okwe, Chiwetel Ejiofor won the 2003 British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.

title: Dirty Pretty Things (film)


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Blood ritual

A blood ritual is any ritual that involves the intentional release of blood.

Description
Some blood rituals involve two or more parties cutting themselves or each other followed by the consumption of blood. The participants may regard the release or consumption of blood as producing energy useful as a sexual, healing, or mental stimulus. In other cases, blood is a primary component as the sacrifice, or material component for a spell. Blood rituals are practiced by various groups of people, including those with religious or political affiliations. Some of the rituals involving blood have been practiced for many centuries, and are still being practiced in the 21st century (Baker 1, Copeman 2, Malik 2).

Blood rituals often involve a symbolic death and rebirth, as literal bodily birth involves bleeding. Blood is typically seen as very powerful, and sometimes as unclean. Blood sacrifice is sometimes considered by the practitioners of prayer, ritual magic, and spell casting to intensify the power of such activities.

Aztecs
The Aztecs participated in blood rituals around 500 years ago (Pendragon 1). The blood in the rituals has a symbolic meaning, depending on the group and ritual being performed. Around 1376 to 1521 AD, Aztecs used blood and sacrifice frequently as an offering to the Sun God (Pendragon 2). The Aztecs saw death as part of life, just like birth (Pendragon 2). They believed the gods sacrificed their own blood to create the universe, so in turn, the Aztecs offered blood to the Gods as a sort of reciprocal exchange and gift for their creations (Pendragon 2). Furthermore, the supply of ritual blood was believed to maintain plentiful fertile crops and aid in the continuation of the Aztec world. The author Jasmyne Pendragon, who has a bachelor of archaeology, stated in her Article The Purpose of Aztec Blood Rituals Part 1, that “The Aztecs lifestyles were governed by a need to supply fresh-blooded sacrificial victims to the sun god who required the hearts of men to give life to the world and assist the souls of dead warriors to the Aztecs version of heaven” (2). The rituals maintained a relationship between Aztecs and their gods (Pendragon 2). The Aztecs believed the gods would provide plentiful crops and healthy long lives as long as blood was ritually given (Pendragon 2). If blood was not sacrificed to the gods, the humans believed they would be punished and endure excessive pain “more violent than any man could ever do” (Pendragon 3).

India
Some Indians practice a political ritual voluntarily where the people donate blood as a way to remember politicians who have died (Copeman 126). The blood donation is literally a donation to people who need transfusions (Copeman 132). The participants donate at donation camps during the birthday or the anniversary of the politician's death (129). Jacob Copeman, a lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, states in his article “Blood Will Have Blood: A Study in Indian Political Ritual,” that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi are the two politicians who are mainly “remembered” during the blood donations (131). These two politicians were assassinated and seen as dying for India, or important individuals who “…shed their blood for the nation” (Copeman 131). According to Copeman, in a speech Indira Gandhi made in 1984, she “…strikingly associated her blood with the health of the nation. Her blood would continue to nurture the nation even after her death…” (132). The reason behind the donation is to keep life going or to give the individuals receiving the blood more time to live (Copeman 130). The reason why the politicians are involved with this is because the donors are making a connection with the dead, symbolizing the blood being donated to the blood of the politician being honored (Copeman 131). This is important because even though these people died, they are still helping preserve life, by the people of India donating blood in their honor. (Copeman 135).

Other regions
The Shi’ite Muslims practiced a ritual called Matam in 2002 in Britain (Malik 2).

Body piercing can also be part of a blood ritual, as it can result in the release of blood. Piercing has been practiced in a number of indigenous cultures throughout the world, usually as a symbolic rite of passage, a symbolic death and rebirth, an initiation, or for reasons of magical protection.

A common blood ritual is the blood brother ritual, which began in ancient Europe and Asia. Two or more people, typically male, intermingle their blood in some way. This symbolically brings the participants together into one family. This can be an unsafe practice where blood-borne pathogens are concerned; the use of safe, sterilized equipment such as a lancet can mitigate this problem.

The Native American Sun Dance is usually accompanied by blood sacrifice.

title: Blood ritual


text:
Bayou

In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They typically contain brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, especially in the Mississippi River Delta, though they also exist elsewhere.

A bayou is often an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is slower than the mainstem, often becoming boggy and stagnant. Though fauna varies by region, many bayous are home to crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, catfish, frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, American alligators, American crocodiles, herons, lizards, turtles, tortoises, spoonbills, snakes, and leeches, as well as many other species.

Etymology
The word entered American English via Louisiana French in Louisiana and is thought to originate from the Choctaw word bayuk, which means "small stream". After first appearing in the 17th century, the term is found in 18th century accounts and maps, often as bayouc or bayouque, where it was eventually shortened to its current form. The first settlements of the Bayou Têche and other bayous were founded by the Louisiana Creoles, and the bayous are commonly associated with Creole and Cajun culture.

An alternative spelling, "buyou", is also known to have been in use, as in "Pine Buyou", used in a description by Congress in 1833 of Arkansas Territory. "bye-you" is the most common pronunciation, while a few use "bye-oh", although that pronunciation is declining.

Geography
The term Bayou Country is most closely associated with Cajun and Creole cultural groups derived from French settlers and stretching along the Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, and picking back up in South Florida around the Everglades, with its center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The term may also be associated with the homelands of certain Choctaw tribal groups.

Houston has the nickname "Bayou City".

Environmental risks
Anthropogenic influences have damaged bayou ecosystems over the years. Bayous are susceptible to pollution such as runoff from nearby urban communities (which can result in eutrophication) and oil spills given their low-lying position in the watershed. Many bayous have been cleared away by human activity as well (with those in Louisiana having shrunk by 1,900 square miles; 4,900 square kilometers since the 1930s).

Agriculture
Farming activities introduce nutrients into bayou ecosystems. Row crop agricultural land use is common (75–86% of the bayou watershed) in Bayou watersheds given the unique physical characteristics like flat topography and alluvial soils. Agricultural activity results in byproducts of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers, which can drastically alter delicate balances in freshwater and marine ecosystems. A study conducted on 3 agricultural bayous in the lower Mississippi River Basin found that the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus to sample mesocosms affected the decomposition of maize crop and willow oak detritus. While both species showed an increase in decomposition rate after N and P nutrient enhancement, the maize crop broke down faster than the native willow oak. The maize crop also had a significantly faster microbial respiration rate. The changes in microbial respiration of a wetland system impacts its carbon exchange with the environment. Inhibiting a wetland's ability to sequester carbon further damages the status of the wetland as a carbon sink. This poses larger-scale issues as it alters the exchange of carbon dioxide with the atmosphere and environment.

The use of pesticides in agriculture poses further threats to bayou ecosystems. A study conducted on 3 bayous (Cow Oak, Howden, Roundaway) in the western Mississippi River watershed found that pesticides released into bayou sediments cause significant impairment of the amphipod Hyalella azteca both spatially and temporally. Despite being banned 40 years ago in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency, traces of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), once used in agriculture as an insecticide, were found in sediment and amphipod tissue. DDT is a probable carcinogen, and it has been linked to adverse health effects in both humans and wildlife.

Oil spills
Several oil spills have impacted bayou regions, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. This oil spill occurred off the Louisiana coast and resulted in the deaths of 11 people and the release of over 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. The bayou wetlands of Bataria Bay, Louisiana experienced increased shoreline erosion as a direct result of the Deepwater horizon oil spill. This was determined by examining rates of wetland loss in the region from the year prior to the oil spill and contrasting that with the rates of wetland loss after the oil spill. The study noted significant land loss in regions not impacted by wave activity, further demonstrating that the land degradation was caused by oil rather than other sources of weathering from waves and cyclones.

Other notable oil spills affecting bayous include 4,000 U.S. gallons (about 15,141.65 L) of oil spilling in a lake near Bayou Sorrel in Louisiana and 20,000 U.S. gallons (about 75,708.24 L) of oil spilling into Saint Bernard Parish waters and the adjacent Bayou Bienvenue in Louisiana. Both incidents occurred in 2022. Oil spills harm bayous as oil is toxic to most animals. In vapor form, oil leads to lung, liver, and nervous system dysfunction if inhaled. Ingested oil poses threats to the digestive tract. Oil matts feathers and fur, resulting in disruptions in the animal's ability to insulate themselves in colder temperatures. Matted bird feathers lose properties that aid in flying and swimming. Such disruptions in individual adaptive ability may lead to trophic cascades in a bayou community.

Impervious surfaces
Human development activities, such as the increase of impervious surfaces, results in quicker, high intensity flood pulses, delivering larger quantities of these nutrients to the ecosystem at a much more rapid rate. Impervious surfaces include roads, housing developments, and parking lots that replace natural vegetation, typically associated with human development and urbanization. When impervious surfaces are installed, the layer of soil that stores water is damaged/removed, resulting in a lack of permeable surfaces to absorb rainfall and floodwater.

Heavy metal contamination
Bayous have experienced trends of land cover loss and conversion to impervious surfaces, of which has been associated with influxes of metals such as aluminum, copper, iron, lead, and zinc. Heavy metals in sediments and ultimately the waters of bayous bioaccumulates in organisms to spread their toxins throughout various trophic levels. This harms both the health of individuals in that ecosystem as well as the humans who would be ingesting fish and other aquatic organisms with potential metal contamination.

Notable examples

 * Bayou Bartholomew
 * Bayou Corne
 * Bayou La Batre
 * Bayou Lafourche
 * Bayou St. John
 * Bayou Teche
 * Big Bayou Canot
 * Buffalo Bayou
 * Cypress Bayou
 * Bayou Brevelle

title: Bayou


text:
Talk:Stanford White

"Womanizing," rape, and Me Too
May I request that this article receive a recasting?

The final entry in Mark Twain's autobiography (the current complete edition) addresses the Thaw trial, and shows Twain to have been so shocked by the actual testimony that it made me curious to read this WIKI article. What I find here resembles what Harvey Weinstein's article may have looked like in 2007. If we are to listen to, and consider believing, Nesbit's testimony, we are presented with a man who got a 16-year-old girl drunk to the point of complete unconsciousness, and when she woke, she found herself naked on bloodstained sheets. He raped her and took her virginity, after having groomed her. (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9k3pez/evelyn-nesbit-gilded-age-starlet-sexual-assault-trial-century?fbclid=IwAR0mrpNm2_xL3PnlCmNEO7dbQdi4cBsXXib_mE6WvTBWjUx-RDhS1TtUQWk) (https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2018/02/13/historian-writes-true-crime-account-of-evelyn-nesbit-scandal/)

How on earth can a fact like this, absolutely stipulated and documented, be missing from this article?

The ONLY hint we have of this is a description of White, by a pal of his, as an innocent and boyish enthusiast of women's beauty. Otherwise the article claims White was merely defamed by tabloid journalism. Yet Nesbit calls him a predator; Simon Baatz points out that the brutal reality has, over the years, been modified to a "seduction"; Mark Twain says that New York society knew for years preceding the incident that the married White was "eagerly and diligently and ravenously and remorselessly hunting young girls to their destruction. These facts have been well known in New York for many years..." I take it as quite serious that this article may be allowing a famous and powerful figure in American history to remain untouched by his own actions. We are not here to libel anybody, of course, but on its face this reputation and the court-testified facts around it should surely be here under "Personal Life." 69.117.207.56 (talk) 11:20, 28 August 2020 (UTC)

 * I see that the third paragraph of "Murder" does give a quick and somewhat buried sentence describing the rape of Nesbit; I don't know if that line was here when I posted the above. I've unburied that line to restore chronology to "Murder" and added three items to "Personal Life." As this material is a bit startling I've included short quotes from Twain and the historians of the incident, to provide specific detail and authority beyond just the reference.
 * I get the sense, looking back through Talk, that this article has been cleansed bit by bit until there were no more references to any of these issues; I hope my solution will both resist further whitewashing edits and restore balance. Thanks all. Chip (talk) 16:44, 5 September 2020 (UTC)

 * One thing we must keep in mind is that what we know about what White is alleged to have done to Nesbit is entirely or almost entirely based on what Nesbit said years later about a man who had been killed and thus never had an opportunity to defend himself against the allegations. The fact that he was dead means that Nesbit didn't have to worry about how he would feel and how he would react to what she said. I'm not saying White had an unblemished moral character, but Nesbit had good reason to tell a story about her life in which she was a perfect victim. —BarrelProof (talk) 05:00, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

 * No, what we know about this incident is also based on what the modern biographies of White and Nesbitt state, along with such ancillary evidence as White's documented membership in an underground sex club, as well as his his address book with dozens of teenage girls' addresses, plus the White family historian's own evidence as to White's long-term behavior. When you say darkly "years later she claims..." please remember that we are talking about a span of only five years, during which the memory of being drugged and raped would not fade into the mists of time, that she only spoke about it, to her husband, when he forced her to, and that (as you quite rightly point out) her story probably never would have been told while White lived--but the reason for this is simply that a random teenager cannot accuse a famous millionaire and get away with it even now, let alone 120 years ago. He held her career in the palm of his hand, and could have ruined her entire life as a matter of routine if she had ever so much as hinted at what he did to her. Powerful men used get away with these things, and it's unwise to take their word for the bad stuff in the face of good evidence. I intentionally invoked "Me Too" in the header of this talk piece in order to put some of these facts in a modern context, and to encourage us to remember to not automatically believe famous powerful men until we've first learned to believe women.69.117.207.56 (talk)
 * I have reverted your changes. Please get a consensus on this talk page before you make such changes, not afterwards. Beyond My Ken (talk) 15:59, 27 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I note that your first comment above dates from almost a year ago. There was no consensus at that time for the "recasting" you suggested, and yet you went ahaead and made changes to the article, only commented here after you did so.  As I posted out above and on your talk page, this is backwards.  Get a community consensus first, and  then make the changes the consensus approves of. Beyond My Ken (talk) 16:03, 27 May 2021 (UTC)
 * The "ancillary evidence" in question may show that White had a sexual interest in teenage girls, which may be reasonably well established, but it does not prove White's guilt in a drugging and forcible rape. Nesbit's memory may not have faded, but her motivations and circumstances definitely changed, and White's ability to respond to the allegations certainly stopped with his death. No matter how many people have studied the question and picked over the available fragments of evidence, there is basically no way to get around the fact that our knowledge of exactly what allegedly happened in private between him and Nesbit comes exclusively from Nesbit, after his death, under circumstances where she would be highly motivated to make these claims and in an era when it was socially unacceptable for her to say anything other than what she said. White was never tried or convicted of anything. Even if he had survived, the totality of evidence that has surfaced about him would be insufficient for a conviction and we should not declare his guilt based on what some other creep did and our recent social movement and desire to put right some great wrongs a century later. — BarrelProof (talk) 17:50, 27 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Understood, and I'm sorry if I've revised various pieces of softening and waffling tone without proper respect to the editorial standards regarding consensus (which I didn't fully understand until now). I don't see much consensus here since I started the conversation, so I'll let the article stand as it is. Just want to add that there ought not to be the slow chipping-away at *all allegations and negative facts*, as was done in years past, until the result is the total whitewash we had here a year ago. As for the quotes from actual historians, which as far as I understand the rules I had the right to add, I'm cool with the present state of the article since those quotes have yet to be refuted with other legitimate scholarly sources, which of course would be the right way to carry the dispute forward.

 * But I do want to make one request: where the article says "years later" Nesbit made the allegation, and "years later" she got married, is it acceptable to improve this to "five years later" and "four years later" respectively? I believe the original intention was to impugne Nesbit's story, but by adducing the actual number of years in question, we are not imbalancing the narrative in her favor, but merely replacing a vague and misleading phrase with a more accurate one. Can somebody tell me that those two changes (that've now been reverted) could be accepted? 69.117.207.56 (talk)

 * I fully support clarifying the time periods. If you happen to also know how long her period of active close companionship with White lasted, that would also be nice to clarify (along with a citation, of course, preferably with page numbers). I think the current wording of "a period of at least six months" was from me, as I simply couldn't remember how long it lasted. As for the current state of the article, I am somewhat bothered by the use of "rape" in the lead as an apparent statement of fact. It may be justified if interpreted as statutory rape, but I don't know what the age of consent was in New York in the early 1900s. — BarrelProof (talk) 23:31, 27 May 2021 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the discussion; I've changed the two mentions of "years" to the number of years. I noticed that the article says that in 1906 Nesbit claimed the rape had taken place; I think her statements would have to have been the year earlier, to Thaw and then authorities, but I can't be sure. For now I changed "claimed" to "testified" in order to place it at the 1906 trial, but if this is inappropriate on my part, please feel free to revert it. As for the length of their relationship, I don't know either, but maybe I can find and document that one. Finally, I take your point about the word "rape" unadorned in the opening. While it would seem just as dubious to call it "relationship" without clarification, could we find a short phrase encompassing a rape allegation? Now excuse me, Barrelhouse, while I go research some good whisky based on your postings! 69.117.207.56 (talk)
 * "Testified" is much better than "claimed". (IIRC, Nesbit operated a tearoom establishment in the 1920s that has been alleged to have involved extensive whisky research as well.) — BarrelProof (talk) 17:30, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Second Paragraph Sentence
The second paragraph contains the sentence "By the time of the killing, Nesbit was a famous fashion model who was performing as an actress in the show." This is misleading in the way it describes the timing of Nesbit's fashion model fame. It makes it sound as if she were modeling at the time of the murder. In fact, she was a famous fashion model well before the murder and before she had ever met Stanford White, and by the time of the murder, she was no longer modeling.

As far as "was performing as an actress in the show", that is just inaccurate. She had performed in Broadway shows earlier in her life, but she was not performing in and never had performed in "Mam'zelle Champagne", the show which was being performed at the time of White's murder. I think the sentence should be removed. Jersey Jan (talk) 00:16, 29 September 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Stanford White


text:
Stade Toulousain

Stade Toulousain (Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Toulouse is the most successful club in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup a record six times – in 1996, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2021 and 2024. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps and Munster, respectively. Stade Toulousain have also won a record 23 Boucliers de Brennus, the French domestic league trophy. It is traditionally one of the main providers for the French national team and its youth academy is one of the best in the world. Stade Toulousain also have the biggest fan base in Europe, and the biggest social media and brand presence of any non-national rugby team across both league and union.

Their home ground is the Stade Ernest-Wallon. However, big Top 14 matches along with European games are often played at the Stadium Municipal de Toulouse. The club colours are red, black and white.

Roots and foundation
Before 1907, rugby union in Toulouse was only played in schools or universities. In 1893, students of secondary school "Lycée de Toulouse" got together in a new team "Les Sans-Soucis". Once attending university, the same students founded "l'Olympique Toulousain", which became "Stade Olympien des Étudiants de Toulouse" (SOET) a few years later in 1896. In the same period, 'non-students' grouped in "le Sport Athlétique Toulousain" (SAT) while students of the veterinary school created "l'Union Sportive de l'École Vétérinaire" (USEV). Both entities merged in 1905 and called themselves "Véto-Sport". Finally in 1907, Stade Toulousain was founded resulting from a union between the SOET and Véto-Sport.

Since its creation in 1907, Stade Toulousain drew on the past of the city. The design of Stade Toulousain's crest refers to the initials of Thomas Aquinas ( in French ; S and T, same as the club's name) whose bones rest in the Church of the Jacobins, in Toulouse. The interlaced letters came from a famous tiled floor of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, where the relics were temporarily moved for almost two centuries after the French Revolution. The historical colours, red and black, are rooted in the ceremonial costume of the capitouls of Toulouse. A municipal body created in 1147, the capitouls were until the French Revolution the consuls of the city. Their traditional costume was red and black (with white bands), as shown in the oldest portraits dating from the 14th century.

Early years
Stade Toulousain played its first final of the national title French Championship in 1909 and lost it to Stade Bordelais Université Club (17–0) in Toulouse. In 1912 Stade Toulousain won its first national title. It had to wait until 1922 before it won its second. However the 1920s were a golden era for the club. Their first final action in the 1920s was in 1921, when they were defeated by USA Perpignan. Despite losing in 1921, the side went on to win the 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1927 championships.

1930s to 1950s
The following decades were relatively quiet after such a dominant era during the 1920s. Stade Toulousain would not make it to any grand finals during the 1930s, and it would not be until the late 1940s when they would return. However they did contest the Challenge Yves du Manoir with RC Toulon in 1934, though it ended in a nil-all tie and both teams were winners. The club made it to the final of the 1947 championship, and claimed the premiership, beating SU Agen, 10 to 3. However, no such championships followed, the club was again relatively quiet on the championship. It was 22 years in the waiting; Toulouse made it to the final, but were defeated by the CA Bègles club.

1970s to 1980s
In 1971 Toulouse contested the Challenge Yves du Manoir against US Dax, losing 18 to 8. Eleven years after the CA Bègles defeat, the club was again disappointed in the final, being defeated by AS Béziers in the championship game of 1980. The latter end of the decade was however, reminiscent of the 1920s sides. Toulouse were again contesting the Challenge Yves du Manoir for the 1984 season, though they lost to RC Narbonne 17 to 3. They did however claim their first championship since 1947, defeating RC Toulon in the 1985 final. The following season saw them successfully defend their championship, defeating SU Agen in the final. After a number of defeats in the Challenge Yves du Manoir finals, Toulouse defeated US Dax to win the 1988 competition. Both Toulon and Agen won the following premierships (1987 and 1988) but Toulouse won another championship in 1989.

1990s to present
The dominance continued in the 1990s, starting with a grand final loss in 1991, and a Challenge Yves du Manoir championship in 1993, defeating Castres 13 to 8 in the final. The mid-1990s saw Stade Toulousain become a major force yet again, as the club claimed four premierships in a row, winning the championship in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997, as well as the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1995. The club emulated its success in the European Rugby Cup, becoming the first ever champions in the 1995–96 season.

The late 1990s and the 2000s saw the club again reach great heights. The club won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1998, defeating Stade Français Paris, the 1999 championship as well as the 2001 championship. They also were runners-up in the 2003 season, losing to Stade Français in the final. As the club had done in the mid-1990s, Stade Toulousain replicated this success in the European Rugby Cup, winning the 2002–03 and the 2004–05 cups. The club made it to the final of the 2005-06 Top 14, and despite only trailing Biarritz 9–6 at half time, Toulouse could not prevent a second-half whitewash, eventually going down 40–13. They ended their seven-year title drought with a 26–20 win over ASM Clermont Auvergne on 28 June 2008. In 2008 they narrowly lost a Heineken Cup Final to Munster by 3 points. In 2010 Toulouse defeated Leinster to reach the final where they faced Biarritz Olympique at Stade de France in Paris on Saturday 22 May 2010. Toulouse won the game by 21–19 to claim their fourth Heineken Cup title, making them the first club to win the title four times. Stade Toulousain is also the only French club to have taken part in all the editions of Heineken Cup since its creation (17, with the 2011–12 season). They won the French championship in 2011 against Montpellier (15–10) and 2012 against Toulon (18–12). Stade Toulousain reached the semi-finals of the French championship 20 consecutive years (from 1994 to 2013). In 2019, Toulouse came back to victory, earning a 20th French Rugby Union Championship title before making an historic double, winning the 2021 Champions Cup and the 2021 Top 14. Their latest title is the 2023 French championship earned against La Rochelle, teams were ranked respectively first and second of the regular season 2023. They won the champions cup for the 6th time after beating Leinster 31-22 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and as a result became the highest ranked team in Europe

Stadium
Toulouse play their home games at the Stade Ernest-Wallon, which was built in the late 1980s and was recently renovated. It has a capacity of 19,500. Stade Toulousain is one of the rare teams, in France and especially in rugby union, that own its stadium. Since February 2020, it has also been home to rugby league team Toulouse Olympique, which currently competes in the 2nd tier Championship, following negotiations and an agreement between both executive boards.

The stadium however cannot always accommodate all the fans of the Toulouse club. For the larger fixtures, such as championship or Champions Cup games or play-offs, the fixture may be moved to Stadium de Toulouse, which has more capacity, 33,150. The stadium was used for numerous matches at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Honours

 * Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup
 * Champions (6): 1996, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2021, 2024
 * Runners-up (2): 2004, 2008
 * French championship Top 14
 * Champions (23): 1912, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1947, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
 * Runners-up (7): 1903, 1909, 1921, 1969, 1980, 1991, 2003, 2006
 * Challenge Yves du Manoir
 * Champions (4): 1934, 1988, 1993, 1995
 * Runners-up (2): 1971, 1984
 * French Cup
 * Champions (4): 1946, 1947, 1984, 1998
 * Runners-up (2): 1949, 1985
 * Toulouse Masters
 * Champions (2): 1986, 1990

European record

 * Toulouse qualified for the Heineken Cup in every season of that competition's existence (1995–96 to 2013–14), and played in the inaugural season of the replacement competition, the European Rugby Champions Cup.

 * The club have the best competition record in the Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup, having won the competition six times and having played eight finals, and was the first team to win over 100 games in the history of the competition.

 * Stade toulousain completed "the Double" (Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup-National Championship) 3 times (1995-1996, 2020-2021 and 2023-2024), a record in Europe.

 * Vincent Clerc is the second all-time top try scorer in Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup history, having scored 36 units.

Selected presidents

 * Ernest Wallon: 1907–12
 * Charles Audry: 1912–30
 * Louis Puech: 1944–51
 * Jean Fabre: 1980–90
 * René Bouscatel: 1992–2017
 * Didier Lacroix: 2017-

Bouscatel is the most successful president in the history of the club.

Selected former coaches

 * 🇦🇺 Tom "Rusty" Richards: 1913 (as player/manager)
 * 🇫🇷 François Borde: 1928-30, 1934-38
 * 🇫🇷 Roger Piteu: 1945-49
 * 🇫🇷 Claude Labatut: 1971-76, 1976-80
 * 🇫🇷 Robert Bru: 1980-83
 * 🇫🇷 Pierre Villepreux: 1982-89 (coached along with Skrela between 1983 and 1989)
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Claude Skrela: 1983-92 (coached along with Villepreux between 1983 and 1989)
 * 🇫🇷 Guy Novès: 1988-90 (as assistant coach), 1993-2015
 * 🇫🇷 Ugo Mola: 2015-

Current squad
The Toulouse squad for the 2023–24 season is:

Notable former players

The following are players who have represented their country, players who have won a title with the club, players who have played a sufficient number of games to go down in the club history or players who came from the academy and have made a significant career in another team:

 * 🇦🇷 Patricio Albacete
 * 🇦🇷 Omar Hasan
 * 🇦🇷 Nicolás Vergallo
 * 🇦🇷 Alberto Vernet Basualdo
 * 🇦🇺 Rory Arnold
 * 🇦🇺 Luke Burgess
 * 🇦🇺 Tala Gray
 * 🇦🇺 Tom Richards
 * 🏴 Rob Andrew
 * 🏴 Toby Flood
 * Rupeni Caucaunibuca
 * Vilimoni Delasau
 * Semi Kunatani
 * Maleli Kunavore
 * Timoci Matanavou
 * Akapusi Qera
 * 🇫🇷 David Aucagne
 * 🇫🇷 Benoît Baby
 * 🇫🇷 Jean Bayard
 * 🇫🇷 Lionel Beauxis
 * 🇫🇷 Franck Belot
 * 🇫🇷 Nicolas Bézy
 * 🇫🇷 Sébastien Bézy
 * 🇫🇷 Alexandre Bioussa
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Marie Bonal
 * 🇫🇷 Eric Bonneval
 * 🇫🇷 Jean Bouilhou
 * 🇫🇷 François Borde
 * 🇫🇷 Guillaume Boussès
 * 🇫🇷 Yannick Bru
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Marie Cadieu
 * 🇫🇷 Christian Califano
 * 🇫🇷 Yacouba Camara
 * 🇫🇷 Philippe Carbonneau
 * 🇫🇷 Thomas Castaignède
 * 🇫🇷 Richard Castel
 * 🇫🇷 Jérôme Cazalbou
 * 🇫🇷 Denis Charvet
 * 🇫🇷 André Chilo
 * 🇫🇷 Albert Cigagna
 * 🇫🇷 Vincent Clerc
 * 🇫🇷 Didier Codorniou
 * 🇫🇷 Patrice Collazo
 * 🇫🇷 Cédric Desbrosse
 * 🇫🇷 Yann Delaigue
 * 🇫🇷 Yann David
 * 🇫🇷 Christophe Deylaud
 * 🇫🇷 Yves Donguy
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Marc Doussain
 * 🇫🇷 Sylvain Dupuy
 * 🇫🇷 Thierry Dusautoir
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Baptiste Élissalde
 * 🇫🇷 Jean Fabre
 * 🇫🇷 Gaël Fickou
 * 🇫🇷 Jérôme Fillol
 * 🇫🇷 Florian Fritz
 * 🇫🇷 Pierre Fouyssac
 * 🇫🇷 Gillian Galan
 * 🇫🇷 Henri Galau
 * 🇫🇷 Xavier Garbajosa
 * 🇫🇷 David Gérard
 * 🇫🇷 Imanol Harinordoquy
 * 🇫🇷 Dominique Harize
 * 🇫🇷 Cédric Heymans
 * 🇫🇷 Yoann Huget
 * 🇫🇷 Adolphe Jauréguy
 * 🇫🇷 Yannick Jauzion
 * 🇫🇷 Nicolas Jeanjean
 * 🇫🇷 Christian Labit
 * 🇫🇷 Virgile Lacombe
 * 🇫🇷 Serge Lairle
 * 🇫🇷 Gregory Lamboley
 * 🇫🇷 Benoît Lecouls
 * 🇫🇷 Julien Le Devedec
 * 🇫🇷 Matthieu Lièvremont
 * 🇫🇷 Marcel-Frédéric Lubin-Lebrère
 * 🇫🇷 Yoann Maestri
 * 🇫🇷 Gérald Martinez
 * 🇫🇷 Alfred Mayssonnié
 * 🇫🇷 Maxime Médard
 * 🇫🇷 Maxime Mermoz
 * 🇫🇷 Frédéric Michalak
 * 🇫🇷 Romain Millo-Chluski
 * 🇫🇷 Hugues Miorin
 * 🇫🇷 Ugo Mola
 * 🇫🇷 Sylvain Nicolas
 * 🇫🇷 Guy Novès
 * 🇫🇷 Émile Ntamack
 * 🇫🇷 Yannick Nyanga
 * 🇫🇷 Alexis Palisson
 * 🇫🇷 Fabien Pelous
 * 🇫🇷 Alain Penaud
 * 🇫🇷 Louis Picamoles
 * 🇫🇷 Lucas Pointud
 * 🇫🇷 Clément Poitrenaud
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Baptiste Poux
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Pierre Rives
 * 🇫🇷 Philippe Rougé-Thomas
 * 🇫🇷 Daniel Santamans
 * 🇫🇷 William Servat
 * 🇫🇷 David Skrela
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Claude Skrela
 * 🇫🇷 Cédric Soulette
 * 🇫🇷 Nicolas Spanghero
 * 🇫🇷 Walter Spanghero
 * 🇫🇷 Christopher Tolofua
 * 🇫🇷 Selevasio Tolofua
 * 🇫🇷 Franck Tournaire
 * 🇫🇷 Pierre Villepreux
 * Jaba Bregvadze
 * Vasil Kakovin
 * 🇮🇹 Leonardo Ghiraldini
 * 🇮🇹 Andrea Lo Cicero
 * 🇮🇹 Salvatore Perugini
 * Trevor Brennan
 * Aidan McCullen
 * 🇳🇿 Corey Flynn
 * 🇳🇿 Hosea Gear
 * 🇳🇿 Jerome Kaino
 * 🇳🇿 Byron Kelleher
 * 🇳🇿 Isitolo Maka
 * 🇳🇿 Luke McAlister
 * 🇳🇿 Lee Stensness
 * 🇳🇿 Neemia Tialata
 * 🇳🇿 Charlie Faumuina
 * 🇷🇴 Dragoș Dima
 * Gaffie du Toit
 * Gary Botha
 * Daan Human
 * Cheslin Kolbe
 * Shaun Sowerby
 * Jano Vermaak
 * Gurthrö Steenkamp
 * Piula Faʻasalele
 * Census Johnston
 * Joe Tekori
 * Richie Gray
 * 🇹🇴 Edwin Maka
 * 🇹🇴 Finau Maka
 * 🇺🇸 Stuart Krohn
 * 🏴 Gareth Thomas

Fans
Being one of the most popular teams in France, Toulouse has many fan clubs all over the country:

 * Le Huit (fan club of Stade toulousain based in Toulouse)
 * Le Huit Section Aveyron (branch based in Aveyron)
 * Le Rouge et le Noir (formerly Les Ultras, the oldest fan club based in Toulouse).
 * Le 16e homme (fan club of Stade toulousain based in Haute-Garonne)
 * Le 16e homme Toulousains 2 Paris (branch based in Paris)
 * L'amicale des Supporters (fan club of Stade toulousain based in Toulouse)
 * Tolosa XV (fan club of Stade toulousain based in Haute-Garonne)
 * Les Salopettes Rouges (fan club based in Tarn)

Toulouse supporters are known for being very active on social media. Stade Toulousain is the most followed rugby club on social media in the world, ahead Crusaders, Sharks, Toulon and Stormers. It is the only rugby union club with at least 1 million followers on social media as of January 2024.

Stade Ernest-Wallon atmosphere is well known in France and Europe to be one of the best of club rugby. Toulouse can rely on a passionate city, having one of the best attendances in the league. The club's mascot, Ovalion, is a lion, animal which is the symbol of Peugeot, main sponsor of the club.

title: Stade Toulousain


text:
Collective behavior

The expression collective behavior was first used by Franklin Henry Giddings and employed later by Robert Park and Ernest Burgess, Herbert Blumer, Ralph H. Turner and Lewis Killian, and Neil Smelser to refer to social processes and events which do not reflect existing social structure (laws, conventions, and institutions), but which emerge in a "spontaneous" way. Use of the term has been expanded to include reference to cells, social animals like birds and fish, and insects including ants. Collective behavior takes many forms but generally violates societal norms. Collective behavior can be tremendously destructive, as with riots or mob violence, silly, as with fads, or anywhere in between. Collective behavior is always driven by group dynamics, encouraging people to engage in acts they might consider unthinkable under typical social circumstances.

Defining the field
Turner and Killian were the first sociologists to back their theoretical propositions with visual evidence in the form of photographs and motion pictures of collective behavior in action. Prior to that sociologists relied heavily upon eyewitness accounts, which turned out to be far less reliable than one would hope.

Turner and Killian's approach is based largely upon the arguments of Blumer, who argued that social "forces" are not really forces. The actor is active: He creates an interpretation of the acts of others, and acts on the basis of this interpretation.

Examples
Here are some instances of collective behavior: the Los Angeles riot of 1992, the hula-hoop fad of 1958, the stock market crashes of 1929, and the "phantom gasser" episodes in Virginia in 1933–34 and Mattoon, IL in 1944. The claim that such diverse episodes all belong to a single field of inquiry is a theoretical assertion, and not all sociologists would agree with it. But Blumer and Neil Smelser did agree, as did others, indicating that the formulation has satisfied some leading sociological thinkers.

Four forms
Although there are several other schema that may be used to classify forms of collective behavior the following four categories from Blumer are generally considered useful by most sociologists.

The crowd
Scholars differ about what classes of social events fall under the rubric of collective behavior. In fact, the only class of events which all authors include is crowds. Clark McPhail is one of those who treats crowds and collective behavior as synonyms. Although some consider McPhail's work overly simplistic, his important contribution is to have gone beyond the speculations of others to carry out pioneering empirical studies of crowds. He finds them to form an elaborate set of types.

The classic treatment of crowds is Gustave LeBon, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, in which the author interpreted the crowds of the French Revolution as irrational reversions to animal emotion, and inferred from this that such reversion is characteristic of crowds in general. LeBon believed that crowds somehow induced people to lose their ability to think rationally and to somehow recover this ability once they had left the crowd. He speculated, but could not explain how this might occur. Freud expressed a similar view in Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Such authors have thought that their ideas were confirmed by various kinds of crowds, one of these being the economic bubble. In Holland, during the tulip mania (1637), the prices of tulip bulbs rose to astronomical heights. An array of such crazes and other historical oddities is narrated in Charles MacKay's Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.

At the University of Chicago, Robert Park and Herbert Blumer agreed with the speculations of LeBon and other that crowds are indeed emotional. But to them a crowd is capable of any emotion, not only the negative ones of anger and fear.

A number of authors modify the common-sense notion of the crowd to include episodes during which the participants are not assembled in one place but are dispersed over a large area. Turner and Killian refer to such episodes as diffuse crowds, examples being Billy Graham's revivals, panics about sexual perils, witch hunts and Red scares. Their expanded definition of the crowd is justified if propositions which hold true among compact crowds do so for diffuse crowds as well.

Some psychologists have claimed that there are three fundamental human emotions: fear, joy, and anger. Neil Smelser, John Lofland, and others have proposed three corresponding forms of the crowd: the panic (an expression of fear), the craze (an expression of joy), and the hostile outburst (an expression of anger). Each of the three emotions can characterize either a compact or a diffuse crowd, the result being a scheme of six types of crowds. Lofland has offered the most explicit discussion of these types.

The public
Boom distinguishes the crowd, which expresses a common emotion, from a public, which discusses a single issue. Thus, a public is not equivalent to all of the members of a society. Obviously, this is not the usual use of the word, "public." To Park and Blumer, there are as many publics as there are issues. A public comes into being when discussion of an issue begins, and ceases to be when it reaches a decision on it.

The mass
To the crowd and the public Blumer adds a third form of collective behavior, the mass. It differs from both the crowd and the public in that it is defined not by a form of interaction but by the efforts of those who use the mass media to address an audience. The first mass medium was printing.

The social movement
We change intellectual gears when we confront Blumer's final form of collective behavior, the social movement. He identifies several types of these, among which are active social movements such as the French Revolution and expressive ones such as Alcoholics Anonymous. An active movement tries to change society; an expressive one tries to change its own members.

The social movement is the form of collective behavior which satisfies least well the first definition of it which was offered at the beginning of this article. These episodes are less fluid than the other forms, and do not change as often as other forms do. Furthermore, as can be seen in the history of the labor movement and many religious sects, a social movement may begin as collective behavior but over time become firmly established as a social institution.

For this reason, social movements are often considered a separate field of sociology. The books and articles about them are far more numerous than the sum of studies of all the other forms of collective behavior put together. Social movements are considered in many Wikipedia articles, and an article on the field of social movements as a whole would be much longer than this essay.

The study of collective behavior spun its wheels for many years, but began to make progress with the appearance of Turner and Killian's "Collective Behavior" and Smelser's Theory of Collective Behavior. Both books pushed the topic of collective behavior back into the consciousness of American sociologists and both theories contributed immensely to our understanding of collective behavior. Social disturbances in the U. S. and elsewhere in the late '60s and early '70s inspired another surge of interest in crowds and social movements. These studies presented a number of challenges to the armchair sociology of earlier students of collective behavior.

Theories developed to explain
Social scientists have developed theories to explain crowd behavior.

 * 1) Contagion theory – the Contagion Theory was formulated by French thinker Gustave Le Bon. According to Le Bon crowds exert a hypnotic influence over their members. Shielded by their anonymity, large numbers of people abandon personal responsibility and surrender to the contagious emotions of the crowd. A crowd thus assumes a life of its own, stirring up emotions and driving people toward irrational, even violent action. Le Bon's Theory, although one of the earliest explanations of crowd behavior, is still accepted by many people outside of sociology. However, critics argue that the "collective mind" has not been documented by systematic studies. Furthermore, although collective behavior may involve strong emotions, such feelings are not necessarily irrational. Turner and Killian argue convincingly that the "contagion" never actually occurs and participants in collective behavior do not lose their ability to think rationally.
 * 2) Convergence theory – whereas the Contagion Theory states that crowds cause people to act in a certain way, Convergence theory states that people who want to act in a certain way come together to form crowds. Developed by Floyd Allport and later expanded upon by Neil Miller and John Dollard as "Learning Theory", the central argument of all convergence theories is that collective behavior reveals the otherwise hidden tendencies of the individuals who take part in the episode. It asserts that people with similar attributes find other like-minded persons with whom they can release these underlying tendencies. People sometimes do things in a crowd that they would not have the courage to do alone because crowds can diffuse responsibility but the behavior itself is claimed to originate within the individuals. Crowds, in addition, can intensify a sentiment simply by creating a critical mass of like-minded people.
 * 3) Emergent-norm theory – according to sociologists Ralph Turner and Lewis Killian, crowds begin as collectivities composed of people with mixed interests and motives. Especially in the case of less stable crowds—expressive, acting and protest crowds—norms may be vague and changing, as when one person decides to break the glass windows of a store and others join in and begin looting merchandise. When people find themselves in a situation that is vague, ambiguous, or confusing new norms "emerge" on the spot and people follow those emergent norms, which may be at odds with normal social behavior. Turner and Killian further argue that there are several different categories of participants, all of whom follow different patterns of behavior due to their differing motivations.
 * 4) Value-added theory – professor Neil Smelser argues that collective behavior is actually a sort of release valve for built-up tension ("strain") within the social system, community, or group. If the proper determinants are present then collective behavior becomes inevitable. Conversely, if any of the key determinants are not present no collective behavior will occur unless and until the missing determinants fall into place. These are primarily social, although physical factors such as location and weather may also contribute to or hinder the development of collective behavior.
 * 5) Complex Adaptive Systems theory – Dutch scholar Jaap van Ginneken claims that contagion, convergence and emergent norms are just instances of the synergy, emergence and autopoiesis or self-creation of patterns and new entities typical for the newly discovered meta-category of complex adaptive systems. This also helps explain the key role of salient details and path-dependence in rapid shifts.
 * 6) Shared intentionality theory – Cognitive psychologist professor Michael Tomasello developed the psychological construct of Shared intentionality through his insights into cognition evolution and, specifically, the knowledge development about the contribution of Shared intentionality to the formation of social reality. Shared Intentionality provides unaware processes in mother-child dyads during social learning when young organisms can only manifest simple reflexes. It increases the cognitive performance of children indwelling with mothers who know the correct answer. This interaction proceeds without communication within the dyad using sensory cues. Professor Igor Val Danilov argues that this performance succeeds due to sharing an essential stimulus during a single cognitive task in the shared ecological context. Furthermore, research shows that Shared intentionality can appear even in groups of more mature organisms due to their physiological synchrony and group dynamics.    Therefore, this interaction can provide subliminal compliance of the participants to the group decisions, encouraging people to engage in acts they might consider unthinkable under typical social circumstances. The hypothesis of neurobiological processes occurring during Shared intentionality explains how organisms can share relevant sensory stimuli without communication within the group using sensory cues.

title: Collective behavior


text:
Hart's War

Hart's War is a 2002 American war drama film about a World War II prisoner of war (POW) camp based on the novel by John Katzenbach. It stars Bruce Willis as Col. William McNamara and Colin Farrell as Lt. Thomas Hart. The film co-stars Terrence Howard, Cole Hauser, and Marcel Iureş. Directed by Gregory Hoblit, the film was shot at Barrandov Studios in Prague, and released on February 15, 2002. The film earned mixed reviews, grossing $33.1 million against its $70 million budget.

Plot
In late 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, U.S. Army intelligence officer First Lieutenant Thomas Hart (Farrell) is captured by German forces. While interrogating Hart, the Germans coerce him to divulge intelligence by taking away his boots, causing his feet to become frostbitten and badly injured, and leaving him, naked, in a very cold cell. He is then transferred by train to Stalag VI-A prisoner of war camp at Hemer, Germany. While en route, a P-51 Mustang attacks (the letters POW were painted on the top of the train, but got covered by thick snow). To save themselves, the POWs leave the train and spell P-O-W with their bodies and prevent further strafing.

After arriving at the new POW camp, Lt. Hart is interviewed by the ranking American officer, Colonel William McNamara (Willis). When McNamara asks if he cooperated with the Germans after he was captured, Hart denies it. McNamara knows this to be a lie when Hart says he only endured three days of interrogation. McNamara does not reveal this to Hart, but sends him to bunk in a barracks for enlisted men, rather than allow him to bunk with the other officers.

Two Black pilots are brought to the camp and assigned to Hart's barracks. They are the only African Americans in the camp, and their situation is compounded by their status as officers. Staff Sgt. Vic W. Bedford (Hauser), a racist, is their primary antagonist. One of the pilots, Lt. Lamar Archer, is executed when accused of keeping a weapon that Bedford had planted in his bunk. When Bedford himself subsequently turns up dead, the surviving pilot, Lt. Lincoln A. Scott (Howard) is accused of killing Bedford in retaliation. A law student before the war, Hart is appointed by McNamara to defend the accused pilot at his court-martial, a trial to which the amused camp commandant, Oberst Werner Visser (Iureş) agrees. As the court martial proceeds, Hart struggles to prove reasonable doubt while dismissing Lt. Scott's motive, means, and opportunity. As the trial proceeds, Scott takes the stand and takes the opportunity to rail against the racism he and Archer faced in the Army, and excoriates McNamara for forcing two black pilots to bunk in the enlisted men's barracks.

As Hart's defense threatens to unintentionally call attention to subterfuge by the POWs, McNamara reveals to Hart in private that the "defense," like the trial itself, is a sham, an elaborate distraction to hide a planned attack on a nearby ammunition plant (which the U.S. Army Air Force mistakenly believes to be a shoe factory) by McNamara and his men, in aid of the war effort. It is revealed that Bedford planted the weapon in Archer's bunk, knowing the guards would kill Archer for it. In return, Bedford informed the guards of the location of a secret radio. It is also revealed Bedford planned to escape with money and clothes, likely in return for telling the Nazis about McNamara's plan. Upon realizing Bedford's plot, McNamara killed Bedford to prevent it. Hart is shocked that McNamara as a senior officer would sacrifice Scott to protect the planned attack on the ammunition plant. McNamara reminds Hart that in war, sometimes one man must be sacrificed to save the lives of many. Hart acknowledges this, but retorts that it is McNamara's duty to ensure that he should be the sacrifice, not Scott. Disgusted, McNamara says that Hart does not know anything about duty, in reference to how Hart gave in to a "Level 1" interrogator after three days, whereas McNamara was tortured for a month. Nonetheless, McNamara is shaken by Hart's words. The night before the court martial concludes, he visits Scott in his holding cell and gifts him his personal Bible.

On the last day of the court martial, McNamara and his men feign food poisoning in order to abstain from the trial. As they proceed to the ammunition plant via a hidden tunnel, McNamara overhears Hart falsely confessing to the murder of Bedford in order to save Lt. Scott's life. Oberst Visser immediately dissolves the court martial and orders the entire camp to gather outside to witness Hart's execution. Upon learning that the "sick" soldiers are missing, Visser examines the barracks and discovers the hidden tunnel. Infuriated, he orders that all prisoners involved in the court martial are to be executed immediately, starting with Hart. It is then that McNamara returns, just as explosives detonate and destroy the plant, and takes responsibility. Visser personally executes him on the spot, but spares the remaining prisoners. Three months later, the German army surrenders to the Allies. The prison camp is liberated and all of the surviving prisoners, including Hart, are sent home. Hart's final comments are that he learned about honor, duty, and sacrifice.

Production
MGM purchased the film rights to the novel a year before it was published. Producer David Foster bought the rights after viewing the manuscript, seeing it was 7 chapters long and had a memo saying where it was going. The film title was originally called Grant's War, which they felt was too Civil War-esque for a film set during World War II. Jeb Stuart was hired to adapt the novel. Alfonso Cuarón was hired to direct, and Terry George provided rewrites to the screenplay. The studio planned to begin shooting in April 2000, but Cuarón left the film to work on Y tu mamá también. Edward Norton was initially cast as Tommy Hart.

Box office
Produced on a budget of $70 million, the film grossed $33.1 million worldwide.

Critical response
Hart's War received mixed reviews. The film holds a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 122 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Well-made and solidly acted, Hart's War is modestly compelling. However, the movie suffers from having too many subplots". Metacritic rated it 49/100 based on 32 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

title: Hart's War